The difference between user-content for console games and user-content for PC games was sharply illustrated over the weekend. PC mods are traditionally the stuff of the unregulated internet, where on occasional cease-and-desist is known as "getting Foxed", based on Twentieth Century Fox's infamous crackdown against an Alien-themed Doom mod way back when. But consoles operate by a very different set of rules, and the operative word is "rules".

Little Big Planet is a great outlet for creativity, but more importantly, it's also a carefully controlled product from Sony, an international mega-corporation of people in suits with a vested interested in intellectual property, copyright infringement, licensing fees, and other concerns that don't really occur to the average Metal Gear Solid fan.

So when Metal Gear Solid-themed levels (among others) for Little Big Planet were pulled without explanation, apology, or provisions for the people who made them to back them up, you can imagine the hand-wringing that went on at various gaming sites.

To be fair, the complaints stem mostly around how suddenly the levels were pulled, and the Little Big Planet developers have pledged they'll try to be more forthcoming about why levels get pulled in the future. But in games like Little Big Planet and Guitar Hero World Tour, there are going to be limits on just what users can do.

For instance, will Konami object to this Gradius level? Will Sony just pull it to be on the safe side? Will it slip under the radar? Is it vague enough to be safe? We may not know the answer unless it gets pulled.