I think it is fairly safe to say that I was in the 'thick of it at Custo', and am fully conversant with what transpired.
For those of you that did not waste an entire working day [Friday, Australia time] contributing to the various threads as I did, I can precis it all for you.
Doing so will be some-what humiliating and embarrassing for some.
How it happened.....
Treetog, Alexandrie and Nuvem jointly created a new suite of skins which, as would be expected, they uploaded to all of the skinning sites...[as you do].
All these sites accepted these uploads [as they would], except for the intervention of a junior admin at Customize.org, whose personal moral/political stance saw simple uploaded screenshots as 'advertising', since some of the application skins in the suite would require payment.....so he deleted the screenshots.
The belief was that 'all skins must be free'...Custo is a 'free site'.
With me so far?
Good.
Now, a 'minor' problem arose in this junior admin's methods of removal, with his public declaration of his actions.
Rather than saying "Unfortunately, 'our' policy here at Customize.org is not to accept submissions promoting/advertising skin commercialism, and some of the Pixtudio submissions have therefore been rejected.", his response instead was simply insulting and disrespectful of a fellow person/skinner/site user.
Had he shown a degree of professionalism and tact, it ALL would have ended there, save for a lively debate on the future of commercial skinning.
None of what subsequently transpired would have ensued.
Still with me?
Hope so.
Now, as was reasonable to expect, those who personally were insulted requested their work to be removed entirely from Customize.org because obviously the management of the site had demonstrated a failing in common decency towards its users and any on-going relationship was untenable.
I, the arrogant self-righteous meddler that I am, took exception to this poor treatment of fellow skinners and [stupidly] thought I could at least extract an apology from the admin in question, not so much for his stance, but just his public insult.
I failed.
I subsequently requested all my work be removed from the site too, as I, too, could no longer accept the site's choice of management and public behaviour.
Quite a number of other skinners/themers requested their works be removed as well, citing similar opinion.
I'm assuming you're all still with me...
Now it gets weird.
Shoggot enters the fray, initially supporting a fellow admin's actions.
Then he amends that when he discovers that the screenshots were simply screenshots in the screenshots section, and not 'empty skin zips'.
Then he amends that yet again by stating in a new thread that he is 100% behind the admin's actions, because this admin obviously has the strength of his own resolve and is standing firm at whatever cost.
More people are incensed with this [to them] indefensible slight on respected skinning artists and voices are raised.
Shoggot blots his copy-book by accusing people such as myself as only being pissed-off about it all because those affected/insulted were 'fellow Wincusto admins'.
[Sorry to disappoint you, Shog, but had it been a submission of yours treated in the same manner I would have acted exactly the same].
Now, cleverly, Shoggot has converted an argument/complaint about abusive conduct by a site admin into a 'Stardock is evil' war, one of his pet subjects.
Now, if you guys are still with me....you are better than I am, because now this has all lost the plot, logic has taken a holiday, sanity is getting pissed at a Christmas Office party somewhere.
Anyway....perhaps a short history lesson is in order for those readers out there amazed/horrified/ disgusted with the social in-fighting prevalent in our 'community' of skinners......
In the beginning there was Customize.org...the 'only' skin site. It could do as it wished as there was no competition. Bickering, inane comments were rife.
Up popped skinz.org.... many people 'jumped ship', and a 'better, more stable, more respectful' community site was formed.
An important personage at skinz, very much a 'guiding light', particularly with the new wonderous concept of 'Wallpaper moderation' that kept the focus of the site firmly on the skins, was Shoggot.
All was good in the world.
Skinning prospered and flourished.....lots of petty bickering, but all pretty darn healthy just the same.
Then eFront [the site 'owners'] decided that extortion, rape and theft, was a 'great way to live' and skinz.org died.
In the meantime, many other sites were spawned from the successes of skinz.org and the 'community' became quite a bit more fragmented, as each site attracted people for differing reasons.
Many sites came and went and came again.
Even skinz.org returned, things were looking 'up'.
But all was not as it was back in '99.
Now, the new skinz is just another site, enjoying nostalgic returns, just as Customize did when it arose again.
Now, I'm only speculating here, but I'm guessing that there are now various 'high-profile' people in this skinning 'community' who no longer find themselves quite in the same 'pivotal' role as they once were, and this rankles, hence current dissent.
Now, if you have followed all this, try and explain to me exactly how one person in authority can abuse his position [without even first verifying that he does indeed HAVE the authority] by publicly insulting other members of 'his' community.
I would have had no issue with a privately communicated insult, but public defamation is wrong. Supporting his convictions is fair and reasonable. Supporting this actions is wrong.
I think that about covers it.
If and when sites such as Customize.org remember to respect the providers of their content, ie. the skinners, I, personally may return.
But not until they afford me and my fellow skinners with the respect of common decency that I once held for them.
