Strip Generator

Strip Generator (also known as SG and StripGen) is an easy-to-use, user friendly website on which anyone can create their own comic strips using a database of characters, objects, shapes and text boxes, and then save their work online or print it off. Users can also comment, like, and favorite other users' strips. Also, users can add other users as friends, allowing users to keep up with each others' comic strips and being able to use shared objects in a friend's library: a user database where users can store objects and/or characters that they've created.

Strip Generator's mascot is Das Hund: a dog with the name of the common misspelling of the German word for dog. The crew of Strip Generator have explained that this decision for both the name and actual animal came from deciding to create one "mistake" in their website: that being using Das Hund (the incorrect way of saying dog in German) over Der Hund.

History
Strip Generator was released in April 2007, and was a collaborative project by Third Frame Studios and Žiga Aljaž, a graphic designer and member of the urban art crew, the Zek crew, which is highly referenced in Strip Generator.

Over the years since it's creation, the crew behind Strip Generator have been continuously updating the website and adding certain features to the site. Such additions have been allowing users to flag comics, disallowing comments , allowing strips to be private only, letting users choose when their strip will be published , allowed for users to connect their Facebook and Twitter with their profile , and much more over the years.

On January 25, 2010, Strip Generator received it's largest update: causing the website to be down for several days as the crew updated it. This update brought several new features to the website: a new form of masking for users, allowing users to now create a full or half page for their comics, now there were three bribed slots per day over just one, there was now ability to vote for featured artist, and more. This did, however, bring several new errors as well. One of the biggest complaints was over the lag the new system brought about, which caused several users to give up and not create any comic strips during this time or they spent hours on a strip that they felt would have only took them only a few minutes. It was later realized by users that this lag was coming from library objects being saved multiple times and causing stress on the system itself.

While this issue was fixed in the site's next update, less then two weeks after the original update was uploaded on the 25th, by the 5th of February the Strip Generator staff had locked the library for all users till they could fix the problem , which took till June 30th of that year for this feature to be returned when the website was updated to version 1.6.

Currently, Strip Generator has over 93,000 users and over 500,000 strips have been created since it's creation in 2007. Strip Generator celebrated it's 500,000th strip on June 24th, 2011.

Features
Strip Generator uses a simple drag-and-drop method to creating comics. The user can select from several pre-designed characters, animals, and objects to add to the frames of their comics, but they can also choose to create their own characters and objects that they can save to their library and be used at a later date. These elements that are saved in a user's library can be also shared with other users in the community that are on their friend's list.

As of January 25th, 2010, when Strip Generator was updated to version 1.5, users are now able to change the layout of the comic more-so then they were allowed to previously. Prior to then, users could only have a single row of frames for a comic; however, with the version 1.5 update, users are now allowed to have either a one row comic, two row, or up to a full page, which consists of 4 rows. By default, there are several different template styles a user can choose from when selecting the size of their comic, but a user can easily edit the template by changing sizes of, deleting, or adding frames.

On June 30th, 2010, with the release of version 1.6 of the website, the ability of users to purchase theme packs was added. These packs are designed by various artists and add new characters, objects, and colors to a user's creation panel. Currently, there are five packs that are out and available: Foorball 2010 Africa, Zek Crew Promotion Pack, Art Deco, Christmas, and Valentine's theme pack.

Since March 3rd, 2011, a new feature was added to the website, in which users could create booklets : which are a collection of comic strips done by the creator of those strip.

After a strip is published, other users in the community can like it, add it to their favorites, and/or leave a comment on the strip itself. The three strips with the highest likes in a 24 hour time frame will be "Bribed": which means that that particular comic will appear on the front page of the website. As of November 24th, 2010, the Bribed strips will be change every eight hours and will count any strip that has been posted within 24 hours of that time; thus, allowing for a wiser time-frame for multiple artists to possibly achieve a bribed comic strip.

Each and every week an artist will be featured on the front page of the website. The user who is selected is based upon a few different factors: how many votes the user receives, how active they are, how many comments are received on their comic, and how many likes they receive.

On June 16, 2011 a "silent update" was implemented that linked all library elements and theme packs objects that were used in a comic strip. Currently, this feature is still in it's early stages and it doesn't always pick up these elements due to their size or other elements being used in the comic strip.

Honour Badges and Status Titles
By being an active user in the Strip Generator community, a user can obtain several honour badges and get new status titles for themselves.

Honour badges are achievements in the world of Strip Generator. By reaching a certain goal, the user will automatically obtain an honor badge. For example, if a user made seven booklets, he would achieve the Silver Booklet Award. Most awards have various levels to them, which go in the order of bronze, silver, golden, platinum, crystal, and god.

Status Titles are earned after a user has earned enough points through their actions in the community. By commenting on comics or in the forum, liking a comic, adding a comic to your favorite, adding a comic to a booklet, creating a comic, getting a bribed comic, and getting featured all earn a user various degrees of points. When a user reaches a certain point value, they will receive a new status title which will grant them longer comments, allow more elements to be put in their library, allow for more elements to be shared, and for more comic strips to be put in a booklet.

The highest status title a user can obtain is of God.

Mentions
Strip Generator was on PCWorld's list of "40 Fantastic Time-Wasting Web Sites", where they listed Strip Generator as a tool to "Choose from an array of characters and objects, and then bring your strip to life, one square at a time". Box Of Tricks, a website about the connection between technology and education, noted Strip Generator's usefulness for making homework more appealing.

Strip Generator also appeared and was recommended on G4's Attack of the Show during their Web Tools segment.

Criticism From Users
Prior to March 3rd, 2011, many users had complaints about the use of the minus, or as it later became known as thumbs down, button. Users noticed random and, at times, a bulk of minuses applied to their strips; especially around the time when Bribe comics were chosen. This lead to many accusations that minuses were being used to manipulate the system so that one user wouldn't get Bribed, while another user would. Several users also disagreed with this idea as they felt it limited their voting ability on a strip; especially on strips that might be slanderous, use stolen elements, or was offensive.

On March 3rd, the staff of Strip Generator announced that they had removed this feature and that those who didn't like a strip would have to not vote and/or leave a comment.