IMPORTANT: A Call To All Citizens, Apprentices, Scribes, Journeymen, and Admins:
from 
WinCustomize Forums
WinCustomize Forums
THERE'S AN EPIDEMIC ON OUR HANDS!
Now before you go on thinking what I know you all are thinking, this isn't a rant about ratings or rejections. I'm calling all of you to go on a mission. I've noticed that there are a tremendous amount of skins that are accepted to this site that receive only 1 rating, which is the rating of the Admin, usually the default 6. THIS IS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING! Even to me! Now most of my skins have been rated multiple times, so this isn't about me,
THIS IS ABOUT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
WinCustomize is a thriving community, and as the most recent poll points out, this community is becoming more and more popular every day. This means there are new members, downloads, and skinners every single day. With this comes great responsibility on our parts. When a new member decides to upload something, he wants feedback, even if it's not as favorable as he/she had hoped. When they see the default rating appear upon it's uploading, and when they see that rating remain unchanged, there is a feeling of isolation... especially when the more well known users in this community end up with 15 or so ratings.
THE NEW WILL CARRY THE MESSAGE OF THE OLD
How can we survive if we do not show a sign of hospitality to the new members? We need to show as much consideration as possible. More ratings, both good and bad, are BETTER than fewer ratings, because it shows not only that we care about the new members' efforts, but also that there is much room and appreciation for improvement.
DON'T WORRY, CITIZENS, YOU CAN DO YOUR PART TOO!
Nothing says thank you like leaving a comment. I've noticed that there is a horribly large number of new submissions that go seemingly unnoticed, despite what may be a good number of downloads. If you like what you see, SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION! If you don't, tell them how they can improve! Because when members, both new and old, upload something that receives no comments, they either feel neglected, or they feel like everything is ok (when, and I shutter to think, things, i.e. the work, may not be).
With over 1,000,000 members and tens of thousands of skins available, the future looks bright for WC. But don't let things just roll along. You can feed this fire everyday...
SO I CALL OUT TO ALL CITIZENS, APPRENTICES, JOURNEYMEN, SCRIBES, AND ADMINS:
DO YOUR PART! RATE, COMMENT, AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! SHOW WHY THIS IS THE BEST COMMUNITY ON THE INTERNET...PERIOD.
Now before you go on thinking what I know you all are thinking, this isn't a rant about ratings or rejections. I'm calling all of you to go on a mission. I've noticed that there are a tremendous amount of skins that are accepted to this site that receive only 1 rating, which is the rating of the Admin, usually the default 6. THIS IS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING! Even to me! Now most of my skins have been rated multiple times, so this isn't about me,
THIS IS ABOUT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
WinCustomize is a thriving community, and as the most recent poll points out, this community is becoming more and more popular every day. This means there are new members, downloads, and skinners every single day. With this comes great responsibility on our parts. When a new member decides to upload something, he wants feedback, even if it's not as favorable as he/she had hoped. When they see the default rating appear upon it's uploading, and when they see that rating remain unchanged, there is a feeling of isolation... especially when the more well known users in this community end up with 15 or so ratings.
THE NEW WILL CARRY THE MESSAGE OF THE OLD
How can we survive if we do not show a sign of hospitality to the new members? We need to show as much consideration as possible. More ratings, both good and bad, are BETTER than fewer ratings, because it shows not only that we care about the new members' efforts, but also that there is much room and appreciation for improvement.
DON'T WORRY, CITIZENS, YOU CAN DO YOUR PART TOO!
Nothing says thank you like leaving a comment. I've noticed that there is a horribly large number of new submissions that go seemingly unnoticed, despite what may be a good number of downloads. If you like what you see, SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION! If you don't, tell them how they can improve! Because when members, both new and old, upload something that receives no comments, they either feel neglected, or they feel like everything is ok (when, and I shutter to think, things, i.e. the work, may not be).
With over 1,000,000 members and tens of thousands of skins available, the future looks bright for WC. But don't let things just roll along. You can feed this fire everyday...
SO I CALL OUT TO ALL CITIZENS, APPRENTICES, JOURNEYMEN, SCRIBES, AND ADMINS:
DO YOUR PART! RATE, COMMENT, AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! SHOW WHY THIS IS THE BEST COMMUNITY ON THE INTERNET...PERIOD.
These days I am trying to recover from everything. I do comment and rate on some things, always after I download and play with them some. I comment and rate on stuff I tested. But always, now, when I write a comment i get a twinge of guilt (and worry because I have had the experience of those emails) for not commenting on everything. It never used to be that way. It used to be an adventure, something good to try out all the skins and point out what I liked. 
based on what others rated them. My most recent skin that I uploaded was not a finished product but pretty close. Whomever moderated it started it at a 4. That seamed fair. I would have given it a four as well. Now others have rated it and it went up to an 8. So, go figure, what I thought was my best work is down to a 4 and what I thought was my worst work is at an 8. I didn't agree with you guys at first that the ratings did not matter. You guys stressed over and over how much they didn't matter. Well boy do I hear you guys (and gals) loud and clear now. They just don't matter. From now on I am gonna listen a little more closely to all of you. 
