Like a swamp ?

I have lied It was not my last post :p

Nikos, you may call me all kind of names but "friend" is the nicest one. Everybody here has to apologoze for their behaviour against you but the other way round would be just as fair! So can Iain and Fred get their stars back?

I find emailing a hypocritical way (although I did mail you to try to make you see), I speak openly and like to join people in if issues occur. That way you get a much more balanced view of what is needed. One to one discussions lead nowhere, apart from one happy persons outcome. A poll gives you a better view, but is too narrowminded in my opinion. Open discussion in threads would be my preferred option, but doesn´t work either if no one joins in.

So the questions I had are still standing.
You have answered for queation 1, and correct me if I am wrong, 5 times featuring one person in a row is valid because there was no other quality around. The same goes for featuring 2 people for over 2 months. Was their really nothing else ?

I will repeat the other questions:
2. Would it be possible to think of a way where the same person is not featured one time after another?
3. Is it maybe possible to share within staff the picking of features to insure more versatility? (Different people, different tastes)
4. Are you also willing to look at the possibility to keep a feature up for an x-amount of days where x > 2 let alone 1 and use that as a general rule?

And a new one that has been sugeested in a few other threads:
5. Can you look at the possibility of perhaps adding extra "people´s choice" features?, where all uplaods are included and staff has no say in it?

Nikos, I feel I have to walk on eggs in the skinning community. It´s not a happy feeling, and in my friendcircle we all behave to make us better, in our work, our relationships, our environment. And we do correct each other when one feels necessary. For this purpose only I participate in threads. I supported you way back on WC, I support members here on SB. Let´s not make SB a small subdivision of WC and act like they do. Make a difference !

I also hope that hereby all the smoke is out of the air and ask people who are interested in this matter will participate in the thread, give suggestions, or maybe give their opinions too.

And yes, I do agree with Artur, that if there is no response, why bother?

I have made my apologies in public and private....as to whether my status stars are returned or not, with the greatest of respect, that is of little interest or need. Those things do not determine who I am. Nor has taking them away had any effect negatively on my self esteem or person. I would suggest it did the site and the person removing them more harm and that is not meant as an insult nor in any negative sense. I am comfortable enough within myself for things like that to be water off a ducks back. I simply am offering an observation and an opinion based on what I see and feel. And I state again, openly...it was NEVER about my OWN WORK being FEATURED.I stated that often enough during that thread. I state here now, I never want to see my work featured...maybe one day my attitude to that will change....today I do not want it featured full stop.

Ok Iain.
Forget my last post Nikos. The points are there, I will see how it turns out.

As far as I can see, you are all wanting the same thing, but going in different directions.
Another thing is, what is the point of making a suggestion if nobody wants to discuss it.
I know my thread actually started all this and I apologise to everyone who has been hurt or offended.
Come on Guys......I love comming here and seeing all the comments made but I have noticed that a lot of people are leaving rather than joining, so can´t we all get together and do something about it and let everyone know that SB is the community they should be involved with......

Whatever comes out of this I do not think people will be inclined to speak truthfully and that is what we have lost. To me that is a great pity. I take note that nowhere near the number that have been grumbling are anywhere near this thread...that should speak volumes.

Well, I am happy with the first outcome of this thread. To be honest, I have never lost the hope that Nikos would come here and say what he needed and opted to say. And again believe me that no emails were exchanged between us regarding this matter.Well, so far so good. I am happy also that Nikos explained what he explained regarding his involvement here at SB and his way of giving features to artwoks. And I believe to a certain extent that Nikos does wait sometimes - if not all - for quality works to show. I can give you an example which I do remenber and which is related with photography: there were two or 3 times in 2006 that featured photography were some "old" images - as far as I remenber images dated 2003 - from Brub - who I do not see here for a long time. Probably if Nikos would pay more attention, eventually he had found some recent work that would be more than deserving the "feature"...but again, is Nikos taste and sense of artistic balance , not mine. So....that said, I have to give Nikos the benefit of the doubt. I´ve read carefully Nikos words,Jacob´s words, Janet words and Iain´s words. I can understand all your points although probaly I do not accept some of them, but...I respect all of you.As far as I am concerned, I will speak truthfully, openly and honestly in any thread and/or matter, here at Skinbase. If I do not make so...you´re not speaking with me but probably with someone I do not even know.

I´ve been trying to stay away from all these "debates"... and I use that word lightly!

It seems to me that over the last few weeks a number of folks have taken it upon themselves to question what this website is here for... well here´s my tuppenceworth...

This site was set up by a talented graphic artsit to encourage others to use their imagination, with the availability of pc software to enhance their own individual graphic skills... a bit like encouraging children to enjoy vegetables ( or better still music ), and it got a lot of people going one way or the other!
Being here is a "gift"! not as a human right. To be a Member of Skinbase is to have a means to share or have an audience that you might not otherwise have ... basically if you don´t like the way it works FUCK OFF and find something better... ( you won´t find it at DA and you won´t get it at Skinz... you will regret leaving Sinbase )

I would advise all of you who doubt the integrity of this site to look at what has happened to a number of others over the last few years... and take stock, control their anger... and apologise where apologies are due...

Then let´s all get on with 2007 and what it has to offer...

So shut up and smile!

Take a powder mick and take stock of the fact that you have had your gripes here too. Fact is the site CAN function better if it is done democratically with input from all. Are you afraid of moving the site forward? Are you afraid of letting it become better than DA or Skinz ? DA went the way it did and continues to dive because of the dictatorial and elitist attitude of the administration not to mention the piratical behaviour of the current self appointed head. WE are a good site and if it is to get better it needs ALL of us to be unafraid in taking it forward. WE are better than a lot of sites out there no denying that but WE can do better. That is not a crime....that is an advantage and an asset. It is not a threat to the administration here it is a resource. The membership if they are using the site in a mutually beneficial manner have every right to ask for change. As for apologies.....look above Mick.......From the three main players...two of us have apologised and one currently has not. Here is an old phrase to ponder on Mick. Ensure brain is engaged before putting mouth in gear.......I do not need you to shut up....be as vocal as you like. Shutting up achieves nothing. By all means smile!!!

I am sorry to Nikos or to anybody here who I offended in the original thread. I got carried away and should have expressed myself differently. It was not my intention to offend anybody, but perhaps its easy for me to say because I was not on the receiving end of it all. Its good that Nikos is willing to open a poll of some sort regarding features. Having said that, this is my last post on this subject. I wish everyone the best here. I do believe that the good here by far outweighs any bad. Thats what I intend focusing my efforts on.

Yes Artur, Nikos took advise awhile back that if he couldn´t find any current works to be featured to look in older galleries. Which is pretty kewl. Having said that, was there a need to feature the same picture twice? :o ...Must have been a slip of the keyboard. And now this has really been my last post on this topic

Burp