Having been a member of Deviant Art for a couple of years now, I have to say that I love this site. The accessibility that is afforded for my art to be seen is not only welcome but also needed. Most love the systems that allow us to show appreciation for other artists, and even appreciate that Deviant Art makes the site work through member “donation” and advertisement sales. This should not be seen as an irrational rant about how advertising is evil. I don’t believe that it is.

We have this new collections system; the interface is amazing and very user-friendly. The problem comes from the new advertisement position that came with it. Who had the idea to put a gigantic ad in the middle of everyone’s gallery? Shouldn’t people other than the administrators have been asked about this? There is something to be said for mercy and discretion. With this in mind, hear me out.

Many would love to have subscriptions to Deviant Art, but what if you can’t afford one? There is the problem that many of the artists on this site are struggling, unpaid artists who are still in school and living at home with their families, or barely making rent. We cannot afford subscriptions right now, and having that thrown in our faces does not make us want to be part of the Deviant Art family. There have been many comments made that the first reaction to the ads was disgust and the want to delete galleries and never come back to Deviant Art. That would have been a shame; there are so many artists on here that deserve to have their art known through this wonderful site. So here is a suggestion instead of just saying that it makes us angry. Keep the ads; it is after all how you make money. That is fine. Work with us though, change the position, or change the shape. Make our art more important than the money. Was that not the original point of this site? Making online promotion available to the masses? Well, we need something, give us a banner ad at the top of the page, or if you want to keep the ads in the galleries, make them lengthwise banners. This is the kind of solution that could benefit everyone involved. If you think that a banner at the top isn’t enough, fine, give us a banner at the bottom as well. As long as the galleries are one solid block, then we will be happy. Seeing our work chopped up, after we have gone to the trouble of organizing the work to suit our purposes is what bothers us. You have given us all these gallery options, so let us use them, without your insistent pushing for subscriptions.

Yeah, this sounds a lot like whining, it probably is, but do you like seeing a very large square ad that takes up 3/4 of your gallery, and repositions your work? No. So, mercy is needed. Give us a bone. Talk to us before you do something like this. We know the ads are part of the system, but they could be more aesthetic, give us that. Please, give us our galleries back. We love DA, but how can you continue to love something that is abusing you?