I Still Don't Get Furries

No, but he might be considered a fey.

I'm not "in" on the fey and fairy stuff, so I don't even know what constitutes fey...I'm guessing humanoid, but not quite? As in elves and fairies? Regardless, a satyr would be considered human with animal traits, and therefore not furry. Same with catgirls (neko in SL) and other such mostly-humans.

I agree. I am sometimes a Neko and dont consider myself a furry.

People are still arguing about the taxonomy of real species. I mean, calling each other names over whether bats are monophyletic or not. And y'all think you can come up with definitions for imaginary ones?

I'm aware of the "de facto" stereotypical definition, and fight against it all the time as people ignorantly call me a "furry" in both anthro and quadruped/feral forms. Dragons are NOT "de facto" furries, no matter what form they may take, nor how many artists want to mis-classify them as such.

"Furry" is a mindset that many Dragons do not share. To put it more simply, Furries can be Dragons, but Dragons are not necessarily furries, no matter what specific form they may be in at any particular moment.



Yes, I know, the term has been debased so badly that it can be applied to damn near anything. It is why I refuse to subscribe to it, and why people who mistakenly call me a "Furry" get exactly one chance to correct themselves before the conversation is over.

Easter Bunneh - someone stole mah Cadbury egg.

well, now. that was positively drakonian of you...

Would you expect any less?

True. That's why I don't see a point in fighting over it. If you really want to be precise, you'd have to use the old terms like "funny animal" and "talking animal." To use Talarus as an example (sorry) his character would be a "talking animal," but probably not a "funny animal" because he doesn't act like a human. Furries can go either way or be a mixture of the two. Personally, I don't usually like funny animals. They're just humans in animal bodies. I find it more interesting to see what an animal species would act like if they were sapient, and possibly anthropomorphic, that would be different from how the real animal acts. (Hence my love of sci-fi stories with such themes, such as The Cyantian Chronicles, the Uplift novels, etc)

The one thing I don't like, is people thinking that the furry genre is all one thing...Like, all furry-liking people consider themselves animals/furries, or everyone thinks it's a kink, or that "furry" always refers to a person, etc.

It's ok, I can take care of myself.

http://snowfox102.artspots.com/image/31863/im-watching-you-buddy

Exactly. Although consequences for the snake are dire the alligators die, too. A, say, ten year old human would be much easier for them to eat.

Even the experts are unsure about their range, but yes, they do the reptile version of hibernating.

meh, I'm a bit slow today... need more caffeine and nicotine, teach me not to hyphenate eh? =)

PS Satyrs and dragons are mythologicals and if they are close to 'historic' form I'd consider them a higher order of furry (but they're still furries damnit, that's the point, societies attributed certain things to the animals those creatures shared affinities with, and the mythologicals exemplified those traits on a human level, reflecting aspects (both good and bad) of human nature. they are the precursors to all furdom...)

People can stereotype^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hconsider me whatever they want. If they treat me as a furry, or call me a furry, well, they best remember to bring their own BBQ sauce.

Fortunately, we seem to be spared a lot of the "furfag" griefing crap, since most of the idiots who get off on that are too dim-witted to realize the extent of the stereotype. Still, we get enough of that and the "yiffy" crowd to make it annoying.

"------YIFFY!------- >.<"

LOL

Yah, I don't self-identify as furry because I come from the SF direction myself and don't care for the "ears, muzzle, and tail" funny animals. Argent's native form is a pack of Tine, but SL doesn't have the technology to render that (though I would be overjoyed if some in-world avatar creator figured out a solution to the problem, though I'd probably need four space navigators to control the pack).

it's doable, just not pretty, unless you wanted to composite all the viewpoints which might be disconcerting.... although chat range could be used as a natural limiting factor on groupings, along with the natural limit of being able to process that many linkages... (they remind me of the Gw'oth from Fleet of Worlds)

Holy Mother of Kzanol, there's a Known Space novel I haven't read yet? I KISS YOU!



Edit: I just read the Dramatis Personae. What the hell? Has Niven declared Borderland of Sol non-canon? Sigmund Ausfeller never met Julian Forward before _Borderland_, and he got sucked into a singularity in that story!

It's easy to confuse this type of avatar as a "Furry":



The humanoid standing confuses a lot of people.
An Avatar like this is less likely to be confused with a Furry.



They are both from the same Creator, and quite similar in looks.

My own thoughts, there is nothing "Furry" about dragons and reptile-like creatures.

Still, World of Warcraft, I regularly skinned dragonkind, and regularly got Arctic Fur from the job. So I was actually thinking of posting something about a rare mob on the forums there, called a "Furry Dragon". Shame I've been banned for ages there though, Blizz didn't take disclosure of patch notes after they already gave em away at the blizzcon themselves too kindle xD

We see even among non-humanoids, there is confusion.

You see a wolf hanging around. If a girl says "Oh My, a Big Bad Wolf!", most likely the wolf will respond "hehehe oh no, I am a Nice Wolf" (as if we are supposed to trust what a wolf says).

But come on with a "Scout eyes the wolf, and starts to rummage in his bag for a wolf gun". Then I usually get a sincere, but tired lecture about how wolves resent being treated like....wolves??

Ok Ok, I do get it. When I see someone hanging around a welcome center wearing a Darth Vader outfit, I know he's not really Darth Vader. Even if, most people wearing a pirate outfit know how to act like pirates.

So when I see a furry, even if they have a furry pic in their profile, I will try to be polite and respectful. I'll treat them just like I would that guy in the Darth Vader outfit...I will wait to see if they really ARE furry.

Ah, but in the very next installment, Rabbit Rampage, it was revealed that Bugs and Elmer were being depicted in an imaginary timeline drawn by Fudd himself. Only by embracing the philosophy of his nemesis and actually _becoming_ a furry artist could he hope to achieve equity.

Don't mistake disagreement for confusion. I am not confused about who -- or what -- I am. That people disagree with my self-assessment, or my disagreement with a common stereotype is not a problem with being "confused".



*shrug* People will respond and react based on their life experiences and perceptions. For example, I don't automatically consider wolves untrustworthy. The only place where they are characterized as such are Western children's stories. In nature, they are just like any animal; no more untrustworthy than any other (which is kinda bizarre, since the notion of "trust" is a product of higher intelligence).

However, some people want to drag their stereotypes into a completely imagined world, where pretty much anything goes. That's fine, but they shouldn't be surprised when their perceptions aren't automatically held / validated by others.

In SL, there can even be "trustworthy wolves".



Well, will you still treat them like wolves when they rummage in their bag for a human gun and start shooting back?



That's your first mistake. Presumptions and prejudgments. When you see anyone, anywhere in SL, you really don't "know" anything about them, other than what you see. A person may just be wearing a costume, roleplaying whilst wearing a costume, or may be expressing some otherwise repressed element of their inner selves. Don't assume anything other than what you see. If someone is wearing a Darth Vader avatar, respond to them as you feel appropriate; if it is wrong, and you are corrected, apologize and treat them as they request (as long as it is agreeable to you; if not, politely decline and move on).



That's always the best policy. Given the opportunity, people will express their natures to you so you know how to interact with them appropriately (or run away screaming in abject terror ).

Almost all of my presence in SL is as Human, But on rare occasions, when the Mood is Upon me, I Change into my Raven Form and go Flying, Or just perch in a remote area, and enjoy the quiet. As a Bird i don't get Taken for a Furry, and no one questions my choice to Be a Bird, Not has anyone Taken shots at me.

Between the Original Poster, and the Furries he is concerned with, I think i am Far more comfortable with someone who wants to Wear a tail, than i would be with someone who greets anyone different from Himself with a Loaded Weapon. I suppose i'm just Fussy that way.

Angel.