Community Relations Newsletter - December

Dec 24, 200813 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Dec 24, 2008

1.4K Views

deviantART's Community Relations Team provides a unique collective effort that seeks to create and sustain collaborative relationships among deviants and to develop innovative opportunities within the global art industry. These relationships are meant to provide and encourage opportunities to foster creative genius. The CR Team acts as a window of information for the community on how to utilize deviantART in a way that will empower and enable themselves as respected and successful artists.

Our ultimate vision is a community of artists that come together unified and strengthened by sharing the belief that they hold the artistic power to create and shape their own success. In order to realize our vision, our mission must be to exceed the expectations of our community, whom we view as partners, and we will accomplish this by committing to our shared core values. Our core values are listed in FAQ #84: What are the Core Values of the Community Relations Department?

Director of Community Relations :

1. Will there be new Gallery Moderators soon?
2. Who are the winners of the C.R.E.A.T.E Contest?
3. What is going on with Daily Deviations, I've seen the same person get one without there being 3 months in between sometimes in the same DAY! and sometimes I've seen stolen work get Daily Deviations?!
4. Why are their no universal rules for running contests on deviantART?
5. What is planned for 2009?
6. Official deviantART Contests
7. Important and Entertaining Links
8. Happy Holidays
9. News from the Galleries

1.Will there be new Gallery Moderators soon?

Yes, in the first part of the new year, I will be filling the rest of the open spots listed here. The process of filling these last spots, fell to the wayside when taking the time to settle the last giant batch of new volunteers and then wrapping up things before the beginning of the new year. I'm very cautious about bringing in new people during moments of chaos because it's not the best way to join the team

I apologize for the delay but it was a necessary evil.

2. Who are the winners of the C.R.E.A.T.E Contest?</A>

After a lot of deliberation and judging, the winners have been chosen!

Grand Prize (Image will become part of communityrelations and be our official visual representation of our core values, artist will receive a 1 (one) year subscription, 1 (one) deviantWEAR tshirt, and $200 deviantdollars.)

by Khyoon

First Place (1 (one) deviantWEAR tshirt, 6 (six) month subscription and $50 deviantdollars)

by IulianB

The winners will be contacted by moonbeam13 concerning their prizes.

Thank you to everyone who entered, there were so many great representations, it was definitely hard for my team to judge

You can view all of the entries here

3. What is going on with Daily deviations?

I seem to go over this particular point in various ways many times over and it's very likely the people needing to be reading this response, aren't the ones reading this newsletter regularly. However, let it not be said that I don't respond

Daily deviation selections are done by a group of people I have selected. Some are volunteers and some are paid staff and they were chosen by me because I trust their opinions and value their eye and I regard them as community leaders. However, they are human and sometimes mistakes are made. When a stolen image is discovered it's dealt with almost immediately. There are guidelines for selecting Daily Deviations but there are no "universal rules" as explained in the last newsletter. You will not love every Daily Deviation selected, I can guarantee it. However, instantly flaming the artist or the selector has got to be one of the most confusing and frustrating practices I'm witness to on deviantART. I appreciate your passion in communicating your disagreement with anything to do with the site, but flaming an artist on their deviation is both rude and misplaced anger. The artist has no control over their image being selected and it's demoralizing to have your piece ripped to shreds because some third-party decided to put you in the spotlight. Receiving a Daily Deviation can be both a blessing and a curse. Our selectors use an archaic daily deviation planner that is on the chopping block to be rewritten and updated, but currently it is all we have. As a result, sometimes we have the same artist being featured before the 3 months is over, and as just witnessed a few days ago.. in the same day. I assure you, the world will not end. I'm sad that the response to an artist being featured twice incites such anger and disregard for, what I feel, is the core purpose of Daily Deviations - to showcase great artwork. However, what I feel is great, may not be your idea of great but maybe the response is not to freak out at me or the artist I've selected but rather, try to step in my shoes and see what I've seen in the piece and if you still don't 'get it' accept that it's not for you and move on. I feel it really selfish to believe that everything we do here is going to be to your liking, art is personal and I'm not about to vanilla-coat everything to appeal to the masses - that would be far from deviant now wouldn't it?

FAQ #873: What do I do when I disapprove of a Daily Deviation feature?

4. Why are there no universal rules for running contests on deviantART?

Anyone on deviantART can run a community contest in their journals, through news etc.  However, the official contests of deviantART are listed here

While I'm happy to give guidelines to anyone who requests them, on how to run contests and perhaps I'll write something to aid in that process, it is virtually impossible for us to moderate and regulate community run contests.  Be wary about what you enter and if you're concerned, please stick to the official ones listed here

Part of my job is to facilitate the running and planning of the official contests, so I have experience here, and I've even sponsored prizing for some community run contests.  Let it be known, that in the new year, to be sponsored for prizes by Community Relations, you will have to adhere to certain practices for running your contest.  Protecting the community is very high on my priority list.

5. What is planned for 2009?

Groups

Project Educate

User Pages

Official Tutorials

Streamlining the Galleries

Gallery-pedia

are just some of the things I'm throwing around with other members of staff and my team. I won't go into detail about any of them at this time but I will when more planning and discussion has occurred. You can also expect a lot more collaborative efforts between fourteenthstar and I and we have a few tricks left up our sleeves for the new year

6. Official deviantART Contests

The Future of Holidays - Deadline December 31, 2008

Unusual Anthro Holiday Contest - Deadline January 1, 2009

The Ultimate Gift Contest - Deadline January 11, 2009

NVIDIA - Deadline January 14, 2009

Sensing Winter - Deadline January 15, 2009

Digital Art for World Peace - Deadline January 15, 2009

Designing Santa - Deadline January 15, 2009

One-Act Play Film & Animation Contest - Deadline February 20, 2009

Under the Big Top

- Pass the Panel - Ongoing

Please note that all contests end on the deadline stated at 11:59:59 PM PST

7. Important and entertaining links you should go to

Community Operations Newsletter - December

Seniority Announcements - December 2008

The LOL Corner [#43]

#devart Christmas Hunt

Keith's Super Awesome Photography Battle

D.M. Gremlin's Adds devMEET to Studio Open House!>

Battledress has Reason to G.L.O.W

Weekly Help Desk Updates - December 23rd, 2008

Photomanip VS Photography + Darkroom Techniques

A Very Scary Christmas

Unburied Treasure 82

dA Gallery Definitions: The Medium and the Message

Resourcefully Yours Artisan Gifts

The Cutting Edge 51/08

The Blueprint of ... Leather Corset

For the Love of Ink and Curves

Happy (Holi)days

Photography APN > News Roundup

Three Rings Applauds Design Your Whirled Winners

deviantART Job Opening! - CSS Designer needed

New user pages in Beta Testing

The Blueprint of ... Golden Dragon

A Guide to Web Typography

8. Happy Holidays

I'd like to take the time to wish you all (whether you celebrate or not) a very Merry holiday season. Thank you for 2008 and I look forward to spending 2009 with you

May you be safe, healthy and creative