Wow one UHGE thread...thought i would add my two pennies worth: I started in the community maybe 2 years ago when i first got my own copy of poser, and as an artist using poser my work was shit. i admit it! I joined Renderosity and i saw the likes of Questor, ToxicAngel, Sinsister and many many other who had skills i though unnatainable. I stayed around looking at the freestuff sections and gradually hunting out both the props and models but also the tutorials that would help me improve my art. And muc of the time i did not have the money to buy the vendor stuff. So freestuff was my saviour. I guess onyl this year did i actually manage to start putting enough money aside to be able to purchase those models in the vendor comunity that i really really wanted: The millenium dragon, RDNA's gothic armour etc...and those models i have bought have been outstanding in quality. Which is what i would expect if i pay! But that aint it at all...you see i still use kozaburo hair...and that folks, is still free! and in most cases i defy anyone to produce better hair textures and morphs for free than those...heck to be honest Kozaboru hair stil beats some of the vendor stuff hands down! Now this is my point..recently i fiddled a bit with some textures and poses, and they quickly became my own contributions to freestuff. my millenium dragon poses and eye textures hae been, from what i make out, huge successes i the freestuff section. Now a tutorial has been released and after only a week its been downloaded nearly 2000 times! Now im being honest here and you can mail me anything you wish about this next bit, ill take it on the chin...i've seriosuly thought, "shit, this could make me some serious cash...even if i charge $1 dollar a time id loose some people but still be in the money" yep i thought that.... and so even as i write this im working on another tutorial.and i was tossing about whether to make it a pay for item.... now this is the point: I could not be what i am today without freestuff. I would not have the skills i possess today without freestuff and the people that post awesome files in the community for free...anf this is the reason why the stuff i put out aint ever going to need to be paid for by you guys.....im giving my bit back to the communty that nurtured me when i knew nothing and could afford nothing.... you want my Dragon eye textures, take 'em....my new tutorial when its done...have it.... if i die tommorrow the money in my bank wont mean shit...but maybe just maybe someone will still use a texture i gave away, or a pose i spent time making... and to me...that matters more than any money in this world.... this community thrives because we all help each other out, and yet there are people who decide to rock the boat and shit like that! people who dont give credit for the stuff they use, people who steal others props and claim them as their own, and people that just want to make a buck out of others.... to those i say this: you want to make things for money fine, the community needs top quality merchandise and we are willing to pay for it..but not everyone can justify money on their artwork hobby. And would you deny those people the right to produce their art and learn their skills? Would you deny the world artists like ToxicAngel and Quagnon and As-Shanim and suchlike? because i think at some point they have all used freestuff....even if it was only the bottom rung of the ladder they now stand stop of...but they used it...and so did I! so im giving my stuff back to the community for free.... you want to hate me for it, go ahead...you hate my freestuff...dont use it.... and when you die i hope your piles of money take you all the way to hell...because it certainly wont keep you warm whilst your alive!