Hello fellow deviants! This is my first time posting a news article. If I've messed up in any way, just let me know and I'll fix it!

As you all know, deviantART is a worldwide community. There are deviants here that are from EVERY corner of the Earth! This makes deviantART what it is; it assures that dA has cultural diversity.

But, with cultural diversity also comes people who don't understand these differences. It's not that (most) of these people are trying to be mean, they just do not realize that what may be acceptable in one country is taboo in the next.

So, I wrote these few simple tips/suggestions to help people understand why some deviants from a difference culture say the things they do--and why you shouldn't take offense.

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1. The Language Barrier: They aren't trying to be insulting.


"I don't get replies from this person, and all I do is leave them nice comments!"

I see these comments and more all the time, and the only thing I can think to do is roll my eyes. Look on the artist's country of origin (if they list it) on their dA page. Are they from a different country than you? More importantly: In that country, do they speak your language? Many artists that speak different languages DO appreciate every comment they get, but can they reply to all of them? No.

If you're native language is English and someone leaves you comments in all Swahili, can you reply to them? Of course not, but I'm sure you still appreciated the comment.




2. Saying ___ here is different from saying ___ there.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

Here is a snippet of experience. This will better shed light on what I'm trying to say:

<sub>A long time ago, there was an exchange student from Japan who came to our school. She was very sincere and kind at heart, but sometimes she said things that were so shocking and blunt, that we took it the wrong way. In Japan, the Japanese are very blunt with what they say, but they don't mean offense. Conversely, when I visited her the following summer, while talking to her around some of her friends, I used the swear word 'hell'. Here, hell, while considered a curse word, is not considered as bad of a word as 'fuck' or 'shit'. But in Japan, even such a low-level swear word to us is VERY insulting there, and I was reproached dreadfully for it.

In another instance, when a Chinese exchange student came to our school, he was very funny and a neat person, but when talking to adults, he did not look them in the eye or respond to their questions. Here, we consider that very rude and insulting, but there it is a sign of respect in some instances.</sub>

What I am trying to prove to you is that this is a common problem in dA. What is seen as 'haughty' here is often taken the wrong way. Think about what country they are from, and try to learn more about their country's culture and traditions before thinking they are trying to insult you or act better than you.




3. Don't tell someone to "learn English".

As $chix0r once said: "deviantART is an inclusive community, not an exclusive community."

Meaning, while English is commonly accepted as the official language of dA, this does not mean you have to be fluent in English to participate in the community. Think of all your favorite artists. Now, think of how many of those artists' official language in their country is NOT English. Now think if they weren't able to join dA because they didn't know perfect English. I bet you just lost a LOT of your favorite artists.

I've seen many a deviant try to insult another deviant who does not speak their language. When the receiver of the insult does not understand the insult, the insulter gets angry and tells them to 'learn English'. That's not much incentive for them to pick up the language, is it?

Do you have to know a certain language to appreciate art?




4. Don't let politics affect your view of an artist.

No matter what's going on in the world, art is it's own separate universe. Period.

No matter what an artist's country has done, this does not mean that the artist THEMSELVES is responsible. Has your country ever done something you did not agree with, but someone on dA said, "I hate [insert country here]'s policies. You guys suck."? But wait! You didn't support that in the first place, why is this person automatically assuming you did?

Remember that next time. An artist on here more likely than not has no control over what their government does, or what others from their country do.



5. What is taboo here may be acceptable there. And vice-versa.

I seen a lot of fights and drama start on dA over this issue. Did an artist draw something that you consider taboo? In your country it might be against your beliefs or religion or culture or what have you. But as long as it doesn't break dA rules, there is nothing you can do.

Don't try to start drama, number one. Just move on. If it goes against your beliefs, move on. No one is going to care about why you think it is wrong, or why it is polluting dA, or why it should be taken down. Especially not the artist.

If it's against dA policy, the mods and admins will take care of it, but if not and you keep creating drama, you're going to look like the ignorant one.


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I hope that this helps. I hope that this allows fellow deviants realize that things aren't always what they seem, and you should not take what others of a different culture say to you as an insult. In the end it will only cause more drama and tension and hate. And if it's one thing dA doesn't need anymore of, it's hate.

KikaiSaigono