Written by Mighty :
Used with permission. Banner © Hecate
Some of you may be aware of the fact that a lot of us older members are upset over the fact that people are here for all the wrong reasons. This news is what this news will be focusing on.
Yes, this fan site is out of control, and needs to be fixed. At this rate Animation Source has gone above and beyond the words "fan site". So I would like you to ask yourself, am I truly a fan? Think hard, and think seriously. Because if you are a truly a fan of whatever site you may spend your time on, then you wouldn't be using this site as a character hub. You would be sending in submissions of strictly fan related content. Animation Source is not an alternate site for Deviantart. Nor is this a character hub. I've seen a lot of people who come here and make nothing but characters.
I would also like to stress the fact that this makes this site not able to function like it should. How? Well, let's take me for example. It makes it harder for me to post a fan news when there isn't much of any content worth sharing. You see where I'm going with this? No food=no dinner. This can also be said for the selection of the week. Sometimes this can be the fault of the mods, but sometimes it can also be the fact that there isn't anything to rotate to.
The following quote is by Imagine, and I have received her okay to post it here.
Link to post | The topic itself
"There's a difference between liking something and being a fan of it.
To like something, in terms of fan art, means to just draw something related to a movie or TV show and post it somewhere, (something like that) and it's okay if you only like something!
A true fan would be completely committed to drawing only characters from from that particular movie or TV show. Well, not 24/7 obviously, but on a fan site dedicated to that movie.
I like a lot of things. Oranges, pencils, vacations, softball, wasting time on the internet XD and if we're talking about movies. Animated--Lion King, Beauty and the Beast; Live Action--Just Go with It, Benchwarmers, and Valentine's Day (I'm a sucker for comedies XD)
But if I want to be a FAN of these things...I would be almost obsessed with them!
And then there is the size of fan. Meaning are you a BIG fan...or only a small fan? This is where it gets tricky... and I also think it's kinda hard where to draw the line between a fan, and a person who only likes it, especially if they claim to be a fan/not a fan. If it were easy, the problem would already be solved.
Here's the dictionary.com definition of "fan."
..."an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer"...
Enthusiastic. That's the key word in there. I have to admit I might be contradicting myself the more I write this, and that may be the problem this site has had for a long time. There is no device telling you how many fan arts of Balto you post in order to become a fan, or how many semi to non-related stuff you post in order not to be a fan. People have to decide that for themselves, and people...have their own opinions on such things. And BAM! Explosion of fights, flames, and wars reek havoc on innocent members...Bum bum buuuum!"
As of May 16th, the character hub idea has been voted out.
That doesn't mean that this over, and that you will be able to proceed with your characters. We're now considering a committee.
I would highly recommend, if you haven't already, to move ALL of your non-related characters to DA. Or any other site that you may be a member on that accepts art.
Do you guys remember my joke from last month? The joke that all your characters will be moved to a new site? Well, this idea may just come to life (NOTE: This is just an idea. It may or may not happen, so don't panic). Like I said above, a lot of you seem to focus only on your characters, and a lot of them, at least from what I've seen, isn't even related to Balto. A lot of us members have thought that this site would be a good idea (Steet is okay with the idea). And before you go and say, "but this is Animation source". Any of you remember Gamebook Land (no longer exists)? Well, Animation Source didn't exist at the time, but this site was completely indipenant from from Balto Source and the Lion King Source.
Quote by Steet | The topic itself
"- The difficulty of what is allowed or not is the main problem, as it can't be something really objective. As we've seen previously, having a character being "related" to a Balto character just doesn't work because people cheat.
- On the french side, since about 6 months, the characters must be activated before being on the site, and the moderators are filtering what comes in. It seems to work, but let's not forget that the amount of characters being validated on the french side is not even 1/10 of what's on the english site! Also, more submissions and more mods = conflicts over what should be allowed or not.
- And I remember that when mods had to validate characters on the english side, there were lots and lots of characters in the waiting list, always, no matter how many mods.
Here's what I suggest :
- Making the "Characters Source" site as suggested, and on this site, allow any kind of characters (as long as it respects the no-sex, no-violence rule), and no validation required by the mods.
- But on any other site, the submissions will have to be validated, and mods will filter what comes in.
- Then, I would post a news on the sites to let everyone know about this change, and allow them some time to move their "wrong" characters and art there.
- After that while, mods will be allowed to filter and delete any art/character that doesn't fit a site."
What classifies as not related?
Sparkle dogs
unrealistic designs
wings
legwarmers
pircings
scarfs
Anything that can be described as scene dog/emo dog, etc. If it can't happen in the movie of concern, then chances are you shouldn't send it.
Also, this doesn't mean you can't be creative, so don't go there. You can be just as creative with a realistic dog that is related to the movie of concern.
What is allowed?
Realistic colors and markings
Collars (if the animal of concern can wear one)
Relation to Balto. And not just: He lives in nome, or he knows Balto. Try and be more complex and devolop the character.
Your own version of one of Balto's un-named pups, or a character that was seen but has no name.
Human characters, but keep in a style that is from that time period.
If you're interested in helping in restoring this site, then this is how you can help: Go through your galleries and delete anything that shouldn't be there. Go through your characters and clean them out. Send in content related to the site. The last thing you can do is use this banner here in your profile. But ONLY if Hecate says you can, she's very picky on who uses it.
So that will be all for now. Have a nice day!
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Comments
pala
You don't even HAVE any fan creations on this site yet. Anywhere. And I've looked. Why should you even care?
Like I said before, only exception I´d make would be fursona´s/persona´s/personal mascots. (But only one of these per user to avoid people cheating their sparkle mutts into that category to "save" them from getting deleted). But to my opinions that fursona is Balto related anyways since it is there to represent the artist that, on here, is a fan of whatever movie the source is about. (I know that´s a huge strech of the "Balto related" rule but you know, no rule without exception XD
And besides, people can show fanworks featuring their fursona and an official character so it wouldn´t be that much of a big deal. And with being only one such character per person there wouldn´t be a flood of them.
kopa
I would also like to know what you mean specifically, is it okay to put up characters that are related to TLK? And if we have characters that are unrelated to TLK, should we modify them to make them TLK related?
Whispere
r
(I'll stay out of the debate on whether a separate non-related source is a good idea or not since I don't particularly stand on either side.)
My biggest question would be this:
- Are strongly related characters still allowed here? If so, are fanworks of them allowed as well?
(Like for example, my character Penny is the daughter of Balto and Jenna. Would I be allowed to still submit drawings of her? or would it be allowed only if the drawing also contained a Balto character?)
Other than that I completely support this choice and have my fingers crossed. This site used to be such a clean fansite that was very inviting and I would be more than ecstatic to see it become that site again.
But either way, I want to see these unrelated characters gone like everyone else does. If people are going to complain, so be it, that's their problem. This is a FAN SITE, not an art site, so it's their fault that they're now throwing a fit that their characters don't belong here. There is always another place for this stuff.
Wolf
If not... then what the heck is the point of having a fan site, or an entire chain of fan sites if they're going to be abused the way these have been?
If members who are around because they see all of this 'free for all' nonesense going on, only add to it don't like it, and many of them don't - that they're here not for the movies they loved as kids, have grown up with - then they're wasting their time and ours. They're not here for a purpose, but a free for all.
Whereas the rest of us - who believe in the term Fan - and the movies we grew up watching as kids and young adults...
Truth be told, and I ain't afraid to say - I've learned an awful lot in the last six years I've been here - we have a... shall I say, greater reason to be here.
Why? Because we care. Because we want these fan sites restored to their originality. When the characters section wasn't torn like this and swarmed with sparkles and non related characters and abused like this.
Other members... Are you here for your love of the movies on this chain, or what?
They should think about this.
pala
As to anyone who said that it's impossible to create a fan character or other creation and call them "related to the [movie universe in question]" because "they're not official", that's baloney. There is nothing wrong with a member creating realistic characters that have some legitimate link to the movie universe and setting, and/or to a particular official character or situation (and by realistic, I have already said before that "realistic" does not mean "life-like". The characters in MOST of the movies supported by AS are realistic. They are not actually life-like).
This "anything goes" source would be a foolish mistake. Would it become more popular than any of the existing sources? I doubt that. Would it become a nightmare pit bristling full of ridiculous and irrelevant characters and fan art? Quite possibly. Volume of submissions by role-players and those who want to just dump drawing after drawing into galleries does not equate with popularity or validity. But it does keep the problem here...just shunted into one specific place which, I am dead certain, would become a stress-ridden disaster for the poor mods who would have to manage it.
pala
I have pretty radical viewpoints on this issue, as many are keenly aware by now. And I shall try to be as brief as possible in delineating them:
1. Sparkle characters and creations are ridiculous (in my OPINION) and have no business being here whatsoever;
2. Unrealistic characters and creations (those with human accessories such as hats, jewelry, leg-warmers, glo-sticks, etc.; wings and/or other extra appendages; impossible markings like checkerboards on their backs, etc.; horns; tufts of human-style hair on their heads; vampire fangs; and all manner of other weirdness), regardless of whether or not they are related to the movie the particular source is about, do not belong. If the movie is not some wild fantasy or science fiction story, there is no excuse for such creations and characters here;
3. All characters and creations HAVE to be related to the movie (and, more particularly, its setting rather than the storyline of the movie itself) for the particular source they are created on;
All that being said, I am totally against this "anything goes source". It's just a placating move. Most of these outlandish characters are used in role-plays that are never finished anyway. Most of the characters themselves are never finished. And that is reason enough to be rid of them.
Wolf
x
er
Nice that this is finally going to get up off the ground!
flamed
wolf
However before people point out that I have 3 characters of my own that have no relation to Balto, yes that is true. However one is my fursona,which I may mind getting deleted... But the other 2 I honestly could care less about being deleted or deactivated since they are not related to Balto. So yeah, I myself haven't really followed in being a "fan", but I never really wanted to post art or characters when I first came on. I always just enjoyed being on the site, looking around at everything and chatting with people.
Am I going to be upset over the changes? Hardly, change is always happening and honestly it seems like it would be for the better...
nowflake
Balto doesn't have 500 children, it's only that 60 members have made they version of his pups ( with Jenna or an other one ). And that all. Like many members want to make they own version of his father =P
nowflake
I really do admire the movies of Balto and they were a large inspiration for me in my childhood, however though, one thing that does seem to get me off is that a fan will do the same thing as another.
Personally, in the movies of Balto, it seems like Nome is a small town, so Balto can't have 5,000+ relatives; plus in the first movie most of the humans (people) were afraid of him because he was half wolf, so I'm sure if there were 5,000+ wolf hybrids running around Nome would have become a ghost town on the first day they noticed the surplus in population.
The problem I have with making a fan character is that part of me looks at other characters in the movies to think of designs that would be possible for a character that is related to the movies. In the movies, they have more simple designs, and if there is a color, it's usually well saturated. I want to follow the code of the movies for designs if I'll do anything, plus, I'd prefer something realistic.
One thing that bothers me about fan made characters is that the fans usually come up with the same ideas over time. Like "Balto's half-sibling" "Jenna's sister" "____'s ____!" etc. plus they usually end up with a place that is considered of importance in the movies, like mail carrying and all that. I think there's a border between being a fan character and being a free roaming character though.
I likely the idea, but it might have a few downfalls that would have to be closely watched.
I'm planning to start doing more for the site soon..
7
Also, I hope no one's fan character(s) get deleted; the least that can be done is to try [keyword is "TRY"] to move them safely first and have deleting and resending characters as a last resort. I know making a character is a lot of hard work if the creator is truly dedicated.
Just adding this other tid-bit that just came up.
- Juuchan17
7
As for that banner idea: I think that anyone could say they want to use it from Hecate [if they get the okay to first], but I doubt that's it's enough to stop that same person from using their own made-up universe of characters. Not all fans are smart enough to understand the meaning of being a "fan", even if you tell them the definition several times.
Again, y'all can make the Fan Character Source whatever all you want. I could care less about it, as if I wanted fan-made characters I could just keep them on my DA or something. I still think that if a fan character is directly related to an official character from the core series [like a child, a mate or some other relative; I might say that really close friends and companions should be allowed too, as long as they interact with an official character OFTEN.] that the fan site is focused on, it should remain on site. Other characters, like the ones that are acquaintances, far-off rivals and other creatures, should be on the new Character Source.
That's just my two cents on the issue. It would be wonderful to see this place - and all the Sources, for that matter - return to their proper glory as true "fan-sites" for fans.
- Juuchan17
phoenix
It's just like you go on a site who is about dogs only and start to make cats, dragons etc ... Hey, there is sites for this ! But if you join a site who have a theme, like here Balto source or Spirit source or any site on animation source, you've to follow the theme. Animation source is not an art site, it's a fan site, means that all you do here have to be in relation with the movie. And Balto source doesn't mean canines source as Spirit source doesn't mean horses source ...
This is not a big deal to move your unrelated stuff on an other site ! Save all your descriptions and images, than you can send them on and other place. And make like some artist here already made : give a link to you blog, website or even forum post. When Characters was not on balto source, I remember that I send all my drawings on the forum and only my balto related stuff on the site ^-^ Plus, nothing doesn't allow you to send some pictures by PM to your friends .
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