BEWARE!
The number of postings to this thread may soon exceed 124.
So much for a measly 100.
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But not in one day!..
This didn’t age well. 5 years later we’re down to 5 downloads a day, and that’s if it works correctly, which most of the time it doesn’t.
So slowing down the aggregators doesn’t seem to be the real reason. 100 download a day, then 25, now 5.
Hi matt12, thanks for the post and for sharing your opinion on this. We always welcome feedback on changes and are open to suggestions on things going forward. If you have any thoughts on what can be done to keep the 3D Warehouse free and functioning for everyone, I am happy to talk about it with you.
I am curious what your use case is for SketchUp. Can you share a bit about what you are doing with SketchUp and what you are using the models for? Maybe we can find a solution that will work for your workflow while keeping people from abusing the 3D Warehouse at the same time.
Finally, if you do not have any suggestions on a different way of doing things, what do you think a good limit would be for downloads before an advertisement plays? We want to find a solution that works for everyone while keeping the site from being abused so if it is not working for you, we need to know!
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Thanks for responding.
I use the models in LiveHome3d. We originally bought that program to help design renovation projects in our 1888 Victorian. During the Covid shutdown, my wife and I started using it to build fantasy houses located around the world. We’re doing it just for fun, and love sharing our projects with the LiveHome3d community.
I’ve tried to learn how to use Sketchup but don’t find it very intuitive like LiveHome3D. I’d prefer to buy an application like LiveHome3d which was a one time purchase of $50 and I’ve received free updates ever since. I have a big moral dislike of subscription software, and I refuse to go that route. There is the free web version of Sketchup, but I find the web interface clunky, and the tutorials I’ve found usually apply to the desktop version and the interfaces are different enough that it’s hard to follow the tutorials.
I can build massively detailed models in LiveHome3D using only the trackpad on my Macbook Air, but I feel like Sketchup really works best with a 3D joystick. Not having experience with one I’m resistent to purchasing one only to find out it doesn’t solve the problem of making Sketchup easier.
If there was a class I could take locally that would be great. It would be nice to have someone to ask questions of while learning the basics.
To answer your question of number of downloads, the previous limit of 25 was fine for us. We rarely hit that limitation. I think when we started the limit was 100 and we might have hit that a couple of times as we were trying to build a basic library.
What’s most annoying about the recent change is that it’s not even allowing the first 5 free downloads. Every time I try to download, I get one or zero before I have to watch the video.
It would also be nice if there was a smoother import route for models created in LiveHome3d. I’d upload a lot more models but I always have to open them up in Sketchup and tweak them first. It’s been awhile since I’ve uploaded any but the models I import end up with lines showing where all the edges are. If I remember right, I have to explode the model and delete those. It would be nice if that could be done automatically.
I definitely think if you’re going to put limits on the site, which I understand in part because any website has costs associated with running it, there should at least be some reward for loading quality models. Quality being the key there, because otherwise people will load even more ■■■■ that everyone has to sort through. Honestly, some of the models are so embarrassing I’m not sure why people even upload them.
Maybe allow upvote and downvote, and have an option for the user to show or hide models based on ranking.
But for each model uploaded with a positive ranking, maybe bump their limit up by one. So for example, I’ve uploaded 25 models, so my daily limit would be 5 + 25.
Perhaps the solution for those without a paid subscription would be to charge a fee for the privilege of downloading without having to watch videos.
I really hope you are on the equivalent LiveHome3d forums complaining about how they don’t have a robust warehouse full of free stuff to use.
I can’t comprehend the entitlement here.
But then you go all in.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Unreal.
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I hope you’re paying all the developers of the other software programs that people are using to create content for the warehouse.
Talk about entitlement. Trimble is using the hours of work I put in creating models, providing no compensation to me for that, but then uses my production to help sell their terribly overpriced software.
I’m not paying anyone. I’m not Trimble. I don’t work for SketchUp. I’m a user that pays for the tools I use.
And I even pay for the stuff I use in my ‘hobbies.’
I paid for my Sony camera and lenses. I pay for editing software. I pay for a Flickr subscription because the ‘free’ option wasn’t really working for me, and I abhor Instagram.
I paid for my paraglider, harness, flight computer, rucksack, reserve parachute. I pay an annual ‘subscription’ if you will for my license to fly and insurance.
I paid for my running shoes and backpack. I paid for my hiking tent, backpacking stove, water filter.
I do hope that whatever industry you make a living in you are being paid for your work…
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Then, remove your models from the warehouse.
Trimble didn’t trick you. You choose to upload the models for free and access other models for free too. Nobody is coercing you into using the warehouse. There are other repositories out there. And the other software you use should start theirs, instead of using sketchup user’s production
edit : I mean, you’re complaining that you can’t download more than 5 without having to watch an ad for sketchup. but at the same time you’re explaining why you chose not to pay sketchup but a completely different company.
that means that we, the paying users, are covering the cost of the warehouse so you can use it for free.
yet you can’t accept a sketchup ad every 5 downloads ?
also,
you get an ad every 5 downloads. you’re not limited to 5. so your argument is invalid.
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quoting myself, I just tried with my free account, I’m at 26 downloads right now, I had to watch 35s ad at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25.
so you can download more than the previous 25 per day, all it costs you is 35s ad breaks.
for free.
so… it’s like youtube. you can either watch for free and get ads. or you can pay the subscription. and being a youtuber doesn’t change anything.
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This is a bit disingenuous. Historically, We output models for free that we knew would be shared to the public for free. It was a community thing. Now, we still are prodded to upload for free but the host monetizes our work for private gain without reciprocating back to the user who did the actual work.
do they ?
the ad is “hey, look how sketchup is great”. and then you can download again.
this is a storm in a teacup.
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You might also wonder why a multi-(19+)-miljard dollar company like Trimble needs to use the free shared models, made by many hobbyists that can not afford the software, to make even more money? 
Mostly done, so Next! 
Historically it was a mega corp thing - Google introduced the 3d Warehouse:
On January 9, 2007, Google announced Google SketchUp 6, a free downloadable version of SketchUp, including integrated tools for uploading content to Google Earth and to the Google 3D Warehouse.
Any sense of ‘community’ was imagined and a by product of the monetization of people’s free work using mostly free software to (hopefully) populate GoogleEarth.
I’ve said in the past that SketchUp being acquired by Google is the best and worst thing that ever happened to the software.
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Surely Google never monetized any of this… at all… ever.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
so, anyone can share models for free.
anyone can download models for free. every 5 downloads, they get a 35s ad telling them a paid subscription is great. and they go back to their downloads.
subscribers don’t get the ad.
why are you guys up in arms ? haven’t you been on internet over the last decades ? is this the hill you’re willing to die on ? NOT getting the 35s ad for sketchup when you download sketchup files ?
it’s not a hill, it’s a speedbump at most.
if you don’t want to subscribe, don’t. and watch the ad.
if you don’t want your models to be shared that way, then don’t share them. it’s ok, we can manage. no need to grandstand.
Did google ever monetize the warehouse? Did it create a shared community of users all creating objects for the benefit of SKP and it’s users?
There are plenty of paid sites of 3d assets. This one was never that.
This is kind of like amazon and netflix now inserting ads into the movies you watch. It’s sucks. It’s a bad experience that leaves a bad taste in ones mouth.