Skool, if you want an actual person who has left because of Wowio's strong-arm tactics, then use me. I've moved Time Girls to ComicFury (and trust me, I see a LOT of familiar names there who have just done the same thing). Time Girls is #65 overall on DD today, #50 in Comic Books… but it's not going to be updated again, and once the name change comes, I'll remove it completely. There's an actual top 100 comic you can show Wowio has left because of the way they're handling things.

If DD stays DD with an offical statement stating such, if rawhtml remains, if the extra ad banners splattered all over the comics are removed, then I'll come back. You can check my join date here, I've been here a long, long time and I love the forums here, I love checking the main page everyday for comics, seeing the new feature comics, reading the news posts… DD has been home for me and Time Girls (which first appeared here exclusively).

But again, I have to make it plain, DD exists because of me (and other comic creators)… they can't just figure ‘if we rebuilt it, they will come’… there are a lot of better ballparks out there to play in (granted, few with as friendly and fun folks as here).

None of us here cheer Wowio or see them as heroes… they bought the site out from under us and it's like they bought our home and now want to plaster the walls with yellows and greens, take away our heat and AC, change our address, then charge us more to get them back.

Again, just point the Wowio execs (if they're not too busy on the golf course) to the other free webcomis sites… let them see how many DD webcomics that were here exclusively have now moved to the other sites… and all in the last week or so.

I've no doubt DD will remain in some form… er, TD… but, if you count 2 weeks ago as a high mark, DD will never reach that mark again… the boom is over, the game has ended, the mighty Duck has fallen… and Wowio doesn't care, they haven't listened to one single thing any of us have said… not one single thing… they have a plan chiseled out on a big block of stone and nothing is negotiable… they get you and OZ to lead us on, but you know in your heart, your job is to change OUR minds, not change theirs.

And this has nothing to do with you and OZ… you've always seemed like good folks to me, always eager to help, to make DD the best it can be… but you know, defending Wowio's mafia-like approach is wrong. Let it go… you and OZ could create your own webcomics site (and I'd be the first one to join up, even if it were a pay site)… just let DD fall and at least die an honorable death.

usedbooks

Genejoke

usedbooks
I don't plan to leave DD. However, if it doesn't provide the basic functions necessary to run a webcomic, I guess it will have to function only as a mirror. Other people already do that, but I used it as my main host.

This, I am very close to leaving but the community here is too good. If the user ad thing isn't sorted then all the advertising I do will take traffic elsewhere. Something I think a lot of people will(are) do(ing) even if they haunt the forums i can't see how it will be much good to wowio.

I should clarify that my statement was not intended as a threat or emotional in any way. I have never intended on leaving DD and still don't (and if I did, I hardly think it would make any difference; I have a small readership, not a top anything comic). It is simple arithmetic. To run a webcomic, I require A, B, and C. Therefore, if DD doesn't provide A, B, and C, I have to run my webcomic elsewhere. It's the same thought process I went through years ago to choose a host in the first place.

Although I did choose my host based on features, I have become fond of the people/spirit/atmosphere here, so if the features go away, I will keep it as a mirror. I'd love to keep it as my main site and will do so if I am able (in other words, if it retains the ability/features to function as such).

I'll optimistically reserve such decisions until the new site is finalized. I am working on a nice mirror site, anyway, so my customized look, extra content, promotional stuff, link exchanges, etc. will have a home if Wowio decides it cannot be here.

I chose DD because it was easy to use, I stuck with it because of the community.
I will remain here as much as possible and my statements about leaving are not threats, just like yours it comes down to practicalities.

Yes guys, do use the feedback system. I know making an account is an annoyance (but easily done with). However, any designer/developer anywhere is going to want to see a strong reaction against a thing before he considers changing it. Small numbers and ambivalent responses aren't going to get anything anywhere. If users hate a thing but don't hate it enough to log in and add their vote, then they must not hate it THAT much, right?

Tim Wellman
Stuff

Thanks, Tim. :]

A couple points:

“They bought the site out from under us”
I'm not sure I understand this statement, as 5 or 6 years ago Volte was in the process of shutting DD down because it was too expensive and hard for him to maintain. Platinum bought it from him, did a main page redesign and 1 or 2 new features (like the trophies and sidebars) and then neglected the site utterly for what, 3 years? DD was again very close to getting shut down when Wowio bought it. So, ‘out fron under us’ is kind of a bad metaphor since it has not really been ‘ours’ since Volte owned it. I understand the sentiment though!

Again, just point the Wowio execs (if they're not too busy on the golf course) to the other free webcomis sites…
I dunno if he plays golf, but the guy who runs Wowio is on twitter, you could point him to them yourself. :]

they get you and OZ to lead us on, but you know in your heart, your job is to change OUR minds, not change theirs.
No, that is untrue. Our loyalty is to DD and not whoever is running it. If DD ends up in a place we are unhappy with, I don't expect either of us will stay long. There have been many times in the past when we've questioned whether we want to stay as admins because it means associating ourselves with an owner we may not necessarily agree with. Several admins left under Platinum's management. Oz and I are currently very unhappy because we feel misled about several things. Currently we're doing our best to mediate between the two groups: explain Wowio stuff as we understand it to DDers, because Wowio apparently didn't want to; and explain DDer stuff to Wowio (we are drafting some emails which hopefully put some issues very pointedly, and present them in a way which hopefully can be moved forward with constructively). Our role is a bit complicated at times like this since we want to make both groups happy, as both can benefit from each other, but at its core we are Drunk Duck admins and not Wowio Employees.

But awesome job making an assumption about me and how I see my role here. But hey at least you got me to open up a bit. :]

Skoolmunkee
But awesome job making an assumption about me and how I see my role here. But hey at least you got me to open up a bit. :]

OH SNAP.

Haw, I came back to edit that because I shouldn't say snarky things, and you've gone and quoted me. :I

Oh, sorry! but I couldn't hold back a smile when I read it :D hahaha

It's cool, it's impossible to be uspet about anything with that goatee around. I need to get me one of those.

Oh good! As for getting yourself a moustache or goatee, do what I do, draw it on your finger and then hold it on your upper lip at appropriate times, or cut a beard and moustache out of cardboard and stick them to your face (which I have also done) or, the best solution:

grow one.

and may it be a full and mighty goatee.

I agree completely with Tim Wellman. Well, due to my own laziness I'm no longer in the Top 100 Story Comics… and, I no longer care enough to even bother with the Feedback tab… so I'll just put my 2 cents in here, fully knowing WOWIO won't read here.

(1) DD is dead. This is going to be a new site that you're joining up fresh. Get that into your heads. Therefore, just go ahead and compare “TD” with other hosting sites and go with whichever one is better. Nostalgia/loyalty plays no factor. Volte is long gone. DD is going to be gone. The readers have left with the Top 100 and during all the slowdowns/crashes. Why are you staying if a better site is available elsewhere?

(2) I'll stay here as long as DD is DD, to the last day. As soon as it changes over to the yellow-green-vomit TD, yeah I'm gone. Won't even see me on the forums since I don't want to go blind reading neon green text.

I've nothing to add… but am taking an interest in how this is playing out.

MrHades
I've nothing to add… but am taking an interest in how this is playing out.

yeah i'm pretty much in that quarter myself, i usually range in the top 30 percent here mostly because i'm too busy making comics to be able to figure out ways to promote them. schoolmonkey, ozoneocean, and even spang when he was doing it have all been pretty good to me all along the way so ive stayed here. but my primary concern has always been the fans, theyre the reason i continue to post even when my life hit the wipeout stage last year, or when dd has has had every problem a website can concieve of. and to the fans my ultimate loyalty lays. if the fans follow large numbers comics to other sites, i'd no doubt follow too. theyre the ones buying the products, giving the feedback, and making websites any where near profitable. has anyone at wowio actually thought about them?

Okay, I'm not happy with the changes being made to Drunk Duck. Some I can understand (the name change. I've had more than a few people give me strange looks when I tell them where my comic is hosted), some I don't (the lack of rawhtml/limited customization).

I have registered for the feedback site, and I've agreed with the issues that most bother me. Other people have expressed those concerns much better than I have.

When I was setting up my comic, I knew what I wanted (customization, extra pages, and free) and I settled on either Drunk Duck or Comic Fury. I chose Drunk Duck because the Forums seemed friendlier (even if I rarely post) and Comic Fury was financially supported by one person, which (1) struck me as too much of a personal sandbox and (2) had me worried that with just one person, when his money ran out, Comic Fury would go away/make radical changes.

Now I have an established, if tiny, readership here. I don't want to go somewhere else, and I don't intend to… but I can't say that I won't. I'm willing to try to roll with the changes, but if the things I want are no longer here, then I will look elsewhere.

My comic layout has been carried over, but not properly.
Its all kind of mucked up. There used to be black boxes behind it all.

If its going to be carried over as it is and I wont be able to edit it anymore, then that is unacceptable.

I don't want to sound hostile…but I feel I'm being pushed out the door here.
I feel like my comic is about to be hamstrung.

harkovast
My comic layout has been carried over, but not properly.
Its all kind of mucked up. There used to be black boxes behind it all.

If its going to be carried over as it is and I wont be able to edit it anymore, then that is unacceptable.

I don't want to sound hostile…but I feel I'm being pushed out the door here.
I feel like my comic is about to be hamstrung.

DD would NOT be the same without Read Harkovast. If you haven't already, PLEASE got to the feedback and add your very legitimate concerns to the count.

For those who have liked DD, PLEASE PLEASE add your comments to the feedback. “I'm lazy” is a reason, not an excuse, and if you feel the community has been good, the admins have been good, it really is not too much to ask that you take maybe 5 minutes of your oh-so-valuable time to give back a little now.

Your new slogan… PLEASE USE THE FEEDBACK. :)

Genejoke
Your new slogan… PLEASE USE THE FEEDBACK. :)

LOL. yeah, well. it does trump me ol “voice contest” pitch in the sig

one day I'll be normal and put my comic there like sensible DDers

Actually it's not a bad idea. If I lose html support I don't know if I'll even have a comic here. I think I'll join your sig change stance.

ghostrunner

MrHades
I've nothing to add… but am taking an interest in how this is playing out.

yeah i'm pretty much in that quarter myself, i usually range in the top 30 percent here mostly because i'm too busy making comics to be able to figure out ways to promote them. schoolmonkey, ozoneocean, and even spang when he was doing it have all been pretty good to me all along the way so ive stayed here. but my primary concern has always been the fans, theyre the reason i continue to post even when my life hit the wipeout stage last year, or when dd has has had every problem a website can concieve of. and to the fans my ultimate loyalty lays. if the fans follow large numbers comics to other sites, i'd no doubt follow too. theyre the ones buying the products, giving the feedback, and making websites any where near profitable. has anyone at wowio actually thought about them?

I'm so busy with making my comic and real life stuff, I'm totally in the same boat!

ghostrunner

MrHades
I've nothing to add… but am taking an interest in how this is playing out.

yeah i'm pretty much in that quarter myself, i usually range in the top 30 percent here mostly because i'm too busy making comics to be able to figure out ways to promote them.

Yep. That's the most annoying part of this whole thing. It's sucking away my comic making time. I like making comics, and hosting them at DD let me not have to worry about any technical stuff (plus, it's great motivation and encouragement from the wonderful people here).

I've wasted enough time and energy on this. I said my piece here and in the feedback forum, so I've done what I can for DD's future. I've solidified my plans on what to do with my comics depending on Wowio's final verdict and product. Now, I'll go back to making my comic, carefree. :) Still on DD at the moment, everyone, and I'll stay here in some form as long as it functions. If it explodes before my proper mirror is finished, you can catch me on DeviantArt.

All right, all right. I've posted feedback on the new site.

Not wanting to sound like a big nay-sayer but Tim Wellman is right to a certain degree. I personally know comic artists of well established comics who have personally voiced their interest to leave their duck. Most of their concerns are a mixture of frustration of all the bugs that have been plaguing the current site, to which I've commented that the new site should address these problems but now their genuine concerns are in the “non-HTML editing” department or not being able to create sub-forums for their comics.

These are good people I'm talking about, with popular comics who are not the nagging types. I won't voice out their names out of respect but they're free to come out and comment on it if they like.

Well, my web comics creation and advertisement is essentially in the toilet now due to my personal impending move and having to put my computer in storage for a month and a half, and perhaps by the time that I am ready to post again the new site will be up and running and I will give it the benefit of the doubt. However, since I'm entering some personal downtime anyway and also since I'm basically a noob to all of this web comics stuff having only been here a year and the comics that I post here being my grand experiment first foray into this world, and as such I want to try and redo some of the art anyway, I'm taking this opportunity to indeed look into alternative hosting sites. Not saying that I too am going to leave here, since as some others have said they chose this site above all the others for the functionality and the community, and I did too, and as I said above I want to stick around and give the new version the benefit of the doubt. But, in the interest of exposure to my work, and as a next step and something that I've actually considered for a while regardless of recent changes, I am probably going to set up “mirrors” across the board to as many other hosting sites as possible. I already looked into Smackjeeves, WeVolt, Comic Genesis, and Comic Fury last night. Can't honestly say that I liked any of them better than here, but I have to do what I have to do.

posted my oppinion on the feedback forum, would love to know if its going to be listened to though :(

ghostrunner
posted my oppinion on the feedback forum, would love to know if its going to be listened to though :(

I'm hoping on that myself. But it's true: the larger the representation (meaning feedback posts), the better a voice we have.

I did notice one thing that's made me more optimistic: a disgruntled user created a “topic” only to slur someone and nothing about the preview site (1337 posted about it yesterday). That “topic” has been removed (looks like Lawrence did it), so there has definitely been at least one eye-balling.

Left some feedback myself, but I find it funny that if you click on “problems solved” or “problems worked on” it says none for both! lol!

Sounds like a question from my costing exam.

Double benefit aside, do you realise that those that give the duck the most hits will lose the most from not hosting their own ads, and thus, have the most to gain by going solo?

How about naming the site “WebDuck Comics”? And maybe our beloved mascot will instead be depicted as being constantly surrounded by computer screens with a tablet/stylus on his beverage littered desk? :)

I still favor Daring Duck. Or maybe Dashing Duck. Complete with a Zorro sort of vibe. Sorta like Darkwing Duck. Remember him? ;)

Drawn Duck? Doodle Duck? Data Duck? You want hits? D-Cup Duck!

EDIT: And yes I remember Darkwing Duck. One of the best cartoons at that time! ^_^

Duck Deluxe?

JustNoPoint and vwyler
Darkwing Duck

how about:
Duck Dodgers then?

—

It might have been better to wait a little while longer after the “image lost” before you put the preview out. I think there'd be less “flipouts” and some people would be a little more understanding.