Clearing The Air
I really didn't want to have to write this & let those people know that they have gotten to me, but I think its time to set the record straight. This is probably going to be a long one as I ramble at the best of times, so maybe grab some refreshments for the ride.
A few days ago this whole Patreon creator doxxing/tracking/leaking scandal came to my attention. Along with the rest of the community I was shocked at the lengths a group would go to in order to stop their content from leaking. It's obviously disgusting behaviour that I would never condone. Even as an early access creator my content is leaked, but I decided a long time ago that trying to stop those leaks would just be a waste of time. Those people downloading for free while its still in early access, are never going to support me as a creator anyway, so there is no point in focusing my attention on the issue. I am fortunate to have a large number of people that do support me monetarily, so that I get to have my dream job. But it still hurts to know how undervalued my hard work is to that particular group of people, that they can’t just wait till its out for free to everyone.
However, even with it being blatantly obvious why its not possible (at least to me), some members of this community have tried to throw my name into the ring as being involved. Having such a diverse community can be a real hindrance when these kind of issues arise, so I’m going list all the reason why this is a load of crap:
1. It is impossible for me to track who downloads my content as I have a Patron only download post available for all my early access content. That means one link FOR ALL. This WeTransfer link that is available during early access is also used for public access on both the Patreon post and on the House of Harlix website.
2. WeTransfer: Apparently using this platform to share my files instead of hosting directly on Patreon “looks shady”. WeTransfer is a highly safe and respectable file hosting website which I pay for yearly. By paying for this service I make sure people that use my content aren’t bombarded by ads & that whenever they click that download link it will work for them. This website does not ever have down time, so I know I won’t get messages from you guys saying the links don’t work! I also have chosen WeTransfer to host my files as I share my content across multiple platforms. Hosting in multiple places ie. directly on Patreon & WeTransfer just doesn’t make logical sense. I alsoI like being able to see how many people have downloaded my content, which I can do on WeTransfer, but not on Patreon. Its very helpful to see which sets are more popular than others when brainstorming for future sets.
3. HONEY, I AINT GOT TIME to create secret tracking information by personalising files! I am sitting here for sometimes over 12hrs a day creating my own original meshes. I don’t buy meshes online and convert them, I make them from scratch. If you look at my most recent work the only EA mesh you will discover are plants as I haven't got the skills yet to tackle such an item. If you look at the Harluxe collab that set didn’t even include a single EA mesh or texture. All of that was made from scratch by myself and Felix, who actually does have the skills to create plants from scratch!
4. I have a very small circle of close Simming friends. That would be Felixandre & Peacemaker as cc creators & then a handful of Simtubers as that's where I first started. I haven't communicated with any of those confirmed or suspected creators listed & it's highly unlikely our paths will ever cross as they are all alpha creators and I’m a MM creator. We don’t really have any design aesthetics in common.
Once again I just want to say that its actually really hurtful to have to post this statement and defend myself. I know the reddit & tumblr posts used the title “Big Creators”, so it may lead you to wonder who else may possibly have been involved, but just blurting out my name because I am a larger creator can be very damaging. Wait for the evidence, don’t just go spurting out all of your inner mind talk in a public forum where others can read and take as the gospel truth. Apparently nobody has time for critical thinking in these situations and it turns into a free for all with every Patreon creator put on trial because of a small group of bad apples. People are so quick to jump to the absolute worst conclusions even though I’ve been in the community providing content in many different forms consistently for the last 5 years. There is nothing worse than being accused of something you haven't done. You can take everything else away from me, but having my word means something. I will never give away. Most of the time I tend to deal with these things by saying nothing and not giving it more oxygen to die out quicker. But with this one I can’t keep silent, these are accusations of me actually committing a crime. They are huge allegations and I can’t afford to let them stand. Patreon is my full time job, it is my only source of income & I won’t let some random conspiracy Karen ruin it.
Please just take a breath and think before you go pointing the finger at innocent people. This kind of toxic behaviour doesn’t help anybody. I’m sure even after laying this all out there will still be some that won’t believe my words, they have their own agenda to prove, believing me doesn’t get them closer to that goal. To them I say delete my content from your mods folder, at least follow all the way through if you believe I’m such a terrible person.
Thank you to all of you who continue to support, but I won't be responding to replies on this post. I've already spent too much of my energy dealing with this. I'm going to back to doing what I should have ben focusing on...CUSTOM CONTENT
Harrie 💜
Comments (55)
It would never even occur to me that you would have anything to do with it. Thanks for reassuring but it wasn't necessary. I love and will continue to support it because frankly I can't play the game without your creations.
Your content is beautiful and I'm happy to support it financially. Please keep it going and hopefully we can inspire you to do so. Lots of love to you!
Your reputation, your talent, your loving & sincere attitude....Harrie, ALL OF IT speaks for itself!!! Never in a million years would those of us who support you even think for a minute that you would do anything like that. Some people just want to tear down others when they see them doing well or when they become successful! LOVE YOU!
Honeyyyyy, your CC is so beautiful it literally brings me to tears sometimes. And you are even more beautiful inside and out. We love you and stand by you.
I wouldn't want to play without your cc. Your work is incredible and makes the game so much more enjoyable for me. I also never believed the rumors about your name being mixed up with the doxxing. I am glad you cleared the air so hopefully people will leave you out of the drama.
Your CC is literally one of my favorite things about Sims 4, I can't play without it. And I would NEVER suspect you of any kind of underhanded dealings. I'm proud to be part of your Patreon and that isn't going to change anytime soon.
Became a patron just to show my support after this post. Thank you for all of your hard work and your dedication to the community, you are truly one of my favorite content creators and I just want you to know you are appreciated.
You are one of the best thing about the sims and your cc content is truly inspirational. Your release is my motivation to continue playing this game. And I know I need this hobby in the stressful daily life. So please stay strong and thank you for all your hard work.
Harrie, i will always continue to support you! You are one of my favourite ever creators and I hate that you’re even having to comment on any of this! You are truly incredible! When i heard the awful things that were happening i never once doubted that i was safe with you, Keep being you and keep doing what you love 💚
I don't even play the sims much bc don't have the time now. I still support you because your shit is the best and your work ethics are evident just by seeing you in your youtube channel. Sorry this happened. We're here for you.
Dear Harrie, thanks for clearing the air! I always love to hear as many sides as possible and then to draw my own conclusion. So, as a person who pledges to you on a monthly basis, I see it this way: the amount of money I pledge to you equals a nice beer in a nice bar, here in my little charming town. And yes, I would gladly pay you a beer if you were here, every month, just as a way to say, "Thank you, Harrie, you are bringing joy to my life and I love being creative with your creations! Keep going!" But if every one of us would pay you a beer, you would be drunk all the time and that situation wouldn't be good for any of us, so let's just keep it as it is! :))) At the end of the day, you see, who has the authoritiy to tell me how should I spend my money, or anyone else for that matter? Please, just don't waste your energy, time and above else healt on few drama hungry people because it can never be worthy. Put your best and brightest smile, focus on positive feelings and people that you love and enjoy your life to the fullest! I really hope you feel the warmth and positivity that we are sending you. :)
I think people accusing you of doxxing is nonsensical. You work very hard at everything you do. Either you are working for the sims, working with Fleixandre, or you are working on your own stuff. None could have any time to do anything else unless you have a cloning machine.
I don't think I'm alone in my thinking that it is ridiculous that creators like yourself and Felix have to defend yourselves. Your individual and joint creations are a joy and in fact the only cc I use. I have no ears for gossip, idle or otherwise as I have more important things to think and worry about. It physically saddens me that whilst a country and its people fight for survival against evil and greed, some of us in west would rather concern ourselves with this. Sad days indeed. keep doing you Harrie! Onward and upwards I say.
I do not understand what the point of the drama is. If people love what you make and want to pay for it, why shouldn't we? It isn't like you do not release content for free after a certain period of time. Also, whether or not people have access to your CC does not effect how the game itself operates, it's a nice (very beautifully designed) extra that we all clearly have no issue supporting monetarily. I hope this icky-ness passes for both you and Felix soon!
I hope you’re well. This whole thing sucks. Keep your chin up. We’re all here for you 🖤
for as long as I play this game, I will support your work.
Argh, sending big hugs Harrie, it sucks you've been dragged through the mud that these other creators have made. I've only just become aware of this through yours and Sixam's posts as I don't follow Sims social media much at all.
I don’t do social media, so I had no idea this was going on. It always amazes me how many people out there are willing to hurt people they don’t know and getting involved in drama that doesn’t concern them. Some things will never change. You’re one of the few creators I support, just because I love your work and find you so humble and honest. Wishing you only the best from Ireland
As far as the people I've spoken with, I just think it's fear. The actions of just a few people threw a wide net of suspicion out onto the entire mod/cc community. With one person I spoke with personallly, they were literally afraid of all cc - free or not. And even myself, I had items from some of the creators mentioned, but these were items from their own sites which were free when I downloaded them or were downloaded via TSR. Not knowing how this all worked really, I was wary of the files I currently had even though I got the files from legitimate sources. So please don't take this too much to heart: Yes, there are probably jerks just throwing your name out. On the other hand, there are also people who are literally afraid of having their info put out there for others to do as they please. And (at least in my little circle), in a time where money is funny, there's rampant food and housing insecurity, the thought of being doxxed and your info being used in nefarious ways can be absolutely frightening. Like a few others said, it's infuriating - but for me, it's more towards that group who would do such a thing ESPECIALLY in times such as these. People in all age groups play, so the implications to some can be really dire. So again, please don't let it hurt or anger you too much. Stay strong and much peace to you.
Like the people who commented before me and those after me I presume, I, too, did not suspected for a second you would be involved in this. We all know you pour your hawser and soul into your creations and we will be forever grateful for that. You’ve made the game so much better because of it. I’m sorry that you got dragged into this.
This whole drama is pissing me off because the toxic simmers spreading these nasty rumors are literally doing EXACTLY what they accuse creators of doing... They're being toxic and attacking innocent people and some name-dropped are people who straight up LEFT the community a while ago and don't even create content anymore. It's so sad to see all my fav having to defend themselves cause people on the internet decided to be judge, jury and executionners :(
I heard about all this and not once did your name ever come into my head about this trash that some creators are doing. How DARE they bring MY creators name into this mess, every single one of your patrons and myself know you would NEVER. Stay blessed and stay kind Harrie, we love you.
I literally have no idea what’s even happening right now lol I am as usual out of the loop. But I support you and respect the hard work you put into this. People are crazy and always will be. That’s why I keep my head down and mind my business.
Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight! Anyone who respects your work will follow the rules and wait until it's out for everyone, or become a patron of your services. I wouldn't worry about what people think though. You know you're doing the right thing, so who cares what other say. Thanks.
You've always been very open about your release process and making sure that your items are publicly released on time - you're very good at making sure you can find them and that they are available. I am one of your patrons because I approve of what you do for those who are not.
You and Felixandre are my favorite creators, and I trust you. I will never stop using your CC and being on your patreon as long as I have to support you! ❤❤❤
I'm sorry you felt the need to even write this. You clearly work very hard to make your content. There will always be people who want something for nothing but I'm glad to be able to support creators here who add much more value to the game. Keep up th e good work! I really appreciate your work! And on another note... It's very obvious which creators aren't creating in earnest especially in the alpha cc space, especially if you have any knowledge of 3D modeling and the kind or resources available to architects and designers.
Ultimately there's not even anything wrong with collating the data like they did, it's money being made after all and they have a right to protect that within reason. The problem, as ever, is that a large number of people in this community have no chill and have to go full toxic when something happens that they don't like. Unfortunately we all have our personal data leaked, sold, and yeeted all over the dark web every day, a few unhinged cc creators are the LEAST of our data protection problems 🤣🤣
It makes my blood boil that you have been dragged into this drama. You know the enormous love and respect that I have for what you and Felix do, both jointly and independently. If there is anything that I can do to help, please do shout! 🤍
You are honestly one of the best creators out there and a true artist. You’re response is 100% fire just like all of the hard work you’ve put into your CC. Just know that there are clearly a ton of people who love and appreciate all your hard work. Your success is well deserved and I’m honestly so proud and honored to have your work make my game better! Keeping being amazing and don’t let the stupid people get you down! ❤️❤️
❤️❤️❤️
Bravo Harrie!!! You wrote it beautifully! 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I always love your work! What drives people to do all this? Poke into other people's wallets and see what they do in order to earn money for a living? Everyone earns as much as he can. We all survive in this world. We are all the same, we all have the right to make mistakes. And we all do them. Creators who create their own content are the same people. They occupied their niche, they found their earnings. And this is their work. But someone just out of jealousy decided to get into their "dirty laundry" and start canceling them in the Sims community. Envy is the main source of all these showdowns. Someone else's success, someone else's money - always cause this feeling. They said that the creators collected information about their subscribers. But what they did is bullying! They just decided to cancel these people in the Sims community. Who are they? Jealous people? or those who decided that they can do anything? They just decided to achieve their success on the persecution of people!
Your work is brilliant and I fully support you, all these allegations are getting out of control , thank you for your hard work
I'm not sure what's going on but I can say I see you as a genuine creator! I love the CC you make and I want you to keep making more... that's why I support you! Don't let people get you down! <3
Love your work! And happy to support you! Very sad it has come to this <3
Just wanted to say thank you for your brilliant creations and I’m sorry you’ve been put through so much stress!
Thank you for addressing this. I’m glad to say that when I heard about the situation my first thought was that I knew you and Felix wouldn’t be involved. Your commitment to your patrons is obvious and I am proud to support you. Thank you for the world class CC content and your leadership in the community. And I love the WeTransfer experience!
Love all of your work! Thank you for the beautiful CC and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next
I didn’t know you were targeted in this whole issue, I just want to express you my support. I wouldn’t believed it anyway, if i heard, but I do understand the necessity addressing it not to loose support from patrons. I hope you won’t stress much, we are here for you
You're the best. Your work ethic and integrity are beyond reproach. I'm sorry you were pushed to the point of having to defend yourself like this, but your response here is another example of your transparency and poise. Thanks for all your hard work and know that you've got a real support base of fans who value your time, experience, and dedication. <3
I appreciate you for commenting and explaining - and I appreciate all of the content creators who have posted about this issue because those posts help clarify the situation for new players or for long-time players who are new to CC and mods. I played FOR YEARS without mods or CC in my game because “internet people” said mods and CC could damage my computer. I didn’t know any better so I cautiously stayed away from something I thought was dangerous. And that’s why I appreciate the well-known content creators who have spoken about this info-sharing situation because your comments can clarify things and let people know that this behavior only reflects on a few problematic creators, and that downloading CC via Patreon and/or WeTransfer won’t make the patron’s email address or real name public information. I can understand why you’re annoyed at even addressing something that has nothing to do with you. But I truly believe your words can help inform people who might otherwise believe comments on Twitter or Reddit that say “that’s why I don’t subscribe to Patreon creators… I don’t want someone to leak my personal info.” It’s easy to believe misinformation when you see lots of comments that share the thought. So thank you for taking the time to address this and thank you for thoughtfully unpacking the different elements.
You (and Felix :D) are the best!
Those that matter, will be here after the dust settles. We’ve got your back! 💪🏽
Love yours and Felixs cc, and will continue to support, those rancid people making accusations have their own agendas and jealous of your skills. I’ve now stopped following the culprits on tumblr who brought yours and felixs name into this, disgusting behaviour…just keep your head up and don’t let’s the buggers get you down
❤️
❤️❤️
Your work is some of the best and I always look forward to seeing your creativity come through. You were one of the first CCC I ever saw back when I had no idea CC existed. (Which was like last summer lol). I am continuously in awe of your masterpieces and I appreciate you sharing your work with the rest of us. I Hope to always be a patron of yours until the day my computer has 0gb of storage Haha! Thanks for sharing this message and keep up the hard work. It’s much appreciated ❣️
Love you and Felix!
Know that I believe you and believe IN YOU! 🥰 From your newest subscriber. 😊
I love you! ❤️❤️❤️ Very well put.
I am so here for your response, it is absolutely 💯 fire!! You spoke your truth, anything else is a waste of your time. Mic drop!!! You don't need to explain anything else!! I adore you and Felix, so I patronize the creators I want always, keep up the good work, Miracles and Blessings to you always.
HONEY, you make bomb CC and the real ones condemn your hard work, keep doing you!
I have loved your custom content have a deep appreciation for all of the hard work that goes into creating this content which just takes a game I have always enjoyed to a whole other level. Have supported you for quite a while and will continue to do so because what you do is ART. Shake those haters off! Peace and love.
People just love unecessary drama harrie. Keep doing what you are doing. Your content is great!
You are a brilliant CCC, those who support you knows you and values the time you put in to make OUR gaming experience enriching. Thank you for everything that you have done, that you are currently doing, and what you plan to do in the future. ❤️ nothing but respect!