Buzzly.art – How Bad Leadership can Make a Website Implode

Normally, I try to stick to the matter of webcomics and webcomic artists on TWWR, but the BuzzlyArt issue was too important and interesting to ignore.

Before I get into the meat of the issue, I’ll start with a TL;DR:

• Two of BuzzlyArt’s developers have locked out most of its staff after the developers themselves posted a disastrous user poll.
• The poll was launched after the site’s public Discord was deleted and the poll itself was condescending to users.
• It tried to justify the implementation of policies that many users and staff found to be problematic.
• The staff urged the developers to remove the poll and apologize to users.
• Instead they were fired or they resigned.
• Artists are now leaving the site in mass.
• Many users are finding they cannot actually delete their accounts.

 

BuzzlyArt’s Origins

On October 30, 2021 BuzzlyArt launched, after it was heavily promoted throughout October as an alternative to DeviantArt. The new site was actually a website fork of the now defunct ArtRise. In 2019 ArtRise launched as a response to DeviantArt’s upcoming Eclipse implentation. It had several developers and was actively accepting funds to help with further development. Tragically, two of the developers passed away in 2020 and 2021. The remaining developer, RedArcanine (aka PokeMutt) allegedly took those funds and disappeared for a number of months. The ArtRise DA group last posted a journal entry in November 2021. It makes no mention PokeMutt’s disappearance and only notes that one of the developers, 4D, was seriously ill (and we know he has since passed away). The journal promises users that ArtRise is still in development.

Edit: Thanks to a vigilant reader, we know that 4D is suffering from a serious illness, but he’s still very much alive! On July 25, 2023 he posted a journal on DA clearing up his role on ArtRise, what happened to him, and the status of donations regarding the project. ArtRise is pretty much dead unless another group takes over, and thanks to a tough financial situation refunds for AR are slow coming, but still planned. A huge thank you to Masonicon for the diligence in keeping up with situation and sharing the latest journal with me in the comments on this post!

Around October 2021, BuzzlyArt began to take shape with PokeMutt as one of the developers. ChStark and VayMutt would round out the developer and founding staff. The site had an official group on DA that was deleted by PokeMutt and another group was created. This group is largely inactive aside from user comments that have documented BA’s problems dating back to late-December 2021. The only active BuzzlyArt group left on DA is the Creative Bees fan group. It was founded in October by 3-Headed-Demon-Lion. As for BA itself, the site was still in beta for a while before it went gold. Curiously enough it uses a similar layout to ArtRise, giving some weight to the claims PokeMutt reused code and design elements.

 

Like ArtRise, BuzzlyArt promised to be free of the problems currently plaguing DeviantArt– i.e. the poor implementation of Eclipse, numerous bugs, a broken notification system, and staff who care very little for their users. The early version of BA had numerous bugs, but as early users noted, the staff were transparent— at least in the beginning. Lots of artists flocked to the site and momentum picked up in January and February. Users loved the features offered including customizable profiles, something which DA removed when Eclipse launched. They also loved how easy the site was to use in addition to the welcoming nature of the community.

 

Right as BuzzlyArt was picking up steam, SheezyArt, another site that had recently come back from the dead found itself being pushed back into its grave. That art site had run out of resources to keep up with the heavy flow of new users and maintenance. On January 3rd, 2022 SheezyArt’s official Twitter made the shutdown official. Since then, much of the site has been removed and only a splash page remains. There is a Discord community, but its not the same as having a dedicated public website. With eyes on the demise of SheezyArt, it was only natural to wonder if BuzzlyArt would someday meet the same fate.

 

However, it was literally too soon to tell. Unlike SheezyArt, BA did offer paid accounts, accepted donations, and even had a (failed) merchandise KickStarter in the works. In the short term it seemed like the new art site didn’t have to worry about funding. Paired with users praising BuzzlyArt’s design and usability, all seemed well. Just under the surface problems were starting to bubble up. They ranged from unclear upload guidelines and terms of service to problematic staff.

 

Trouble in Paradise

From the start, BuzzlyArt did not seem to have a defined stance on its upload policies and terms of service. Policies ranged from completely excluding NSFW art to allowing explicit (18+) pieces. Then fetish art was banned and the current terms of service and upload agreements were finalized (at least as of this writing). It seemed like everything was clear, even it left some users upset about the removal and censorship of more controversial art. (To be clear, not having a firm policy from the get go was a huge oversight, as users need to know where a site stands in terms of what is or isn’t allowed.) Even with the current guidelines, some artists had issues with mildly risque art being removed, even it was allowed. Others artists had issues with being banned for unclear reasons and having accounts reinstated. The issues raised on the official DeviantArt group and the Creative Bees fan group seemed endless and troubling at times.

Here are a few links of interest:

• Complaints from SheevraSidhe0274 of deleted art
• Creative Bees noting problems with BuzzlyArt on Dececmber 15, 2021 (make sure to check out the comments left)
• Creative Bees concern about the original BuzzlyArt group’s deletion
• El-Thorvaldo’s extensive Buzzly.bad journal entry documentation
• El-Thorvaldo‘s comment thread regarding Buzzly’s troublesome moderation and management

By March the issues plaguing BA below the surface bubbled up for all the public to see. From the start PokeMutt had wanted a more loosely moderated art site in terms of upload policy. Except those plans were scrapped whenever moderator or public backlash became too intense. Additionally, the staff announced the site would be community led, but in reality ChStark and PokeMutt wanted a top down approach that was free of criticism or actual feedback. BuzzlyArt’s community Discord server was deleted.

 

The real backlash begins

On March 14 a comprehensive, 30-question community poll was released claiming to look for user feedback regarding the moral compass of the site. A large number of users didn’t finish the poll and many found the poll’s questions to be insulting and in poor taste. Worse yet, comments attached to the poll’s announcement were disabled.

Things unraveled quickly behind the scenes. (Screenshots of conversations can be found here.) The staff demanded the poll be removed and an apology issued to users. The first version of the poll was shared with staff and many found it too condescending. Changes were suggested and staff were under the impression those changes would be implemented. In reality of those suggestions were ignored when the final version of the poll went live. ChStark and PokeMutt had gone against the wishes of their own staff, including their co-founder, VayMutt. To tamp down on the criticism coming from both staff and users, ChStark began to antagonize users via his own personal account on BuzzlyArt. That brought about other problems, as he was a well-known crypto currency proponent and users worried that he might reverse the site’s policy on banning NFTs.

On March 15 the staff gave ChStark and PokeMutt an ultimatum. Take down the poll and apologize to users or they would quit. Instead, the staff including co-founder VayMutt found themselves completely locked out of the site. They had lost the ability to moderate. One member had control of the Twitter account and used it to let users know things at BuzzlyArt were not well. After news of the poll and the staff lockout became public, users began to leave in droves.

 

Many discovered they could not delete or deactivate their accounts. (This feature has never worked.) Others who had signed up for paid plans could not receive refunds. Rumors swirled that ChStark would turn the site into an NFT minting operation using user submissions. In response, people desperately deleted their artwork. Those who couldn’t delete replaced their art work with blank images, memes, and notifications of other places their art could be found.

More trouble against the developers arose when it was discovered that PokeMutt allegedly entered into a relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18 about four years ago. (I will not elaborate further on those allegations in this article because they’re an ethical and legal mess.) In response he deleted all of his accounts across various sites. He also vacated his role at BuzzlyArt, leaving ChStark in charge of the entire site. In the meantime, ChStark has pointed fingers PokeMutt for creating the poll and has been deleting accounts or posts whenever he sees fit.

It seemed ChStark was the sole developer left at BA until March 24 when he released a news update. The update was more or less a non-apology and revealed PokeMutt and VayMutt hadn’t actually left BuzzlyArt. Instead, the creators attempted to explain away why accounts can’t be deleted as of yet, why the problematic staff can’t step down, tried to explain PokeMutt’s alleged relationship, and made excuses for the infamous poll. The staff aren’t apologetic and they’re still claiming to be community led while their actions say otherwise.

The site itself is still chugging along after the massive users exodus. New uploads can’t be viewed, though some users still wish to return once things come down. The site itself could eventually face problems because users cannot deactivate their accounts and paid members have to resort to chargebacks for refunds. The Twitter account which had gone rouge has been reclaimed by staff and the tweets calling out BA’s developers have been removed. VayMutt has also deleted her tweets about the meltdown of the art site.

 

As it stands now the developers at BuzzlyArt wish to put the incidents that led up to the mass exodus behind them. However, the developers who drove the site to ruin in a period of less than a week are still in charge. Trust with the art community has been shattered and will likely never return. Even if the site limps along, it will most likely never see the surge in popularity it had when people were desperate to find an alternative to DeviantArt. At this point the planned move to an invite-only system makes sense as a way to stem the bleeding and remove curious critical eyes from the site. Many artists have been setting up shop on Twitter, have been returning to Tumblr, DeviantArt or giving other sites such as InkBlot and Newgrounds a second look.

https://twitter.com/GaymerWuv/status/1504206014543024131?s=20&t=gLOmybOUfASx3D1GSvz4dQ

 

If you’re still on BuzzlyArt, I do suggest removing your art for the time being just because of how toxic the site is at the moment. I also suggest not jumping on bandwagons with new art sites. This site imploded within five months of its launch. At minimum I’d give a site at least a year to see if it or its staff are stable. Anyone can claim to code a site as a replacement to a large site like DeviantArt or even social media, but it takes a lot of upkeep and a competent staff to keep an art site going. In short, user beware.