TOP 10 or TOP 7 ?

from WinCustomize Forums
This thread has nothing to do with Alexandrie personally, it happens today with her and it will happen tomorrow with other authors, but with the system of “Top 10 Downloads”.
The opening of the new category “WinXP Skins” has created the following situation.
Today and everyday from now and on, we will have 6 WindowBlinds skins in the Top 10 and we will see the same WindowBlind skin in 2 categories.
And as for the rest 19 categories of WinCustomize, the contest will be only for 4 positions!
What do you think about that?
6,647 views 16 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Click on the Top 10 Downloads title to see the full list. Or just use this link:

https://www.wincustomize.com/topskins_extended.asp
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well, I agree that it is strange that the same skin is there twice. Since this is a relational databse, it seems to me it would be easy to link the asme skin to two categories. The way this is done seems very strange...
Not a complaint... just trying like adni above, to try to improve the system.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I know very well this link, T-Man, but the majority of the people, never click on this link, they just look on the Top 10 Downloads, and I think you know what I mean.

"Not a complaint... just trying like paxx above, to try to improve the system"
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I hear you and understand. Unfortunately the database originated from the old Stardock Skin Library which was not designed very well (not by me). In order to correct this problem would take some effort. At some point in time I will redesign the system so things like this can be fixed (and searches across multiple sections).

But that will be down the road a bit.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OK, T-Man, we all know that you have a lot to do, we don't want to force you more, we just care about this site...
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It seems to me if the skins that reside in the "WinXP Skins" library were removed from the "WindowBlinds" library the problem would be easily solved. Looks like the problem is that the same skin is in two different libraries and also popular. Personally it doesn't bother me either way, just seems like a simple solution!
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have to agree. I think we should not count Win XP skins in the top 10. I don't think it would be hard to simply not count that section, that would work decently until a more thorough database redesign can be done. Assuming the other admins feel as I do - that WinXP skins are duplicates and therefore problematic.

I don't think anyone expected there to be THIS many XP users right off the bat.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I am always thinking a lot before I sent a thread, and for this particular thread I have thought more, because I was afraid to be misunderstood.
I am glad that I didn't
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Actually just thought of a potentially easier solution in the mean time - how about having it so that a category can only have 2 entries? That way at LEAST 5 of the libraries will be represented. That would be a 2 seconf solution until we come up with something more thorough.

What do you guys think?
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Brad I have a solution, I will try to meet you on irc tomorrow
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Frogboy,
I think it is very good idea!
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
There doesn't appear to be a way to "upgrade" a WB skin to the WB-XP section. I think this is going to be something a lot of people are going to want to do when the new version of SkinStudio comes out, if not before.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think that WB XP deserves it's own category (as many skin sites have for Winamp 1, 2 and now 3).
One other thing , I think that the WBXP skins, should be removed from the regular WB categorie and added to the same ones on the XP categories, for the author to not loose the dlls.
Using Brad's idea of a category can have a maximum of 2 skins highlighted would be very good too.
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
green - it should be relatively straight forward. I updated PreLuna to be XP Ocean simply by looking at how XP Copper was done and go from there.

What we (okay me but on behalf of weazels everywhere I would like to diffuse responsiblity) need to do is create skins that have smartbars in them to demonstrate those benefits more clearly.
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
BTW, WBXP skins work on Windows 98/ME/2000. Putting them only in WinXP skins would give the impresison that those skins do not function for Win98 users.
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well, rename the section to call it "Windowblinds 3" instead of "WinXP skins", which is deceiving anyway, since they are not really WinXP skins...
But really, I don't understand who can design a databse that's not relational... What kind of databse programer designed the Stadock skin library in the first place? Oh well. Well, T-Man, I think you will agree that everything will start getting a lot easier to do, and a lot more things will become possible once you redisign this databse properly. It will certainly not be a waste of time, but an investment. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the site even ran faster after...