Animation Source Forums

I know this whole suggestions board is kinda trying to improve AS, but I kinda wanted to talk about how to bring members back and how to make AS popular again like it was in the old days...

So...what is making members disappear, and what can we do to make Animation Source a really cool and awesome community again?

Again, if this topic is too broad, tell me and I can change the title to something more specific.

Well, I would love to see AS be what it used to be, but I think it's beyond repair. If it were to be turned around it would a lot of effort. As for the old members, they have moved on. They either have no interest in this site anymore, or they have their own lives to worry about.

This has been tried before, and I was apart of it. It didn't end so well for me, so I will never participate in anything like that again.

But here are some problems areas I see:
Steet: Needs to pay attention to more things other than TailSpin Source.

The site rules: They never were clear, but now they seem too loose. I liked the rules they were before. The way I see it, on a site like this the rules need to be tight. SMS needs to be banned, sexual,and all those other rules, talk needs to be banned, multi accounts need to be banned. Or at least only allow two accounts per person.

Sparkle dogs: Sparkle dogs are awful, they don't belong on here. They used to be banned, they still should be.

This is your personal gallery: People are using AS as their own personal DA gallery. Stuff that isn't related to the movies don't need be here. I think people are focusing too much on their characters. The ratio needs to be enforced. Otherwise I don't see what makes this a fan site.

Personally, I've just lost activity from this site unlike how I used to be in the earlier years. I used to be one of those members that was on all the time participating in the shoutbox, forums, and fan sections. However, after a lot of my friends started to leave (for reasons mighty explained) I was to the point where I quietly moderated and then when I lost the jobs I've been quieter than ever. I'll still check the forums and post in projects (that are never active a lot anyway) but for the most part I don't know how we can get Animation Source back to the way it was. The spirit of so many old members is absent and things have changed so much. The two major things I agree with on Mighty's post are steet and the site rules, definitely. I haven't seen a lot of drama from the rules lately (this comes from not being as active) but I do still get bothered by the absence of steet. Has anyone seen him keep his word on the shoutbox visits? I never go on them much, so.
I remember things such as the AS Scavenger Hunt that seemed promising, but just like the awards they kind of went downhill on the success level.

That's the thing with this site. The Balto franchise has set sail a long time ago. And now there's noting to do. (apparently.)
The way I see it, people are focusing more on their own charaters because they are getting sick of doing the same characters over and over again. But they need to realize this IS a Balto fan site. Its okay to focus on your own stuff once in a while. Believe me, I do But wether they like it or not, what you are able to show on this site is limited. A lot of things are limited, and no one can accept that. Heck, even I can't fully accept it sometimes. But it's true. This isn't DA, where almost nothing is limited.

Maybe this is why steet wanted sparkle dogs. To boost activity, or to boost the "creativity." Well, I think all it did was lose members, and now the entire site is filled with multi-colored dogs. If I was a newcomer and wanted to go to a Balto fan site, and saw all this...I'd click off immediately.

Ok, this is becoming more of a rant than anything. XD I really just want AS back the way it was. And if we are going to to that (probably not) our first objective would be to either find new management, or get steet to be active here again....*sigh* this is just like the collapse of the Roman Republic...it collapsed. XD

Old members left due to being uninterested or fights.
Fights went unresolved.
Problems with moderators not doing the job properly, or misusing their position.
Steet's attempts to make everyone happy which ended up just making some feel that it was useless to stay.
Add in 'sparkledogs allowed' and some artists feel there is no point contributing to the site if it did not foster the creation of well-constructed original content.
Also the fact that steet seems to have withdrawn into TaleSpin Source.

The mods alone can't do it without the webmaster. Unfortunately he has grown tired of dealing with some of the other sites.

If the site were to become anything like it used to be in terms of content, it would take months or even years of work and input to get things up to shape. Sadly, not enough people want to put in that work (and I am not just talking on the staff side of things here).
Thus I am resigned to say AS, or even BS will never be anything like it was.

So basically...AS will eventually just crash and burn and just die out completely. 3 years ago I would have laughed at that, but now I think it might actually happen. *sigh*

One thing I did to help with AS was the ASCAs, which are turning out to be a great success. Hopefully more stuff will come up in the future that can help AS out.

Well, I guess it's a start I have to try and think positive more often.

EDIT: I am directing this post at no particular person. Let's see how many people argue back with me, thinking I posted about them lol
I agree that we should try to encourage here. Believe it or not, there are children on this site. Children that are about 7 at the youngest. They usually don't have the programs or the talents to create art like some of the pros here. Take me for example. You think I was always great at art? xD. Well even if you don't (which is fine), I was a horrible drawer when I was little. Most everybody is. Here's a Balto drawing I made when I was 5.
/balto/en ... display=30
And I was proud of it too, back then. The only reason I got better at drawing was because of you guys, the members of AS. Here's another drawing when I was about 13.
/balto/en ... display=30
The anatomy is horrible, but back then it was all I could do until I improved more. I've been on AS for...5 years now. And It took those five years to step up my game. Brilliant art doesn't happen overnight. I know that some people are just lazy and don't want to put in the time and effort to do things, which is sad if they want to be better artists. But for the people that DO want to put in the effort, if their art isn't to your taste, tell them that, and how they can improve, especially if no one comments on their work. And you will see improvement later on.
This is my most recent drawing on here.
/sites_co ... 0/varr.png
All because of your help. All your help. You all contributed my success. And I'm still learning everyday. I think what it all comes down to is picking out the lazy and the hard-working. If you can do that, then I think some people would be less sensitive. But hey, kids are going to be sensitive, no matter what. My first negative comment on one of my fanfics made me wanna punch the person in the face and write a snarky comment back to them. I was a kid. But even now, I still haven't completely matured. I don't take negative comments, even nice ones, very well. But I'm going to learn that not everyone is going to approve of what I do, say, create. And I'm going to have to accept that.

The point of this post? Kids are sensitive, they will learn in time. Just as they will learn to be better artists. If you give them patience, you will see who the lazy ones and the hardworking ones are. It's the lazy ones you ignore and the hardworking ones you encourage, critique, and lift up. Sometimes it isn't that simple. I get that. But critique and encourage anyway. Don't be afraid to say what you really think. It will help them later on. Just don't make it rude and insulting. Again, I'm aiming at NO ONE. This is just general advice, and you don't HAVE to listen to it. Do what you wanna do if you think it's the right thing.