TSR: IN UR COMPUTER, VIRUSIN' UR FILES!

[CatOfWar]

It's too bad they're not all brave enough to actually come here and post their feelings instead of making posts elsewhere, talking about it elsewhere or making anonymous replies to a secret. As long as nobody is willing to let their true feelings be known, nothing will ever change.

I would like to see some of these anon people posting here on PMBD (*).   Not just because it's a more appropriate forum for it, not just because anon posts are hard to take seriously.  There has been civil discussion here.  There are folks here who share some of their views.  If they want more of that, then why not come here and be the change they want to see?  I've had disagreements here with people who have very different views from mine and feel very strongly about them.  Didn't make me dislike anyone or want to leave the forum.  Granted, no one here's ever been really nasty to me.  If that's what happened to some of those people, I do sympathize.  However, if someone gets nasty, they don't have to reply in kind, or even reply at all.  Takes two to forum fight.  And why let some stranger, far away, who can only type at you, stop you from expressing an opinion?

(*) for all the reasons stated above, and also because I actually went to the silly site to see the full version of a post referenced here.  Nothing on SimSecrets showed up for me except an image or two, and I'm not going to get LJ just to read SimSecrets once.

[Scratch]

Wow... deja vu

I'm quoting myself from almost 27 months ago but it seems it's the same discussion again...

I hate typing so this may be the longest thing i've typed in a year... 

I agree with hecubus about the general shift of attitude lately... I've been reading this forum for what seems like forever and it seems to me the intelligent conversations are few and far between now... seems like most threads go off topic too easily and too soon... (which one was the bra thread?)... I know threads derail here and at MATY and i'm used to it.... but it seems to happen too easily here....

I wouldn't call it cliquey here, but there is little effort made to include newbs in on a conversation...  I've seen very lucid posts from someone with only a few previous post and not one regular will acknowledge them ...  (I hate typing and all i can think of at the time is "yeah, I agree")

Pes has given all of us the power over thank you and Hi post... ignore them... don't post in them... refuse to acknowledge their existence... let them float to the ether that is page 2....  Yes Pes ... some stickies would be helpful

Pirates have a zest for life and enjoy interacting with the locals and the tourists... They drink their rum, sing a sea shanty or two and yell at everyone to come in and join the festivities... they should only draw out their cutlass when the paysites are spotted of the port bow and we need a boarding party....

oh yeah... and EA must think this place is filled with a bunch of fucktards..... seriously

If it was just a tsr lackey, posting that secret, just to start a fight amongst the pirates, it sure didn't take much.... but i'm more inclined to believe that the person was sincere with what they said.

When this site first started up, I felt it was something i'd like to become more involved in.. but at the time i was still very new to forums in general and, as i said then, I hate typing.

I watched and tried to contribute when i could, but I slowly realized that this site was becoming very cliquey and those new to the site were just ignored. It's always seemed to me, from the beginning, that there were just a few people who enjoyed each others thoughts and opinions and didn't want the noobs to spoil their playground.

I'd hate to see those that have been around here for a long time to flounce because they feel that their attitude isn't appreciated. This site needs their knowledge about the Sims community. However, an analogy for a moment, if i were to go to a new store in the area and I asked the first employee i saw "Where the Garlic Powder? and they replied to me "READ THE FUCKING SIGNS", I'd probably never go back there again. I wouldn't care if the Owner/Manager is an asshole with a fiercely glowing heart of gold (ssshhhh, don't tell him i said that) or the cashiers would fart hearts for me. If there's a chance i'd have to deal with that little shithead again... i wouldn't go back.

Doing a site like this is bound to attract the enemy as well as new friends and it's sometimes hard to tell the who is who. I can't remember what thread it was, but i followed it for pages, before I realized Paleoanth was a TSR defector. I think someone like that should have had their own thread started to bring that kind of important information to the masses. If only to give some of us a chance to say hello and have a conversation with her about her experiences there, her thoughts on PMBD, the sims community in general, etc.

I understand some of the regular posters know all this information and maybe don't think it deserves a thread on its own but... I DON"T FUCKING CARE!! this is supposed to be a site about information... the more easily read it is, the better.

I'd like to know about new shinies at free sites but there's no way i'm going to read through a 120+ page thread to see if there's something, i'd like now, that i didn't want 6 months ago.

I understand some of the regulars here don't like to see new threads started but... I DON"T FUCKING CARE!!

As I stated 27 months ago and as my father taught me.... If you don't have something civil to say to someone then don't say anything at all..... unless they reveal themselves to be a paysite associate and then all's fair.

I could probably come up with a few more things to say... but i hate typing and my brain hurts.

I just hope that everybody can digest the spirit of this conversation and throw out the ugly bits and help this site to grow into a better and more relevant site for the Sims 2/3 community.

Thanks for taking the time to read my rant.

PS. one suggestion... break up the "Your Prettiest Freesite Creation Find" thread into categories and make some sort of graphical web pages featuring the finds... for instance i have very little interest in bodyshop items but I'd to know more about buy/build items.

[ShanOw]

Thanks a lot for sharing your opinion. There are parts I agree with and parts I want to burn - but I am going to let you have your p.o.v.

PS. one suggestion... break up the "Your Prettiest Freesite Creation Find" thread into categories and make some sort of graphical web pages featuring the finds... for instance i have very little interest in bodyshop items but I'd to know more about buy/build items.

I do have to say I disagree with this idea. The site is not really a CC finds site; it is an activist site so these discussions would be slightly off the point.

[CatOfWar]

I'd like to know about new shinies at free sites but there's no way i'm going to read through a 120+ page thread to see if there's something, i'd like now, that i didn't want 6 months ago.

The new finds thread is meant more for regular readers who check it frequently.  There are free finds sites that are more organized and easier to browse.  Try the one linked in my sig, or the finds at MTS, or the many others out there.  PMBD aims to destroy paysites, and promoting free sites is one way to do that, but we promote by directing people to free sites, not by becoming a free finds or free content site.  Categorizing the finds thread would take time better spent on more piraty activities.  We leave running a finds site or content site to finds and content sites.

I understand some of the regulars here don't like to see new threads started

There's a reason for that.  There are already existing threads for ongoing discussion about TSR asshattery, paysite fug, free site goodies, and other PMBD "main focus" topics.  For questions, we have Ask A Pirate.  We have an introductions thread, a thank you thread, and then there's Sharkbait.  Many new threads are about stuff already covered by existing threads.  Many new threads are questions from people who didn't bother to read the FAQ.  Lots are "I want my TSR shinies!  I want my EA Store stuff!" type nonsense.  That's why regulars don't like new threads.  However, sometimes someone has a legitimate reason to start a new thread about a topic, and that is permitted, and does happen, it's just rare compared to all the junk new threads.

I DON"T FUCKING CARE!!
*snip*
If you don't have something civil to say to someone then don't say anything at all

Those two things seem a bit contradictory.  Not that I'm that offended or find it that mean or nasty, but I wouldn't classify it as exactly civil.  I'm totally behind your second statement.

[birdsdaword]

I do have to say I disagree with this idea. The site is not really a CC finds site; it is an activist site so these discussions would be slightly off the point.

i can name countless off the point things in this very thread-- let alone this phorum.
A member who is for the cause, has a reasonable suggestion for the freesite finds thread that other members might enjoy as well. Just making it easier to navigate..will not make this a CC finds site.

[dstar]

CatoWar is right - there are other places to look for free finds like my site. There is also a links list stickied in the top of this forum section with a downloadable freesites links list that I just finished. As a site admin myself, I know that re-organizing a 200 page thread takes time that staff members simply do not have birdsaword. I will be maintaining that list, but the responsibility of any site member once they have it is to follow the links and find their own shines. We are not a finds site- we are here to stop paysites from charging for content which violates both EA's EULA and the commonly accepted rules of conduct in any other gaming community, and the links list at the top of the page is all you are likely to get.

There is a lot of work staff here do behind the scenes that you don't see - like cleaning payfiles donated to the Booty so that people who insist on having pay content in the game don't end up with their computers having BFBVS's, investigating the illpaysites like TSR, promoting freesites and free content elsewhere in the community like MTS and Black Pearl Sims, and checking up on which paysites have closed, become inactive, or released all pay content and gone free, as well as  assisting Pescado in everyday site maintenance stuff because between modding for Sims 3, maintaining and supporting his Sims 2 mods, and administering 3 websites and a server that holds several more sites- not just his- he does not have enough hours in the day to do everything on top of his r/l responsibilities.

None of the others members have time to to help staff members re-organize threads for easier navigation either were any of said staff inclined to do so which they are not, because, many of us create for one or the other of the 3 Sims games, and run our own sites as well. It siimply isn't feasible, and not what this site is intended for.

The site is what it is, and if you want the goodies you will simply have to do what everyone else has done and dig through the Freesite Creation, and Free Pawns Pay Threads, or download the links list that I posted and go on a Sims Sites Journey. This is not meant to be nasty or critical or anything really this isn't but focusing on finds here would be detrimental simply because it would shift the focus away from stopping paysites and onto elements that are already present in the community- like free finds threads and sites. It would simply be a waste of time and energy better spent elsewhere.

If fighting the good fight by promoting free content and directing people to free sites, and using free content in your game is what you want to focus on you are welcome to join FSF and make a contribution by moderating the site, helping with finds, researching links and so on.

[birdsdaword]

CatoWar is right - there are other places to look for free finds like my site. There is also a links list stickied in the top of this forum section with a downloadable freesites links list that I just finished. As a site admin myself, I know that re-organizing a 200 page thread takes time that staff members simply do not have birdsaword. I will be maintaining that list, but the responsibility of any site member once they have it is to follow the links and find their own shines. We are not a finds site- we are here to stop paysites from illegal, illicity and immoral actions- and the links list at the top of the page is all you are likely to get.

There is a lot of work staff here do behind the scenes that you don't see - like cleaning payfiles donated to the Booty so that people who insist on having pay content in the game don't end up with their computers having BFBVS's, investigating the illegal and illict actions of paysites like TSR, promoting freesites and free content elsewhere in the community like MTS and Black Pearl Sims, and checking up on which paysites have closed, become inactive, or released all pay content and gone free, as well as  assisting Pescado in everyday site maintenance stuff because between modding for Sims 3, maintaining and supporting his Sims 2 mods, and administering 3 websites and a server that holds several more sites- not just his- he does not have enough hours in the day to do everything on top of his r/l responsibilities. None of the others members have time to to help staff members re-organize threads for easier navigation either were any of said staff inclined to do so which they are not, because, many of us create for one or the other of the 3 Sims games, and run our own sites as well. It siimply isn't feasible, and not what this site is intended for. The site is what it is, and if you want the goodies you will simply have to do what everyone else has done and dig through the Freesite Creation, and Free Pawns Pay Threads, or download the links list that I posted and go on a Sims Sites Journey.

I believe that is reasonable. I am one who will actually go through the entire thread to find something cool, but I can understand where Scratch was coming from in his suggestion. I really was just responding to the fact that altering the free-finds thread is so off the point at this site....when I weed through actual, amazingly off the point things here in my lurkdom all the time.

But I totally agree with you on the time and effort it would take to do that on PMBD, when there are sites for free-finds already out there.

[CatOfWar]

edit: Ninja'd!  I should really check recent posts before hitting submit.

---------------------

Just making it easier to navigate..will not make this a CC finds site.

It's an issue of time and effort, not just site purpose.  Do you have a quick and easy way to do this?  I've spent weeks categorizing stuff at MTS, and that was with a simple easy to use checkbox system already in place.  Only got a fraction of it done, there was a whole team of us working on it.  We don't have checkboxes and content filters here.  Would you have someone go through 120+ pages and move each post to an appropriate subthread?  Or label all the posts with keywords?  Maybe you're thinking of only doing this with new finds posts, which would be more reasonable.  But you'd have to get everyone to post in the correct subthread or use the right keywords or whatever.  There are existing finds sites that already do what you're looking for.

As I see it, the finds thread here is for directing people to great free sites they might not have known about.  It doesn't have to be organized and searchable to do that, the 3 or 4 most recent posts can accomplish its purpose.

[lorikay]

When I first found this site, about ten months ago, I started from the beginning of the prettiest finds site and went all the way to the end at that time.  I loved that thread!  I still love it.  I was so excited to finally find really good content for my game I didn't mind going through the entire thread.

I think the new stickied free site thread is perfect.  I love browsing through different sites to check out their content.  

Anyway, I like it here.  I think the cause is worth it.  If there's a clique atmosphere here I find that very natural.  People have been fighting this for a long time now.  They're fighting against paysites, which EA seems to find okay, and won't even fight for their own rights.  Sims players are really just on their own.  So I appreciate this site for what it is.  And frankly I've never been mistreated here.  I read the FAQ

Edit:  Cause we're not fighting EA. Duh!

[Darqstar]

Okay, I know I haven't been active in the Sims community in awhile, and if that negates my opinion to you, then feel free to skip this.

However, after reading the secret, reading this discussion, so on and so forth, I am scratching my head about one thing; since when does liking or disliking pirates, this board, or anyone/thing and PMBD mean you have to be pro paysite?  The secret seemed to imply that because we weren't warm, fuzzy, and overflowing with milk and honey for everyone and everything having to do with The Sims and the Community, that somehow, the alternative was to go, "Oh fuck it, paysites ROCK!"

Right is right and wrong is wrong and if you can be swayed to change your beliefs just because others sharing your beliefs don't act exactly as you wish them to, then your moral ground is shaky anyway, and you're probably not going to be much good to either side. If all it took was us being brutally honest and at times downright bitchy, to make all these people decide that paysites were now okay, then to be honest? They were never really sure one way or the other.  If Delphy wants to work with Thomas, that's his right, but if he's willing to change his opinion, based only on how we behave?  Then clearly, he never had much conviction about the whole pay vs. free thing to begin with. 

As for the secret itself?  If you believe in something, you stand up for it.  People who make a difference don't hide.  People who aren't sure about their convictions are the ones to hide.  That, and people who are too afraid of the consequences.  If you're too afraid of the consequences, then maybe you should just STFU.  I can't speak for anyone else, but the moment I see something said as a secret, I can't take it seriously.  If this person really cared about what they were saying, they wouldn't be afraid to put their handle/name behind it.  And they would have brought it HERE first.  That would have been the decent thing to do.  Bringing it to Sim secrets only tells me that they want to start drama, but don't want to risk that they'll get called on it or that they'll have to really defend what they wrote.

[ekimsal]

I honestly think we really ARE making progress, if nothing else from the bottom up. My evidence would be in the heartland of the sheeple; the BBS. I'm probably a masochist for still going there, the place is crawling with Twilight and Jonas Brothers  obsessed 12's and half of the questions are the same thing reposted each day in all caps, obnoxious font color and huge letters. But the fact is alot of people on there are starting to realize that TSR is bad. When ever a link is posted to TSR, someone jumps on it and explains the multiple reasons to avoid the site.

There are even whole threads that are anti-TSR, and the Maxoids just don't seem to care anymore, the only threads that are locked or deleted ask about banned hacks or are on the topic of TS3.

Yes there are still the pro-TSR socks who think of us as greedy people who just don't want to pay for anything. I honestly wish that we were allowed to link to InSim on the BBS, because if more of the sheltered community witnessed it implode last year only to be rescued by Pescado, there might be a different view on us. This incident is around when I started lurking here and found out there was an anti-paysite movement.

But again, if there are people on the BBS who are finally starting to realize TSR are the bad guys, we have to be making some progress.

[dstar]

You might be able to mention the Reflexsims Rebellion/Formation of BPS   Ekimsal- between the fact that a whole bunch of people told the owner to $$^& off when she tried to go pay at Thomas's behest  and went and formed BPS, and the fact that a whole shitload of FA's that no longer produce for TSR though they are not officially on the retirement list yet like Cassandre and Linegud (haven't seen anything from them since before I left so am assuming they are no longer creating there) create there . If you can't mention Insim/Walt that would at least be somewhere to start. They are a lot more likely to be more familiar with BPS anyways as it is much more 12 friendly than Insim.

[Paleoanth]

There are even whole threads that are anti-TSR, and the Maxoids just don't seem to care anymore, the only threads that are locked or deleted ask about banned hacks or are on the topic of TS3.

I wouldn't mind seeing some of these threads.  And while you might be a masochist for going there, it is good to know someone does who can gauge the changing attitudes. 

[ekimsal]

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?&openItemID=item.2,item.43,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127&threadID=7cad04707615b2223b998ceb383a7386&directoryID=2&startRow=1#6b770579759f17326c51e4c733c510ac

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?&openItemID=item.2,item.43,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127&threadID=8be17dbede7baf79e8d91fd4da0793ef&directoryID=2&startRow=1#6b6b914086abb9f6d3bba6c4bbd48e5f

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?&openItemID=item.2,item.43,item.61,item.104,item.41,item.127&threadID=9444ba8f66dc61d142284ba2c4834426&directoryID=2&startRow=1#28c3a60f43552c703c8a634f6282a37a

Those are probably the most recent ones.

[SamanthaS]

Here's six pages of results using the keyword "TSR" from the Sims 3 forums: linky

I tested that link in a browser that wasn't logged in to the forum but if it doesn't work for you, I can make screenies. Not all of the posts in the link above are anti-TSR but there is a nice mix.

A few quotes:

TSR is evil and virusy. MTS is always safe and the content is kickazz

I used to download the free stuff from TSR for my TS2 game - I even uploaded some stuff.

But then the took another creator's stuff and posted it against her wishes - they even claimed that she didn't make it, when it was very clear that she had.

Ever since, I will not download or upload anything from TSR.

And this delusional soul thinks TSR deserves respect simply because they are "Original Players". Um, wtf? I have no idea what that means. They also have only 1 post:

TSR has been online since The Sims original game. They are partly responsible for some of the ideas of leaving the home lot and lots of other types of interactions. So I think they have done a lot to move the game forward.

Whether you are a member or not does not matter, but being an Original player I think they deserve a little bit of respect.

I also think that stealing things, that makers worked hard on and ask for compensation, is wrong. Just plain wrong!

But I'm sure you all have your reasons for behaving as such.

And no I don’t work for them nor have I submitted anything to them. I’m a long time fan of the game.


As others have said there are too many free things to get to complain about paying for something.

I’m sure greed will pay off in the end for those whose believe they are entitled.