Yep, thezikes.com was down for most of the day yesterday and all last night, but it should be back up now. It seems that my "Zikes Script" has become so popular that the host I was using couldn't handle it, and when I called them a few minutes ago they were asking if it might have been a DDoS attack against my domain.

You folks sure love your emotes, lemme tell ya

Okay, so, obviously it can't go on like this. It'll only continue to grow, the site will get even more traffic, and the host will keep crashing. So, I'm changing hosts.

Unfortunately, the new host does not support the (ancient) language I wrote the Zikes Script in, so I have to rewrite it. I also have to transfer the domain to the new host, which could take a little while. Fortunately, I will be able to serve the script in a "frozen" form until I can rewrite the thing in a more modern language.

This basically means that for the next 1-2 weeks you will still be able to use the script, but cannot add or remove anything.

On the bright side, the new host should be much faster, much more responsive, so there will be less "oops, Zikes is still loading" in dAmn. Also, since I'm rewriting it from the ground up, look for a whole new site design and maybe even a few new features.

I appreciate the patience, just try to bear with me a while longer

I have to say, one of the things I enjoyed most about deviantART in the past few years is that it is the only place on the internet where my coding endeavors can be translated into real art. I've never been much for drawing, painting, or any of the conventional artistic mediums, but coding's always come natural, and this place has given me an outlet like no other, and for that I am ever grateful.

Though I usually forget to say it, all of my code is CC Sharealike Non-Commercial, meaning you can use whatever you want, however you want, so long as yours is free for the taking as well, and that you don't try to sell it or otherwise pass it off as your own.

I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of open source coding, but that doesn't mean I think it's for everyone. As I said before, I consider it an art form, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. As such, I feel it deserves the exact same treatment, rights, and respect every other form of art on this site is awarded. Indeed, even the court of law holds this view, as copyrights also cover source code.

A recent incident involving a CSS journal template has come to my attention. A user has taken someone else's CSS code, replaced a few images, and tried to pass the template off as their own (initially without even a lick of credit, though some is given now). The artist whose code was stolen as reported the incident (twice!) and in both instances the report was marked as "Invalid - No Action Taken."

This is a travesty. It is theft, just like any other, and this violation of law and site policy must be taken seriously.

At the moment, I am willing to believe this is a misunderstanding. The C&E administrator may not have had knowledge of code and related copyright laws, and may not have been able to determine the nature of the theft. Toward that end, I will concede the administration 24 hours to respond to the incident with no less than an open dialog between themselves and the artist whose work was stolen.

If this issue is not resolved or at least on its way toward a resolution at the end of those 24 hours, I will remove every bit of code I have from this site and elsewhere.

Programmers are artists, too.

I am glad to report that $chix0r has stepped in and is now handling the situation. I am sure a proper resolution will be reached soon