Since you asked....of course, you know I've been here almost daily.  I'm a little hesitant to even post this, because I know I already have enough people here in the community who sigh and roll their eyes anytime they see one of my posts, but I think since you've noticed the change and started the thread, I'll put in my 2 cents. 

This is just my opinion, and this is just MY feelings on the matter -- I've been thinking about having the Valentine's day project be my last upload here.  I'm pretty comfortable with my skills now and the people who are my true friends here have given me their e-mail addresses and instant messenger contact info, so if I need to ask a skinning question, I can ask them directly.  My reasons for this, is that there have been some things coming from the top of Stardock that I find very disturbing.  In particular, this statement: "My mantra for skinning has basically been: Make it useful, target power users.  I’m not interested in making software for grandma or pointless cosmetics" (The Challenges of WindowBlind skinning by Frogboy), was a rude wakeup call for me.  Although I don't have any grandchildren, I AM old enough to be a grandma, and the thing I love most about Windowblinds is the cosmetic result it provides.

I believe, there are a lot of people like me, sitting back, waiting to see what direction WC is going to be going in.  It's obvious the glory days are over.  Hints have been made about merging forums, and when questions were raised, they went unanswered.  There are a LOT of questions going unanswered and the silence is deafening.  I think there are a lot of people holding their breath to see whether their cyber "home" will become a victim of eminent domain, for Stardock's greater glory.

This is just my opinion and the impression that I've been coming away with.

Well, I don't much visit any other gallery more than Dreams, Screensavers, LogonStudio and Screenshots and I feel all have been much more active than before !!

For the Winter Dream contest, ID just mentioned on the weekend picks that the result would be announced by the end of the week

*sigh. 

You knew someone was going to do that....right?

Sorry, but I don't do that when I see your posts, Karen. I think that folks are fatigued from the holidays, miss other members who aren't around, and yes...I am concerned about the future of WC...merging Forums, the new site, the unsuccessful subscription drive and rumored saggy software sales...whiney posts about software problems which could be phrased in non antagonistic language...

There are a wide range of members with longer or shorter memories (by virtue of joining later, or by virtue[?] of aging) who remember different times and become nostalgic.

I asked what "Community Integration" meant...I'd still like to know. I don't enjoy "A cat being thrown in amongst the pigeons" as one person I'm {rather} fond of put it {and who's among the missing}, nor my question being ignored.

I'm not in a jocular frame of mind because of illness in the family, distance from my children and the prospect of becoming a grandfather in name only because of that distance. I mention those things because I'm certain many people here are facing equal or more ominous circumstances in their own lives. My heart and thoughts are with them, and I hope they know that.

I always felt that WC was a place to come to where my interest in skinning and digital art were supported and where I could (with whatever I could contribute) support others. Like any place or mutually shared interest, or relationship it'll have more and less active periods...like the waxing and waning of the moon, or the ebb and flow of the tides.

We'll weather the bad and celebrate the good as a Community, as we should: If we decide to remain a Community.

The location of our Community isn't on a conventional map. We should learn to think in a less territorial and more Communal manner..."the where" isn't a physical concern as much as "the we"....at least to me [insert ironic grin here].

I would prefer it to be here...but heck, I'm old and lazy. I'll enjoy listening to younger, more energetic minds and their thoughts.

100,000 more people visit the galleries than they do the forums, wouldn't surprise me a bit if they were merged, These forums used to be, informational, inspiring, frequented by some skinning guru's and used to be mostly about skinning. Nowadays, most of the crowd that was here has slowly tapered off and replaced with petty squabbling, name calling, plagiarism, youtube videos, improper humor and images, games and jockeying for promotions and although I am still here, I do not feel compelled at all to post as I used to.

At least, thats how I see it, I think skinning is just fine, for the forseeable future.. it is ..evolving.

I will continue to make skins and upload here after taking a break from skinning over these lovely holidays as will I'm sure quite a few others, I am also about to revamp my Maxstyles site. I look forward to how the new WC will look and feel and hopefully its a turn for the better.

I still come to the forums on a daily basis, I just dont always take the time to comment on things....I've been rather busy making a kick a** skin lately.

i still try to help skinners that have problems they cant solve......atm im updating older skins and other stuff, ohhh and doing community suites which are awsome xxx

Take a note of my UserID Number....so when I say 'nothing has really changed at all' you'll know that is from day one to the present.

Current inactivity is called 'holiday season'....we have one of those [at least] each year.

As for 'glory days are over' I doubt too many people with ID numbers post 1 million would likely have been around when the days were 'glory'....that was probably more fairly BEFORE Wincustomize.com and thus before Stardock had to step in and create a home for skinning/skinners.  Prior to that...and prior to the Dot Com collapse there were several big self-sufficient community sites and skinning was new for ALL of us.  There were dozens/hundreds of skinnable applications and the 'industry' was in growth [though the market was niche].

No, Win7 isn't 'that' good that it can/will displace skinning...but presently [as with every new OS release] there is a hiatus while technology/coders/skinnables catch up with the OS functionality and/or deficiencies.

As for Frogboy's comment about function vs appearance and power users....I think you need to look into the history of skinning and skinnables to see exactly where he is coming from. [I know I get it]....

The site is quiet because people aren't spending so much time indoors. Everyone is out trying to be more useful members of society, and by contributing to to society, they are exploring their own growth through personal development.

Or it could be the holiday season...

Too damn cold to take my hands out of my pockets to type.......

Not me!  You have a right to an opinion, and whether everyone agrees with it or not is irrelevant.  What's good, and makes WC more interesting is the diversity of opinions... the fact that many of us have different thoughts and ideas.  I mean, it would get pretty boring if we all thought and acted the same... and there'd be no creativity.  And for the record, Karen, I have agreed with many of your comments/opinions.

Please do not let that be so.  I'll bet dollars to cents that I'm not the only one who thinks your work has improved out of sight and is getting better all the time... and who would miss it very much if you ceased to upload it, so please reconsider and continue sharing your work.

Right on and same here!  A true community is about the people, not location, and that's what we need to do as a community... reach out and touch somebody, to commumicate and interact... that's what makes a community stronger.

Gotta go now... I'll be back with more later.

Since my wife passed away I haven't commented like I use to or made anything but l would like you all to know I enjoy following things that go on and I'm hear every night. I would miss most of you if this wasn't active. I say most because I can't understand when someone has a question and it's pretty obvious that no one is able to answer the question so they ask them to email Stardock support. This doesn't ever appear to be an answer for these people and the post gets out of control. I have never been on any forum that have so many people willing to give their time and knowledge to help people so when there is no answer from all the fine people just email support. Forgot to mention you may not get a reply in 5 minutes so be a bit patient and wait a day or two.

As far as skinning I can actually make graphics and over the past 4 months or so have been thinking about making a skin. I haven't started yet and may never start. I know skinning is something you should do for yourself and if others like it fine. With the talent that is available now and you ladies and gentleman know who you are I think it better I just pass on a blind. I know nothing about Skinstudio, changing margins, and all that stuff except for reading the great answers so many of you have given to help people. So I think I will have to pass on it, besides time is a problem as I'm away from home for almost 12 hours each day working and the weekends I have plenty of things that have to be done at home.

So with that don't all you fine people leave me here with nothing to learn, laugh at, and just plain enjoy myself. Remember Stardock isn't the only company that has a program from time to time that doesn't work exactly like we wished it would and maybe we don't always get the answers we asked. However what other company higher ups will get on the forum or even reply back using email and try to help If you read most of their replies they are looking for answers so they can fix the situation. I like to use the word situations because they usually get fixed. Problems often never get fixed and most of this stuff is just a situation with a program that needs an answer and than it can be resolved.

Nuttin wrong with her confidence, eh?  You go girl!!   

Trying desperatly to figure out SkinStudio. Everytime I even begin to get a grip, they update it. Yes, I am that slow.

Karen...yes, everyone's opinion is valid....and the important thing is they are read and are thus not falling on deaf ears....

Re 'Power User'....once upon a time...in the dawn of skinning it was all within the realm of the 'power user'.....the person actually willing to break his/her OS....just so it might look more interesting, or work in a clever/novel way.

There were precious few "What do I do now?" questions and more of the "How the heck did you do that?".

Skinners [and users] both had dirty fingernails....and sleeves rolled up.

These days it's a bit more 'us and them', and it's the [more numerous these days] them that ask the 'what do I do now?' questions.

Actually the alternate shell community was a perfect example of almost invariably it remained the realm of the 'power user' simply because they [alternate shells] had the capacity [and often did] royally screw up people's machines. The "You must reinstall Windows" message that often greeted Litestep users was a classic.

At skinning's beginnings [obviously] all the skinnables and their creation programs were new...and thus "in constant development".  Skinners [and users] actually understood they were [at best] alpha and/or beta testers....that things 'could' go wrong.

These days, maybe it's the 'me generation', but there are far more users expecting skinning applications to be 100% idiot-proof and truly RTM/Gold.  But they will not be, not when the OS to which they are applied is in constant revision.  This is something quite different to how a 'normal' proggy like Photoshop, etc hooks into an OS....heck many of those "normal" proggies don't even need to be installed...they can be copy/pasted to an OS....

im always around if you want my help on msn po...

i dont want karen to quit skinning either.........

I blame skinhit!!

Yep...it's Skinhit's fault.