I've been an FA user for about 10 years now, since January of 2006. Back in those days, there weren't really any alternatives; I was among those who came over from SheezyArt and y!Gallery when they banned furry art. Of course, SoFurry (known as YiffStar back then) was around, but they were exclusively a story site in those days.

Times have changed. FA isn't the only game in town anymore; they now have at least four other sites to contend with, all of which have better designs, better reliability, and more competent administrations than FA. It's been over a year since FA was sold to IMVU, so you'd think there would be significant improvements on all of those counts. Sadly, that hasn't been the case. Indeed, all that's really changed is that there really isn't any excuse for FA's failings and shortcomings anymore. The money and resources are there, but they haven't done much.

Here's a quick rundown of my general concerns with FA, in no particular order:
- Uptime Issues
- Ongoing Security/Privacy Issues
- Malware-laden Advertisements
- Inequitable Enforcement of Policies
- Pretty much everything in this FA Timeline

In addition, I still have concerns about the IMVU acquisition, and FA's long-term viability. Consider this:
- IMVU is a for-profit company. They're a Silicon Valley startup backed by venture capitalists. They're in business to make money.
- While there's nothing wrong with that, it means IMVU bought FA as an investment, and they expect to see a return on that investment. In other words, they expect to make money from FA.
- FA is a money pit. It's expensive to operate and maintain, consumes a lot of bandwidth, and we all know that the ads produce very little revenue, especially when you consider how many users run AdBlock.

Given all of that, we can start drawing some conclusions:
- IMVU has been remarkably patient with FA thus far, but that patience will not last forever.
- They are going to want FA to start turning a profit. As a company, IMVU is doing well because they've been effective at monetizing their assets. They expect the same of FA.
- In all likelihood, that will mean turning FA into a paid site, probably requiring a paid account to view adult content, just like the main IMVU site already does. They might start blocking AdBlock users, or start selling prints or other merchandise, but converting to a paid site will make them the most money.
- IMVU may decide to shut down FA entirely, especially if they or their investors feel that there isn't any money to be made. If IMVU decides to go public, I can almost guarantee that they'll shut down FA shortly after their IPO; shareholders won't be interested in the community, especially if it isn't making money.


Whatever happens, I'm done with FA. There are much, MUCH better options out there. I'll pop in to check on those artists I can't find elsewhere, but there really aren't very many; most of the artists I follow cross-post to at least one of the other major art sites, if not all of them.

Staying with FA is like being trapped in a bad relationship. As horrible as it might be, you're comfortable with it because you've gotten used to it. But, the fact is, you can do so much better, and you'll be much happier elsewhere. It's time to move on.