Desktop contest; an idea

[Riffer]

I installed OpenGEU on the student comp in my classroom the other day. I've been intrigued with it for its use of "enlightenment", but mostly because the desktop was "designed" by an artist. I like the fact that it has a completeness of look and feel about it, and it looks purdy too. Its a source of amazement to me how people can really customize their desktops. I have seen so many very beautiful screen shots of peoples desktops through the many threads I've read.

So at that moment when I was installing OpenGEU and thinking about other peoples desktop I recalled the first open source project I came in contact with, POVRAY (www.povray.org) a ray tracing program that still rivals commercial software. On their site (http://www.irtc.org/) they had an ongoing contest based on a "topic", and I thought that it could be fun to do something similar here.

I'm not sure what the rules or the criteria should be, I think it should be quite simple (at least to begin with). It shouldn't be about effects but rather the aesthetic look and feel of the desktop and perhaps how that is carried over into the programs (web browser, word processor etc.) I would also like to see how people got their look, what font they used, the theme and how they customized it etc. I think that forum members should vote for the winner, and that perhaps the winners desktops could be displayed on the main website if Canonical is willing.

So there is my germ of an idea, what do you think?

[SomeGuyDude]

Sounds pretty dang good, I'd say.

Do we have a different contest for each DE/WM, or one overall?

[smartboyathome]

I like E17. I think it could win hands down if it was stable.

[Riffer]

Sounds pretty dang good, I'd say.

Do we have a different contest for each DE/WM, or one overall?

I'm not sure. I think to begin with maybe not, keep it simple.

[Xzallion]

I think if your wanting simple, have categories. Best icon set, best sound scheme, best wallpaper etc, and a category for entire desktop theme. You would still have to specify which Desktop Environment, meaning there would be a lot of categories, plus for it to be a contest there would have to be a panel of judges. I'm interested in seeing where this goes, and my wind up entering.

[SomeGuyDude]

I think if your wanting simple, have categories. Best icon set, best sound scheme, best wallpaper etc, and a category for entire desktop theme. You would still have to specify which Desktop Environment, meaning there would be a lot of categories, plus for it to be a contest there would have to be a panel of judges. I'm interested in seeing where this goes, and my wind up entering.

I don't think we should do components so much, because that's just going to blow up in 10 different directions.

What I would be interested in, though, is seeing how well "coordinated" people's desktops are. One icon theme may not look great by itself, but put in the right theme it's beautiful (MonoBlack comes to mind).

[Riffer]

I think if your wanting simple, have categories. Best icon set, best sound scheme, best wallpaper etc, and a category for entire desktop theme. You would still have to specify which Desktop Environment, meaning there would be a lot of categories, plus for it to be a contest there would have to be a panel of judges. I'm interested in seeing where this goes, and my wind up entering.

I think to begin with just to have one category "Best Desktop Theme" would allow us to our feet wet. Since this is to be an ongoing contest perhaps each contest could be as you suggested, best icon set or sound set etc. These would have to be new and original and how you ensure that could be a problem. Also it would be nice to somehow people would be able to download them. Rather then judges I perfer that the forum members vote the winners, maybe have judges decide on the top 5?

[Riffer]

I don't think we should do components so much, because that's just going to blow up in 10 different directions.

What I would be interested in, though, is seeing how well "coordinated" people's desktops are. One icon theme may not look great by itself, but put in the right theme it's beautiful (MonoBlack comes to mind).

I have to agree. I want it to be a contest where new users as well as veterans could take part. There is also a question of bandwidth, some icon sets are quite large (up to 80 megs) so hosting such a contest has those type problems.

[Riffer]

Ok heres what I'm thinking. An initial contest of just the Desktop appearance. This allows us to hold it in the forums without causing a bandwidth problem.

Basic Rules

Any DE and WM can be used, and contestants must state which they use.
Any free to use images, themes, icon sets and fonts can be used.
Contestants must cite where they got their elements and/or whether they made some of the elements.
Contestants need also cite what changes/tweaks they made to themes, fonts, window borders etc.
Contestants must provide 3 screenshots: a shot of the main desktop, a shot of the main menu and finally a shot of the desktop with an open window.

Criteria for judging.

How well does the desktop reflect contest topic.
How aesthetically pleasing is the over all desktop.
How well do the different elements work together to achieve the end result.
And finally how "usable" or intuitive is the desktop.

I was thinking that the first "topic" be the "Festive Season" meaning that it is open to any religious or cultural event that is held around the time of winter solstice.

Thoughts, suggestions?