First off, I have chosen to post this to this forum instead of the Poser Store forum since it seems that this is where most of the Type C forum members do their reading and posting. What is Type C, why gentle reader, do read on. I have been giving a lot of thought to the naysayers amongst us who always sing the doom and gloom song and dance, no matter whether it be over Victoria, the sale of Poser by Metacreations, or even the wonderful opportunity we now have to perhaps sell some of our work in an online store. Badmouthing that lot is not my intent here but perhaps a drop of perspective might cheer at least one of you who is anxious as to wonder if there is a tactful way to sell and use the forums here. His concern made me sad, and so when I get sad I get outspoken. Bear with me whilst I ramble. Michelangelo was chained to the scaffold by the Pope to force him to paint, when he declined the opportunity offered him. The Pope could not understand why Michelangelo wanted to be payed and why he was not just thrilled to give the Vatican his work for free, since after all, it was art, and wasn't Michel having FUN? After the 45,000th stroke of the arm, the painting is work, not fun. I have now worked as a professional artist, website and ecommerce site, and even game 3d-modeler and animator artist for a very brutal and long 5 years. Some days I wonder if I had known then what I know now, if I would not have merely chosen to go on managing restaurants. Heh, at least there you get cursed to your face only if the food is burnt or late, not if you just want to be payed. I was born with a certain set of eyes, as were all real artists. I did not ask God for them, they came as a blessing, and to keep my ego down to a workable size so I might fit through Heaven's Gate, God bequeathed all artists a curse to accompany the gift. The curse of "why should I have to pay you for what you are having fun doing?" . Though I could also mention other curses such as being viewed as "exotic, nonconforming, misfit, immoral, amoral, difficult to work with " etc. You who do this for a living know what I mean. I have news on this, there is NO "look good" button in any software package I own, and after the 45,000th frame of an animation of the villain eating the ingenue's head, it IS WORK. It has taken me YEARS to learn to what I do very well. And I am one of the best in my field. Really. And also, one of the best paid, though that earns me enemies. Whilst my enemies where watching old reruns of Dallas, and All My Children, whilst they went to movies, read Harlequin Romances, took walks, played with their children, hell took time to even HAVE children I was chained to my computer. Every book I read, every moment I am online, almost every thought I have goes to constant obsessive improvement of my marketable skill set. Everything I do, in the back of my mind I ask, "how can I add this to my resume to get a better job with?" Then I get folks out at Company So and So ask, no DEMAND I show them how I accomplish this, that or the other in Photoshop, 3d Studio Max, with HTML, Javascript, you name it. They want me to give away my trade secrets that took me years of my life to develop, just to stay on in their employee? And if I say no, they are angered, and many times over the years I have faced threats that I will be blackballed, or just petty acrimony, about how they want to be able to "maintain" their stuff without me. Hrm. That is like asking Jesus to carry his own cross up Golgotha, and when he arrived to please nail himself down too. Artists make our LIVING on our product. We pay for our rent, our clothes, our software, and our books (our education is never ending) with what we make from our work. It is the only thing I know how to do well, so let me do it. There are here in this community three types of artists at least. Type A is a perfectionist who will labor a month over a model so as to release something as near to perfection as our skill set could make it. Something that is different than anything else in existence. The store is aimed at those artists, who deserve a little more for the long hours in creating what each of us has either not the time or the ability to do ourselves. These artists are by no means stingy, since they also donate lavishly to the Free Stuff section :) Type B do contribute, but are at a level of learning where their contributions are still smaller things, things the more accomplished can readily achieve without paying for it, if they need it. They donate lavishly to the Free Stuff section. By purchasing items of great complexity, they will not only gain the immediate advantage of usability of the object, but by taking time to "reverse engineer" the object if they so choose (like I have done with my own personal inspiration's works, Thorne) they may learn so much they catapult themselves straight into Type A. Type A is a desirable place to be when you get there, spiff up that resume and send it out to Bethesada Softworks, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts! Get a job ;) Type C are consumers. They do not contribute. They take. And take. And want more and more, for free. They would chain one to a scaffold to get what you do "for fun" free. Those are the ones who so fear they will have to pay for something they will moan for days, wasting the energy they should be using to learn better skills, when in the end their opinion does not mean a lot, since they will NEVER purchase, since they have never tried to create and have no respect for those who do. They are the ones we hear whining a lot perhaps. I myself plan to contribute to both Free Stuff, but to release some of my more time consuming works that are at a professional level of expertise into the Online Store area. I hope no one will be worried about announcing his decision to post to the store for fear of flaming of him or herself in the future, since it makes me sad, and when I get sad, I get bitchy and then I rant. Liz Birdsong Hbg@kreative.net