Staying on track would be really great, but I'm happy just with keeping the thread alive, even if somewhat derailed. So long as it stays active and near the front of the forum, more people see it.
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edit:
Needs Replying ToStaple_Salad on page 25 is mistaken about a few things, we should reply.
Piracy:
The meshes and skins were made by the people that made them, not by EA. While the GAME belongs to EA as well as anything THEY make, mods belong to the creators of the mods. Mods that come from pay sites imply that the original owner wants to sell them. Since it's digital, when you buy something, you buy the RIGHT to use it, not the thing itself.
Buying, say a skin and a mesh, digitally DOES NOT give you the right to redistribute it. It DOES give you the right to install it in your game. Since the mesh and skin are the intellectual property of the creator, not EA. So, EA allowing people to host it for free download (without the permission of the creator) is like them having Metallica CDs for download on the exchange.
Someone explain the EULA to this person, please.
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edit2:
Could Also Use a ReplyWell, I think for the actual issue of this thread is a bit dramatic. Not that it has no meaning or anything; I just think it's not worth all the fuss. Cops break the law all the time, and that will never change. Always speeding and crossing two lanes at a time, it's sad... When someone has power, they have power... And you can't change someone to think otherwise---
But in all honesty, you have to realize that in this case it is JUST A FOURM! This isn't a worthy cause to protest about because all it is is a FOURM for a game that you all buy, and that is all they care about.
No, this is not just talk in a forum. Paying customers deserve good service and honesty from the business they support with their money. If the business claims to have certain rules, those rules should be enforced and equally applied to everyone. That's what this is about. We do have power, we can boycott EA. I do so by NOT buying their products. I get them used instead, so EA gets no money from me.
(That's what I'll post in a bit.)
More from this confused person:
They can DO WHAT THEY WANT and if we don't like it we simply don't have to use the fourm--- They own it!
Incorrect. They sell a virtual product, a game, but they are a real business and their customers pay them real money. The EULA is a real legal document. They need to abide by the same rules that apply to other businesses when it comes to customer service, and legal issues such as the EULA.
(will post that too)
Gah, he just goes on in this vein some more.
They didn't pay for the fourm, they payed for the game.
Forums have rules. EA has the power to flaunt their own rules, to apply them or ignore them, yes, but they do not have the *right*. While discussion in the forum may not effect immediate change, it certainly raises awareness, it may change minds. Some people may choose to boycott EA, may choose to buy EA games used. And that is real change.
(must plow through rest of pages, and then post...)
The only way to REALLY change something is to bring it to court, which is impossible to do because no laws were broken.
Paysites violate the EA EULA for Sims2 and Sims3, so they have broken a legal agreement with EA.
A SimGuru forbidding filesharing goes against EAs own EULA for Sims3.
However, a court case is not the only way to bring about change.
You can also boycott. I do. I buy EA games *used*, not from EA, EA does not get my money.
(I'm glad pikajohn says he agrees with the post, but the defeatism is counterproductive. Is there more of this?)