Are furries a liability on SL?

So after the grief bomb and all the W-Hat stuff going on, I got to thinking. Due to certain groups targeting furries for griefing, resulting in shutdowns of the entire grid, are furries a liability on SL? I mean, being a furry myself, the fandom has had a big "kick me" sign on us for years. Usually the attacks on the fandom were self-contained to furry websites, MUCK's, whatever, but now non-furries are suffering collateral damage on SL.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not proposing the banning of furries or whatnot, considering that I'm a furry and that would mean I'd be getting das boot as well if that happened. I'm just looking to see what the general consenses on this issue is. And what we can do to fix it.

They were they target? I don't remember reading that anywhere can ya point it out?

If there were no furries in SL, griefers would find some other group of people to attack.

So, no, I don't think furries pose any extra liability at all.

no.

What? Furries had nothing to do with this..

Agrees.

I don't think the latest disaster was aimed at a specific group. If it was directed at us then there would've been some indication of anti furry propeganda somewhere within the forums or SL itself. Probably just being paranoid. ^^

<grooms tail>
AHHH!!! What's that?!?
<picks out a piece of duct tape>
Darn grid updates. ^^'

I didn't see anything about the recent attack being on furries, although some groups take it upon themselves to attack anything thats not the same as them..

Pratts like that will find something to target, as far as I'm concerned, furries are doing us a great service by taking most of it so gracefully

no

I'm not saying this recent attack was because of furries. I meant furries are usually one of the targets of the people behind it. Not to mention, entire sims have been taken out before due to anti-furry griefers.

The furries wanted it... they were asking for it... walking around all...FURRY, flaunting their little cotton tails, wearing their long ears seductively.

Hrmmm no that doesn't sound right. Let's stick to spanking the attackers.

Well... as a furry, I'm going to say now, that this is a massive can of worms that's just been torqued open. Here's my take as a master builder for the biggest furry sim cluster out there. The majority of incidents have indeed been related to people attacking furries for being furry. For being 'zoophiles', plush-toy humpers, pedophiles, or Just Plain Icky. Roughly the same mentality that tends to go after sexual orientation, race, gender, whatever. Typically should-be-teen-gridded children or just plain ignorant and passive-aggressive. The usual treatment is banning, AR'ing, and life goes on. To put it in perspective, calling these people 'terrorists' like some of you do, is simply blowing it out of proportion. They are annoying children waving around simple scripts for the purpose of interrupting someone's entertainment, and most of the time, they succeed only briefly.

However, I will say this. While the Linden response times are usually excellent when I make a call for help if the situation warrants it, their own policies are astoundingly slow when it comes to dealing with matters. I have had situations where there's a group of three griefers frozen in place, no estate owner in sight to remove them from the sim, and I'm stuck having to alternate between them on freezes so that they can't move and resume firing. The Linden response when I called for help, was to do nothing until I sat down and typed out an abuse report, by the way. Yeah, okay, I'll type that when the only tool I have to deal with the griefers is to hold them frozen, or turn the land damage okay (thus making everyone vulnerable to gunfire beyond pushes) so I can shoot them to get rid of them. Land bans are totally ineffective; All they do is ensure that the minimum range for incoming gunfire to travel is fifteen meters, or that the griefer has to shout to activate his C4. Having only one estate owner allowable is pathetic. It ensures that an estate sim is effectively undefended most of the day unless you use a security script, and even then, there's reliability issues, access issues, et-cetera. And that of course ignores the glaring fact that users had to add that sort of thing to the world because the current powers granted to admin staff without estate access are totally ineffective in keeping a determined griefer down.

It's not the groups that are the problem, it's the fact that landowners have less than adequate "stopping power", so to speak, and the Linden response against griefing has been less than glowing. I've seen instances of repeat attacks in more than three instances by the same account, or nothing more than a warning for deliberate sim-crashing attacks. As for the individual Lindens out there helping out? I have nothing but respect for you people, and specific thanks for a few of them in particular. Nigel, Altruima, Jack, Harry, and Nicole, you've been great to us lately. My palms are together for you. As for the ones who decided policy? Rethink it. It's broken. Badly. Landowners either need more effective tools to deal with griefers, or you need to empower your Linden helpers to act more quickly and decisively.

No! Furries are not a liability. Geesh you don't need to kick yerselves -- plenty of people out there willing to do it for you.

I'm tired of seeing the furs get knocked around. No -- you SO are not responsbile for the griefers actions.

I agree 100%

I'd hate to know these idiots in RL.

I know a few of them. Some are total retards, one's a sardonic asshat, and the rest are actually really cool people-- devolving into total asshats when the retarded or sardonic ones show up. It's some sort of social ritual, just like the usual stuff I notice at furcons with fellow furries; The group mentality follows the loudest (Not necessarily largest) social archetype present.

Furries had nothing to do with what was an accidental concequence of a script that wasn't supposed to infinitley propagate or res past no-res borders.

BS. It was called a 'Grief Ball RC3', and I watched what I believe may have been an earlier version of it used in the Weapons Sandbox on Saturday night. I will be mentioning my earlier encounter to Philip, and will provide him with screenshots I took of the initial device, which appeared to be an earlier version of the weapon used to attack the grid. The version I encountered lobbed self-replicating balls that rammed into active users.

OK, having voiced my opinion, I now feel the right to post a response...
(Don't ask... I just feel that if I can't respond to a poll in honesty, I shouldn't post to its thread either.)

Anyway, I want to ask a question of all the Zoomorphs out there...
Furries, Feathers and Scalies,
Polymorph and monomorph,
Full timers and non-,
Sexuals and non-,

WHAT is UP with the VICTIM role?

I really had to struggle with even answering this poll, because the wording of the poll was couched in such a way that if I answer yes, it appears that I blame furries for the woes of collateral damage, and if I say no, I support the idea that furries are just victims of some anti-furry canpaign, and if I shoose the third option, I cede the right to an opinion!

As a Non-sexual, Part time, polymorphic furry (Fox, Tiger, Bat, and now (thank you Jakkal) Drakkolupen), i have just one thing to say to my kindred, and it won't be popular:

Get off the cross!!! We need the prims for something constructive!

Everywhere I go, it's, "Why are Furries so put down?" or "Why does everyone hate Furries?" or "Why can't people just accept me as I am?"

Let me tell you guys something. Everywhere I have been, there has been no issue with my wearing skin, fur, or scales. I am not a victim and don't carry myself as one. Consequently, I am not treated as one.

I have never seen nor have I have I heard a direct account of Furries being victimized by anyone that didn't also victimize Skins. I have also never run into the "everyone" that a lot of Furries seem to think hate them.

Most of the people that I have met have a few furry avs in their chest that they tried out, and it "just really wasn't for them", and I think I may know why.

Once, recently, I was flying around, shopping (I was wearing Human skin that day, but that condition varies with mood and weather...), and happened to be approached by someone wearing a Luskwood Fox (Arctic white, male). Apparently, this person thought I was part of the mall staff, because they asked me if I knew anything about a job at the location where I was shopping. I told the person no, that I was just looking around. Then this person (and I keep being gender ambiguous here because of what happened next....) told me that if I looked close, I could see that their av had a "special spot". It was not unobvious what "spot" they were talking about... male av, female bits... on display... In a PG sim... My response? "Yeah... and your point would be?"
To which this person responded, "I dunno. I'm going to go lay down."
"Have a nice nap," said I, and off I went.

Later that same day, I had a similar encounter with a female Luskwood Fox (red...At least this one had parts that matched her gender).

My question... was this just Furries on bad behavior day?? Do I have a sign over my head that says, "Furry sex welcomed here" ? I think the answer to both is no...

What I think is, there are some bad apples in the furry crowd, just as there are bad apples in other crowds, and both groups tend to paint the other with a broad brush...

The Furries think that "Everyone" hates them (so much more dramatic to say it that way, isn't it?)

And the "Other group" thinks "All Furries are pervs." (Easier for the mentally lazy to create an "Us/Them" divide on visible characteristics rather than on personality and behavior.)

OK,

I've said my piece.
Neg rate me if you must (they're going away soon anyway.)
But realize that I have observed more weapons/shields and gadgets on furries than on any other subgroup in SL.
Jeebus, people! Sit on a frikkin BOX and go phantom! You don't need a L$5000 Oblivion Gun to "Defend" yourself.

And if you MUST carry weapons, shields and gadgets that provide "intelligence", realize that that carries a subtle challenge all its own to those who want to be the "Big swinging gun" on the block.

Thank you for your kind attention.
Oh, and to all the trolls out there...
Don't belch too loudly and wipe your chins.

ya

Kris, I thought you said you'd never post your RL picture with the face unobscured!!

Bad idea, Spooky.

First of all. This had nothing to do with Furries. The "Grief Sphere RC3" began in Olive, and spread everywhere.

SA didn't come to SL to seek out furries; they were just thrilled when they found them here.

These folks have been equal-opportunity offenders. Be it goths, furries, europeans, blacks, arabs - it doesn't matter.

However, now that this has been posited, it'll gain legitimacy.

I am however, glad that you allowed the poll to show names. That'll be useful.

The beard Lisse, the beard counts as obscuring

This thread, while possilby started with good intentions, is spiraling into questionable and inflammatory discussion. I'd like to remind everyone to please refrain from personally attacking other Second Life Residents or Groups of Residents.