A few thoughts on the Patreon issue.
Because why not? I took a hiatus from the Sims starting last fall, because supporting certain Patreons was becoming disturbing, disheartening, and downright disgusting. In October, I’d had enough – cancelled every sub, closed my game, and haven’t reopened it since.
A bit of history first – I’ve been around much longer than almost all of you. Allllll the way back to the original Sim City on NES, then Sims 1 and on and on. Pay sites are not new, they’ve been around ever since people figured out how to make some money off the game. The argument against pay site vs. sharing has gone on forever. But Patreon made it
SO
MUCH
WORSE.
I hated Patreon from the beginning and was pretty clear about it. However, a cc creator I thought was a friend decided to take her collection from a private FB group to Patreon, because money. As I had supported her for a few years buying cc when she chose to start charging for it, I decided to continue supporting this creator by signing up to her Patreon. OK, no problem. Btw – I never had a problem paying for cc. Cost isn’t an issue, I can afford it. It’s the principle of being hostage to whatever Patreon creators chose to share with you. You really have no say in what you’re getting. No one, however, is worth “supporting” at $20-$25 a month or more. That’s nothing more than ego.
So, I continued my support, and signed up for a few more that I thought were (and still are) deserving of support. Still no real issues. Then the “collabs” started showing up (I really hate that word). A collaboration with one Patreon I supported meant I would have to sub to another one I didn’t support in order to get a complete set. Nope, not doing that. Then a bunch of kid’s room cc sets – not my thing, I don’t do kids rooms. Annoying, but no problem, the zips (that I paid for) are in a folder on my desktop. Then – another “collab”, only this one pissed me off. It was for a fashion show where supporters would BID on items they had essentially already paid for. Stupid, greedy, and pathetic. Then the instructions to “dm for the download link” from MORE than one creator. Final straw for me came when I received another set of monthly “gifts” only to realize these were items I’d already purchased – a year ago – from the FB group. I was done. Closed every sub and don’t regret it.
What I do regret, is thinking this person was actually a friend. I never heard a word from her after I subbed, and nothing when I left. She has my contact info – and I’m pretty sure she’s shared it. I really don’t care, as I’ve not “leaked” anything from anyone. And yes – I did verify trackers in multiple files. So much for friendship.
I really hope I can go back to just building. I really enjoy the game, but the ongoing drama, backstabbing, lies, doxing, and other nefarious shit is tiresome. If anything actually kills the Sims, it will be Patreon.
Sending a special thank you to early-access creators for playing fair, and to free cc creators like @13pumpkin31, @peacemaker-ic, @tilly-tiger, @msteaqueen and more, just for being you.
