Moderation: Changes Required and Rejection Reasons

A handy little page under construction by moderators. This will help in understanding what moderators are looking for, what changes required (CR) messages you might get, and what the reasoning behind rejections are.

Do NOT edit if you are not a staff member. Thank you :D

NOTE: ** denotes links need to be properly formatted still.

Introduction

Nearly everyone has had an upload marked with "changes required" or has been rejected at one point or another. Most of the time, these reasons are due to people not being careful with information in their posts. However, uploaders are often surprised when they get, what appears to be, an automated message tagged onto their submitted upload. This page is made specifically to tell you all of the things we look for while moderating. Think of it like the creator guidelines, but from the moderators viewpoint. Now that you can see all of these reasons for rejecting, we hope that there will be a lot less confusion on your end when we say "You need more info in your post" or "This needs a bit more work."

Before Reading this Article

This article is created as a complimentary part to the "Creator Guidelines." The information in here will be next to useless if you have not read the rules first. So, to fully understand what these boxes really mean, make sure you read the Creator Guidelines for the section you plan on uploading to.

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General Reasons

This section contains information that apply to any upload in any area of the moderation queue.

General

The following drop boxes have information that apply to any upload in any section.

Additional Credits not Descriptive Enough
When crediting people in the "Additional Credits" area of your post, please say why you're crediting them. Just listing names/sites does not give us enough information.

Adult Content

Your upload contains content that is too adult for MTS: this site is PG-13. Pictured Nudity: Please do not upload items that contain visible nudity - that is, no pics of exposed female nipples, butt cracks, or genitals of either gender. Skintones: Skintones must be "barbie" below the waist - that is, no pubic hair or genitals whatsoever, for either gender. Nipples on females are fine on skintones - just make sure not to show them in your pic. Clothing: Nude or extremely revealing clothing is considered adult as well. Art: Classical art pics that include nudity of the above types is not allowed either. Other Adult Content: In addition, items with swear words, illegal drugs, or excessive blood and gore are a bit much for a PG-13 site too. Please upload items of this type to our adult site or remove any adult content if you would like your content hosted on MTS.

Careers and Majors: Writing Quality **

Please spend some more time refining the writing in your upload. It can be hard to quantify what makes good writing, but it's also quite clear when writing isn't up to standard. Work on making your writing flow easily, make sense, and have good enough, and enough, content to catch and hold the reader's interest. Please also doublecheck your spelling and grammar - not only to make sure that it's technically correct, but to ensure that your writing is easy to read. You may find some useful tips for improving your writing in How to write a good story (http://www.modthesims.info/article.php?p=2429990). Some aspects, such as the tips on picture taking, don't apply; but there is plenty of information that does.

Custom Content: Improper use of Custom Content Screen **

DO NOT mark everything as made by you just to speed up the process! If you do this and you did not make the content this is grounds for instant rejection. All links entered into the Custom Content screen on the Upload Wizard should be accurate links which lead to the proper site, creator, or upload thread. "Unknown" or gibberish entered into these boxes is not sufficient. See our Upload Wizard FAQ (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=222665)if you need more guidance.

Description Required

Please put some effort into writing up a few lines describing your download. A few nice statements which describe your download go a long way and make it seem like you care about what you've made. Your description should mention any technical things that people need to know about your download, and should describe in words what the item looks like. By describing your item in words, that gives people a better chance of finding it when they search the site (or search Google) for specific items. Good Examples: This is a mixed breed dog which resembles a cross between a beagle and a corgi. A nice short-haired breed perfect for small homes. Here is a set of three elegant formal dresses with lace edging. They come in black, red, and cream. This is a contemporary two-story, five-bedroom house with a big back yard, wrap-around porch, and a two car garage. Bad Examples: I don't know what to say. I'm tired. Look at the pictures. My english is very bad. Plz enjoy! This is my first upload!!!! Please be nice!!! Spend time and effort in crafting the right description. When describing your upload please make sure that it's properly formatted, uses correct grammer and punctuation and is about your actual uploaded item.

Does not meet Creator Guideline requirements **

Please take the time to review the MTS Creator Guidelines. This rejection message is given when there are numerous issues with your upload, and it is clear from those issues that either you have not read or do not understand the Creator Guidelines for the section to which you are uploading. If this is your first time uploading, do not take this as an offense. The guidelines are there to show you how to upload correctly to MTS. If you have questions or need clarification regarding the Creator Guidelines, please post in our Creator Issues Forum (http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=492) before reuploading.

Failure to make Required Changes
Your upload required changes to comply with the Creator Guidelines. It is now being rejected because those changes were not made within the allotted 72 hour period, or because you have made changes in that time frame, but you have not made -all- the requested changes. Please review the reasons given in the previous Changes Required PM, and make the required changes before resubmitting your work.

Game Mod: Conflicts?
Game Mods can conflict with one another and it is best to give users an understanding of what your mod might conflict with before downloading. The best way to do this is to specifically state what was edited (such as the name of the particular XML you edited, etc.), and what mods or types of mods it is likely to conflict with.

Game Mod: Multiple versions required

With the ease of XML tuning, it is very easy for people to modify their own games to tweak or change values to suit themselves, even if they're not very technically inclined. Thus, simple tweaks that just change one value are no longer accepted here. Whenever possible, we ask that creators make multiple versions in different flavors. For example, don't just double a value, but offer it triple, and quadruple, as well as half, a third, and a quarter. Obviously, exact values will vary depending on your mod, and you don't want to make a mod which is too cheaty or exploity that would make the game too easy.

Game Mod: Too cheaty

We do not accept for upload "cheat" type mods. This includes any mods that decrease times to do something (like gain relationships or skills or upgrade items) to something ridiculously small, make difficult to obtain items buyable for free or a very low price, or increase the ease of gaining money by a large amount. These types of mods could easily be done by anyone quite easily in about 5 minutes using the Mod Generator program or the XML Tuning tutorial if they wished something so much like a cheat in their game. Instead, we only wish to host mods that represent an interesting change to the game mechanics and aren't just cheats in disguise.

Hotlinking
Please do not link directly to mesh files or other required content. Instead, link to the site and leave detailed instructions - such as the filename and page or section the item is in - so people can easily find it. Linking directly to the file is called hotlinking, and is considered bad form as it takes bandwidth from the owner of the page without downloaders actually seeing their website.

Include SC4 Terrain Images - TS2
Please take pictures of your neighborhood in grass, dirt, desert, and concrete. Include these in the download. Terrains also need a main image. They should be named as follows to work correctly in game: Hoodname.png Hoodname_dirt.png Hoodname_lush.png Hoodname_concrete.png Hoodname_desert.png

Included Content/Meshes Not Redistributable - TS2/TS3 **

Some of the content you have included in your upload is not allowed to be distributed. Creators can state how and when their creations may be distributed (if ever) to others, and you must comply with their wishes - to respect their creation and their copyright, and for your own artistic karma. Creators of almost all pay content and sometimes free content may not allow redistribution of their content. Please make sure you check with the creators of any content you include with your uploads and carefully review their policies on sharing to make sure that they allow their content to be distributed with uploads. If the item is essential to your upload but may not be redistributed, you can remove the item from your upload and link to it instead, so downloaders may choose to go there and download it separately. For TS2: To remove content from a sims2pack, you use Clean Installer to open the sims2pack file you want to "clean." Uncheck the items you want to remove from the file, and then save it with a -new- filename (do not overwrite the original as there is a bug with that). Link to the items that you removed and make sure you note prominently that they are essential but not included. If downloaders go and get the removed file(s) and also install your sims2pack, your creation will show up with that removed content when they go to use your creation in the game. For TS3: You can use CUSTARD to check a sims3pack to see what custom content has been included and remove content that you do not want/can't include. Store content CANNOT be included, but MUST BE linked/credited. If you would like to upload a lot with no Custom Content see this wiki page: MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/Sims_3_Lots_and_Houses#Packaging_Lots_with_no_custom_contentwiki

LOLWUT

Mesh Included
Please mention in your post that the mesh is included.

Mesh is on MTS
Please do not include meshes that are uploaded on MTS, even if the creator says it's okay - this creates redundant uploads.

Needs a bit more work... **

While we appreciate and understand the time and effort you have taken on your submission, it's just a little bit off in some ways... you've got a great base and a really good start going, but there's certain details that need a little more tweaking before it's quite ready. Please don't take this as any kind of discouragement - in fact, it's meant as exactly the opposite... We strongly encourage you to make use of our Creator Feedback forum (http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=473) to get tips and help in polishing up your creation up a little more, as you have a very nice start going... just needs a little more work and it will likely be able to be accepted. If you need further help, make sure to check the tutorials in our Create (http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=MTS2:Create) section, and you can ask specific questions in the appropriate sub-forum if there's something you're stuck on.

Overall poor quality **

While we appreciate the effort and work put into your creation, unfortunately it has not been approved at this time. MTS prides itself on high-quality, unique items, and has some of the best in the entire community and we uphold that threshold in all of our moderated items. We advise you to take the time to read the various tutorials we have here on the site, or to post your creation in the Creator Feedback forum (http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=473) so that others can help you improve it. Please also read the Creator Guidelines for more information about submitting items to MTS.

Pay Content **

Your upload either requires pay content or shows it in the screenshots. Uploads that require pay content will no longer be accepted. If the pay content is not required, it must be removed from your screenshots. Please note that all Featured Artist content at TSR (The Sims Resource) is considered pay because this content's pay/free status changes frequently. More details available here: Creator Guidelines/Regarding Pictured or Required Pay Content (http://www.simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/Regarding_Pictured_or_Required_Pay_Content) Even if you got a pay item for free from a site that distributes pay items for free, it's still a pay item; that includes sites which do retextures or small fixes of pay items. For help finding nice free hair for your models, please visit the Sims 2 Hair Gallery (http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?title=Hair_Gallery) or the Sims 3 Hair Gallery.(http://www.simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=TS3_Hair_Gallery)

Please fix before resubmitting

Please do not submit the same items over and over without fixing all the issues explained in previous rejection messages. They will not be approved until all the issues are fixed. For tutorials and technical help with your creation, please visit our Create forums. For further feedback and suggestions about your project, please visit our Creator Feedback forums. These forums can be accessed through the "Create" dropdown menu at the top of every page on MTS. Continuing to submit the same items without fixing previously mentioned issues may result in a temporary ban from uploading.

Please Get Permission **

When your submission contains part of a texture, alpha, or mesh (3D model) that someone else created, you must get their permission before uploading. Please contact the original creator and ask permission to use their work. If they say yes, or if you have already obtained permission, you need to specifically mention that you have permission in your post - we're not mind readers! If the creator is still active in the Sims community and does not give permission or does not reply, your upload cannot be accepted. However, if the creator has been inactive for at least 6 months and has no posted policy which forbids the type of edit you've done, your upload may be accepted as long as you provide proper credit. Please see our policy on this matter, here under "Remixes of Abandoned Works" (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=426734)for further information. If there is a policy posted which allows your usage, please point it out. Sometimes policies can be hard for us to find. :)

Required expansions/stuff packs not marked

Please ensure that you check the boxes indicating what expansions or stuff packs your upload requires. All posts are required to have the correct icons showing and you do need to select them via the upload page. You can edit your post in order to adjust them as needed. If you are uploading a lot that you've built with the BaseGameStarter/AnyGameStarter, please state that in the text of your upload, otherwise any lot that you have built will require all the Expansion Packs that you have installed and any Stuff Packs that you used items from.

SC4 File Names - TS2

Some of your files are incorrectly named and they will not work properly. Please make sure that all image files are spelled correctly and names are consistant. Do not capitalize the first letter in the terrain type. 'Hoodname_lush.png' is correct while 'Hoodname_Lush' is not. Also make sure that your .sc4 file is not named 'City - Hoodname.sc4' while all your images are just 'Hoodname.png'. Please be sure to remove the 'City - ' part of the name. The game requires them all to be identical.

Simple CASt Design - TS3
Uploads which are just a new colour combination for an EA item will not be approved. These are very easy to do, and take less than a few minutes - if a downloader wants an item in a certain colour, they can do it themselves. Please put some effort into creating a new texture or mesh for your upload: something which is a useful and unique item.

Stolen Content
The upload you have submitted has been created by someone else. If they wanted to upload it here they'd be welcome to, but it's not up to you or anyone else to upload it for them. Claiming others' work as your own or uploading someone else's items without permission is theft and we have a zero tolerance policy for this here.

Time and Effort

This upload appears to have taken little time or effort. Things like adding text to an existing shirt, or turning a real photo into a sim wall hanging, can be done quite easily by most players. If this is one of your first creations, please don't take offense. Learning to create custom content can be difficult, and it's good to practice on simple projects. However, we want MTS to offer high-quality unique downloads - things that aren't easy to duplicate. Please put more effort into future submissions. :)

Title Required
Please do not call your thread "my first upload!" or "hair". Use descriptive text - the title should tell people what is in your thread and provide some more detail than which category it falls into.

Upload Advertising
"Come look at my site!" links are not allowed in download posts. Please remove any such links and text. You may link to your site in your signature or member profile, but the download post should only contain links and information directly related to the download.

Upload Already Exists
An equivalent item is already available on MTS. Please search the site before uploading things that are likely to already exist. We do not host duplicates of the exact same (or extremely similar) items since there's really no point in having multiple versions of the same thing.

Upload Has Spelling/Grammar Errors **

Thank you for your submission. There are a number of spelling and/or grammar errors in your text that need to be corrected. Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/) is a free on line dictionary and Spellchecker.net (http://www.spellchecker.net/spellcheck/) will check both grammar and spelling. We understand if you do not have perfect spelling and grammar all the time, and we are also understanding of non-native English speakers, but please use the above resources to help downloaders understand what you are trying to say.

Upload is a Duplicate

This is a duplicate of an upload that has already been through our moderation queue or that is still waiting in our moderation queue. If you can't remember if you've already submitted something, please go to User Tools, then User Control Panel. There is a box labeled "New Subscribed Threads" and it will show you all the threads you are currently subscribed to. Any thread currently in the queue will say "Thread is currently in the moderation queue." If that thread has been approved or rejected, the message will go away.

Upload is Not in English
MTS is primarily an English language site. You may post text in other languages but please always provide an english translation for what you are saying.

Upload Related Items in Sets

Please combine your items into a set. When uploading similar items at the same time, they should be posted together in one thread instead of separately in many threads. One of your threads will be marked "Changes Required" and can be found in your list of subscribed threads (http://www.modthesims.info/subscription.php?). The rest will be rejected. Please add any items rejected for this reason to the thread(s) marked changes required.

Upload Text Smilie Abuse
Smilies are cute gentle creatures who are rapidly going extinct due to flagrant overuse. Please be kind and limit your smilies to 2 or 3 per post. Thank you.

You are not a newspaper

You Are Not A Newspaper. Typing Like This OR LIKE THIS Really Doesn't Achieve Anything And Makes Our Heads Hurt From Reading What You Are Trying To Say Which Ends Up Getting Lost Because The Brain Is Focusing Too Much On The Excess Capitals So It Really Doesn't Matter WHAT You Say We Wont Read It And Nor Will Anybody Else And If You Got This Far Then You Must Be Using Text To Speech Or Quantum Bunnies Or Something Like That Because I Really Don't Know How You Could Without Your Brain Melting... Well, Or You Are 12. Please Save A Quantum Bunny And Stop Typing Like This And Stop Being 12. Thank You.

Zip and Rar of the Same Thing
Please do not upload both a zip and a rar of the same thing. It doesn't matter which you keep, but please remove the other. Rars are the preferred archives because they compress better, but it is up to you as to which to keep.

Screenshots

The following drop boxes are about pictures that apply to any upload in any section.

Reason Here
Text Here