A fun fact is that there are exactly zero cases of any US child ever being killed by Halloween candy that has been tampered with by a stranger, but the myth is so widespread that news stations report on it every single year, simply assuming the fact that it is talked about means that it has happened before. A reference with no referent. But making people needlessly terrified of the other people they live near is how the local news makes most of its money anyway so what’s a little lie once a year

Haha, good thing that they *only* do this about Halloween candy and not anything major like human trafficking cults or transgender bathroom rapists; that would be pretty fucked up.

There was one child who died after he was given cyanide-laced pixie sticks from his Father. Ronald O’Bryan (aka "The Candy Man") from Houston, Tx, also gave this candy to five other children, they did not eat the candy.

Here is why the news about paywalls today is so important:

The primary reasons are because: 1) The old "ruling" was made by ONE EA staff member and was posted in a forum. So anytime people quoted the 2-3 week early access rule, there was always that potential pushback of "That was years ago, and the guru who stated that isn't even in the company anymore etc." This is recent (this year, this month), and posted on EA's OFFICIAL FAQ for the sims. 2) There was a screenshot that was being spread around of that same guru making other statements about meshes that some people purposefully misinterpreted to mean that they could paywall if the mesh was 100% theirs. This was always untrue, however a lot of people in the alpha CC community were so desperate for $$$ that they took that misinterpretation and ran with it. This statement debunks that screenshot entirely. 3) It indicates that EA SEEMS willing to enforce their policies. Because unlike Guru Drake's statement saying that EA isn't going to police CC, this not only has links and ACTIONABLE steps, but mentions the team will be reviewing them. The fact that this policy on mods/CC also goes hand in hand with another policy (about using EA's logos/etc) that I KNOW they have been very good at enforcing (The modder/CC maker Nando can testify to this as he got contacted by EA about his previews for one of his CC packs) gives me significant hope. I should also note that the strong use of phrases like "do not" "must be" and "cannot use" very much seems like they are behind this. 4) It gives the players the ability to cut through the bullshit of permapaywallers and tell them to shape up or fuck off. Over 90+% of modding communities are not like this one and operate on a donation only model of support for their mods. Usually what happens when people try to make their mods monetized is they are very plainly told what the expectations are for the community and that if they aren't going to follow them, to get out. This gives simmers the power to tell that to these people. Because they can't hide behind the excuses anymore. Now the important questions that remain: 1) What does this do to early access creators? Because the new policy seems very much to be anti-early access. People are very mixed on this right now, with some being very "monetization has ruined this community entirely it all should go" and some going "Well I don't mind early access but permapaywalls are bad". We'll see how this shakes out... 2) How will the community handle this new policy? Will creators who are currently permapaywalling quit and take their ball with them, or will they adapt to the new policies and just hope donations are enough? Will early access creators end up having to change policies? Will this lead to an exodus of creators, or a more thriving community as monetization becomes less of a priority? 3) What will perma-paywallers do in reaction? Although this kinda falls under the previous question, I think it is interesting to see what happens. Will perma-paywallers ignore this change and hope that EA does nothing? Will some of them try to lie and justify themselves to the community? Another question is....could some of them try to scrounge up enough money to try to legally challenge EA? [They wouldn't win, but I can speak from past experience they LOOOOVE legal threats.] And last but most importantly: 4) Will EA actually enforce this? My hope, is that this is a sign that they will. Since it's pretty stupid to massively update policies you don't plan on enforcing. But of course, this is EA...so we'll seeeee..

This is a very helpful summary of where we are and moving forward defining next steps. Thanks Mack!

@mack3030

people: "but if early access is no longer an option, a lot of eacc creators will leave the community!"

me:

A poem comes to mind when I read this.

The Indispensable Man

Sometime when you’re feeling important; Sometime when your ego’s in bloom; Sometime when you take it for granted, You’re the best qualified in the room: Sometime when you feel that your going, Would leave an unfillable hole, Just follow these simple instructions, And see how they humble your soul.

Take a bucket and fill it with water, Put your hand in it up to the wrist, Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining, Is a measure of how much you’ll be missed. You can splash all you wish when you enter, You may stir up the water galore,

But stop, and you’ll find that in no time, It looks quite the same as before.

The moral of this poem: There’s no indispensable man.

It has come to our attention that EA has officially came out against permanent paywalls!!!!! Creators can still profit off their content as long as they are also made free to the public, like we’ve been saying this whole time *cough cough*

You may now direct creators who don’t follow those guidelines to this statement:

For more information: https://help.ea.com/en-gb/help/the-sims/the-sims-4/mods-and-the-sims-4-game-updates/

Thank you to everyone who did their part by sending a ticket or reaching out to a guru, this is a big deal. Glad EA is finally doing something about a huge portion of the CC creator communities exploitative practices.

About d*mn time! Also worth noting are two other critical statements needed to ensure that user's are held accountable with EA's policy, they are:

Positive Play Chapter, and

Policy, Reporting, and Enforcement. The full policy that also includes content above.

Today is Juneteenth, which commemorates the ending of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, it was not enforced in the state of Texas due to a lack of Union troop presence and enforcement in the confederate state.

However on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger and his regiment  entered Galveston, Texas to override the resistance to the law and to enforce the Executive Orders. Union Major-General Gordon Granger read General Orders, No.3 to the people of Galveston. It stated:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

Since 1865 black Americans have regarded June 19th as the official emancipation day, and on January 1, 1980, the state of Texas proclaimed June 19 an official state holiday thanks to the African American state legislator Al Edwards.

Well doesn't this paint such a pretty picture of Juneteenth history. Please read the article linked at the bottom of the page.

Although this post is mostly accurate there are a few facts that need to be adjusted or added. So let's start by cleaning up this post .

You may find this article an interesting read: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/06/19/how-juneteenth-turned-texas-shameful-slave-legacy-into-an-international-celebration-of-freedom/

Born, raised, and lived in Texas.

~ MTQ