When Did You Join? How Did You Find Us?

Thursday, March 13, 2008 by Zoomba | Discussion: WinCustomize News

Since we've been around for seven years, we've seen a lot of people come and go from the userlists.  As I've said, in that time we've seen several million folks stop by long enough to create an account with us.  In those years, the composition of the community has changed greatly.  A lot of the prominent faces around today weren't here back in 2001, and a lot of the folks from 2001 have since moved on to other things.

So while everyone knows the general story and history of WinCustomize, I'd like to hear a little bit more from all of you.  When did you join the site?  How did you find us?  What brought you to the world of skinning?  Share a bit of your history as it relates to WC with the rest of the community.

97 Reply 17 Referrals
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koop
Reply #1 Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:05 PM
I was drafted.... First Skinning app that I used was WinAmp sometime in 1998. I also used Sonique for a while. Those early apps changed the way that I looked at software and computing as a whole.

GhoS
Reply #2 Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:15 PM
Winamp first drew me to what a skinning app could be like to use, then I was at skinz.org for awhile. I got hooked on Windowblinds and other programs there. Used to visit Stardocks site where they had skins and became one of the first to join Wincustomize when it was created, user no. 129. I've been here ever since. I'm not a skin contributor but try to give my input where possible. I also try to interest others in what goes on here.

Hawkeye666
Reply #3 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:28 PM
I joined very soon after the site went live. I joined because I was already an Object Desktop subscriber and the skinning sites were either getting lame or disappearing.

I started skinng Windows 3.1 with a program called Aporia, from Tool Technologies. It later became Wintools before disappearing at about the same time Windows 95 was released. I stumbled along with the generic Windows 9x look for a couple of years and discovered Litestep and some other replacement shells round about 1998. Then in the fall of 98 I found Object Desktop and have been a subscriber ever since. Why I even used Cursor XP before Stardock picked it up.

kurtin
Reply #4 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:33 PM
I heard about WindowsBlinds back in 2004 and became a member while enjoying customizing the boring, plain Windows original interface. From there I moved on to try the various other Stardock programs. I haven't started skinning anything until quite recently, but I've loved using this site for all my customizing needs for years. I've come to enjoy the work of so many professionals and newcomers alike. I love being able to learn more or help others out if I can too. Wincustomize has been an excellent service; I'm glad to be a user and now a new provider. I hope the site continues to have great success !

ZubaZ
Reply #5 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:37 PM
Compared to most of the guys posting before me I'm one of the new kids.  But I'm actually only seven months younger that WC.

I came looking for WB skins and I've never left.

fontinalis
Reply #6 Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:41 PM
I joined not too long ago. Cool place to hang out though. Lots of nice people, lots of cool skins.

It all started when I bought a used machine that had some weird look to it. I thought something was wrong with XP. I didn't know it was running WB and I new nothing about any of this stuff. When I figured it out, I found out it was a running cracked copy of WB making my machine look so weird.

So, I uninstalled it, came to WC and subscribed during the Christmas Hospital Kids drive, and bought the OD package from Stardock with intentions of making some skins. It looked soooooo easy. NOT!

I ended up not skinning but I love WB6, Icon Packager, and Cursor FX PLus. Maybe when I'm finished with school I can learn to skin but my job is going to keep me away from a computer most of the time anyway.

Thanks to all you awesome skinners out there. Keep on skinnin!

Cheers, f

argh...these new line breaks don't work so i'm trying to add the html linbreak tag in manually...

Lantec
Reply #7 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:51 PM
I purchased Windowblinds January 28, 2002 so I figure I found ya'll around X-Mas 2001

Back then you didn't have to "sign-up " for Wincustomize so I lurked until I needed/wanted to use the forums which was in July of 2003.

messiah1
Reply #8 Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:51 PM
I joined in October of 2005. Stumbled in from a Google Search I believe. Never been the same monkey since. Thanks WC!

HG_Eliminator
Reply #9 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:53 PM
Started customization back in 97 with litestep ( SimpleStep as it was known as back then). Along the way I was grabbing new skinable programs as they arrived, like Sonique, Winamp, Builderblinds( which evolved to be Windowblinds),Neoplanet, and hanging out at places like Customize.org, skinz.org,desktopmods,razorart,Doodle quadrent.

I was here at WC 's birth and after a year or so, decided to officially join the ranks. 6 years later Im still here pluggin away at it and having a blast.

firebrick
Reply #10 Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:55 PM
I was searching for wallpapers back in 03' and Wincustomize was turning into favorite place to snag them, i believe the site was an awful brown color back then, i signed up in 04' gave Windowblinds a try, then IP, then i was hooked and i haven't left since, but i am returning the favor and submitting a wallpaper or two!

Orochi79
Reply #11 Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:57 PM
long ago when the internet was still new to me, i was trying to make sense of what to do with the internet, as it seemed well, boring to me at time. the only thing i use to do was just download different applications and try them out, and usualy delete them. sadly windowsblinds was one of the many random programs i downloaded a shareware of, experimented with and deleted, probably cause at the time it had just come out and the skins realy didn't impress me much then, however for some reason or another the application name stuck in my mind and a few years later i came back to it. it now had better skins , so i decided to buy a OD subscription and i have bean subscriber ever since.

RogerCale
Reply #12 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:12 PM
Happy Birthday Wincustomize! I've been a member since Jul 22, 2001. I had been looking for shell replacements as I hated Windows looks. I found winstep, hoverdesk, Talisman and Aston shells. Something about those programs at that time just didn't have any umpfff! I ran across the windowblind program and wincustomize by pure luck and search engins. We have been a match ever since, I still go every once in a while and check the new versions of those other programs, as I own them also. For the most part they have evolved into pretty good programs, But there is nothing like stardock software and I doubt there ever will be. I plan on being a loyal stardocker for as long as I can. Thank you stardock.  

zakai1369
Reply #13 Thursday, March 13, 2008 6:24 PM
Don't remember how i happened across the site last winter. But i signed up in April , searched through things a bit and then got busy with work and kind of forgot about it. Came back to it through a saved bookmark this past fall and haven't left since.

XX
Reply #14 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:30 PM
I must have signed up within 2nd or 3rd day of Wincustomize went live. I was skinner at Skinz for a long time before.

fontinalis
Reply #15 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:41 PM
I plan on being a loyal stardocker for as long as I can.
...you meant Stardockian right?

RoseNell
Reply #16 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:46 PM
I found Wincustomize on www.download.com. It started first with Theme Manager and then I started to cruz the wincustomize site and tried to figure things out. I have been a member since 2005 and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Nimbin
Reply #17 Thursday, March 13, 2008 6:49 PM
i joined in january 2006. best move i ever did. found the site after i downloaded the trial of windowblinds and was looking for more themes. WC was at the top of a google search and the rest is history.

Bash2cool
Reply #18 Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:59 PM
It all started one day when i was getting really bored of the three color taskbars. i wanted to see if i can change the color of them to black, red or whatever color i had on my mind at the time. I searched on google to check if such a thing was possible. Then i saw an advertisement for Wincustomize on a website (Don't remember what site) and clicked on it. That's when i started knowing about all the things you could customize on windows. (Bootskins, logons, windowblinds, etc.) But i was a visitor and i didn't make an account. i just downloaded one windowblind skin i thought was neat and never went back to Wincustomize again. That was in 2003. Then, a year later, something happened to my computer that made me had to reinstall windows XP so i lost the skin i had. That's when i went back to Wincustomize (once again through an advertisement cause i forgot what the site was at the time) and installed a new windowblind skin. Thats when i decided to make an account (on August 20, 2004 ) and learned how to make bootskins. THE END (sorry for the long story)

SanChonino
Reply #19 Thursday, March 13, 2008 6:03 PM
I joined JoeUser in December of 2005. It was how I was introduced to Stardock and skinning at all. Eventually, my brother (BlueDev) started showing me all the ridiculously cool things he could do with skins, but I still held out, just using Object Dock for a long time, in conjunction with CursorXP, LogonStudio, and Bootskins! Finally, in January, I bit the bullet and bought Object Desktop and a WC subscription.

Philly0381
Reply #20 Thursday, March 13, 2008 7:06 PM
I found WB4 by way of a CD in a computer magazine. I loaded it tried it for a couple of days, uninstalled it. A couple weeks later I tried it again, said yea why not and got a subscription. Within a month I upgraded to an Object Desktop subscription. Then probably about a month or so later I subscribed to WC, Nov '04.   

During the time I've been here I've realized that the talent and skills needed were not there to make skins but I sure did like customizing my desktop. That's what brought me and keeps me here. Well, that and the fact I can't find the door to leave.      

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