Anyone there? Also random blurb about a spoiled website

[yahoot007]

Hi, just an old lurker popping in here to wave my "not dead" flag.

It's been a good span of time since I visited this site, and was wondering about the state of things here. As I've been on other socials for quite a few years and have seen how much they've gotten worse, I think back to this place as almost a fallback spot every now and then. Regarding recent news though, I think I have lurked my last lurk on the bird site. Never have I cared for the move on the internet towards curated feeds by algo, ones that only deliver suggestions based on what info you have already given it, what accounts you follow, etc. I still prefer person-to-person sharing of interests and the essential word of mouth connection in whichever shape that takes, be it a personal bio of favorite creators, thoughtful threads towards showcasing creations, and that wonderful invite for lurker types - single profile threads for liked posts.

In the last 2 days I am mulling over the recent news about the blue bird site and what to do next. I have observed and followed many I would call my favorite creators, not just the ones who they themselves make great process pieces, but that also have incredible likes lists that are uncluttered and feel fresh to go through. I can't get the same experience by following all the people they did; that sort of feed would be gargantuan and more info to ignore than I have time for. From my perspective it is a very effective filter for my own means of discovering art from similarly-minded individuals. With the news of said lists going private across the entire website, a great deal of access has been lost for the casual observer. It's gotten me so shaken up that my normally silent self is getting way too wordy.

For me, now that Titter has gone sour, I want to engage in another site, and I'm curious if this would be the spot to go for this particular niche if it still is. For many years I've been squeamish about sharing my own art, which has only gotten worse over the years. With dataset scrapers on the rise I can't think of a single website that even remotely feels safe to post images on. I was contemplating sharing some simple first-pass sketches here, but I am unsure if even that would be the good idea. I want my art to be seen by people first, not bots and thieving reposters.

For those that survived my rambling on, I am curious about your takes on this matter. Hopefully my disdain for the effect that Twitter's new changes have had on this art community was clear enough.

[Jimbo]

I'm a creator but I dont come here very much since its not too friendly. Mostly just come here to see if lycandope has posted anything to show support to them as a few creator.

Scorch is nice too. Good guy.

Mostly keep to myself since 2020 working on my comics, illustrated stories and animated projects.

I was a lurker too, but then I started creating and want to share my works and maybe get a little support after buying my first home in 2018 and being able to draw full time. But all I got was cold shoulder and nasty comments "your not as good as *insert top tier artist*"

I sold my home in 2021. Now I am travelling around Scotland working and saving 50k for cabin out in the sticks to retire in while still creating more content and only paying for my storage locker, phone bill and food.

I dont think I will ever post anymore content here since its mainly just lurkers trying to snatch any free content they can. (Just wait for the comments and backlash)

This used to be good place but I dont know anymore.

Its fine. I hang out on several discords. I was on dog girl kari's but things got too political over there and I got sick of the endless ranting and word and tone policing.


I'll just focus on doing my thing. Met many great supporters elsewhere.

[tsokei]

Still here and still use titter/x but yeah discord is pretty active if you can find good servers and ye olde deviantart and newgrounds still have some good stuff once in a while and you can try fantia but this is still a great place to check and share.

[Jimbo]

TF warlocks discord is great. Met a nice guy on there called Shadow he from the same area of Scotland we meet up for a drink and a chat when I not working. I'll share with him and the others who show interest and don't lurk on me. Not complaining or ranting I'm just defining terms for my hard work. On hiatus until further notice.

[yahoot007]

Thank you Tsokei for pointing out Newgrounds. It keeps escaping me that NG is still thriving. As far as finding specific things I'm into, I haven't even begun to dive into them on that site, as typically I often find what are major turn-offs.

I know even less about Discord, though I already use it. Scouting out servers to join is a practice that is completely foreign to me. Some creators I follow have them, but I felt less confident about asking to join than other places as I don't know how secure it is to use. I suppose if I were to join one it would be after I would make my mark somewhere else first. It might be easier for others to see that I've made a footprint beforehand, otherwise my limited engagement may seem like bot behavior.

I think I feel better about my options now. It seems like stuff going on here is slow but for sure not a ghost town. Once I conquer my inner critic I might start sharing an art or two in a thread on this forum or on NG.

[ZZZ]

I too miss the golden days of this forum and the others. Depending on your interests theres Giantess City and I think some B.E. forums. I used to run a GTS/Growth focused one for many years but it is not an easy task on many levels. As suggested above I too may start checking out more discords and or set one up for my content.

[Jimbo]

Found a few other discords but they kinda dead with very few creators just reposting stuff they found.