What happened? I used to be the only one griping about this and that, now it's spreading like wildfire. Needless to say that I read Ornlu's post -I didn't notice it before. But no, this isn't going to be about that as much as some of my general observations about this community.

The Renderosity community is tame. I've said this before, I'll say it again, compared to other forums on the internet, this place is about as tame as a wild buffalo, after being barbecued. People here actually read and follow the Terms of Service. People here actually take care not to post profanity and mask it with silly little stars and what not. People here are tame. It's incredible, I don't know where it comes from, either from a large influx of an actually mature audience, or the nazi mods that frequent these boards and reduce us all to silence shakes fist at Agent Smith :D

Kidding. It's obviously the former. Strange though, because when you consider the amount of kazaa-induced renders available out there, the simplistic renders of some upteen thousand dollar software packages done by people who seem to have obviously and barely broken out of the puberty stage, you start thinking... Is it really that tame? Of course, one could not compare the vitality and maturity of the true artists of this community with the weak attempts at garnering attention from some 12 year old, neither in their work nor in their postings, but it seems to me that a connection DOES exist. And it's simple, as far as I'm concerned.

I've been browsing the internet for the better part of the last 6 years. I've seen things that should not be allowed into the daylight, I grew up with the internet on my side, and at 20 years of age, I can actually say that the internet poses little suprise to me, no matter how gruesome, or ugly, or funny something one of you might show me will be. I have been a member of countless forums, where flaming was the mot-du-jour, where christian morals represented the only way out of binary damnation (remember, IRC eats babies!), and I've seen more moderate forums. They all share a common facet:

"We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove." - Sam Clemens

And it is true. The fate of a community is 99.9% in the hands of its users, of its members. Mind you, Renderosity is FAR from being safe from the perils of flaming and name-calling and other idiotic mindsets that usually lead to a path of destruction, both for the community, and for the generally weak friendships that are carved out of binary. But we're discreet sheep and we go with the drove.

My point is simple. I've seen a lot of communities fall apart because of the inability of its members to get together and agree upon something, or to set transparency to the issues that are affecting it. Renderosity, in my opinion, lacks a lot of the transparency that generally accompanies -one would surmise- an artist community where freedom of speech and expression are pilons for the lingua franca.

Renderosity is where it is because of Bondware. Renderosity will not stray aware from Bondware, because Bondware owns Renderosity. Renderosity will not accept anything that might come as a threat to Bondware. Vicky panties for 5 dollars in the online store? Sure, forget real art and what this site should stand for, porn revenues drive the internet. Maybe I'm harsh. I confess I have no clue as to how to make Vicky panties. I don't really care for it, actually. I don't mind the people who make Vicky's panties, I don't mind the 12 year olds that download them off Kazaa or manage to use them in their great attempts for medium-hardcore, whatever... I mind the fact that an issue like this lacks transparency, that the freedom Renderosity offers to those who sell binary porn could easily be extended to those who serve the site by offering their actual ART.

That's my opinion. Want the community to grow and to lose the chaff of wankers who get their friends to vote their pictures into the hot20, to forget about the thousands of fake accounts that are being made regularly for the same sort of self-serving, attention-grabbing purpose? Speak out against it, tear the house down if you have to, and scream j'accuse! where blame is to be deserved.

A community fails because individuals -and generally select minorities don't get to be heard out, because it gets eaten from the inside.

When I read what Clay stated in that thread about the site not being perfect, and that we should all get used to the way it is, I remembered the many times I've seen moderators post the same thing. It's more than being a glorified street cleaner, it's the job of accurately and forcefully representing the views of those members who look up to you for the issues they consider just. A community isn't built by antagonizing each other, certainly, especially this late in its life, but it sure as hell is better off when people speak their mind.

Mihnea