Group hug?
As an outsider to this argument, would it not be a good idea to put some sort of agreement process together? For example, I love GWX, but I dont want to use a mod that the GWX guys haven't said its ok and will not break thier mod! So if there is a mod I fancy, I scroll down to see if any of the mod team have commented (which is why I am here)
Now I know you guys worked hard on this mod and totally agree that someone should not take your work, change a few lines and then claim it as new. However, I also agree with the OP who states that changing a mod to do something slightly different is ok as long as the original modders have given permission.
So I would suggest that a process could be as simple as a mod is released and has quoted that the original modder/s (named of course) have okayed thier work to be used. If this goes in the standard 1st post then no need to scroll down looking for clues and walking into a cat fight :p