No offense NT but it is a post on "Community Skins". It would seem that most should but in. However I think I will butt out since I see good points mention from both sides. OOPs I think I just butted in.

Just tryin to understand where things stand.....so, to those who are not in agreement with the definition given by KarmaGirl the prefered guidlines are:

A community skin must be:
-Completely Free
-Announced prior to release in an open call

-Consist of how many people?

True. You where referring to Nimbin's post. I see that now.

And I guess because its not all free that doesn't disqualify it either.

Not to pile on, but everyone else has an opinion, so here goes:

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.

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.

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....

I think the additional players are gaining exposure by being associated with Maxstyles and Vstyler.

i still fail to understand why a 'community' suite has to be composed of completely free skins. nobody has stated an acceptable reason why every component must be free. so what if the blind, wall, rainy, dx theme, cursor, or whatever isn't free? if you don't want to pay for it, don't.

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.

Look everyone.. the definition was carved in stone by KarmaGirl and further chisled in granite by Jafo. MUST this drivel continue!!!  

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!  

and messiah1