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James

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Posts posted by James

  1. 2 minutes ago, Grape said:

    Hello! I'm here to ask this question because I had a beware submitted on me 5 years ago. Although the beware is long since resolved, I'm entering a new stage of my life and randomly thought about this period of my past and thought I would write a little detailed apology for the entire situation, as closure.

    So, I was wondering If there was anywhere on this site that supports or facilitates "closure posting?" And if so where would be the best place to do so? Or is this not very appropriate/recommended?

    Nonetheless, thank you all for your time!

    Howdy!

     

    You're welcome to leave a comment on the post at any time.  And also we've started a New Leaf program in which we will mark your bewares with the "New Leaf" tag if you've gone more than a year without a submission against you.  We just ask that you contact one of us administrators with a list of your bewares so we can apply the New Leaf tag.  Also when contacting us, please let us know if you want us to boost on our socmeds that you've earned your New Leaf status.

  2. So it can be tough given the nature of Boosty.  Filing a chargeback will get your account closed and doesn't guarantee that you will get your money back.  You can, however, get a refund from the artist but it would have to be supplied voluntarily.  You would have to convert your boosty account to a creator account, and then they can send you your money back.  Unfortunately, that doesn't solve the issue of them simply not seeing your messages.

     

    One final option would be the messaging feature on Boosty.  Some artists have it on.  Some have it off.  It's located on the profile page for the artist.  You can also comment on any posts that they have provided they have a public post that you can leave a comment on.  Boosty emails comments, so unless they're also not checking their email, they shouldn't miss that.

  3. HOWDY EVERYONE, we're back! 

     

     We are both a little premature and late all at once.  Sadly, due to real life circumstances we weren't able to complete everything we set out to do before relaunch, but we did complete a lot of it.

     

    image.thumb.png.642749e54cba74eabdd9533a01360d69.png

    First and foremost, we're welcoming two new members to our staff:  @MonicaVix and @AndorDrakon!  They're strictly queue staff members, so please don't send them DMs.

     

     

    image.png.ea3e3257717ff0e3f040c64a02e29c11.png

    Second, thanks to the concentrated efforts of @MonicaVix, we are happy to announce that the archiving of the Livejournal Community is finally completed and tagged.

    -  Posts that did not adhere to our current standards were NOT brought over, but they are archived in the Livejournal and over on a mirror at Dreamwidth.

    -  If you have an update to your post, please fill out a comment on said post or fill out a Help Ticket to contact a member of staff.

     

     

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    Third, we will be retiring the Advertisement system.  We are grateful for those who chose to support the site in this manner, but due to lack of overall use, we will no longer be accepting advertisements.  Instead, we are looking to use these spots to uplift services and members of our community that we feel could use advertisement space.

     

    Instead we will be opening up a merchandise shop where users can nab stickers, t-shirts, and other such things designed by myself or other members of our staff.  All proceeds will go towards site operation and maintenance.  This was one of the items I was unable to get to due to time constraints, but it will be introduced at a later date.

     

    Fourth, you may notice a few extra databases in our menu!  Introducing:

     

    Scampedia

    image.thumb.png.8205126907208b956366be799469ce7c.png

     

    Because individual scammers change names often, we rejected posts concerning them.  Not only would trying to keep up with these individuals be impossible, but more like them will fill the spot of every individual who was "taken down".  So, in order to combat this, we've decided to establish a database that instead shows scam examples submitted by you, our readers.  Please keep an eye out on our social media accounts for when we put out calls for examples of scams.

     

    Site Help and Ticket System

    Two new items on the menu are the "site help" and "ticket system".  Site Help is a collection of articles that will aid users in how to use the site, contact staff, and how to conduct themselves while here.

    Meanwhile, as the third party software we are using is retiring the Support Ticket system, we've decided to enact our own.  Currently it cannot accept posts from those without an account, but our DMs on twitter and my site email james @ (url) are still open to guests to email us.

     

    New Leaf Program

    image.png.e6255fc63948dabf0b48064e60c45520.png

    Do you have a beware on you?  Or is there a beware on someone you know?  Have you or they resolved their posts and been out of trouble since?  Introducing our New Leaf program.  Bewares by those who have been out of trouble for a year or more are welcome to send us a message to our ticket system indicating as such.  All of their posts will be granted the New Leaf tag, showing that they have turned over a New Leaf.  Admission into the program will be handled on the honor system, and you can lose your New Leaf designation if we receive a new beware on you.  This both encourages clients to come forward and bewarees to resolve their posts.

    To qualify for the new program you must:

    -  Have all pending bewares marked as resolved.

    -  Must have had no reports in one year.

     

    And lastly, you may have noticed that we have a new site theme!  Wow!!  Updates to it will continue as I have time, but the majority of the updates to the layout is completed.

     

    If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, feel free to leave them below. 

  4. 8 minutes ago, Rex1173 said:

    This site does not have a section that would help the unfortunate buyers after a big loss of their funds to find new artists who are trustworthy and in need of artwork that's the same category of style, character, design, and ideas that they failed to obtain from their mistaken first choice.   What I would call something like an "Artist Redirect", a directory of real artists that would be listed in groups of style classifications that makes the search much easier to compensate their bad luck.  Maybe that would require a whole new web domain, and that is beyond the funds to keep this site running on monthly bills?

    We have our positive reviews forum for this, but we've never thought to categorize people by style.  I suppose we could use tags for this~

  5. Furaffinity:  https://www.furaffinity.net/user/noahasai/

    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/NoahAsai

     

    I've commissioned and purchased adopts from Spy/ Noah over the past year and a half.  Spy is easy to work with, and delivers commissions very quickly.  Often within a few days, but never more than a couple of months.  His style is fantastic and his adopts are well thought out and worth every penny.  I highly recommend working with Spy if you have the chance.

     

    Below are some of the portraits I've commissioned from Spy:

    eden_by_noahasai_dfncyhi-pre.thumb.jpg.336f80721f87c9accec9fad568923368.jpgdfjf6x2-bcea275c-a6c0-40b7-b788-c4888d0d16ca.thumb.png.59d971e6e72ce699c4f537608a88fa0d.pngdf3ebik-293ba346-417a-4533-83b7-131b7a6d306a.thumb.png.59be021b4b994335ec410f30368983d4.png

  6. Twitter:  https://twitter.com/oddthesungod

    Furaffinity:  https://www.furaffinity.net/user/oddthesungod/

    I've commissioned Odd numerous times over the past year.  Each time Odd has been prompt with his communication, delivers sketches quickly, and handles any fixes that may be required just as fast.  Odd is seriously a pleasure to work with, and each piece he's done for me has come out very cute.  Below are just a couple of the pieces he's finished for me, but not all of them!

     

    commjamesalesto9.thumb.png.37cd9cfc263eb1254e261a22df962a5d.png

    commjamesalesto8.thumb.png.2eaf4352205a55e403442760ff6a9723.png

  7. 7 hours ago, pinyon said:

    Boosty has informed me during a refund case via paypal that they in fact refuse refunds since they are considered donations, on top of this, they also say it is against their ToS to buy/sell art using their platform (And then promptly suspended my boosty account for buying art) I can provide the exact text they sent me if you need it. 

    If you can please do!

  8. 1 hour ago, khianve said:

    Hi there mods and staff, thanks for keeping this community alive!

    Before I post in this site, I was wondering if it is the right place for it: I made a purchase in a shop from the furry fandom, but did not receive what I bought and lost contact with the shop's staff, can i submit an artistsbeware post about this matter? The transaction is older than 4 months.

    If yes, my only proofs would be the email I exchanged with the shop and a 2 pages pdf from my bank with the transaction, is it okay if I:

    -remove the email's domain but keep the email provider's domain ([email protected])?

    -keep the order's number?

    -present my bank's statement with just the important stuff translated in the caps (couldn't find an example, just paypal transactions, but I did not search it thoroughly) ?

    Thanks in advance,
    khinave.

    Howdy!!

    This would be something our queue mods would have to take a look at.  Submit what you have, and we'll send a message if there's anything else.

  9. 19 hours ago, GreenReaper said:

    Boosty site terms also state that donations "shall not be refundable". Whether this applies to PayPal funding is unclear, but I suggest assuming the worst case when considering whether to use it, as well as the fact that artists in Russia cannot currently have a beware opened on them.

    We're revisiting that stance!  I just need to make an official announcement.

  10. Unfortunately, because you're out of the Paypal window you're really only left with three options:

    -  Continue to remind them and wait.

    -  Write a beware and hope that prompts them to refund you sooner.

    -  Write it off as a loss.

     

    Without IDing the artist, have they lost their Paypal due to too many claims put out against them?  If so it sounds like you may have unfortunately commissioned someone who is stuck in a cycle.  They need money for bills > they take on work to cover the bills > their prices are so low that they can't reasonably finish the work in time > the next billing cycle comes up and they're backlogged.

  11. Howdy!

    We've recently learned some concerning news about Livejournal that has prompted our staff to make archiving a priority.  On top of LJ stating they will delete inactive accounts, recently their staff has gone silent and cross posting to LJ from DreamWidth no longer works.  Staff being silent is a big concern, so we don't want to delay any longer on archiving.

     

    -  Why has archiving taken so long?

    Archiving was admittedly on the back burner.  Our mods were handling it as they had spare time.  Most of this work can't be automated as Livejournal doesn't play nicely with attempts to pull from them.  Either posts didn't have dates on them or no tag information or both.

    To add to that, some old posts prior to Dani/ Kayla-la's ownership didn't follow the guidelines we have now.  Or tags were handed out just because someone was mentioned, and not because they did anything wrong.  So each post prior to her ownership has to be rereviewed and censored when necessary before being brought over to the site.

     

    -  Can't you keep the community active?

    We can!  The issue is we don't know how LJ is going to delete accounts.  Will they just be strikethroughs like a standard deletion, or will it be a complete wipe?  We don't want to find out as posts disappear.

     

    -  Can I help by porting in my own posts?

    Please don't!  You'll confuse our mods. 

     

    -  Can I help in any other way?

    If you're a long time member of the old LJ and/or mutuals with me on twitter please reach out if you'd like to help archiving from Dani's ownership forward.  Those do not require us to review posts, and I need to be able to trust you to have temporary moderation abilities here on site.  I planned on compensating non-staff volunteers, and we can discuss it if you'd like to be compensated for your time.

    Interested parties can reach me via on site PM or via my james @ artistsbeware.info email

     

    -  What happens if LJ does delete entries?

    The good news is we already have a complete port on site.  It's hidden with no dates and no tags.  Basically a complete mess, but it's there!  If push comes to shove, we can pull old posts from there.

  12. I think it's a very complicated scenario and not a black and white situation.

    1.  How long has it been?  People make mistakes in their youth.  I'm not going to hold someone who has aged and matured to what they did as a teenager.  So long as their current practices are good, then I think people deserve a second chance.

    2.  If it's more recent, then was the minor open about being a minor?  If so, then I'm going to hold the adults responsible for seeing someone who is clearly a minor and commissioning them anyway for NSFW material.  Yes, adults can end up in legal trouble for discussing sexual material with a minor, however many places have clauses that excuse people who unknowingly interact with a minor.

    If the minor lied, and it later came out that they lied, then I personally may avoid them for a while.

  13. You have a few options at your disposal:

    • Cut your losses and demand a refund.  (If that fails, call your bank and force one.)
    • Go public with your issues and see if others also have the same problems.
    • Continue to wait.

    It sounds like this is a company that uses manufacturers to produce their toys.  Shipment delays do happen, and larger items would have to be sent via boat.  So it could legitimately be that they're going slowly through their queue of customers.  It's going to be up to you if you're willing to continue waiting.

  14. Russian artists are moving to using Boosty.to.  The good news is that Boosty also works for Ukrainian artists, as Paypal doesn't function (normally).

    Navigating to the site, click "Sign Up" which pops up this window:

    image_2022-03-11_171744.png.603d5905d2c43f44846c008548d4090d.png

    We utilized a facebook account.

    image_2022-03-11_171817.thumb.png.dab680a10fac5e09cc91f635a64e6dc8.png

    Once you get set up and confirm your account, you can start paying artists.  Please note, when I tested this the site did not accept Google Voice numbers.  I had to use my actual phone number.

    The artist that you're paying will tell you how many RUB to send as the site only accepts RUB and not USD.  Paypal's currency converter is here.  Note: You have to be logged in to see it. 

    You can either subscribe to an artist or add a "donation" to their pool.

    Subscriptions act just like Patreon:

    image_2022-03-11_172545.thumb.png.dfe28debdfaebbf27325eea39bc3e06f.png

     

    While a "goal" is set to a high number of RUB where you will submit your commission payment.

    image_2022-03-11_172700.png.64af2256bb0f3777f7d57bb360bf4ef5.png

    image_2022-03-11_172729.thumb.png.96e82b438704a3a9b2884a3e421e4510.png

    image_2022-03-11_172832.thumb.png.d8a92c24971cc09797022590a13abdfb.png

    Once you hit "Pay" you will be able to choose where the funds will come from. 

    Note:  Once you've chosen where the funds will come from, they will always come from there.  You may have to unlink and relink your Paypal in order to change this.

    image_2022-03-11_172952.thumb.png.5569bc89bc600474eae4cd47cb248043.png

     

     

    Some questions you didn't know you had:

    Will I be charged an international fee for paying in RUB?

    As far as I can tell, no.  The conversion takes place on Paypal, so when it hits your bank it will be in USD.

    image_2022-03-11_173138.thumb.png.3e55009269cf5d25a336d67718c7b538.png

     

    If I have to file a chargeback, will Paypal side with me or consider this a donation?

    Because this form of payment is very new, there is no telling how Paypal will treat these.  These are listed as "donations" on site, so there is a chance that depending on if you use their automated system you may lose the case automatically.  Please be sure to call Paypal if you have troubles.

     

    More info will be added here once I've tested with a bank card.

  15. Edit:  July 22, 2023

    Bewares on Russian artists are being accepted again for digital goods only.

     

     

    Due to the invasion of Ukraine we will not be accepting bewares from artists from Ukraine nor Russia.  

    Currently Ukrainian artists are fleeing to safety and Russian artists may have their access to certain sites blocked by their government.  In addition, payment processors may be blocked in their country due to potential sanctions, making refunds impossible.

    Citizens in each of these countries are facing extreme circumstances out of their control, and they should be afforded time and empathy.

    Because this is a developing situation, we do not have a time frame from when we will accept posts on artists from these countries again.

  16. Howdy! Yes, at the bottom of the Submission Guidelines we provide an outline for users to follow. The items mandatory for a post to be approved are:

     

    - Original agreement proof

    - Proof of payment

    - All relevant correspondence 

    If our queue team feels a post is cherrypicked we will return it with a request to provide full proof.

  17. 3 minutes ago, hackmon said:

    I have a question it be two year now I commission someone to do a plushies and still nothing what should I do it two late now for me to do something on this site 

    Unresolved cases are always bewares, and there are no time limits for them.

    Cautions are for when you already got your refund.

  18. On 9/28/2021 at 9:01 AM, RTKobold said:

    I have a question about this did this change have something to do with what has been happening lately on social media.

    Hey!  Sorry for the delay; I had forgotten to follow my own thread.  No, this has always been a soft rule that we applied when we felt it was necessary behind the scenes.  We've had bewares on minors as young as 9.  We simply felt it was important to put as many of these behind the scenes rules on paper as possible.

  19. Twitter:  https://twitter.com/skxviii

    Furaffinity:  https://www.furaffinity.net/user/skxviii/

    Timeframe:  My first commission with Sid was placed in June 2021.  My most recent one was placed September 2021.

    I have commissioned Sid numerous times, and each time has been exactly the same experience.  Sid is professional, sticks to their deadlines, and delivers top notch work at lightning fast speeds.  Turnaround was usually a few days to a week or two.  If Sid says it'll be done by (date) it will be done by then.  I highly recommend Sid if you need work done.

     

     

    web ver.jpg

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    1626499711.skxviii_commission_17_07_21.jpg

    image_2021-09-24_121122.png

    image_2021-09-24_121136.png

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