sudden nostalgia for the old deviantart

[humanfinny]

hey guys its me again... sorry for posting a lot

just looked at my old DA account that I used since I was 10-11 (in 2011/2012), it even had a version of my profile saved from 2013 on the wayback machine. had a look at the artists I followed and realized how much I was influenced and how much I have improved over the years (debatable lolol). I think I miss the carelessness of the time more than the actual site, but it was also such a safe haven. Kids like me could just post their low quality pieces with no need to worry about how they will 'preform', without worry of AI, and so forth. When you followed someone, they would often reach out to drop a thank you or something, it was quite sweet. I know deviantart still exists but i kind of hate its new look, its new functions, the AI features that are so needlessly hard to opt out of... sorry, Im just kind of moping about it rn.

point is, it was a pretty neat space and like many other places that I know I can never come back to, be they physical or digital, i am mourning them sometimes. i also miss quizilla but it was worse lol so adieu i guess.

anyone else use deviantart a lot? especially before 2020s? missing it? are there any other sites you have these kind of feelings about?

[sanguineroyal]

Yes, I miss old dA a lot too. I was too young to be on the true "old web", but I think I experienced bits and pieces of it's energy via dA and neopets-- smaller groups, forums, PMs that felt more like sending and receiving emails, and customization vis html/css. When I think back to my "happiest" internet memories, dA is included alongside trolling blogs and forums. I think part of it was the spirit of truly "surfing" the web via linking without genuine "algorithms" and the casual nature of the internet at the time.

[NinAcTi0N]

I was lucky enough to witness a bit of the old green back in 2016, but I was still too young for the social media chaos in there, only returning mid-2019 as an older teen.

And not gonna lie... I can see why people dislike the modern one nowadays x’P You could buy Core to get actual access to code, being able to customize your page and make it yours. Stamps were all the rage, together with the crusty 50x50 icons, so you can bet I resonate with that too .<.

I left DA when last year was ending, since seeing its user base slowly die and having the stress to always post there were two factors that messed with my mental health.

I still feel Newgrounds retains some of that old web charm... the forums, the nostalgic yet wacky community- it’s a whole different vibe, but still nostalgic ^^

[PAINTKILLER]

I just looked to see if my DA page was still up. It is. 17 years later. :O

[celestefem]

oh, i totally feel you, finny! i basically lived on deviantart from 2011 to 2013 and there are so many things from those days that i miss about the community and infrastructure of the site back then. i’m still to this day obsessed with the aesthetics of the oldtimey journal skins; they were just css, but being a dumb kid who otherwise spent all their time on ffn (which barely even handled plain text properly) i thought they were magical and i remember being so jealous that i didn’t have a core subscription, lol. not to mention, llama badges and plz’s and stamps… it’s all just so nostalgic <3

it’s sad that the deviantart of my childhood no longer exists anymore…

[MoonMoth]

I've used dA around the mid-2010's as largely a place to favourite artwork and upload the rare pieces of art I did create. Even though I didn't really use it for long I really enjoyed its old web charm with the stamps and buttons! It's a shame to see how it has ended up now and I'm hoping artists can find better platforms.

[humanfinny]

Yes, I miss old dA a lot too. I was too young to be on the true "old web", but I think I experienced bits and pieces of it's energy via dA and neopets-- smaller groups, forums, PMs that felt more like sending and receiving emails, and customization vis html/css. When I think back to my "happiest" internet memories, dA is included alongside trolling blogs and forums. I think part of it was the spirit of truly "surfing" the web via linking without genuine "algorithms" and the casual nature of the internet at the time.

fr! i feel like im in the same boat, except I did not frequent many forums probably becuz i was too lazy to read lol. not really a trolling blog but me and a friend would spend forever looking at really dumb yahoo answers posts, like obviously fake and ridiculous scenarios meant to mess with people.

[humanfinny]

I was lucky enough to witness a bit of the old green back in 2016, but I was still too young for the social media chaos in there, only returning mid-2019 as an older teen.

And not gonna lie... I can see why people dislike the modern one nowadays x’P You could buy Core to get actual access to code, being able to customize your page and make it yours. Stamps were all the rage, together with the crusty 50x50 icons, so you can bet I resonate with that too .<.

I left DA when last year was ending, since seeing its user base slowly die and having the stress to always post there were two factors that messed with my mental health.

I still feel Newgrounds retains some of that old web charm... the forums, the nostalgic yet wacky community- it’s a whole different vibe, but still nostalgic ^^

hope youre feeling better. i had the same burnout with insta which i used for art, didnt get much likes/comments and it got me so down even tho its so meaningless, you know? havent been on newgrounds in ages, i used to think it was only for flash games for some reason lol. i think i conflated it with kongregate which i played games on.

[humanfinny]

I just looked to see if my DA page was still up. It is. 17 years later. :O

omg dude thats amazing haha!!

[humanfinny]

oh, i totally feel you, finny! i basically lived on deviantart from 2011 to 2013 and there are so many things from those days that i miss about the community and infrastructure of the site back then. i’m still to this day obsessed with the aesthetics of the oldtimey journal skins; they were just css, but being a dumb kid who otherwise spent all their time on ffn (which barely even handled plain text properly) i thought they were magical and i remember being so jealous that i didn’t have a core subscription, lol. not to mention, llama badges and plz’s and stamps… it’s all just so nostalgic <3

it’s sad that the deviantart of my childhood no longer exists anymore…

2011-2013, my beloved, rip i was also easily impressed with cool site/journal design. it was so unattainable as a kid, like, how did they do it?? omg llama badges just sent me to another dimension... i still dont know what they are but i know you get a cape at one point, all that matters. there were also so many groups, i joined totally random stuff that i had even some small interest in. someone made me the admin of an avatar rp group, but i never showed up. feel like a bad admin. yeah, the saying that once its on the internet its there forever used to make me cringe... now i wish it were true.