I sent the story behind deviantART to each of you (all *active* deviants) personally via your user pages for a very good reason. As active members of this community, the sum of your actions directly impacts the effectiveness and quality of deviantART. YOU are deviantART because you are the ones contributing, sharing, and providing the magic that allows deviantART to prosper. So it is important that you know the real story behind deviantART, so that you can continue to move it in the right direction with each of your actions.

In recent times we (the dA team) have neglected the community. We've run fewer contests, we've been less active with other community sites, we have put community projects on the backburner and put development time in to other areas. We've been doing the bare minimum in direct regards to the community is what I'm saying, and we've known it. At least publicly, because we've put months of development time in to version 3 of deviantART and it will provide for features and community ideas that will hook you so bad you'll prefer deviantART to sex - but that's not out yet.

We know that you've noticed. Times have changed. The art community is different online; art sites have disappeared, many of the existing bigger sites are struggling. And on a brighter note, many new art groups and some communities have formed and are rather impressive. We'd like you to know that deviantART is not struggling, deviantART isn't going anywhere but up.

That's a great accomplishment for all of us - but dA staff had to neglect the community for a time in order to accomplish that. Not badly mind you, but there are side effects, and we are aware of them, and we are going to fix them. And yes, the problems are in fact fixable, you'll be amazed by our ability to innovate with version 3, and we will continue to impress you in the months and years after version 3 launches. That is a promise.

Please note, there's a war going on out there, the stock market went through the floor just as deviantART first launched, advertising rates are laughable these days. The US has the highest unemployment rate it has had since I think the mid-60's. And Internet companies were the first to go, especially media related companies. Especially internet entertainment companies. Especially new ones. You see where I'm going with this. Don't cross your fingers, it's bad luck. Knock on wood, and all of that. But we are defying some major odds here, and like I said, we're here for the long haul. Nowhere but up. You can count on us to be here serving the arts for a long time to come.

I don't know when it was that we suddenly became a big corporate entity within this community - maybe it was when prints launched, or maybe when traffic EXPLODED and we didn't have the time to take showers let alone react to community matters on time. But aside from being stinky sometimes, we're going to be here tomorrow. We're going to straighten out the community matters in good time, and we're going to continue to innovate. We're proud of that, and we're especially proud of one thing you guys may not know: we're still the same people we were on day one. We still have the same passion we had on day one, and we still have the understanding we did when this community was a loving and giving place for all who dared to participate.

To those who have been with us from the beginning; the senior members, the staff members who have moved on due to other responsibilities, and to those who truly love and respect this community and realize it's potential impact on the world of art, I say this: Believe in our future, believe in the team that $jark and I have assembled. RESPECT deviantART as if it were your home and REJECT those who don't and we will help you prevail in bringing back the community of year one. The community where people paused and thought before they submitted a piece of art, and the place where people paused and made sure their comments were of value before posting them.

To everyone else; deviantART is a loving place for you to share the deepest places of your soul and heart. It is a place that encourages you to have the guts to show your inner most secrets, talents and passions to the world. And it is a place where you are to encourage another deviant to be who they are too. If you are not an artist, you are to play this latter role of encouragement. That is what it means to be devious.

I wrote this note to each of you so that you could remember who we are. But most importantly so that you know that we know who you are. As servants to your creativity, we mean it when we say we love you. All we ask is that you give that love back to your fellow artists and strive to be true deviants.

Be devious,

Angelo Sotira

CEO, deviantART, Inc., Co-Founder