So as the topic title asks: what factors make you choose where you are going to upload your mods? I suppose the corollary question then is what factors make you choose where you go to download mods?

I am kind of curious what it is that draws you to one site over another.

I, of course, always post my mods at GHF. I think it goes without saying that I would put mine there as it gives me utter control over them.

I also always upload to PES. I have a few reasons for this:
1. Back when PES was the Summit, it was the first major mod site I used to collect mods.
2. I used to be a database admin there, so I had similar control over them as I do at GHF.
3. They have relatively fast and reliable servers. There are some network issues from time to time, but that is the nature of hosting in general.
4. The other sites just never appealed to me for various reasons.

Things that I have always felt important for uploading and downloading mods:
1. Ability to include screenshots when applicable.
2. User feedback system (although this can indeed be a two-sided blade.)
3. Ability to update available files.
4. Friendly and approachable administration (which is definitely why I personally avoid one of the larger mod hosts around.)


What do you hold to be important?

Planetelders and texnexus sux, absolutelly not very friendly system at all. Yes! :flamethrower:

But I prefer Planet, because Texnexus is ugly and too dark, hihihi.

PES gets lots of traffic, so that's a plus.
TESNexus is a bit easier to upload files on (no need to use the FTP Server for huge files) but Morrowind isn't as popular there, and Admin takes a long time to contact.


The same four you mentioned, but I'll also add that GHF feels like a good community, which makes feedback much more reliable than the trolls that haunt PES.

In the future I plan on using PES and GHF more. Both Apy and Fligg are friendly and understanding of any concerns you might have.

I base it on the integrity of those behind the file hosting systems, and how good the sites are. Tamriel Rebuilt content is hosted on PlanetElderScrolls first and foremost because I know the people behind the site, and I know them to be good guys (and gals). Second is ModDB because they have been very generous to us in the past, and it is probably the single-most best way to get outside interest in Morrowind or TR as a mod. Finally, TR content is hosted at TESNexus. While I would prefer us to not even touch the place for various reasons, there is a great demand from modders and members of TR to host there.

I flip a coin.

Started uploading to elricm and PES then added nexus

I like the way nexus doesn't do the voting thing - as it bothers me no end - yet prefer the layout of PES

I am thinking of doing private releases just using mediafire in the future - due to being tired with comments that I take way too personally - those who are interested can grab them at the time but otherwise they can disappear into the internet ether

edit: reread your OP and realized I hadn't answered the questions you were asking for



When downloading mods I prefer screenshots however if these are linked from a forum WIP or release thread then that's good enough for me

feedback - i hate it - so much is spam - I got 3 votes of 10 on a mod which did not have a correct texture path and then an 8.5 because someone thought one of the faces looked like a transvestite - good grief - feedback is useful in a release or WIP thread or one of Gluby's guides but seldom in comments - I just want to know does the mod do what it is supposed to do, is their corruption present (GMST's changed cells etc).

Ability to update files is important

As for the last i have found APY to be be excellent - when i have reported bad comments on other's mods he almost always lets me know if he agrees.

i dislike IGN as a whole, thus i refuse to garner traffic for them by letting them host my work. nexus doesent seem to have corporate ties that put me off.

this also dictates my downloading habits. i'll download from sites that are not related to IGN when possible. some mods that i feel are essential can only be downloaded from PES, though. they make me a sad RAK indeed.

PES has the virtue of being old and well-established as a site that hosts Morrowind mods. It gets a lot of traffic, which means my mod gets a lot of exposure and is easy for players to find.

TESNexus is really the first place I actually started DLing mods (for TESIV). Advantages over PES:
- Better search system (search by author, description text, title text, category, date, etc)
- much nicer to browse through: tags, more categories than PES,
- fewer ads than PES/more screen space devoted to mods and mod pages than PES's layout (then again, I use AdBlock+ , so I don't see anything)
- no wait for uploading
- much more control over the mod dl page (can hide the mod from view, upload a readme, clearly have secondary/optional files labeled as such, etc.)
- users can upload screenshots (something PES desperately needs, especially when screenies were lost from some past site translocation)
- the new rating system (endorse or dislike) is much friendlier than the arbitrary number scheme at PES
- when someone updates a mod, you can see (in the day's update page) what was updated (file, readme, images, tags, etc.). At PES, I never know if a mod is updated for a new file, or the author changed the license, or it just got into the Hall of Fame, etc.
- users can download files under 2Megabytes without needing an account
- I can upload a single file up to 300MG in size. Multiple 300MG files can be uploaded.

- PES's color scheme is nice. The moderators, like at the Nexus, respond promptly to an issue (such as someone being abusive in the comments thread).
- The wait at PES isn't usually too long, though it can be variable (a few hours to a few days). Sometimes it feels a little more desolate, given that the Nexus has MW forums to hang out in (not that I do, but at least they are there). PES is quite nice, but it could use with some more features to make browsing and finding mods a bit easier for users. I'm content with the control I have over my mods, though I do wish there was either a "hide mod from view" or "delete mod" option, since I do have a mod I wish to remove (it'll be combined into something else later).

I've given up trying to upload to ElricM. I have very little control over the mod - I can't even update the file without having to either contact a moderator or make a new entry. The inability to upload screenshots is also a deterrent for me, since many of my mods make visual changes. It is a very good place to find old mods, though, since ElricM is a well-established site that has been around for ages and ages.

Some decent input so far. Thanks guys.

Anyone else have thoughts they would like to share? I have thoughts for a different tangent topic, but I want this one to run its full course first though.

I think Alaisiagae summarizes quite well of mine thoughts about uploading a mod to a well known site. :yes:
However there is a few things about Nexus that I feel uncomfortable to and that Nexus is to BIG for my taste, but I doesn't like FilePlanet one bit imho.

I will probably stick to either http://lovkullen.net/Emma/index.htm and http://www.fliggerty.com/phpBB3/index.php for hosting my releases in the future, but I don't know when or if that's gonna to happen at all.
My destiny of modding is written in the stars and it's outcome is still obscure.

I've only release one repackaged mod with http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1100327-relz-pozzos-rise-of-house-telvanni-v14/page__view__findpost__p__16419019 before I upload it.
I also upload http://www.fliggerty.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3646 to GHF, when it became clear that Melchor's download for http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1106095-wrye-mash-stand-alone/page__view__findpost__p__16637145 doesn't appeal to some people. :user:

I upload pretty much only to PES, mainly because it gets a lot of traffic there. In general, I ignore the comments. But I don't disable them. I am also trying to remember to upload to GHF because I appreciate the community there and the helpful comments I receive.

The only time I upload to Nexus is when someone has requested it in the past. PES also seems clean and reliable from my experience. And APY has been great.

I agreed too!

for me PES though i have also used TESnexus just so it got out quicker(and will be moving my stuff to GHF here soon).

I like PES's lay out but the sort options are a bit lacking. (I kinda wish you could sort by # of downloads and that it sorted by date uploaded not updated.)
I think that in most cases that screen shots are a necessity, comments are good but as has said they can be really annoying (I also have found errors in my stuff before anyone told me.)
The ability to update it is good in that you can take down the old.

I now hate TESNexus due to a pop up ad for best buy that is loud as crap.

get adblock... tell the truth i never even knew nexus had ads till now =D

i do also plan on eventually uploading to GHF. i'm just waiting till i reach version 1.0. considering the userbase, i'd rather upload there when i have a "finished" product.

Advertisemants, wut? On the internet? D= I haven't seen those in years! *pets ad blocker like it was an evil Persian cat*

I just went for whatever was easiest to upload to. That just happened to be the Nexus at the time. :shrug:

i use tesnexus and PES. but i tend to use PES more now since i get quick feedback from people and they are friendly about when i goof up. (and usually are very happy since i fix any mistakes there quick.) i use tesnexus only for beta stuff now.

PES is annoying, but it's the most trafficked Morrowind mod site, as far as I'm aware.

And then my own site for obvious reasons.

Okay, so to summarize, these are the things that most seem to find valuable in a decent mod hosting site:

• Large volume of traffic
  
• Good admin support
  
• Friendly community
  
• Powerful and flexible search system
  
• Ability to easily and quickly upload mods regardless of size
  
• Ability to update mods easily

And these are desired features, but not necessarily *absolute must haves:*

• Ability to upload screenshots; both by author and guests
  
• Simple and "fair" rating system, or no rating system at all
  
• A means of simple feedback
  
• Not having an over-abundance of ads

Do you think I got the feel of the sentiments in this thread right?

Yeah that seems alright.

I'm using PES and Nexus because it's handy to have at least 2 options available. I never upload to Elricm, and barely ever download from it, because of the lack of screenshots, and because 3 different hosts is too much for me to bother with, and since it's just less popular than the other sites.

I've never hosted a mod but as a downloader, I think you might want to consider what draws people to sites/mods:

- good search system, that is well organized and can be navigated quickly. PES is good, as I can find what I want fairly quickly. TES is poor in this category as it wants to default to Oblivion on every search, and the scrollbox is far too large to choose from. Other than this, the TES system is superior in options.
- screenshots
- ability to see what is new/updated easily
- changelog that is updated so people know what changed from version 1.3 to 1.4
- speed. PES is sloooooow.
- version archive....I don't want the latest and greatest, I want 2 revisions back (for whatever reason)
- ability to "follow" a mod, so I get an email when it gets updated.
- good page layout

A good combination of all/most of these is a very attractive site to review/DL from, if the content is there.

jaredh, those are some good and unique suggestions. I really like the idea of a revision system (though I think I would implement it so that authors have a choice....I have made some dumb mistakes on released before that I am glad I was able to erase before anyone noticed ) and the ability to subscribe to a mod is a fantastic suggestion! Thank you. :goodjob:

yeah, obviously the revision system is something that should be an option. Larger mods probably shouldn't hog terabytes of space etc etc.

As for the subscribe piece....its a leftover thought from the olden WoW addiction days....Curse does a good job with "watchers".

When I started releasing my mods in English I used elricm and Pes because they were the most popular hosting websites. Ever since Elricm started having problems I've replaced it with tesnexus, again because it has become one of the major sites for hosting mods. I've also used sites such as rapidshare/megaupload for some mods, but mainly as temporary hosts until my mods become available on pes or for mods I only share privately.

I also like having some sort of "profile" page where all my mods are listed. Tesnexus and PES have that but not (as far as I remember) elricm.

What I think could be great would be the ability to give links to versions of the mod in other languages. For instance, my mods are also available in Russian on Tesall. A small flag icon linking to the Russian version on tesall with the name of the translator under the flag would be great on the page of a mod. The languages I'm thinking of in particular are Russian, German, French and Polish, but there are probably mods available in other languages.

Oh and I like how on pes you can provide the link to the release thread of the mod.

I find a lot of specific mods through the various forums and will download those from whichever site the link goes to. But I generally only browse PES, that being the one I strated with and with it being well-established, having a good search function, and screenshots. I find the comments useful as well.

This past year, TESNexus has made some updates to the uploading system and the description/download page for a mod.

There is now a permissions section that is more thorough than PES's, and it also includes fields for me to post specific instructions. The permissions stuff can be accessed easily from the DL page via an icon.

I like how the Nexus has options for screenshots. I usually set mine to "users can upload but I must approve them first" - that way, I don't have a nasty surprise of seeing someone posting a screenie with a nvde or fetish character. Do what you like, but keep it out of screenshots for my mod, please!

Here, let me show you:
http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_1.jpg when I access it
I can http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_organize.jpg by many different factors
If I'm logged in, I can http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_quick_edit.jpg from the page itself!
This is what it looks like when you go to upload or edit the attributes of a mod: http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_edit_1.jpg | http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_edit_2.jpg | http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_edit_3.jpg | http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_edit_4.jpg
I can access the http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_action_log.jpg of my file, too
http://i468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/Alaisiagae/Random/Nexus_credits.jpg are easily accessed and visible

I always keep my mod hidden when I am first adding it, or when I edit it. I've made a few mistakes before, and I'm glad no one was able to download the wrong file! It also keeps things hidden so people don't stumble onto a half-finished mod page.