I figured this would break itself eventually :/  I feel bad for the modelers and texturers like Matrixworkz, Varnayrah and others who invest tons of real work into putting out a valuable freebie, as opposed to these others mooching from the ShareCG payout with a steady stream of junk.  Good luck with that!

I would also like to commend the Admins for doing something about this issue. I would ask that if an Item is simply JUST a picture that isn't necessarily created for Cyclorama then It goes to the 2D section with all the tubes.

I still remember the days (not so long ago) when the quality of the items in the free stuff section was very high and in step with the rendering technology of the time. Now it seems that quality is still at the Poser 4 level though the technology is incredibly higher.

And very few items are of the "Premier" type. You don't see things like Zippy's castle models for free that much anymore. Now it's just texture support for the most part. It was nice then to find something of a Market Place quality for free. I guess people, for the most part, just want cash nowadays. Even items that I had gotten for free then are now baring price tags.

Attached Link: Computer Art by Charles McChesney

Doran - Ouch, I thought I was providing Premier Items.  Never did I consider selling them, that is why you do not see my face in the Store or on the cover of the web site as VOM.  Everything so far has been provided free to anyone that wants it, I thought that if it did not suit your tastes, you would not download it.  The money that is made from ShareCG has not even paid for the gas I have spent to travel and take texture photographs, don't even consider the time aspect.  If this sounds too much like complaining, maybe I like others are just starting to feel a little unappreciated for all of the effort we have put forth.

cmcc - Yes, I like ShareCG also, it provided a place to host the files, it was also a young site that I could possibly grow with and meet new friends.   Jake and crew from ShareCG have been very easy to work with, much like the Admin's here.  That is the main reason I started to participate more in the forums.

I have about a dozen models in the works and was going to upload half at once. The 1/3 policy works in my favor though. Now I can release the first two or three then spend a day polishing the remainder one by one. Eventually I'd like to texture and rig my models as original characters, so theres no need for me to rush. Supposedly, the money you make from ShareCG web hits is a joke so I'm not even going to bother setting up the PayPal thing with them. I'd like to put up my stuff just to see how much people like it. If the ratings are good I'll make more. I really admire guys like Mapps and Spacebones, who make quality items that anyone can use for free.

"I really admire guys like Mapps and Spacebones, who make quality items that anyone can use for free." I do also, they are one of the reasons that I have been trying to improve the quality of my models and textures. LOL, I am working on my second million at ShareCG, it should be easier than the first. :-)

vkirchner, I didn't name you as a person who made poor quality items, did I? I simply think your type of items should be in the 2D section. If they are simply pictures that can be used for any purpose then they should be there. It doesn't mean they are poor quality, it just means they are 2D and not specifically related to any particular model. And labeling any 2D picture as being for Cyclorama is a joke. That’s like saying that all paint is for cars simply because cars are painted. However, this is not the case for texture “maps” which are model dependant and vise versa. Also, My statement about people trying to make a buck in no way was towards you. It was towards a whole different bunch of people. To start naming names I'm sure would get me in trouble but I could mention quite a few... No... so don't ask :) 

In closing, this has gone off topic in my opinion but I simply felt that you deserved an explanation concerning my point of view. However, it’s nothing personal. No ‘ouching’ intended.

Doran, Yes, my items are listed in the 2D section under textures, most are provided with normal maps and have been adjusted for tiling and made seamless. There are a few earlier ones that were uploaded as images only, they were added at the request from specific modelers. Yes, we both know what people you are speaking about without naming anyone. Matrix made the comments about Cyclorama, I do not even know what that is so I would not be of any help with those comments. But as far as I am concerned, we're cool.

Rather than inconvienence the majority of honest uploaders maybe RR could give the offenders onetwo warnings then if that isn't adhered to can they flag their account and restrict, blackban them or something for a period of time?

First off, thanks so much dogbite1066 and vkirchner comments like your's really do mean alot to me :-) 

I'm not sure how long Spacebones has been cranking them out, but I have been building 3D stuff since 1990, I still have Poser 1.0 (not installed though). It shipped on 3 floppy Disks...lol Sooo, I do have a bit of practice, 17 years of it. Man that just screams...Hey dude you're getting old...lol

As for the new policy for watching over the free section I think it is a great idea. Now mind you of late I am doing well to get 1 new item uploaded per month, and when i do upload something it is something that has just been finished, so no chance of it having been uploaded before.

One thing to keep in mind is the free section is the starting ground for most merchants and free downloads are often only free to the person downloading them, not the people who provide them.

The only reason I went merchant was to help cover the costs of my freebies. My free section was costing me $55 a month to host the files so they were free to everyone except me. These days it costs me $25 per month to host my free files.

It is not unreasonable to expect some to try and cover their costs by moving items to market. This is done by putting your better items in the market. Some do jump the gun and start trying the market before they are ready and others wait till long after they have the hang of it. This does effect the quality of the free section.

So ya consider it costs me $300 per year (not complaining, just using myself as an example) to give my stuff away, many others bear the same costs, or can not bear the cost but still want to contribute some how. My market pays for the cost of my site, so those who support my Renderosity Market actually support my Renderosity Free section. Now mind you you can get free websites to host files but they are rarely large enough. My site is 2 gigs of space and 200 gig of bandwith, ya can't get that for free. So many folks that would be happy to give away all there stuff can't because it is to expensive to do so. In my humble opinion it's hats off to any and all that are willing to post for free downloads. 

I also send thank you letters to all those folks i downoad free items from to let them know how greatful I am for them sharing their hard work (you'd be supprised how few thank yous you do get).  Overall I do pretty good in this area, I get 1-2 letters per month. I suggest if there are those that you do like to download from on a regular basis to send a quick "thanks" via site mail, it s good encouragement. You'd be supprised how many free stuff contributors are encouraged to do more knowing that their suff is truly liked.

This sort of thing does effect what will show up in the free section. Me my rule is simple, if it took more than 50 hours to make it will head to market 80% of the time. But about twice a year it will go to the freesection.

WOW sorry for the long winded responce, guess I am rather fond of the Free Section :-)

mapps - Thank you for sharing your thoughts and background on your web site finances. This is exactly the problem I have run across, and why I was happy to use the ShareCG site for hosting. I cannot agree with your more on the comments and thank you's that are received. Every message gets a response, it also prompts me to go and look at their work to obtain insight into what is important to them, what programs they use, and what their skill set is. This usually creates more questions that I can direct to them which hopefully develops into a kinship of modeling and respect for each others work. Thank you again for sharing.

Yer welcome, Most of my lasting friend ships I have made here are peolpe that either worte me a letter of tanks or had a queston. This is a community, we learn from talking to each other. :-)

Your point is rather interesting Mapps. I thought when I first got some freebies to thank the artists (not you, cant remember who exactly though)  as I was so stunned to get them for free......I never heard back so I thought I had done something wrong and didnt do it again.  I will give it another go. I will start with you as some of your stuff looks familiar and after a HDD crash I need to download them all again. :cursing:

I always try to credit them though. I will try again as I think it is great to offer these things to people and I am slowly trying to get to that stage myself one day. Jen

Well one thing to keep in mind is some of the providers here never check there site mail :-) I sent out a couple of letters months ago I i see they still have not been read :-) I think it is most important for new contributors, with out encouragement they can get fustrated and give up, not realizing peole were actually enjoying what they made. If you onlt get a few downloads on a item it doesn't mean it was no good jsut not very many people were looking for taht sort of thing. So for new contributors it can make the difference between continuing and giving up to hear that those who did download liked it. For folks like me, spacebones, lupadgds, EvilInnocence, adamthwaites, plus3d, bosseh, TrekkieGrrrl, etc we are in the top downloaded list, we know folks are having fun with our stuff, though I personaly still enjoy getting letters :-) When i fist started downloading I never sent letters of thanks, figured I didn't want to clutter their mailboxes with yet more fan latters. It wasn't till I was in the top 50 that I realized that 99% of free contriburots don't have that problem :-) And that is when i started making sure I sent out letters of thanks.

Thanks mapps, I will keep your experience in mind as I reload my hard drive. Jen

No problemo :-)

Attached Link: Rose

I thank you for posting this.  I have yet to upload my first "freebie" but its good to know at least how to do it.

I also wanted to add that I am new to the CG Share site and am learning about that site as well.

But I can't wait to upload my first "freebie"!

blush Oh dear, I've got a few words as well hehehehe - to be honest to start, I'm not at all sure what's gone on with the 'shareCG freebie incident,' but I did see things in this other perspective tonight, bear with my long windedness please and thank you :-)

Quote - Freestuff is already looking far less cluttered and less of a chore to wade through.

:-) Just wanted to comment on the fact that free stuff is a privelage - It's like getting "free money, vs working..." If you have to work a little harder to get to the stuff you'd deem 'good' and 'worth it," then why can't we have to somewhat work for it? Earn it?

I just imagine, let's play with math here for a sec: Let's say an approximate average of 50 artists create 1 free item in 1 day, and all upload them - All our tastes and styles are going to vary. Let's say as a 'not so avid' free stuff page checker, makes it to the freebie page approx. 1 every 2 weeks.

--> 50 artsists x 1 item / day = 50 items / day times 14 days = 700 items. If it took approximately 2 hours to create, that's nearly a solid 24 of effort put into creating these free items for public use - the artists ask nothing in return.

To me, it feels like works of art in the art gallery buildings: let's say, like a paining, I would rather wander past 20 or 30 portraits that I feel (to my personal taste) aren't as visually pleasing, to get to a few spectacular pieces that really reach out and touch my soul (being, heart, etc "insert enlighted" part of me here etc). Part of it is respect for the artists hard work and providing us a free gift of sorts - asking nothing in return.

Think about one more thing: if we were to continue arguements like "the one solid background pics" etc [which by the way don't always float everyone's boat :-) but it's good to keep in mind if we ever come into a project where we might need that type of texture/etc/it is there, for free use], and how this specific trend of opinionated pieces should have quality / quantity control, we're only going to see ourselves starting a new trend of "asking for items only that suit our tastes." Thus creating the revolutionary "Top Sellers idea, gone free section."

IMHO, might I kindly suggest, a use of the "Top Sellers" system? To start, how long do free items stay in the freebies section? Maybe instead of concentrating on how many are being brought in, but seeing as well (as the MP works), see which items are not being downloaded, but in a realistic time frame.

*Heck, there could even become a "clearance freebie" option, where (I just thought of Mapps :-) groovy duds by the way, I'm a big fan ... no I'm not brown nosey hehe) -- an uploader with amazing quality items could be within the "Top Uploaders" section that for example *won't have items go into a clearance area to get removed from the free area.

• Each piece was carefully crafted where these item deserve a certain amount of respect - maybe a "ranking system" would work. ;-) That way if majority doesn't like the 'said spam uploaded items, or whatever the issue is there," those [spam] items will eventually remove themselves from the freebie section.

Doesn't it work well enough for you guys with your 'top sellers?' To be perfectly honest, I started recently documenting EVERYONE'S user names on the Renderosity web site, so that I can go and visit everyone's store, and I've alphabetically been catching up on "what I've missed." Items have been in sale here longer than I've been a member. And just because something isn't considered "top selling for the moment," doesn't mean it isn't worth looking at, and potentially purchasing.

;-) A bit of hard work, sifting through, visiting and exploring, making new friends, learning new styles ... but to me, it's worth it :-) and I've been scrambling to try to hit up as many stores/galleries/and check out artists as I can in a day, so that I don't miss a chance, just because something "non top selling quality didn't prove worthy in a specific period of time." Clearance is silly in my opinion - when you think about it, established artists/modelers/etc have been around FAR longer than the time it takes to discontinue an item.

:-) But that's just my 2 cents. Oops .... erm ... <;-) I mean, "can anyone break a $20?!" blush hehehehee :-) hugs G'night, all :-) Take care of yourselves before stressing over this kind of stuff ;-) :-)

Actually items of mine that are not downloading much i remove myself, but I do leave them on my web site. So although I have 112 downloads here there are between to 130-140 on my site. That being said if you view the free section first by what's new and then by most popular you will avoid the items that are just not getting downloaded.

That's a good call, Mapps - kudos to removing items if they are not going - that's responsible of you :-)

I too am about to be removing some of my 'yuk' stuff....might start clearing it out every 6 months or so.

Eeeek!!! I haven't hit the "J"'s yet in my alphabetical vendor/member search O_o I'll need to get over to your page super quick if that's the case heheheheheh - I admit, I was checkin' out your freebie stuff at work yesterday :-) I totally wished I had my key drive with me! It is awesome! Well done ... grabs keydrive runrunrun hehehehe

LOL Thanks ;) It'll be a few days yet, but I dont want to clutter the freestuff area with stuff thats not getting used or downloaded.

Im getting better at making texture sets with Poser, so soon I'll be putting some of those up and need some room :D

Well, I went on a wicked downloading spree earlier hehehehe So no, no :-) Thank you!!  hehe! 
That's really cool! I have to admit, I have something funny to share, regarding the "free stuff area" -- I've been pondering lately how, true, one can't become a good vendor by good products alone - one has to really get to know the community .. yup I came to that conclusion all by meself :P I don't get out much hehehehee (kidding ;-)  -- But it was at that point I'd really asked myself, "Why do you want to be a vendor??" 

I think it's hilarious that, when I think of the potential interview I'm going to be given at [applied for college 2008 fall] - they're going to ask the same thing - "Why do you want to be a part of this program-- What is digital multimedia to you..."

The cute part is, I actually have more of an answer to the "vendor" question :-) *I realized I enjoy creating things that people can use - tools that folks can take, and work with, to help them in their own doings...

*:-) That's when I realized I couldn't care less if I tried "selling stuff" anymore, and came to enjoy the thought of just offer my creations, freely.  .....  Then I found out about the new "freebie/limits" hehehehehe O_o; If irony had a butt, I'd be reaching for my steel toes right about now hehehehehe :-) 
There I shared my story. sigh Back to laundry hehehe big hugs Hope you're all keeping warm out there tonight too - brrr Canadian night :-) PS Sorry I sit here and ramble <:-)

Hey there, all... I myself am incredibly new to the whole freebie providing game.

I went to shareCG because they weren't asking for money. This is a Good Thing, at least in my mind... I avoid(for now) the complications of having to tackle a monthly bill on an already taut budget. 

So far as thank-you notes, I was always of the opinion that the really popular folks would have a huge backlog of such things... 

Until a few days ago. I started posting freebies, and whilst some of them have garnered the occasional comment (and a couple of them some fun conversations on the DAZ forums), some have gone nearly unheeded.

Oh, well... Can't please everybody, I suppose. Not sure where I was going with that. Hrmmm.

Mapps, I for one will thank you for assembling some very nice pieces and offering them up free. I've more than once gone looking for a prop or a shader, and headed for your site first.

Those things tend to come in very handy.
 
Me, I'm kinda wondering how the AEON Ferret poses came out more popular than the A3 OR V4 poses.

Back on topic, I think I would rather see a 2:2 or 2:1 upload setup... Upload three and approve one seems to lose me somewhere along the line. I can produce one pack a day(sometimes two, depending), but I'm trying to figure out what I have and haven't uploaded at this point. (I should have two in the queue as of this writing. Not sure, but it should be Freak and ChibiBel. Simon went up earlier than anticipated, for sure). I'm probably going to have to wait until the others post before I upload new ones.

So far as "Cyclorama Texture Boy," he's starting to irritate. I've been avoiding freestuff the last about 18 months unless I really needed something. Wading in through all that dross to find what I need has me climbing the walls in a hurry. If we can put a stop to him, that'd be very nice.

Let's just hope he doesn't get it in his head to try being a merchant. I don't think my head could take it.

In the meantime, I'll be good, and try not to Spam :)

I appreciate the effort you all go to, even if I am rambling.

JSM, my thinks to you for not only posting the freebies, but leading me over here. Saw one of your posts in another forum, and thought I'd drop by.

Welcome BlackSpartan! Good to see ya here :) :thumbupboth:

Nice to be seen... At least every once in awhile ;)

Since the issue of spamming the freestuff area was a direct result of some people's greed in trying to make the most pennies that they could from ShareCG, no longer seems to be an issue since ShareCG stopped making revenue payments, can this decision to limit uploads and the amount approved per day, be re-evaluated?

The freestuff area didn't have a problem with spamming prior to ShareCG and people finding out they could make some money from them. So now that there is no revenue payments, there should be no more spamming of  the freestuff area.

We'll see how it goes ;)

Right now Freestuff isn't cluttered, and hasn't been since the limits were put into place. The uploads haven't stopped, surprisingly, since SCG stopped revenue sharing btw. Odd, but true.

Also, we didn't put the limits into place for the sole reason of SCG and the uploads from there, the Freestuff area needed a serious over-hauling..and there just were not enough staff to cover that area,  amongst everything else they had to do..now it's managable for only 2 of us.

I want to know how the e-mail notification for this particular thread got marked by Hotmail(Micro$haft) as a phishing attempt... lol

No, wait, the rest of the ebots are reporting the same now. Sorry.

Seems Bill&Steve think that Rendo is the Great Evil. :lol:

BlackSpartan hotmail is doing it to all rosity ebots, it is really starting to get on my nerves! That includes gallery notices and merchant updates.

Quote - I want to know how the e-mail notification for this particular thread got marked by Hotmail(Micro$haft) as a phishing attempt... lol

It probably has to do with the email leaks that have been happening.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2704078

Email addresses that many create for specific use on this website only, somehow end up in the hands of email phishing scammers.

The resulting phishing emails have been reported by people in all different email servers (yahoo, gmail, hotmail, various private ISP's etc). So Renderosity's data must be entangled in those emails in such away that the email client's are interpreting that Renderosity is the one responsible for sending them.

I sent hotmail a fuming email about just this.  I doubt if they'll take the slightest bit of n otice though.

But it's edging me more and more towards getting as different email provider, I'm getting fed up of paying for crap service.

While I understand what led to the policy change...

And I can see both the pros and the cons....

Might I make a suggestion?

Perhaps having a 'queue' link somewhere on OUR side, so we (as content/freebie uploaders) can double check to see what we still have in the queue? That would be EXTREMELY handy, and help avoid a LOT of the sheer frustration entailed in 'did I send this into the queue yet? Nothing's come through for two days, do I dare upload, am I gonna have to delete something and then wait another two days for it to go up??)

(Not to mention we could, theoretically by being able to see what items we have in queue, even double check how many ITEMS are sitting in that queue = less items you might have to delete??)

Just my thoughts, for what they are worth. I don't mind having the queue. The part that gets so frustrating for me, is the fact that I am a binge creator. I may go months without making a single freebie, and then all of a sudden I'm pumping them out about once a day, and when I am in a binge, being unable to know what's sitting in your queue from me tends to have me sitting here pulling my hair out and wondering which item i've uploaded and which I have not... which has led to me uploading less frequently here, and simply posting on sites elsewhere or outright sending people to the daz freepozitory links or my site itself to check for updated content.

What I'm talking about is this...

We upload an item. Okay, we get said notice that it's been recieved and we'll be e-mailed when it's approved yada yada. That's cool. But let's say I'm doing a bunch of different pose sets (like I have been lately), some are for M3, some for D3, some for V3, A3. Now I go to my freebies, and there's a nice little link at the top. "Your Queue."

Click that and get the following :

Items currently in testing :

1. {Item Name #1}
2. {Item Name #2)
3. {Item Name #3}

That ALONE... would help make the queue and approval method here a hundred percent more bearable on some of us who have screws loose and tended to keep track of what we were putting up in the past as much by 'just added this to my site, now get it up in freestuff' as we do with 'check freestuff..right .last item i put up was...'

Only now, I can't DO that. I can't go to my freestuff and go 'last item i put up was...' cause more often than not I've got something in queue and i'm afraid to upload at ALL for sake of sending a duplicate through! LOL

Sorry for the length of my post. I'm just trying to pose a potential idea that might.. maybe... help both the content providers as well as the two of you who are doing all the freebie approval. :)

~ Seliah

I second the Visible Queue idea. That "Did I upload this already?" question has gone through my mind on several occassions.

I'll bring it to the team for review, thanks for the suggestion..its pretty cool

Thanks, JS! Let us know what the final decision is? That would just be an IMMENSE help. ^_^

I never have that problem ... but it takes me 1-2 months to get a freebie ready ... lol

Before I came to University and had time to create freebies, I too was a binge uploader - usually 7 on a weekend - one for each day -can't do that anymore. 

But the queueing list idea would be a brilliant suggestion, as I too sometimes found I had uploaded the same one twice.

Quote - I never have that problem ... but it takes me 1-2 months to get a freebie ready ... lol

LOL! That's fine with me! Your freebies are worth waiting for! :D

I' ma binge creator mostly. I'll go 4-6 months without making a single one and then all of a sudden they're coming out of my ears! cheeky grin

~ Seliah

LOL glad you enjoy the freebies :-)

I've been thinking of finally offering some freebies here. It would be my first time. Share CG seemed like a good place to use for them, as I have no site or storage of my own, and they seem to be well run. A lot of the artists here use it. I don't think anyone could get rich on what they'd make on Share CG, so I don't understand the idea of flooding the freebies section, here or anywhere else.  Anyway, I hope I'm still allowed to use it, at least til I find a possible alternative. I definitely will not use sites like Rapidshare, etc. I think they are horrible for people to D/L from because of the wait times, and D/L limits for the free users.

Sure you're allowed to use ShareCG - but they aren't paying out revenue at the moment, and there's no news of when they will - if they will - but it remains a good place to share freebies.

You can also check out freewebs.com they have small websites 100% free. Great for the beginning freebie contributor. That is how I started out. I now have one of the largest, most visited site on their server. They have 3 pay sizes too, $5, $8 and $25 depending on what you need.