Hey cool!
Its another thread complaining about the problems with DD.
These never get old.

TheMidge28
Hey cool!
Its another thread complaining about the problems with DD.
These never get old.

It's about as fresh as you reading the whole thread before posting. It's not complaining about the problem so much as it's a concerned user pointing out something that not alot of people know aobut, but SHOULD, as it's indicative of trouble to come. Ergo, you may want to CONSIDER options should things go sour, despite the fact that Platinum is trying to do something about it before it all goes to hell.

Jesus.

lefarce

TheMidge28
Hey cool!
Its another thread complaining about the problems with DD.
These never get old.

It's about as fresh as you reading the whole thread before posting. It's not complaining about the problem so much as it's a concerned user pointing out something that not alot of people know aobut, but SHOULD, as it's indicative of trouble to come. Ergo, you may want to CONSIDER options should things go sour, despite the fact that Platinum is trying to do something about it before it all goes to hell.

Jesus.

really?
wow. I guess I better get right back to reading the thread rehashing the same drama that has been rehash the five million times previously on The OC!
Seriously, this is old.

Buddha.

@Midge

This threads old poo to you i know, but I've actually got a lot out of it. I bet others are doing the same.
Your points are valid, I'd simply like this thread not to be locked. :)

I'll honor this too and not reply to the rather contradicting things djcoffman said, but it's nice to know DD will be getting up on it's feet again, even if it's a long wait :)

Jason Embury
It costs you nothing to publish online, or next to that. If you want to make money and be successful with webcomics, all you have to do is put in the work and put out a product people care about and will follow WHERE EVER its hosted. Those that work the hardest will be the most successful in the end. If I tallied up the hours I have put in the last 10 years in comics to get to where I'm at today, hours that I never got paid for, it would boggle the mind. I STILL put in hours a day that I see no money for.

I'm in no way trying to be contradictory here or start a fight, but from my experience in the last couple months since I found DD through Yirmumah and a couple SJ comics, I've discovered that there is just a little bit more to success than pure hard work. While I've built up a pretty decent audience and gotten to be one of the more well-known single panel comics on DD, I continually find myself thinking that there must be some little things I don't know about promoting myself and the site and just generally building my audience and growing. I put as many hours of work and thought into what I do every day as I humanly can, and though I've made a pretty quick climb, I can honestly say I haven't taken off nearly as quickly as some others. And as far as figuring out things like how to better advertise and expand, I'm pretty much taking pot shots in the dark.

I'll admit to not really knowing what I'm doing when it comes to being a total professional in comicking. I'm an amateur and a student doing it to practice and enjoy what I'm trying to learn. I'm pretty sure a lot of other people are in the same boat around here. And it's guys like you and DJ that we look up to and want to hear from more often because you've been there and know things we don't. It really helps us when you guys pop up in the forums like Tips & Tricks or Advertising Discussion and give advice, rather than reply only to threads like this or not at all. None of us want to have our audiences exist solely on DD or from you guy's audience, but we do want to know what we can improve about our work and what we can do to improve the site along with Platinum and you guys.

I guess what I'm trying to get at here as a point for everyone to understand, from my own experiences and what I've learned in the past six or seven months, along with what everyone else has said, is that there's always a little more to it than just hard work or luck or any one single factor. And similarly, the problems with DD aren't just because of Platinum not caring, because of the top ten sucking bandwidth, or because bigger creators don't talk as much, or really any single factor. It's a lot of things that contribute to whether or not the community is good, and everyone could and can help in some way to help fix or better the community. It is a community after all.

Edit: I really hope that conveys the point of “everyone can do something for their community”, I was going for. I'm not all that great at writing.

I can't help feeling there's an air of the old self-fulfilling prophecy about all this.

DD works. It has bugs, but it works. There was no “Golden Age” before Platinum (the whole thing collapsed at one point!) but, after a fashion, it worked before Platinum and, after a fashion, it can continue to work if Platinum bail.

The thing that's most likely to bring down a site like DD is not whether Platinum supports it or not, but people moving their comics away. Some people have valid reasons for deciding to go it alone, but no-one should be panicked into moving their comic just because other people are doing so.

The strength of DD is its community. If you want it to continue, keep posting your comics here and supporting the comics that others post here. That's all it takes.

What worried me was this lingering thought that PS was in serious financial troubles. When the admins start saying they think the site is abandoned then that's when I really got worried and considered looking elsewhere.

Believe me, I am not complaining about the bugs, I am worried about the life of DD. Volte's message made me feel a bit better though.

@Volte: I would pay fees for this service to help support it. I wouldn't need special privileges, I just really like the place. If anything put up a donate button?

Zip, edited by me for niceness sake.
DD is fine. :)

I'm still here, not going anywhere, but I will set up mirrors and things. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it would be nice for the folks who are having these image server issues and comic page problems to see the back of this bug.

It would be nice, is it going to happen?

I can't say, I never did have the ability to see the future. So as long as DD is around, Wyrden will be around here.

@Ozone
Images are showing up just fine for me 96% of the time actually, every now and then a front page one flickers off but never that bad.

Skoolmonkey mentioned earlier that images were having trouble in showing up on canada and japan- so it might have just spread to Australia and other non-American regions.

It's still a huge problem, but not everybody is getting effected/aware.

Skull, I've spoken to other peeople in the US who're having it longer times as well.

It's always tempting to say "Well, it's fine for me, so it's really just YOUR problem."
But in my position as DD Admin I don't feel I'm ever able to take that position. I care about everyone's experience at DD.
——————————————

There are no problems here now. Go back about your business. :)
Move on. Nothing to see here people!

Ooops, Ozone beat me.

Anyway, where's that admin forum dirt? Dish dish dish dish!

JustNoPoint
@Volte: I would pay fees for this service to help support it. I wouldn't need special privileges, I just really like the place. If anything put up a donate button?

I think volte has said before that that kind of thing would open up business complications for plat (paid service and/or donations) so they're not likely to do it… sorry ;)

killersteak
Anyway, where's that admin forum dirt? Dish dish dish dish!

I actually went into the admin forum to find something that would make a funny response but really, it's just dire. The only thing that really goes on in there is storage for future newsposts and a list of people we've warned/frozen and why.

Also Ozone used to be a woman.

Ozone was the model for PINKY-TA?

If I had a bum like that I wouldn't be able to fit into my jeans :)

ozoneocean
The reason for this thread, as DAJB and Midge seem totally unaware of it, is the current on and off image problem. That sees comics totally without any images showing at all.

I'm not totally unaware of it, O.O., and of course I want to see the bugs fixed. It's entirely right that Admins should take up these issues with Platinum and I'm delighted that you guys are doing so, especially since it seems that nobody is listening which must be sooo frustrating for you guys.

However, I'm starting to see comics where creators are talking about taking them away from DD - not because they've experienced any real problems with these bugs themselves, but simply because threads like this seem to be suggesting that the Admins think they should. I'm sure that's not what you want to see happen, but you need to be careful that airing your dirty linen in public doesn't do more harm than good.

Obviously no-one expects you to pretend that everything is sweetness and light when it's not, but you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the advantages of being part of DD - even as it is now - still outweigh the disadvantages of not being here - by a considerable margin. Newcomers to the site, especially, need to see that message alongside all our gripes about the problems.

KEEP your comics here!

DD is the best place on the web!

Jebus. It has me here for god's sake.

Pinky TA is never leaving DD. Ever. This has always been its home and always will be.

And Platinum rock the universe!!


Wait, are we being sarcastic or not?

DAJB
The strength of DD is its community. If you want it to continue, keep posting your comics here and supporting the comics that others post here. That's all it takes.

I just want to reiterate this.

DrunkDuck has experienced numerous crashes over the years. Each time it came back, the community was still around. People talked about how oh DD people will now move to Comic Genesis or whatever each time it crashed. As if DD was just a webcomic host and nothing more. While that did happen, people also came back to DrunkDuck which I suspect surprised a lot of people.

The strength of DrunkDuck has always been the community. People are what make DrunkDuck a great place. You want hosting? You can get that anywhere. A community is much harder to come by. That's the heart of the website and all the programming in the world can't duplicate that.

I know I haven't been around lately but I do come everyday though. The reality though is that I'm tired. I push for meetings, I contact people, I make suggestions…I'm out of ideas now. Maybe I should march over to LA and find some random Platinum person to shake by the shoulders. At this point, that's my best idea. THAT'S how dry the well is for me.

I love this site, I love the community. I think this is the best community out there and I think it's worth keeping and saving. It's friendly to newcomers, it brings both experienced and inexperienced artists together. There are no big ego fights, no throwing people under buses for the sake of a few webcomic hits. My fellow admins are great people who care about this site. (We're talking about people who dedicated YEARS of their life to this place.) People have fun here which oftentimes people forget to do when making webcomics. People network, chat, exchange ideas. People also stick together and come together.

There is also so much potential for MORE and it breaks my heart to see this potential wasted. But DAJB is right. The death of DD won't come because a company has other priorities. The death of DD will come when the heart picks up its stuff and leaves.

killersteak
And Platinum rock the universe!!


Wait, are we being sarcastic or not?

No Sarcasm.

Not Stepford Ozone either…

I'm sticking with DD.

I'm getting kinda' sick of all the “every site has bugs” excuse at this point. DD wouldn't be shaky right now if it had a couple of bugs, it's the fact that it's affecting images, and the whole point of this site is to be an IMAGE HOST.

Thought I would clear that up as it seems a few people just don't get it.

My 2 cents.

I was at Comic Genesis back in the days when it was Keenspot. It was webcomic death. No real community to speak of, no interaction between the comics. It does seem reasonably maintained but that's about it. It's a very impersonal experience, as far as I'm concerned.

The DD bugs irritate me and I have obtained a domain and will get some webhosting for a separate site for Due East. But that's as a mirror, at this point. I enjoy DD's community as much as anyone else. I'm willing to stay unless it just gets too unpleasant to continue.

I understand the business side, too, I went to business school in college. I started a non-profit and have run it through high times and low times for 11 years. But I think everyone here knows that sometimes you have to apply common sense along with practicality (which is lacking far too often in some corners of the business world, it seems). If you take care of what you have invested it, it will benefit you better, in the short run and in the long run.

I accept Volte's word that things are being slowly addressed and I am willing to continue to be patient. But I think this has been way too low a priority for way too long. DD could fairly easily be successful for Platinum without resorting to things like charging fees to the members of the community. And I agree with others that the DD community is part of the solution to that problem…should Platinum be open to anything like that.

You have to ask yourself…Could the bugginess be an excuse for readers to just go to Wowio and read comics there all day for free?
And…is it in the interests of some people for the public to do that anyway.

Also…there are advertisements all over drunk duck.

If there is no money being made, then, that is sad.

I said it before, why not have a small space on the main page for DD artists to advertise on for cheap.
…money is money last time I checked.
and constant cash flow is what it is all about.

shaneronzio
You have to ask yourself…

The bugginess and lack of bug fixingness was around long before the wowio ads were :) I would think if anything were happening to seriously drive people away from DD they'd find a way to do something about it.

I said it before, why not have a small space on the main page for DD artists to advertise on for cheap.

This has been answered in the past, and basically, an amateur comic person wouldn't be able to match the rates that plat gets from their ads. When Plat is in a better business position, then user ads might be something they look into, but I wouldn't be surprised if Plat sticks with the people willing to give more money for the same space.

It isn't my intention to drive people off from DD or scare people off from putting a comic here. I've just been letting some of my frustration show and APC thoughtfully collected them in one place and made a big deal of it. T_T


This thread is starting to get pretty redundant though :/ Nothing in this thread is very new information. I realize it's an opportunity to vent but that doesn't really help DD's situation.

SpANG
2 Years later…Nothing has been touched. The forums still suck, there are bugs everywhere. So, yeah. I'm there with you now, APC. I doubt that makes you feel better though.

Actually, it does to see that there is more than just me and a seemingly vocal minority worried about this.

I do not see big image-related problems. The only bugs I've experienced are:

1. A page doesn't load correctly. Refresh… problem solved.
2. Trying to update an avatar or a banner is hard… so the site uses the old image… at least it puts up an image.
3. Trying to edit a page takes a little trick (change the extension name). But as long as you do that, it works fine.
4. The ads on the main page and the forums page slow browsing down… but once you get into a comic, that goes away.

None of the above are big problems. Hey, I'm getting free hosting. As long as it keeps chugging along in its current state I'm content.

So the only thing I really care about is this rumor that DD will die. At least Volte6 believes it to be untrue atm. I choose to believe in his words.

It is untrue. The rumour was false :)

To be honest, I didn't even know there were problems with the image server until I visited the forums. I can't really browse the site itself anymore because of all of the @#$! ads, they absolutely kill my computer. (In fact, my text is lagging just typing this because I currently have some woman dancing on the side of my screen about earning a degree and some football smileys bouncing on the top of the screen, ugh. I've also noticed that my popup blocker has been blocking popup ads on my comic recently - double ugh.) But I haven't really had any problems loading comics themselves, so I've just started avoiding the front page and forums like the plague, and I know I'm not the only one who is doing so.

It makes me a bit nervous to see the admin team being so down on everything (although I note that nearly everyone's attitudes have made a miraculous 180 degree turn once this topic was made..?). I don't have any intention of moving PT completely off the site at the moment, although I have been looking into mirroring options. :/ It will be a shame if DD gets abandoned, the community here is the best out of any of the major web hosts, in my opinion.

silentkitty
It makes me a bit nervous to see the admin team being so down on everything (although I note that nearly everyone's attitudes have made a miraculous 180 degree turn once this topic was made..?)

Like I said before, DD still runs adequate for a comic hoster most of the time, and the queuing system is still the easiest and friendliest to work with. Also it's great that DD lets you run your own ads for income. Until/if those things go (or if someone buids a better one), we'll be sticking around too.

But…I am staying resolute in MY opinion. I have heard LOTS of pretty promises, but I have not seen any progress, and a slow deterioration of the COMMUNITY over the past few years. Several threads, meetings, VP's, etc. Despite the claims by PS, nothing has changed. So I am holding their feet to the fire. For all the good it will do.


I remain hopeful, of course. But I also remain concerned.

I'm a lot more confident now than I was before. :)
It's just good to have a rant every now and again…

Eh, but as Admins, we don't often realise what weight our words carry. There's no WAY I wanted users to start feeling worried! I'm an idiot for doing that.
I'll try and watch my words in future ;)