Boost Enthusiazm-Don't Kill It

Why or Why Not?

Published on February 12, 2005 By Lynx's Den In WinCustomize Talk

There have been alot of issues, brought up (continuosly), about certain aspects of the site (i know i have exspressed some myself).... Fair, unfair,, submissions, exception,rejection, abuse, ect..... And no matter what your stand or opinions are regarding these matters/issues, the bottom line is, it is happening, and everyone knows it. So you can hate me for this or not.... But either way, i have no intention what-so-ever to step on anyone's toes, or offend anyone, its just my opinion, and with the thought that bringing some of these issues to light, in a more civil manner. Maybe.... Just maybe, we can work together and get this thing fixed to the saticfation of everyone (always good to dream), but there is always hope! But take it as you want to.... (and excuse my possible spelling, I'm not perfect), Yet!!! LOL

Why- I find it a little irronic that when an issue is brought up, one of the things you will get as a responce is how great this site is, how there is alot more good here, more this and more that.... I think you have to consider some of the aspects of the site... #1, who is it run by (Basicly Stardock), #2 What are the main features of the site (Stardock Product), not to mention there aren't a whole lot of companies that put out the type of product Stardock does (Their Advantage).... And all the other sites that basicly have been considered as lesser (and some are), most if not all of their features are based around Stardock product. Example To Ponder: I (and i think most will agree), that sites like Deviantart/SkinBase, ect., have more freedom when it comes to their submission policy, and their rating system/submission exception, ect., is not souly based on the sites Admin's, but actually by its visitor's, subscriber's, & users, something WC may consider more of.... Does this make DeviantArt/SkinBase better or worse. It is easy for individuals to make a comment like that, when their reputation, time & efforts are not being trampled on (or considered to be), for whatever reasons....

Why Not- another responce that seems to be regular, when issues are expressed, is how issues should be brought up privately.... That an Admin should be emailed to try and resolve the problem.... This can send one message to the prospective readers, Hiding the problem/issue.... People get upset, when things are not the way they may think they should be (fair or unfair, whats right or wrong), and issues will be expressed regardless of who likes it or not. Does this mean, the individual expressing their dismay, has to pay for it, by either having there submission's denied, ratings trashed or abused by users who got offend.... "Open Your Mouth, And Pay The Price" Or "keep Your Mouth Shut And Continue To Feel Screwed and unappreciated" You do the math.... Another thing is how it seems to be ok for one individual to express there opinions/issues, but another has their opinion/issue obscured and critasized by the answering (offended) parties through-out their post.... Not to mention Admin's don't get to every email (or may choose not too, who knows), i know this by experience, i have emailed quite a few times with no responce what-so-ever, be it questions, help, or whatnot.... I know there is alot to concider for Admin's.... don't get me wrong, they have alot of things to tend too. But if your going to request individuals to take certain steps or actions, you should stand by your request...

Why- The good old "I'm not posting here anymore", "I'm Leaving".... and the responces mostly heard, "Fine, Sorry To See You Go" or "Issues Are No Reason To Leave" ( i know, been there a couple times myself, LOL).... Again, easy for someone to make comments like that, when your rep, work, & efforts are not being trampled on (or considered so).... Consider this.... Individuals take alot of pride in their time and efforts, and when all they see is negative, then feelings play a big part in decision making, be it right or wrong.... Enthusiazm is based on good responces (more good responces, more will want to be done).... and in turn causes the individual to thrive to be better, and in most cases (like myself), can handle constructive critisizm, and learn from bad critisizm instead of getting offended.... would you rather stay in a place that shows you to be worthy, or a place that shows you to be nothing (appreciated or a lack there of).... Or when you see individual getting more out of the site, like 3,4,5 feature posts every 2 weeks, on the feature page for 3,4, days at a time (don't think thats considered a daily shot anymore....LOL), and others lucky if they get one, and lucky to see it up for 24 hours.... Remember action speaks louder than words.... If your going to create a site that its base is compitition, which anyway you slice it, thats what this site is, it should be run fairly (for everyone), and anyone who happens to be afraid of a little compitition, shouldn't be here, if their main focus is to trash the efforts of potential compitition.... we focus more on what we see, not on what we hear.... Boost the enthusiazm, don't destroy it....

Bottom line: I think we all need to sit back, take a deep breath, and start making things better.... There will always be issues (what place doesn't have them), but i think together, we could start to make things a little better around here... Some of the issues aren't really that hard to fix (to kill the fire, get rid of the problem), if people are willing to do so.... For the site leaders, make things a little more fair for everyone, be it ratings, submission or whatnot (not your personal prefrence) let the general public deside, no one can tell or has some super-natrual power that tells them what people like and what they don't.... alot of novices, ametures, (or whatever) and even individuals just getting into the field, would like to be as good as the vets someday (otherwise they wouldn't be here).... But give them the opportunity, make us all want to be here, and contribute to the best of our abilities (and we will get better), and inturn give this site even more advantages then it may already have.... For the regs, and vets, share your knowledge, give constructive critisizm (all around), assist in making others better , you may not realize it, but the rewards will last for years to come.... Ever watch your kids do something, where you said or thought "I tought Them that" remember how that felt, and remember everyone has feelings, that can be steped on, think before you act (think how you would feel in the particular situations)... Ok a little of subject, but i think you get my point.

Lets try and all get along, and make this site something we all can be proud of (without all of us, this site wouldn't be much), instead of trashing each other for what they say or do.... feels like a battleground around here, all of us bunched in our little groups and taking shots at each other.... Thought this was a community!!! Like i said its all up to us, if we are willing to bend a little.... Boost The Enthusiazm, Don't Kill It!
Then again,(wonder who i'm going to pissoff next), i may be considered as talking outta my butt, and all this just fell on def ears, guess i'll know by the responces HUH? (not ready to give up on this place just yet....LOL) lets get over this hump already.....LOL feels like a pot-hole in the road, that no one wants to fix.... I got a shovel and asfault anyone want to help?.....

Comments (Page 2)

Lynx's Den

on Feb 13, 2005

Oh your reaching for it now huh.....LOL excuse me.... Philadelphia,PA is this a politicly correct issue....LMAO

Sleeping Dragon

on Feb 13, 2005

is that like grand PA?

Lynx's Den

on Feb 13, 2005

is that like a legit question, or a diss.....LOL oh me bad.... me bad

~Angelic DestinE

on Feb 13, 2005

I heartily agree with the author of this post and I'm thinking my earlier rant this week may have sparked some of it. I've decided not to submit any more walls or even screenshots because I feel they will be rejected. Seems my idea of what looks good on a desktop is certainly not that of the majority and truthfully, I don't need things that I work hard on and put much effort into, being rejected because they might be "hackneyed" or lack talent. We all cannot be Leonardo DaVinci here. So what if a screenshot looks hackneyed and played-out? It is the screenshot maker's ode to the authors who create the great skins, and that customer's desire to show their appreciation for the efforts of the skinners out there.

Just today a friend I'd met through this very website commented in one of my screenshot threads, congratulating me because all of my recent wallpaper submissions had been "accepted." Well, they weren't. I had submitted my artwork, and then started to interact inside the forums. It was there that I learned the whole Journeyman thing for me had been a bug in the system. In all likelihood I can predict now that, none of my art would have been accepted and I am thinking my latest screenshot won't even be, probably because I used a default XP wallpaper with it. My intention in doing it was to show what magic can be created with the old "defaults" when "just the right skin" comes along. That "right" skin happened to be Boxxi's Akwah. People will most likely not see the screenshot.

I am also asking that in all fairness my six walls be taken down and gone through the panel, as they did get submitted during the presence of a site-wide bug that turned me into a Journeyman for a week... one of the best weeks in my internet life, I might add, for I was able to rate skins and really, literally "boost" the enthusiasm of which the original author of this essay spoke.

Anyway, the friend who commented about my walls being accepted seemed disillusioned that only one of her many beautiful wall designs had been accepted by the panel here. That isn't right and it isn't fair, especially since she has a "Madam" title and I am just a peasant around here. Now that I know it was only because of a bug that my walls got onto this site, and there exists such harsh judging criteria for the walls, I am even more thus disillusioned. I had spoken of leaving last week over a different issue that concerned the factioning of hierarchies here. Now I'm feeling I want to leave again, only because it just seems like the typical amateur's Freedom of Expression through art is not being honoured. Surely, people will give me bad ratings as they give to other people's hard work. One cannot change that. But for an artist to have a submission rejected? That is just so harsh and yes, emotions do govern us when it comes to such things.

As I had explained to T-Man in a private email actually asking Stardock for a refund of the products because I was so very upset, I explained that I am a cancer patient. Some days, coming here, reading the comments, and downloading new (or old) stuff is the only thing that lets the sunshine in at all. In fact, being able to submit something of my own and have people actually say they liked it... inspired me enough to begin chemo treatments when I had initially said I wasn't going to.

I'd like to publically thank Boss019, Black Xero, TN Brat!, Butch123, and John Gudger (Pallet) for their various extensions of kindness to me over the past few weeks and also to MGiff for creating beautiful things that just had a way of cheering me up when I turned on my computer.

You can cue the violins and hand me a Crucifix all you want, but in all honesty, I'd like to see the "boosting of the enthusiasm" and those positive changes soon... or I may not be able to see them...

ever.

Sorry to be so sobering, folks, but I spend most of my net time on this very site, even moreso than on my own ezBoard, which is saying a lot.

Thank you for writing this article. I am in accordance with you that, this site needs to develop a more "for the people" flavor instead of "for the elite."

Thanks for reading.

HG_Eliminator

on Feb 13, 2005

As far as i know screen shots are moderated to keep porn out and to make sure the wallpaper is covered enough to make sure that it cant be easily extracted from the screenshot .... wallpapers are the most stricty moderated item on WC .....asthetics, useability,etc are factors for moderating walls not screenshots ....

Fuzzy Logic

on Feb 13, 2005

From the 'other' thread:-

As for discontent, all I see are the same three or four names throughout a number of threads. When people look at something negatively it spreads through everything they do. So all of a sudden everything looks dark, everything has a problem, everybody is against you. Finally that leads to a vague and mysterious 'conspiracy' which lodges itself in the back of minds.

Think positively, it's the only way to prosper.

Out of 3 million members there are only a small minority of dissenters. Who, because of their own attitude, see everything as a problem. However, they are so vocal by nature, they tend to dominate the messageboard at the expense of others.

Here's an example: That 'other' thread has currently 84 replies. Further down the board there is a guy who states how much joy desktop customization brings to him while having chemo treatment. The thread has 3, yes three replies

Sad

Jafo

on Feb 13, 2005

Citizen Angel Destiny 05 ....I'm sure this isn't the first time I have said this....within cooee of you...but screenshots are NOT moderated.

You post one and it will be accepted.

Provided...

No porn...no racial/religious vilification...no wall images unobscured enabling the wall to be extracted from the screenshot and re-used as a wall....[copyright issue]

That's it....sum total of limitations.

Your wall uploads can/will got hrough the proper process...not for fairness to you, but for fairness to all who did NOT benefit from a coding error.

Wincustomize.com's site admins strive to be fair to all. Equally.

gooberbean28

on Feb 13, 2005

I really have enjoyed coming to WC ,liked it so much,and it has outstanding artists and great stuff to download, which is why I purchased a subscription,I am no artist but my way of contributing is submitting Screenies. I know everybody isnt going to like same things,thats why we have variety here.But if you dont like a persons SS, WB, or anything else dont trash their stuff,try to help them improve!All my SS's arent rated high,but a thought occured to me, even if they were rated one its not going to stop me from doing what I like, showing off the skins I use. I understand where Lynx, AngelDestiny and others are coming from, feelings are hurt when a few people try to trash the stuff they have worked hard on.This is a community we are part of it,I know we are not going to always see eye to eye, but like my grandmother always told me "if you dont have anything nice to say to someone dont say anything at all!

Boss019

on Feb 13, 2005

Who is doing the trashing? Their stuff is trashed??? What did I miss? I might comment on a "Poor me, the world is against me" attitude, but I sure haven't seen people "trashing" others stuff....I do see a lot of "trashing" of the so called "unfair elitism" of WC tho...

~Angelic DestinE

on Feb 13, 2005

Just forget I said anything, k? I openly offer to have my walls re-evaluated because I realized ex-post facto that they were auto-approved due to a bug on the site and I get accused of taking advantage of said bug when I didn't even know it existed. If you follow my post trails around here it's obvious that I simply did not know. Instead of being rewarded for a noble gesture I receive some didactic rhetoric about it being in the fairness of everyone's interest. Um, wasn't that the exact point I was making? Forget it. I don't need this crap in my life and I am gone for real this time. I tried one more time but if being vocal is going to land me enemies when what I have to say might actually be worthwhile and articulate, then I DO question the motives of the powers that be.

Take down all my submissions and delete my account, please. This site is supposed to be fun and it's turned into nothing but a battleground and if you open your mouth against one thing you don't like, everybody turns on you because they're afraid if they agree, they will never acquire that precious promotion. The hell with this.

I guess NOTHING I said here had any sort of impact whatsoever, right? Good. I'll be dead soon and forgotten which is exactly how I want it.

Sleeping Dragon

on Feb 13, 2005

...I'm sorry you feel that way, Angel Destiny 05. Nobody wants to see you go. I have no influence here at WC but I do wish you would sleep on it and then come back and enjoy some relationships with some of the really good people here. Every other matter is not all that important in the scheme of things, IMHO.

gooberbean28

on Feb 13, 2005

Let me refraise the trashing part, So-called trashing they are talking about is the low ratings and low downloads of their stuff.Boss didn't somebody trash Lynx's stuff( said his work was a rip, and not soon after that his ratings and downloads on his stuff went extremely down?)I would call that trashing somebodies rep, once somebody says your a thief that gives somebody a bad rep. I dont think Lynx or AngelDestiny are saying Poor me, the world is against me they just feel things have been unfair and unjust to them ,that is their feelings, that is their opinion! As in any community we all have our little subgroups or "clicks" Unfair elitism there is if you speak up you might as well forget about getting good ratings and downloads. Lynx is one of the best upcoming skinners and because his work is good the elite give him low ratings, You know I dont care less if anyone likes what I'm saying or not If someone said something nasty about a friend of mine in a comment and I saw it I would come to there aid and tell them to quit talking BS about them.Isnt that what community is all about sticking together nomatter what? If another site came on here trashing this community we would all stick together and defend it,right? I'm not saying this to offend you or anybody else, this is my opinion and I think we ALL need to quit this petty bickering between us and not let anything try to tear this community down , once bickering among us starts it wont be long til the walls come tumbling down.

gooberbean28

on Feb 13, 2005

You know I'm starting to feel the same way Angel is! I try to be a good person And yes I said I liked this place that is why I got a Subscription but I should of listened to a friend but I didnt so my loss... because all there seems to be here is fighting and if you speak your mind about things you might as well forget it your done. Yea buddy you was right and I apoligize! What a waste of 20 bucks I'm out !!!!

joeKnowledge

on Feb 13, 2005

https://www.wincustomize.com/Forums.aspx?ForumID=41&AID=64971

Lynx's Den

on Feb 13, 2005

Well put Bean... And i have to admit, that with some of the comments made, i find it to be pretty descusting, not only does the point get proven over and over again, but to see what the humanity, intellegence, or (whatever you want to call it), levels are from some individuals is really messed up.... Boss, you can take this as you want.... to sit there and accept sincere thanks for what i would guess is for some legit assistance you may of provided, from an individual who happens to be dealing with an illness, (that by my own account, have had to assist own family members regarding this same illness) and its far from being anykind of fun, to watch or deal with,, and then throwing it back in her face, is descusting, and i would be pretty ashamed to be showing my face let alone be associated with someone whos so shallow.... This is just one of the thing some of us are talking about.... how people are treated just because they happen to voice there opinion, dismays or whatever.... and for anyones information, when i got accused of a rip, i had the GREAT JAFO

, eliminate all my submission, not just from view, but from the server.... My point, if anyone wants to make an issue about how i feel about rating or whatnot think again, cause i started from scratch....Its real funny how anybody with some kind of status here continues to #1, deny or trash individuals for their comments, even though you see the same issues brought up on a weekly basis, and #2 continue to bring up how popular and the amount of members this site has.... Ok 3 million members, right? so you want to explain to me, and everyone else how (there are only, as it gets thrown in everyones face... a hand full of members that get featured over and over), and individuals like say Boss, get 3 feature shots in 2 weeks, and are displayed (what the last one), has been up for the last 3 days.... when there has been other works i've seen that deserved to be featured and never will be (why because they don't have the backing) or because they don't meet your staicfaction.... Yeah tell us all how fair it is to be here, when you don't have somekind of title next to your name, or even get the opportunity to try an obtain one....

I think the point Angel made about what happened in reagrds to her status being what it was, expalins that one pretty well.... Like i said whats the point, its a shame that some of the good people here get caught up in all this BS

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