Well, I've been reading this for a while and have managed to hold off on commenting.
Here's what I don't get (and welcome those to clue me in:)): Davad70 is a pretty hefty contributor to this site - I didn't actually find the exact number but there were quite a few. I read that he's not happy with the fact that, as a regular contributor, he's not getting the skinbrowser, exclusing suites, etc. that a WC subscriber is getting. Now, I'm not a skinner here (a previous topic somewhere has me mentioning my artistic skills stopping at stick people
), but I don't think that any of this was available to him prior to the subscription model (Again, I may be wrong - did contributors here receive the special skins that Alexandrie & Treetog did for the CDs???).
As far as WC charging the subscription, there seems to be some people that do not think it right that they charge to essentially allow unlimited access to others work. That somehow they're reaping the benefits of everyone else's hard work designing and creating all these wonderful skins for WB, DesktopX, etc. This line of thought ties in directly with a later discussion on "deep linking" (linking to other sites as opposed to hosting the file directly). I ask the skinners out here, which would you rather have: 1) WC hosting the file directly and perhaps charging an OPTIONAL small fee for those that want unlimited d/ls (I see that as being the primary benefit of the subscription) or 2) Deep Linking to a site that the skinner themselves has to put up, operate, maintain, PAY FOR, etc.? Sure, I suppose that WC could link to devArt where you've uploaded your skin, but what happens when dA starts doing the same thing? Eventually there would be no where left to link to EXCEPT for the skinners own home page. While this idea COULD work, I don't think it would be successful. How many times would a user attempt to d/l a skin and get a 404 error or something along those lines before saying screw it and giving up completely?
Even though I'm a registered ODNT subscriber and would thusly have access to the unlimited d/ls, I, personally, don't have a problem with shelling out the $20 for the subscription? Why? Because I d/l a fair amount of skins. Sometimes I just d/l them to see what they'll look like on my system because the zoom is such a crappy image it's still hard to tell (especially on some of the ICQ skins!). So, I consider my $20 well spent in that aspect. I already see the money I shell out yearly for ODNT as being MORE than well spent! How can I expect those funds to cover even MORE than they already do? I can't - ergo - I pay for the subscription.
As for the ratings, I've NEVER handed out a negative rating. If there's something wrong with the skin, I'll post a comment (or email the author directly). I don't think I've ever issued a rating less than 7. Now, do I ever look at ratings when considering whether or not I want to d/l it? Nope. NEVER. If it looks good, I grab it. If not, I pass.
So here's my summation: I'm a user. Not a skinner. I greatly appreciate all the hard work the skinners on this site put forth. I also appreciate all the work that T-Man, Alexandrie, and whoever else it is that works on the backend of this site puts forth. I'm not sure if they get paid or not but it doesn't matter to me - they do a kickass job!
Now, all that said - maybe I've missed the entire point of this thread but I just don't understand all the griping about optionally paying $20 to further support WC. Maybe if it was mandatory I could understand but it's not.
So, in closing, to all those skinners & admins out there - KEEP ON DOING THE GREAT JOBS YOU DO!
To all those who just, for whatever reason, can't seem to get past the optional contribution and do not like the idea of users opting to pay to get access to skins that are free either a) don't pay and don't download or
don't skin the product and withdraw your skins from the site (I hope that this never happens because ANY loss to the community is just that - a loss, but it seems that for some, it will be the only way to make them happy)
