What does it take?

Sunday, February 20, 2005 by SchwagNug | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk

Hmmm...... What does it take to make a 5 star (perfect 10) Screenshot?
I was just curious because some of the screenshots i have been seeing l8tly
have been pretty cool (at least i would given them a 4 if anything) Just
curious!
34 Reply 4 Referrals
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Sleeping Dragon
Reply #1 Sunday, February 20, 2005 2:03 PM
Before I deleted all but 7 of my screenshots, I was third on the most viewed screenshots. I have had 3 9's. Another one was a 10 but immediately was "rated down" to a 9. I wish I could show you a couple of 9's, but they're gone.

SchwagNug
Reply #2 Sunday, February 20, 2005 2:10 PM
Sleeping Dragon! You have some nice shots! They are rated high too! Do
the people who rate these, rate them by how much stuff is on the screen!
originality! Or is it rated by taste! Cause some people have bad taste!

Sleeping Dragon
Reply #3 Sunday, February 20, 2005 2:25 PM
I think it is rated by overall flow and unity in the shot. Original rating is by an admin so it's up to that individual's idea of what is a good shot. After that, it's up to the community.

~Angelic DestinE
Reply #4 Sunday, February 20, 2005 3:04 PM
I have been told that it is a combination of how much effort the person put into the screenshot, how well everything fits together, how usable the setup would be on someone else's screen, and I guess to a degree how aesthetically pleasing (the color schemes) are. Unfortunately, the last one I mentioned is very, very subjective and so long as we have a ratio of more males than females in the higher up positions rating the screenshots, I'm afraid the pinks and purples (like a lot of my stuff) aren't even going to be taken seriously. There is one in particular of mine called MagicPastels that I was hoping would get a higher rating because I put a whole lot of effort into it, searching for just the right Windowblind, recoloring it in such a fashion that it matched the wall I picked out, choosing a Rainy that just seemed to go with it as well as cursors recolored and Sysmetrix. I provided alternate choices even for screensavers and walls, named all of the authors and skin names and provided links to the ones that are outside of WC's library. It still only got a 6. Makes me feel bad because I know I cannot contribute the skins themselves, but it's like people are saying I can't even put together something nice. I was awfully proud of that particular one but still no dice. So... all I can say is, submit whatever and you never know what people are going to like and choose. But a word of warning: never express your opinion unless it explicitly agrees with the powers that be. Your stuff will always get low ratings if you differ in opinion, especially even if you complain.

Sleeping Dragon
Reply #5 Sunday, February 20, 2005 3:15 PM
I've done my share of complaing, and have received responses that I have not always agreed with, but I know that the admins are as objective as they possibly can be and do not give someone a bad rating based on a disagreement. In fact, many times they have gone out of their way to help me.

Fuzzy Logic
Reply #6 Sunday, February 20, 2005 3:17 PM

But a word of warning: never express your opinion unless it explicitly agrees with the powers that be. Your stuff will always get low ratings if you differ in opinion, especially even if you complain.

What an insulting comment. Moderators here are completely unbaised, regardless of what opinions or disagreements anyone has. I think you should issue a public apology to the hard working volunteers without whom this site would not function.


~Angelic DestinE
Reply #7 Sunday, February 20, 2005 3:31 PM
So you're saying you know for a fact that every single person of power here is always objective and unbiased? You must be a mind reader then because people will SAY they are unbiased; it does not mean they truly are. And I will not apologize for expressing an opinion, unless you apologize for referring to people like me as a "troll" who should be ignored. I am not the only one saying it. Why don't you listen to your customer base instead of always trying to defend yourself? Look, I already KNOW I'm blacklisted here; I'm just trying to demonstrate my point for newcomers who might actually think they can be respected while giving an opinion that differs from yours, or another moderator's.

Sleeping Dragon
Reply #8 Sunday, February 20, 2005 3:37 PM
I'm not a moderator and I disagree with you 100%. I don't think you are a troll, either. Just wrong. It's amazing how many people think that they can run this site better than it is now. Well they have done something right for it to be as popular as it is. And the admins volunteer their time. I asked you to stay at this site one time, and you should. But why don't you try to be positive instead of critical?

MadDeez
Reply #9 Sunday, February 20, 2005 3:58 PM
i'm not a moderator or an admin, either. i believe the mods and admins here are unbiased. one or more of them have said things to me that i didn't agree with. i may not agree with them but i do respect them. i had an argument with a mod over a wall in a preview shot. he felt it was offensive, i did not. it didn't make me happy when the skin was pulled but i didn't create a thread to complain about it publicly. i sent email to the mod and asked for an explanation and we dealt with it privately. personally, i don't see how anybody thinks complaining publicly will benefit anyone.

as for screenshots, i can understand somebody uploading one every few days but why do people change their desktops 3 or 4 times daily? and why was jafo ragged on when he posted a screenie of an irc conversation he had a week or so ago? it's not as if the screenshot section is solely for people who feel the need to display their new wall/blind/icon combo to everyone. i assume some folks feel that uploading their desktops to WC is their way of contributing. i can understand that...to a degree. i'm not a skinner either so i can understand where they're coming from, i guess. what i can't understand is the constant moaning and groaning about ratings and download counts. if you like your desktop enough to display it to others, so what if others don't like it? i upload things i convert because i like them. if you don't like it, i don't care. rate it how you see it. it matters not to me

~Angelic DestinE
Reply #10 Sunday, February 20, 2005 4:15 PM
i'm not a skinner either so i can understand where they're coming from, i guess.


But see Snidely I consider you a skinner because you at least know how to do ports to Windowblinds and I absolutely love your stuff, in fact I downloaded 2 whole pages of your work today because I'm preparing for when I get exiled. And just because you're not a "skinner" per se, doesn't mean your opinion has to have less clout around here. We all do different things well, but our opinions should all be taken into consideration.

MadDeez
Reply #11 Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:16 PM
angel, i port. i consider it to be a huge difference between porting and skinning. as for you being exhiled, i think you're way ahead of yourself there. i think your opinions of how the site is run and of the admins/mods are wrong, too. these guys and gals have to do what they consider to be in the best interest of the site, not the individual. i've had my toes stepped on more than once but i understand what they are trying to accomplish.

Snowman
Reply #12 Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:26 PM

ok... I might as well slip in a lill "insider info" here:

When I approve any screenshots I give them a '5' (based on the old rating-system - 2.5 based on the new system)
I do not consider:
1) What the screenshot(s) displays
2) Who uploaded the screenshot(s)

Every single screenshot get the same rating because screenshots are and will always be screenshots
Pressing the printscreen button, pasting the image into an image editor and the uploading that image doesnt require any skills - anyone can do that!

Creating a skin from the bottom is a whole diff matter...

PS.: My personal opinion is that screenshots shouldnt be rateable at all.


Watson
Reply #13 Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:31 PM
Check all the screenies i left in my archive, I spent hours on perfecting some of the setups that I displayed here, searching through hundreds of different matching items before finding those that worked.

BoXXi
Reply #14 Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:37 PM
Angel on Ice: I'm a moderator on this site, and I have never even heard of you, or seen one of your screenshots. I can't understand why you think you are on the verge of being exiled, or why you think you are on some kind of blacklist. If you had been a problem, I would surely have seen you mentioned on the Admin message board, but I haven't. With regard to ratings on screenshots, when I moderate them I take a quick glance to see if they are racial or pornographic, and if they are o.k. I put them through with a rating of 6, all of them. I believe the other moderators do this too, as we have no reason to make a judgement on screenshots at all, and it matters not to us what happens to them once we have approved them. So, if your screenshots have been rated down at some point, then it has been done by your peers, and not the moderators. I'm sorry that you believe we are biased, but really, we aren't. I doubt we would have been chosen as moderators if we displayed that kind of tendency. I like to think that I am always fair and honest in my moderation of wallpapers, which is the only thing that we actually moderate for quality. I like and trust all my fellow moderators, and I really do think that you are seeing them in a wrong light. I hope you can get past this, and that continue to upload to this site, hopefully you will realise in the end that we're not such a bad bunch, and that we love what we do, and that we don't harbour bad feelings against anyone.   I will look out for your screenshots, and hopefully leave you an honest comment, although I rarely visit that section.

werewolf
Reply #15 Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:44 PM
I take a quick glance to see if they are racial or pornographic, and if they are o.k. I put them through with a rating of 6, all of them.





Although I don't think that's what you meant

kona0197
Reply #16 Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:56 PM
Angel on Ice - I'm not a admin nor a mod but the way I look at the situation your just digging yourself a hole. As far as I can see NO ONE is out to get you. I understand you had some problems over the whole site glitch where some people were accidently promoted but other than that I fail to see how you can say the things you do. I've always found the admins at this site to kind and caring and very unbiased. Believe me I know as I used to be the BIGGEST troublemaker.

So what say we try to get along?

Boss019
Reply #17 Sunday, February 20, 2005 6:22 PM
They're screenshots, for godsake, and that's all I've done here so far....but being concerned about a rating on them?? For what, so that you can show your friends you have your desktop on the internet and people like it? What I have gotten from screenshots and I think a lot of others do also is icons, skins, apps, and other programs that I wouldn't know about if I stayed primarily here. AveDesk, RainMeter, Konfabulator etc. I have learned about from screenshots, and subsequently learned of sites to find skins for them and also links to new apps...Making a good looking screenshot is personally enjoyable to me, but I like to share new stuff that I have found and be able to lead others there if they are interested..that, if there is any kind of purpose to screenshots at all, has helped me a lot anyway...certainly not any kind of rating

carolelee
Reply #18 Sunday, February 20, 2005 6:28 PM
Believe me I know as I used to be the BIGGEST troublemaker.


I remember those days Kona

Jafo
Reply #19 Sunday, February 20, 2005 7:56 PM

I watch the screenshot uploads....and can recognise those who take special pride in their 'creation'....there's a sort of sub-set of people at WC who specifically enjoy creating them.

Others just use them as a tool to show people where their skins are at in terms of creation/development....they're the skinners using the 'tool' of a screenshot.

Those skin users who wish to display their creativity in collecting/setting up their shots.....I personally rate as if they were any other form of submission...though 'personal taste' does not stop me appreciating those 'feminine' styles will be liked by the ladies, etc and are rated accordingly.

Anyway...to answer the question....a '10' [5 star] rating would be for something genuinely original...often with a new, never before seen skin, and or quality existing skins selected to suit properly as an integrated theme.....as the screenshot is supposed to be a 'skinned GUI' therefore the entire GUI should look fresh and entertaining and co-ordinated.

My personal view of screenshots is that they are an essential 'tool' in skinning....and always have been.  But...others like to use them as self-expression.

Perhaps what is needed is two screenshot sections....one for function [tool]....one for form [rated appearance].

Or is that going OTT?...


Boss019
Reply #20 Sunday, February 20, 2005 9:03 PM
Some people think it's a total mess already...u want to make it worse??? OTT, yes i think so..unless u want something else to make your day more.....um...interesting

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