Haha! A friend of mine did that. Romance sim + home business with "charge for being there" + date = amazing customer ratings.

Whether you (or I) like it or not, EA Games owns the rights to the software - they acquired those rights legally by purchasing them. They own the software used to create custom content, they specify the terms of its use and whether you agree to the EULA or not, if tomorrow EA announced that all user-created custom content had to be taken off the Internet, those refusing to do so would have a tough legal battle on their hands.

Now, whether EAxis is right or wrong isn't really the purpose of this forum, site, etc. We all agree that pay site owners do NOT own the rights to what they're trying to pimp, and therefore should - nay, must - be destroyed.

I think the problem overall is... the only people who have the right to collect or disburse any money for any Sims-related stuff is EA Games. Period. If EA wants to commission stuff from creators and add it to their stuff pack or to put on the exchange, that's their legal right.

The rest of us have no legal right to demand, require, or expect any sort of payment for a game we did not create. Anybody who proposes that money exchange hands between anyone but EA, its employees, and its consumers for game content is promoting a breach of the EULA.

There's one small difference between pay sites and sites that just ask for donations to pay for hosting costs - when a site like WickedNoukFamily says "We have a set in the works for April, if we reach the donation target, it'll go on the April aspiration page for everyone" they give that stuff to everybody - whether it's Mr. Gottcash or Ms. Nodough.

Pay sites, on the other hand, only want Mr. Gottcash to have it. They expect Ms. Nodough to cough up cash for the exact same file that Mr. Gottcash already paid for. If a site sets up a target amount and then updates when the target is reached, that's fine - because donating is voluntary, not mandatory.

Sounds like a pyramid scheme to me. *shrug*

I have a website. I see a file that you have and I like. I say, "Hey, Overwatch, I really like that file. Give me five dollars, and I'll take it."

It's ass backward.

Again, why would I pay him? I made the thing, I can sit here at my computer and bwahaha at everyone because they don't have it. And then put it on mediafire or something similar if people want it - absolutely free. A creator having to pay for the privilege of letting other people use their stuff? That's like me having to pay you to let me clean your house.

Sorry, I don't see this as any kind of solution, unless you're trying to get people to stop creating. If the fees are paid by the creators, where's the incentive to create? I work to make a hair mesh, and then I have to pay Thomass to upload it? Nah, I'll pass.

30% off of what I'm paying T$R now is quite fair.

Of course, I'm paying them nothing, so... 

I didn't see BlueSoup fail either, though I watched the re-runs.

I should make a video. To the tune of the Ramones' "Beat on the Brat" I think.

I'm trying to picture WCIF in regard to pirates, and right now, this is what I'm getting.

Person walks down the dock to the pirate ship, "Pardon me, good sirs and madams, but could you possibly tell me where to find..."

Pirate #1: Dance!

Person: I beg your pardon?

Pirate #2: Yar! Do a little dance, and then we be tellin ya where ta find what ye be lookin fer.

Person: Fine. *does a little dance* Now, where can I find...

Pirate #3: Don't forget the rum!

Pirate #1: Oh, aye! Ya gotta give us rum, too!

And so on...

And that's exactly why I don't buy stuff packs. Why should I pay 2/3rds of what I'd pay for a full expansion, just to get objects that tend to be buggy and/or unusable with expansions (like damn near all the electronics in every stuff pack)? Hell, even the Maxis-made stuff on the exchange only seems to work right half the time.

There's plenty of custom content out there that's free and actually works, and the creators try to keep it updated with expansions.

There are a whole lot of threads on the BBS, and not a Maxoid in sight. Go figure.

The whole Sims 2 site isn't loading for me right now. Maybe they're having problems.

This is clearly bullshit, but on the other hand...

Think of how much more easily people will be converted to the Tao of PMBD when they see that price has gone up considerably, but quality doesn't reflect the price.

Maybe the time will come soon that the only people who subscribe to TSR are the ones who do so to donate to the booty. 

Thanks. It's tomorrow, so I'll go from being "30" to being my actual age. I wonder how often Pescado years and actual ages coincide around here...

I think, in honor of Atwat, we should have a contest amongst us... who can make the worst recolor of a Maxis mesh. I've always wanted to make a dress in these colors: http://www.dayglo.com/

 

Though I gotta say, this is the best birthday present EVER.