I don't mind vanity folders. In fact I think they make sense and I prefer them for a couple reasons. First, it helps me keep track of which artist made what, so if it's something I like then there's a better chance of me buying something of theirs again in the future if I know who made it, and I can know that by the folder names. And the same in reverse, if it's complete crap with some clever promo images that tricked me into thinking it was worth my time and money, then I'll know who not to buy from again in the future. And just as importantly imo, keeping things categorized by artist goes a long way in preventing overwrites. I don't see how it's possible to have a library full of content that's basically the equivalent of dumping everything in a closet and using all your body weight to get the door to latch. But even if you can deal with that mess, how do you prevent overwrites? There's only so many words for panties. Eventually someone is going to use the same name(s) for their files as some other vendor.

The whole 'everything dumped in one drawer' is one of the reasons I don't like DS's content library. I don't know how many times I've clicked on a pair of shorts 3 times before I realized oh crap, that's the texture not the actual model. I'm getting more familiar with it but it's very frustrating and I haven't figured out a way to categorize things more like Poser's library. Yes I know they're labeled, and even color-coded, but that's not the point. Most of the time I'm looking for the item, not the label. If it's in the right folder, I wouldn't have to worry about the label. 

The obnoxious symbols before the names however are annoying and unnecessary. Being at the top of the library isn't going to make me want to use someone's content any more than being at the bottom. It's the quality of the content itself that matters. I don't mind scrolling down the list if you make your content worth my time (and money) to do so. 

As for the geometries folder - it seems SM isn't even following their own file structures anymore, as Rex and Roxie's objs are in the same folder as the .cr2. This may have something to do with scripts tho, but does that mean the geometries folder is technically only still there due to legacy content? Come on, consistency, people. Naming conventions and file structure is regarded as serious business in pretty much all studios. In school we could fail a project just for not adhering to a proper file structure or naming convention for different file types, as it causes confusion and unnecessary time sinks for others in your pipeline who have to search for your files and rename/reorganize them when its time to hand your portion of the project off to them.  

I do however like how SM started putting their conforming clothing in the Props folder, as it makes more sense to me - a label marking it conforming or dynamic is good too, and it keeps the Figures library free for actual figures. But I bet a lot of folks haven't realized that yet, and may have something to do with why people seem to think Rex and Roxie don't have any clothes. There's not much but there's a basic set for each of them. And with the fitting room it shouldn't be too difficult to convert Ryan and Alyson's clothes to them. 

Maybe I'm just ocd. 

Anyway, I'm just ranting. I think I'm done.

 

P.S: There's a hair library too, ya know? For hair. Hair isn't a figure. It's hair.

 

ETA: Apparently P7 had conformers in the props library too. Just checked to remind myself. So it's the 3rd partiers and dazerites putting clothes in the figures library all this time....

 

~Shane