Hello, I'm Miles! I am no longer uploading to DA!
The fall of Deviantart and why I left.
Since Eclipse, DA's been going downhill, but I was willing to work with it. You probably can see how long I've been here and thus know how hard it is for me to leave. But Deviantart is very clearly anti-Artist and pro-trend/money.
I understand needing money, but you get that the best if you listen to peoples needs and strike a balance between reputation and money. DA does not do this. They feign offering conveniences in order to get part of your money.
Here's a list of all the issues I have with this website, because writing it detailed would fill a book and then some. Note that it wasn't any one issue that made me leave, but all of these together. Yes, AI art IS a big issue to me, but not the sole reason I left.
-Eclipse's design -Not listening to artists when they say how bad things are
-Buggy note system, broken and buggy chat system
-Pre-made comments (there is no worth in a pre-written comment to me)
-Faving on thumbnails (makes art quick consumable fodder, like is the deal these days) -Horrible notification system (used to use it for communication etc, now it's a mess to get through)
-Core. None of the benefits are worth it anymore. I used to buy it solely to decorate my page. Now it's a shell of itself on a horribly looking website. They took away that ability, just to implement it worse later on. -Core lounge, tutorials, other things that no one needs locked behind a paywall. -NFT protect. They told us about it protecting core members from NFT theft. (again, paywalled). They didn't tell us, that you can actively link your art to its NFT. DA is not anti-NFT. They are very, very pro NFT. You can basically sell your NFT's via DA if you so wanted to and link it to make it more legit. -DA trying to add more and more things that lock people in place here. Discord integration, NFT integration, subscribers, more or less patreon-like, all that give a cut to DA if you use it for its options. It acts like it's helping you as an artist. No, they are not. They want your money. -CONSTANT Ads on "how to earn money with your art!!", even as I write this there is a thin, unmoveable little banner on my profile, trying to sell me christmas core. You can't turn these things off. DA acts as if it's trying to give you opportunities or sweet deals. Again, they just want you to make money here so they can make money through your work. -Of course, the AI Art bot, Dreamup. I hear people telling me it's ethical or that it's not good looking, but that's both not true nor is it the point of why I dislike it. Dreamup is made from Stable Diffusion, an AI Art bot that DOES use stolen art, from DA and Insta no less, to make up its database. So, Dreamup, by definition, has stolen art from DA in its Database. Period. It also matters little if the art is crap, when DA allows said stolen, mashed up art to be directly uploaded to ones gallery. They are trying to play both sides, as they did with NFT's, by saying "but we tag it as AI art!! See!!! We are the good guys!" They aren't, they aren't on the side of artists, they are on the side of money and what is trendy. Bonus: I think they offer more prompts to core members. Let's paywall the generator that no artist wanted.
Deviantart is not an art website. Not in this form, not any more. They don't care about you or your art, only about what you and your art can do for THEM. If you sell anything via DA, they get a cut. If you buy core, they offer you more BS that you can get better elsewhere, or simply do better yourself. They give people a home that don't want to do art but be part of a community without putting in any effort. As long as they pay, that's great! Imagine how great they will find it, if AI "artists" on here start selling prints of their "art". DA doesn't care if it was made by a machine that uses tons of stolen art from their very own website, because it makes them money. They do not care about you. Don't give them money if you use this website. Use an ad-Blocker. Don't buy core. Don't use their services. Just don't. There are other places to exist that won't try to sell you snake oil at every corner.
Miles, I’ve been thinking of you! It’s been a way long time! If you see this please let me know how I can get back in touch with you ❤️
If you are here to comment your opinion on anything I say in my Bio, rather don't!
If you like what DA does, continue to like it. I don't need your opinion.
If you dislike what DA does, Inkblot and other places offer better solutions. Or make your own website on Neocities!
Do not give them money.
(I do not recommend Instagram either btw)
Thanks for the watch and for pulling it back straight away..
Sorry! I accidently clicked on a watcher only submission, thinking it was a spoiler!
I only watch a select few people ^^,,
I didn't mean to make anyone feel bad