TS4's Underrated Features.

"bjk607;c-16541385" wrote:
@SimsILikeSims I 100% agree with you completely they are foolish because they have nothing else better to do. It is childish and I wish we can report the profiles. As far as using the hashtags such as #stopstealing yes they use it all the time. My sister had one of her builds up one time...someone downloaded some how changed her name and replaced it with theirs and then uploaded it, Now isn't that considered stealing?

That would be exactly what the #stopstealing refers to. I have no idea how they changed her name to replace it with theirs, without it getting flagged as original by...your sister. Unless it was before that gallery feature was activated. But she shouldn't let a few incidents like that discourage her from sharing her builds - the better the build, the more people will want to copy it. But the more builds on a player's profile, the more chances that they are the original builder....or are stealing from multiple players. If the latter, eventually karma will come back to bite them, because word WILL get around once they copy a builder that is well-known and widely followed...it will be obvious that "their" work isn't theirs.

Now, I have uploaded one lot that was originally someone elses', but I added a basement to it, and objects from the Vampires pack that weren't in the original build. When I look at that lot under my origin id, it does say under the uploaders name (my origin id), Original by... and the original content creator's name. If someone found a way to bypass THAT, they really should be doing something better with their time,.... like making game mods (not just custom content, actual game mods, which require some programming knowledge to create). When you upload your own creations to the gallery, the uploaders name is on top. When you reupload something (since last year), it lists the uploader at the top, but under that, Original by...and the original creators name. I also did the same with a Maxis lot after adding the rock climbing wall to one of their gyms that was originally base game only.

Another option to establish yourself as a builder is to upload your original builds to a fan site like the Sims Resource or Mod the Sims, if it contains no custom content. To be honest, I don't have the talent or time to make complicated fancy builds, but if I did, and I didn't want others copying my content and falsely claiming it as their own, I would not only upload it to the gallery, but also upload it to TSR or MTS. With the current amount of time and skill I currently have, I really don't care if other people download my builds and recolor the wallpaper or floors or change the furniture around and reupload it - for me it is just a casual hobby, not a career, and I'll eventually just make more. I work best when copying houses or apartments I have actually been in, or occasionally if fixing stuff uploaded to the gallery that literally looks half-built (so if you upload a house that is literally nothing but 4 walls, a door, a window, and a roof, or no roof, I'll probably download, modify, and reupload it - eventually (I work full-time so don't have as much time to play as I'd like)).