Hey guys,
I'd just like to say that I came back from my first con, Califur, about a
half hour ago, and I have to say that about 90% of the bad stuff that you
guys talked about here was not only discouraged, but it was dealt-with with
a no tolerance policy. For instance: during the friday night dance, there
was a guy in the bathroom getting a BJ from another guy. As I was walking
out to find another restroom, the convention's security staff busted in,
took the two out of the bathroom, and sent them packing, tearing up their
badges and having security clean out their rooms on the spot while they
waited in the hallway. Yiff parties happened, and I understand that some of
them were wilder than others, but they were kept behind closed doors and had
to be passed on by word of mouth. Con security and hotel security came down
on a room that had decided to break out some pot, and sent them packing as
well.
The artwork was handled very professionally too. If an artist was going to
sell adult material (which most were, but still...), s/he had to put it in a
separate binder that was labeled "adults only" and had to police it as such.
Any underage con member had a different colored name badge, and was forced
to have an accompanying adult at all times. We had video game tournaments,
live shows that showcased some very hilarious and talented performers,
meet-and-greets, and just plain old fun!
Honestly, hanging with the 760+ people at Califur was like hanging with a
bunch of band nerds on a grand scale (and indeed, a good number apparently *
were* band nerds at one time), so I can honestly say that I felt completely
at home (except for the few weirdos I *did see in trench coats and stuff).
My point is, guys, that as far as I can see, 95% of the freaks out there
either kept it in their pants during the con or decided not to come. I have
to say that I had an *EXTREMELY* positive experience at Califur, and made 10
close friends and another 15 good acquaintances! I mean sure, some of the
furs there had very little sense of the term "personal space", but once I
got over that I've never received so many hugs from complete strangers in my
life.
In short, if Califur is anything like the other cons, I don't see a problem
with the people who are willing to call themselves furs and socialize as
such. The people online with the really weird s***, well, I could rant for
hours about those weirdos, but I'll save it for another time, since I am a
sleepy otter tonight...
Sincerely,
Pan the surfin' otter, who is looking forward to hanging with his newfound
"pack" at Downtown Disney tomorrow night!
On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 1:55 AM, Take a wild, friggin guess <
a_change_of_plans_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> ...Or maybe it's already here. I don't know, to be quite honest. But I've
> noticed a lot of various forums and places discussing the current status of
> the "furry fandom"; I've even noticed some discussion of it here over the
> past couple weeks.
>
> Now, perhaps because of my age, or the fact that I'm pretty much on the
> fringe outskirts of the fandom, I cannot help but notice the changes that
> have been occurring over the years. Granted, the fandom has always had it's
> share of nutjobs and fruitcakes, and maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe it just
> seems more noticeable because there are more people in it than there used to
> be. Maybe the younger people are totally fucked up because of the various
> medications and mental disorders doctors like to pass out like lollipops
> these days. Maybe the older people have always been clearly insane, and I
> just never noticed it until now.
>
> Back in 1995, when I attended my first convention, there were a few
> dog-collar-wearing oddballs in attendance. But just a few. Mostly, I saw
> single people, married (or unmarried) couples, senior citizens and kids. The
> artwork was unique and easily identifiable by even the newest fan, and
> comics with enjoyable, often well-written stories could be found everywhere.
> Fanzines were popular, and were instrumental for aspiring artists to get
> their work out into the public eye.
>
> Now, I realize a lot of folks use the internet nowadays instead of things
> like fanzines or comics. Let's face it, anyone with a webpage and a scanner
> can churn out a webcomic. But somewhere along the way, Style got tossed into
> the back seat along with Worthwhile Stories and Innocent Enjoyment. The
> driver's seat was taken over by Insanity and the passenger seat was soon
> occupied by it's close friend Fetish. The pedal is pinned to the floor, the
> kids are screaming in the back seat, and there's no way that car is going to
> pull over anytime soon.
>
> At what point did the furry genre become a "sexual fetish" or a
> "lifestyle"? I always thought it was about funny animals, cartoons, and
> science fiction. Sure, there was sex sometimes, but it was usually fairly
> normal stuff, not some of the weird shit that populates Fchan's /ah/ board.
> Where exactly does diaper-wearing, dismemberment, horribly-prolapsed
> internal organs or any of the other soul-searing crap come into the picture?
> How can some fans honestly function on a daily basis when they truly believe
> they are the spirit of some 500-year old wolf/dragon creature? Methinks the
> kiddies got their brains severely fried on Lucky Charms and too many
> episodes of Pokemon.
>
> These days, it seems conventions are used as "meat markets". Many people
> (who probably have no interest in artwork or stories) seem to use these
> events to hook up with potential partners, attempt to get laid (even MY mind
> refuses to picture what that must look like), get wasted on recreational
> drugs or get drunk. So where, exactly, does "furry" make it's presence known
> in that sordid little concoction?
>
> Answer? Nowhere. That sort of behavior has nothing to do with
> anthropomorphic stuff. "Furry" seems to be used as a loosely-binding glue to
> adhere to people of questionable character and motives. Unfortunately, that
> same glue is making them stick to the innocent fan, damning them by simple
> association. No one likes to be grouped in with the likes of animal-abusers,
> kiddy-diddlers and the like. But, unfortunately, the fandom's "open arms"
> policy has presented a severe chink in the armor, and all the outcasts are
> using it to find a haven.
>
> Now the question is: what are you going to do about it? Doing nothing and
> whining is easy; I see people do it all the time ("Maybe someone should go
> over and save so-and-so's gallery before they close it down. I would, but
> I'm too fucking lazy and preocupied with video games. By the way, can
> someone else call 911 for me? My house is one fire, but I've just got to
> beat this next level!") What do you think should be done, or how do you
> think it COULD be done?
>
> As I posted on CYD, I believe that artists are just as resposible for the
> situation. An aspiring artist gets a few fans, some of them ask if he can
> draw some enormous dog cock drilling some 4-year-old beheaded cub herm (and
> offer him money for it), and the artist does so. Boom! Now he's getting
> money and all sorts of fans, but are these the kinds of fans he really
> wants? Was that little bit of money worth opening the floodgate?
>
> I have mentioned in the past that I am changing how I do my work. I still
> plan on doing portfolios (I have several drafted already, as a matter of
> fact), but I will be focusing more on stories. I will be using Caterwaul
> Inc. as my vehicle for this adventure. I will also be putting a lot of my
> "mainstream" work into these comics, and I hope it will be evident in the
> camera angles, lighting, and detail. I will be focusing on the characters
> and the stories they have to tell. The stories are not G-rated (there's
> nudity sometimes), but they're also not XXX-rated spank magazines. If you
> want something of that nature, well, that's what the portfolios are for.
>
> Speaking of which, I have mentioned to some folks on the group that a lot
> of the future folios are considerably tamer than my older material. In fact,
> the roughs for "Skunkworks VII" look more like Playboy/early Penthouse than
> Hustler. There are still the occasional hardcore pieces, but not quite as
> prevalent as years past. I hope that folks will enjoy this change. My reason
> for changing my formula? I want to produce a high-quality item that even
> someone not involved with the fandom would be interested in reading or
> looking at. Something that one wouldn't feel the need to hide from everyone
> else because it's not the usual thing. I'd like to try to transcend the
> "furry" genre and try to steer my little corner of it into a greener
> pasture, a place where the nutjobs aren't welcome and won't find anything
> fap-worthy for their disturbing fetishes.
>
> I don't know if any other artists are willing to set standards such as this
> or not. But if they keep drawing the more unsettling material, they're going
> to keep attracting the undesireables, and that won't be good for anybody.
>
> So what do you folks think? What should, or COULD, be done? Realistically,
> mind you. I really don't want to hear how someone would take their Level 9
> Ninja-assasin wolf character and defeat the opponent. I want this to be a
> sensible, logical, and hopefully drama-free discussion. Your advice,
> comments, or ideas are most certainly welcome. This was just something I'd
> been thinking about for awhile and finally took the time to write it all
> down and post it here.
>
> --JMH
>
>
>
Received on Mon Jun 08 2009 - 01:14:16 CDT