aurically

[aurically]

CC Creator ARCHIVEFACTION/TERFEARRENCE

Gonna put a big ole TW all over this post for w*hite supremacy n*azi imagery and iconography.

Hey, Sims community. It's been a while, I know.

I felt the need to pop in from the Second Life community to let you know that a creator working on both the TS4 platform and the SL platform has been outed over here as a n*azi sympathizer/supporter. This creator is known as ARCHIVEFACTION and TERFEARRENCE.

I'm still compiling all the evidence of discussions and evidence surrounding the situation at hand, but below you will find screenshots of ARCHIVEFACTION/TERFEARRENCE using neo-n*azi imagery in his SL product ads for his product The Confluence Pearl Necklace, which he had released approximately 2 weeks ago at the Access Event in Second Life.

What started it: I'm unsure of which came first, the Twitter post or the Virtual Secrets post, however, they were both found around the same time when Facebook and Twitter started discussing this.

The original Twitter post and the original Virtual Secrets post.

It has been discussed at length within the Second Life community, and the creator was called out. They altered their event photo for the second time.

The blog site Seraphim goes around shopping events in Second Life, and takes photos of all the vendor booths. When Seraphim took their photo of his Access event booth, this was the ad display:

At some point, just prior to the Access Event opening, he changed his booth ad to the image that included the "w*hite power" text and neo-nazi symbols, which appeared on his Flickr until yesterday:

Yesterday, he cropped his ad photo at the physical Access event, and deleted the Flickr post (as well as other undetermined photos from his Flickr feed), issuing an "apology".

This is not his original apology/statement. I read the apology when it was first posted, and it was only a few sentences saying things about a language barrier. I do not currently have a screenshot of the original apology, but if I find one, I will update this post.

That said, the general consensus is the apology is BS, and it is not being accepted. Many people feel that if you are a content creator primarily selling to a western audience, you should be making damn sure you're not using any foul language or offensive material; that "language barrier" is no longer an acceptable excuse.

Another SL creator has been very vocal on social media about ARCHIVEFACTION, and has apparently been watching them for quite some time. Asserting that ARCHIVEFACTION has on multiple occasions produced products with w*hite supremacist and neo-n*azi words and iconography, and has been disseminating it throughout SL for some time. I've not seen any screenshots of these things, but I did take a look at his Flickr before the apology/statement, and saw some concerning dog whistles for w*hite supremacists and neo-n*azis.

Another user also pointed out that one of his pieces of jewelry had neo-n*azi symbolism to it:

Lastly, it appears his whole "brand" is a rip-off of Raf Simmons' book, The Fourth Sex, and a real-life brand "POST ARCHIVE FACTION":

His Tumblr homepage + Raf Simmons' book "The Fourth Sex", where ARCHIVEFACTION has clearly ripped off the artwork.

While no one owns a certain aesthetic, the brand name is clearly being ripped off for a virtual iteration that is not associated with the real-life brand.

All this said I'm putting this out to the TS4 community as it seems his skins and looks are widely popular for its hyper-realistic, high-quality, edgy take. I would hate for the Sims community to also support someone who clearly has been stealing and perpetuating hateful ideologies in our beloved spaces.

I am purposefully leaving out any links to his socials and websites, as I do not want this POS to gain any further traffic. I hope these screenshots suffice in my desire to share this issue. I will try to fill in any missing gaps of information when and if it becomes available, but I am definitely coming here in good faith.

I hope the Sims community is well. <3

[aurically]

of all the outies, irv is so god damn cool like mark goes around being sad and indulging his weird ass rich hippy family, helly is an evil heiress freak but irv is out here like gay artist metal rocker with a vintage car committing corporate espionage and loving his dog like what a bad ass guy i love you

[aurically]

Listen this show has everything. Corporate horror. Forbidden gay romance. Waffle parties. Commentary on labor alienation in our hypercapitalist society. Goo. Christopher Walken. Christopher Walken IN a forbidden gay romance. Baby goats.

[aurically]

Wow. What a mess of a post. And I get it, social and political issues incite a lot of BIG feelings. But, can we take a step back and look at the facts?

Let me preface by saying what I am and what I believe and how I voted since that is apparently so very important to The Sims.

I’m 34. I’m a cis bi female. I’m in a hetero relationship. I’m so below the poverty line, being at it would be living in privilege for me. I’m neurodivergent (spectrum). I suffer multiple chronic illnesses. I suffer with mental health issues. And for the cherry on top: I just had a full hysterectomy on Tuesday. Not 5 days ago, I had the very organ removed from my body that classifies me as a woman in a lot of bigot’s eyes. Because it was killing me. In 2016 I voted 3rd Party when Bernie didn’t win the democratic nomination (I hate the Clintons that much) and I voted for Biden in 2020. He was the lesser of two evils and it is my constitutional duty to criticize and hold accountable my government and political leaders. Now, that’s out of the way…

I’ve talked to Mack. Many times. I’ve seen what they’ve posted regarding other, MORE CURRENT AND PRESSING ISSUES. I believe that we should all vote on our conscience and beliefs, but I also recognize that’s next to impossible as beliefs are deeply personal and not every single person holds the same ideals or values as you do. And even if you do luck out and find a politician that represents you in that way, odds of them being honest about it, or moreover, putting the same weight on the things you agree with are slim to none.

As someone who believes voting is a choice and one that shouldn’t be done lightly, and that social and political beliefs and progress are deeply important to the safety of everyone, this shit has NO business here. This was a pathetic attempt at a gotcha moment when there were no other straws to grasp at. Full stop. Period.

Humans get it wrong. We evolve and we change our ideologies almost constantly. A vote even two years ago can be completely null within the person today. I could understand bringing it up in the discussion if, for instance, Mack was actively posting pro-Russia propaganda or out here actively posting hate speech and bigoted rhetoric. But, they’re not. So, to bring it up was not only low, but lazy as well when it comes to the debate playing field.

Not one of our closets is clean. And if you’re going to start digging through closets to find any shred of anything to discredit someone, you had best hope you’ve never changed as a person and your closet is bare, because once you open someone else’s closet, they have the understandable right to return in kind.

For a debate about ethics, this sure is an unethical move IMO. And yes, I do understand that I am coming from a place of privilege as a white woman, but I also know that one vote wasn’t going to change ANYTHING that happened. And to behave like all the oppressions of Trump, his administration and his sycophants rely solely on Mack is just irresponsible and flatly false.

Do better.

Let’s talk politics... well about them as a concept.

I’ve been seeing some very annoying and quite frankly ignorant statements being made to discount mack3030′s takes on the matter, and quite frankly they have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Let’s start off by saying this: If you have to resort to attacking someone on the basis of their voting choices in regards to politics, then you have no ground to stand on and it shows. Last time I checked, this is about Sims 4 creators doxxing, stealing, and violating EA’s ToS. Not a political discussion. Additionally there’s this stupid mentality going around that if you vote for Trump, you’re inherently evil. I never voted for the man, but I know based on talking to various people, not just leftists, and not just right, not everyone who voted for Trump voted because of his bigoted rhetoric, and not everyone voted him in because of the terrible things he could do to minorities. Some people voted him in because he promised a better economy, which reminder, our economy was shit during that time, and a lot of people voted again, because our economy was doing better before Covid hit. Point is, not everyone votes for a problematic politician to be into office because they’re racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. You don’t have to agree with someone’s politics, but dubbing them as automatically terrible people on the basis they voted for someone you don’t like is immature. If you can’t be assed to talk to a person on the subject and figure out why they may have voted and then come to a conclusion, then don’t contribute to the political conversation, because clearly, you can’t handle it. PS: I’m not a very political person, so don’t expect politics from this blog, I just wanted to make as statement based on something I had seen and felt was very dishonest. Additionally, my post frequency is going to slow a bit, because I’m first and for most taking care of my mental and physical health. I’ve been going to a lot of doctor’s appointments lately and it has been exhausting, so I’m taking my time and not forcing myself into writing or doing anything I’m not motivated to do for the sake of keeping my anxiety and depression in check. So that in mind, I promise I’m not gone forever, my posts are just on a slow mode because I’m mentally exhausted from medical shit.

[aurically]

Man, I really regret helping “creators”. I should have never gotten involved…but, I thought I was doing the right thing. Helping the little guy. Boy! Was I wrong.

Seeing how shitty and duplicitous every virtual creator is, fkin copybot. Idgaf. None of y’all are innocent or honest. You can’t be mad at people for doing exactly what you do. And you can’t demand respect if you haven’t earned it.

At this juncture, I will no longer help most creators with getting alleged copybotted stuff down. I just won’t put the energy into dishonest people. There’s a few good ones out there, but the majority are just weaponizing fanbases to drum up attention and drama for subscriptions and purchases. For money. That’s it. Doesn’t matter WHO they stomp on in the process. They’re fundamentally not good people.

I fully support people circumventing paywalls in the Sims community when paywalling goes against The Sims team’s wishes. They own the intellectual property to use of items within their platform, if they don’t want paywalls, then goddamn respect it, or stfu when the average consumer has a reasonable right to free items, as explicitly expressed by the Sims team, for years. The Sims 3rd party “creators” are especially vile in that, people have to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to even OBTAIN the platform, why the fuck should they be forced to shell out hundreds upon thousands of dollars on top of that to access CC? It just doesn’t fly with me anymore.

I also have concluded that I fully support copybotting in SL if that’s what you want to do. I don’t support making a profit off it, but if you want something, take it. It’s beyond my time, knowledge or care to put forth effort to copybot something, but if I find something in my inventory that was copybotted, I’m keeping it. Seriously. More than half the shit in SL isn’t even “original” and has origins from far more talented people, who are not making NEARLY as much as the exploitative SL “creators” (read: converters). There’s a few exceptions to this, and there is absolutely talented people in SL, however! HOWEVER. They are not a-plenty as it seems.

Linden Labs SINCERELY needs to begin a registry, vetting and only allow 100% original mesh makers to make a profit within SL. If you cannot be vetted and proved to make your own things, 100% from scratch, by yourself, you do not earn any cash out privileges. If you have obtained proper legal rights to sell mesh from creators elsewhere on the internet, then you can do as such, but earning caps should be implemented and original meshers should be compensated at minimum 65% of all earned capital from conversion and re-selling on the SL platform.

I also think The Sims team can greatly benefit and help the disjointed Sims Community by doing basically the same thing. Recognizing original mesh makers, setting up an OFFICIAL channel where creators can apply, be vetted etc. And either set up a nominal fee subscription website to access these items, monitored by The Sims team so consumers know 100% what they’re getting is safe, and original mesh… or include a 1yr+ access to this repository of CC approved/monitored by The Sims team with each official Sims Franchise Licensed Purchase. IE: you buy an expansion, well you get 1yr+ access to all the CC you could dream of. Still community created, just protected and safe for consumers. They can even set up tips or allow linking to artist profiles with links to support the artists via tips. And including access to the repository via official licensed purchase, you’re not putting anymore financial burden on consumers. They can cope with losing 0.50¢-$2.00 USD per sale of a $10-40 game pack to protect the community and also recognize original 3rd party meshers that love The Sims games. I promise.

Between the greed of creators and the fact that virtual realities are disgustingly overpriced to enjoy quality, I’m letting my inner Robin Hood out. Full stop: making items for The Sims, SL, IMVU, whatever should NOT be so lucrative that you can completely change your tax bracket in a few months. Micro-currencies were designed so it wouldn’t be as expensive as real life, and yet here the “creator” overlords are, demanding we pay as much for a pixel shirt as we would our dinner for the night.

No more. I’m done. The abusive, exploitative and downright entitled predatory behavior of a lot of “creators” do not deserve endorsement. And until they’re put on a fucking leash and learn that just because they don’t have real lives and can spend every waking moment on a computer and have some marginal degree of computer skill—something normal people do not have the time or care to develop—does not give them the right to bully, abuse, and dox.

And yeah, this is personal. I’m continually being doxxed by some smaller SL creators. And it’s all because they feel entitled to treat people however the fuck they want. It’s truly, honestly sick. But you know, it’s not just personal, too. I’ve seen too many fucking people in these communities commit crimes with their wholeass chest. Ruin lives. Cause people to self harm. For what? I genuinely want to know. What is the price? Because behaving that maliciously ceases to show ANY benefit to me other than a very damaged and deep need to harm others for the fun of it.

If you want names of who has doxxed me, DM me. I don’t think they’re a part of the Sims, their shit sure as hell doesn’t translate to the Sims, but fuck ‘em. Someone needs to out them. Might as well be one of their victims.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[aurically]

I have never met more volatile people in my life than creators jfc.

[aurically]

I have taken down any posts helping a clothing brand in SL and issues with copybotting as it has been brought to my attention—with credible proof—that they do not create their own mesh/contracts out their mesh/has stolen mesh themselves in the past.

I am not aware of any current incidents, but I cannot have my help be exploited by people who are guilty of the very things they’re upset about being done to them, or worse.

For this I now hold a firm stand: if you have issues with copybotting, take out a DMCA. It is not the responsibility of ANY community to do someone’s work for them. If you choose not to take action of your own volition and file a DMCA, then you have something to hide and that is evidence enough that your mesh is not original.

I will be happy to help with instructions on reporting to various platforms incidents of alleged copybotting and resources to file DMCAs, but the rest is up to the “creator”. I will not bully on behalf of someone else that is less than honest.

Guys, frankly put: if a “creator” refuses to file a DMCA and would rather enlist communities to bully out/shame/embarrass those they believe to have stolen from them, there’s a reason. And it’s not because of money or privacy. If they cared so much about their “intellectual property” and “loss of income”, they would file DMCAs.

Thank you.

[aurically]

Thought #3958338374-B about stealing mesh, being perceived as a “creator” and being “popular” inside of these 3D reality games communities:

Be it The Sims, Second Life, whatever, doesn’t matter how many followers you have, if you’re considered an “influencer” within these communities or how many objects you make

when you step out on your front porch, no one in real life gives a flying fuck what you are inside these communities.

Keep yourself in check. Sure, you may make a pretty penny doing whatever, but it can all come crumbling down REAL QUICK, especially if you’ve made your name or rose to popularity off of stolen mesh.

I say this because these communities are micro-communities. The Sims is much more mainstream than Second Life, but based on player numbers, they’re pretty equal. (Second Life isn’t as mainstream because it’s got a bad wrap for multiple nefarious things. Which is an inaccurate portrayal of SL…Which is a whole other rant we won’t go into today. I’ve seen far more nefarious/sick things within the Sims than I have in SL…) I digress…

In real life, each and everyone one of us is a nobody. There’s not as much clout or benefit in being a Sims or SL “influencer” as there is in being considered an “influencer” in real life.

Do you REALLY want the only reason your name will be out there because you were caught stealing mesh?

[aurically]

hey americans go order your free covid tests from the government this has been a psa love you bye 😘

[aurically]

Call out “creators” who steal. Period.

Does a chunk of sims players care if their CC is stolen? Not… entirely. Mostly because they are unaware that they too can get in trouble for having stolen goods.

People think that because it’s pixels, it’s not theft. But, it is!

Think of it this way: say you go to a store and they make change for you, and within that change is a counterfeit $20. You go to the gas station and pay for $20 in gas with that counterfeit $20. While you weren’t aware the bill was fake, you were caught with it. Who gets questioned? You can screech until the cows come home that you didn’t know, but they’re still going to make your day a little worse with questioning and you’re out $20. Because they’re not gonna pay you back that $20. It’s your job to make sure you don’t have something fake.

Or how about this! You go to Facebook marketplace looking for a laptop. You see a gently used MacBook for an affordable price. You buy it from the person and somehow you learn that the laptop was stolen. Despite you unwittingly buying a stolen laptop, you’re still in possession of stolen goods. You’re still accountable. And you’re never going to get back the money you paid for it.

Theft is theft. “Creators” who steal mesh from SL or CGTRADER or other legitimate mesh creators are NOT creators. I don’t care how much work they put into altering the mesh, it’s still theft. It’s still a crime. And I’m sorry, you’re garbage.

When I learned of mesh theft back in 2020, it has to do with Stealthic hair, I wasn’t really thinking of the ethics. I honestly didn’t care. I just saw something pretty I wanted, not thinking that it was hurting someone else. Then as I researched and saw how prevalent theft is, I really started to question myself, the ethics of stealing and how I would feel if someone did it to me. Honestly, it shouldn’t have taken all that introspection to understand that this was, full stop, theft. But, I, like many people, just thought “it’s just pixels”… it’s NOT just pixels. It’s someone’s hard work, creativity and care. And worse? The credit for someone else’s hard work, creativity, care and contribution to the various 3D communities is going to a thief. It’s also taking potential money from the original creator.

You can contribute to and care about The Sims community without stealing. Meshing REALLY isn’t that hard, if you have the patience to learn something new. There’s plenty of online tutorials, paid one such as on SkillShare, or free on YouTube. Google is your friend. I was able to make my very first mesh object and do it fairly beautifully for free in just under a day of sitting and learning. You. Can. Too.

Contribute to your community by giving them honest work. Work that won’t get them in trouble. Work that won’t destroy their computer. Just give people GENUINE work and they’ll be more than happy to support you, financially even. They’ll be fans and they will always seek out your work.

*steps down from soapbox*

@pinkbox-anye - mason jar - second life

@theothersim​ - grocery bag - second life

@sanoysims​ - stool - second life

@millascreativecornerblog - deco - cosmetic - sketch up

@mxims -wall boards -  sketchup

@leo-sims -  deco shoes - sketchup

@tinhouse - armoire - sketchup ( you could change the texture at least ! )

@leehee - sketcup

@13pumpkin31​ - house bed - 3dsky

@paisleyavenueredux - pancake set  - 3dsky

@pilar-tsr - sketchup

I just put one example for each creator. But believe me there are so much more for each. They convert their cc from other sites and claim meshes as their own. UV MAPS are checked and they are all the same ! So dont let them befool you by claiming it is a different mesh. enjoy !

[aurically]

Let’s get something straight:

People who steal mesh are NOT creators. I don’t care how much work they put into stealing and converting.

They are NOT CREATORS.

Good day.

[aurically]

I took my first blog post of the new year and I’m loving it. All the 90s nostalgia from the 90s-themed round of Anthem… ahhhhh ❤️

[aurically]

so I reinstalled the sims back in the summer. No issue after almost two years.

Went to load it up today and it’s completely disappeared from my origin account. Not in my purchases. It keeps asking for a key. I’m so angry. I’ve been buying packs since ts4 released. All digital.

I could s c r e a m.

[aurically]

love how tumblr staff has time to censor words like “paint mixing” and “my face” and yet they can’t get rid of ssexsophie8127 thats been liking my posts from 2017

[aurically]

This hair alone is 100% what’s gonna cause me to go into CAS after I failed miserably in the summer after almost two years. SL hairs are gorgeous, but there’s not a lot of “causal, everyday wear” hairs. They’re all fluffy curls and perfectly structured up-dos. GIMME CASUAL PLZ.

Hair Recolor/Keigochu/Yessi Hair Simandy (Puppy Crow+EA Remix) Palette made by @simandy

- Base Game compatible

- Add-on

- Mesh by @keigochu YOU NEED IT !

- You can tag me if you want with the @ezrelea or #Ezreleacc

- PLEASE DO NOT claim my recolor or any of my cc as your own.

- Watch the TOU of the owner of original cc too.

Download : SFS / GD

Sorbet Remix made by @simysteric

Elder Berries

Day 14 | Day 16 Thanks for the like and reblog have a wonderful day/night !! ♥

[aurically]

can someone please get me into MM hair? I always went for alpha hair before I joined SL, and then all the pretty realistic hair in SL has spoiled me… I want to learn to make gorgeous MM sims bc all the simblrs I follow have such gorgeous sims… but dang when I make MM sim it looks like playdoh -.-

[aurically]

Mind MY business? ON MY POST? Listen here, miss thing, you don’t get to come up on my comments throwing a temper tantrum and then when I get rightfully defensive, start making demands and accusations out of me and people commenting on unrelated things.

I don’t normally call for people to not support people for a bad attitude, but this chick needs gone. Her attitude is garbage; It’s a conversation because you don’t just come up on someone’s post and make it about you and act the victim and then start making demands. I will mind my business—and I did, I didn’t know who she was…I’m here bc of mesh theft from my friends not shit builds being peddled on patreon…SHE made herself known. You DO NOT get to play dumb when you’re called out. And then you DO NOT get to claim you apologized when you didn’t. This chick is delusional and on an abusive power trip. Period. You don’t get to abuse people and then play dumb as a defense. Down with /her majestesy/ *does a half assed curtsy while rolling eyes and making raspberries*.