Comparable to this would be the ... 'fight' against rooted Android cell phones.
The distributor is capable of launching an update that removes all root from all phones, but this includes developer phones.
Ugh, I hate going off-topic but:
Google basically doesn't care for rooting at all, however they might have to patch certain security holes which would stop rooting in the next version, causing you to have to do it in a different way.
The developer phones aren't stuck to any network with a version of Android that checks for updates for that certain phone (see the Nexus One and Nexus S), and they can easily be rooted and get the bootloader unlocked by running the command "fastboot oem unlock" in ADB.
Phones on carriers run versions of Android that are locked down (locked and signed bootloaders, hard-to-get root access [though it is entirely possible to get root no matter what]), and therefore can update by themselves without any user interaction, causing bootloader updates and security updates, making you lose root. Though, after you get the bootloader unlocked and root access, you can install any custom ROM you want, turning your standard phone into a developer phone, and with that custom version of Android, there are no more forced updates, due to not running the stock Android ROM that the carrier wants you to use.
Back on-topic:
No, GMod doesn't really have an "export" option, but I guess if I need to, I can just backup my entire GMod folder to somewhere else or something, and install whatever isn't in "addon" format manually.