The Sims in any iteration already is/was a powerful tool for healing. There are official blog posts and videos highlighting this use of the game.
The bazar-like atmosphere you describe, however, is not how the core sims community connects. We do that outside the game, by sharing stories, screenshots and gameplay challenges. For what it's worth, lots of chats revolve around how downloading cc for hours can be "playing the game", too. When playing, we want to be fully immersed, with no reminder of the outside world existing - just take a look at the shopping cart button controversy, a single glowing spot that takes two seconds to click away, yet was viewed as unacceptable. Now imagine how much more reviled (and as result: not get used) a marketplace would be that is actually part of live mode!
The Sims already have a bazar when you go to the park on holidays. These forums are great but like you said it is offline. It is time spent away from the game. Imagine if our Sims could be having this conversation for us. I think that is kool!
When you say "holiday at the park", do you by chance mean festivals? Festivals indeed spawn marketstalls that sell ingame objects, but that is no different from entering buildmode to buy something or using the phone options to order stuff. All those objects are part of the game, we already paid for them, and there is no reminder of the outside world when interacting with those vendors, unlike the system you propose, where each object would, at the very least, have a username of the seller attached to it. Such a marketplace would create a very different experience ("vibe") from the existing points of purchase like, let's say, the thrift store from the High School Years expansion.
If you want to make the system you propose work, you need to understand that difference in perception and be willing to compromise. Research how to engage introverts specifically, as that requires a different approach from getting a shy extrovert out of their shell. And read, read, read that shopping cart button discussion in the old forum (it was made read only, but is still accessable), I cannot stress that enough. Your blog post is fine for a boardroom meeting, unfortunately I can't see it convincing the core community, because time spent away from the game is how we socialize in this community.
Good input! I appreciate your response. Yes, the Sims park is filled with festival stands that sell items. Integrating items would be no different, that was a vision of the future. I understand your viewpoint and it is based on current technical methods. Most people here play Sims on the computer, and I think the console would be better for such a process. Good discussion.
Sim festivals are vastly different from thousands and thousands of modders and cc makers trying to sell their stuff in game. Not to mention that if they allowed for such an in game marketplace, all sold stuff would need to be regulated somehow. There is Second Life that does that, but I don't think we want the Sims to become similar to that game.
