Quote: "Its too bad ACCODE isn't here to defend himself, or is simply choosing not to."
It's pretty obvious that Accode/Monster chooses not to defend himself, since this has been going on in these forums (off and on) for many many months; that in itself seems pretty self-incriminating to me. Getting his position (via e-mail) is fruitless, considering his unresponsiveness to his paying customers.
Quote: "Then for the very low price of $3.99 they learned a valuable lesson... "Buyer beware!""
Unfortunately this type of activity/inactivity also makes the buyer wary of
all media; this affects all those that are honestly seeking compensation for their original work.
Quote: "How much customer service are you expecting for $3.99?"
If you're charging someone for your work (regardless of the price), then it should be expected to function as advertised; otherwise, you should be ready to answer their questions (within reason) in order to make it work; otherwise, put it in writing on your site that the product may or may not work.
Quote: "but should we fill the forums with stickies about complaints for products and services that are not offered by TGC?"
This is a valid point; however, this particular individual seems to be an ongoing problem. We cannot shut down his site, therefore potential users/customers should be warned. I have no idea if most of his work is his or not, because I have no intention of paying for media that I may or may not get...just to see the wireframes/texture maps. The "dog episode" was enough to make me question the originality of the rest of his work.
Quote: "I think these personal interactions outside the forums (ie. ACCODE purchases) should be handle outside the forum."
That's the problem; they're not being handled at all.