User blog comment:Lancer1289/Wikia's New Skin, the countdown begins/@comment-2256917-20100928212824

Ah, yes, the new blog. Let's see what we can learn.

"Terms of Use

In keeping with the goals of the new look, our Terms of Use have been updated as well. Admins will no longer be able to completely remove core features for all users by using custom CSS or JavaScript. This is to protect the universal layout and functionality of every wiki on Wikia and ensure that users have access to all of the features available in the new design. ..." Now let's see what giving users "access to all of the features" means.

"To give a few practical examples of what this means: It’s not permitted to remove the right sidebar modules, blogs, and image attribution or add a banner that shifts the entire content area down the page, or alter the fixed width." In other words, you can't alter the advertisements, or get rid of the space-wasters and image-attribution, all features to which nearly all users objected.

"You can still personalize your wiki with different colors and themes, add large, standout images to the wiki background," I.e., you can still add useless things, mere appearances, which give the illusion to children and thoughtless human beings that something substantial can be modified. As Machiavelli once said, people feed off of appearances, but few touch what something is.

"[You can still] create styled templates and tables within the content area." Which amounts to saying you can still add more than mere words to the now-smaller space (a bare minimum for Wikia to be used at all).

"There are plenty of ways to be creative! While these terms will limit what you can do to the overall layout, creativity is still an essential part of Wikia." I.e., "creativity", or tailoring a Wiki to suit its subject matter, has been reduced to a "part" of the purpose of Wikia.

Or, as those Terms of Use state bluntly: "(You agree to): Not intentionally block, remove, or otherwise obstruct the proper functioning and view of advertisements,... including but not limited to changing or adding javascript or CSS changes to the Service that would prevent the proper display or function of advertisements and/or user interface and functionality".

The purpose of this skin is manifest. Rather than alter the project in accordance with the complaints of users, they altered the Code to render those complaints impotent.