Well, the Twaterators (Moderators) of Deviant Art have done it again. This time, the artist known as 14-bis/airaf has been permenantly banned for violations. Obviously, I don't have any specifics, but it seems apparent via journals of Deviants in touch with 14-bis that the artist, known for hosting various art jams, including the famous "playtoon" covers, was retroactively banned for past violations and for the sales of his Zip File adult packages. (none of which, incidentally were ever posted on the site as anything more than highly censored sketches) the current art jam didn't even have anything racey, it was an interesting jam of Franco-Belgium cartoons!

It doesn't matter the content of his stuff, of course; what matters is the crusading moderators and their foot-soldier army of trolls have driven another immensely talented artist of the site for posting images that, if done in photograph ala would not only not be against the rules, but would probably be Daily Masturbations (which is what half of them are anyway, many of the nudes posted on the DD channel are more provocative than anything posted by 14-bis) Incidentally, go look at CosplayDeviant's art. Its ALL of actors who the operator freely admits are posed in pornographic poses on their own pay site linked directly from DA, and whom are portraying under age characters from series such as teen titans, naruto, dragonball, etc. yet it is still thriving. This is somehow different from fan art artists provocative inks how?!

I will AGAIN repost the supposed rules violation used to take down so many fan artists in all its hipocrisy

FAQ #248: Are there restrictions on artworks showing children or teenagers (fictional or otherwise)?

"# • Fan art concerning characters that are considered underage minors or children in their original context are subjected to several restrictions which mirror the restrictions in place for photographic submissions and in addition may be held to the following restrictions listed here;

# • Characters who are underage in their original context may not be depicted with "enhanced" breasts, buttocks, or genital areas.

# • Attempts to portray a fictional underage or child character as an "adult" in order to avoid these restrictions will be subjected to close scrutiny by staff. Such claims will be considered void in any case where the staff deems that significant and telling changes of the original underage character design were not attempted or that such efforts were inadequate.

# • Characters which have been portrayed as a range of ages in their original media will be classified as underage or not based upon the youngest portrayal as well as their average age over the series."

You'll note that these restrictions say nothing about swimsuits, clothing, etc. Nor do they BAN adulterated fan art.(characters made into adults via fan art) Yet, more often than not, this is the type of art removed. Art of characters MADE adult in art, or of characters who ARE ADULT through most of the runs of their series (see Teen Titans DC Comics / Warner Brothers, where the characters STARTED in their late teens and whom are all currently either 18 or older in print)

Additionally, the referenced photo rules in the above FAQ
FAQ #249: Are there restrictions on photographs of teenagers or children?

"••May not be photographed in any clearly sexual or alluring pose.
•••This applies for both clothed and unclothed photographs."

So, who gets to decide what is or is not a "clearly sexual or provocative pose?" I'll give you three guesses, the first two don't count, and the answer isn't you, me, or manny, moe, or jack. And Who gets to decide what is or is not "significant and telling changes of the original underage character?" The same person who is not you, me, manny, moe, or jack.

I can't help but notice that any time a fan art artist is banned, or his/her works are deleted, 1.) these rules have been very recently tweaked (so the mods can play CYA) and 2.) many MANY of the deleted artists are not paying DA subscribers. (14-bis was)

14-bis was an important community member. And while I my not have agreed with everything he said or did on his account, I respected and appreciated the ways in which he engaged his fanbase, posted his own gorgeous artwork, and encouraged a community of fan artists long before DA's current pimping of "groups" which is apparently just an advertising schill.

So, Moderators. Here it is.

Stop with the double and triple fucking standards.
* STOP referring to "Rules" as "FAQs." They're either Rules which are enforced, or they are voluntary suggestions, they are NOT interchangeable on a whim.
* STOP applying them on a personally biased basis. Start enforcing them ACROSS THE BOARD on both digital/ink art and photographs. This includes CLEARLY DEFINING terms such as adult, sexual, pornographic, and provocative using legally accepted means. Currently, the line between Pornographic and Nude and Fetish DOESN'T exist.
:FAQ565:
Again, it's not us who get to determine this, and the moderator gets to play the favorite game with these nebulous FAQ's. You Moderators have a category for FETISH art and for NUDES, yet your own policies specifically prohibit "Adult oriented (sexual) toys." yet a ball gag is not a sex toy? Nor is a fake riding crop, a gimp mask, or a woman wrapped up in shibari ropes?!
* START mandating legally verifiable information on the ages of flesh-and-blood models in any nude or fetish category. I have NEVER seen a release form or gaurantee of models being "legal" on this site. How am I to know I'm not looking at child porn on your own Daily Deviations channel every time a nude is posted.
* Further, STOP claiming cartoon characters in sexual poses are somehow subversive, while pictures of women and men in shibari, leather bondage gear, etc, in the exact same context, is high art. ART IS ART no matter its media. Quit allowing a few snobs who think fan art is not art, or cartoon art (non-fan art) is not at simply because they think its for kids.
* START trusting the Mature Content Filter option. Rarely have I come across an art that is later to be banned which is not already flagged for only adult viewing. If I'm an adult, I should be able to look at sexy things. if I'm not an adult, and have lied on your signup form, ban me and not the artist I am looking at.
* STOP using the claim that you don't have the staff. If you don't have the personnel to enforce your own rules, HIRE OR APPOINT MORE. Don't even TRY to tell us that this is still a volunteer driven site, given all the recent corporate tie-ins and the large number of paying users. HIRE or APPOINT MORE PEOPLE.
* STOP relying on the reports of "trolls." If someone is spending more time submitting policy violations (not including art theft of course) than they are faving or posting comments, THEY should be the one's being banned. It should not be up to the fan community to deal with harassment from people like the now (supposedly) banned SlickNickShady who exist only to antagonize others.

These seem like common sense ideas to me... but the staff of Deviant Art want to have it both ways. They want sexy things that bring in users and drive traffic because sex sells, but they also want to claim they don't have those very things when courting sponsors, advertisers, and the like because piety sells. Admit that this is still "Deviant Art" where you will find some objectionable stuff, or change the name to something that reflects what it is becoming, like "Community Art" or more accurately "Moderator Art."

::edit::

firstly, posted this IM session WITH 14-bis [link]

oh, and other Deviants, please feel free to pass my statements along and reference me (acurately please)

and moderators, I would love it if you wold ban me for voicing my opinions on your own provided journaling service.