Just thought I would bring this to peoples attention, I found a mod, a very unfinished one I might add that seems to be cashing in on the skyrim franchise.

http://skyrim-online.com/media.php

I was just wondering if this was legal, cause I thought we couldn't use bethesda's intellectual property in such a way, I thought the whole idea of modding was to provide free content to players...

So far it seems they've raised thousands of dollars, over $300 in this month alone, that doesn't feel right...

Well didn't they do the same with Oblivion that didn't turn out very well?

EDIT: I am not really sure about this, but what they have done is actually pretty amazing.

Well if they're creating original content and using the money in order to fund development, is that illegal? It's not as if they're making you pay in order to use the mod, is it?

Its just a donation button, donations aren't against the Terms I believe, since Bethesda allowed Modders to ask for Donations off of the Workshop which lead to donations being available on Nexus. Though I may be wrong.

I think you're on the money. Pun unintended.

No one had a gun to anyone who's donated head, did they?

Nope, donations are perfectly fine, as they aren't charging for using the service itself. I put a donations button on Alton's page for anybody that wanted to help fund Ethas, and it hasn't been a problem.

Yea donations are fine. I've made 3.4 million Ugandan Dollars so far from my mods.

I agree donations are fine, but when something is offered in exchange then it's no longer a donation... no matter how it's worded. That site has a 'target' for donations, implying that they are offering the mod/app/whatever for a given price - the donations thereby become a voluntary fee. I wouldn't be surprised if they get shut down or forced to remove that advert as-is.

Yeah I think as long as you are not required to pay to use any part of the mod then it's okay.

The point is profiteering from anything Ma Beth owns... which includes services regarding the game or modding. Even if the mod is offered free, that wording implies they are being hired to work on it. It all comes down to Beth's interpretation of the situation, what they want to do about it (if anything), and even if they are aware of it.