Forum Discussion

Hero

Re: PLEASE ADVISE Gallery and libary problem

@Kittydoll1994 Hugs to you. I am so sorry. I had this happen at one point in reference to a default game lot I had remodeled and I had no ill-intents, as you are saying is the case for you. The way I became aware it was considered me claiming I had made the original was by a player posing a snarky comment to that effect that cut me to the core and really upset me, as I can tell is the case with you.

In my case all I ended up doing to remedy this was to educate myself on what is considered 'stealing' by other players. I also directly addressed the snarky player, who responded well to my ignorance, apology, and falling on my sword. This player backed off and I think even ended up becoming a follower. Whether the player(s) in your case is/are like this you cannot own. They will be as they will be.

Fair warning... there are some very snarky, embittered players in the forum/gallery with a serious bee in their bonnet over this one. I expect that's not news to you. Personally, I do get frustrated when others re-upload my lots as their own. On the other hand, I also realize this can be with no ill-intent, and I certainly want them to download what I share and enjoy it in their game and modify it (in their game) in whatever way they want... I just don't want them to re-upload the lot afterward. I think that's what others are asking for normally, also.

Example. I work a crazy amount of hours on a lot I make. I test and re-test it thoroughly. I am not a speed builder, and I really get into it. My favorite part while I'm building and when I share is the thought that others who are not into building will download and enjoy the function and details I worked so hard on. Now, having said that, if I spent weeks or even months on a lot and shared it then someone else downloads it and re-uploads it as theirs – sometimes not even bothering to re-name it or redesign it at all – and that person gets a ton of downloads and accolades, that rather sucks for me. This has happened to me multiple times. I put #DoNotReupload in my descriptions now, but I don't know that this matters. I have seen folks not even bother to remove the description – or that tag – when re-uploading the lot.

The same would be the case for rooms and households people made and shared to the lot. If you are being careful to not re-upload as yours something you downloaded, and not share things that you altered, you should be covered.

The way to back up your creations is to save them to your Library, but not share those to the Gallery. If a creation in your Library is not shared to the Gallery, only you see it and it is only local (on your computer). You can further backup your Library by saving your Tray folder to an external drive or thumb drive. The Tray folder is where your Library lives.

Info on how to save to the Library and share/not share to the Gallery, what that means, etc.: https://sherigr.com/tutorials/saving-lot-to-sims-4-library-gallery/
Locating the Tray folder: Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Tray

Bottom line, imho, don't let the angry mob get to you or ruin your game for you. I'm so, so sorry you were so upset, frightened and hurt that you deleted all of your saves and items! Please don't delete your game!

There are many very kind and reasonable players out there. One of the healing things for me after 'meeting' that snarky player was to post/hang out more here (AHQ) than the forums and to participate in and interact with two particular challenge groups on the forum:

Rosemow's One Week, One Room challenge. That woman has a heart of gold and puts up with no critical or snarky anything. Seriously. https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/815547/one-room-one-week-one-theme/p1
Build n' Share. This is a challenge with positive and kind participants and chat:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_us/discussion/769875/build-n-share-challenge-149-the-hawthorne-project-xii-due-31st-may-2021/p1

Again, hugs and encouragement to you, and I hope some of this info helps. Have a lovely day!!

9 Replies

Kittydoll1994
5 years ago
@SheriGR Thankyou so much for the kind and informative response! I am 100% Sure I deleted everything that would be a known issue with this. I didn't remeber which lots or houses were exactly reuploads so a full delete was okay! I just didn't want to play the game again due to anxiety of this person messaging me saying they were going to ban me. I was not familiar on how to use gallery and still in the learning process. I didn't understand the idea of claiming as my own as I have mental health needs so I can be totally unaware of things which added to the anxiety of this. I will take all the advice on board and restart my game again. I will take a good look at the forums you suggested! I have always understood the work that goes into creations! And I can see how it can be impacting when people do take advantage with no care for those hours put in. You have put my mind at rest and I can happily play my game again!
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@Kittydoll1994 I'm sorry this happened to you. Just to be clear:

You cannot be banned from playing Sims 4, nor can you have the game removed from your account, for using other people's Gallery creations. In theory, you might be banned from the Gallery, but even that is extremely unlikely and wouldn't happen for a first-time offense.

Another player cannot get you banned under any circumstances.

You never have to pay for Sims 4 user-made content, whether it's Gallery items or custom content downloaded from a third-party site. In fact, it's against EA's terms of use for creators to demand payment for their content or to permanently lock it behind a paywall, although they're allowed to charge for a short early-access window. Point is, you're well within your rights to download any user-created Sims 4 content you find for free.

It is in fact considered stealing to reupload others' creations without giving credit, but all you need to do in that case is remove the uploads, and you won't face any consequences.

It sounds like you ran into a bully who either doesn't understand the rules or thinks they can intimidate new players. Regardless, feel free to ignore this person and everything they said to you.

In the future, you can save downloaded content you've modified to your in-game Library only, without involving the Gallery, and no one will be able to see or object to it. You can back up your entire Tray folder if you want: that contains everything saved to your Library, and the files can be swapped in and out of the user folder whenever you want.
Kittydoll1994
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict Thankyou for the clear response! I have completely wiped my gallery and cloud of any Sims or lots including my own and restalled the game so I have nothing left from that game progress. Everything is completely default as if I had purchased the game. I am going to restart and use the backup methods suggested as I did lose alot of sims I made from scratch. I'm still in the building learning stage so pre built houses was a good start and inspiration. I have blocked them so hoping they will leave me be.
SheriGR
Hero
5 years ago
@Kittydoll1994 I'm very thankful you saw my response and found it reassuring. Thank you for letting me know. I'm so relieved you didn't give up on your game! Sims is such fun and can be a great outlet, so I hope you have a great deal of fun rebuilding your Sim world!
Make sure to also read the post that @puzzlezaddict added here with additional clarifications as to the real rules. This is great info to have to be prepared with truth if someone tries to bully or threaten you with falsehoods. Edit: Oops! We were apparently typing at the same time as I see you saw the post already! 🙌
Kittydoll1994
5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict I have checked my libary and I am seening families and some houses I dont remeber downloading at all. Should I delete those? They seem to be preloaded as they are by a person called maxis
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
5 years ago
@Kittydoll1994 Those are Maxis-created sims and lots (Maxis is the studio that makes the game), and these appear by default unless you specifically delete them. They're included for players to use if they want, and even if you don't want the content, you don't need to delete any of it.
Kittydoll1994
5 years ago
I have deleted the maxi ones its totally empty now. Id I could have kept those or not is fine. I wanted it empty anyway to avoid clutter of lots and sims ill never use
EA_Lanna
Community Manager
5 years ago
Hi @Kittydoll1994,

I'm so sorry to hear you had this experience. The Gallery community are generally really lovely people. They are passionate about the content shared there and giving credit is a unspoken rule among the community. It's not something most new Simmers would be aware of though. The Gallery community are generally mindful of that and when some do reach out, they do it in a nice and friendly manner to help get you up to speed.

It sounds like you had unfortunate luck with the person who messaged you. Blocking was good thinking. If you have their details, please send them on to me in a DM so we can take a look. I'd like to add that the moderator in me would like to thank you for reading through the forum rules and not naming and shaming other players on the forum. If I could give you more XP for that, believe me I would!

I really hope this hasn't ruined your sims experience. It's such a wonderful creative game. You absolutely do not need to wipe all of your Sims stuff in-game. Add whatever you want from the gallery to your sims game. The content in the Gallery is shared to be used by all and you do not need to pay for any of it (it's against the rules to charge for that content). Enjoy the game for what it is. You'll meet some fantastic simmers from the community too. We don't all bite. 🙂

And thank you @SheriGR and @puzzlezaddict's for showing how great, helpful and lovely simmers can be.❤️

Take care,

EA_Lanna
PugLove888
Hero (Retired)
5 years ago
@Kittydoll1994 , I'm so sorry you had to go through this! 😭 At least you know now that no one can ban you if they don't work for EA, and you would never get banned for an unwritten etiquette "rule". 😅 I hope that all your future experiences on the Gallery are better.

Also, if you are ever in doubt, it can't hurt to credit the original creator. 😉

I hope you have fun exploring the game and the Gallery! Happy Simming! 🥳