#ProjectEducate and Chat Event!

EDIT: There will be a chat event today hosted by Astralseed in communityrelations at 2PM EST Check out your local time here!

And check out these other great articles posted over the past week:

:thumb320859048: PE DD Week: Why did an icon get a DD?Why did an icon get a DD?
Daily deviations tend to be a controversial topic within the community and whether or not a DD is worthy of the feature is, as such, often discussed.
As a CV for Icons & Handhelds I often find it interesting to read these discussions, since that way I can see what the community expects of the features, but the recent negativity on the Icons & Handhelds DDs is something I would like to address, which is why I'm thankful I'm given this opportunity during the Daily Deviation PE-week. I will try to explain why I think icons and handhelds are worthy of the feature and why they may be dismissed just a bit too quickly.

Let's begin at the beginning.
When deviantART first started, it was a site that mainly geared towards customization. Be it wallpapers or icons, if you take a look at some of the first DDs. So how come there PE: Tolerance Towards Daily DeviationsIf you're like me, one of the first things you do every morning is turn on the computer to check the DDs for the day, if you make this a habit sooner or later you'll see something featured that you won't like at all, making you spill your morning coffee all over the screen.

Oh the crime! That poor coffee going to waste.
Before you hit the Caps Lock button and begin an essay about the drop of quality of DDs, stop. Take a deep breath, maybe walk around for a bit to cool down, and think about what you're going to do. To begin with, complaining about the DD leaving a comment is extremely disrespectful for the artist because most of the time, they didn't even ask to be featured. Instead, take a moment to consider why was it picked, DDs are chosen for far more than just being visually attractive, as the article Daily Deviations - The Myth and the Legend explained; we often look PE DDs: When It's Not Always PositiveWhen DDs Go Awry
Daily Deviations, or “DDs,” are frequently held in very high esteem on deviantART. After all, what artist does not want his or her work displayed for more than 20 million viewers to see and admire? The benefits of receiving a DD feature include increased exposure for your work and a day in the spotlight for you as an artist. Many people therefore view DDs as badges of honor, awards that make them proud and validate the time they spend in our community.
Be careful what you wish for!
Don’t get us wrong-- DDs are wonderful for the purposes listed above. But, they can also bring a lot of drama upon the artist, especially if they are controversial.
Let’s talk about some of the sources of this drama.
The Critic
Some people feel that people who post art-- and especially those whose art is worthy of a Daily Deviation-- should have thick enough skin to accept criticism as well as praise. They argue that criticism is part
PE DD Week: A DD is not an award, but a feature.
A DD is not an award but an art feature.
There. I said it. A DD is not a prestigious award that will change your life drastically, it's just a 24h feature. 
But why is it so important to make this distinction? 
It's just a way of naming something and therefore should not be of great importance, yet it makes all the difference in how people perceive a DD.


On the importance of terminology
As mentioned in the intro, the biggest problem when it comes to Daily Deviations arises with the choice of words used to describe what a Daily Deviaton is. When you call it an award, people will automatically assume that the Daily Deviation is the cream of the crop of every deviation posted ever on this site and that no art featured after it should be able to be perceived as "worse". However, when you call it a feature, most people are fine with the picked deviations and don't even hold them to the high standards of living up and PE Interview with DD Suggester Minato-KushinaAs part of Daily Deviations PE week we have interviewed the lovely Minato-Kushina who has been suggesting DDs since November 2010.  She has since then had over 500 suggestions accepted and as a result of her regular suggestions, made her name known on the DD page.
What first got you interested in wanting to suggest DDs?
I don't really remember the exact point when I started paying attention to DDs. I guess, I saw these beautiful pictures at the bottom of my page. Gradually, I understood that they were a kind of "award" for outstanding pieces. I was also wondering how some people could suggest DDs! By searching here and there, I found the way.
I eventually decided to send my first suggestion to rydi1689, the then Fan Art Gallery Moderator. She is so kind, she accepted it immediately! This encouraged me to suggest more and eventually to love this task. I am generally shy with others. So this gesture, although it may seemed normal to her, it was PE Interview with DD Recipient AwsumzWhile planing for Daily Deviations PE week many in the community asked for interviews from deviants who had received DDs  with varying experiences before.  omgitsacat has received a handful of DDs between his current account as well as his previous account, as such we felt he has went through a range of experiences with DDs as a recipient.  
What was it like when you received your first DD?
Exciting, but also a slight shame because I was a CV (or GD, then) at the time and I saw that it was coming so it wasn't as much as a surprise as I'd have liked it to be lol. It was fun though, a happy magical feeling
Have all of your experiences when receiving a DD been the same?
Hmm, not really. Some have been good and some have been fairly negative
What do DDs mean to you?
They're pretty awesome. Being featured is great, it really helps get some exposure and feedback, etc. but it PE Daily Deviations- Presentation of your workHello all!
Well we’ve had a fascinating week so far; a week which hopefully has provided some insight not only to the process of DD selection but helped you understand what we look for in DDs as CVs. As we draw to the end of this week, I bring you an article which will whet your Saturday with thoughts that don’t just apply to the DD feature, but something which should be a consideration to everything you submit to dA. I am talking about deviation presentation.
Why is Presentation important?
Art isn’t always about just being “creative”. There are techniques and skills which develop over time which contribute to the quality of the work you produce and alongside this comes a developed understanding of good presentation.
Good presentation could be anything from cropping a photograph, to spell checking your literature. These are common sense things that in the rush of wanting to show off your creativity can sometimes be
PE Note to Daily DeviationHello all,
In this section of Daily Deviations (DD) PE week I wanted to write about how your suggestions are processed and then turned into DDs, but with a bit more of a focus on the process of how we Community Volunteers (CVs) utilize the note system.  I felt it was a place where some common problems arise which may not be talked about all too often resulting in confusion and frustration for both suggesters and CVs.  
The Note System
I think many are aware of this but just for the sake of being clear, CVs use the same exact note system as every other user on the site.  We do not have any special bells and whistles to organize our notes other than the same tools you all are also given.  There is no special tool or program that sorts or does anything special with our DD suggestions for us, it is entirely up to us, how we choose to sort them in our note system.  
Let's take a closer look at how the process works, shall we?  
:bul PE Daily Deviations: What if...? 
Hello everyone!
After news articles explaining 'The Myth and the Legend' of the Daily Deviations, how to suggest them, tolerance towards Daily Deviations, the negativity, the focus on the notes and what it actually is, this article tackle the 'What if...?' scena PE Daily Deviations Chat EventHell all,
Just a quick reminder that we have a chat event today in :#communityrelations: at 2PM EST find your local time here.
Come join us to discuss and ask questions about Daily Deviations as part of our DD Project Educate week.  We look forward to seeing you all there.

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Hey, guys! Have you checked out projecteducate? I highly recommend watching the group It's a fabulous group formed by the Community Relations team that aims to promote & support the many communities within deviantART and to to educate us in the many different galleries, communities, and aspects of deviantART! They make amazing and informative articles, interview various artists around dA, and hold contests and other cool events.

This week is Daily Deviations Week They are covering all kinds of aspects when it comes to DDs and if you were ever curious as to what goes on behind Daily Deviations, you should definitely check it out! There will be many great articles, interviews, and a chat event on Sunday. Below is the schedule for this week:
Welcome to Daily Deviations PE WeekWelcome to Daily Deviations week!
Over the course of this week we'll celebrate the positive side of DDs and discuss the negatives, allay some fears, and address some myths in the hopes that all members of dA will have a better understanding of how and why DDs are featured.  We hope that everyone will enjoy what we have prepared for you all as we tried to incorporate the feedback you have so generously given us as we prepared for this week. We hope that we will address your concerns, but feel free to ask questions at any time!
This weeks schedule
Monday AM: Welcome to DD Week - Astralseed
Monday PM: Community Voices: What is a Daily Deviation? - Aeirmid
Tuesday AM: Daily Deviations: The Myth and the Legend - Aeirmid
Tuesday PM: Daily Deviations- So you want to su
And here are the articles published thus far, the first covering what a Daily Deviation is that includes voices from the community about what their ideals and beliefs are behind what DDs are. The second one covers many myths & misconceptions that deviants hold about DDs:
Community Voices: What is a Daily Deviation?DDs: The deviantART definition
So, as the title says, What in the world IS a Daily Deviation (DD), anyway?
You know what deviantART says about it, right? Under :faq61: it says:
A small assortment of submissions are chosen each day by a select group of staff/volunteer members who wish to showcase an image which they found impressive or otherwise interesting enough to deserve being brought to the attention of the community-at-large.
That says nothing about a DD being a perfect specimen of art-- in fact, it doesn't even use the word "art" at all. Basically, as CVs, when we are giving a DD, we are doing so because we think the image is interesting and well-done and deserves your attention. It may be technically exquisite. It may be technically quite good but exceptionally thought-provoking. It may be exceedingly creative. It may be all of these things! Above all else, it should stand out in some way from others in that medium or gallery. PE: Daily Deviations - The Myth and the LegendDaily Deviations, or DDs . . . for some deviants, receiving one is the epitome of awesomesauce in the deviantART world. For others, they are a nice way to show off the work of lesser-known artists. Still others treat them as a special way to bring attention to great art that exemplifies works being done by a particular gallery or community.
Perhaps because there are so many different ways of conceptualizing DDs, there are also many myths and misconceptions. I would like to address some of those myths by responding to the ones most frequently heard. Please note that these opinions are mine and reflect my experiences with the photomanipulation community, but perhaps they will be informative nevertheless.
Myth 1: DDs should always be perfect.
To many of us, the ideal Daily Deviation goes to an artist with amazing talent whose work draws you in and makes you think, "Wow, everyone needs to see this!" A DD should move you, inspire you, and provoke you to think, b

As an avid DD suggester, this week in projecteducate is a very exciting one. If you also love to suggest DDs, love to view them each day, or want to learn more about them, watch the group to get updates through out the week. And it's not just about this week Each week the group educates the community about different aspects of deviantART!

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Updates

So...I have been frustrated with our internet and at first I did not understand what was causing it to run slower all of a sudden. Then Mom informs me we have switched to basic or something? I dunno, but it means we can't afford to have the higher speed at the moment. I have been searching and filling out applications, but still no job It's pretty important, especially since I want to help Mom out.

In brighter news, later on this week I'll be taking care of my Mom's friend's kitties while she goes on a trip I really do enjoy having some nice and relaxing alone time, so this will be perfect. Plus, I get to spend time with adorable kitties We've always had dogs that would never allow us to have cats. I really like cats, too! So, it'll be fun

I've also been pixeling and very slowly getting some motivation and creative juices flowing I hope to upload some arts soon and to create more. And I've also had the itch to write as well, though I'm not sure what yet. In addition, I have finally gotten a spark and came up with a new article series that I'd like to give a shot I'm already working on a few. I have spent many hours searching & finding art, combing through groups, and struggling with sta.sh still discovering awesome artists So, watch out for that

Hope you're all well