@catmando830 I have clearly stated my opinion within my letter and also clearly presented the facts. Your opinion was asked for in the posting of this letter so I thank you for that. however, your twisting of my words and your judgement of me directly was not. It would be completely stupid of me to call attention to this problem if I were actually one of the simmers who use this method of cheating. Thank you for your time in reading
Yes sadly you are right about the Internet @LeGardePourpre. We run into lies, cheats, fake news and many shady people doing things on the Internet and here in the gallery simply because they can. Internet is basically anonymous so some choose to do things here they might not normally do IRL. My stance is just because this loophole is out there that "can" be used .. should it be used? In my opinion No it shouldn't be used. I don't have faith in the honesty of all people so I call out this problem and ask for help in correcting it.
@LordOfTendons Thank you for your response. I play sims 4 as well as enjoy the creative side. I enjoy the friendly support in the gallery and seeing others creations and uploading my own as well. Yes, it is easy to click download when we see something we like without a fav or a comment and that accounts for a percent of all downloads of course. I choose not to click on the flag to report because of this fact you bring up as well as other random statistical factors I am no judge and I will not flag a person for my suspicions. Instead I have chosen to respectfully ask maxis and my fellow simmers to help stop this abusive cheating. Thanks again for your words
@kittymeow I agree with you when you say that a person should feel proud of their work. I do admit it does suck when you get a bad comment on a creation but I try to remind myself that not everyone will like my creations. But as long as I like them than I am fine. And at the end of the day what you think of your own creations, is the only thing that matter.
@Vee_Sam I'm sorry you've had bad comments, so have I before. I think there are some trolls going round on the gallery who just want to make others feel bad, ignore them. They're probably jealous of your creation and are the ones faking their own faves.
Yes you're right, it shouldn't matter how many downloads or faves yoh get, if you like it then that's what matters!
@GLovely1 I clearly do not see the point of your post to me the higher the number means that a lot of players loved the creation and where have you seen cheating I uploaded last night a lot I created on the gallery and did not see any cheating?
If you went the sims5 to remain offline feel free to sign this petition http://chng.it/gtfHPhHK please note that it is also to keep the gallery
Hello @friendlysimmers The point of my post is to open all of our eyes so we can see the current abuse to the gallery system. I once believed as you do now but as I said in my letter I believed that when I believed the gallery was operating honesty. 1 download per person, 1 fav heart per person. I know for a fact it does not work that way. I have proven my statements through my own testing & with the help of friends I trust in the gallery. I have also directed you in my letter to look and decide for yourself in the current section of the community popular now. Please look there and consider all I have said Then come ask more questions. I know this is a complicated issue. I have personally been struggling with it for the last few months. I am happy to help you and all others gain more understanding on this. Thank you
@GLovely1 I clearly do not see the point of your post to me the higher the number means that a lot of players loved the creation and where have you seen cheating I uploaded last night a lot I created on the gallery and did not see any cheating?
Is this my sweet bubbly creative friend @Rhisk from the gallery? I hope so but either way I first give you a warm welcome to the forums! Thank you for considering my letter and for your genuine points in reply. You bring up the main reason why us regular simmers like to actually share what we create. It is not for the popularity although it's real nice knowing simmers are out there enjoying our creations in their games. You are right on target about the reason why people are cheating. Somehow the high downloads and faked popularity is feeding a need within them potentially which is sad. Other reasons are simpler but there are plenty of reasons a person would choose to take an easier method to get ahead. Even if it is only getting ahead on a game making them feel better. I support your words wholeheartedly & I truly appreciate your support in mine thank you again & hugs back to ya!
This is all very sad to me. If am honest I can understand why some people would cheat. It makes them feel good to have a large numbers of DLs. The only reason I personally would want DLs is because I believe someone really liked my creations and was playing with my work in the game. That makes me happy. However, I do have a troublesome thought, the people who cheat may likely have an addiction problem. I have seen it over and over again, even in my own family. This is heartbreaking to think about. I love the Sims. It is a wonderful outlet for creativity and imagination. I play and create. I enjoy the work of others and I enjoy when others like mine. I don't aspire to have 100,000 Dls or thousands of followers. I love my friends and followers and take care of them all even if I am their only follower. I don't understand what there is to gain in cheating other than a sense of self importance or an addiction. I know it is hard for the honest creator who has spent many long hours on creating to see a cheater take the easy road to success. It can be very frustrating. I do know that before becoming involved in the gallery/community I only favorited creations that I wanted to get later, it was a way to find them later, but if I found what I wanted or liked at the moment I just downloaded and moved on with my game play. To @Celticgamer0 's point, many regular every day Simmers don't always favorite before downloading. So the number of favorites my not be the most perfect way to go. This certainly is a dilemma. As for not revealing the way to cheat, I am glad @GLovely1 is not revealing the secret. I would rather not see the gallery become any more inflated than it is. My thoughts for a solution is a Identity ticker. This would allow only one count per EA ID. So if EA Id for Jane Doe downloaded a creation it only counted one DL, any subsequent DLs would not increase the DL count. Well that is my humble input. Happy Simming to you all! **hugs**
I do agree with you @So_Money The gallery is a mess. That being said still I actually love many parts of the gallery and it's those loves that have driven me to write this letter and blow the whistle so to speak on this hidden and completely unfair gallery play tactic. I am the type of person that does not give up without a fight. This is my fight ... and I am holding out hope for now that maxis and the powers that be will investigate this concern I am bringing up. Please help me fight for what is right .. a simple yet very positive gallery change. Thanks for your comment
Thank you for your honesty and please do not be confused @Celticgamer0 The simplistic way I described it was to try to be as clear as possible using the fewest words as possible. I did bring up followers but lets focus on them here. Naturally the more followers you have the more your creation will get downloaded with or without many fav hearts. Also, if you are known for building that is who is mostly following you so it is natural to have a higher DL total there. The cheating comes into play when a simmer does not have many followers to back up the initial and fast download amount or when every single creation soars rapidly to the top of the popular now section no matter if you have few or many followers. If something looks too good to be true it usually is .. statistically it is impossible to have every creation you ever make be a top hit in the gallery. Plus, I am not saying every high DL creation is cheated on so please don't worry. Play and create honestly in the gallery is my message and my desire to change this very unfair game play
I'm confused... I upload stuff to the gallery almost all the time and very few if any people fav my creations yet they download them. I did not know about this cheat and find it dishonest, but others might think I do cheat because of the numbers? I might be misreading and I am not disapproving the fact it needs to be fixed as I do believe it does if it is an issue. I just don't want people to think I am cheating the system.
Sorry but that not always true in every single use case. I have had couple 16 downloads on my houses or lots. I don't have any followers that I can tell. The gallery does have a problem but. Your idea doesn't address everything. It sounds one-sided when there could be complex issues. They should update the system to make it easier to understand and prevent other issues. It might be to late to do anything. What if they update the gallery something breaks within the game? There is always a chance for it to break more things in the game. I really doubt they try to fix it since there years are left in Sims 4. Well I am thinking that there be a new game in 2020. But I could be proven wrong or right when that year comes.
sorry, but none of these look disproportionate to me.
i myself have two creations with one hundred/ two hundred dls and they only have about five favs each and zero comments, and i have zero followers.
can you direct me to examples of the "cheating"?
Yes @pennypolendina those all do look proportionate to me as well. You are looking at a small sample of high faved, high follower creations right there. Also in your specific case you bring up your own 2 creations with a couple hundred DL's and small fav amount. That is a statistically honest outcome of how the gallery operates. There are anomalies in every system. Even a small simmer with few followers can reach the 100-200 range. Consider how quickly you received that number of downloads though. Was it in only a day or 2 from your initial upload? Or, did you earn those DL's over a longer period of time? Consider the process now - each fav on your creation sends your creation out to all the people that follow the person who faved it as a notice & a spot on their game gallery feed. Each fav you earn moves your creation around to other simmers in the gallery. I am speaking about the simmers who upload a creation to the gallery and then repeatedly use this cheat tactic to bump their creation into the popular now section. The popular now section is time sensitive and your creation is only in there for 1 week. So, if you are a cheater wanting popularity over honesty, creativity and fair play then you would upload and cheat your creation at least into the popular now section. Once it is in that section the gallery simmers actually do start DL'ing it because it is highly and easily seen there for the week it is there. Some simmers are not satisfied with cheating a little though so they repeatedly cheat to boost their creation higher and higher.
I was advised to remove the screenshot by @LordOfTendons
Yes, I want to stop cheating but not by finger pointing and judging people. We can all easily cheat on our DL total. There is a method to do it. I tested it as I have stated and I have had others I trust test it too. I am asking everyone to help me change this and fix what is broken within the gallery system.
Thank you for taking the time to investigate what I am saying futher @pennypolendina
You are right @james64468 My solution to the problem of cheating in the gallery is rudimentary at best. I am not a game or computer engineer so I attempted to reason out what I feel is a quick and easy fix. The gallery system is already programmed to track a number. I am clearly stating that number the system is currently tracking can be and is being overwhelmingly cheated on by some simmers in the gallery. Because of this, the whole gallery concept of "popular now" is breaking down and being abused. "Popular now" should be what we all "love" enough to click fav as well as DL. It should not be for the cheaters who fake their way repeatedly over and over to become popular. Fair play, fair gallery .. stop the cheating ... That is what I am trying to do in any way possible
Yes @pennypolendina those all do look proportionate to me as well. You are looking at a small sample of high faved, high follower creations right there. Also in your specific case you bring up your own 2 creations with a couple hundred DL's and small fav amount. That is a statistically honest outcome of how the gallery operates. There are anomalies in every system. Even a small simmer with few followers can reach the 100-200 range. Consider how quickly you received that number of downloads though. Was it in only a day or 2 from your initial upload? Or, did you earn those DL's over a longer period of time? Consider the process now - each fav on your creation sends your creation out to all the people that follow the person who faved it as a notice & a spot on their game gallery feed. Each fav you earn moves your creation around to other simmers in the gallery. I am speaking about the simmers who upload a creation to the gallery and then repeatedly use this cheat tactic to bump their creation into the popular now section. The popular now section is time sensitive and your creation is only in there for 1 week. So, if you are a cheater wanting popularity over honesty, creativity and fair play then you would upload and cheat your creation at least into the popular now section. Once it is in that section the gallery simmers actually do start DL'ing it because it is highly and easily seen there for the week it is there. Some simmers are not satisfied with cheating a little though so they repeatedly cheat to boost their creation higher and higher.
Here is the bottom section of only households currently in popular now.
I have chosen this section as it has one of my male sims surrounded by others so I am comfortable pointing at myself as I show others creations. I will not claim those simmers are cheating .. no way would I be so presumptuous. I am saying those numbers are fishy to me especially now that I know exactly how this cheating is done (except FantaFlip-if you know her in the gallery you know she is an honest, generous creator) Yes, I want to stop cheating but not by finger pointing and judging people. We can all easily cheat on our DL total. There is a method to do it. I tested it as I have stated and I have had others I trust test it too. I am asking everyone to help me change this and fix what is broken within the gallery system.
Thank you for taking the time to investigate what I am saying futher @pennypolendina
You need to take that screen shot down. Those people may or may not frequent these boards and they may not be able to defend themselves against your allegations of "fishy" numbers. This thread has the potential to turn into a witch hunt that will ruin the game for some people.
Thank you for the advice @LordOfTendons I do not want this to be a "witch hunt" That is not my intent. I also do not want to ruin the game for any more people. I have had friends leave and stop creating because of this one issue. I am attempting a respectful open dialog and a call to action. Only when you are actually aware of a problem can we work together to attempt to solve it.
@GLovely1 thank you for the in-depth response.
i checked the area where you took the screenshot from and i'd like to point out some things.
some of the sims included are very popular for these reasons:
-pregnant
-inclusion of "ugly to beauty" in the title, this is a very popular challenge on youtube
*i searched "ugly to beauty" myself and sorted it by most popular, there's many different creators with sims in the one hundred dl range
-tag spamming, using an absurd amount of tags like "s*xy" "s*xygirl", etc.
-cc gallery poses, these are aesthetically pleasing
-inclusion of the words "hot", "cute", "pretty", etc. in the title
*again, i searched these terms myself and found many sims with plentiful downloads
-the majority of the sims on there are just generically attractive, plain and simple
i scrolled all the way to the end of the "popular now" tab, the creations at the bottom all have a reasonable twenty to thirty dls, i guess that is the amount you need to get on there. once you have gotten that amount, if your sims meet the criteria listed above, they'll get more downloads.
another thing is, the creators on there are all different. if someone was cheating, you'd think they'd do it on multiple creations, not just one.
out of the fourteen thousand people who are online, i don't think it's far-fetched that one hundred of them on the "popular now" tab saw and liked the same sim enough to download it.
just because cheating can be done, doesn't mean it has been done. except by you and your friends i guess..
but truthfully i don't think it would hurt anyone for them to look into it.
also, you've already proven that it's definitely possible, so why not fix it.. i just wish you'd take your accusations out of your original post because they are stated as fact when they are just hurtful speculation.
good luck.
You bring up many valid points @pennypolendina - The gallery system of popularity is built and dependent upon numbers & catch phrases. Trying to keep it simple the more numbers that are in your favor, the more likely your creation will be downloaded. I am not trying to point fingers as the gallery is still mainly composed of honest, friendly, creative simmers. That being said, I am opening asking for an investigation into this download cheating method & a system change if possible. My letter is an attempt to make us all more aware that this is actually happening because it is getting more frequent and more prevalent in the gallery. I stand by my original statements as they are from my own personal observations of the popular now section and select simmers over the past 3 or so months. I am speaking about the repeat offenders here. Names I repeatedly noticed in the popular now section which caught my curiosity enough to take a critical look at them. I would never have stumbled across this problem then if these particular simmers were not repeatedly and very obviously abusing this cheat method. I wouldn't have presented it at all if the gallery continued to be treated in the way it was designed. 1 download per person, 1 fav per person .. it has taken me over 3 months to muster up the nerve to point this out and to investigate, weigh the pros and cons of speaking out and then yes, finally test my theory by cheating once & touché on that cheeky comment in your last post I know how to honestly earn downloads. I have been doing that for the past 1 1/2 years. I saw these simmers I am speaking about and still continue to see more simmers repeatedly reaching over-inflated download totals without at least some of these other honest natural gallery factors to back it. I am an optimist. But I am also aware that we are all only human after all. If presented with a very easy way to cheat especially in an online gaming platform there are some people who will choose to use and abuse it. The saying "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" comes to mind here. I am trying to search for the most reasonable solution that will create a more positive, honest environment in the gallery once again with your help ... with the help of every simmer who cares enough about this game to ask that this be at least looked into & then yes, hopefully changed. Bottom line - The method to cheat on downloads is out there ready & can easily used by all simmers. Our gallery system is broken because of this. I finally felt strong enough and disappointed enough to speak out on behalf of all honest creators. Thank you for your thoughtful commentary & for wishing me luck, I am going to need it!
Hi dear friend @Plantyl Welcome to the Sims Forums! Thank you for taking the time to read all of these posts & giving your first forum comment on this post Will you please explain your statement a bit further? I agree, the gallery should be valued more certainly. It is a game and a creative platform we all honestly love. I want to see it functioning honestly again so that all simmers have an equal opportunity to be seen - no matter if they are well established in the gallery or new beginning creators.
I rarely use the gallery, and I had to get friends to show me how to access the "popular now" button -- but I saw a lot of pretty sims, a few unique sims, and a few sims with special conditions that were popular. I also saw a lot of very beautiful builds included. I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for that is disproportionate. Some of the more plain sims were Maxis curated (I think, they had the 3 green diamonds in the corner) -- so that probably accounts for their popularity. I thought they were still very nice sims that someone was proud enough of to include them to the gallery.
I hope, however, that you are able to have your situation resolved. But I am totally missing the large download numbers for sims and buildings that you don't seem to think deserve it? I thought everything I saw was very nice in its own way. I just might not be understanding the full extent of it.
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I will say, I found several homes that I really liked and thought were very creative. I downloaded them. Previously I've only downloaded things from people I knew. Some very nice stuff on the gallery!
Check out my cooking Youtube channel: Living with Leigh
Thank you for speaking your mind & admitting to confusion too @Idontrcall Oh goodness yes is very confusing! It really has taken me at least 3 months to critically look at all the factors that go into how a creation makes it into the popular now section. Simply put it takes some of the following things: a well crafted creation; simmers to click on the fav heart to move that creation around in the gallery so other simmers see it in their game feed; simmers to download that creation; higher on-line population (this fluctuates drastically); a decent sized supportive follower base; a maxis fav or curated creation; good hashtags or catchy title. We can certainly list more here but that is the basic foundation. Now, the cheating catch comes into play at the initial upload typically. Most simmers, even well established simmers in the gallery do not earn 100-300 downloads within the first 24 hours of a new upload, except maybe at the high end of the on-line population. People repeatedly cheating will quickly give themselves the first 100-300 DL's which instantly places their creation in the low to middle section of the community popular now section. This places that creation ahead and above all other honestly created and uploaded creations at that time. All creations are highly visible while in the popular now section so then the initially cheated on creation's download totals begin to honestly be earned in the way the system was originally intended. Meaning 1 download per person, 1 fav heart per person. I am pointing out this loophole in the system that allows people to cheat on their own download totals. Some simmers use it a little bit .. a handful of simmers that have caught my attention and others enough to investigate what was really going on there use it in an overwhelming amount. If we all chose to play fair, with honesty & respect the creations of others while letting others decide if they like our work enough to download it then this would be a non-existent problem.
There really are some amazingly talented creators on the gallery and I appreciate you finding some new to you creators and liking their work enough to download it Truthfully everything is nice on the gallery .. beautiful, creative, unique and worth valuing .. even these creations I am speaking about. To me the problem is not are they good .. the problem is no single person's creations should be cheated on period, no matter how good they are. There is no reason good enough to cheat yourself and everyone around you. Even if you have the ability to do so and sadly the current gallery system does give individuals the ability to do so. This is the main reason why I speak out now for positive change. Again, thank you all for taking the time to read and seriously consider this matter.
I will say, I found several homes that I really liked and thought were very creative. I downloaded them. Previously I've only downloaded things from people I knew. Some very nice stuff on the gallery!
Well, it is very simple to know if someone is a cheater or if it's only because it is one of his creation is downloaded that much for some other reason. For example: a creator have 500 followers, and another have 10000 followers. All the creations uploaded by the one who have 500 get a very huge number of downloads very fastly, and have few number of fav. The other who have 10000 followers may sometime have great number of downloads in few, but not all the time with all his creations, but have a great number of fav number all the time. Sometime, there are too some that may have 500 followers who can have a great number of downloads too, but it is only for some rarely times. So, the goal for the cheater is to up all his creations to the most popular to get more and more followers to make prove that he is very popular. but it is a fake popularity at first. After few monthes, this cheater will have more than 2000 followers, but the honest one will have some more too, but not so many more than the cheater. It is a very dishonest way to get more followers.
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May the potatoes be with you!
Repose en paix mamie tu va me manquer :
1923-2016 mamie
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Sorry but that not always true in every single use case. I have had couple 16 downloads on my houses or lots. I don't have any followers that I can tell. The gallery does have a problem but. Your idea doesn't address everything. It sounds one-sided when there could be complex issues. They should update the system to make it easier to understand and prevent other issues. It might be to late to do anything. What if they update the gallery something breaks within the game? There is always a chance for it to break more things in the game. I really doubt they try to fix it since there years are left in Sims 4. Well I am thinking that there be a new game in 2020. But I could be proven wrong or right when that year comes.
can you direct me to examples of the "cheating"?
I was advised to remove the screenshot by @LordOfTendons
Yes, I want to stop cheating but not by finger pointing and judging people. We can all easily cheat on our DL total. There is a method to do it. I tested it as I have stated and I have had others I trust test it too. I am asking everyone to help me change this and fix what is broken within the gallery system.
Thank you for taking the time to investigate what I am saying futher @pennypolendina
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You need to take that screen shot down. Those people may or may not frequent these boards and they may not be able to defend themselves against your allegations of "fishy" numbers. This thread has the potential to turn into a witch hunt that will ruin the game for some people.
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i checked the area where you took the screenshot from and i'd like to point out some things.
some of the sims included are very popular for these reasons:
-pregnant
-inclusion of "ugly to beauty" in the title, this is a very popular challenge on youtube
*i searched "ugly to beauty" myself and sorted it by most popular, there's many different creators with sims in the one hundred dl range
-tag spamming, using an absurd amount of tags like "s*xy" "s*xygirl", etc.
-cc gallery poses, these are aesthetically pleasing
-inclusion of the words "hot", "cute", "pretty", etc. in the title
*again, i searched these terms myself and found many sims with plentiful downloads
-the majority of the sims on there are just generically attractive, plain and simple
i scrolled all the way to the end of the "popular now" tab, the creations at the bottom all have a reasonable twenty to thirty dls, i guess that is the amount you need to get on there. once you have gotten that amount, if your sims meet the criteria listed above, they'll get more downloads.
another thing is, the creators on there are all different. if someone was cheating, you'd think they'd do it on multiple creations, not just one.
out of the fourteen thousand people who are online, i don't think it's far-fetched that one hundred of them on the "popular now" tab saw and liked the same sim enough to download it.
just because cheating can be done, doesn't mean it has been done. except by you and your friends i guess..
but truthfully i don't think it would hurt anyone for them to look into it.
also, you've already proven that it's definitely possible, so why not fix it.. i just wish you'd take your accusations out of your original post because they are stated as fact when they are just hurtful speculation.
good luck.
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I hope, however, that you are able to have your situation resolved. But I am totally missing the large download numbers for sims and buildings that you don't seem to think deserve it? I thought everything I saw was very nice in its own way. I just might not be understanding the full extent of it.
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