Fix "Vista ready" for WB

from WinCustomize Forums
What are the qualifications for a WB skin to be considered Vista ready? Does anyone know. I have noticed a few WB skins being classified as Vista ready in my opinion they are not. The main issue I see is that the startmenu on the skin does not support placement for the search box and the icons on the top do not appear and change with the mouse over effect like the default skin does. I have seen a few skins that do niether and are labeled Vista ready. I can see how the skinner might be confused, because when you pop open the start menu it doesn't look like anything is wrong... but I have examined each skin and there are a few skihns that should not be labeled as such.


When a skinner submits the skin, does someone moderate the publication? Does anyone test the skin? I mean I submitted a wallpaper and it got turned down from the general library, but what gets me is that someoen can subit a skin with a huge error and still get it on the gallery. Why is there more controls over the wallpapers adn not the skins and other functioning apps.

Anyways, I'm not here to complain about my rejection.. lol... i just want the Vista skin issue resolved. especially since the WC has a buttom to search for vista ready skins alone... if thats the case then someone needs to police the submissions.
windowblinds
6,323 views 17 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Oh, and there maybe some typos in the above post but I'm in a hurry to go to the stoere to get milk, so I'm sorry for the grammatical and spelling errors.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
There are quite a few 'Vista ready' skins that honestly, aren't. To fully skin Vista takes some klnowledge and time. I don't believe there is a 'set in stone list' of differences.

You can be pretty sure that if it by Dani, MikeB or myself and labeled Vista ready, it is.
Object Desktop - Get all of our enhancement utilities in one suite
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Which skins?
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
well now that i had to go back and see exactly which skins were actual and or not, it came down to one submitter and I guess i will pm that person, no need to target just one guy. It looked to be a lot more than it really was. My bad.. But i do think that the Vista label needs to be more carefully heeded.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Skins in our WB library 'tagged' as Vista ready: https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?libid=1&filter=osversion:vista

When a skinner submits the skin, does someone moderate the publication? Does anyone test the skin?
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All submissions get previewed and tested (unless your access level is high enough), some times by several moderators before they may be released to any library.
If any submission is 'turned down' an rejection email will be sent to the submitter, with reason(s) why it was rejected.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Ok well, I had a brain fart and realized we don't have PM capability here. Didn't feel like splattering thier page with this.

So here goes it.

Blue and Grey - By HALBEN, Woo - By Imzadi, Xandro - By Imzadi, Cezanne - By Imzadi

I'm not trying to be an ass here, I just think that the Vista ready needs to be more controlled i guess. Not that its that big of a deal but whwen you do a search for Vista ready skins and have to sort through those that work and those that don't, it kinda makes the button useless.

And not to offend the artist here. Thouhg the work is done well, its not done for Vista. If it was then there are some serious flaws that should be addressed.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
All submissions get previewed and tested (unless your access level is high enough), some times by several moderators before they may be released to any library.
If any submission is 'turned down' an rejection email will be sent to the submitter, with reason(s) why it was rejected.
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Then the moderators should be more deligent in thier rejections. Because, a skin to be reased with such obvious flaws (regarding Vista only), shows that the moderator is either not looking for these (meaning the standard is not being communicated abroad) or he/she is not concerned about such things. I hope the latter to be a false statement. Again I am not trying to be a stick in the mud here.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Some elements of skinning a WB are down to the personal preference of the skinner. For example, I see no use for the start menu search box and find it quite irritating, so I set the top margin to 50 and the search box conveniently disappears...

To me a Vista ready skin is one which has some Vista elements skinned, like IE tabs etc, but not necessarily all of the Vista elements. There are thousands of XP skins in the library which do not have all the XP parts skinned, mainly icons and animations. Would you say they are not XP ready?

As long as a skin meets the basic requirements, works and isn't a rip, it will get approved. Skins which are incomplete will simply get a lower rating than they otherwise would have.

At the end of the day skinners skin for themselves, it is personal choice what they include. You cannot force anyone into submitting complete skins only. If you did you would have nearly no skins at all.

Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
To me a Vista ready skin is one which has some Vista elements skinned, like IE tabs etc, but not necessarily all of the Vista elements. There are thousands of XP skins in the library which do not have all the XP parts skinned, mainly icons and animations. Would you say they are not XP ready?
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I understand completely what your saying but I would consider the start menu a magor visual aspect and I would consider that an incomnplete skin. Just as anyone would with the XP start menu not skinned.

Icons not skinned in xp, no big that would fall under IP for that, and animations not skinned is fine as long as it matched the new skin i wouldn't have an issue about it... but the animation is not a magor visual aspect and really not that concerned.

Now we have reached the point of submitting incomplete skins...
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Now we have reached the point of submitting incomplete skins...
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"complete" as an artist and "complete" as a user can be very different.  A skin is "done" when the artist thinks they've done enough.  Then the community steps in with rating and comments.

I'll admit that it'd be nice if a submitter had to fill in a "checklist" of WB elements skinned and the upload system gave the "Vista Ready" logo if it met enough of the criteria.  But I'm not going to hold my breath either.   :p 
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'll admit that it'd be nice if a submitter had to fill in a "checklist" of WB elements skinned ...
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Seems like there was something like this at one time for the submitter to check off if Shellstyles and maybe something else (can't remember now) were skinned ...

Someone with a better memory may recall.


As for incomplete; not all the parts skinned ... well it is free ... maybe a different story if it is a 'for a fee' Master skin. ;)


Call it incentive for the downloader to do a little skinning on their own.  :D 
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Imo there should be some form of quantification to obtain a Vista Ready skin badge. Perhaps I feel this way because i kill myself trying to skin every little tiny part and am not satiusfied until it's as complete as I can make it.. I dunno.. but to call something..something it isn't..really..seems flawed.. By the same logic... every skin in the library is Vista ready if it loads in Vista.. lets put badges on all of em  ;p 
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
lets put badges on all of em
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badges? ... we don't need no steenking .....ack .. sorry .. reflex  ;p  :LOL: 
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Again, let me reiterate, I understand about all this, but I think there should be a standard set forth. I’m not trying to knock the artist, but I think as a community and WC being the base for this community we should establish certain criteria for these to make the choosing easier for us downloader’s.

Call it incentive for the downloader to do a little skinning on their own.
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Trust me, if I had an inkling of talent or know how I would make an attempt, but nor am I smart enough or talented enough to do such things.

And I'm not trying to be the freeloader trying to get something for nothing; I have done my share of supporting the artist. And hey like I said, I have submitted wallpaper... wallpapers mind you... I didn't submit a functioning skin; I didn't submit any sort of functioning software. I have not submitted something which requires any sort of software to use. I submitted a picture and I got rejected and yet we submit skins that are whether or not one understands if it is complete or not it is and was accepted... I don't see the logic in that. If WC was to accept all submissions regardless then I would not be here posting this... but we obviously have established some sort of standard. Why do we not broaden these standards to include skin functionality???
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think as a community and WC being the base for this community we should establish certain criteria for these to make the choosing easier for us downloader’s
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The system of ratings and comments handles this fairly well.

If a skin is incomplete (by your standards) rate and leave a note.  At that point you are helping out other people and you can avoid that artist from that point on (with an occasional sampling to see if there has been a change of behavior).

A WB is moderated based on copyright and functionality.  Functionality in this case is "Does it work".  Wallpapers are moderated based an artistic sense and usability ("Is it too busy to be used?"  "Is it a render like a thousand others?").  {Thank Goodness I don't moderate either category very often . .  I have no sense of art *or* usability.  ;)}

Again, I'd love to see a checklist that the uploader has to complete to be certified "Vista-Ready". Even better (because I'm lazy) a system that parses the WB code and images and assigns "Vista-ready" or "WB6-ready" on it's own. [I wonder if a DX widget could do that?  Guess we'd need to set some criteria first, huh?  Any DX coders/WB skinners want to take a shot at it?]
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
yeah lets just hope I'm not the only irritated by this... lol... seriously Zubaz, I appreciate your input.
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Again, I'd love to see a checklist that the uploader has to complete to be certified "Vista-Ready". Even better (because I'm lazy) a system that parses the WB code and images and assigns "Vista-ready" or "WB6-ready" on it's own. [I wonder if a DX widget could do that? Guess we'd need to set some criteria first, huh? Any DX coders/WB skinners want to take a shot at it?]
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Sounds like a great idea! Hope it happens :)