Shoutbox

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Originally posted by Basilis
I still remember my skin containing 70 options and not a single bug not winning in the functionality category in the 1st contest.

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Functionality doesn't just involve having heaps of options. Innovation is the key to winning and how well the features work with the skin overall.

A skin could have thousands of options, but it doesn't make it better than a skin that has 6 options that are more thought out. As cookie said, less can be more.

Many options of that skin were not included in any other skin and the target was that the user could put everything where he wanted.

Of course functionality is something general, and people can have different views on that. But I remember that the skins that won in that category got the award mostly for their simple design (!) (Patchou had actually revealed that one skin would win by referring to it in a news post in the 1st week of the contest, while 3 weeks were left to the end).

What I say is that it would have been more fair if a voting was done and not 2-3 people making the decision.

If I wanted to participate in the design only portion can it be a mockup outside of Photoshop or Illustrator? I am running on a netbook now and doubt it could handle that!

quote:

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Originally posted by Basilis
What I say is that it would have been more fair if a voting was done and not 2-3 people making the decision.

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voting on the internet usually get's down to a point where the result is based on who can script the most votes or who can drum up the most 'friends' so I doubt it would make it more fair...

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Originally posted by foaly

quote:

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Originally posted by Basilis
What I say is that it would have been more fair if a voting was done and not 2-3 people making the decision.

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voting on the internet usually get's down to a point where the result is based on who can script the most votes or who can drum up the most 'friends' so I doubt it would make it more fair...

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Exactly what I was going to say
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A public voting system for stuff like that is also a bit 'unfair' because you can never be sure if everybody have reviewed all the skins. For all you know people simply vote on the first thing they see without even looking at the rest.

This said, a bigger jury is always better though, provided they all review each and every item of course.

But, I suppose it is what it is, and even if it is just 2 or 3 persons, I'm sure they will vote in a fair matter and with the proper background knowledge (hence why I like that Willz is jury too).

quote:

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Originally posted by Basilis
Many options of that skin were not included in any other skin and the target was that the user could put everything where he wanted.

Of course functionality is something general, and people can have different views on that. But I remember that the skins that won in that category got the award mostly for their simple design (!) (Patchou had actually revealed that one skin would win by referring to it in a news post in the 1st week of the contest, while 3 weeks were left to the end).

What I say is that it would have been more fair if a voting was done and not 2-3 people making the decision.

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It's a given that in any contest there will be people who will be unhappy with who won, it can't be helped. The last contests final call was done by Patchou, and knowing him I really really doubt he would have put any bias in it.

And so what if he posted about a skin that actually won? In any design type contest you always see entries that are worth mentioning because they stand out a little bit. It's not uncommon to see people post about the progress of a contest with some entries that stand out (especially one that goes for as long as this one does).

Like I said before, just because your skin has a feature all the others don't does not mean its an instant win. It doesn't work that way. Anyway that contest is in the past so I think we should move past that.

This time around things are a bit different because I will a major part of the judging process and of course as will Menthix. Coming from a skinning background I can tell how long someone could have taken on a particular aspect of a skin and also be able to see when something simple has been done in a clever way.

And Menthix has seen enough skins come through in his lifetime that he will definitely be able to make the same calls.

Like the saying goes, there's no use crying over spilt milk. Focus on the now and get to work.

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Originally posted by matty
If I wanted to participate in the design only portion can it be a mockup outside of Photoshop or Illustrator? I am running on a netbook now and doubt it could handle that!

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As long as you can make it easy to be able to separate the resources into individual images and its a format I can work with then go for it.

Does this mean you're not competing will? If so, then I'm going to come back to skinning

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Originally posted by ipab
Does this mean you're not competing will? If so, then I'm going to come back to skinning

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he isnt, he's actually a judge

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Originally posted by ipab
Does this mean you're not competing will? If so, then I'm going to come back to skinning

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Don't come back, I'll have less chance to win the contest if you do.

Just saw now that the usable category focuses on the options, the layout and the functionality. So, if a skin with simple layout, no bugs and 75 options didn't won last time, there is definitely no reason to put any effort for this contest.

Only someone who has spent time and has tried hard to create a quality skin can see what I am talking about. Others will think I am just someone who unreasonably feels that the result last time was not fair.