Man, just when I’ve started to lighten up and give credit for The Sims team doing a good job, they just have to revert right back to their wicked ways. Just about every single one of us uses their Exchange to upload content. From Sims, houses, families, patterns, movies…basically every single piece of content can be uploaded to download. Guess EA is too cheap to consider getting a bigger server. SimGuruPopTart steps forth and releases a statement about their new Exchange Policy they have put into effect:
We’ve been receiving a lot of great content uploaded to our Exchange and Movies & More. To make sure the items stay fresh we’ve implemented a culling script that will remove older items. For those of you who are not familiar with culling – it is when uploads, Stories and Movies are automatically removed from the Exchange and Movies & More when they do not do well (not getting enough downloads and recommendations).The more Recommends and Downloads you have, the better. Exchange uploads, Stories, and Movies will be subject to culling after 2 weeks if it does not do well. Searching for content will be easier with culling turned on and awesome uploads will have even more of a chance to shine.
If an Exchange item, Story, or Movie is Featured, it will never be culled.
Thanks again for sharing your creativity with the rest of the community, and Keep creating fabulous content to get those downloads, views and recommendations in!
What is this? So if a Simmer has bad luck and creates something that they think it means the world to them, and it doesn’t get enough recommendations, it’ll be deleted? That’s not a way to handle things at all :/ Why not delete the many duplicates that are posted or stolen creations? The exchange is the most popular place to get stuff for your game…So if you work hard on a new lot and it does not meet their quota, they plan to wipe it? That stinks! I guess we can say goodbye to any of our custom avatars at the forums…
I guess everyone will have to start looking for other sites to upload their creation to.
Really EA, why don’t they just come out and say, “we need more server space so we’re deleting the creations that don’t get enough downloads”
This is actually pretty much normal, it has been used on The Sims and The Sims 2 in the past. Many other sites also do similar cleaning of unpopular content, space is just too expensive – and running cloud computing even more.
I’m lucky, I’ve got one thing that (somehow, dunno how) got featured, so I guess one of my creations will be safe. 😛
As for that castle I spent hours constructing? I don’t think it got enough downloads to avoid the Great Cull™. Ack!
At least they’re upfront and admit it, but it’s still kind of a blow and severely diminishes the library of content. Not all of us want custom-mesh-haired Sims and what-have-you!
I have never heard of this before, and frankly, I hate the idea! I love having my creations on the site, no matter how many times they have been downloaded or not! It just feels good that I have something for all to see! Dumb idea EA, dumb idea!! 🙁 *[Sims 3 Exachange name is “Lucky711td”, check some out if you want, I’d like them to be saved 😀 Post your name too, I’d like to see what you’ve created]*
WHY! This makes No sense at all! I can’t believe it! You might as well say “hi, I worked on this lot for ten hours to get it deleted! I’m so happy!”
It´s sad to read this.It suposed that the exchange is one of the most interesting features offered by the original game. Frankly, ever since the beginning, the launcher and the exchange didn´t worked well for many users, it sounds rather it is an excuse for don´t further support this function. Many users will stop using the exchange because of this
I’m not sad at all, the exchange isn’t really the most popular place for custom content – that’s unless if you’re a newbie to sims and don’t know anything AT ALL about sims. The exchange is just another place full of floodfill, I know I’ve uploaded a couple of things, but that’s only because I had to since it was the only place I can upload. From now on, my things go on either a download-site(like Mediafire, Box.net, etc.), MTS, MATY or my SkyDrive on hotmail, because at least then, my stuff won’t be deleted.
To be perfectly fair, EA cannot delete items simply from a report of “stolen content”.
Here is an excerpt
6. Contributing Your Own Content to EA Services; License Grant to EA and Others
In exchange for EA enabling your contribution of Content, when you contribute Content to an EA Service, you expressly grant to EA a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, complete and irrevocable right to quote, re-post, use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, syndicate, license, print, sublicense, distribute, transmit, broadcast, and otherwise communicate, and publicly display and perform the Content, or any portion thereof, in any manner or form and in any medium or forum, whether now known or hereafter devised, without notice, payment or attribution of any kind to you or any third party. You grant EA all licenses, consents and clearances to enable EA to use such Content for such purposes. You waive, and agree not to assert any moral or similar rights you may have in such Content.
And what is the point of uploading content if no one wants to download it?