As Phone skinning becomes more prevalent ( and it will, the demand for personalization drove MFG's to support wallpapers Etc on phones) there will be a need for a place to get them. I think WC would benefit from this traffic as well as bring another skinable item in to the fold. WC currently hosts many non SD customizing applications, which have added new faces and ideas to the community at large over the years.



I like my new Chocolate and Apparently it is skinable.    I used to be one who only wanted the basics in a phone. But now with there being only a few decent basic phones around and skinning of them on the rise, I want to be able to skin it and get away from the boring few themes they offer as the defaults. 

By the way, I don't mean to imply that the vote for "No" was the wrong one, merely that I was surprised and didn't entirely understand it.  I was seeking clarification and explanation.

As to polling people on the site for what they'd like added to the site... seems perfectly reasonable to me.  People here visit many different websites for different content.  I'd like to make WC the place they come for most, if not all of it over time.  So I ask the current audience what would be a good value add to the site in terms of galleries.   Now though I know that if I add a Cell Phone Themes gallery to the site, it will partially be to service existing members (44%), but largely as an effort to attract a completely new crowd.

Every poll I take regarding site expansion and policy is very helpful in letting me know how such changes will impact both the existing community, and how it will play to draw in new users.  The results help advise me on my plans for future additions and changes to the site. 

The name of the game is growth.  Bigger, better community serving more users, more skins, more skinners, better features.  So I try and find the path that gives the community what it wants, and is attractive to new users.

I think cell phone themes would have been a good idea but looking at the site and its name, i think it would have been better to make a section for Windows mobile themes. i mean this is WINcustomize so it would make sense to only skin things windows related and since windows mobile is windows related, it should be skinned. I think the Pocket PC section should be changed to Windows mobile section. :NOTSURE:

An application to handle it is not an issue here, but what about the bandwidth? Seems to me that Wincustomize already has the amount of visitors they can handle - at least based on my experience visiting the site. I rarely rate skins and/or leave comments here anymore, simply beacause it takes too long and more galleries sure won't speed things up. What's next - car customization? Now THAT would bring new users to the site AND the BIG $$...

While Im not opposed to cell phone Themes - I don't care what my cell phone looks like either. I only hold it against my ear so I dont think my ear cares what wallpaper in in the little square. So many galleries that already exist are not given much attention... So if you do implement cell phones themes is it going to be a repeat of Xion skins ? With a cell phone theme being featured 5 times a week until Im cell phoned to death ?

I would guess that as with most launches there's a significant amount of attention given that levels off after a bit.  With as many members as WC has (who unlike me may not be here 18 hours a day) a longer launch makes sure they are aware that something new is going on.

Like Xion (and soundpackager, and dreams, etc), I'd guess it'll level off.

Do you really want all the bandwidth used up by kids under the credit card age that aren't going to be spending money here ? I really think that is what you will attract with Cell Phone Themes. You might get the young ' 20's ' crowd too. If the site can handle the extra crowd then go for it...but seems to me it might bite you in the foot if paying customers can't get a page to load. God knows I have to stand on my head when purchasing items here as it is.

Did Xion bring in any 'buying' customers ? From what I saw - most Xion d/loads were pretty low and stayed pretty average with the exception of a few skins.

56% vs 44% is not particularly earth-shattering either way.  In real terms it can be as insignificant as 14 to 11 people voting.

A discrepancy of 3 isn't going to change the world...;)

It's one of the issues with statistics [and damn lies]....they have to be quite dramatic to be genuinely relevant....one way or another.

If those 25 [minimum to get those %'s] voted 22 for and 3 against...then you may infer something tangible....;)

Perhaps what can be read into such an average sort of result is that the wrong group was asked....so there was no strong reaction...either way....and that can simply mean that those most likely to want to skin cell [mobile] phones are NOT the same group of people here already....the ones who DO like to skin their Computer OS...;)

Then there's the question of....

'the question'.

Polls are famous [especially election time] for being as slanted as the desired outcome.

Questions that are real trouble like...

"Do I look fat in this?"

"Are you still beating your wife?"

....get you no-where [at least not with your manhood still intact].

Like "Cat, or Dog?" .....simple enough...which pet do you prefer?

But "Cutie widdle fluffy kitten, or slavering, rabid, bloodthirsty hound?" ....maybe a wee bit slanted.

The poll here relating to possible popularity for a Phone skinnables gallery on Wincustomize....probably got a bit wobbly due to confusion or lack of clarity about what it might entail.

I wonder what the poll result would look like if it were worded....

"Attraction of new skinners and expansion of public awarness for Wincustomize.com through the addition of cell phone skinning galleries.....Good or Bad?" ...;)

But...the reality of it all is the polls outcome have no bearing on what will actually happen. If Stardock wants a Cell Phone gallery - then thats what will happen. If Stardock is looking to bring in more customers that might want to spend money then why not attempt to drawn more female customers/skinners to the site? I have said it many times - women have money too...and we arent afraid to spend it on silly stuff like skins and programs that others thing are pointless. A woman stumbling onto this site might only see the front page. Most women coming here will probably only look in the wallpaper gallery....with the exception of the few that know a few female skins are available. When was the last time a ' female ' type windowblind was the featured skin ? Its been so long even I don't remember...

hmmm........I wounder if thats ture. but still add that feacture anyways, make work on all cells: it dont matter. I was thinking of making an OS that works with most cell phones and it dont use sever. the kind of OS will be alot like a computer with the same old useage of phone calling with no need of seveice: unless you want to. I hope the idea will be past on cuz that will be somthing everyone wants maybe idk. but still add it anyways I'll take it

First, this is WC, not "Stardock".  Second, we feature what is good.  If there is an outstanding skin (no matter who it appeals to) then it gets featured.  Not all females like "girly" crap, anyway.  Most of the stuff that I have seen that is intended to appeal to females makes me shudder.  I use my computer all day long, the last thing I want to stare at is frilly, girly or other stuff that most people see as "feminine".

We try to appeal to the general masses.  Deciding to feature stuff just because we think it would appeal to a certain group would be wrong.  If people want feminine stuff featured, then they have to make high quality feminine skins that can compete with the other submissions.  If they are as good as the other things we feature, then they won't be featured.

Fairyy~, from what I understand most of the people who dl skins from this site aren't paying members anyway. We (subscribers) are footing the bill as is (along with the ads you see if you're not subscribed). WC is going to draw people who don't pay because everyone loves freebies. Most people are more than happy to freeload 500mb of skins. That's a lot of skins. Sure, you may attract more freeloaders (may, hell...it WILL) but you also spread the word about WC and in the process find more people who ARE willing to purchase a WC subscription. As an added bonus, you also attract new skinners and give the "seasoned" skinners a new gallery to work with. It's a trade off, that's for certain. But if a site isn't willing to grow, expand its horizons, then you run the risk of it becoming stagnant. Growth always comes with a cost, and I guess it just boils down to weighing the risks and benefits.....

Hey. My paragraphs disappeared.......  

Oh....you have managed to push the wrong buttons with this....I am very offended by your comment about "girly crap". I do not consider my skins as "crap"! It is all a matter of taste...i personally do not like the "heavy" blinds, but i sure as hell don't consider them "crap"! They are just not my cup of tea.

From what i have seen of the featured skins of late, I do not consider hardly any of them as high quality work. But, that is my opinion....

As far as making high quality skins...I get the message from your words, that if the skin is feminine, it is not and cannot be high quality! I resent that thinking!

Why do you think because your female that other female users might not like " girly crap "

I use Stealth Windowblind 90% of the time myself.

I prefer black blinds.

So am I suppose to dislike anything else but black blinds ?

There are a lot of male and female users that like " pretty " blinds as opposed to the more masculine type blinds.

That was a rather close minded point of view....

Sorry.. I got hungry.*burp*   

I think you let your sensitivities get to you.  I wasn't referring to the SUBMISSIONS as crap, I was referring to "girly" crap- as in stuff that is girly, not the suites themselves.

I guess you missed the comment of: "If there is an outstanding skin (no matter who it appeals to) then it gets featured."

Let me be more clear- We are not going to feature something just because it was created by or intended to appeal to females.  We feature stuff depending on its quality, which includes technical excellence and usability.  Creativity is a factor, but it won't get you featured if the skin isn't technically done well.

Is that clearer?

"If there is an outstanding skin (no matter who it appeals to) then it gets featured."

The point is that we don't feature due to who it appeals to- we feature because of quality.  Your point was to have us feature "female" content to "attract" female users.  What I am saying is that it doesn't work that way.  If you want a "feminine" submission featured, it has to compete with everything else.  If it doesn't cut it, it doesn't get featured, plain and simple.  We're not going to change that to "attract" females by featuring "feminine" skins.

That sounds much better

You misinterpreted my comment .. mine was just an observation that I had not seen any female type skins featured in over a year. They used to get featured.

My comment was meant to drawn in more female users and ultimately buyers of software and skins.

You completely misread what KarmaGirl was trying to say with her comment.  Perhaps put another way: A feminine skin is not outstanding work to be featured simply because it is feminine.  It has to stand on its own merits regardless of style, author or intended audience.  If a feminine skin happens to be released the same time a vlad wallpaper comes out, or a new MikeB skin is released, it has to compete with those to get noticed for featuring.  (I use MikeB and vlad as examples not because they are featured for who they are, their work is featured because it is simply some of the best in the community)

As one of the people who features skins on the site, I pick...
  a) .. what I think is the highest quality item (or items) on the site at the time I scan to feature something
  .. regardless of author, style etc. 

The ability of a feminine skin to be featured is no greater and no more difficult than that of any other skin submitted to the site.

The basic contention though is that if there is a demand for more feminine skins in the community, then it's up to the skinners in the community to provide it.  WinCustomize is a platform for skinners and users to come together, to share skins, discuss them etc.  We've learned a few lessons over the idea of trying to push galleries and content from our end without there being any clear demand from the users.  Look to the Google Gadgets and Sidebar Gadgets galleries.  We made them, featured them, talked about them but the userbase had no demand for them (both at WC and beyond, they're both fairly dead platforms).  We have to go where the community leads us for the kind of content to promote and focus on. 

This cell phone poll shows there is a divide, so it's something we have to reconsider.

I count less than half a dozen items that could be considered "feminine" out of the last 200 uploaded to the site.  If I exclude fractals and logons of questionable source, there are two items out of 200.  One of those is already in the queue to be featured as well.

And it seems Karma and I were typing at the same time.

What makes something "feminine" or "girly"? Because it's pink or purple, pastel colors, has funky fairies and chubby cherubs on it? I've looked for "pink" skins and they didn't appeal to me. Most of the time, I find a skin I like and recolor it to match my wallpaper, which tends to be more "feminine" in content: the bright/pastel colors, has a hot guy on it, etc.

Good to see this is getting sorted.

I think a big part of not seeing more "softer touch" skins featured, is a lack of them being uploaded.

To be featured means it must really stand out quality/professionalism wise.

I would love to see a really awesome "soft touch" suite hit WC, so would the Mrs.