deviantART Related - deviantART Suggestions

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Gallery Info:
Submissions related to ways deviantART could further improve; including everything from website mock-ups or written ideas.

The deviantART Suggestions gallery is the place where we the deviants speak our minds on what should be done to improve and evolve the deviantART website. Because it's a small gallery it often feels like the misplaced deviations, or even the deviant thefts, overwhelm what the gallery is intended for. Remember, as with any gallery, we can help keep it clean by using the handy report feature found at the right hand side of every deviation, but please remember the deviantART Etiquette when reporting! So what is supposed to go in this gallery? As the description above states, any suggestion related to deviantART that could improve the site. (The concept of the previous sentence belongs to deviantART.) There are two sub galleries within this section that you could use, visual and written. Visual applies screen captures, mock-ups or any other use of imagery to get the point across. Written has no visual assistance but usually goes into more detail on how the process/change is to be carried out.

Who writes these suggestions?
We all do! Every last deviant is allowed to submit to this gallery as long as they follow the guidelines for said gallery. The submission must be a suggestion, and it must relate to deviantArt.

I have a ton of ideas! But how do I go about applying them in a way that will be taken seriously?

:iconmongrelmarie: Keep your concepts realistic and remember that it’s the goal of a business (aka DeviantArt.com) to make money, not spend it without any return. 

:iconliliwrites: First, always check to make sure someone else doesn't already have a similar suggestion. Two heads are better than one, and if you do find someone who has made a similar suggestion to what you're thinking, offer your feedback on it and help the deviation gain some support in the community before you decide to make your own suggestion.

Second, get advice from the community. Ask for feedback and improvements. Advertise in the forums and in chats and get some CVs or other influential members of the community involved. A little attention goes a long way! 

:iconkaty-l-wood: Go for it! Find something in the community that you think could be improved and brainstorm a way to do it. Talk to other people and see if they have any ideas on how they'd like your idea to happen, brainstorm with them. If anyone wants to, I'd be happy to help develop suggestions and brainstorm with them. 

:iconviscountdevil: I'd say if someone has a good idea, they need to think their idea out clearly and have the skill to at least create something visual everyone can understand. If they think their idea is great, they need to make sure they can write a clear description on it and explain thoroughly what their idea is. If they can't accomplish that, then their idea may not be popular or understandable.  

:iconstacykendra:  The best advice I can give for a suggestion here, or anywhere in life, is to express your idea as simply as you can. The less you say, the more clearly your message will get across.

:iconprincepal: When I suggest something, I personally use each and every feature and on the behalf of subject/GUI I suggest. 

:iconjesselax:  Do it for the right reason! If you're looking for attention, don't bother. But if your idea is sound, if it fills an important void (no matter how small), and if you're certain the hearts of others could be affected in a positive way... then you're on the right track. No idea is a bad one, but an idea that's inherently philanthropic... one that transforms the way we appreciate things, or improves the quality in which we exist with it---you're looking at an ideal. Ideals are beautiful, and one attained? Well that's rare and virtually a conquest you might never find again.  

Also see this tutorial I've prepared:
:thumb277474576:

Those are all great tips, but is it worth it? Will dA even do anything about it?

:iconmongrelmarie: I am a career Web-based Programmer and database administrator. I know how long changes can take to be implemented and how leery a programming team can be to make changes to a system that already works. In addition, though my suggestion sparked a lot of interest, I don’t think it’s something that the vast majority of DA’ers would actually use, and I don’t think DA would make any more funds because of its implementation.

DA is a business and if someone offers a suggestion that will not result in them making more profit by investing their resources on it, then I doubt the suggestion will ever get approved. 


:iconliliwrites: My suggestion hasn't been sent to anyone for approval yet, but I am hoping that since it is a relatively simple one (in terms of coding and whatnot) that it is received well and implemented. 

I'm not sure if dA will approve other suggestions. I guess it would depend on how well thought out the suggestion is and how much community support is behind it. Suggestions must also be cost effective and fit nicely into the infrastructure already existent on dA, or they're not likely to be bothered with. 

But I remember back when share links were first introduced and the lit community put up a huge stink because those links made it much simpler for plagiarism to happen. dA listened and gave us anti-search, so I don't think they ignore the suggestions that come from the community. People just need to make a big enough fuss over it that it becomes important to the $taff, too.

:iconkaty-l-wood: None of mine have been. I really hope to see my friend's widget suggestion and my new Deviation queue suggestion approved more than any of my other ones, because I think they could really help the community. 

:iconviscountdevil:  It's [her idea] been approved by a lot of people on DA, but I've never heard a top administrator talk about it. I'm not sure how I can make it approved officially since none of the headmasters will contact me about it. Maybe they don't want to put money into it. Maybe they're loosing money and don't want to use my idea, but I'm still going to try to make it possible and hopefully one day it will be approved.  

:iconstacykendra:  I do not think it is really a matter of “approval” but simply “implementation,” and no, it [her suggestion] certainly hasn’t been implemented. The popularity of the suggestion already implies that the community approves. But, from deviantArt’s perspective, I’m sure it’s a matter of two things, for this, or any other suggestion: how realistic it is to implement the idea into their code, and how much of a priority it is for them. I would like to think that an idea like this could actually help the site from the company’s perspective, since it increased inter-site traffic by linking internally, thus exposing people to more of their advertising content. So, you never know, maybe one day we really will see it in action. 

:iconprincepal: Till now DA did not approve any [of his] suggestion[s]. But i am hoping positively. 

:iconjesselax: Not really sure that the process on dA works that way. I think dA lets those ideas exist there for a lot of reasons. At a very amateur guess, I would think they're probably a vague gauge of importance as well as inspiration for the team that builds this site. I know it's had a few favorites from staff, but I'm not sure that means a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. Would like to hope, of course, but ultimately I'm just happy to have touched so many people with a topic that's as true for them as it is for me. 

The following suggestions are just a few of the suggestions that have sparked change:

:iconxehara: I suggested adding a deviantART Muro category. As of January 5th, 2012, that gallery now lives under Digital Art.

:iconlost-angle: made suggestions on the note system in 2008, those suggestions are features we get to enjoy today. 


:iconrotane: and :iconnorke: had similar ideas regarding the watch system in 2008 that went into what we use now. 

:iconstevenroy: didn't want badge notices anymore, and we now are able to turn these off!

:iconapocathary: pleaded for wider literature in 2009, and now we have it!

:iconrtnightmare: wanted to favorite her journals in 2010! Just try favoriting this one, see what happens. :)
:thumb188855354:

:iconblinksora: and :iconartofjosevega: wanted private deviations. Now, we have Sta.sh!

:iconnyiana-sama: and :iconbradleysays: wanted to submit her news to groups, and now we can!

:iconradiatr: wanted a news article editor, and deviantART gave him Sta.sh writer (I'm using it now!)

:iconjanvanlysebettens: is to blame for receiving comments in our news & polls in our message center. ( thanks for helping me word that :decnonamerequired: )

Do you think it's worth submitting now?

What are some of the suggestions out there now? I may want to just hop on that bandwagon instead.

DeviantART Comics Concept by mongrelmarie :thumb274914402:  
:thumb202595948:  Suggestion: Journal Search by GinkgoWerkstatt  Affiliation Widget by parallellogic 
:thumb276651510:  THIS by ADHDnoJutsu  El Telefono Movil y los Puntos by Pascua-Tanya 
SUGGESTION: Groups - Scheduled Permissions by StudioLoftMedia  Suggestion: Friends List by namenotrequired  Deviation Filter of Watchers And Groups by princepal 
:thumb273266282:  


Those are all interesting suggestions but they don't really cover what I want changed. I have the thought in my head, I just can't get it down on paper or visual reference...

You're not alone! Don't let that stop you though. Find someone who is good with the writing or the visual aspect and collaborate to see your idea come to life! 

Excellent! I have my idea, I have the plan for laying it out and I'm ready to submit. What else can I do to help promote it?

You can send it out to a few of the community related groups, share it with your friends, or create a group dedicated to your cause! Here are a list related groups you can check out (Note, some of these are cause specific and some are more general):

:icondeviantchange:
MamaLantiis deviantChange is a group dedicated to both the love and woes of deviantART. As a group, we want the members of this site to be able to voice their opinions. We love to get suggestions in any form and feature and display them for everyone to see, including the $taff! Even though the members can't make the changes, they should still be able to see the site they love develop in a way that makes them happy and safer! 

:icondeviantartconcept:
parallellogic We feature deviantART-related suggestions from the community

:icondeviantart-related:
bradleysays We are the unofficial group for the deviantART related gallery which is also the home of the deviantART Suggestions gallery. Our primary mission is to bring the deviantART related community together as one. Here at DeviantArt-related we will keep you up-to-date with the latest news regarding dA and the dAr gallery. We will collect the most impressive deviations from our gallery and allow people to appreciate this gallery greater. Among this, we will create projects and events for the dAr gallery.

:icondamn-army:
KobayashiHisa The dAmn-army was created to be a centralized location for artists to come and learn about site policy, copyright law as it pertains to deviantART, and to ask questions regarding suspicious works. It has since grown a bit beyond those boundaries when we started to get requests to also make reports on the behalf of members. While we are picky with who we allow to join, any artist is free to read our literature, ask questions, and point out things they feel are in violation of the site or law. We are always available to help. Our main goal however is to educate all artists on their rights, how to use their rights, and how to get what they need without infringing on anyone else's rights.

:iconinactivelikeme-club:
inactivelikeme Inactive Like Me Club is a database of inactive users. We make note of those who have never used their accounts beyond sign up and advocate for their removal if they are void for four years or more. Those who have posted a journal, comment, forum reply, a deviation or even watched and favorited deviations are not our goal. We will still record the accounts with history, though our intent for those is to encourage their return. 

Okay, I've got my suggestion and my group and I'm excited about this idea! Now some words from namenotrequired

:iconxehara: How did you become a community volunteer?

:iconnamenotrequired: I simply applied. I had been very active in many parts of the community already, including the chatrooms and forums and the dA related gallery, and groups relating to these and other topics. I had also helped previous volunteers for this gallery before, with DD and gallery suggestions for example, which I think is an important factor.

:iconxehara: Did you choose the deviantART Related gallery or did it choose you?

:iconnamenotrequired: :giggle: I chose it. It's my favourite gallery. It was looked after by WDWParksGal before I stepped in as the volunteer, she did what she could for it but was looking after several other categories at the same time. I thought it needed its own CV, I had my ideas of doing things for it as a CV  for that gallery, so I applied and moonbeam13 chose me for the gallery.

:iconxehara: What is it a Community Volunteer does?

:iconnamenotrequired: Generally, we act as a bridge between the community we look after and the staff. Of course, the staff are always available too to anyone, they all have public accounts that can be noted just like any other, some even list their Skype name on their page. But we focus on our own category, and also do our best to improve the community internally, as well as bring it under the attention of the site wide community. For those of us who focus on galleries, that often happens through contests, Daily Deviations and projects like Project Educate. In the chatrooms and forums, this happens by offering live assistance with the website in :#help:, by looking out for threads, individuals and rooms that break any rules, and also by contests and projects and news articles.

:iconxehara: What are your goals for the gallery during your term?

:iconnamenotrequired: In general I just want to do the best for the community I can and try to help fill any needs I see, and take any chance I can to do something for the community. For dA related, some of my main goals are to promote awareness of the gallery and community, and educate people about it. I also want to bring the community closer together, and of course to stay part of it too and be approachable. Many people see a gallery CV as just a senior with DD (and chat/forum) privs, but those aren't my first priority. Daily Deviations are definitely a strong means to get the gallery and community noticed, but in my eyes, staying in touch with the community is much more important.

:iconxehara: What do you feel you've already accomplished?

:iconnamenotrequired: I have brought some changes that are intended to be permanent, for example to the gallery info on some spots, and I've written some articles that I intend to refer to during and beyond my volunteer term whenever they may relevant - but I don't feel any part of my job is 'done'. It's a continuous dedication. I do feel that I've managed to bring improvements in the community, but it's not perfect, and will never be ready.

:iconxehara: What are your tips to deviants wanting to submit suggestions?

:iconnamenotrequired: Think it through! There's always potential disadvantages; are there any easy solutions to these? There's always different use cases and different steps of using something, perhaps different settings people may prefer to use for it. . . ask yourself, are these instantly obvious or may I need to explain different steps and settings, may I need to include several screen shots in the visual for example? 
Also, less is more. Keep it as simple as possible. So, definitely make sure you include all necessary information, but exclude the rest - avoid all unnecessary clutter if possible.

What NOT to submit to the deviantART Suggestions gallery (top 10):
1. deviantART Muro created submissions.
2. Fan-Art
3. Role-Play Scripts
4. Stories
5. Recolored-Art-Theft
6. Art-Theft (Don't post these at all :nod:)
7. Slander Propaganda
8. Journals
9. Character Sheets
10. Ponies

My Suggestion(s):

Paid Name ChangesDear deviantArt Staff,
I've been virgino0owhore for nine years. While I understand I can just create a new account if I want a new name, I feel that this is a waste. I would have to move every piece of work over to this new account, re-favorite over 3,000 favorites and rewatch my current watch list. It's simply not worth it all because of 14 letters. 
Not to mention, I lead a club against name wasting, making getting a new account hypocritical. It seems more practical to allow members to pay to change their name. This prevents the wasting of names that can't be removed because they have history on them. It also gives deviantArt a new revenue source. 
Naturally you couldn't choose a taken name but, the act of paying for a name change is common in internet society and amongst gaming communities as well. The price varies but is usually around 15 U.S. dollars, and whatever that may translate into. 
How would a user change his/her name?
:bulletgreen: They could access

Did this journal not answer all of your questions? Get more information at :#darelated:. Feel that your suggestion is too minimal for this gallery? Try suggesting it on the Suggestions Forums.

Helpful FAQs:

:faq607:

Edit: Skin credit, since for whatever reason the footer isn't working right through Sta.sh Writer.
skin by neurotype-on-discord


© 2012 - 2024 Xehara
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LiliWrites's avatar
This is awesome! :la: Thanks for putting it together and letting me be part of it. Off to go pimp now. :D