Insim under new management!

[SamanthaS]

Just want to clarify...I am not raising my hand for you to piss off.  Your quite funny so I ignore that you think the sky is falling. 

I never said I wanted Devilfish to piss off either. Just to clarify. Your bingo card was hilarious yesterday.

Also, option 3 ftw.

[Devilfish]

So, I am a lurker here but my opinion (for what it's worth) is that Walt was misled by Kathy and Eric and they sold him the site, misrepresenting what he was getting. They should give him back what he paid for it, not the community. But until he's forthcoming regarding the terms and conditions of the sale, we should proceed as Pescado has planned.

Amen. Why should any of us have to fork over money for K/E fucking up? Again. If he wants to be rid of it, he'll have to give it away. The idea of him walking out with a profit regardless makes me sick. If he want money, let him sue K/E. I say ignore the old man and proceed with the other old man's plan.

I just feel bad for him mom. She was probably promised a nice bonus in the end. I don't know how it happened, but if theer's one victim here it's her, I guess.

[Aarron]

Looks like Sim-oasis has been informed of this, any one else know if the others have been informed?

[autumnrose]

Damn. I'm gone for a week and look what happens! I've read the whole thread and I only have 1 thing to say.

I vote for option 3. Pillage and burn.

Screw you, Walt. If you want your moniez back, go ask K/E. You sure as shit ain't getting it from me.

[Quorneater]

It's a big try-on.  He owns only the domain name and the tail end of a month's hosting agreement (unless *he* made a new one with the existing hosts).    Come on - that particular IP address is not essential to InSimenator.  Nor is the exact layout and graphics.  We have the people and between us we have all the files.   Members can start NEW threads just as fun and "home" as the old ones.

[lewisb]

I'm with Quorneater, pillage then burn! I want out to, it has been infected with the hands of Walt. No buying by me. *shakes head in disgust"

I feel villified.

[Skoria_Bay]

better off purchasing a community for a game like World of Warcraft or something, one would think, since everyone pretty much knows what that game is even if they don't play it, and there's no "World of Warcraft 3" coming out that would potentially take away a lot of traffic and members of the community.

Actually, no, he wouldn't be better off buying a game for another game, especially WoW. Sims is an aberration in the game community, there is no other game out there that has a fan base that is willing to spend money on fan created content. In fact, when this phenomenon is even mentioned to most other gamers, they laugh their asses off at how fucking stupid the sims community is for letting that shit happen. I say it wouldn't work especially for a game like WoW, because as an MMO everything is run on server side, and so all mods are cosmetic or user interface related at most and don't even effect game mechanics in any large way, other than maybe where you put your buttons.

On most game sites, the only way people are able to run large fan sites is through advertisements, which are annoying but cost players nothing, or voluntary donations which generally do not get them extra content, except perhaps extra features on the site. Sound familiar? What we're basically fighting tooth and nail for is normal everywhere else in the gaming world. People aren't supposed to profit off of fan sites.

I play Neverwinter Nights 1 and all the haks for the game are hosted on Bioware's servers for free. The last update and patch for the game was released in August and featured a lot of community created content. So, yes the Sims is a different culture all together.


*votes for option 3*

Edit: To add vote

[Pescado]

I don't trust Walt.  How do we know after this "vigorous" fundraising he won't just pocket it like his friends Kathy and Eric did?  And yes, I do now believe they had a prior relationship, for reasons I stated earlier today.

See, that's why under my proposal, he would have to turn over all the receipts in advance, and I will personally vet any figure for acceptability by my stringent standards of cheapassery. Any expense he has incurred that I deem "optional" will simply not be included. He will accept my terms, or he will be left holding the bag. Quite simple.

Expenses I will consider acceptable:
Server bill, with receipt, standard services only. No add-ons.
DNS renewal bill and transfer cost.

Expenses I will laugh at:
Any "manpower" expense he claims by hiring "professional" help.
The money he gave to Kathy & Co.
Anything without an itemized receipt.

[Piratey]

Most people don't beg for donations like Kathy did, because most people are not fraudulently using the donations for personal purposes while skimming the budget surplus from advertising at the same time.

I think the key is planning ahead like you guys did.. I seem to remember you starting a few months out and dealing with it calmly. Plus you dealt with it for a year, then it was done. Much more straightforward, calm and sane than a peice of emotional blackmail done as flat panic.

I think it's fine to ask for help, reasonably and calmly.. but as long as you don't badger, twist anyone's arm or subject people to emotional blackmail. I've never minded when Nouk and Jess asked for help for example because you'd never see Nouk going "give us moneiz or I'll pull my hair meshes from MTS if you don't "..

But it's a lesson for the future: If it smells fishy, unleash the net. Don't let them slip away with it.

Another lession: The fact that the mere hint of a free site going pay has led to the near destruction of a fansite (although I'm sure the smoudering wreck that remains will crumble soon), makes me wonder why the community hasn't rallied around and taken on TSR head-on. We can destroy Walt's InSim, therefore we can destroy the rest.

As for Snooty, aren't they all about The Sims 3 now? Plus the actual site itself is quite sloppy with news updates these days. I know real life can get in the way and all, but that's why you either don't ever sleep or enlist the help of other people.

(I know this reply is "out of date", but I just want to be able to actually get it in)!

[Quorneater]

I just feel bad for him mom. She was probably promised a nice bonus in the end. I don't know how it happened, but if theer's one victim here it's her, I guess.

You don't believe all that tear-jerker makes-me-seem-human stuff about an old mother?  

[Requip]

I say ignore the old man and proceed with the other old man's plan.

I agree, I sincerely hope no one contacts this douche-bag. No way, no how...No moniez back for Walt.  

[SmilingSweetly]

Option 3 ftw! 

[Quorneater]

See, that's why under my proposal, he would have to turn over all the receipts in advance, and I will personally vet any figure for acceptability by my stringent standards of cheapassery. Any expense he has incurred that I deem "optional" will simply not be included.

Pescado!  Are you losing your marbles?  We ALREADY paid more than the server costs for that site - those of us who donated.  Now you are suggesting that we pay more than the value of what he actually has for sale?   The only thing that is his to sell is the domain.  I can probably buy the community something called Insimenator.sillydomainnames for $20.   He CANNOT sell and I WILL NOT buy from him what is not his to sell.

[Devilfish]

I just feel bad for him mom. She was probably promised a nice bonus in the end. I don't know how it happened, but if theer's one victim here it's her, I guess.

You don't believe all that tear-jerker makes-me-seem-human stuff about an old mother?  

You never know. I suppose nobody can be trusted, but I'd feel bad knowing there's an old lady out there who got scammed by her son and burned by all this. Even if it's his fault, not ours.

Isn't this what Walt does? Buy and sell websites, preferable at a profit? I'd hate for us to play into his plan. Even a break-even, even a pittance would be too much for him to take home from this. It woudn't be right.

[Ali]

See, that's why under my proposal, he would have to turn over all the receipts in advance, and I will personally vet any figure for acceptability by my stringent standards of cheapassery

plus don't forget the fact that the site must have been severely de-valued by this whole debacle

just to be a little charitable though, you could offer him 50 quid ... at current exchange rates for me that's about $75

or I am being a little too unreasonable??!!