Any Active Deviantart Users? What Happened?

[Praelude]

Hey so, I hope this is the right place to put this.

So, I'm sure that veteran DA users and even newer ones can attest to this, but is the popular art sharing site now sinking in inactive dust? I've noticed that back then, getting well known was fairly easy. There were more people, and people
were willing to stop and comment on artwork, or drop y a profile page.

What's happening? There's a drastic decrease in player/player support. There are less motivated artists and more of the type that, and I hate to say it, going to drastic measures to get noticed [Hence threatening to do things not worth a simple fave or watch.]

If there is anyone out around here that would like support, I'm also here. It saddens me to see so many discouraged over the concept that the amount of watchers measures how great one can become.
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[Jango_Fett]

Well there was that scare where people thought dA was selling their art to Shirt companies, the whole 'Core' membership fiasco, and the fact that, well, they don't care about art thieves.

no seriously they said that in an announcement, made a bunch of people watermark their stuff and leave.
Some have come back(Mainly because dA is a good place to make money), but a lot of them are still gone.

Another reason for this I believe is that the Blocking system is complete and utter trash.
I know people who have tried and failed to keep stalkers out of their lives on that site, because the blockee can still see, and favorite pieces if I'm not mistaken.

Personally, I think it was hard enough to get watchers back then, but now it's pretty difficult.
You have to find a niche in order to 'become famous', then you gotta keep them, not make them angry, keep the sheep tended to and pleased.

I don't really know if it's gotten harder because more people are gone, but I kind of think it's because the amount of people is more dense and less vast, so you have to compete in this sea of people who draw things just like you, and you have to fight and claw just to get a single second in the sun.

[Praelude]

Well there was that scare where people thought dA was selling their art to Shirt companies, the whole 'Core' membership fiasco, and the fact that, well, they don't care about art thieves.

no seriously they said that in an announcement, made a bunch of people watermark their stuff and leave.
Some have come back(Mainly because dA is a good place to make money), but a lot of them are still gone.

Another reason for this I believe is that the Blocking system is complete and utter trash.
I know people who have tried and failed to keep stalkers out of their lives on that site, because the blockee can still see, and favorite pieces if I'm not mistaken.

Personally, I think it was hard enough to get watchers back then, but now it's pretty difficult.
You have to find a niche in order to 'become famous', then you gotta keep them, not make them angry, keep the sheep tended to and pleased.

I don't really know if it's gotten harder because more people are gone, but I kind of think it's because the amount of people is more dense and less vast, so you have to compete in this sea of people who draw things just like you, and you have to fight and claw just to get a single second in the sun.

I agree, but didn't want to say it. About people copying their styles from others in hopes of getting somewhere.At first I really didn't notice, but now I see more people doing the same style constantly without even attempting to give it a percent of their twist. It's sad.

As  for the DA staff and the notices, wow. This is the first time I'm hearing about this, but I'm not surprised. 
Would you know of an ideal art site that still has dignity?

[WolfQueen]

deviantart has been the cesspool of bad fanart and fetishes, and it will always will be. the staff is trying their hardest to make their site more professional and up-to-date, but that label will never go away. sure, there is a huge amount of amazing, inspiring artwork but for every professional piece there will always be a pile of poorly drawn artwork of a video game character. no offense to any beginning artist but i'm just being honest.
because of this, people will find their clique and watch these professional artists and stick to it. they're too afraid of what is posted 60-70% of the time. deviantart is also an enormous site with millions of users. these are some of the reasons why it's so hard to get noticed if you draw your own stuff. you have to semi to fully copy some popular artist style, draw fanart of the latest cartoon or game or pretty dogs, and soon enough your audience will grow. this is mostly the case. there are some instances when original artists become popular, but they will soon be copied by others who want to be like them.

i've been on deviantart for many years now and i'm just starting to post my art. i usually draw anthros and stuff, so i got a free ticket. the thing is, i usually draw my own characters and i'm trying to get my own style. i don't post once a day ether, so it will take a long time for people to notice me. on my old account i only had 130 watchers, and most of them didn't even notice me after they clicked that watch button. this is probably due to me not posting much and my art was mediocre in the past. most of the people who watch my new account are my friends. this doesn't really bother me like it used to because i can always get watchers at any time, but with the state of the site now, i'm kind of indifferent.

i can agree that deviantart is much more inactive than it was. i noticed this starting in 2012. i believe this was around when the beloved staff members were ether leaving or getting fired (eg. jark), and things started to change in a different way. the staff was focusing on the revenue being generated by the site, and the community started to become less of a priority to them. many problems were showing up and it annoyed people. recent things such as the change in logo, the inflation of premium membership (now "core"), and them basically saying that the art theft on the site was not their problem (unless it was a legal issue) started to make people leave. but the main reason why people are leaving is because this site is slowly dying, mainly due to the staff. deviantart now has an eerie, empty feeling to it.

there are other sites, but most of what i know are furry based or have a large furry community. that is, i wouldn't recommend it to minors under 16 (most having a mature filter but ya know).

this post is probably confusing. i'm stressing about the work i have to do. i'll edit this if when i get done if necessary.