It hasn't always been this way, and I'm sure it will be better once it's changed over to the new site and all is settled. It does get a tad trying at times, but all those other sites that work so great aren't going thru the changes that WC is, probably.

I do enjoy reading all the rants and ravings here tho.

Especially when Brad gets tired of it...lol.

But that is off topic...Steve, I'm sure it will get better. And I'm sure it will get worse first.....have fun!     

(P.S.   You finally got some images on the Blue Wing WIP thread!)

My stats are totlally wacked as well and have had issues accessing for the last couple of days. It does get a bit weary!

Same Problems here. I can't logoff or rate Skins, ...and it sucks! . And the worst thing is that pages are not loading correctly. Some times i have to load a page 3-4 times to visit it. Yesterday i rate a skin (yes it worked  ) but nothing happened! And my latest Article is gone, ...Is someone hacking this page or something  . Well, but it's still the best site around the web. So guys, fix those problems!

I'm sure the coding used to make this site isn't up to date with todays standards. With that said there are more problems than the coding, like server problems or other things. After having a web site for many years and coding myself I know there aren't that many things that can be wrong so tend to believe it's the servers everything is stored on. For the most part I have been using the beta site as it seems to run much smoother most of the time. On the beta site I think it's time to make it the main site but still keep then old on e for awhile. When there is a link on the old site to go to the beta one you could make the new one the default and have a link for the old one on it until the last bugs are worked out on the new one. The new one does run much smoother, the thumbnails are larger and easier to see so it's time to switch over as it's will most likely happen soon anyway. All this is only my opinion of course but the reason I have been using the new one most of the time is the old one works and loads when it feels like it and it as was stated and really gets old waiting for the loading if it loads at all.

I don't disagree. Probably too much is being asked of too few, however that gets tired after awhile. We pay for membership, and I expect the website to function correctly. Period.

I see no such problems at FreakingNews nor at Worth1000. Those sites are graphically richer than WC.

I wonder why it can't be fixed?  In this day and age, there are plenty of people who have sufficient Graphics/coding education and experience to fix this site once and for all.

So what's the real story?

I've been here, quietly, for almost 10 years and have seen many incarnations of the site. Yes, it did run a lot smoother way back when but that was before there was so much content available. WinCustomize was at the forefront of the whole "skinning" boom. There were only a handful of apps and only a few categories to choose from on the site. Now there are more apps and more categories, forums, personal sites for each member and a store to purchase all the great stuff. There's A LOT more content now than there was back then! A site of this magnitude is going to experience problems now and then.

I agree the site has been slow as of late but there is a beta site in the works. It's not like the powers that be don't care...they're actually working on a new and improved site for all of us. We just have to be patient and have faith that the new WinCustomize will be well worth the wait!

I, for one, will still visit everyday regardless of the shortcomings of the site

Rats, I'd love to edit my post for forgetting to capitalize 'Wincustomize', however, it wont let me!

I would guess that deviantart has more traffic than WC and it still feels smoother than here. Also Neowin, which runs on Stardock servers must be a mare to aministrate given the amount of users, still it runs good. What I asked myself for years is why not learn from Neowin and do the forums with Invision Power Board, that would take a lot of work away from anyone envolved and that could therefore be spent on the main site. It is totally not common nowadays that forums go 'boom' nearly every day...

Amen, amen. All I've heard is server issues for the past 2 - 3 years along with various other excuses. The fact is this is the slowest, most annoying site that I visit. The content is great, so I keep coming back for the headaches.  

See what happens when you irritate Chuck, Fuzzy?

For the beta site loads ok....it's just a pain in the ass getting to anything. And the libraries are sorely limited in what you can find. I hope the hell they add a "Next" button to move through the site.

uploads arent working properly either, on this site or the beta, i keep getting a red x instead of a thumbnail (i know ive already made a post about this but putting it here probably helps others too if they have the same issue)

Rose-coloured glasses, guys.  I can recall older permutations of the site being considerably more buggy/flawed, whether it's the WC site itself or the forums.... they have almost always had an issue or two at one time or another.

I also remember 'sister' sites in the skinning world....ones that suffered 'total' database loss and expired permanently, and others that went offline for months with a site redesign and rebirth.

Personally I'd rather a few bugs...