Scientifically artistic. Music. Dance. Photo. Sketch.

So, as a few of you know, I was invited to visit deviantART's HQ this past Wednesday by $spyed himself to discuss an overview of what's to come to the site, including groups. I ended up dragging =KissMyHuman's ass along, and we met up with @DreamingMyth, =WrathOfNessis, and =shadowed-light-waves.

Now, I honestly don't want to go into detail about what we discussed yesterday because I know that when the time comes, $spyed can and WILL say it better. I will tell you that groups are revolutionary. Not only will they bring the community together while it is growing at a rapid rate, it will completely redefine the community as a whole, and for the better.

Here's what I want each and every one of you to know: Each and every single core member cares about this site. When $spyed walked us around the office and introduced us to every worker there, they were excited to meet deviants and even get our input on what they were working on. It was so common throughout the day to be asked our opinions, and we were treated like important members of the deviantART team. And when you think about it, we all are. What other websites give you a suggestion forum and faces to the administrators that can make things happen within them? Not many, and deviantART knows where it's at in terms of how valuable its member base is. Social networking sites fade throughout the years, incorporating trendy aspects to each, but deviantART has held its own since the beginning. One of the topics I enjoyed most that $spyed brought up was how networking sites are built on superficiality. deviantART goes beyond that by getting the people involved with the community and with each other to achieve that common goal: appreciating and creating art.

To those of you that whine that things "take too long" to be implemented, I can tell you why. Chances are, there is something in the works which is even bigger and better than what you've asked for, while still encompassing your wants and needs as a deviant. This should be encouraging news, and I encourage everyone to suggest what they believe would help make the site even better.

I'm still coming down from yesterday, mostly due to the highly positive environment I'd encountered while I was there. You could tell everyone loves their job, and it's just fascinating for me, as a user, to see a team working towards the same goals with the same view on how it should be done.

And now for the thank yous and goofy shit.

The biggest thank you to $spyed, who let a few deviants into his brain and the office. This was an unforgettable experience, and I can only hope to meet him again.
Another big thank you to $Heidi, who lent her time and an ear to us visitors regarding the questions and issues we had.
$chris, you are a lean, mean, drumming and scootering machine. You should totally rent your Rock Band skills out for parties, and I thank you for not laughing at me when I did vocals.
$bionikdesign for pelting $endosage in the head with my blue ball and $endosage for putting up with my constant shit.
Thank you to everyone else ($Waveswinger, $trowlandson, $liquisoft, $makepictures, $Stykera, $ShadowOrexia, and everyone I didn't mention!) that let us interrupt their work to give us awesome high-fives, hugs, and handshakes.