what do you guys think about the new browsing system? i only got wind of the controversy like 10 minutes ago.

personally i think it's pretty good that someone is finally doing something about the favorites system. there are so many people on this site and so much exposure for the top favorites that the list became almost entirely unflexible. it was just too locked-in somehow. but then i read `adonihs's journal ( [link] )and i think he has a point too.

but in the end i don't really care all that much. to be honest, the most interesting stuff i ever came across when browsing top favorites was on the 8th or so page, when the amount of favorites per deviation was more like 30. not to be harsh, but i'm just not a fan of naruto fanart or really insanely slick shiny sparkley over-saturated pseudo-photorealistic airbrushed fantasy art.

people are freaking out that really crappy art is getting exposure, citing a very popular but extremely obnoxious animated gif of a stick figure humping the words "your mom" as evidence. due to its front page exposure it gathered literally thousands of favorites. i can't link it because it's been deleted by now due to the fact that it was stolen, which provides an even stronger reason to get pissed off.

however, doesn't that say more about the kind of people here on deviantart than about the system itself? maybe the problem lies with the fact that way too many people here on deviantart will mass-favorite virtually anything they see on the front page regardless of what it is. in which case, forget the browsing system, it never had any value to begin with.

although i have to say, getting exposure on deviantart has made a pretty big difference to me. i get a lot of commissions from people who found my art here, not just from individuals but from companies and professionals. the exposure is not just limited to fellow members of deviantart but can also be a kind of gateway to exposure in other parts of the art world, including professional parts.

but *arjhun pointed out that the guy who made the obnoxious animated gif is probably not going to get his work featured in magazines or a job at disney because of 5,000 favorites here on deviantart. it's always a balance between exposure and skill. so the new system is not as big a deal as it seems.

anyway, this whole fiasco is mildly amusing to me but i have schoolwork to do so i gotta go!

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