I hate to be Simon but...

from WinCustomize Forums
You visit most sites that have themes and skins and you'll notice that have a gazillion wallpapers. You come here and you see fewer than 3000. Why is that? It's because we reject 9 out of 10 submissions.

Now, most of the moderators here are nice. They send out often lengthy emails to the authors of these wallpapers explaining why they were rejected. In return, they regularly get flamed, personal attacks and occasionally threatened.

I'm not nice. I don't send moderator notices. I'm the "Simon" from American Idol. I don't like spending time on a thoughtful email to have the author resond by attacking me. I just delete them. Sorry. I know that lots of these wallpapers are pretty good that get rejected. I know that many people spent many hours on these wallpapers. But there are dozens of sites that you can submit them too. Our goal here is to keep the number low. So that it's the "best of the best". Sure, occasionally something mediocre will get through and we are biased in favor of WALLPAPERS as opposed to works of art. But in general we try to ensure that the wallpaper section is kept as small as possible.

I know this upsets some people based on the emails that our poor VOLUNTEER moderators get. But I'm going to recommend that moderation emails become rare. It's just too discouraging for our VOLUNTEER moderators to get trashed in email for trying to gently tell them why their wallpaper didn't come up. Wallpapers that don't meet our criteria will simply be deleted. We hope you understand that with hundreds of wallpapers submitted every few days that this is the only way to reasonably get through them and provide a fair way for everyone.
43,583 views 102 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
knowing that you probably get dozens of submissions each day, I'm sure you're being as fair as possible.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Simon say's " If you would have been born 2000 years ago, they probably would have stoned you to death "

Do you moderate wb skins too? Cuz some of them are so ugly and they seem to slip through the gate.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I agree with Strad about the WB skins. It's difficult sifting through the nasty ones. Even the ratings don't help much. I've seen really ugly skins with a high rating.

As for the wallpapers. I for one appreciate the moderation. Some sites are crammed with walls of chicks in bikinis. (distasteful, and anoying) or sites that really need a Britney (sp?) Spears wallpaper section. Moderation is good.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WindowBlinds and other skins are moderated, but not in the same way as wallpapers. We watch for rips, unauthorized ports, copyright infringements, and objectionable content, but they are not moderated for style or appearance. This is a skin site, afterall. It is not a wallpaper site, however, which is why that section is moderated so closely. In my opinion, this policy change will leave more time for us to moderate skin submissions, and that's good news for all contributors to Wincustomize.

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Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
>>Do you moderate wb skins too? Cuz some of them are so ugly and they seem to slip through the gate.
<<

this is a skins site, not a wallpaper site. I can't believe people are actually threatening the moderators, thats just sick.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Let me be candid. If not a single wallpaper were ever uploaded again it would not upset me in the least. That's not saying we don't want wallpapers, but that they're not a priority.

Skins are not moderated strictly on quality levels unless they are really terrible since this is a skins site. I suggest using the rating filters, they do work pretty well.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm posting my comments concerning Wincustomize's justification of moderation in the message board because the don't have much of a place here, meanwhile...

I will say two things here:
1) It is a shame that the VOLENTEER moderators are being flamed, trashed, and threatened for their critical thoughts on the submitted wallpapers, and
2) the 3000 walls on Wincustomize are very impressive, as the vast majority of visitors and users will agree, and they certainly appreciate the authors' hard work --just as I'm sure they do for the GOOD WB skins, DX submissions, and the like.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I appreciate the moderation of the wallpapers here. Some sites are WAY out of control. I personally have had several wallpapers rejected, and that's ok. However, I will say that the moderators obviously favor any walls with an "Aqua" flavor, or the Windows XP logo on them.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
~ I totally agree about the moderation of the section. I, for one, don't even LOOK at the wallpaper section. I know there are some awesome pieces there but I don't come to WC to see wallpapers. The skins are what this site is about and that's what I like about it. I wish more of the actual wallpaper sites out there would do half the moderation WC does!! Too much crap is posted in that area!
~ In summary, my congrats and respect goes out to those who have the difficult task of filtering out the best of the best!!
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm one for voting that you guys moderate the freaking skins more! I mean, dang some of them are so obviously ugly, and some just need a change or two... also, why keep so many old skins that are awful or hardly even work anymore(if they work at all)?
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
One of the advantages a skinner has here is that they can get feedback, encourgement, user testing, suggesions and techniques for their skins that can ultimately help them refine their craft

Moderating skins, or over-moderating them would detract from this.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Skin 'quality' is an issue with those which lend themselves to 'photoskins' such as ICQ Plus, and WinAMP 2x.
If it's a snapshot of Granny's favourite nephew it won't be getting in.....at all.
Skinmaker proggies....which utilize this 'photoskin' methodology, with 'click here for bevelled buttons'...they, too won't get in.
When these proggies are skinned by 'legitimate' or 'renowned' skinners essentially pixel-by-pixel, you can understand just how 'hopeless' these photoskins really are in comparison.
Unmoderated sites are inundated with 'Britney-[but pink]-ICQ' or 'fluff-the-cat for WinAMP' examples which are really a 'cheapening' of the whole skinning genre.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
how dare any of you imply that any of the wb skins on this site are ugly or old, i've seen skins that aren't my style, but never ones that weren't good... and I have seen every single one of the 2105 skins on this site, I was here in the beginning, and for you to call any artists work ugly shows a lack of respect, and a lack of class... if you want to call someones work ugly speak for yourself... as for wallpapers, go upload them elsewhere. wincustomize has skins... it is a skin site... if you don't think it's fair that they won't upload your wallpapers go upload them on a WALLPAPER SITE...

I mean no offense to anyone, but why can't people just be happy with things... I like WC just the way it is... and no newbie should be allowed to come along a disgrace someone elses work... if you don't like the "UGLY', "UNMODERATED" WB skins here... Leave... you can download WB skins from http://www.deviantart.com, http://www.skinbase.org, and many others, and wallpapers from those sites too...

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Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I agree with you da_zman20... but people are usually so agressive...
Thanx for all the moderating job here at WC : it's really impressive, as any webmaster can recognize it.
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think Frogboy's point was a very good one. I'm *blush* guilty of uploading my share of walls recently and I wouldn't want to have to moderate all of the submissions, I'd probably go cwazy blind.

/me will try to only submit a few a month from now on to lighten the load.

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah well, at least give them a reason why it's moderated, be it a standard list. Else you get questions like "why isn't my wall up yet?".
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I had wallpapers rejected for being 'straight out of terragen' and the very next day see people have terragen or bryce images accepted. That frankly is shit. Art is Art.
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
CAClark...Art is Art, and this is a skinning site, which also has a section to accommodate wallpapers....and your point is....?
Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Interesting, interesting I remember the days when walls and other works were called "art" here. In all the wall submissions I did I had only two times a comment why it was rejected. One liners. Moderation is good, but don't make it sound so extreme like uploaders are screaming harassers and VOLUNTEERS are ALWAYS nice. That is simply not true.
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hum. Art isn't Art. There is such a thing as good and bad. There ARE some bad skins here as there are nice ones. Heck, give me a paintbrush and I'll show you what bad Art is. My 3 year old paints better than I do.
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't look at wallpapers only for their "artistic" value, I look at them as a wallpaper. First and foremost, they have to work well as a wallpaper. If I put it up as my background (I have minimal icons on my desktop) and it doesn't work well, then it gets rejected. If the wall contains a lot of pre-generated stuff (or tons of text) that I have seen a million times, then it gets rejected. If it makes my eyes bleed....well, you get the point.

It could be a wonderful work of art that does *not* make a good wallpaper. Since this is a skinning site, we also look for wallpapers that compliment skins. So, a wallpaper that works well with an existing skin or skins will typically be accepted if it is done well (that is why there are a lot of XP and "aqua" type walls- they work well with the skins that are available.) Hi!
Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My mom always told me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and a very personal thing, much of the comments above should bare that in mind before becoming unfriendly about other people's hard work.
Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I agree with the goals that you have trying to keep the "best of the best" around. I appreciate knowing the quality of what I'm going to get when I come here to check out what's new. Keep up the good work.
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Lecrayon...I've kept most of the more recent email responses....my Wincustomize email folder currently has....1365 items in it.....about six months of them.
If you wish, I could sift through them, extracting and sending the 'screaming harrasser' ones to you one per day for months.
Except, we don't divulge names, etc.
Fortunately, some pack up their bat and their ball and leave indignantly, however others use every opportunity available to goad a reaction.
Some go ballistic and get hurriedly exiled for spamming obscenities, etc.

And the volunteers are as nice [to them] as they can be...under the circumstances.

THAT is the 'simple truth'....
Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Okay, since you brought it up...I have to say that 99% of the Walls are superb, but they are becoming to all look the same with just slight color variations. I would like to see variety, women in bakini's is NOT one of them...those are awful and distasteful. I'm sure WinCustomize can segregate the Walls into sub categories and then we can choose to see them or not. I think my subscription helps weed out the bad and the unwanted, but lets see some variety as the current ones are a monotonous collection!