The Website

This phenomenal website was founded in August of 2000. Here, you can see how the site has changed over the last 9 years. Whether you think the changes have been good or bad is irrelevant—they have happened and you have no control over things that have already occurred. You do, however, have a little bit of influence over future changes.

The staff of dA are always looking to receive feedback from us deviants, so try sending them your thoughts at one point or another. It is us after all, who utilize the aspects of the website, and the staff want us to be as happy as possible. You must realize though, that something that may make you happy may upset another deviant. The staff must choose what changes to make in order to try and achieve a balance for all of us, bringing about positive benefits for the entire site. Sometimes they make a change that doesn’t particularly work out—these things happen. This said, there will always be something that you don’t like; it’s a fact of life that nothing will ever be exactly as you want it to be. This is because as humans, we are unique, and no two of us are exactly the same when it comes to opinions as well as likes and dislikes.

When you say that the website is “going downhill” that hurts the staff members. They try and keep our best interests at heart and I don’t feel as though this is any way to pay them back. Perhaps you no longer like some of the new features, or perhaps you don’t even like the website at all any more! If this is the case, then why stay? Nobody is forcing you to. You should stay on the site because you like it or perchance because you like the community and have made many friends here. Or even because it’s just a place to share your art and receive feedback.

In any case, try and put yourselves in the shoes of the staff members. I would like to see you try and run a website of this scale while keeping everyone happy. I assure you, it would not be possible. So next time you wish to complain about “the many problems of dA” keep this in mind.

Art Theft

deviantART is a very appealing website for art thieves. It supports a wide variety of artwork including literature, digital, traditional, artisan crafts and more. dA’s search functions are exceptionally easy to use, and finding a piece of artwork on a specific subject is trivial. Not to mention that beyond a simple watermarking system (that is utilized by choice) there is little done to protect the work of artists. In addition, the CC license is very widely misunderstood.

Not only is dA a target for plagiarists, but a residence for them. Nevertheless, there is no reason to believe dA is more or less safe than other sites available.

What upsets me is the way we deal with “art theft”. When I write about this, I am referring to theft onsite, not on other websites, and artwork that is directly uploaded without any changes to itself. Sometimes those who we brand as “art thieves” don’t even know that what they are doing is wrong! Then on the other side of the spectrum, there are those who know what they are doing and wish to gain recognition in an inappropriate way. I’m not saying that these are the only two types of people who steal artwork; I’ve just noticed these are the two most prominent.

When it comes to plagiarism dA is quick to act and remove the reported piece if someone does in fact report it. It’s difficult to keep up with the mass scale of submissions to the website so it’s up to us deviants to report these pieces as well as staff and volunteers to keep their eyes open. Once again, put yourself in the shoes of the staff members! Imagine how difficult it would be to keep track of every stolen piece onsite and deal with it effectively. Even harder would be to put in place a system that screens every submission before getting posted.

But how do we deal with these people? The blatant calling out of a thief is absolutely despicable in my eyes. I lose respect for people who do this at an alarming rate. All you have to do if you find a stolen piece is report it, and perhaps note the person in a polite way explaining that what they are doing is wrong, and then letting the original artist know if you aren’t said person. It may be hard to be polite but there is a higher chance of you gaining respect than if you outright start calling them names, and get other deviants to attack them. Remember: what goes around comes around, and karma can be a bitch.

Also, keep in mind that you are displaying your personal works on a public domain (although the rights still belong to you). You are taking a risk by doing this. There are people out there who could care less about copyrights and will take your works regardless. You might never catch them. If you are so concerned about art theft and plagiarism then cease from posting your works online. There isn’t much the internet world can do about it, and appropriate actions can only be taken if you find out about the stolen piece. I had my first art theft (that I know about!) the other week, and to be honest I wasn’t all that surprised. It was deleted days after being posted. I enjoy showcasing my limited skills to the deviants all over the world and will continue to do so even though there is a possibility it will be stolen. It is a risk I am willing to take.

Trolls

Trolls are everywhere, not just on dA. There is only so much staff and admins can do about this issue. Report and move on—by fighting back you give them just what they want. They are baiting you; don’t play their games.

So What Can We Do?

R E S P E C T

I’ve noticed a diminishing level of both respect and maturity on the site. Please try and treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. It really will go a long way. Attempt to put yourself in the shoes of someone else and think before acting. How would you feel if you were in their position

“When we intend to do good, we do. When we intend to do harm, it happens. What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through. We cannot sugarcoat the feelings in our heart of hearts. The emotion is the energy that motivates. We cannot ignore what we really want to create. We should be honest and do it the way we feel it. What we owe to ourselves and everyone around is to examine the reasons of our true intent.”

So please… quit whining about this website. Quit complaining about the staff, the changes, the DD’s, the volunteers, the features, the problems, the thefts, the drama, the pageviews and everything few and far between. It’s okay to disagree with any or all of the above but if you are going to make a point, be polite and respect the opinions of others.

All in all, try and enjoy deviantART for what it is. Get past these minor “issues” and put the focus where it belongs--back onto the art itself. deviantART is an amazing place. Don’t you ever forget that.