Softpedia.com. Anyone we know running this site? : IV

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:31 am

I just received four emails from this site congratulating me because they've taken my mods and reuploaded them here. :blink: This is one of the emails:

Congratulations,

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Mod - Halcyon House, one of your products,
has been added to Softpedia's database of games and gaming tools. It is
featured with a description text, screenshots, download links and technical
details on this page:
http://games.softpedia.com/get/Mods-Addons/The-Elder-Scrolls-IV-Oblivion-Mod-Halcyon-House.shtml

The description text was created by our editors, using sources such as text
from your product's homepage, the PAD file (if available) and the editor's
own opinions.

We're also providing download mirrors for your product on our dedicated
servers. If you want to link to our download page please do so by using the
URL below:
http://games.softpedia.com/progDownload/The-Elder-Scrolls-IV-Oblivion-Mod-Halcyon-House-Download-92409.html

We have some buttons (GIF format) if you want to provide an image-based
link to that page instead of a text-based one. You can download a small ZIP
archive (16KB) that contains various size formats of these buttons at the
address below:
http://www.softpedia.com/files/softpedia_download_buttons.zip

If you feel that having your product listed on Softpedia is not a benefit
for you or simply need something changed or updated, please contact us via
email at webmaster@softpedia.com and we will work with you to fix any
problem you may have found with the product's listing.

--
Sincerely,
The Softpedia Team

Anyone else turning up their mods on this site? I certainly was never asked if I wanted my mods hosted here and I've noticed many other mods there, even some of Giskard's and I know he would never have agreed either.

Edit: To add, I have emailed them and as yet have not received any response.

Edit Edit: After a couple rounds of emails where they tried to convince me that the use of resources in my mods meant they were allowed to upload all my mods wherever they wanted....they've agreed to take them down and have. Score one for the good guys!

:celebration: Now if only they'll do the same for all the other mod authors who's work they've wrongly uploaded.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:08 pm

Meek was complaining about this too some time back but a mod removed the thread, maybe check with her whether that was resolved.

» Wed Jun 29, 2011 2:06 am

Meek was complaining about this too some time back but a mod removed the thread, maybe check with her whether that was resolved.

Thanks Omeletted I will. :foodndrink: I guess they missed the part in all my readme's where it says 'do not re host without my permission.' :rolleyes: bunch of gits.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:54 pm

Uhm..I think that site hosts illegal things too..I think..I went there out of curiosity one and saw Photoshop there. No thanks.

Could have been another site though.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:22 pm

Uhm..I think that site hosts illegal things too..I think..I went there out of curiosity one and saw Photoshop there. No thanks.

Could have been another site though.

If they are hosting illegal stuff I hope they get shut down for it and it wouldn't surprise me. :lmao: Given how they've taken the mods of so many modders.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:09 pm

The site is run by jackals with no respect for the rights of authors. I discovered one of my mods there during a Google search. I never agreed to have it there, and they didn't even bother to try and tell me it was there.

I think the site is leeching directly off of PES, and this only seems to have started happening with the recent changes underway with the IGN takeover. So maybe it's the people in charge of IGN who think this is some kind of great idea?

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:12 pm

Wow I forgot IGN bought them out recently. Bet that is part of it.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:21 pm

Haha wow, "Congratulations"? Yeah congratulations on having your work being added there without your approval. I love the self-delusion that goes into believing you're honoring someone by hosting their work without permission. As if exposure is the only currency that matters, or something. I don't see any ads on the site (blocked maybe?) so at least it doesn't involve blatantly profiting off of others' work, but still...

» Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:06 am

Haha wow, "Congratulations"? Yeah congratulations on having your work being added there without your approval. I love the self-delusion that goes into believing you're honoring someone by hosting their work without permission. As if exposure is the only currency that matters, or something. I don't see any ads on the site (blocked maybe?) so at least it doesn't involve blatantly profiting off of others' work, but still...

:rofl: Yeah I'm feeling so privileged right now. So privileged I'd like to thank them personally, with tar and feathers.

heh.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:27 pm

A very outdated version of Kragenir's Death Quest used to be on there too, which is not helping anyone. I requested it to be removed and they did, but they shouldn't have put it up there in the first place. And they only informed me afterwards, with the same standard e-mail as in the OP.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 10:50 am

and they didn't even bother to try and tell me it was there.

Got me the same way xD

Been looking around and found they have quite a lot of well known mods, including quite a few UL mods :rolleyes:

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:10 pm

I have to admit I'm not as bothered as I'd be if they were making money from the site. Still bothered, but before I clicked through I was ready to e-spit on them. I mean, they're still profiting off of others' work, but in website "prestige" rather than financially. The sad thing is that I imagine there are plenty of people on both sides that wouldn't understand what's wrong with the practice until you explained it to them--the people working for the site really believing that they're doing the mod author a favor, and naive mod authors who think their work is being honored, happy to receive the exposure.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:10 pm

Palidoo, they're basically capitalizing on traffic hits generated when people Google for Oblivion mods. The more they steal this way, the more traffic they can drive, and the more whatever subtle advertising scheme they're using works gets boosted. It's at least as insidious to me as it would be if they were openly posting banners and pop-ups. Not that I'd ever see those anyway.

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:17 pm

Oh, so they make money in the end? I mean it's wrong either way but seeing them making money from it gets the stronger immediate reaction from me heh

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:40 pm

Any way you slice it it's despicable. Swiping mods, uploading them and then notifying the author after the fact if they even bother. :toughninja:

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:30 pm

Actually notifying the author makes it seems like they're completely oblivious. If they did it without notice at least you could figure they're just cynical jerks swiping other people's work. These guys, no, they're doing you a favor! Maybe that's part of the scheme... :teehee:

» Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:28 pm

After a couple rounds of emails where they tried to convince me that the use of resources in my mods meant they were allowed to upload all my mods wherever they wanted....they've agreed to take them down and have. Score one for the good guys!

:celebration: Now if only they'll do the same for all the other mod authors who's work they've wrongly uploaded.