A mod that removes Spider-Man Remastered‘s rainbow Pride flags and replaces them with American flags has now been removed from Nexus Mods itself. The popular video game modification website wasn’t shy about its decision either, firmly asserting its stance in favour of diversity and inclusivity while condemning the uploader as a “coward.”
“It was very clearly done deliberately to be a troll mod,” wrote Nexus Mods in a firmly-worded blog post on Wednesday. “The fact the user needed to make a sock puppet like a coward to upload the mod showed their intent to troll and that they knew it would not be allowed.”
Nexus Mods stated that the Spider-Man Pride flag replacement mod had been uploaded by a new account made by someone who already had a main account on the website. It also used the name “Mike Hawk” (a homophone of “my cock”) providing further evidence the mod was likely deliberately designed to upset others. As such, Nexus Mods considered it a simple decision to suspend both accounts.
“As a private business, we have a right to choose what content we do and do not want to host on our platform,” wrote Nexus Mods, clearly and correctly heading off any potential allegations of censorship. “Respect this right the same way you want respect for your rights.”
Mods are fan-made content which, once installed, change some element of an official video game. Frequently shared with other players, mods can alter everything from storylines to a character’s appearance. These are often fun changes, such as putting Thomas the Tank Engine in fantasy game Skyrim, or adding new furniture options to The Sims.
Unfortunately, as demonstrated today, mods can also be used for less wholesome, more deliberately antagonistic purposes. Nexus Mods has made it clear that it has neither the time nor the patience for such mods.
“[W]e are for inclusivity, we are for diversity,” wrote Nexus Mods. “If we think someone is uploading a mod on our site with the intent to deliberately be against inclusivity and/or diversity then we will take action against it. The same goes for people attempting to troll other users with mods deliberately to cause a rise.”
“We don’t want to and won’t argue this with you,” wrote Nexus Mods. “If this policy upsets you, if we’ve broken some moral code of conduct as a business that you can’t accept, then please, delete your account… and move on, as we will.”
Nexus Mods isn’t the only mod database website that has removed the mod. As noted by PC Gamer, ModDB also took action against the Spider-Man Remastered flag mod, banning the users involved as well.
“ModDB is an inclusive environment for all and we do not permit targeting marginalised groups,” said ModDB’s official Twitter. “Our content moderation is largely automated but when identified, we have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of content.”