I said it once, and I'll keep harping on it until I don't feel like it anymore
This community needs to be innovative AND share the knowledge. The problem is that people who go throught he trouble of learning to do stuff tend to want to keep their super special use of the game secret so that everyone goes "ooo ahhh" when their mod is released...
Of course, no one really gives a damn by the time the mod is released and the knowledge could be used by a lot fo people before then.
Still no one wants to give away their ideas without any thanks right? Well in the real world that's sort of the reason patenting was developed. For anyone unaware of how patents work, they're basically allow an inventor to prevent others from using their research without their permission while at the same time making the knoweldge they gathered 100% public.
Why don't we get together and try to set up something similar for ideas in this modding community? Obviously, preventing people from using the knowledge is out of the question, but a proper database of the knowledge combined with who 'invented' the technique and any further information about them, the mod it was for, how to find that mod , etc etc. would be useful.. Use of the "patent" database might require that any knowledge borrowed require that the user include all the information mentionned above in the credits of their mod under a heading regarding the knowledge used (just an example).
In this way (or something similar) everyone could benefit from ideas while at the same time credit the original 'inventor/researcher' in an enforcable manner. Further such a 'patent database' could be password protected in order to make certain those who access it have agreed to the terms of use of the knowledge. Of course anyone could get access, much like a screened forum.