I'm kind of annoyed at the moment...

Of course, as a creator, we like it when people appreciate the work that we do. But you know what's not appreciated? Criticism. I'm not talking about legitimate things like "the texture looks a little blurry" or "the mesh is kind of choppy when it animates". I'm talking about things like "can you make this with boots instead?" or "I wish you would make more colours of this" or "I don't like the shape of this mesh".

For all those folks who like to download Sims clothing but who don't create it themselves, let me explain something. Making Sims clothing is a time-consuming activity. It's not a matter of finding a photograph of a cute skirt and pasting it onto a mesh in five seconds. If only it were that easy! Most recolouring (especially if it involves new textures, and not just the original texture with a hue adjustment) can take a while. Hours. And when you throw meshing into the equation (especially if the creator in question is not an experienced mesher), the time involved really jumps. You have to create the mesh package, stick together the appropriate parts, make sure all the normals are correct so the mesh looks smooth, make sure all the bone weights and assignments are in the right places so the mesh animates correctly, make sure you create a fat morph (preferably one that doesn't explode), and make sure your Sim's sandals don't make suit-of-armour sounds when she walks. You can't just whip off a mesh and its recolours in an hour. If it's something simple, you might be able to get through it in an afternoon. If it's more complicated, it could take days.

If you don't like something, don't download it. That's simple, isn't it? Just be mindful of what you say when dealing with creators. They've probably worked for a long time on their creations, and to be told (after all of the hours of fighting with MilkShape and SimPE) that their work would be better appreciated if they'd just made this colour or that shape or these shoes is not exactly pleasant. Just be grateful that the creators are willing to share their stuff with you (for free!).