But regardless, it is not appreciated when you open and look through someone else's work.
I don't get this. If they didn't want their work looked at, they shouldn't post it online. Or do work somewhere where the released work doesn't include the "source code".
Using others' work without their permission and publishing mods including it is obviously not okay, but just *looking* at it, trying to understand it is not okay? How would anybody ever get anywhere if that was true? This is *exactly* how learning to mod works. Look at what somebody else does to get a general idea and then learn how to do it (and more) yourself.
Apart from the fact of course that the referenced mod uses code from files that weren't published in the BO1 mod tools but extracted from the fast files ... which is basically looking through someones elses work without permission.
Modding needs to be open, otherwise it won't get very far. Just look at the way the companies that made N64 emulators back then were closed source (and went under) - we *still* don't have decent N64 emulation, at least not in the way PS2 or Wii has.
And just look at how Activision never releasing radiant for BO1 has effectively made BO1 modding never get off the ground the way WaW did.