I agree with Bill and JenJen regarding all that was brought up about speed issues and the state of the 'vibe' of the site. Change is never easy, especially on this level, but my opinion is that the boat has been taking on water faster than they can bail it out. I'm on broadband cable and I see absolutely no visable difference from before the change. Perhaps I'm on the wrong side of the backbone, maybe my connections need to be cleaned with canned air, or there might quite possibly be a problem here.

I'm also seeing a very large new generation posting to the galleries lately, and the old school favorites I have on my list are posting less and less. My statistics (and many others I have noticed) have almost halved since December; this includes comments, views, etc. I guess my point arrives at the question; "Where did everyone go?". And is there a reason for that? 

Bill, I think you should leave your comments on if you like, or perhaps off if you aren't comfortable. I face the very same dilemma and have for quite some time. Friends of mine have told me to leave comments on since I rarely post and people like to check in and toss a few words my way. There is definitely a guilt factor for not commenting back, and between my ruthless job and the speed and other problems of today's Renderosity, I find it difficult to field 30+ comments per day. There is a lot of daily posting going on and that's pretty much what sank my ability to comment anymore. Perhaps that is part of the problem?? Maybe limit everyone to posting no more than 2 images per week and see what happens to the bandwidth.

I also agree that the community climate is not what is once was a year ago. It was quite a different place a year ago and the heart and soul of the community was so strong and passionate. Today it almost feels kind of canned and cold...like it's obvious the galleries are the paint to the store. And speaking of store, could it be possible that some merchants who submit products every single day aren't helping, either*?* Perhaps limit them to one product per week, and that will also free up more resources to have other products approved.

The Art Charts are laughable, in my opinion, and it seems the only ones who like it are those who didn't make the Hot20 previously. Either you have a ton of friends and/or you post everyday and you're on there. One who posts once in awhile and, say, gathers 10 faves will fall below those who post everyday and get 2 faves per image. You are basically rewarding those who are eating most of the bandwidth in a redundant cycle. Not that I am here to deplete anyone's joy, but these are the statistics and should be considered, as well. It's just like going on a diet and you have to cut corners here and there to get some results.

I think there are a plethora of aspects that need to be considered in the overall big picture of things that are causing some of the problems that are detracting from the joy for some here. It's going to take at least a year to get this site up and running 100% and to touch on all these problems in the long run. About all we can do is sit and wait, or go somewhere else for the time being until it resolves. I haven't posted in three months for all the same reasons, and I'm not really sure what to do about it, either.

The Art Charts are definitely not anything like the Hot20, but 20 times worse. If you haven't noticed, the Artist list hasn't changed all that much since it started. So it will always be the same people in different order every week? How is this different from the Hot20 exactly when the results are so similar? Instead of voting for an image, you simply add it as a favorite and shazam! 

This system would also favor daily and/or frequent posting; more images in the gallery, more exposure, more favorites. I do see some artists who don't post frequently and who are in the Top100 and extremely popular....my guess is that stat is generated from new users who just stumbled upon the Top100 and are feeling the community out. I could go on and on about this subject, but just like the Hot20 issue, it's terribly important to label and rate us as numbers instead of individuals...and it's quite sad, once again. Nobody likes redundancy, and the charts are nothing less than that. Just my opinion, but it certainly would be great to not have a rating system whatsoever! The only thing I really like about the Art Charts is the background color adheres to my CSS styles, but I don't see a point in visiting a page that never seems to change much.  

I agree that the blinding white has got to go. It also gives me a headache browsing the areas with the flat white background, and for an art site to feature such a harsh contrast to the viewable content is ridiculous in my opinion. With no options to change the default colors on all areas of the site via CSS, it only ensures the site will not have a global stylization for those who favor customization. And let's face it, who does favor hard coding anything which ultimately dulls one's perception. It doesn't make much sense to only offer options for two sections of the site and leave the rest at default...I'm just not seeing the logic in this decision whatsoever.

I started a thread on the Gallery Search function awhile ago and haven't had any replys. When you do a search, say for an image title, and span the search between 1 day and 5 years, it dumps a massive amount of errors on the screen and doesn't really pull up anything relevant that I'm trying to find.

Is there any chance the search engine will be more refined so that we can select Image Title / Text in Credits or Body ? As it is now, if you search for a title it pulls up anything that contains any of the words in any combination within the entire post. Hopefully some more options will be available to do more refined searches. 

Yes, I have been noticing the statistics aren't reporting properly at all for the full view counter, and haven't since it was implemented. With all that's going on lately, I'm sure that it will be resolved soon.

An even bigger mess is the search function in the galleries...it's just a mess and doesn't pull up anything close to what I'm looking for. I'm pretty much just sitting back until all of this is fixed completely for near full functionality. Just too many numerous bugs and gliches and changes taking place at this time and it's appearing to cause quite a few members to hang in the shadows until the real deal is in place.  

It's a lot like remodeling a house; everything is in disorder and not quite where it needs to be, but it will reach the mark eventually. In the meantime, I'll be staying at a hotel! LOL!

I, too, just noticed the announcement this morning on the front page regarding Mr. Heart's passing and I am just so taken back by it all. I've been checking back regularly all day to read all the comments and to this very minute there appears to be only 5 posted.  =( 

It's just so traumatic to hear this news and I'm still in shock. Unfortunately, the chaos that the new site has invoked is making it very difficult to make important headline news apparent the way the site it setup. I actually went to the front page by accident today and I'm glad I did as I could not comment fast enough.

My heart, thoughts, and very best wishes go to Carol and her family. It's most definitely a tremendous loss to this community and I hope she continues sharing with us in the wake of this tragic event.

Karen, hang in there regarding the site issues. It's bound to get better once things literally get back to speed and all the functionality returns. It would be even more of a loss to lose you and others over the growing pains. I think more than ever we need the old school members here to keep the balance. Plus I'd miss you too much if you did leave!

I believe williamsn is technically correct in his statement and is grammatically accurate, although not very popular these days at all. A few years ago there was a feminist group who tried to get the King James version of the Bible changed as it references humankind with the word  "man". Apparently that is insulting and not politically correct these days and should be therefore referenced as "peoplekind" instead. (Oh, brother).

This might be an archaic reference, but we are talking about a day and age where the word "God" has been omitted from the the Pledge of Allegiance and the term "In God We Trust" is removed from our currency. Here in San Diego, they are tearing down an old historic monument of a massive cross on a hill that has been there forever. Why? It's not constitutional now apparently. Sometimes I feel America is too free and even the most remotely idiotic crusade will be considered.

I haven't been to a grammer class in quite a few years, and there may have been political updates since then, but I was taught the same as williamsn elaborates. Perhaps it's not suitable for this site, though, which does strive for individualism and recognition. 

I just noticed the change when I got home and anxiously scurried to my Option page to play with the new goodies. Very nice indeed, and the popup killer is a great touch, as well! I, for one, won't be noticing any problems with the resized images as I'm going for full size on everything. I even went through each image in my gallery (luckily only 48 of them) and checked the full size option, took off camera settings, and fixed some formatting problems with the text in some of my posts.

I'm also still running a custom script and everything is running just fine!  Oh man, I must be dreaming or something! WooHoo! Thanks so much for the info and a great job on the new galleries which now offer something for all us with Options. :thumbupboth: 

When I start hearing the word 'Options', and especially a few of them, I perk up quite a bit. This sounds like a very fair way of dealing with the plethora of viewing preferences for everyone here. Now I just have to find the line of code for resizing the images and remove it...if I can remember which one it was. Laffs

This will at least allow each user to personally set their references to individual comfort and I believe ultimately this is the way to go. The only other aspect I considered with this change is the fact there will not be a standard that the images will be viewed as before. But, with all things considered, I'm quite happy with this resolve, and I'm glad it came to these considerations.

Thank you very much Stacey and williamsn for listening (laffs) and bringing this issue to a resolve and putting up with so much static, especially from me. =) If we didn't love this place as our second home, we wouldn't make such a stink. But sounds like we are going the right direction.

To svdl: I understand exactly what you mean with the compression problems by posting at 1600x1200 and adhering to the file limit, and from my very first post, I just don't do it. On Ulead's site there is a fantastic product, SmartSaver Pro, which has a wonderful algorthm that will compress very large images with very little distortions or gliches. I swear by SmartSaver Pro, and given our applications here, it's pricesless. It's also amazing for web graphics applications, as well. Hope this helps. http://www.ulead.com/ssp/runme.htm
 

Awesome post, svdl, and I agree with you very much. The artists who will suffer the most are the ones who post at high resolution. It's basically about artistic respect, and that's what it is coming to these days. Is there such a thing? Oh, yes. Do I take your images and add some stuff, resize it and post it? I certainly do not. Why?

1.) It's out of artistic respect and I would be damaging my reptation in doing so.

2.) It's a copyright infringement, I am liable for messing with your artwork and can penalized by fines and jail time.

Now let's take what is happening on this site today and try to relate to these same items.

1.) Messing with our artwork for the means of a standardized web page scheme. Answer: Ummm no. Never been done before here and won't be much longer if  they want customers.

2.) Modifying our artwork which is © protected is a no-no. If  I can't post a ficticious image using     the Time magazine logo with the Troll beating George W. on the head with a stick for a  ficticious magazine cover, then my images should not be raped and ripped from my grasp for any reason.

I'm tired of the double standards here. It seems that those who post at high resolutions will suffer the most under this new rule, and it's offen that these images contain the most detail that viewers crave. Don't you DARE touch my galleries with this stupid algorthm, I will pull off this site faster than a 20 pound trout on my line. I will not only pull my work and persona from here, I will also advertise the nature of this activity to fellow artists whom have not posted here yet and direct them elsewhere. I am truly unhappy with the inconsideration that the admin is offering the users here, and I have heard the term 'the last straw' more than once withing three days.

So, let me embelish and reiterate what I just said here;

High resolution images, quality, details = not wanted here and are shunned upon. Treated as garbage and displayed as such.

Forced Standarization? Great for an operating system, but doesn't work for artists posting images on an art site. I love purple; how about I force you to eat purple eggs and bacon, purple bread and milk. You are also required to wear purple clothes in my presence and only purchase purple items. How is that for standardization? Yet, that is what the site is doing, basically.

Oh, oh. There is actually an OPTION to allow us to be individuals [scripts]. Oh, My GOD, we must ban that and have the peons conform for 2 people's visions of what what art and web design is all about. These said people don't post to this this site, therefore, I have no respect for what they want. Post images and daze me with your brilliance, shock me with your talent; just don't expect me to bow when you tell me the site is actually a communistic plague. I don't play that way, and neither do must of us here.

Sorry, but I'm about to toss about what I just wrote here, and goes against my OWN TOS. Not gonna do it, tolerate it, or suffer through that kind of artistic butchery, AND I agree wholeheartedly with Bill and svdl; this just can't happen. I am not a clown and won't be treated as such in any form. About 80% of the products used in my images are from here, but I can easily remedy this in a blink of an eye and get equal end results.

Force me to do something, and I'll be forced to leave everytime; just try me.

Hi thefixer!

Yes, the site is completely customizable (right now). Here is my script that I have built from so many great members here, and works wonders for me. Please take note that it is almost stark black. My eyes are very sensitive to light and this works for me very well. You can replace the key color codes with the color picker on this site:

http://www.siteprocentral.com/cgi-bin/feed/feed.cgi

----------Copy this code below this line into your CSS gallery options (Under My Options in Gallery)-----------

BODY {background-color:#000000; color: #e3edf5; }
.content_cell { background-color:#000000; }

td { background-color: black !important; color: white !important ; }

table.outside_table { width: auto; !important;}

a {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 12px; color: #FFFFFF;}
a:link {color: #e3edf5;}
a:hover {color: #FFFFFF;}
a:visited {color: #e3edf5;}
select {z-index: -1;}

/* Sets the appearance of entry boxes */
textarea {background-color:#495F73; color: #e3edf5;}

.gallery_header { font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; text-align:center; }
.gallery_menu { text-align:center; }

.gallery_table { border:2px solid #404040; padding: 2px; }

.gallery_section_bar { background-color:#495F73; height:30px; }
.gallery_section_cell { font-family:Verdana; font-size:14px; font-weight:bold; padding:2px; height:30px; }
.gallery_section_link_cell { text-align:right; padding:2px; }
a.gallery_section_link_cell, a.gallery_section_link_cell:hover, a.gallery_section_link_cell:active, a.gallery_section_link_cell:visited { font-family:Verdana; font-size:12px; text-decoration:none; }
a.gallery_section_link_cell:hover { text-decoration:underline; }

.gallery_cell { padding:4px; }
.gallery_images_cell { padding:2px; }

.gallery_display_table { border:1px solid #404040; border-bottom-width:0px; }

.gallery_display_avatar_cell { border-bottom:1px solid #404040; background-color:#000000; padding:2px; }
.gallery_display_title_cell { border-bottom:1px solid #404040; height:50px; background-color:#000000; padding:2px; vertical-align:top; }
.gallery_image_title_div { font-family:Verdana; font-size:18px; }
.gallery_image_author_div { font-family:Verdana; font-size:11px; }
a.gallery_image_author_div, a.gallery_image_author_div:hover, a.gallery_image_author_div:active, a.gallery_image_author_div:visited { font-family:Verdana; font-size:11px; }

.gallery_display_filler { background-color:#000000; }
.gallery_display_image_cell { width: auto; padding:10px; text-align:center; background-color:#000000; border-bottom:1px solid #404040; }
img.gallery_display_image_cell { border:1px solid #404040; padding:0px; }

a.gallery_image_action_bar, a.gallery_image_action_bar:active, a.gallery_image_action_bar:visited { font-size:11px; text-decoration:none; border:1px solid #404040; padding:3px; padding-bottom:4px; white-space:nowrap; }
a.gallery_image_action_bar:hover { font-size:11px; text-decoration:none; border:1px solid #404040; background-color:#000000; white-space:nowrap; }
a.gallery_image_action_bar img { height:15px; margin: 0 0 -4px 0; }

.gallery_display_notes_cell { width: 100%; text-align: center;
 background-color:#000000; padding:4px; border-bottom:1px solid #404040; }
.gallery_display_details_cell { width: 20%;
 background-color:#000000; width:200px; border-left:1px solid #404040; border-bottom:1px solid #404040; padding:4px; font-size:11px; }
.gallery_notes_details_header { font-weight:bold; }
.gallery_notes_details_body { padding-left:8px; }

.gallery_comment_table { border:1px solid #404040; border-bottom-width:0px; }

.gallery_comment_header_cell { background-color:#000000; padding:4px; text-align:center; font-family:Verdana; font-size:18px; border-bottom:1px solid #404040; height:50px; }
.gallery_comment_avatar_cell { background-color:#000000; border-bottom:1px solid #495F73; padding:2px; }
.gallery_comment_body { background-color:#000000; border-bottom:1px solid #404040; padding:4px; }
.gallery_comment_title_div { font-size:11px; }
a.gallery_comment_title_div, a.gallery_comment_title_div:hover, a.gallery_comment_title_div:active, a.gallery_comment_title_div:visited { font-size:11px; }
.gallery_comment_divider_cell { background-color:#000000; border-bottom:1px solid #495F73; height:5px; }

-------Copy above this line to your options------------------

You will see that the site is now effective, although rather dark in this case. I love black, but you can alter the colors with notepad and the "Replace All" function and the color wheel. I hope this helps, and although it's not perfect, it's very close for me.

And, of course, this comment would come from someone with one image in their gallery who has been on this site for 9 days. I appreciate your humbling advice, but I mentioned that the legal concerns were addressed in other threads. I see nowhere in the TOS on this site where Renderosity has the unique right to mutilate, manipluate, edit, modify or change my posted artwork in any way, shape, or form. I suggest you read it, it's nowhere to be found in the text.

Posting art here is definitely voluntary, but altering copy protected works (that would be a © symbol in case you aren't informed) is not exactly legal, but the preface for the argument is in the fact of the preview image, not the original. Copyright law, however, does state; works of art are not to be duplicated, modified, and posted publically without the written consent of the author (except in the case of contests, promotions, CD magazine, or other promotional endeavors here on Renderosity). I signed up to this site about 1.5 years ago, but nowhere did I read where they can alter my work and post it publically except for promotional purposes. Does that mean I win a prize every time I post? Cough 

I feel completey compelled and enriched with newfound knowledge by your informational response, but I'm afraid it doesn't comply with the entire relative subject matter in which many staple members here are battling this very moment. I love your one beautiful image, it's absolutely gorgeous, and the 9 days you have been a member is fantastic, I wish you the best!

Unfortunately, many of us have been here for a considerable amount of time and have battled so many issues, it's incredibly exhausting to explain to anyone in any form of detail. This happens to be a milestone in the history of the site that we are trying to overcome; the results of this issue will determine the site population, ultimately. I, for one, am tired of trying to relay common sense regarding issues that really don't require much thought. So, yes, I suppose it is like law school then [sic].

I work way too hard on my posted images; some have taken me up to 6 weeks each by massive render times, tweaking, changing, editing, etc. I'll be damned if I see this work displayed at the lowest common denominator as possible. I guffaw at the troll here, but I must admit that it's definitely falling upon calloused eyes. If 20 more Renderosity "Super Stars" were to come in here and voice their strong opinions, I guarantee you we would not be chatting here but instead creating artwork in our spare time.

I'll be quite honest with you; if certain key members were to leave over these changes, I would follow suit. I'm afraid that it's only a matter of how many at this point. Be sympathic to the cause, appreciate the history some have had here, realize that sarcasm is great for galleries but doesn't work so well directly aimed at serious posts.

The only thing 'diluted' here is the logic in which we dwell, and this response is simply not helping, but thanks anyway. =)

It should be an option as it's a privacy issue for certain. I've seen this issue been raised a few times, and there are those who don't have time to comment but view, and there's a guilt factor involved here. "He's online, why doesn't he come?". The answer is simple; I'm beating off creditors, nasty girlfriends, stray animals wandering into my house, and trying to model while I'm making dinner while on the phone. Another OPTION that needs to be implemented.

I just started a thread on this myself and didn't see this one posted first...probably out of sheer frustration as I look to the grim future of the poor decisions that are being considered today. Here's my post of my thread.

This topic has been brought up in a few other threads thus far, but I would like to create a thread that generally is not in support of having our images tampered with and being forced to click an extra time to view the image.

With the scripting options posted in other threads, the site is fantastic as is and allows a user to revert to viewing images the old way - One click, one view. I don't have time to click multiple times to view images, and what's worse, I don't want my images anti-aliased, even the preview image. I really like my custom script that allows me to view the site as I feel comfortable with, and this doesn't affect anyone else but me. If you do decided to carry on with this ridiculous algorthm, then PLEASE make it an option to turn off as many users are happy with their custom scripts in functionality, and there will be ample support in the forums to assist those who want their desired customizations. I click on my thumbs in my gallery, the full sized posted image loads with all my information, stats, comments, and BAM...it's on! It's my home here, too, and that's the way I prefer to have it presented.  One click, one view, completely wholesome.

From a legal standpoint that has been brought up in other threads; Renderosity is run as a private entity and they have the right to operate the site as they see fit, and always have. The debate comes in when  they duplicate, alter, and publically post this preview image and thus fabricating what the artist intends on presenting to the end user. Especially when the artist does not condone this activity or want his or her works displayed in this fashion. Not only that, but it doesn't ensure the image will even be viewed in its' proper state.  If another user took my images, modified them, then decided to post it in their vision, no matter what the intention, there wouldn't be enough expletive language from my lungs to convey my expressiveness. I certainly wouldn't expect this activity to originate from the site.

I prefer options, as do many of us here, and not have to conform to an ideal of a handful of individuals that have a different outlook in how artwork should be presented. As it stands, with my custom script that I have put together from various sources here, the site is better than ever and I don't have to click 200% more to navigate the site in an effective and bandwith efficent manner.

All arguments aside, I do appreciate the thought and consideration that is going into the conversion of the site and to try to arrive at a happy medium to where most will be content. However, altering artwork is not the path to travel, and quite a few users will decide to travel a path which leads far away from this site. Something to indeed consider in the plethora of decisions which can be made to arrive at a logical conclusion. Nobody wants their artwork modified, especially by a cold and calculated generalized script that will most likely end up blurring large images, thus creating a facade that the artist most certainly didn't intend to present while uploading.

Please consider these thoughts carefully as I truly feel that giving the end-user the option of customization is ultimately the most prevailing way to travel to lead this site successfully.

P.S. Yes, the mouse-over stat window is handy, but very annoying already. It does flicker the entire page after crossing over to another image, and it did not do that last night. I just don't see what they can't have the old Ratings/Comments under the thumb like before. What good is "uploaded 237 days and 3 hours ago" tell me? That I'm a turtle? LOL! I don't need to be reminded that time is passing by so fast, and it's a bit depressing. : / All things being equal, I will keep the stupid mouse-over stat window in lieu of this insane hard coding/smoothing function, which actually functions more like vandalism than anything constructive. I personally am not working on this project, but with the scripts, the galleries are even better than before when you initiated the dreaded popup window viewing images. Let's keep it real, but please not real dumb. =)

Nicholas and Stacey, thank you very much! It's now working fine, and with the custom CSS script, the site is fantastic! The only major issue that I'm concerned with at this point is the hard coding of 700 pixels of the preview image and this anti-aliasing algorthm. I know this is a daunting task for the staff and I appreciate thus far the recognition. Thank you.