removing mods and their threads

[LongeCity]

IPB has adopted a policy of removing mods from the marketplace that are not 'supported' by the author.

Even worse, and for no good reason that I can see, the support thread that went with the mod is also removed.

Our community uses dozens of marketplace modifications some which are many years old and still serve us well. Even if the author is long retired the mod may still work well or at least provide a basis for further work. Why not leave mods on the market with a clear warning that they are not supported for certain or all versions?

The support thread often contains valuable information about specific features, glitches, possible tweaks and known issues.

What consideration has been given to the disadvantages of removing these threads versus those of leaving an 'unsupported' thread visible?

[Aiwa]

I think the obvious needs stated here.

These mods are not the properly of IPS. They are the property of the author. IPS simply facilitates the Marketplace.

In the case of very old mods. When the category structure was revamped, many developers CHOSE to not update their mods and move them to a new category. Developers were given almost 2 years, yes YEARS, to move their mods before they were removed. They were given multiple e-mail notifications as well as a nag box when they visited the forums. These authors CHOSE to not move THEIR products.

IPS cannot move / continue to sell / distribute a product that is not their own. That responsibility falls solely on the author of the product.

If there is a mod you use, even if for an older version, you need to contact the mod author, not IPS.

Authors can list resources as Unsupported, but major bugs that cause it to not function on the listed supported versions are grounds for it to be removed.

The key to take away from this, mods in the marketplace are not IPS's to do with what they please. They are the authors and it is the authors responsibility to manage them. If it does not work on the listed supported versions, it may be removed.