Once again, the scene is thriving. There are already "1995 vs. 1998" comparisons being made, but I've noticed that the same old arguments are being rehashed. Apparently people don't have enough to do without personally criticizing other people and/or groups. Because I am in Ice, I will use Ice as an example, but I've seen the same things going on with regard to other groups and individuals.

1.) Accusations that <insert group/person name> doesn't care about the scene. It's like Acid circa 1996...everyone said that Acid didn't care about the scene, especially ansi. It became "cool" to rip on Acid because their ansi division was slowing down and they were switching to hirez as the preferred medium. While I agree that Acid's change in focus was a bad thing, it bothered me more that people felt a need to rip on the group. After all, I was an Acid ansi artist...who could possibly feel worse about the decline of ansi that someone who was trying to keep going? But it was trendy to rip on Acid, especially since their ansi artists were either leaving the group or switching to a different medium.

Now it's 1998, and now that Acid isn't in ansi anymore, Ice is the new scapegoat. Someone had the nerve to say to me "Nobody that participates in the scene has any respect for Ice" in #ansi a few days ago. Why? Because they apparently had been arguing with an Ice member and decided to put down the whole group. This person went on to say that Ice doesn't care about ansi or the scene. Obviously, Ice (like Acid) has been around from the start and wouldn't be here if we didn't care. But all the self-serving assholes who rip on groups are the ones that don't care about the scene -- if you are trying to make an artist or group look bad, do you also hope that they'll quit drawing? Would that help your precious scene? I think not.

2.) The misconception that everyone in <insert group> charges for ansi/is an egotistical prick/thinks their more "elite" than everyone else. Again, it's always easy to rip on people who aren't there. For at least the last 2-3 years, rarely will you see many people from the bigger groups hanging out in #ansi. I chat there sometimes, as do a handful of other artists, but it's mostly non-artists, bots and beggars. Most of the artists in #ansi are idle. Ice members hang out in #ice, and from what I recall, Acid members tended to prefer #acid when I was a member. Legion guys drop by #ansi for awhile, but now they go to #ans, which seems to be the channel of choice for actual artists. Meanwhile, a lot of non-artists and newer artists are in #ansi, saying that everyone in Ice is an asshole because they charge for art. Wrong. Some Ice members charge for art, some don't. There have ALWAYS been people who charge for art. If you want art from a good artist, you should be willing to trade or pay for it...it's called the barter system, and modern civilization has thrived because of it. If you can't find someone to draw for free, draw for yourself.

Is charging for ansi a symptom of an over-inflated ego? Hell no. I know I'm not a legendary artist, but I ask for some sort of payment unless I'm just doing a favor for someone. And you want to know something? People pay me for ansi if they really need it done by a certain date and need it drawn to their specifications. People pay for webpage design, right? If you think an ansi for your BBS or emag isn't worth anything just because it's big blocks instead of tiny pixels, you're an idiot. It takes time and effort regardless of the method. And frankly, if you think an ansi artist's time isn't worth anything, you must not think very highly of their ability to draw. If you can't draw, but you won't pay someone else to do it for you, maybe you try being NICE to people...I happily draw for my friends, regardless of their group affiliations. Most people will draw for free if you're not an asshole. And for the record, most groups don't have a no-freebie policy. Hello, it's up to the artist. This was talked about years ago, but apparently nobody paid attention the first ten times.

3.) The belief that, because of one person's negative comments, everyone in Group A hates everyone in Group B. What's up with that? Acid hates Ice. Mistigris hates Blade. Inazone hates Legion. Maestro hates Ice. Comments taken out of context have been known to set off wars all over the world...so why bring the same hostility to the artscene? If someone gives you a bad review in their emag, do you decide to rip on them and turn everyone against them? If someone in another group says that your group's pack wasn't as good as theirs, does that mean that the two groups are now mortal enemies?

You know as well as I do that people are entitled to their own opinions. It isn't necessary to start a group war because someone said your mother is ugly, or even that the pic of Mom that you drew was even uglier. If you have a problem with an individual, take it up with them. It's that simple. IRC seems to be killing this generation's ability to talk to each other one-on-one and/or face-to-face. How about this: instead of getting in a shouting match with someone, having your friend(s) with ops ban them from the channel and then rip on them when they're not there, take your discussion to email or at least a private channel. Be civilized for a change.

Live and let live. It's so much easier for everyone. And I guarantee you this, the scene will survive for a lot longer with relative peace and friendly competition than it will with mudslinging, flame wars and immaturity.

inazone@ice.org