[Debate] Pre-Made Skins

[sqcloud]

Jun 15, 2006 22:39:48 GMT -8 bsf1002 said:

I think pre-made skins for people who can't do graphics are great, I would much rather look at a pre-made than some of the skins people come up with.

As for graphic forums I don't think they should, I usually base if I want to request on a graphics forum if the site looks good, because I assume they made it. When they use pre-made skins it can confuse people.

How do you make a pre made skin?

[Royce]

I wouldn't recomend them to anyone. Sometimes when I go to the G.O.A.Y.B board and view and rate some boards. Some of them have this one same skin that is black and blue and another one that is black and green. I have never used one and I never will. Although they are convient, I'd much rather register at a forum with originality instead of profesionality.

[newperson]

I use pre-made skins. Sometimes I use part of a pre-made skin, and then do the rest myself (example- wonderland), and on others I use the whole thing.

I really have no problem with pre-made skins. I have joined numerous sites with pre-made skins, and loved them. If you are the type to be able to create absolutely amazing skins, then congrats! Some people, like me, are untalented in this area, and need a little help.

[magicshroomd]

Personally I believe that it's good to start out with until you learn some graphics or get a friend who knows how to do it.

[KONOHA]

I think Pre-mades are a good thing to have around, because not everybody can learn to make these templates, nor may they have the right programs to make one and that can cost money, etc. As long as they do not claim the pre-made as their own, I think they're fine. =]

[JACKJACK]

I only recommend pre-mades to people who have just started or to people who have tried and failed at making skins.

Graphic forums should not use pre mades from other sites if they make skins themselves or have skin makers on the site. If a graphic forum only makes avatars and signitures tec then I would still expect them to make their own skin but it hink it is slightly better accepted.

I never use pre mades anymore because i can use GIMP now. I used to use premades but then wanted originality so stopped and experimented.

[Tabbycat]

I think that premades are great--even though I usually make my own skins now, I've used them in the past. Believe me, when I see a skin made by the site owner of cyan, purple and pink, with hunter green thrown in for good measure, I'm not thinking about originality, I'm clicking the 'x' up in the corner. If I can't stand the skin, I probably won't stay on at a site, no matter how well done everything else is.

[Princess-Star-Angel]

I think that premades are good for when you're site's still new and you want something more attractive than the default skin, or if it's a general chat forum. (Like, one with no theme.) The problem is that they have a cookie-cutter look about them, and for sites where you want more than a few members, that's not a good thing. Also, they usually don't seem relevent enough to the theme of your site. For example, say my site (Blue Creek High) had a skin that was very professional looking, but had no indicator as to what kind of site you're at. Get the idea?
I think pre-made skins are good for a start, but you really should get a unique one for a bigger site.

[Evil Toast]

I've used pre-mades before, usually to keep things pretty until I can get around to making an actual skin. It's a great time saver, or space holder, because making a skin takes a lot of time and work. They're definitely not my favorite, mainly for the oh-so-pointed out issue about their originality. It's not fun to find a great board, only to be forced to deal with the monotony of already having seen the skin a million times. For beginner board makers, I'd suggest going with a pre-made, and then switching to a custom one after some practice. I usually use a test board, and practice on that.

But yes, they're useful, definitely, but not a good idea if you want a nice unique forum.

[Jack]

My personal opinion..

Pre-Made skins are ideal for those who've maybe not got the knowledge or the time to create an original skin. It's probably a suitable thing to do if you're starting a forum from scratch. Once you get to the 10 active member mark it's ideal for you to make your own skin as it shows that you have the effort as your forum admin.

Why are original skins good..

Original skins show that you have the commitment that everyone needs in a forum admin. If you show that you'll give up a few hours to make a good looking, stylish skin that is suitable for the forum that you own then you'll be getting the smiles all round.

If you're one of those admins that logs on once every few days and just reads a post or two, deletes the PM's that you won't bother reading. Find some code that makes the text glow when you highlight over it and uses a pre-made skin that 50% of ProBoard forums have, then to be honest it's not worth running your forum.

Your members will get tired of it, guests will not even read between the lines, they'll only see the skin and think "Oh, not another one".

Skins are very important in a forum, get the wrong one and your forum may just tumble down a hill, or fall into an abyss.

Skins are up to the admin, the admin needs to be 100%

Remember in primary school when you used to make codes with letters?

1=a, 2=b etc. ?

Well, the one thing that adds up to 100% is

A,T,T,I,T,U,D,E
1,20,20,9,20,21,4,5 = 100.

That is exactly what makes a successful forum, that is exactly what makes a successful admin, which is exactly what makes a successful skin.

[Desdemona Dreadful]

Hee! I am so nervous about using a premade skin. I will do it but I am so new to skins.

[Enchant]

Apr 26, 2008 5:34:32 GMT -8 Desdemona Dreadful said:

Hee! I am so nervous about using a premade skin. I will do it but I am so new to skins.

Welcome to the Discussion Board. Next time, just make sure that you post at least 4 sentences. We try to keep it more towards a discussion then comments.

There is nothing to be afraid of when placing a new skin, but if you have issues, make sure that you direct your questions towards the respective board. Then perhaps when you are done, you can join in the discussion here and let us know what your experience was like and if you are happy with it or would rather make your own.

[Desdemona Dreadful]

Thanks. I'm new to using proboards and my mods no nothing about skins so I need to learn all of this all on me own. I'd certainly like to test out premade skins and save myself some headaches. I'll probably end up using both original and pre-made skins because I really want to give it a shot.

[Enchant]

Apr 26, 2008 6:12:32 GMT -8 Desdemona Dreadful said:

Thanks. I'm new to using proboards and my mods no nothing about skins so I need to learn all of this all on me own. I'd certainly like to test out premade skins and save myself some headaches. I'll probably end up using both original and pre-made skins because I really want to give it a shot.

No worries, it seems intimidating at first, but it gets alot easier. Just a thought, just make sure that when you are using a premade, that you have permission to alter thier skins with some of your own graphics, some places don't like when you do it. So make sure you read the conditions of using thier skins, every place is different.

[Desdemona Dreadful]

Thanks for that. I'm glad you mentioned that. Now that you've said that, maybe I should just make my own skins for a little while. I'm so new that I don't want to upset anyone because I was being naive about things.

LOL. It will be messy and will take me awhile but I should just learn it and save myself trouble later.