degenderate
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Maybe I won't get a lot of variety in the consensus here, given that this is a forum focused on freely distributing leaks, but I'm still interested in people's takes on paid plugins/paywalled content. Do you think it's ever justified? Do you think it infringes Minecraft's EULA? Are you okay with some forms of paywalled content, but not others?
Personally, I'm unsure how it's possible that these large third-party marketplaces continue to operate without Microsoft or Mojang shutting them down, especially because there's already an official marketplace they want people to use (Bedrock's add-on store) and the pricing for some paid plugins is just... ridiculous. Then again, I'm never a fan of when corporations start getting sharky with their IP, because a lot of great fan creations end always up being targeted (looking at you, Nintendo...).
On the creator's side of things, I can understand the argument for some types of content being sold/paywalled, especially on the coding side of things. There are many elaborate projects that require constant maintenance to enable compatibility with Minecraft updates, and the actual content is mostly original work that just happens to function within the Minecraft API. I can also understand 3D modellers selling their creations, because they're still art pieces even outside the context of Minecraft, though I think that the prices they set can be... exorbitant. But I mostly play singleplayer or in tiny friend servers, so if this is pricing a larger server owner is willing to fork over, power to them.
Builds are the one thing I just can't think of a good excuse to be paywalled. Early access for patrons? Sure. But completley locking your builds and schematics behind an elaborate Patreon request system is??? I dunno, man, I feel like this is kinda against the spirit of the game.
It would help if the EULA was a little more clear-cut about how mods and builds are allowed to be distributed, because there's some conflicting information there. Like, on one page it states "we don't own your creation of a Gothic cathedral in Minecraft", and then another states "you're not allowed to sell any game files/assets". Considering most paywalled builds are distributed with Minecraft save files, it feels like that would be against point 2.
But what are your thoughts?
Personally, I'm unsure how it's possible that these large third-party marketplaces continue to operate without Microsoft or Mojang shutting them down, especially because there's already an official marketplace they want people to use (Bedrock's add-on store) and the pricing for some paid plugins is just... ridiculous. Then again, I'm never a fan of when corporations start getting sharky with their IP, because a lot of great fan creations end always up being targeted (looking at you, Nintendo...).
On the creator's side of things, I can understand the argument for some types of content being sold/paywalled, especially on the coding side of things. There are many elaborate projects that require constant maintenance to enable compatibility with Minecraft updates, and the actual content is mostly original work that just happens to function within the Minecraft API. I can also understand 3D modellers selling their creations, because they're still art pieces even outside the context of Minecraft, though I think that the prices they set can be... exorbitant. But I mostly play singleplayer or in tiny friend servers, so if this is pricing a larger server owner is willing to fork over, power to them.
Builds are the one thing I just can't think of a good excuse to be paywalled. Early access for patrons? Sure. But completley locking your builds and schematics behind an elaborate Patreon request system is??? I dunno, man, I feel like this is kinda against the spirit of the game.
It would help if the EULA was a little more clear-cut about how mods and builds are allowed to be distributed, because there's some conflicting information there. Like, on one page it states "we don't own your creation of a Gothic cathedral in Minecraft", and then another states "you're not allowed to sell any game files/assets". Considering most paywalled builds are distributed with Minecraft save files, it feels like that would be against point 2.
But what are your thoughts?
