Re: berrygirl
 

If most anyone else said this I would just look at it as wishful thinking, but you are one of the few people that I think could actually do something about the current state of things.

Re: berrygirl
 

I would say there is hope but at present there is not much

The process has bunch of lurkers. (not to bash this place it is the same with any other forum) lurkers comprise the bulk of your members. Then you have the 1-2 times a year poster, so on and so on to the everyday member each time the percentage shrinks substantially.

I attribute the etiquette issue to posting in such a large forum like DA they handle so much work there is very little room for adjudication just rubber stamping issues indiscriminately. Expansion mansion had a fairly good system that was in sort of a beta phase that needed to be upgraded but it never got off the ground.

If something like DA could be formed for INF/WG/BE/GTS and if word got out. ie big name artists such as Johnny, Bust,Kabran, (just to name a few) were dedicated to posting in this new gallery forum. I could see it having a very strong pull. If it were a streamlined (ie no print sales no this subsection that subsection of art type then add your tags) version of DA with the forum section attached it could work.

Re: berrygirl
 

i really appreciate your vote of confidence :)
thank you :)

i get what you're saying.
but where the hell would we start?
i would say here, the process, but it doesn't really have a gallery function.
i think something like bodyinflation.org would work.
the set up they have there.
but again, i have no clue where to start.
i have absolute squat in the sense of web site designing and programming.

Re: berrygirl
 

I actually was thinking about this just the other day.

Apparently SOPA (or some form of it) reared its ugly head again recently, and again the masses of the internet banded together to petition against it. This got me thinking.

The community has lost quite a few of its greatest members. How? More than often the community itself (or at least small parts of it ) have driven them away. The community as a whole however hold these people in great respect. This got me wondering. If a community can actively come together for the greater good (band together for a petition) , is it possible for a community to passively come together for the greater good?

If members of our little niche had a place safe from the morons and jerks who drive them out, would we not be stronger as a community? I was thinking it be simple yet strict. A site or forum with zero toleration of any negative displays of any kind. People could sign up as members. If they offend anyone, they get perma-baned in order to protect the community as a whole. Artists could even post their own rules and regulations of their individual pages. If an artist doesn't like being asked when they will finish their next piece, they say so on their page. If someone asks, they get banned, so that the artist can keep to his/her work, at his/her own pace, unobstructed.

Essentially we all submit to a strict set of rules, but we stop loosing some of our best and brightest. It would not be mandatory if you only wanted to view the site, only to contribute to it. It may not be perfect but its something.

I don't know, just a thought.

Re: berrygirl
 

i've been thinking of the same thing honestly.
just not as strict. if things were too strict, it would discourage people from comment in fear of getting kicked and not wanting to deal with it.

Re: berrygirl
 

I do agree, but then again I can think of quiet a few artists who have left simply because they received one too many "I love your work so much, you should make more" type of comments.

I am not saying bring about an inquisition, but if artists are truly leaving just because they can't get any protection from their own fans, than maybe things will change if we offer them some.

I don't know, not an artist, just a thought, not trying to start a fight, please don't hate me.

Re: berrygirl
 

wasn't thinking you were trying to start a fight. your point is valid.

the problem is, you have to find a balance.
from what i'm hearing, a good part of the reason why EM went to the shitter is due to the way they came down on people.

artists can be sensitive and hard to predict. some people don't realize or even think of this.

for me, a comment like, "you're stuff is awesome. you should do more." makes me feel good and gives me motivation. but that's me
other artists can take it the wrong way because of other issues. things that are effecting their ability to produce stuff that they're satisfied with and want to post. things like problems at work and or home can easily kill an artists motivation.
and when an artist is in a total rut trying their damnedest to get what motivation and inspiration they can, a simple comment like that can send them right off the edge and cause them to rage quite the whole damn thing.

another thing that can cause an artist to get burnt out is being asked to draw the same thing over and over again.
i know of one in particular that got burned out because people kept asking him to draw sphere women. and that's all he was getting commissioned for.
now, i know that people would say something like "why's he getting upset, he's getting paid for it."
there gets to a point when money can only motivate an artist so much.
especially when they have a huge range of different things they can draw,
and only being asked for one. and one that's not even that diverse.

this is something that can be tricky and needs a lot of thought and planning put into it.

Re: berrygirl
 

Agreed completely.

It's great that we can toss ideas back and forth, but all of this planning is useless if no one has the skill, money, and time to actually put a site together.

I am not trying to call anyone out or anything, I am just saying, it seems like this discussion is coming around full circle, and while I still want to improve things, I don't think I can.

(since I work with people who do this kind of thing all the time, I can say, it doesn't take very much skill or money to start a half decent site, but it will eat up time like a second job. I would love to help, but when I said work, I meant 50 to 70 hours a week, so I don't have time to help much)