☢️ You're welcome, but we might still have that rant about "gratitude and entitlement" because that goes deeper than just this situation.

I wish he would update this for 2026. I believe in giving modders a chance to update. But, this guy takes yrs. lol I don't like build buy, it has other things I won't use. Besides the point of everytime it breaks my game. This part of it, is the only thing I use. If you do revive this which, I hope you PLEASE let me know I'm downloading immediately!

I agree with Tricia. Describing something as "toxic" is ENTIRELY subjective. Society just seems to always want to just declare something is "toxic" like there's some literal definition somewhere that clearly explains why it is so and that's that, no matter the complexity of the situation. We all agree now and you're weird if you don't, so go sit over there. NO! The world is too complex to put everything and everyone into neat little boxes. I personally have never considered any of the "rants" you have posted (or opinions you've added to other posts) as "toxic". Negative? Sure, but there's nothing inherently wrong with having a negative opinion on it's own - it's all about the CONTEXT surrounding that opinion itself. (Doing headings because I like them too for my own "novellas"!) ☢️ Talking Toxicity ☢️ A silly visual that I still find helpful - whenever I hear the word "toxic" my brain starts automatically playing the "Toxic Love" song that the character Hexxus sings in the movie FernGully 😂🌿 because it's such an compelling representation of the consummation of "good" (the environment) by the spread of "bad" (greed, pollution, deforestation, etc). Hexxus is an easy character to define as the embodiment of "toxicity" because he is reveling in a kind of destruction that affects millions of innocent lives (animals, flora, fauna in the rainforest) and only cares about his own selfish goals (consuming everything). He is especially "toxic" because he brings in other characters (humans) by manipulating them into causing more destruction (driving the logging machine deeper into the rainforest). If Hexxus had instead just grumbled and complained and posted multiple rants on his blog (lmao at that visual) about how he just hated that rainforest soooo much... then that'd just be his "negative" opinion. His complaints wouldn't be "toxic" because he isn't trying to manipulate and deceive others into agreeing with him. The key words there being: manipulate and deceive. His primary goal is to destroy (in his best interest) and he wants others to help him destroy (not in their best interest) - thus manipulation and deception can define him as "toxic". As a side note - I recognize there is a broader interpretation of being "toxic" as negativity that can cause emotional harm, even when unintentional, and I've definitely experienced this myself and it can be really painful. However, I don't believe it applies either in this situation because that could be considered even more subjective ESPECIALLY when the context around the perceived negativity is still dismissed. We can't just go around calling everyone who says things we don't like as "toxic" and just write them off immediately without considering the context. You're not like Hexxus because you're not trying to manipulate or deceive anyone into agreeing with you. You state your reasons for the work you do, the facts and details behind what you are seeing with EA's business decisions, and you effectively pointing out the sorry state that TS4 is suffering from on multiple levels. That's not manipulation unless you're lying about all your findings, which would be very surprising if true because why would you be doing so much work to make this game more PLAYABLE and ACCESSIBLE while EA is off focused on their bottom line?? If anything is "toxic" here, it would be EA trying to make everyone believe that "everything is so great we're still going to release more packs" which is very "don't look behind the curtain in the Emerald City" kind of vibe. I personally feel manipulated all the time by EA because I get easily hyped up about new shiny things (like this new pack will DEF be super fun THIS time, right?) and I am massively affected by anxiety-inducing FOMO features (tbh I'd rather buy a new feature than have to WORK for it and FOMO features are WORK to my brain). I often think that EA is probably going to get way more money out of me before I decide to abandon the whole Sims franchise completely out of frustration. 🛠️ Modding as a Service (MaaS?) 🛠️ As for the modding community, EA seems to consider modders like they are developers working in TS4's semi-opensource codebase and the folks who make CAS or BuildBuy CC are like artists using TS4 as their medium. EA allows anyone to create content for the game, with the caveat that the content can't be forever paywalled longer than a set amount of time (I think it's 3wks?). I'm definitely a big supporter of "early access" content (even though it drives me crazy because I WANT IT NOW!) because I strongly believe modders who work super hard should be compensated for that work. It IS work and should be defined and respected as work! Everyone who creates this content and offers it up to others is doing the rest of us a FREE SERVICE that requires EFFORT that is given FOR FREE. We as the consumers of those FREE mods/cc are NOT simply entitled to them just because we clicked a download link. It always irritates me to see people demanding things from modders and getting all angry about slow updates, etc, especially when the modder themselves is getting nothing in return from the consumers. Typically these are folks who are just trying to do their best, modding on the side of their full-time jobs and lives, and they should be given more grace for their individual situations. That being said, the authors of cc/mods do have a RESPONSIBILITY for their content, even if they aren't being paid directly for that work. You put a piece of software/code out there for consumers to download and use in their game, you are creating and promising a precedent of quality, security, and TRUST that those consumers will come to expect. Modders/creators come and go constantly in the TS4 community because it obviously becomes a lot of pressure to fulfill that commitment that I don't think a lot of them realize could evolve into a larger effort that they end up not being able to handle. That's why we see so many mods stop being updated and modders "retire" after a while. It really is sad that while EA says they care about the modding community, they aren't going to provide ways to make modding (or even managing mods) easier - because where would the money be in that?? 🤑 But back to the point - the responsibility. I think there is a more valid expectation on quality, security, and consistency for modders who set up subscription models to support their work (via Patreon, CurseForge, etc). If I am paying money towards supporting a mod/cc creator, then I expect to be provided both what was promised in the tier/sub benefits list, which should also include timely status updates in an easy to access CONSISTENT location. Otherwise, why would I continue to pay or even use their mods (especially if the mods could potentially become insecure when outdated, like for scripts)? I absolutely get that life happens and humans are humans, "pobody is nerfect" and all that. But if I'm paying money regularly, then as a consumer I believe it is fair to have reasonable and clearly defined expectations for the service I'm paying for, even if it is simply just truthful, consistent status updates on that service. Just give me SOMETHING. I don't need, want, or even feel I deserve to know any intimate details for the reasons why updates dropped off, because that is their personal business. But it's just good professionalism to BE PREPARED for these potential scenarios (e.g. family emergencies, illness, vacations, etc) and good business strategy to keep your supporters INFORMED so that trust and mutual respect are MAINTAINED. If a service-provider doesn't care about that enough, well then I don't particularly believe they deserve to retain their consumers' trust in the end. 🪦 The Abandonware Problem 🪦 So what then for mods/cc that are left abandoned by their authors, either for a long time or forever? Should they be left broken because it's "toxic" to "steal" someone else's work? The obvious answer is "don't steal", especially if the modder has a TOU where it says so, but for TS4 mods/cc it's not that black & white. Like I mentioned before, I believe TS4 is provided as semi-opensource for devs and a medium for artists. I would NEVER advocate for outright theft in general, but as far as I'm aware, modders/creators can't claim full copyright on their work because EA would argue that they are derivatives, even if a mesh or script was made from scratch and not just a modified EA file. But that also isn't black & white enough to say that "well I can just take it and do my own thing with it and it is now mine", because it is definitely (and RIGHTFULLY) looked down upon in the community that mods/cc should typically NOT be reposted (even as derivatives) unless permission was given by the original author. That still doesn't solve the "abandonware" problem though (especially when the original creator can't be contacted) and I think that is a much larger, more complex, and way more exhausting discussion that I wish both EA and the TS4 community was more organized and motivated to figure out better solutions for. In this case for the "squishy" mod, I was super appreciative of you sharing your fix for it, because it was one that I missed so very much accessibility-wise (c'mon EA most people have larger monitors these days let us see MORE pls, also a large portion of your fanbase has sensitive/aging eyeballs and are tired of flashing effects and needing to blink 20x after being blinded during a transition screen, give us a break lmao). I also appreciate the similar fixes/variations of other mods as well and primarily because you obviously RESPECT their work. If you didn't, you would just label it as your own and not think about it again (and probably also ask for money directly for it). Which brings us back to what "toxic" really is, even if subjectively. You aren't trying to manipulate or deceive, so this is NOT at all a scenario where you could be called "toxic". It's unsurprising that CurseForge would be extra strict about "flavors" of other "official" mods being posted and perhaps that could be seen as more rightful criticism that could be lobbied against you. Same thing if the creators of mods you "flavorize" have an equally strict TOU - which I would still not be surprised about especially from the more well-known/large-scale established modders. But you know all this already and you also discuss the topic in the posts where you share your edited versions of them. The fact that you are aware of that and try to start a discussion about it is more evidence that you are NOT being "toxic". 🛑 Quell the Madness! 🛑 I've said it before, but again thank you for all your work! It has been extremely helpful in nullifying the so many little things that make it hard to play the game and makes it a little bit easier every time with every thing you help to fix/override. EA hasn't really brought TS4 into the more modern application of accessibility features - aside from the few sad toggles they have in the options that don't work a quarter of the time, lol. Maybe I'm just part of a very small margin of folks who find so much of TS4's UI and certain "gameplay" the embodiment of "nails on a chalkboard" but still want SO VERY MUCH to play and enjoy it. I've heard so many dismissive statements like "well just don't play the game if you don't like how it is right now"... but I've invested tons of money and tons of time into it over the years and I'm not ready to give up on it yet. I want it to work, I want to make fun quirky little people who have quirky silly little lives that I can create stories from, that's my goal in playing this game. I've taken breaks from it multiple times, but I always come back because I truly LOVE the freedom the gameplay can provide when it actually WORKS and I love making sims, building lots, and seeing what mayhem happens from it all! The simplicity of base game with all the extra "fun" that should be expected with the (to date) 18 expansion packs, 12 game packs, 20 stuff packs, and 36 kits we now have - a total of 86 paid content updates that don't include the free content updates or any upcoming ones. I know the math of what it all adds up to and I try not to think about it too much because: ugh. I just want to be able to play for longer than 30min without feeling like rage-quitting and I WANT so badly to enjoy the new content that comes out because I know there are EA devs who are passionate about TS4 and DO actually work hard on their end. But for now I'm playing the "mod the Sims 4" game until I find that happy medium or actually rage-quit. My fingers are superglue-crossed that someday the game will feel more like it was also made for someone like me (which is a whole other topic). Thanks for attending my TED talk, get your MELLOW swag from the table before you head out! 😅🎉

I personally appreciate the work you do and the push to give to others to better the mods made for the community. Thinking your rants are toxic is a choice. Maybe those people should consider the root of the post instead of being too critical of you.