It's a brand new world around here...
...but not all is angelic in heaven.
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Firstly i shoold introduce myself, cause nothing comes out of the blue. My name is Cyberworld and i've been around the site for nearly three years as a Citizen and five if you consider my guest years. I'm not a proud skinner,nor a really good one(if you believe that downloads show the quality of one's work,which i don't, i've recently reached 250000),i don't feel the need for credit and i know i seldomly comment on skins or send posts,so i cannot be said to be an active member of the skinning society. Most people around here don't even know i exist,but that is ok,i'm open to any kind of critic thinking. Well now we are at the start of something totally new,i'd call it Rebirth of Wincustomize, the Resurection of the Phoenix.
Above all and before anything else i'd like to say that i like this new site,cause that's what it is really, a brand new site. It's nice and shiny,it's a good effort and very helpful for a beginner here at WC. Congats
to the team that created this. It shows a work still in progress i believe,but it's a brave effort.I believe it's important to notice the site meter down below,which shows care and sensitivity of the leaders around here, also i must complement the fact that anti-spyware software is used to avoid that kind of harmful or malicious pests. I also like the fact that the site is now two columns and not three, really frees up space for more and better skin viewing. I also loved the fact that now everybody can rate the skins,except if this is an error to be fixed up,but if it became available for every Citizen to vote i'd call it democracy,although it might need some better coding here so that double voting would be avoided. I liked also the tab-style site design,it's really easier to access antything from above.Finally the search engine of the site is one of the strong points,it's fast,accurate and in-depth.I'd also like to congaculate for the liaison between Wincustomize and JoeUser.
Now all cannot be good in Heaven and i too have a list of fixxes or mishaps that should be fixed,maybe some suggestions too,although some might have already been reported. Btw my intentions are not to be critic or nasty,i just like to help to get things working like a fine swiss watch. So here goes:
1.Firstly it's the My Account Preferences dialog box. The only setting i can see is how many skins to display per page (5 or 10).Is that the only one available, i'd also like to be able to choose which categories to appear on the left panel.
2.The way comments are displayed is both frustrating and time-consuming. Instead of the good old pop-up window with all the comments the new system is to open comments in the same window. I don't understand how this makes it easier for the viewer as one the one hand if you are in a library mode it destructs you and takes time to go back(especially for people who are running on a low connection of 56k or 128k),and on the other hand is really irritating to go back and forth just to see comments,unless this is fixed i suspect that comments will become a rare kind to see.
3.That new button "More Details" i'd like to pose the question: What is it for?Cause if you disregard that it shows a the subcategory of the skin i must say i didn't notice any more detail,so i guess it serves more as a destruction and waste of time and maybe valuable bandwidht.Unless you plan to add more useful info to it,i suggest to have it removed.
4.One,maybe the biggest problem,mostly for people with slow connection is the fragmentation of the site. Wherever you go there are next,back,forward buttons. That is really nerve affecting,especially in the My Skins section.I would just love to see all my skins in one big happy list,not in three or four pages.
5.Regarding My Skins i really miss the old counting system. Since there is the ability to count the skins totals why hasn't it been applied yet?Maybe it's just a matter of time.Although i do like the fact that you can see the skins in sorted in many forms i'd rather prefer the old system,where the skins where sorted by type/category and then alphabetically.Maybe you can set it as the default sort out order,that would make many people happy i believe.
6.I really loved the Stats page in the registered subscribers sites. Is it possible to make it available to all users as part of their profile?Maybe not at all the same,but some parts of it,like the downloads stats,awards and positionings.
7.About the Forums i do miss that 'go back to top' and the 'return to message board' links,it was very helpful and handy. Now my mouse roller suffers of overuse. I also miss the Search for topic,which was also handy when looking for something specific. Another part i miss the way the forums were organized,i mean the chronological ordering of topics,the older topics were below the newer above. Also in a subject the comments where in chronological order starting with the newer ones above,while the thread starter was at the beginning,i don't believe the reversal of this is much helpful.
8.Is there a comment character limitation or is it just a glitch?
9.I can't seem to be able to upload anything at the moment, it turns out all sorts of messages. Is it available for everyone to upload or is it limited to subscribers for the moment? Also i'd like to ask if there is upload limit for non-subscribers?
10.I'd like to see back the forums watch lists,also a separate forum list with My Threads would also be most handy.It's a little frustrating to go through lots of pages just trying to find My post and if there are replies to that.This i understand it takes time,yet a similar system has been setup for personal sites,under the My Activities tab,so i know it is not impossible to be build.
11.I understand that the Wincustomize maskot is green,but smilies are by nature yellow. Please stop violating nature's laws
12.Maybe you should re-consider how much data and how useful are these data you collect about users. I mean maybe this is getting a bit off hand,all these figures about when and where and how you posted a skin,a comment, an article,an article comment,aesthetically it seems nice to the eye,but eventually it does not matter to any of the users around here to know when they did what. Plus it will cost a fortune to keep track of such info in the future and it would consume a great portion of bandwidht which can be used for other purposes.
13.About the awards thing,i personally thing it's not necessary.My suggestion for awards is:A. As far as downloads concern to set the milestones in 1000,100000 and 1000000 milestones. B. As as quality to set quality average rates milestones in 7,8,9 and 10. C. As far as positionings the award to be awarded,but keep the ability to be taken back or be given to another person. These in total are my view,although the best is to be all equal,a good skinner never needs a badge to distinct him from others,especially on the net,where his/her works show.
14.Regarding the commenting system i must say it is a pretty large window the one left for commenting,well regarding skin comments at least i don't thing anyone will ever need a half-screen window just to say "Nice". I find the previous system more practical,you know the side commenting box. Also if there is characters limitation i don't see the point of having such a large window. Another recommendation on the commenting system is to apply that Hotmail HTML system,with the convenient always on-top HTML bar,it makes it easier for text formatting.
All in all those are my views about the new site,i hope i'm not being critic,that is not my purpose.I also know that is still early,but hey these are just recommendation,nothing is final and nothing is carved in stone.I just can't wait for all the improvements around here.
It's a Brand New World around here.
Above all and before anything else i'd like to say that i like this new site,cause that's what it is really, a brand new site. It's nice and shiny,it's a good effort and very helpful for a beginner here at WC. Congats
to the team that created this. It shows a work still in progress i believe,but it's a brave effort.I believe it's important to notice the site meter down below,which shows care and sensitivity of the leaders around here, also i must complement the fact that anti-spyware software is used to avoid that kind of harmful or malicious pests. I also like the fact that the site is now two columns and not three, really frees up space for more and better skin viewing. I also loved the fact that now everybody can rate the skins,except if this is an error to be fixed up,but if it became available for every Citizen to vote i'd call it democracy,although it might need some better coding here so that double voting would be avoided. I liked also the tab-style site design,it's really easier to access antything from above.Finally the search engine of the site is one of the strong points,it's fast,accurate and in-depth.I'd also like to congaculate for the liaison between Wincustomize and JoeUser.Now all cannot be good in Heaven and i too have a list of fixxes or mishaps that should be fixed,maybe some suggestions too,although some might have already been reported. Btw my intentions are not to be critic or nasty,i just like to help to get things working like a fine swiss watch. So here goes:
1.Firstly it's the My Account Preferences dialog box. The only setting i can see is how many skins to display per page (5 or 10).Is that the only one available, i'd also like to be able to choose which categories to appear on the left panel.
2.The way comments are displayed is both frustrating and time-consuming. Instead of the good old pop-up window with all the comments the new system is to open comments in the same window. I don't understand how this makes it easier for the viewer as one the one hand if you are in a library mode it destructs you and takes time to go back(especially for people who are running on a low connection of 56k or 128k),and on the other hand is really irritating to go back and forth just to see comments,unless this is fixed i suspect that comments will become a rare kind to see.
3.That new button "More Details" i'd like to pose the question: What is it for?Cause if you disregard that it shows a the subcategory of the skin i must say i didn't notice any more detail,so i guess it serves more as a destruction and waste of time and maybe valuable bandwidht.Unless you plan to add more useful info to it,i suggest to have it removed.
4.One,maybe the biggest problem,mostly for people with slow connection is the fragmentation of the site. Wherever you go there are next,back,forward buttons. That is really nerve affecting,especially in the My Skins section.I would just love to see all my skins in one big happy list,not in three or four pages.
5.Regarding My Skins i really miss the old counting system. Since there is the ability to count the skins totals why hasn't it been applied yet?Maybe it's just a matter of time.Although i do like the fact that you can see the skins in sorted in many forms i'd rather prefer the old system,where the skins where sorted by type/category and then alphabetically.Maybe you can set it as the default sort out order,that would make many people happy i believe.
6.I really loved the Stats page in the registered subscribers sites. Is it possible to make it available to all users as part of their profile?Maybe not at all the same,but some parts of it,like the downloads stats,awards and positionings.
7.About the Forums i do miss that 'go back to top' and the 'return to message board' links,it was very helpful and handy. Now my mouse roller suffers of overuse. I also miss the Search for topic,which was also handy when looking for something specific. Another part i miss the way the forums were organized,i mean the chronological ordering of topics,the older topics were below the newer above. Also in a subject the comments where in chronological order starting with the newer ones above,while the thread starter was at the beginning,i don't believe the reversal of this is much helpful.
8.Is there a comment character limitation or is it just a glitch?
9.I can't seem to be able to upload anything at the moment, it turns out all sorts of messages. Is it available for everyone to upload or is it limited to subscribers for the moment? Also i'd like to ask if there is upload limit for non-subscribers?
10.I'd like to see back the forums watch lists,also a separate forum list with My Threads would also be most handy.It's a little frustrating to go through lots of pages just trying to find My post and if there are replies to that.This i understand it takes time,yet a similar system has been setup for personal sites,under the My Activities tab,so i know it is not impossible to be build.
11.I understand that the Wincustomize maskot is green,but smilies are by nature yellow. Please stop violating nature's laws
12.Maybe you should re-consider how much data and how useful are these data you collect about users. I mean maybe this is getting a bit off hand,all these figures about when and where and how you posted a skin,a comment, an article,an article comment,aesthetically it seems nice to the eye,but eventually it does not matter to any of the users around here to know when they did what. Plus it will cost a fortune to keep track of such info in the future and it would consume a great portion of bandwidht which can be used for other purposes.
13.About the awards thing,i personally thing it's not necessary.My suggestion for awards is:A. As far as downloads concern to set the milestones in 1000,100000 and 1000000 milestones. B. As as quality to set quality average rates milestones in 7,8,9 and 10. C. As far as positionings the award to be awarded,but keep the ability to be taken back or be given to another person. These in total are my view,although the best is to be all equal,a good skinner never needs a badge to distinct him from others,especially on the net,where his/her works show.
14.Regarding the commenting system i must say it is a pretty large window the one left for commenting,well regarding skin comments at least i don't thing anyone will ever need a half-screen window just to say "Nice". I find the previous system more practical,you know the side commenting box. Also if there is characters limitation i don't see the point of having such a large window. Another recommendation on the commenting system is to apply that Hotmail HTML system,with the convenient always on-top HTML bar,it makes it easier for text formatting.
All in all those are my views about the new site,i hope i'm not being critic,that is not my purpose.I also know that is still early,but hey these are just recommendation,nothing is final and nothing is carved in stone.I just can't wait for all the improvements around here.
It's a Brand New World around here.
WinCustomize Forums