This is basically a commentary on the recent removal of the avatar-accounts (well, their avatars anyway) for everyone who seemingly wants to throw their hat into the ring of hating the site for it. I've noticed a few of my emoticons have been a focalpoint of it all (in the forums, at least), so I figure it's best if I say my thoughts.

Basically, I understand why the administration removed them, I also support the action for the most part. That said, keeping an impartial judgement of the accounts held on this site is hard when it comes to keeping things fair, especially about things done en-masse. Y'know... what fits on one's foot should fit on another's... in other words, "Fairness in judgement and equality for all."

Many of you may have seen my pet account (no pun intended), ~shakefish and its icon around the site in the past, as well as the former glory of both ~homosex and ~glompfuck to boot. When I created them, I will admit, the fad was slightly played out. The whole "plz" account thing. However, they were created for a reason, an inside joke that got adopted by a site-wide movement and used to the point of breaking. They were created for the people of #Whores (on dAmn) to use freely. Somehow that got lost in translation.

So, when you support a dieing trend by feeding the madness and creating more, it is inevitable that it will explode. That is what happened with the whole, "plz" account situation. We're seeing "plz" accounts for virtually anything you could ever need in the way of emoticons, but also, for useless stuff that for the most part does not make sense. We're seeing poorly done emoticons/icons to represent the ideas, which only feeds more fuel to the dimise of it. I mean... there was some really badly done ones. While I don't suggest mine are the best, I know they were at the very least, decent. However, a good majority were not; the colours were wrong, the proportions were off, the animation sucked, and more often than not, they were dithered to white (which leaves ugly white shit all around the icon). That + mass culture that serves no purpose other than to express an idea + "wasted space" == certain doom.

So, with all of that in mind, why are people complaining? Because, some served a purpose, some served the idea of actually expressing something in a fashion different to the "plz" account (at least, in the way that the icons were not just giant, misproportioned versions of emoticons already available for usage), and giving the people of the site more diversity. Giving them a stronger sense of expression. I feel that, accounts like that should've remained, but as I said before, fairness has to be maintained. Anyone who complains about that is quite obviously not supporting the site as they should be. I'll be the first to admit I've fought the site on numerous occasions, but they were in situations where things had to be said. This is, however, not. This is just another one of those, "We had no beef earlier, but it got taken too far by people with not much better to do than create idiotic things to represent not much at all, when this fad could've been acceptable if handled better" things.


It all comes down to this: Stop being fucking stupid, and stop thinking adding to the chaos already around is going to make the site reverse its policy any sooner than it had intended. It will not work. Sit down, shut up, and do something effective for the thing. For example, find the original icons and try and get them added as proper emoticons; talk things through with the administration like adults and not 13yo kids who got given the internet as a present 2 weeks prior; do not, under any circumstance, act like a vigilante. Treat this situation (and any, really) like a reasonable adult, it's the only way anyone will listen. The sooner everyone learns that, the sooner things are likely going to get better.


If you want to fight a war, fight a war. Do not, however, act like a bitch about it. Do it the proper way and be ready to get shot in the face at close range. For shit's sake, deviantART is not the Devil here, it's the people who're to blame. Don't blame the guys with the ©'s and the $'s, blame yourselves. Blame everyone who ruined the fun for everyone by being a moron about something that could've easily been fun for a couple of more years.



Thanks for ruining it for us all, arseholes.