Question 2.3.0 .ESM is an .ESP

[bill8872]

You forgot to check the master for this. It is acting like an .esp

 

[msalaba]

You forgot to check the master for this. It is acting like an .esp

The game engine treats all plugins with the esm extension as if they are flagged master regardless of whether the plugin is flagged or not.
It is the same for esl plugins. The flag is only checked for esp plugins.

tl;dr - non issue