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Tinker-Jet β DeviantArt is NOT Sta.sh
Published: 2012-11-08 04:55:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 3268; Favourites: 38; Downloads: 8
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Description
THISΒ SECTION HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE FEBRUARY 2013. It will, however, remain as documentation of deviantART's progress.PS. Warning: Large file.
The original Sta.sh update post can be found here.
We now have confirmation that they have no intention to go back to the old upload method... What a shame.
For any moderators or administrators who are reading this, please scroll down and read 'The Principle' and 'Problem Summary' respectively. It's all been written in plain black and green for your convenience.
The Principle:
As a community, DeviantArt users should be given the right to choose whether or not they participate in an experiment.
The Story:
On October 16th, 2012,Β DeviantArt implemented a new upload system riddled with bugs and a hideously out-of-theme colour scheme and forced over 3000 users to use the new system without any prior notification or warning. The action taken against these users was entirely uncalled for as many people lost the ability to upload from older computers and mobile devices. Furthermore, these users were forced into a test that they could not opt out of. People who lost their ability to upload altogether have gone for almost a month, waiting for problems to be addressed and their voices have not yet been heeded in a satisfactory way.
The Point:
When DeviantArt loses its community, it loses money and support! Whether someone has a free account or not is entirely irrelevant. People may have been premium members in the past, intend to become premium members sometime in the future or have purchased prints/points/otherwise that have somehow given back to DeviantArt. Everyone is a potential customer and DeviantArt needs to know that we won't stand idly by while they turn this sadistic behaviour into a habit.
DeviantArt users should be given the right to choose, regardless of whether or not they prefer the new theme!
For the convenience of the DeviantArt staff, I have compiled a list of the problems with Sta.sh which will be updated by yours truly as more complaints come in.
Problem Summary:
- The transition to a glaring white and pale blue background. I really do wish that you guys would make Sta.sh uniform with the rest of the site. After all, I think that a colour scheme inspired by nature is far more befitting of an artist community than a colour scheme that closely resembles a mental hospital.
- The upload process still feels messy and is not user-friendly in the least. The user has to look left and right to make sure they're filling in all of the required information. It's much easier to just scroll down, fill in the boxes and tick the circles/squares. Trying to make the Sta.sh upload page a preview of what the final upload will look like was a cute idea but it's not practical.
- Every time you go to update information (or replace a file) on a deviation, it asks you for the category again. It's extremely annoying when all you're trying to do is perform a minor edit because often times, you have to go back to your gallery just to figure out what category you stuck it under previously.
- Users are unable to upload pictures/literature en masse, and many people who make a living off of art suffer greatly for it as their time is constantly impeded upon. (Even with the ability to submit en masse to Sta.sh, users STILL have to go to Sta.sh and submit each picture to DeviantArt one-by-one. It's extremely tedious!)
- Sta.sh lags far more than the older upload method and doesn't appear to work with slower internet connections. Also, a lot of things are hidden under drop-down menus which makes uploading take longer. ChelseaWhiteArt , TheRanter1 , A-Lucky-Mutt
- Sta.sh usually takes the name of the image file instead of allowing the artist to name it what they choose. Many people would rather name the deviation first. Ask-GTM
- The pop-ups on the side are really distracting (and take longer to load). If you insist on keeping them then at least allow the user to toggle these on and off. Ask-GTM
- You can't sort files alphabetically by name using Sta.sh. AlphaOmega2k
- Users receive the error: "SORRY, STAS SHALAEV IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION" then are unable to log in afterward. AlphaOmega2k
COMMENT! COMMENT! COMMENT!
What are your problems with Sta.sh? Post them here and the artist comment box will be updated!
Let's get all of our complaints into one easy-to-read, comprehensible post.
Related content
Comments: 196
For Lit.... Hmm yeah I don't like having to copy-paste everything on stash. But I do prefer this to the old system where you couldn't edit text after you submit it. You'd have to copy paste everything elsewhere to edit and reupload. I think the original intention for stash was for users to type directly into it (hence the auto-save).
And the original submission page, in my opinion, was even more confusing than now. Then again, maybe I got used to this faster.
Just my two cents
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I agree. I've posted about it in my artist comments already.
I do wish the administrators would take us more seriously. They seem to think that Sta.sh is the most amazing thing ever for some reason.
And while they sit there, trying to make their things more 'futuristic' and 'friendly', it actually feels like a major step back and the users are the ones who suffer for it.
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Yeah, I'm finding myself in agreement with you even though I've been here a short time. A lot of the little gadgets here are cool and all, but I have no use for them and even if I did, I have to dig through several pages in the help desk just to know what to do. Sta.sh can be a useful tool for those who have a lot to work with, but I, an amateur who could only pump out a few decent drawings every other week, have no use for it at the moment.
Oh, and that attitude of making everything cool and "futuristic" while screwing the users is not unique to dA. A lot of websites are doing it, like YouTube.
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Unfortunately, no. v__v
I do wish they'd at least fix their bleeping colour scheme.
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Debating moving to Facebook.
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The new uploating page is looking ugly compared to the old one- so...white it makes my eyes hurt. I preffered old page- simple, nice looking, easy to use- and that's what should be the most important.
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I agree. I see sun spots every time I open the page. I've had to stop visiting the journal for feedback because it gives me the worst headaches.
I hope they (at the very least) fix the colour scheme.
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For me, I can post, but the description NEVER comes out the way I want! Sometimes, NOTHING comes out of the reeeeaaally LONG thing I type, and so I have to type it over five times!
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We shouldn't have to resort to using Notepad/Wordpad because of DeviantArt's failure to function. That's for sure.
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You'd really think that with over 16,000 angry comments, they'd do something. I used to be able to upload stuff, it would take a while, bit at least I could submit art.
Now, I click on add file, and nothing happens. NOTHING.
*sighs* I wished the admins would've given us a f*cking choice on whether we wanted this or not! And they aren't even attempting to fix the bugs yet >:I I would leave dA for a while, but sadly, I have no life outside this website c:
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You would think but you'd be wrong. They even took the emoticon voting system down because they didn't want the proof that people hated the page. (I did the math. For every person who liked the page, there were nine who hated it.)
But not only are they not giving a choice, they're blaming the users for Sta.sh's failure to function when there were no problems with the previous submit page.
I know how you feel. I've come to love this website too.
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I remember that, the took it down the second time a went to look at the comments (which was like, half an hour after I first looked at them). They don't need that as proof, all the angry people in the comments is proof >:I
How the crap is it our fault? I never even used Sta.sh before they changed the submit page. I don't even understand what it's for
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Sigh.
At least my ask account doesn't have the new one.
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This account doesn't have it either. It's my other account that got hit with the Sta.sh stick.
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Mise well try and figure it out.
I seen no sign of them changing it back.
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wha? wait there are some accounts that don't have to have it?! this "thing" has just ruined my whole semi-easy but okay art posting process! i feel like cursing now-.-
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Just figure it out.
That way they can change it to something even more retarded xD
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I swear I still don't understand what "Sta.sh" is ever since they introduced it. o__O
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Well, I did give someone the low-down on Sta.sh almost two weeks ago if you'd like to take a look .
Hopefully, it'll help clear up some misunderstandings?
Of course, if you still have questions about Sta.sh, I can do my best to answer. (I'm not an administrator and am frankly, against the page.)
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Honestly I'm down right shocked that DA hasn't really done anything about this yet. (No bug fixes, no opt out, no time table, no feedback, etc.)
I've been keeping up with the feedback and opinions from tester on this change. From the very start a very large percent (most in fact) of the test subjects did not like aspects of the new submit page.
As the test continues, again without any sign of improvement people are becoming outraged.
And I have to say, I am too.
You would think that nearly 16,000 comments, anti new submit page groups, angry journals, and deviations such as this would be making an impact and would be enough for staff to see that there are serous problems.
But not only are we being forced to continue using the new page, the new page hasn't been corrected.
The issues now are exactly the same as they were a month ago.
If DA is intent on forcing this new submit page, against the wishes of it's users you would think at the very least they would fix/change it enough to allow members to at least submit art.
DA is driving away users and I'm sorry to say if it does continue I will be leaving as well.
I really think at this point the Main issue here is that DA is not hearing the users.
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I agree with everything you said except one thing: They are blatantly IGNORING the users.
I don't think DeviantArt will learn its lesson until there's a site-wide boycott of some sort and they know it's just not going to happen.
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You are right, staff is out right ignoring us.
I honestly don't think they care what the users think at this point.
but...Even if a lot of users strike or walk out there will be other people that sign up. People who only want another facebook like site and really don't care about the art.
DA will make money one way or another. It will have users. And I think the staff know that or at least are relying on it.
The real issue here (to my way of thinking at least) is that DA seems to be sliding into what's basically facebook for art-hores.
The art isn't as important as the networking aspect, so it and thus the artists are taking a backseat in consideration when changes are being made to the site.
IE the trendiness, pop appeal, social networking, etc. are more important than the actual art.
Considering the changes over the last year or 2 this is really the only conclusion I can come to.
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This... this is just ridiculous.
I completely agree with the fact that this is not at all user-friendly, as I myself cannot figure out how to work this at all...
And honestly, hasn't deviantART always let it's users vote for these changes, or at least asked us for feedback?! What the heck is wrong with that system now? It worked perfectly fine then and it can work perfectly fine now.
Now all we need is for them to listen to us instead of trying to come up with ideas that infuriate us, and maybe this can go back to being a community instead of what I see as a dictatorship.
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It took me over a eek to figure the darn thing out, and it still doesn't work right!
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I know how you feel...
Just hang in there. Surely if we protest this enough, things will change...
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The problem here is that they forced a group of people into this under the pretense that it was a 'beta'. However, despite thousands of people (at least 3,000 going purely based on the emoticon voting system) giving their feedback which DeviantArt ASKED for, little to nothing has been done to bring the page up to speed with the rest of the website and they've already openly refused to change it back to the old, working submit page. (Trying to justify cutting the old submit method by comparing it to an incident that happened back in 2001.)
There's absolutely NO REASON they can't offer the old, working submit page until Sta.sh is brought up to speed. If Microsoft can support old versions of Windows Live Messenger for five years, DeviantArt can support the old submit page for a few months/a year until all of the bugs are sorted out.
Frankly speaking, I wouldn't have been so offended by the 'forced' nature of the page if it had been... say... made the default upload method with a toggle that allowed you to turn back to the old submit page if the new one wasn't working. That way, I'd be able to give proper feedback and still upload my content. But it would appear that DeviantArt really just doesn't care that their primary function is being jeopardized by their stupidity.
Anyway, thank you for your input. It's nice to rant, isn't it?
PS. I agree. Right now, it feels less like a community and more like a dictatorship... It feels like... Google and all of their stupid changes to the YouTube interface. Granted, even with the changes to the interface, at least YouTube still WORKS. Sure, I've seen a lot of people complain that YouTube is HARDER to use... but I've yet to see people complaining in droves that it's stopped working entirely.
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Honestly, I only experienced the unability to upload images on Nov 15th (2012), but even before that I've been getting crashes and time-outs from this mockery of a submission page since it was first brought out. Thousands of us have protested against this en masse, yet the Admins seem to be turning deaf ears. Many are asking for their Premiums to be refunded, while a few even want to sue deviantART for affecting their business.
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They are definitely turning deaf ears. You'll notice that they've deleted hundreds of comments (especially from the first few days that the page was posted), disabled the emoticons (that publically showed that over 2,700 people were unhappy/angry at the change) and haven't been giving adequate updates. They really just don't care what we have to say.
Have you at least been able to post since that day? I feel horrible for the people who haven't been able to submit at all because of this broken page. (And what's worse, DeviantArt's been blaming the users, not Sta.sh.)
I can relate to wanting my Premium refunded. The only reason I extended it is because I don't expect this nonsense to go on for two years. I'm just going to bugger off if DeviantArt keeps this up. There are alternative art sites and I'm not afraid to use them.
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I'm able to submit now. (Dec 1st, 2012)
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please can anyone tell me how can I upload a preview when submitting a PSD file???
I can't understand this, and my English isn't so good, unfortunately.
I'm trying to click on pencil in top right hand corner and then click on "change your preview file" but nothing is happening, please help.
thanks a lot for any answer.
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Sorry to hear! Yes, you should be able to add it with that button. But it's not responding you say? Which browsers have you tried?
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Idiocy inbound ~ Where is this magical pencil button of which you speak? Is it on Sta.sh? I like to add preview images to my literature deviations, eg a scene from the story, but I cannot find a way to do that on Sta.sh even though the submit art functionality at the top of dA proper allows me to add preview images to literature.
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Are you using the new or old sybmission page?
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Am I right in saying that this [link] is the old one and this [link] is the new one? If that's right, then I have no trouble with the old one, I just add the text and the option to add a preview image appears on the page. On the new one however I can see no such option, nor a magic pencil button
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No - the first link is the old submission page, the second link is the 'old' sta.sh submission page. The new submission page replaces them both (for those who have access to it). Does that make sense?
On the old submission page through sta.sh, as in the second link, there is indeed no functionality to add a preview image to literature at this time, sorry. For files that require one (whereas literature does allow it but doesn't require it), there is an 'add & edit files' button instead: [link]
That problem has been fixed with the new submission page.
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Right. Guess that leaves just one dingus question... can I/how do I/when will I be able to access this new fixed submission page?
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Either when you're randomly selected to get early access to it, or else you'll need to wait until it's released for everyone.
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I've tried Internet Explorer and Opera, but my main browser is Opera.
Thank you very much for the help!
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I see 
So replacing the file or submitting a new file works fine, but when you click 'change preview image', your computer's file picker doesn't come up?
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Yes, on both browsers I have troubles with preview...
Submitting a new file is good. When I click 'change preview', a window with file list opens and when I choose an image file as a preview, the window closes, but nothing more happens with the preview, no sign that a new preview is loading or changing, just nothing.
Sometimes the page is not responding while I see 'Auto-saving in Sta.sh' line on top of the page for a long time.
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Oh, I see. You best comment here [link] to let them know
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Thank you soooooo much!
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I apologize but I'm not an administrator and have never tried uploading a .PSD to DeviantArt. Does Sta.sh even support .PSD files?
All the best.
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Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.
I actually have one more question if you don't mind.
Will Sta.sh have its colours changed to be made uniform with the rest of the site? (And if not, will we be given the option to manually change the colours?)
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