As a real newbie, here's my two cents on screenshots - to me they are representative of what actual everyday users are doing with the stuff the artists/ techies are putting out there. It's a visual incentive - a great advertisment for the product. It is a visual equivalent (for a lack of a better metaphor) of Architectural Digest. Some of the stuff I'm gonna love, some of it I won't because like any form of art, or decorating, or archetecture - not everyone is going to like the same thing. Isn't that the whole point of this site? That people get to pick and choose what they want to download, what they want to make and share with others.
I realize that ratings are very important for the people who actually take the time and make the effort to make the blinds, walls, logons, boots etc. Maybe they should be rated by a a panel of their peers if this is not what is already happening. Ratings, to my way of thinking, should reflect the level of technical knowledge and useability of the end product and should only be given by those who know what level of expertise is required.
The number of downloads should not affect a technical profeciency rating, as they are only indicitive of how many persons share the same artistic sensibilities.
And that's all I have to say on the matter.
