deviantART's Community Relations Team provides a unique collective effort that seeks to create and sustain collaborative relationships among deviants and to develop innovative opportunities within the global art industry. These relationships are meant to provide and encourage opportunities to foster creative genius. The CR Team acts as a window of information for the community on how to utilize deviantART in a way that will empower and enable themselves as respected and successful artists.

Our ultimate vision is a community of artists that come together unified and strengthened by sharing the belief that they hold the artistic power to create and shape their own success. In order to realize our vision, our mission must be to exceed the expectations of our community, whom we view as partners, and we will accomplish this by committing to our shared core values. Our core values are listed in FAQ #84: What are the Core Values of the Community Relations and Operations Departments?


Director of Community Relations :

Table of Contents

1. Welcome!
2. Groups & Group Testing (Alpha Groups)
3.Daily Deviations and self-suggestions
4. Volunteer Openings in Community Relations
5. Question from the forums
6. Share your Opinions!
7. Llamas
8. Charity & Fundraising
9. Community Projects
10. Official Contests
11. Important & Interesting Links
12. News from the Galleries

1. Welcome & Thank You & Changes

We would like to welcome ^CookiemagiK to the Volunteer Gallery Moderator team. He is the new Gallery Moderator for emoticons

Every person that comes into Community Relations, enhances and touches the community in a positive way during their time - and they should be celebrated for their efforts and love for the community.

With that, we give our love, adoration and eternal gratitude to `FaMz, `bypass2020, `ctJemm, `Jules1983 and `shebid

Also note that ^Sander-Seto has taken over the traditional art -> Typography galleries as well as the Digital -> Text art galleries.

2. Groups & Groups Testing (Alpha Groups)

As many of you have noticed, we have launched several alpha groups to conduct testing which will lead to our beta release . I'm going to bring you some insider information Currently $chix0r and I are working on Basic (Me) and Super ($chix0r) group defaults. To help establish the needs and requirements of a variety of group types, I've enlisted some community members and created the following Alpha groups for Basic testing:


#britain - devMEET Group
#Writers-Workshop - Art Group
#firefly - Fan Group
#GimmeFeedback - Art/Social Group
#LegendaryCreatures - Art Group
#toronto - devMEET Group
#dAllamas - Social Group
#one-stop-stock - Resource/Tutorial Group

$chix0r will be touching on the Super groups in her next Community Operations newsletter so make sure you stay tuned to her

We appreciate that watching this from the outside can be a bit confusing, exciting and frustrating but I assure you we're hearing you and have heard you throughout this whole process. With that in mind I'd like to take time to speak about "Groupies"

When it was released that the groupie limit for basic was currently set to 100, there was some minor freaking out I appreciate this because I believe there to be a lot of confusion about the role of groupies and what they are. So I'd like to explain my thoughts on groupies and what groups could use them for and how current alpha groups are utilizing them currently.

First, it is important to recognize that groupies is like unlocking a new level in a game. You've never had them before, they aren't a cool name for group members - they are something completely shiny and new and unlike anything you've probably had before. With that in mind let's think of groupies in terms of band groupies and your group is the next "great thing".

So you have this kickass band and you have fans, people who buy some of your albums, come to some of your concerts but you also have groupies. Your groupies buy ALL of your albums, and they go to ALL of your concerts and they tell ALL of their friends about you. So in terms of deviantART groups, your groupies can be your street team. Groupies can be your marketing team, the people that promote your activities or help generate buzz. For the purpose of basic groups, I feel that groupies can be very powerful and valuable. I feel that groupies within a basic group are probably people that you have some sort of interpersonal relationship with. They are in that first tier of your groups inner circle and should be "chosen".

After a ridiculous amount of research into community and group sizes, I've found that the "magical" number for the amount of people you can logically stay "connected" to is somewhere around 100-200 depending on the type of connection you're shooting for. So this gives you a little insight into why our testing number is at 100 and while the final "product" may have a different number, I wanted you to hear what the logic was in arriving to our 'magic number'. That being said, what founders use the groupie level for is up to them. For instance here are a couple of examples:

`Beccalicious has determined that the groupie level for #Writers-Workshop should be reserved for deviants who were previous members of the workshop and various members of the literature community.

`sodalicious had decided that the groupies of #toronto should be reserved for deviants who live in Toronto.

The use-cases are endless and the power is in your hands. I simply wanted to show you the way my brain was working in regards to groupie limits for Basic groups

Note: Also be aware that if you don't know at this point, you do not need to be a groupie in order to submit deviations or faves to the group. Also, a quickly circulating rumor

Now that I've exhausted your attention on this one topic, what are your thoughts about groupies? How do you envision them being used? Do you feel the limit makes sense? Lets hear it.

3. Daily Deviations and self-suggestions

This topic seems to have a lot of passionate feelings behind it so I want to formally explain my view on why I asked people to remove "Do not suggest yourself" from their personal DD rules many moons ago. We are an art community, filled with amateurs, semi-pros and professional artists. We are rampant with people who want to make their living making art. and I will tell, as will anyone else who's worked professionally. If you cannot market yourself, if you cannot promote yourself - you will get eaten alive.

Therefore I believe it to be a disservice to yell, scream and jump up and down when people come at you with notes saying "OMG LOOK AT MY STUFF" or calling them egomaniacs because they self suggest themselves for a DD and this applies to the community at large.(staff, volunteers and fellow members of the community)

We should be encouraging people to promote themselves! However, I want to help everyone who wants to market and promote themselves but isn't quite sure how.

To be honest the "PLEASE CHECK OUT MY GALLERY [LINK]" doesn't really work here. This is an art community and people enjoy a lot of give and take. First, engage yourself in the community, if you want more comments on your stuff, it's usually good practice to comment on other peoples work. If you want thoughtful critiques, leaving "OMG AWESOME" on the works of 50 random people is probably not going to encourage that. You get from this community what you put into it. If you are looking for help with your technique, ask specific questions when you engage people. Instead of "CHECK OUT MY GALLERY" maybe "I really want some input on my black and white work since I've just started. Do you have any photoshop tips for fixing the levels and what's this about curves?"

It's better to take time and think about what you want to get out of the community and act accordingly.

The point is that we as a community SHOULD be nurturing a future generation of artists and that means educating each other on the positives of self-promotion.

4. Volunteer Openings in Community Relations

If you're interested in learning more about being a volunteer on deviantART please read FAQ #85: Can I be a volunteer on deviantART?

To see current openings on the Community Relations volunteer team please go to this journal

If there isn't a spot open please consider helping out from within the community. Read How to be a guiding light and shining example by the awesome ^RockstarVanity

Please note that there are a lot of inquiries that come in and I may not be able to respond to each and everyone. Your understanding is appreciated

5. Question from the forums!

Taken from this forum

~andrew-black asks :

I'm not sure if this is the right place or not or if it's been discussed at length before but I was just wondering if there was any thought of adding a music side to DeviantArt, as there are so many musicians on here and basically we don't want to have to leave DeviantArt to have our music elsewhere since we love DA and it's communities, we'd like to have all of our artistic lives on this fantastic site and not have to venture out into the rest of the ugly cyberspaceworld

Respect,
Andrew

This is a question that comes up often and I would love to bring music to deviantART however, the issues involved with such an endeavor are huge. The music industry is litigiousness and we aren't in a position to deal with that level of wrath and fury should people decide to upload their favorite CD's (and you all know they will). I won't say never because who knows, I recognize music as art and I enjoy it and would love to see a way around the legal insanity that will rain down upon us but at this time, we simply don't have the resources.

6. Share Your Opinions!

I'm actively using my personal forum to try and connect more with the community and I have a series of threads:

The top things you need to know to be deviant?
Questions for Community Relations - ask me anything!
Tools of the Trade - What do you use?
Profile Page Modules - What should we build?
General Feedback
Gallery Changes or Additions
Community Relations Project Requests
Subscriber Feature Requests
Requests for improving Literature on deviantART


these forums are all accessible from my profile page at $Moonbeam13 as well and I will be adding more. I encourage you to speak up and get involved! We're in this together

7. Llamas

=Commander-Luminaire said that this newsletter should contain no less than 5 llamas.. so here we go:

8. Charity & Fundraising

Support the Beth Anderson Fund


Have a charity or fundraising effort you want to promote?? Note me with the details!

9. Community Projects

Want to show your devious pride and get involved in ongoing Community Projects? Check on one of these:

Inspire Your Heart with Art Day

World Cancer Day

The deviantMIX Project

Random Acts of Kindness

Project Positivity

That Was Then, This is Now

Chaos Gerbil

Helen Levitt Tribute

Dave Arneson Tribute

Pimp the Positive Stamps!

May Events/Awareness/Holidays

June Events/Awareness/Holidays

Michael Jackson Tribute

Farrah Fawcett Tribute

July Events/Awareness/Holidays

My Personal Nightmare


These projects are open all year round, despite whether they represent a particular 'day' or 'month'

10. Official Contests

dA Llama 4th Birthday - Deadline September 10, 2009

Spectrobes - Origins - Deadline September 11, 2009

Myths & Legends - Deadline September 13, 2009

Beasts of 9 Creature Contest - Deadline September 18, 2009

From Scripts and Flicks

Ultimate Fandom Contests 4 - Deadline September 25, 2009

deviantWORLD - September 27, 2009

Story of a Nude Contest - Deadline September 30, 2009

Art History Contest: Baroque - Deadline September 30, 2009

dA Emoticomics - Deadline September 30, 2009

Think Pink IV - Deadline October 2, 2009

RTS Challenge - Deadline October 11, 2009

Beyond the Frontier: Unknown Moons - Deadline October 31, 2009


Please note that all contests end on the deadline stated at 11:59:59 PM PST

11. Important and Interesting Links

Official dA News

CEA Update; Invalid "Art Theft Report" - Why?
Celebrating Deviousness: Sept 2009
9th Birthday Coloring Contest Results
AdCast Goes Shiny



Informative News & Events

Know your rights as a Photographer
Six Easy Points: Why Disabling Share hurts you big
Art Marketing, DA & You
Five-a-day Project
deviantART 101 - Part Three
Miscellaneous [Photomanipulations/Mixed Media]
Om Nom Nom it's a delicious Widget
5 secrets of the Photoship Crop Tool
Control your Camera Remotely with iPhone
Fan Art: A Guide
Raising Awareness: Anxiety Disorder
Canon Unveils EOS 7D high-end digital SLR
The Art of Critique (in horror and beyond)
Comic Resources Index
Positivity in Action
Amazing Copic Marker Blog
Over 100 Prompts from Me and You
Tutorials
Brainstorming Help for the RTS Challenge
Art History Spotlight: Baroque
10/18 & 11/8 Adam Chilson Photography Workshops
DEVIANCE Wants You to be on the dTEAM!
I need, I offer N3
~ProjectComment wants to help you get constructive comments

Features & Interviews

Digital Art in Retro
Behind the Symbol with snowmask
Interview with Pixel Artist Fool
Spectacular Stock, Awesome Art 1
The blueprint of ... Gothic Armour - Full View.
The Cutting Edge 35/09
Photojournalism Interview(s) #11 [thermalraven]
dAknitters' September 2009 Collection
The Comic Pros Say "Adam Hughes"
Stunning Under 60 #2
3DLove #6
Shadows + Echoes: Volume 03
Artistic Nudes - Fleshy Features #10
Science Fiction Art of the Month v.18
Artisan Crafts DDs for August 2009
Fashion Photography Interview with hellwoman
Film & Animation DD's - August 2009

12. News from the Galleries

Ring Master


Anthro


Artisan Crafts


Comics & Cartoons - ^Thiefoworld
Comics & Cartoons - ^Cedarseed


Customization
Digital Dolls
Emoticons


Designs & Interfaces


deviantART Related


Digital Art
3-Dimensional
Vector


Fan Art

Film & Animation


Literature


Photography
Abstract & Surreal & Fetish
Artistic Nude
Animals, Plants & Nature
Horror & Macabre
Photojournalism - ^estudio
Photojournalism - ^Helewidis


Resources & Stock


Science Fiction & Space Art


Traditional Art