Heh, people just like familiarity and don't like to move. There is a better-run alternative to FA, FAP, and nobody uses it because they're on FA, and would rather deal with incompetent admins, long downtimes, random purges of PMs, petty infighting, etc. than to use a site that works well.
Despite all its problems (and there are many problems) FA still draws a tremendous amount of traffic and many of my friends are there. Even in its compromised state it still generates me a lot of income. Artspots/Yiffit are of course well-run, but I'm not going to pull my work from the site which is generating almost all of my commission clients, and many times the comments/watches/attention of any of my other galleries.
Actually, the reason I don't use FAP, is that the acronym of the site is such a crude and tasteless joke. The reek of tastelessness is so great I just won't even bother. FA isn't the only site that makes bad PR choices.
As for everyone else, the general consensus is that since all of their friends are already at FA, and not at FAP, there's really no point in moving to a site where there's nothing to see.
Furthermore, the low load on the other sites is what makes them so useable in the first place... if everyone starts migrating over there, it won't be long until its as unstable and high-maintenance as FA.
So... long story short, no, there really aren't any good alternatives to FA that really have a chance of remaining alternatives for any length of time should they somehow become popular.
If you want there to be one, go help Inaki's team with theirs... pour your time and money into it to make a difference, or stop whining about not having what you didn't help support.
As for everyone else, the general consensus is that since all of their friends are already at FA, and not at FAP, there's really no point in moving to a site where there's nothing to see.
That's the sixty-four-thousand dollar chicken and egg problem. :) Although in all honesty, JaxPad/ArtSpots fulfills a whole different niche (and to a different extent, so does Yiffit). There are people who don't want their work on a porn site, so JP/AS has art and other features that aren't found on FA.
Even if Inaki and his crew plus me and my crew managed to create a true alternative, nobody would use it for the reason you mentioned above. JaxPad was originally that. The code still has the ability to have ratings from G thru XXX, the ability to create your own watch (and block) lists, better navigation, etc. etc. But nobody cares, because FA has the bulk of the people. The only way to get people to use JaxPad was to either sit and wait for FA to explode permanently, or to branch out into niches not filled. I opted towards a more pro niche. If we really wanted to be a threat to FA, DA, etc., we could just remove all restrictions on content. :) (I've had a lot of DA artists want to move over to the site, especially since we offer better print returns, but we've stuck to anthro-only, which limits us. Even FA isn't anthro-only, with a lot of artists there who don't even do furry critters.)
Furthermore, the low load on the other sites is what makes them so useable in the first place... if everyone starts migrating over there, it won't be long until its as unstable and high-maintenance as FA.
Only if the admins didn't have the foresight to plan for expansion. The original machine that JP/AS was on is smaller than what we have now. When the whole FA cub art fiasco happened, our usage spiked, our server slowed, and in less than a week we were running on a new, dedicated server. There was only a brief outage, the longest time being waiting for the DNS to propagate. When it comes time to expand again, we have a plan waiting, and the new machines would be fully operational with most of the DB and data on it before we even thought about switching over. :)
So... long story short, no, there really aren't any good alternatives to FA that really have a chance of remaining alternatives for any length of time should they somehow become popular.
I have to wonder how long FA collapses under their popularity, myself. One of the admins already tried to sell it because they didn't want to deal with it. How long until the admins tire of it, or the costs become too great, crushed by success and no income source outside of donations?
I like you and your pragmatism, and Inaki likes you too. :) Would you be interested in being on a mailing list to try and outline the writing site?
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-28 02:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-28 04:05 am (UTC)As for everyone else, the general consensus is that since all of their friends are already at FA, and not at FAP, there's really no point in moving to a site where there's nothing to see.
Furthermore, the low load on the other sites is what makes them so useable in the first place... if everyone starts migrating over there, it won't be long until its as unstable and high-maintenance as FA.
So... long story short, no, there really aren't any good alternatives to FA that really have a chance of remaining alternatives for any length of time should they somehow become popular.
If you want there to be one, go help Inaki's team with theirs... pour your time and money into it to make a difference, or stop whining about not having what you didn't help support.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-28 04:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-28 05:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-28 12:05 pm (UTC)That's the sixty-four-thousand dollar chicken and egg problem. :) Although in all honesty, JaxPad/ArtSpots fulfills a whole different niche (and to a different extent, so does Yiffit). There are people who don't want their work on a porn site, so JP/AS has art and other features that aren't found on FA.
Even if Inaki and his crew plus me and my crew managed to create a true alternative, nobody would use it for the reason you mentioned above. JaxPad was originally that. The code still has the ability to have ratings from G thru XXX, the ability to create your own watch (and block) lists, better navigation, etc. etc. But nobody cares, because FA has the bulk of the people. The only way to get people to use JaxPad was to either sit and wait for FA to explode permanently, or to branch out into niches not filled. I opted towards a more pro niche. If we really wanted to be a threat to FA, DA, etc., we could just remove all restrictions on content. :) (I've had a lot of DA artists want to move over to the site, especially since we offer better print returns, but we've stuck to anthro-only, which limits us. Even FA isn't anthro-only, with a lot of artists there who don't even do furry critters.)
Furthermore, the low load on the other sites is what makes them so useable in the first place... if everyone starts migrating over there, it won't be long until its as unstable and high-maintenance as FA.
Only if the admins didn't have the foresight to plan for expansion. The original machine that JP/AS was on is smaller than what we have now. When the whole FA cub art fiasco happened, our usage spiked, our server slowed, and in less than a week we were running on a new, dedicated server. There was only a brief outage, the longest time being waiting for the DNS to propagate. When it comes time to expand again, we have a plan waiting, and the new machines would be fully operational with most of the DB and data on it before we even thought about switching over. :)
So... long story short, no, there really aren't any good alternatives to FA that really have a chance of remaining alternatives for any length of time should they somehow become popular.
I have to wonder how long FA collapses under their popularity, myself. One of the admins already tried to sell it because they didn't want to deal with it. How long until the admins tire of it, or the costs become too great, crushed by success and no income source outside of donations?
I like you and your pragmatism, and Inaki likes you too. :) Would you be interested in being on a mailing list to try and outline the writing site?