MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Regarding Required Pay Content

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This page was last modified 11 Aug 2008

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Pay Content

MTS has long had policies that restrict users from promoting pay content in their uploads - either by requiring that content, or by showing it in screenshots.

The purpose of this policy is to promote the use of free content, as we believe that the community benefits from all items being free to download and use without requiring anyone to pay for it - whether that be paying for individual items, or by subscription. We would like all items uploaded to or shown on MTS to be "what you see is what you get" or "what you see is what you CAN get, without having to pay for it."

TS3 has complicated matters somewhat, but after reviewing the options, our policies regarding pay content for TS3 AND TS2 are as follows:


Content Allowed

  • Base Game/EP/SP Content: All content from the base game, expansions, or stuff packs is allowed in screenshots/uploads. That is, all official content is just fine for screenshots or required for your uploads.
  • EA Store Content: You may use Sims 2/3 Store items in your screenshots, or required for your uploads. If you use a Store item for a sim or lot, you must state what specific Store item(s) you have used and link directly to the item on the Sims 2/3 Store so users may choose to get it if they like. While we realize this may seem a contradiction to the "what you see is what you can get without having to pay for it" concept, Store content is not considered "pay" because it is official content, similar to what you get as part of expansion/stuff packs (after all, you have to pay for those, too). You may NOT include the actual Store item in your upload as this is a violation of intellectual property laws, nor can you link to where it can be downloaded elsewhere for free.
  • Freely Available Content: Any content that is available from its creator for free. You may include the item if the creator allows it, but we suggest you link back instead in the case of things like hairstyles since most people will have them already or want to get them separately. Items uploaded on places like the PMBD Booty (or other sites sharing pay content for free) are not considered free content since they were originally pay - just because you CAN get them for free doesn't make them free content.


Content NOT Allowed

  • Pay Content: Any content that is available from its creator for pay. You may not picture pay items in screenshots or upload items that require pay items. Please note that ALL TSR content is considered pay content when uploading to MTS, regardless of its current status as "subscriber only" or not. This is because the pay/free status of TSR content changes regularly, and an item which is free today may be pay tomorrow.


Who is the "creator" when it's a conversion or edit?

Someone is considered the "creator" when what they have made is:

  • Completely original, made for TS2 or TS3 specifically by them.
  • A conversion from TS2 to TS3, TS3 to TS2, etc. - from one game to another, as this requires a significant amount of changing.
  • An age conversion beyond what ages can normally share meshes (for TS3, teen through elder can share meshes - for TS2, young adult through elder can share).
  • A gender conversion requiring mesh editing, not just ticking boxes to make it work for the other gender.
  • A significant remesh or edit beyond just things like fixing gaps, adjusting bone assignments, and moving around existing geometry. A retexture would not count unless the mesh was also signficantly edited.

This means that someone can, potentially, take a pay item from TS2 such as a hairstyle that was pay and convert it to TS3 and put it up for free, and the new conversion will not be considered pay but free. Whether or not they -should- do that is between the converter and whoever made it originally for TS2, and enforcing policies and permissions for items that are not uploaded as new items to MTS is not really our business. Conversions or edits of any items uploaded directly to MTS would require permissions/credits, regardless of pay/free status.

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