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Any PORT in a storm.....

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Any PORT in a storm.....

from WinCustomize Forums

Seems there's a sub-culture of 'skinners' who look down their noses at anything vaguely resembling a 'Port'....as if those who do them are second-class citizens.

Porting is an essential part of skinning.  Without ports there would be NO suites, as then there'd be 'just' a WB and no Winamp to match....or a DX theme and no WB, etc.  Anyone not understanding the importance of porting clearly is ignorant about both the history and actual 'meaning' of skinning.  Do a search for 'Heavy Equipment' in just about any gallery/skin proggy you can think of, and on any skin site you like....then you'll 'know'....

I think this vilification of those who 'port' should stop.

24,919 views 84 replies
Reply #76 from WinCustomize Forums Top
lol...I always feel like the one who jumps in a conversation after it's half over...
Reply #77 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Here's my view on specifically the .msstyle to .wba ports...

If you simply load a .msstyle, import it with SKS, then save it as a .wba and upload it without doing a single thing to it, then you are not a skinner, nor are you a porter...you're just a button-clicker. That takes zero skill, and should not be recognized as such.

However, if you take the same .msstyle, import it with SKS, then you add and upgrade all the WB features that .msstyle lacks, then you are most certainly a skinner, a porter, and you deserve almost as much respect as someone who does an original skin. I say 'almost', because originality will always be that 1-step ahead of porting...but a good port is not that far behind.

Sorry if my views offend...
The Political Machine 2024
Reply #78 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hus and Woodbridge made an excellent point.

I did a number of ports, some manually, some with help of SkinStudio, heck I've made the porter and converted thousands of msstyles in the process and I can tell you there is no such thing as a perfect one click port and there never will be. Yes, the port is currently accurate and it transforms all msstyles details to a WB skin but... All the ports I've made so far and those I'm about to upload soon took days or (like the one coming next) weeks of work. Except for using the original author's graphics, I feel no less attached to them then any of the do-it-the-hard-way porters or even skinners. I may not have created the original graphics so I am not an artist, but say... a craftsman.

A lot of msstyles would not be available for the WB users simply because they would never know about them! Bringing them here means a lot to the site and to the community! A lot of them are even hard to find as they are released on some obscure forums or in places no WB user would really look. Should the porter not went out of his way to contact the original author for the permission, then went through many iterations of sending screenshots to and fro, while adding multiple little bits, fixing all the issues and adding missing WindowBlinds features. Often the best msstyles out there does not even have shellstyles to them.

Been there, done that. And I can tell you I think twice if not more times before I start working on a port. I will spend a week or a month (if the skin has many sub-styles) adding WB bits to it.

Does the skin appeal to me to spend numerous evenings working with it? Will such port benefit our community? Isn't there a similar skin out there yet? Can I make it better on the WindowBlinds side than it is on the msstyles side?

I’m tired of this elitist approach. I've seen a lot of dragging down of the porters like Snidely who did some of the best ports ever and I can tell you this is not appreciated either by the person who made the effort, nor by the people like me who enjoy their work. Porters doing it the proper way like Snidely or Woodbridge deserve no less appreciation than regular skinners for their contribution to the community.
Reply #79 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well put, Adam...
Reply #80 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I’m tired of this elitist approach. I've seen a lot of dragging down of the porters like Snidely who did some of the best ports ever and I can tell you this is not appreciated either by the person who made the effort, nor by the people like me who enjoy their work. Porters doing it the proper way like Snidely or Woodbridge deserve no less appreciation than regular skinners for their contribution to the community.


Thank you Adam for saying what I have been trying to say for the longest time.
Reply #81 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Excellent perspective, SS...a SKS port and upload is a disservice to the author and the community here..although there are lots of people who just like the surface look and don't really care about the functionality. There are plenty of MSStyles out there that look great in a screenshot and are garbage when you actually try to use them
Reply #82 from WinCustomize Forums Top
From a user's point of view, I don't care if it's a port or an original. Just appreciate well done windowblinds and other skins. So keep porting. I admire the creativity of the designer and the skills of the a good porter.
Reply #83 from WinCustomize Forums Top

A good port is indistinguishable from a good original.

Also,  a port has the opportunity to be 'better' than its source, as a second 'head' is involved in its creation....possibly eradicating errors within the original.

Sadly, it is often the case that hastily-done ports diminish the original rather than enhance.

Fortunately, the original author retains the right to deny distribution of anything not quite up to par.

Unfortunately, however, sometimes that right isn't exercised....

Reply #84 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hmmm...still relevant and ergo worth a bump...