I find the problem is one of perception and recurring frustration where mod Developers become frustrated when their work, in which they've invested hundreds of thousands of man hours doesn't sustain the kind of audience they'd hoped.
As someone who creates mods and games, I personally would much rather my work existed in a sustainable projects -- that attracted and sustained a large audience;
Forgive me for being blunt. But you are not interested in making a game, you are interested in being popular.
If people like my games, great, I made most of my games as hobby projects. The only time I would consider being frustrated is if it was a commercial game that I had invested money in and never broke even from it.