Volunteers/guinea pigs needed!

[monkeyangst]

Hey all,

With the forthcoming release of my webcomics plugin for WordPress, stripShow, I was thinking of giving myself a challenge: I would generate a few stripShow child themes, copying the styles of existing webcomic sites, to demonstrate how stripShow can be customized.

I've done a few on my own, but I can't publicize them since I haven't gotten permission from the authors. So I'm asking for volunteers here. Anyone who's interested in seeing their site realized using a different webcomic CMS, please post your URL here. Note that I'm NOT asking you to switch to my software. I just want to see how many different site designs I can easily accommodate.

Basically, it works like this: I look at your site, and I reproduce it the best I can, using graphic elements like icons and backgrounds from your site. This is why I feel I need permission -- using your actual graphics instead of creating them from scratch.  Then, when I'm done, the theme will go up on an example site, with a link to your real site, and a couple of comics for demonstration purposes.

Of course, if I do a copy of your site using stripShow, I will send you that theme, which you can use if you want.

[Dr. BlkKnight]

Didn't think I'd have competition this quickly.

[monkeyangst]

Quickly?  The first version of stripShow was released in 2007. Welcome to the party, noob!  :D

[Rob]

Well one is a complete CMS and the other is a Wordpress plug in. Hardly the same market I would think.  ;)

[monkeyangst]

Well one is a complete CMS and the other is a Wordpress plug in. Hardly the same market I would think.  ;)

Oh, good. All I have to worry about is ComicPress. :)

[TakaComics]

monkeyangel: Please refrain from calling people "noobs." It's not going to help your case and get you testers.

Also, to everyone: Don't look at this as "competition." What you offer might be useful to one person, but not useful to another. People will pick what fits for them better, whether it's Comicpress, stripShow, Drupal, or ComicReef.

That is all.

[monkeyangst]

monkeyangel: Please refrain from calling people "noobs." It's not going to help your case and get you testers.

Sorry... I thought it was clear that it was in fun. My comment to BlkKnight, like his comment to me, was just kidding around.

Also, to everyone: Don't look at this as "competition." What you offer might be useful to one person, but not useful to another. People will pick what fits for them better, whether it's Comicpress, stripShow, Drupal, or ComicReef.

That is all.

Here again, I wasn't serious. This is all free software, after all. No one stands to gain anything by being the #1 webcomics software package. This isn't Microsoft and Apple, after all. I've made a grand total of $20 for stripShow. I assume Tyler Martin has made more in donations, but I also know that he'd still be working on ComicPress without it, for the same reasons I do. Same with BlkKnight and the same with the guy who does Webcomic, I'm sure. They probably all evolved the same way stripShow did -- as a tool for personal use, which gradually became something we figured other people might benefit from.

It's fun to think of yourself in competition with the "big boys" but at the end of the day, it's a hobby and shouldn't be taken too seriously.