NineChime forum

The rise of social networks has been a severe blow to the oekaki community.  The boards aren't as popular as they once were, much like how blogs have nearly obliterated personal web pages.  OpenCanvas has also been a major competitor, which allows artists to draw together on one canvas.  Unlike PaintChat, the oekaki equivalent, OpenCanvas does not require a dedicated server and runs on a home computer, and thus makes it easier for people to use.

However, there are reasons to have an oekaki.  It's sort of like a chat room and guest book for artists.  They are still very popular among artists, especially in the manga, sonic, and furry communities.  It also makes a great room for guest art, such as for web comics.

I always recommend to people that when they start an oekaki, they choose a theme, or have a weekly suggestion in the notice.  Themes and focus generally increase participation.

One major deviation that Wacintaki has from historical oekaki boards is that you have to register to post art.  Many "channel" sites like 4chan allow random posting without registration, which is why they are so popular.  Eventually, I hope to rewrite Wacintaki under a GPL license, and then more sophisticated administration and security tools can be used as plug-ins.  Then, it will be practical to turn it into a free-form oekaki where users don't have to register if they don't want to.