I know you want to get a lot of custom content on the workshop itself, however there are a handful of key authors who refuse to use the workshop (for various reasons - mainly to do with the terms & conditions), and choose only to distribute their content via sites such as ours.

Are there any plans to allow users to install files from modding communities such as GameBanana or L4Dmaps directly via the in-game menu at all, or will you only support workshop content?

I would propose adding a "browse files" button to allow people to manage add-ons downloaded from non-workshop sources via the in game screen, rather than the current method of installing custom content. (See image)

http://files.gamebanana.com/bitpit/l4d2addons.jpg

Also Chet mentioned a while back about giving communities such as ours more access to workshop content - could you have a look at the email you sent me back on the 15th of October, and let me know where things stand on that issue? I'll send a reply as well in case you don't see this.

You've got to remember that although the game is rated 18, as anyone who's played online knows, its full of little kids, also workshop items are viewable online to people of any ages via the website, so make sure what you post is suitable - I’m sure the last thing Valve wants is loads of angry parents moaning at them... We (GameBanana) got rid of our 18+ section about 5 years ago now as it was just causing too much hassle, I know smaller sites such as L4Dmaps allow this sort of content, but for large sites (and companies) it can be a right pain in the arse.

In regards to porting, again this is another problematic area in the mod scene.

We're quite strict on porting and copyright infringement as in the past we've had several legal challenges from companies such as EA and (in regards to part C) drinks companies such as PepsiCo and Monster Energy who have, in past forced us to take content down.

We therefore disallow any porting, unless specific permission has been given by the company which owns the content. (These are listed in our porting whitelist)

http://gamebanana.com/wikis?page=porting_whitelist

Does valve have a whitelist anywhere / any processes to pick up things which potentially violate IP laws, or do you just delete content upon request?

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I know it’s a bit off-topic but would someone from Valve be able to check our current Valve porting rules are up to date?

http://gamebanana.com/wikis?page=porting_valve_content

As you can see from the image below, the publish new addon window is too large, with content hidden behind the task bar (Windows7) and no way of scrolling or resizing.

Moving the task bar to the side of the screen allows me to view a bit more of the window but there is clearly some more stuff off screen, as pressing enter tells me I must accept the workshop agreement.

http://files.gamebanana.com/bitpit/l4d_prob.png