So my brother and sister-in-law moved mid-pandemic and my brother casually befriended building-neighbor David Sedaris. Alex gave me my Christmas present a few months early last year cause I was Going Through Some Stuff and I think about this A Lot, in a good way:
Listen, if you sit back and do nothing as something happens that you can prevent, you are part of the problem. Don’t fall victim to the bystander effect, don’t think someone else will do something. NEVER give excuses for other complicit people. Do what is right, not what is expected of you, understand?
Let’s start off by saying this: collecting information is wrong, using that for doxxing and sending out malicious viruses even more so, full stop. What has happened in the creator community recently is just shit and should not have happened in the first place, but here we are. But how exactly did we get here?
I have some thoughts on custom content creation and with all the drama lately, it needs addressing. I will put under a read more as I like to ramble.
Sigh… I miss the days simming and simblr was simple and the only bad apple was TSR. Back then you could download any mod you wanted, not have gazillion link bypassers, ad blockers, and other extensions. OR have a hefty purse to pay out for all your favorite creators.
maybe I am old-fashioned but simming in simblr was much more relaxed back in the day and more concentrated on the game itself than cc or creating it or wanting it or getting paid from it.
To put a price label on a piece of cc makes it desirable. It makes it something you want to acquire even if most permapaywall is crappy or stolen. People still want that and it should not be so. We have paid a hefty amount of money to be able to play the game in the first place. paying 10 $ in a month to get poses is not the thing for me and I doubt it is for many younger players..I do have bills to pay, a life to live, and a full-day job. I simply could not afford to pay Patreon bills like 100$ at the start of the month just to get cc.
While it is nice to have something back from all cc you make, maybe the basic question is why you make it? Is it for yourself and for others to have the same joy of having it? Or for that some simmer to pay 5$ from their student budget to get a wonky, high poly outfit to their game?
Ban the greedy creators, do not use their cc, do not desire it…go for smaller creators or do it yourself.
And for the note: Do protect yourself on the internet. Never give out your personal information to anyone.
Patreon Sims CC Tracking - (trying to) help you understand the situation
I know the situation is alarming, and you want to act and judge quickly but I’d like to take a few minutes to help you understand the situation better and easier, as I see people panicking and unpledging from every creator, even without understanding what it is about. Your safety is the first, there is no doubt in that, there is a good post that summarizes how to safely pledge on patreonand what info creators see when you pledge to them. Please do read it and make changes to your information if needed!
Not gonna lie, I don’t have very big knowledge on tracking, haven’t heard about it till a few days ago, I have no idea how it works exactly, I gathered all my knowledge after reading this postand its replies, so correct me if I am wrong. I still want to share my knowledge though to help to understand it better.
Now the part I want to clarify, probably 95% of sims 4 content creators don’t track or doxx you!!
Who probably does it then? And how? You might be aware, that sadly quite a few people paywall their content forever, using NO early access, only so called exclusive content! Since these contents are not available unless you pay, there is a chance some people will reupload them for others! To prevent this, these creators put trackers to their downloads to see, who reuploads their content! Very important to mention, that these downloads are always personalized, sent you in DMs or in privately. Trackers only work if they are in individual downloads,not in a download file in a post that is accessible to all the patrons. I am no way saying that creators who send you their stuff in DMs all put trackers of course, but it is the only way to do so, so I warn you to be cautious with these types of methods of sharing content!
I am making this post to prevent us - who play by the rules, safe to download from, doing only early access - getting involved and put into the same bag as these ‘creators’ mentioned above. It honestly makes me super sad and angry to see that a few bad apples could spoil the whole bunch, and make us all look bad. Please be careful who you support!!
I just want to add this:
Idohave a Patreon, and would never dream of tracking anyone. I certainly don’t collect any information about anyone, and my CC is, and will always be, free. Most creators are like this, please have that in mind.
I am very particular to read and follow creator’s TOU’s when I use CC in my builds/creations. If I can’t share it or provide a DL link, I don’t use it. I even try to warn about ad*fly links, which I wish creators wouldn’t use, but at the moment a lot of historical content is shared this way, unfortunately.
There are creators that I shun, for different reasons, because that is what I would do in RL as well. Would you buy a TV from a thief? Would you use counterfeit money? Would you assist a bully? It doesn’t matter how beautiful their CC is, it’s not worth it. I don’t want to promote their “work” anyway.
I don’t like conflicts. Not in real life and not in the Sims/social media sphere. I’m here to relax and enjoy myself, like most of us. That said, I don’t like illegalities and unfairness either, and doxxing, spreading private information, breaking the law (yeah, the real law that is), is totally unacceptable.
Please support the creators who make CC for free, avoid those who don’t. If you want to support someone economically, choose the ones who do good in the sims community, they are not difficult to find. Or spend your money on something else, like helping refugees or charity. Don’t spend money on thugs.
I wish you a happy day with positive energy, lots of fun and lots of simming!
Although introverted, the INFJ has very strong opinions, honed over much private reflection and will voice these strongly, less concerned with self and ego than with the cause. They have a strong desire to do the right thing.
