Not from the submitting (if I should get around to doing anything worth submitting that is), but from daily grind on here. I'm so tired of the fact that there's always someone complaining about something or other, but everyone waits for someone else to do something. Or if they do something, it ends in founding a group that they say will be oh so different but turns out to be another submit-your-piece-here one.

I'm usually a very positive person, I try to talk and discuss everything with everyone, from the usual "hey I'm sorry I cannot vote yes on this because there are credits missing" (during a group submission process) over trying to talk some sense into people who think if two different people use the same stock and have a similar idea, one just *has* to have copied that from the other to arguing for being more relaxed on the endless "oh this is soooo uncreative and boring" elitist bullshit that is going around again.

Turns out, it's all got for nothing, much like talking to a freaking wall.

Haters gonna hate but they won't even restrict it to their own journals and groups any more where I can safely ignore it. No, they have to come to my group (without even being a member to begin with) and try to stir up a shitstorm on our frontpage about some alledged theft - no actual proof, just some bullshit about moral high ground and yadda yadda blah. For fuck's sake, if you think using one of the all time faves model stock and pretty much all you do is put it on a new background, then you don't get to claim this as your original idea and if someone else does something very similar, you should not get upset. Even if the idea was "stolen", which is in my book pretty despicable as there is a line between being inspired and just copying someone's idea, you can't do shit about it. From a legal point of view, you can't copyright an idea, and as long as the images are freely available and the person doing the copying actually does the work themselves (and isn't actually using your manip as a starting point) they are technically not doing anything illegal. So if you are just mad that someone was able to copy "your stuff" so easily, then maybe you should start using stock you need to pay for or (better even) create manips that consist of more than a foreground, a background and some brushes. And steer clear of the premades. I mean honestly: you wonder why it looks the same?! Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't do a simple manip just cos someone might have the same idea, screw that! I say do what you like doing, but don't throw a hissy fit if it's one in a million.

And then there's those who come to the group's poll where the latest manips challenges are being voted on and go all "oh this time they all look alike, it's so uncreative" in plain sight of everyone. They are called challenges because they are not a contest, there's nothing to win but some exclusive stock from me and a feature. It's no big deal because I didn't want a big deal, I wanted it to be fun and inclusive for everyone, no matter what skill level. And I wanted it to be a way to get around your artist's block by being given some stock which you can use exclusively (i.e. without searching for more stuff) if you like - of course you can get hella creative, too, with either challenging yourself to use all of the 8 images given (2 are required) or by trying to create something less obvious with the stock. But geeeez, you do not have to. So, this time, it was a lot of images of a hooded figure in a cave. So what? If they had fun manipping, then the purpose of the challenge is fullfilled. Not every damn manip you do has to be the next Picasso. Mine aren't either. And yet, I haven't heard anyone complain about me being uncreative so far. But I ask you, what was so creative in my scarecrow in the cornfield manip? Or my fan art for True Blood and Game of Thrones? Nothing! And yet, if others do the same, they get put down for it. That's when I just want to shout at those elitist idiots to get over themselves.

Thing is, I'm so fucking tired of pointing these things out. Each time it ends in a shitstorm. Each time it ends with nothing gained. And each time I think that if I want to get upset, I can just stay at work. dA is supposed to be my hobby. Not a place where I don't get a chance to not get involved in bullshit like the things above. Great community spirit folks, just fucking great. Let and let live is just not on the agenda these days, no matter how hard you try to keep yourself away from dArama. I thought it would get better after I hung up my hat (i.e. after I stopped being a community volunteer for the manips gallery), because I thought maybe it was just me and that feeling you get when you're so ever-present here. But I was wrong. Almost everyone here always shouts for more community spirit, for more contests, challenges, groups, places to be and be seen... but rarely anyone is willing to actually put some work in. It mostly results in a thousand groups that already have the idea in their name that they are so much better than everyone and that they won't accept all art, but then, if I look through their gallery, it's the same always. Because oh my goodness, group xy rejected my art! they're evil! So they end up taking everything. Or they end up with double standards. I have had work of mine accepted into those "elite groups" that I personally had expected to get turned down. Is it my pageviews? Is it my senior tick? Is it the fact that I used to be CV? Whatever it is, I don't care for being treated differently for it.

And lastly, my pet peeve: "no one is willing to share their techniques!" and the person saying it can be considered pretty good already. So you say "why don't you go ahead and share some of your techniques for starters? Write a tut or maybe start with a walkthrough?". "Ohhhh," they answer then, "but I don't think I have all that much to share and besides, I don't have the time to write a tut. But if someone asks me, I always tell them how I do stuff." Ah. Ok. Just great. So let me get this straight: you expect others to give freely without having to ask, but you yourself, you don't have time for that?!

Well, point of this rant is: I had to get it off my chest.  Don't bother commenting, I'm most likely not going to answer. As I said, I'm tired of this crap and I'm taking a break from it. I'm just not so good at keeping my mouth shut, so i thought I'd explode in my own journal and not on someone else's page or group or whatever.

Have a nice summer, see you later.
-J