ETA: Iin case the site goes temporarily "Poof!" again, here's the full text of her post:
EA says that paysites are violating EA's copyright and EULA (End User License Agreement). EA also says that file-sharing sites are ok because EA owns the copyright to all custom content (since it is in .package/.sims2pack format and/or based on their work). EA also says that they intended for all custom content to be shared freely, no strings attached.
Where do they say this? Here:
http://noukiesims2.net/filevaultantipaysite.htm and Here:
http://noukiesims2.net/EAconfirms.gifThey havent made an official announcement about it yet but it looks like they are investigating what they can do legally to get paysites to become freesites.
You may have seen discussions about this (or announcements about this) elsewhere like Sims2Community. We do not have a discussion thread about it, and we won't have one about it.
Paysites may use the word "donation" but donation means to give freely without getting anything in return. Which means people are purchasing pixels from them.
They may say they need the money for "bandwidth", but that just means they havent found a good host (MySimSite and FFSS have cheap reliable hosts listed to help them with that). As we have proven, all you have to do is put up a voluntary donation button and explain your site fees and people will donate to help you out, if they like your site. So there really is no excuse to become a paysite except wanting to make a living off of other people. And you really don't know what they are using that money for--food, porn, hookers, rent, plasma tv, etc
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Now onto the Wicked Sims Policy Changes:
The staff and I had a discussion about this and I decided to make the announcement today.
From now on if we have a pay item that looks good in our creation (sim/house/etc) we are going to include it and credit the original creator.
As for free items that are non-redistributable (like a creator says please do not include my mesh), it is up to WS Staff which they do:
1) do not include the item, link directly to the page it can be downloaded from
or
2) include the item and say "included to save you time, please check ___ for updates/more items/thank creator" and insert the creator's site or the page it is on at mts2/insim/etc
This is supposed to be fun and for a game, and EA says they intended for custom content to be shared freely, so that's what we will be doing--sharing freely and having fun
We will not be taking credit for anyones work, everyone will still get credit and linkage. We respect creators, as we are creators ourselves, and we appreciate the time/effort creators in the community take to provide us with wonderful downloads. We will just stop forcing you guys from having to waste your time "hunting" for files to make our creations complete.
We are not trying to destroy paysites or trying to get rid of paysite owners, nor are we saying that all paysite owners are evil (Liana for example, is sweet and friendly )...we are just hoping that they will all become free and share everything with everyone as it was supposed to be from the beginning.
Now we know that this may upset some of you. If so, we will totally understand if you feel the need to leave and/or delete your account here. We just hope you can remain mature about it and not attack our creators/site. Also, this policy is just for Wicked Sims, our hosted sites are completely separate and have their own policies so please don't take your feelings about our policy out on them.
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If you would like to join a paysite discussion since we dont have one here, I would suggest reading this thread:
http://forums.sims2community.com/showthread.php?t=41351 and joining in on their discussion (they've lifted their ban on linking to or mentioning pmbd/sfv like some other sites have recently)
Want paysite files for free? Go here:
http://paysites.mustbedestroyed.org/bootyWant files from dead sites or creators that have disappeared? Go here:
http://sims2graveyard.comWant both plus "exclusive" or hidden items (like Simbella items)? Go here:
http://simsfilevault.comPlease make sure you read their rules/guidelines before joining any of their forums. We are not associated with those sites, we are just providing links for you guys
Hopefully this will make you guys happier and save you time. We hope you continue visiting Wicked Sims and enjoy your time here!
PMBD
Author