DDs: Suggester's frustrations

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Welcome to a new journal in this mini series about Daily Deviations. In the first one I let you know about what I think DDs represent, and then about some of my personal criteria to select them.

Now is time to focus on the suggesters. Those amazing (almost always human) beings who take a moment of their lives to go the extra mile when finding an amazing deviation and suggest it for consideration as a Daily Deviation. Ya know? I wouldn't be able to feature so many amazing art on my own! So before anything else, I want to take a moment to thank all the amazing people who suggest. Thank you guys!



As a person who also suggests DDs once in a while,  I do understand the frustration suggesters often get. So I would like in this occasion to explain some of the reasons why these situations happen, I hope this will help you see the complete picture.

My suggestion got featured, however I didn't appear as the suggester / It got featured by a different CV


The reason is actually very simple. It's quite common to receive multiple suggestions for the same piece, by different people. When this happens CVs have various options. Some may opt to list only the person who suggested it first. Others might add a note in the DD description "Also suggested by ____". If the suggestions were too many, maybe the note could be simply "Suggested by many deviants" etc. Also remember some galleries have more than one CV, so it's quite possible another deviant suggested the same piece to another CV and then got featured. Sometimes can be even more complicated. In my case I schedule several DDs in advance, sometimes weeks. In the meantime the deviation gets featured I may receive more notes suggesting said piece. Going back to the deviation to edit the description can, at times, be complicated, confusing and time consuming. Why not investing my time in checking fresh suggestions instead of making sure every single suggester gets listed so I won't offend anyone?

In every case I think is important to remember that what should matter is that the art you thought deserved to be featured, GOT featured. I'm saying this in the most respectful way: it's not about YOU, is about the ART. I do think is important to give credit to the person who suggested the piece, but the whole point of Daily Deviations is to show great art, not the people who suggested them. If your motivation to suggest DDs is to appear as the suggester so you can get a little extra exposure, maybe you should reconsider your reasons to do it.


I suggest a lot, but my suggestions never get featured


I wish I could say something more inspiring, but maybe the reason why your suggestions aren't picked is as simple as because your personal criteria to determine if a deviation is awesome may differ from the given CV. This includes the skill level from the artist, the exposure the deviation already has and even personal taste.  I said in my previous journal that I do try to leave my personal taste out of the way as much as I can, however is also true that that's impossible. This is a subjective system and ultimately, is the CVs decision to feature the art they want. Try to know your CVs, check their favourites and the DDs they've featured. That way you'll get to know their taste and the art they like to feature. Most CVs have their personal guidelines listed somewhere in their profiles, read them! Another thing that always helps is to give your reason why you think the deviations should be featured. They do work! I've found myself featuring art that at first glance doesn't have anything special, but a good reason can make me change my mind.

Also remember the CVs have very high standards, for as much as you like the deviation, if technically is below average it's unlikely it'll get featured. Yes, the skill level is very subjective, but I don't think you need a degree in Graphic Arts to know when an artwork is not DD material.

Not everything is lost though, fortunately there are some galleries (like literature or Traditional Art for instance) that have more than one CV, more people with different criteria and taste for you to send your suggestions to! If you know for sure your suggestion won't get featured by someone, try sending it to another one.


I never get a response / The CV takes ages to reply


There are a couple of things you should always have in mind.
First off, CVs are VOLUNTEERS. We dedicate some of our free time to do what we do here with no obligation whatsoever, and some of us have school to attend, papers to write and/or a full time job, etc. Some even have family, kids or a husband! (you need to feed them and whatnot). What I'm trying to say is that we love the community and all, but some of us have more or less time to dedicate to it than others. We don't even have the obligation to feature DDs everyday. I know it sounds shocking, but it's true! Also remember DDs are only a portion of what we do as volunteers, and some may opt to do other activities instead of selecting DDs. I also know many CVs who are incredibly active backstage. So remember that a CV who doesn't feature DDs in a daily basis or never replies to their notes doesn't mean they're lazy or they aren't doing their job.

With that in mind, every CV is free to handle their suggestions differently. Some (like me) try to reply to every note, others don't. I know is polite to reply but some CVs are more busy outside DA than others, so maybe some of us don't have time to reply to all our suggestions. It's also worth mentioning that the number of suggestions we receive varies greatly. Some galleries are more busy than others, the range could go from 1 (or none) to dozens a day! That can also give you an idea why some volunteers may not reply to your note, or take a long time to do it.  Have a little patience!

In any case, remember you can always know when your note was already read, when the icon goes from to Even if you don't get a reply you can know if it was already read.

A note about the categories


Now comes the situation of sending your suggestions to the incorrect CV. Remember every category within DA has a CV assigned to it and you should always address your suggestions to the volunteers accordingly. You can always check either FAQ 18: Who selects the Daily Deviation and how is it chosen? or the Community Relations blog, before sending your suggestion.

But there are also times when I receive suggestions for deviations from the Digital Art gallery, so the deviant sent it to me as expected, but then the deviations is actually Anthro,  Manga or Fanart, etc. I get sometimes a deviation can fit several categories, like a digital cartoon can be in the Comics & Cartoons gallery, but it can also very well be in Digital Art, after all is a digital drawing, technically is not incorrect. It's something that I also consider case-by-case, however there are times when no matter how you want to put it, the deviation is a miscat. A good example are fanarts. I know you might think a fanart made with digital mediums could be in the Digital Art gallery, but if the subject and/or scene is based in a TV show, movie, anime, book, etc. then is fanart and it should be in the fanart gallery, so if I receive one of these, it doesn't matter if it was submitted to the Digital Art gallery, I'll redirect you to the fanart CVs.

So what to do? As a suggester you should stick to send the note to the volunteer according to the deviation's category, but if you consider the deviation is a miscat, send it over to the appropiate CV and explain it beforehand.


At the end I think is a matter of understanding each other and putting ourselves in the shoes of the other. In closing: remember volunteers are that, VOLUNTEERS. We do our best but this isn't a job. Every CV is different so it's always best to don't expect the same response from everyone. On the other hand, know that (and I think I can talk for all the CVs here) it's never our intention to be rude, but sometimes situations present themselves and misunderstandings happen. If you ever have a doubt or want a clarification on a particular situation you can always send us a note! We don't bite!


© 2012 - 2024 Thiefoworld
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Kida-neechan's avatar
Well now this is what I call a superb journal entry :thumbsup: You've done very well writing this in all its detail and adding the gif certainly makes funner to read :XD:

Even though I sometimes don't get a reply, I just check whether the note was read or not :) and the 'the whole point of Daily Deviations is to show great art, not the people who suggested them' really got me, I kinda felt bad when I complained that I wasn't listed as a suggester, I've almost forgot the main reason why I suggested those pieces; to share some love for that piece :heart: and I realized I need my brother beside me to give me a good fish-slap to remind me of it :XD: