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In Light of New Considerations
13 years ago
I'm not beyond admitting when I'm wrong. Allow me to explain.
Someone asked a question that led me to ask a question in return; one that really hit hard: Is FA a website for artists, or is it for the watchers? This question brought up the fact that not everyone uses FA the same way. While I understood that at the time of making my post regarding censoring my work (I admit it) and moving to tumblr in protest of FA admin's unwillingness to update it's aging UI, what I didn't think of was the fact that FA's userbase isn't split 50/50. We're talking about a userbase that's a majority of watchers to a minority of artists.
The majority uses FA to browse. As a watcher, FA is the fucking bomb! Most art is a click away, there's journals, scraps, random browsing, amidst an assortment of other delightful rigmarole to get happily lost in on a daily basis... and here I am, seemingly attacking that system, saying that it's outdated and threatening to abandon it. I can certainly understand the majority's response better than ever before in light of this understanding. It sounded like I was getting all up in your shit. I get that.
The minority uses more of the back-end of this system. Which for the most part works just as well as any other art site's back end.
I can't be sure if the admin considers these sorts of analytics, or if there are any analytics in place when it comes to whether something needs to be done to improve the user experience. For example, if there's a trouble ticket for a button on the submission page not working properly, and 10% of the active artists on FA send a note to admin about it, while at the same time 10% of the watchers are having a similar problem with a button on their watch-list submissions page; does the flood of watcher trouble tickets would dwarf the artist tickets? Which problem would have more priority?
I'm not about to start crying foul about being in the minority. I hate that shit. My only question is whether suggested changes to the UI is a matter of how many people are requesting changes is in aggregate to the general userbase, or if the difference in the ratio of artists to watchers is considered? because if not, it's no wonder that I'm finding my experience with FA to be less than stellar compared to the watcher's experience.
As for my recent decision to censor my work on FA, I'm probably going to throw that out the window. In consideration of these ratios, my argument is very likely completely unfounded. It doesn't mean that I'm going to retract my tumblr account and using it, cuz... I like tumblrs stuff. Just that I'll suck it up till I get some answers to the above question.
Someone asked a question that led me to ask a question in return; one that really hit hard: Is FA a website for artists, or is it for the watchers? This question brought up the fact that not everyone uses FA the same way. While I understood that at the time of making my post regarding censoring my work (I admit it) and moving to tumblr in protest of FA admin's unwillingness to update it's aging UI, what I didn't think of was the fact that FA's userbase isn't split 50/50. We're talking about a userbase that's a majority of watchers to a minority of artists.
The majority uses FA to browse. As a watcher, FA is the fucking bomb! Most art is a click away, there's journals, scraps, random browsing, amidst an assortment of other delightful rigmarole to get happily lost in on a daily basis... and here I am, seemingly attacking that system, saying that it's outdated and threatening to abandon it. I can certainly understand the majority's response better than ever before in light of this understanding. It sounded like I was getting all up in your shit. I get that.
The minority uses more of the back-end of this system. Which for the most part works just as well as any other art site's back end.
I can't be sure if the admin considers these sorts of analytics, or if there are any analytics in place when it comes to whether something needs to be done to improve the user experience. For example, if there's a trouble ticket for a button on the submission page not working properly, and 10% of the active artists on FA send a note to admin about it, while at the same time 10% of the watchers are having a similar problem with a button on their watch-list submissions page; does the flood of watcher trouble tickets would dwarf the artist tickets? Which problem would have more priority?
I'm not about to start crying foul about being in the minority. I hate that shit. My only question is whether suggested changes to the UI is a matter of how many people are requesting changes is in aggregate to the general userbase, or if the difference in the ratio of artists to watchers is considered? because if not, it's no wonder that I'm finding my experience with FA to be less than stellar compared to the watcher's experience.
As for my recent decision to censor my work on FA, I'm probably going to throw that out the window. In consideration of these ratios, my argument is very likely completely unfounded. It doesn't mean that I'm going to retract my tumblr account and using it, cuz... I like tumblrs stuff. Just that I'll suck it up till I get some answers to the above question.
If you haven't read my lulzy whining from earlier today yet, have a read:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3157541/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3158106/
So, yes, the one with bigger demand should be treated with the highest priority, but that doesn't mean any of the other problems should be ignored and made less important.
I mean, I think. I drained my brain with that last comment, I should be sleeping. :P
Being able to admit fault or have an evolving opinion/belief is, to me, very commendable. I have even more respect for you now than what I was losing when I first read your post about censoring your pictures.
An open mind leads to understanding. A closed mind leads to hate.
Peace.
Social media is a powerful thing, and even those of us who are uninterested in it cannot help but acknowledge its usefulness. Heck, even things like the California DMV have a twitter page. Visibility is good for business.
Now, where's the tinfoil so I can make a hat...
Cheers!
(P.S. I will get you a drink of your choice the next time we meet up, Thall needs to give me more heads up on the Thursday Fur-eh meetings than the day of. It just doesn't work when you have a family to plan for a time to meet with the locals.)
I personally would probably follow him to alot of places but i still prefere FA, because alot of other people whos work i follow are here too.
I'm the furry equal of an anti-Semitic Jew and a lot of the time see someone writing something stupid and want to strangle them.
It is super awesome that you are so capable of responding so politely to comments and that you are also able to weigh them appropriately.
I just super need to spaz for a second and scream at my monitor about how if you had started censoring your artwork that's totally your right (and anyone bitching about it should be fucking happy they get to see your amazing shit for completely free) and it's one fucking mouse click out of their "super important precious time" to see anything on tumblr. I do not have a tumblr and have never needed one to view tumblr accounts and their contents.
Okay, I think I'm done now. I need a smoke.
Also, when I finally get you to do a commission for you I'm going to make it part of the agreement that you censor out hilarious things like ears or eyebrows.
I'm crawling through commissions slowly in the lulls between freelance work. I'm hopeful that I'll have openings soon!
We try to answer every single TT. (We at least take a look at every single one).
If multiple users, be it artists or not, report a issue with some (pretty much core) functionality of the site, we're bound to notice it. (And have our tech staff work on it)
Sometimes I dont even know why I try anymore, if not only to please myself in some little way.
It loads a hell of a fuckton faster for me than dA's UI.
And don't get me started on the system Pixiv employs.
FA is my #1 go-to artsite because it loads this quickly.
Yes, it looks a bit blocky. But it's not the UI that matters. It's the artwork that matters. The text put out in journals and submissions. The blood, sweat, and tears that make me love each artist I follow (which includes you, by the way), and makes me happy that I'm doing this in a way that doesn't make my aging systems (two p3 desktops.. and a 32-bits P4 dual core ) groan with discomfort.
FA is fast. And those newbies on the net who think "U" is a word and seem glued to their smartphones can go.. well.. somewhere else.
Youth takes a bit to get smart. And then they'll flock here. Where the smart people are.
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