I can agree on it being obnoxious when meshes aren't included, due to the risk of dead links, but I also sort of see where it is coming from (with some creators, any way). Some want control over their uploads because they may fix it/update it at some point, although that is probably not that common. I get wanting credit for something you spent time on, and I don't think it's too much to ask to credit the original creator when you use something of theirs, but not letting people include relevant parts does make things a lot more annoying.

I'm totally with you on the deleting content though iCad. That's just plain rude. If you made something and shared it, it's no longer entirely yours, in my opinion. If you don't want the internet to control it, then stay off the internet. That's just how things work.

Rosebine and Gummilutt. You're both incorrect that something a person created isn't longer theirs when they share it on the internet. There áre protection laws for this.
That a lot of people feel it is 'free range', doesn't make it so. That it is hard to hold people to this law thát I do agree on.

Actually, EA owns all the CC we make for the game, once you put it into .package format, which EA owns; the EULA we all agree to when we install the game makes it so. And if it's not in .package format, then you can't put it in your game. So in this case, if you put Sims creations out there on the Internet, then it is no longer yours. In fact, once you make it, it's no longer yours, legally. It's EA's. For the very same reason, you can't claim copyright on, say, a piece of fanfiction.

Which isn't to say that we should disregard a creator's wishes, even if we don't understand or agree with those wishes. It just means that no one who makes Sims CC can claim copyright on it. You give up that right when you agree to the EULA, which you have to do when you install the game. This is why it's not technically legal to charge for CC.

Which basically proves my (general) point that it isn't free range with other people's products.
I know too little of all the clauses of these laws to know if there are loopholes if people made meshes and put work in that. It may be disregarded by the EULA, but it may well not be in the law of protection on something someone made.

It's like you said though. Whatever law may or may not exist (and you have to keep in mind that the internet and laws are a confused place because laws vary between countries) is not really relevant, because they aren't enforced around this kind of thing. The simple truth if, if you put something on the internet, you're accepting the risk that someone will grab hold of it.

Compare it to people who upload youtube videos and then change their mind. You can take it down, but if it's something embarrassing, odds are someone downloaded it and will put it somewhere else. It's out of your control at that point. Same thing with CC. Policy and all that is fine (and I agree with iCad that we should respect them) but in the end the internet controls your creation now, not you.

You are NOT alone

I didn't say that whatever I create and would share is no longer mine. Sorry if this is what you understood. I am aware of what i did, I know what has become mine, or what part would /could be consider mine. All I am saying, is that the stuff *I* would share..YOU would have the rights you want on it. *I* would not ask for any credit. To me personally, this is...narcissistic. Plain & simple.
This is me, this is my own policy for whatever *I* would share.
If a creator wants credit, I will give. This is respecting them. But I never use anyone else's work either.
When I gave credit, it was.." Maxis & me"
Because this is what it was.
If i give you an apple, you eat it or not. but i am not going to ask you to tell all your friends, who gave it to you.

I think that people ought to abide by creators' wishes, yes. It's just common courtesy. Someone made an effort to make stuff and share it; to me, it's only fair that I, as the user of their creation, do my best to respect their wishes about it. However, in my experience, common courtesy is becoming...Well, less common. In addition, the relative anonymity of the internet tends to make people even less courteous. And some people just don't know a creator's policy, perhaps because the creator hasn't spelled it out or the user simply hasn't seen it. Me, if I can't find a policy, I figure a creator's stuff is "open season," and I can do what I want with it, but it's very possible that such a creator might have a policy of which I, in innocent ignorance, am not aware. It happens.

That being said, I think it's rather silly when a creator flies off the handle about their wishes not being respected. Beyond the fact that the perpetrator just might not have been aware of the policy...Well, the simple fact is that if you put Sims CC (or anything else creative, for that matter) out there on the internet, you should be prepared for the fact that it might well be used in ways you don't want it to be used, down to people claiming your work as their own and even using it for profit. In some cases -- Like if you put original art on the internet -- you have recourse because you hold copyright on that piece of art. But in the case of Sims CC, there's really nothing you can do about it because, as I said, you do not technically own that piece of CC and, therefore, you have no real recourse if someone steals it or uses it in a way of which you do not approve. You can get all-fired angry about it, sure, but in the end all that will do is raise your blood pressure. Me, I've got bigger fish to fry, you know?

In case of Sims CC different rules are in play, yes. Just because EA/MAXIS are the original creators. Therefore they have most if not all rights, to the .package, like you wrote before. That 'makes' it tricky how much or how less rights creators of custom content have in this.
My first comment about this was really a comment in general. Maybe not so handy on a specific forum like this. However, in general, when someone creates something. A book, an article, painting, whatever. They have the rights on that automatically. They basically shouldn't even have to provide 'their policy', because it already is a law they have the rights. That most people do provide a policy is because there are so many people who think they just can grab other people's work and do with it whatever they want. And they are wrong in that. That was what I was only pointing out.
You can't just use (pieces) of other people's work without permission. And even less if money is involved. In general.
But it is very hard to fight it and people know it. That's why a lot of people feel they have free range, but it really isn't so.
Of course, that makes it a risk to put your products on line. It's basically the same if you leave your bike in the garden. It's yours, but by leaving it outside you run the risk that someone comes along and claim it as theirs and you don't have your bike anymore. Then you took a risk and you lost something. But still that doesn't make it right.

In case of the sims 2 it might well be different, because of the original owners. Without them there wasn't even a way of making custom content for this game.
It might wel be that the provided policies aren't even valid and no one should háve to regard them.
Like you said. It's courtesy to do so, but the question is if those policies really are valid by law. In normal cases they would be, even in the owner of the product doesn't provide a policy.

I don't think I would mind that much if I created something for the Sims 2 and someone else alters it to make something new with that.
That would be fine with me. Because I got so much good free stuff for my game that I only would feel it appropriate to give back if I could create.
But in normal cases, I might fight it if someone would claim something I have written as their own. I would not accept that. Because of all the time, research and effort I have put in it.

It seems we agree in this matter.

Popular? That's not such an easy question to answer for me.

We are not the leader of the pack anymore. From my very informal, and admittedly more observational than mathematical-based research, prior to Sims 4, about 30% of Sims players were Sims 2. Sims 3 overshadowed us by far. (Sims 1 was only about 5%., but the players there are often a loyal and stalwart bunch ... and very helpful!)

With Sims 4, the percentages most likely changed. Again, through casual observation, it appears that Sims 3 took the biggest hit (like Sims 2 did when 3 came out, and 1 did when 2 came out), but it would be naive to think that the Sims 2 group didn't take a dip as well. With the UC, though, that percentage drop might not have been that bad ... perhaps the Sims 2 group is at 25% minimum now? That's truly a pure guess. We might have even increased in percentage .... that's really not out of the question.

I still so deeply wish I could put a simple poll on here. But let's face it ... if I put such a poll in any of the series forums, I doubt the answers would be entirely un-skewed!

So while Sims 2 is not popular, it's not obsolete. Far from it.

Sims 1, 2, 3 and very, very. very likely 4 creators will come and go. 2005 was nine years ago! People lose interest, go on to another series (or another game altogether), have life issues, can no longer play for reasons beyond their control. Or their hosting site either disappears, or someone there acts on often-unfounded accusations or invokes some sort of inactivity policy and deletes the content, or even account. That is not unique to any series.

If you are looking for content, you have a few options:

1. Use the Wayback Machine. If you know the URL, try entering it. I found a long-lost tutorial by estimating when it first came out.
2. Try Googling the hair or item you want. The mesh to a truly lovely hair I wanted was obliterated due to ... I have no idea why. But sometimes, people retexture hair and include the mesh, Sometimes, that's a little ... errr ... iffy re creator policies. But I admit to being truly thankful that someone DID skirt the policy for this hair. It would have permanently disappeared otherwise. You may not get the exact texture you want, but at least you can get the style. Of course, watch what sites you visit. I find that large, well-known sites such as MTS and Garden of Shadows are fine, as are Tumblrs, Dreamwidths and LiveJournals. Keep an eye out here and elsewhere for well-known creator sites. (For instance ... this one: http://mayonakakisu.livejournal.com/1562.html). If you're not sure, please, please, please make sure your AV is updated, and scan the content before using it. Or better yet, err on the side of caution.
3. Use the WCIF on various sites, including this one.
4. Try finding a creator who takes requests, and specifically indicates that. This option can be difficult, though.

Do realize that with improved graphics cards, some of the very early stuff may no longer look that great graphically. Meshing has also improved dramatically since those early days.

If someone asks for piece of CC, and I happen to have it, but the site is gone, I provide it. If the site is gone, the TOU is gone as well, IMO. It's so. so sad that more creators don't use the Graveyard, or other ways of archiving. It's really sad to see all those hours of work wasted now.

if the creator hasn't updated links for a long time (a couple of years) or re-uploaded to another site, and I can't contact the creator, I consider the site inactive. I provide the content.

If, however, the site is current, the links are "live" and the creator writes "Uh-uh. No sharing", I direct people to the link.

Good luck with your search!

P.S. The Insimenator site is NOT dead, if you're looking there. Try insimenator.org, not .net.