The problem with deviantArt.

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Deviation Actions

chif-ii's avatar
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There has been PLENTY of bitching about the site redesign as of late. Look at any given site update announcement, and you will find page after page of "They're not listening to us!", "You're making it harder for us to gain more watchers!", "Stop being facebook!" (but, of course, phrased much more eloquently than this, you handsome, verbose devils). Do I agree with this? Is there a problem with deviantArt? If so, how can it be fixed?

To begin, we need to know what deviantArt is. Why have we come here? Why, in spite of everything that's been done to the site, do we continue to come here? Why do I come here? For the art. We come to dA because we love art. Those of us that produce it come here to gain a wider audience, to connect what we produce with those who enjoy it. Those of us that consume art come here to satisfy our appetite. When I come to deviantArt, I want to expand myself, to see new things. I want to look at photos that challenge me, see characters from franchises I love in a whole new light, immerse myself in worlds I never would have dreamed of. This is the fundamental purpose of deviantArt; to connect content consumers with new content producers and vice versa. You may agree or disagree, but this is the premise on which I base my following exhibit.

Screengrab11-14-14 by chif-ii
This is the Today page of deviantArt. I argue that this is what the developers think deviantArt is supposed to look like. I base this on several facts:
  1. When you are not logged in, this is where you are taken when you click on the link www.deviantart.com
  2. Today is the far-left option. Deviantart's editorials are in English, it is based out of an English-speaking country, and most of its content producers speak English or a language that reads from left to right, just like English. To put this as the far-left option marks it as the most important option among any other.
  3. The very name "Today". It is "Today"; this is where you need to be. Before you see anything else, you need to see what's going on "Today".
Which, of course, is a very flagrant lie, as this is NOT "today" Allow me to demonstrate (and I warn you, this will be long)
dA crosssection by chif-ii

This is a crossection of the last five days of the top part of the Today page on deviantart.com, from november 10th to november 14th. I initially made this image to track how long the image of Velma grinding on Shaggy, located just to the left of Hinata's shoulder on the top image, had stayed on the Today page. Unfortunately, I then realized that it wasn't just Velma who refused to leave. So I lettered each repeat image based on no particular order except my own eye.

A. velma 2
B. Felicia Bodypaint. Darkstalkers.
C. FEMALE Weapon 9 [gun]
D. Tifa's Awkward Nap - Part 1
E. Kakashi Chilling
F. Poison Ivy Colors!
G. Minecraft Cats
H. Norrland for beginners
I. Batgirl
J. Ryuko Matoi
K. Tadashi hamada WIP
L. Give the Gift of Art Challenge
M. + Hikyo and Rinri Designs+
N. Doodle fox
O. G and Chelle - first met - again
P. Clinical Exposure
Q. The Dark Knight

I was worried I was going to have to go to Excel-style numbering (AA, AB, AC, ect). After this was done, I then circled the unique images that did not appear on any other Today page. It's sad. On November 13th, there were only two images that did not appear on any other page. On November 12th, there was only one - and that was a flash game starring Derpy the Pony. There are more unique pictures towards the opposite ends of my sample, but that's only because there's less to compare to at those ends. For the final indignity, let's see when all of these pictures were posted to deviantArt, versus when they appear in our sample. Note that I have not looked past November 10th to see if any of the pictures appeared on the Today page earlier than that date.

A. Nov 10th, posted Nov. 9th
B. Nov. 11th, posted Nov. 11th
C. Nov. 11th, posted Nov. 11th
D. Nov. 12th, posted Jan. 24th, 2014
E. Nov 12th, posted Nov. 12th
F. Nov. 12th, posted Nov. 11th
G. Nov. 11th, posted Aug. 16th, 2012
H. Nov. 10th, posted April 18th, 2011
I. Nov. 12th, posted Oct. 5th, 2012
J. Nov. 11th, posted Nov. 10th
K. Nov. 12th, posted Nov. 12th
L. Nov. 12th, posted Nov. 12th
M. Nov. 11th, posted Nov. 11th
N. Nov. 13th, posted Nov. 12th
O. Nov. 13th, posted Nov. 13th
P. Nov. 13th, posted Nov. 13th
Q. Nov. 10th, posted Nov. 7th

DeviantArt is giving us works from over three and a half years ago, and trying to pass them off as new. That's not how it works! That's not what I want! It's bad enough that I nearly ran out of letters in the English alphabet trying to list duplicate images - now you're giving me images from 2011? If I didn't put it in my favorites the first time, what makes you think showing it to me now is going to change anything? Some of these images are repeated four or five times. All of those thumbs with letters in them represent space that could be spent on Whatever algorithm deviantArt uses to select these images is obviously broken if this is what it thinks I want to see.

There are features that I like about the new site update - I love being able to see collections related to a particular deviation - but overall I think the site has alienated a lot of people. When adding new features or modifying existing ones, deviantArt needs to consider how this affects its mission statement; to connect people with new art, and art with new people.
© 2014 - 2024 chif-ii
Comments7
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danlev's avatar
I'm trying to understand how What's Hot is "misleading" -- as xRadioactivePixie said, our What's Hot algorithm is different than our Popular algorithm because it doesn't take into account when it was submitted. If something from 2005 goes viral because it was on the front page of Reddit, What's Hot will surface this. That's why "Today" is accurate because it's What's Hot today. I think this is really valuable, and What's Hot has become a favourite mode for many of us. But I definitely agree with your concern about the content not being fresh enough -- especially for deviants who visit the page daily or several times a day.

The Today page is still very new, and not even close to a finished product. Feedback like this is very helpful -- I passed along your concern for our team to look into. The Today page is something we're actively looking into as far as "next steps" go. Feel free to share any other feedback you have about the other components of the page! :)