Some folks just can't make a point without dragging someone else through the dirt. If I live to be 100 I will never understand that. It is extremely counter productive, do you care?
I don't pay for the free accounts...I pay my membership for the extra perks I get and to support the site.
It would be nice if it didn't ever go down, or run slow, but the thing is, even when the staff goes through and deletes all the 'dead weight'...those accounts years old with no action in years....there will still be times the site runs slow, or is down...because this is the Internet, and servers go down, server responses get slow because of traffic, etc.
AW can do some things to make the site load faster, etc...but that's not a guarentee the site will never go down again or be difficult to reach. There's no telling how many servers you're routed through to get to this site...well, okay, yeah, there is a way you can tell, but anyway....any one of those servers could cause a problem for you to reach this site, or how fast the pages load for you.
In short, it's not always AW's fault. A couple of you have mentioned you never have a problem getting to the site, that it never times out, etc for you...which, now that I think of it, can't be true, because there are a few occasions when staff has announced there was down time and no one could reach the site...but maybe you guys didn't try during those times...whatever, I'm rambling because I can. =)
Anyhoo...can we please quit with the 'freeloader' talk? AW offers free accounts, the majority of members have taken them up on that, for reasons of their own. AW is okay with that. It's their site, their business, and I guess if any of us don't like it, we can take a powder, right?
Anyone getting their arms twisted to stay here? Anyone? No?
Imagine that. =)
I'm making no sense...haven't been getting enough sleep lately, I guess.
Toodles. *waves byebye and toddles off to bed*
So you have to have an online portfolio to be serious about your work? Artwanted offers free accounts. You can't really blame people for taking advantage of it.
Also, a lot of people don't take this place serious, as far as art is concerned, since nudes are censored. So what is your point?
The way I see it, AW needs to have the tech and know-how to improve the site. There aretwo art sites that I know of that can have one million members WITH galleries and forums and run smooth. I think the payed members should have an increased charge so that AW can look into improving their systems. Here is the catch, only members will have access to those improvements. Free account will be stuck with what we have now.
It's not that much extra to pay for a premium service, and even a "starving artist" can manage the small fee. Money is what keeps the site going and brings in exposer for the artists that are a part of it. If you are here for free, then you are just leeching off me and other artist who do pay. Like a non rent paying lazy roomate, kick these freeloaders out or make them pay, cause I don't want to pay for them anymore.
I'd say that a site like this that is affiliated with a well known gallery or museum is taken more seriously than the sites that aren't, and of course, the buying experiences or interaction with artists that buyers/potential clients have are what is going to make them take this site seriously.
A change of the site look, some more pushing where advertising is concerned (I have ideas about that that are inexpensive, AW!) and if we all treat our potential buyers/clients well...this site would reap the benefits from that, which should in turn end up with we members reaping some benefits (more sales, etc).
BTW, I need to check...does the art card site have banners and such for linking to? =)
"If you cannot pay the miserable $35.00 per year, you're really, really a starving artist, if you call yourself an artist." bert cortes
Yes Bert, I call myself an artist. Granted I am not skilled like so many here. And I guess my art is crap cause I got no buyers whatever. But the fact is Bert, I call myself an artist. I been drawing and painting since I was a kid. I was never able to afford art school. And yes, the $39 dollar membership is a lot of money for me. Let me break it down. I make $926 dollars a month. My rent is $368 a month for a bachelor apartment. My phone is around 40 a month ( I do not make long distance) I have no cable and I live alone. My hydro is around 50 every two months. I have to buy food. I am not a lazy person I get up and volunteer 4 days a week(even though I have a lot of pain) and I get a supplement for that. I work with kids which I love. I cannot get fulltime work due to health problems. AW says you can pay 5 dollars a month but you have to have a credit card, I don't have one. So paying $39 a year ok I have to pay by money order with Canadian funds which would end up being between 42 and 45 dollars. Always add on another 4 or 5 dollars to pay for a US money order. Sorry, it's not doable at this time. Really don't care if you believe me or not. I have a computer yes, it was a gift cause my mom passed away and internet? so far only paying 5 a month. I dunno, you got the figures, you do the math. So, I was not going to say anything til I read what Bert said. But you know what Bert I am an artist to me whether you think so or not and a damn nice person. So let me post one of my non artist works.
And, yes, please do allow nudity on the site, but only for Premium accounts, and with clear "Mature Content" warnings, which will inevitably draw the curiosity of site viewers while doing wonders for the exposure of many existing portfolios. The fact is that there are numerous artists who include nudity as part of their trade. (Here's the kicker: only allow Premium members - not free - to view such images.) I think a majority of us already know the difference between artistic nudity and borderline pornography. I've seen plenty of both over the years.
Also, for those of us who have had a Premium account but have to go back to a free account because we can no longer afford it, let us select our own images for elimination. (I haven't been on here in awhile, so I don't know if that image-elimination rule is still in effect following the relegation from Premium to free.) There's some stuff I've posted on here in the past that I'm not so high on anymore and would love to shed. What I am the most concerned about is losing the comments on my better works - and thus the valuable connections of those who left them.
I'm guilty of having posted mostly avatars instead of actual artwork over the past year, but that's because I'm going to be "starting over," so to speak, and focusing my attention on a new account very soon. I will gladly pay Premium for that, but the $64,000 question is whether I can afford to regularly pony up for two Premium accounts, as much as I would love to.
As for banners, definitely no pop-ups, but do put art-supply or art-class (or anything art-related) ads via Google Adsense on the right-side margins. I would wholeheartedly support that. Auctions would be a terrific idea as well. Don't be embarrassed to even put a "Donate" button on the front page, which would considerably help do the trick.
That simply is not true. There are art community/networking sites out there that have the capacity for over a million members and they are FREE.
Heck, look at DA... they have a bunch of members and not all them pay.
Have banner ads for free users (but nothing to obtrusive and none that make noise - just a visual annoyance). You get a premium account, one of the perks is that you use the site, completely ad free. This might also encourage more users to switch to a paid account, since I know some people will pay not to deal with advertising.
5 bucks a month is incredibly inexpensive.
Of course, some people (see post just above mine) are going to whine and complaine till they are blue in the face, not to mention spam every possible forum with the same invalid complaint.
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