all things to all people

from WinCustomize Forums
let me preface by saying i understand all about differing tastes, and the desire for variety. after all, right now i'm listening to type-o-negative with ozzy doing a cover of 'pictures of matchstick men' on internet radio.

that said, it really confuses me why the adamant (and often irrationally irate) demand to serve -every- taste and option continues to re-surface.

i think an appropriate analogy for skinning and gui sites, especially large ones, is malls. maybe that's just because i'm in the mood to watch 'mall rats' again this morning, but there you have it. go to any mall, even your 'favourite' mall, even (jeez) 'the mall of america' in minneapolis. do they have every store imaginable there? no. even just all your 'personal favorite' stores? no, of course not.

they don't have that funky used book store you love.
they don't have the record store with tons of vinyl, where you can find the latest import from the netherlands.
they don't have (i'm thinking of specific skins we've had to mod here) an adult book store.
they don't -even- have every single major department store, just 5 or 6 specific ones (-if- it's a big mall.)

to find certain stores, or shop for certain things, you have to go to the other mall across town. to find some things, you have to just go to a little shop someplace.

:: and nobody minds ::

this doesn't -really- bother anybody, it's just kind of expected. usually it's even appreciated, because then you're motivated to go check someplace else out for awhile. see other things. experience the variety of life.

what i've never seen at a mall is somebody in the mall office, screaming at the top of their lungs, chewing the staff out, telling them "even though you have all these other stores i always go to, how -dare- you not have a 'hot topic' and a 'spencer's!' how can you even call this a mall?! i demand you add a 'hot topic' or close the mall!"

so just enjoy, shop around, visit other malls, and have a good time
6,043 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think that one reason there is a lot of discord over how the site is put together is because, as skinners, we tend to want things customized exactly. . .just a thought.
CursorFX - Customize your Windows cursor
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Because at this point there is no real alternative to this site, the others lack ease of use and a good sized skin library. Even if I bitch, I still really like this site, and visit it daily.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have to disagree. Skinbase has an incredible set of features to it. LotsOfSkins is getting a pretty good collection and has a lot of features. And DeviantArt has a TON of really cool features and tons of skins.

And as I mentioned in another post, users who have a vision as to what the ideal website is should have no problem putting up their own site. Chaz of LotsOfSkins had a vision and at 16 has been able to code up his own site and put it on his parent's cable modem to create quite a credible skin site. What we need are more Chaz's.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Migellito, well said!

WinCustomize is 'A Shopping Mall' of skins. There are plenty of other shopping malls that have their own style or cater to different crowds.

Shop at the Mall or Malls that best fit you!
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Exactly what Frogboy said! (specially the part about LOS/Chaz)
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I look at wincustomize as a specialty store and the internet as the mall. If you are looking for something specific and you do not find it here, check out the rest of the net. True there is a decline in community sites that offer speed of view and download, along with some moderation. BUt if you want the off the wall or a different style surf thru the unmoderated site or the artists sites themselves. There are a rash of authors that only post a select number of skins to try and draw people to their personal sites. I understand that you want more variety if I comprehended the statements, but is that not what the net in general is...a place to find almost anything you can think of. And just like a giant mall, if they had ever store there was it would take just as long to find the one object you where in search of, as it does on the net.

I also agree with Frogboy we need more people that can handle setting up their own stronge communities on their home systems, this way there will be communities that focus on specific styles or artist groups.

Ok looks like what I have said is all pointless or to me is just common sense being spoken aloud. A lot of us miss the vast d-base of skinz.org and would like to find its equivilant, but look at just the cost it takes to keep wincustomize on its feet. Then recalculate that figure to a even larger site. It is mind boggling to think large communities last as long as they do.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well those other Skin malls are just too far from where I live. It's a really long drive for the mouse to go up to the Favorites menu, and I was here already.

So how's about opening up an Ezpop store?

(Sorry, couldn't resist. I had to try)
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Damn these malls...it's the piped music I can't stand....
You never hear the Easybeats...."Monday, I got Friday on my mind...." [It's Monday in Oz...;( ]
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me enlightens you on how the masses think...

<evil_crae>

Just one flaw. I have to get outside to see the mall. But this here side appears on my screen. I don't see anyone else walking around here, jsut me and this site. SO I say what I want to say and I do what I want to do. Ofocurse there are some pixels on my screen who don't like what I do. But I sit here and I don't see or hear them. They've got nothing on me, they don't know me they are not here. Why should I pay any attention to what they say? Respect? Ha! In my own house behind my own machine... Make me respect you!

<evil_crae>
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hum... The Mall analogy is not really a good one... I understand the point, but there are some differences:
The Mall is the landlord and rents space to any store that accepts to pay the rent. No store is refused as long as the pay.
Application skins are hosted here for free, at Stardock's own expense, therefore it's up to Stardock to include or exclude any application skins.
What that means? If you can't find your favorite store in the Mall near you, you can only complain about it to the store's head office, not to the Mall.
But here, since it's Stardock who makes the choice, therefore the compain has to be directed towards them. That's life. It may suck, but such is life sometimes. When you are in a position in life where you have to make some choice for othes, you have to expect some people won't be happy about it.
Can't please all the people all the time.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thats right paxx, for every person happy with the site there must be one who dont likes it... like with OS, had i tell you how much does XP s*cks?