As you might have heard, *Davenit and `insaneone have declared today show a staff member some love day. Too often, the hard work of the staff, many of whom are volunteers, is taken for granted. Worse, staff members sometimes find themselves the subject of angry journals for doing their jobs. The purpose of this event is to show appreciation for the deviantART staff who spend countless hours striving to make dA a better place.

There is one staff member in particular to whom many of us in the literature community would like give a public thank-you. ^imperfect has championed literature tirelessly on deviantART. Her dedication to the lit community started even before she became a gallery director. °ndifference is quick to point out that "Things like ~Coffeehouse, her countless recommendations for DD, her participation in the forum, and her staunch defense of Lit" made her an active, positive role model for other deviants and a perfect choice for GD.

Since becoming a GD, ^imperfect has served the lit community excellently. Recently, we've seen her work hard to get lit-centric v5 problems, such as formatting issues and missing preview pictures, resolved. ^imperfect also spearheaded the effort to get more lit news up, brought us dAlit chat, sponsors and thinks up writing contests (and even makes prizes through her prints account), keeps an eye on the lit forum, helps create and promote regular literature features, keeps a steady stream of lit DDs selected, and works with core administrators to bring more great stuff to dA writers. Whew! ^imperfect's devotion to literature on dA has been unwavering, even in the face of real world craziness. Plus, as =GunShyMartyr notes, she puts up with all our writerly drama!

So thanks, ^imperfect, for all you do for dA literature!


^coshdaddy

Last year, I was pretty much finished with deviantART. Not by any fault of the community, but due to the fact that my job, school, and life were pretty much ending any chances of furthering my own artistic or net-social endeavours. I started on a new semester, though, and was kind of whisked back, in a way. Spent some time here, watched some very trying events unfold, and eventually ended up in a site-wide project with some people I had never talked to before.

We met over talks of coffee and tea and other things. Up to this point, I'll admit, I had no idea who she was or what she had done, but it quickly dawned on me while we spent more time discussing our own project. When she commits herself to something, she makes sure that it is done the best way it can be done. That little saga turned out to be a spectacular success, but only scratched the surface of her accomplishments here.

^imperfect came into her role not long before/after I came back from my brutal year of post-secondary. Along with °ndifference and `MinorKey, they were dealing with troubles that were rattling some of the most respected and talented members of the community, along with the general populace of writers. She started out in conflict, with backs turned, and even through all this she managed to patch the wounds, and eventually sew things back together.

There's a lot I can list, really. But the main point I want to make is that, whether or not you like what she's saying, you have to respect what she's done and what she's doing. Toni has put more effort into this site than most people can gather with them and their friends if they tried their best for 4 years. And she does this job, which leaves her open to constant criticism and berating with little to no thanks and, very often, not much support. All for the betterment of the community, for the writers of the site. She isn't being dealt huge sums of cash, or getting parades, but she's fought to give writers on the site more exposure, to give us more options for communication and integration. More resources to better ourselves, more contests to challenge ourselves, and done it all while allowing everyone to give their input, heeding to as much of it as will help the rest of us.

She's been a mentor to a lot of people, and a friend to a lot more. We should all give thanks for what's she done here, and continues to do, because I don't think anyone else could do half the job she's doing now for any given time. And she deserves to know that, even if some people don't agree with her, that we respect her and thank her for putting up with our drama and our arrogance and our laziness.

You've done a great job, and continue to be a great influence on a lot of people, including me. Thank you, Toni.


^adrift
She has always stood up for lit. The amount of time and energy she has invested to respond in length to so many antagonistic or misguided comments... well, I seriously admire that effort. And that's only half of what she does here.


°ndifference
On the list of Lit Gallery Directors, Toni's enthusiasm, passion, and dedication already rank her at the top. Despite personal difficulties, Toni has remained a steadfast and dedicated champion of DA's underprivileged louts and we, all of us, owe her a debt of gratitude. I hope the other GD's are watching - they could learn a lesson or two. She's a first-rate advocate, a heck of a writer, and a marvelous friend.


`alienhead
Toni was the first person on dA to give me honest feedback on my work. I think I was on dA for a week, possibly less, and her comment always stood out to me because it was friendly, helpful, and she wasn't afraid to point out the rough spots. She wasn't rude like some were back then, nor was she pretentious.

I see that kind of approach now in all she does for the literature community. She's very down-to-earth, she's honest, and she does what she can to help. It's because of her that the lit community has the standing that it does right now. We have one DD-sometimes two--every day now. There are more featured contests than ever before. The chatroom, dAlit, is booming. There are actual workshops that occur in there sometimes. I've met more people on this site through Toni than any other person, and I'm happy to say most of them have become close friends.

I remember the lit community from a couple of years ago. It was nothing compared to what it is now. Now the lit community is moving forward on deviantART. There are people who are actually doing something to improve it, rather than bitch and moan and pine for the "good 'ol days" (which I think were hardly good). And leading the way for these folks is none other than Toni Kay.

Thanks, Toni. Keep doing what you're doing. You're a sweetheart, and we love you.


=youthculture
I probably wouldn't be on dA if it weren't for Toni. When I first got here I was floundering and found no real help or improvement to my writing; she snatched me up and introduced me to people, got me involved with people and vice versa. On a more personal level, when I was going through the cancer issues with my family, I knew I could look to her and her writing to keep hope. It's one thing to have a good leader and representative; it's another to be there for people. When I, or anyone, wants to start something, she is there to help. She is approachable, open-minded, and more than I could ask for in a GD. The time she gives to individuals in this community rivals what she's done for the face of dA lit as well.


*SparrowSong
She can be trusted to stand by the writers of dA literature through thick and thin, and devotes herself to improving literature on-site. She has worked tirelessly to get poetry and prose more exposure on dA through news articles, contests, DDs, and by getting to know the rest of the dA staff, so that Lit is integrating into dA instead of being a very separate subcommunity. Well before she became a member of staff, she was one of the more outspoken and passionate supporters of literature on deviantArt, and not afraid to butt heads with the Lit GDs at the time.

For me, personally, she was the first member of the writers' forum to watch me, and encouraged me a lot when I was starting to get into the community and my poetry was even worse than it is now. It was needed validation at a time when I was largely intimidated by the forum and still skittish about people reading things I wrote. Even with personal issues I write about in journals, she's offered support and advice, and even though it's one person through the screen of the internet, it's meant quite a bit every time.


~Jon-Law
It's easier to gauge Toni's contributions by asking what she hasn't done.

She hasn't risked direct personal injury in her efforts to protect us (from ourselves as often as from anyone else); she hasn't wrought division in the lit community at any time that one bunch of us feuded with another; she hasn't spent completely ridiculous amounts of time investing in interests that will benefit both the lit community and dA as a whole (by extension, at least); she hasn't made efforts to be an encouraging, trustworthy friend to every last person who submits writing to the site; she hasn't fought to implement every conceivable improvement to both the technical and social aspects of dA lit; she hasn't been insecure or presumptuous enough to make excuses, hide mistakes, or forego asking questions, admitting uncertainty; she hasn't made herself available every waking hour to sort through our community's issues or listen to our input; and she hasn't forfeited the quality of her character when rushing or dragged into mediating disputes, be they between fellow writers, writers and fellow staff, or who-knows-what between various echelons of staff. She hasn't failed, not by a longshot.

All in all, she's almost perfect. Well, that's not a very poetic phrase, but you get the idea.