Free accounts will make more furries =/

Yus! Pudding research is the best. Somewhere in there, there is proof of Intelligent Design.



Yus... well, a non-ichthyomorphized fishie... hmmm... that is to say, a fishie without outward fishie appearance. (other than a tattoo of a fishie on my back)

-Ghoti

This makes me kinda reluctant to sell the line of bat avatars I'm making, considering all the animousity between av makers such as Lusk and Lost Furest. I don't wanna be targeted by a hate campaign just because I'm competing in the furry av market.

You won't get any campaigning from us, Spooky. (Now if you started putting up signs out of the blue that said 'Liam Roark eats kittens! Don't buy his stuff! -- that may... cause some grumbling.) As for how other groups will treat you, I can't say. The "Don't buy Luskwood!" mantra came out of the blue one day; I hate to be so base about it but, "we didn't start it". Later on we learned about the intentions of one av maker trying to "be on top" at the cost of everyone else in SL.

The very reason we kept our vendors out of areas like The Forest and Furnation for the longest time was so that we *wouldn't* step on other av makers. We were doing just fine with people coming to Lusk to get what they wanted.

But indeed, that sort of targeting has moved on to other av makers. What wasn't really that competitive a market, has become so, I believe artificially.

Before we did 3d, several of us in Luskwood did 2d art. While there was a lot of criticism in that arena, there was never a competitive overtone. In other words, if you buy a print from Eric Schwartz, that was never seen as a blow to, say Shawntae Howard or Michelle Light. Most people bought prints and commissions from many if not all of the prevalent artists.

But here we have this weird, forced, artificial idea that started with: "You can either buy Luskwood or Lost Furest, but not both, and we are going to be the ones who will win ". (Hint, it wasn't Luskwood that had that mentality. I believe our response was, "Huh?"

Some of the new up and coming av makers: yourself, Whinge, others... Trust me when I say you're never going to have to worry about us dragging your name through the mud, or even disparaging you guys. That's not what we're here for. We aren't trying to "capture market share" as some other folks seem to be hell-bent on.

(If we had that motivation, we would have changed prices, or started making 'newbie' avs (The under L$250 market) -- a niche I dont believe we need to fill because others do it quite well. Not every avatar that gets sold has to be a Luskwood.)

Before this whole debacle, we've coexisted with, (and still do!) and sometimes even reccomend non-Luskwood av makers. Evangeline, Lucah, Noramyr... You don't see us having Gladiator-style bouts with them. (And they're actually good at what they do, too.)

No, the "BIG FIGHT, COBRA VS. MONGOOSE" avatar battle royale is a new thing. New to us, too. We've been mostly quiet about the whole issue, but the "call outs", shills, staged 'demonstrations' on Luskwood's platforms to try to sway people from buying Brand A to Brand B are getting kind of ridiculous, and in this thread, I finally responded.

I'm beginning to see stuff like, "I don't like furries, and that's all Luskwood's fault. But! When I DO like Furries, I prefer Lost Furest(TM) brand furries, theys the bestsest!"

I don't even like this being categorized as a multipart "war" or equitable animosity. We were minding our own business, and got "called out" out of the blue with a sort of "WE WILL DESTROY YOU!" battle cry. I half expect the Lost Furest folks to come by Luskwood, chop off our heads, and hold a sword to the sky or something and yell "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!"

The problem is, when you have two groups, and one declares shennanigans on the other, oftentimes it looks like both bellied up to the table at the same time. This, I assure you, was not the case. Nor will it ever be. It's not in our interest to go picking on people.

It's kind of like Rice Krispies declaring they shall become victor over Cheerios. Some people just *prefer* the damn cheerios and no amount of campaigning is going to change that. For those who *do* like the Krispies, here, here's some milk. There's plenty to go around.

So Spooky - and I said this to Whinge, too - Don't *not release* your avatars because of this newfound politik. That only gives CREDIBILITY to it. And really, there is no credibility to it. An art marketplace is one based on preference and taste, not features, options, and mudslinging campaigns.

If anything, we need more people to show the SL marketplace that this sort of thing is not the best option. Promote your merits, not perceived competitors shortcomings. Nobody is going to get all of the market share in the art market, and it's one that's getting bigger by the day.

There's more than enough to go around, and no, there will NOT be only one. Everything is growing, and if people like your art, they'll buy it. It's as simple as that.

When I click first, prev, or next on your page, another Firefox window (this one) pops t o the fore... what is up with that?

[edit] Ohhh, I see. Its a frickin advert window trying to pop-up but failing. Damned annoying. Nice comic though

-Ghoti

Just as a matter of semantics, there is no 'state of animosity', at least not one involving Lusk, as that would imply both parties are involved; It would be more accurate to say that there are some parties broadcasting animosity towards other av makers as SOP, due to the aforementioned 'there can be only one' attitude, and it does seem to be a rather wide net. It's best to just not take it personally OR seriously.

And I wouldn't let it discourage you, either - I think you've done a fantastic job with your bats, particularly the faces. They have a really unique look to them that no one else has really tried and that's exactly what the avatar market needs more of - original ideas. The fact that things have gotten so discouraging to new people trying to get into it is really sad, to me.

Edit: As Michi beats me to it. Heh.

The greater the supply of furries the lower the price of fur coats.

Ah okie. No wonder Whinge was so nervous when I asked him if I could buy just the wings from his newly made bat av. I just thought his wings rock and I just wanted to use em for personal use, but nowadays, I can't blame him for being paranoid about idea theft.

Attempting to win at forums, are we, SuzanneC?

There are already console wars that kill brain cells. Now we have av wars? Yeesh. I support all the av makers. I have cuddly little avs from so many different people. I think you all rock, and wish daily that I could be as good as you. <3

BY THE WAY























Giant robots

Kujila has never seen an old tired meme that he didn't love.

Go back to GBS.

GBS?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBS

Oh. Stop the hate!

I have been making furry "skins" or avatars for over a year in SL and no one from Luskwood has been anything but freindly and helpful. The only reason I can think of people being against Luskwood is the same sort of "anti-Mircosoft" mentality you see a lot. Luskwood is big, successful and they produce a quality product. Some people can't stand that and will be against it no matter what "it" is.

Between my wife and I, I think we have made a couple of tier payments at least because I love their work and I own just about everything they make and several multiples. Lost Creatures, I have a few as well. I also have bought avatars from just about all the makers, some just to show my support. There is plenty of room for competition in SL.

If anyone in SL has a "anti-competition" beef in SL, its me. Due to a permissions "feature"not a bug anymore) my early skins were able to be duplicated and given away. Now my skins are being given away in newbie packages by mentors. Even so, I do pretty well with my other stuff and all I ask from those giving my stuff away is to tell those they give them to who made it. It's tough when you have to compete against yourself.

Pardon me Michi, but what the hell are you going on about?

I hope you are not implying that I hated on Luskwood. I specifically mentioned I had Luskwood-style avatars, and rather like them. (I don't think I have any actual Luskwood avatars, but that's no agenda of avoidance on my part.

If no such implication was being made, forgive this post.

Ah. I now see what the hell you were going on about.

Rest assured, such is not the case for me; I used "Luskwood-style" simply because, well... Luskwood seems to have been around for ages. I have no idea if Luskwood was the first big avvy maker bunch, but I do consider them a benchmark of quality and so inevitably compare all other furry avatars to Luskwood ones.

However, it seems to me that nearly every furry avatar producers in Second Life uses a more cartoony style... the only non-"toony' furries (in the "stylized body, big Disney-esque eyes" sense) I'm personally familiar with in Second Life are Jakkal's. If others exist, kindly let me know so I may descend in a consumeristic frenzy.

It's more of a "if it ain't as good as Luskwood and ain't significantly cheaper, why the hell am I buying it again?" deal.

Luskwood rules!!

oh wait. . .

what are we talking about?

Heh, I can say that among us, when we talk among our group, we've had nothing but good to say about you. You fill a niche and a market that people want (your skins), and any time anyone wants a non-prim style av (And many do), you're the de-facto first name out.


Aliasi: Sorry if it sounded like an implication, but what I -did- section out there has kind of been a repeating drumbeat of a theme coming for a certain "neck of the woods". I don't know who's involved in it anymore.

There's no avatar war except for a few people who are raging against an invisible machine. Hopefully with some new creators coming about the 'av maker community' will normalize back to what it used to be. There aren't any trade secrets, just preferential styles and designs.

Kitty avs!

You'd better not be taking offense at my joke Michi. Don't make me have to come out there and set traps.

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I was making a joke, trying to be friendly and pleasant, responding to the extreme silliness of the title of this thread.

Being pleasant is exactly the opposite of what the phrase "winning at the forums" means in common usage.

One could imagine a competitive attitude between posters who tried to demonstrate who had the greatest writing skill, or had the best sense of humor, or was best able to answer someone's questions. Winning such a competition would be a thing to be proud of. Instead the competition in the forums seems to be to see who can be the biggest asshole in the universe, and to Second Life's detriment, there is a five to ten way tie for first place, and the runner ups aren't far behind.

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You probably have no idea how much I like the Lusk sim, I don't say much about it. I think it looks great, it's a great place for flying in, it's nice for skating and ROAM flipping in, you can jump from platform to platform and onto the walkways. Everyone in Second Life should check out Lusk.

I had a nice time while the new customers were coming in at Lusk, The interesting furry avatars would look neat to newcomers, in my view, not as dull as humanoid avs like I typically have. The people were pleasant, and I admire the effort you Luskites have gone to to maintain the woods in the consistent visual style that you have.

I am easily agitated, but don't take it to heart. That is part of my charm. I'm like a recurring character from a sitcom.

*cues laugh track*

-Ghoti

Hey I a bunny but furry noway

Luskwood is the only PG furry place on SecondLife, therefore I declare it the only furry area on SecondLife officially Kujila-endorsed (TM)

Is there some kind of plaque involved? Or a sticker we can put in the window next to the AMEX/VISA/DISCOVER sign?