A few hours ago, it came to light that an Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mod "creator" is just living a lie. User SupernaturalKath has posted a number of mods on the Skyrim Steam Workshop that they did not create, nor have the rights to distribute.
That's bad enough, but the real problem here is the fact that any attempts to speak out against these thefts exposes a very big flaw in how the Steam Workshop operates. Those who have attempted to call SupernaturalKath out on this have found that their posts have either been edited by the thief, or SupernaturalKath has banned them for 24-hours from Skyrim discussion pages.
One of the mod authors, jownd7, who's work has been stolen by the above user, tried to call the thief out on this. His "Footprints" mod has been lifted from the Skyrim Nexus and placed on the Steam Workshop by SupernaturalKath. jownd7's topic calling the user out on the theft resulted in SupernaturalKath editeding his post to appear to be something it wasn't.
jownd7 has been constantly updating the Reddit topic on this with new information. He also noted any differences between the files that the thief uploaded to the Workshop and his files from the Skyrim Nexus that he actually created. One difference was noted across two files: the name of the author was changed. Other than that, the other file is identical to his.
Other Steam users have found even more evidence of mod theft from the user.
At present, there are multiple topics going on where this is issue is being discussed including Reddit, the Skyrim Steam Workshop section, the general Steam Workshop section, and even the Bethesda forums.
The trouble here isn't just with the fact that user created content is being stolen, it's the fact that mod authors (and thieves) apparently have so much power on the Steam Workshop. They should not be allowed to edit posts from other users and they should certainly not be permitted to ban users from participating in discussions.
Note the ban reason.
While many may agree that the overall moderation of this content and the new Steam discussion forums are generally lacking, the solution isn't to give that amount of power to anybody who makes a mod. There is also a massive oversight here that there really isn't too much people can do to combat this level of content theft until things get too out of control, like in this instance.
Update: It seems as though the stolen mods have been removed from the Steam Workshop after a period of down time for the Workshop itself. However, the main issue still stands here. That is to say, there is just too much power placed into the hands of people who may or may not be legitimate mod authors. What's to stop someone else from doing this same thing down the line?
It's also a shame that the entire Workshop had to be taken down for any amount of time in order to rectify this.
That's bad enough, but the real problem here is the fact that any attempts to speak out against these thefts exposes a very big flaw in how the Steam Workshop operates. Those who have attempted to call SupernaturalKath out on this have found that their posts have either been edited by the thief, or SupernaturalKath has banned them for 24-hours from Skyrim discussion pages.
One of the mod authors, jownd7, who's work has been stolen by the above user, tried to call the thief out on this. His "Footprints" mod has been lifted from the Skyrim Nexus and placed on the Steam Workshop by SupernaturalKath. jownd7's topic calling the user out on the theft resulted in SupernaturalKath editeding his post to appear to be something it wasn't.
jownd7 has been constantly updating the Reddit topic on this with new information. He also noted any differences between the files that the thief uploaded to the Workshop and his files from the Skyrim Nexus that he actually created. One difference was noted across two files: the name of the author was changed. Other than that, the other file is identical to his.
Other Steam users have found even more evidence of mod theft from the user.
OK. Here are some links to the Nexus.
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/26129 Xena outfit by Newermind43
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/16991 Witchers Silver Sword by Kimono
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/28736 Queen of the damned-Akasha Dress by Newermind43 (he - the thief - named this one "Queen Vampire Dress"
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17699 DreamBurrows Sage Outfit Retexture Standalone by DreamBurrow
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/26129 Xena outfit by Newermind43
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/16991 Witchers Silver Sword by Kimono
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/28736 Queen of the damned-Akasha Dress by Newermind43 (he - the thief - named this one "Queen Vampire Dress"
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17699 DreamBurrows Sage Outfit Retexture Standalone by DreamBurrow
At present, there are multiple topics going on where this is issue is being discussed including Reddit, the Skyrim Steam Workshop section, the general Steam Workshop section, and even the Bethesda forums.
The trouble here isn't just with the fact that user created content is being stolen, it's the fact that mod authors (and thieves) apparently have so much power on the Steam Workshop. They should not be allowed to edit posts from other users and they should certainly not be permitted to ban users from participating in discussions.
Note the ban reason.
While many may agree that the overall moderation of this content and the new Steam discussion forums are generally lacking, the solution isn't to give that amount of power to anybody who makes a mod. There is also a massive oversight here that there really isn't too much people can do to combat this level of content theft until things get too out of control, like in this instance.
Update: It seems as though the stolen mods have been removed from the Steam Workshop after a period of down time for the Workshop itself. However, the main issue still stands here. That is to say, there is just too much power placed into the hands of people who may or may not be legitimate mod authors. What's to stop someone else from doing this same thing down the line?
It's also a shame that the entire Workshop had to be taken down for any amount of time in order to rectify this.
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