I've been meaning to make this post for a while because there are always arguments and frustrations regarding WCIFs here on simblr. With new users and simblrs popping up every day, I thought it wise to take a few minutes to inform people on this topic as some people really might not even know what WCIF means or what the universally acceptable way to approach WCIF asks is.
WCIF is shorthand for "where can I find..."
If you are a simblr, it is a good idea to clarify in your blog's bio if you are open to messages asking about cc, that way people visiting your blog don't have to guess. You can indicate this by saying you are either WCIF Friendly or WCIF Unfriendly/No WCIFs. If someone is WCIF friendly, it means that they welcome messages in their ask box regarding where to find a certain mod, piece of cc, etc. If someone is WCIF unfriendly, this means they do not welcome messages in their ask box of this nature.
When someone is WCIF unfriendly, you should respect their terms and boundaries by not sending them a message asking where to find something for the sims. Yes, this means even "well-intended" asks that are ultra polite are not welcome to them (which is perfectly okay). Instead, first check if the user has a "CC Finds" sideblog where they reblog the cc they use.
If they don't have a "CC Finds" blog where they essentially archive the cc they use, you can make a post on your own blog with a screenshot (with a link to the original post) and/or a description of the cc you're looking for and tag it as public wcif, this way people can respond if they know what the mod or cc is. There are also reddit threads for sims 4 wcifs you can post on. If you don't want to do any of that, try googling it by description! You'd be surprised how intuitive the results can be.
On the other hand, if someone is WCIF friendly they are open to helping you find a specific piece of cc for the sims, but you should always send them a WCIF in their ask box, not through a private message or a comment on their post. This is so they can make one public post and avoid inquiries about the same cc over and over again. They will likely tag these posts on their page as "WCIF," so be sure to check their tags before you ask them about a piece of cc because they might have already linked to it in a different ask!
It should go without saying, but even though someone is WCIF friendly this doesn't mean you can disregard kindness when it comes to asking someone a favor. Say hi, ask politely (please and thank you go a long way ya know!), and be patient. People who are wcif friendly choose to take their time to link cc for others, so they're doing you a favor...be nice!
I think I covered the basics as simply as I could; the most important thing is to remember that there are real people on the other side of simblr blogs, and whether they have 13,000 followers or 3 they deserve to be respected. Just be kind and respect people's boundaries. I hope this helps someone, and if you didn't know about any of this... now you know! 👍
