ABOUT/INFO

Hello, and welcome to the Art Anarchy forum!

Who are we?

Just some independent artists, sick of algorithms and social media.


Why are we doing this?

In recent months, we've witnessed the fragility of corporate Internet. Information is getting deleted, disappearing in front of our eyes. Social media is in shambles - Twitter is ran by a manchild, Reddit, the Alexandria library of the Internet, is slowly burning. This forum is an attempt at "reclaiming the web" - moving it from CEOs to hands of people.
While we are aware that the hosting is by a third party, alas, there are no funds right now to make the forum fully independent. Perhaps that changes in years to come, but for now it's all we have.

While Tumblr remains the best social media for artists, we are witnessing the changes to it too - moving towards the algorithm. Well, this forum doesn't have an algorithm. It's just a... forum. Working according to the classic, old rules. Threads get posted, new threads are up, old below. You can't trick it to promote your content. This, in a way, is freeing. We are artists who are sick of algorithm-based fame, of money and fame being distributed to the ones who have luck to hack it. Work should speak for itself.
Furthemore, this way we ensure the community won't get sacked by the next childish decision by Elon Musk CEOs.

So, huh... forums?

Why forumotion? It's just the site which I used back in my teens, when I created and hung on forums. Those forums and data on them are still up and no info was lost. It's been more than 10 years since then, and I hope this hosting will continue to survive.

Forums are fun. People gather here, discuss, talk. It has advantage over Discord - space where people can often feel excluded due to speed of messages being posted. Forums are slower, but they are more lasting! Discord can't hold the information very well. I know that switching to the forum speed might seem weird and slow after years of using social media, but I think it's worth putting in an effort to preserve the information and community. Consider telling about it to your friends! Social media doesn't last - accounts get closed, migrations happen. Let's make this forum our little sanctuary.

What can we do to take the internet back?

Well, especially for artists, it's impossible to live without social media. That's the way we get our income, the way we get jobs, commissions, etc. However, the future of social media is very uncertain right now - we don't know how long it will last in the form we've come to know it. It's already changing.

The advice is: move away from it. Let's get back to independent forums. Make a neocities web page for yourself.
If you are in position to donate, donate. We live in the age where we "vote with out wallets". Support artists and writers, follow their sites. Join mailing lists. Social media is - I repeat - uncertain!

Get creative! Make your own silly site. Here's a good guide on how to start with neocities.

More useful links:

Useful sites
Searching the net

RUNDOWN OF FORUMS



Ok, so you're here. Now what?

Well, let's start from the top.

Rules and informations - is where you are right now. This is the place for all announcements and everything. You can even suggest things in the suggestion box!


Introductions - This is where you want to head next. Introduce yourself, tell us a bit about who you are, your interests...


Art - is a place for all the visual artists. The sub is intended for general artist discussions, challenges, musings etc.
If you create things, you might want to make an artist thread for yourself. Want some OC commissions? Post in the looking for commissions sub! Artist who wants to promo their commissions? There's a place for you too. Do you sell adopts? Make an adopts topic!


Writing - a place for writers. Discuss everything on writing. Writing a story? Make a thread! Use it as a blog, update chapters... whatever you want!


Music - drawing and writing aren't your style? Or maybe they are, but you are also a musician. Discuss the music, and of course: make a thread so we can get updates directly from you!


Crafts - do you sew? Make dolls? Clothes? This is the place for you. Discuss it with others! Show us your work.


Roleplay - oooh, this is a fun one. Aka, the way I spent my entire youth. Roleplays. Loved em.
Want to host a roleplay? Post an interest check! Then feel free to make the OOC and Character thread, and make the main one so you can start your game!


Fandoms - which shows do you like? Games? Movies? Books? Find your community.


Other discussions - for all the unrelated needs.


Forum games - a time killer. Play plethora of classic forum games... to waste time. It's not like post count matters here, but every forum needs this sub. It's a tradition.


Basket - just forum trash basket!