An Update From Dark0ne
I started this project back in 2001, in my bedroom, with a 56k modem, an excitement for the upcoming release of Morrowind and with no grand ambitions or intentions. I didn’t set out to build a business, I just wanted to make a place where modders could share their work without worrying it would vanish into the internet either the next time a fansite went offline or a publisher decided they were done with it. That idea grew legs, sprouted arms, and turned into Nexus Mods.
Since then, this site has been my entire adult life. Every single day, for over two decades, I’ve been "on call", whether it was fixing issues, reading feedback, pushing updates, or getting pulled into the latest bit of community drama. It’s been rewarding, sometimes chaotic, often exhausting and always personal. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to step back and breathe, or sleep properly. The dilemma of running a major social network that does not rest!
The strain of being responsible for the behemoth I created has taken its toll. The stress of the job has been a regular source of anxiety and stress-related health issues. I realised that I have been burning out and this started to have an impact on my staff and Nexus Mods as a whole. So, I firmly believe that the best thing for the future of Nexus Mods is for me to step aside and bring in new leadership to steer the business forward with renewed energy to make Nexus Mods the modding community we all truly deserve.
One of the biggest reasons I've been doing this for so long is that I've never felt that I truly found someone who really "gets" the modding community the way I do. Finding a new owner who would be able to understand and respect the myriad intricacies of both Nexus Mods as a business and the wider modding community was essential.
After months of meetings, face-to-face talks, and a whole lot of soul searching, I am thrilled to say that I truly believe I have found the exact right people for the task.
So yes, the ownership of Nexus Mods has changed hands, but I want to be clear, this isn’t some corporate “exit” or a backroom deal. This is me doing something I probably should’ve done years ago: taking care of myself. Reclaiming some headspace. And finally letting go of the idea that I have to do everything and be responsible for everything myself.
What changes now?
Honestly, not a lot, at least not from your side of things.
Behind the scenes, I’ve already been stepping back bit by bit. Over the past few years, the team has taken on more of the weight and the site’s been doing better than ever. What’s changing now is simply the formality of it, making sure the right people are in place to guide Nexus Mods into the next era.
That includes some structural updates to the company ownership that we aren’t shouting about, but I want to be transparent: they’re about long-term stability, not changing the values or direction of the platform. Nexus Mods is community-first and mod-author focused, that’s not up for negotiation.
While I am stepping back, it's important to understand that Nexus Mods isn't just about me and hasn't been for a long time. The Nexus Mods you see today has been created by a team of 40 incredibly dedicated people, some of whom have been here for over 9 years. They live and breathe modding, they care deeply, they’re experienced, committed, and they're very much still here. None of that is changing.
So if I can ask one thing, it’s to continue supporting them, the site, and the community they help nurture every day.
In terms of new faces, you’ll also be seeing more of Foledinho (Victor), Rapsak (Marinus) and Taagen (Nikolai), who’ve come on board to lead this next chapter. They’ve got deep roots in gaming, tech, and most importantly, they give a damn; about the site, the community, and the future we’re trying to build here.
Editor's Note: We've added Nikolai to the new owners listed above. He works more in the background, but is still an important part of the team!
They have my complete trust, and I’m incredibly proud to be bringing them onboard.
What about me?
I’m not disappearing. I’ll still be annoying people on the Mod Author Discord, lurking on the forums, and sticking my nose into community matters when I can’t help myself. I’ll also be working with the team to help guide the overall direction of the site, just without needing to be the person who signs off on every little thing and without taking responsibility for any and all things Nexus Mods.
Frankly, that’s a good thing, for me, for the team, and for the future of Nexus Mods.
759 comments
Thanks for the warm welcome! We’re as excited about Nexus Mods’ future as you are. This post was all about Robin, giving him the credit he truly deserves. He built something incredible, creating a culture that’s shaped gaming and modding as we know it. We're here to honor that legacy and carry it forward, but we need to earn your trust.
Now, let’s clear the air on a few things:
Trust takes time.
We're committed to putting control back in the hands of creators, players, and communities. We’ll get back to building now.
Marinus, Nikolai and Victor.
could we ask the context and reason for a mod.
(Note that i have no idea about any of this you are talking about, i did not see any of these mods most of you are arguing about.)
If i was playing a game where the character is white and i can't play anyone else and its a roleplaying game, and I'm a black girl in real life, and i can mod, i might want to make a mod changing my character to be female and black. this in my view would be ok the reasons are not bigoted,
But than what if a moderator comes to ask me why i made the mod, and i simply don't respond or am in a bad mood or just don't have good social skills, and give a vague answer that does not make it clear the reasons to why and it's context, maybe if i was a moderator i would want to kick it down.
About the flag, i have no idea about this flag, did not see the mod, don't know what you are saying.
But if i have a flag any flag, in my game and it is reminding me of anything in real life i don't feel comfortable with for what ever reason or i just think it is ugly, in the way, or being spammed in the game too much.(this hypothetical would be for a non bigoted human being).
Than i might just want to mod it to change it somehow to what ever i would think would be more pleasant, and i might share it cos i would think people would have the same thought, than again, i would refer to the case i made about moderation above, to this part of the comment, and again,
if not enough reason and context was given and it was not clear enough that i was making it for a legitimate reason with no bigoted grounds, as a moderator i might take it down for looking like it is bigoted.
I have no idea how things work around here. i am a newb mostly using nexus for 20 years but for moding, i have no conversations and i don't read posts.
So to summarise, instead of things in this world being seen as right or wrong immediately, instead, mods being an overall art form, they are subjective to opinions and opinions and ideals are relative, but we do not like bigotry and hate etc, that's for sure, but do we also like freedom? than we must ask the art creators for the logic, the point, the reason, and understand the creator's truth of the why things are made.
And modders, would have to be responsible fully formed dudes, that can give coherent responses that satisfy the nexus staff and give a perfect insight in to why things are made.
As a side note: this is just my opinion, i don't really like how most people think its right or wrong, no, its a middle ground. it depends on why things are made, if they are not plain out hateful like right away, i think we should get it straight before we judge the mate making them.
I also think a lot of you have really good points, like someone said that if you let one hate mod come in than they all start coming in, maybe you are right.
But i still think what would really be fair would be to get the reasons for the mods and make conscious decisions before bans.
But def hide mods that seem offensive until they are proven non offensive.
Sorry i am boring everyone with more gigantic comments,
I wish the new owners the best of luck in taking over the world, of the nexus.
Thank you for letting people have discussions in here, although i find it strange, maybe we did need this lol.
If game developers only give players one choice and thereby try to foist a certain message on them, then in my opinion that is simply bad game design.
But i believe a bunch of dudes figuring out if the reason is legitimate and actually asking about it and getting a response,
Is the fair way to go and will probably work best.
I'm talking nexus staff, maybe selected for being optimal for this kind of decision making.
Maybe it is not perfect, but it might be close to perfect :P
Better that i think, than using a logic to ban or leave unbanned certain things depending on what it does without asking the modder about his true intentions and making a thought out decision before deciding the ban/removal.
Because it might be art after all, it might have taken a lot of care, love, hard work and time to make, and maybe it was in the nicest loveliest interest/intention.
That's a flawed argument. It's the argument used by the bigoted who complain about a black woman in their game, or a gay man, or whatever that isn't a straight white male. The existence of those people is not a message. Their inclusion in a game is not a message. Their existence as a playable character is not a message. The existence of anyone other than straight white men or women who strictly conform to more traditional gender roles is not a message.
But even if it were, even if developers put a message into their game, why is that bad? Games have been statements for several decades now. Other media even longer.
LOL, "If we HIDE the bigotry well enough, you should allow it!".
LOL no.
Once again, that is not how any of this works my guy.
... also, I wonder what the EU has to say about it?
"Hatred not only affects the individual victims, it represents a threat to vibrant democracies and a pluralistic society.Hate motivated crime and speech are illegal under EU law. The 2008 Framework Decision on combating certain forms of expressions of racism and xenophobia requires the criminalisation of public incitement to violence or hatred based on race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin. "
... ... ... oop.
For example, a mod is made that is clearly not to be racist but it so happens that it touches the race subject, would be "perfectly legitimate", but now a bunch of racists are downloading it for racist reasons, that could happen or maybe that was the intention all along, i guess we would not really be able to discover that, it would be "hidden enough".
So his statement is true, but what you say is also true and brings an excellent point to what i have said here. What if people hide their hateful mods behind a sane non bigoted logic and it gets past the "filter", what if they are good at hiding the true intentions of their content.
I still think the solution would be to just trust some dudes that are really good at discerning intentions and what is art and what is not, and have them make good decisions on a good solid basis.
Thanks for commenting on my comment lol.
You can accidentally unalive someone and still go to jail for manslaughter. Intent is CLEARLY not the only factor that needs to be considered.
(Also, you can lie about intent. As someone who has had to engage with right-leaning trolls for the better part of two decades, they will twist language, move goal posts, and just blatantly lie to get their way. Like they have been doing all over this announcement, trying to bully and strong-arm the new owners into allowing their filth straight away.)
I agree with your statement AleniaVamp2000, but i will now ramble on about it. :P
You would never have any art at all, absolutely nothing, if there was censorship that simply bans something because it seems to harm a community. Anything can seem to harm any community, just needs a guy/gal to interpret it that way and share his opinion with the rest. That could not be the basis for a fair system, an artist should be entitled to do his "crazy" thing even if it pushes a few buttons, if the true intent is never to harm. A lot of art is made with the sole purpose of inciting feelings, conversations, discussions they have a provocative nature but the intent is not bad, it is the opposite, it is trying to bring about change through thought.
Ofc the interpretation of some people can be that it harms, but if that is not its intent and 50 people can see that, and like the piece, do we bend to favour the will of another 50 people that think it's harmful and deprive the first 50 of the piece they enjoy?
(ofc i am not taking in to account here that people that don't like things tend to be a lot more vocal than people who like things, but this is just a comment i don't need to go that deep)
For 100 years we are using groups of humans to decide what should be censored and not. it is a flawed system but it kinda works.
Using tv as an example, we have channels that let artists get away with more and the results sometimes is fantastic art pieces that makes us super happy, and tv shows that get completely censored and the whole idea and the show itself falls apart.
Art is by nature pretty wild, than the interpretation of anyone, can put any piece of art in a situation where it looks bad, but really i think what truly matters is what the artist thinks the piece means, (and to be honest if he/she doesn't want to say why, that is actually legit) as long as it's not something that clearly sounds hateful or horrible to the general population.
And thus the "censors" do their thing and make sure things make sense by their standards,(that should represent most of the general publics opinion) that we will just have to trust.
And as a community we will in time decide if we like their decisions or not, but the voice of the few should never out weight the voice of the many(just because they are more vocal), and the freedom of one should not trample the freedom of another. Most of us have a basic common notion that we do not want hate based content around, but if we go too far we might castrate artists trying to make genuine pieces, they will no longer feel free to make what they want, if they feel they might get shut down for it looking like something that it is not.
I am sorry... I write a lot...
anything you do , no matter what will ALWAYS get someone either offended or mad. even if it's none of their business and doesn't impact them directly. you cannot expect art or any other kind of stuff, mods included to appeal or even be okay with EVERYONE. there will ALWAYS be someone unhappy in one way or another that will be more vocal than the ones happy about it and you cannot get rid of something because a small part of the user base is throwing a tantrum. censorship and choking creativity is never gonna be the answer. if anything , it'll fuel more extreme takes and art pieces as protest. i think everyone no matter what political side they're on should be able to express their creativity as long as it doesn't cross any lines such as openly directed racism , sexism , hate or violence ( these works in every ways no matter who it's directed at).
The way you interpret this statement alone shows me how pointless it is to engage in conversation with people like you. It's all about hatred and incitement in your minds. Even if you are unable to define exactly what that is supposed to be. We experience all this every day and have seen it a thousand times before. You have no other arguments for people who do not agree with your point of view. Framing and name calling is not based on facts; it is simply an expression of the feelings you have toward others.
"If you are causing harm to a community, even if that is not your stated intention, you are still causing harm."
If someone uploads a mod without stating their intention in any way, you simply assume that their intention is bad. That's how this mindset works.
"That's a flawed argument. It's the argument used by the bigoted who complain about a black woman in their game, or a gay man, or whatever that isn't a straight white male. The existence of those people is not a message. Their inclusion in a game is not a message. Their existence as a playable character is not a message. The existence of anyone other than straight white men or women who strictly conform to more traditional gender roles is not a message."
That must be the reason why games like Dustborn exist, or why Dragon Age: The Veilguard teaches us what good and immoral behavior is.
"But even if it were, even if developers put a message into their game, why is that bad? Games have been statements for several decades now. Other media even longer. "
I play to be entertained, not to receive a lesson in good behavior. When I play games, I am not interested in the daily problems of the real world in any way. I want to switch off for a while, forget my worries, and just have fun. No one has anything against games whose stories raise philosophical questions, if the story behind them is coherent, as is the case with Cyberpunk 2077, for example. That's what distinguishes good storytelling from bad. I can make my own decisions that influence the course of the story in some way. Nothing must happen, but anything can happen. That's also why games like Mass Effect have stuck in players' memories. It's all about the decisions you make. Nowadays, virtual signaling is unfortunately more important than good storytelling.
YOU want the metric to be "Intent over effect" because it gives you cart blanch to make any ugly thing you want, then say "But I didn't *mean* for my Not-See Flag mod to be offensive!" and force Nexus to keep it up. Hence why it is a bad metric to make decisions with.
If you make a mod that is bigoted, *EVEN IF YOU DON'T PERSONALLY SEE IT AS SUCH*, Nexus has every right to take that mod down, no matter what your personal intent might have been. Full stop.
Luckily for us, the EU has pretty strong laws about exactly this, and Im pretty sure out new owners are not gonna make their first move "Get the EU all up in our butts for hosting bigotry!"
>Mentions a game that's heavily about capitalism and its impact on society.
(engaging and disarming right wing trolls is a reflex at this point... They like to make it seem like they are the majority, and use things like second accounts to puff up their presence, so that their platform of bigotry seems more popular or more "Right" than it actually is... and they do that by sucking all the air out of the room till most people just exit the convo, then they claim they "Won". Wellllllll, not on my watch lol)
Ignore and block all people using left and right wing comments, this people just like sticking labels on others and enjoy the scent of their own importance.
Oh! A chance to point out one of your escalation techniques! And it's one of my favorites! Dehumanization!
By calling me "It", you are attempting to bait me in two ways: To start en exchange about my gender (In which you will claim Im trans in some way, trying to discredit and insult me) and/or attempting to spin the conversation into gender essentialism, which is so far beyond the scope of this thread, it will get turned off.
So, what name did I call you again? Cause Im calling out "General Bigots", and for that to be relevant to you, you would have to self-identify as one.
Oh, is there a post limit rule Im unaware of? Link it and I will comply post-haste! Don't wanna be a rule-breaker :)
What an excellent example of interpreting something that isn't there. “It” refers to the matter at hand, not to you personally. I couldn't care less what gender you are or which gender you identify with. You're just revealing how you tick and how you think.
*Sniff*
I do love the smell of plausible deniability in the afternoon. But that is just awfully off topic.
So, how you feeling about how the EU frames this issue?
(This part in particular?)
"Hate motivated crime and speech are illegal under EU law. The 2008 Framework Decision on combating certain forms of expressions of racism and xenophobia requires the criminalisation of public incitement to violence or hatred based on race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin."
... no that's from the EU website dealing with combatting hate-speach.
Ugh... I even have a link? https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/combating-hate-speech-and-hate-crime_en
And finally, A DOGE!
Congratulations sir, we ran through the ENTIRE handbook today, looking forward to your renewed assault on our collective IQs in the morning!
... Oh no, did something I say come off as threatening to you somehow?
I would never want someone to feel apprehension about my presence.
I state unequivocally that you are not under any threat of any kind of violent action from my end.
I hope that helps :D
... ... ... indeed.
I wonder, if the company was sold to a US based entity, would we also apply the recent Executive Orders with the same fervor?
Would we in this case adhere to the First Amendment as intended in this form as well?
Or is it merely "For my friends, anything. For my enemies, the law."?
My private company can do as it wants, as long as it is what I also want?
Curious.
Would we in this case adhere to the First Amendment as intended in this form as well?"
Ugh, yea... they would kind of have to.
That's... that's how laws work? (Even though EOs are not technically laws)
Im unsure why you think I would think that would not be the case, actually.
We all don't want hate related content and hate mongering, we do not want separatism, elitism and extremism.
We want equality in equal measures.
As relative as everything in the world is, we can be sure of one thing, that we have the same beliefs on this subject.
Even if they diverge in the way of how we want it to happen or how it should be handled.
We don't need to measure who is more in favour of equality, we are all in favour of equality.
If we can keep the hate stuff out of our happy modding life's we will be happier.
And this is what we want.
But we also want to be free to post a mod that might sound ill intended, but we can explain it and make it clear we don't mean harm, for the sake of preserving mods that people enjoy and don't harm anyone since the intentions are clear and understood.
If you like the ideas being shared here, try and say so, maybe the nexus team will want to hear your opinions
when they are contained to a subject that is palpable, like offering more alternatives and solutions, so they can
figure out the best way to please everyone.
I will make a request, focus on what we have in common, like being in favour of equality, and not in our differences.
We can get to the solutions and in this metaphor cover more ground if we always remember that we are paddling in the same direction.
I would also like to apologise to the nexus for the big discussion, this post was about Dark0ne after all.
Thank you for the happiness you have given us throughout the years.
This is still my go to website for mods, and i hope it will keep being that for a long time.
That's usually the sentiment, the current laws are great because they fight my fight right now!
Quite clear in the statement "ugh, they would have to [follow laws I don't like]."
In addition, the usage of a non-applicable law as a sort of authoritative argument cudgel, hinting more towards "it should be this way everywhere" than what something actually is.
Just something I've often observed, and such an argument holds as much water as a colander.
Hence why I question, because I don't know if this is your frame.
An assumption, birds of a feather and all that, but not a verdict.
In a one-dimensional space, perhaps.
@Itchytreasuresack
We?
Quite clear in the statement "ugh, they would have to [follow laws I don't like]."
Disliking a law does not make it any less of a law.
This is not a concept anyone who exists in any modern setting should have any trouble with.
Thanks for playin?
This is a 100% honest ask: Egh... can we narrow that down any?
I have been having like six different convos across three different threads on here today, so while I would love to hear you out... egh... which part?!
You can copy-pasta me, even!
And for those so fervently using the "it's a private company, they can do what they want sweetie" argument, I am once again asking: where was this energy when you cried so much about Elon and Twitter?
🟥 🟧 🟨 🟩 🟦 🟪
There is no "censorship" happening on Nexus Mods.
The moment you create an account on their platform, you agree to their rules and TOS, which includes their File Submission guidelines:
TL:DR - "Don't publish bigoted mods on our platform or we'll have to remove it."
Don't agree with these rules? NexusMods might not be for you then.
*Chefs Kiss*
Look at Twitch, a dying platform, because all they do is alienate their userbase.
I think what you might not fathom is that... the people who wanna be bigots ARE the minority of users on Nexus. And Nexus has NO reason to cater to them, because the folks that are NOT bigots are who would leave if they start allowing it... and they outnumber the bigots 5 to 1 conservatively.
Also (again) this site is operating under the EU now... and they have pretty strict laws that would get Nexus taken down if they started hosting those kinds of mods. So no... they do NOT need to do that. That would be bad LOL
If they have not relocated their place of business to Denmark, then this statement is incorrect. The United Kingdom is no longer a member of the EU. If the company is still based in England, English law applies.
Put in that what you want.
Company is based in Denmark.
Denmark is part of the EU.
Therefore: Nexus us now under the purview of the EU now.
Yea, it's been two days, my dude.
(Although, to be fair, this is likely you self-soothing with this thought, so I shouldn't be ornery to you about it. Mea Culpa )
Rockin.
Im feelin pretty good with that outcome too LOL
(Sorry to ruin your gotcha, though :P )
It's perfectly fine if it stays in the UK. Worked so far.
It's perfectly fine if it stays in the UK. Worked so far."
... ^^^ That with Ice cream on top!
How quickly you turn toward the wind. Impressive.
Oh dear... how to make you understand that just so long as bigoted, hateful mods are still unwelcome here, Im happy as a sung little bug in a rug?
That's an absolute *WIN* for everyone who wants to be able to mod without having alt-right Not-See stuff bogging up their feeds.
"Oh! That protection is not happening in the exact way you said it might!"
LOL, and? Anything else, peanut?
Have a beautiful rest of your day! <3
Yeah, seems a one sided argument. I can list several mods that offend each and every one of these.
Seems it only works for the benefit of one group.
Also, everyone here is a bigot as they try to conform others to their views and dislike other views political or religious. If you need help with that definition look it up.
Seems it only works for the benefit of one group."
Care to elaborate on that?
If I am being totally honest I really don't understand what this means. Why would you all telling us about who is now taking on the site be something you have to earn?
I'm more than happy to be proven wrong, time will tell. I think those of us who have been online for ~20 - 30 years have seen how this typically goes.
Congrats though @Robin, you definitely earned it.
The outcome here isn’t unique to the internet and acquisitions like this rarely end well for the community. The pattern has long been established, and we all know how this typically goes and know we can’t stop it.
Not sure how things were structured under Robin, but it’s a safe bet that this won’t be better with a corporation at the helm. We can probably expect a slew of rash, top-down decisions with little-to-no regard for what the community actually thinks, all for the sake of chasing ever-increasing numbers: Edge to edge advertisements. Paywalls. Premium price increases. "Updated" ToS that invalidates the lifetime premium those of us already possess. That's all SOP straight from the corpo playbook; UX be damned.
Trust was already pretty shaky, and a lot of us have been burned by quick, poorly thought-out changes before. The first transparency test? Yeah, that was a bust. That said, Chosen still has a chance to turn things around. I'm no analyst and obviously I have no clue about the behind-the-scenes metrics, but if they put real effort into stuff like improving the site’s infrastructure and
responsiveness or adding requested features, they might win some goodwill, if nothing else. Worst case, they buy more time for someone to get a head start on a Nexus competitor.
We'll see, one way or another.
Because its one thing to have spirited debate on these otherwise sensitive topics; its quite another to allow a small group of agitators to consistently derail otherwise healthy discussions about some dude's retirement and the modding website he made. These discussions aren't really helpful to anyone, nor are they moving the purpose and mission of the website and brand forward in any meaningful capacity. In short, this thread is bad for business.
I think the sticky post answers what needs to be answered, but you could simply add to it a brief sentence about following whatever community guidelines are required for the jurisdiction the company physically resides in, and just leave it at that.
Thank you for clarifying what will and won't happen going forward. There were a few concerns that I had being a member here for many years. I am happy that things will stay pretty much the same as it has been. The same experience I have enjoyed all these years.
As for Darkone. It is time for him to take a break and enjoy himself. It had to be stressful and extremely time consuming to run Nexus. As far as I am aware there wasn't any template that he had access to follow to make anything easier. He had to struggle and figure everything out on the fly.
To the new team: I for one am still very guarded about this change. I won't waste time repeating the same concerns others have voiced. You've got a great thing going - don't screw it up. Stick to your promises, help the community continue to thrive. I hope that you'll prove our concerns to be unwarranted. Good luck.