Alright, I'm to the point that I need to go into this a little bit. There's probably some other frustrations getting channeled here too lol.

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I see a lot of journals about the name changes and the majority seem to fall under two types - those people who have changed their names and are excited about it (while explaining why they did it) and those people saying that it's stupid and how you shouldn't worry because they'd never change their DA names.

SO to start, I'm sure there are a few of you who miiiight remember that Kamakru is not my first account here. I joined DA 7 years ago, and spent the first 5 of it under the awful name thepariah-kitty. When I made that name I thought about it for literally 3 minutes. I built on that name for *5 years*. Back then they didn't have the option to change names but after 5 years I was trying to become more professional and make an image/name for myself. You have no idea the looks I got from people when I wrote down my old DA account address for them to see my art. Yes, I know that DA isn't the best place to be stamped on your business cards - but it *is* one of the first results on Google search! That means it'll probably be found one way or another. Also a lot of people specifically ask for DA accounts.

Anyway I was trying to get a more suitable and professional name to associate myself with (that went for all accounts on the internet at the time) and the only way I could do that was to completely drop my old account here and make a new one. I lost ALL my stats that I had built. I probably lost a lot of my watchers too. It was a huge, lengthy and time-consuming hassle to re-build this account and I really wish that I could have simply changed the stupid name.

A lot of people on DA (that I watch) changed their name recently and admitted they've really been wanting to for a long time, but they never did because the hassle of making a new account and losing their watchers and stats was too much of a headache.
Changing the name of the account is for the people who are trying to be more professional and simply make a better name (literally). It's also a very simple and easy solution for those that have a set name they go by everywhere else and just want their DA account to match (since many of us had DA accounts before other sites). A lot of these artists are using more of their *real* names as well which is MUCH more preferred. Believe me, I would use my real name somehow if I could, but I can't expect most people to remember KatieCroonenberghs.
For example mariecannabis is now =The-SixthLeafClover which is what she goes by everywhere else, heck it's printed on her books!

If you don't want to change your name then good for you, it just means that you picked a good one to start! But not everyone is happy with a name they picked 3 or 5 or 10 years ago in middle school, or something silly that just doesn't fit anymore.

For those complaining about how they have to keep track and figure out who's-who again. Tough! Get over it, seriously. Oh and BY THE WAY if you type in their old name it will re-direct you to their current page. The old name is still linked in with the same accounts.

If you're worried that people will keep changing their name every six months, then un-watch them! If they know better they'll figure out to pick something and stick with it. That's also the reason why DA made the rule stating that once a name is used you can never go back to it. It's to keep people from changing back and forth between 2 names they can't decide on.

And yes, *LE GASP* it's part of the premium membership which you must pay for. Well no shit. Yes, I said it. Shit. If anyone out there knows anything about business and how much it costs to run and operate a website this large knows that they have to make the paid membership *worth it*. Or why the heck would anyone actually get it? If I remember right I tried changing my LiveJournal account name once and they wanted $15 for it. And there wasn't even a membership included!
I know that DA makes a pretty decent amount of money, but god. I'm just tired of this mindset of *everything should be free*. You have to remember that there's people on the other end of websites that are trying to make a living too. Yes, it's a business. If they didn't charge for premium memberships they'd be asking for donations.
Basic accounts are still free, and recently DA added prints accounts for free members which used to only be for premium. There will be more to come, I'm sure.


I know that all probably sounds really bitchy of me to say, as I personally know what it's like to really want something and can't afford it. But all I ask is that people consider the reasons behind the actions. Don't hate on others because they jumped on the 'band wagon' (which by the way, isn't exactly a band wagon when many of these people have been wanting to do it for years).

I'll probably get flak for posting this, but it just gets to a point after a while, you know? Something big happens around here and suddenly I see journals and comments everywhere about it but it's like.... half the time the other side of the story is completely forgotten. Like they just forget about all the exceptions to their discontent about the "insert event here".

Peace, ye all.