

Update: Formerly named "jark & spyed Same Person? deviantART Bankrupt?" More links added, more to come soon.
The Rumor Mill
The rumor mill has been going into overload since late Wednesday night after the apparent loss of °jark, one of the co-founders of deviantART, as a staff member.
What I can tell you is that I've heard one side of the story, and it's not pretty. But rather the fuel the fire that seems to be burning throughout the community, I'd like to take this opportunity to do 2 things:
What Really Happened?
There's been a lot of speculation as to what happened, why it happened, and what will happen next as a result of the sudden change in status of the Yellow Alien. A lot of you have been tight lipped about what's going on, and that's probably better than others who have been throwing out crazy ideas such as:
Look, the fact of the matter is this: only 2 (possibly 3) people really know the full story. Until we get more facts, your wild speculations are just causing more harm than good.
The worst part is that we've not heard any official deviantART comment yet. Why? Is $spyed waiting to discuss the topic after things cool down? Is he even going to mention it to us at all? Are there legal issues to be worked out first?
I don't have the answers to those questions, but I can tell you that we as a community deserve to know sooner or later. If no official word comes down the pipe, the rumor mill will just keep churning out planks of compressed crap until the facts roll in.
Remember The Community
Some of you are talking about leaving, some of you are outraged at how this is being handled, and others are choosing sides. I can't blame anyone who falls under any of these categories.
However, let's not forget about the community as a whole. Leaving is probably not the answer, though it may make a point. How can we complain about where the site is headed if we're not trying to do anything about it?
And when you're picking sides, don't forget that when it comes down to it, we're all artists here. You may not like what happened, or you may agree with the decision, but don't make that the reason you're here. This site is more than just the people who run it and it'll take a lot more than a fury of disagreement among staff to take it down.
Support The Yellow Alien
I've seen quite a bit of "support °jark" messages thrown about the site in the last day or so, including a signature that said something to the effect of "remove all of your deviations and support °jark!"
You do whatever it is you feel you need to do to support him, but drastic measures may not be in order yet. We still don't have all the facts.
Look, I support Scott just as much as any of you, if not more. I've known him since 1996, before deviantART was even a glimpse in his eyes. I can tell you that Scott Jarkoff may be one of the most committed, honest people I have ever met. And it hurts me to see him not working on the brainchild that is rightfully his (even if this site belongs to the community and not any one person, mind you).
Your Admins
Right now many of your fellow admins here at deviantART are in a tough place. They're stuck between two sides of an argument, of which they can't speak of, and they're being scrutinized by the community.
Do your best to be mindful of what it must be like for them right now and please do not badger them with questions, ridicule or hateful comments.
I know many of the staff here at deviantART and I can tell you that this situation is not easy for any of them. They're trying to remain loyal to the community they care about, their boss, and a co-founder who is no longer one of them, all at the same time. Think about that for a second.
My Remarks
As you can tell, I'm doing my best to tread lightly on this subject and at the same time show my support for Scott. It's not easy to do. I'm
rather annoyed at what's happened, hearing one side of the story already (and weary of hearing the other).
I think it's pretty ridiculous that the 2 co-founders of deviantART are no longer involved in the decision making process for the site. I also think that lately there has been less attention to the "community" and more attention to "how can we get people to spend money here?"
And don't even bring up the "deviantART has to pay its bills somehow!" crap, I'm well aware of that.
I'm not leaving though, regardless of how things go down. There are more important things at stake here than money or power, though those 2 things need to be addressed for sure. I'm not sure how I'll proceed to support my feelings on what happened with °jark yet, but I'll figure that one out in time.

The yellow alien has fallen....
If jark resigns from staff, what impact will it have on deviantART?

Related links for the Yellow Alien Scandal (it's not really a scandal per se, but that's the way FOX News would spin it if they were reporting on the whole thing).
Update: Thanks for all the new info! I'm still adding things, so feel free to keep sending them my way via notes, comments, etc.
PS. Don't even ask how long this took to compile.....
deviantART Staff Resignations
If you want to get an idea of what's going on behind the scenes, this should give you a pretty good one.
`Blue-Six
`brazensix
`bzed
`Cassed
`dj-designs
°euphoria
`jasonvelocity
`omniomi
`radiositysg
`twosilverstars
`velociraptor
`Zeros-Elipticus
deviantART Journal Entries:
%achfoo
~Aeon-Lord
`alyn
=anjules
From °arc, Another Original Staff Member
°arc
~argo
=ashwynmayr
°attila
=b0x0rz
=babysista
=baka-chan
=baka-chan
=baka-chan
@bakka
`bananasontoast
=Barbiedoll
=bellchild
=Bluecatdemoness
*blackzer0
@bluespeed9
°jark's Mother
`bookdiva
`bookdiva
`bookdiva
`bookdiva
`bookdiva
`bookdiva
`brazensix
`brazensix
`chezza-t18
=coxi
@crazyleafhead
~Dagger13
^damphyr
^damphyr
=darkmoon3636
=darthmarlan
=Destructionist
`devilicious
`devilicious
=devilious-red
=DizzyChii
`dj-designs
~DJonasse
~duhcoolies
°dygel Speaks
°dygel
+ekud
=electricjonny
~Enfero
=EnPsyane
°euphoria
`faithwalker
+flameturret
=forevermore
=fuhk
`fusionrock
`fuzzydemon
`Ghouldaddy
*hakfest
^halfliquid
`hempingway
^hesitation
=howling
~hyacinth116
`hyper-psycho
`hyper-psycho
~icore
=ivyc
From °jark Himself
°jark
°jark
°jark
°jark
`jasonvelocity
`jasonvelocity
=Jeans16
One of Our Most Senior Members (The 3rd is a MUST READ)
`justthorne
`justthorne
`justthorne
=juuhanna
=kamiawolf
=karyaazure
=kasumichan2003
=KewlioMZX
*kimberley-tomorrow
`krash
~laprasek
=Lici-Rocker
=lightman-73
`limnersphere
Another Hugely Senior Member (2nd entry is a MUST READ)
`liquify
`liquify
Stop Directing Your Hate Here
$liquisoft
$liquisoft
`londonxpress
=lonely-constellation
=lpetrazickis
°matteo, A Co-Founder's Response
°matteo
~mei0023
*Mewtwofan
~michirukoshi
`mick-mick
~miraikazuya
©mirrorkills
=mizuuko
Old and New Entries
+mkinne
(From December 2004, where $spyed comments, "This is a really odd journal entry. Why would we lose jark?")
+mkinne
=moeffju
*mountainhawk
`mp3chuck
`mp3chuck
`Myangelofmusic
=MyOwnFallacy
=natasha-marie
~NazoNoOnna
=neek-zique
~neo-the-foxycoon
`neom
`neom
`newklear
+ninjabrick
`niwi
`omniomi
`onestar
`phae
`p-51
=Phmall
~Phmall-iota
`picard102
=Pr0poganda
*redness
~RoseImmortal
*Rushy
=ryan-gfx
*s33r
*shelly
*shelly
*ShinobiDragon
^silentkitty
=SoulManX
`splat
From The CEO, $spyed (No mention of °matteo?)
$spyed
$spyed
~sundeepr
`sycho
=technographer
`the-faun
`the-faun
~the1bigboy
=theospix
=TheHalcyon
~transferal
=TrappedChild
`twosilverstars
~ViciousZen
`voodoo-prophet
=vurtunetech
`WallOfTruth
`warfish
~WarthogDemon
~wintergal
`y2jenn
~yinlunghuang
`zerocomplex
`Zeros-Elipticus
=zhal
`zlim
deviantART Polls:
`frail
`fusionrock
`onestar
=ryan-gfx
`splat
Related Deviations







Devious Comments
I've no idea waht the future will hold. Time will tell, I suppose.
--
Sometimes I kill the living, sometimes I raise the dead
Sometimes I say "Just fuck it all," and roll back into bed
I have to say splat this is very well written and correctly states nearly everything which has been said on the matter.
--
Be civil..no verbal abuse, no spam.
--
Artist of All Trades ~
The thing is the community dose need answers to stop the rumors the long they keep putting it off the worse it will become
--
Deviants choice [link] noninate a deviant
Top ten things to do without dAmn [link]
running a contest? need pimpage and support? note me
otherwise? :daonfire:
--
...but I have been penniless and homeless for too long. I must rebuild and begin paying off some of these debts.
--
My Photo Blog - T52.org
~hakfest-stock
"Judging soly on his DA page, hakfest is gay."
--
Fin.
And finally! "support Jark" stamps! I've been lookin for those.
--
Jenn Lee
Copyright & Etiquette Admin
deviantART, Inc.
"I'm sorry 'bout the attitude I need to give when I'm with you, but no one else would take this shit from me."
Stranger Danger
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