Exactly

All they need to do is let things calm down and roll it out correctly. Good MODs definitely deserve the opportunity. If anyone disagrees with the percentage of the cut they get, 60% of $0 is $0.

Reasonable point, the fact that it was completely optional should have been trumpeted from the top of whatever digital cathedrals cared to illuminate the whole program- but that point was glossed over in most of the ensuing coverage, very few articles/blogs spoke in terms of what was actually being offered vs what people were howling about. They just covered the backlash, frequently ignoring commentary from people/modders in favor of the experiment. Little wonder Valve quietly backed away, a far cry from the company that unveiled Steam to derision and scorn years ago and told the community “stick with us, it’ll get better”.

“All this does is give Internet freeloaders the message that screaming loud enough gets them what they want.”

Somewhat disagree. PC Gamers rarely ever let something just roll on by if they disagree with it (something I wish could be done for sonsoles).

The real thing to take away from this is Valve approached this poorly. One huge thing that seemed to be glanced over by nearly everyone reporting on it (positively or negatively) was that the pay system was OPTIONAL. Valve should have LED with that bit of information and the backlash wouldn’t have been anywhere near as bad. They also should have curtailed the whole “stealing assets to add to your own mod and then charge” thing. The pay option had great intentions for sure, it was just rolled out in a very shitty way.

Valve was also handling the hosting, transaction fees, legal implications, and working with the publishers/developers to ensure there were no ruffled feathers.
As I previously noted, 30% cut of the same was a little rich, but if the public pressure had been “we aren’t going to support this if the modders don’t get a fatter slice ” as opposed to the straw man “we won’t support the fat cat corps at all ” modders could have had a position to negotiate from. It wasn’t about that though, the loudest segment was vehemently opposed to paying for mods period. And they used any and every argument possible to push public opinion against Valve and the content creators that wanted to try marketing their effort. It should also be noted that 25% of sales is a richer cut than most developers get unless they get a sweetheart deal from a publisher or self publish.

This was just one more push by the Internet to tell creatives that asking to be paid for their work is unacceptable. Look around, people expect music, movies, games, art, and literature to be free and on demand and slowly it is going to kill off culture because more people turn to a 9-5 to put food on the table and keep the lights on.

^ This.

Did it need refining? YES.
Did it need a more rigorous vetting process? Yes.
Did Valve need a 30% cut? Not really, but that was negotiable in the long run.

All this does is give Internet freeloaders the message that screaming loud enough gets them what they want.

As an aside – every time someone says PC Master Race GabeN delays Half-Life 3.