There is a learn from mistakes policy here...nothing else to pass

If there is a flaw in a skin that makes it almost unusable or unusable, I'm sure the Skinner would like to know via the comments. An update would probably follow.

I have recently communicated to other skinners some problems with their skins via the comments area. The skins were corrected and uploaded again. I suffered no hardship in doing this. It is what we should be doing to help one another.

Happy holidays.

Finding problems and correcting them after the skin is uploaded is one step too late. Errors should be fixed before the skin is uploaded.

The skin named Foundation: when you install it, it calls itself Universal Foundation. That makes it nearly impossible to find it. That type of error should have been picked up by whoever released it, and it should have been fixed before it was released.

Here are comments by Motion re: Blue Saturated Blood - I've looked it over closely Jacob. I think the reason for the original 3 might be because a lot of the bitmaps aren't showing up properly. I opened it in SkinStudio to see if I could find some of the problems. There are many. The close/min/max/help/rollup button bitmaps don't show up. The window top frame bitmap doesn't show up. And there are more bitmaps not showing properly. These errors should have been fixed before the skin was released.

Boxxi's nice skin Carbon Fibre has been downloaded more than 17,000 times and it doesn't support check boxes. This kind of mistake is what tarnishes Windowblinds. Here you have a really nice skin that isn't quite usable simply because there is no quality control.

I think most skinners would be very grateful if they could let someone else test their skin before it gets released to the public. It would be easy to write a short list of problems to look for. I will volunteer to help anyone who would like a little cushion of assurance before they upload their skin. And I would like to encourage others to do the same.

Note to PixElated: I used the zip feature in Skinstudio and apparently it didn't take over all the bitmaps I used. Thanks to motion I got that fixed. I just zipped it with that feature again chosing everything to be zipped. I can't help it if features do not work properly. And I also think you shouldn't be so fundamentalistic. We learn through our mistakes. Listen to Ande.

One more attempt at mediation.
There ARE skins which are rejected through 'moderation' caused by fundamental 'mistakes', not just due to 'ripping', etc.

Whether BoXXi's skin supports check boxes or not does NOT affect its 'functionality', just its 'completeness'. There is a fundamental difference in those two words.

My WB skins will do NOTHING for XP specifically with regards to the start menu. WHY? Because I use LiteSTEP which has NO start menu. The most recent of my WB skins was merely included with the LIteSTEP theme simply so no-one would be denigrating its 'completeness' and thus accusing me of 'poor quality'.

One thing to notice or be painfully conscious of is that many, many skinners do NOT have access to every rendition of Windows OS, nor do they necessarily use Skin Studio to create the skins.
What may work perfectly on their personal OS setup 'may' look like crap on another's.
That is where 'choice' comes in. Don't like it? Pick another, or perhaps leave a simple, clear note explaining any alleged 'faults' you may have unearthed.
I've run some of my 'hand-coded' WB skins through SkinStudio...and that showed up all sortd of 'wacky' errors, although it worked perfectly on my system without a glitch. I found that 'curious', if not 'amusing'...

I know what you are trying to say, but I seriously question assertions of 'millions of downloaded skins' being wrong...particularly when'wrong' translates as 'incomplete'...

What happened to LeCrayon has happened to me and to numerous others. Sometimes, SkinStudio does not zip the file correctly when you zip it for the web. It happens. We don't know about it until after we've uploaded it and somebody spots the problem.

If a skin does not support something, that is the decision of the skin artist. It's not really up to anyone else. If you download it and decide you want a particular attribute you have 2 choices. 1. Ask the artist if they wouldn't mind adding it in and reuploading(they are usually very obliging about that sort of thing), or, 2. You can open the skin up in SkinStudio or open the UIS file with any text editor, and add the attribute you wish.

If you are someone who doesn't know anything about skinning, well, number 2 presents a good opportunity to learn.

I agree with what you say motion, except after you zip it up in skin studio you can try applying it as if you downloaded it, just to see if it works. Thats just a little quality control on the skinners part.

That's what I mean, they should lighten up and show a little gratitude...

Or else we'll deal with them rather severely, eh wot?

He has made some skins. Find them here: https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp?authorid=177571

It wasn't my intention to criticize anybody's skins, but Jafo said the following "Funny...every skin I have downloaded and installed has worked....". I guess he doesn't download many skins or he has his head in the sand. Because of his comment, I pointed out only 3 mistakes. Motion knows his most recent skin was unusable when he uploaded it, and Agneva's latest skin was a mess.

Yes I know that the skinners are no to blame. I've done some skins myself, and I know they take an unbelievable amount of time. That is why I think Wincustomize should help out. But if Jafo isn't sympathetic, we might as well forget it.

Please note that I offered a simple solution to the problem and volunteered to help out. Most of the posters in this thread don't even remember what the thread is about. Like most message boards, the folks who hang out here are always defensive and quick to attack anyone who opens their mouth. If you think you are doing Wincustomize a favor by being rude, you are mistaken.

LeCrayon - I only used your skin as an example because it was recent and because Motion had already publicly documented the problem. Don't think that I was attacking you. To the contrary, I am trying to establish a system where the skinner has some support BEFORE his skin becomes public. My apologies if I hurt your feelings.

BoXXI - The code for your Carbon Fibre skin refers to a non-existant check-box image. I modified that skin to better suit my own taste, so I am familiar with it. I only mentioned your skin because it has been so popular. Your graphics are first rate and your other skins work fine as far as I know. After Carbon Fibre was first posted, you promised an update. I downloaded and tested the update on the Wincustomize site and it didn't display any checkboxes, so I posted a comment to that effect.

I read this entire thread, and I'm sorry, but I don't see where "pixElated" was putting anyone or skins down ... I tend to agree with him in some areas, especially when it comes to some one not giving praises here, people here are defensive I think his idea of skins that are "buggy" should not be uploaded, then updated/updated/updated, especially from those that have been skinning for some time now... what a easy way to get higher downloads but then again that is another issue and not for this thread.... I help others in the community and test their skins, and many more of us should do that, as pixElated pointed out, it would cut some extra usage on the bandwidth. The last two weeks WC and the forum board is sloooow for me and others and I'm cable, and with all the upgrading and donations for a faster site is not helping, my opinion, please don't misunderstand what I'm saying.