Wallpaper of the week

[McLovin]

I was talking to J about the wallpaper of the week, and made a couple of suggestions,

1:Try to limit the number of wallpapers, (maybe 5-7, kind of like take the best one from each day) so that you only need one post to show them, and vote on them. Too many walls will clog up the forums, and may cause some ppl to to get confused as to which one is current.

2: Try to limit entries to one per user, too many from one user can seem a little biased

He had suggested that we discuss here, as this is a community project, and I completely agree.

As I stated to J, I know we don't have too many ppl posting artwork atm, but this will change in the future.

[McLovin]

Nothing? C'mon guys, we need to start working together and sort things out on our own, Clem isn't going to want to be getting pm's for every question, he has bigger things to worry about right now.

On another note, I had an idea, once we get the WPOTW sorted out, I think we should post each weeks winner in the "official" section of the MintArt site, we just need to get both widescreen and standard screen resolutions for them.

[Jernau]

I think that reducing the 'Wallpaper of the Week' vote to just one poll is a good idea. I liked McLovin's suggestion of just taking one wallpaper from each artist each week, though preferably with the artist selecting their own favorite rather than having some kind of 'pre-judging' by a member of the Art-Team. This should reduce the number of entries to a more manageable amount. What do people think?

I also think it's a great idea that we start to utilize the Mint Art site more - especially if we continue the enhancements that McLovin has been doing to make the artwork more accessible.

[Zwopper]

I would like to see some easy way to install the selected artwork, preferably by using deb's like Cathbard is doing with his great GDM & KDM-themes, that way all "official" Linux Mint artwork will end up in "the right place" in the system ie /usr/share/wallpapers - for wallpapers, etc.

Hopefully we will be able to release an "Artwork of the month"-pack, (maybe with a monthly vote?), which could (in the best of worlds) contain 4 wallpapers, 2 Gnome and 2 KDE, in wide and "normal" format, a GDM/KDM-theme to match and maybe even a matching gtk/kde-theme and a recommended icon pack.
All of this, if properly packed could be installed with a single click, or maybe proposed as a possible "extra" installation in mintUpdate once a month...

What do you all think!?
Am I of in another galaxy here, or what? (mushroom)

[kanishka]

I think that both Jernau's and Zwopper's ideas are really worth trying, absolutely!!!!

[McLovin]

I am working on trying to get .debs made, (I have never made a .deb, so I'm still learning that aspect), but that is something that CLem and I have been discussing, as Clem would like to see this as well. I think that getting these things into the repos is a gerat idea, as it will make it alot easer for new Linux users, to get and install themes and customization packs, and really start to utilize the art that Mint has to offer, to make their gui, their own.

[Zwopper]

I'm also looking into this deb-making...

[Jernau]

I like Zwopper's idea of a 'Wallpaper of the Month' deb-package, it would be a great way for people to get hold of the 'latest and greatest' art from the community.

By the way, we need somewhere to post Zwopper's 'Roswell Mint', presumably in a new 'Wallpaper of the Week' section on the mintArt site? McLovin, is it possible for you to create that new section for us?

[McLovin]

I will work on that as soon as I can get the site issues worked out.

[Jernau]

I will work on that as soon as I can get the site issues worked out.

Perfect.

[Jernau]

I will work on that as soon as I can get the site issues worked out.

Any luck with this yet McLovin? It would be great to get the 'Wallpaper of the Week' winners up on the mintART site.

[McLovin]

I am actually working on something, that will be huge if it all works out and gos through.
I actually wanted to post here and apologize for not being on the forums a whole lot, I am doing alot of work to get things sorted out and set-up for the artwork. So please be patient, and things will be rolling soon.

[Jernau]

I am actually working on something, that will be huge if it all works out and gos through.

Sounds great - I can't wait to see what you've been working on!

[Jernau]

McLovin,

Any news on the development of the new mintArt website?

As a more general comment, I have to say that I don't feel we're getting the benefits from the Mint Art-Team that I hoped we would. This forum is basically dead, and apart from the 'Wallpaper of the Week' competition we haven't started any new initiatives. Obviously we all have 'real world' obligations and can't spend as much time on Mint Art as we might like, but I feel it's kind of embarrassing how little the Mint Art-Team has actually produced.

I hope that you don't take offense at what I'm about to say... but I think that the Mint Art-Team is in need of a strong leader; someone who can bring the team together and help start new initiatives. In my opinion, you haven't been living up to this role. Maybe you just don't have the time to commit to the project, which is fine and understandable, but then perhaps you should step down as the team leader and let somebody else have a go?

My vote would be for Zwopper to become Mint Art-Team leader; he spends a lot of time in the forums, he creates great artwork, he is popular with the community and he has lots of good ideas. (I have no idea what Zwopper might think about this though!)

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on this and I hope that you don't take it the wrong way.

[McLovin]

I have been absent as of late due to surgery that I had to have, but I have been working very hard on getting some new things set-up for the team, and the community as a whole. Please be patient as things are being set-up, with the release of Mint5 coinciding with the formation of the Mint Art-Team, it has been a little difficult to communicate with Clem, (understandably), and things are taking a little longer than preferred. But I promise all of you that I am working on some new things, and one thing in particular, that will be a great step for the team, and the Mint community.

I understand your frustration, and I do apologize for the amount of time things are taking at the moment. If you like, you can pm me and I will discuss with you things that are in the works, I just do not want to discuss them publicly yet as they are not finished, and do not want ppl to get all excited about something that is not ready.

If you would all rather have Zwopper take over, then I will step down, and I will not have any hard feelings, I just want what is best for the Mint community.

[Jernau]

I have been absent as of late due to surgery that I had to have, but I have been working very hard on getting some new things set-up for the team, and the community as a whole. <snip> But I promise all of you that I am working on some new things, and one thing in particular, that will be a great step for the team, and the Mint community.

This sounds great and I can't wait to find out what you've been working on.

I think the issue we have here is simply one of expectations. I had certain expectations about what being in the Mint Art-Team would be like and how I expected you to behave as team leader. Your expectations of those two things were likely quite different to mine, and due to a lack of communication on both our parts we didn't come to realise this sooner. As long as we understand this going forward, I don't see why we can't come to a point where everyone is happy.

I understand your frustration, and I do apologize for the amount of time things are taking at the moment. If you like, you can pm me and I will discuss with you things that are in the works, I just do not want to discuss them publicly yet as they are not finished, and do not want ppl to get all excited about something that is not ready.

I understand your concerns about setting false expectations for the community, but I would actually recommend getting your ideas out early so you get the valuable feedback and suggestions that good projects thrive on. After all, that's a big part of what the open source community is about.

If you would all rather have Zwopper take over, then I will step down, and I will not have any hard feelings, I just want what is best for the Mint community.

Like I said before, I think we just need to manage expectations. If you think that, going forward, you have enough time to get more involved in the forum, create more artwork, and to pull the team together on new initiatives then I have absolutely no problem with you continuing as leader. If you don't think you'll be able to commit to those things, then it might be best for you to step down.

By the way, thank you for taking my comments in the way they were intended. The maturity of the people in the Linux Mint community is very refreshing.

[Zwopper]

Patience is a virtue!
Good things come to those who wait!

[McLovin]

@Jernau & Zwooper:
I have sent you both a pm, (it's the same one, just sent to both of you) regarding what I am working on, I think it explains why I do not want it public just yet. I would like to try to set-up e-mailing with you guys, and any other member that would like to be involved in the inner workings of the team.

Anyone may pm me, or em-mail me at slaughter.dave@gmail.com if you have questions or comments.

As for why I have not produced much art-work as of late, the things that I am working on are taking alot my time, so I do not have much time to design, as Ed said, hopefully once Elyssa is final, things will pick back up as Clem would be more available to discuss things. As for forums activity, I do come to the forums daily, I may not post, but I do look to see what is going on.

Again, I apologize if ti seems like I have been, for lack of a better term, doing nothing. I will try to communicate better with you guys about things. And I think you should do the same, pm me, e-mail, or just post here in the forums, and will talk to you all about anything you would like to know. I would like to set-up a mailing list to be better able to communicate with the entire team, and I am going to start working on this.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

[Zwopper]

No sweat!