`brazensix

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A Final Farewell

Fri Sep 2, 2005, 5:13 PM

Mood:

Always superman...

Well, it's been a long 5 years here on the site and despite what's recently happened, I can't say those 5 years were wasted. Not by a long shot. It's funny... I wore my DeviantArt Staff shirt from the summit today for the first day ever... and not more then 2 hours later while I was in town someone said "Holy crap! You're an admin on DeviantArt?!". Apparently he hosts some forums where multiple members create various signatures and avatars and were frequent visitors to this site. It just goes to show you that the 5 years of work and effort by the founder of this website and those that supported their vision was not for nothing.

I remember back in the day... when someone wrote that they were "leaving the website" they were met with a roll of the eyes and a comment: "WTF, you can't LEAVE a website". Now i sit here and laugh. Here I am...

But no, I won't be leaving... my account will remain here, my comments will remain intact and my impression will last on the few that it touched. Only my pressence, my art and my watchful eye will disappear. I can't say that it's unfortunate. I can't say that it would have any sort of lasting impact whatsoever... but who cares right? That's not the point of this. This is not a last stand, or a final entry out of spite. It's just a decision that I came to last night.

I consider it more of an end to a long journey or another stepping stone in life.

I'm not trying to get sappy here, but I want to thank a few people that I would not have had the pleasure of meeting if it was not for this great website.

Scott & Matt. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be an admin on this site for almost 5 years. Even though working as PVA was stressful, especially when DA was first growing... I always loved doing what I did here on the site and volunteering my time to make this site a better place.

Simsim. You're the bastard responsible for introducing me to the site in the first place. Damn man, I'm glad we've gotten back in touch... but it's really all your fault you know, right?

Kit. I remember way back when we were PVAs side by side, dealing with the crap that was flung our way. You always seemed to have a way to make everything more enjoyable. I'm glad I got to finally meet in person last summer. Good times indeed.

Alina & Olya. Without you crazy girls, I wouldn't have been introduced to the entire Toronto crew and probably never gotten into photography as I am now. I owe you guys a lot for the times we've shared and the different perspectives you both offer me.

Vince. Probably long overdue for a firm handshake if nothing else. IRC is all I have to say. Thanks for the great times we shared and the jokes made. Jenni always loved me best.

Cristian. Driving 8 hours was well worth the wait to finally meet you in person. The results that were created by the combination of our two personalities will leave us with many stories to tell. I'm looking forward to 2brazen 2nyctis next year... heh.

Dave. You've always been a great friend and a trusting person to fall back on. Our collabs were a high point in my art career and I wish we could go back and have at 'er again. P.S. I wonder if the old schoolers remember what 'itirep' stands for.

The list could go on and on and on... but I want to mention a few others that made my stay here so enjoyable. Jen and your damn battys... what a PVA nightmare.

Superkev & Suzi9mm. Splat. Hempingway. Shuan... who would've guess the same company? Thrawn aka Ms. DeviantART, Bookdiva, The new shoutbox crew, Tassel, ChrisG etc. Poetess for my nice cartoon characters, Amy... I will make it up to Barrie some time I promise, Nieman you crazy fuck, the past PVA crew, the kind people that commented on my work, my resignation and my statements and those of you that gave a damn about what this site used to stand for.

I know where I'm going from here, but I don't know if it will be in the same capacity as it once was. We'll see I suppose. I know I left A LOT of people off the list here, but don't take it personally. I loved that day a few weeks ago where all the old schoolers invaded #seniors. I couldn't keep up... but it was a great day and a proud moment. I'd nearly forgotten half of you then. If anyone... and I mean anyone want to get in touch with me whatsoever... then here you go:

MSN: antisteve @ hotmail dot com
Email: brazensix @ gmail dot com
ICQ: 5967005 (occasionally)
AIM: BrazenSix (occasionally)
Skype: BrazenSix (rarely)

Much

to everyone. I'll never forget the times that we shared.

BrazenSix aka Matt Sutherland
DeviantArt's 1st Policy Violation Admin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Letter Of Resignation: [link]

24 Comments

My Resignation.

Mon Aug 1, 2005, 1:22 PM

A Day In The Life Of

One of things that I hate more then anything in this world is a lack of honesty. A lack of respect and a blatant smudging of the real truth is one of the lowest things that you could do and is the mark of a weak individual. An individual who cares not for the people around him, but only himself. Lies and deceit to provide his self-conscious with a reassurance that his actions, his words have merit. But they do not have merit. Nay, there is no merit in taking credit for something you did not create. Nay, there is no merit in ignoring the contributions of others. Nay, there is no merit in ripping apart an entire community for self gain.

Today I speak to you not as an administrator, not as a moderator, but as a friend. As one of the original staff members here at DeviantART, over the course of 4+ years, I’ve been around for its ups and downs, through the good times and the bad times. Over this entire period of time, I’ve devoted every minute that I could to the site performing various duties with the ideal that whatever my role was on the site, it was for the betterment of the community and the betterment of the website. I have no regrets for anything that I have done while an admin at this website because I always acted with my heart. It’s unfortunate that after all of this time, and all of this effort, I’m officially throwing the towel in.

I can no longer convince myself to devote time to a website that is owned and run by a weak individual with no character. I cannot volunteer my time to someone who will blatantly lie to the face of the community and fabricate half-truths to falsify his care for our community. I cannot give any time to someone who so obviously ignores the outcry for an honest explanation. I cannot be a part of a two-faced administration who disgustingly bashes the support that is being raised, while turning around and shouting what a crying shame the whole thing is. Furthermore, I cannot tolerate certain core administrators who feel now that the lines of communication have been broken between certain individuals that they can freely slander and insult administrators because they are no longer present (…and happy because of it) and are, in their opinion, an “asshole” or a “wrench in the system”.

While you may think that a response was given to the community, those of us that understand the situation realize that this mockery of a “response” is nothing but blatant lies and attempt to fabricate a reasonable doubt in your mind that perhaps things aren’t what they seem.

It’s a fact that there are only 2 co-founders of this website.
It’s a fact that admins have the ability to delete journal entries and have done so in the past.
It’s a fact that admins have the ability to delete comments and have done so in the past.
It’s a fact that in striving for the all mighty $$ compromises had to be made.
It’s a fact that the website is no longer in the hands of the original founders and their ideals.
It’s a fact that there is no “open door policy” with regards to certain inquiries.

Truth be told, those of us that have been here from the beginning know the exact truth. We know who founded this site, we know who the original staff members are and we can trace the history of the website based on the 5 years that we’ve been here. The seniors of this website know what it was like in the beginning, know who put the effort and heart into this community, know where the roots burrow and know that no matter what lies are fabricated we will always, ALWAYS know the truth.

Matt Sutherland

205 Comments

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Journal History

Sep 2, 2005 A Final Farewell
Aug 1, 2005 My Resignation.

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