I dont pay for a damn thing and I'll tell you why...

[FreeShitOnly]

The Sims 2 base game cost me $29.99 USD.
The Sims 2 - University cost me $29.99 USD.
The Sims 2- Nightlife cost me $29.99 USD.
The Sims 2 - Open for business cost me.. guess how much..

$29.99 USD.

*adjusts glasses*  Now lets do some math and add some state tax to that.. the total is approximately: $127.35

Now.. I plan to also purchase seasons, so add another, you guessed it $29.99 plus tax

Where are we?  We are at $164.55 total spent on this social-life extinguisher of a game.

Tell me something... Why the fuck would I pay a monthly subscription cost on TOP of that??? Lets say I was in a freak car accident and bashed my pretty skull on the steering wheel and became a virtual dumbass (even moreso than I already am) like say.. people who subscribe to Peggy for example...  :idea: and decided to pay for a $10.00 a month subscription to get stuff for the game..

10 multiplied by 12 months in the year is..

well shit I dont know.. I'm a public policy major.. but I digress...

My point is, thats too much fuckin money dude...

Heres my story:

Awhile back on Insim, I asked about that cute hair I kept seeing with the little twisties on the side that go into a side ponytail.. i said "gee, that hair is awesome, boy would I love to have it"  then I found out I had to pay for the shit ... when I received an anonymous link to the site that shall not be named with a simple message that said "dont say shit"...

I am forever indebted to the folks who created this masterpeice of a site.. so i stopped downloading long enough to introduce myself.. *hint*
I create shit too ..free shit..

OH BUT WAIT THERES MORE!!

Why did I download all those cute photoshopped peggy hairs only to get them in game and see the holes in the neck?? Im constantly downloading files from this site saying "gee, people are paying real money for this shit?.. this poorly crafted crock of shit??" And it makes me mad.. serial killer mad... because like.. its cute.. but its shit.... cute... feces..

But um..

I do have a real question aside from all my shitvo (shit+conversation=shitvo):

What is the difference between a paysite and a site that offers freeshit with the option to donate with little dollar signs by your name if you do?  How do we really know the folks arent using the donation to buy condoms and babywipes and liquor?

A recent thread on S2C alluded to the idea that Mr. Delphy himself was travelling and using donations for personal expenses... if this were true.. does he get a pass since MTS2 is a godsend?  Or what about Eric and Kathy from Insim??? The other godsend of the sims?  Not that theres two gods but.. you get it.. Not that any of them are doing any such thing, but the possibility exists.. we attack rather fervently (and I LOVE IT) other site owners for what they could be doing with the loot.. so, lets put the stilletto on the other foot...


Anywho... hiya!  

Oh.. and I just saved a ton of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!

[mickey]

wow. lol. But i agree, whith pretty much everything you said.

[Pineapplebrain]

Here's my personal opinion on free sites with the option to donate.

So paysites have items that you can purchase for a set amount of money. Following this logic, that means that items the should very well be free, by terms of EA's EULA, are withheld from Simmers who do not wish to shell out that kind of money for content that they shouldn't need to be paying for in the first place.

Freesites with the option to donate may very well make a decent sum of money if enough people donate. Which I'm perfectly okay with, because they aren't withholding items. If you want to donate, great, but it's not necessary to gain content. So if enough people donate that the owners have extra money left over, I personally don't really care what they do with it.

[Plum]

You make me hate math.

[FreeShitOnly]

Here's my personal opinion on free sites with the option to donate.

So paysites have items that you can purchase for a set amount of money. Following this logic, that means that items the should very well be free, by terms of EA's EULA, are withheld from Simmers who do not wish to shell out that kind of money for content that they shouldn't need to be paying for in the first place.

Freesites with the option to donate may very well make a decent sum of money if enough people donate. Which I'm perfectly okay with, because they aren't withholding items. If you want to donate, great, but it's not necessary to gain content. So if enough people donate that the owners have extra money left over, I personally don't really care what they do with it.

I agree with the bolded.  There is no question in my mind of the difference involved, however I wished to throw an interesting spin on it.  

So its all about the witholding of items that stand out to you.  And I concur.  But isnt there more logic behind it?  For example:  One pay artist says she "needs a car"  which is ludicous bullshit. Walking is great exercise damn it.. but heres the thing:  Needing a car means you are using your profit for personal expense.. now what if the owners of freesites of which millions log on to daily have extra reserves from donations and also "need a car".. Is this a double standard in play if the extra reserves from freesite owners are used for personal expense?

Dont get me wrong.  For the work that has come from Delphy and Eric's creations (Thomas can go suck a mule teet) I am deeply grateful, if it wasnt for them *insert really awesome compliments and pseudo-ass kissing here*...

I have no respect for anyone that does this.. at least when I got McDonalds and I say "no pickles" and they put pickles on, I can easily pick them off.. but dammit I CANT CLOSE A HOLE IN THE BACK OF MY SIMS HEAD! *sips latte*


So what about that double standard?

Oh and Plum.. math makes my eyeballs itch.   :?

[Pineapplebrain]

So its all about the witholding of items that stand out to you. And I concur. But isnt there more logic behind it? For example: One pay artist says she "needs a car" which is ludicous bullshit. Walking is great exercise damn it.. but heres the thing: Needing a car means you are using your profit for personal expense.. now what if the owners of freesites of which millions log on to daily have extra reserves from donations and also "need a car".. Is this a double standard in play if the extra reserves from freesite owners are used for personal expense?

See it all depends on the situation. For example, if someone opened up a freesite with a donation button and the intent to make money off of the donations and entirely spend it on personal expenses, I can't say that I would really agree with that. But if someone were to open a freesite, have a donation button, and get so much extra money that they end up having enough left over for personal expenses, without doing it intentionally, I'm okay with that. Of course, it would be even better if they realized they had extra and took the donation button off, like Nouk did, since people would no longer be supporting the site, instead they'd be supporting the creator. But in either situation, if they use the money for personal expenses, I don't really care too much.

[Quinctia]

See, if it's voluntary, it's actually a donation.  It's like a tip jar, especially at a Starbucks.  You know they get paid over minimum wage, they have excellent benefits, but you decided you wanted a grande white mocha with an extra shot of expresso and a shot of hazelnut and soy milk instead of regular and extra whipped cream, so you feel your favorite barista deserves a little extra reward for that.

Same with the free stuff.  If they made something extra super special that you love, you leave something in their tip jar.  You don't ever have to leave something there, but you can.

If you exchange monies for content, it's a business transaction.  One's technically a bit more legal than the other.

[FreeShitOnly]

See it all depends on the situation. For example, if someone opened up a freesite with a donation button and the intent to make money off of the donations and entirely spend it on personal expenses, I can't say that I would really agree with that. But if someone were to open a freesite, have a donation button, and get so much extra money that they end up having enough left over for personal expenses, without doing it intentionally, I'm okay with that. Of course, it would be even better if they realized they had extra and took the donation button off, like Nouk did, since people would no longer be supporting the site, instead they'd be supporting the creator. But in either situation, if they use the money for personal expenses, I don't really care too much.

Gah, you're in my brain, theres a lot of room in there, have a drink!  I was leading up to that point.. (the bolded) why not just take the donation button away once you've received enough donations to cover the costs of the site?? See, I am grassroots by blood (and also not a payer of shit that should be free) and I support causes like this one (PMBD) that are in a sense, a grassroots effort.  I just want to look at both sides of the proverbial coin first.  

I would think that we would be embedding our feet deep into our collective espohagus' (esophogi?) if we said to paysite owners "We dont support you because you're using profit to feed your damn cats and they're not even spayed or neutered!"  and do not say the same to freesite owners with massive reserves left over after site costs have been met. Thats tip-toeing on the hypocracy line..

Heres the problem... Some freesite owners may genuinely have an account specifically for the purposes of site costs and keep those reserves there for ongoing site maintenance (ideal)... but we never truly know if that is the case or if they are using it to pay their $1500.00 mortgage..

I think if we are to be against paysites, it should be for moral and ethical reasons, not for what these people may be doing with the money they receive... because quite simply, those freesite owners could be doing the same..

and then we'd look dumb and shit...

[FreeShitOnly]

See, if it's voluntary, it's actually a donation.  It's like a tip jar, especially at a Starbucks.  You know they get paid over minimum wage, they have excellent benefits, but you decided you wanted a grande white mocha with an extra shot of expresso and a shot of hazelnut and soy milk instead of regular and extra whipped cream, so you feel your favorite barista deserves a little extra reward for that.

Same with the free stuff.  If they made something extra super special that you love, you leave something in their tip jar.  You don't ever have to leave something there, but you can.

If you exchange monies for content, it's a business transaction.  One's technically a bit more legal than the other.

dammit I want coffee.. I prefer a Vente soy almond latte with an extra shot, but I see your point.

[Chris]

why do you get everything so cheap? lol i spent

Sims2 : $69.95
Uni: $29.99
NL: $29.99
OFB: $29.99
Pets: $10 (got so cheap cuz i got a fake copy)

and thats australian dollars

[FreeShitOnly]

70 USD for the base game?? Sheesh! Im in the US and 30.00 USD is about average here for the game.. Or maybe Because I only got it a year or so ago, the price dropped LMAO

See how it adds up?  Not to mention how much you paid for your PC, or how much that new graphics card will cost you, or more RAM when you continue to get these oh so lovely new expansion and stuff packs!  :lol:

[anoramic]

I got the base game for $50 and I pay $30 for every expansion pack that comes out. Do the math. ^_~

[FreeShitOnly]

I got the base game for $50 and I pay $30 for every expansion pack that comes out. Do the math. ^_~

*grabs calculator and types in random numbers*

My calculator is broken... it keeps saying "toofuckinmuch" on the little screen..

 

[anoramic]

Sounds like your calculator works fine, in my opinion.

[calalily]

Yeah, as an Aussie, I've paid like $350 -

Sims 2 - $80.00
University - $30
Nightlife - $30
OFB - $35
FFS - $30
GLS - $35
Pets - $40
PLUS - 2 of my CDs got scratched so I had to repurchase the damn things.  I've spent enough on this game - I don't need some fucknuckle telling me I gotta give them money for anything.