Add-ons or mods policy

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jhansonxi
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Add-ons or mods policy

Post by jhansonxi »

Many apps have version entries for add-ons or mods, often from third-parties. Some of them are of questionable value but I didn't see anything in the maintainer guidelines about them.

My opinion is that if an add-on/mod is content only, doesn't have an installer (just a zip file or something), and doesn't affect the execution of the target application then it shouldn't be in AppDB and definitely not as a "version" of an app entry. It's unlikely to change the target app's behavior unless it exercises previously unused functions.

If the add-on/mod has its own installer but doesn't affect the execution of the target application then it should have its own entry, if only for reporting test results of the installer.

I'm not sure what to do about an add-on/mod that does affect the execution of the target application. A separate app entry or a version entry of the target app?

For example, the MedianXL mod for Diablo II. Originally it was just a zip of an MPQ content file. Then it added an installer. Now the installer is an AppImage with an Electron-based GUI that downloads and installs the mod into the target WINEPREFIX (user selected) and includes DLLs (probably for DLL injection) which changes the game's GUI.
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dimesio
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Re: Add-ons or mods policy

Post by dimesio »

You're right, there is no official policy on this. I suspect the popularity of the add-on/mod has been the main factor in whether or not it has its own AppDB entry, and IMO, that's fine--if a lot of users are likely to be searching for it by name and submitting test reports for it, making it a separate entry may be warranted. That's something that admins need to decide on a case-by-case basis when processing new application submissions.

As for whether addons/mods should be listed as versions of the target app/game, I'm inclined to say no. Unofficial "no-cd" versions aren't supposed to have version entries either, and I think the situation is roughly analogous.

I do think It's fine for users to mention add-ons/mods as something that was tested, and either worked or didn't, as part of a test report submitted for the target app or game.
jhansonxi
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Re: Add-ons or mods policy

Post by jhansonxi »

It does seem like a comprehensive policy could complicate things too much. Maybe just need some suggestions in the Wiki about it.
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