Where credit is due.

I need to say something.

A few months ago, dA launched Stash Writer. I'm not using the period, because I can't remember where it goes and nobody cares anyway.

When they launched it, it kinda sucked. For many reasons, which I won't go into here, because it's not important.

What's important is what happened then, and what happened since. I will enumerate the earth-shaking developments here:

1. Stash Writer happened at all.
2. They improved it since.

Now, in the short time I've been hanging around here, one of the most-repeated whines is that dA doesn't give a shit about writers or the Literature community. Trust me when I say that this notion is complete horseshit, for many reasons. Stash Writer stands as a testament to that, one testament among many. It took a hell of a lot of work, much more so than one would expect from a massive social media web site that presumably doesn't care about writers, and to be honest, doesn't need to.

Since dA launched Writer, there was a lot of bitching. I was one of the bitches, no lie. I didn't like it, and I griped about it. But I will say something now that doesn't often get said around here. dA heard the bitching, and did something about it. Slowly, Stash Writer is becoming easier to use, more intuitive, and more useful.

I use Stash Writer almost exclusively now. Granted, I'm a hobbyist with no real grand plan to get published beyond the odd approach to a periodical now and then. Even so, I've noticed that Stash Writer is easier and easier to use, offers more and more functionality, and more grace in the workflow than it did when it first appeared.

Key phrase: I've noticed. Maybe you have too. A cynical bastard would say that "it's about time," but given where dA's bread is buttered, I think we've been given a lot more attention than I ever expected. I'm grateful, and "it's about time" I said so.

Are we "there" yet? Maybe not, but fuck that. I raise my glass to the Powers That Be, and I say thank you for your work.

deviantArt has warts. Always will. But I love it, and that gets easier as time goes on.

Group hug.

And no, I was not compensated for these remarks.