Citizen Angel Destiny 05  checking your profile....You are a Citizen, Access-class 1 and a User Level of 4 [Currentcustomer].

These are correct.  If you were a Journeyman then that is likely to be an error of coding, since corrected.  No-one is likely to have advanced to 'Journeyman' level since joining only 8 weeks ago.  Those Access levels are bestowed manually by Admins/Wizops as an indicator of their contribution to the skinning community...

Citizen Angel Destiny 05  the levels of 'promotion' are not a petty pecking order, nor are they 'done in a default manner'.  It's a simple cause and effect.  There are degrees of community input within the skinning environment which determine when and if a person's level is upgraded/revised.

Wincustomize.com's 'charter' is that most people interacting with the site will generaly be at the same level as yourself....but with time, contribution, and dedication to the skinning community [either here or on 'sister' sites] that contribution in a societal sense can be rewarded as well....not just the benefits gained from product purchase, etc.

It's also important to note that Wincustomize.com is not entirely married to Stardock the company, so although Stardock product purchases help the parent company they do not directly relate to Wincustomize, though benefits are granted to Stardock customers through DL limit removal, etc.

Stardock does, however, shoulder the vast majority of the running expenses and provide the coding expertise, etc. for WC.

If your leaving is due to a mis-understanding of what is entailed in becoming a Journeyman, etc then that is unfortunate, however those who have achieved that level of access would be understandably disheartened by others attaining that hard-earned level of respect/contribution through a coding glitch.

It takes a little more time, patience and effort to be rewarded. I was here on the messageboard two years, had 100,000 downloads from my library, and was in the top ten skinners list for weeks before I got beyond citizen. Rewards always come to those who wait. See how patience and dedication to WC paid off for me.

Stick in there, this is a great place to be

Last time I noticed, SD customers CAN rate works on Wincustomize.com ....which tallies with carolelee's recent inability as she's currently listed as a 'past customer' which is either indicative of an expired subscription or a lost account cross-reference.

This being the case, much of #33 is moot....

Their 'exiling' is usually due to some inappropriate act/ion on their part, yet they may still be SD customers and would still have a 'right' to some 'content'.

The 'exiling' prevents them from commenting/interacting with the site and therefore stops them from upsetting its good citizens...

Citizen Angel Destiny 05  ...yes it is a little 'confusing' at the moment, particularly with the new site change-over....where customers [some] seem to be unable to vote and others can... and the stranger situation where some people became Journeymen, etc when that definitely was not the case ... just as at the beginning of this thread reference was made to odd 'levels' even for admins.

But...all this is essentially down to those evil critters called 'bugs' which, if everyone remains patient will be resolved.

The world does not end tomorrow if the rating 'issue' is not sorted today.  There are several anomalies that are in the throes of being worked on, some of which take more time than others.

I'd suggest a little patience, as you can always apply any ratings you feel are being missed later when access is restored correctly....

As for rating methodology, for those new to Wincustomize.com....they are necessary...and have been the subject of 'more than one' debate, where the current system is that which works best.

That is not to say it might not change in the future, but any debate here and now won't change the current oddities where some can and some cannot post ratings.

"a lot of the best skins on this site are given low ratings for one reason or another." ... No, ideally those who CAN rate do so with honesty and maturity...after reasonable evaluation of that which they are rating.  The resultant outcome is an average of those [weighted towards the opinions of the experienced skinners/members] and reflects public opinion of that work.

If and when anomalies are brought to our notice...where there 'may' be some vindictive attack, etc it's checked for veracity and dealt with.

Personally I'd like to see more accountability for those who engage in what we call 'drive-by' ratings...where they have no understanding of the program/skin as they never use it but still rate them.  Revokation of privileges sounds good....temporary or otherwise.

I agree entirely. There is always a small minority who indulge in irresponsible acts at the expense of everyone else. They do not deserve to have privileges.

As for the bugs... they are driving me nuts too and I work here! Patience is the key for the avoidance of frustration...