Giving And Taking

_{DISCLAIMER: Idea taken from GwenavhyeurAnastasia's poll: Do you think as a community we are obliged to help out other writers?, the idea behind which came from A-Symmetry's journal. I've adapted it for an idea I've been thinking about for a while now.}


Are you here to hoard llamas? Set a record for largest fave collection? Get the most pageviews? Take over the interwebs with your skill? Learn a new skill? Meet new and varied people? Get yourself noticed?

Or, are you here to improve your art?

deviantART is a site for those who wish to share their art as well as discover and meet other talented artists. Many, many people join dA in the hopes of finding a community of others who are willing to help better their art. The majority of deviants wish to have comments and critiques done on their work and to receive encouragement from the community. This raises the question though; what do we actually owe to the community for all of the support, critique and encouragement we take? Do we owe anything at all?


When you submit a piece of art to dA, you expect others to look at it. Sometimes, you ask for a critique on the piece because you want to know what other people really think and how to get better at what you do. And people give this. Deviants look at your photos, read you poetry, LOL at your stamps, install your journal skins. Deviants critique your work, tell you are good at what you do - keep it up, I'll watch you - and join your groups.


...but we've all seen it. Someone joins dA and posts masses of work, submits each piece to 50 groups and then bitches when not one person comments or they don't have the 2 million watchers they should rightfully have had the very day they joined.

Now, stop and think. How many comments and/or critiques have you given to others? How many times have you faved a piece without a word to the artist about why you liked it - oh, you dragged the piece straight into your collection from a thumb in a feature? Alright, how many times have you visited another deviant's gallery and actually taken the time to look past the first 5 pieces, or did you stop by to fave the pieces they have featured on their homepage without making it to their gallery at all?

And you deserve comments, critique, watchers, attention?

Are you sure? I'll remind you that people have to willing give you their time and support along with any of these things.

Without giving something to the community that supports you, you have no right to expect anything. It's like seeing a child screaming in a supermarket because they want the chocolate bar they have thrown aside in favour of a tantrum on the floor. We all realise it's not the parent's fault - the child, ignorant in its youth, does not realise that it doesn't in fact have a right to treat the person who birthed/raises/feeds/clothes/funds them in such a manner.

Community means taking a little, what you need to keep going, and giving it back so it will be there for the next person to use.


Simple, we all owe the community just what we have taken - support, time, attention.

Comments and Critique

As we all know it is really very simple to hit the 'fave' button and move on. But, that doesn't tell the artist anything about the piece. Too often faves are given without thought as people wander through deviant's galleries or the 'newest deviations' stream, actively faving everything. However, these flash faves will not help anyone.

Do you like to be told that your work is good? Yeah, I do too but I would prefer to be told what is good about it. This way, I can know what I am doing right. In the same vein, I like to hear what 'sucks' about my art - this is so much more productive than simply telling me to f-off, I'm shit at art, don't try again. By knowing what is bad, I can stop doing it and consequently improve.  

There are community projects that aim to bring back commenting. My personal favourite is Little-Vampire's 1 decent comment per day project. There are many others that I will leave you to discover.

Critiquing - by definition: to review or analyze critically.¹ i.e. to look for both the good and the bad and make note of it. This does not mean state every single flaw in a piece in a comment and move on or to kiss up to the artist with sweet words. Neither will really help them - mention what works and what doesn't and suggest what could be done to improve. Critique is a skill that improves with practice and there are many resource guides available on dA to help.

Awareness

The staff and volunteers who work for dA make news of community happenings readily available. There are groups which solely provide news about community events, where to find resources, who to go to for help etc. There is no excuse for not watching them and not being aware of the changes being implemented. Everyone should be watching their reliant Volunteer Gallery Moderators (GMs), as well as key paid staff. And everyone should be aware of the FAQs and know how to find them.

Resource Short-list

FAQs:²

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) should be searched before asking questions of the Help Desk.

• Contact the Help Desk.

• About deviantART.

• Your Account.

• FAQ #30: How can we stay informed about new changes, updates, and technical problems with DeviantArt?

• FAQ #504: Is there an official staff listing?

• FAQ #238: How do I report people for abuse, harassment, or another issue I think is a problem?

• FAQ #798: I think something is missing from DeviantArt. Where can I go to make my suggestion?

• FAQ #106: What are the symbol next to each deviant's username?

• FAQ #18: Who selects Daily Deviations and how are they chosen?

Groups: All of these should be on your watch.
:icondevBUG::iconPremiumMembers:

Groups - The Rules

Anyone who has run or staffed in a major way for a group will know just how frustrating it is to have to tell deviants individually to submit to the correct folder, read the rules before trying to join for the third time, what kind of group it is/what types of work are and are not accepted. As a member of dA everyone has the responsibility to treat groups and the people who run them with some respect. This means reading the rules EVERY TIME you wish to submit a piece to a group.

Groups exist to benefit deviants - so look after them. It does not take long to track down the submission rules and read them before submitting and it doesn't take long to check which folder you are submitting to - so do it. And, realistically, you should not join more groups than you actively follow. By this I mean you should only join as many groups as you have time to pick through the deviations in your messages - if you can't look at them, don't join so many groups. It is unnecessary to join and submit to 50 groups at any given time.

Common Courtesy

Were we not all taught to say please and thank you when asking for things? So, why do people not do this here?

When someone takes the time to leave a comment or a critique we should all say thank you, at least. If you do not agree with a comment, then say 'thank you for sharing your opinion' and move on - there is no need to attack anyone for a well meaning comment. If you feel the comment in is fact an attack on you - report it and move on. Simple.

There are things that, generally, people are happy for you to ask for. These may include critiques, pimping of events, prizes/judges for contests, votes in polls etc. And then, of course, there are things which are exceptionally rude to ask for. These include points, free art gifts, subscriptions and things specifically mentioned by individual deviants. This should be known, understood and remembered.

Respecting other deviants,being actively involved and informed of  community happenings and giving back what you take makes dA a better place for all to be.

¹_{Definition from Dictionary.com - 'critique'.}
²_{This list is by no means expensive. Please see the FAQs for more.}