Alright, since some folks don't seem to know how to post a proper Where Can I Find thread, I thought that I would go ahead and outline it for future reference.
First off, keep your tone polite and civil. Let people know that you appreciate them taking time to help. Don't talk down to them or belittle their efforts. Above all, don't act as if you are entitled to their help because you aren't. You are coming to them to ask a favour, not granting them one by allowing them to help.
A picture is always greatly appreciated so we can get an idea of what it is exactly what you're looking for. Even if it's not simmified, a picture of a real object that it resembles can be a great help. We can't read your mind, so detailing exactly what it is that you want can also facilitate finding the exact thing you're trying to nail down. If you have images but can't be bothered resizing them if they're too big, then you must not want the item very much. It doesn't take a lot of effort to do this and if you refuse to do it, then you're being lazy.
If you've already been searching for it yourself, mention the places that you've been but don't tell people not to bother recommending that they go there, but instead say, "If you find it there your search skills beat mine and I would thank you for a link to it." Don't come off all snotty and snide, making people think that they're just wasting their time on your request. Let them know that you appreciate them taking time out of THEIR day to help find what YOU are asking help on.
No one likes being treated like they're lackeys that are there just to make you happy. No one on this site is royalty, so please don't act like you're doing us a favour by gracing us with your requests. We help find stuff because we enjoy helping when we're treated decently, not as if we were ignorant dogs that can't be housebroken.
Making one or two threads a day isn't out of line, so long as you don't bomb people with a massive amount of things that you want found. Limit the items to one or two or even three in a thread and like already stated, keep it to about two threads a day. It disgusts people to see a whole line of threads made by one person looking for stuff, and also opening a thread to see a massive shopping list is likewise disgust making for people.
If the content you desire hasn't been made, then consider approaching a creator and asking in a civil manner if they would be interested in considering the idea of making what you have in mind. Keep it firmly in your memory that they are free to turn you down, though. They have lives, too, and many of them have multiple projects for themselves or other site that they're working on. They do this sort of thing for fun, not because someone jumps up and down like a spoilt child, whining on and on that they didn't get what they wanted and now they're going to have a tantrum just to spoil the whole day.
Don't expect immediate results to a request. Searching takes time and bumping your thread to get attention called to your request is frowned upon and will get you called onto the carpet by the staff. It's considered rude, rather like discussing bathroom habits in a loud voice in a very quiet restaurant.
Now that the above has been written, I am throwing in the original rules for the WCIF, because I wrote that for those that have a hard time writing a good post concerning the asking of help. Remember, this was all put into text to aid in getting the help that you the user desire, so please make use of it and refer to it often if need be. This stickie is your friend! The people on this website can be your friends if you treat them as such and not as if they are your servants.
Before you post a WCIF (where can I find) request, use the forum search in an honest attempt to find what you're looking for. Nine times out of ten, you can find things using that function.
You could also try looking at
SailorJune's Theme'd Downloads for a suggested link.
Another place to try looking at is the
Content List at the Sims 2 Wiki for a recommendation.
If a site has disappeared forever from the Internet, that doesn't mean that it's totally gone. While it may not be easy to locate the items you seek; there is one archive that contains such work
Sims 2 Graveyard maintained by Jessica at Wicked Sims 2, it doesn't have everything that has ever existed, but it is at least a place to start your search.
(Edit 2024: New links for graveyards, two different sites,
here and
here)
Do not post WCIF requests for adult-oriented items in this section! If you do,
your thread will be removed. Please request adult-oriented items at the
adult siteIn this section you should title your post with what it is you are trying to find.
Good exampleWCIF: Drivable 1965 Mustang GT
Bad exampleHELP ME!
Good exampleWCIF: Long curly female hair??
Bad exampleOMG!! WANT!!!!!111EINZ!!
If you want a specific sort of thing, include a photo or series of photos in your post; asking for a thing that looks like a bunch of words won't help anyone.
DO NOT HOT-LINK PHOTOS FROM OTHER SITES!If you post a WCIF (where can I find) request,
DO NOT BUMP YOUR OWN POST! If you do this, it could result in your post being ignored or removed and a staff member reminding you about not doing that. Don't give them any grief if they do, it's part of their job, from Administrator on down.
Please be patient and wait for a reply, people really are willing to help out.
As per new site policy, we do allow linking to the Booty, with a few provisos included. In the words of our own Nouk: - If you link to the Booty for paystuff, link to the original artist's site as well. People can choose whether to buy or not buy themselves, and the creator made the stuff and deserves correct linking and credit. This is a rule, not a suggestion!
My thanks to Beosboxboy for the original text.
ADDED FOR EMPHASIS!!Don't get demanding that people find things for you, don't put conditions on how they let you know they might have found it, and don't get snotty and snide when success isn't met. The people here are doing you a
favour by helping you find stuff and don't owe you squat. Our creators don't owe you squat either, so keep your tone civil and respectful. If you can't do that, your thread will go down the toilet.
ANOTHER ADD ON:Don't link to someone else's photo account. If you want to show a pic that isn't yours, take a copy and put it onto your own photo account and post the link from it. It will keep people from reporting your post, the picture coming down and spam in my email box because they reported you for it.
AND YET ANOTHER ADD ON:It seems as though folks don't get that requesting
two to three items per
thread is the limit, and have been posting a massive amount of pictures. It's been stated that three images per thread is the max number quite a few times, mainly because it's easier for those on slower connections to load the page and try to help. This is now right here for you to refer to. THREE images per request MAX. If the load times out because the request post is too graphic intensive, that's too many images. Please keep this in mind and if you insist on ignoring it, then I or another member of staff will insist on locking and or deleting it. Simple as that. We're not trying to make your life difficult, we're trying to make it easier on the people that are willing to help you find things.
AND YET ANOTHER RUDDY ADD ON:For some reason, it seems as if people don't think that the "please host your pictures on a third party site before posting them" doesn't apply to THIS section. I have news: IT DOES. If your pictures are not hosted by Photo Bucket or Image Shack or something similar and are instead loaded onto the IS server, you may get the unpleasant surprise of finding them deleted or your whole thread deleted.
And, to wind this up, let me repeat: If you're going to pitch a pay site's goods in a WCIF reply, you'd best be providing the link to the Booty or another free site alternative as well, or risk the deletion of your reply. Same goes for the Booty. If you're going to toss that out there then you had best link to the original creator, as well. Fair is fair.