Granted, QuestIon is not *MY* mod, in that I didn't code it from scratch. Much thanks go to Celdor and Jefftyjeff for that. But I picked it up, added several good features to it, and I feel a certain amount of satisfaction when I see it's download count rising, and when I hear good things about it.

Back when I first posted QuestIon, I remember it was on the "Curse - New" list for several days, at least. Maybe close to a week. It good some really good attention in that time. Its downloads for a few days looked like it might very quickly supercede Monkey Buddy (forgive me for naming the beast...). However, it left the "New" list eventually, and now people cannot find their way to the addon nearly as easily. Which is too bad, really, because I've heard nothing but good about it.

That's OK, there's always the Curse - Updated list to help people see the mod's name, and see that it's still in active development. The first update to QuestIon I posted, like the "New" post, stayed up for a few days. Did it ever occur to me to post a new "bug fix" every few days or so to make sure it's always on the list so people can see it? Of course it did. Would I, as a programmer, stoop that low? Of course not! I'm content with the time in the spotlight my baby is given. Fair's fair.

I just posted my first all-original addon yesterday, OnScreen. Did it receive the same treatment QuestIon did? Not by a longshot! Today, it's already off the What's New list. And what is it that's put it off the one place where somebody might actually notice my little mod? Mostly guild / raiding packs, and UI compilations.

Here we go, I'm ready to rant... I'm a fan of modding your UI, as much as the next guy. There are some really impressive looking ones out there. Granted, I haven't tried any of them, because pretty much, I really like my UI just the way it is, after having fiddled with it every day for 70 levels. So, all these UIs that people keep posting... Seriously, how many different versions of "There Are So Many Buttons On My Screen's 1337 Rogue UI" do we need? I seriously think people should quite wasting their time on UIs, with the exception of those who make genuine contributions to the package (e.g., Mazzle) and do more than "This is a collection of my mods, along with the savedvariables files that tell the UI elements where to go".

What we need is a UI shopping center. You go, and check that you want replacements for your actionbars, your bag, your minimap, your buffsframe, your unitframes, etc. Then you look in the extras section, and say "Ooh, those look nice. I'll also take a damage meter and a boss assistance mod, plus my guild would really probably appreciate me having a threatmeter. Then, just like buying a computer, it takes you through your options one screen at a time. It shows you what the UIs look like for Bartender3 vs. Bongos2, vs. Trinity, (with screenshots and short explanations of the major differences). You check the one you like.

Same thing for all the UI elements. When you're done, the website prepares your zipfile for you, you download the whole thing into your Interface/Addons folder, and when you get into wow, you have to spend 5 whole minutes configuring it and sticking it all in convenient locations. No more time and space wasted with "I updated the version in the .toc for one of the mods in this UI I once found on some random website, and also unwittingly contaminated the zip with a virus. Now I'll upload it to curse!"

What else pushed OnScreen out of the "New Mods" list? Guild raiding packs!!! Even more than full UI compilations, these irritate me. Seriously, how hard is it to say, "If you want to benefit from the guild bank, get DuckieBank. If you want to raid with us, get KTM (or Omen, if you're me...) and DBM or BigWigs. and GroupCalendar." Just make a bloody list, and give it to your members! There's NO NEED WHATSOEVER for these stupid guild raiding packs!

And on that note, these so called "Guild Required Addons Packs" have the most ridiculous mods in them! Auctioneer is not required for raiding. AtlasLoot is not even required for raiding. MobInfo2 has nothing to do with guilds! These are three of my favorite addons, but why in the world would you say, "This is the guild required pack. You must have these to be in our ub3r guild!" when the mods don't even have any effect or bearing on the guild or its interaction with the player? It's ridiculous!

Anyways, once again, I put forth my petition for some way to share "My Favorite Mods" with people by just pointing them to my Curse profile. See my first blog entry on that point.

<sigh> Someday, I pray that Curse will once again become a good Addon repository. For right now, WoWInterface is a much better place for getting actual work done, and seeing quality addons. Curse has quickly become the MySpace of WoWAddons, and it nearly makes me cry.