Is there any news or updates on what is preventing some I.E. users from accessing their Artist Pages? I am really tired of seeing this pop up error window and "Unable to Load Page" message.  I would like to be able to get to, and edit my homepage again sometime.

Quote - OMGDDSS! get a grip

You get a grip and stop over-reacting. Art has existed LOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG before the catholic church and exists for a variety of different reasons. To sum it up and simplify it as being for the illiterate masses is degrading and derrogatory toward all art and artists. Further by taking one or two aspects something can be used for and making a non-limitting statement that that is all it is used for or it's only purpose is narrow minded, short sighted, and rather crude.  It would be like saying that internet forums are for rude and argumentative people to troll.

 Worse even, to put words in my mouth because I point out a degrading comment just shows poor character.  Where did I say I agree with cencorship? Anywhere? No.

Also where did I quote you? I didn't I parphrased, quite accurately, what was said. You even said it agin in the current reply and tried to justify it... At least i didnt put words in your mouth.

art is for the illiterate masses - great way to degrade art in it's entirety, and all artists.

Quote - Pointing a gun is now so common that some people dont even see the violence in it. It is amazing (and sad) how some people reached this point.

It wasn't that I don't see the violent intention in the act if done in real life, my point was more that for purposes of an image, simply brandishing a weapon (gun, sword, toaster overn, PU36 Explosive Space Modulator, Small woodland creatures, etc...) isn't really violent, especially from a point of view of the TOS.  It is certainly not comperable to pictures depicting dismembered entities (people, dragons, monsters, animals, cartoon characters, small woodland creatures, etc...) - and there are dozens of such images in the galleries, many not even flagged.  As was mentioned already, it's as if by not showing the actual act that lead to the outcome it's Ok, whereas, I sincerely feel that the whole purpose of a violence filter would be to shield people from such gory images.  As I feel regarding nudity, I myself do not have a problem with some amount of violence in an image, if handled tastefully, and artisticly, and is a nescessary part of a larger idea.  I generally don't care for bloodbath imagery, or imagery that are violent just for the sake of being violent.

The bigger issue becomes where to draw the line.  A depiction of two martial artists, or even boxers engaged in a fight can be represented quite artisticly and appealing if handled right, but it is violence by the terms of the TOS.  Do we then extend it to remove any images that may be perceived to have violent implications - i.e. any image that depicts a weapon, or someone in fighting apparel, etc?  I think that is beyond the scope of the TOS rules on violence, and in that context I do not perceive it as violent.

Quote - Don't you point guns at people in real life? It's not violent it's COOL.

I point guns at people in real life all the time - and then I hit them over the head with anvils and feed them dynamite sandwiches. It is cool. Nothing violent about it, nope.

I pretty much rest my case. Too much hostility in the community, and basically it's because people are cheap.  This topic had nothing to do with the sales, but has been thread-jacked by those who want to rant and gripe about what they perceive as unfair sale practices by vendors.  Many seem to have forgotten that coupons and sales are bonuses and priveledges, and not divine right.  Vendors have the right not to participate if they so choose - this does not make a vendor evil, or crooked, and it is no crime.  Whether or not sales are initiated by Renderosity is irrelevent as Renderosity also specifically allows vendors to Opt out, and even sends emails instructing vendors how on some coupons.  If this was some sort of stunt, or scam, or underhanded shortcut, Renderosity would disallow it, not provide instruction to achieve it.  As I already said, sure, I love to take advantage of good prices when I can, I have very limitted funds to devote to this.  When there are massive sales ad I can only afford select items, I actually pick and choose based on the quality levels of the content involved, and which items I feel are worthy of purchasing at their full price - and those I will wait on (and I do purchase at full price quite often from content creators, especially those I consider skilled and know to produce good quality).  The sort of behaviour here is akin to going in to Wal Mart and complaining because your coupon for X% off the DVD rack can't be used on Playstation games, or some such (try that and see how far it gets you, really).

 As for flaming, it is the accuser, not the accusee doing the flaming, and it seems to be simply because of a differing opinion - one I happen to share. I read all of the posts, and see no "axe to grind", nor do I see whining on the part of the accused. I do see two other posters who jumped into a thread following my comment about certain vendors being missed and began complaining about a perceived misdeed because they are disapointed with a sale. Happens to everyone. It's happened to me more than I can count. Moreso, as I said, the biggest point is moot as there was a coupon for 50% off earlier this month that was also usable on sale and clearance items - and it's a good bet that is why certain vendors opted out for this one.  If the products of Aery Soul were exhorbitantly priced I could understand some of the griping and whining about the coupon, but for their quality level I do not feel they are, as I see far less deserving products similarly priced. 

 If you do not like a vendors practices or pricing, or somehow feel personally wronged by them for opting out of a sale, fine, don't buy their product. If you want to go into forums and rant and rave and flame about it in unrelated threads, expect dissenting opinions. 

Quote - Quite honestly after the stunt she pulled today.. I wont ever purchase anything from her again no matter how much I like it..

How sad is that.. Renderosity gives a 50% off coupon for one day only.. as long as the item isnt on sale or on clearance.. so what do they do? come in.. and put thier items on sale for 1 day only at 3% off.. which means like 50 cents..

This isn't a stunt, and dozens of vendors do it. I fail to see this as a truly valid gripe, or really anything but just bellyaching as there was just a coupon for 50% earlier this month that WAS valid on sale and clearance. I remember quite well as I was upset at not having the funds to take advantage of it because of other 50% off deals that cleared out my wallet.  So it was possible to have used that coupon then on any of Aery Soul's items that you had wanted at a good price.  While I too like to get good deals, I also understand some content creators spend a lot of time on their content for what is really minute compensation.  When you look at the fact that half of the listed cost goes right to the brokerage site in 99% of the cases.  Then when a coupon comes along and gouges another 50% out of that, it is really peanuts.  I still remember when far less detailed and useable content was sold for hundreds of dollars per model or mesh, and I think much of the community today does not realize not only how much it has changed, but how much work goes into creating and testing content. 

Quote - Honestly if your not going to be part of the community.. then leave it.. theres the door.. no one is stopping you.. Im really surprised Renderosity isnt a tad bit annoyed with that.. talk about completely by passing a promotion they created. Oh well.. good bye Aery Soul.. good riddance

This is exactly the types of attitude from the so called community I think is driving away more content creators.  Between an uncarring community that is predominantly hostile, and constant losses to piracy, filesharing, and torrent sites from many who are unwilling to pay at all, it just isn't worth it.  Aery Soul's products aren't even some of the most expensive I have seen, but they were great quality and worthy of the prices in my opinion.  While no longer offering support on their products is a bummer, perhaps if the community was as supportive of vendors and content creators as it expects the creators to be toward it then this wouldn't be an issue.; members in the forums could always volunteer to help out with their knowledge of a product, or useful information.

Whenever I see a content creator who creates good qulity, orriginal content leave the business I am saddened by it, and I feel the community as a whole is lessened. As I said in my comment that seems to have sparked derision and hatred, too many have left the community (and I am not refering to the rendo community but the business as a whole) this year in my mind - creators of decent quality content.

There is the possibility that, if a member is uploading content not his own, he may be well intentioned in attempting to preserve no longer available freestuff.  Though this is misguided, as permission of the orriginal creator should be sought.  Credit to the orriginal creator should always be given - even if lacking the foresight to contact the author for permission.  It actually brings to mind a long thread regarding copyrights from the spring/summer - I sometimes am saddened by how poorly informed many, even well intentioned, people are about ettiquette, netiquette, and copyright.

Though if download counts are being boosted, there is the possibility of malicious programming, that would be truly unfortunate.  Why some individuals seem to exist to ruin the enjoyment, creation, reputation, and hard work of others is beyond my understanding.

I think it is a site sweep. Indeed I have seen this as well, and not only recognize some of the items, but have some of them.  While there are some older items no longer available for one reason or another I would like to see resurected, I wish they would simply edit the download links, rather than this method that has them show as new.

The OP already expressed some concerns with Project Dogwaffle not being suitable for their needs.  I think they are seeking something that is more of a specific frame animation tool, with easier import/export than PD supports.  I must admit, I too had some frustrations when I attempted to use PD.  Anime Studio Pro is not bad, but is also Vector Based, unless using it to import frames created in another program - in this respect it makes an economical substitute for AE if you only mainly need a compositor.

Oh how I miss Deluxepaint IV and Image FX on the Amiga - those were perfect for this sort of thing.

There was a time such programs were readily available and I could name a dozen. Unfortunately, now, most of what i could name is no longer available.  Newtek used to make Aura (a nice little animation/video FX program), Pinnacle Systems used to have a program for this exact thing - though I forget the name, and as was mentioned there used to be a program known as Deluxe Paint (mostly Amiga, but it was also available on PC).  One way to do it, and an effective way that is overlooked, is actually using a combination of Photoshop and After Effects.  By using Layers in Photoshop you almost have an in-built light table, and it allows for a wide variety of special effects with hand drawn style animation; you just need to be sure to save each image  witha numericcly increasing filename (i.e. Animation001.jpg, Animation002.jpg, Animation003.jpg, etc...).  You can import PSD or JPG sequences with such numerical filenames directly into After Effects as a video clip, for compiling, compositing, or additional post-work.  Also, After Effects has an option when importing layered PSDs to import either as one image, or seperate them into different images - allowing for some truly unique effects with some planning.

Also, Gimp offers a variation known as GimpShop, which makes use of photoship filters and file formats, though last time I tried it there were some stability issues (this was years ago).

Hope this information is inspiring and helpful.

Also some of these software packages look as if they might be what you seek:

PM Animation

Beneton Movie Gif

Ulead Gif Animator

Digicel Flipbook 6

I could link to some useful reviews and such, but I am unsure how the admin feel about links in forum threads that may seem commercial.

Interesting question. While I would not consider it violence, I have seen many images that I neither consider violent or nude flagged for either.  In the end I feel it is a matter of personal opinion, and many error on the side of caution.  Many of my works I do not Upload as I know full well they would constitue violent content, though I feel with a warning flag it should be fine, I just do not feel like dealing with the possible headaches it may entail.

Quote - What I find offensive myself is that I can work a very long time setting up a picture and trying my d*mnedest to make a good work and it will get very little notice and if I show a set of breasts I get tons of views.. That IS pornographic to me...

I agree with your plight in this respect.  While I have nothing against artistic nudity, and tasteful nudity, I find of late the galleries are being over-run by just tasteless and poorly conceived images that solely exist to depict nudity. At least, this is how I perceive it sometimes.  Since I primarily browse just the sci-fi gallery, with the rare and occasional look into Fantasy, I am really unhappy with the quantity of nudes that are appearing.  Many of them as well are being created with Poser - which only serves to further blacken the name of that application and prevent it from being taken seriously by some in the industry for the powerful tool it can be.  I have seen way too many images with misleading thumbnails, that once opened were a poorly orchestrated image of just nudity - often with little regard for pose, camera position, and using default lighting.  Most of them had inumerable views, and lots of ratings averaging to a 5, with tons of one or two word comments about it being great.  As an artist, this disheartens me, as those most likely creating these images do not take it at all seriously, and just want an excuse to showcase nudity.  I feel it serves to cheapen the artform, and the community as a whole.

That is my humble opinion, and I will no doubt be flamed and insulted for it. I could care less these days though.

Yes, Aery Soul had some very beutiful creations. They will be sorely missed, as will others who have retired from the Poser community for whatever reason.  All-in-all I have seen to many I had high opinions of dissappear this year, it is a shame.  All when I was just trying to get back into 3D - it gives me concern I may have wasted the investments I made this year on yet another frivolous attempt to follow a fool's dream.

I am having the same problem as the OP. I have tried clearing my browser cache, and I still can not access my home page. I am not using any version of lightbox, which was stated might be causing the error. I am running I.E. 7, and I update Java regularly.  The page loads the gradiant blue background, then the error pops-up and bounces me to an IE error page.  I just noticed this today, but it has been a week or so since I went to my homepage.