Was your mod stolen?

[Arthmoor]

Voted. I also think that if this guy decided to start roaming and targeting TESA that a similar site-wide block should be put in place to prevent him leeching from here as well.

[Ouija]

If there's anything those of us who don't mod can do to help you out. Please do say something. I don't know what that would be, but if I can help I sure would.

[AndalayBay]

I voted as well. Thanks for re-posting this here. I don't visit the Nexus forums very often. And yeah, DarkRider, I suggest you keep an eye on this too, as Arthmoor suggested.

[Arion]

Apparently I don't have enough downloads to qualify since I don't have access.. Oh well...

[StarX]

Voted as well. Seems my email to Gmod worked out as they removed the links to my files. Might be a good idea to check if they aren't going to leech from TESA as well in the future.

[Hanaisse]

For anyone who hasn't seen this on BGS, quote from DarkOne (Nexus);

Links from GMod to TESNexus will now be redirected to this page.

[Tamira]

I just was going to say that Momo's mods were removed there as requested by him, as well as my own little mod. But still Dibella's Watch is there although Antiscamp sent them a similar request. When I click on "download" this announcement page appears on the Nexus.

It is worthwhile for any other site-owners to have an eye on these guys...

[StarX]

Sepherose from TesNexus had a converstation with Skylar Kreisher from Gmod and posted it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5_38rejt7M

[DarkWarrior]

Here's an idea:

Post a message, either an ingame message box or a piece of text in your Readme file, that states that if the mod was not downloaded from TESA, the Nexus, or PES, that it is not verified to be safe and virus free, and that by downloading from somewhere other than those listed sites you risk downloading a Trojan or other piece of malicious software that has been embedded into the mod.

[Lanceor]

Good idea DarkWarrior.

Since sites like Gmod.com are editing the readme files to remove permission information, I was thinking an extra step would be to include that info in an ingame "ReadMe" or "Credits" book. That would force them to at least open up the mod in the CS, find the book (with a deliberately obscure EditorID) and edit it themselves.

[DarkWarrior]

Good idea DarkWarrior.

Since sites like Gmod.com are editing the readme files to remove permission information, I was thinking an extra step would be to include that info in an ingame "ReadMe" or "Credits" book. That would force them to at least open up the mod in the CS, find the book (with a deliberately obscure EditorID) and edit it themselves.

Maybe the community should also look into doing PDF Readmes to make it much more difficult for sites like GMOD to edit the Readmes. There are free utilities that allows people to create pdfs.

[Lanceor]

PDF's are a good idea - you can include images and formatting into the ReadMe to boot. I suspect that those sites would just delete the ReadMe from the package though. Anyway, there's a number of free PDF creators around - CutePDF is an ad-free one that I happen to use but I'm sure others have their favourites as well.

[vometia]

Hmm, I'm a bit peeved by this (original link from here, but it's in Japanese); there's a reason I didn't upload it which is that I've been unable to get permission from the people whose work I've used, but either way it's a bit much to just take it without even asking.

As far as I know, nobody's repackaged it and claimed it as their own work (which is why I only uploaded a comparatively low-res copy) though I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if one turns up somewhere. Is it really too much to expect that people at least ask first...?

Edit: it just struck me that some work would've been required to get it in-game since the proportions of the original are incorrect for a usable map, so I guess the point is whether it's someone's effort for their own personal use or if it has actually been redistributed without my permission (or Yian's, Thacadian's and Esmerelde's, for that matter.)

Edited December 1, 2011 by vometia

[vometia]

Talk about adding insult to injury: a Russian chap just alerted me to this, which shows that not only was my map stolen, the buggers improved it too! I hate them.

[darthsloth74]

Hi everyone I recently started to post up my mods on another site and I'm also having a problem with them being uploaded elsewhere without my consent even though I have stated that I must give permission to do so.

I realise that thieves will always be thieves but I have only observed this new large scale trend since the release of Skyrim. I recently returned to modding and I have never experienced this kind of dubious behaviour before, it is very troubling. My own work is merely texture replacers so its not as big a concern as mods where the authors have put in hundreds of hours of their time only to discover they cannot retain control over their work. Its the principle that irritates me.

I would speculate that with so many new members on various sites due to widespread Skyrim appeal not everyone is aware of permissions, credits etc which could be one possible explanation for all this mod rehosting. However in my case I know this not to be true since a very large company who I shall not name, chose to host my modwork without consent and currently ignore all emails from me in regard to its removal.

The comment in this thread about including a PDF is very helpful since that may be missed by company bots that are responsible for a share of this problem. However does anyone have any good suggestions on phrasing an appropriate permissions readme for mods that may at least help to deter the problem. Since if I can't control where my modwork is uploaded then it makes me loathe to upload new mods and personally I don't want to feel that way since I want to share my work in the spirit it is intended.

Thanks for reading this long comment.

[vometia]

I think a lot of it is probably a mixture of inexperience and bad etiquette; in most cases, people probably simply need to be educated that someone put a lot of effort into the stuff they're freely passing around and it's not really acceptable to just do with as they please.

Found what's possibly a name responsible for nicking my map, Karimasuru, who appears to be taking credit for it (though something may have been lost in translation.) There's also a Russian version doing the rounds, but unlike the Japanese modders, the chap in question actually asked permission and credited me so I have no problem with his version of the map.

[Khettienna]

Got another unauthorized compilation here.

List of included mods:

Included Mods (as v6.4.2):

Utilities:

-Main:

BOSS v1.8

OBMM v1.1.12

OBSE v0020

TES4Edit v3.1.15

Wrye Bash v2.95 - Standalone (Manual)

-Mods Utilities:

Menu Que v9a

OBSE -Elys- Pluggy v1.32

OBSE -Elys- Uncapper v0.96

OBSE -Elys- Universal Silent Voice v0.93

-Optimization:

Fast Exit v2

Oblivion 4Gb EXE Patch

OSR v4.1.26 WIP (60 Max FPS)

TES4Gecko v15.2 (Merging Esps)

TES4LODGen v3.0.15

TweakOblivion v5.10

weOCPS 2009-03-28

Unofficial Patches:

Unofficial Oblivion Patch v3.2.0

Unofficial Oblivion Patch v3.4.0 (Upgrade)

Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch v1.4.0

Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch v1.4.4 Supplemental (Upgrade)

Unofficial Mods Patch v16.1

QTP3 Patch v2.3 for Unofficial Oblivion Patch

SM Plugin Refurbish v1.30 (Merged)

FCOM Core Files:

-Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul v1.34 Beta5:

OOO FULL Version

OOO Water Weeds

OOO Patch v1.34b5 (No WaterFish)

OOO UOP Fixed ESP (Fixes 3 AI packages)

Harvest Flora v3.0.1 (Fixed version)

-Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items v5b1:

Francesco's for Shivering Isles

Francesco's MOBS v2

Francesco's Lyrondor Combat Behaviur

Francesco's optional Leveled Guards

Francesco's optional Chance of Stronger Enemies

Francesco's optional Chance of Stronger Bosses

Francesco's optional Chance of More Enemies (Normal version)

Francesco's new items add-On

Fran Dark Seducer Weapons Patch

-WarCry EV v1.09

-Bobs Armory Oblivion v1.1 (Optimized resources)

-Mart's Monster Mod v3.7 Beta3:

Mart's Monster Mod – Hunting & Crafting

Mart's Monster Mod – Diverse Runeskulls Loot OOO

Mart's Monster Mod – Looting NPC’s & Creatures

Mart's Monster Mod – More Wilderness Life No Gates

Mart's Monster Mod – Slof Horses Complete

Mart's Monster Mod – Safer Quest Locations

Mart's Monster Mod – City Defenses

Mart's Monster Mod – Extra Wounding

Mart's Monster Mod – Farm Animals

Mart's Monster Mod – Resized Races

MMM Diverse WaterLife v3.7b3p3 Update

MMM DLChorsearmor Slof Update v0.91

-FCOM Related Mods:

Cobl v1.73

Item Interchange v0.78

OMOBS v2.0a

MOBS DLC v2.0b Fixed

Enhanced Daedric Invasion v1.3

Tamriel Travellers v1.39c + v1.40 Alpha (No ring)

Loth Blunt Weapons v3.0.1

-FCOM Convergence Beta v9.9 + UFCOM v9.9.5:

FCOM Unofficial Patch 9.9.5

FCOM Entropic Order Rebalance

FCOM Archery Beta 1 + Comp Patches (MOBS version)

FCOM_Francescos

FCOM_FrancescosItemsAddOn

FCOM_FrancescosNamedBosses

FCOM_BobsArmory

FCOM_WarCry

FCOM_Convergence

FCOM_RealSwords

FCOM_DiverseGuardUnity

FCOM_MoreRandomItems

FCOM_HungersUnitySI

FCOM_Knights

FCOM_LessReaversInGates

FCOM_BobsGuardUnity

FCOM_EnhancedDaedricInvasion

FCOM_TamrielTravelers

FCOM_LothsBluntWeapons

Additional Mods:

-Immersion/Graphics:

DarNified UI v1.32 (Custom settings)

HUD Status Bars v5.3.2 (Custom bars)

Troy Heartbeat Breath (No breathing)

Enhanced Water v2.0 HDMI

Let There Be Darkness v1.2

Immersive Interiors v0.81

Natural Environments v2.1.3 (Only Natural Habitat Esp and no Sky data)

Animated Window Lighting System v5.5.4 (QTP3 version)

Fine Weapons and Rusty Items for OOO v1.0

More Immersive Sounds Edited v1.0

Ambient Town Sounds Edited v1.0

Symphony of Violence v0.5

Rainbows in Tamriel v3.0

Cities Alive At Night v1.0

Enhanced Vegetation Plugins v1.1 (25% Bigger, 30 Timescale)

Let the People Drink v2.5 (COBL version, renamed)

Roads and Bridges Revised v4.6.3 + Let the People Drink Comp Patch

Esme's Updated Vanilla Map v1.0 (Roads + Bridges)

Dungeon Actors Have Torches v1.6 (DT - No Pop-up)

Exterior Actors Have Torches v1.32 (DT - No Pop-up)

Disable Tutorial Text v1.0 (Included in SuperPack Patch.esp)

Clocks of Cyrodiil v1.0

All Natural v1.31 (Custom settings)

TNR v1.06

-Hardcore/Realism:

Real Hunger Cobl v1.6.1

Real Thirst 1.2 + RT Cobl v1.0 (Jail need fixed)

Real Sleep Extended v2.5 (Sleep + Custom Timescale)

SM Encumbrance and Fatigue v2.6 (Custom Realism settings)

Gold is an Inventory Item v0.60

Inventory is a Backpack v0.72 (Custom settings)

Inventory is a Backpack v0.72 - QTP3 Patch

Map Marker Overhaul v3.9.3 (Realism settings)

Enhanced Economy v5.4.3 (Custom Realism settings)

No Healing During Wait v1.0

Combat Fumbling v0.6

-Game Mechanics:

At Home Alchemy - No Bounty Fix v2.0

Realistic Leveling v1.14 (10 Training per lvl)

Drop Lite Torches OBSE v2.4 (Custom settings)

Duke Patricks Near Miss Magic And Arrows Alert The Target v7.1

Horse Commands v4.99

Enhanced Grabbing v0.5

SM Combat Hide v1.2

Hear No Evil v1.0

SHOUT v1.02

NPC Water Sink v1.0

Chapel Tithe OBSE v2.1

Bank of Cyrodiil v1.11 + Addon v0.7 (UOP Fixed)

The Versatile Adventurer v1.0 (Aka AnyClass)

Skill Decay v1.2

Willful Resistance v4.0

Armorers Advantage v1.2

Dynamic Leveled Lists v4.2.1 (Default settings)

-Texture replacers:

Alternative Script Effect Icon v1

Beaming Sunglare v1.1

Enhanced Vegetation (High Res Textures v1.1)

Brumbeks Sky Pack v1.1 (No sunglare)

Optimized Facegen Files v1.2

Book Jackets v1.0

Book Jackets SI v1.0

Book Jackets KOTN v1.0

Book Placement v2.0 EN (UOP Fixed)

Grimbots Spell Tomes v1.0

Better Book Paper v1.0

-Other mods:

Clean-up v0.56

Keychain v5.00

Menu Escape v0.7.1

Enhanced Hotkeys v2.3.1

Quest Log Manager v1.3.2b

Toggleable Quantity Prompt v3.2.0

Kuertee Auto Save and Time v0.9966 (Custom settings)

More and Moldy Ingredients v1.1

Natural History Museum v1.1

Reneers Note Mod v0.92 (UOP Fixed)

-Tweaked MOD Files:

All Natural v1.31 - Custom INI

Auto-Save and Time v0.9966 - Custom INI

DarN UI v1.32 - Custom XML (No compass, loc info and lvl-up icon)

Drop Lite Torches OBSE v2.4 - Custom INI

Enhanced Economy v5.4.3 - Custom INI

Hud Status Bars v5.3.2 - Custom INIs (Custom BARS)

Inventory is a Backpack v0.72 - Custom INI (Drop key, Drop gold & Penality changes)

Realistic Leveling v1.14 - Custom INI (Max 10 trainings)

SM Enc&Fatigue v2.6 - Custom INI

-Inter-compatibility:

Merged Patch (Merged 45 ESPs!)

Bashed Patch (Created with CBash)

FSP Custom & Fixed Mod ESPs v6.4.2

Danwood's "SuperPack Patch" (For SuperPack v6)

ESPs Fixed/Cleaned via TES4Edit:

-AmbientTownSounds.esp

-Bob's Armory Oblivion.esp

-Clocks of Cyrodiil v1.0

-Cobl Glue

-DLCBattlehornCastle - Unofficial Patch

-DLCBattlehornCastle.esp

-DLCFrostcrag.esp

-DLCHorseArmor.esp

-DLCMehrunesRazor.esp

-DLCOrrery.esp

-DLCSpellTomes.esp

-DLCThievesDen.esp

-DLCVileLair.esp

-Enhanced Daedric Invasion.esp

-Harvest [Flora] - DLCFrostcrag.esp

-Harvest [Flora] - Shivering Isles.esp

-Knights.esp

-LetThePeopleDrink.esp

-MIS.esp

-Museum.esp

-Rainbows.esp

-ShiveringIsleTravellers

-SM Plugin Refurbish(Merged).esp

-TamrielTravellers4OOO

-za_bankmod

A few of our regulars are in that list.

Did some poking around, and the assembler/distributor of the pack doesn't seem to be unaware of of his misdeeds, he simply doesn't care.

Go get 'im.

[Porscha]

Ugh, this is awful. I'm weary of uploading files cuz I don't want them at other places, like Nexus. If someone uploads it there, I'm not even allowed to talk to anyone there since I'm blocked. I'd be more than happy to back up our regulars here!

Nice, but terrible, find, Khettienna.

[Khettienna]

I am sure if you found your mod hosted at a site like Nexus, which actually attempts to protect modders' IP rights, someone would take up for you and help get it resolved. The real dangers are more private sites like the above, which are set up in the shady fringes of society for the explicit purpose of distributing stolen goods, and thus aren't moderated by the community. In these cases, you just have to put on your steel toes and go down there and give 'em a what-for. And if that fails, and you can find the legal grounds to do so, you send a DMCA takedown notice to the company providing the hosting for the site.

The trick is that modders have to stick up for themselves when it comes to the legal nitty-gritty, and most won't, feeling it's either not worth the effort, or that they can't win. Neither is true.

[Arthmoor]

Oh yes. That Superpack has been making the rounds again lately. That Danwood guy doesn't have an ounce of respect for modders or for copyright in general and he's resisted all efforts to have that pack taken down. I'd greet his ISP with a DMCA Takedown, but the host is not on US soil and thus a notice of that nature would go unanswered.

As much as people are crowing about SOPA right now, this is exactly the kind of thing it's being crafted to deal with. SOPA is for international sites what the DMCA is for domestic US sites. It gives copyright holders some teeth to deal with rogue sites who don't give a rip about copyright laws.