Furry Geek Meet

I recognize that what you've said is a big part of how you self-identify. I respect that. But with the deepest of respect, in my experience, indomitable superiority complexes and abiding vanity isn't a dragon thing; it's just you.

My first experience of furry was back in the mid 90's when i belonged to a newsgroup called alt.fan.dragons. The population was large and, unsurprisingly, about 3/4 folks who self-identified as dragons or who RPed dragons. After that, i became briefly involved in a MUCK that had been created by folks from that newsgroup, and was also populated almost exclusively with dragons and folks RPing dragons. Aroung the same time, i also recall attending an informal discussion at anthrocon geared to dragons and herps. I remember very few cases in any of those venues of the kinds of egos you describe; most folks i met were sweet, friendly people, no more arrogant or vain than the rest of the furry population.

Heck, most of the dragons i know here don't seem to fit the model you describe. I would say that i don't, but i think it's difficult to be really sure, when i say i'm not vain or arrogant, that i'm not just flattering myself. Certainly i don't fit the classic physical model of a dragon--i may have four limbs plus wings and tail, but i'm the size of a house cat and i don't breathe anything dangerous.

Personally, if i had to note traits that i think a lot of dragons i know embody, it would be an intellectual bent that can slide towards pedantry and some reluctance to accept others' authority. Among the faerie varieties, i've also seen a mischievous trend. but of course none of that is ever always, and i would never presume to tell someone they're not a dragon if they feel they are.

Also, like others in this thread, i do feel really uncomfortable when others talk about who does or does not have a right to be a part of furry or geekdom--for their sake, because i know how much it hurts to be excluded and denigrated like that, and for our sake, because i feel quite clear that every member of furry has their own gifts to bring and i don't want to miss out on any of them if i can help it. Furry isn't just for people who meet a certain standard of acceptable geekitude or fandom. It's for anyone with an interest in creatures with animal and human characteristics, be they fursuiters, RPG players, artists, cartoon enthusiasts, transspecies folk...

Of course i would never tell you what to think about other furs. Those are your thoughts and feelings, and you have every right to them. But if you could on this message board, i'd really appreciate it if you could not speak so disparagingly of furs with a more mainstream mindset and if you could try not to make such sweeping generalizations of the dragon population.

What is LULZ? x_x *baffles*

I would wager that the majority or artists and dealers are not geeks, nor do they constitute this "LULZ" that you speak of.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for calling someone out if they are out of order or otherwise being anti-social. What I do have an issue with is the attitude of, "People who aren't/are into X, Y, or Z aren't welcome here".

In fact, Anthrocon's predecessor, Confurence East actually came into being because the furries who attended it were in turn excluded from a certain science fiction convention that decided, "Oh, we decided we don't want furries here". Furry Connection North was recently started for similar reasons, as was Midwest Furfest.

I believe that excluding an entire class of people due to a few miscreants is a big mistake. It only serves to alienate responsible and talented individuals who may otherwise make valuable contributions to the community at large.

 
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