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Okay, so there was a few people pointing out in my last article that although I was talking a lot, the words were pretty vacant and meaningless, because they had no action behind them. Put simply, although I was saying it with conviction, I wasn't saying it with a real solution, which is the ultimate aim here.

So, what is the point of this article you ask? Simply to offer solutions to those in higher places, and to ultimately try to affect some change around here, to make deviantART truly better for all of us. Be we members, subscribers, staff, or senior, we're all essentially the same thing: deviants. For those of us not clued in on what deviant actually means, let me display you the definition as drawn from HyperDictionary.com:

Deviant:

   1. [n]  a person whose behaviour deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behaviour
   2. [adj]  markedly different from an accepted norm; "aberrent behaviour"; "deviant ideas"

In light of this, the name "deviantART" can be taken in two different lights: first being that the art displayed within is something which steps outside the box, a new and unique spin on the way art is created; and, that the people here differ from those regularly seen in the world from day to day, as if they possess some kind of extraordinary power for creation. And to be completely honest, in just over two years, I'm yet to see otherwise. The people here are what keeps me here, because they're for the most part, wonderful. And while I realise I'm yet to "meet" every single deviant on here (that'd be a huge feat being that there is well over a million accounts on the databases here, around 1.2mill if I'm not mistaken), the ones I have are generally the kind of people that make the world a better place for everyone concerned, not just themselves or a select few. Without deviants, deviantART becomes nothing more than, well, ART.

In light of the above, it frequently gets said that along with the deviant aspect of the site, there needs to be a strong grounding in the actual ART side of things too. And I don't sway from that, I feel anyone here should contribute somehow, be it comments, offering art to view, or just simply patroning the art shown. Now, to bring the definition into it once more, the same source as the above's definition of "art":

Art:

1. [n]  the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully"
2. [n]  the products of human creativity; works of art collectively; "an art exhibition"; "a fine collection of art"
3. [n]  a superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observation; "the art of conversation"; "it's quite an art"
4. [n]  photographs or other visual representations in a printed publication; "the publisher was responsible for all the artwork in the book"

Essentially, art is creation. Defining it further loses the meat of the word and the entire idea of it becomes obsolete. Now, combine the two definitions outlined above, and we give rise to something along the lines of, "Creation through an alternative mode", or simply, what I like to refer to as, "new creation". This aspect of the site is very important, and the cornerstone for the community. Without it the community wouldn't exist, but, on the flipside, without community the art wouldn't be able to be displayed as there would be no-one to actually view the work. I think it is pretty obvious just what implication the deterioration of either would have, which is why we have to inhibit either failing before it gets to a critical point that would surely eliminate the existence of this community.

To say that something needs to be done is fair enough, but to actually offer, and carry-through on that is sadly, seldom ever seen. The older deviants have (for the most part) expressed that they've seen a serious decline in community spirit and morale, as well as the actual art declining to an all-time low. To me that suggests two things:

1. That the deviance of the community isn't being encouraged in the right manner (read: constructive, or enhancing),

and to compound it,

2. That the artistic side of the community has no real drive being pumped into it.

While yes, there is activities that are taking place to try and enhance the two (or seemingly so, anyway), they're not really achieving the desired effect. Why? Because there are many factors counteracting them (which I will outline and discuss in some depth later-on in the article), making it redundant for the most part to actually initiate them in the first place. Also, it's not reaching the right people in the right context, making it even less effective. At this point in time, I can virtually hear the gears in your head kicking over, "But Ben! What does all of this mean? I'm confused!" or something to that effect. Well, put simply, it means that in order to have something work it first needs to be carried out in the right manner. Take the example of a chemical reaction. In order to achieve a desired result, the elements need to be added in not only the right amount, but in the right conditions. Without one or the other of those factors playing into your hands, the chance you'll fail is extremely high. Convert this back to the deviantART situation, and the same thing still holds true. Not only is timing essential, but the actual manner that it's carried out needs to be seasoned to perfection. Anything less and the deviants you aim to serve will not only leave dissatisfied, but feeling once more that the community is falling to nothing. Kind of a catch 22 really, which makes this something which is even more imperative to be solved quickly and efficiently.

Now, this is where it starts to get fun. This is where we all get to tell the guys who run the show how to do their jobs. Well, at least I do anyway. Whether they opt to listen to what I say is, however, entirely at their discretion. Above I've mentioned a few key elements which have acted as the cornerstones so far:

1. The general gist of deviantART as a definition and in practice,

2. What I currently see deviantART becoming,

3. A question of practice, and how effectively things are being done.

To match these, I've tabulated a list of what I currently feel are the issues that need to be assessed to re-enrich the community as a whole. After all, what is the ultimate point in giving a select few creature comforts while the rest starve? As with the previous, let's relate this to a real-life situation. The world is currently broken up into two classes. The first world, or those who have everything they need, and live life with the most expensive of everything, as well as more than ample of everything. Then, we move to the third world, starving an facing famine as a constant, as well as having little of what the westernised world (the first-worlders) consider to be, "quality of life". With that, we can notice a comparison between the deviants in relation to the way quality of "deviantLIFE" so to speak is distributed amongst those using the site, and I'm sure there would be some very interesting results determined from that. More interesting than that would be the actual symbols those experiencing better quality of time here hold. Personally, yes, I am a senior member, so to say that I don't get features (or creature-comforts) blind-faced in an open-forum such as this one would be not only quite blatantly stupid, but not only that, ridiculous. There's around 320 seniors at last count (that I'm aware of, anyway), so I'm sure one would call me out for it. Also, to match that, subscribers get another set of features, which is more than fair enough (after all, subscribers are a bulk of what keeps the site afloat), and staff members get a completely different set again. With all this levelling going on, it's little wonder (some) people are becoming antagonistic about not only status, but feeling as if they're superior over another deviant simply because of the aforementioned featureset. This actually rolls over into my first gripe/suggestion, which works out for all of us.

Problem One: Status Means EVERYTHING.

As above, the status thing is kind of getting to the point where it's not only petty and meaningless, but it's also quite tragic. To see members who have as much right as any other member to be part of the site getting ridiculed simply because they have no little star beside their name or some token which justifies them as a person, or a featureset which makes them so far above those below, that is quite tragic. To see my fellow deviants ran into the ground because they haven't got a paid account for any number of reasons is horrible. Admittedly I've been that way previously (sure, it was over a year ago, but this still becomes null), and I know a good number who have also. The elitism is something that deviantART seems to have a lot of, people who're feeling as though they're worth more per-se via their asterix.

As a senior I all too often hear the words, "but you're a senior" get muttered in my direction, as if the status actually makes me act any differently or better than any other deviant on the site. While all seniors have obviously done something staff feel commendable, they also are the same as anyone else on the site should be, deviants. The bias towards certain groups isn't funny anymore, and it needs to stop. This was also true as a subscriber back in my first year here, a "fun game" in the forums of the time was to bash "n00bies" because of their lack of subscription. At the time however, it was quite hard to actually get one compared with now, which makes it even less right. However right it seemed at the time, doesn't stop it from being nothing more than simple bigotry.

My solutions? While you may think I'm suggesting some form of "communism" or similar, this is quite contrary to what I actually think. I think that the status of a deviant should become invisible to anyone else, with only you knowing your actual status. And yes, while I realise this is very impractical given the number of deviants already here, the same grounding principle can be applied to other solutions. Having status symbols stripped-back to a bare minimum would help to amend the holes in the community caused by the gap caused by, what I like to refer to as, "bigger penis syndrome." And no, it's not restricted to only males as the name would suggest, rather can be applied to everyone. This so-called, "bigger penis syndrome" arises when someone feels superior to someone, simply because they feel they have a larger hypothetical "endowment", and eventually leads to completely writing-off other people because of it. On the same token, this can be applied to deviantART directly. This happens quite a bit when people develop large egos, especially when directly proportional to their "status" symbol. Be this from senior-member, senior-subscriber, admin-all, or the most common, subscriber-member, all are something which shouldn't occur on this site, and in my opinion, can be eliminated to a manageable level.

Another solution, make policy violation an easier task for both policy violation administrators, and for the people who're being belittled. After all, if you can't stop human nature, at least offer some hindrance to it. Currently, submitting a violation ticket is somewhat difficult, so imagine the situation when you place a younger deviant in the same. Not only would it become a mess, but eventually, it would get to the point where PV's are being avoided, simply because the process is somewhat difficult. We're already at that point, which is a shame. On the same token, we're seeing a few new PV admins being implemented lately. It's quite ironic to put on new staff to manage a failing system. I suppose it's just like gunpoint democracy in a way, simply because neither are effective or truly useful in reality. Perfectly fine in hypothetics, but once you start involving outside factors, (let's face it, humanity is something very unpredictable) it becomes difficult to achieve properly. Combine this with the outside factors aside from it, and you've got yourself a fine little cocktail to play with.

In effect, both of these combined would work effectively in my mind. Community would be enhanced, and bias would be dropped as a virtue of the above outlined changes.

Problem Two: Subscribe NOW!

This one is definitely one that gets me. The so-called lifeblood of the site is the subscription service, which if I'm not mistaken makes up a majority of deviantART's funding, yet, it's not really giving as much as it should be to draw everyone in effectively. To be completely truthful, a few features (albeit mostly useless) added to my page doesn't really scream out, "Hey! Get this NOW!" at me. If anything, the greatest drawpoint that a subscription currently has is the browse features, like larger thumbs and the message center. Failing that, it's not really (seemingly) offering all that much to the average user. Now, I pose a few questions to the guys with their fingers on the triggers. What happened to the old features, like custom content? And the ability to do RSS? Also, what happened to the promise of NO ADS! which I see at least a few times on the subscribe page? I still see advertising, so either I'm receiving miscommunication, or something doesn't equate. Mayhaps it's just the fact that the person conveying the message of "NO ADS!" has a different understanding of the statement than I do, but, in that case we have yet another barrier to break down. Perhaps maybe I'm asking too much by this, but I know I'm definitely not convinced when I look at the subscribe page (the only real reason I'd buy one is because I hate being unsubscribed, and the message center is something I need) to go and buy one without needing to hesitate. In other words, a few journal features, an asterix and some message center stuff don't really make me jump for my credit card to buy one. Ideally, this is what would happen. However, in the current form, it's not very likely. Hell, I don't really care about the ads thing. It's not the fact that advertising exists, it exists everywhere. It's the fact that, inspite of everything, a promise written into the site is being neglected. Principle is a far greater cause than personal convenience.

Suggestions? Fix it. Fix the holes in the promises on the page to subscribe. Get rid of the ads that we as subscribers still get, inspite of the claim of none. Bring back the exclusive content which has been promised since the release of version 3 way back in August 2003. As we head into 2005, this promise is still yet to be fulfilled. Also, introduce useful features for subscribers to toy with, not just a string of random things that, while they're shiney and seem to be cool serve little-to-no actual functional purpose. No matter how you decorate a shanty, forever a shanty shall it remain. I know this is a very outside possibility and probably never going to occur, however, I feel allowing us to use more formatting for our pages (journals specifically) would be a nice additive, and the ability to hide certain elements on a page (for example, the statistics) from everyone except the user themself. Yes, I do mean the ability to add a stylesheet or at least tables to journals, the current situation is a little hard without making everything image-intensive, thus hindering those on slower connections. However, with a stylesheet it becomes easy to replicate the same design easily, and in most cases, only needing a single image to be loaded and parsed. At the very minimum, the ability to use the tag would be an advantage, because it allows customisation to a manageable point.

Asking around, people have told me they want simple things that serve a functional purpose, like skins. And although it's been said that it's bandwidth ineffective by the admins, this still has yet to be given a full answer. I fail to see why this would need to have anything outspacing a simple import stylesheet, denoted by an integer in the filename/database. There would be no more bandwidth output than the current, and wouldn't create any extra unwanted serverstress. Development of them would ensure people like pachunka stay in a job, and definitely would help to give dA the fabled, "homely feel".

In summation: the more you give, the more you get. As I mentioned earlier, no matter what you choose to decorate a shanty with, it's always going to be a shanty. However, a mansion can have any furnishings and still be a mansion. So, is subscription a shanty, or a mansion?

Problem Three: But I Know About ART!

Unfortunately, most people on this site don't. Too often I see people around here claiming to know the Alpha-through-Omega of art around this place, but as soon as you attempt to offer a worthwhile opinion to appreciate that, seldom is the response in kind. While this would be acceptable normally, it's gotten to the stage where people's lack of training or knowledge in art is becoming a hindrance on the community. The level of "advanced critique" you can generally expect is, "hey, nice photo!" or something similar. But, it's not only the lack of knowledge in art, so much as it is the lack of knowledge in construction of a comment to compound it. While the typical structure of the generic 5-word comment is acceptable in times when you're satisfied with a work, and you're open to both structured and unstructured comments, however, in times when an artist is seeking to better themselves via the assistance of others offering their constructed opinions. While simple, "I like it" comments are successful (for most people, anyway) at giving a small ego-boost momentarily, for those of us wanting more it leaves a slightly bitter taste in their mouth. I know I'm one of those people.

The voices erupt from the stadium. "Well Ben, what do you suggest, seeings you're so knowledgeable about everything? Huh?!" you say. Well, here is what I say. Education. It's been passed around a few times, and certainly is something people are trying to achieve actively (read: The Comment Revolution that splat has set up), however, it's not receiving any great administrator support, or at least where it counts. This is pretty saddening really, because while the admins are quick to run more contests and whatnot, something like this which really is an essential piece of the puzzle to help lead onto those things is being neglected. There's enough things written on how to comment around the site, why isn't it being picked up? I'm bemused by it. So, what I feel should be done goes something like this: Implement these things into a welcome page for new deviants. Make hot topics of it for the existing members. Hell, just implement it any way it can be to get people to see. There is over 1 million people here, it's time to start educating them.

While we can't afford (both monetarily and time-wise) to go to school to learn the techniques of critique or the theory of art, we still can all adopt a few techniques to make it better for all of us. Even offering something outstretching, "it's good" by way of telling the artist what is good would be an improvement, because simply saying something is good without justification becomes nullified. However, adding at least the good factor into a comment not only helps the artist to grow, but helps the viewing audience because it assists in actually asking the commenter why they like a work of art, begging them to take a deeper look into it. In effect, this means community growth as a whole, and generally a happier disposition from all concerned. We're all kids at some point in time, and in the art world that property of childness can pay off if you transfer it correctly, however, immaturity in commenting isn't the best way to do it.

Problem Four: Personal Moderation Is The Best MODERATION.

Sadly, it's really not. Ultimately, humans will be humans, and as such will be inclined to be foolish at some point in time. As much as anyone wishes to deny it or run it into the ground, it's a factor that exists as a virtue of us being humans, something we cannot change. That is all well and good, everyone needs to let the child inside out occasionally. But, it seems to be occurring at a largely growing rate around here, and in the wrong places and situations. Worst affected by foolishness just happens to be a community at large, deviantART being one such community. Take a look around the site for a few minutes where people congregate (read: Forums, dAmn! , andShoutbox ), and I'm sure you'll see people interacting properly, interacting well and friendly. However, keep browsing and I'm sure you'll find those who're not quite so cheerful and "properly" interacting. While it remains peaceful for the most part, that "most" is slowly degrading into something smaller and smaller as the days and weeks go by. While there is new help staff and such being employed around the place to field this, there is still sections of the place left unchecked. Shoutbox for example. I've been in there every day for the last week (as some sort of a survey, as well as getting back to some old roots), and I've seen 2 forms of enforcement in the entire time. Once was a dedicated moderator for a few minutes, another was a policy violation admin. What this says to me is that it's being neglected somewhat, no matter what anyone wishes to tell you. From experience, the Shoutbox does seem to be able to run on it's own for the most part, however, things travelling in their current direction don't seem to support this fact.

To compound this issue, I stepped foot into the forums a little while back. I've never seen them in a worse state in the entire time I've been here. Topics are generally quite bland and morbid, and although there is sometimes a policed state occurring it happens in a manner which actually hinders deviants from interacting not only well, but meaningfully too. Banning people for something which is supposed to boost morale is quite ludicrous, if you ask me. So, let's sum-up the facts here. We've got a forum which is for the most part unmoderated (unofficially moderated), and the Shoutbox which has dedicated moderators, yet still isn't getting it's needed attention. Either I'm missing something, or someone isn't writing their job descriptions too well. It's kind of ironic for some of the most active parts of the site are still unchecked with dedicated moderation, because, as everyone who frequents either will testify, "stupidity" and tomfoolery is surely on the increase. While these things are good when used with personal moderation, they get quite annoying and disheartening without. Sadly, with the main demographic of the website being middle-teens, this as a generalisation, means that the level of personal management is much lower, with teens being more inclined to "act the fool" as it were. Until something is done to stop these things, the foolishness of things such as forum-flooding and excessive spam are going to continue to grow in numbers, and as a general rule make the website a lot less fun to interact with for everyone concerned. I can't vouch for anyone here except for myself and a select few who have told me, but I prefer deviantART to be a fun place to be. I like being able to log into the site and have a good laugh occasionally, but for the most part just be in a pleasant environment. It's a sad thing that keeps diminishing.

"Ben, for the love of GOD! Stop whinging!" Fine. I'll offer this solution (which is pretty obvious to me): Get people in. I know they've made an effort to try to get people such as the now-converted dAmn Army to occupy the Shoutbox as well as official chatrooms (which I've only ever actually seen once in their entire existence) and tried to keep the forums under-wraps with the occasional admin visit, but it's not effective. Not being critical of Scott's judgement because personally I feel I probably would've done the same, rather just noticing when something isn't working. To stop something becoming another localised "Hell" as it were, you've got to have some kind of brute force. Some would argue a policed state is not the answer, however, seeing an inverse correlation between lesser administrative activity in said places and increasing foolishness argues against that. Adding administrative bodies to rectify and look after a specific zone of the site would assist in curbing this increase. Not just any administrative bodies either, rather, specialist ones that are familiar with what they are looking after. The current dAmn Army looking after the Shoutbox situation is quite horrible, as most have never even set foot inside of it. Giving someone power in a region they are familiar with and like not only increases productivity, but enhances community-staff relations. The galleries of art are moderated, so I ask this question: why can't the community be the same? While there is moderative bodies, they are, generally, not there at critical times. One thing that was (moreso than currently) effective as such when I was moderating the Shoutbox was timetabling. This was a loose time when it was suggested you should be around, to look after your keep.

Community isn't about size or regal, it's about effective communication. Unfortunately, those lines have been severed somewhere along the way. It appears time to send in a repair crew.

Problem Five: The Best Features Are The Ones You USE.

Yes. They really are. So, why don't they still exist? If you're bemused as to just what I'm talking about, chances are you weren't around the site around version 2 (2002-2003 stylee, baby) or prior. If you do however, I'm sure you'll agree that the feature sets that we have now are pale in comparison for the most part, and certainly lacking a lot of the function of the original tools. Admittedly, dA has mentioned it has a few tricks up it's sleeves in concerns to NEW FEATURES! as certain administrative bodies have chosen to put it, but until they're actually implemented, it's going to take a lot to convince most of us. I know I certainly feel that deviantART is no longer one of the most powerful tools I have, because the features that gave it that status have gone missing somewhere. Things like packs (to return as "collections" I do believe they're to be called) and full deviant information at the top of a comment beside the deviant’s name, little semantic things that made this place so much easier to use. The list goes on, and on, and on. While I can understand why some disappeared (a la lasthost on comments and such), others I'm still very confused why they're yet to be reimplimented. As far as features are concerned, version 3 was a nightmare for "power-users" so to speak. As with a computer administrative "power-user", a deviantART "power-user" demands the most of the features and makes the most of available tools. That is so much harder to do now, and it seems a lot of people have lost that love for using deviantART as more than a site, using it as a tool. I know Angelo has mentioned in a few places certain features would return, I'm yet to see anything one and a half versions later.

Now, if you're still wondering why the hell I'm complaining about outdated features (or what seem to be if you've not used them), take a look for yourself . Most of the features we had were great, and I'm yet to get a reason from any administrator why any of them (that had an actual functional purpose and non clear-cut reasoning) were removed. I'm also yet to get an ETA on any of them. Just sit tight and wait, I guess. I know I'll love if they come back, and I'm sure everyone else who used them will too. Maybe even those who didn't, also.

On the flipside of this, the site also needs to house some new features to make it a more viable tool for artists globally, be they subscribed or unsubscribed, senior or administrator. We need things we'll all benefit from, no matter how simple. A few good examples of these are some of the JavaScript "hacks" floating around the place at the moment, such as the overrides for the "collective rectum" I've seen (hey, it's a novelty, but it's a cool thing to show just what can be implemented with some simple JavaScript), and the more functional ones such as radio boxes beside certain deviants in the message center to highlight their entire lot of submissions. Personally I'd love to have that functionality, something so simple can make life so much easier. Also, the script which places a thumb beside the comment box on a deviation is very useful for those of us who're critique junkies, as it allows us to view the work while we comment and not have to move back and forth repeatedly. It both amuses and saddens me that there are regular deviants throwing in hours of code to make the lives of other of us easier, yet I'm still seeing no huge developments from the codemonkey team. While I understand a lot of the work is done underground so to speak, it'd still be nice to occasionally see some slight sign of this and mayhaps even a sidenote saying, "Yes. We're doing XXXX, it'll work like this, and it'll be done by this time hopefully" or something similar. That would not only make people a little-less anxious about what is happening in deviantland, but also, maybe, just possibly give the people who patron the site some idea just what to expect in the future.

Now, before you demand answers, I'm going to give them. This one is really simple: implement them. There's occasionally good ideas float around the suggestions forum, and constantly great ones in the other facets of the site. So, my message to deviantART is, use them. I understand that the current code-monkeys are strapped to death with their coding duties already, so, hire the people who put the effort in anyway. There's really no point to doing that kind of project for direct implementation without it being properly absorbed into the system, so why not give the guys with the brains who actually can pull it off a shot? I understand the risks of this, giving people access to the source code of deviantART is risky, yes, but so is every other facet of administrating the site. But, ideally, it's the same as any other person getting hired by the company, be that for gallery control, policy administration, et al. There are a stack of wonderful PHP/Java coders around the place with great ideas and functions that work, it's time for this place to start paying attention. Also, token with that is the fact that there are things desperately needed getting neglected for bigger, shinier projects. Quite sad, really. A wise man once said, "No matter how you paint a shack it'll always remain as a shack; Build better things on it and it'll one day become a home." This is very true of deviantART, what is the ultimate point in "painting" the shack as it were, when it could easily be a house? It confuses me.

Also, to compound this, we've heard many promises of upgrades to the browse function happening in some of the sections (namely, Literature) and promises that it will be released sometime. How about some updates? Let's quickly relate this to the whole consumer-supplier thing for a moment. As a consumer, when you buy a product and something gets promised to happen, you like to know how everything is going on your products, don't you? I know personally if I'm going to invest my time in something, I at least want to know that my time isn't going to be shattered in a matter of moments. deviantART is exactly the same, even the smallest of updates would suffice. This isn't just limited to the updates on the browse function, rather everything. Once a year in a, "State of Affairs" kind of article isn't really sufficient to keep the kids at bay. And not just in the Status Forum. Currently, I'm seeing updates 3 or 4 days after they happen there, and around 2% of people I see actually care to look in that circumstance. That is completely up to the guys in charge, and not the point I'm making. The point is, sharpen up and let the people know. This may actually solve a lot of help tickets being sent, as well as help out the guys up top by alleviating some of the "tin-foiled deviants" as they were called. The ball is in your court guys, who's up for some three-on-three?

Problem Six: My Pageviews Make Me A Better DEVIANT!

Sorry to break it to you kids, but pageviews don't really mean shit. In essence, yeah, they demonstrate how much traffic your main page has had, but really they don't display much of anything else. On-site, I've found mainly 4 different types of deviant:

1. The Egotist

This subset of deviance is one that irks me to quite large levels. These guys have a massive amount of pageviews, yet their contribution to the community is about as much as a common bar of soap. They submit art, they receive comments, they accumulate DTF's to display their self-worth on the site. Stepping outside to comment maybe once in a few months, and even then only stretching a few words on it. They really don't do much except, as the old saying goes, sit and look pretty.

While this is acceptable on it's own in very small doses, the envelope gets far-pushed when they develop large egos. For the most part, these guys that I've seen tend to have over-inflated egos, and huge fanbases that make it exponentially grow by the week. Having fans is one thing, but having a horde of screaming fangirls to do your bidding is another. They tend to feel they are more important and have a greater worth on the site than anyone else and their opinion, and their hit counters actually aid in backing them up.

2. The Quiet Achiever

These guys are one of the classic examples of the guys who're backstage on massive rock concerts. Quite a good example of this would be, how often do you hear people ask who set up a Metallica concert? Basically never, even though they've put in just as much, if not more work than the ones who get the fame. Giving the site their all every day they're here, and doing it with a brave face, they go, albeit unnoticed.

This, isn't really right. I'd love to count the amount of times I've stumbled on an artist who is giving it so much more than the type-1 deviants, producing, on a general basis more heartfelt and original work, yet no-one is around to see it. A lonesome-crowded west kind of thing (excuse the poor Modest Mouse reference, couldn't think of a better analogy), in that there is so many of them, so much skill and no-one around to see or appreciate it. If you ever met a person that's like this, please, give them a shoutout or two and let them know that they're appreciated, after all, this site is about making the world a smaller place for all of us. Don't let good talent appear to be unappreciated, it's a terrible waste.

3. The Give-Nothing

Just as the name suggests, they do just that. Give nothing, get nothing in return. They don't comment, they don't submit, they don't get views. These ones are the ones that generally complain about views, except in an opposing fashion to the type-1 deviants. We see all-too-many of these ones creating threads in the forums, "ho do u gt mor paegvyooz no1 luvz me!" or somesuch, always getting the same responses. That is, interaction. Quite sad, really.

These are ones that just sit here and try to make themselves look like they're doing something, when in fact, they're just sleeping on our lawns. This group can be extended once more into the popular class, where the people submit, and occasionally comment when time permits. This is fair enough, to some degree. After all, not everyone can boast a name such as, "Father Time".

4. The What-Goes-Around-Comes-Around

The ones who really earn it. They comment with skill and precision, they submit quality work, they actually show worth to the community. The ones you can really tell want to be here, no matter what symbol they have beside their name. They tend to have moderate-to-heavy fame amongst circles on-site and off, and generally almost infamous skills of commenting.

I like these guys, you like these guys. They earn their place in everyone's heart. And rightly so.

There are other groups and extensions of each, but these 4 cover generally everyone here. The ones that really make it painful for the rest of us are the type-1 and to a lesser extent, type-3 deviants, who really offer little in the way of community. Generally, this happens to be quite the opposite of their doings. All too often I see astonishingly popular deviants sporting their over-inflated pseudo-manhood around as if it were some kind of badge of pride to validate them and their opinions, where this simply isn't true. While the pageviews thing is nice, it really does serve little purpose to illustrate a deviant's "worth" around the site. For the most part, when I look at views I use them to see if a deviant really is making an effort, or sitting back and watching the proverbial "fat-cash" as it were roll in by the bucketload.

While this may not seem a problem to a lot of people, it certainly strikes me as being one. DeviantART said they wanted to give users more power of customisation, so why not? I have no real want nor need to show other people how many others have been to my page, or see other people's for that matter, and I know a whole swag of others who feel the same way. I know for a fact that it can't be that hard to do in the way of code, a span and a neglected SQL fetch. If I weren't mistaken, I'd say it'd actually benefit deviantART over thousands of pageloads, not only on server strain but on the bandwidth side of things also. While a few hundred bytes may seem miniscule, compare it to how many pages get loaded per minute. Times that by 60, then by 24. Imagine how much bandwidth per day it could save effectively, as well as give the people an extra option to customise the way they view pages.

This works out better for everyone, pages load quicker, servers last longer, less complaints are made, and less squabbling occurs. If I wasn't mistaken, I'd say the site was mad for not implementing it already. It's been flown around the suggestions forum so many times with so many admins saying it wasn't going to happen without giving a reason why.. now here's that chance. Why isn't it going to happen? I'm extremely curious to hear what makes aiding squabbling and pettiness so mandatory for the site to continue supporting. Kind of ludicrous if you ask me.

INTERMISSION

Now if you'd like to take a short intermission to let yourself absorb all I've said, and then commence reading again shortly to finish up with what I'm about to say. Thanks.

Welcome back. Okay, let's get right back into it on a strong point.

DeviantART: Things Are Getting BETTER!

They certainly can be getting better, and in some aspects they already are. However, some things are unfortunately, not. That is ultimately the decision of the guys with their fingers on the buttons. I've made suggestions here, that I can say are supported by more than a few deviants (for the most part, anyway). If they get implemented, so be it. If not, things will be more obvious than before. That said, it's not only up to the site to create this pseudo-perfect world I've described above, rather, the people using it have a large part in this too. In fact, a community functions as exactly that, a community. As with all good teams, the leaders only help implement things, they don't actually carry the weight of the entire body. In other words, it's up to every single one of us to make deviantART the community it more than has the capacity to be.

What this means for the people reading this, no matter what status, is to interact effectively. Don't be one of those who does nothing and expects the world in return, and most certainly, don't be an arsehole while you're around here because no-one wants to deal with it. Causing trouble on the internet earns no-one points for their coolness, nor does it prove anything. Helping out, however, reveals the trueness of one's character. It shows they have dignity in themselves and those around them no matter how feeble their problem may seem, and it shows that they carry pride in what they do.

I know a lot of people will be sitting there vacantly as if to say, "Well okay, I've read it, now what the hell did he just say and why is it involving me?" and expecting me to answer. So, I guess I will. These are the most important parts of the community as I see it:

1.Ability To Interact Effectively

That means, in essence, communication. In order to communicate well one needs to be sure that they actually are willing to do so in the first place. Also, the ability to listen is another key factor in this. It has been said by many great minds that being an effective communicator is the ability to listen to what others have to say, and reacting in kind, and I believe this wholeheartedly. This site is based on the ability to communicate freely with the users who patron it, in many different methods. Use them. One of the best ways to get in touch with the people around this site in an effective manner is to step into any one of the chatrooms on-site, as well as off on our very own IRC network. There's generally always someone around to converse with, so get out there and talk to someone, even if you don't know them. Who knows, you could even find a new friend.

2. Ability To Handle Situations Effectively

This ties in neatly with the one above. Not everyone is going to be adhering to the methodology of interacting effectively, so of course there's going to be hitches in the chain. Not everyone on the site is going to be the nicest person in the world, so don't expect it. However, when someone isn't, don't bite back heavily and get yourself banned. I've been there before, and I can safely say it isn't one of my proudest things I've done while here. If someone does get to you, report them. There are policy administrators in place for that sole purpose, so put them to use.

So, basically advancing communication in a manner that is both effective and worthwhile. This could be through as I suggest, chatting, visiting random deviants, commenting well, or even as I've done here, preparing articles for others to read. It's up to all of us to make this into a house, not just a shack with a fancy paintjob. Comment effectively, interact effectively, exist as a deviant effectively. Do these, and things will fall into place in time.

DeviantART: It’s not only the greatest community in the world, but it’s also what you make of it. I know exactly what I make of it, what about you?

Description
Okay, so there was a few people pointing out in my last article that although I was talking a lot, the words were pretty vacant and meaningless, because they had no action behind them. Put simply, although I was saying it with conviction, I wasn't saying it with a real solution, which is the ultimate aim here.

So, what is the point of this article you ask? Simply to offer solutions to those in higher places, and to ultimately try to affect some change around here, to make deviantART truly better for all of us. Be we members, subscribers, staff, or senior, we're all essentially the same thing: deviants. For those of us not clued in on what deviant actually means, let me display you the definition as drawn from HyperDictionary.com:

Deviant:

   1. [n]  a person whose behaviour deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behaviour
   2. [adj]  markedly different from an accepted norm; "aberrent behaviour"; "deviant ideas"

In light of this, the name "deviantART" can be taken in two different lights: first being that the art displayed within is something which steps outside the box, a new and unique spin on the way art is created; and, that the people here differ from those regularly seen in the world from day to day, as if they possess some kind of extraordinary power for creation. And to be completely honest, in just over two years, I'm yet to see otherwise. The people here are what keeps me here, because they're for the most part, wonderful. And while I realise I'm yet to "meet" every single deviant on here (that'd be a huge feat being that there is well over a million accounts on the databases here, around 1.2mill if I'm not mistaken), the ones I have are generally the kind of people that make the world a better place for everyone concerned, not just themselves or a select few. Without deviants, deviantART becomes nothing more than, well, ART.

In light of the above, it frequently gets said that along with the deviant aspect of the site, there needs to be a strong grounding in the actual ART side of things too. And I don't sway from that, I feel anyone here should contribute somehow, be it comments, offering art to view, or just simply patroning the art shown. Now, to bring the definition into it once more, the same source as the above's definition of "art":

Art:

1. [n]  the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully"
2. [n]  the products of human creativity; works of art collectively; "an art exhibition"; "a fine collection of art"
3. [n]  a superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observation; "the art of conversation"; "it's quite an art"
4. [n]  photographs or other visual representations in a printed publication; "the publisher was responsible for all the artwork in the book"

Essentially, art is creation. Defining it further loses the meat of the word and the entire idea of it becomes obsolete. Now, combine the two definitions outlined above, and we give rise to something along the lines of, "Creation through an alternative mode", or simply, what I like to refer to as, "new creation". This aspect of the site is very important, and the cornerstone for the community. Without it the community wouldn't exist, but, on the flipside, without community the art wouldn't be able to be displayed as there would be no-one to actually view the work. I think it is pretty obvious just what implication the deterioration of either would have, which is why we have to inhibit either failing before it gets to a critical point that would surely eliminate the existence of this community.

To say that something needs to be done is fair enough, but to actually offer, and carry-through on that is sadly, seldom ever seen. The older deviants have (for the most part) expressed that they've seen a serious decline in community spirit and morale, as well as the actual art declining to an all-time low. To me that suggests two things:

1. That the deviance of the community isn't being encouraged in the right manner (read: constructive, or enhancing),

and to compound it,

2. That the artistic side of the community has no real drive being pumped into it.

While yes, there is activities that are taking place to try and enhance the two (or seemingly so, anyway), they're not really achieving the desired effect. Why? Because there are many factors counteracting them (which I will outline and discuss in some depth later-on in the article), making it redundant for the most part to actually initiate them in the first place. Also, it's not reaching the right people in the right context, making it even less effective. At this point in time, I can virtually hear the gears in your head kicking over, "But Ben! What does all of this mean? I'm confused!" or something to that effect. Well, put simply, it means that in order to have something work it first needs to be carried out in the right manner. Take the example of a chemical reaction. In order to achieve a desired result, the elements need to be added in not only the right amount, but in the right conditions. Without one or the other of those factors playing into your hands, the chance you'll fail is extremely high. Convert this back to the deviantART situation, and the same thing still holds true. Not only is timing essential, but the actual manner that it's carried out needs to be seasoned to perfection. Anything less and the deviants you aim to serve will not only leave dissatisfied, but feeling once more that the community is falling to nothing. Kind of a catch 22 really, which makes this something which is even more imperative to be solved quickly and efficiently.

Now, this is where it starts to get fun. This is where we all get to tell the guys who run the show how to do their jobs. Well, at least I do anyway. Whether they opt to listen to what I say is, however, entirely at their discretion. Above I've mentioned a few key elements which have acted as the cornerstones so far:

1. The general gist of deviantART as a definition and in practice,

2. What I currently see deviantART becoming,

3. A question of practice, and how effectively things are being done.

To match these, I've tabulated a list of what I currently feel are the issues that need to be assessed to re-enrich the community as a whole. After all, what is the ultimate point in giving a select few creature comforts while the rest starve? As with the previous, let's relate this to a real-life situation. The world is currently broken up into two classes. The first world, or those who have everything they need, and live life with the most expensive of everything, as well as more than ample of everything. Then, we move to the third world, starving an facing famine as a constant, as well as having little of what the westernised world (the first-worlders) consider to be, "quality of life". With that, we can notice a comparison between the deviants in relation to the way quality of "deviantLIFE" so to speak is distributed amongst those using the site, and I'm sure there would be some very interesting results determined from that. More interesting than that would be the actual symbols those experiencing better quality of time here hold. Personally, yes, I am a senior member, so to say that I don't get features (or creature-comforts) blind-faced in an open-forum such as this one would be not only quite blatantly stupid, but not only that, ridiculous. There's around 320 seniors at last count (that I'm aware of, anyway), so I'm sure one would call me out for it. Also, to match that, subscribers get another set of features, which is more than fair enough (after all, subscribers are a bulk of what keeps the site afloat), and staff members get a completely different set again. With all this levelling going on, it's little wonder (some) people are becoming antagonistic about not only status, but feeling as if they're superior over another deviant simply because of the aforementioned featureset. This actually rolls over into my first gripe/suggestion, which works out for all of us.

Problem One: Status Means EVERYTHING.

As above, the status thing is kind of getting to the point where it's not only petty and meaningless, but it's also quite tragic. To see members who have as much right as any other member to be part of the site getting ridiculed simply because they have no little star beside their name or some token which justifies them as a person, or a featureset which makes them so far above those below, that is quite tragic. To see my fellow deviants ran into the ground because they haven't got a paid account for any number of reasons is horrible. Admittedly I've been that way previously (sure, it was over a year ago, but this still becomes null), and I know a good number who have also. The elitism is something that deviantART seems to have a lot of, people who're feeling as though they're worth more per-se via their asterix.

As a senior I all too often hear the words, "but you're a senior" get muttered in my direction, as if the status actually makes me act any differently or better than any other deviant on the site. While all seniors have obviously done something staff feel commendable, they also are the same as anyone else on the site should be, deviants. The bias towards certain groups isn't funny anymore, and it needs to stop. This was also true as a subscriber back in my first year here, a "fun game" in the forums of the time was to bash "n00bies" because of their lack of subscription. At the time however, it was quite hard to actually get one compared with now, which makes it even less right. However right it seemed at the time, doesn't stop it from being nothing more than simple bigotry.

My solutions? While you may think I'm suggesting some form of "communism" or similar, this is quite contrary to what I actually think. I think that the status of a deviant should become invisible to anyone else, with only you knowing your actual status. And yes, while I realise this is very impractical given the number of deviants already here, the same grounding principle can be applied to other solutions. Having status symbols stripped-back to a bare minimum would help to amend the holes in the community caused by the gap caused by, what I like to refer to as, "bigger penis syndrome." And no, it's not restricted to only males as the name would suggest, rather can be applied to everyone. This so-called, "bigger penis syndrome" arises when someone feels superior to someone, simply because they feel they have a larger hypothetical "endowment", and eventually leads to completely writing-off other people because of it. On the same token, this can be applied to deviantART directly. This happens quite a bit when people develop large egos, especially when directly proportional to their "status" symbol. Be this from senior-member, senior-subscriber, admin-all, or the most common, subscriber-member, all are something which shouldn't occur on this site, and in my opinion, can be eliminated to a manageable level.

Another solution, make policy violation an easier task for both policy violation administrators, and for the people who're being belittled. After all, if you can't stop human nature, at least offer some hindrance to it. Currently, submitting a violation ticket is somewhat difficult, so imagine the situation when you place a younger deviant in the same. Not only would it become a mess, but eventually, it would get to the point where PV's are being avoided, simply because the process is somewhat difficult. We're already at that point, which is a shame. On the same token, we're seeing a few new PV admins being implemented lately. It's quite ironic to put on new staff to manage a failing system. I suppose it's just like gunpoint democracy in a way, simply because neither are effective or truly useful in reality. Perfectly fine in hypothetics, but once you start involving outside factors, (let's face it, humanity is something very unpredictable) it becomes difficult to achieve properly. Combine this with the outside factors aside from it, and you've got yourself a fine little cocktail to play with.

In effect, both of these combined would work effectively in my mind. Community would be enhanced, and bias would be dropped as a virtue of the above outlined changes.

Problem Two: Subscribe NOW!

This one is definitely one that gets me. The so-called lifeblood of the site is the subscription service, which if I'm not mistaken makes up a majority of deviantART's funding, yet, it's not really giving as much as it should be to draw everyone in effectively. To be completely truthful, a few features (albeit mostly useless) added to my page doesn't really scream out, "Hey! Get this NOW!" at me. If anything, the greatest drawpoint that a subscription currently has is the browse features, like larger thumbs and the message center. Failing that, it's not really (seemingly) offering all that much to the average user. Now, I pose a few questions to the guys with their fingers on the triggers. What happened to the old features, like custom content? And the ability to do RSS? Also, what happened to the promise of NO ADS! which I see at least a few times on the subscribe page? I still see advertising, so either I'm receiving miscommunication, or something doesn't equate. Mayhaps it's just the fact that the person conveying the message of "NO ADS!" has a different understanding of the statement than I do, but, in that case we have yet another barrier to break down. Perhaps maybe I'm asking too much by this, but I know I'm definitely not convinced when I look at the subscribe page (the only real reason I'd buy one is because I hate being unsubscribed, and the message center is something I need) to go and buy one without needing to hesitate. In other words, a few journal features, an asterix and some message center stuff don't really make me jump for my credit card to buy one. Ideally, this is what would happen. However, in the current form, it's not very likely. Hell, I don't really care about the ads thing. It's not the fact that advertising exists, it exists everywhere. It's the fact that, inspite of everything, a promise written into the site is being neglected. Principle is a far greater cause than personal convenience.

Suggestions? Fix it. Fix the holes in the promises on the page to subscribe. Get rid of the ads that we as subscribers still get, inspite of the claim of none. Bring back the exclusive content which has been promised since the release of version 3 way back in August 2003. As we head into 2005, this promise is still yet to be fulfilled. Also, introduce useful features for subscribers to toy with, not just a string of random things that, while they're shiney and seem to be cool serve little-to-no actual functional purpose. No matter how you decorate a shanty, forever a shanty shall it remain. I know this is a very outside possibility and probably never going to occur, however, I feel allowing us to use more formatting for our pages (journals specifically) would be a nice additive, and the ability to hide certain elements on a page (for example, the statistics) from everyone except the user themself. Yes, I do mean the ability to add a stylesheet or at least tables to journals, the current situation is a little hard without making everything image-intensive, thus hindering those on slower connections. However, with a stylesheet it becomes easy to replicate the same design easily, and in most cases, only needing a single image to be loaded and parsed. At the very minimum, the ability to use the tag would be an advantage, because it allows customisation to a manageable point.

Asking around, people have told me they want simple things that serve a functional purpose, like skins. And although it's been said that it's bandwidth ineffective by the admins, this still has yet to be given a full answer. I fail to see why this would need to have anything outspacing a simple import stylesheet, denoted by an integer in the filename/database. There would be no more bandwidth output than the current, and wouldn't create any extra unwanted serverstress. Development of them would ensure people like pachunka stay in a job, and definitely would help to give dA the fabled, "homely feel".

In summation: the more you give, the more you get. As I mentioned earlier, no matter what you choose to decorate a shanty with, it's always going to be a shanty. However, a mansion can have any furnishings and still be a mansion. So, is subscription a shanty, or a mansion?

Problem Three: But I Know About ART!

Unfortunately, most people on this site don't. Too often I see people around here claiming to know the Alpha-through-Omega of art around this place, but as soon as you attempt to offer a worthwhile opinion to appreciate that, seldom is the response in kind. While this would be acceptable normally, it's gotten to the stage where people's lack of training or knowledge in art is becoming a hindrance on the community. The level of "advanced critique" you can generally expect is, "hey, nice photo!" or something similar. But, it's not only the lack of knowledge in art, so much as it is the lack of knowledge in construction of a comment to compound it. While the typical structure of the generic 5-word comment is acceptable in times when you're satisfied with a work, and you're open to both structured and unstructured comments, however, in times when an artist is seeking to better themselves via the assistance of others offering their constructed opinions. While simple, "I like it" comments are successful (for most people, anyway) at giving a small ego-boost momentarily, for those of us wanting more it leaves a slightly bitter taste in their mouth. I know I'm one of those people.

The voices erupt from the stadium. "Well Ben, what do you suggest, seeings you're so knowledgeable about everything? Huh?!" you say. Well, here is what I say. Education. It's been passed around a few times, and certainly is something people are trying to achieve actively (read: The Comment Revolution that splat has set up), however, it's not receiving any great administrator support, or at least where it counts. This is pretty saddening really, because while the admins are quick to run more contests and whatnot, something like this which really is an essential piece of the puzzle to help lead onto those things is being neglected. There's enough things written on how to comment around the site, why isn't it being picked up? I'm bemused by it. So, what I feel should be done goes something like this: Implement these things into a welcome page for new deviants. Make hot topics of it for the existing members. Hell, just implement it any way it can be to get people to see. There is over 1 million people here, it's time to start educating them.

While we can't afford (both monetarily and time-wise) to go to school to learn the techniques of critique or the theory of art, we still can all adopt a few techniques to make it better for all of us. Even offering something outstretching, "it's good" by way of telling the artist what is good would be an improvement, because simply saying something is good without justification becomes nullified. However, adding at least the good factor into a comment not only helps the artist to grow, but helps the viewing audience because it assists in actually asking the commenter why they like a work of art, begging them to take a deeper look into it. In effect, this means community growth as a whole, and generally a happier disposition from all concerned. We're all kids at some point in time, and in the art world that property of childness can pay off if you transfer it correctly, however, immaturity in commenting isn't the best way to do it.

Problem Four: Personal Moderation Is The Best MODERATION.

Sadly, it's really not. Ultimately, humans will be humans, and as such will be inclined to be foolish at some point in time. As much as anyone wishes to deny it or run it into the ground, it's a factor that exists as a virtue of us being humans, something we cannot change. That is all well and good, everyone needs to let the child inside out occasionally. But, it seems to be occurring at a largely growing rate around here, and in the wrong places and situations. Worst affected by foolishness just happens to be a community at large, deviantART being one such community. Take a look around the site for a few minutes where people congregate (read: Forums, dAmn! , andShoutbox ), and I'm sure you'll see people interacting properly, interacting well and friendly. However, keep browsing and I'm sure you'll find those who're not quite so cheerful and "properly" interacting. While it remains peaceful for the most part, that "most" is slowly degrading into something smaller and smaller as the days and weeks go by. While there is new help staff and such being employed around the place to field this, there is still sections of the place left unchecked. Shoutbox for example. I've been in there every day for the last week (as some sort of a survey, as well as getting back to some old roots), and I've seen 2 forms of enforcement in the entire time. Once was a dedicated moderator for a few minutes, another was a policy violation admin. What this says to me is that it's being neglected somewhat, no matter what anyone wishes to tell you. From experience, the Shoutbox does seem to be able to run on it's own for the most part, however, things travelling in their current direction don't seem to support this fact.

To compound this issue, I stepped foot into the forums a little while back. I've never seen them in a worse state in the entire time I've been here. Topics are generally quite bland and morbid, and although there is sometimes a policed state occurring it happens in a manner which actually hinders deviants from interacting not only well, but meaningfully too. Banning people for something which is supposed to boost morale is quite ludicrous, if you ask me. So, let's sum-up the facts here. We've got a forum which is for the most part unmoderated (unofficially moderated), and the Shoutbox which has dedicated moderators, yet still isn't getting it's needed attention. Either I'm missing something, or someone isn't writing their job descriptions too well. It's kind of ironic for some of the most active parts of the site are still unchecked with dedicated moderation, because, as everyone who frequents either will testify, "stupidity" and tomfoolery is surely on the increase. While these things are good when used with personal moderation, they get quite annoying and disheartening without. Sadly, with the main demographic of the website being middle-teens, this as a generalisation, means that the level of personal management is much lower, with teens being more inclined to "act the fool" as it were. Until something is done to stop these things, the foolishness of things such as forum-flooding and excessive spam are going to continue to grow in numbers, and as a general rule make the website a lot less fun to interact with for everyone concerned. I can't vouch for anyone here except for myself and a select few who have told me, but I prefer deviantART to be a fun place to be. I like being able to log into the site and have a good laugh occasionally, but for the most part just be in a pleasant environment. It's a sad thing that keeps diminishing.

"Ben, for the love of GOD! Stop whinging!" Fine. I'll offer this solution (which is pretty obvious to me): Get people in. I know they've made an effort to try to get people such as the now-converted dAmn Army to occupy the Shoutbox as well as official chatrooms (which I've only ever actually seen once in their entire existence) and tried to keep the forums under-wraps with the occasional admin visit, but it's not effective. Not being critical of Scott's judgement because personally I feel I probably would've done the same, rather just noticing when something isn't working. To stop something becoming another localised "Hell" as it were, you've got to have some kind of brute force. Some would argue a policed state is not the answer, however, seeing an inverse correlation between lesser administrative activity in said places and increasing foolishness argues against that. Adding administrative bodies to rectify and look after a specific zone of the site would assist in curbing this increase. Not just any administrative bodies either, rather, specialist ones that are familiar with what they are looking after. The current dAmn Army looking after the Shoutbox situation is quite horrible, as most have never even set foot inside of it. Giving someone power in a region they are familiar with and like not only increases productivity, but enhances community-staff relations. The galleries of art are moderated, so I ask this question: why can't the community be the same? While there is moderative bodies, they are, generally, not there at critical times. One thing that was (moreso than currently) effective as such when I was moderating the Shoutbox was timetabling. This was a loose time when it was suggested you should be around, to look after your keep.

Community isn't about size or regal, it's about effective communication. Unfortunately, those lines have been severed somewhere along the way. It appears time to send in a repair crew.

Problem Five: The Best Features Are The Ones You USE.

Yes. They really are. So, why don't they still exist? If you're bemused as to just what I'm talking about, chances are you weren't around the site around version 2 (2002-2003 stylee, baby) or prior. If you do however, I'm sure you'll agree that the feature sets that we have now are pale in comparison for the most part, and certainly lacking a lot of the function of the original tools. Admittedly, dA has mentioned it has a few tricks up it's sleeves in concerns to NEW FEATURES! as certain administrative bodies have chosen to put it, but until they're actually implemented, it's going to take a lot to convince most of us. I know I certainly feel that deviantART is no longer one of the most powerful tools I have, because the features that gave it that status have gone missing somewhere. Things like packs (to return as "collections" I do believe they're to be called) and full deviant information at the top of a comment beside the deviant’s name, little semantic things that made this place so much easier to use. The list goes on, and on, and on. While I can understand why some disappeared (a la lasthost on comments and such), others I'm still very confused why they're yet to be reimplimented. As far as features are concerned, version 3 was a nightmare for "power-users" so to speak. As with a computer administrative "power-user", a deviantART "power-user" demands the most of the features and makes the most of available tools. That is so much harder to do now, and it seems a lot of people have lost that love for using deviantART as more than a site, using it as a tool. I know Angelo has mentioned in a few places certain features would return, I'm yet to see anything one and a half versions later.

Now, if you're still wondering why the hell I'm complaining about outdated features (or what seem to be if you've not used them), take a look for yourself . Most of the features we had were great, and I'm yet to get a reason from any administrator why any of them (that had an actual functional purpose and non clear-cut reasoning) were removed. I'm also yet to get an ETA on any of them. Just sit tight and wait, I guess. I know I'll love if they come back, and I'm sure everyone else who used them will too. Maybe even those who didn't, also.

On the flipside of this, the site also needs to house some new features to make it a more viable tool for artists globally, be they subscribed or unsubscribed, senior or administrator. We need things we'll all benefit from, no matter how simple. A few good examples of these are some of the JavaScript "hacks" floating around the place at the moment, such as the overrides for the "collective rectum" I've seen (hey, it's a novelty, but it's a cool thing to show just what can be implemented with some simple JavaScript), and the more functional ones such as radio boxes beside certain deviants in the message center to highlight their entire lot of submissions. Personally I'd love to have that functionality, something so simple can make life so much easier. Also, the script which places a thumb beside the comment box on a deviation is very useful for those of us who're critique junkies, as it allows us to view the work while we comment and not have to move back and forth repeatedly. It both amuses and saddens me that there are regular deviants throwing in hours of code to make the lives of other of us easier, yet I'm still seeing no huge developments from the codemonkey team. While I understand a lot of the work is done underground so to speak, it'd still be nice to occasionally see some slight sign of this and mayhaps even a sidenote saying, "Yes. We're doing XXXX, it'll work like this, and it'll be done by this time hopefully" or something similar. That would not only make people a little-less anxious about what is happening in deviantland, but also, maybe, just possibly give the people who patron the site some idea just what to expect in the future.

Now, before you demand answers, I'm going to give them. This one is really simple: implement them. There's occasionally good ideas float around the suggestions forum, and constantly great ones in the other facets of the site. So, my message to deviantART is, use them. I understand that the current code-monkeys are strapped to death with their coding duties already, so, hire the people who put the effort in anyway. There's really no point to doing that kind of project for direct implementation without it being properly absorbed into the system, so why not give the guys with the brains who actually can pull it off a shot? I understand the risks of this, giving people access to the source code of deviantART is risky, yes, but so is every other facet of administrating the site. But, ideally, it's the same as any other person getting hired by the company, be that for gallery control, policy administration, et al. There are a stack of wonderful PHP/Java coders around the place with great ideas and functions that work, it's time for this place to start paying attention. Also, token with that is the fact that there are things desperately needed getting neglected for bigger, shinier projects. Quite sad, really. A wise man once said, "No matter how you paint a shack it'll always remain as a shack; Build better things on it and it'll one day become a home." This is very true of deviantART, what is the ultimate point in "painting" the shack as it were, when it could easily be a house? It confuses me.

Also, to compound this, we've heard many promises of upgrades to the browse function happening in some of the sections (namely, Literature) and promises that it will be released sometime. How about some updates? Let's quickly relate this to the whole consumer-supplier thing for a moment. As a consumer, when you buy a product and something gets promised to happen, you like to know how everything is going on your products, don't you? I know personally if I'm going to invest my time in something, I at least want to know that my time isn't going to be shattered in a matter of moments. deviantART is exactly the same, even the smallest of updates would suffice. This isn't just limited to the updates on the browse function, rather everything. Once a year in a, "State of Affairs" kind of article isn't really sufficient to keep the kids at bay. And not just in the Status Forum. Currently, I'm seeing updates 3 or 4 days after they happen there, and around 2% of people I see actually care to look in that circumstance. That is completely up to the guys in charge, and not the point I'm making. The point is, sharpen up and let the people know. This may actually solve a lot of help tickets being sent, as well as help out the guys up top by alleviating some of the "tin-foiled deviants" as they were called. The ball is in your court guys, who's up for some three-on-three?

Problem Six: My Pageviews Make Me A Better DEVIANT!

Sorry to break it to you kids, but pageviews don't really mean shit. In essence, yeah, they demonstrate how much traffic your main page has had, but really they don't display much of anything else. On-site, I've found mainly 4 different types of deviant:

1. The Egotist

This subset of deviance is one that irks me to quite large levels. These guys have a massive amount of pageviews, yet their contribution to the community is about as much as a common bar of soap. They submit art, they receive comments, they accumulate DTF's to display their self-worth on the site. Stepping outside to comment maybe once in a few months, and even then only stretching a few words on it. They really don't do much except, as the old saying goes, sit and look pretty.

While this is acceptable on it's own in very small doses, the envelope gets far-pushed when they develop large egos. For the most part, these guys that I've seen tend to have over-inflated egos, and huge fanbases that make it exponentially grow by the week. Having fans is one thing, but having a horde of screaming fangirls to do your bidding is another. They tend to feel they are more important and have a greater worth on the site than anyone else and their opinion, and their hit counters actually aid in backing them up.

2. The Quiet Achiever

These guys are one of the classic examples of the guys who're backstage on massive rock concerts. Quite a good example of this would be, how often do you hear people ask who set up a Metallica concert? Basically never, even though they've put in just as much, if not more work than the ones who get the fame. Giving the site their all every day they're here, and doing it with a brave face, they go, albeit unnoticed.

This, isn't really right. I'd love to count the amount of times I've stumbled on an artist who is giving it so much more than the type-1 deviants, producing, on a general basis more heartfelt and original work, yet no-one is around to see it. A lonesome-crowded west kind of thing (excuse the poor Modest Mouse reference, couldn't think of a better analogy), in that there is so many of them, so much skill and no-one around to see or appreciate it. If you ever met a person that's like this, please, give them a shoutout or two and let them know that they're appreciated, after all, this site is about making the world a smaller place for all of us. Don't let good talent appear to be unappreciated, it's a terrible waste.

3. The Give-Nothing

Just as the name suggests, they do just that. Give nothing, get nothing in return. They don't comment, they don't submit, they don't get views. These ones are the ones that generally complain about views, except in an opposing fashion to the type-1 deviants. We see all-too-many of these ones creating threads in the forums, "ho do u gt mor paegvyooz no1 luvz me!" or somesuch, always getting the same responses. That is, interaction. Quite sad, really.

These are ones that just sit here and try to make themselves look like they're doing something, when in fact, they're just sleeping on our lawns. This group can be extended once more into the popular class, where the people submit, and occasionally comment when time permits. This is fair enough, to some degree. After all, not everyone can boast a name such as, "Father Time".

4. The What-Goes-Around-Comes-Around

The ones who really earn it. They comment with skill and precision, they submit quality work, they actually show worth to the community. The ones you can really tell want to be here, no matter what symbol they have beside their name. They tend to have moderate-to-heavy fame amongst circles on-site and off, and generally almost infamous skills of commenting.

I like these guys, you like these guys. They earn their place in everyone's heart. And rightly so.

There are other groups and extensions of each, but these 4 cover generally everyone here. The ones that really make it painful for the rest of us are the type-1 and to a lesser extent, type-3 deviants, who really offer little in the way of community. Generally, this happens to be quite the opposite of their doings. All too often I see astonishingly popular deviants sporting their over-inflated pseudo-manhood around as if it were some kind of badge of pride to validate them and their opinions, where this simply isn't true. While the pageviews thing is nice, it really does serve little purpose to illustrate a deviant's "worth" around the site. For the most part, when I look at views I use them to see if a deviant really is making an effort, or sitting back and watching the proverbial "fat-cash" as it were roll in by the bucketload.

While this may not seem a problem to a lot of people, it certainly strikes me as being one. DeviantART said they wanted to give users more power of customisation, so why not? I have no real want nor need to show other people how many others have been to my page, or see other people's for that matter, and I know a whole swag of others who feel the same way. I know for a fact that it can't be that hard to do in the way of code, a span and a neglected SQL fetch. If I weren't mistaken, I'd say it'd actually benefit deviantART over thousands of pageloads, not only on server strain but on the bandwidth side of things also. While a few hundred bytes may seem miniscule, compare it to how many pages get loaded per minute. Times that by 60, then by 24. Imagine how much bandwidth per day it could save effectively, as well as give the people an extra option to customise the way they view pages.

This works out better for everyone, pages load quicker, servers last longer, less complaints are made, and less squabbling occurs. If I wasn't mistaken, I'd say the site was mad for not implementing it already. It's been flown around the suggestions forum so many times with so many admins saying it wasn't going to happen without giving a reason why.. now here's that chance. Why isn't it going to happen? I'm extremely curious to hear what makes aiding squabbling and pettiness so mandatory for the site to continue supporting. Kind of ludicrous if you ask me.

INTERMISSION

Now if you'd like to take a short intermission to let yourself absorb all I've said, and then commence reading again shortly to finish up with what I'm about to say. Thanks.

Welcome back. Okay, let's get right back into it on a strong point.

DeviantART: Things Are Getting BETTER!

They certainly can be getting better, and in some aspects they already are. However, some things are unfortunately, not. That is ultimately the decision of the guys with their fingers on the buttons. I've made suggestions here, that I can say are supported by more than a few deviants (for the most part, anyway). If they get implemented, so be it. If not, things will be more obvious than before. That said, it's not only up to the site to create this pseudo-perfect world I've described above, rather, the people using it have a large part in this too. In fact, a community functions as exactly that, a community. As with all good teams, the leaders only help implement things, they don't actually carry the weight of the entire body. In other words, it's up to every single one of us to make deviantART the community it more than has the capacity to be.

What this means for the people reading this, no matter what status, is to interact effectively. Don't be one of those who does nothing and expects the world in return, and most certainly, don't be an arsehole while you're around here because no-one wants to deal with it. Causing trouble on the internet earns no-one points for their coolness, nor does it prove anything. Helping out, however, reveals the trueness of one's character. It shows they have dignity in themselves and those around them no matter how feeble their problem may seem, and it shows that they carry pride in what they do.

I know a lot of people will be sitting there vacantly as if to say, "Well okay, I've read it, now what the hell did he just say and why is it involving me?" and expecting me to answer. So, I guess I will. These are the most important parts of the community as I see it:

1.Ability To Interact Effectively

That means, in essence, communication. In order to communicate well one needs to be sure that they actually are willing to do so in the first place. Also, the ability to listen is another key factor in this. It has been said by many great minds that being an effective communicator is the ability to listen to what others have to say, and reacting in kind, and I believe this wholeheartedly. This site is based on the ability to communicate freely with the users who patron it, in many different methods. Use them. One of the best ways to get in touch with the people around this site in an effective manner is to step into any one of the chatrooms on-site, as well as off on our very own IRC network. There's generally always someone around to converse with, so get out there and talk to someone, even if you don't know them. Who knows, you could even find a new friend.

2. Ability To Handle Situations Effectively

This ties in neatly with the one above. Not everyone is going to be adhering to the methodology of interacting effectively, so of course there's going to be hitches in the chain. Not everyone on the site is going to be the nicest person in the world, so don't expect it. However, when someone isn't, don't bite back heavily and get yourself banned. I've been there before, and I can safely say it isn't one of my proudest things I've done while here. If someone does get to you, report them. There are policy administrators in place for that sole purpose, so put them to use.

So, basically advancing communication in a manner that is both effective and worthwhile. This could be through as I suggest, chatting, visiting random deviants, commenting well, or even as I've done here, preparing articles for others to read. It's up to all of us to make this into a house, not just a shack with a fancy paintjob. Comment effectively, interact effectively, exist as a deviant effectively. Do these, and things will fall into place in time.

DeviantART: It’s not only the greatest community in the world, but it’s also what you make of it. I know exactly what I make of it, what about you?