Mod repost websites

Mod repost websites are a group of similar websites that host mods without the mod authors' permission or approval. There are currently over 451 documented mod repost websites. Mod repost websites have frequently been heckled by mod authors and the community for making money off mods in an often illegal and consensual way. Aside from hosting mods, mod repost websites sometimes host modpacks, resource packs, skins, and maps.

Mod repost websites are often hosted in countries besides the United States to avoid US copyright law, such as Russia, Brazil, and Vietnam. Most mod repost websites are English, but some are in other languages, including Russian, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. About 1/3rd of the mod repost websites listed by StopModReposts were Russian.

Criticism

Mod repost websites have often been criticized for a number of reasons:

• Mod repost websites usually make money from hosting mod author's work without their consent, and often illegally.
• Because many users flock to mod repost websites instead of official sources, mod authors make less money because of users downloading through unofficial sources instead of through the official source.
• Many mod repost websites host and distribute malware.
• Mod repost websites often host outdated versions of mods. Many users have reported bugs that were already fixed in later versions to mod authors, believing that the mod repost is the official download and is up-to-date.
• Mod repost websites often mark mods as being compatible with versions of Minecraft that they aren't. This is likely done to increase downloads and/or from reposters not checking which version the mod is compatible with. Similar to the above, many users have reported bugs that are due to trying to install mods on incompatible versions.

Positive effects of mod repost websites

Despite criticism, mod repost websites have had some positive effects. Mod repost websites have sometimes been used to download versions of mods that are longer available, due to the mod author's website going down or them removing it. Dropbox, which many modders originally used to host their mods, has a maximum download limit. When reached, the file hosted can no longer be downloaded. Due to hitting this maximum, many modders have migrated to MediaFire, CurseForge, or other services, but some retired modders have not.

mcbbs.net is a popular forum and mod repost website in China. Mosts of its reposts are done with permissions from the authors, and its primary purpose is to get past issues with accessing foreign websites from inside China and the language barrier.

Resistance

The organization and website StopModReposts was created in response to mod repost websites. It functions to educate users and for mod authors to come together to remove their mods from these websites. They also created a browser extension that warns the user when they enter a mod repost website, with support for Chrome, Firefox and Opera. They also have a list of mod repost websites, rating them and noting malware-distributing websites. StopModReposts was once mentioned in a BBC article.

Many mod authors have fought against mod repost websites by requesting takedowns of their mods and by warning users. None of this action has caused significant damage to mod repost websites, though. The rise of CurseForge, however, has created a centralized and safe place for modders and users to use, and where modders make a share of the profit.

Example websites

The following examples are not linked directly to avoid promoting them in search results. To visit, each space should be removed and replaced with a period (.).

• www 9minecraft net
• mc-mod net

External links

• The StopModReposts website
• StopModReposts' list of mod repost websites