CrackWatch

I totally understand this. But I feel like there are better ways to monetize work than this.

I absolutely respect modders that link sites like patreon or buymeacoffee and I have previously given money to modders who's mods I enjoyed (because they deserve it).

Modding should work as a community effort. By paywalling a mod or tool, you are separating the community into people that can throw out money every day and the ones that can't.

I probably see it this way because I come from the modding community around the Bethesda games, where it is forbidden to paywall mods.

In the end, I agree with you that People that put in a lot of work into great modifications deserve to get payed. But they should ask, not force the users to pay.

Star Trek did have money, within the federation there were transport credits and outside the were valuable materials usually exotic ores or metals.

There was also private property which seems to take some people by surprise.

I agree overall. Modders can and should be compensated for their work if they want. But I would personally much prefer if they offer it for free and allow for donations. That's a much better way to build a community. Especially since they are building sometimes small modifications on games they had no part in creating. And I especially am not a fan when they require you to subscribe to a patreon, with the idea essentially being that it could become a subscription.

I also checked out the mod patreon page. The author kinda sucks. People are voicing their frustration that he essentially added drm to a mod and his response is either that he doesn't care or...

So you didn't read. The authentication doesn't affect subscribers, if you have ever subscribed you can always pass the authentication. Only the people who want to pirate it should get pissed

Uhhh that's still drm.