PLEASE read the best boil-down yet: An Open Letter to Stressed Admins

An updated iteration/rant/strategy is in the more recent journal here.

Below is preserved for historical purposes, from before $spyed finally spoke up. (First reaction to his first reaction is here.)


7/31 update:

You guys are amazing, I'm so impressed with the soul of this community.

Let's boil it down. It seems our founder was overthrown in a underhanded takeover. One that reflects no attempt at ethics.

Why do we fight? Because we can imagine how it would feel if it happened to us, if five years of our own blood, sweat, and dreams were yanked away from us so that someone else could make some money.

Because we would want someone to fight for us. It really is that simple.

What do we expect? Well, an explanation at least. The silence is damning.

Now, here's the thing. This fight is gonna get long and boring. We probably won't get even a nod until the fifth birthday, when some "glorious" announcement is made about the new state of affairs.

But, if you're behind the statement we're making - a clamor for justice and respect for °jark - find ways not to be bored. Chase down those friends of yours who aren't on board yet, and see if they're keen to join too. Let's paint this site yellow, literally and metaphorically, as creatively as we can.

And, aside from that, make deviantART as unappetizing morsel as possible (short of destructive actions), if it's due to be gobbled up. A grimace of discontent.

And if a week from now, the deviantART we know and love comes to a spiritual end, we can all remember this profound community statement we've all been proud of.

What do I, personally, want?

Well, I want °jark to be happy. Or at least pleased. Or at a bare minimum, satisfied with the conclusion of this ugly chapter.

I will depend on his feelings before making long-term decisions of my own.

But I will NOT remain part of a site built on his blood, sweat, and dreams, in which the man himself was thrown overboard when they didn't "need" him anymore. Not without him getting the respect he deserves. And by his standard, not mine.

But that's my call, my decision, for myself, and I'd make it for none of you.

(And, it's worth noting, it will be a TOTAL pain-in-my-ass to leave here. But justice should never be tempered by convenience.)

But for now, we can't decide anything, until the administration shows its colors...

And we see how Scott is treated in the end.

But we do NOT allow the commandeers of this site, to enjoy "business as usual" in the meantime.

"Business as usual," is clearly the enemy now.



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The (more-or-less original 7/30) long version:

Okay, I've been simmering and stewing...

(And, incidentally, blowing off very important affairs in my own life...)

I have never encouraged collective discontent or uprising at this site, over any issue, at any time when others were itching for destructive hostility to this site. But the atrocity toward °jark, and the administrative silence in response, is simply too unacceptable to abide.

So here's what I've got, the only rational plan I can come up with, that might possibly work.

First, what's the problem?

The founder of this site was sacked without notice or respect. (In fact, during a recent face-to-face meeting at the Summit, nothing was even said about it, despite such a golden opportunity for the weasel to act like a MAN.)

Regardless of the wisdom of sacking the founder, the conduct itself reflects a poisonous lack of integrity at the top levels of our administration. (If necessary, read my moral assessment here. And °euphoria's latest journal is telling too.)

There has been no communication to the community regarding this deplorable conduct. Not even spin, let alone honesty.

But here's the real problem:

That the agent feels surely he will get away with this.

That is, he can pretty much assume or count on 99% of deviants to go on their merry way, too addicted to this site to take any meaningful stand over it.

He can pretty much count on "business as usual" in the big picture, both at the moment and over time.

He can believe that, sooner or later, this whole mess will simply blow over, largely because DA is such an irreplacable experience with such inertia of motion that it will barrel forward, as it always has.

Left on its own, that premise is true.

So we've got to attack exactly that premise.

But not in a way that will destroy the site or the dream in the long term. Because that's really the last thing that any of us want.

So here's the best strategy I can come up with.

Let's make this site about nothing but integrity, and taking a stand on its behalf.

First and most important, stop submitting art. Unless that art concerns the issue at hand. I would also suggest hiding all your art, but how you handle that is your call. (I personally don't believe in deleting art, but hiding it is non-destructive. Use [link] to batch it all away.)

And if you're burning to post new art, find a way to make it relevant. (Shoot, you'll end up with extra attention for riding the wave, so you could even consider it "enlightened self-interest.")

Second, stop commenting art, unless that art concerns the issue at hand.

Third, stop posting journals, unless they concern the issue at hand. Consider posting a simple journal that says merely "Grinding to a Halt Until °jark Gets the Respect That He Deserves," if you've nothing more complex to offer than that.

Fourth, stop any public communication, unless it concerns the issue at hand. We're all addicted to our social lives here, but let's take it into Notes.

Fifth, minimize viewing of art, to slow down the view counts and statistical progress of the site (as well as ad revenues).

Sixth, make sure your current Favorite reflects the issue, by picking a piece that's concerned with it. In fact, fave as many relevant pieces as possible, to push them up into the DTFs.

Seventh, if you are an administrator who doesn't believe in this crap either, I'd suggest minimizing your administrative functions. Am I out of line to suggest that? Quite possibly. But each administrator should strive to express their indignation as best they can, even if only by passivity.

And eighth, though I have no desire to pimp myself, link this journal if you please. Or, hell, copy it into your own if you please. (If so, take care to preserve the links, there are only a couple. Note me for a copy that preserves the proper bolding and italics.)

In effect, you see, we're "taking all the fun out of DeviantART." But without doing anything that's long-term destructive.

But here's the critical plank of the plan, without with none of the above will really make a difference.

We MUST not spam pages, for a host of reasons.

But we must personally spread the word, to people we know, in an attempt to grind this site to a halt. I would suggest Noting, and just generally keeping our eyes open for people who are blowing this off.

Obviously, most of us here are brimming over with social energy - that's why we spend so much time here. Let's put that social energy to good use.

For instance, if an artist we know and like is continuing to post art, let's note them and say, "Hey, could you please lay off for the time being, until °jark is treated with the respect he deserves?"

(It's worth noting that he reportedly hasn't even been given an explanation for what's happened.)

It should be as easy to track and pursue as our DevWatches, looking for new work that's continuing to be posted.

I am not suggesting that we hassle strangers, but rather that we pursue the degrees of separation that unite us all. Let's each deal individually with people we respect, and people who respect each of us. Because respect is exactly so much the issue here.

If we do not stand up for integrity, we have none.

And to those who say, "why bother?"

We say, "if integrity and decency are not worth fighting for, then what is?"

Not by destruction, but simply by profoundly passive resistance, and the persistent grimace of discontent.

Not even by leaving, but simply by saying, plainly and impossibly to ignore, "we don't like it here anymore."

Until it once again becomes a place that we do.

A place we can be proud of.

Because, right now, we can't.

This doesn't even have to be about love for Scott. You might not even know him personally. But it's about decency, conduct, and respect for the man who envisioned this site, and made every sacrifice necessary to make it come true.

So here's the real challenge.

Could we grind this site to a halt by DA's fifth birthday, on August 7?

That sounds to me like a milestone worth striving for.







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Addendum: `onestar's movement has been gaining traction too, and I don't think it's inconsistent with above. Also, `krash's plan to post yellow art on the birthday and make clear why you're doing it, in effect making this site "about" the atrocity, is a fine contribution as well.

On the other hand, I'm suggesting we start grinding the site to a halt, otherwise, as soon as possible, and spreading the word as actively as possible, short of spamming.

And that the "halt" should continue until °jark is shown the respect he deserves, as long as that takes.

But wanted to be clear, my vision above doesn't have to be exclusive to work. The important thing is to get as many people as possible on board.