PropsGuild is Temporarily closed due to abuse by some users. It will reopen after we decided how to best correct the abuse situation. PropsGuild may become a pay for subscription site in order to pay for the heavy bandwidth costs. We already pay $3000.00 a month (that's $36,000.00 a year) to allow users to download for free. At this time we cannot afford an additional $1500.00 a month (that's an additional $18,000.00 a year) for a third T1 connection. If we do decide to go to a subscription sites (don't worry there will be a few items for free public download) we can afford more bandwidth and therefore better serve our subscribers. One good thing if we do go to a subscription service there will be no banner advertising on the site, plus unrestricted downloads and more bandwidth for subscribers, as we would be able to pay for additional bandwidth as needed. Of course we will still restrict mass downloaders, but will allow download managers such as "Get Right, Smart Download, etc.". Also there would be a members only forum where you can post and share. We may even consider a members only gallery. Stay tuned as this page will be updated very soon with further information. If you would like to be notified when PropsGuild re-opens fill out this form Please note this was not the PropsGuild staff decision, so do not blame or complain to them. Blame the abusers of this site that used mass downloading and other multiple file download software. We tried to control the misuse via scripts and other means but the abusers found was around our controls.

T1 lines cost about what Virus says, including installation and monthly fees. I can't check his figures, but I doubt he's lying. He's tried to pay for it with all those ads and associated cookies. It's possible that people have been using cookie-busting or banner-busting software, and the advertisers have been complaining.

Let me get this straight, the adds pay for it? so what is the problem then? Why would the advertisers complain?

Banners and ads do NOT account for thousands of dollars a month. The average payout for a banner is a penny per viewing, maybe $.10 if you get a "good" one. That's a LOT of banners to pay for a site that's doing gigs of transfer per month. Banners don't work, and everyone is finally starting to realize it. A shame, too, since that's a really good site. I hope he/they figure something out and get back online soon. LMOaH, you can software like Adsubtract to prevent banners from showing or to whack cookies and things like that. If the advertiser isn't getting their banner to show or cookie to be placed, what good is it doing them? That's kinda the jist as I gather it, but perhaps someone will provide a better explanation.

How much do the banners pay out if someone actually clicks on them? (Yeah, like that would ever happen.)

Well I still don't belive they paid that much money out for free downloads and not making a cent back on it.

I went over and read the full page, Virus and the owners of the PG didn't close it down, the site owner did. Poser World, #D Model World, Internet Eye, etc are all on the same servers/system. You will keep seeing these kinds of things happening as Poser, etc gets more popular. I know if Morph World still had a huge archive of stuff, it would be costing me a bundle.

The days of "Free" download sites are numbered... as the owner of one of the biggest, I completely understand what Virus is facing and wish him the best of luck. After all, sites like Props Guild and the 3dCC won't be around forever. Doug

Hello friends: Thanks for your concernings about the propsguild's site. Our Host is having a major problem with abusive people who uses massive downloaders, the bandwidth usage for the propsguild's site is generously paid by the Internet Eye Magazine. Eric is right we, the propsguild staff did not closed the site, it was a hard decission from our host, due the constant attemps, and attacks from people without scruples who sucked all the reasonable bandwidht we can use.We have been dealing with these problems from long time ago, but it seems that massive downloaders users found a back door to get our site's stuff with their programms. We are thinking to open a suscription plan as the Poser World, to afford the site's expenses. We are thinking in too many options to work it out this problems, soon you'll heard news from us. Best Regardings Benigno "Virus" Fernandez p.s. Just as an aclaratory note, I'm not making a cent of the propsguild's site as well as other members of our staff, the host bandwidth usage, storage and tech support is fully paid by the Internet Eye Magazine as a very deep generous act for us.

Indeed Sturk - if the school wasn't paying for my free stuff download bandwidth, I could have never opened the site I did this week. Lord knows the equipment is relatively cheap by comparison: One old e-machines P3-500 + a 30GB HDD + 1 copy of Linux Red Hat is all the dload site consists of right now, with a couple of $75 used Sparc5 servers and two more x86 boxes to be added within the next few weeks. OTOH, the bandwidth cost is horrendous. PG is lucky to be getting the prices they are for their lines; in some places (San Jose CA, ferinstance), prices could be double that in a heartbeat. /P

Yup big reason Uthena and I are keeping our freebies to two.. I cant afford to pay extra Bandwith either so sadly I have to limit our freebies. My thanks goes out to the Propsguild for providing their stuff for so long - I hope you find a good solution for yourselfs :)

A system where you get punished for your generosity is a dumb system.

Hi Ron! I understand the pain - it's bad enough to deal with a freesite without those obnoxious bandwidth suckers. I use Getright myself, but only to queue and resume DL's - one at a time. I don't understand those people who suck down entire websites at a time. Yeah I got nailed for $1000 bucks for bandwidth (Ouch!) so all my DL's are down. So all my freestuff proj are on hold (except for collabortive work with someone else) while I work on store stuff. I think that if I can sell enough in the store to pay for some bandwidth I'll at least put the Shades of Mike back up. (and just a teaser - the series of characters will be called 'and Supporting Cast') To the PropsGuild guy, Would it possible to make it a login site? that way you can at least ban users who abuse the site, or give each user a DL cap monthly. I'd whine pitifully if you made it a subscription site - but sign up eventually. (Like Poserworld and Fairywood) Lyrra "Will texture for bandwidth" Madril

I mean the system whereby bandwidth is consumed by the downloader, but paid for by the host. You should never have the responsibility of paying for something which you have no control over the use of, it's simply morally iniquitous. If someone uses a whole chunk of bandwidth by using a mass-downloader, the charge for it should be passed on to him by his ISP, not to the host.