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Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hecubus on 2007 May 22, 19:48:08 There has been a great deal of discussion in the community in the last few days about contact with EA Legal in regard to paysites. As many of you know, recent contact has offered new hope to some, and despite naysayers, I believe it is time to make our voice clearly heard. Nouk's petition is a great step, and worth signing. Here is the next one.
I have spoken with a lawyer friend at another gaming company, and he assured me that sending letters by postal mail will at the very least ensure the matter gets EA's attention. Of course, he could not predict the outcome, but he felt that the most negative thing would be EA's decision to let paysites stand. That being said, I am now confident that lobbying EA's Legal department is an appropriate action. Linked here (http://www.mediafire.com/?cxv20qaywty) is a letter I have composed; if you believe, as I do, that EA should take the abuse of the EULA seriously, and free the Sims content for all to enjoy, please consider sending this letter. The letter is saved in RTF format, which means you should be able to open it with your document program (Word, Word Perfect, etc.). Once open, please follow these instructions: 1. Be sure to change the information indicated in bold BEFORE you print; note that there is a sentence in the middle where you can highlight a site in particular that you wish to bring their attention to. 1a. Remove bold formatting before printing. 2. Be sure to put your return address on the envelope. This is just good sense. 3. Be sure to sign the letter before mailing. (sounds silly, but it's worth reminding.) While I know there are EA legal departments scattered throughout the world, I am asking you to make your statement to EA corporate headquarters; those of you outside North America will have to spend a bit more for an airmail stamp; I hope you think it's worth it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. _____________ If you don't wish to open the file, the text is reprinted here (the rtf includes the address, etc.): Quote As a fan of The Sims and The Sims2, I am saddened by the unmitigated growth and greed of fansites requiring money for user-created custom content. I understand that your End User License Agreement prohibits paysites; in the third paragraph, your EULA states, “You may include materials created with the Tools & Materials on your personal noncommercial website for the noncommercial benefit of the fan community for EA's products”. Unfortunately, a growing number of sites are blatently ignoring this statement and benefiting commercially. A list of 87 paysites, including pay content and pay structure, was sent to your department on May 21, 2007, should you require further detail. In particular, I find www.thesimsresource.com and www.openhouseforsims.com especially offensive, as they ask for an unreasonable subscription rate, which means subscribers would be paying more for content than they did for the game and its expansion packs. Paysites seem to have gone unchecked by Maxis and EA – statements made in chat logs by employees, such as this exchange: Chat Participant: What about people trying to charge or make money off of your free hosting? Will you allow that or ban them? MaxisLuc (Sep 18, 2003 6:24:49 PM): My goal is to allow for that. This is just one example among many that has discouraged the fan community, and we have found internal methods of combating paysites, from filesharing sites to public lists and accreditation of sites that comply with the EULA. However, recent contact with your department has heartened me, and I now believe you have the information and the will to pursue violators of the EULA. Custom content is what keeps many players interested in The Sims; many people have several gigabytes of custom content that enhances their lots, their Sims, and their play experience. This content is valuable to us, and all of it should be available to all of us. Please do not let this matter drop. The fan community is in turmoil, poor and young fans are denied access to what should be free content, and paysite owners are making money off your product. Sincerely, Note: this has been cross posted at Insim, FFFSS, and SFV. ETA: for those who wish to fax... Fax Number 1-650-628-1422 Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: darkangel on 2007 May 22, 19:48:58 You're made of awesome Hecubus. :wink:
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: calalily on 2007 May 22, 19:52:46 Great letter, great idea. I'll print and personalise it, and then will try to remember to send it.
Is it possible for you to include the corporate EA address for those of us too lazy to search? Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: foxyloxy on 2007 May 22, 19:54:39 Awesome letter, and idea.
Dumb question. What address do I send this to? Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hecubus on 2007 May 22, 19:54:53 The address is on the letter. I only copied in the body. <grin>
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Paleoanth on 2007 May 22, 19:56:53 What about sending it as a fax. They would get it quicker.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hecubus on 2007 May 22, 20:03:53 That's a good idea too.
Fax Number 650-628-1422 Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: alia on 2007 May 22, 20:14:32 Edit: Gods you people are fast.
Nevermind. :) Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: SparklePlenty on 2007 May 22, 20:16:59 Thanks, Hecuba, for writing the letter, and for enabling us to send a version on to EA. Good work.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Lilyroseisapirate on 2007 May 22, 20:46:14 i am also going to make a personal note that on the official EA sponsored sim webisite they they allow links to "subscription" sites allowed, which mean the people in charge of running the fan site page are aware of this as well. i am not sure who runs Thesim2.ea.com site, but i am guessing its the "maxoids." so along the line, these people knew the sites existed. do you think this is worth posting at the sims 2 community or not? i am not sure if they would get their panties in a twist or not. i think i will send miss hysterical paroxysm a PM and ask her if she would like it. i may not always agree with her policies, but i do know she is not a fan of paysites. thank you hecubus for your time and concern.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Nina on 2007 May 22, 20:51:47 Dude, I don't see the address anywhere... and I also don't have a printer. *sulk* :evil:
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Chinchillagrl on 2007 May 22, 20:55:35 Mine is on it's way to Redwood City, CA. :D
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Lorelei on 2007 May 22, 22:21:51 Time to hunt for some online free downloadable FAX software again!
I only ever need to send a FAQ when it's for business, and I've been in grad school for a while. I have no idea where my old program is, actually. It may have even been for my Mac. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Lilyroseisapirate on 2007 May 22, 23:05:33 lol, do you think they will have to rewrite the book of torts to include paysites? :lol:
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hecubus on 2007 May 23, 00:06:47 Nina, the address is on the rtf file that you download (see Linked here' in the original post)...which is why I said 'the rtf includes the address'.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: MoonDragon on 2007 May 23, 02:10:13 Great idea, Hecubus. I'll need to change a few lines to explain my personal beef with paysites but you can count on me and my bf ... hmm, I think I can twist my mother's arm and get her to send a letter also. She doesn't play but we've been discussing the paysite problem and she's offended too. hehe
Three more letters coming up, me matey! AARRRR!! Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Jojoba on 2007 May 23, 07:10:48 Its a very good letter Hecubus :D I'll be sending it
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Broomhilda on 2007 May 23, 11:27:43 My printer is screwed up. I won't get to send my letter until I can get my friend to print it out tonight. I'm sure her whole family will be sending one too. :D
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Captain Berg on 2007 May 24, 12:48:43 Sent mine today! :D I was surprised how cheap the postage was - less than two dollars all the way from Sweden to U.S. I'm unemployed atm but even I can spare that amount.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: callmeird on 2007 May 24, 14:55:24 I'll definitely send that letter when I'm back at my own computer. Might replace OpenHouse with Peggy, her prices are so atrocious I feel she deserves a special mention!
Thanks for sharing the letter Hecubus, you rock ^^ Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hecubus on 2007 May 24, 15:03:34 I figured people would rewrite that section to suit their own needs. I wish I'd done the Vita calculation before I mailed...that offends me like nobody's business.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Lilyroseisapirate on 2007 May 24, 15:43:22 i used Peggy and TSR, lol, i bet no one changed them! i wish i wouldve done more of a rant on the "donation" sites. Hecubus you are so right, vita sims prices are RIDICULOUS
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Amazone on 2007 May 24, 19:28:44 Thanks! I will be sending the letter. With some few personal comments to start with.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Kraken on 2007 May 24, 21:01:51 Thanks Hecubus, downloading...!
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: calalily on 2007 May 24, 22:07:51 This is just a casual wondering - but I wonder that there can't be another campaign - don't know how viable it is.
What if all free sites shut off their downloads for a day - just one day (the same day) - and put up notes about free downloads vs. paysite downloads. I don't know that MTS2 or Insim would be in on it - but on a Saturday - what if that were to happen? Or am I dreaming? :lol: Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Captain Feathersword on 2007 May 25, 09:01:00 I like your thinking Calalily.
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Pescado on 2007 May 25, 10:39:37 Quote from: "calalily" What if all free sites shut off their downloads for a day - just one day (the same day) - and put up notes about free downloads vs. paysite downloads. I don't know that MTS2 or Insim would be in on it - but on a Saturday - what if that were to happen? I think it'd be roughly akin to all the black people in the country going on a hunger strike to protest the KKK. In other words, a really stupid idea. Now if sites were to oh, say, do THIS (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com), and LEAVE it that way, THAT would be cool. Whether it's a protest or not, the pure LULZ would be worth it! Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: calalily on 2007 May 25, 10:46:42 Pescado, nobody sees that other than the first time they go to your site - I bypass and go straight to the forum.
You fail to explain your analogy here, so I don't get why it would be a stupid idea. Insanely, I'd like to hear an actual explanation for your stance. Not to mention that the casual downloader doesn't usually see all this letter writing stuff - but the lack of downloads - that would bring it to their attention. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: missangelica on 2007 May 25, 16:23:10 Eh, a day of no downloads isn't much.. a week would be better.. or closed until paysites start closing!!
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Lilyroseisapirate on 2007 May 25, 16:56:14 thats a pretty good idea miss angelica
Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: SparklePlenty on 2007 May 25, 17:06:37 A strike is a good idea, Angelica.
Also, Mr. Pescado, strikes are well known throughout history to be effective. Hunger strikes, not so much, because who cares? But the recent Day Without Immigrants was very effective in drawing attention to the cause of immigrants. Not to mention the Civil Rights Movement. Also, there is the famous gag about Lysistrata (the name of one of my sims, by the way) convincing the women of ancient Greece to withhold sex from their warlike husbands until said husbands stopped warring on each other. :) That said, a strike is a good idea, Angelica. How would full compliance be accomplished? Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hekima on 2007 May 25, 17:20:29 I don't think that's the best idea. Part of what keeps the paysites going is instant gratification. They thrive thanks to impulsive people who can see a photoshopped hair image and thing, "OMG! Awesome!11!!! I can't live without it! I'm gonna throw all my money at this site 'cause I gotta have that now!" The fact that they can probably get better stuff for free doesn't really matter because to this day, you can still see random defenders of Peggy and Rose popping up on some sites like the File Vault and stuff. The idea is even that since it costs money, it has to be good and you're obviously stupid if you can't see that.
They're not interested in how legal or illegal it is to share content. Otherwise, there wouldn't be "legal threats" here or people who sign up just to defend pay crap. If free sites stop sharing stuff for free for an extended period of time, those people are still going to throw money at paysites because they want stuff now. They're not going to sit around for a lesson that's probably going to fly right over their heads, anyway. Granted, they could also miss all that annoying small print on such sites about how long they're going to have to wait for downloads. Rose's is pretty stupid and it would be fun for them all to blow up at her... But, uh, at any rate, showing that there's good stuff to be gotten for free while including a few well placed jabs at the evil of pay sites seems more effective than not sharing anything to teach a lesson. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Zazazu on 2007 May 25, 17:24:17 Quote from: "Pescado" Quote from: "calalily" What if all free sites shut off their downloads for a day - just one day (the same day) - and put up notes about free downloads vs. paysite downloads. I don't know that MTS2 or Insim would be in on it - but on a Saturday - what if that were to happen? I think it'd be roughly akin to all the black people in the country going on a hunger strike to protest the KKK. In other words, a really stupid idea. Now if sites were to oh, say, do THIS (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com), and LEAVE it that way, THAT would be cool. Whether it's a protest or not, the pure LULZ would be worth it! Hell, I didn't, and I'm not exactly a dumbass. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Hecubus on 2007 May 25, 17:25:43 I like Pescado's idea a lot...that MATY screen really throws a lot of people off.
Another idea...wouldn't be interesting to do banners for free sites that show good free items next to similar, crap pay items? Like putting a Nouk hair next to a peggy hair...a Piggis recolor next to an Atwa recolor...etc? "Why pay when you can get the same - or better - for free?" THAT's the campaign. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: missangelica on 2007 May 25, 17:51:04 Quote from: "Hecubus" Another idea...wouldn't be interesting to do banners for free sites that show good free items next to similar, crap pay items? Eh, you'd have to use your own screenshots of the crap pay stuff though because of course they try to hide the gaps in the photoshopped pictures they put on their sites. If people knew that's what they were getting, I'm sure the impulse to get would go down pretty quick.. The thought of putting Atwa stuff in my game repulses me. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Chinchillagrl on 2007 May 25, 18:16:13 Quote from: "missangelica" The thought of putting Atwa stuff in my game repulses me. I was thinking the same thing! Atwa makes my skin crawl. I literally got a chill just thinking about it. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Pescado on 2007 May 26, 02:04:31 Quote from: "SparklePlenty" Also, Mr. Pescado, strikes are well known throughout history to be effective. Hunger strikes, not so much, because who cares? But the recent Day Without Immigrants was very effective in drawing attention to the cause of immigrants. Not to mention the Civil Rights Movement. Strikes are effective because the people who go on strike directly impact the people causing the problem. If you want to affect paysites, you'd have to orchestrate a mass boycott. Going on strike wouldn't work because YOU DON'T WORK FOR A PAYSITE. So why would they care what you do? Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: cheekylilgirl on 2007 May 26, 02:07:49 Quote from: "Hecubus" I like Pescado's idea a lot...that MATY screen really throws a lot of people off. Another idea...wouldn't be interesting to do banners for free sites that show good free items next to similar, crap pay items? Like putting a Nouk hair next to a peggy hair...a Piggis recolor next to an Atwa recolor...etc? "Why pay when you can get the same - or better - for free?" THAT's the campaign. I think that's an awesome idea, after all it's educating downloaders into thinking is that pay stuff really better or are they just being deceived. I actually think it's never ever better, but some don't know. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: kagechikara on 2007 May 26, 04:45:12 I gotta say, Mr. Pescado has a point. I mean, if the free download sites are down, who are people going to turn to to get their hit of downloads? Paysites.
Really, we'd only be driving people into Peggy's arms. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: EmilyTwitch on 2007 May 27, 23:24:44 Back to the topic of letter writing:
My classmates and I all enjoy playing TS2. Coincidentally, we all hate paysites. Today each student sent one of these letters, personalized and signed. There's another forty letters headed their way! 8) Title: Free The Sims: Letter Writing Campaign Post by: Apsalar on 2007 May 28, 15:21:07 I agree with Pescado, surprisingly. Besides, if you wanna be mean, just make every paysite url redirect to PMBD. Mouahahahah! Arr!
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