Yes we are still in R.O.M but we are most def getting through them very quickly, I am hoping by the end of the week we will have submitted all the secrets that were sent in before R.O.M so we can start accepting new secrets once again.
Please read the Secrets R.O.M journal for for all information on this. [link]

Questions?

Ok, so a lot of you have a lot of things to say about DAS, the secrets added to it, and about the helpers etc.
Some of you have nice things to say, and some not so nice things to say.
This is not something that is done very often, so this is one of the very few chances you will get to ask a question and have DAS answer it.
If you have a question you would like to ask me ( DAS ) I will do my best to answer it in here.


First I will answer a few random things I have read for myself.  Please make sure you read all the questions and answers before you ask a question.

Q Is this the new journal skin?
A Lol no it isnt, I just decided with all the negative comments about the Club going on at the moment, I would add a bit of brightness to the page lol

QWill you let everyone know when you are out of R.O.M
A Yes for sure, a journal will be added letting you all know when we are open for accepting secrets again.

QHow many admin do you have?
A I DAS. I have what I like to call helpers, as they help me to help you  At the moment I have 10 helpers and 1 Editor helper.

Q Do you need more admin?
A No, at the moment I have enough, and I have more in the waiting if need be. If and when I need more helpers, I will advertise for more.

Q Why are the comments turned off?
A DAS has the comments turned off by default. But, when a secret is sent in, they have the choice to ask for the comments to be turned on. If they ask for comments to be turned on, then they are. Otherwise they are left turned off.
We dont turn them off it is the ST's choice.

Q Why are some comments hidden?
A  DAS has rules in place to protect secret tellers, when name calling or when someone leaves a comment that is just out right rude it will be hidden. There is no need to be mean. There is a difference between being rude to a ST, and criticism.
Keeping in mind secrets are not sent in to look all artistic like. They are mainly words and emotions. So saying something about how crappy it has been drawn is not going to help in the case of DAS. if it was added to a normal page then maybe, but not in DAS. Also if criticism was asked or wanted, then it would say in it. As dA gives that option.

QYou add a mature tag on some secrets, why?
A This is a dA rule that we like everyone else needs to follow. We do not do it to annoy anyone, we do not do it to filter anything out. If a secret has nude images in it, a mature tag will be added, if it has swearing a mature tag will be added, if it has a mature tag added to a secret, it is because we like everyone else need to follow dA rules and add a mature tag when needed.

Q Why do you add secrets that are not good art?
A Why not? What is "good art" ? Who are you to decide what is good art and what isnt? Who am I to? Who are my helpers to? None of us are. Art is in the eye of the beholder.

Q Why dont you stop having your art on dA's front page. its annoying.
A Now this makes me laugh, its something Im reading over and over again.
Quick answer.. Dont you think if I was able to stop it getting on the front page I would have done it by now? This is not something DAS has any control over what so ever. You need to have this up with dA its self. Its dA that sets what gets added on the front page and how it does. We do not put it there, we do not do anything to make it hit the front page. It just is what it is, and it is out of our hands.
If we could we would stop them getting on the front page, cause then it would stop all of the people who keep complaining, who happen to be even more annoying then the secrets getting on the front page.

Q Is there a reason why DAS doesnt reply to comments?
A You will come across DAS replying to a comment every now and again, but you are right, DAS doesnt reply to comments, and this is because, as it is, there are 1000's of comments to go though every day.  It is near impossible for myself or the Editor helper to catch them all. We have so much to do as it is, this would just be another thing to add to the list of things that need to be done, It is much easier for anyone who has a question for DAS to send us a note, or an email with the question.

Q How long has DAS been around, and how long has the main DAS been in here?
A Ahh, this is a good question, and something that I have been asked many times lately lol.  Let me think, about 7 years I think DAS has been around now. let me double check that though.
March 2006 DAS was born. So 7 years DAS has been around.
I am the main DAS. But I am not the founder.  The person who first brought about DAS was here for about 6 months, they then asked me to help them out. So I have been here pretty much from the start. After about a year. The founder of DAS sadly had to walk away from DAS and hand it over to myself.
I did it on my own for a good year of just over a year after the founder left. I then decided it was time to get a little help as the Club got bigger and bigger.
From there it has gotten bigger and bigger, so I have needed to get more and more helpers.

Q  Whats up with the pink skin? its hard to read
A LOL, sorry about that, I guess it was a little too bright lol, I just wanted something a little bight and happy hehe. I have changed the text color now, So its easier to read now. I hope thats better.

Q What if people could submit a secret in the form of poetry? I've considered sharing a secret many times, but I always want to do it poetically... I'm just a poetry lover I guess hehe xD Like, DAS could make a journal entry with the poem? Maybe? I dunno? :3
A Good question, this is something I have been thinking of myself lately, just wanted to get R.O.M out of the way before looking into anything new.
It wont be a journal entry though. But I am thinking of ways of adding it as text.  Although its a little hard when secrets need to be short and to the point, as with poems, they tend to get long at times. But watch this spot, you never know whats around the corner.

QDoes a person have to be a member of deviantART to post a secret? If not, then why?!
A No, anyone can send in a secret. Because unless a person gives their dA ID each time, there is no way to know if they are a member of dA or not. Which goes against the rules of DAS of not having to say who they are.

QDon't you think this would be better suited on a dedicated blog (Tumblr etc.) or Facebook, or a Twitter account that posts the secrets?
</b>A</b> Maybe, but why should it have to only be on one of those sites! Its Lit, its got just as much right to be on dA then anything else added on dA.  If it wasnt for the fact that dA  ( NOT DAS ) keeps adding  secrets to the front page, noone would be complaining about it all.
Not everyone has any of those sites, and a lot of people do not want people commenting on their secrets, in places like that it would get bashed in a big way.

QWhy do you not obey your own rules on Repetitive Secrets?
A You make a good point. There has been more of these secrets added lately, and yes I do need to get more strict with this. I have let it slip a bit too much lately. There will be a few little changes when we are out of R.O.M this being one of them.

A just because you disagree with something, or that it is upsetting, doesn't make it wrong/incorrect, or untrue. Your interpretation of 'rude' or 'mean' is seriously flawed, judging by the types of comments you've hidden, including mine. The people commenting are CLEARLY upset that the art site they love is being poisoned by trite blocks of text laden with typos and sob stories, but instead of dealing with the problem, you decide to hide any opposition. A 'club' like this should know better than any that hiding your problems doesn't male them go away.
</b>A</b> This is not the reason why comments are hidden,  if people stopped complaining and read journals which explain things, then I wouldnt have to keep hiding repetitive comments.  for the 100 millionth time. If you have a problem with the secrets ending up on dA front page, then have it up with dA NOT US, we do not have any control over this what so ever.. read the Q's and A's above about this.

QDo you think you're going to start filtering out the more negative secrets and do more positive ones?
A I see your point, but no we wont be, Although I love seeing positive secrets as much as the next person does. We cant control peoples secrets. All secrets are submitted in the order they are sent in, It would be rude of me to pick and decide what should and shouldnt be added. Thats like deciding who needs help and who doesnt.  Its not DAS's choice to make.

QI think I read once that it is possible to ban a user/community so you won't see any uploads of said user/community. Would this really be an option? Then people could just ban DAS and will not be bothered again.
A To be honest with you, I do not know the answer to this, as this is a dA thing not a DAS thing. I know if you block a user you can not post or fav any of their things, and they cant comment fav any of your things. But as far as I know, Their art will still show when you do a search etc. So I would assume that would mean it would still show in the front page if it made it on there.

QSo you admit that they are not sent in to be artistic?
A I did filter out a lot of secrets that were not "artistic" for a long time. But then due to popular demand by the DAS members (via poll ) it was decided who am I to judge what is artist and what isnt.  So I stopped being so "picky" for lack of better words to use.  However, I do still filter out a lot of the secrets that are just really bad, eg/ not even readable etc.  But I do feel that it is not up to me to decide what is artist and what isnt. Yes of course I have my own point of views on what is artist and what isnt. If that was the case, only about 30% of the secrets would be accepted, if not less, as I am very fussy when it comes to art. But that is my own personal opinions on  what is artistic.  Not what DAS is all about.

Q Why do you allow secrets that blatantly admit paedophilic fantasies and murderous fantasies?
A The Club is for people to have a place to add their secrets. also "regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession or childhood humiliation"
DAS is not here to judge anyone, if its how someone is feeling so be it. A lot of times people add a secret about this kind of thing, and once its off their chest that is the end of it. They just needed to get it out thats all. This of course is not always the case.  I do give links and numbers to those who ask for help in their emails. But I am not in a position to council anyone. I could do more dammage then help.  Same for if not added. Its a very touchy subject really.
I do how ever filter out a lot of secrets that are just too OTT when it comes to this kind of thing.  The ones about this kind of thing that are added, are the ones that are... how can I say.. hmmm.. Well I cant think of the correct word to use lol. So Ill just say they are more readably for the public.

Q Is there any way to enable comments when I didn't specify it in the email? I did put my username in the email, by the way
A Once a secret has been submitted comments will not be turned on if they are already off sorry. If a ST asks for them to be turned off once they have been turned off. Or if comments get out of control for one reason or another, they may then be turned off.

Qhas DAS actually contacted dA about the whole DAS-community-project-on-the-front-page thing? I know you say it's not something you're in charge of, but of everyone that could do something about it, I'd think your say would hold more importance.
</b>A</b> At this point no nothing has been done or said, as I was informed it wouldnt make any difference, also someone else ( a person complaining) reported it or something, They said dA is working with DAS to solve this. Which sounded a little strange, seen as dA has not been in any contact at all with DAS, so not sure how true that is. But I have been  thinking about this. Thank you for the reminder.

QIf DeviantArtSecret is still in R.O.M, can I still send in a secret and have it posted? When?
A No at the moment you can not send in a secret. You will need to wait till we are out of R.O.M before sending in your secret. At the moment we are getting the older ones sent in all out of the way. If all goes well. DAS should ( fingers crossed ) be out of R.O.M by the end of this week

QYou may not have control over how sub-sections are weighted by dA, however, you do have control over what you post and you at least stipulate that secrets have an artistic quality to them. Control to exercise some basic oversight on submissions as to what goes up and what does not. Then how does this [link] and others like it get placed up?
A Simple answer.
"Each secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession or childhood humiliation.
Reveal anything – as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

QYou don't have to set a high bar or such, but if a submission lacks poetry and is just an MS Word screencap or similar then surely you can reject it as not in the spirit of an art site.
A As explained before, many secrets are not submitted as they are worse then what you see on DAS. Text is Art, so even if its not good in your eyes, its still a type of art
Also as mentioned in a Q&A somewhere up there lol, There will be a few changes happening in DAS when we are out of R.O.M so keep an eye out.

Q Why not make it a rule that suicidal thoughts and feelings are simply, not allowed?
A Why should they not be allowed? People have them, and DAS is a way of being able to have an outlet, often just expressing they feel this way is enough. Knowing you are not alone when it comes to a certion emotion /feeling is enough to change how a person feels. By not letting people express these emotions, is only making people feel less like anyone cares. Therefore making matter worse for a person who is clearly reaching out for help.

Q What if the music video'my dirty little secret' (which I mention again, I think of for this page) allowed all those suicidal comments?
A You're comparing DAS to a music clip? They are two very different things. You can not compare them, I can not answer this, as they are two very different things.

Q This page should be about weird/quirky secrets or confessions.
</b>A</b> Its about all types of secrets.

Q I have a question, the rules says "Secrets must be in a clear, easy to read text and be in English." still I found some secrets just so hard to read I simply skip reading them. either the text is to small or the colour of the text towards the background makes it hard to read it. can you possibly be more strict about this rule?
A I can totally understand where you are coming from,  and can see the point you are making.  This is most def something that I will be getting more strict with. It may not seem like it, but a lot already get rejected due to being unreadable. But yes I will be trying to get stricter with this. I am going to put heads together with helper at some stage to come up with some changes.  I would advertise asking for suggestions in DAS its self. But with all the hate going on at the moment, I know I would only be invaded with hate suggestions, so Im not going to do that lol.

QWhy don't you promote editing tutorials and other resources that can help people edit their secrets better? I see you promote stock, but stock is useless when the person doesn't know how to edit it. Composition, color theory, fonts, etc. all of these are fundamental knowledge that would greatly help your users produce better images that could convey their feelings and secrets better.
A That is a REALLY good idea. I love that idea. I had never thought of it before. Do you have any suggestions for this? Can you please send a note with some links to some tuts you would like to suggest, I feel this could really be a lot of help. Great idea loving it. If anyone else knows of any great tuts on dA for this, please send a note to DAS with a link to it so we can look into this.

Q I not very interested into posting a secret, but is it possible for somebody to post a positive secret? Everytime I see a secret on the front page or when I just wander around dA and come across to a secret, it's always something negative. I understand they are expressing their emotions, but it would be nice if it was something positive for once.
A There are 1000's of happy and positive secrets added to DAS . As explained in one of the Q&A above, we have no control what so ever as to what goes on the front page of dA.  So Im not able to do anything at all about that sorry.