I could see about $10 for the domain name itself (maybe slightly more - I think there's an additional fee for a domain transfer of around $10) but nothing more than that.

Where was that new message posted?  Publicly, or in the staff forum?  Cos if it's publicly, that seriously needs some "lol wut" type replies.  In fact, I think a bunch of image macro spam in reply is the only way to respond to that kind of ridiculousness.

Oh yes, Walt, we'll get right on giving you ridiculous amounts of monies for the turkey you bought.  Obviously, we just want to pour money down a hole like you did.

I gotta say I do agree with Nouk, and that what she seems to be talking about goes a bit beyond ambience.  Major decisions on rules or anything like that should be decided among the staff.  Anyone overseeing it should basically be doing so for technical adminnery and the like - running the server, getting the forum software up and running, getting all the downloads in place, fixing issues, etc. - the actual rules and the way things run on a day to day basis has to be left up to the staff... otherwise it's just being taken from the all-controlling hands of Walt into the all-controlling hands of someone else.  Even if that someone else is someone we know...

On vBulletin that's only available to the tippy-toppest level of admin.  I checked if I could on MTS2 and I don't have that ability.

The sad thing is, if they had just been up-front and said that they needed $700 before the end of the week to pay their rent or fix their car or whatever it was for, I bet people would have donated anyway just out of loyalty and a feeling of friendship.  It wouldn't have necessarily been classy, but at least it would have been honest.

D has retired from major duties of day-to-day drudgery on the site - fixing accounts, setting up new forums, that kind of thing, and has me and Tig to do that, as well as a great team of staff to do the rest of the stuffs.  MTS2 isn't being phased out or discontinued at all - there probably won't be a huge amount of new major features on it, but it's sticking around, and who knows, might even get expanded to offer some sort of TS3 stuff, even though TS3 will suck.

If you're getting the popup ads on every other page, something's wrong - you should only get the takeover ad once per day and then it's just the little ads (which you can easily ignore or block).  If it's happening that often, post up in Site Issues (I think there's a recent thread on this or you can make one of your own) with info on what browser you're using (including the version) and any further details like which ad in particular it is and I'm sure we can get it straightened out.  The ads on MTS2 aren't meant to cause a problem with using the site, and if they are, we'll find a way to fix it.

That Carnival site looks interesting... and well designed... it would have just been nice if they could have, oh, I don't know, come up with their own damn slogan...

"Create them. Play them. Even share them...the games are in your hands!"

http://216.32.95.41/images/MTS2_Banner1.jpg

The Homecrafter EULA that I just downloaded is different.

"Electronic Arts Inc, and its subsidiaries, affiliates and licensors (collectively, "EA") grants you a non- transferable non-exclusive license to download and/or install and use one copy of the software tool ("Tool") and/or materials ("Materials") (collectively the "Tools & Materials") solely for your personal noncommercial use in connection with EA’s products, in accordance with the terms below."

I think it's a poor copy-paste as the Content Manager doesn't make content - just manages it, and the first paragraph talks about using it to make content.  Different legal assistant hacked it together and handed it to the website folks, I think, as it's not even relevant to what the program does.

I think a positive effort would be much more effective.  If there is enough free content out there, people don't need to pay for paysites.  I don't think any legal action would be taken against any free sites as a result (besides some C&Ds perhaps) as any money to be made off suing would be negligible compared to the costs of doing so, but a can of Disney-shaped worms is not something I think anyone wants to open up on this community.

Learn how to make content.  Get good at it, and share it for free so there's good free content out there for folks to use.  Promote free sites.  Don't pay for pay sites.  Promote sites like Money Better Spent (is that back up yet?) so people who are considering paying for content actually know what they're getting.

I know ya'll are paysite haters and that's fine - but remember, there are positive ways that you can contribute to the cause without bringing down a rain of C&Ds on the free community - which I don't think anyone besides the paysites believes must be destroyed.

rofl, wait, what?  What am I being accused of this time?  Oi, the things I get for not participating in an argument...  I'd ask what else I'd been linked to but I don't think I really want to know.

I find it amusing that people think me so proactive.  I'm seriously lazy.  I've typed a couple questions and gotten some answers and posted screenshots - and been left in limbo as a result, wanting to strangle EA.  I'm not out to destroy paysites personally - because that would require me to, like, make an effort and stuff.  And I could be making things like pretty hair and dresses for pixel dolls with that effort.

Sexual remarks about her?

Well if I'm going to be accused of it, I may as well be guilty of it.

Plz, crazy site owner who thinks I'm out to destroy her because I asked EA stuff and then posted what they told me... go fuck yourself.  

Heavily photoshopped screenshots that obscure the item in question, or are so altered (with censoring, filtering, etc.) that the alteration is distracting and detracts from the item in question would not be allowed.

Asking where someone got suchandsuch hair (or whatever else) is not allowed in the threads anymore, either... mainly because it's downright rude to just post "Hay where did u get that hair???" on someone's upload when they've spent a long time on what they've actually -made-.  People can still ask in PMs and if the PMer wants to go, "Oh, that hair is by Peggy, here's her site (link) - which has some pay hair, which you can get at PMBD (link)" that's up to them.

We're trying to promote -free content- and if paysites want to make free content, great.  We'd love for them to be completely free, but we're not going to stop people from using the free items because other ones are pay.  Just like we're not going to stop doing finds of free content from sites that have pay content for the S2C Finds.

What you see is what you should be able to get without paying.  That's it.

What I would rather see, personally, is uploaders - and free site owners - putting somewhere prominently on their site or upload, "Hey, if you appreciate all this pretty free content and want to see the Sims 2 community free and full of hugs and puppies, don't pay for Sims 2 content!  Support 100% free sites with voluntary donations!"  Promote a culture in which John Q.  Everysimmer, upon finding Peggy's site, would go, "Wait, they want money for this?  That's ridiculous!"

... which, in addition to the WYSIWYCGWP (what you see is what you can get without paying) factor, is part of the speechifying site newses' message.

Psh, well, can I be, uhm... the Designated... Navigator?  Wheel... person... One what stays sober and drives the ship when the rest of you lot are drunk on all that nasty rum.

Plum - Eh, it's a minimal pain.  2 minutes at the mirror.  Nothing compared to load times and setting up for pics, posing, cropping, etc...  and I didn't say JUST Maxis hairs but also free hairs - of which there are tons, quite pretty and nice, and look plenty purtiful to show off whatever you've made.  

Cap'n Feathersword - Tee hee, I'd prefer gin but I'll take what I can get.  

I've created this as a quick reference for pay/free hair: http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?title=Hair_Gallery

... not done, obviously, but it's coming along.

If you see something with pay hair you can report it (with a link to the pay hair along with it, please) - it's impossible to know -every- hair out there and especially TSR stuff we're probably not as familiar with.

It's really, really not hard to change your sim into Maxis or free hair when taking pics - it's about what you're uploading, not the other stuff in the pics, anyway.  It's something people are gonna have to get used to... we're used to people getting upset because we're trying to set a higher standard, and they'll continue to do so for one thing or another.  *shrug*

Oh darn, you crazy pirates and your terminologies and WORDS and things.  Now I look the fool, yet again.

Snuggliberated?