Rant - The ways in which the sims community is completely insane.

[Sam]

This is just why I'm paranoid about sharing the celeb Sims I made. There are plenty on MTS2 already, and I was that happy with most of the Sims I'd done, I felt like sharing them. But to be honest I can't be done with trawling through threads trying to find the creator of the CC I've been using for so long I've forgotten who said creator was, not to mention his "disclaimer".

MTS2's policies have good intentions, but for above reasons it's a bit harsh. "Here's my Sims, sorry I can't remember where I got their shirts from, but they're not mine." Instant rejection, from what I gather of their rules. Bah

[IgnorantBliss]

I pretty much agree with the first post. I personally don't want to waste energy on holding on to copyrights and running after people stealing my work. I want people to be able to primarily enjoy my creations and not have to stress about copyright issues. That's why I'm pretty relaxed about redistributing my stuff. I only ask that people don't charge money for redistributing my files, because it would feel like cheating against downloaders having to pay for my mesh elsewhere when they can get it for free from my site, and I don't like the idea of someone making money out of something that was created to be shared for free and available for everyone regardless of their paying power (yes, that may sound slightly communistic.). That's also why I politily declined to become a TSR FA. I don't want to turn a hobby into a business. I just want to keep things simple.

Incidentally, even though I'm very liberal about other creators using my textures, I have yet to come across anybody doing that *lol*. There is only one person who I know has used my original textures, and even he specifically asked permission. Maybe I should take it as an insult that nobody wants to rip off my stuff, then, because it seems to happen so much more to some other creators  .

I'm happy to see if someone has decided to recolor my mesh or use my creations in a lot download. That's what they were made for, anyway.

And, if I'm not mistaken, basically any recolor of a Maxis object is a violation of their copyright or whatever, since it was not created with official Maxis tools.

[Sam]

This is just why I agree with all that's been said: http://www.insimenator.net/showthread.php?t=17966

[TaWanda]

Hmph, I hope the original creator accepts his apology and it all just blows over. Kinda sad that someone should be feeling lower than a snakes belly because he unknowingly used her creation as a basis for his own without giving her credit.   

[moonluck]

Well you got to feel for the creator to. I mean you have this probaly small site and you look at arguably one of the biggest creators largest coliction of work and realize it as yours that must suck.

On the subject of MtS2, they don't even do what they say. They don't check the uploads . They put them up and rely on posters to finger print a person. I mean a month ago someone uploaded the pay air conditioner from simslice and used the same text (sans by simslice) in the post. It wasn't caught for days. I saw the picture and emetataly thought thats from simslice. I posted that along with a link to the item and it wasn't taken down and it was being complmented for another day.

And what the hecks up with the exchange bit? "if you do take items form this web site, and post them to the exchange without credit you will be banned." how are they going to do that I mean to prove that the person on Mts2 and the exchange were one and the same the person would have to admit it. How is that going to stop it?

[TaWanda]

Well you got to feel for the creator to. I mean you have this probaly small site and you look at arguably one of the biggest creators largest coliction of work and realize it as yours that must suck.

 True, but the fact that he IS a big name, and has done the decent thing and publicly given credit to the original creator, I think will probably generate a lot of interest in her and herr site . Regrettable that that the incident happened, but perhaps something good will come out of it for the original creator also?

[J. M. Pescado]

Sheesh. Some people can get so worked up about stuff. One time somebody took my work, started calling it theirs, and went so far as to start outright excising my name from the parts I had done. Mostly because he hated me.

I thought this was pretty damn funny.

[liegenschonheit]

I hate you too. Maybe I should try that.

[Jysudo]

Well you got to feel for the creator to. I mean you have this probaly small site and you look at arguably one of the biggest creators largest coliction of work and realize it as yours that must suck.

On the subject of MtS2, they don't even do what they say. They don't check the uploads . They put them up and rely on posters to finger print a person. I mean a month ago someone uploaded the pay air conditioner from simslice and used the same text (sans by simslice) in the post. It wasn't caught for days. I saw the picture and emetataly thought thats from simslice. I posted that along with a link to the item and it wasn't taken down and it was being complmented for another day.

And what the hecks up with the exchange bit? "if you do take items form this web site, and post them to the exchange without credit you will be banned." how are they going to do that I mean to prove that the person on Mts2 and the exchange were one and the same the person would have to admit it. How is that going to stop it?

I give up on MTS2 a long time ago. But when I read this, I was going "DAMN, why didn't I know the air conditioner is there?!"
But they should be checking . My poor friend got her simmie (an ingame born sim) rejected twice. First time is her fault. She didn't put links to credit the cc. Second time she is also rejected because she didn't credit all the cc with links but that is because those she didn't credit, are dummy files born with the simmie and cannot be get rid of.

I think it is so hard to submit to MTS2 these days. TSR might be even more lenient.
The paranoia is unheard of in other gaming communities.

[IgnorantBliss]

On the subject of MtS2, they don't even do what they say. They don't check the uploads . They put them up and rely on posters to finger print a person. I mean a month ago someone uploaded the pay air conditioner from simslice and used the same text (sans by simslice) in the post. It wasn't caught for days. I saw the picture and emetataly thought thats from simslice. I posted that along with a link to the item and it wasn't taken down and it was being complmented for another day.

By the way, if I remember correctly, the air conditioner in question was not stolen, after all, even though it was taken down after it was reported.

I don't think you can expect the moderators to be aware of every single creation there is out there, and recognize it. Currently, the object mesh uploads are not screened before uploading. Object recolors are screened, but mainly for quality reasons, not theft suspicions. MTS2 is doing what they say in that when something is reported for being stolen, it's removed. You have to be reasonable here and realize what's realistic to expect.

But they should be checking . My poor friend got her simmie (an ingame born sim) rejected twice. First time is her fault. She didn't put links to credit the cc. Second time she is also rejected because she didn't credit all the cc with links but that is because those she didn't credit, are dummy files born with the simmie and cannot be get rid of.

I think it is so hard to submit to MTS2 these days. TSR might be even more lenient.

You're contradicting yourself here. At the same time you're asking for stricter control on uploads, and complaining that it's so difficult to upload there these days.

[Jysudo]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. I was responding to moonluck. S/he said MTS2 is not checking.

I am trying to say that MTS2 does check and is careful about its checking. But now they are so strict that it is difficult to ascertain what is allowed and what is not allowed anymore.

The narration about the friend is just to make a point that they are very strict these days and even dummy files of Ok must be credited? 

To be honest, I don't even know if I can stil download 'furnished' sims and houses there anymore if I want those. The policy is not very clear.
It said it does not tolerate everything but what is everything that cannot be tolerated? Louis is file share friendly. So if I share her file on a simmie, is it allowed or not allowed? By Louis's count it is allowed, but according to MTS2's new policy, it appears to be THEFT!!

[IgnorantBliss]

Ah, ok. Well, based on my understanding of the Creator Guidelines at MTS2, including custom content is OK if the creator of the content has given permission for redistribution, and as long as you credit the custom content in your upload post with links. I think the guidelines are pretty clear about that.

[GloamingMerle]

Oh, that's a shame what happened to beosboxboy (sp?)...

I understand some of the concern with proper credit to creators.. Overall though, I believe that, as long as they're not selling your stuff without consent, it's better not to get involved.. As someone who draws, and used to post art online regularly, I was familiar with theft.. It got to me at first, but then I learned to take it as more of a compliment... My stuff is worth stealing! That doesn't make it right, but I knew if it ever came down to it, I could prove my status as the original creator.. That knowledge gave me a relaxed status concerning re-distribution. The most I do for my sims stuff is slap my initials into the tooltip, and let that be the end of it. My Laverwinkle Alien replacement doesn't have even that, of course, but it's not a big deal.. If people take it, then they do.. If someone points a finger at them for stealing, then they will.. But I assure you it will not be my finger, as I have better things to do, so long as they're not trying to make money off of it.. Which I doubt.. If they wanted to make money off of someone else's work, they'd choose someone with more talent to steal from. 

Edit: Oh duh, right, I also put either DTK or DylanTK in my filenames... So that would actually be the extent of my self-credit, and tool-tip if applicable.

[Rose Outlaw]

To be honest, I don't even know if I can stil download 'furnished' sims and houses there anymore if I want those. The policy is not very clear.

Where exactly is it stated that it's also theft when you download something that is against the policies?
Even if it is part of the rules somewhere, how will they enforce it?
In such a case, I'd say it is the webmaster's fault to allowing such files, as they are responsible for the website, not the user's fault.
 
You should rather feel lucky if you got it right in time - or unlucky if you got crap, who cares.

[simposiast]

It seems reasonable for the sims community to reach a consensus on what 'theft' means in sims terms, since it's a global community and we are not all subject to the same laws.  If people don't like the rules at some sites, they'll visit others instead.

What annoys me is that a lot of 'creations' are based on, or copies of, commercial images and designs. I can't remember anyone ever giving a source for their textures, house plans, furnishing or clothing. The rule seems to be that if it's on the internet, it's free and you can copy, paste and let people assume you did all the work. However, copying from another sims player is a crime.  IMHO it's a bit of a cheek to insist that a copy can't be copied!

[Tyyppi]

What annoys me is that a lot of 'creations' are based on, or copies of, commercial images and designs. I can't remember anyone ever giving a source for their textures, house plans, furnishing or clothing. The rule seems to be that if it's on the internet, it's free and you can copy, paste and let people assume you did all the work. However, copying from another sims player is a crime.  IMHO it's a bit of a cheek to insist that a copy can't be copied!

Good point, never even thought about that myself.

[IgnorantBliss]

Hei, fellow Finn! 


Yes, claiming copyright on something that you stole from someone else (in the form of a texture etc) is a somewhat hypocritical.

[dizzy]

Unless you plan on selling an object (or selling support for that object) there is no point in having copyright on it. That's why all my mods and such are public domain.

[Tyyppi]

Hei, fellow Finn! 

What? Me a Finn? Noo... that's just lies... yes, lies and propaganda! The underpant gnomes must be behind these horrid lies. 

[ElfPuddle]

Underpant Gnomes? Do we even want to know?

[IgnorantBliss]

What? Me a Finn? Noo... that's just lies... yes, lies and propaganda! The underpant gnomes must be behind these horrid lies. 

So, I guess your profile is lying, then?  And "Tyyppi" is just a random collection of letters you happened to throw together?  Wow, the coincidence!

[Paperbladder]

I'm going to use P2P networks as a basis for this statement, but downloading without redistributing is perfectly legal.  Many files using the BitTorrent protocol would be illegal to download though, since while you're downloading you're sharing parts of the file.  Same goes for Gnutella, but it doesn't seem to share as much from the swarm as BT.

Making derivative works isn't illegal in most cases, such as making a mesh that looks like a Porsche or something.  Satires are also legal.  The double standard in this community, not being able to make derivative works of derivative works, is quite baffling.  I'll be glad when this community crumbles under its own greed, but that won't happen for a while yet.

[Tyyppi]

So, I guess your profile is lying, then?  And "Tyyppi" is just a random collection of letters you happened to throw together?  Wow, the coincidence!

Yes! Exactly!


Okay okay okay!
I admit it all!
*breaks down*

[ElfPuddle]

*pats Tyyppi on the head*

It's okay.

[Jysudo]

By the way, I don't understand why using someone's alpha is a crime? The alpha is just the shape of the clothing. Why is copying a shape a crime?

This is very confusing for me...can someone please explain from a perspective of a creator? I really want to know.

And yes, I feel very sorry for the insim guy. It is not his fault and yet he is accused of being a thief. I bet he is feeling all stressed over it and he did state that his health is not good