adni, even if the person that rated you 4 also rates low every wallpaper you make, maybe that's just because he/she doesn't like your style? That happens. Just like the other way too. I can tell you Adni that you have at least one big fan. There is a user that always, without any exception, rate your stuff with a 10. So, as you see, it works both ways. Some people don't like your style, while some people do very much. To each his own, you know.

Sorry at this present moment I rate Adni18 at 10%

Adni: "I never even get a skin featured."

That is simlpy UNTRUE, Adni. Just 3 weeks ago your 7th Shield wallpaper was featured. And only one week before that yur Orbicons II iconpack was featured.

I was talking about a skin paxx, not walls or icons

Hey pjpowell,
You have some point on what you said about the icons, the most of my walls are having clear place for the icons.
But do you thing it is healthy, to give 4 to "a nice piece of art" just because of this?

Please don't get me wrong, this thread is not personal, see it as a general problem.

wow intense stuff?

This is over ratings?
I'm sorry I think people have a right to rate anyone's image as they feel it is deserving. Whether the artist is debby from down the street or one of WC's greats. I can understand if someone is sitting there clicking 1 over and over again to bring someone's rating to a 1, that is seriously messed up- but from a 10 to a 7? I highly doubt that is due to malicious deeds. 7 is that an awful rating? I always thought a 7 = good?

Of course every artist loves to get high ratings, major downloads, tons of praise. You can't really deny that. However not everyone is going to like everything that is created. So what... we should only consider those that rate our works 9/10's the only ones who know what's going on? Or just because someone is a 'WC Great" they can't get an 7-9 rating?

What authors are being sent away, adni? And why are they emailing you about it? Name some names.

Just because someone rates something 10 doesn't put any onus on someone else to rate it highly. Tastes can vary wildly, as can what things people consider a good wallpaper should have. And you're getting worked up over a 4?! Come on. The fact is that not all wallpapers are as good as one another. You have over *100* wallpapers here that are overall rated 7 or more. I find it hard to believe that you are the victim of a viscious circle of down-raters.

And I don't rate wallpapers, but I wouldn't give that above a 7, maximum. I like my wallpapers to be non-intrusive, and that isn't. Some of your work is better. I might rate that higher. I don't usually give 10s, just as I don't usually give 1s.

What are you really afraid of, adni? That the public won't be able to see every last bit of your work? Do you rely on people who just randomly visit the site and grab the latest thing for your 5,000,000 downloads? I don't think that's true, but your comments seem to imply it. If not, then why are you so bothered about the possibility of one of your wallpapers dropping below the boundary for transient viewers? Anyone who bothers getting an account with the site will be able to see all of it, and download it. Every last bit.

As to the popularity, I think you're overestimating the effect any author can have on that. The vast majority of people coming here come directly from Stardock's websites, having seen Stardock products, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

(And yes, I'm the person you chat with. I will very willingly give you help with your WindowBlinds skins, which are indeed popular. I don't think you're a bad person or anything like that. But I will not support you in an argument in which I feel you are very wrong)

If they wanted to be malicious in their ratings... They'd give you 1's instead of 4's

So someone thought your wallpaper was average/below average
life goes on really...

'But do you thing it is healthy, to give 4 to "a nice piece of art" just because of this?'

If you were not a master and so not subject to moderation, it is quite possible that it would not have made the library at all because of this. As the guidelines say:

"The prime directive for wallpapers is that they must WORK as a wallpaper, in other words the design should be an effective desktop background, which includes: The background is not too busy and icons are easy to see against it, colors are not too bright to be distracting, and colors work well together."

This is a skinning site, not a general artwork site like deviantART. The skins, themes and walls here must be usable, or they do not belong here, and people are perfectly within their rights to rate down based on that.

Adni, you seem to be assuming that some person is or persons are intentionally giving low ratings to walls to bring down the overall rating. In cases where the Admins determine that is the case, they do take action. But in the instance you cite that doesn't seem to be the case. So what would you have the Admins do if it doesn't appear to be a deliberate case of malicious ratings?

If skinners have concerns that someone is deliberately trying to downrate their work, they should contact an Admin to review it, it seems to me. That's more effective IMO than just grumbling amongst themselves (if you excuse the blunt expression). But I think it also should be noted that just because a number of people may rate a work an 8, 9, or 10 doesn't necessarily mean that those ratings establish an objective standard that all subsequent raters should be in line with. And if someone gives it a 4 or a 5, who's to say that rating isn't a genuine representation of that person's view of the work? Are you suggesting that such ratings aren't legitimately possible? Should raters be limited to only choosing 5 or above?

I'd personally be OK if ratings were limited to those of Apprentice and above standing so skinners can feel that they are rated by peers. But even then I suspect you'd see some of the phenomenon you're concerned about now. JMO.

The e-mails are private Laurence; therefore I have no right to make them public.
You are out of the subject, it is not personal, referring to my wallpaper it was just an example.
I am not afraid of anything Laurence! When we upload a work, we like to be visible and not hidden because of a malicious rate. I wouldn't bother at all of a bad rate, as long my work is visible. Who likes to send a work which will be invisible for the majority of the people after a bad rate?

Do you know how many e-mails I am answering daily, asking me "I have download your x work and I don't know how to use it". What you think that I am answering them other than "You need this product from www.stardock.com etc".
All those people they don't come from Stardock, I send them there. I thing that you underestimating the effect any author can have on the popularity.

I wonder why you think that this argument is very wrong???

I guess that you don't have time to look at the section of the wallpapers very often Laurence

Look the top 30 wallpapers in downloads today and tell me if you find any place for the icons on the wallpapers with 10 and 9. Then you may understand that this is not the case.

adni18: "You think it is normal and not malicious if someone put 4 after he see a 10 for a wallpaper?"

No, I do not. On a scale from 1 - 10, 5 is smack dab in the center. So, a 4 is just below. Think of it as a grading system. The person who rated it said that it was only 40% good. How can you consider that malicious? If this same person went through and rated everything of yours a 4 or lower, then I might look into it, but nobody has. The lower ratings are *not* by the same people (some people have put lower ratings on some of your works, but they are not consistently the same number, and they have also rating other works of yours with higher ratings). It's just how the person rated it.

Plain and simple- not everyone has the same taste. Some people won't like your stuff, it's just the way it is. After looking at the ratings, I see no trends of people rating your stuff low.

Now, if you want me to go through and find the same people who rate stuff (from the same author) with the same "10" each time, than I can look for that, also. (The blade swings both ways).

Straight through the Gizzard

My ratings suck big time bar a few but hey life goes on in the end getting something accepted makes my day in itself

I'm afraid I don't understand the point of this discussion.

Every wallpaper I looked at from Adni was rated overall at 7 or higher which is pretty darn good.

Additionally, I have *personally* featured Adni's WB skins in the past so I know that they have been featured.

Lastly, skinning is for fun. WinCustomize is the #1 skin site because of Stardock. It's as simple as that. WindowBlinds, IconPackager, DesktopX, CursorXP, WinStyles, ObjectBar, and so on get over a quarter MILLION downloads each week just on download.com. Those users, in turn, come here to get skins and themes for those programs. That is, statistically what has made WinCustomize so popular.

Adni's skins have a lot of downloads and he is a very valuable part of the skinning community. WC's popularity being independent of any particular skin author doesn't take away from the great contribution of the skin authors.

I would argue that no other skin site has done as much as WinCustomize in giving kudos and recognition for their efforts. Besides the fact that our top lists, which are on our home page, we also have the in depth lists that are only a click away.

Plus WinCustomize is an amazingly reliable site. For over 2 years now, WinCustomize has been a site that skin authors can count on. A place they can freely share their creations with the world with complete control of how it's presented and without hard drive crashes, lost skins, extended down times, etc.

I think in the bigger scheme of things, that is why skin authors like this site. Because they are treated with respect and their work is safe here.

Hoppity, you have such a way with words

OK KarmaGirl, you are right, thank you for the info

Amen

The point is that one "bad rate" won't cause that. With the other ratings you got, even a 1 would not have caused that. That's the whole point of it being an average mark. There is no conspiracy to mark people down.

I think it's very wrong because even if you answered ten emails a day, so what? That's just over three hundred emails a month. That sounds like a lot. However, WinCustomize gets 1.2 million unique hits a month. I don't deny that what you do is great, and it helps. But there's only so much influence one person has on a site with this many users.

And no, I don't look at the wallpapers section often. But I know what I rate them on, and I can read what the guidelines say. And as you say, the issue is wider than just you or the wallpaper section. I seem to remember questions about ratings coming up in the WB section as well. I don't want to feel I could be vilified for giving someone a 4 becuase I didn't like their work or didn't think it was suitable, no matter who they were.

You are right Brad in all, more or less, except of one thing, only one WB skin has been featured and this was "XP Platinum" a very long time ago from treetog.
Of course you have featured many of my works and I thank you for that, but not a WB Skin

We all give a lot to this site, and yet we all take a lot from this site. some do more giving then taking, and visa versa. It's not wrong that someone who doesn't like your work rates it down, it's their opinion.

the famous words: "Let this thread slowly die... "

Boy, this thread has been busy

I believe, from what I've read on this thread, that the admins have a pretty good handle on when the rating system is abused.
Am I going to get high ratings on everything I do? I wouldn't imagine so. I expect to get some high, some low (of course the high ones are nice!). The rating I spoke of in my earliest thread 'seemed' to coincide with a bad comment, but I know now that is not the case.
At the end of the day, the reason I do this is for the pleasure of creating. The reason I do it on this site is the support I get.
I 'do' trust that the admins can keep the spoilsports from spoiling it for us all.

As for rating, I don't rate that much unless something really moves me so my ratings tend to be on the higher side.