madeofbutts - lost contact? being ignored?

[staple-gunner.livejournal.com]

edit2: they read the note on da and no reply or anything. well, i tried.png

edit: i tried to note them to link them to the beware, but their notes are off too- not surprising... i sent them a note on their da just for the hell of it, so we'll see how this goes.

who: madeofbutts@furaffinity and deviantart, cripplesandwhores@tumblr (nsfw content on fa, and maybe the tumblr)
they've also voluntarily shut off their fa account to viewers so...
when: i asked about the commission on march 1st, expressing interest in buying a piece from them and paid same day when it was confirmed
what: a single character sketch of my oc, motya- they were given two characters to choose from and told me they'd choose him

alright so, on march 1st i expressed interest in their art, jokingly making a note asking who i'd have to kill for a commission, because i wasn't sure if they were open at the time or anything! they proceeded to tell me they were open and i gave them the details about what i wanted.

right after confirming the amount with them, i sent over the $18 as directed.

they were working on other commissions- i wasn't aware of any type of queue at the time, and they were both balancing commissions and personal work, or so it seemed, so i was patient, and left them alone.

the only other note i sent them was abouuut a week or so later? about inquiring that i had more work for them to do in the future, explaining a character i recently developed and if they'd be willing to add it to their list when they finished all of their work. i don't think i ever got a reply? the note isn't really worth showing as it's irrelevant to this commission, but i thought i'd mention it anyway, because, i dunno, maybe it bothered them? it was of content they liked, so..

anyway... fast forward to .. one? two months ago? where their uploading was scarce, and after the drought of art, a blurry pencil photo was uploaded explaining their situation and how they'd be unable to work due to some irl issues that weren't directly explained, just implied, so, of course i didn't really bother them at the time.

but, just a few days ago i decided to check in on them since i recently saw their tumblr, where they're uploading work.. (or.. art at least. most of it is tagged gift art and personal stuff so i'm doubting it's commission stuff) and sent this note. i nudged them on tumblr with an ask i didn't think of screencapping, saying that i did indeed left a note on their fa account, just in case they were inactive there, as there's been no recent uploads aside from that pic that has since been deleted, and that's the only reason why i decided to check, assuming that they deleted the image because it was no longer relevant. the screenshot also has proof that it's been read, but they never replied to it.

so, a little miffed about it, i sent them an ask, being more firm about it, thinking bringing up a warning about a-b if they don't respond would make them a little more.. attentive to the situation? i've waited 4 months with little to no progress as far as i can tell, and i'm a bit worried about their 'if you bother me a lot i'm going to take longer on your commission' policy on their front page of their fa that, i don't know if it was there when i commissioned them or not, but i hope it doesn't mean that because i asked once, a day or two ago about it, that they're just going to start ignoring me over it.

.. as i'm writing this a few days in advance, if things don't look up, i decided to send them a note on fa too, just in case tumblr breaks or whatever and they don't get it. but this time i specified if i didn't get a reply and/or refund by the end of the week, i'd post the beware.

as i resubmit this, i've learned they like... disabled their fa page. i'm really not sure how to go about this anymore..

all in all, i'm pretty disappointed. i really like their work- hell, i adore their style, but the fact they're actively uploading on tumblr and ignoring me concerns me a little. especially when it was an innocent note, checking in on things since they deleted the image that notified people of their rl issues, which usually means it's no longer really relevant to keep up. i'd expect to get something back- hell, an 'okay, i've seen your note' on tumblr would've sufficed, or just a reply back to my note or just... anything. not this ignoring and then they disable their page so i can't even reach them through the place where they conduct business.

Comments

[jakejynx.livejournal.com]

Honestly, the thread above discussing their personal choice to have a "bother me and I'll take longer" policy is also not focused on the business transaction itself.

I'm honestly not trying to be argumentative here, and I agree that right now there may not be much to discuss beyond what's been said, but someone else may have something related to it to weigh in on. Maybe it's not a perfect topic, but I feel that freezing the thread and not even allowing the issue to be discussed is a bit premature.

If overall the mods feel it's worth freezing, that's alright though. Thanks for taking the time to weigh in at least. :)

[staple-gunner.livejournal.com]

it technically could be though because maybe they're mad i bothered them, althoooough i am certain that policy wasn't in effect when i asked them for a commission, so it shouldn't be effecting me at all... confusing

[jakejynx.livejournal.com]

Ugh. That's got to be a tough situation. Honestly I'd probably try sending them another note/ask thing just to see if they'd gotten/seen the other one. We kind of trust that onsite messaging systems are more reliable than things like emails that can get lost or sent to spam, but I've had people tell me that notes I send them (which show as sent and read in my outbox) never got to them. I don't know how Tumblr works though, and I'm also not really clear on how many notes have actually been sent.

I wouldn't think that a polite prodding would warrant a new policy like that, but it does sort of seem that way. I hope it gets cleared up and the artist responds at some point. :/

[staple-gunner.livejournal.com]

i'm assuming they got my notes because after sending them is when they disabled their page, i was just kind of shocked and decided to leave it be. really hoping i get some sort of response in the future.

i sent 2 asks on tumblr, one that they got which was the one i couldn't screencap, which was letting them know i sent them a note in the first place after 4 months, and the second was the reply that, hey, i'm going to make an a-b post if you keep ignoring me after reading my notes so.. ehh their loss, i wonder if any other people lost out from them though

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I disagree with you there, too. A policy of 'If you ask me for updates I'll intentionally delay it' is far more relevant than a name. One is more a personal preference, the other is a poor business practice.

I understand you probably see the name as falling under poor business practice, as well, but that's far less black and white.

I've emailed Kerstin so she can weigh in when she gets the chance, as well.

[jakejynx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was pretty much my thinking. How you present and represent yourself online is a part of your business practice. Behaving like a tool is bad business, just like having a username containing slurs and immaturity.

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

Lo, I have been summoned, so I must chime in (though we generally try to avoid mod-piling unless requested!). :)

I agree with my fellow mods; whether it sounds "professional" or not, the OP chose to commission them under these names, therefore this artist's choice of username is not relevant to this transaction.

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

This sort of thing is actually really better suited to Pming and discussing, when it comes to mod actions that are disagreed with. We don't bite! Feel free to pm any one of us about this sort of thing.

Something I should mention to clarify - we mods talk a lot, so most freezing and screening decisions are made with a lot of input beforehand. It's usually not just one mod deciding, but several, I don't want you to think I single handedly froze that topic, but that it's a decision of several people most the time. Hopefully the weigh in explains the decision well enough.

[jakejynx.livejournal.com]

Sorry, you're probably right. I'm on mobile though, and going through the process of all that on a phone, and not knowing who is ever online/available at any one time, I just figured this was the easiest/best option. I'll go through the proper channels if anything like this ever happens again.

Thanks for further explaining. I wasn't aware it was a group decision. Had I known the other mods were already in agreement, I wouldn't have said anything. :P