Carl - Webmaster, Writer, Administrator, ModeratorI've been a game writer for seven years and have written a dozen walkthroughs. I hope to pursue writing as my profession some day. The Sims 3 was a major breakthrough for me, coming off a pattern of writing for the latest real-time strategy games. Covering something to such a huge degree of depth has been an amazing experience and helped me get a lot better at putting them together.
I'm a self-taught webmaster and pursue a degree in Management Information Systems at the local State University, where I hope formal training will help me refine my skills. My 'day job' is in adult education where I help high school dropouts to earn their GED by tutoring them in math and testing their knowledge.
I'm a big man-child at heart and love all things gaming and get geeked out over powerful computer hardware.
Pam Marsden - Community Manager, Writer, Administrator, Moderator
I'm a 54 year old Adam Ant fan who works from home and who lives happily in Texas with my husband, 6 cats, and 2 birds.
My first experience with computer games was with casual games such as Virtual Villagers and Chocolatier. I was recruited by a popular game review site called JayIsGames.com. I was the Help Squad Coordinator for well over a year, helping answer questions, writing walkthroughs, and editing posts made by members so that they were written in correct English (
). Jay Bibby himself was my mentor and teacher. I learned a great deal from him and he really is a great guy through and through.
One day I stumbled upon a blog about Sims 3 and I was captivated. I rushed out to buy it, knowing nothing of the franchise or previous Sims games. I didn't even realize Sims 3 had just been released. Soon I was searching for some help with the game and I found Carl's Sims 3 Guide. He had a comments section on the Guide back then and I offered to use my knowledge and experience from JayIsGames to help him out. It wasn't long after that we formed a partnership and the Forum was born! Our goal has always been to create a friendly, safe, and fun atmosphere for all Sims 3 players to gather and talk about Sims 3. Now, as we've just celebrated our third anniversary, we continue to grow and offer more things for our community with Sims 3!Tom Schlueter (aka Metropolis Man) - Writer, Administrator, Moderator, Challenge CoordinatorHey, everyone. My name is Tom Schlueter, aka Metropolis Man (Metro). I'm a 56-year-old stay-at-home dad residing in Bloomington , Illinois, USA. I'm married (29 years) and have 3 beautiful daughters. My favorite pastimes are: playing computer games (are you shocked?), cooking, seeing movies and of course spending time at Carl's forum and visiting with everyone.
My role at the forum is primarily one of specialization—the Tournament and all of its challenges, special Dynasty challenges, as well as the World Ranking. It's so much fun. Every day brings new players to the forum, new questions to be answered, new challenges to think about, and lots of leaderboard updates.
I held a moderator position at the PhrozenKeep Diablo II forum for quite a while back in the mid to late 2000's and ran many tournaments there, so when Carl and Pam extended the opportunity here for me to take a leading role in designing something really special from scratch in 2009 I was very excited to do so. Way back when I had to do it all myself, but these days thank goodness I have a wonderful Challenge team: LenaLJ, MarianT, sdhoey, GlazeyLady, and Trip. They are the best. I feel really honored to be a part of the forum. It's a wonderful, growing community and I cannot believe 2020 marks the 11th season of the annual Challenge Tournament.
Diane Green (aka Saltypaws) - Moderator
I have been a sims player from day one. Owned every EP and SP that came out with every game. I remember playing until the sun came out a couple of nights out of the week and was fascinated by those little people. My sister first introduced me to Carl's site in October of last year and I lurked around for a while. I remember her telling me of some guy on the site that set fire to his sims (wonder who that was). I tried the bigger sites, but your post gets lost as soon as you post it, so I started posting here and have been here ever since. I think it will be great being a moderator. I will do the very best that I can do for the members and administration. I know my questions will be answered in a timely fashion and believe me, I have a few of those. I am not the most technical person in the world, but, I know enough to be dangerous and I will try to answer any question. I see more and more new members all of the time and I think that is so great. This is not a huge forum, but it is not the tiny forum it use to be either. Thanks to all who had a hand in choosing me for moderator and I am looking forward to working with all of you.Dianne Douglas (aka Schipperke) - ModeratoI took up Simming when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006 and needed a sedentary activity to help me get through the months of chemotherapy. The chemo is long since over, but the Sim habit has remained. Given the amount of time I devote to this pastime and my need to know everything about the game, I’m sure I would qualify as being totally Sims-Addicted at this point. I discovered Carl and Pam’s Forum in December, shortly after getting high-speed internet, and it felt like coming home. I love the Challenges best; that, and being able to talk to other people who share my fascination with Simmies. Outside the game, I live with 4 dogs (schipperkes, of course) and am retired. I am very honoured to be asked to be a moderator, and I promise to do my best to help this site continue to be the best Sims 3 resource on the Web.
Debi Silva (aka mtglady) - Moderator
Hello! My name is Deborah (Debi) Silva and I live in Ignacio, Colorado, USA (a very small community on the Southern Ute Indian reservation). I live with my life partner and five cats.
Computers were a new thing in my generation and then they were so huge. I started playing computer games in 'DOS' (long before 'Windows') when games first became available - yes I am that old. I dabbled in this game and that from the late 80's on until I discovered Sim City in 1990 shortly after I had brain surgery. Playing that game was good for my hand/eye coordination and is still good therapy for me. When The Sims was introduced in 2000, I was ecstatic. I bought and played all of the EP's, then graduated to The Sims 2 and again bought everything that came out including all of the SP's. I have done the same with The Sims 3 and The Sims 4. Guess I am a real sim-a-holic!
I have 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren (for now). I am retired from the mortgage industry; hence my username (mtglady is short for mortgage lady), and now I split my days between my family, reading, playing the Sims and, of course, this wonderful forum.
I discovered the forum in the spring of 2010 and finally decided to officially sign up in July 2010. It was the best thing I could have done as it has provided me with a wealth of information and lots of answers to questions I had.
I will try my hardest to do the best that I can for each and every member. Please feel free to pm me if you need anything. If I can't help you, I will refer you to someone who can. Amber (aka gerrr00) - Moderator, SpaminatorHello, my name is Amber. I live near Fort Lewis, WA. I am a stay at home mom, married for over 11 years, have 2 children and way too many pets. My husband is a career soldier with over 14 years enlisted. He is gone a lot. This time around I couldn't find anything to keep busy with. I decided to buy a new computer to try out the Sims 3. I am happy to say that I've had a year long vacation from house work. That way I am able to devote as much time to the Sims that my children let me. I found the guide after I bought World Adventures. I discovered the forum and joined after a meteor destroyed the outside of my house and my garden wouldn't work. I had no idea about bugs and glitches until then. I have learned more than I thought possible thanks to the guide and forum. I look forward to keeping one of the best Sims 3 forums clean and safe. See you around!
Rachel (aka ratchie) - Moderator, Challenge Team Member
Hi there my name is Rachel and I am a happily married stay at home mum of two beautiful girls and two wonderful boys.I am 34 years old and I live in the UK.
Because it is very difficult to leave the house when you have four children, I tend to spend a lot of time on the computer. I have played TS1 and the TS2 and loved them both so when TS3 came out I had to get it. After a couple of months of playing I had run out of ideas so Googled Sims 3 challenges. This is when I discovered Carl's Guide and the Immortal Dynasty challenge. After a few months of lurking I plucked up the courage and joined which is one of the best things I have ever done.
I love playing long generational Sim games and as you have all probably noticed I quite enjoy writing about them too. I have spent many hours happily reading other members Sim stories and it is amazing to see how the stories board has evolved over the past year. I hope I can do as good a job as all of the other moderators and staff and I am more than honored to be one of them.Laverna (aka lilygirl) - Moderator
I'm a wife, nurse, and mother. I was born and raised in a small town in Alberta, Canada surrounded by 7 siblings, a dog, and many cats. I left home at 18 to attend university and have since earned 2 Bachelor degrees in Biology and Nursing. My family is the most important thing in my life (my husband and I had our first child in February 2012 and our second in July 2014) followed, in no particular order, by my nursing work, crochet, watching the Edmonton Oilers throw away another hockey season, and The Sims 3.
I started playing TS3 when it came out after my husband (then boyfriend) introduced me to TS2 during the summer of 2008, while I was doing the summer portion of my nursing studies. How I managed to maintain the GPA I did, I have no idea as I spent almost every evening playing the game instead of studying. When TS3 came out, my husband and I bought a brand new Mac laptop with specs big enough that I could play the game and he didn't have to share his PC. I don't play any other computer games other than Sims Medieval every now and again.
I can't remember how I found Carl and Pam's forum, I must have been searching for something my Simmies had gotten me puzzled over. I didn't post anything for about 6-7 months after I joined, but now I have a Dynasty story going and was offered a moderator spot, for which I am very honoured and will do my very best to help keep this forum the safe and awesome place it is for everyone.Norma Blackburn (aka Twinmum) - ModeratorHello there, I’m a mother of four beautiful daughters (two teenagers still at home) and grandmother of a delightful little girl and more recently a handsome little man, and yes two of my daughters are twins. Due to a back problem, I haven’t worked for 20+ years and so have played a lot of computer games. I always liked the sim type games and if the game was called Sim Something, Theme Something or Something Tycoon, chances are I had a copy of it at some point in time.
I discovered Sims just after it was first released and quickly became addicted, buying every EP and most stuff packs. The same occurred when Sims 2 came out. Of course when Sims 3 came out, I fell to temptation yet again.
I stumbled onto Carl’s site back before there was even a forum and quickly discovered that it usually had the most useful information, so I made it my first place to stop when I needed help. When I came back after a couple of months of not playing Sims (shock horror!), I discovered there was a forum, so I promptly joined and have been here ever since.
I do have other interests besides The Sims. I am a huge Stephen King fan from way back and even collaborated with two other fans to write “The Complete Guide To The Works Of Stephen King”. I also enjoy making and collecting dollhouse miniatures and now sell what I make on Etsy - you can find MinisByTwinmum on Facebook too.
Thomas (aka samoht04) - Moderator, Building Coordinator
I started playing Sims back with Sims 2 and have continued with it ever since. I first found the Guide whilst searching for a way to actually understand the new Gardening system of Sims 3, I then discovered that there was a forum here and I've been around ever since. Sadly, my real life commitment of University keeps me very preoccupied and so am unable to be as active as I was back in my school days, I do still miss the community here and do drop by occasionally just to keep up-to-date on various events but am not as much of a major poster anymore. Building was always my main area of enjoyment in the games and I loved the freedom of Sims 3 and the endless possibilities it provided.Seabody - Moderator
Hello there! I'm Seabody (they/them pronouns), a 24 year old PhD student (astrophysics) in New Zealand. 
I started playing TS1 around about when TS2 came out, then slowly but surely upgraded to TS3, going from an old Dell Dimension desktop, to a HP Pavilion laptop, then to an Alienware gaming PC which I've had for about 7 years now. I found the guide in 2011, joined the forum soon after, and have been going strong attempting to complete Immortal Dynasties ever since. 
When I'm not on the forum or studying, you can usually find me playing D&D (DM'ing a campaign, and playing a half-elf roguelock in another), reading Brandon Sanderson novels, or playing Elder Scrolls Online.
Trip - ModeratorI'm Trip, and I'm just an IT person who decided tech support as a hobby was my thing too (I kid!)
I haven't been a lifelong simmer but my heart's been here a while. I graduated from playing TS1 at my friends' houses to playing TS3 on a laptop and upgrading and evolving ever since. Somehow stories, challenges, and signing up for this forum came into the picture and I wouldn't have it any other way. When not on the forums, I still love to write and spend hours trying to entertain my two chihuahuas.
MrsFlynn - Moderator, Administrative AssistantHubby introduced me to the forum in late 2010, and I became a member shortly after. I’ve been playing The Sims with Hubby since Sims 1.
I like to try to help with the technical computer questions, where I can. Hubby’s a computer... genius, so it’s somewhat rubbing off on me, kind of. As I’ve learned things about the Sims 3 game, I’ve taken notes for myself and shared some of those notes with the forum.
Flynn Arrowstarr - Moderator
I've been a game enthusiast since my brother bought an Atari VCS a couple months after it was first released. Since then, I've played on and collected a number of systems and games. Video games are a life-long passion for me, almost as much as computers. That was something else introduced to me at a young age.
I didn't start playing The Sims until after House Party was released. But, I had played a sort of primitive Sims game called Little Computer People. I had nearly forgotten about the game by the time The Sims came out, but as soon as I saw the game LCP popped into my mind. MrsFlynn and I picked up The Sims and the two expansions out at the time (Livin' Large and House Party) after we'd read more about the game. We were hooked, making Sims and houses and just playing with their lives. This continued on into The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. And will likely continue on into The Sims 4 as it comes out.
Outside of video games and Sims, I tinker with computer hardware and a little bit of all things computer. I dabble in web design, programming, game design and have even tried my hand at writing a time or two. Somewhat unsurprising, I'm a big science fiction and fantasy fan. Some favorites include Doctor Who (classic and current), Star Wars, Star Trek, The Hobbit, Dungeons and Dragons and far to many others to count.
So, that's a bit about me.Marian Taylor (aka MarianT) -- Moderator, Challenge Team Member
Hello, everyone! I'm a 65-year-old retiree, with a husband, 5 cats, a guinea pig, and assorted fish (no angelfish, though), and I live in Rochester, New York. Among other things, I used to teach writing to college freshmen, and I've published a few poems. I first started with computer games in the early 80's with the Infocom text games -- Bureaucracy was my favorite. I picked up The Sims in 2006 when my husband was recovering from an illness, moved on to TS2, then the Sims Medieval, TS3, and now TS4. I found Carl's Forum when I was playing the Sims Medieval and trying to figure out how to succeed as a merchant. Joining up was probably the best thing I've done for myself in a long time; I really enjoy the people, and all the young'uns keep me up to date.Sue (aka Playalot) -- ModeratorLike my user name... I like to play The Sims a lot! It was my fascination for the game that caused me to first stumble across the forum in my search to discover everything about the game I could.
I live in New Zealand and am equally enthusiastic about running and generally being outside in the fresh air. My passion for The Sims really started after a sports injury that left me bored and unable to run and since then simming has become part of my daily life. I love being able to chat about the things my sims get up to and recently have also begun to write these happenings into stories to share. As well as running I have a voracious appetite for reading which can often fuel my imagination for a new sims game. I tend to start a new game every week or so and can have so many save files going that it just becomes crazy!
One of the things I love about this forum the best is the positivity and friendliness. I’m really thrilled to be able to be part of this wonderful on-line community and look forward to chatting to you all on the boards.
Bri -- Moderator, EA Announcements ProLike many others, I've been a long-time fan of the Sims series having played Sims 1 when it first came out years ago. By day, I'm a chemical engineer, but in my spare time I love to play computer games, as well as some freelance writing. I've done stuff for Pen-and-Paper RPGs, while I'm currently doing some writing for Winter Wolves Games. Heh, and if there is any time leftover, I like to contribute to mods for old games like Baldur's Gate II.
Last Updated: August 23, 2020
