http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:Ernest-Blofeld&section=today deviantART RSS for by:Ernest-Blofeld en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:30:15 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/26082562/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/26082562/ Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:43:49 PDT
America is facing a massive problem. We currently have an industry that survives by making people pay to continue living. Now, I understand that medicine has costs, but if you do the math, the cost of health insurance, while better than paying yourself, is higher than it has to be to take care of people.

Because of the high cost of health insurance, people like me (poor college student) have trouble paying for it. I live with my parents, so their insurance covers me as long as I'm in school. Once I'm out, I'll be doing what I can to get my career started (I'm trying now, but the republican economy is worthless...I'll need to have my degree at this rate if I want to be hired).

From about.com:
“The most recent figures are from 2005, and indicate that the average individual’s job-based premiums were $3,991 that year, while families spent an average of $10,728.”

With our current system, I'd be looking at that $3,991 per year. Odds are, with low income starting out, student loans to pay, and obviously cost of living issues, I won't be able to afford that. Turns out that 10's of millions of Americans are with me there. Since when is being wealthy a prerequisite for life?

And for many people, it really does help them stay alive. I have some kind of chronic condition. We don't know what it is. I've been fairly sick for years. Once I'm out of school, there's the issue of getting my own insurance. I have a "pre-existing condition", though we don't know what it is. I won't be able to afford the grossly overstated prices that health insurance companies charge. Untreated, the conditions we're testing for could make me very sick, or even kill me if they continue to get worse.

The solution to the problem is a system that doesn't have this problem. Corporations, by law, must attempt to make as much money as possible for their shareholders. Health insurance companies are incorporated. Basically, using our lives to extort massive profits out of us is what they do to fulfill their legal obligations. The system itself doesn't work.

We need a system that does not have incentives or requirements that cause prices to go up more than costs. Government systems are the best answer, simply because the government is not for profit.

Now, I know what those stupid commercials keep saying. "If you go to Canada, you'll see that people have to wait a lot for medical procedures." Remember how I said I have a chronic condition? Well I waited two months to see a gastroenterologist. After that, I was told it would be about 6 months more before we could do the procedure that would check for a certain condition that this might be. This is in the USA. I know one person on DA (I forget who) waited a similar amount of time to see a dermatologist.

So what is it that makes Canada's system so bad? It can't be the wait, since we already have that. In fact, it seems like its not so bad.

The final issue with the system is funding. Once we establish that it is the best option to bring the government into the game, we have to figure out how to pay for everything. Obama's people have estimated that this will cost $1 trillion over 10 years, or $100 billion per year. That sure sounds like a lot. There's a big fight in Washington right now about how to fund this thing. The thing I have to wonder is....why?

Is it hard to do division when the numbers have 12 digits? Did everyone in congress fail math? Or maybe there's something I'm missing, because it seems very easy to fund this, assuming these estimates are accurate.

Lets do the math that other people haven't done. $100 billion per year is our starting point. Last July (2008), the US population was at 304,059,724 people. This includes children, but I will assume that parents pay for the children. Divide $100 billion by 304,059,724 people and you get $328.88 per person per year. Divide by 12 and you get $27.41 per month per person. Not so bad, eh?

So if each American paid $27.41 per month (and parents cover kids), then the system is 100% funded. There is one more issue we have to address. What I'm talking about is the issue of people who can not pay. That number ($27.41) can fund the system only if each American can pay. What we need to do is find a number that can fund it even if some can't pay.

Let's start with a nice round number. $50 per person per month. Its not bad, considering Americans pay, on average, $3,991 per year for individual coverage. That means $600 per person per year, compared with the number I just mentioned. Obviously, the cheaper one is the preferable option, when we're talking about people who can't afford the existing system. A lot more people would be able to pay into t... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/24898771/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/24898771/ Fri, 22 May 2009 22:11:18 PDT
I'm sure many people are well aware of the big deal that came along with Prop. 8 in California. What most of you are probably not aware of is the reason something like that could happen.

The point of a proposition is that the general public votes for (or against) some new law. While democracy is nice to some extent, this is a mistake.

We do not live in a democracy. Before I continue, I should probably be sure that gets said. We live in a republic. Its true. You don't pledge allegiance to democracy. "And to the republic..." Sure its a democratic republic, but its still a republic.

Whats the point?
Simple. In a democracy, people vote for stuff. In a republic, a select few make the decisions. In a democratic republic, the people vote for a select few, who make all the decisions.

But whats the point?
The point is the reason we have laws. Sure its nice to have order and such, but what is the real purpose of law? In general, a system ruled by the will of the general public will come to whatever order the masses desire as a result of being desired by the masses.

Laws exist in some cases to establish standards and order. But in other cases, the laws are there to protect the few from the many. Things like fair trial exist to make sure suspects are found guilty before being executed, even if most people in the "system" would rather just get their revenge, or what have you.

So if the laws sometimes serve the purpose of protecting the few from the many, then how on earth can we get "good" laws by asking the many? That system gives the many a way to make laws that let them do whatever they want to the few. A good system protects everybody.

---------------------------------------------------------------

So in California, there is no system protecting people from other people. And that is the problem with things like Prop. 8. The many chose to take rights away from the few.

So if we've established that Prop. 8 is wrong because of how it was made, then what can be said about the topic?

The problem with the issue is the definition of marriage. Some people would say that marriage is between a man and a woman always and only. Thing is, there is no legal definition anywhere (except our illegitimate proposition) that says such a thing. So where does this come from? Religion. It is strictly a religious definition.

By enacting Prop. 8, what California has done is forced a religious law on people, with the only basis being the religion itself. Murder is bad, regardless of religion. But marriage is between a man and a woman because of religion.

It in no way affects anybody who isn't directly involved, so it can't be a comparative rights issue (murder = your right to kill ends at my right to live, for example). So the only reason we can say marriage between anything other than a man and a woman is wrong is because some kind of morality says so. As I already mentioned, the only things we have for that come from religion.

So what is the legal version of marriage then?
The legal version of marriage exists mostly for financial purposes. We define people as legal entities (ie, citizens). Marriage is a process by which two entities can be treated as one for certain purposes (taxes, legal).

So how does gay marriage fit into that?
Gay marriage can work the same as regular marriage for any legal purpose.

-------------------------------------------

So we have two options. Option 1) allow gay marriage. This is the "better" option. It has no negative effects for anybody. It provides basic rights to people who were born a certain way (thats right, they were born that way).

Option 2) ban gay marriage. We're telling these people that they can't have those legal rights that apply to marriage. To be fair then, we must also stop providing any legal benefits to "normal" married couples.

And please don't even consider the whole "civil union" garbage. Separate but equal. Now, I can't begin to tell you how many people have said "...and don't give me that separate but equal stuff." That seems to be the bigot's get out of jail free card or something. But its true. Separate but equal is exactly what people are claiming by calling gay marriage "civil unions".

===========================================

So what can we get from all that?

1) Gay marriage is just as legitimate as "regular" marriage. Either we get both, or we get neither.

2) The California proposition system is completely illegitimate, and ruins the purpose of law.

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/22960318/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/22960318/ Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:06:28 PST [link]

It isn't about learning or whatever. It is about public display of intellectual property. It is about the law. So here it is::

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DA administration, what you're doing is in violation of federal law. By definition, the actions you describe constitute copyright infringement, and by actively choosing to allow it, DeviantArt becomes a willing accessory to the crime.

If DA is not willing to enforce the law proper, then I would suggest the administration here prepare for lawsuits, since all a person needs to do is pay the US Copyright Office to register their work in the first five years, and the crime can be pursued in court.

In the case of the person committing the act, it is a civil violation. In the case of deviantArt, however, since you guys make money by allowing people to submit things, it becomes a criminal act.

Here's what the FBI says(copy pasted from their website):

In the meantime, it is perfectly fine for anyone, without FBI approval, to use the following generic language on material protected under U.S. copyright law: "Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000."

Can DA afford to pay that fine for each violated work? Anything less than 5 years old may be registered with the US Copyright Office, and that registration can be used as [prima facie] evidence in a lawsuit.
Should I inform IC3 about this? (note: IC3 is the internet crime complaint center, and is a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance) I suppose I haven't technically been violated, so I can't, but I can still report your policy, and I can still advise everybody who gets their work traced to do so as well.


I'm not much of an artist myself, but I promise you that if anybody traces anything from my page that I claim as my own, I will serve DA with a DMCA notice.

Also, keep in mind that only works made by US citizens must be registered to file suit. Under the Berne Convention, the US will usually recognize works from citizens of other countries even if they aren't registered, and even in the case of lawsuits.

Whats worse than the FBI thing is what the DMCA says about this::

In addition, it is a criminal offense to violate section 1201 or 1202 wilfully and
for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain. Under section 1204
penalties range up to a $500,000 fine or up to five years imprisonment for a first
offense, and up to a $1,000,000 fine or up to 10 years imprisonment for subsequent
offenses.

Section 1202::

(a) False Copyright Management Information.— No person shall knowingly and with the intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement—
(1) provide copyright management information that is false, or
(2) distribute or import for distribution copyright management information that is false.

DA is enabling people to claim work as their own, when the intellectual property that backs up the work is not their own by allowing users to submit copied work.

# Normally Tolerated

• The reproduction obviously copies an existing work but possesses noticeable and substantial differences.
• The reproduction obviously copies an existing work but is noticeably deficient in quality.

This is a violation of the DMCA chapter 12, section 02. Moreover, this is something that DA is doing that is illegal right now, instead of only becoming illegal after someone infringes a work.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I strongly urge all artists on DA who have their work traced, copied, stolen, or whatever else, in the case that it is not taken down, to consider registering the copyright with the US Copyright Office. If you do so in the first five years, you can file a complaint against DA, which can lead to major fines for allowing the theft to happen(ie not taking it down). Maybe that will convince them of the need for their policies to reflect the actual law?

Maybe we should start a non-profit that just collects donations to help poor artists to register their copyrights, and thereby provide the legal ground they need?

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/22854791/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/22854791/ Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:49:12 PST
-------

I believe the attack here is called [cross site] Request Forgery(very similar).

The attacker creates a link that you click on. That link goes to the attacker's page(or something). This page makes requests that are engineered to do something(in this case submit a comment). Normally, that wouldn't work, but since it runs in your browser and since you are logged in, it does work.

Making requests in POST format instead of in GET format does help some, but it is still possible. HTTP referrers help as well, but they can be spoofed.

The best thing to do is to have users avoid clicking the link. That said, its not very likely that that will work, and its bad practice as programmers to make that assumption.

The solution to XSRF attacks is to have more secure session tokens. Set it up so that the session token information is not only stored in a cookie(try hidden form fields). User submissions are only accepted if they have this hidden field. The attacker can't get the hidden field without getting a page from DA itself that has it. They can't get that page without being authenticated already(or at least it won't come down with the token).

So every time they go anywhere or do anything, we have to include that in the authentication.

-----------------

For now though, users.....don't click stupidly XD

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/21335247/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/21335247/ Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:27:10 PST
I'm glad that Obama won, especially considering the dirty politics that the republicans put out there at the last minute.

They sent a message around to cuban immigrants stating that Fidel Castro (along with Noriega and others) supported Obama.

Someone connected to them(not known who) sent text messages around stating that, because of long lines, Obama voters would have to be handled on wednesday instead. Its not known who was behind that one, probably because its voter fraud and that person could go to jail.

Then there were polling place problems....

"Jacintha Johnson, a senior at the historically African-American school, told CNN that she got in line at 7:30 a.m. and voted at 6 p.m. She said the precinct had only five voting booths to accommodate up to 3,000 people."

""We started the line at about 10:30 a.m., and we did not get done until 3:30 p.m.," said Jessica Edwards, who voted in Norfolk."

"Some voters in Georgia said they were turned away when informed somebody using their names had already cast ballots in early voting."

"In St. Louis, Missouri, Lisa Foreman said she went to vote in her precinct where improperly calibrated machines would only select Republican John McCain for president. She said workers there were trying to fix the problem."

"At least three cases of possible voter suppression at election sites around Virginia will be investigated by state police, according to Virginia election officials."

"Officials in Dona Ana County, New Mexico say they are having problems with absentee ballots. But it's unclear just how many voters may not see their vote count."

"At least three polling locations in Kansas City's 5th Ward have the wrong registration books, said Board of Elections director Shelley McThomas. She said cover jackets indicating ward, precinct and sequence numbers were mixed up when the books were assembled at the Board of Elections."

What does it take to do this right? These systems and rules and so on have been around for years. Why is voting made so difficult? How can they not solve these problems?

It is good to see Obama do so well in Florida though, despite things like those phone calls the republicans sent around.

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/19292619/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/19292619/ Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:07:52 PDT
If you're ever considering buying a new rig, and don't know if mac might be a good option, here's something to consider. I know that a lot of people here on DA will go to mac because its better with graphics. Here's the thing; It's not. Apple had the edge in graphics in the late 80's and early 90's because they did the whole graphical operating system first. They also kept it up better, and so early 90's computer games are all Apple based.

But then came Windows with its horribleness. Eventually, Microsoft actually did something that amazes me to this day. They made something that works. It actually works really well. Its called directX. DirectX is an API for using windows, and using hardware directly in the way that windows will be ok with. Using DirectX makes it easy to use peripherals, any hardware, graphics, audio, on and on and on. This completely revolutionized the way big applications worked. Thats why all the games are on PC these days.

As far as hardware, just looking at the stuff NVIDEA offers should tell you that IBM compatibles(that is, PCs) are perfectly capable of really good graphics. If you still aren't convinced, then consider that Apple uses ATI(another IBM compatible graphics company) for most of their graphics, and NVIDEA for some of it. So they aren't even behind their graphics anymore. Its an IBM compatible manufacturer.

Apple has also switched to Intel architecture for its processors(and therefore, the motherboards, and RAM). So there's not much left of an Apple that actually is an Apple. But it still costs more, and you still get....very little actually.

For those of you looking for new machines, here's something I posted in a comment about an experiment I did.

--------------------------------------------------

Just right now, to make sure that my previous experiment still applies, I went to the apple site and to newegg, and got a PC and a Mac with similar components. Here's what I found.

Mac:
3.06ghz Intel core 2 duo
4gb DDR2 RAM
NVIDEA GeForce 8800 GS
500gb hard drive
24" LCD
Price: $2399.00

PC:
3.16ghz Intel core 2 duo(faster than the mac)
4gb DDR2 RAM(same as the mac)
NVIDEA GeForce 9600GT (whole generation of graphics cards better than what the mac has)
500gb hard drive
Price: $1129.99 (but it doesnt hav that LCD, oh noes)
24" LCD(with absolutely the best possible graphics): $489.99
Total: $1619.98

So its got the same RAM and hard drive, but better graphics, better processor, and at least as good of an LCD, for $779.02 less. So just to be fair, we should find a PC with the same price. 2399 - 489.99(we still want the lcd) = 1909.01. So we can spend that much on a PC. Here's what I got:

Manufacturer: CyberpowerPC (they did good here)
Processor: 2.66ghz Intel Core2 Quad(I know it seems slower but its really about 50% faster, because of the quad core)
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM(Much much faster than either of the previous 2)
Graphics: NVIDEA GeForce 9800 GTX 512mb(beats the pants off of both the other 2)
Hard Drive: 2 500gb hard drives (1terabyte total)

It also has 2 optical drives that are better than what either of the other two machines had. It also comes with 7.1 surround sound. And whats more, the price was still better. At $1869.99, it still comes in at $39.02 cheaper, despite being about 10 times better than either of the machines that I showed first. So for the price, the apple gives you much much less. The better graphics that the PC's both have really take a stab at the whole 'mac is the graphics machine' idea that people have. So why is it that its bad to think that macs are not as good as PC's when, for the price, PC's give you more? And remember that Apple is also a bitch about warranties. I mean, in the previous comment I mentioned a friend of mine who had a Mac catch fire(Apple's fault), and they wouldn't cover repairs. How horrible is that?

And for reference:

The really good PC: [link]
The perfect 24" LCD: [link]
Where to go to spend more money for less hardware: [link]

---------------------------------

So for anyone looking to buy a new rig, I very strongly caution using Apple. Their warranty/product protection policies are terrible, they cost way too much for what they offer, and honestly, they're stuck up. I mean, the impression I get of them is the same that I get from Starbucks. So if you're a trendwhore with extra cash to blow on .... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/18204791/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/18204791/ Tue, 06 May 2008 22:40:45 PDT
Dude 0.o
I met Bill Nye in person. Its weird. He used to be the guy my science teacher taped to show us cool stuff. He is absolutely awesome in person though. Thats just....so amazing. Talked about NASA, climate change, education systems, government, copyright law, spherical fullerenes for structural purposes, more stuff I forgot already....XD

Only a few hours ago 0.o

Absolutely great...

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/17641971/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/17641971/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:38:39 PDT


Why is it that DA seems incapable of doing anything right? Banning people for calling out a thief(calling out =/= illegal anymore mind you) but not banning the thief

firing jark...stealing from him....

setting up deceptive usage agreements that are completely inappropriate

banning people for stuff and then pulling their stupid april fools joke (i thought this was a serious business...do you still trust them with your online art account?)

I think ima make an alternative. We'll see how it turns out. I am a coder, so it should be easy, especially considering how annoying this place has become. You'll know when I do cause .... I'll post another journal and prolly get banned XD ... because of course, they ban everybody who doesn't like them for no real reason...>.>

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/16856566/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/16856566/ Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:27:07 PST
I would really like to just repeatedly yell out 'its the popular section'. Most people seem to think that it should do some kind of fair exposure thing. Now, fair exposure is great and all, but its not the purpose of the popular section. So why is it there? Your car doesnt wash dishes, and you dont exercise with your TV, so why is art in the popular section that ... isnt? I don't get it. Was it too difficult to make another section for Fair Exposure?

People try to tell me that its more fair. Yes, I know that. But it isnt. See, this site has a history of bashing popular artists. People do it all the time. This site also has a history of bashing anime artists. So if anime is popular, guess what happens? People bash those artists about a million times more. They have essentially designed an algorithm that removes anime and similar things from the frontpage. How is that fair?

People like to say that [insert non anime form here] is art too. Sure. But if it isn't popular, then it doesnt belong in the popular section. Anime is art too. And it IS popular. So why does it get pushed out? They reworked the category system to seperate anime from everything else. Now they rework the popular section to essentially do the same thing. OMGWTFSKITTLES 0.o

Popular art goes in the popular section.
Popular art goes in the popular section.
Popular art goes in the popular section.
Popular art goes in the popular section.
Popular art goes in the popular section.

How does that not make sense? How could any other way of picking art for the popular section be better? If the works that used to be at the top were the most popular, then what is more popular than that? The work that is at the top now is definitely not the most popular, so technically, the system doesnt work.

I WANT MY POPULAR SECTION BACK


Also....is it not ironic that my previous journal was telling people not to get worked up over popularity....and now people are reworking the system because of it?

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/15508157/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/15508157/ Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:16:14 PST
Jelousy looks horrible ... worse than being 'fake'...

Being stupid to get popularity will only prove that you are stupid. Complaining about people who are popular, and suggesting that thats the way they got that way....will also prove stupidity. I don't wanna hear another artist complaining about how people are 'so obsessed with popularity' or 'just do art that people wanna see'.

In the spirit of Bill Maher...

NEW RULES

>> No complaining that someone draws fanart

>> No complaining about blood/bandages/blah

>> No complaining that people are too worried about popularty and so they only do stuff to get attention

>> I dont care about that. I'm looking for real artists. People who do what they do, post it, and let things happen. I dont care if someone is a forum whore, I dont care about anything. Fanart? Fine. If its well done its well done. Weird humor, weird things, stuff you dont understand ... all fine. If I dont like it...I wont fav it, I wont watch the 'artist', so on. Leave it be. If you really, honestly, don't think of it as being so important, you wouldnt be complaining about it.

>> STOP COMPLAINING THAT PEOPLE DONT COMMENT!! I DO NOT owe you ANYTHING. That includes reviews/critiques. I'm not very knowledgeable about art. I know what I like, but thats it. If I fave it, its cause I like it. Be happy. If I don't comment, its because I have nothing to say. You can't expect everyone to have something phenominal to say that will turn your life around. It just wont happen, so be happy that people like it.

>> DO NOT complain when people comment with things like "cute" or "nice". When you complained that they faved without commenting, they felt bad. So now they comment because you said they were horrible if they didnt. But they have nothing to say, so you get stupidity in writing.

>> So basically, if you are a real artist...and you really dont care about popularity or comments or faves, as you claim to....(you just care about doing your art)...then you should just do that. If you can't be happy with it, then maybe you should consider admitting to yourself that you actually care more about these things than you told us.



I watch you (if I do) because I like your work....or something. I don't watch because you pretend to be insightful or unusual. I fav work if I like it. I comment ONLY when I have something to say.

So all you people out there pretending that these 'fakes' are horrible and will end the world as we know it...........

SHUT UP

k thnx bye ^ ^

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/14792466/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/14792466/ Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:25:07 PDT
Science has shown massive amounts of evidence that being GLBT is from birth. It is not a choice. So how can anyone call someone bad for being in this group?

Someone born with black skin is not bad simply because of that. These days, the only people who think that are closed minded, silly people. So am I bad because I have a female mind, and just happened to be born in a male body? Or because while I identify as female, I am also attracted to women?

I want to do what God wants me to do, and I have a hard time believing that he would create me in such a way as to have my very nature be in the opposite direction of His will. That would be silly. Its like pushing you off a cliff and blaming you for falling. God isn't dumb. People who preach hate are.

So in the end, a lot of people say 'well then they can be gay or whatever but ...'. Then they explain how they dont think gays should be able to marry, or have this right, or that. And they don't think its a problem for the priest to say that some people are bad people just because of how they were born. They claim that its just words. Well guess what? Giving the order to fire on innocent civilians would be 'just words'. Someone saying that you aren't making 'art' unless its that person's particular brand of art is 'just words'.

You cant get off as easily as saying 'ive not actually performed any action'. You are responsible for what people do with your ideas. If I were to publish incorrect information in a medical publication of some kind, people might die, and I would get sued. Why? I didn't perform an incorrect procedure on anyone. I may have made incorrect suggestions about it, but I've not done anything. Have I?

People go to church because they have some faith in the words that the priest says. So when he says that GLBT people are the cancer of society, they believe him. And when people believe that my medical information is right, they might act on it. And when people believe that his opinion of GLBT people is right, they might act on it. People that happen to be in a position in which their opinion is valued should never tell people things that might cause those people to do something bad.

And don't tell me now that I'm over-reacting. I'm not. People do bad things to people for being GLBT. Its real. So hear is a dose of reality for the closed minded/ overly sheltered.

===========================================================
QUOTES FROM VARIOUS NEWS SOURCES


"The victim, a young man in his 20s, was leaving a gay-friendly bar at about 1 a.m. Saturday morning when several men on bicycles began to follow him, yelling anti-gay taunts.
One of the men threw an object that struck the victim in the head, resulting in stitches to the back of his head and bruises on his face..."


"The young man’s assault, taking place only weeks after a transgender person was shoved through a plate glass window elsewhere in the city in one incident, and a man was attacked Sept. 9 in Georgetown by several men uttering anti-gay epithets, provoked official response."


"...lead him to a remote area east of Laramie where they demonstrated unimaginable acts of hate. Matthew was tied to a split-rail fence where he was beaten and left to die in the cold of the night. Almost 18 hours later he was found by a cyclist who initially mistook him for a scarecrow.
Matthew died on October 12 at 12:53 am at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado."
[link]


"one expert estimates that transgender individuals in the United States have a one-in-12 chance of being murdered, compared with a one-in-18,000 chance for the general population"


"Brown[university] is and should be a space of tolerance and respect. But between 2003 and 2005, there were 52 hate crimes on campus ranging from assault (reportable) to vandalism (non-reportable), according to Department of Public Safety data"


"Of the 7,160 hate crime incidents reported by people in 2005, 14.2 percent were allegedly motivated by a sexual-orientation bias, the U.S. Department of Justice's Web site says."


"Such a climate of hate, backed by the ever-present threat of violence, keeps gays and lesbians from holding hands in public, embracing at an airport, or from being comfortable in workplaces where heterosexual family photos are ubiquitous."


"It is legal for employers in 31 states to fire someone for being gay...
...
Federal law... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/14320309/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/14320309/ Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:02:15 PDT im sure you'll somehow manage without me
i dont wanna go on the stupid leadership retreat T^T

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/13983805/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/13983805/ Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:21:53 PDT
A long long time ago(sure seems like it anyway) ... kl chan was an artist on DA. Now, not. Banned indefinitely. Nobody knows why. Then, one day, she contacts the help desk. They respond, claiming that "pictures in my gallery were found in a Japanese art fan site." Everyone together now...3...2...1...DUHHhhhhhhhhhhhh

Thats right, she has the original PSD files. As in, something that isn't publicly available, but that the original artist would have to have. So the Japanese site has her art on it. Not so hard to believe is it?

Ok now that you know what happened, here is what I wrote to the help desk. Submitted as a policy violation report, because it is a violation of policy by some staff member or another.

=====================================================================

I'm writing this because of the indefinite ban placed on the account of a favorite artist of mine. This has been in place for some time, and by this point, I would have hoped that the issues would be resolved. Unfortunately this is not the case. What we have here is a policy violation, I am afraid, on the part of some staff member or another.

The reason for the ban, as given to the artist(according to the artist herself) is:

"I got a message from the Help Desk claiming I got banned because pictures in my gallery were found in a Japanese art fan site."

Now, first of all, its absolutely silly to assume automatically that the artist who was banned is automatically the thief. She even claims that she has the original PSD files, which would not be available to anyone other than the original artist. She claims that no attempt was made by staff to determine if she was the original artist.

Now, according to [link] ...
"In cases of people commiting copyright infringement ... deviants receive a verbal warning (sometimes several) before they are banned."

Also, from the same article,
"In other cases where the deviant ... has otherwise committed a serious breach of one of our policies they may receive both their verbal warning and a warning ban at the same time."

I know that this matter was not investigated. I know this because the banned artist has the original PSD files. As artists, I'm sure you understand the significance of that. An investigation would have involved asking the original artist if she had any way to prove herself.

"Also, did they have to reduce all my pictures faves to 1?" - the banned artist

It sounds to me like someone doesn't like this artist. I know she is no thief. You know that the odds of some random Japanese site being the original artist are as low as the odds of me growing a second head capable of solving the problems of cold fusion before I go to work today. Even more so when the artist can prove herself. But nobody asked her to state her case. Nobody asked her for those files.

"...the Policy Enforcement Team is expected to uphold a higher standard than just about any other staff member." - The article from before [link]

I am writing this for many reasons. I watch the people that I watch because I think that they are amazing artists. I enjoy seeing their work. Because of someone's improper investigation here, myself and many others have been stripped of some of that pleasure. To be honest, after all this time, and after all this effort by the artist to understand the situation, and considering the reason for the ban, and the fact that it was made indefinite, I think that some kind of public apology is in order here. I don't mean to be disrespectful of the DA staff, and I'm trying to avoid it as much as I can. I know that most staff members have a lot of work on their plate each day, and that it isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. That said, there has been some kind of mistake here, and it needs to be fixed.

My email is ---censored---hehe----
the artist/account in question is [link]

Thank you for your time.

====================================================================

From the quotes and links in the article, its made pretty obvious why people (including myself) are upset about this.

1: IF she is an art thief, why didn't she get the standard warning, or warning ban? Why an indefinite ban? REAL art thieves don't even get that.

2: She claims she can prove that she's the real thing. Why not investigate?

3: Why reduce all her fave's to 1? Is this some kind of personal attack against her?

====================... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/13784184/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/13784184/ Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:14:20 PDT
Large casualty Airliner crash in Brazil....no survivors

Bush & Friends >.<

Chinese food is dangerous

Its the end of the world as we know it....and I feel fine XD

stay alive out there people

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12611793/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12611793/ Sun, 15 Apr 2007 21:27:33 PDT 3
no matter what, i shall attempt an answer
i reserve the right to not answer really really raelly personal questions
other than that...i shall attempt answers

and you must do this in your own....er.,...never mind i dont care about that XD

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12532921/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12532921/ Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:41:09 PDT
]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12264224/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12264224/ Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:28:50 PDT really wanna see......can't find...

that would be so awesome...let me know if you can...

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12099036/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/12099036/ Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:52:09 PST
My inspiration for...well...stuff...comes from the not so well known Sempai group [link]

I don't know any of them, and I don't know much of anything about these people, though I wish I could. They started me into the anime world, and in fact, into the world of computers, completely without intending to, simply by catching my interest.

Yay for nostalgia. 8D

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/11644807/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/11644807/ Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:26:48 PST
Opening Credits.........Happy Endings....................Better Than Ezra
Waking Up................I Lost on Jeopardy...............Weird Al
First Day of School....Love Will Leave You Crying...Tenchi Muyo
Falling in Love...........Girls on Film........................Duran Duran
Fight Song................Power of One.......................Sonata Arctica(ooh...it fits 8D)
Breaking Up.............Blurry Eyes..........................The Pillows(so does this...)
Prom.......................When September Ends..........Green Day
Life.........................Pride of Man.........................Quicksilver Messenger Service
Mental Breakdown....Voices in my Head.................Dennis Leary(scary....8b)
Driving Far Away......Teenage Wasteland..............The Who
Flashback.................Warriors Code.....................Dropkick Murphy
Wedding...................Personal Jesus.....................Johnny Cash
Birth of a Child..........Fly like an Eagle..................Steve Miller Band
Final Battle...............Kelas..................................Michiru Oshima
Death Scene.............San Francisco.....................Midichronica
Funeral Song.............Fly The Orient.....................Tricky Woo
Ending Credits...........Seven Deadly Sins..............Flogging Molly


as I said....never again....8D

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/11364912/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/11364912/ Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:19:47 PST
I'm sick of people leaving. People I enjoy seeing work from. People with real talent. Nice people. Or they were. I don't know them except through their art. And now another one is gone. I have so many faves that I can't save all the images. It's a habit that would be nice to get into. It's better than losing everything whenever someone leaves.

Does anybody know if there's a script out there for DA that will automatically save an image if I fav it? That would be awesome. If not, I may have to figure firefox out myself and write it on my own.

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/11310132/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/11310132/ Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:37:21 PST
See, for non-subscribed members like me, there is now a link between 'logout' and your messages that says 'no subscription' and links to the subscription page. Doesn't that seem like they're pushing it a bit? First they had that "Be Generous" button in the old version, and now they have a little link in my way to remind me that I'm not paying for something I don't use.

That's why I'd like to know what, if anything, do subscribers see between the 'logout' button and the messages links. There may well be a useful link there, and the 'no subscription' button is a lazy way of not having to deal with someone not being a subscriber (as a coder, I understand, no complaint there).

But honestly, do they have to keep coming out and poking me with it? I don't have any use for subscriber functions. Thats why I don't subscribe.

When jark "left", we were all worried that they would commercialize this site. With more ads, and a good deal of problems, I hope that they aren't now trying to get more people subscribed by annoyance. I know they would prefer that everybody subscribe, but come on. Stop bugging people about it. If they wanted to, they would. Next thing you know, they'll be only letting users be here if they subscribe.

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10809600/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10809600/ Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:50:12 PST This, as you may know, is about the newest feature here at deviantArt. It is, simply put, the ability to choose what art, by deviant, type, catagory, etc, appears on your version of the front page. While this is a nifty little thing, it does pose some problems. The first, of course, is the discrimination against certain types. I know people are allowed to have their own opinions, and like what they like, but this allows for people to completely exclude, for example, the much discriminated against anime section. (this also applies to the literature section)

Once again, I know that people are allowed to like what they like, but that isn't an excuse. Let me prove it to you that this is wrong. I am allowed to like whoever I like. I can choose to be with people, or not, at my own discretion. If I choose, then, to be with people only if they are not black, or asian, or something, would that be acceptable? I would hope that your answer is no. People don't have to view anime, but explicitly allowing for the removal of it from the general user experience leaves a great gap.

What if I went around saying that photography isn't art? After all, its made with a machine that does all the image related work, and the picture was never created by the photographer to begin with. I could very easily extend that to really attack photography as an art form. But it simply wouldn't be right. Photography is art. And even if I did feel that way, it would be wrong of DA to go around making it possible for people to discriminate against photography.

Now, before you go off saying that it isn't that bad, take a peek.
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
(names and avatars removed from comments in question to avoid anything...bad)

The next point is whether or not people really need this new feature. Before giving a definative answer, lets see what exactly this feature is.

You can modify the front page of DA to include or exclude just about anything. That means artists, deviations, sections, etc. Well, you can already selectively watch arists that you choose, so that's not really a good point for this new feature. The same holds true for deviations, after all, your favorites section already contains the deviations that you have already chosen. You can browse by section, type, catagory, whatever already. So why do we need to be able to do something that we already can do? The only features offered by this new functionality that aren't already available in some way or another are simply too phenominally specific to really be any kind of feature, and a search would likely obtain very similar results. So what do we have this for, if all its features already existed to begin with?

So.....we have here a feature that isn't really necessary to provide the functionality(as it already existed), but does allow for easier discrimination against specific individuals, deviation catagories, so on. So why?

Or...why not? Would the administration's time not be better spent fixing the bugs? And there are bugs, and bugs and bugs and bugs. My header says that I have 2 messages, even when I have none. I have heard around the water cooler that sometimes, a submitted deviation doesn't show up. Sometimes, watchers are not notified of it. Things just don't work the way they should. Ignoring the fact that the features are made available before funcitonality is tested, should they not concentrate on fixing these bugs before adding additional complication to the system? Speaking as a person who writes code almost daily, usually for the web, I can say that it is usually better to get things working in sections. Get what you have working, then add the new stuff, and make sure it works.

Also, DA is sssssssslllllllllllllooooooooooooowwwwww wwwwwwww. You know what I mean. Sometimes, pages don't even load. The thing actually times out because the servers take too long. It might be a good idea to optimize the functionality of the system here before adding on more stuff that will likely add additional load to the already overloaded servers. The other option is to continually add more and more servers. Either way, something should be done here. This site is just too slow right now.


I'm impressed that you're still reading this.
Well, my point is that this new customization of the front page is unnecessary. I know its neat, but its not neces... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10199020/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10199020/ Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:31:36 PDT





And I am obsessed now with Blackmore's Night...

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10177199/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10177199/ Sun, 24 Sep 2006 21:38:39 PDT
So, who's first on the chopping block?



Excellent comics. Very good drawings as well. Unfortunately, only two colered pics in the gallery, but they are both exceptional. Less than a thousand pageviews. Can't imagine why. Go take a peek.

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10155725/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10155725/ Fri, 22 Sep 2006 19:43:29 PDT [link]

It is probable that you've heard of the DA world's latest political problem. Some suppossedly famous guy got a massive subscription, and has one hell of a special journal feature, for simply being famous(suppossedly).

First of all, I should point out that this guy is famous for some audio related thing. I think he does electronic music. Whatever the case, it isn't visual art. You know. The thing this site is about? He is famous for something unrelated. But he gets special treatment.

Of course I need to mention that there are plenty of people here who should be getting the features that this guy has, before he does. But they don't. Why? They aren't spyed's favorite musician. That's why. The rule from the administration has always been that CSS in journals is a staff only thing. All of a sudden, some guy gets it? That is unfair to people who work hard, and actually pay for their subscriptions.

There are artists here who will bring much more attention to the site than some musician that I've never heard of. They will bring more because they excel in the field that this site is designed to cover. They are talented, skilled, and amazing. He just got here. He hasn't shown us any of that yet. I don't know that he will, either.

But we can't blame him. Sure, he must have accepted the offer, but that can not be our issue here. Our issue is that the administration is giving special treatment to someone who doesn't pay, and hasn't contributed much of anything yet, while giving nothing to people who do pay and contribute.



Now, I told you that so that I could tell you this. A long long time ago, in a land far far away, there was a site. It was run by some awesome people. Then, one day, the not so awesome people in charge kicked out the awesome person who had made the awesome site so awesome. Then, they started doing things that made the people who used the awesome site question its awesomeness.

I'm sure you've figured out what I am referring to. When that happened, somebody, I can't even remember who, was continuing to argue with me for those "not so awesome people." I said that even I could do this better. So far, I have not seen reason to take that back. I still do not.

Currently, I am the project manager for a site being developed for my college. The nature of the site is oddly similar to the nature of this site. Unfortunately, due to the way they want to use it, I can't show you a whole lot about it, though I will show something when we're done.

The point is that once I finish this, I will have the experience required to make something that runs like DA. I don't have the time or the money to make something like this right now, but rest assured, one of my dreams is to do just that. Because this site is going down a bad road, and because there is little in the way of some real alternative, I want to make an art site that will rival this one. It should be pretty easy without DA having jark. One day, one day...

]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10034183/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/10034183/ Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:11:16 PDT
This video, I made a while ago. I don't know much about flash, else I would have uploaded it here, but for now, this will have to do. If for some reason the server goes down, my apologies, and it will be fixed ASAP, though I don't expect any problems. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9960752/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9960752/ Mon, 04 Sep 2006 07:24:38 PDT
(CNN)

I grew up watching him avoid death on his shows. Probably one of the most popular nature guys in the world, I think. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9818898/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9818898/ Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:38:19 PDT
See, the telecom companies charge you for having a line for the internet, right? Yep. $40 a month, but all of the content is supplied by people not related to those telecom companies. So I pay them, for only a connection.

Now, say you run a website. A large art gallery website, for example. You need lines too. You need plenty of them, and they need to be high speed lines. They charge these people too, right? You bet they do. Maybe DA Corp would be kind enough to release how much it paid for simply having high speed lines? And it still pays regularly to keep them connected.

Now, the telecom companies are lobbying in DC now, because they want to stop "free rides." Basically, they say that because they own the lines, and people like deviantArt don't pay them, they get a free ride. But deviantArt does pay them. So no free ride.

Maybe they meant the other end of the line. That would be you. Joe Somebody. If there is a free ride, and it isn't going to the websites, the only other option is that it goes to people using the websites. So, do you get a free ride? Does $40 a month sound free to you?

So you don't get a free ride, Google, Yahoo, DeviantArt, so on don't get a free ride. So who gets the free ride here? Everyone involved is paying big time.

The goal of the lobbyists is to privatize the internet. Basically, they want to not only provide service, but control what is put through that service. DeviantArt pays them less than SheezyArt? All of a sudden, DA pages take forever, but you see an advertisement while you wait for SheezyArt, which loads nice and quick. You go to Google, and search for Britney Spears. The results are censored. Why? Britney didn't pay up. So you try Ask.com. The site never loads. You get a nice (advertisey looking) page saying that your provider does not offer Ask.com as a primary service site. For this, you will have to upgrade. You get mad, and write a rant email that you send to a friend. Except you don't send it. You can't log in. Turns out that now, you must have your account with your provider, and that all others are not allowed, and they won't let you send a rant like that. It has bad things about them in it. And remember that the whole time, they are not providing the content. They are making you pay them to see something that someone else made without any help from the Telecom industry. What if I sold your art? What if DA sold your art without your permission?

If they succeed, the internet will be like AOL for everyone. Y'all remember AOL? That funny little thing? Told you that the content was not acceptable, had keywords for all the sites that it was close to, and kind of didn't work very well? The internet will be worse than that. Thankfully, if you live outside of the US, then this doesn't affect you.

This is a little story someone wrote about this. It seems farfetched, but it is unfortunately realistic because of the circus that our legal system has become.

Net Neutrality ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9696289/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9696289/ Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:52:24 PDT
EDIT
Glad to see they've discovered the magical AJAX...there are a million places here that it would be good. Good that they now use it... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9409205/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9409205/ Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:15:30 PDT
I agree...which is kind of weird. I usually don't agree with him.

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Israel is in conflict with the Lebanese terrorist organization, Hezbollah. Unfortunately, neither group is targeting military installations. With very little exception, Hezbollah's katyusha rockets are targeting civilian areas in Israel. Hezbollah itself is a terrorist organization and, like many terrorists, they are good at hiding. Their places are mixed with civilian areas, and they do not always have clearly defined locations for Israel to attack. As such, there have been many civilian casualties on both sides.

My position is the same as Israel's. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. It must disarm or disband. The kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers is absolutely unacceptable. The US does not negotiate with terrorists, and Israel should not do so either. Israel can not be blamed for being attacked by Hezbollah, or for the kidnappings, or for many things.

I hate situations like this. In times like these, I don't want to be watching the news. I want to be over there right now. I want to be with people like vaporotem. I hate being resigned to watching helplessly.

Good luck to everyone over there and, if you happen to be over there and you are reading this, keep your head down. Be safe, and be careful. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9270001/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/9270001/ Tue, 04 Jul 2006 10:54:00 PDT
1=>You do not have to support the president to support the country
2=>It's actually better off without him
3=>You do not have to support the war to support the troops
4=>The war (Iraq) was a mistake and is not good for the troops
5=>To all you senators and congressmen: Videogames are not the end of society
6=>The people most fit to rule the world are in barber shops and supermarkets and gas stations
7=>Gobal warming is a natural thing. It is suppossed to happen. We are speeding it up, but with pollution, we need to worry less about global warming, and more about...well...pollution. It is enough of a problem on its own, and solving it will solve the global warming issue as well, without even adressing it. Convenient, isn't it?
8=>Relax more...I command it... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8942338/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8942338/ Thu, 01 Jun 2006 16:24:17 PDT really silent in the immediate future. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8937428/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8937428/ Thu, 01 Jun 2006 06:12:19 PDT
please hold for the following message...

@#$*#%^*$%^$%&%^*$%^@#$^
#$%&*%^*%^*$%&^#@$#$%&^$
(&$$%$%^&$#&#^*^%&^^$$^%^
$%$&*^&*^(&^($^&($%((#((^*@%

pardon my language...
and I was just considering adding a security system too... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8878977/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8878977/ Thu, 25 May 2006 23:13:17 PDT
Some individual people are nice, but as a whole, people today are greedy, selfish, irresponsible, terrible, almost evil. It's a scary thing. Rumors that the president was involved in 9-11...and I can't find any reason that they aren't true. We invade a 2nd world country, while people in Africa are starving, dying, being forced to work for less than they need to survive by rich greedy monsters. Gangs proudly show the heads of people who go against them. Even the US embassy is not always safe. But why help them who need it most? We should be there now, not Iraq. People around the world seem to hate the US, and while it is wrong to assume that we are all like the moron president, I can't blame them. The world is falling apart, and I am an unfortunate witness. I wish I had lived in the times of the Samurai, when honor meant something, and people were good. These days, nobody will be responsible for anything. Are you fat? Sue the food companies! Got cancer? Sue Phillip Morris! Why is it your fault that you made the choices you made? If there's something to be had, even if it may be wrong, why not go for it? I hate that. I hate it.

Our own president doesn't go to military funerals. I can't believe that. These young people, my age, are dying for something stupid that he wanted, but they are donig it. And he won't even show up to a funeral. That's pathetic. I won't serve that. That's why I'm not in the army. I'm not dying for some moron's useless cause only to be forgotten. These people give too much for him to not show up. Good people, too. If only they could switch places. The morons in Washington can die, while the good soldiers can run the place. We'd all be better off. I hate walking around town, seeing stars in the windows (for those of you who don't know, a star on a small banner in a window is a sign that the house had a soldier living in it who died). A house just near mine has two in the window. There's another one two houses away. And what for? We haven't helped anyone yet. We ruined the country, and have failed to fix it so far. We aren't taking oil, so this is expensive. And people are dying. And we have yet to hear the real reason for the war. I hate that.

There are better people in this world than those representing America now. Americans are not so terrible as those in the public eye. People like Vaporatem. I know Israel has a mandatory service rule, but still. Those are the good people of the world. I know she does flash animation for the air force, but the situation in Israel is much different from here in the US. Despite the desk job, anything can happen, and simply being there, and doing whatever, as best as is possible, is more than our own leaders can say for themselves. Another friend of mine served in Cyprus, again because it was mandatory, but still. Just being there. Doing that. It's more than our own president can say he did. The thing I hate the most about the world as it is is that there are some really good people in it, but they are not recognized. It's the greedy who we all hear about. The criminals on the news, the corrupt politicians, warlords, so on. Ever drive by a police station or a fire station, and see purple flags? But then the news has no mention of anyone like that dying? I think it's worthy of mention at least.

I can't stand that this is the way the world is. All the good are forgotten, and the terrible succeed. If you don't believe me...try to think of a really famous...and I mean history book famous...person you can. Who is it? Is it Hitler, or those who fought against him? I only know a few names from that war, and they aren't the names of heroes. You've heard of Napoleon, but can't quite remember whoever stopped his mad conquest. We know all the bad guys, but few of the good ones. What do you thiink, in today's world, will be remembered in a hundred years? 250 years? Not how Clinton did a great job with the economy. Nobody will remember those who did good. But if it is proven that Bush was involved in 9-11, we will remember that. Why? Why is the world that way?

When Ronald Reagan died, the news wouldn't leave it alone. He got more coverage than the pope did on some channels. I cared more for John Paul 2 than for Reagan. Reagan didn't really do a very good job in the white house, and aside from that, he was an actor. His autobiography did terribly, with 30% returned almost immediately. And yet he got all th... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8847758/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8847758/ Mon, 22 May 2006 18:07:56 PDT
First...some information...

Jesus of Nazareth
...was a real person historically. Even if you don't believe that anything in the Bible is of any merit, it is still fact that he existed. What requires faith is not his simple existance, but the not so simple ressurrection from the dead, son of God stuff.

The DaVinci Code
...was intended as a work of fiction. Despite this, people believe too much of it. Why? Because Dan Brown said that while the story itself is fiction, the sources are real, and the information is true. That is absolutely not true by any means. His sources are questionable at best, and his reasoning is not very good. The problem is that to those who do not question the sources, what Brown says in the DaVinci Code seems very believable.

So...here we go. What's the problem with the DaVinci Code?

Quite simple. The information provided and pressed as fact is not. Lets start with the Priory of Sion.

The Priory of Sion is an age old secret organization that dates back all the way to the crucifixion, has the Knights Templar as it's militant arm, and is rumored to be guarding quite a secret. But there is one problem. The Priory of Sion was invented in the '70s by some French guy who wanted to get some public attention by proving himself an heir to a French royal dynasty. It was never what it claimed to be, and that has been proven. All these people they claim to have had...DaVinci, Newton, so on...were spread out all over Europe in a time where covering all that area was hard. It is not possible that the organization could move around that much that quickly with the secrets it suppossedly held. But once again, it never existed anyway.

Sang Rael changed to San Grael. Who? Why? What is this about?

San Grael means Holy Grail essentially. It is what many believe to be the cup Christ used at the last supper. Sang Rael means Royal Blood. This would refer to what Dan Brown is talking about. Problem is that Brown has it backwards. The origional meaning was Holy Grail...not royal blood. It was a misprint by a monk a long time ago. It only occurred in one copy, and everything before it, and everything since, has recorded it as Holy Grail...not royal blood. Just one anomaly, the reason for which is known. Only one space off would make it quite an easy mistake to make. This mistake is not possible in all languages, as those two phrases are not spelled in a similar manner in every language. But in every other language, including those older than this, it is Holy Grail. End of story.

Who's the chick in the Last Supper painting?

Actually, its a guy. John to be more precise. There are many things that must be considered here. First, there is an effeminate apostle, John. Second, DaVinci was painting in the style of his day. Note that Jesus, a jew, had pale skin and long hair. His skin was not likely that color, and the tradition of Jesus's time would imply that he either had short hair, or none at all. This is merely a romantic depiction of what was in DaVinci's head. The romantic aspect of it increases the femininity of the already effeminate John. As for that "V" shape, note that there is also a similar shape between Jesus and the person to his left(our right). Another is visible between the blue and pink/orange dressed apostles on the far right of the image. Yet another is visible between the apostle with the gold shirt and green robe and the apostle with the light blue robe. There is nothing special about this shape between Jesus and John. And the lack of a cup? Remember that Jesus broke the bread and passed it around? Well that would require a large loaf, which is not visible either. Though the table is set, the food is not present, also notice that there is a lot of activity for a quiet meal. This all would imply that the meal has already happened, and that the apostles are reacting to Jesus's news. If the meal is over, that explains where the cup went. It also explains why people are moving around quite a bit.

What else is there? Those are the biggest clues offered, but if you have any questions about anything else, leave a comment, and I will be glad to answer. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8747215/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8747215/ Fri, 12 May 2006 07:21:01 PDT
[link]

Jark speaks again! We are again reminded of the fact that spyed changed what wikipedia said to fit his story. This time, jark has a picture proving it. But of course, people aren't talking about the situation and evidence. The very first reply to the journal is an insult, intended or not.

One of the big problems is that people don't care anymore about what is right. They just want the issue dropped. If someone stole everything you have, would you just drop it? Even if it takes time, what is right is right and must be the way things go. If not, all involved have failed. What is right is for the missing 10% share to be returned to jark. What is right is for him to be in charge of the site. That is how it should be. It isn't like that now, so if we drop it now, we have failed to do what is right.

People believe too many things about this. In such a large community, it is easy to see how misinformation gets out. One thing I have heard is that jark changes his story a lot, while spyed does not. Since when? Jark's story is and was that he was a founder, spyed has given himself a higher importance in that than he actually had, that 10% share of the company was stolen from him, and that he was fired from the company for no legitimate reason. Tell me then what has changed. As for spyed, he doesn't change either. But the real facts are out there. Spyed has made attempts to change those real facts. That is what the picture from jarks journal is about. Wikipedia entries being changed to suit angelo's story, and being done by angelo. Interesting.

This is what people would call a conspiricy theory. I have studied a massive amount of things with respect to conspiricy theories, and what I have noticed is that at the time something like this happens, people don't all believe it. Few believed that oswald was innocent of killing Kennedy, and yet we now know today that he could not have done it. Not everyone on this site believes that spyed stole from jark and snuck his way into a position to remove jark from this site. Wait a few years. Once the court case is settled, and jark's 10% is returned, that will mean that his story was true. Then people will look at this seriously. But I digress.

A while back we all painted yellow over this site to show support for Jark. In the end, this gained recognition of what he has done for the site. Yellow Day did not fix anything. It simply made the administration recognize the deviants, and that Jark was more important that they initially said. That 10% that was stolen has not been returned, and his wrongful termination has not been settled.

People are blaming jark because this issue has affected the community. Why? He didn't steal that 10% from himself. He didn't fire himself for no good reason. He isn't trying to rewrite history to put himself in the spotlight. But people are blaming him anyway. Why are people blaming the victim of an act for not letting it just drop? That is not the way things should be. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8626112/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8626112/ Sat, 29 Apr 2006 23:14:23 PDT ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8544680/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8544680/ Fri, 21 Apr 2006 19:53:56 PDT
When did that happen? And what are people coming to my page for anyhow? I haven't submitted in a while...

Thanks people...whatever your reasons!
]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8496591/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8496591/ Mon, 17 Apr 2006 06:13:11 PDT [link]

It has come to my attention that DA ads, those annoying little things that interrupt browsing if you aren't logged in, appear over people's print pages. I understand that they appear randomly across the general site, but the print area specifically, is a gallery that people pay to have, and use to make sales. I don't like ads in that area, and would prefer to not see that. These interrupt ads have always been annoying, but its even worse that they are covering up people's prints galleries. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8481465/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8481465/ Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:55:51 PDT ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8472857/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8472857/ Fri, 14 Apr 2006 20:00:41 PDT ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8285733/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8285733/ Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:45:31 PST
V for Vendetta is awesome. I reccomend it to everyone.

On the darker side of things, my condolences to the auto racing community. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8242991/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8242991/ Thu, 23 Mar 2006 05:20:22 PST ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8211165/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8211165/ Sun, 19 Mar 2006 20:29:10 PST ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8163064/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8163064/ Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:36:35 PST
==================

Those things have happened, so I may not check in tomorrow or saturday at all. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8102503/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8102503/ Wed, 08 Mar 2006 11:51:11 PST
It's a good reminder of how much we have, and how easy it is to loose it. I can barely imagine what I would do in such a situation. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I won't say anymore, but I reccommend you watch it if you can. Like I said, it's a good reminder of the important things in our reality. Makes you forget all about all the stupid little things that we waste time worrying over. We simplify our lives so much, and spend all our time on stupid things, and we forget what's really important, and, in the end, we never actually lived at all. When the bombs are falling, and there's no way out, you'll forget all about the ferrarri you could almost afford, and, I bet, you'll realize that you never looked at the stars or the sunset, never helped a person out with something, never told her how you feel, can't remember what it feels like to lay in the sun, but it's too late. Don't forget that. It doesn't matter if you have the nicest car on the block, or if your watch really is solid gold, or if you missed an A by 2 points, or if you beat the next level in the game. The things that matter are the people around you, and the short time available to us all. Because there is an end. Everything that happens happens after soemthing else ended. Each time, another moment passes, and it doesn't matter how it was spent, because it won't come back. So I suggest remembering that all the time. Remember to look at the sunset when you're stuck in traffic, instead of worrying about your gas milage. Remember to spend time with your friends, because they could easily not be there a moment after. It doesn't matter what the popular consensus is. Be yourself, because you don't have the time to live someone else's life as well. Just a suggestion from the crazy radical edward. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8043807/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/8043807/ Thu, 02 Mar 2006 05:39:10 PST

The administration(and their lawyers) have finally finished the new submission agreement. More importantly, this time, they actually fixed the problems!

The part that allowed them to subliscence your work, which was the reason we all said that they could sell our work, is still there. Take a look at section 5. I'm not sure why they kept it, but with the addition of section 5, the problem is solved anyway.

For those of you who misunderstood the perfectly legitimate section 3e, they have added the word 'other' in hopes that people might realize, finally, that this section does not take away the rights to your work.

And as far as removal goes, I actually didn't see any problems with the process before. It has been modified to be more convenient, however. And of course the one necessary change has happened. They have contact info(fax#) in the agreement.

So everything is better. Except that jark is still gone, we don't know yet where his missing 10% went, or why, the administration still hasn't told us why he was fired, and more importantly, they still haven't told him. But that aside, this is a good thing to see the agreement finally fixed.



And the beat goes on... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7957037/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7957037/ Mon, 20 Feb 2006 20:34:23 PST Finally have carpet!
server's back up, in case anyone tried it earlier today. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7886695/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7886695/ Mon, 13 Feb 2006 18:19:04 PST [link]

A Kiss For Charity. Check it out. It looks like a good idea. If I were rich, I'd be bidding. If you are, you should consider it. I hope it comes up every year, just in case I have more money someday. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7854411/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7854411/ Fri, 10 Feb 2006 09:19:43 PST [link]

Definately a good sign. And it's expected completion is a week, as opposed to 3 months like last time. And they seem to be legitimately trying to get it right this time. If this all pans out as expected, we will be on the right path. Finally, the administration is realizing that the purpose of a contract is to protect the parties involved in an agreement, and not to give one ultimate power over another. I don't expect perfection. This is, in my mind, their first draft in the right direction, so I expect it to have some flaws, but I also expect huge improvements. This is a very good thing. At least, it could be. So all of you out there considering leaving, waiting for the signal, hold on a moment. Things just might work out. ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7846701/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7846701/ Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:59:37 PST || My journal entries are mirrored ||

I never thought that I would see censorship on this site at such a level. I know some things have to be done, but what the administration is now able to do is terrible.

For those of you who haven't found out yet, the administration has added a new feature to the site. Now, if someone is banned, they aren't just banned. People are blocked from visiting their page. This has been said by the administration to be an important feature. It's purpose is to close out pages with racial slurs and other absolutely inappropriate things. The problem is that it could be used as a means of censorship.

For those of you thinking "they would never do that!", don't forget, there are a lot of things that they would never do, but have forcefully retained permission to do. The entire point of the issue involving the submission agreement is that DA has the right to sell the right to use your work to anyone without even telling you. When asked to impliment a more respectful submission agreement(one without that clause), they spent a few months rewording it. In the end, they never changed anything. Those who yelled and complained around the end of last summer will remember that the administration banned a lot of deviants as a form of censorship. This was unacceptable. It is something that they would never have done, but they did.

The hard part about this particular topic is that the tool is very useful to the administration, and can do a lot of good, so we don't want to have it removed. It does, however, need to be limited in some way. I think it should go into the submission agreement, or some other policy of some kind. I say the submission agreement because it needs to be rewritten anyway, considering nothing that was wrong has been fixed yet.

What I find really interesting is something that supports the idea that they might use this tool to censor anyone who disagrees with them. I can't say whether or not the information is true or not, because I was not there, and I do not know those who made this claim. That said, here's a curveball...

The ability to put such a function as the one I've been talking about into place required the site to go into read only mode. If you were on at the right time, you know what I mean. Some people have reported that, while in read only mode, they could get to anyone's page that they wanted to, except for justthorne's. This would imply that they tested the feature on his page, or that something weird of some kind or another was going on involving his page. [link]

This could all be coincidence, or less than that. I hope that it is really nothing. Despite all that, it is scary to see things like the new function get put into place.

In addition to all that, the administration has not, as of yet, officially recognized the problems with the submission agreement, or the fact that we are unhappy with it.

Again, here are some quotes:

"We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still." - John Stuart Mill

"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion." - Henry Steele Commager

"Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime." - Potter Stuart

"The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error." - John Stuart Mill

"Did you ever hear anyone say, "That work had better be banned because I might read it and it might be very damaging to me?"" - Joseph Henry Jackson

"To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves." - Claude Adrian Helvetius

"Every human being has a right to hear what other wise human beings have spoken to him. It is one of the Rights of Men; a very cruel injustice if you deny it to a man!" - Thomas Carlyle

"The populist authoritarianism that is the downside of political correctness means that anyone, sometimes it seems like everyone, can proclaim their grief and have it acknowledged. The victim culture, every sufferer grasping fo... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7836939/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7836939/ Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:42:08 PST
First and foremost, lets not forget what I'm going to yell about. Because yelling with no point usually has something to do with alcohol, and I want to sound coherent.
Time Has Come
DA is BROKEN
Parsing the old Agreement


Every war has a purpose
Because sly tactics appear to have been used in the submission agreement, we thought that those in charge of DA might have had ill intentions towards our artwork.

They said that that wasn't possible.
We explained how it was possible.
They said that they 'would never do anything like that'.
We said that we needed to cover our asses just as much as they did.
They relented, and agreed to revise the submission agreement.
We wait. Patiently.
The new agreement comes out. It was reworded, not rewritten. The same problems remain.

We have been completely disrespected by the corporation. It's members act like dictators. They ignore the problems, ban the complainers, pretend to be working for us, and wind up continuing all the problems. I am not saying that they want to steal/sell our art. But if they don't, then why do they so strongly force that ability to remain in the submission agreement? Why would you need a car if not to drive, a gun if not to shoot, or a bed if not to sleep? Some people collect things, but bad agreements are not popular, to the best of my knowledge.

Every war has opposing sides

The administration has set itself apart from the rest of the community by failing to care for it properly. The rest of the community has been disrespected by them. It is us vs them now. We have been trying to avoid us vs them for a long time. The issues began soon after I joined. We have constantly advocated patience, trust, and calm conversation. We wanted to be on their side, and to have them on ours, and talk out our problems. They failed to try for that. They have chosen to oppose us. We have no choice left but to consider them, and consider us, and consider each as opposing sides of a long drawn-out argument.

Every war has protestors

There are people who will oppose this that have nothing to do with the administration. They do so for many reasons. Some people fear change, while others just don't like to get involved. Most, I think, just don't like watching these things happen to the community. Unfortunately, inaction will only make problems worse. A problem doesn't get fixed by waiting for someone else to do it. I really do not want anything bad to happen to this site, but if the administration has no respect for the artists, and continues to act the way they have been recently, it will ruin the community. If this is the case, then I don't want to be here, after that. If we can't get them to work for the community instead of against it, then there is nothing to stay here.

No war is the end of time

This site will continue after this all blows over. The question is whether or not we want to be here. Images are nothing more than files, zeros and ones. Anyone can make a website. There is no one reason for staying here, except the community. Without a community, there is nothing to be seen here except zeros and ones. If, at any point, this site gets reduced to images, and pageviews, zeros and ones, then I will cease to be here. If I have the ability, I will, then, create somewhere for all those who like what this site used to have to go to. I can be more certain of the operations when I am in charge of them. If that ever happens, I don't know...I don't want that to happen. I really want things to be fixed. I want to stay here. But I will not let that stop me from leaving if the administration really does destroy this site. If that ever does happen, if I stop showing up, and if you stop showing up, give me a way to contact you. If the worst happens, then I will do my best to make an alternative, and I'll be sure to let you all know. That said, there is still hope. I can't say how much, but I won't be going anywhere just yet.

Every war has tactics

If you are still reading, then you probably agree with me. If you don't, then I admire your patience. Anyway, as I've been saying, we tried time and again to get things fixed. We were fairly peaceful about it, but that didn't work. It is time, now, for us to be excessively violent(look away kiddies). We need to do something. We need to be active. Passively waiting this out will result in the same change as it has for the past year.

Start http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7822534/ Mon, 06 Feb 2006 20:07:24 PST
It's funny how music inspires so many people. I can think so much more clearly when I am listening to music. That said, I have a very diverse collection of music, ranging from modern pop/rock to classical and orchestral pieces, all on one giant playlist that could go for days without repeating.

When I thought to write this, it was when the song 'Dead to the World' (Nightwish) played. It was followed by the 'Don't Fear The Reaper' (Blue Oyster Cult). It got me thinking, which I do occasionally. I take a lot of things and interperet them in unusual ways. I take legal stuff as it should be, because that's how it was meant to be, and anything else would be incorrect, but with regards to things like which song happens to randomly play, I take in a different way. Perhaps our cause is dead in the world of the administration. It has been argued, to no solution, and people are too sick of it to rise up again and again. Just like in church, if you have to stand up again and again and again, when you finally go home, you sit down for a while, and you don't feel like getting up again.

People are too tired of dealing with the garbage, and tired of being treated badly by the administration. I disagreed with much of what CageyButterfly said, but there are important issues there. The administration and senior members insulted instead of listening. I distinctly remember the phrase "hysterical and annoying" by spinegrinder. They could have fixed a misunderstanding, but they made it worse. Regardless of the real correct answer, there is an important point to be made. Even if cagey was dead wrong(I don't think she was dead wrong), they still should have calmly explained things, found out the root of the problem, and tryed to find a way to solve it all, and make the customer happy. As a community, the administration has been terrible recently(if more than a year is recent), but as a company, they have been no better. I don't like the argument that DA is too much of a company and not enough of a community. I think the administration is doing a poor job at both. A company oriented administration would say that the customer is [almost] always right, and a community oriented administration would seek to help its members. Insulting, banning, ignoring, and thus insulting more are making this exponentially worse.

I am not ready to abandon DeviantArt yet. We can still fix this, but it requires people to spend less time trying to look like they are trying, and more time trying to fix it. If the administration will not yield, then all hope is lost. No matter how strong this community is, it will not hold forever if the administration continues its current methods. There is absolutely no reason to fix the submission agreement so that it protects the artists unless the administration has something underhanded planned or currently going on; none whatsoever. So, then, why not fix it? Here is the problem.

From where I am sitting, the problems and the solutions are painfully obvious, but nobody in the administration seems to care. The agreement must be made to protect the artists just as much as the company. The administration needs to immediately stop treating the artists like garbage. This is an absolute.

If the administration can't do what it must to sustain the communal quality of this site, protect the company AND the artists, and act with some kind of respect and honor, then there is no saving DeviantArt. It will slowly cease to be an awesome site where people can go to show the world what they can do, or improve in that, and it will become just another annoying image warehousing site, and possibly another failed dot com. There are other art gallery style sites out there. None of them were ever as awesome as DA, but some of them have a much better quality to them than DA as of late. Eventually, there will be a site that might rival DA. Probably created by an old member here who wanted to make something as awesome as DA, but without all the problems we've been having to deal with. If I am able, and if the administration refuses to try for DA, it may well be me who does that. I have the knowledge. I just don't have the $$ required to start something like that up. But one day, maybe...that is, if DA can't fix itself. If the administration does fix all this, then there is no possible rival. The latter of the two songs that I mentioned was 'Dont Fear The Reaper'. Perhaps, if the administration can't fix this, then it's downfall will give rise to something better. If so, then maybe it will all be alright.

Unfortunately, few people read what I write. Even fewer have ever even he... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7809478/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7809478/ Sun, 05 Feb 2006 13:23:37 PST
Problems=======================================
I have consistantly disagreed with CageyButterfly on the deviantMobile issue, but there is a valid point behind it all. DeviantMobile itself is not a problem, new technology is a great thing, and it was all acceptable by the terms of the submission agreement. The problem is that it represents a pattern. DA didn't have to tell anyone anything about deviantMobile. They didn't need permission. According to the agreement, of course. It does seem as though deviantMobile wasn't overt enough. I knew about it. But not from the email they sent 'everyone'. I knew because people talk. There wasn't much in the way of official information releases, though. This pattern follows into other areas.

DA can use your work for its own advertising without your permission, and even without your knowledge. They did say that they 'would never do something like that', but the contract disagrees. The contract(submission agreement) says that they can. The point of this is that we need the contract to represent both sides. If they can't have blind trust in us, then how can we blindly trust them? We need a contract to protect us from them just as much as they need to protect themselves from us. If they 'would never' use our stuff without asking first, then it should go in the contract.

Section 3 part D of the agreement allows DA to give the rights it has to anyone else. DA can show your work without paying you. This isn't a problem, because that is the point of the site. Them showing your work is a service to you. The problem would arise if DA sold that right to a 3rd party. Sure, you still own your work, but some 3rd party now has the right to display it and modify it just as DA can. And they don't have to tell you a thing. This is another thing that they 'would never do', but the submission agreement doesn't say that. If they would never do that, then they should say so in the contract.

So be thankful for section 5. It doesn't really cover everything, but it is a good thing to have.

Misconceptions=================================

I have seen a lot of people get worried over things that are not really problems at all, simply because they misunderstood the agreement. So here are some clarifications.

The appearance of the word 'perpetual' has made some people think that even if they terminate the agreement, DA still has rights to certain things in it. This is not true. The point of using 'perpetual' in the agreement is to say, basically, that the contract never expires. The result is that the only way to stop the conditions in the agreement is for either DA or the artist to terminate it. And that kills everything in it.

to display, copy, reproduce, exhibit, publicly perform, broadcast, rebroadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute through any electronic means (including analog and digital) or other means, and electronically or otherwise publish any or all of the Artist Materials, including any part of them, and to include them in compilations for publication, by any and all means and media now known or not yet known or invented ;
DA needs the right to 'copy, reproduce, exhibit, publicly perform, broadcast, rebroadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute through any electronic means' in order to be able to show your stuff on the site. The 'any part of them' and 'include them in compilations' parts allow da to use thumnails. If they use thumbnails, then they can fit a lot of them on a page. Take a look at the DA main page for a moment. It is a compilation. It includes thumnails of works by multiple artists all on the same page.

Artist acknowledges that Artist will not have any right, title, or interest in any materials with which Artist Materials may be combined or into which all or any portion of Artist Materials may be incorporated..
When you view your work, you don't see your image alone. It is surrounded by the DA site, which includes other artists thumbnails, DA images, the DA site itself, and other things that aren't yours. This simply says that you don't own any of that stuff simply because your work appeared near it.

At the bottom, DA has a section that mentions the survival of certain sections of the agreement. This does not mean that DA can still use your stuff after you end the contract. The sections referred to are about protecting deviant art from...stuff. They aren't about your works.
... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7785372/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7785372/ Thu, 02 Feb 2006 20:55:57 PST
That said...
Do you guys prefer to watch them put the needle in, or look away?

(I watch...I don't like someone I can't see sticking me with needles. If I can see, I can be ready for it.) ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7770437/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7770437/ Wed, 01 Feb 2006 11:40:07 PST What do y'all think about the army reserves? I've been approached and asked to join. I took a test, and appearently scored very high, so they want me in. They offered me a considerably better salary than my current job. Despite all this, I don't currently intend to join. I just don't see what I want in it. I don't really know how else to explain it. But I'm not really sure about stuff. I can barely afford college with my current job, though, I suppose, I have a few good options...

Anything to say? Especially if you've done it yourself... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7731875/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7731875/ Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:47:44 PST
# to prepare and encode Artist Materials or any part of them for digital or analog transmission, manipulation and exhibition in any format and by any means now known or not yet known or invented;

So they can change the image? Acutally, no. This allows them to transfer the image to your computer. It also allows them to show your image. Imagine if they couldn't display your deviations. That would be bad. They can also resize the image(for the zoomed out version). The last part simply means that they might use a different method for resizing your image that works faster, or that they might send the image across the net using a not yet invented communications protocol.

to display, copy, reproduce, exhibit, publicly perform, broadcast, rebroadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute through any electronic means (including analog and digital) or other means, and electronically or otherwise publish any or all of the Artist Materials, including any part of them, and to include them in compilations for publication, by any and all means and media now known or not yet known or invented

Obviously, DA has to be able to "display, copy, exhibit, publicly inform, broadcast, rebroadcast, transmit, retransmit, and/or otherwise distribute" your image, or else people would not be able to see your deviations. The reproduce part addresses the fact that the on screen image can be interpereted as a reproduction, and also that they need to tangibly reproduce your work if you get a prints account.

to modify, adapt, change or otherwise alter the Artist Materials (e.g., change the size) and use the Artist Materials as described in Section 3(b)

They can resize, and also they are technically allowed to change the image format. This could be better written.

the right to sublicense to any other person or company any of the licensed rights in the Artist Materials, or any part of them, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

They could hire another company to run DA, which would require the other company having the same rights to your work as DA itself does. This is unnecessary, and should be reconsidered/rewritten, or removed.

Artist acknowledges that Artist will not have any right, title, or interest in any materials with which Artist Materials may be combined or into which all or any portion of Artist Materials may be incorporated..

You don't own the page layout of DA, and you don't own the deviations that appeared near yours in a search.

During the Term, deviantART's licenses under this Agreement include the right to use any part of the Artist Materials in the promotion,advertising or marketing of the DeviantART Sites.

They continually say "but we would never do this." I say, "Then you don't need the right to do it." This needs to be removed. To quote justthorne, 'we have to make like Bill Gates is going to buy you out tomorrow, and then we'd have him to deal with', only he might not be so nice. If you won't do it, and if you think it's a bad idea to have such policy, then don't have it. Remove it. And I don't care what you personally would never ever do.

Limitation Of Rights The rights and licenses granted to deviantART under sections 3 and 4 of this Agreement require deviantART to obtain Artist consent before deviantART makes any commercial agreement with anyone else to separately buy, license, re-sell or re-publish or commercially use any Artist Materials not in association with deviantART but as an individual work of art in isolation from any other works. No additional consent is required for any other licensed uses under this Agreement of Artist Materials either as part of the deviantART Site(s) or in connection with the distribution of content groups from the deviantART Site(s) and/or for uses of the Artist Materials made at the discretion of a visitor to the deviantART Site(s) or other users under agreements with deviantART. deviantART will contact Artist in writing about any individual commercial uses of Artist Materials instigated by deviantART.

I still say that DA should only use 'artist materials' on site. ANYTHING else should be with artists permission ONLY.

The last two were the origional source of the controversy. This is all taken from the current submission agreement that you would see if you clicked 'submit' today. Despite work to reform the agreement, the problematic areas have not been fixed. The problem was DA's ability to use our stuff off site and, concievably, turn a profit from it, without us getting anything from it, or even knowing a... ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7679869/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7679869/ Sun, 22 Jan 2006 20:00:40 PST
To register as a member of the Service or purchase products, you must be 18 years or lawfully permitted to enter into and form contracts under applicable law. In no event may minors submit Content to the Service. You agree that the information that you provide to us upon registration, at the time of purchase, and at all other times will be true, accurate, current and complete. You also agree that you will ensure that this information is kept accurate and up to date at all times. This is especially important with respect to your email address, since that is the primary way in which we will communicate with you about your account and your orders.

Many people are taking this as saying that all DA members must be over 18 years of age. This is not true. If you are under 18, you can stay, join, get a print account, and do all the other stuff you already do. So then, if minors can't submit to this, but you must submit to join, what does it mean, if not that? For that, lets cut it down a bit...to the relevant part:

To register as a member of the Service or purchase products, you must be 18 years or lawfully permitted to enter into and form contracts under applicable law. In no event may minors submit Content to the Service.

Here's the background on this, and the real reason why this is here.

In the US, a minor is a person under the age of 18. A minor is not legally able to own anything, agree to anything, or sell or buy anything. That's why you can't have a bank account without your parents' names being on it. That's why you can't get a piercing without a parent signing the forms. So, then, how does that relate to us? Well...

DeviantArt needs, for its own legal protection, a way to prove that it is doing 'as much as it can' to prevent minors being unknowingly or unwillingly exposed to mature or objectionable content without the consent of a parent. So this clause really says that minors can't join without parental consent. That's the "or lawfully permitted" part.

I like DA, overall. I hate many aspects of certain things with a passion, but undesirable elements will develop in any society. So I wouldn't want to see DA go down because some kid saw something and his parents sued, when such a thing can be easily prevented. Though it would be easier to understand if differently worded, the Deviant Art ToS does not prevent minors from joining. Please, if you see anyone who trys to claim otherwise, link them to this page.

Quotes:
"In the relations of a weak Government and a rebellious people there comes a time when every act of the authorities exasperates the masses, and every refusal to act excites their contempt." - John Reed

"When the wind blows, wonderful things happen!" - Ranma 1/2

"We are usually convinced more easily by reasons we have found ourselves than by those which have occurred to others." - Blaise Pascal ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7647703/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7647703/ Thu, 19 Jan 2006 11:36:43 PST
[link]

Spread this around. I agree with this person on everything. If well known, this would be a good way to fight against art theft, so, once again,

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[link] ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7636093/ http://Ernest-Blofeld.deviantart.com/journal/7636093/ Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:27:27 PST
[link] ]]> ~Ernest-Blofeld