Well, a friend had me take a good look at the DeviantArt Submission Agreement Policy [ [link] ] which I had skimmed over but really didn't pay any attention to, and as it turns out there is more than just a few things in there that I absolutely do not agree with (particularly those under "[3] License"). I disagree with them so much that I have decided to wipe out my gallery and leave DA. In case you may be wondering what things I did not agree with, here are a two key issues:
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[2] to display, copy, reproduce, exhibit, publicly perform, broadcast, rebroadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute through any electronic means (including analog and digital), and electronically publish any or all of the Artist Materials, including any portion thereof, and to include them in compilations for such purposes, by any and all means and media now known or hereafter devised (for avoidance of doubt, the rights granted to deviantART hereunder include the rights to make Artist Materials available on deviantART Site(s), third-party websites and electronic devices);

Ok, now who are these third-parties and why would DA need to grant them rights to my work without my consent? Shouldn't I have a say in what happens to my work outside of DA? Not to say they will, but what if they granted those rights to a site that promotes things that go against my beliefs/ideals? Is it really that difficult to contact me and ask my permission first? Ok, let's suppose they plan on getting people's permission first, before granting rights to these third parties: then why the need for this? I am not saying that DeviantArt will use this for bad purposes, in fact I am pretty sure they won't, but I DO NOT like the fact that they *can*.
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[3] to modify, adapt, change or otherwise alter the Artist Materials (e.g., change the size) and use the Artist Materials as described in Section 3(b);

I notice they give one example, but they do not limit what they can do to my art. What if by modifying it, they completely distort the entire meaning of the pic? Or what if they conveniently remove parts that identify who actually made the image? The skies the limit in terms of what this allows them to do with my work, and again this is not to say that they will do something bad with it, but I do not like the fact that they *can*.
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I hope you can kind of see where I am coming from with these. Perhaps I am interpeting these wrong, and shame on me if I am, but from what I've gathered I do not like the control it gives DA over my art. These are not the conditions under which I thought I was joining DA, and I do not feel comfortable with remaining. I am sure there are many of you out there who either don't care (perhaps to some this is not such a bad deal), or some who just flat out disagree. To each their own. In any case, I'd just like to thank all my friends here on DA for all the wonderful art you've submitted, and all of the inspiration and encouragement you've given me. I have wiped my gallery clean, but if there was a fanart I have done for you that you would like me to send you (I have everything saved) e-mail me at: MorbidChylde[AT]Hotmail[DOT]com and I will send them to you. Anyone who wants to chat with me can also get ahold of me on MSN Messenger with that addy as well. While I will no longer submitt art on DA, I will try and check people's gallery from time to time, and comment when I can (unless I can find a way to delete my DA gallery altogether). In closing, I'd just like to point everyone to my 3 fav galleries here on DA:



Thank you all, and goodbye!