*I'm not a member of the Nexus mods community anymore, because a self entitled modder (let's name her Karen) reported me and I rather deleted my account.
First world problem one could say, but it turned out that on Nexus mods - I've heard DeviantArt is no different - authors abusing their power is a real problem, existing since years, nobody does anything to solve it and often the admins/moderators take the side of the ranting author against a ten a penny "not productive member" of the community (who doesn't create content).
I didn't give much thought about it, until I met "mine". Now, I found a lot of people - many of them were paying users - complaining about this outright cyberharassment and the "script" is always the same: it's enough if an author doesn't like you, enough a "wrong" question and you might end up like me and the others, namely the author bashes you harshly in public, then "go after" you on any possible ways (as I read those complaints I felt like I was reading my own story word by word).
I remember a girl from DeviantArt (author herself) complained about an other author made her leave the site by bashing her and had their fans follow and harass her, even on an other website she chose to "flee" to. I didn't want to wait for it to happen to me, I rather gave it up.
Disclaimer: I'm fully aware that there are many decent authors who are being insulted for various reasons and I do feel for them. But there's no point in denying the type made me decide to leave does exist! (The kind that use expressions directed to me like "as f***".)
I did voice my question to Karen - or anyone who could help me solving the problem - on a respectful manner, as I always did it before, countless times with many authors/caretakers, in majority with a positive communication and I learnt from them. Well, I learnt something from Karen too. I met only one grumpy author, but I saw that there are must be much more Karens, because here and there I was shocked how users and authors insult and slander each other.
A normal answer would be (I got this when I asked an other author about whether their mod can cause a certain problem) "[...]Shouldn't have anything to do with the mod. The only thing relating to the mod that I can think of would be some sort of...".
But Karen didn't answer my question, just gave me the standard "it's somewhere below in the previous comments, read!" response - it was not, that's why I asked and I pointed it out - the first link of the chain of events that made me decide it doesn't worth the headache.
She took it as an offense that I asked whether her mod can cause a specific conflict - even after I endorsed, thanked and praised her work. So she accepts only positive response.
She pinned a cynical comment, like a badge of shame (on me) which basically "my mod cannot cause problems, if you ask about problems you offend my hard work and that means anyway you are lazy to read back" - which she later modified, like 10 times, vilifying me, while herself appeared at the end of the story as agreeable and supportive, with little hearts and all.
I was baffled and felt bitter and anxious about it, but I believe in talking about problems, misunderstandings, so I explained myself, to be more clear what I wanted to say and that I meant no offense, even confirmed that 3rd time that I'm grateful for her work which is excellent. (We didn't have a lenghthy argument, I wrote two short comments which she responded with two shorter novels.)
That was a mistake. I shouldn't have talk to her again, that was just oil on the fire. She went full ballistic. She claimed that I stated that her mod causes problems and diminish her work, which was not true, it is common to talk about possible conflicting files. She called me rude, passive-agressive, oversensitive, she did everything for me (nope!) but I'm still demanding, taking advantage on her for free stuff, complained about her tremendous amount of private issues (like she has a killer toothache - that's in her profile too, because everyone needs to know it), how mean and ungrateful are the mod users to her in general (which somehow was my fault), I'm taking away her motivation and joy, and I was the 100th person who insulted her, also the last one, because now she will act on it. And she kept going on and on with this hostile, blaming, manipulative behaviour. All because people are "mean" to her and she has personal problems. (Who doesn't?) It appears that not I'm the passive-agressive one of the two of us.
She didn't stop at hiding/deleting my comment she had problem with or block me from her page, as was her right, she was so upset as a punishment she reported me to completely remove me from the site. Out of spite.
Why everyone wanted to hurt poor, vulnerable victim Karen? Probably because she's not interested in actual helping (she admitted it while throwing the tantrum - "you can ask, but I already answered every question in the comment section (like 6 comments or so), I have no time for new ones, you think you are the only one and you're special?"), or what is more likely: like any other narcissist, she takes criticism as an ad hominem attack. Doesn't matter now, does it?
I say this based on the fact that so far in the majority of the cases when I mentioned a problem either the creators or experienced modders really did help. They used to thank when someone brings up a problem that might related to their mod (not just for me, for any users in general). Sometimes they take a look at it and take the time to figure it out. One of them made little videos for me, an other one fixed their mod and I even credited in the description for the idea of creating a specific mod.
Other: I know little about the ME community, but I do not like it. Commenters and creators insult and slander each other very inappropriately. The only mod I downloaded had a misleading and pretty incomplete description, so it doesn't work for me. I also saw a "don't bother with posting, because I don't give a frig and if you need to ask you're an idiot anyway and you should not use mods" type of description.