The Simmers Society

The RECing Crew- Random Acts Of Kindness! by XOX1-

"Everytime I think I am out, they pull me back in!"- Michael Corleone

I am going to depart from my usual literary meandering style in this article because I have a point to make.

In a rare, lucid moment, I decided today to take a more proactive approach about giving DLs and RECs.

I am going to first, sit down, and write out a list of all of my Simming friends. Those wonderful people who have so graciously commented on any of my creation's threads at the EA Forums, and have provided me with opportunities to reply and make a dignified Bump to that thread.

But this is not what the list will be for. It is hard for me sometimes to keep up with the ongoing posts of other's promotional threads. I try to post positive comments on my friend's threads, but some of them fall through the cracks.

I will be using this list to go to these Simmer's My Studio pages on the EA website, one by one, as my time and energy permits; and give a DL and REC to everything in their Studio. I am going to download all of the items, even if I have it already, and/or don't even plan on using it in my game. With the amount of friends I will have on the list, this process will take approx. 4 to 6 weeks.

I will be downloading more than once, in some cases, because I may have already downloaded the item previously. I do live in the Chicagoland area. On election day around these parts we have a saying..."Vote Early, and Vote Often". It's a Chicago thing!

I am going to go through my list. When completed, I will start back at the top of the list again. I will comment on posts whenever I see them in the EA Forums. I will also add new people to my list as they become apparent to me, by their "Random Acts Of Kindness" and I make even more new friends.

I am hoping in this case to lead by example. If many of us commit these "Random Acts Of Kindness", it may contribute some fairness into the already unfair and disfunctional structure of the EA Exchange. "The RECing Crew" may become a positive movement that builds, instead of tearing down.

I do not consider this to be cheating. I consider it to be a way of helping out to balance an unbalanced enviroment with the tools that I have at my disposal. It's called- MUTUAL SUPPORT!

'Nuff Said!

(BTW- I will try to be a little more amusing in my next article)

"Gone Fishing!"- Fredo Corleone

We Can Get There from Here! by XOX1-

   I think it has been established by now that I have a way with words. I have dabbled somewhat over the years with writing, and am capable of turning a phrase now and then.  When I was exploring the news category of my "To Know Everything Project", I was lucky enough to meet an elder and wise gentleman who had some experience in the subject. He was nice enough to relay to me a simple rule that I have carried with me ever since.

   "News is divided into two parts, Reporting and Journalism. To be a Reporter, is to simply state the facts. To be a Journalist is to convey a story with one's opinions. There is a very fine line between the two!"

   Putting on my Reporter's hat, I can report this.-

   The ongoing problems with the EA website has caused many of us to seek our communal interactions offsite. Even though navigation back at EA has somewhat improved, this situation has ground to a standstill. Many of it's former posters are now freely engaging in communications on other sites, like we do here at The Simmers Society.

   I recently have been going back to the EA website, and have seen that there are many threads about how the hangers-on are feeling abandoned, and remarking about the lack of vitality that the site once enjoyed. I have also noticed that there are many newcomers who are requesting help with what we would consider elementary problems.

   Putting on my Journalist's hat, my opinion is.-

   We are lucky enough here at The Simmers Society to have accumulated some of the best talent in the Simming Community as it's members! We should be going back to the EA website, as time / energy permits, and interacting with the community at large to the best of our abilities. We should be reviving, and maintaining our threads to help breathe life back into the community. We can help out in so many different ways, because we have what it takes to do so. We are the best of the best!
  
   We can show support by Bumping and Boosting deserved threads wherever possible.

   We can scan The Recent Topics Page occasionally, and simply answer help questions that newcomers are asking for.

   We can fulfill our ambassadorial duties by simply spreading goodwill to low numbered posters in as welcoming a fashion as we are fully capable of.

   In our absence, many new Simmers have come onto the scene, filling the void we have left behind. they need our help and encouragement. There are many new friends to be made in this new enviroment. It is also in our best interest to do this, because it will act as a recruitment process to help keep The Simmers Society vital and growing.

   We should try doing this. It may prove to be "More Fun Than A Barrel Full of Monkeys", and monkeys are, after all, "SIMians"!

Sims In Black: The Power of "Plausible Deniability"!

   Imagine yourself in the middle of an ocean, during a thunderstorm. The waves are waving, the rain is raining, the brine is brining, and we are all being attacked; attacked I tell you, by a renegade band of killer anchovies! Kind of makes you wish for the safety of being back home in Peoria Illinois, doesn't it? Some of you do, others, obviously not. Watch out, because here comes that storm now!

*

On 02/20/10, SimGuruPopTart posted this message on the EA Forums...

"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!"

*

   This was the official beginning of what is now known as the "Culling Policy". Although written in the best form of political correctness, the post sent shockwaves throughout the Simming Community!

Amazingly, what was not relayed to any of us was what we really needed to know...

1- How many Downloads are required to keep an item from being Culled?

2- How many Recommendations? (This is a lesson in futility)

3- If an item gets Culled, is it just from The Exchange, or both The Exchange, and Our Studios?

4- Will inactive threads on the Forums be culled?

*

   Since we Simmers have become aware of this, a dark cloud has settled over our community. It's the uncertainty more than anything else that seems to affect us most. We worry about things that go bump in the night. Everytime we visit our Studios, there is the looming feeling that something dear to us will be gone. The creations that we have so painstakingly labored over may no longer be there. A whisper of something lost, and forever grieved by ghosts.

   I guess one might say that I am an obsessive person. I have been blessed/cursed with what is known as a "Photogenic Memory". It's not photographic, it's photogenic. My mind remembers almost everything it is exposed to, and has a tendency to analyze everything it remembers. So, since this shockwave came to pass, even though I may be playing The Sims 3, my mind is lurking in the background, on things that it knows is similar in nature.

Things like...

   When Chi Wan Di became first Emperor of China, he told his minister of information to review all of the books in China, and destroy any that did not comply with his new Imperial policies. The minister was given two years to review some 6,000 books. At the end of that period, he reported to the Emperor that he had only been able to review 2,000 books, and asked for more time to complete his task. The Emperor was not amused, and ordered all of the 4,000 unreviewed books to be burned anyway.

   How a mother bird must feel when returning with a worm to her nest, only to find it empty, because something had stolen her children while she was away.

   The awful stories of how, in some countries, a black car pulls up in front of a house, and one of the occupants of that house are whisked away in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again.

   That the ancient Egyptians had figured out that the Earth actually was round. The burning of the Library of Alexandria caused the last remnants of that information to be lost to the Western World until very late in the 15th century.

*

   This is where "Plausible Deniability" rears it's ugly head. No one knows for sure when and how this concept took hold in our societies. Of course, the urban legend says that it was the result of the UFO incident in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. The story goes that the U.S. Government was so embarrassed by the news flap over this incident, that it formed a secret committee known as "Majic". The legend goes on to claim that the first order of business of this arcane committee was to form the policy of "Plausible Deniability". It has mutated to activites that we accept as a matter of course in today's world. It has become the art of "Political Correctness", where one can state something without really ever saying anything. In today's corporate world, it is called "Risk Management". It's a Definite Maybe!

Think you live in a Democracy? A Monarchy? An Oligarchy? Etc?

   No my friends, while ruminating one afternoon, I caught a glimpse of a subtle nuance that was so vague, I had to invent a new word to describe it.

   I dubbed it a "Consumocracy". It came to me when I realized that everyone in the world is turning towards Capitalism despite their political affiliations.

   Worldwide, we are all increasingly becoming less of a citizen, and more of a consumer. For the most part, we are free to do what we please, as long as we continue to consume. We want shiny new things. We want our indulgences. We work. We spend.

And that is the bottom line. It's nothing personal, it's just business.

*

   What is really going on in our little corner of Simworld, has the best of us looking to the sky, and saying "MeeGeeSorg!"

   We purchase a product from a corporation, who is attempting to show a profit for their efforts. The department heads dread reporting to the board, and the board dreads attending a shareholder's meeting.

   The two deadly enemies of any business venture is to start off with not enough cash flow, and then, to get so popular that the customers cannot be taken care of properly. These are both Deal Breakers!

   Old school business would roll up their sleeves, contact their customers and find out what they want, and give it their all to provide it. Of course, by today's standards, most of the young turks in the business world wimp out, and take the lower road. It is easier to be vague when announcing policies, because it does not take a stand. It is easier to blame third party whatever for their customer's problems. It is the most easiest to deny any accountability in order to conceal the thought that short-sightedness, or even downright ineptitude might have had a hand in this situation.

The simple three tools of "Plausible Deniability" is DENY! DENY! DENY!

*

So here we are, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But, we still do not know what the actual policy is.

And here I sit at my computer, after writing all of these words, and I haven't really said anything, have I?

But, aren't you glad I am on your side?

Here are the results of "Fidler's Potpourri Challenge".

Amateur Challenge

yanti68................First Place

Cera13.................Second Place

Evergreen226...........Third Place

***********************************

Pro Challenge

garbuckle3000..........First Place

MeestorMark............Second Place

Amoebius...............Third Place

A new challenge will be starting tomorrow; "Fidler's Park Building Challenge". So, all you landscapers or at least would be landscapers, get out your horticulture tools and get ready!

Watch for the rules tomorrow at the following link:

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/107261.page