I was working on some kind of "Policies" system here on MTS2 a year ago or so - but we could never agree on all the different types and possibilities. Indeed, if you look at my profile you'll see the remnants of that work.

Sorry, I missed it earlier somehow
Wow, those would be handy I'll certainly use them now that I saw them. (Though, there's two 'Sim-no' icons and no 'Sim-yes' )

Jasana, those are my personal policy icons for testing purposes. Thus, I have it set so that you can't upload stuff with Sims. Which is, of course, a test only.

The entire policies thing still has to be finished off. As I said, I was working on it over a year ago and the project got dropped.

I just want to add my two cents. I'm not a creator, I'm a builder. I'm too old, too stupid, suffered brain-drain too long working third shift or whatever. Everything I do in the game uses custom content. I don't like Maxis stuff ;I'm going for realism. Frankly I'd be happier if I could delete all of the original content so I could have more custom content

A couple of months ago, a forum I belong to had a building contest. It wasn't to post the house for downloading but just to post pics. So I built my house and it turned out great. So [and here's where the problems come in] I tried to find out what the various creator's policies were for just posting pics. Guess what? Most of the walls and floors I use don't even tell me who created them let alone what website they're from. Also what to do about the sites that no longer exist? We all know that sites come and go but nobody seems to have a policy in place for that. I ended up not entering the contest because I couldn't verify the content. I've got no problem respecting anyone's TOU but lets not make it impossible to comply.

Jetsetter I've been there.. and build stuff is where you get the most angst. Because we do download a lot of stuff in the course of our day, and walls and floors are the most generic in how we label them.

The thing is.. I don't know where this thing comes from where people think you can't photograph a sim wearing their stuff. It's a ridiculous level to take the whole "ownership" idea. I'm not even sure they've got a right to demand that you don't photograph their stuff, especially considering that in most cases we're usually using photo textures very heavily..

However, how I get around it is, I have two versions of the game running. I have a build game and a playing game.. and I go through the walls and floors I want to use, package them and move them into the build game. A little painstaking and boring, but it works. And it also avoids having hacks package with the house. I also tend to stick to downloading walls and floors from people I'm allowed to reuse like stuff on my own site or on sites of my friends. That way I know where the stuff comes from so I can't get in trouble.. maybe have a build game going and put the walls in there that you know you can share?

If you're not going to clearly identify your stuff, you have no right to complain if you don't get credit. End of story. If it matters, you better make sure to mark it clearly. It isn't hard really. I don't do pictures, story telling myself, but to put such a burden on others is ridiculous. I wouldn't feel the least bit bad about freely using content in that situation and I don't think anyone else should either. If someone points out who made the content, then give credit.

I can see that credit would be needed if the item is central to the picture, the hair on the main sim, for example, but if it's in the background, that seems overly burdensome.

hello guys!! i play sims from the first time its been released n had so much fun, playing it.. the other game i play these last days is Second Life i wonder any of you heard it its similiar to sims online but much more freedom.. anyways in this game u can make ur own creations n sell them in exchange of Linden Dollars which can be changed to actual dollars too.. many great designers r making their Rl lifes this way n they r really creative too.. the problem is i saw a shop called M&M skins, body shop etc.. they were selling EA game custom content too n also the things they ripped from sims forums.. which gave me a quite shock cause they were selling it way expensive too.. so the skin i use for my sim which i downloaded a ages ago n i cant remember the creator of it -so cant contact who it is- they were selling it n some furnitures which is way to similiar to my eyes that i used for my homes too... im gonna put some pics here n pls take a look at them if they r yours or the crators u know! which is been selling to people for real deal money...

they go by the names of these: MiraSonia Demina, XStar Demina, tangerine Yalin.. I SAY AGAIN THIS IS IMPORTANT IF YOU ANY SAW IN THESE PIC UR THINGS PLZ GET INTO SL BE A MEMBER ITS FREE N REPORT THESE PPL TO LINDEN LABS WHICH ARE THE OWNERS OF SECOND LIFE GAME AND THREATEN THEM TO GO DMCA cause these are making money after ur backs!!!
pics:
the custom corset from EA
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/43...19592719_rs.jpg

a skin which i even use for my sims
http://aycu02.webshots.com/image/46...35590368_rs.jpg

n some furniture:
http://aycu32.webshots.com/image/43...95793070_rs.jpg
http://aycu06.webshots.com/image/45...09945177_rs.jpg
http://aycu10.webshots.com/image/46...14828324_rs.jpg

this furniture seems familiar but im not sure who made them etc or textures..

I want to thank HP for writing this article. If anything, I think we can all agree that the core here is respect. I respect the creators here, even with my silly recolors. I make sure there is a link to meshes and give credit where it is due. I'm rather annoyed that one of the creators removed his stuff from the site I had linked to, but hey, what can I do? I know as a recolorer, many might not even consider me a "creator" per-say, but I do put some effort into what I've made (especially that Mustang recolor, those textures are brutal to work with). My only request is to tell people where they got it and who made it if they want to share it somewhere else, and to keep it free. (Pay Site debate is for elsewhere, so I won't go into that crapola.) I tend to avoid using creations from creators with an overly harsh ToU policy, but I believe that a creator has some right to request how their stuff is used, but lets not go crazy, here. We don't need the extremist divas, either. In the end, I just want to stress that it is all about one thing: Respect. When we lose respect, we lose everything. So, lets keep it real, here. :D

Oinz, I did one of thoese too! (No-where neerly as good as yours are! But same idea, Ish...)

To be used like yours (or as Title buttons)!

Back on Track:

I agree TOTALLY with you HP, people should respect what terms they give, Mabey a 'TOU' section to be added to the profile when people regester or create will help people to express their uses better? as some people just don't have a TOU to begin with and having a set section would be much better for outsiders looking in on their work! (Yes I agree that most users [Inc. Me] have a TOU picture or Text as thir 'about me' section), but having an additional box would probabally encourage more people to give one.

(I think annyway!)

I have great respect for you because you are the FIRST, yes, the FIRST person I have heard of making a great rant about this. Excelently written as well, but represents a good opinion and presents a practically unbeatable arguement for the side of those against copiers. If only judges would deal with this stuff and make it illegal...

It is easier for mesher
to control their works with policy like "you can freely recolor but don't touch the mesh!"
compared to texturer
since there is no solid evidence can be proofed here, somebody can just put face texture of 1 set combined with leg from other set, and abdominal texture from another set again, so at the end product it is hard to tell.

That's why I put on quite strict policy which forbid any alteration toward my texture (for reuploading), means people can still frankensteining my texture for their private pleasure, I think that is quite fair.

(my textures = my 100% digitally hand painted textures)

as for asking credit for using it in pictures, that's way too much... if a creator doesn't want their stuff to be seen worn by a sim somewhere, please keep them in the vault, don't share.

I think that ANY breech of terms is wrong, now matter how strong the terms. I, personally, only require my screen name to be credited with the original design, and I request to be informed when it is distributed to check the site out for myself. I think these overly strong terms are wrong, but the creator still has an expectation for them to be followed.

I think that ANY breech of terms is wrong, no matter how strong the terms. I, personally, only require my screen name to be credited with the original design, and I request to be informed when it is distributed to check the site out for myself. I think these overly strong terms are wrong, but the creator still has an expectation for them to be followed.

First, I'd like to congratulate you, HP, in you maturity and brilliance in this rant. I also say that in respect to freesites only, I do agree with you one hundred percent (I'd say a million trillion bajillion percent, except that that is neither physically possible, nor a real number).

OPINION TIME: I know I, for one, would want to get all bent out of shape and want to go Dame Slappabitch ( ) on anyone who just stole my stuff outright and threw it on a paysite with "oh i werkt sooooooo hadr on this!!!!!11", but what the fuck could I do except go away from the screen and take a walk for a while? Well, that and mail the guy from PSMBD and tell him, "Yo, don't throw this up on your site, 'cause y'all can get it fer free in whole over at MTS2 (or SXS2)". Particularly because my shit isn't even that GOOD, people. For reals (and I'm not fishing here, it's Gospel).

And to the creators who DO get bent out of shape and leave or cause a giant dramastorm? Srsly, just go QQ in your coffee somewhere else people, 'cause ain't NOBODY here wanna hear it or see it. Really, some of you need a good jerk and to go to sleep for a while. Trust me, the world looks a lot sunnier on the other side of a Big O and a nap. Fer srs ppl, there are a thousand other folks that you can get similar content from if a creator gets too bitchy, so why even deal with it?

I have other opinions on paysites, but that doesn't belong here and no one asked for ANYONE'S opinion on paysites in this thread at all! (To be honest, she didn't ask for anyone's opinion on anything in this. That's not what a rant's for.) Like religion, this is a private matter, and you should come to your own conclusions about how you feel about it. Don't let someone else tell you how to think, just know that you SHOULD think.

And if anyone is confused by the acronyms up there I used, just send me a PM, I'll try to explain it.

</proselytize>
</microrant>

ADDENDUM: Furthermore, I fear I may just have to end up shitting myself if they actually come out with a Sims 3. Fo' reals. I mean, why not milk this cow as long a possible?

ADDENDUM B: I loves me some smileys today, mang.

Personally, I think HP's post was excellent.

Sadly, I think it resulted in the creation of the perfect soapbox for those who possess the unreasonable, illogical and immature sense of entitlement mentioned in HP's original post to express their views.

Is this restricted to the Sims? No, unfortunately, it is not. It seems to be rampant throughout the internet, not just in games. This sense of entitlement, when taken to its inevitable conclusion, will kill expression. I would rather adhere to, in my mind, a crazy TOU than destroy expression in the Sims 2 community.

I'm of the opinion that that allowing crazy TOU's to be accepted as normal is more likely to destroy expression.

Yeah, it's awful to think that very tallented creators get ... almost nothing, for ... well ... WORK! ('cause at some point, it is work!). It is free, and most people try to "steal" it ... (I've seen a lot of "stolen" meshes on a variety of sites) ... What can we do when there will always be someone who forgets (or ignores) to show some respect for the ARTIST that made a substantial effort to create a great piece of custom content?

Great post HP. For the exchange it can be hard to verify who the original creator is/was if you have never heard of MTS2 or any site. I know that before I discovered any other site that the Exchange was the main source for download. For some uploads I stated that none of the CC was mine but the exchanged claimed otherwise (due to uploaded being curred/culled away). Its really hard to state who created what. People do upload meshes/skins onto the exchange as well. For the exchange I generally upload my items (except items with a Creator's mesh, thats a no no and people get mad if you upload onto the Exchange without a mesh.. <.< people never read the description on where to get the mesh). Yes I have seen people take my skintones and paste them over another skin just so the CC will be marked as theirs. They change the tag file at times too but it doesn't bother me as much. To be honest I kinda find it as a compliment and an insult all in one. They like the CC so much that they upload it but then again claim it as their own. The karma is usually that the upload is rated low, curred/culled away very soon, not many people download it, and people end up looking for more CC and find the original.
On another note some creators never tag their work correctly. I had a ton of CC that was very beautiful but never could find the creator because for the tag they put something like "Exotic Black Eyes" or whatever.

Great job on laying everything out HP. ^^

I think another big issue is hotlinking
I recently found out someone is directly hotlinking my images and the download files, yet I make it clear not hotlinking.
does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to stop this stealing?

rosaline, there are a ton of scripts and server-side things you can do to stop hotlinking. I wouldn't exactly call it stealing (especially in the case of the actual downloads), but a quick google for "htaccess hotlinking" will help you out.

Thats not really a big issue though as it pertains to this thread or most creators here.

thanks Delphy for the tip,I will for sure read up on htaccess
sorry If that it was not really related to this thread its just
there is one site that is hotlinking half a dozen of my images and download files and they are saying that they created them, and also saying that did all the work,basically taking credit for my work ,its very upsetting when I spent hours on my creations

Thanks HP for starting this thread.

One of the things that made the SimsCommunity so special to me was the sharing part. The reason i started creating in the first place back in the Sims 1 time. People where appreaciative of CC in that time. I'm really glad the biggest part still is. But a shift in mentality is defenitly noticable and worries me. So i'm really glad HP opened this discussion.

I don't like the fact a number of people think they have the right to do whatever they want with CC, or call all creators diva's or whiners or such, maybe some deserve that name but the majority does not.

I've always said that without CC the Sims game would never have become as big as it is now so Yes respect to the creators of CC and their policies is in order. Creators dó spend a lot of time and effort in their work not to mention frustration and sweat. Respecting their policies is such a little thing in return.

We as a housebuilder and recoloring site take great effort in honoring other creators policies and giving credit. We are 100% free and we ask so little in our policies. The site hosting does cost me money but i will never ever ask money in return. So given no credit or claiming things as your own is disgusting to say the least.

It is not a matter of easy policies, or at least it should not be, it is a matter of disrespectful behavior towards the people that make your game more fun, towards the people that make things you like. There should be no difference from who it is alright to steal, or go against their wishes, and from who not. It is about respecting eachother as a large group of people with a common interest.

I'm afraid that if this disrespectful attitude continues and get worse we won't see and enjoy CC for very long.

P.S English is not my native language so don't hold that against me