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ekud

Purveyor of Mysteries
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Transparency...

1 min read

We wanted to share what we're working on as a team so that the road ahead is visible to all.


There's still a lot of work to be done, and then a lot more to come (Team Birthday Notifications and the Drag n Drop Fav Squad - we see you!).


I'm really excited about launching the sidebar and improvements to Posts. Once that stuff is out in the world it'll be time to shift a huge amount of focus to Groups - my abiding passion.


Anything coming up you're excited for? Uncertain about?

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...

4 min read

I want to thank everyone who has written to me over the last few days. Whether it was positive or negative, I appreciate encountering real passion in whatever form it takes. I wrote what is below in response to a thoughtful comment I received, and felt it might be worth sharing with anyone who comes across my page in the days to come.


Change can be difficult, I really do understand this. It's especially difficult because this update is such a large one. Usually updates are rolled out more incrementally on networks like ours, so the differences are less glaring. Unfortunately the old version of DA did not get this steady diet of modifications over the years, so this redesign feels a little more jarring as we give the site it's first rejuvenation in many years.


We've written personal and public statements saying we're listening to concerns but honestly they mainly fall on deaf ears. I get why too - take an instance where people ask for a change or a feature and we totally agree and want to make it. The time it takes to scope out exactly how to do that, then to schedule the work factoring in all the projects we're already working on, and then to actually execute it across Product, UX, UI, FED and Dev then put it all through marketing - it's a process that makes it feel like we didn't hear. It's really hard looking at it all from the outside in to understand that some stuff that seems easy to do is actually very difficult and very time consuming and to conclude we aren't paying attention - but we are! We are working! It takes time.


And that's an instance where we do agree. There's going to be stuff that just isn't going to reconcile with some users, no matter what. Stash writer is not coming back for example - a decision we made with good strategic reasons that is going to be long term beneficial for our site and our community whilst short term annoying the heck out of some people. This is an example of the kind of decisions you have to make when tackling a project of this magnitude. So there's going to be stuff where we hear you, we see where you're coming from, and we aren't going to do it anyway because we're just going a different route.


What I'd ask you to bear in mind is that the place is the same - the people, the art, everything. I get that the familiar decor and layout of the room is different, but it's the easiest part to get used to. It's also not the final form - DA is now finally in a process of growth and evolution, and most everything you see here will be iterated upon and improved in the months and years to come.


We are very open to hearing specific things you'd like us to address. We want to know what you think can be improved - hearing from you helps us set our priorities for what to give attention to next. Unfortunately if we get a response simply stating "go back to the old design" then there's no way for us to action that or discuss further other than to say we hear you and understand that's your preference.


I need to emphasise that we aren't doing this arbitrarily. The old site was impossible to work from. We are trying to bring new things and new life to DA, and we needed a fresh start and a clean platform to build from. I think when the dust settles and you see what we have planned and what we are building you'll understand why this difficult transition was necessary. What is to come is simply beyond the scope of what was possible before.

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Art Feature II!

1 min read

Found some lovely work lately and wanted to share with you all! Please share some of your recent favourites with me in comments - love finding new artists!

QingKuang
Chill Mario
Fu: Anna Alone
3.4.2020
The Forest
Yoshi's Island Remastered concept art : the swamps
Flowers
Quilt of Sunset
V2 Carnage
Animal Crossing Switch
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Art Feature!

1 min read

Wanted to share some new deviations I loved that I discovered browsing around! Recommended For You on the front page has been killing it for me lately. Please share some stuff you've enjoyed too!

clouds
Happy Valentines Day
The Spring!
Karla Santoyo
MI
Remnant from another time
EXIT
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We're just over a week into the first #30everyday challenge - Wolves vs. Unicorns!


The DA staff are still showing up hard (because they "have" to :) ) but it's been so awesome seeing everyone from the community jump in since I opened it up last week. I'd love to personally invite YOU to get involved too - daily practice is so rewarding for all creative people, and I think once you start you'll be shocked by how natural it feels as part of your artistic life!


Just pick a side; #teamwolf or #teamunicorn and start making! I will personally critique every single piece that gets submitted with #30everyday, and I encourage everyone doing this to get in there and do the same. A thoughtful comment is worth it's weight in gold, and I may well go through these at the end of the month and do something nice for people I see doing their best to help their fellow everyday questers out!


Feel free to spam your favourite piece from the challenge out in your comment (totally ok if it's your own!). Stoked for week two!


#30EveryDay Wolf 2 - Hope By KovoWolf

#30EveryDay Wolf 2 - Hope

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Featured

Transparency... by ekud, journal

... by ekud, journal

Art Feature II! by ekud, journal

Art Feature! by ekud, journal

#30everyday - Week 2! by ekud, journal