Out of nowhere it appeared this January. A fresh new skins site with a vicious yellow/blue colour scheme. Doreen had an email rendezvous with the evil mastermind behind VelocityArt, Doug Gilormo, AKA federal.

---

Tek: First off Doug, I'd like to say Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule for this interview. =)

Doug: It's my pleasure :)

Tek: We might as well begin with a little insight & Background info on who Doug Gilormo is, such as your your age and Background info, along with the most dreaded but most important question of them all that Teknidermy “forces” me to ask all the males (not the females) Boxers or Briefs?

Doug: I'm 18 years old from Atlanta, GA and currently a boxer-wearing freshman at Auburn University.

Tek: (/me pictures Doug walking around the University in nothing but his boxers) hehe And what are you currently studying?

Doug: I'm working towards a degree in Computer Science.

Tek: What sparked you to develop Velocityart.com?

Doug: I've always had a website, mostly just personal ones, and I was looking to create a new site after my old site (histandard.net) bombed. When I stumbled onto the skinning/art community I started out at deviantART, and I loved it. After a while I felt like I had no place in that community, so I decided to create a community of my own. It was also a personal goal; I've always wanted to create a completely automated site, not to mention it was a good reason to learn php.

Tek: Was it a collaboration of you and a few friends or was it solely your idea alone?

Doug: It was just me. After I started to work on it I asked tronn if he would help out with graphics and such.

Tek: I always get curious as to how people choose the names to their sites, so why the name Velocityart.com?

Doug: I've always had trouble coming up with names, so I pulled out the dictionary and went to town. I came up with a list of about 15 different names and decided based on that. VelocityArt was the best I came up with.

Tek: So what other names did you come up with during this process?

Doug: It was so long ago I can't even remember.

Tek: Do you happen to remember when it kicked on live?

Doug: I finally released on January 3, 2002.

Tek: Did you have any startup troubles?

Doug: I was really worried about release, thinking the site was going to crash or something, but I finally convinced myself to release. I also was having trouble finishing the last 15% of the site, so I figured if I didn't release soon it would never happen. Leading up to the 7pm release time the site crashed for some unknown reason, which really freaked me out after not having the server crash for months.

Tek: What was most challenging when creating Velocityart.com?

Doug: Bugs. This was my first adventure with php, so I knew I was in for a lot of frustration. Right before release iMike ran though the site and found a lot of bugs, which really helped me out.

Tek: And what are you most proud of?

Doug: The fact that I was able to create a site like this and manage it. I never thought I would be capable of this.

Tek: Any disappointments or draw backs so far?

Doug: None. I couldn't be more pleased with the site.

Tek: What have been some of your particular highlights then?

Doug: Reaching 500 members and 700+ uploads. I never thought I would have that many members or uploads.

Tek: How about moderation? Is this something you do or are thinking of doing?

Doug: I moderate uploads to a certain extent. If I see something that doesn't belong on the site, I'll delete it. As of now I don't really have a set of rules, I just go by my personal judgment.

Tek: What's your role and what does tronn do?

Doug: I do all of the coding, development, and general maintenance. tronn is my graphic boy (he also helps out with moderating news and the forum).

Tek: Are there any things that you'd like to see change?

Doug: I would have to see more uploads and member interaction.

Tek: Are there coming features that are in progress or you're planning to implement?

Doug: Definitely. I'm constantly working on the site and coming up with new features, but of course they're secret ;)

Tek: What kind of traffic is Velocityart getting at this point and time?

Doug: Hits have been up and down. On average we get around 2,000 pageviews/day, which I know isn't close to what other skin sites get, but I'm happy with it.

Tek: Have you any future goals your hoping for your site?

Doug: I've never had a site for more than a year, so I'd love to see VelocityArt stick around for a long time.

Tek: Do you find the Financial aspect of running this site easy to maintain or troublesome?

Doug: I've been lucky enough to be hosted for free, but it probably won't last for long.

Tek: Then what do you foresee happening to Velocityart if and when that happens?

Doug: We have a backup host, that wishes to remain nameless, that will host us for cheap :)

Tek: What do you feel makes Velocityart different from the other skinning community sites? Besides its obvious cool looking layout and graphics?

Doug: It has a feel all it's own. Some of the other skin sites have so many members it's hard to feel like you have a part in the community. When I created VelocityArt I wanted to create a community where everyone feels like they have a part.

Tek: Hope this don't get you into trouble buttttt what's your own personal favorite piece on your site, that has been uploaded so far?

Doug: That's a tough question, but I'm going to have to say grayhaze's MetalX WindowBlinds skin. It really impressed me.

Tek: Do you think VA has found a diehard core of users? And are you happy with all the “communing” going on there?

Doug: There are a few diehard VA members, maybe 2 or 3, but our real user base hasn't been established yet. I'm happy with site interaction, but it could be a lot better, and I expect it to grow with time.

Tek: Do you think CrazyEngineer should have his own section?

Doug: lol. He definitely has his own style of art; maybe he does need his own section..

Tek: Why does VA have user levels?

Doug: Different user levels were created for two basic reasons. It urges users to interact with the site, and it also serves as sort of a reward to members who have been around for a while and constantly participate.

Tek: When will you make crae elite level like he should be? (He forced me to ask this question Doug) hehe

Doug: lol. When he takes back his statement that VelocityArt “looks rather hideous.” Did you think I'd forget about that?! ;)

Tek: What's your stance of point whoring?

Doug: I don't agree with it, but it's going to happen. It hasn't been a big issue at VA, so I'm not too worried about it.

Tek: And what's your interest in skinning?

Doug: I've been interested with skinning for some time, I just was never part of a community. It started about 3 years ago when I got into Litestep, then my friend soon introduced me to WindowBlinds. After that I started to pick up miscellaneous applications that were skinnable and tried my best to create skins. I always like to have at least one skin to work on in my spare time.

Tek: Where do you see skinning going?

Doug: I think it's going to be a lot more popular, it's just starting to catch on and it's growing fast.

Tek: Is VA a skins only site or will it be more a everything goes site like DevArt?

Doug: I've been thinking about expanding the sections a bit more. My brother plays guitar and has been bugging me to put up a music section, which is definitely art, but as for now it's mostly just skins. I don't see a poetry section ever fitting in at VelocityArt.

Tek: Any possibilities of site skins or change in the layout for your site? Or are you completely satisfied with it as is?

Doug: I've been contemplating the idea of making the site skinnable, but I've been told that the site is fine how it is. There will eventually be a layout change, but not anytime soon.

Tek: Do you have any advice for people wanting to set up their own site?

Doug: Don't ever use a php-nuke, code your own stuff :)

Tek: I'm sure the nuker's will love that advise hehe Doug it was a pleasure for me to get to be nosey and actually get to know you better, I along with Tek hope VA exceeds all your expectations! =)

---

Well Teknidermy readers go visit this great site! Velocityart.com

— Doreen, March 2002