to make this easier to navigate I have a content list below so you can skip to the part you are curious about! Yes, I am going to update this as needed and as demanded.

Journal Contents

1. My Opinions on Eclipse
2. Cool Options to Look At
3. Other Art Sites
4. My Suggestions
5. Some Useful Resources

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1. My Opinions on Eclipse

Like most others, I hate it yea... yup that's true! I do prefer the way dA was originally with the capabilities that it had as is (especially the profile customization and proper and full use of CSS/HTML).

If given the option I would not pick Eclipse... no matter how cool it might seem to others. As a CS owner, and ARPG owner, and as an artist who would like to eventually sell goods online I personally find Eclipse useless and pointless. If I want the looks Eclipse is going for there are better and far more professional sites available for it so get over that Wix, you are not original and nor are you doing something unique...

What am I going to do? I'll be here... I won't be paying though, nope that subscription is not renewing! I'll wait and still stay for those that do not want to leave. Mainly I am keeping my profile and account on here for the ARPGs that won't move AND for the friends I have known since I made an account (12 years) on here who might want to reach out to me still and have no other ways of contacting me.

I'll still be here, just not as active - I hope you see this I am not going to be as active due to the stress Eclipse causes. I am however super active on Discord... it's my only method of contact these days.
I'll be on Toyhou.se and properly active unlike before as I found the character tracker capabilities are amazing.

So with that, all of my CS are going to have a group or admin account at least on dA still. If I make a website or have the CS be active externally on a different platform they'll be posted on that group's profile. My groups that are active are going to remain active for those that want to use them still!

I was going to write a book... really... super long reaction and response but at this point I am just tired of dA and do not have the energy to put all my thoughts down on something I cannot change so shrug.

All accounts I own on other sites are going to be available for access in my profile for those that need it. Feel free to friend me on those sites and contact me there but keep in mind I actively check Discord, Instagram, Toyhou.se only. You can email me too by sending it to ParadoxSketchbook (at) gmail.

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2. Cool Options to Look At

There are actually options ALREADY made available for those of you that despise dA right now and want to leave. Before spending your money willy nilly do take a moment to check this stuff out.

A. Introducing LOREKEEPER by corowne (amazing person)!

Lorekeeper is actually pretty bada** if you want to get your closed species or ARPGs up and running without too much investment. The first catch is: it is free, no joke! The entire code is free to use and is being updated all the time for bugs and errors (not to mention if you look at the planned releases she has in the wiki it might be just an amazing setup).

 What Is Included
- Member account registration and profile capabilities
- Member profile with inventory, characters, and balance details
- Masterlist setup with full functionality
- Masterlist transactions (trading, selling, uploading, design approval, etc)
- Banking system with full transaction capabilities
- Shop system with full transaction capabilities
- Clean admin panel for ease of approvals, claims, editing and adding new things so you and your mods never have to touch the code
- Prompt integration
- Raffle integration
- More stuff that I forgot so just look at the wiki for details!

 Costs of Setting up Lorekeeper
- Setup fee if you are code dumb (varies by coder)
- Hosting Fees (varies by host company and host plan)
- Domain Cost (can be included in host fees by some companies)

You pay nothing for the actual code! So instead of paying someone thousands to do a custom code why not check out this free alternative that you can totally customize to your heart's desire?!!

 Already set-up CS/ARPGs
- Pacapillars
- Ranebopets
- World of Orrison
- ThoseWhoWentMissing (website update journals show they'll be using Lorekeeper just not yet released)

 Corowne has a journal setup where you can find available coders to help you set this up: PHP (+HTML/CSS) Coders
And I personally know d3ve0n who charges a pretty cheap price for setting this up and offers roller services as well.

B. Toyhou.se

If you actually take the time to mess around on this amazing website you'll see there are plenty of neat ways you can use them to your advantage. You can do way more than you could on dA with a free account - trust me, I just learned the hard way!

HTML coding is available for free to free accounts (no subscription needed)! Using a free code made by AviCode I was able to set up a mock character template for my Tokotas and Felvargs... and realized that it could be used for making pretty bada** import sheet/profiles too for an ARPG!

You can make these things called worlds on TH too that allow the acceptance of membership and characters. For a site focused on characters I feel the world mechanic is pretty developed and amazing especially if you hate Eclipse and want to move with zero costs!

 What is Included
- Detailed character/masterlist profile setup
- Community creation called worlds
- Capability of art upload and easy tracking (never have to lose the artist who made your kiddo's art)
- Easy transaction of characters
- Might have more stuff I just have not explored it enough to find out!

 Cost of Setting it Up
- $0... it is free! Only catch is as TH is actually in a test phase you need an invite code to get an account.
IF you're paying for codes stop! There are many users who give them out for free people, so stop paying for them!
- Optional subscription fee applies if you want CSS access

 Already set-up CS/ARPGs
I did my best to find CS/ARPG that actually use TH to its full extent (personal opinion).
- Xiunus [world]

C. Wix Site Builder + Forum

Even though we hate Wix for what they are doing to dA they already offer plenty of cool options for those that want their own setup instead of a dA group.

 What is Included
- Your own site, duh
- Access to 100s of apps that can be added with a click of a button for free (there are paid apps too)
- Free forum capabilities
- Shop capabilities and inventory management for merchandise (the fees are cheaper than Shopifly and Etsy)
- With some money down the capabilities of user registration and image hosting

 Cost of Setting it Up
- Free if you're okay with using their domain name and using free apps
- Domain and plan cost varies on the package and what you want
- Cost varies by app if you want paid apps added
- Additional costs for large amount of image hosting and membership

 Already setup CS/ARPGs
- ArcaneZoo
On the other hand, I am trying to discover just what can be done with Wix for free with my own CS: Digikiki-Cloud
I'll add it here once it is fully explorable by others to see if it is a good option or not.

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3. Other Art Sites

I cannot vouch for any site I have personally spent time on and know well enough to post here but if you have suggestions just comment and I'll check them out. I am only posting things on this journal that I have personally gotten familiar with and see their potential.

- Instagram [if you don't care about communities/groups]
- Facebook [private groups can be made for easy gathering]

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4. My Suggestions

For groups really nothing has changed, they'll get there eventually. With the complexity, Wix has with setting up platforms and the user-end friendly drag-n-drop functions and additions of external apps one can only hope and assume something similar is going to come to dA.... one can only wonder and hope. IF that is true, IF... using dA for communities might actually just become a lot easier than it was... no joke.

In the end, my only suggestion is: do not drop money so easily without first researching! Check out what others are doing and how it works before going in and investing only to find out you hate it...
You have time still, Eclipse is only hitting users at this time since the 2018 official release for testers. They haven't touched groups yet officially so we have plenty of time to see what other options are available before diving and ditching dA over Eclipse.

Keep a cool head and don't panic...

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5. Some Useful Resources

I figured it might be nice to compile a list of actual resources that are useful for people in these hard times... A proper resource listing known as ARPG-Gazette is going to be made available soon but not right now. You'll be able to post yourself as a resource or find some resources with ease!

What the heck does resources you mean? Mainly people... those magical peeps that make your CS/ARPG come to life properly! Artists, coders, developers, potential admins, and even actual websites and such creations that you can use to your advantage!

A. Coding Services

• - d3ve0n
• PHP, SQL (setting up websites, rollers for activities, combat, and breeding, lorekeeper)
• 
  

B. Content Creation

• 
  

C. Development Services

• TBA

D. Admin Services

• TBA

E. dA Alternatives

Read the information above in sections 2 and 3 for full details.

• Lorekeeper
• Toyhou.se
• Newgrounds
• Card.co Builder
• Wix Site Builder
• Weebly Site Builder
• Google Site Builder
• Facebook Groups [ehhhh]
• Instagram [ehhh for community/groups]
• Furaffinity

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I hope this was useful to some extent...

 If you'd like to offer services of any kind and want to be listed here then do comment (you'll get an invite to ARPG-Gazette once that resource listing is live).

Also if you know of any other properly developed alternatives (not coming soon) then do share them here!

 Thanks for checking it out and feel free to share with any other lost soul that might be looking for alternatives to dA!

- ATCs are 2.5" x 3.5"
- Shipping costs +200 Arca
- These come in clear trading card sleeves
- All cards are placed in small zip-lock baggies to protect from the elements