i WANT this resolved.......
Friday, November 16, 2007 by Vampothika | Discussion: Community
when does a community skin become a community skin when the community is not involved? Where was the post to inivite skinners for harmoney and whitefire2?
there wasnt a post, it was created by maxstyles crew (and maybe a secret select few from the community)
and yet, suddenly its a community skin?
to me, a community skin is when someone posts they want to make a community skin, and people are allowed to volunteer their services to the skin. The WHOLE community knows about it....(unless they live under a rock) its not a secret and suddenly released as community skin.
yet again i ask, why is maxstyles skins being promoted as community skins when its clear that they are not.
This isnt a flame against Maxstyles.....I just am totally confused.........
 |
|
Page 10 of 12 | |
|
|---|
Reply #182 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:27 PM
Reply #183 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:38 PM
Just to paraphrase...
A 'Community' is made up of 'Masters' - not just many people.
OK..simple word relocation may miss the point....
Masters are ALSO part of the Community. They should not be excluded from Community projects. Some of a Master's output is non-free. That, too is part of the skinning community in this third millennium...
Reply #184 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:40 PM
Community Skin = Halloween
community effort = Harmony
Harmony's a great skin, John. Thanks for all the work that went into it by you all the other artists involved. It qualifies as a Master Skin in my book, despite the irony of its name, given this thread.
I feel both Kitty & John have valid points of view & on which side of the discussion you fall depends on whether or not you believe the word 'community' should be capitalized. A minor niggle, perhaps, but apparently significant to some. When the dust settles, we'll all have a better understanding.
Reply #185 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:44 PM
So, do the 'community' members who contribute to said skin get a cut of the do-re-mi?
Reply #186 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:56 PM
IMHO, vStyler is a very good skinner. I happened to have seen the Harmony WB offered for purchase on the MaxStyles site previous to it's inclusion in the 'Harmony' community project here.
When I saw the 'advertisement' on the WC front page about the 'Harmony' project (I believe there was mention of a needed WB) - I thought of the skin I had seen on MaxStyles site and was interested to see if the Harmony WB by vStyler would be thrown in the project as a free offering.
I cannot say whether it should have been free, but I do think that a clear definition of 'Community Skin (Suite)' is needed.
After reading a majority of the comments, I feel that the comments are based on 'connotation' rather than 'definition'. I believe that there is enough interest shown in this thread alone to promote the need for an actual definition made by the administrators of this site.
A little clarity can go a long way.
Reply #187 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:59 PM
Reply #188 Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:15 PM
Po....that would be entirely up to a determination by/between the parties involved.
Does porting a premium skin to an alternate proggy/skinnable warrant a share of the premium skin's income?
Would not that depend on the circumstances of the port's engagement/undertaking?
Simple over-the-top example.....
'Master' does a premium skin called 'X'. He approaches me to port it to Winamp 2x ... thus possibly enhancing its appeal commercially [as it is now more than 'just' the one WB] I can say 'OK...provided I get a kick-back [portion] of the income, or I can say 'no', or I can say 'gladly - no strings attached'...the choice is mine.
or
'Master' does a premium skin called 'X'. I approach him to port it to Winamp 2x ... thus possibly enhancing its appeal commercially [as it is now more than 'just' the one WB] Now it is HE who has the options, not me.
In the second scenario 'profit sharing' is not an option....unless 'Master' is feeling generous as the approach was mine, not his....
Reply #189 Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:19 PM
I see said the blind man!
BTW, vStyler. Thank you for all the free ported skins. I especially enjoy VXP2 as it is an extremely fast skin (a big plus in my book). 
Reply #190 Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:21 PM
Reply #191 Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:23 PM
Calling something a "community" anything is about recognizing a significant community effort, is it not? How/why would money prevent that recognition?
Reply #192 Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:48 PM
Reply #193 Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:54 PM
HeavyMetal & Avman's Halloween skin are community skins, because anyone with skills can do without one peculiar skinners' approval.
Reply #194 Saturday, November 17, 2007 8:00 PM
I do not receive any monetary compensation for my contributions to any skins. That's not why I do this. That's not to say I wouldn't want to make money off of stuff, that'd be crazy, but I make good money at my present job. This isn't an income generator for me like it is for some. Maybe one day...
This is correct, at least for me personally.
Reply #195 Saturday, November 17, 2007 8:02 PM
Keep in mind, they were never billed by the creators as community skins.
Reply #196 Saturday, November 17, 2007 8:07 PM
Reply #197 Saturday, November 17, 2007 8:25 PM
I mentioned in my comments on whitefire2 WB that nobody need my approvals if they would like to do anything to make the suite bigger, I only request them to let me see it prior of releasing it if and only if he/she will be using any part of my original work. Some of the artist actually does that. And I do have the right as the original artist to put this request.
Some artist,who did not use any of my work, just send it over to me just to ask for my comment on it and If I can help suggesting something to make their work better. And that my friends IMHO is a community work. The respected artist get some guide to improve his/her skills and the community as a whole get better quality skin/artwork etc etc. Dont you think?.
Reply #198 Saturday, November 17, 2007 9:09 PM
you know what i am talking about, so please give me the answers i seek.
The answer is pretty simple...but decidely not 'clear'(that they are not).
No one was more suprised than Vstyler and I that Harmony was being touted as a 'community' project.Nothing that I know of from Maxstyles has ever been promoted by us as a community project.Our core group of skinners obviously gets first crack at contributing...but certainly under no obligation to provide complimentary skins for everything we do for the simple reason...we cant afford to commission work from them...yet.
(it would be unfair to MAKE them do it for nothing) But since vStyler asked a few handpicked skinners to help out,they have the option of producing their own skins for sale even tho they dont yet have master status here at Winc.
Even tho they are part of the Maxstyles group,everyone of us is a part of this community too...and any quality windowblind(pay or free) is gonna take on a 'community' aspect all on its own.(which brings on an even more communical aspect from the contributions from skinners outside the core)
What Zoomba is doing by promoting the work of more and more artist is great...I love it...I think he should continue to do so whether it be free or with a (single)pay skin at its core.
If the word community is the issue,fine,I agree,its misleading to call anything we do a community project...never were.But there isnt a thing wrong with promoting a pay skin exactly as such...while also acknowledgeing the efforts of the rest.(did you expect Zoomba to mention just the free stuff but make no reference to the initial inspiration for all those skins?)
By your strict definition of community skin,my friend Night train's Citrium skin wasnt a commnity skin.(correct me if I am wrong)But quality inspires the group effort and it became a community effort.
So it seems(to me),in your demanding way,you really just want the site to conform to your views(again) while making Maxstyles(and by extension,ZOOMBA)look bad.You should cut Zoomba some slack...I dont think he was even aware of Harmony's status as a pay theme...tho that only matters as it pertains to the label 'Community skin'.
On that,I agree...we never asked for it or wanted it...the exposure was fine and dandy...maybe Zoomba just needs to call these group efforts something else...I would.
So was Harmony a 'community skin'?Nah,not in my view...was it a community effort?...you bet!
Reply #199 Saturday, November 17, 2007 9:19 PM
Wrong...and right ,sorta...
even community efforts require the originating authors approval if thats the way they want it.
If I started a 'true' community project,based on my ideas and graphics,...you can bet I will retain full control over final say in what is included...even if the initial offer was open to all.Dont agree?...dont sign up.(yes,I'm a hard bastard to work with...just ask Webgizmos,Bilbo and Puter dude Jim)
Reply #200 Saturday, November 17, 2007 9:57 PM
and messiah1
Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
- Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
- Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
- Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
- It's simple, and FREE!
|
|
Page 10 of 12 | |
|
|---|
Reply #181 Saturday, November 17, 2007 6:10 PM
I think FREE is the operative word here, if it's not free, then in the context of Wincustomize, I dont believe it's a community suite. This is especially so if you have to go off site to purchase the main component.