Nexus Mods bans user for Spider-Man mod removing Pride flags
"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"
Nexus Mods this week banned a user who posted a mod for Spider-Man Remastered that removed Pride flags from the game's version of New York City.
In a post explaining the move, site owner Robin Scott said the mod had been uploaded by a user of the site who created a second account to upload the anti-Pride mod.
"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," Scott said.
Going forward, Scott said the site would continue to take a dim view of mods looking to remove or replace Pride flags in games.
"We are for inclusivity, we are for diversity," Scott said. "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."
Scott noted there are other avenues for people to make and share mods, but as a private business, Nexus Mods gets to make the call about what content it will and will not host.
"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," Scott said, providing a link to the page where users can follow through on that.
This isn't the first time Nexus Mods has felt the need to moderate such content. In the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, it banned all content related to US sociopolitical issues citing a "spate of provocative and troll mods."