Should community managers for game companies be allowed to remove game mods from the workshop?

[Cherrycat]

Do the publishers own the workshops and if so, should they?

Creative Assembly recently removed a mod from the workshop of their game because the community manager took offense to it, which is why I'm asking.

[Muppet among Puppets]

What did the mod do?

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by Cherrycat:

Do the publishers own the workshops and if so, should they?

Yes. They own everything within their paid community space.

[B l u e b e r r y P o p t a r t]

Yes they should and they have the right to take down anything they want from the workshop for their game if they want to.

[WolfEisberg]

another reason why it is better to use mod sites like Nexus and ModDB.

I don't think the dev/pubs should have direct control of the Workshop. At best there should be reporting system where they have to give a compelling reason for removing it.

[Cherrycat]

Originally posted by Muppet among Puppets:

What did the mod do?

Added sexy female generals to the game (just a static image), the feminist community manager took it down because it offended her personally.

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by Eisberg:

I don't think the dev/pubs should have direct control of the Workshop. At best there should be reporting system where they have to give a compelling reason for removing it.

Well it's their product and their community space so for them not to have control over the content wouldn't make sense. They would just remove workshop functionality otherwise.

[Cherrycat]

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:

Originally posted by Eisberg:

I don't think the dev/pubs should have direct control of the Workshop. At best there should be reporting system where they have to give a compelling reason for removing it.

Well it's their product and their community space so for them not to have control over the content wouldn't make sense.

The mods are made for free by steam users and are uploaded to steam, these mods add value to their game but they don't own them.

Previously publishers let modder do whatever they wanted, now they want to control the mod community and in a very censorship heavy times this isn't a good thing.

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by Cherrycat:

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:

Well it's their product and their community space so for them not to have control over the content wouldn't make sense.

The mods are made for free by steam users and are uploaded to steam, these mods add value to their game but they don't own them.

That's right, they are uploaded to Steam which the publishers own their store page, community space and workshop rights. If people want to mod as they see fit, they use external sites.

[Matt]

What you describe sounds like a one off, so I'd probably just disregard it.

[Cherrycat]

Originally posted by Matt:

What you describe sounds like a one off, so I'd probably just disregard it.

When one community manager can freely abuse something it's only a matter of time before it turns into company policy and they all do.

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by Cherrycat:

Originally posted by Matt:

What you describe sounds like a one off, so I'd probably just disregard it.

When one community manager can freely abuse something it's only a matter of time before it turns into company policy and they all do.

Have you got any evidence to back this up or is this just another one or your daily dramas without basis?

[Cherrycat]

Here is a video about what happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsbpQR0OFdY

[Matt]

Originally posted by Cherrycat:

When one community manager can freely abuse something it's only a matter of time before it turns into company policy and they all do.

Maybe, maybe not.

[Schlappohr Pyro]

Maybe put the mod on Nexus or some other site.
I would imagine that Steam gives companies a lot of freedom, when it comes to the workshop.
And yes, sadly the CA community manager is a well known femina

[ShelLuser]

They pay for their hosting services on Steam so obviously they should have control over what get's hosted there. Don't loose focus on what this is all about: in the end this is all a setup to sell games, and if they come across a mod which they think can "damage" the reputation of their game or at least sent out wrong signals then yes: they should be allowed to remove it.

And a very important detail here: usually removing doesn't really mean remove as in delete but make the work hidden from public. I've had this happen with a guide of mine. Which means that your work isn't immediately gone, you still have access and can therefor also still re-use parts of it if you want to.

On a personal note... I think it's silly to start calling someone names like "feminist" just because they don't approve of a sexy mod for their game. Not every game is suitable for that, and if you disagree then you can easily use other platforms to host your work.

All in all... I don't see a problem here.