When I fall in love with games, it usually ends up doing something outside of the actual game world. I see it as an extension to the experience, that I can get other than from playing it. I recreate 3d models/worlds, do research and just spent time with the world. Games I love really motived me to create things, to do things, have a good time outside of the game experience. Its a kind of a tribute for me. I believe it can be easy categorized as being a fan(atic) of the game. In my opinion mods don't ruin the experience, they extend it. Many people will have their own experience and it will affect them differently. Some might mod, create music or write stories. The big question is, what do you make out of your experience? I know for myself, playing alone is often not enough for me. Fiddling around with game files is what brings me joy.
Mods are required to enjoy Skyrim to it's full potential. I dont know a single person tho played Skyrim in it's vanilla debut that thought "I like this as it is". Other games I would say yes and no to. Left 4 Dead 2 namely as it is common for me and my buddies to one day on a whim install a custom map and play to our hearts content, but on our own we would never do that.
Depends on what the mod is, but that's the beauty of mods. They can be anything, and you don't have to use them. Even if they are totally beneficial and enhance the experience without messing with the gameplay. Mods that change gameplay and such extend the life of the game and give people more to come back to if they wish. There are some games I refuse to play without mods. Like L4D or Warhammer End Times Vermintide (Without the QOL mod, solo play is near pointless) Don't forget about the entire can of worms that is rom hacks! (romhacking.net) What an incredible community that is. Click bait is clickbait.
I love game mods, and games like the Unreal Tounrament series, the Half-Life series, the Elder Scrolls series, etc, have lots of mods that really add to the games. But I'd personally say play the game vanilla (i.e. with no mods) first, and add mods when you replay them. Currently, I'm loving GMDX for Deus Ex, and when I get the time, I'll be tracking down some mods to play with GTA V, and playing System Shock Infinite, another mod that's supposed to be very good. Er, what about the millions of console players who played and loved Skyrim? Granted that now the current generation consoles support Skyrim mods, but the 360/PS3 don't, and if you check on Gamefaqs etc then you'll find that countless 360/PS3 users loved Skyrim. I'm not saying that modded SKyrim isn't better than vanilla, I'm sure it is, going by what I've read, but vanilla is still a great game, loved by many. Plus if Skyrim vanilla was rubbish (it's not, just the reverse, in fact) then few people would have bothered to mod it. They mostly modded it because they really liked it and either wished to continue the experience, it or to improve it even more. I've only played the vanilla version* (I always play vanilla on a game before I play with any mods), and I loved it, and when I next play through it It will be modded (especially the GUI, the original one isn't designed for a mouse and keyboard) but the vanilla game is stil great. * Vanilla but with the official DLC, which I played through to completion.
