Question

[IarePINJA]

I is a newbie :oops:! Pardon me for anything really touchy I say.

How did all the paysite controversy start? Was it because the creators thought they made art, and as art is a profession, they were really deluded into thinking they had the right to charge, or was it just greedy b******* like Thomas who got the idea that they could charge sheep for stuff that should be free? Does anyone have a clear idea or theory? Can anyone answer the question, or does no one in PMBD know?

Also, which paysites are still blooming and which are rotting?

RetailSims claims to be closing in one of those legal threats and hate mail to PMBD, but the closing date in December, is it THIS year or LAST year? If it is last year, why would RetailSims be still online?

Would EA ever take legal action against paysites and their owners?

[I just love history, btw]

And Captain Jojoba, I dislike you calling me a troll. I would never troll, I seen how "cruel" you guys were to those beasties. More like I was laughing though.

[Jojoba]

I apologise for calling you a troll, mkay? Would you accept some rum? Pirates dont really say sorry...but we do give out rum  :wink:

How did all the paysite controversy start?

From what I know, it started from SimsFreaks and TheSimsResource. Who started that they needed the money to pay for the bandwidth..and then loads of others jumped on the bandwagon and the paysite era (as it where) started

Also, which paysites are still blooming and which are rotting?

You can see some of the already dead paysites here...and when one gets destroyed we celebrate a killmark

But it depends what you mean by rotting and blooming...paysites cant really bloom in my opinion. They all stink. So all rot. TSR espicially!

[IarePINJA]

Yay! More rum!

I meant blooming as in they're raking in $$.

But about RetailSims, can anyone answer my question?

[Rissa]

She had one payset that appeared in the booty, so she decided to shut her site down.
But only a short time later she was back.
And some months later she decided to go completely free because she needed her paypal button with different options for another, not sims-related site.

[missangelica]

There were a few Sims 1 paysites but it wasn't a big issue as it is now.  

It wasn't until the game code was cracked and the community came together to beta test new objects and clothing/hair meshes that CrecheBaby removed the clothing meshes that we helped her with and put it on her site, SimChic.  Of course everyone was outraged but she stood by her greed.  

Other early paysites that come to mind are TSR and WDS.  TSR didn't even credit the tools that were made until people bitched.

[Clementyne]

I don't think EA will ever directly go after paysites.  They'd lose some of their Sims fan base, and they really don't wanna do that.  I do believe though, that they will continue to issue statements and keep the exchange open.  That way they don't alienate any of the fans and they still make their stance on paysites quite clear.

[MizzKitty]

I don't think EA will ever directly go after paysites.  They'd lose some of their Sims fan base, and they really don't wanna do that.

They're probably losing some by not doing it as well. People who might go "well... if THEY can break the EULA so can I" and then they torrent the game.

It's not like the interest for The Sims 2 is low. Far from it. They have a huge fan base. (many of whom don't use the community at all, but those aren't the one in question...)

I'm not a happy little trooper either, and my frown is getting so bad that I won't even bother to torrent anything. If all this isn't fixed by Sims 3 then I'll simply not bother. I was here since the TS1 base game, so personally deciding to boycutt TS3 is a big deal  

Anyhoo... Point being: You can't make everyone happy and do they really want to be known as a company who won't enforce their own rules?

[lemmiwinks]

Anyhoo... Point being: You can't make everyone happy and do they really want to be known as a company who won't enforce their own rules?

EAxis' rules are the same as any large company. A. Maximize profits in the short term, while B., attempting  to insure profits for the future. Guess which has priority?
The paysite issue is a non-issue to them. They throw a token bone to each side.
They allow and encourage filesharing, yet continue to provide free advertising for paysites. That is giving tacit approval to both sides.
Fence sitting is all it is.

Oops...

[end/ derailment]

[Land Lubber]

K first post  :oops: please don't shot me, make me walk the plank, whatever  

first I don't think EA Games will ever go after TSR  (shame)
as wayyyyyyyyyy back when The Sims 1 was the game to have
 
Maxis actively promoted TSR in fact it was from "a today is Sims day" at the official site I followed a link that lead me to TSR and it was part pay even then

and the rest as we shall say is history   :roll:  :roll:

second re The Sims three no way I have given this cash cow more than enough
all expansion packs for Sims 1
and all expansion and stuff packs for Sims 2
me thinks they kill the fatted calf   :oops:

[Ensign EO]

Maxis and EA are not the same.  Maxis might have looked the other way, but that doesn't mean EA will.

[Land Lubber]

Maxis and EA are not the same. Maxis might have looked the other way, but that doesn't mean EA will.

True True

hopefully this will be the case, however I for one am very skeptical  :cry:

[SnarkyShark]

hopefully this will be the case, however I for one am very skeptical  :cry:

I don't blame you for being skeptical. One way to look at it though, is that with the introduction of stuff packs (expansions that revolve primarly around new object and clothing content), EA may now be looking at paysites as possible rivals for consumer dollars. If so the days of paysites might just be numbered. Either way, stay positive. As I understand it very few other modding communities have to deal with the leeches that the Sims community has to deal with. So we know that life without paysites is more than possible.

[evilragdoll]

Glamour Sim just started to butcher up all the meshes that came with H&M with their horrible textures and selling it. Maybe a shortcup would be point H&M to Glamour Sims direction and see what happens?
Stupid maxoids (that's some pleonasm for ya!) seem to be all pro-paysites anyway. Does not mean EA Games share their pro-paysites opinion or even that their opinion matters in this subject.

[IarePINJA]

Here's an incentive for them to sue. $$$.  :lol: Who doesn't like $$? It can buy rum!

I don't think EA will ever directly go after paysites. They'd lose some of their Sims fan base, and they really don't wanna do that. I do believe though, that they will continue to issue statements and keep the exchange open. That way they don't alienate any of the fans and they still make their stance on paysites quite clear.

That IS an excellent way of losing some fans. Tommy, Atwa, LyricLee and others aren't what I really call fans, I'll call them...... hold on.... lemme search through the dictionary.. dolts. Maybe some sheep will cry at EA for bringing down TSR, GlamourSims, Carla Niven, but then the stuff not submitted will (mostly, unless those driven by money quit their creative works) definitely be submitted to those fansites like MTS2 and others, I see absolutely no reason why EA should just take a passive-aggressive stance on an issue pissing off the entire fan community for several years. Nothing is lost and $$ is gained. I suppose the money they earn could feed off the lawyer's fees, and once they show the EULA, its pretty much a walkover, even if they bring up the bandwidth arguement(charging for bandwidth), our site can testify to counter that. Unless its... a conspiracy! *swigs rum to weed off unwanted thought*

[tngrspacecadet]

the thing is, for EA/Maxis to sue paysites, they would be spending megabucks to do so. there are many paysites out there as we all know, and the people running them and illegally selling copyrighted stuff are in many different countries. to clamp down on them would push operating costs up, which would be reflected in the retail cost of future software.

if we give EA/Maxis a list of the criminals concerned, the people's names, company names, postal addresses, physical locations and so on, it might assist them, they might send out a warning letter (cease and desist type thing?) but they might well choose not to do anything.