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Features for WinCustomize V4 Suggestion Thread

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Features for WinCustomize V4 Suggestion Thread

from WinCustomize Forums

We're getting close to starting on re-creating WinCustomize.

Here are some basic features we want:

Users will have their own domain: User.WinCustomize.com

Their account will include things like their skin gallery, recommended skins, posts they've participated in, Skinner Groups, etc.

The main site itself will be streamlined in one way but expanded in another. Streamined in that there will only be two columns instead of 3 and less "Stuff" on the main page.  Expanded in that there will be multiple page modes. For instance, the top authors and skins will be on the "Most Popular" tab and have vastly more information and details on the top skinners and top submissions so that more people get highlighted and the most popular authors get more kudos.

Speaking of kudos, whenever someone posts or responds or is present in any way, the various awards they've won on the site and other distinctions will show up. So if you have  a featured skin, you'll get a little 16x16 medal for that. Get the most popular skin for the day, same thing, reach a certain milestone in downloads get another and so forth.

People who help others will be able to be highlighted more by admins by getting special tags by them showing that this is a "super user". This is a step beyond the regular access levels we already have.

The forums will be vastly expanded and yet kept very simple. It will function much like the JoeUser forum here. It won't LOOK like that at all. The functionality is key though as it will be different than other sites. Each higher level is a superset of the content of the more specific levels. For example, the "General" forum will have the newest articles listed from all the sub-forums. As you click on sub-forums, the topics get more specific. So if you JUST want to talk about wallpapers, no problem, you can go to the wallpaper forum. But those popular topics will also show up in their parent forums and so on.  This is the opposite of the way most forums work on most forums, sub-forums are largely useless and empty because what you post there is read by few people.

The whole site will be recoded in ASP.NET and be vastly faster than what we have today.

There will be a lot more admin and moderator tools to police. Right now we're kind of stuck with having to kick someone out entirely  with no in-between ways of warning people.

One of the tabs will be dedicated towards the software used to customize the desktop.

One of the tabs will be dedicated towards tutorials on creating stuff for the different sections.

The purchasing of premium skins and themes and suites will be much more integrated into the site and top authors will have a streamlined way of being able to offer the occasional premium skin.  But to be able to qualify for submitting premium (i.e. non free) content you have to have already contributed a lot of free content (i.e. we don't want skinning to end up a paid thing but we want authors to have a way of being able to justify their rather time consuming hobby and be able to afford new hardware and software).

WC subscribers will have a host of special features only available to them such as on-site blogging, integration into JoeUser.com onto their site, skin recommendations, and other goodies. One goody of interest is that articles on skinning, a kind of "live magazine" will be able to be done. Subscribers will be able to submit the the live WC Magazine (one of the tabs) so that others can read thoughts on skinning. Admins will still be able to moderate this to determine whether a given article is "featured" on WC Mag live as opposed to listed.

The rating system will be totally overhauled. Instead, ratings will be weighted by access level. The higher your access, the more weight your rating caries. It will be on a star system also (1 through 5 stars) instead of a point system since more people are familiar with that. Existing ratings will be modified to fit this (we track who rates what so the weighting system can be retroactively applied).

The most popular page, btw, will be tracking skins based on most popular for the MONTH, WEEK, as well as day. The Weekly most popular will be the one most highlighted instead of the daily one.

So those are some of our ideas.  Are there any features not mentioned here that you would like to see?

47,297 views 152 replies
Reply #51 from WinCustomize Forums Top
yeah, already figured you would look a bit like that after your 'contact' with my keyboard
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #53 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think that one of the new site skins should be done by danilloOc with the "Sector" skin http://www.guiolympics.com/skins2004.asp?skinid=233 as the basis. It's my pick for the best skin ever created ... so far.
Reply #54 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ah no. We need cheerful skins not dark depressing skins.
Reply #55 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I wouldn't call that skin depressing at all Thats one heck of skin!!
I like that idea SC The contest idea that treetog made (#21) is great



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Reply #56 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The user page at username.wincustomize.com is the thing I like most. Also what about giving people a chance to be able to submit things and get them listed right away for people who pay for a subscription and have paid for ODNT or have higher access. THat way if someone posts osmething they shouldnt they lose their access to both and also more OD moderators would be nice becuase a lot of people wait a while for their stuff to get listed. My biggests suggestion that was not mentioned though is to have geourl like deviant art does just for fun to allow people to see where other skinners are.
Reply #57 from WinCustomize Forums Top
submit things and get them listed right away


Journeymen or higher..... Just because someone buys a subscription or has ODNT doesn't mean that their work shouldn't get moderated.

also more OD moderators would be nice becuase a lot of people wait a while for their stuff to get listed.


Ever hear the phrase....Please allow six to eight weeks for shipping....and those people are getting paid.

I think the geourl is a neat idea though
Reply #58 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah but if oyu have more OD moderators more things wo get dpme faster. It doestn amek it that much harder. Also how often do OD things get moderated wallpapers still but I am talking mainly OD becuase so many submissions are made and I dont see where you cna have something bad that would not be seen easily as bad when a moderator looked. I dont knowmaybe some automated way would be nice.
Reply #59 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just say "NO" to avatars and sigs.

The average age of visitors will by 10 years as soon as you go to it. Just who would want to moderate them? Quickly you would have cat fights over what is generally accetable vs free expression. I have also seen too many forums that were torture for 56k users. Do we really want to alienate the 50% of the population that still uses 56k?

Few banner ads are as irritating as blinking, flashing and poorly animated avatars.
Reply #60 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Griffinme you do need to realize that most forums, allow you to not view sigs and or avatars. I think taht the forums should be vbulletin but slightly minimized. Personally I would be willing to help people if we go to a vbulletin forum becuase I am very well acquanted with vbulletin and would likly be able to help people do things such as disabling avatars and sending pms, changing skins and overrall normal usage of the forums. Anyways I hope we get Vbulletin and I do think that maybe you could also have skins sorted by the programs used to make them (for future skins and older ones could be updated by author) so if I used Fireworks I coul show off my fireworks work and people who did work in Photoshop could compare and I could see people who work in only fireworks instead of seeing people who use PSP. it would make it easier to get help on your editing software of choice.
Reply #61 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I would like to see a sub section under each theme category. Rather than having to search. I think the sub categories will help look at the different skins under the ones you prefer to see the most of. I definately would like to see a category for NEW skins that later get moved to a sub category after say 15 days.
Reply #62 from WinCustomize Forums Top
how about abillity to track skin updates?
Reply #63 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just say "NO" to avatars and sigs.The average age of visitors will by 10 years as soon as you go to it.


Well it's nice to see so much confidence in the community. jeez.


I'd like to see maybe an IM system on the site to communicate with other members if one so desires. I REALLY want a wincustomize webmail account, could be a subscriber perk perhaps?
Um I'll think of more later I'm sure.
Reply #64 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'd like to see maybe an IM system on the site to communicate with other members if one so desires


Just think of how many IM's someone like say Jafo would get in one day...
Reply #65 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Will be like a dream
Reply #67 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It should be WB skinnable... The buttons, text boxes and s should be skinned. Members should have their own customizabe home page with their skins, and see who has commented on your own thread. Maybe even a DX- like design. Must have 3 columns, too, need my three columns.... Bigger smiley ion, maybe even some animated ones. The fonts need to change. Tahoma at size 8 would look much better. The pages should be only one page so you don't have to go through tons of pages. And I agree with every thing listed in #24.
Reply #68 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And how about some free ice cream!
Reply #69 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Just think of how many IM's someone like say Jafo would get in one day...

I get enough from latin4567 at wstaylor's site to sink a battleship....

Reply #70 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The pages should be only one page


Do you have ANY idea how long it would take to load any libraries?! I'm on broadband and it would take eternity!
Reply #71 from WinCustomize Forums Top
UpsidedownGC - Griffinme you do need to realize that most forums, allow you to not view sigs and or avatars. I think taht the forums should be vbulletin but slightly minimized.


the origional post explained that the re-write is going to be done in ASP .NET, so the odds of using any existing forum software look to be around zero.



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Reply #73 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Speaking from the land of d...i...a...l...u...p...I'd like to see them keep the Apple Green theme as an option it's the least graphic-intense

Just say no to Avatars and Sigs
Reply #74 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just think of how many IM's someone like say Jafo would get in one day...


Yeah yeah I know. Perhaps not the best idea.
Reply #75 from WinCustomize Forums Top
(i.e. we don't want skinning to end up a paid thing but we want authors to have a way of being able to justify their rather time consuming hobby and be able to afford new hardware and software).
. No offence to the Skinners who will fit into this category, but after paying for a WC subscription, OD purchase, the purchase of a decent skins on this site will become cost prohibitive for me. I will purchase a premium suite
every now again but I will confine my purchase to the "Professionals". I do not begrudge skinners the option to put their hobby on sale but I for one will not be buying.