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:

Show my support for Scott Jarkoff (aka °jark)
Show my support for the deviantART community as a whole

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:

"OMG! i bet °jark and +spyed are the same person!"
"°jark just resigned to spite everyone else"
"i bet +spyed is TOTALLY having °jark's baby!"

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).

I'm leaving for Connecticut in a few minutes, so if I don't reply to your comments or your request to add your journal/poll/deviation/etc., that's why. I'll be online sporatically this weekend.

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.

`auralwhiplash
`brazensix My Resignation.
`bzed
`Gameconomist
`dj-designs Resignation
°euphoria Goodbye, Yellow Alien
`jasonvelocity Resigning
`omniomi My Resignation
`radiositysg
`twosilverstars resignation...
`velociraptor
`Zeros-Elipticus

deviantART Journal Entries:

`achfoo My Sincere Thoughts
!Aeon-Lord Love thy admin
`alyn My stance
`anjules Hypocrites

From °arc, Another Original Staff Member
°arc Jark's departure

~argo News
`ashwynmayr end of an era?
°attila °Jark & 2005 Philadelphia devMEET
`b0x0rz °jark or $jark?
~babysista The Ubiquitous Question:
~baka-chan The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
~baka-chan No deviations plz.
~baka-chan and we keep moving
`bakka $Jark
`bananasontoast I have no words...
~Barbiedoll Support Matteo too, grab a stamp!
`bellchild Speechless.
~Bluecatdemoness Time moves on
`blackzer0 deviantART: Virtual? Reality.
`bluespeed9 Jark.

°jark's Mother
`bookdiva Jark--The heartbeat Goes On...
`bookdiva Jark's Involuntary Removal
`bookdiva Jark Did Not Voluntarily Resign
`bookdiva Jark's Eternal Candle Flickers
`bookdiva We Stay Focused For Jark
`bookdiva Jark-His Involuntary Termination

`brazensix My Resignation.
`brazensix Community is spelt J-A-R-K
`chezza-t18 in jark i trust.
`coxi UPDATE: THE TRUTH (my ideas)
`crazyleafhead Goodbye, Jark...
~Dagger13 It will alwaysbe $Jark, no matter what they say!
$damphyr Two Cents
$damphyr Disgusted
`darkmoon3636 Know that I'm pissed.
!darthmarlan ...From Onestar...
~Destructionist WHAT THE FUCK!?
`devilicious DA's Founding Father
`devilicious DO THE RIGHT THING
=devilious-red Free Support-Jark Avatars!
~DizzyChii EDIT: Goodbye Deviantart
`dj-designs Resignation
!DJonasse Listen Up
`duhcoolies WHAT??!! JARK??!! FREAKIN' HELL!!!

°dygel Speaks
°dygel On Why You Came Here In The First Place

+ekud Thankyou & Goodbye.
`electricjonny Good bye Jark, we will miss you.
~Enfero Jark
~EnPsyane Jark Gone?
°euphoria Goodbye, Yellow Alien
`faithwalker Our Founding Father
`flameturret Featured Deviant: Scott Jarkoff [°jark]
~forevermore on $jark gettin' the boot.
~fuhk Join the Jark Side.
=dakth The end of an era
`fuzzydemon new bears
`Ghouldaddy Long live the Probe...
*JamesBardolph arse
`halfliquid _-_?St[ill{_-_HERE__++_+
`hempingway :|
`hesitation 28: Away
*howling Devious Journal Entry
~hyacinth116 ...what happened? *edit*
`hyper-psycho It's not April 1, it's the downfall of deviantART.
`hyper-psycho Life and deviantART + Must Read Update
!icore A Sad Day ...
~ivyc Oh captain, my captain. UPDATE

From °jark Himself
°jark Open Cargo Bay Door, Eject Yellow Alien
°jark Spin The Yellow Alien Saucer In Circles!
°jark Community, Stay Focused
°jark Involuntary Termination

`jasonvelocity Unsolved Mysteries
`jasonvelocity Resigning
~Jeans16 Jark is Gone!

One of Our Most Senior Members (The 3rd is a MUST READ)
`justthorne A Plan of Action - the bedtime update
`justthorne Put on Probation
`justthorne An Open Letter, re: Admin thread

`juuhanna What the hell?!
~kamiawolf Can we have some answers please?
`karyaazure YOU can help fight injustice.
^KasumiCR THANK YOU...
~KewlioMZX Fearless Leaders...Dismissed?
*SloeLoris Jark's New Symbol...
`krash A day of Yellow!!!
=laprasek W-T-F?
~Lici-Rocker The Saddest Day In The History Of DeviantART
~lightman-73 Jark, dA, wtf ?
`limnersphere Diminished

Another Hugely Senior Member (2nd entry is a MUST READ)
`liquify she will be loved.
`liquify The Passion of the Jark

Stop Directing Your Hate Here
$TheRyanFord Departure
$TheRyanFord Puppy n' Stuff

`londonxpress My thoughts on DeviantART
~lonely-constellation Whoa~
~lpetrazickis $spyed fires co-founders $jark and $matteo

°matteo, A Co-Founder's Response
°matteo a response from a real co-founder

~mei0023 Support $jark!
~Mewtwofan WTF IS GOING ON?
~michirukoshi +A Lack of Yellow+
`mick-mick Thank you Jark.. for everything..
~miraikazuya Nightmares do come true
`mirrorkills A cold day for dA.
~mizuuko WHY JARK?!

Old and New Entries
!mkinne the future of deviantART?
(From December 2004, where +spyed comments, "This is a really odd journal entry. Why would we lose jark?")
!mkinne :nod::jark:

`moeffju Jark
~mountainhawk Devious Journal Entry
`mp3chuck :bye:
`mp3chuck I Can't Keep Up
`Myangelofmusic ?F.T.W?
~MyOwnFallacy I may be leaving DA soon.
~natasha-marie another journal about jark
~NazoNoOnna Jack Bauer supports Jark!
~neek-zique [= 170 = What the Fuck?! =]
`neo-the-foxycoon Fabric Of Reality Destroyed
`neom A phone conversation about jark.
`neom To all a dA, I Remember When.
`newklear with.the.lights.out.its.less.dangerous++
`ninjabrick :[
`niwi Devious Journal Entry
`omniomi My Resignation
!onestar Let's bring back THE COMMUNITY
°phae SadPhaeDay
`p-51 July, 28, 2005
~Phmall jark /*edit*/
~Phmall-iota 30/06/05
`picard102 Wtf is going on?
~Pr0poganda Is it for real?
~redness Greedy Little Ninja Bitches
~RoseImmortal Jark De-Adminned by Traitor! NEW: Jark's Journal
`Rushy I support Jark
~ryan-gfx 1-week-deadline/good-people/jark
!s33r Devious Journal Entry
~shelly a sad day at DA
~shelly support a yellow alien!
~ShinobiDragon /_+__dA_lo_st_a_fa_ther_+_
`silentkitty Well.
~SoulManX ointr: Jark, gone.
`splat ointr: Hanging Up The $? (A whole string of comments were deleted, but are archived here)

From The CEO, +spyed (No mention of °matteo?)
+spyed ointr: A Response
+spyed ointr: deviantART is:

~sundeepr ointr: Support Jark
`sycho ointr: meh
`technographer ointr: We Deserve Answers.
`the-faun ointr: Jark
`the-faun ointr: Goodbye deviantART
~the1bigboy ointr: Devious Journal Entry
~theospix ointr: TAKE DOWN YOUR DEVIATIONS
~TheHalcyon ointr: Wicked Jarklove
!transferalointr: Goodbye, Jark. We'll miss you.
~TrappedChild ointr: RIP: Now Retired, Once Beloved Adminstrator Jark
`twosilverstars ointr: resignation...
~ViciousZen ointr: Jarkage
`voodoo-prophet ointr: Another one gone.
~vurtunetech ointr: Mystery of Jark
`walloftruth ointr: Edit: Please read.
`warfish ointr: Let's just make it clear.
~WarthogDemon ointr: Jark
~wintergal ointr: Jark - Former Staff Member?
$y2jenn ointr: Neither Left Behind or Forgotten
~yinlunghuang ointr: WHAT?! Jark is no longer the admin?!
`zerocomplex ointr: Where Art meets Bullshit
`Zeros-Elipticus ointr: Never forget the Yellow Alien
~zhal ointr: Jark, *sob* *sob*
`zlim ointr: Jark

deviantART Polls:

`frail ointr: Will you leave?
=dakth ointr: Will deviantART be different without Jark heading the community development team?
!onestar ointr: What is DeviantArt more these days?
~ryan-gfx ointr: What do you hate MOST about the recent events?
`splat ointr: If jark resigns from staff, what impact will it have on deviantART?

Related Deviations


ointr: We Devart Support $Jark by ~fuhk


ointr: August 7th: TBTC by ~fuhk


ointr: all my base r belong 2 $jark by `chezza-t18

:thumb21132039:
ointr: Support Jark by ~RaAnan


ointr: Yellow Day Stamp by ~Chromakode


ointr: Thank You Stamp by ~Glomper

:thumb21128328:
ointr: why? by !toffee

:thumb21107586:
ointr: Yellow ribbon-Jark by ~Fatboy72


ointr: Goodbye Jark... by `crazyleafhead


ointr: Things That Make You Go Hmm... by °jark


ointr: The Future of DeviantART? by `newklear


ointr: Justice for Jark by ~SubterfugeMalaises


ointr: Fall of a Hero - JARK by ~QMdesigns


ointr: A tribute to Jark by ~danes-sweety


ointr: we want jark back by ~sundeepr


ointr: Support by ~baka-chan


ointr: ...for the love of $jark... by ~yakitora


ointr: Support $Jark by ~matthewedwardcornish

:thumb21163264:
ointr: Save $jark by ~willowtree90

:thumb21139764:
ointr: Not MY deviantPOLITICS by ~leliathomas

:thumb21229556:
ointr: Bring Back the Bling by ~leliathomas

:thumb21212041:
ointr: He Wants You by ~nillia


ointr: Hang In There by *kidchan


ointr: How to Support DA by ~chiachrome


ointr: the House of deviantART by ~John-Le-Fucker

Related deviantART Avatars

Removed these since the list was getting too long and I don't like having that many avatars in a journal entry.

deviantART Forum Threads

`liquify ointr: jark is no longer staff!!?! (Seniors only)
`Ghouldaddy ointr: The Day After (Seniors only)
`the-faun ointr: New Seniors Project: A Boycott (Seniors only)
~TrendyDNA ointr: DeviantART going corporate?
~SoulManX ointr: Jark Gone?!
~FoY- ointr: Show °Jark you care.
`krash ointr: August 7th 2005 is Yellow Day
!Zaio ointr: Bring Back jark

Jark Support Initiatives


ointr: ~savejark account


ointr: ~JusticeForJark account


ointr: ~we-support-jark account


ointr: !SupportJark account

Non-Deviation Images







Mentions Elsewhere

ointr: Waxy.org Links

"Deviant Art co-founder Scott Jarkoff involuntarily forced out (some serious drama, leading to a pro-Jark backlash on the homepage)"

ointr: ffwd Linklog

"DeviantArt co-founder Scott 'Jark' Jarkoff 'no longer employed' by site (His termination has set off all kinds of controversy, and the most
popular art on the site's front page right now is all pro-Jark.)"

ointr: WinCustomize: Goodbye to Jark?

"Several critical policies on DeviantArt were broken in this restructure, including the near-sacred rule of never removing comments. This freedom of speach and action formed one of the core foundations of DeviantArt: The ability to speak up in all situations and have your opinions heard. Deviations were removed, comments edited, and people banned in order to keep something quiet. No rock-solid details are available, but Jark himself seems supportive of the measures taken by fans to lend their shoulders to his cause."

ointr: digg: deviantART founder Jark fired

"As the title says, deviantART is on its way down. Just about 24 hours ago co founder Scott Jarkoff was removed from the staff due to a 'conflict'."

Other Related Links

ointr: Scott's Personal Site, watch here for the truth about what happened
ointr: Reinstate jark! Sign the petition from ~vurtunetech
ointr: #TheArmyofJarkness on dAmn
ointr: Flickr Photostream from Scott (preserving information in case it gets deleted from deviantART)
ointr: Scott's deviantART email address is removed
ointr: t52.org and The Truth about the Alien have posted an internal email from °jark to +spyed and $mccann
ointr: thoughts on the state of deviantART, post-jark from ~shelly
ointr: Yellow Ribbon from ~diffuze
ointr: Like hell. from ~leliathomas
ointr: Wikipedia Entry now mentions °jark's demotion
ointr: deviantART's Founders from 2000, as stated by the site itself
ointr: LiveJournal user claims to have helped get °jark fired (+spyed comments below)



`splat
Patrick Haney, not a sausage
Designer, developer, deviant.