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I think that hosting pics at dA is yet another good way to get my art out there, um, sort of a way to advertize myself and become better known; I don't plan on it being the main place to post my work. However, I've had over 25,000 pageviews and I've been added to people's fave lists over 1,300 times there, and I'm pretty proud of that. Of course, I'll be even more proud once I have my own site up.
This is the root of the actual problem, it seems to me. You are getting a lot of attention through dA's resources, and now it looks like a good thing for you is getting threatened. But really it all boils down to a misinterpretation of rules on your part and horrid communication and wrong-headed enforcement on their part. It's a fight you won't win, no matter how hard you try, unfortunately. Surely you're aware of all the other artists who've gone through the same thing there -- a lot of them are at WWOEC and have discussed it often, from what I've seen. PLEASE read the rest of my post, though, because I am in FULL SUPPORT of you!
As you also said, you will always have dA, WWOEC, and JAB as forums where you can post for free... as long as you follow their rules, of course, and that's their prerogative. Remember that dA's still going to be available to you as long as you don't let your emotions run wild over being practical. If you like all those page views and all that knowledge of your work getting out there, then I wouldn't go burning any bridges at dA, if I were you.
And I know I'm just nobody special. I don't get into the chats here and I'm not a heavy poster on the board, so you don't have any reason to care about what I think... but I really do like and respect you, and I really do have a great solution to your problem that won't take nearly as much effort as you'd think.
Here's what I mean: put that independent site up now. Don't worry! It will be easy to do, because what Sigma posted is true -- there are plenty of web hosts who will allow a domain with explicit art on their servers, and it will cost less than $10 to get that hosting with all the storage and bandwidth you'll need. But here's the BEST THING -- other people will pay those costs for you! Now, that's just my belief, but let's look at the facts: your work is fantastic and is well-regarded by literally thousands of people; you are also a very nice and likable person. Because of these facts, you should certainly be able to get others interested in helping pay for hosting that can display your more explicit images.
Then just link to your site from all the other forums where you post. Make the link description say something about your independent web site that has more sexy images than what you can post there. People will hit it like crazy, just like they already hit your pages on dA!
They really will. I believe it 110%. Just take donations. Get the word out that
you'll accept donations to help you set up that independent site, and the money will come in. You can still have a site that's totally free for visitors to hit, of course, but it will be a site that goes by your own rules. Once the hosting is paid for by donations, then your only hurdle left is to design your pages and upload the necessary files. And, by the way, if you've never designed web pages before, you should know that it's plenty artistic and creative, not just technical and obstruse. There's plenty of software out there that even lets you design pages without having to deal with the technicalities of html at all. (It seems like you're plenty savvy enough to already be well-versed in html and what-not, though, am I right?)
Anyway, I know it's hard to ask for money, but in your case I think people will be more than happy to help you out. If you do decide to set up a donations account somewhere, then I promise I will give at least $20 to help your cause. Guaranteed. Even though I'm nobody, I'm still a nobody who can donate to a great artist and person like you!
GO FOR IT!!! (I definitely have more I can share about this from my personal experiences, but I've sucked up enough space in this thread as it is. If you'd like more input from me about it all, then please PM me.)
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