I'd like to discuss this point, because i think we have very different notions of what a "bias" or an "opinion" may imply. As you mentioned in that post, the guide does estate that this is the opinion of someone, but for some reason this is seen as a bad thing by itself. If it was like this then pretty much every single post on the internet and every single piece of work and literature would be bad also, because they too follow a "bias", either cultural, political, etc.
The idea of "pure neutrality" is something that simply does not exist because we are not robots. As i said in my post before, i don't agree with 100% of what the guide says, and you what? that is perfect! because by the end of the day i am reading the opinion of someone who experienced all of these mods and has taken the time and courtesy of detailing them in a very through fashion.
Is it an opinion by the end of the day? yes, absolutely.
Does this immediately make it inherently bad? no, because the author of the post is not going around discrediting mods, even the "not recommended" list is trying to focus more on the issues that are brought on a technical level.
When i meant to look at this on a more "positive" fashion, what i actually meant is shifting the issue you propose of "this (the guide) specially denigrating mods", instead we should be asking "how can we make these mods have a place on this guide?" or "why aren't they listed?", a more constructive approach would be more beneficial as a whole.
I get what you are saying here, and to reiterate a third time: I'm not saying "take it down this is a monstrocity!!" or anything. The guide certainly is useful and the opinion, in and of itself, is
not a problem to me. The cannonization of that opinion? That's very different. I'm very sorry, Captain Trek, I appreciate the work you have done, and I can only assume you would take suggestions against your opinion in a fair way so this is not truly about you. It is about what is fair to those who are new to the scene and what we can do to preserve the neutrality of the community. That is it. Sure, pure neutrality doesn't exist, but that by no way means we shouldn't
try to keep things neutral on the publicly moderated forum. I'm really not sure why this isn't common sense...
I also understand that other independent opinions on social media, etc, are biased as well. That's not what concerns me though. What concerns me is the idea of stating an opinion that others may disagree with, and then making it seem as if its what
everyone thinks by making it a sticky
on the public modding forum. A sticky is an
endorsement of the opinion on a seemingly authoritative level.
That is my problem and my only problem with this whole thing. Bias simply existing isn't justification for more bias -even when that bias is otherwise helpful as in this case. It's not malicious bias, its just bias, and there is no room for that in a sticky. Even if people voice their issues, that doesn't mean changes will be made. It is solely up to Captain Trek. No person should have that kind of power even when they are well-meaning. It creates waay too many complications.
Also, I know why my mod is not included:
Note: There are two types of mods that I consider outside of the scope of this mod guide: The total-conversion mod Archean Order, which by-and-large is not compatible with most other mods, and IP mods (i.e. mods that add a faction from someone else's intellectual property into the game), whose use (or not) scales directly with how big a fan you are of the IP on which the mod is based. If you note that a mod of either of these two types was not included in my guide, rest assured this is entirely intentional.
That's the thing:
If you don't include everybody, and you are commenting on mod "quality" via listing pros and cons and vanilla comparisons, then you can't be made to have an
authoritative voice. You have a voice already, and have used it, so leave it at that.
You are correct. I think lists like these are damaging to the modding community and clearly favor the old guard. I never said take it down though. I just dont want it stickied. Also, the credibility of your defense is a little suspect considering your mod is literally the first one on the list.
I think lists like this are going to exist no matter what, and if they're public on a moderated forum, people can complain in specific terms about their contents. If you think not getting on someone's list is a downer, imagine what it's like when 4chan notices you, or when you get angry bug reports for someone else's mods. People either believe in what they're doing enough to persist, or they don't, and something like this is highly unlikely to be the first, second, third, fifth, or tenth thing that convinces them to give up. Lack of skills, lack of motivation, lack of focus, scope creep, poor documentation, real life intervening, lack of discipline, content sprawl, and the toxicity of internet gaming communities are all vastly more likely to kill mods than someone's written mod guide. Remember Orikson's mod guide? And the horrors of- wait, it's vanished pretty much without a trace and people don't even remember it.
I don't really feel obligated to defend this list because my mod is on it or prominent or even because it's mentioned favorably (my response to my entry was to quibble with it, hardly a ringing endorsement). I just think you're being paranoid and defensive, it makes you look ridiculous, and the reason is that you're lobbying for something (perfect neutrality) that can't exist; a perfectly neutral guide would look like the mod index, and we already have one of those. Captain Trek took the time to give his reasoning in detail for each of the entries, which is a not inconsiderable amount of work that's appreciated even where I think he's completely wrong, and that means the casual reader can see his reasoning and agree or disagree as they see fit.
If you enjoy making things just to make them, as you say, then would you mind taking down your donation link?
The donations I've been given so far over several years amount to about... two hours' worth of my time, out of the hundreds of hours I sunk into it. It's not remotely adequate compensation; it's a tip jar that sometimes buys me a beer. People are free not to donate, and I promise it has no effect whatsoever on the final product whether they do or don't. Accepting money for is not the same thing as being paid to work on something; I would do this whether I had a link up or not, I'd do it pretty much the same way, and I promise that your opinion on the subject, pro or con, is less than irrelevant. I don't even take into account whether someone donated when I respond to posts, because I don't track that at all. I've made several times over more money hiring out my skills to other Starsector modders directly.
This is either a mendacious or staggeringly clueless request.
I really don't care how many actual donations you have received or even that you have a donation link. I was making a point that your stalwart defense seems self-interested. You can hedge and deny all you want, but that is truthfully how it appears, so you shouldn't be the one to do it, frankly. I actually believe you in your stated intentions, but your willful ignorance of the overall issue is unsettling to put it lightly. As someone of your modding experience who has had issues with anything modifying your content in the past, I really am astounded you feel the need to defend this so thoroughly under the pretense of "someone put effort forth and so it should be appreciated" when you have gone against that very concept,
hard, in the past.
I have given Captain Trek credit, acknowledged his work, recommended his guide, and explained my reasoning in a clear and respectful way. I'll admit that "denigration" was perhaps a poor choice of wording and in poor taste, but that wasn't my intention, really. I wanted to show how a guide that uses vanilla experiences as its stand-alone judgement spectrum is biased. Its not bad to be biased, its bad to be biased when under a semblance of authority (see above). This is not about
me or my mod, it's about fairness to those modders, like me, who are just starting out and will be shut out by a stickied guide like this. My mod is already
far more popular than I ever thought it would be, and popularity was never the intention. I made it for me.
If you think I am being paranoid and defensive, you are also correct. That is not a bad thing, though, because I have seen the effects these kinds of things have upon modding communities. I'm not pulling that from nowhere...