I think if you are going to download from a freesite you should feel compelled within yourself to donate. Until recently I have always believed that people are all basically good, I defininately didn't think that ordinary people were capable of the downright nastiness that I have witnessed. I have always believed that if you are using a service that is good to you, you are responsible for the continuation of that service. Loyality and support to someone who is giving so much of themselves just for your enjoyment of the game should be a big priority. Probably my explaination is likely to have gone to pot. But I hope the basics of what I am trying to say can be understood.
When people started asking for money, bandwidth was very expensive. That's how this was all allowed to take such a hold. The bottom fell out of the advertising market online, and bandwidth costs were skyhigh. That's not true anymore. Reasonable bandwidth can be had from several places. TSR started out as a free place, surviving on having lots of ads and selling web space to other sims creators. I can remember going there in the days of Sims1 and clicking on advertising links, so they would get money for their ads. No, no one asked me, I just felt it was the right thing to do.
What I'm going to say next probably won't make me very popular, but I think it's worth saying. Bandwidth was the first culprit of the paysite war, but a good chunk of the blame for it taking off has to go to the community itself. I think that a lot of paid artists may have gotten that way because they are just sick and tired of making stuff and not being appreciated.
Before I go any further, I will say that this site rocks in giving creators compliments and feedback. We talk favorably about creators within this site and outside of this site. But we represent a small portion of the Sims custom community.
How many people out there download and can't even be bothered to hit a "Thanks" button? Never mind leave a comment, I'm talking about hitting a stupid button. And if people do leave a comment, it's about as likely to be a complaint, or a request. "I really love those walls. Can you build me an entire neighborhood with a hundred or so houses and lots all with custom walls, floors, furniture, windows, and doors? Can you have it done by tomorrow? Kthksbi!" or else, "I can't get these to work in my game! In fact, I can't get ANY custom content to show up HELP ME!"
I would say most people create for themselves and the love of creating. That might drive the creation process, but what drives the urge to share? I don't think it's money for any creator, at least not at first. It's the thrill of knowing people will put your stuff in their game! But, if you keep putting stuff up, and no one takes the time to thank you for it, to tell you how much they like it, or send you a screen shot of their simmies with your stuff, it can get rather tiring. It's not hard to see where if money could be made, that might make you feel a little better, right or not. You may not hear, "your stuff is wonderful!" but if someone is willing to pony up a few bucks for your stuff? That tells you that you can't be all that bad.
TSR is a great example of how being paid is superfantastic. Go and check it out sometimes if you can stomach it. Look at how many "Thank yous" the FA's get, vs. the SA's, vs. the regular creators. Look at how many comments, and the quality of the comments you get if you're an FA, vs. an SA or a regular creator. And if someone dares insult your stuff? You've got your mindless minions who will happily tell any naysayer how YOU ARE THE GREATEST! and how MEAN THEY ARE for having the nerve to INSULT YOUR STUFF!
We can't stop the sheeple at TSR, from gooshing over the FA's. We can't stop the Peggy and Rose Zombies from running around screaming how much they love Peggy and Rose. But we can, as a community, learn to be a little more generous with our time. We can learn to mash those thank you buttons, and how to leave a comment. We can show more appreciation to free creators, and not just the well known ones.
EDIT: Redundant comment is redundant.