DailyLitDeviations

Many comments have been made, many people have hauled off and jumped and are now wondering what is really going on, many tears have been cried (at least by me cuz y'all--y'all are mean. Enough said about that, it doesn't matter. I wish everyone all of the best and more.

I would like to take a few minutes to say two things:
1) Many have come through DLD and been better in this literature community for it. Dedication and hard work helped forward their already progressing talent. Not me, not Will, not Lili or any other running administrator--just dedication and hard work. We have present and former hats, badges and most of all the owners of coveted Daily Deviations; all have come through here and I am damn proud to have been a part of the sacred space they passed through. I'm sure the sentiment is shared by many, many others.
2) I've been checking on this account for the last two years and have not seen any real growth that directly effects the literature community in a positive way. DLD has been doing the same things--rote, yes contributing to the success and exposure of unknown literature (though many of the same people seem to get recurring DLDs including staff members which has ALWAYS been a big no-no in my book) but not furthering its place in the community. No regular and new/exciting contests, no excellent forum management, no group oriented projects to contribute any number of things to the community, no outpouring of support for ongoing projects like FFM, Not-For-Sale, NaPo/NaNo, etc and so on, hell--no daily answering of fricking messages... there were one thousand nine hundred and sixty-two messages in the inbox when I came in to take down an article the other night. Basically admin has been enjoying the benefits of DLD rank and not running the account in the way I and others (especially Lili) worked so hard to lay out. Admin isn't just the fun of suggestions and the hardest of work when you get none and the recognition for being a part of something special--admin is every nook and cranny plus room to grow and give more to the lit community on dA.

That was my plan, that's what I spent near 24/7 doing for more than two years until we finally had a team that could function as a unit. This is all my fault though. MINE. I, in 2 years, have not had the wherewithal to step in and correct the errors, support the running admins as a team player and set it all to rights. My life interfered. My plan to close began to itch at the edges of my mind. DLD became stale and I did nothing but make an executive decision that pissed my most trusted admin off and got bent. Then I hastily--should have stuck with my gut instinct and just took that down and left it alone--posted the history. But no--I told the story as it had been told to me and announced the closing all in one breath. I apologize. There was a better path and I missed it. I only hope to be forgiven by those that seem to be hurt.

More later on how to leave the account sitting so the exposure for all in the past is still there and then there's the issue of points...

“We have art lest we perish of the truth.” –Nietzsche

Final Words

It is with a hesitant mind and a bloated heart that I write this. DailyLitDeviations was something that was formed out of frustration and anger. I suppose I am not surprised to see it go out that way. A young man named Brandon and I were complaining in a private chat room about how little literature was featured on dA and that we were tired of it. We both wrote several emails to the staff only to be ignored like so many quality artists out there. Eventually we knew that we had to do something or explode from frustration. And so DLD was born. I stayed up for 5 or 7 days straight. My wife hated me and my phone bill went through the roof as I was constantly on it with Brandon. I set it up and then started my search for greatness. I found more than I expected to.

Moving forward, I needed help. Brandon did not do much of the running, he was more of an idea guy. I put out an all call for admins and got an overwhelming response. Jamie and Lisa, along with countless others came on board and helped me turn an idea into a community.

A little inside information: I am a paranoid schizophrenic with several other psychiatric disorders. I was not properly medicated and my life and mind were in a constant state of turmoil. I would sleep for days, not sleep for days, not shower or eat, not realize I had another person in my life, I was a mess, but I marched on for a little over 2 years. I had a break and I could not take it anymore. Brandon was gone, so I needed someone to turn it over to. I chose a friend of mine named Caron. She only had it for a minute before she realized it was too much. Lisa then assumed the helm.

I stepped away completely soon thereafter. Lisa ran the account to the best of her ability. It flourished. New articles formed. The community got larger. New people spoke up and found their voices. It was a wonderful time to be a part of the literature community on deviantART. However, Lisa has some things going on in her own head and in her own life. She ultimately could no longer do the day to day things that needed to be done and so Lili stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun.

I tried to come back and help out a time or two, but I was not as stable as my unstable mind led me to believe and ultimately nearly burned that bridge down.

Move on to the present. Lisa held on to the account, but let others run it in her stead. It was putting out what it was supposed to, for the most part, but some of us were not happy. Content was degrading and the account itself was being neglected. I read the articles every day. I was moved less often. When Lisa logged into the account and there were literally thousands of unanswered messages she got more than a little mad. That was not the first straw.

There is the issue of the historical article.

I was contacted several months ago by Shane who asked me to help him get the article together. At the time I was still coming under control and my memory was failing me badly. I told him that it was impossible for me to remember all of that, but he should contact others. He took great pains to do all of that and put together what he thought was the most accurate version of the past. It looked good, but it was not 100% accurate. Not his fault.

Shane was asked to change the article on more than one occasion and he did at least once. Eventually he would no longer change it for whatever reason. I have not spoken to him on the matter and thus do not have the whole story, but I have what I have.

Lisa decided that the article should merely be taken down to avoid any drama and Shane stood his ground stating that if she took the article down he would resign. She took the article down and he resigned. That was the final straw. Lisa then stated historical facts as she knew them and decided this was as good a time for closure, as any would never be good.

It is not the first time the account nearly shut down. There has been a lot of drama over the years. Admins have come and gone and some of them made a huge stink. Where there are people there are problems, but problems need solved and the only ones who can solve them are people. So DailyLitDeviations is gone. I am sorry in some ways. In some ways I knew this would happen someday. Lisa did not consult with me, but she did not have to. She did not have to consult with anyone. I cannot say I would not have done a similar thing, but I cannot say I agree 100% with her decision. I stand by her as a colleague and a friend and I always will.

So now we have a problem. The community is not ready for this end. I understand, but it needs to be accepted. DLD is no more. It is over. It had a great run, but it is time to say goodbye.

The admins of the club/group will be contacted to see where they want to go. The community is welcome to do as they wish, but I will say there will be a new refuge to go to. Please see TheseKrimzonFlames or VertigoArt’s personal journals for more information on that.

I want to thank everyone who has ever been a part of this. Whether you featured someone as an admin, you wrote an article, you suggested a piece or you were featured, we love you and we wish you all well.

This account will remain open. It will be inactive. Please do not send notes to the account as no one will respond to them. You may post comments on the account and some of us will try to check back occasionally and answer you. If you have something you wish to get off your chest contact me privately and we will make it happen.

As a final note, I want to plead with you all to stop attacking Lisa. She is a person, just like you, and it hurts. Don’t be a bully. Don’t sink down. Don’t do to her what you would not want done to you. She is a wonderful person. Without her I would probably be in an institution for quite some time.

With all my love, I will leave to your pens.
VertigoArt

It seems that all of you in need of seeing this tradition go on can be satisfied. I would direct you to the account of TheseKrimzonFlames where you will find links to a new account where his version of DLD will go on in a new and different form.

I am awaiting a journal entry from VertigoArt to post here with his thoughts on our closing of this particular project. It will be posted soonest.

Few know of my own love and time put into this project because few worked night and day alongside me to take care of everything possible from general administration duties to contests, to answering 100s of messages a day and soliciting everywhere possible for all that we needed and more... that is all I have to say about that--those who know, know.

Though nothing I did or said was untrue or unprofessional in my own mind, I do owe the community an apology for the sudden nature of this closing. It has been coming from behind the scenes for some time now and not even the admins were aware. I understand and appreciate all of the love for DLD and the protective, albeit insulting, nature some of you have displayed in defense of DLD. So let this be my apology for taking you all off guard and also my best wishes to the lit projects spawned as a result of this closing.

May all continue to be well and I'll post Will's thoughts asap.

Peace.

Lisa

Please be advised that we are in the process of deciding what and how to do with this account by way of moving on--by "we" I mean myself, VertigoArt, and various seniors/members that are interested in sticking with something DLD or DLD-like. Everyone's responses are being taken into consideration--even the personal attacks made on me are valued opinions. This account owns a number of points and I am considering doling them out to a group of people who would like to start-up a new group in the same vein. A group of people who are concerned with the work of the literature community and not the kudos that go with serving the community. I have heard from some of you expressing an interest in keeping DLD alive, please note me kersee9  if you are interested in an independent, group-owned opportunity to take the basic ideals of DLD and move on. I will have no part in the forward movement except to roll over points and information, especially since I am under the fire of such venomous hate messaging and even fb threats. tsk, tsk.

Also, be advised that this account will sit, not be deactivated, to keep the plethora of fantastic literature and the record of deviants received of DLDs available for all to access.

Thank you to everyone for being so strongly supportive of DLD, please stand by.

Lisa
(kersee9)