Many of us have become incurably addicted to deviantART.  This question has been previously raised many times, yet we still find ourselves utterly baffled as to why we keep visiting this site.

The fact is that most of us are baffled by any sort of addiction.  For example, let us consider cigarettes.  It's generally accepted that the nicotine contained in cigarettes is an addictive substance.  However, if we were pressed to further explain this, we'd probably parrot some explanation we got from our high-school health teacher, an anti-tobacco group, or those insignificant little Surgeon General warnings on the side of cigarette cartons.  The usual explanation is that nicotine is rapidly absorbed into the blood through the surface of our lungs and into our peewee brains.  Receptors in our brain respond to nicotine stimulation by producing dopamines and other neurotransmitters.  

But the truth is that we have absolutely no idea what this means.   We can't answer such fundamental questions such as: What the hell are "neurotransmitters"?  How come I can't see them?  Do they bounce around little protons and electrons against our skulls?  Why can't I feel them transmitting?  Omigosh, can they transmit outside of our bodies?

Let's face it - most of us couldn't answer any of these questions.  The pathetic truth is that if someone told us that cigarettes are addictive because they are made from the same ingredients as double-stuffed Oreos, we'd repeat that too.  When it comes right down to it, we cannot explain even the most basic addictions, such as our idiotic fascination with reality television.  Therefore we naturally assume that addictions are way beyond our comprehension.

But that is not necessarily the case!  In fact, being addicted to DeviantART operates on simple principles that can be easily understood by anybody with some common sense, a little imagination, and a doctorate degree in nuclear fission.  So let's put on our thinking caps and get right to the discussion of:




WHY DEVIANTART IS SO ADDICTIVE

Usually, the first thing that happens is that one of our friends is on DeviantART.  Because they are incurably addicted, your friend, your compadre, your buddy, the person you supposedly trust, thinks it's a brilliant idea that you join too.  So you join.  You make a submission.  And someone visits your site.   Wow!  Someone visited your site!  They love you!  So you go to thank them and visit their site.  Wow!  They have some very cool stuff!  And you start looking at their work!  And you spy one of their "favorites".  Then you go to visit their site.  And you look at their work.  And you leave comments!  Then after you leave some comments, they go to visit your site!  And they happen to like you too!  After several cycles it practically turns itself into an international internet group hug.  

A question many people ask, after several failed submissions and having DeviantART crap out on you after you posted a 500-word message, LOSING THE WHOLE THING is: How come DA's servers crap out so often?  To answer that question, we need to understand exactly what a "server" and "server traffic" is.

Basically a server is a supercomputer that has a lot of storage space, and we, as members of DeviantART, get to freely use that space.  The rate at which we use this space is considered server traffic.  It's sort of like an all-you-can-eat buffet.  You can eat all you want!  Until you sit there waiting to get some of "Granny's" fried chicken and...OH NO!  What is the guy in line doing in front of you?  HE JUST TOOK THE LAST PIECE OF FRIED CHICKEN!  THAT BASTARD!   DOES HE REALIZE HOW MUCH DAMAGE YOU CAN DO WITH THE SPORK THAT'S IN YOUR HAND?  WHAT WAS HE THINKING?

No, he's not thinking about that at all, is he?  He's stuck in his own self-centered, short-sighted little world, and it never would occur to him to consider any of the broader issues affecting our society such as:




WHY DEVIANTART IS SO ADDICTIVE

DeviantART, in their almighty wisdom allows an "edit" tool for all of your Deviations.  Occasionally you'll notice a problem in what you've submitted and want to change it.  So you go to upload a new version...and...

...it doesn't work.  It's sort of like getting a car oil stain on an article of clothing.  No matter how many times you try to wash the stain out of your clothes, it just doesn't go away.  It simply doesn't matter what brand of detergent you use, for they all don't work.  You would think the marketing geniuses who work for these detergents would be more truthful in their television advertisements.  A split-screen appears on your television set - one with the "average" detergent, that does absolutely nothing but permanently imprint an unwanted stain, and the other with the advertised detergent that voila! - it's made the stain completely disappear!  There is absolutely no truth in their advertising!  Don't listen!  If their marketing experts were really any good at their jobs, they would be focusing their full attention on what people really want to know, which is:




WHY DEVIANTART IS SO ADDICTIVE

One key thing to understand about DeviantART is that there exists an entire plethora of emoticons for our personal use.  When the internet first started becoming popular a decade ago, we had nothing but a smiley face  :-) and the frowny face. :-(.  Now we have 400 DIFFERENT EMOTICONS HERE AT DEVIANTART!   You can have entire conversations without saying one word!  You can type things such as:

:jawdrop: :disbelief:  :omfg: :stfu:

(jaw dropping in disbelief) Oh my fucking God, shut the fuck up!

:money: :drunk: :absolut: & :beer:  :thumbsup:

I spent all my money getting drunk on Absolut and beer!

;-) :flagcanada: :nerd: :#1:

(winking) Canadian nerds are number One!

:pissedoff: :censored: :jark:  :crying:  :stab: :jark: :heart: :spork:  :kissjarksass:  :banned:

I was so pissed off at being censored by Jark that I wound up crying.  I threatened to stab Jark in the heart with a spork, and he told me to kiss his ass!  Then I got banned!

:whisper:  :frustrated:  :constipated: :toilet:  :gummybear: & :coke: :-( :shh:

(whispering) I'm so frustrated sitting constipated on the toilet.  I should have never had all those gummybears and Coke last night.  It makes me feel sad.  Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone.

:shithappens:  :ashamed: :date: :sheepish: :horny:   :b0x0rz: :oops:

Shit happens. I'm ashamed to admit I went on a date last night with a sheep, got horny, and dropped my boxers.  Oops!

The internet -  how it has enhanced global communication is truly beautiful.

And where do all these emoticons come from?  Who takes the time to think of these things?  Why do we care?  To answer these questions we need to explore, in depth, the question of:




WHY DEVIANTART IS SO ADDICTIVE

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to answer a complicated question like this in the small amount space remaining in the text-submission box DeviantART has given me.  Briefly, though what appears to happen is this:  You join, you get hooked, you interact with other artists, and you keep coming back for more.  I frankly have no idea how this happens, but if I had to guess, I'd say it involves neurotransmitters.