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PMC
Papa EnnyHello Planet Minecraft Community,
Our platform has always been a place where creativity meets collaboration, and we are continually inspired by the incredible content that you all contribute. As our community grows and evolves, so does the nature of the content shared on our platform.
In recent times, we’ve seen a rise in the number of downloadables that include some form of monetization, either through ad-shortening services (where you view an ad before accessing the content) or direct monetization (such as requiring a subscription through a platform like Patreon). We understand that content creators need support and that monetization can be a part of that. However, we also recognize the importance of transparency and choice for our users when it comes to accessing content.
To better serve our community, we are rolling out an update that enhances visibility and control regarding monetized content:
1. Transparency with Icons: We are introducing new icons in our content listings. These icons or lack of them, will indicate whether a downloadable is 'Free', uses an 'Adshortener', or is 'Monetized'. This way, you'll know what to expect before you click. Keep in mind, maps do not require member to share a downloadable.
2. Informed Clicking: Clicking on a URL that is adshortened or monetized will now prompt a custom dialog. This additional step is to ensure you are more informed about the nature of the link before proceeding.
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3. Filtering Your Search: We understand that everyone has different preferences. As such, we have implemented filters that allow you to search based on your preferred type of downloadable: 'Free', 'Adshortened', or 'Monetized'. By default, the Monetization filter will display all content types to ensure no initial limitations on your browsing experience.
4. Content Types Affected: This update applies to maps, resource packs, mods, and data packs — covering our content that can have a downloadable.
We believe these changes will foster a community where transparency leads to trust, and choice leads to satisfaction. Creators can still support their incredible work, and users can make informed decisions about how they access content.
Flagging Conditions
In the spirit of transparency and to ensure clarity around our updated system, we want to provide some guidance on how content is flagged regarding monetization of downloadable content:- Content Hosted on Planet Minecraft: If the primary downloadable content is hosted directly with us, it won't be flagged for monetization. Any additional third-party links provided are considered alternative download options and do not influence the primary content's status.
- Single Third-party Link: For content not hosted on our platform, if there is only one download link provided and it leads to a monetized service, the content on Planet Minecraft will be flagged to reflect this.
- Multiple Third-party Links: In cases where multiple third-party links are provided for content not hosted with us, the status of the primary download link determines how we flag the content. If the main download option is free but additional links (such as alternative downloads ) are monetized, the content will still be considered as 'Free' on our platform.
We've designed this approach to be fair and balanced, ensuring that creators can support their work while users remain informed. If you come across content where the download options may not seem to fit these guidelines, please reach out. Together, we can keep the Planet Minecraft universe as user-friendly and transparent as possible.
Refining the system
As with any new system, we expect there to be a period of adjustment. Despite our comprehensive scanning of all past download URLs from the last 13 years, we acknowledge that our comparison lists may not be exhaustive and, in some cases, could be inaccurate. Your experience and input are vital to us in this evolving landscape. To that end, we've introduced a new reporting reason: if you encounter a downloadable that you believe is monetized but not clearly marked or visa versa, you can report it using the "Incorrect Monetization Tag" reason. This will alert our moderators to review the content and refine our system. Your reports are invaluable—they help us not only to improve the accuracy of our listings but also to maintain the integrity of the Planet Minecraft experience for everyone.As always, we welcome your feedback and thank you for being an essential part of Planet Minecraft. Keep building, keep creating, and above all, keep enjoying the world of Minecraft in a way that’s best for you.
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1
Interesting
3
Not sure if intended, but in "more maps by" sidebar the $ icon shows but the green one doesn't (to differentiate public download vs no file at all submissions)
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[deleted]
3
as someone who has both free links and patreon links, this system is a great addition. I've been on both ends of the situation and am happy to see an added layer of transparency on this site!
2
One thing I would love to see is a way to have both a bedrock and java download button. You can get a app in Microsoft store that converts them so its good just to include both.
4
This is great, I did feel some moral hazard having my Patreon link without having UI elements stating it was a monetized download. I just made sure to make it transparent on the map's description but this is better. PS: A suggestion I would make to anyone with a Patreon on here, I found that using their store option is better, I just include a text document with a link to my Google drive repository. That way people aren't paying for another subscription. I got a lot more traffic cuz of that.
4
Great update. Much needed.
I'm noticing that my old maps are labeled with the download button despite no longer being available to download. Does the system recognize how it is at the time of submission or is it supposed to continually monitor and update the system accordingly?
I'm noticing that my old maps are labeled with the download button despite no longer being available to download. Does the system recognize how it is at the time of submission or is it supposed to continually monitor and update the system accordingly?
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I think I've resolved the issue you were seeing with old submissions that used to have downloadables being inaccurately displayed as having a "free" downloadable in the listings. Skimmed yours and they seem to be good now.
3
I love this system. I rarely download things but I'm all for transparency, as it seemed very deceiving to advertise it as downloadable but required users to subscribe to their Patreon or buy it from gumroad, etc.
I'm all for supporting content creators, but it should be clear, (like how you've implemented) before users even open a post so they know whether it's free or not.
I'm all for supporting content creators, but it should be clear, (like how you've implemented) before users even open a post so they know whether it's free or not.
3
So far I might say that as feedback, I might make monetization checkboxes instead of radio buttons. This is so that if we are willing to see ads as long as we get the download without paying money-money, or want one of the other 2 pairs, it is possible to filter that way.
2
Now supporting checkboxes in advanced filters.
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Thanks a bunch! However, when I went to resource packs and with "free + adshortener" it only showed free packs. Should I also make a ticket, or his here good enough? =]
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Oops! Thanks for pointing it out. Fixed!
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I made that suggestion last night in the mod discord for the admins to see, though I dont expect them to see it til monday most likely.
5
Excellent update!!
So tired of clicking on maps advertised as having a download, only to find a patreon or personal website/shop link.
So tired of clicking on maps advertised as having a download, only to find a patreon or personal website/shop link.
2
I can see why that's frustrating. I have Patreon links on my map, I always made sure to have it in the description so people don't waste their time. However I think this is a really good change.
6
Thank you PMC for continuing to be a good and honest website.
3
This is a good update! How can I set the link type for my downloads? All my submissions are tagged incorrectly right now.
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It's an automated system - I've reset it so your submissions are tagged correctly.
If any of your submissions are now tagged as monetized when they aren't, please let me know.
If any of your submissions are now tagged as monetized when they aren't, please let me know.
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Thank you!
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I really like the recent changes on the website! It is clear that people who work on it actually care!
I don't hate people who upload monetized/paywalled projects - after all, some of the creations are full time job for many! But it is important to stay as transparent as possible and know what to expect when you cluck on a submission. So these new changes are actually great and more than welcome!
Thanks, Admins!
I don't hate people who upload monetized/paywalled projects - after all, some of the creations are full time job for many! But it is important to stay as transparent as possible and know what to expect when you cluck on a submission. So these new changes are actually great and more than welcome!
Thanks, Admins!
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Hi! I saw you moved the jam icon to the bottom right where the other new icons are. What happens if it's both on an ad shortener and also in a jam? (Or are not able to post into a jam with an adshortener; I haven't tried before)
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The adshortener or monetized icon will override the jam icon. If it's a map and has a free download, the jam icon will still take priority.
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Thank you for clarifying!
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Great job guys. Top notch planning.
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Why can't we upload transparent mob skins? I have a transparent Blaze skin and when I put it in Minecraft it wasn't transparent at all. That is intentional but I can't find a way to make my png opaque so I can't post it on PMC.
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As one of the creators of this hated group that monetizes projects, I consider the change to be very good for all parties. The creators have a specific target group, and this way we will reduce the risk of younger users paying for the buildings. This will probably also help reduce user frustration, because I received several comments that someone wasted precious 3s[!!!!] of their time to look at my building because it was marked as available for download (of course, after explaining that you can be inspired by the building for free, they deleted the comments :D).
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As someone personally who thinks that PMC has been needing this for a while, It’s great to see the PMC development team pushing an important update.
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Nice! Question: One of my submissions is wrongly tagged? EDIT: FIXED ITSELF
Other than that, design suggestion:
The icons clash a bit with the site, I guess we'll get used to it.
But they could be more pixel art style like the profile/menu icons
Other than that, design suggestion:
The icons clash a bit with the site, I guess we'll get used to it.
But they could be more pixel art style like the profile/menu icons
4
Fixed that one this morning.
Yeah think we'll get used to icons. They do intentionally stand out more than other elements to draw attention / make it easy to skim. May tweak over time or even don't get used to it.
Yeah think we'll get used to icons. They do intentionally stand out more than other elements to draw attention / make it easy to skim. May tweak over time or even don't get used to it.
3
This looks great!
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PMC is the best! I love this a lot
Great job ♡
Great job ♡
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Changes will be appreciated 🍻
9
I think this is an amazing update, especially for people just browsing for things such as new mods and texture packs :)
2
Lol, this is really neat!
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A lot of work has gone into this update, good to see it released!
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Thank you for listening to my suggestion and taking action instead of simply ignoring me and moving on. It means a great deal to me as user and creator. Long live PMC.
9
PMC I have to raise this because the new transparecy is affecting me negatively:
My projects are free to download. They have always been. For the last two years I've been using Patreon as the file hosting service, mainly because I know they won't change the rules on me as have other file hosters I've used back then.
Now with this new feature, all my releases is, or are going to be, flagged as Monetized Download,
which is a: not true, and b: severely limits anyone from seeing the release to see what it's all about.
Both of which is bad as I'm planning to release some major releases in the coming months that have taken me months to design before I even started working on them fully, and no one is going to try them out because they think it'll be a paid download, when it actually isn't.
So can there be an exception for my case?
Or a better distinction between a Patreon file download link and a locked Patreon post?
My projects are free to download. They have always been. For the last two years I've been using Patreon as the file hosting service, mainly because I know they won't change the rules on me as have other file hosters I've used back then.
Now with this new feature, all my releases is, or are going to be, flagged as Monetized Download,
which is a: not true, and b: severely limits anyone from seeing the release to see what it's all about.
Both of which is bad as I'm planning to release some major releases in the coming months that have taken me months to design before I even started working on them fully, and no one is going to try them out because they think it'll be a paid download, when it actually isn't.
So can there be an exception for my case?
Or a better distinction between a Patreon file download link and a locked Patreon post?
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I'll work on this tomorrow / can make exception if it comes to down to that as a solution!
4
Can't you upload the content to PMC? If it hosted with us, that solves the problem.
While your content is free, I think it is fair to inform users that they are leaving PMC for an external site to download.
While your content is free, I think it is fair to inform users that they are leaving PMC for an external site to download.
4
I really hope I don't have to change all the download links I've made for the last two years on the site just because of this change. That's a lot of links to edit, a lot of time to find a new file hoster, and to trust it that it's rules won't change on me as time goes on. Not to mention that I need to know for sure that PMC doesn't flag those as Monetized links too.
PMC doesn't serve as a good file hosting service as the file names are always changed which makes debugging sessions incredibly difficult whenever I have to solve problems. Also, I can't host old versions of my projects.
I'm okay if they're letting users know that they'll be redirected to a different site, but they're marking direct file download links as monetized even though it isn't - that's the problem here.
PMC doesn't serve as a good file hosting service as the file names are always changed which makes debugging sessions incredibly difficult whenever I have to solve problems. Also, I can't host old versions of my projects.
I'm okay if they're letting users know that they'll be redirected to a different site, but they're marking direct file download links as monetized even though it isn't - that's the problem here.
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Don't change all your links, will make change without needing you to.
2
Traditionally, Patreon is a paid service. You using it as a free file host is out of the ordinary. The majority of people don't use it that way.
Patreon is also a file host like any other, subject to their terms and rules. Their rules may change as time goes on. Really nothing different there.
You don't need to change links, just upload stuff to PMC.
If file name changing is affecting your versioning system, then don't put your versions in the file name. Include a .txt file that contains the version number. When debugging, ask people to either send that file, or send the contents of that file. In general, versioning by file name alone is poor practice. If it is that important to debugging, put it in a place where it can't be easily modified.
Edit: Solution found.
Patreon is also a file host like any other, subject to their terms and rules. Their rules may change as time goes on. Really nothing different there.
You don't need to change links, just upload stuff to PMC.
If file name changing is affecting your versioning system, then don't put your versions in the file name. Include a .txt file that contains the version number. When debugging, ask people to either send that file, or send the contents of that file. In general, versioning by file name alone is poor practice. If it is that important to debugging, put it in a place where it can't be easily modified.
Edit: Solution found.
1
I don't know about anyone here, but I'm always wary of edge cases, partly because I never follow the general norm myself - I'm always the odd one out. There are edge cases in my projects that will never legally happen, but I still covered them if it doesn't affect the general project that much.
(Some of you might even know what those are if you're observant enough)
I've used Patreon for years now, so I can provide some insights to the main differences here:
For Patreon, there's a clear distinction between a file download link and a paid one.
That distinction being: patreon.com/file and patreon.com/posts respectively. (it's in the link itself)
For compatibility reasons I expected this will never be changed even if they wanted it to, so this is pretty much fixed in place.
Most creators, if they intended the Patreon link to be a paid one, will link to the post instead of the file, as linking to the file doesn't show people where to subscribe - which'll be against what I assume they wanted to do, so they'll never really do this.
This doesn't cover /posts links that are actually free though, but it'll be fine for most use cases.
EDIT: they challenged me to find a solution and I think I handled it quite well.
(Some of you might even know what those are if you're observant enough)
I've used Patreon for years now, so I can provide some insights to the main differences here:
For Patreon, there's a clear distinction between a file download link and a paid one.
That distinction being: patreon.com/file and patreon.com/posts respectively. (it's in the link itself)
For compatibility reasons I expected this will never be changed even if they wanted it to, so this is pretty much fixed in place.
Most creators, if they intended the Patreon link to be a paid one, will link to the post instead of the file, as linking to the file doesn't show people where to subscribe - which'll be against what I assume they wanted to do, so they'll never really do this.
This doesn't cover /posts links that are actually free though, but it'll be fine for most use cases.
EDIT: they challenged me to find a solution and I think I handled it quite well.
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Since it sounds like all of your content is free, I've made an exception. In addition, I'm also applying the distinction between /file and /post for patreon for all members even though you appear to be the only one to have used them. If that rule should be applied to you instead of the full exception, please let me know. Cheers!
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That's a good solution and would indeed work for the majority of situations. Sounds like Cyprezz is already on it.
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Nice! This sounds like a great update!
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I was wondering what all those green icons were on my content :)
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This isn't mistagged, it's not tagged at all.
www.planetminecraft.com/data-pack/secret-life-smp-java-data-pack/
www.planetminecraft.com/data-pack/secret-life-smp-java-data-pack/
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hmm. Yeah it's not monetized. It doesn't need a tag. If it was a map, where a downloadable is optional, then it would have a "free" download icon. Where it is a data pack and downloadables are required, having free icon on all isn't necessary imo. It would give all cards an icon.
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Really great update! Thank you for that!
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