So. Another long, long delay. What's up with that? There's the usual issues with the tech (which I've now found a solution of sorts to) and the depression and anxiety, which sadly doesn't go away. But I've worked through depression and anxiety before so what's the deal. Why has it taken so long to post up here. Well to be brutally honest, it's this site. I haven't been feeling very positive lately for a whole host of reasons. Many of my friends who had comics here but never came back know. They've said the same things as I have. Even if there's a hell of a lot of cool people here, making some great comics, the culture of the site is going in a different direction from the site I joined so many years ago and I'm honestly uncertain of my future here. My foot isn't out the door yet, but after a certain experience I had last month, it's hovering over the threshold at least. I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I'm important around here, my leaving would have so little impact on this site, so this isn't an ultimatum so please don't take it as one. I just think that if I'm not welcome here, I may as well move on.
I'm frustrated. I don't speak out of hate for DD, I just feel like DD is sitting on a golden opportunity and throwing it away to grump and grouch about how other more successful webcomic sites are not doing right by webcomic authors while not doing anything more for them either.
How many webcomic hosts and art sites have completely imploded while DD swims on? Jelly Creations, Sheezyart, Smackjeeves,ComicDish, Inkblazers, and more I'm forgetting? Comic Genesis isn't dead but it almost might as well be, and it's legitimately the only webcomic host I'd say looks worse than DD in terms of UI, comic finding and layout on the main page. Getting your foot in the door and establishing a presence on the internet is NOT an easy task. DD has been here for years and has name recognition, but right now that name is mud because and we're bleeding creators and community left and right, people have nothing good to say about it when it's brought up elsewhere (and they have the same things to say as I am right now when they say why they left)and what remains of that community is hostile to diversity and is an echo-chamber that frequently defends the worst things. DD has definitely become political, and it's politics that are hostile to LGBTQA+ people, those are my friends, my family.
I don't want to get into it here but there was an extremely unpleasant interaction offsite with one of our members that really put some things into clear perspective.
If you ask someone to be considerate of others you get accused of being some kind of prude or pro-censorship or whatever stupid thing.
I'm not an outgoing person, but I do try to involve myself in my community by keeping up with the news and what's posted in the forums and I gotta say I just do not vibe with this current state. This isn't a place where I can be myself anymore, not a place where I even feel comfortable talking about things. Some of my best memories are from DD, but some of my absolute darkest moments are from this site as well. There is definitely a cloud over my head right now.
awe Amy, don't feel that bad, sure I'm not as active anymore as I like to be but that's because I haven't gotten off my rump and quit playing spore to update. Never let anyone steal your thunder. Just drum that thunder-drum all the louder and let 'er roll.
I hope you don't leave Amy! I really appreciate all the help you have given me and the whole community loves your art and stories! I wasn't around back in the early days of DD (I wish I was) so I didn't know the people or community it use to have but there are still cool people on the site and interesting new people pop in all the time. You have got to just ignore the haters because they are going to be around our whole lives. You leaving would make a lot of people sad.
Aw!I'm glad you appreciated that, I actually have another tut for ya when I get a little more work done. I'm not going anywhere for now, I'm just hoping my saying something at least lights a fire back in this community. There's definitely still some cool people here, but I can't deny feeling deep anxiety when I see what DD's priorities are lately. :(
Hey! I'm happy to see you! It's been a while, I've been keeping up on your work elsewhere though! I figure you might not recall this, but a comment you left back in 2004 really motivated me to work hard on my backgrounds, so I have to thank you again for that! The comment itself was lost to time and the Big Crash, but it's stayed in my mind as part of my journey of improvement.
Thank you for the years of entertainment and drama and comedy in your comics.
If you do switch hosting servers, please let us know so we can go with you. I enjoy Charby the Vampirate a lot, and would miss your comic/you.
I don't know what to do on the social/political side. I come to comics like this to avoid that, and I hate that it's been forced to be so stratified with so little ability to talk and listen to each other.
I'll be sure to let everyone know, I'm not trying to burn a bridge with DD but just vent some frustration... Yeah, I got ya though, fantasy comics are an escape from real-world nonsense, and believe me it took a lot for me to bring this up but I almost feel like I'm failing people I care about if I don't. I'm just amplifying things I've seen other comics say when they left, but they were smaller so I don't think this site got the message.
I'm reminded of the many times people tried to go to other video sites, only for those sites to be shut down or privatized. Viddler got bought, Blip got bought, etc. There are straight up Let's Plays on the LPArchive that are gone because they tried to use sites other than youtube and......well you know the rest. The unfortunate truth is, the most viable strategy for any internet media is to put your stuff on as many sites as possible, ESPECIALLY the well known ones cause you never know which ones of these sites is gonna get bought up and privatized. It's not really a thought I particularly enjoy sharing, but it's what I've seen.
Well I'm not too worried about DD being bought, as one of the most admirable things is how Oz has protected this site in the past from being bought by unscrupulous companies (Like NHN, which unmade Smackjeeves) my frustration is the lack of roadmap to update the site bringing it in actual competition with the sites we're losing membership to. Along with a general feeling that comics like mine aren't in line with what DD wants as representative content, and unease with topics posted in the community. But yeah I know the sting of companies buying up the site you're on and screwing you over... it's how I lost my personal site a while back. I'm considering it again, just with a little more research this time!
Thank you, I might not be going anywhere for a while (there's a lot of archive to contend with) but I'll be sure to let everyone know what the plan is if things change.
I'm sticking to DD, mainly because this is where most of my remaining contacts to other comic creators are, and because in the long run I keep ending up liking it a lot better than the meagre alternatives for a lot of reasons. I hope there's some way to lift the dark cloud you're writing about; I'd certainly miss you and Charby a lot!
But hey I do want to say in spite of my cloud, it's a genuine pleasure to have met nice people like you here. I don't want my response to sound like it's anger directed at you (I was about to go to sleep and got up because I just thought about that)as I do appreciate hearing your perspective, but as a lurker and people-observer it's just something that's been on my back for a while.
I haven't really noticed anything about DD becoming political or hostile to diversity. It does have its faults and I can imagine some newcomers to feel slightly intimidated (not on purpose, mind) by all those old people here ;) , but I prefer it a lot to other sites, where I do notice people being positively snobbish and possibly also badmouthing sites like DD where people are not. Curious how we arrive at such different impressions. But then we read different things, too - I don't visit the forums very often, for instance. This said, as someone who creates all-ages comics (not that I've done anything anywhere in a long time, but I plan on taking it up again) I did have an uneasy feeling when there was a discussion about promoting DD as the one adult-friendly site, but those people had a point about censorship going rampant elsewhere. I don't approve of everything that's posted around here, comic- or forumwise, but openness to everyone also means I don't have to.
It's not that I mind the adult comics being here either, it's that DD acts like it's the last bastion of free expression (it's not) and while I sympathize with those who don't want to compromise their vision, there's a sense of inconsiderate entitlement that this place has regarding said content. Like you said with them promoting it as the site for adult comics-- seeing as I have a comic that's NOT porn and has characters that look like kids, I don't want that association by proxy. It's other people deciding what the site is, and screw the people that aren't on board with it because as they said and I quote: "People who aren't interested in sex are the real perverts". As an asexual, seeing something like that made me feel subhuman because it came from someone I viewed as a friend. And this is only one statement among many I've seen over the years that has made this place feel unwelcome.
Xade at 9:58AM, April 13, 2022
awe Amy, don't feel that bad, sure I'm not as active anymore as I like to be but that's because I haven't gotten off my rump and quit playing spore to update. Never let anyone steal your thunder. Just drum that thunder-drum all the louder and let 'er roll.
Amelius at 5:03PM, April 20, 2022
It's always great to see you Xade, haha I know how it is to get sucked into gaming for a bit :)
Jason Moon at 9:40AM, April 11, 2022
I hope you don't leave Amy! I really appreciate all the help you have given me and the whole community loves your art and stories! I wasn't around back in the early days of DD (I wish I was) so I didn't know the people or community it use to have but there are still cool people on the site and interesting new people pop in all the time. You have got to just ignore the haters because they are going to be around our whole lives. You leaving would make a lot of people sad.
Amelius at 12:08PM, April 11, 2022
Aw!I'm glad you appreciated that, I actually have another tut for ya when I get a little more work done. I'm not going anywhere for now, I'm just hoping my saying something at least lights a fire back in this community. There's definitely still some cool people here, but I can't deny feeling deep anxiety when I see what DD's priorities are lately. :(
hpkomic at 4:32PM, April 10, 2022
I am happy to see this comic is still ongoing.
hpkomic at 1:57PM, April 11, 2022
Amelius, Aw, thank you. I wish I remember the comment. It'll take me a bit to catch up with the comic, but it looks great, so it will be a pleasure.
Amelius at 9:23AM, April 11, 2022
Hey! I'm happy to see you! It's been a while, I've been keeping up on your work elsewhere though! I figure you might not recall this, but a comment you left back in 2004 really motivated me to work hard on my backgrounds, so I have to thank you again for that! The comment itself was lost to time and the Big Crash, but it's stayed in my mind as part of my journey of improvement.
hariman at 12:54AM, April 10, 2022
Thank you for the years of entertainment and drama and comedy in your comics. If you do switch hosting servers, please let us know so we can go with you. I enjoy Charby the Vampirate a lot, and would miss your comic/you. I don't know what to do on the social/political side. I come to comics like this to avoid that, and I hate that it's been forced to be so stratified with so little ability to talk and listen to each other.
Amelius at 9:04AM, April 11, 2022
I'll be sure to let everyone know, I'm not trying to burn a bridge with DD but just vent some frustration... Yeah, I got ya though, fantasy comics are an escape from real-world nonsense, and believe me it took a lot for me to bring this up but I almost feel like I'm failing people I care about if I don't. I'm just amplifying things I've seen other comics say when they left, but they were smaller so I don't think this site got the message.
Kou the Mad at 8:32PM, April 9, 2022
I'm reminded of the many times people tried to go to other video sites, only for those sites to be shut down or privatized. Viddler got bought, Blip got bought, etc. There are straight up Let's Plays on the LPArchive that are gone because they tried to use sites other than youtube and......well you know the rest. The unfortunate truth is, the most viable strategy for any internet media is to put your stuff on as many sites as possible, ESPECIALLY the well known ones cause you never know which ones of these sites is gonna get bought up and privatized. It's not really a thought I particularly enjoy sharing, but it's what I've seen.
Amelius at 8:53PM, April 9, 2022
Well I'm not too worried about DD being bought, as one of the most admirable things is how Oz has protected this site in the past from being bought by unscrupulous companies (Like NHN, which unmade Smackjeeves) my frustration is the lack of roadmap to update the site bringing it in actual competition with the sites we're losing membership to. Along with a general feeling that comics like mine aren't in line with what DD wants as representative content, and unease with topics posted in the community. But yeah I know the sting of companies buying up the site you're on and screwing you over... it's how I lost my personal site a while back. I'm considering it again, just with a little more research this time!
Alex Pendragon at 5:03AM, April 9, 2022
So sorry to hear you're having these issues. As a long time reader, please know that if/when you leave I shall follow.
Amelius at 11:27AM, April 9, 2022
Thank you, I might not be going anywhere for a while (there's a lot of archive to contend with) but I'll be sure to let everyone know what the plan is if things change.
Doombucket at 7:43PM, April 8, 2022
Iβm so sorry that happened to you! Iβm sending all the queer support your way β¨πππ₯°ππΈπ€πΈππ β¨π
Amelius at 9:13PM, April 8, 2022
Oh my gosh thank you. <3 I'm a bit of a wreck right now so that's super appreciated!
PaulEberhardt at 2:37PM, April 8, 2022
I'm sticking to DD, mainly because this is where most of my remaining contacts to other comic creators are, and because in the long run I keep ending up liking it a lot better than the meagre alternatives for a lot of reasons. I hope there's some way to lift the dark cloud you're writing about; I'd certainly miss you and Charby a lot!
Amelius at 10:58PM, April 8, 2022
But hey I do want to say in spite of my cloud, it's a genuine pleasure to have met nice people like you here. I don't want my response to sound like it's anger directed at you (I was about to go to sleep and got up because I just thought about that)as I do appreciate hearing your perspective, but as a lurker and people-observer it's just something that's been on my back for a while.
PaulEberhardt at 2:34PM, April 8, 2022
I haven't really noticed anything about DD becoming political or hostile to diversity. It does have its faults and I can imagine some newcomers to feel slightly intimidated (not on purpose, mind) by all those old people here ;) , but I prefer it a lot to other sites, where I do notice people being positively snobbish and possibly also badmouthing sites like DD where people are not. Curious how we arrive at such different impressions. But then we read different things, too - I don't visit the forums very often, for instance. This said, as someone who creates all-ages comics (not that I've done anything anywhere in a long time, but I plan on taking it up again) I did have an uneasy feeling when there was a discussion about promoting DD as the one adult-friendly site, but those people had a point about censorship going rampant elsewhere. I don't approve of everything that's posted around here, comic- or forumwise, but openness to everyone also means I don't have to.
Amelius at 7:23PM, April 8, 2022
It's not that I mind the adult comics being here either, it's that DD acts like it's the last bastion of free expression (it's not) and while I sympathize with those who don't want to compromise their vision, there's a sense of inconsiderate entitlement that this place has regarding said content. Like you said with them promoting it as the site for adult comics-- seeing as I have a comic that's NOT porn and has characters that look like kids, I don't want that association by proxy. It's other people deciding what the site is, and screw the people that aren't on board with it because as they said and I quote: "People who aren't interested in sex are the real perverts". As an asexual, seeing something like that made me feel subhuman because it came from someone I viewed as a friend. And this is only one statement among many I've seen over the years that has made this place feel unwelcome.