Hey All! SheezyArt has always relied on advertisements to support itself and pay for the servers it needs to run on. As of recent (you may have noticed we were down for a day), advertisements have not been doing well enough to keep SheezyArt chugging. After much deliberation, we've decided the best way to fix Sheezy is to add subs.
For those who decide to support Sheezy, we will add a few bonus features such as ad-free browsing and picture comments (check out the list on the store page). For those not subscribing, the only upcoming change will be the offering of advanced privacy features to subscribers (all artwork and journals will retain privacy settings, but only the original author will be able to view them. This was mentioned at the launch of privacy features in the announcement news post). No features will be taken away, and regular members will not feel like they need to subscribe to get a "real" account.
Sheezy needs the support of the community to continue to grow. Today we added an extra server to help with the overwhelming amount of data and traffic causing the site to slow down. With your help, Sheezy can afford to give more back, in the form of buying more servers to make the site run faster, and paying professionals to help design, program, and run the community.
Click the "Upgrade" button in your user menu to read more about what we have to offer.
Seriously, with all the bugs you've never taken care of and how much emos and recolors are coddled, people now hate this site enough as it is. What on earth makes you think people are going to want to subscribe at this rate?
If this site wants to get good again, they should: bring back the old design, get rid of the bugs the new system added, stop being dicks to the musicians, get rid of the recolors and emos or atleast stop banning the people that stand up against their faggotry, and bring back the damn mascot.
"Bring back the old design"
OH NO HOW DARE THEY CHANGE SOMETHING.
"Get rid of the bugs"
Understandable.
"stop being dicks to the musicians"
Also understandable.
"Get rid of the recolors and emos"
There are barley any recolors anymore, shut the fuck up about them. They can't ban the emos because they have yet to break any rules. I really wish there was a rule that you couldn't be a whiny fuck, but there isn't.
"Bring back the mascot"
Why do we need a possibly Metal Box loving furry again?
Same here. I came here just as it did it. I mean like I come in and I'm like "Wow this place freaking rocks!" then like a week or two later "What the f*** is this s***?"
I've got to be honest, I don't see much success with this at all. It's been so long in coming many people don't care anymore, and Sheezyart has far too many problems for people to want to support it. Leaving pictures for comments would be fun, but is it worth $25 when more and more users leave every day?
I've been on Sheezyart since 2005; I know what many people think. I don't want Sheezy to go down, either, and there will undoubtedly be users who will pay to keep it afloat, but unless there will be legitimate improvements (like comments that don't take forever to submit, and the ability to choose your own preview image for Flash movies), the subscriptions won't do as well as you're hoping.
Well, in a week or so, art and journals made "private" for non-subscribers will only be viewable by the author. Subscribers will have "access control," meaning that when they specify groups of people that can look at the art or journal, those people will be able to view it too.
So, what you're saying is, if I don't subscribe, no one but me will be able to see anything in my gallery? Hmmm... if that's the case I'll be having to find somewhere else to display my work. I pay out enough on things for my art business as it is. I can't afford to pay for a site that doesn't really draw much business or publicity for my work. Shame that. I really do like several of the people here. But, if I can't view their work anymore if they don't subscribe, what's the point in being here?
Sheezy's pretty big. You have no idea how people will run all over themselves just to say "I HAVE MONEY" to strangers. The thing is... *points to what p i m p hollistic said*
I agree, I'm 24 and I still can't afford it. Young adults usually have bills and shit to pay Kids actually have a better chance since they have parents to purchase things for them, for example the GaiaOnline gift cards and so on.
I liked it being free here. DA and Gaia have become cashcows and the community has gone away. ; Like how DA lets people with subs off the hook more than people without 8D and don't even get me started on Gaia's CASH shop ¬¬
I already have ad-free browsing without needing to pay $25.
Drawing in comments and making it so people can't look at stuff I make doesn't seem to warrant me paying anything. I could effectively get the same thing by uploading art to my photobucket account and giving whoever I want the link. Or use the many social networking sites out there.
I could see it more as just a donate thing. The extra features aren't really great features at all.
I'm not saying "Oh no Sheezy will die because nobody lurves it anymores", just saying I don't find the features worthy of a subscription.
Just to bring it to your attention, "Ad-free" browsing is technically a crime, as ads are often the only form of income sites like this have, therefore, generally there will a section in the EULA, TOS, etc, that will state you must disable ad-free browsing, or suffer the consequences.
I think I've even heard of this sorta stuff going to court, so I wouldn't brag about it.
Wow, you're not the brightest person I've ever met.
I do not pay for Sheezyart. Sheezyart does not require me to visit their site. There is no flow of money going between us. If I use Adblock and Javascript so I don't have to see stupid ads like "HEY FREE HOUSE INSURANCE" so that I WANT to visit their site, I think that's a GOOD thing.
Rufus is incorrect about it being a crime. And in the case of SheezyArt, there's no binding agreement against using adblock and javascript to have an ad free browsing experience.
However, he is correct in regards to income. Before the launch of subscriptions, advertisements (and my own pocket, if that counts) were the sole source of money to keep the site running. Even with the launch, advertisements will likely remain the primary source.
So while there's no requirement, I hope you understand that the people behind the sites you adblock get hurt. For one person it amounts to pennies, but if many shared your browsing preferences, sites like SheezArt would certainly not be around for you to enjoy. :[
Fear mongering?
Not at all, I'm mearly pointing out that bragging about ad-blocking to the people running the site is sort of like asking them to ban you.
Admitedly, I doubt either Spencer or Channel Cat would bother, there's probably hundreds of people here ad-blocking, but obviously bragging about it really isn't going to add to your chances.
And, just to make sure that we are absolutly clear on this, I know exactly why block ads. Your right, there's not going to be any transaction. Ever. But, that, is beside the point.
Infact, I know that there are many, many advertising companies that pay "per-display" rather than per-click, which means ad-blocking is outright denying the site of revenue.
Now, I doubt SheezyArt is using that, but still, my point was not that you're doing the site harm, but that you're simply setting your self up for a ban. (Maybe not here, but I warn you for sure, -never- mention it on dA. They do not tolerate it one bit. But then they're money-grabbing anyway.)
Are we clear yet?
...
And, finally, it would be nice if you would actually read my post - word for word (without making up hidden meanings), before insulting my intelligence.
I hope you know that web hosts dont expect the sites they're hosting to recieve cash of its uptime as much as they expect the people owning the sites to just pay up to the host, regardless of ad-free or non ad-free.
Sheezy could delete the ads whenever they want to. In fact every site could unless you're on a lame free-host service.
Your own pocket. Just like it was before this site had gotten popularity and just how every amature site designer needs to work with since ads are only as good for the people who bother to mess with them. If I'm interested in your ads, I'll leave them up. If I'm not, fuck them. Those who would go so far as finding them nuisances, or something opposite of me, not lazy, would install ad blockers. One of many Firefox add-ons. Surely if that would be illegal someone would delete that.
Everyone needs to pull out a few bills from private savings in order to support for the site. There's no denying that.
And my point wasn't in how you get your money since I could barely care less over what methods you use. My point was that your host couldn't care less if you work with ads or without ads. They just care over you paying up, and if you dont pay up, bam, shutdown. No compromise about that.
If you'd take that into court, would you say that "Oh but these guys are wrong because people didnt click our ads"?
Seeing your response to Day (Rhemi) now I should have thought a bit before jumping the gun and judging your simple reply before doing a slight essay comment on your part, but I think you clearly made the point I was trying to make for you so sorry for that miss. I know that most money come from ads but I do know that they're in no way mandatory.
I dont block these ads but I dont click them either, I'm fairly sure I'm not obliged to do so. I'm not really interested in weight loss stuff either, and this is obviously not just Sheezy.
I would most likely have bought a sub if I had a PayPal and money for that matter, but I do hope you're going to work on adding alot more content in the future than just art comments as a redeeming feature, since ads we've already gone on about and private journal/art isnt something very heavily used.
I host my own, self coded website.
I think I know that already.
I do not display adverts, as my site is:
A. Too small to generate revenue.
B. Too cheap to need revenue.
The fact of the matter is, if Sheezy did delete the ads, which it could, the chances are, Channel Cat wouldn't bother paying for next months hosting.
'Eh, repeating myself:
On some sites, there are sections of TOS/EULA/Legal Document-whatever which state that Ad-Blocking is a direct violation of contract, and, most cases termination of account follows.
I'm signing up for the monthly. I like supporting the site and about $3.00 a month isn't much at all (specially when it's in £ for me ). And I like that I can try it out and then cancel it too if I feel like I can't manage it.
I look forward to seeing it in action. Congrats on programming it all in. ^^
You're welcome. I'm still amazed that you can program all this - I'm not good at websites but I generally know how I could do it, but subs and all that is completely beyond me
It would be nice if they would just make searching artwork a lot easier. Such as: instead of using the God-awful tag eyesores to the left, use a number of categories such as "traditional art", "photography", "digital art". That's a feature I want to see. And fixing up the ridiculous amount of glitches would be heaven.
Oh for God's sake, I could write a LIST of things this site would do well to improve.
There have been several times when I haven't been able to access Sheezy art because it says "I broke Sheezy" or something or the kind and usually I can't access it for the entire day [this has happened whilst I am on the site as well]. I've experienced glitches when trying to delete the messages in my inbox, I've had trouble submitting comments, I used to sometimes have trouble submitting submitting art [and am wondering if that's still the case] and trying to search through the "new" section of artwork can prove difficult >:/ It sometimes goes back to the first page when I really don't want it to. Also, there are links that allow me to access the sections for "featured" and "What's New" but the same cannot be said for "What's Popular" which is something I would like to see.
As for things to be "fixed" did you mean things I would like to see improved? :)Getting rid of the above glitches would be lovely. PLUS: making searching easier by getting rid of those tags to the left [that are present whenever searching] and creating sections that people can submit to such as "traditional", "fan art" [being able to eliminate seeing those whenever I search is something I've been longing for], "photography", "photoshop/digital art", ""nature", "urban", "fractal", "music", "literature" and etc. I'm sure you get the drift.
Thanks for reading, I think that this might make Sheezy a more popular website if it were successful but that's just my opinion.
The search system really is annoying. I mean, it doesn't need to be as (unnecessarily) complicated as DeviantArt's search system. FurAffinity has a very good system in my opinion. Maybe have a look at it?
hmm, looks like it's intelligence time again. *puts on a monocle*
as has been stated before, not many people will pay for these new features. or, more specifically, not enough.
most of the upgrades you've been doing get mixed feelings. i personally think that all the glitches must have come from good ideas that weren't practical. when the site redesigned, it startled me, but as of yet, i cannot remember the way it USED to look. hell, i can't imagine the frontpage being any different than it is now.
it also is comforting to know that you have a new server. god knows how much it costs for those.
as for site design, you don't need professionals. not really. what you need is eager coders and experienced testers. no doubt you'll find QUITE a few of those floating around the site. i know a few myself. and you also need to make sure it is approved by all the testers before it's implemented. case in point: laggy comment boxes and the little blank comment window that pops up when you don't use the new box. doubtless, when i hit the submit button here, that box will pop up again. you might want to fix that.
a few suggestions, if i may. tell people- in some manner- how to make their own designs, layouts and generally customize everything worth customizing. i would like to use a bit more than the stock layouts, and though i'm happy with mine currently, i do kinda want something a little more personalized.
another thought. you get money if people click the banner ads, right? well, it just so happens that there is now an add-on- a lifesaver, in my opinion- that blocks laggy banner ads completely. so no accidental clicks and annoying popup windows. but here's a thought. why not add some tangible incentive for people to click the banner ads? in exchange for something, of course. i don't think i have to go into detail on that.
anyway, it's good to know that the people who run this site are alive. and... REPLYING. i can't stand leaving unanswered comments. so, i look forward to your new features, your updates, your fixes, you new mistakes, and most of all... a reply. let me know that this minirant actually was read by someone.
Only time will tell on how many people will or won't subscribe. I think it's far too early to speculate with any degree of certainty either way.
The benefit of a professional design is simplicity and ease of use for a guest on the site. We're not experts in design, and I think that reflects in how much of the site appears. Admittedly, there are portions of the site that are confusing, or can be assembled in a way that makes understanding concepts or features easier for our users.
Granted, one of the higher priorities is getting some additional assistance with development of code, or at the least being able to actually pay CC and have his work on a more consistent and professional basis. The problem with picking random coders from the community is the wide range of skill and knowledge between each possible developer. In recent years, CC has been writing code in a more documented way so that it can be better understood by an outsider, but that isn't to say that the entire code is understandable to a new developer. I'm also concerned with who can be trusted with that kind of responsibility.
Laggy commenting is something we're tackling right now. Hopefully you'll see the results of that work in the near future. =)
The encouraged clicking of banner ads is a no-no. That isn't fair or respectful to the companies that advertise with us, and further, is against very specific rules we agreed to when we started the advertising.
i don't think so. i think that while the subscriptions will help a bit, they still won't help enough to truly rely on them. granted, it is going to contribute some, but still not enough to be reliable.
personally, i would absolutely LOVE to learn how to code and help out. SERIOUSLY. you can call me on that anytime. and i'm good at comprehension. i fancy myself for making a little tutorial that explained some of the things you can do in flash that it literally took me years to discover.
as for getting people in the community to work together, that presents a problem. and it is such: people don't work together well in real-time. getting two people to work together on different portions of something will generally lead to screwups, professional or not. better system, get it in increments and build off of it. have one guy see what he can do about one problem, get it as good as he can, and then take that and give it to another person and see what they can build off of that. that way, you have a point of reference, there's no miscommunications because only one person is going at it and people aren't likely to screw themselves up, and if all else fails, you can go back to the way it was before.
i am seeing a difference. it's much less laggy. and i don't think the blank comment thingy appeared, either.
aww crap. you can't do that? well what about the banner-blocker?
At the risk of sounding BAWWW NOSTALGIA, MrSimon had submitted countless images of what he thought would be improvements to the overall design and code, all of which were met with outstanding praise. If there was ever anyone on the site who could make an appealing, practical interface, it was him.
I agree with you for the most part. Especial that not enough people are going to support this. I just think it's a matter of time that SA turns as money hungry as dA, even if it's to keep the site up.
i personally am a bit more optimistic. if channel cat locks the features we already have and makes us pay money for them, thousands of users will beat him to death with his own spine.
get rid of you're god damn monocles you hippy! and i agree with you, like nearly everything ps xbox360 (which i have so i'm not going to pick on 1 thing) all are doing the same thing, adding avatars (little versions of you and all that) however not just that but they add things for you're avatar to wear i bought a C.O.G armour and helmet and may others have i'm not saying this should happen to SA and you have to pay for stuff but it would be pretty cool and i for one would want to upgrade to get something like that were you can fully customize it and all that use it in you're avatar people see on comments and on fourms things like that would intrest people. 3D is comming into fassion and all that. So it would be fun, still you would have to pay people to create that stuff but hay i'm just saying it would be cool. Shame it doesn't happen.
>> hmm, looks like it's intelligence time again. *puts on a monocle*
as has been stated before, not many people will pay for these new features. or, more specifically, not enough.
lol? Like you would know the first thing about the members' purchasing habits.
Submit Artwork 
Manage Artwork 
Manage Journal 
Messages 
Watch List 
Settings 
Logout 
Upgrade 
CC
.
.
<---that thing?
; Like how DA lets people with subs off the hook more than people without 8D and don't even get me started on Gaia's CASH shop ¬¬
i just hope SA dosn't get booted 
DID you even read that comment or just the very first few words? Please read it all before you comment.