How does the rating system work? It is partly based on the level of the user doing the rating. For example, someone at level eight would vote and it would count eight times, while someone at level one would have a vote that counts one time. That's a rough explanation. Based on that, a level eight vote could counter 3 or 4 not so sensible votes. Your trusty Admins and Mods carry the most weight. And they do keep watch on these things and on the not-so-sensible voters.

 Is there a perfect rating system? I have seen a lot of suggestions. I have even made some. We all have seen them or made some. The ideas I have seen often involve more work on the Admin and Mods part. None are perfect. This is because we are human and we have our own tastes and opinions.

Often we disagree with one another. Sometimes we disagree drastically. As long as everyone is allowed an opinion, as they should be, and an opportunity to voice it through comments or rating, there is going to be conflict. Even when two people absolutely love the same thing, it may be for entirely different reasons.

Then you have people who rate something from the gut.  They may be rating from their own sense of who they think the artist is and what they think the artist deserves and not on the actual art. They may rate high just to show support whether as a fan or a friend. They may also rate the work low based on other personal feelings and again, not on the actual work. We may tend to like an artist so much we rate everything they do high, overlooking flaws, because we put the artist first. On the opposite end, we may have such a negative view of an artist that we rate everything low., looking for every imperfection we can find.

There is no way to detect in advance the motivation behind a persons vote. If you question a persons positive vote, you can put them on the defensive. No one wants to be accused of doing something for anything other than the right reasons. If you question their negative vote (a personally motivated vote to be more precise) they can just lie. If someone truly wants to bring it down, they will find a way.

Making anyone jump through hoops to rate one's work, by having to comment first or download first mat deter the positive ratings as much as the negative ones. In my experience, negativity can be a much stronger motivation for some people, whether it is the thrill of what they consider a victory or they are so self-absorbed they feel it won't be rated properly until they have had their say or done their damage.

While we wait to see what the new rating system will be (if there even will be one) I think time is well spent trying to ask ourselves if we truly need one. Often it is said "It's the downloads that count." and I believe this is true. When you have 348,000 downloads or more (or less) does the rating system really matter?

The only two thing I have personally ever seen that boosts downloads of my work is Number One:when it is featured on the home page or in one of Island Dogs threads. My screenshots are proof of this. Any screenshot that has made Screenshot of the Day has had multiple downloads, sometimes going into the double digits. All the others are either low to no downloads at all. And not all of the ones featured had high ratings to begin with, screenshots or any other skins but they were featured. Even the folks picking the features have their own opinions.

Number Two would be anything I have made being featured in someone else's screenshot. (Thanks to all who provide links to my work in their screenshots)

The rating system, in my opinion is mute. It's the promotion of one's work that really makes the difference and should be the topic of discussion. As a community we can do more for each other by promoting one another's work than any rating system can. As a community, that is what we should be doing. The rating system does not hurt your work or the community half as much as the complaining about it and all the negative attention focused on the actual system. My 'suggestion' for a ratings system (like we need another one) is either a simple 'thumbs up and thumbs down' or 'favorites'.Or just leave it all to the number of downloads. Wincustomize is a community and should always be treated as such. As a community we should be about one another as a whole. The Lone Wolfs or folks with an agenda should just get out of the way and limiting the rating system (I'm not saying my idea is perfect) to a 'thumbs up or thumbs down' will help in limiting their (negative) impact on the community.

As the site gets ready to change I think it is important that we are ready to change with it, no matter what rating system is applied to it. As a community we should be bigger and stronger than a few 'stars'. We should be one in why we are here. The love of skinning . Whether you're just an observer, a user, an appreciator, or a skinner. It should be about creating - and sharing, supporting, and promoting everything that is fun, enjoyable, and satisfying about skinning. In my opinion, we don't need the rating system. What's yours?