I'd like to place my concerns regarding the new updates for the site. Personally, I feel that the new policy is unfair, and acted hastily while having too broad of a scope of regulations that should be refined and more lenient and exceptional. If you aren't sure of what I'm talking about, the link can be found below:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5279697/ <--"Announcement: Spamming, Fur Affinity and You"

The update addresses its concerns towards the amount of spamming that has been occurring, and what is being done to resolve the issue. Now, to define spam in this case is to place where the line is drawn from promoting one's work, to now overwhelming the community with content and links that are 'unnecessary,' 'unwanted,' and 'inappropriate' for the site and its served purpose. It is reasonable for the founder(s) of FA to be upset with how the site has taken a toll from much of the ads promoting raffles--I think that many of us can agree that the trafficking and blown up ads in our journal mail were somewhat of a nuisance.

With that said, the ads came with a reward, while the new updates have recoiled with a price. The ads helped to provide opportunity to many of the artists who were just starting out, or who were struggling to get their name out there, thanks to the overwhelming competition that is flowing through a fandom driven solely by those that are governed by a supreme creative yearning. The ads sparked an ambitious trade and social contract between artists and fans alike of the same fandom; an even agreement that helped both sides in a fair and equal way. The artists would supply free art to those who could not afford artwork, which would in effect give hope and joy to those less fortunate and wanting to bring their fursona to life. In return, the participants and new watchers would supply a new collection of fans, freshly introduced and ambitious about the artist's artwork who may then become promising customers.

In a side argument, it can be said that a majority of watchers only like to attain an approximate amount of artwork from one artist. This is because furries are creative in nature, and don't like to remain stagnant for too long within one artistic style. They obtain multiple works from one artist, and eventually journey onto new artists to continue their collection of various portrayals of their fursona. This variety brings much more personality to their fursona, as it accumulates different stories, behaviors, and perceptions of the character, and in effect supplying life to the partner in their mind that they've created. How this is involved in the argument is that every artist needs a new supply of customers, if the case occurs where customers they have have been around for a period of time, and overtime these customers have become static--human nature shows that overtime we move on from "most" things that astound us (keep in mind the word 'most,' as it doesn't mean 'everything'). Sadly, the flow of incoming watchers is too slow for many artists who have made being an artist their occupation and one of their sources of stable living, without the viral affect from pimping raffles. The factor of pimping an artist's raffle gave them an enormous advantage towards their objectives in a reasonable amount of time, that ultimately kept them stable in the occupation.

In this understanding however, people have made an investment into the site. FA has become a home for many people who still have dreams they hold onto. That stir of creative aspiration is alive more than ever, and it's because people have been given an opportunity to live their dream. Artists have been able to do what they love, without life forcing them to give up their dreams to take on "realistic occupations in the eyes of normal society." Even if this process from the raffles doesn't help all artists, it at least helps many that didn't stand a chance before--enough, in my opinion.

Additionally, I bring this up because for a while the little people were being cut out of the equation. In a career that has so much competition, it's a matter of survival of the fittest. It can't be stressed enough how much creativity flows in this fandom, and from that it's only expected that you will find a larger amount of people who wish to be artists as their career, in comparison to regular society. There are many ways that you can go about getting your name out there and attracting customers, but as this "pimp my raffle" trick has brought a wave of new artists to the site, to take it away will greatly undermine or eliminate some of them. Equal opportunity is greatly needed for many of the greatest dreamers that are so deeply crippled at the start of their careers, and while the ads from those who promote their raffles aren't the ultimate contribution and tool for artists, they are one of the greatest starter kits that create a chance for artists beginning in the career. In an irate notion, do not cut out the little people.

Regarding this further in a narrower aspect, this is not to say that people posting ads for journals is the ultimate factor in the survival of an artist's career. It has however, become one of the many legs that keep many artists up. With this new pimping phenomenon has also come a new current of artists in training, and experienced artists that now see a realm of possibility in pursuing their dream career. They've now integrated themselves into the site and cemented their livelihood in a way to what it has become for them, a means to the pursuit of happiness, for which, we all are endeavorous of. Taking away even one of the legs that keeps them in this career will make it subsequently more difficult, and in many cases impossible, to remain in this occupation. This career may not supply them all the money that they need to survive, but it surely helps them enough, while letting them have a form of escape from the outside world that pushes us all to follow the stigmatic status quo--that we all find deadens the soul--in order to make ends meet.

The watcher's participation proved their interest in the artist's work. If they didn't like the work that the artist provided, they wouldn't join the raffle. The raffles proved to be a statistic for people's interests in work that was not yet in the light of popularity, but rather certainly attractive, nevertheless. As sad as this is to admit though, people are driven by selfishness as much as any fundamental element of the mind, and without the requirement for advertising the raffles, too many people will take advantage of free art without supplying an equal trade in return to the artists. Many artists that I'm watching have in this single day either been taken advantage of, or have decided to say goodbye to their pursuits. People are entering the raffles and simply grabbing the chance at free art, without helping out the artist by promoting them in any way. The artists who make a living off of their artwork can't afford to simply give out free art, unless it attracts new customers and not just their watchers who don't make purchases and only want their free art they're giving.

It is from all of this that I do not believe advertising the art raffles to be spam. The free money raffles and technological devices are spam, most definitely. They have nothing to do with furries or the artwork that fuels the upbringing of interests within the fandom. They simply promote a negative form of competition to be renowned and find a high ranking of views and watchers within the site--even if the host isn't intending to do so. Artists however, are bringing participation and a generous form of trade within the site, that still relates to the fandom and helps the less fortunate to integrate their fursona(s) into the fandom as they are slowly brought to life. In this, the wall of spamming isn't necessarily reached, as much as an overwhelming influence to participate in the system that helps both uprising artists and less fortunate fans.

I understand that this is a free site. But it's gotten people's careers involved, and more than just these people thinking about their dream and moving on, they began to have a taste of it. This taste is now becoming a tease to them as the rate of incoming new watchers will be too slow for them to partake in the artistic field, and for others it will at least inflict enough on their life to where they will face struggles much more frequently. I'm not even expecting artists to get famous from using this tactic, just known enough to have a healthy amount of consumers for their work to keep them in the business. The honest artists who were contributing to the community shouldn't have to suffer from this, and I think that if people were to be given free art in exchange for some trafficking and more art raffle promotions in their journal mail, the exchange would sound good enough to consider.