There are a few major flaws in the whole EULA argument which everyone seems to overlook

First, and most important, is the fact that almost ALL Sims2 sites are in violation of the EULA.  
I don't mean the part about charging for content - everyone likes to throw that one around, because it suits your purposes.

I mean thae part that says you can not "reverse engineer" or "disassemble" the software.  This means that you can not examine the game itself or it's file formats to find out how they are put together.  So, programs such as SimPE and anything made using such programs also violates the EULA.

In short, if you think paysites are doing something "illegal" because of the EULA violation, then it also follows that any site using content made using SimPE or other modding tools is also doing something "illegal"

If you are against paysites for some other reason, fine.  But all this talk about the EULA is pure BS as far as I am concerned, because you don't really care about it at all.

Oh, the other things about the EULA that are never mentioned:

Here in the US anyway, a pesron under 18 can not legally agree to a "contract" which is what the EULA is.  If I am under 18, I can click the EULA and install the game, but legally the EULA is now void.

Not to ment the fact that even if I am over 18, there is no way to prove WHO agreed to the EULA - maybe my sister installed the game, or my dad?  In that case, am I still bound by it?  Certainly not, because I could say that I never even saw it.

In case you are wondering, I do NOT run a paysite, all my stuff is available for free at various places.  But this whole EULA nonsense really puts this site in a bad light, and by extension free sites in general, and turns a lot of people away from your campaign.

Sorry to spoil your thread, but I can definately confirm that the "Diva" hair mesh on TSR was not stolen.

I know, because I did the conversion, at the request of, and will the full knowledge of, the original Poser meshmaker.

In fact, he did most of the conversion himself - I supplied him with Sims2 "dummy" head meshes and told him what format and sizes I needed for the mesh files and textures.  I then did the assignments, and put them into .package files for him, which was then fowarded to Thomas at TSR.

I don't know about the others, but it's quite possible that they were done the same way.  They had asked me to do more conversions, but I declined - whoever it was that said it is a royal pain to convert Poser meshes to Sims2 is definately right.

Anyway, before you assume some Poser mesh is stolen, try contacting the original creator of the mesh.  They certainly would know.

:lol:

I haven't so much as requested that my stuff here be removed, and I really don't care about getting credit for it either.

As for honesty, I suppose what you mean is since I bought the Sims2 game I can do whatever I want with it too, right?

Like post copies of it for people to download?

Or, I don't know, maybe make items for the game and then put them on a paysite?

No, honesty doesn't go over well at this site - it kinda defeats the whole purpose of it, ya know.

It might make you think about what you are doing, and that wouldn't be good would it?

Here is what I object to about this site, and what prompted me to post in the first place.

I am the father of two kids, and I do not like sites that promote stealing, and even worse try to frame it as if they are doing something good.

You can bandy about all you like about the EULA and so on - but you admit, right there on the front page, that you are doing something wrong.  That whole bit about "you are here, wew are here" and how you aren't subject to US copyright laws is an open admission that you are violating them, isn't it?

BTW, the EULA, no matter what interpretation you care to make of it, is an agreement between the person who installs the software, and the creator/owner of the software.  If you think I (or anybody else) is in violation of the Maxis EULA then you can report it to Maxis - if they choose to do nothing about it, or openly support it themselves, that's the end of it.

So in short this is what I don't like about this site:

* Promotion of theft to kids as a way of solving a problem - that's the main one, I wouldn't have even bothered to post here if it wasn't for that.

* The thought-police attitude that seems to pervade this site, where many of you think you are the authorities on what people can and can't do with their Sims mods.

* The whole negativity thing - "Paysites must be destroyed" and all, you even have thre3ads here bashing Delphy and ModTheSims2 because they don't agree with your methods.  I can understand being against pay sites, but being against ModTheSims2?  That whole site exists to promote exactly what you claim to believe in.  Is it because they do it in a positive way that you object to?  I really don't get this part at all.

The rest of it I have no problem with, whether you like/hate/ignore paysites, whether you agree or disagree with me, whether you like me or my Sims2 items dosen't concern me in the least and I'm all for free speech.

I suppose it never occurred to you that you are childish idiots?

Well, some people don't want to look at reality, do they?

I also see that no one has actually read the infamous EULA - if you really read it, it says nothing at all about making a profit from the content - it simply says you can't distribute it - period.  It is pretty much the standard sort of EULA that comes with any piece of software, from Windows right on down the line.

From that viewpoint, any and all user-created content is in violation, no matter if it is free or not.

And the old "I paid for it, I can share it if I want" excuse is pretty lame too.  That means it is OK to distribute mp3's, copys of Windows, Maya, Poser meshes and so on, right?  Is that what you are saying?

Distributing other people's work without their permission is stealing, no matter how you try to dress it up.

I smell bullshit too - but it's not coming from Delphi.

I try to avoid threads like these, other than to laugh at them - but there is only so much BS I can take.

You guys take yourselves so seriously, like you are on some kind of grand crusade, to save the world from ... er, something or other, I'm not sure quite what.

I do understand, I was 12 years old myself once.  But it helps to pick a valid crusade.

Protecting Maxis' EULA?  But Maxis not only knows about paysites, they don't just "turn a blind eye" to them, they actively support them - they have interviews with various pay site owners on their own site, invite them to get-togethers, do interviews on paysites themselves...

Nah, forget about that EULA crap, you're just making yourselves look like idiots.

You don't like paysites?  It's easy, just don't subscribe to 'em.

I think it's stupid to pay four times the cost of a pair of Wrangler Jeans just to have some designer's name on my ass - so, I just don't buy 'em.
It's that simple, and I can spend my "crusading" time on something more important...

Or, if you really think it's that important, just be honest about it - come right out and say it:  "I want this stuff, I don't want to have to pay for it, so I'll just steal it."  Real pirates didn't hide behind a bunch of bullshit, they just took what they wanted at the point of a sword.  Blackbeard never spoke the word "EULA" in his life.

And I can personally attest that the crap about the webhosting costs is pure BS.  I have had a small Sims site for several years, since back in the Sims1 days.  It is now on it's 4th webhosting service, having been kicked off the first three for using too much of the "unlimited bandwith" they offered.  And this is a small, insignificant site - with at most 1000 visitors a day, usually closer to 500, and average bandwith usage of 40G a month.  The present hosting service doesn't complain about it (not yet anyway) but it does cost a bit more than $200 per year - and it would cost even more if I want to increase the amount of storage space used for the site.  Maybe I could host it for less if I was knowledgeable about thi sort of stuff, if I had the time and money to set up my own server, etc...  But I don't, nor do most people.  

I could go on, I found a lot more BS floating around this site, but it's Christmas so I'm trying to be nice.

Have a Happy Holiday, everyone, and don't let me spoil your grand crusade by injecting a bit of truth into it.