I'm leaving this place!!

Not me, personally.  But I'm seeing an alarming trend of amazing artists who are getting frustrated with devianART because of what their viewers are doing, and deleting their accounts (or at the very least, deleting their galleries).  In the past two weeks, I've seen the demise of three incredible galleries.

One could put the blame on rude and ignorant people who really shouldn't be here.  I'm talking about people that view dA as "MySpace with ' porn '".  In other words, people who don't know or don't care what the community is about.  It would be nice if there was a way to reach them and ask them to leave or change their ways, but that's never going to happen.

But there's another issue that the frustrated artists may not be realizing when they pack up and leave forever.  By pulling back the great work they had once contributed to the great collection that is dA, they, themselves are diminishing the quality and splendor of this place.  To say that another way, if all the real artists here were to leave at the same time, this place actually would devolve into MySpace with porn.

The best way to improve the community is not to surrender to the ones that "just don't get it", but to make deviantART an undesirable place for them.  We need to fight, carry on, and claim this place as our home.

Here's how to do it:
If people are making inappropriate remarks, block them. If you see people posting artwork that is inappropriate or stolen, report them. And as much as I hate to see watermarks, if you're having a problem with people taking your images, I'd rather have the chance to see a watered-down version of your work than nothing at all.  If we turn a cold shoulder to them and deny them the ability to do the things that are bringing the place down, they will eventually tire of even being here.

(Note:  This was modified from my latest journal, which was less of an editorial and more of a desperate plea.)