Although during the past few months, Electronic Arts representatives have adamantly declared that pay sites are illegal, the original End User Licensing Agreement has been updated to no longer prohibit "commercial" use. It's also been stated that there wasn't enough time to include the new EULA in the upcoming expansion pack, Bon Voyage. Even though the new terms couldn't be added to Bon Voyage, it doesn't mean that the new EULA isn't legally binding. It is. The trick with EULAs is that it's up to the user to make sure they are aware of updates and not the other way around, which I know is a real pain in the wazoo. Maxoid Drea posted an announcement on the official BBS with short explanations and a link to the new EULA.

Here are a couple of links to updated EULA at the official site: Sims 2 Content Manager Tool and the old Content Manager EULA (which seems a bit odd since the Content Manager isn't actually used for content creation) and the EULA for Sims2 fansites.

One might wonder how all of this will affect BogSims Institute but I think it's safe to say it won't unless EA put a complete stop to the creation of custom content for The Sims 2 which would obviously result in closing the site. BogSims has always been a completely free site and we want to keep it that way.

When it's all said and done, if EA is indeed in support of pay sites, then pay site owners will indeed score that victory and we won't hold any animosity toward pay sites or their owners. We will also continue to respect their wishes, as we have in the past, where it comes to the redistribution of their creations.

At the same time, we want to continue supporting and promoting completely free Sims 2 sites and will continue to update the Free Site Archive because we still want people to know there is absolutely wonderful custom content available that doesn't cost anything. Plenty of people are either too young or don't have the financial ability to pay for custom content for a game and they should have plenty of options as well. We also completely encourage people who can afford it to donate voluntarily to their favorite completely free Sims sites because in many cases these donations are what keep the sites going.

If you would still like to help promote free sites:

It doesn't matter whether you're a site owner or simply a player of the game; you can still help promote free sites and help people realize there are free alternatives available. As the free site community grows, more free downloads will become available to players like you and me.

How you can help as a player: