Description
The dAhub bot is now online
The bot will be offline for an extended period beginning in August
Updates
The following guidelines have been updated. No other changes to bot functions have been made
Minimum Donation
IS: If the cumulative number of points donated during this period does not reach the minimum number of points needed to initiate a feature, the points will be refunded
WAS: If the cumulative number of points donated during this period does not reach the minimum number of points needed to initiate a feature, the points will be lost
Exclusive Feature
IS: Prices are now publicly listed
WAS: Prices could be requested by sending a note
dA ToS Compliance
IS: A section has been added discussing profit mechanisms, ratios and usage. I recommend any users operating or seeking to create point accounts take notice of these new stipulations
Details
The bot was offline from April 17th to May 14th pending a negotitation with the staff. I have been asked not to discuss the particulars of the arrangement reached with the staff. Aside from the changes to the guidelines discussed above, no details are salient to the services on dAhub
August Downtime
While the bot was offline it was announced that a new version of the dA website will be released in the coming months. This journal was posted May 7th, precisely three months before dA's birthday, August 7th. A majority of major website updates have been launched on August 7th in commemoration of the day and I surmise this case will be no different.
All indicators point to this update being very comprehensive. spyed posted a journal last year indicating the upcoming site update had been in development for 5 years. Wix acquired dA in February 2017 and supplied a large infusion of funding and staffing support. dA has the means and motivation to revamp the site from the bottom up.
I do not know how the site will be changed. Since the Wix acquisition, dA has already rolled out some hefty features such as HTTPS encryption and a help desk overhaul. A recent staff poll asked users what format they preferred for profile page URLs, proposing, among others, a format of deviantart.com/USERNAME rather than the current USERNAME.deviantart.com. It is possible additional improvements like html obfuscation may be implemented to improve page loading times, but would make it next to impossible to run a bot. If not that, it is possible the endpoints required for bot operations may not only be altered but may be removed from the site entirely; there is no way to know in advance. Additionally, due to recent changes to page load times (users may note the 20-minute bot response time this year that used to be closer to 2 minutes in years past) a new bot architecture is warranted to re-balance and optimize operations. At a minimum it will take some time to create a new bot to function with the new website architecture. Because I hold a full time job and my development time is limited, I would estimate development would likely take on the order of a couple months.
User Support
I deeply appreciate the thoughtful and vocal support from donors and earners alike during this episode, it is a strong reminder of why I continue to maintain these services
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