The American Heritage Dictionary defines “Devious” as “not straightforward, shifty”. But do we as Deviants have to be shifty or not straightforward? I haven’t been a Deviant for more then a year, but already I know that a good part of us aren’t. In fact, most of the people on this site, in my opinion, are the nicest people I’ve met online. Of course, there are people who would proudly say they are the perfect example of the word. But deviantArt has given the word new meaning. Devious no longer means shifty or not straightforward, but instead brings the community together under one word. But for some, they may find it hard to understand the concept. How can even the most devious of deviants be the nicest of people? There are just a few things people do that shows how they are deviously nice…

Commenting on deviations is the simplest way to befriend others. Honest, truthful opinions are even better. Even the littlest “Very Nice” or “Cool” can make anyone’s day. Even though the big deviants on the site have to sort through hundreds of these little comments each day, it still has an impact and tells them that they’re doing well and need to keep it up.

Watching Deviants is taking commenting on them even farther. Commenting can go on anything, but watching someone means that their art is something special to you and you want to keep up with their life, whether it be journals, polls, or deviations. In most cases, people will return the watch. Great minds think alike about art.

Communication outside of deviant art is a great way to form friendships with other deviants, or just talk about deviantArt in general. Some forms of possible communication are MSN, AIM, Skype, Email, ICQ, and Yahoo. Odds are at least a few of your friends will have at least one of these, and if they do and you don’t, you can always get them by going to their respective sites- they’re free!

Just be friendly! The other deviants on this site aren’t computers or droids (as cool as that would be), but instead are real people with real feelings. If anyone has ever played an online game or something similar, you’ve probably heard this said before, and even more likely just blew it off. But keep in mind, it’s true. Everyone in the world has feelings, and different things that tick them off. Keep these things in mind and your time on deviantArt is sure to be a good one filled with friends.