Basics:
- That would be most accurate quote describing this project.Skinstr is a website where creative people showcase their beautiful desktops. Ranging from full Rainmeter skins, to a simple screenshots and wallpapers, we've got it all!
What is this about:
I wanted to create a place that would gather creative folks who enjoy taking their desktops to the next level. There are similar projects out there that are trying to do this, but they are either dead (customize.org) or not focused (deviantart).
How will this be different:
I built Skinstr from ground up focusing on what the project is about. It will cover less things but those that will be covered by it, will be done so with quality.
Idea:
Skinstr is a sharing platform with some social elements that will enable signed up users to submit their work in several categories, each with separate rules and requirements. Anyone will be able to share their work, as long as they have rights to do so.
Submission:
Submission will me a moderated process. The idea is to have a handful of trusted moderators that will approve work for new users. Once user has a successful item(s) published, his further submissions will be published directly unmodified. Flagged submissions will of course me reviewed and moderated accordingly.
Separation:
Items will be separated by:
Category - rainmeter skins, screenshots, wallpapers etc.
Theme - gaming, fantasy, anime, sport etc.
Tags - a limited number of words that you can tag your item with
Depending on the category, different rules will apply.
For example, a rainmeter category will only be allowed (and required) to upload files in .rmskin format.
Each item will have a limited number of attachments in it, as well as any number of screens depicting the work.
Browsing:
I will give my best to implement a great browsing UI which will enable you to filter (out) any content you (don't) want to see, saving time and helping you find what you are looking for.
Images:
Item uploaded to website will have any number of images attached to it. Images will have a tagging feature, meaning that author will have possibility of tagging any part of the image, giving that tag caption and optional link.
Attachments:
As well as images, author will be able to add a limited number of attachments connected to his submission. I have yet to plan this out, but idea is to provide a quick way for interested visitors to get all they need for recreating the shown desktop.
Community:
Besides comments area on every item, we will have a dedicated forum too where discussion between community members will be possible (and encouraged).
Skinstr will feature user badges and rewards, encouraging users to be more active on the site.
Will it be free:
All parts of Skinstr will be free for anyone. There will be ads on a website (to help cover the server and development cost) but I'll try to keep that to a minimum and out of your way.
There will also be a donor option which will enable you to donate some small $$ to a developer to get rid of ads and a unique shiny donor badge.
Other stuff:
For those who are interested, this project is being built using WordPress as an app framework.
No, I did not modify a Twenty Twelve theme and stick a Gravity Forms on it, everything is done from scratch (I'm a WP contributor so I like to believe I know what I'm doing
) but WP is used for it's awesome features which speed up development time tremendously.Also, a regular joe will never notice WordPress is behind the scene as everything (including posting and moderation) will be done on the frontend, no /wp-admin.
I also plan to integrate an API for developers to take advantage of, but that's currently not a priority.
Ok enough talk, when do you start:
Skinstr is still in a development phase, but a lot of the hardest features have already been completed. There is still a lot of work to do prior to public release and it's a one-man team, but I will need some beta testers who will test the system and populate the website with initial content. Those will be recognized accordingly.
If all of this sounds interesting to you, you can show your interest here: http://landing.skinstr.com/
Anyone who signs up their interest before the launch will have early access and possibly other recognitions once the website launches.
So yeah, feel free to sign up, and if you have any comment or critique on what I've covered above, I'd be happy to hear and address it.
Thanks folks
