Wow what happened to this place? - Page 4

CHWolf · 06-22-2012, 03:11 PM

Was thinking the other night that there need to be seperate Art Showcase and Art Critique boards.

Splitting it up encourages people who don't want critique, and hones the focus for people who do want it.

IE: Don't go to the critique board to just say something looks neat, and don't go to the art showcase to rip on people's work.

Everybody wins.

(Of course, that alone wouldn't flood the site with activity.)

SuperMonkey · 06-22-2012, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phatman

I think that is part of the problem. Here's a few more:

Chit-Chat: used to be able to have an occasional political or cultural debate without it completely devolving into nonsense. The participation level was greater and the level of discussion was as well. Can't remember the last time that happened.

Creator Community: can't be taken seriously anymore. When a relevant topic is brought up the discussion is swallowed up by ignorant responses or none at all. Most of the pros that used to participate have moved on.

Critiques: the level of criticism and work have deteriorated considerably. There are some people who aren't looking to get better and want to argue about their work. There is also an increasing amount of garbage to filter through to get to the people who are posting really good work.

In my opinion, the place jumped the shark at the point that Kid Intense got more bandwidth around here. If this place wants to be taken seriously again as a comic creator site it needs a complete overall to attract more creative people over the "I don't read or buy comics anymore" fanboy, chuckle-heads who want to tell us what's wrong with the comic's industry.

I'm thankful for the really great people I've met through DW, but the place is dying a slow death. Either break out the paddles and revive this thing or pull the plug and start shoveling.

^I approve this message.

darkwriter · 06-22-2012, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperMonkey

^I approve this message.

^I approve this approval.

CHWolf · 06-22-2012, 06:49 PM

^ Is a slave to corporate campaign donations ^

Scribbly · 06-22-2012, 07:54 PM

Maybe we should start seeing the whole situation in perspective.
In the last tree years hundred of Independent comic forums and also small comic publishers went flat dead.

Probable causes of disease, the abrupt and demolishing change in the rules of distribution for small Indie comics publishers.

Some of these sites, the few ones that haven’t their domains for sale are showing as recent ones posts that are dated in 2009.

But unlike those sites, DW stills in the run.
We can blame the naiveté, craziness, outrageous and megalomaniac opinions of some DW dwellers.
Freedom is freedom.
We can also blame some management policies that are running against our personal interests.
On online forums, as it happens in life, people are always coming and going.
And we all have something to learn in the meanwhile.

But the clash of opinions about comics creation at DW is always healthy compared with those rigged comics forums where the only option is to talk about featured characters created by big publishers that are owners/patrons of such forums.
Or on talking only about the work for hire of those creatives that are working at these same big publishers and over whatsoever they are producing for the house.
Fair enough. Render to the big 4 the things that are big four’s.

Unlike all those, DW is addressed to individual, anonymous comic creatives and is always helping them in the promotion of what they produce.
Newbies, pros, old veterans, mere curious, on DW every individual unknown creative has his own equal voice and chances for expression.
We can learn and receive free criticism over our creations. We can debate.
We can pimp. We can be opinionated.
DW forums are unique, no matter who may be jumping in or out of it, or coming back tomorrow.
MHO.

CHWolf · 06-22-2012, 09:08 PM

I've been here too long, I think, because I'm agreeing with Scribbly. So this is going native.

I'd like to boil DW's lagging popularity down to one major issue, though.

The front page of the site does not represent the community on the forums and looks like the splash page of a dead resource.

All the other details are important, too, but I think that's the absolute #1 reason you don't see a bigger influx of productive users.

We all know there are discussions going on here - but looking at the "storefront window", it seems like we're closed for business.

Also, am I the only one who sees the forum header is broken...? That's just a sidenote, of course.

darkwriter · 06-22-2012, 09:18 PM

lol I just took a look at the front page and you would think that this site was totally dead going by that. BY my reckoning the last update was in May of last year so I have to ask, apart from the forums which seem to be just holding onto the last threads of life...is Digital Webbing the comic company pretty much dead? Or has Ed just got super lazy with site updates?

CHWolf · 06-22-2012, 09:20 PM

Just to toss it out there, I heard through the grapevine that DWP was coming back again. That was a while ago, and yes, I'm sure that's been posted somewhere anyway and I'm just wasting my breath.

Biofungus · 06-22-2012, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phatman

I think that is part of the problem. Here's a few more:

Chit-Chat: used to be able to have an occasional political or cultural debate without it completely devolving into nonsense. The participation level was greater and the level of discussion was as well. Can't remember the last time that happened.

Creator Community: can't be taken seriously anymore. When a relevant topic is brought up the discussion is swallowed up by ignorant responses or none at all. Most of the pros that used to participate have moved on.

Critiques: the level of criticism and work have deteriorated considerably. There are some people who aren't looking to get better and want to argue about their work. There is also an increasing amount of garbage to filter through to get to the people who are posting really good work.

In my opinion, the place jumped the shark at the point that Kid Intense got more bandwidth around here. If this place wants to be taken seriously again as a comic creator site it needs a complete overall to attract more creative people over the "I don't read or buy comics anymore" fanboy, chuckle-heads who want to tell us what's wrong with the comic's industry.

I'm thankful for the really great people I've met through DW, but the place is dying a slow death. Either break out the paddles and revive this thing or pull the plug and start shoveling.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say:

When Ed stopped giving a poop about the site, it seemed nobody else did, either.

**Jon Dahl** · 06-22-2012, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHWolf

Just to toss it out there, I heard through the grapevine that DWP was coming back again. That was a while ago, and yes, I'm sure that's been posted somewhere anyway and I'm just wasting my breath.

I tried dammit!

But really, I did try. I was shot down like a Swedish war plane in WWII.

Biofungus · 06-22-2012, 09:29 PM

Also: DW used to get mentioned semi-regularly in Wizard magazine, which always resulted in an influx of activity (and sometimes some people would actually stick around). So that avenue of activity is gone. Plus online, DW is becoming known for it's lack of useful critiques and increase in artists who can't take critiques. So it's virtually a shadow of what it once was.

darkwriter · 06-22-2012, 09:35 PM

wow all this is making me wonder if it was such a good idea to have come back at all.

At least the critiques I have managed to get in the last couple of days have been helpful (perhaps a tad harsh and lacking in the tact department) but helpful at least.

Still it is a shame because this place used to be a great site for professional and beginner alike and it even had room for ppl who were just fans and just wanted to see some nice art and read some good stories.

Now it is just kinda...

CHWolf · 06-22-2012, 09:37 PM

To summarize what everyone else is clearly getting at, I don't have enough power here.

Biofungus · 06-22-2012, 10:59 PM

Here's one of the problems:

Quote:

Currently Active Users: 120 (11 members and 109 guests)

If they're not members, they're really not "active users", are they? Hmmm...

CHWolf · 06-22-2012, 11:42 PM

I know I'm repeating myself from a post months ago, but basically those 109 people break down into neat categories.

☁ People who Googled a phrase like "free lettering tutorials" and are on their way
☁ People who Googled "sodomy" and... Oops - Hi again, sodomy fans!
☁ Search Engine crawlers
☁ Spambots
☂ People like us. ie: Folks who may actually want to join a forum.

My money is on the final group being the smallest. Things like moderator verification and a dead-looking site are the bits that probably turn the majority of those folks away.

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06-22-2012, 03:11 PM	#46
CHWolf BARF JR. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: In the Conservatory, with the Revolver. Posts: 5,614	Was thinking the other night that there need to be seperate Art Showcase and Art Critique boards. Splitting it up encourages people who don't want critique, and hones the focus for people who do want it. IE: Don't go to the critique board to just say something looks neat, and don't go to the art showcase to rip on people's work. Everybody wins. (Of course, that alone wouldn't flood the site with activity.)

06-22-2012, 06:49 PM	#49
CHWolf BARF JR. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: In the Conservatory, with the Revolver. Posts: 5,614	^ Is a slave to corporate campaign donations ^

06-22-2012, 07:54 PM	#50
Scribbly Easy Reader Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Amerika Posts: 3,744	Maybe we should start seeing the whole situation in perspective. In the last tree years hundred of Independent comic forums and also small comic publishers went flat dead. Probable causes of disease, the abrupt and demolishing change in the rules of distribution for small Indie comics publishers. Some of these sites, the few ones that haven’t their domains for sale are showing as recent ones posts that are dated in 2009. But unlike those sites, DW stills in the run. We can blame the naiveté, craziness, outrageous and megalomaniac opinions of some DW dwellers. Freedom is freedom. We can also blame some management policies that are running against our personal interests. On online forums, as it happens in life, people are always coming and going. And we all have something to learn in the meanwhile. But the clash of opinions about comics creation at DW is always healthy compared with those rigged comics forums where the only option is to talk about featured characters created by big publishers that are owners/patrons of such forums. Or on talking only about the work for hire of those creatives that are working at these same big publishers and over whatsoever they are producing for the house. Fair enough. Render to the big 4 the things that are big four’s. Unlike all those, DW is addressed to individual, anonymous comic creatives and is always helping them in the promotion of what they produce. Newbies, pros, old veterans, mere curious, on DW every individual unknown creative has his own equal voice and chances for expression. We can learn and receive free criticism over our creations. We can debate. We can pimp. We can be opinionated. DW forums are unique, no matter who may be jumping in or out of it, or coming back tomorrow. MHO.

06-22-2012, 09:08 PM	#51
CHWolf BARF JR. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: In the Conservatory, with the Revolver. Posts: 5,614	I've been here too long, I think, because I'm agreeing with Scribbly. So this is going native. I'd like to boil DW's lagging popularity down to one major issue, though. The front page of the site does not represent the community on the forums and looks like the splash page of a dead resource. All the other details are important, too, but I think that's the absolute #1 reason you don't see a bigger influx of productive users. We all know there are discussions going on here - but looking at the "storefront window", it seems like we're closed for business. Also, am I the only one who sees the forum header is broken...? That's just a sidenote, of course.

06-22-2012, 09:18 PM	#52
darkwriter Just Some Bloke Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,338	lol I just took a look at the front page and you would think that this site was totally dead going by that. BY my reckoning the last update was in May of last year so I have to ask, apart from the forums which seem to be just holding onto the last threads of life...is Digital Webbing the comic company pretty much dead? Or has Ed just got super lazy with site updates?

06-22-2012, 09:20 PM	#53
CHWolf BARF JR. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: In the Conservatory, with the Revolver. Posts: 5,614	Just to toss it out there, I heard through the grapevine that DWP was coming back again. That was a while ago, and yes, I'm sure that's been posted somewhere anyway and I'm just wasting my breath.

06-22-2012, 09:29 PM	#56
Biofungus Not for your amusement Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Nega-Earth Posts: 22,083	Also: DW used to get mentioned semi-regularly in Wizard magazine, which always resulted in an influx of activity (and sometimes some people would actually stick around). So that avenue of activity is gone. Plus online, DW is becoming known for it's lack of useful critiques and increase in artists who can't take critiques. So it's virtually a shadow of what it once was.

06-22-2012, 09:35 PM	#57
darkwriter Just Some Bloke Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,338	wow all this is making me wonder if it was such a good idea to have come back at all. At least the critiques I have managed to get in the last couple of days have been helpful (perhaps a tad harsh and lacking in the tact department) but helpful at least. Still it is a shame because this place used to be a great site for professional and beginner alike and it even had room for ppl who were just fans and just wanted to see some nice art and read some good stories. Now it is just kinda...

06-22-2012, 09:37 PM	#58
CHWolf BARF JR. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: In the Conservatory, with the Revolver. Posts: 5,614	To summarize what everyone else is clearly getting at, I don't have enough power here.

06-22-2012, 11:42 PM	#60
CHWolf BARF JR. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: In the Conservatory, with the Revolver. Posts: 5,614	I know I'm repeating myself from a post months ago, but basically those 109 people break down into neat categories. ☁ People who Googled a phrase like "free lettering tutorials" and are on their way ☁ People who Googled "sodomy" and... Oops - Hi again, sodomy fans! ☁ Search Engine crawlers ☁ Spambots ☂ People like us. ie: Folks who may actually want to join a forum. My money is on the final group being the smallest. Things like moderator verification and a dead-looking site are the bits that probably turn the majority of those folks away.