Commentary: Is Furry Discrimination Widespread? Probably Not

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

You're enjoying a place in Second Life. Maybe it's a club you heard about. Maybe you're exploring around, and going through someone's land. You're minding your own business and behaving yourself when you're stopped by someone in charge and told you have to change your avatar or leave, the one that you see as the real you in Second Life and into one that you see as unlike at all what you consider yourself to be here. Naturally, you don't like the idea, and you either ignore the person, or tell him or her that you don't understand what the fuss is all about. The next thing you know, there's a flash, and then you realize you've been booted from the place. Or maybe the person was a lot nastier, calling your appearance sick and perverted, and demanding you either change to what they consider acceptable or else, or just simply kick you out.

Naturally, you'd be a little resentful, especially if it was the later. And if you hear about this happening to friends a lot, it may make you a little more cautious about going around new places inworld.

Unfortunately, this is how some furry residents feel about Second Life. I've heard of tales of this kind of harassment from some, and some even if they haven't gone through it themselves, the stories about it happening to others make them hesitant about visiting unfamiliar places inworld. The problem was recently brought to light in an article written by Samuel Roberts for the SL Enquirer.

As a Second Life fur, I'm happy to hear those in human avatars are addressing that the problem exists. But just how bad is it really?

I first wrote about the issue in March 2009 following an incident some furry friends were barred from a beach. After more than two years in Second Life, I'd only personally been asked to leave just because of the furry avatar once, and a week later had bee invited to a fancy event that only asked that I wear a suit. The article drew a number of responses, most siding those who wanted freedom from harassment. After that, I'd only been clearly told twice to leave because of having a furry avatar, and one of them was likely the place in the first article. There was one place in which a bot whispered to me that nonhuman avatars weren't welcome, but no further action was taken. There was one political place who threw out an alt of mine for being furry, but not me when I showed up later, or the one other furry that was there. One place I was invited to a few years ago, I tipped the DJ and hostess after some good music was played out of courtesy. The hostess messaged me that they usually didn't allow furry avatars, but they couldn't in good conscious boot someone who tipped the staff. Also a few years ago, JB Raccoon would ask me to write about one incident in which he was booted from a club after being there for an hour.

Grease Coakes would also write about two incidents he was involved in, here and here, which happened a few years apart. His earlier article got a few noteworthy comments. One commentator remarked he found it hard to sympathize as the club in his real-life town wouldn't allow you in unless your shoes looked expensive. Another commented that while she'd been harrased, the hostess seemed to be reacting less out of furry hate but instead thinking all furry avs were script-heavy. Someone else brought up another issue: feral avatars. One commentator had visited a club in a feral horse avatar that claimed to welcome everyone, but were booted, the person saying they kept bumping into people and the commentator was saying she'd been trying to avoid that.

And it's not all humans against furs, but occasionally the other way around. In my early days in Second Life, one friend in a human avatar once came to me in tears, saying she'd been thrown out of a furry area because of her avatar "I had no idea furries could be so cruel!" She would never visit a furry area again. And then there was an incident I personally witnessed about a decade ago. At one furry club, a human DJing was performing and the party went smoothly with people having fun until all of the sudden one of the foxes went ballistic, ranting and raving and calling the DJ a "hairless ape." The vixen owner, who had personally hired the DJ, saw this, and in a fit of rage booted out the offender, then offered the DJ her apologies. But the damage was done, her leaving soon after and saying she'd never play at another furry club. And discrimination can backfire in unexpected ways. I heard about one SL church in which furries were welcomed with open arms for some years, then when it's first pastor retired the new one insisted parishioners "keep it real" and told the furries if they wanted to keep coming, they had to change to human avatars. Well, as a result, not only did the furs leave, but so did many of the humans who didn't like their furry friends given the cold shoulder. The church folded soon after. The club that JB had gotten the boot from would also fold soon after.

There were two other details that come to mind. One was luck. Some people just seem to avoid trouble while others seem to run into problem after problem. So sadly with the law of averages, some furries would see more problems than others. And then there's that bad situations weigh more heavily on most peoples' minds than good ones. In grade school, I read a poem by a black man who had gone to an amusement park as a child, which had plenty of roller coasters, food stands, and games. But years later, his only vivid memory of the event was being called the N-word.

It should be noted most of the incidents I've heard of happened years ago. But how are things today? Talking to one furry neighbor, it was her opinion while the problem still existed, it wasn't as bad as it used to be. Much of the reason she felt was that attitudes among many of those who prefer human avatars were changing, such as being willing to go furry on occasion themselves. She'd seen a number of furs in recent years of who if you looked at their profile had a human picture.

Just after I started writing this, someone messaged me and complained about a supposed incident, not human against furry, but furry against furry. She claimed because she was a tiny mouse avatar, at a small furry club she was pressured to engage in strange roleplay, and thrown out when she refused (in a included notecard with a conversation with one of the staff, the person denied any wrongdoing).

So in conclusion, yes, discrimination against furries is a problem. But it most likely isn't as bad as some make it out to be, and probably isn't as bad as it was in the past. And it isn't just furs getting the boot, but humans and others can and do experience it as well. But it is appreciated that people like Samuel are trying to do something about it.

In the meantime, most places don't care what you look like as long as you behave. And in the case of music venues, just about all appreciate someone who tips. So don't let the stories about a few clowns ruin your plans to explore all of what Second Life has to offer.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Interview with Fop (KingForri), Giant of Natoma

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Being tall in Second Life is quite common. It was probably moreso in the past when people joked about the stereotypical seven foot blonde.  It doesn't take too long to find avatars that are eight or nine feet high. Truly giant avatars are less common. At the Fantasy Faire, you may see a fifty foot woman on occasion. But not long ago at the Ivory Tower in Natoma, I saw an avatar that was *truly* massive, hundreds of feet high. His name was Fop (KingForri). Eventually, I managed to contact him, and a meeting for an interview was arranged.

"It sounded like you wanted to message me before I took off!" He greeted, then mused, "Perhaps a thought on the line of 'get out of the bloody way you're blocking the sun!;" After some chuckles, I asked him where he got the idea for such a large avatar. "That's kind of a long story. When I joined Second Life, I had envisioned what I wanted an avatar to look like, but on a much larger scale. My goal was to make a  game character that I wouldn't ever have played. Prior to Second Life, I preferred small characters. My avatar started off as a bit of a joke, but as time went on he kinda evolved into something I got attached to, and I saw some of the large avatars other people made and it inspired me. I realized pretty quickly how difficult the whole thing was, and I'm the kind of guy who absolutely loves challenges, so I kept trying to push it further and further to see how far I could go. Every step of the way I'd have to make new scripts or think of some workaround to get around the limitations of SL, with the mentality that 'it has to be fully usable, and it has to be fun for everyone else.'

"So I developed some techniques to be able to do common stuff regular avatars can do, such as using RLV to switch between skeletons to reposition myself whether I was sitting or standing, or even sitting at a table. At one point I even figured out a goofy fake way to have a friend ride my nose using animesh and some clever tag positioning. One of the big walls was being able to upload a skeleton beyond 3m in the mesh uploader. Most people would just move the pelvis bone down which would cause their avatars to sway all over if they fidgetted in one place, or sat down or whatever. From what I can tell, I might be one of the first to figure out how to break that limit and upload models at a higher offset than three."

I asked how long it took to make his avatar, and asked about earlier avatars. He responded, "It's been an ongoing thing since I started, like, gosh, eight years ago. Of course I'm not constantly working on it, but every once in a while I'll think 'hmm, I wonder if I could push this even further?' and my mind will start going again. 

 

"There are some other really big avatars too. Some absolutely enormous, and far bigger than the Fop you saw the other day. However, they tend to have the problems I discussed earlier: they sway around, or an even worse problem: hard coded draw distance for mesh models. I suppose to save on processing time, the client creators have a hard draw distance limit for mesh avatars, so if you ever see any other mesh giants at for example, the Fantasy Faire, you'll notice if you zoom out too far their entire bodies just pop out of existence even if your draw distance is set to 1024m, leaving just their hair and some attachments visible. Being not so artistically and unable to really do 3D meshing work was kind of a blessing in disguise as ironically, it allows Fop to be seen the entire 1024 max distance. It's mostly the draw distance that limits most people.

"The one you saw was, I think around 300 meters (984 feet)? I've larger versions but I try to be considerate of others." After I asked how tall the biggest ones were, "Gosh, do you really wanna know? Let's just say you can't see the entire avatar with the draw distance maxed out. I've figured out how to walk around the outside of sims. It's, really difficult to use at that point. Haha! Over 2km, for sure. I measured with some blocks. A single foot covers around 6 to 8 sims. It's a fun novelty but at that point it's nothing more than a party trick! ... I know you did mention something in your article about how giant avatars aren't really practical, and you'd be absolutely right. However, through the challenges, I discovered something I would have never thought I'd enjoy, and at the end of the day, I'm having fun with my avatar. Second Life is a social game, and it's not like my avatar is any better or worse than any of the other ones. I'm still just some guy behind a screen having fun with friends, even if maybe I take up a bit more screen estate. (grin) 

"And maybe I'd like to just say for anyone else, try something out of your comfort zone. You might surprise yourself!"

I then asked if there were smaller versions of the avatar. "Of course," he answered, "I started off with a much smaller version. Began around the 12 feet mark, worked up to 60 feet. Used that regularly for years, it's still kind of what I default back to. I haven't really worked on any other avatars. If I do it tends to be a joke. Though unlike Fop, none of those jokes jumped out at me in the same way."

And what have been peoples' reactions? Fop responded, "It really depends on the crowd. In the general places, initially I'd get the usual "WHOAH THATS A BIG AVATAR!" But then I'll change the topic and it becomes whatever. In places made for giants, I'll get "YOU'RE TOO BIG FOR THIS SIM" and get shoo'd away. Kinda backwards eh?

"Of course any place that has a size limit will have the boot ready for me unless I change quickly. Sometimes people are hostile, but I find as a whole people tend to be a lot more accepting than I anticipated. ^^. That, or they're just being polite. You can never be sure!

"I think the initial shock factor is kind of predictable though. Everyone once in a while, the more critical will tell me my avatar is jank looking. Sorry, I did my best!

And what does Fop do when not going about "Living large?" He answered, "Well, I don't really stop to be honest, but as far as other things I like to do on here, I enjoy writing scripts for friends. I also really enjoy teaching people how to make stuff. I've left a lot of comments in the stuff I wrote for my pals who knew nothing about scripting, and they later thanked me as it laid the foundation for them to learn how to do it themselves, which was a really good feeling to be honest. I've considered applying to teach at the Builder's Brewery, or start my own classes. I think SL needs more people trying to create things. It's really the perfect platform for expression and sharing ideas.

"Obviously I'm reaching the limits of what I can do with my one gimmick, but I've also always wanted to make games, inside and outside of Second Life. I started on a couple projects years ago, but it's something I've been wanting to revisit. That, and making cool vehicles.

"Oh, and I like to terrorize, er, hang out with my friends at Natoma. I'm planning on taking some mainland-wide tours to meet (and maybe surprise) some people while handing out pizzas. Who wants some? (I don't knock on properties with security orbs tho. You're missin' out on free pizza!)"

Fop went on, "Years ago I got encouraged when I read an interview with Ceri Quixote on their giant avatar, and if I could inspire even one person to just try to do a thing and discover something new, I think that would be pretty nifty! Also shoutouts to Samantha Shadowcry. They're also a pretty big friend, and we bounce off each other with ideas and encouragement. I just wanna say I'm not alone in this journey! It's been a lot more fun with someone to actually share knowledge with and grow. Figuratively and literally (smile). ... Big avatars don't have to be statues. I wanna show that they can be fun too!"

 

And where did the name "Fop" come from? He answered, "I originally picked Jake. It was a generic name, but then one of my friends commented on my attire by saying I looked foppish. It stuck. That was within' the first year of being on SL.Really the avatar was more-or-less a big accident. It was formed by the time I spent on here and the people I met, ultimately. ... I don't bite and people are more than welcomed to ask me questions!"

"OOOH! I remembered a big point! Unfortunately my progress almost came to a screeching halt a few years ago, when I started to encounter people who just could not see my avatar. Like, at all. It really puzzled me as to why, but in about 2019ish (I forget exactly what year) Firestorm implemented a hardcoded derenderer that used your avatar's Texture Area. Even though Fop is made of the same primitives used to build in world, Firestorm would see the avatar and immediately derender Fop for being over 1000m² in texture area. When you consider that most people around that time used Firestorm, it meant unless people cranked their settings to automatically render avatars regardless of complexity, or Fop was forced to be rendered, I was invisible to most people I'd encounter. I'd then have to manually instruct everyone on how to see me, and of course a lot of people wouldn't bother. It was incredibly discouraging after working on my avatar after five years, finally getting it to a point I was satisfied with only to have all my work completely for nothing. I almost left SL for good right then and there. Even in my own "About Me" section of my profile are instructions on how to make me appear and it's sad I even have to include that. No other main client has implemented that feature by default.

"The problem still exists but with other viewers slowly taking the popularity vote, it's given me a sigh of relief."

And what was the model of Fop's avatar? "It's a modified example skeleton I found off some wiki, with the bones moved around. The head was from a freebie wolf avatar made in the early days of SL (I added eyebrows, hair, new ears, nose, and a fabulous tooth), the hair is just system hair with a front piece from some freebie pony avatar, the arms, legs, main body and tail were all created by myself, and the hands from some cat avatar in the library that comes with every account. The feet were heavily modified from that same wolf avatar I mentioned earlier. I haven't spent a single cent of my own real world money on this game, using only the Lindens I got from scripting for people for skeleton and texture uploads. All the scripts except for my AO I wrote myself, and even the AO I modified to match the walking speed increase of the longer legs.  I don't think you'll find another avatar on SL like mine!

"You really don't need to spend money to make something you can be happy with though. It takes a lot of work but it's a lot more satisfying in the end. It feels more like it's your own."

Fop would do a dance for a few pictures, and send me one of his: "Heroic dog saves cows from thug chicken." But he would later message me again, "Unfortunately, it seems as though the fun might eventually come to an end. Due to recent changes in certain viewers, things have been looking grim for giant avatars in general. In the pursuit of performance, certain viewers have implemented a feature that introduces a hard limit on texture area that an avatar can have before being derendered, even if their parts are flat shaded. Should an avatar's texture area exceed 1000m², the avatar is derendered regardless of what the complexity setting is set in the preferences (unless set to 'No Limit'), or unless you force render the avatar manually.

"Firestorm and LL viewer are the two I know of that have implemented this, which are unfortunately the two most popular viewers. So even if Fop's complexity while super-mega-large is lower than a lot of normal sized avatars due to his simplicity, he just pops out of existance for the majority of SL users who are using default settings. (For reference, a 1km tall Fop only hits 202k complexity. He also doesn't impact the framerate as much as one might expect) I've encountered a handful of people who even experienced the same problem with their giant mesh avatars. I've had to explain to people so many times now on how to render me that I ended up just putting instructions in my profile. It's gotten pretty annoying to be honest and completely sours the experience. My dreams of just surprising people and handing out pizzas while touring the mainlands are kind of dead as a result. The kicker is that Fop, being mostly prim and sculpties, can be rezzed in world and the viewers won't care and will render all the parts anyway. But worn? That's taboo. Doesn't really make sense in my opinion.

"Sadly it discouraged me greatly, and I've even considered leaving SL altogether. The change, as a knee-jerk reaction to griefers, ended up stiffling the creativity of legitimate users. I even created a couple prim avatars for a couple friends, but they can't enjoy them for the same reasons. I hope one day they'll reverse the implementation, or at least add a non-default option in the preferences to set the texture area limit. I'm sure if a griefer really wanted to cause trouble they'll exploit some other oversight, and then another thing will get nerfed, and then another, and then another, and eventually we'll downspiral to a point where nobody will be able to be creative anymore. If anyone in charge is reading this, please reconsider!"

Since this interview though, I would see Fop one more time at Natoma. For now, Fop is still presumably going about as usual, making big impressions with his big avatar.

Bixyl Shuftan

Being Human, Part Deuce

By Bixyl Shuftan

As most everyone who reads the Newser knows, most of the time I go about in a Luskwood red fox avatar. It's not that often that I change to a human avatar for more than a brief length of time. The first time I did was for a few weeks in 2011 for a "Bid Me" event for my Relay for Life team. A few years later in 2017, I was so for about a week in a similar fundraising event. I'd decided on a black human avatar partily to see how true were the claims of ethnic avatars getting the cold shoulder were, partially. But as I tend to stand out where I go anyway, I wanted to do continue to do so. And of course there was the "Blazing Saddles" humor aspect. For those who don't know, it was a Wild West comedy made in the 1970s by Mel Brooks in which a previously all-white town gets a black sheriff.

In 2019, I'd gotten a few requests to do another "Bid Me Human" event, and so I offered to do another for Rita. This time though, I felt the Blazzing Saddles joke was getting old, so I decided to get an avatar from another ethnic group, Asian. I didn't find much of a variety on Marketplace, and much of what I found was expensive. But I found an avatar that was a good buy, and one Asian-Americain friend thought was okay. So I went with it. Besides the ethnic difference, it had hair and was slimmer, less muscular.

So how has the reaction been compared to the previous human avatar? Once again, it's been overall positive. With the lighter skin tone, people have been slower to recognize it as Asian though, one saying the white fedora made him think of Michael Jackson. One person whom had liked the previous avatar wasn't so sure about this one, "You look like a college freshman." On the other hand, the one friend of mine who outright complained last time that the first was a poor match, this time didn't think this one was too bad, but still wanted me back as a fox. Also last time, there were a few jokes, friendly ones, from Europeans about the avatar's ethnic look then. That wasn't the case this time.

But one thing was the same as last time, the "Ahhhhhhhhh! A human!" gestures from my furry friends. Actually, that was the most visible thing. I was still interacting with my friends much the same as before, puns and all, and dancing with a few ladies. But as time went on, much like in 2011, the novelty with my friends wore off, and more openly looked forward to me being back to normal.

It's been, different, these past few weeks. I've missed being able to just up and change around. But the "Bid Me" restriction ends this Friday, April 19. And so I'll be back to foxy, or whatever else comes to mind.

Bixyl Shuftan

SLife and Times: Banned For Looking Odd

By Bixyl Shuftan

For my furry friends at the Sunweaver/Angels community and elsewhere, one of their pet peeves is being harassed or banned about their appearance when they go out looking at different places and clubs. Some consider it common to the point they'll hang out only at places they know have other furs or call themselves "furry friendly."  Grease Coakes wrote about his experience, and I've written on the topic myself. Personally, I've found it a rare experience, though still annoying.

So it got my attention when a "coconuteater" wrote on "Blog Veridical" about being banned at a club "within three seconds of my avatar entering the building." He Instant-Messaged the owner, "Hello, why am I banned?" The owner's answer was, "I smell a lot of trouble, and I'm not up to it today." "Do you think I'm a griefer or something?" "So you think I'm an idiot?" While he didn't give his account name, he did show his appearance. This was a human avatar, but it was oddly porportioned, with a huge chest with wide shoulders, tiny arms, and big ears. He was also barefoot.

There were a number of comments after a link to the article was posted on the "Second Life Friends" group in Facebook. Some offered sympathy. Some suggested he simply go to a different club, "Shallow sl saddens me this is what it comes down to judging by a persons looks shame on all of them." "Even pixels get judged these days........sad times." Some were saying he needed to update his looks, "Thats the lesson here.. leave those noob looks back in the past where they belong. this is 2017 .. not 2005 .. noob feet ( AKA Duckfeet ) are out.. Noob hands out. block head.. out. layer clothing.. dead as dust." "If we were friends I'd strongly encourage you to improve appearance. You don't have to have a mesh body. ,,, Put some effort into making the visual experience more realistic or at least show you care about what you look like."

Others were saying his odd appearance was the kind favored by griefers, "I definitely think 'troll' seeing this avatar. ... you know what they say, first impressions matter." "I cant help but feel your intentions were to stir the pot, everyone knows that extreme noob looks are usually a griefers preferred appearance. If it was my club and i saw you come in looking like that, i would also be atleast worried drama was coming." "i have to admit u look like alot of the griefers ,j\s. nothing aginst u. jus really u look like a griefer" "If you've been in Second Life for more than a couple of years, and have been to clubs or gatherings - you KNOW that many (not all) griefers like to drastically deform their avies to look crazy. You know this. So if you're not a noob, why would you drastically deform yourself to look like a griefer? Come on now. Keep it real. People who've been griefed are going to have their guard up and when you manage a CLUB, you MUST keep a lookout for people who look every bit like a griefer. You don't wait for them to do it. ..." "That avatar looks like a classic griefer avatar."

And a few were saying yes, it did look like the stereotypical troll avatar, but avatars like these they encountered weren't always that. "That being said a lot of people have used this game to bully and harass people in a certain manner. You can understand why some people are so quick to judge, but it should really be by your actions not how you look." "There was a time when the 'different' avatars were the ones with big boobs, tans, perfect hair and giant pectorals. The avatars that people consider 'griefer' avatars were once the far, far more common avatar you'd see on the grid. Insisting on looking 'different' *is* a choice. Some people don't want to look like a cookie cutter copy of someone else's distorted notion of perfection, or acceptability. They just want to express themselves. Your comment reminds me of how outcasts were treated by the popular crowd in high school. As long as people don't act out, or have an avatar emitting giant Bill Cosbys, I say let them be. Even if you have had a rough day, ejecting people just because of their appearance is lazy."

One comment got my attention, "What it comes down to is how much time you are willing to put in to growing your group and making it a place for all... last night I had a potential griefer on my sim (1 day old, dressed like it and a naughty word name). So I TPed to him and asked him how he was doing... it took me a short ten minute conversation to find out that A) he was new and B) he was really liking SL... I made a friend, not a potential enemy down the road. A**hattery like the club owner pulled will make more enemies than friends...if you don't have an enemy before you ban someone, you usually do when after you do... in this case, an enemy that will post about you on his blog."

About the only thing most agreed upon was ultimately "his sim, his rules." Even those who sided with the writer, there was an admittance he was within rights to do what he did. They just felt he shouldn't have.

This isn't quite the same as the situation furs and other fantasy/sci-fi avatars such as faries and elves, who can spent plenty of time on their looks. But still, it brings to mind the old story of those who are different being singled out and being told they are not welcome.

Do you the readers have any stories of your own, or stories about handling someone new who stood out?

Scources: Blog Veridical , Facebook

Bixyl Shuftan

Back to Normal: A Look Back At The "Bid Me Human" and "Platinum Challenge"

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Monday June 19 started a period of a little more than two weeks when I wasn't quite myself. For the latest round of "Bid Me" events of my community's Relay for Life team, the Sunbeamers, I had volunteered for a "Bid Me Human." Although I had changed briefly to a human avatar for short periods of time over the years, I hadn't volunteered to be one for a "Bid Me" event since the days of the Passionate Redheads in May 2011. The result of that was me being stuck in the look for a month. This time, the Sunbeamer chief ruled it was for two weeks, although it would turn out to be nine days, with a catch.

Besides the shorter time involved, it didn't affect me so much this time as the slightly awkward feeling I had at the clubs at the start of last time. I was still being asked to dance. I was still able to dress in theme much of the time, such for the "Video Game" party in which I went as a "Rust" player (picture to the left). And the reaction I got from others, furry and human alike, was mostly positive. There were a couple exceptions. One was one girl who felt, "That avatar is not you." The other was an incident when a friend invited me over to a country music club whose attendance was all human except possibly a couple neko avatars. Someone there, seeing my avatar's black appearance, made some remark about an "interracial sim."

Considering in real life, my appearance is white, I once had a black boss, and one church in the area has it's sign in both English and Korean, if that was some kind of joke, I missed the point entirely. I only spent a short time in the place before events called me elsewhere, so I didn't see any immediate response. I was later told by the person who invited me that the guy who made the remark had been told by the club owner not to do that again if he wanted to be able to keep coming over.

Then on Sunday June 25 came another development, the Sunbeamers reaching Platinum Rank in their fundraiseing total. Earlier, the team's chances of hitting the next level after Gold were iffy, so I had told team leader Rita Mariner, and others, that if the team made Platinum, I'd go female for a week. That got a chuckle of of Rita, and made it part of her next announcement to the group.

Males going about as girls in Second Life can be a touchy subject, especially with occasional stories of "catfishing." So I almost never changed to one, or rather deliberately as the jokes about glitches and "ruthing" go, and never went about in public as one, doing so only rarely  to show a girl in private what a certain avatar would look like, or a couple certain pictures for articles. I even wrote about the subject once in response to Becky Shamen's article , saying the "dos" and "don'ts" about it could be a little complicated with gray areas that appear different hues to different people. But an enormous amount of money going to charity from it, to me that seemed like a good enough reason.

I had thought the Sunnies had a fair chance of reaching the goal, so an idea came to me: go as Rita's double. I saw this as a playful poke in the ribs, though as some who prefer furry avatars take their unique appearance seriously and react badly to perceived "copying," I talked to a few people first to make sure Rita wouldn't freak. It turned out planning ahead was a good idea as Cynthia Farshore and Shockwave Yareach's steampunk land and air racing event was the most successful event the Sunbeamers ever had. So yours truly had to own up, Rita saying she was expecting to see my new look at the Cutlass party Wednesday June 28. So I got a white kani female, found a white hairpiece for it (ironically the style was also called a "Rita"), found a couple smaller bunny feet that resembled the catlike ones Rita had, though mine had bigger claws. As for the dress, fortunately finding that wasn't hard as Rita had once told me and others during a party what brand it was. One friend helped by giving me a title in her group, "Bunny Chieftess." So on Wednesday night, I dropped in and while everyone else was still rezzing, and presumably I was to them, I walked right up to Rita. After the usual "Hey Bixyl," there was silence followed by "whoah" and laughter. Rita was among those laughing, telling me I did a great job, "Good going Bixyl, you got me," and we both posed for a picture for a group announcement for the community.

So after that, the reaction was almost entirely positive. One friend pretended to be upset I wasn't trying to do a tribute to her appearance. As she was busty, I joked that I'd get a backache just looking at my avatar (contrary to the opinion of some, not all males go ga-ga at the sight of large breasts, and some can find sympathy for the back pain and other challenges of well-endowed women). But another reason was I wasn't as good a designer and fashionista as she was. Someone thought I could have done a slightly more realistic job on the feet, but considering I was trying to get as close to Rita's look as possible it was pretty good. To those who don't know Rita, she has something of an act of being an aggressive alpha doe bunny with an attraction for other girls' "booty," though she's always careful only to tease those she knows. I'd occasionally imitate her in chat as a joke, which got a few chuckles. Going about at events outside the Sunweaver and Angel areas, there were a few "Ms. Shuftan" comments, but no one gave me a hard time. At the Second Life Birthday, almost no one spoke a word about it.

Someone did joke that I'd be enjoying the "look from behind." In short, I didn't get the same feeling from looking at the avie as other female avatars, maybe because it was supposed to be "me." I had wondered a little if some guys would make a pass at me, but that never happened. What did happen was there were several girls who suggested I could stay in that form, probably as a joke ... probably. I did still end up getting dances from a few girls. I guess they knew this was all in the name of fun. And I was openly saying this was no big deal, "I can go without peeing standing up for a week." For the Independence Day party at the Happy Vixen, I even got her a dress from a Relay shopping event for a one time use. The following day would be the last for the "Rita clone," at least for a long, long time.

So now, back to my normal foxy self. Though I would still occasionally change looks, such as the skunkboy for the "Black and White" event at Cutlass a couple days later, I was sticking with being furry and male. But already, I have people asking what will I do for next Relay season when the Sunnies hit Platinum again. In short, I don't know yet. But there's a year to think about it. And in any event, it was, different, going about in the other form. But I won't be doing it again, at least not without another enormous amount of money going to charity.

Bixyl Shuftan

Commentary: Judging on Apperances

By Bixyl Shuftan

In real-life, Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a US holiday named after the noted civil-rights activist famous for his "I have a dream" speech in which he hoped for a day in which all people could ban together regardless of the color of their skin. This is also the week Barack Husein Obama, America's first President from a racial minority, leaves the White House. When he was elected a little over eight years ago, it was seen by many that the United States was entering a "Post-Racial Age." Unfortunately, the highly partisan atmosphere of the country led many to wonder if his most vocal opponents, or supporters, were motivated mainly by ethnic bias, if not outright racism. Ironically, the final days of the United States first black President, some feel black-white relations are at the lowest since the Civil Rights reforms of the 60s, if not even lower.

In Second Life, as it's residents can take on any appearance they want, one would think what they look like wouldn't matter wherever they went. That's not exactly the case. Various historical and sci-fi/Fantasy roleplay areas, such as "The Berlin 1920s Project," have stated unless you look like what someone in the time and place did/does, you can expect to be thrown out (after being given a warning). While this often means nonhuman avatars, human avatars wearing the wrong clothes will get thrown out as well. So the complaints about the RP sims have been minimal.

But what really irritates residents who prefer nonhuman avatars are the stories, if not personal experiences, about the handful of clubs and residential areas, meant not for roleplay but to just relax in, that have policies requiring visitors to be of human appearance only. Anyone who isn't gets thrown out. Grease Coakes would write about his experience with it at a club. I myself would write about the issue as well in 2009 and 2014. In my ten years I've only been asked to leave a place three times because of my appearance and two of them were probably the same location, the second time after someone invited me over to a venue suggesting it might be a great place to do a club review and afterwards never went there again. There were a few times someone handed me a notecard of the sim's dress code and once when a bot whispered to me that nonhuman avatars weren't welcome, but no further action was taken.

I've heard fans of furred avatars use the term "racism" to describe these experiences. I'm not so sure about that as we're not talking about human avatars of a different race, but a kind of appearance that in real life can only be compared to a circus "werewolf man," or the most extreme forms of body modification. Despite that such incidents seem to be rare, the result has been some residents being reluctant to go out into the wider grid, tending to stick around in places where there are other avatars like them, sometimes venturing out only after invited to by friends or if the location advertises itself as "furry friendly" or a similar term. On the other hand, there's no shortage of furs who don't particularly care if a few people have a problem with their appearance, and freely go about on the Grid. So you can pretty much find anthro avatars all over Second Life.

By all means the problem isn't just one way. I've heard of a few instances of furred avatars harassing human ones because of their appearance. The one of which I heard the most details was of a human DJ at a furry club getting insulted by one of the vulpines, calling her a "hairless ape." But the furred staff would have none of it. The offender was thrown out and banned for several weeks. Aside from a few nude beaches and a couple RP areas several years ago, humans are not going to have a problem going about sims that cater to furs. And as many furs prize individuality, I've seen contests at furry clubs in which the winner is the lone human who entered. Plus I've seen mixed couples on the dance floor, as well as an occasional mixed partnership between a human and fur (for some reason though, I've seldom seen human males in these pairings).

As for the issue of avatars and race, it was touched upon early in Second Life's history by Hamet Au when he was in the employ of Linden Lab, him describing an experiment by one normally blonde and fair-skinned lady when she went about in a black skin. The result was a few instances of racial slurs, and a few friends not contacting her for a while. So a few years ago, I decided to do an experiment of my own as part of a Relay for Life avatar challenge by going about as a black human for a while. The results were quite different from described by the girl in Hamlet's article. Only two people made an issue about it, and one was a real life coworker who follows the newsletter. In fact, there were a few people (all human) who asked me if I was going to keep it as my main appearance.

Over time, these articles have gotten a number of responses, some describing their own or a friend's ill treatment. One remarked it was his experience any avatar that stuck out from the rest of those in a sim, whether it was human, furry, or otherwise, was sooner or later going to run into trouble, often because of the fear of griefers.

It's been a while since I've heard details about someone getting thrown out of a place because of his or her avatar's appearance. Though as the retirement of America's first black President in real life has brought up questions about how widespread ethnic bias is, among both his opponents and supporters, it did make me think about the issue in Second Life again. How widespread the problem is, in both real life and Second Life, it seems to be a matter of opinion.

Bixyl Shuftan

Commentary: The Pygmalion In Us

By Mylie Foxclaw

I have been reading about the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea recently and I found myself thinking that we all tend to be just like Pygmalion.  For those who are not familiar with this legend, here’s a quick note about it.

Pygmalion was a sculptor who lost interest in women as he started to notice all their various flaws.  He started to fashion a sculpture of the perfect woman which he made out of ivory.  He worked on the sculpture for a long time, polishing every single detail to create a woman devoid of flaws.  Pygmalion fell in love with the statue and started to make offerings at Aphrodite’s temple (Aphrodite is the goddess of love in Greek Mythology).  When he returned home, he realised that Aphrodite had given life to the statue whose name was Galatea.  Pygmalion wed Galatea and they had a son… the typical happy ending.

I feel that we tend to be like Pygmalion in Second Life.  For instance, take a look at our avatars; they are a reflection of what we want to be.  Whether we opt to look like humans, furries, tinies or any other kind of avatar, the idea is to reproduce that perfect version we have in our mind already and try to reproduce it until we become satisfied.  Just like Pygmalion, we will improve the details and make modifications to our avatars to our taste until we reach the ideal avatar.  Hence, while some people look like dark creatures, others go for glamourous looking avatars and others can opt for legendary characters.  That also means, getting the right shape, skin, clothes, hair and accessories. Each person has his own vision of the perfect avatar he wants to be.

Other residents can also suggest ways to improve someone’s avatar and hint out that they need a makeover to look better.  A person can be satisfied with his own avatar’s appearance even though people around him don’t like certain aspects of his avatar.  That’s again because we each have our own idea of the ideal character and it’s the Pygmalion within us that wants to emerge and change that avatar to our own liking.  Let’s take a common example, you meet a newcomer inworld and you notice the default avatar.  You decide that you want to help him improve his looks, get a better shape or skin, buy him a new mesh body or take him to your favourite freebie spots that has the nicest clothes, etc.  Usually this new resident is just going along with your instructions as he’s trying to understand what he is doing.  That’s the Pygmalion within you creating your version of a nice looking avatar.  Your new friend may love it or he may tell you that he preferred his default avatar to this new updated look.  You may feel a little annoyed at that reaction or completely offended and wondering if you just wasted all your time on an ungrateful person.  Well, that’s not the case.  This person may not feel comfortable in this new look because it does not represent him or what he wants to be. 

Sometimes, we agree to look as others deem ideal such as when looking for a job inworld.  In certain jobs, having an updated look is a must.  In the second life modelling industry, generally you need to be very updated on your overall look in order to get selected for a job.  The same goes for other sectors.  For instance, if you want to work in an adult club, you need to look the part as well.  At some clubs or other businesses, you must abide to a specific type of avatar. The boss or the industry becomes your Pygmalion as you adapt yourself to the criteria demanded to work there.  In any case, if you want to work somewhere where looks do matter, you should expect to be told to make certain changes to your avatar when you go to work.

There’s nothing wrong with being a Pygmalion.  We each have our own idea of the ideal avatar and our views will definitely differ from each other.  Thus, we all have a Pygmalion within us, even in this virtual world.   

Image Credit: Razor Cure

Mylie Foxclaw

A Couple Humorous Stories (2007)

By Bixyl Shuftan

This was my very first article about Second Life, sent as a Reader Submission to Second Life Newspaper in October 2007. The picture is from September 17, 2007, possibly from New York City Block. The stories are a rather amusing incident just after I got my red Luskwood Fox avatar, and another when I dropped in on the New York area.

*  *  *  *  *

Second Life has been full of funny moments. Here's a couple that stick out.

The first relates to my avie. I had started out with the ringtail foxfolk, partly to stand out, and partly as a reflection of my love of science-fiction. A friend gave me some cash to upgrade, but I postponed it for a while, giving some thought on what to upgrade to.

While in a store looking over options, I got the attention of a couple others, "I don't see too many still in their original skin," spoke one. I explained I was thinking over my options. "Well, I'd make a decision soon. The way you are now, people are going to think you're new. With a new avatar, it's going to change how people look at you."

A friend of mine had recently joined Second Life, so the next day I made my decision. I decided to stay a foxfolk, but with my family part redneck, and one of the online sci-fi comics I read it's red foxfolk were traditionally laborers, I got a Luskwood Red Fox avatar.

So did the way people saw me change? Well, the next day while exploring around, a woman walked up to me, and propositioned me! She was a cyberhooker looking for a few bucks.

I've never "paid for it" in real life, sour love life or no, so I politely declined. I guess since I was out of my "baby coat," she assumed I had cash.

A couple coworkers of mine had plenty of tattoos, piercings, odd hair, filed teeth, etc., and managed to find women to marry them. So perhaps it's not hard to imagine that some girls would go for a "foxy guy." ;-)
 
*****

 My second story had something of a somber beginning. It was Tuesday, September 11, the sixth year anniversary of that dreadful day. In SL, I stopped by a memorial to pay my respects. I was going to teleport out for the evening, but recalled a recreation of the Twin Towers next to the "New York City Block" area. So I teleported there to see if there was any memorial there, and landed in the middle of a conversation between two ladies, "Hey, there's a fox on your head." ;-)
 
I greeted them, and they welcomed me into the conversation. It turned out they were both New Yorkers, from Brooklin, and they were in on the design of the place, basing it on their home turf. We discussed 9-11, the ceremonies that day, and a third lady soon joined in.

In the middle of the talk, a guy ported in, and walked up to a couple of the girls. It took a few moments for him to rez, so we thought nothing of it at first. Then below his belt, a certain obviously male extremity appeared.

I wasn't sure what was going on. Was this guy last at a nude beach or somewhere and he forgot? So I typed the first think that came to mind:

"Excuse me, your fly is down."

And the girls burst out laughing. I wasn't sure how the guy would react. He reacted by porting away almost immediately. One girl spoke, "What happened? I didn't see (him fully rez)." We explained to her, and concluded it was some creep who was trying to get his jollies by shocking the girls. But instead got humiliated by my one-liner.

One of the girls and I exchanged friendships, and we've continued to keep in touch.

Guess my cheesy puns are good for something after all.

Bixyl

* * * * *

The first story I continued to look back with chuckles. As it turns out, lots of girls in human avs don't mind a little hair on the chest when it comes to dating. Of the second, It was the owner of New York City Block Cheri Bing I became friends with. And we kept in touch for years until real life would force her off Second Life. As for me, this would be the first of many, many articles I would be writing about Second Life.

News and Commentary: Avatar Trouble at the Basilique Linden Meet-Up

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Thursday May 14, Linden Lab had their "Inworld Meetup," in which a number of Lindens would show up at a certain time and space and answer questions the best they could. Before the meeting, Xiloa Linden posted in the Linden blog about a thread where residents could suggest where the meeting could be held. Early in the thread, Canary Beck suggested her place, Basilique, at the Our Island sim, "I would love to help you host a meeting here if you like." A few others seconded the idea, and so Xiola chose it as the place.

The description of the area was a nice one, "A lovely town on the shore of a northern Italian lake. Walk the square and waterfront piers, relax in the bars or cafe, or row around the lake. Meet new people that also aim for immersiveness and accuracy in a friendly setting." There was a webpage with more info at http://bit.ly/thebasilique .

I arrived late at the meeting, near the end. So all I caught from it were a few questions about the SS Galaxy that went unanswered. As the place was pretty packed, I imagine it wasn't easy for the Lindens to keep track of them all. Before long, Xiola Linden told everyone, "Thank you all for continuing to populate this place with awesome things and looks and builds and personalities!"

But not everything was awesome. Shortly after my arrival, I got an IM.

Miss Ford (julietford): Hi Bixyl, my name is Juliet. Welcome to Basilique. Please join our group to stay up to date with current events. Also note that only human avatars are permitted here, and there is a casual dress code in effect in the town :)

What the hey?

In my over eight years in Second Life, only three times have I been asked to leave a sim because of my appearace. And two of them were probably from the same location, once a friend inviting me to a club (Frank's Place), and getting told to ditch my foxlike appearance or leave (I was halfway to the door when apparently someone decided I wasn't moving fast enough and booted me out). There were a couple other times with an astrisk, once a friend inviting me to a beach, then fifteen minutes later suggesting that we both head somewhere else as someone IMed her furred avatars weren't welcome, and once when I took part in a "Bid Me Human," and being told to avoid another beach where human avatars were unwelcome. While others whom prefered furred avatars have complained about being rudely thrown out of places, it's my personal experience it's pretty rare.

So I responded matter of factly.

Bixyl Shuftan: Um, this is the avatar I use for journalism. I only use what you're asking for activities like RFL "Bid Me Bald."

Miss Ford then responded.

Miss Ford (julietford): That's alright. You don't say.  I heard other people use what I am asking for activities like RFL Bid you Bald too.

So Miss Ford was an avatar with a greeter script and an AI to give responses based on statements to her. A bot. I would later find her tucked away in a bakery. Anyway, I was determined to stay, and I noticed other nonhuman avatars around. So apparently we weren't being given the boot. But before long, other people began IMing be about the problem. Nydia Tungsten, who was there, sent me the conversation she had with the bot.


Miss Ford (julietford): Hi Nydia, my name is Juliet. Welcome to Basilique. Please join our group to stay up to date with current events. Also note that only human avatars are permitted here, and there is a casual dress code in effect in the town :)
Nydia Tungsten: even if it is a Linden meet up?
Miss Ford (julietford): Yes, even that.
Nydia Tungsten: you will boot me for my choice of Avitar?
Miss Ford (julietford): What makes you say that I will boot you for your choice of Avitar.
Nydia Tungsten: only human avatars are permitted here
Miss Ford (julietford): What about the other ones?
Nydia Tungsten: those were your words to me LOL
Miss Ford (julietford): All of them? I'm glad you find this amusing.
Nydia Tungsten: one moment while I try and find a human AVI
Miss Ford (julietford): One what?


DrFran Babcock was also there, along with her furry bat friend Areal Loonie. She got the okay for this bit of IM chat to be published.


Areal Loonie: I'm being asked to leave because of my avatar
JulietFord: Hi Areal, my name is Juliet. Welcome to Basilique. Please join our group to stay up to date with current events. Also note that only human avatars are permitted here, and there is a casual dress code in effect in the town :)
Areal Loonie: are you saying that I have to leave because of my avatar?
JulietFord: Yes, that's what I mean, isn't it clear?


It wasn't just furries who were having problems. Talun Resident, a tiny, told me about problems he had observed, "I went human, and for the brief time before I crashed (there) were several being asked to leave, they were protesting in open chat ... strict dress code/avatar rules." He told me of one friend whom had trouble, "Arabella went early to scope the place out I believe, ended up ejected and banned, furry. And (in the) early part of the meeting, they started asking people to leave." In the case of Arabella, "they meant it, ejected and banned, (an) hour or so before the event. I sent an alt to look, cos I is tiny." Talun did say this wasn't the first time he'd been given a rude reception, "I once got asked to leave an adult sim. Wrong sort of 'beaver.' (laughter)"

Arabella had posted in Xiola Linden's thread, "I have been just been ejected from the region and banned. The sim owners have a humans-only rule, and refuse to suspend it for the meeting. I have seen several Lindens with non-human avatars, as well as there being a large number of furry residents. And they seemed to be saying it's your fault for picking the venue." I sent Arabella an IM, but as of the writing of this article have yet to receive a response.

Before long, I went back to Basilique. With the meeting over, would I be tossed out, or would the people around be civil? I soon came across a small gathering of locals, mostly human, but with one domestic cat (what furries sometimes call a feral) among them, presumably talking about the meeting, just as one was saying, "and no one wanted to detach their (penises) and such." Another mused, "Well sis, it's a part of themselves." A third went "(name) didn't care to be (name) the eunuch." After a few chuckles, one noticed me and greeted me in a friendly manner, "Hi Bixyl! (smile)" Others joined in the friendly greetings as well. At least these locals didn't have a problem with furries.

Of the Linden meet-up, one local told me he had also joined in at the tail end. Another told me the event had taken her by surprise, "I was wondering why there were so many people around outside." Someone joked, "We were going to have a Linden toss, but decided it (was) best not to." She later commented more seriously, "It's hard to have anything really happen with so many people, and so little time to plan. ... I liken it to the Rolling Stones turning up to play a small club. The whole town comes unglued."

I brought up the forum thread in which the sim had been chosen to be the place for the Linden meet-up. The locals acted positively, "So everyone voted Basilique? How freakin awesome." "Thats great." I then mentioned, "There was one thing at the tail end of the forum thread though, someone saying she got booted." One looked at me surprised, "Booted?" Another responded after reading it, "Well they clearly weren't booted for not being human." A third told me, "Two people were booted out of well over a hundred. ... I don't think that is why they were ejected." A fourth, "What did they do? I didn't get it."

I asked the third person for her opinion why this someone had been booted. Her answer was, "They were just being rude and difficult. And at that point, you really do not have time to be nice about it. There was 104 at one time. But that doesn't count all the unique visitors either. And trust me when I say, Becky is slow to boot, not like me. (smile)." She told me she had enough administrator powers to boot someone if she felt it was needed. The feline mused, "Dammit I didn't know ... I've always been very very nice to you, haven't I ... ?" It seems this admin didn't think the "humans only" rule was worth enforcing.

Of the bot that was giving people the message that irked people, the admin told me, "The bot just states the rules for the sim ... but they cannot differentiate who is a furry or a tiny." Another local asked "Does Basilique discourage furries?" The admin answered, "Yes, and no kids. But like anywhere, exceptions are made. ... There was a wolf-man kind of guy here. He didn't get kicked." The feline commented, "I think the rules were suspended while the event (took place) Bixyl. I saw loads of anthro in the streets." I asked, "So either they were (booted) because of bad behavior or by accident?" "Bad behavior," the admin told me.

The conversation went on for a little longer before I bade everyone farewell and walked out. As I headed to the pier, the feline IMed me that my reception next time might not be so friendly, saying furries were not usually allowed, saying "rules are rules" and that the owner told him herself they weren't allowed. I would then send a message to the owner, Canary Beck, about the problem. She would answer later than night, and when I tried to explain she asked me to send her any questions via a notecard. I did, including one asking her to explain the reason why the place didn't allow nonhuman avatars. I would get no response from Canary.

I would return a few days later. There was no attempt to give me the boot. I didn't hear the bot message me either. Was there a change of policy? Maybe not, as there were signs around that nonhuman avatars were discouraged. I then logged in with an alt. After a few minutes came the bot message. Walking about as the alt, there were a couple of avatars who logged out when I got near, but no one complained. Dropping by the bar where a couple people were, two people were willing to talk to me.

Going about the sim, it was nicely detailed and done, with lots of fine details such as shopping stands and the peirs. There was one thing I noticed. In one corner of the sim, there was a club building where ban lines appeared when I approached. Was this the one place that was truly exclusive of non-human avatars? I didn't try to join as I was maxed out with groups, so I could only speculate.

My investigation was less than conclusive. I have yet to get Arabella's answer to the admin saying only those causing trouble were booted, but it's looking like a case of one's word against the other. With Canary not talking, it seems nonhuman visitors are okay on the sim when she's not around. When she is, I can only guess. Perhaps nonhumans are discouraged rather than truly prohibited. It's still enough to annoy many furs whom keep telling me they're tired of people questioning their choice of avatar to the point entering a room that suddenly goes quiet, they see as being given the silent treatment. Other furred folk just tale it in stride, feeling life, or Second Life, is just too precious to let people get them down for long.

On Basilique's webpage, I found a link to Canary Beck's own blog. I didn't see anything about why she would want only human avatars at Basilique. But there was one post in which she brought up a Zogby poll asking 3500 people, apparently not users of Second Life, if they would make their avatar the same as in real life, similar but enhanced, or dramatically different. Only 15% in the poll picked "dramatically different." Her own response, "Looking at this chart, something doesn’t really square, does it? ... Unless I’m reading this wrong, this chart would suggest that at least 6/10 of us are actually perfect super-models in the non-virtual world too! Do beautiful people just happen to love Second Life? Or, are we saying one thing while doing another?" Her own poll at the end of the blog post had over 50% saying they looked "dramatically different."

No Canary, something really doesn't square.

Bixyl Shuftan

*Addition* The resident who IMed me after I finished my conversation with the group later requested that I spell out two lines of his dialogue more fully, saying my description sounded misleading, "be aware for next time, furries not allowed here usually (smile)" "This is how I go about reporting. I'm not called 'fox news' for nothing." "(grin) yeah I know, but rules are rules ... I'm a lion usually, but the owner told me nicely it wasn't allowed."

Stingray's Avatar Challenge

By Bixyl Shuftan

Various personalities at the Relay for Life have issued various challenges for ages. "Bid Me Bald," when someone offers for their avatar to go bald for a certain amount of time depending how much is raised, is an old favorite. Another example is avatar challenges, offering to don a certain appearance for a set amount of time once a certain goal is reached. One extreme example was when Fuzzball Ortega went purple once his team the Steelhead Salmons achieved a certain amount, and he remained that way for many months until the start of the next Relay season. More recently was the one for Team Strange Journeys which resulted in two going otter and two getting a smurf look.

The avatar challenge being talked about this week was issued by Stingray Raymaker. Stingray gained a bit of notoriety when he issued his "pink pantyhose challenge" in 2011. Although he never had to make do on it, it remains talked about to this day. On Sunday April 26, at the Relay Rap show, he issued another challenge, one he would have to make do on for certain. Whoever made the biggest donation at the kiosk there would get to chose his look for the duration of the Fantasy Faire. The catch was that it had to be for sale among the items sold at the Fantasy Faire.

[2015/04/26 16:09]  Random Darrow (random.padar): STING has a challenge and so do  you!   Grab a friend and make the highest donation into the kiosk at Relay Rap and YOU can name the challenge!  Shall he be a merman?  Shall he be a pretty princess? Stant donating!
[2015/04/26 16:09]  Holocluck Henly: it shoukld show up on the totals on the page?
[2015/04/26 16:10]  Melodie Jigsaw wants to see Sting as a brony :)
[2015/04/26 16:10]  Ariel Goldrozen: I'll take Remote Donations
[2015/04/26 16:10]  Ariel Goldrozen: LOL Mel
[2015/04/26 16:10]  Holocluck Henly: bronies are so 2013
[2015/04/26 16:10]  ??v? ?ngle?ood (tiviyah): OMG Melodie
[2015/04/26 16:10]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahahha
[2015/04/26 16:10]  RichardBenoit: this could be fun lol
[2015/04/26 16:11]  Melodie Jigsaw: then..he must be Spongebob!
[2015/04/26 16:11]  RichardBenoit: tp me please
[2015/04/26 16:11]  ?Sigh U?d???ood? (sylisan): PRETTY PRINCESS
[2015/04/26 16:11]  ?Sigh U?d???ood? (sylisan): lol
[2015/04/26 16:11]  Melodie Jigsaw: lol
[2015/04/26 16:11]  Fiz (fizban.underwood): Gollum
[2015/04/26 16:11]  Vickie A. Maidstone (vickie.maidstone): ankle biter LOL!!
[2015/04/26 16:11]  Melodie Jigsaw: nawww...too close to his usual (grins and hides)
[2015/04/26 16:11]  Ariel Goldrozen: LOL
[2015/04/26 16:12]  Melodie Jigsaw: dump that in there Ariel!
[2015/04/26 16:12]  Ariel Goldrozen: There was talk abotu a Mer...or  a water sprite
[2015/04/26 16:13]  ?Sigh U?d???ood? (sylisan): LOL Mel
[2015/04/26 16:18]  Random Darrow (random.padar): get with friends pool your donations and hit the kiosk!
[2015/04/26 16:18]  Random Darrow (random.padar): you may be highest bidder! donor
[2015/04/26 16:19]  Sasha Fairywren blinks
[2015/04/26 16:19]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): high bid right now .... 10K

So why did Stingray make that challenge? Did he think what was for sale was limited to mermaids and forest spirits? Did he think the worst he would have to do was to endure wearing a dress? Or perhaps he simply underestimated the depths of which his fellow Relayers could rub it in, that is until it was too late.

[2015/04/26 19:42]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok...getting ready for my FF Makeover
[2015/04/26 19:42]  Catalina Staheli: Woo-hooo!
[2015/04/26 19:42]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Sting's getting a makeover? Oh my. No Saints jersey tonight?
[2015/04/26 19:43]  Catalina Staheli: I kicked off my blog today with my look! http://chasingcatalina.blogspot.com
[2015/04/26 19:44]  Fuzzball Ortega: Taint no Saints Jersey?
[2015/04/26 19:44]  Catalina Staheli: Woo-hooo! Geaux N'Awlins!
[2015/04/26 19:44]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): laughs
[2015/04/26 19:44]  Catalina Staheli: Hey, I'm a native New Orleanian...sorta
[2015/04/26 19:44]  Catalina Staheli: laughs.
[2015/04/26 19:45]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): saving my avie so I can recover from thsi
[2015/04/26 19:45]  Catalina Staheli: I'm gonna  be back down in New Orleans in June. Woo-hoo!
[2015/04/26 19:45]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): aww, you'll miss the RFL of NOLA on May 16
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Catalina Staheli: I'll be the puddle of melted ice.
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Catalina Staheli: I'll be teachin' my kiddos til June 5th, but excited to come back to civilization!
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok, avie saved
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): they said they're going to put "hair on my chest"
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Catalina Staheli: Woo-hoo! Now it's time to go crazy!
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): or was it...furr?
[2015/04/26 19:46]  Catalina Staheli: laughs!
[2015/04/26 19:47]  Catalina Staheli: I'm a giant insect. Anything is possible!
[2015/04/26 19:47]  Fuzzball Ortega: What kind of hair? Because The Hair.......might be best on the head
[2015/04/26 19:47]  Bixyl Shuftan: giant insect? Are you "bugging" anyone?
[2015/04/26 19:47]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): haha Bixyl
[2015/04/26 19:47]  Melodie Jigsaw: lol sting
[2015/04/26 19:47]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Bixyl is so punny. I love it.
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok Rynn and Lauren have me in front of some kitty cat looking vendors
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker) wonders...what have I done?

Eventually, they found a look for him, but not a human one.

[2015/04/26 19:48]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Kitties!
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Random Padar: TAKE PICS!
[2015/04/26 19:48]  rynn Verwood: :D everything and anything
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I believe I do see the word Dinkeies
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Dinkies
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Fuzzball Ortega: I have a Dinkie avatar
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Bixyl Shuftan: Heh
[2015/04/26 19:48]  Random Darrow (random.padar): We can auction off those pictures Sting:)
[2015/04/26 19:48]  rynn Verwood: you do!
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Fuzzball Ortega: Was thinking of putting it on and heading over to FF
[2015/04/26 19:49]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Dinkies are cool

Apparently the "Dinkie" is a type of Tiny avatar, a mesh kitten-like feline with a large head.




[2015/04/26 19:49]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok rynn & lauren - tell me what to do
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Random Darrow (random.padar): Fuzz I didn't think anything about you was dinkie!
[2015/04/26 19:49]  rynn Verwood: theres a gorgeous pink dinkie in an rfl vendor right near me
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Lauren Thibaud: ok its easy!
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): lol random
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Fuzzball Ortega: Ummmm......Random, reword that
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Serina Juran faints
[2015/04/26 19:49]  Lauren Thibaud: hope you like pink!
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Random Darrow (random.padar): I ment your hair!
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): so you want me to buy this pink dinkie?
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Serina Juran: LOL
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Lauren Thibaud: yesh
[2015/04/26 19:50]  rynn Verwood: for part one
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Random Darrow (random.padar): lol
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Random Darrow (random.padar): part one!
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Lauren Thibaud: we need a good base to start
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): done
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): next ?
[2015/04/26 19:50]  rynn Verwood: cant go around as a naked dinkie now, no no
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Fuzzball Ortega: A Pinkie Dinkie
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Random Darrow (random.padar): What a sport Sting!
[2015/04/26 19:50]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): omg start!!?!?-
[2015/04/26 19:51]  Lauren Thibaud: ok you need to open the box!
[2015/04/26 19:51]  Lauren Thibaud: and WEAR it
[2015/04/26 19:51]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): naked dinkie - would have been so liberating
[2015/04/26 19:51]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): are you getting the mer dinkie
[2015/04/26 19:51]  rynn Verwood: but you'll enjoy that!
[2015/04/26 19:51]  Lauren Thibaud: heheheheh evil laugh
[2015/04/26 19:51]  Melodie Jigsaw is falling over laughing - a naked pinkie dinkie
[2015/04/26 19:51]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Oh myyyyyyyy
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Lauren Thibaud: backstage tag
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Lauren Thibaud: and you can
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Serina Juran hyperventilates
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Melodie Jigsaw: you MUST do at least one relay lap like that, Sting :)
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Lauren Thibaud: he has to wear it till relay i thought!
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahaha
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): for the rest of the FF
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): but I will do a Relay Lap with it
[2015/04/26 19:52]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): as a good sport

It didn't take long however for the jokes to begin.

[2015/04/26 19:52]  Nuala Maracas just logged in and sees something about Sting's pink dinkie ?????

[2015/04/26 19:53]  Bixyl Shuftan: Hmmm, so as a dinkie, will he sing the song "My Ding-A-Ling?"
[2015/04/26 19:53]  Melodie Jigsaw: all I know is I want a PICTURE!
[2015/04/26 19:54]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahahaha Bixyl
[2015/04/26 19:54]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): no flash photography
[2015/04/26 19:54]  Fuzzball Ortega: I dun Dinkied myself......and I need to reword that

[2015/04/26 19:56]  Lauren Thibaud: awww he's so CUTE!
[2015/04/26 19:56]  rynn Verwood: adooorable!
[2015/04/26 19:56]  Catalina Staheli laughs!
[2015/04/26 19:56]  Random Darrow (random.padar): Pictures we want pictures
[2015/04/26 19:56]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok...
[2015/04/26 19:56]  Catalina Staheli: no, but I seriously need ot find out about this Shatner album
[2015/04/26 19:56]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I am now a pink dinkie
[2015/04/26 19:56]  rynn Verwood puts a figleaf over yur dinkie nudity
[2015/04/26 19:56]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): stingDinkie
[2015/04/26 19:56]  rynn Verwood: stinkie
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Lauren Thibaud: ok now for the best part
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Random Darrow (random.padar): beats dinkie Sting
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): why am I holding a chair?
[2015/04/26 19:57]  rynn Verwood: time for clothes! *leads you by the hand
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): oh - and I am not naked - I have a shirt
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Lauren Thibaud: takes the other hand
[2015/04/26 19:57]  rynn Verwood: you can detatch the chair lol
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Lauren Thibaud: let's skip!
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Melodie Jigsaw: RLV the chair :)
[2015/04/26 19:57]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): but where will I skip?
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): i mean...sit
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Serina Juran now is picturing a skipping pink dinkie
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): omg - i'm so cute when i run!!
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Maverick Buccaneer: *hands sting a whip, and a tophat, then lets loose a lion.*
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Random Darrow (random.padar): lol
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Fuzzball Ortega sees Trader and wonders what mischief a Dinkie can do
[2015/04/26 19:58]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahahah sting
[2015/04/26 19:59]  Melodie Jigsaw: that's one of those sentences you never thought you'd say "omg - I'm so cute when I run!!"

But the avatar was still without clothes. They had to find some for it.

[2015/04/26 20:00]  DJ Rock And Roll (rockandroll.michigan): It's not only a sentence you don't expect to say, but also one you don't expect to hear, Melodie.
[2015/04/26 20:01]  Lauren Thibaud: we lost him! naked dinkie on the loose!

[2015/04/26 20:01]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): haha
[2015/04/26 20:01]  Random Darrow (random.padar): lol
[2015/04/26 20:01]  Random Darrow (random.padar): ty Sting!
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Nuala Maracas: rofl
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Lauren Thibaud: ok now see the rfl vendor with GRANDMA Dinkie
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Trader Whiplash-Ballinger (trader1.whiplash): oh geez do we need an Amber Alert?
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Nuala Maracas: oh the images in my head
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): omg no
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Melodie Jigsaw: I know Nu - I know loll
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I just saw the vendor
[2015/04/26 20:02]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): ohhhh more like a Golden Alert
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): that they're standing in front of
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Melodie Jigsaw: HA!
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): why would anyone make this?????
[2015/04/26 20:02]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Tiny Inc !
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Lauren Thibaud: Sunday Churchin' Hat, pearls, Sunday best dress purse and droopy kneehighs
[2015/04/26 20:02]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Etheria Parrott?
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I can understand a dinkie
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Melodie Jigsaw wonders what else is droopy....
[2015/04/26 20:02]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): just a mesh tiny
[2015/04/26 20:02]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): but...THIS?!!?
[2015/04/26 20:03]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): you haz a new one !!!
[2015/04/26 20:03]  Bixyl Shuftan: heh heh, what is it? ;-)
[2015/04/26 20:03]  rynn Verwood: toy gonna look so purdy
[2015/04/26 20:03]  Trader Whiplash-Ballinger (trader1.whiplash) thinks it may be easier to get him to agree to bid me bald after this
[2015/04/26 20:04]  Melodie Jigsaw laughs - probably trader :)
[2015/04/26 20:04]  Catalina Staheli: grins
[2015/04/26 20:04]  Lauren Thibaud: hahhaha screams
[2015/04/26 20:07]  Melodie Jigsaw rolls her eyes - of course!
[2015/04/26 20:07]  rynn Verwood: the purse matches the pearls so yes
[2015/04/26 20:07]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): wow - what a difference the clothes make
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Catalina Staheli: Y'all should come over when the makeover's done! I'd love to see your fantastical outfits
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Lauren Thibaud: yes!
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Catalina Staheli: !!
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I'm missing my blue shirt
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Melodie Jigsaw: (sheesh rynn - he's trying to go out unaccessorized!)
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Lauren Thibaud: ohh how does that song go
[2015/04/26 20:08]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): ohh nuuuu
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Lauren Thibaud: a pretty girrrrrlll.......
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Lauren Thibaud: is like a mellllllllodie!!!
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): this is NOT what I had in mind
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): when we started this challenge
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Melodie Jigsaw giggles
[2015/04/26 20:08]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): must have accessories
[2015/04/26 20:08]  rynn Verwood: the hat reaally finishes the outfit
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Bixyl Shuftan: now this sounds interesting ;-)
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Melodie Jigsaw: I may have to risk the crashing to see THIS
[2015/04/26 20:08]  Lauren Thibaud: he needs shoes though
[2015/04/26 20:09]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker) wonders if I should have helped Jamie win
[2015/04/26 20:09]  Melodie Jigsaw nods - clear plastic stillettos - or jellies, either or
[2015/04/26 20:09]  DJ Rock And Roll (rockandroll.michigan): Jellie stilettos!

The change was soon complete, Stingray looking like a tiny pink feline "Minnie Pearl."

[2015/04/26 20:09]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok, I cleaned up my mess
[2015/04/26 20:09]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): where to next?
[2015/04/26 20:09]  Lauren Thibaud: ohh where is clover's store!
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Melodie Jigsaw gives sting props for being a good sport :)
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Lauren Thibaud: what about some cute hair?
[2015/04/26 20:10]  rynn Verwood: oh i think its in with xavians
[2015/04/26 20:10]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Tiny Inc
[2015/04/26 20:10]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): yus
[2015/04/26 20:10]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): with Xavian
[2015/04/26 20:10]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): and Dru
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): oh dear, where are we off to meow?
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Fuzzball Ortega: where did they send you?
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Catalina Staheli: hehe
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Fuzzball Ortega: I'm wandering around as a Disco Dinky
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Catalina Staheli: I can't wait to see!!
[2015/04/26 20:10]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): gonna haz to tech yew to tiny speak
[2015/04/26 20:10]  Bixyl Shuftan: sounds like Stingray is facing a "cat"astrophie
[2015/04/26 20:11]  Lauren Thibaud: those shoes too big
[2015/04/26 20:11]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): everything is so much bigger when you're a dinkie
[2015/04/26 20:11]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): dinkie shoes
[2015/04/26 20:11]  rynn Verwood: etheria has shoes that will fit
[2015/04/26 20:11]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Indeed
[2015/04/26 20:11]  Melodie Jigsaw: you will get very familiar with folks' knees!
[2015/04/26 20:11]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): calling Clover
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I think I might need to call into question whether a dinkie can be considered "Fantasy"
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Lauren Thibaud: we will get the cheerleader outfit just for the roller skates
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): this one?
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Melodie Jigsaw: well - you have your fantasies, sting - we'll have ours :)
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): that you've pushed me to?
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Lauren Thibaud: mmmhhhmm
[2015/04/26 20:12]  rynn Verwood: totally, needs a quicker way to get around to those meetings all granma dinkies attend
[2015/04/26 20:12]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): tp Clover
[2015/04/26 20:12]  Fuzzball Ortega watches himself run as a Dinky and starts humming Yakkety Sax
[2015/04/26 20:13]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Clover Dezno
[2015/04/26 20:13]  Bixyl Shuftan: are there pictures?
[2015/04/26 20:13]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): she right here
[2015/04/26 20:13]  DJ Rock And Roll (rockandroll.michigan) gets Yakkety Sax suddenly stuck in his head now


[2015/04/26 20:15]  Melodie Jigsaw is loving the running commentary....
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): and it's not in my inventory
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): oh well, guess I can't wear these
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Random Darrow (random.padar): is shopping for her dinkie:)
[2015/04/26 20:15]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): da pawlice are on it
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Lauren Thibaud: no ots not under the floor either
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Bixyl Shuftan: Well, look at it this way Stingray. What if some "My Little Pony" builders were at the Faire?
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Miss Kate (katelynn.inglewood): waves...dinkies....sounds um..nm...lol
[2015/04/26 20:15]  Melodie Jigsaw nods - it could be worse...
[2015/04/26 20:15]  rynn Verwood: good thing we has clover next to us for a redelivery
[2015/04/26 20:16]  Lauren Thibaud: you got a good deal on the hat!
[2015/04/26 20:16]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): does this avie come with claws?
[2015/04/26 20:16]  Lauren Thibaud: hahahahh
[2015/04/26 20:16]  Melodie Jigsaw: they're painted pink
[2015/04/26 20:16]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): I have claws and know where to get them...
[2015/04/26 20:17]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I may need them, Madonna
[2015/04/26 20:17]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): I can believe it, Sting.
[2015/04/26 20:17]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok rynn & lauren - which items, specifically, from this box?
[2015/04/26 20:17]  Catalina Staheli: So what did you win for such an awesome makeover, Sting?
[2015/04/26 20:17]  Lauren Thibaud: in the folder you just choose the skates
[2015/04/26 20:18]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): and now zander is a giant
[2015/04/26 20:18]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I'm literally LOLing
[2015/04/26 20:18]  rynn Verwood: just the skates sting
[2015/04/26 20:18]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): hahahaahah


[2015/04/26 20:19]  Lauren Thibaud: no
[2015/04/26 20:19]  Melodie Jigsaw sees a hula outfit for dinkies....hmmm...
[2015/04/26 20:19]  rynn Verwood: FAB-U-LOUS!
[2015/04/26 20:20]  TS (ts.darrow): Sting... u made my facebook page

[2015/04/26 20:22]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): you know, I'm glad to walk a mile in a dinkie's shoes
[2015/04/26 20:22]  TS (ts.darrow): he is there
[2015/04/26 20:22]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): it will help to build empathy to the plight of the dinkies
[2015/04/26 20:22]  Lauren Thibaud: yes is like 10 for us
[2015/04/26 20:22]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Mmmmm... Walking boots.
[2015/04/26 20:22]  Melodie Jigsaw: Up With Dinkies!
[2015/04/26 20:22]  TS (ts.darrow): nice err pearls you got there
[2015/04/26 20:22]  Lauren Thibaud: yay!!
[2015/04/26 20:22]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I am going to lead the Dinkie revolution!!!
[2015/04/26 20:22]  ?a?????? ?olƒ? (maverick.buccaneer): Is the person that was speaking to me earlier online?
[2015/04/26 20:23]  Melodie Jigsaw: A dinkie in every pot!...no wait...wrong slogan
[2015/04/26 20:23]  Lauren Thibaud: gasps!
[2015/04/26 20:23]  ?a?????? ?olƒ? (maverick.buccaneer): I was trying to get things for them and my setup glitched and started closing out IM's
[2015/04/26 20:23]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker) raises my clawless paw..."Viva La Revolution!!"
[2015/04/26 20:23]  Melodie Jigsaw: Che Sting
[2015/04/26 20:23]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): oh...does anyone need a tic tac? I'm sure I have one in my purse
[2015/04/26 20:23]  Lauren Thibaud: hahahha
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Melodie Jigsaw: you will be amazed how handy that thing will be, sting lol
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): haha
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I feel like I need some mentos
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Melodie Jigsaw: tictacs..old kleenex...random keys...
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): and a small pack of travel tissues
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Lauren Thibaud: ohh he looks so forlorn
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): You have Random's keys?
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahahaha madonna
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): and some yarn
[2015/04/26 20:24]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): a ball of yarn!!
[2015/04/26 20:24]  TS (ts.darrow): you need a rocking chair
[2015/04/26 20:25]  TS (ts.darrow): or a literbox
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Random Darrow (random.padar): Sting can I take you home and call you mine???? Your so dang cute!
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Melodie Jigsaw: throws a lint bunny in the bottom of sting's purse - it's name his Harold  - be nice to him
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I AM cute!
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Only if you name him George. And hug him. And squeeze him. And....
[2015/04/26 20:25]  TS (ts.darrow): she wants your purse
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Random Darrow (random.padar): lol Melodie
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): and I'm gonig to fiddle with my iPhone, confusedly
[2015/04/26 20:25]  Bixyl Shuftan: ha ha
[2015/04/26 20:25]  ?a?????? ?olƒ? (maverick.buccaneer): Random could you message me please, I'm having tech issues and can't click on your name.
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): and use my iPad as a chopping board
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Lauren Thibaud: does anyone know if there is a tiny wheelchir in an rfl vendor?
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahahaha
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Melodie Jigsaw: a walker!
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Melodie Jigsaw: he needs a walker!
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): omg a walker!
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Lauren Thibaud: hahah thats the spirit!
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Melodie Jigsaw: itty bitty tennis balls on the legs lol
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): hahah
[2015/04/26 20:26]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): or how about Olde's segway?
[2015/04/26 20:26]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Clover is here and can make it all
[2015/04/26 20:26]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): ohh we have a segway for dinkies

[2015/04/26 20:27]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): oh, look at this snappy young lad
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker) looks kat Fuzz's Dinkie
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): wait...let me rephrase
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Melodie Jigsaw: boy THAT sounded wrong
[2015/04/26 20:27]  ?a?????? ?olƒ? (maverick.buccaneer): LOL
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I instantly regreat that one

[2015/04/26 20:27]  Lauren Thibaud: hahahhaha!!
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Fuzzball Ortega: PG EVENT!!!!!
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Melodie Jigsaw is laughing so hard her ribs hurt
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Lauren Thibaud: owww
[2015/04/26 20:27]  Trader Whiplash-Ballinger (trader1.whiplash) is saving quotes for future challenges
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Melodie Jigsaw: (dontcha hate when things sound better in your head than when you say them outloud?)
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): hey Random...you see all my dinkie friends?
[2015/04/26 20:28]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): ohhh my!!! Fuzzball
[2015/04/26 20:28]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): you are a fuzzball
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): now you will know the real meaning of herding cats
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Random Darrow (random.padar): Im trying not to step on em:)
[2015/04/26 20:28]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): well and some tiny ones
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Random Darrow (random.padar): I want one!
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Bixyl Shuftan: ha ha
[2015/04/26 20:28]  Melodie Jigsaw: this settles it - there must be a dinkie lap
[2015/04/26 20:29]  Fuzzball Ortega: Ok, next RFL Committee meeting, all members will be in Dinkie Avatars, and we'll get a Dinkie (tm) latex outfit for Madonna
[2015/04/26 20:29]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Being a dinkie really does change your catitude
[2015/04/26 20:29]  Fuzzball Ortega: Meanwhile.......Sting.....did you dress yourself?
[2015/04/26 20:30]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Lauren & Rynn dressed me. Don't you think I look Clawsome?

[2015/04/26 20:30]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): What IS a dinkie anyway?
[2015/04/26 20:30]  Bixyl Shuftan: I think it's another word for "Tiny"
[2015/04/26 20:30]  TS (ts.darrow): madonna
[2015/04/26 20:30]  TS (ts.darrow): you just made my quote book
[2015/04/26 20:30]  Bixyl Shuftan: ha ha
[2015/04/26 20:30]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): hah
[2015/04/26 20:30]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): I did? Uh oh.
[2015/04/26 20:31]  TS (ts.darrow): [20:30] Madonna Daehlie (Madonna Milena): What IS a dinkie anyway?
[2015/04/26 20:31]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): apparently, I am one, and I'm still not entirely sure what is a dinkie


[2015/04/26 20:33]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): are there any more stops, Lauren or Rynn?
[2015/04/26 20:33]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Or is the torture over?
[2015/04/26 20:33]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): you looks sharp Fuzz
[2015/04/26 20:33]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Paw-lease tell me it's over
[2015/04/26 20:33]  VI (violet.solano): dis someone want to see a dinkie?
[2015/04/26 20:33]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): well I will get you a segway
[2015/04/26 20:33]  Lauren Thibaud: what do we think- do we need hair!?
[2015/04/26 20:33]  rynn Verwood: i think you're ready for the town now :D unless lauren can think of anything
[2015/04/26 20:33]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): and send it to you
[2015/04/26 20:33]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): If Fuzz looks sharp, it must mean that a knife or sword is involved. Yikes.
[2015/04/26 20:34]  Melodie Jigsaw: hair is always good
[2015/04/26 20:34]  Fuzzball Ortega: Oh, I could get you hair
[2015/04/26 20:34]  rynn Verwood: no hair, its all under the hair anyway
[2015/04/26 20:34]  Melodie Jigsaw takes that back really fast
[2015/04/26 20:34]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): hair is great -
[2015/04/26 20:34]  Lauren Thibaud: i'd like some earrings
[2015/04/26 20:34]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): hahah
[2015/04/26 20:34]  Bixyl Shuftan: Fuzz is a werewolf, sharp teeth maybe
[2015/04/26 20:34]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Good point, Bixyl. And those are even more dangerous than knives and swords.
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Before you made me into a granny dinkie, I thought I might at least be somewhat cathletic
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Bixyl Shuftan: ha ha
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): A granny? Huh? What?
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I suppose the skates make me so
[2015/04/26 20:35]  VI (violet.solano): teeth ha1 i have cookie breath
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Bixyl Shuftan: So Stingray's off his rocker?
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): haha
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): bix
[2015/04/26 20:35]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): how did I get purr-suaded into this?
[2015/04/26 20:36]  rynn Verwood: hahahha
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Bixyl Shuftan: "What could possibly go wrong?"
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): They bribed you with Meow Mix and Pounce cat treats?

Then someone posted a picture of him as part of a group notice.

[2015/04/26 20:36]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Wow. Oh myyyyyyyyy
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): random, we might need to reshedule that meeting with the executives tomorrow
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Melodie Jigsaw: ohmygod - it's wonderful lol
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Catalina Staheli: D'awwwwww
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Catalina Staheli: That's so cute!!!
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Bixyl Shuftan: heh, pink ;-)
[2015/04/26 20:36]  Lauren Thibaud: hahhahaha
[2015/04/26 20:37]  rynn Verwood: hahaha sooo pink and fluffy!
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): so when does FF end? Caturday?
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Random Darrow (random.padar): They will accept you as you are Sting no worries
[2015/04/26 20:37]  VI (violet.solano): Bixyl never say that l;ine in New Babbage
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): if they don't accept me as a dinkie, then we don't want them in rfl of sl anyway!
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Catalina Staheli laughs
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Melodie Jigsaw: you DO look like you've had some bad salmon, Sting
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Or in Steelhead.
[2015/04/26 20:37]  Random Darrow (random.padar): May 3rd Ms Dinkie
[2015/04/26 20:38]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ohh. Ms Dinkie
[2015/04/26 20:38]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): Ms Stingie
[2015/04/26 20:38]  Catalina Staheli: And then the exhibition!!!! Yay!!
[2015/04/26 20:38]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Sting looks a lot like my cat. Except the pink fur and the hair and the dress and the skates...
[2015/04/26 20:38]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I might get some respekt
[2015/04/26 20:38]  Melodie Jigsaw: mmhmm sure
[2015/04/26 20:39]  Bixyl Shuftan: Heh, so he's "tickled pink?"
[2015/04/26 20:39]  Catalina Staheli: laughs
[2015/04/26 20:39]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): I don't know. Has anyone tickled him yet?
[2015/04/26 20:39]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): at least this had a pawsitive impact on fundraising

They then began to walk around.

[2015/04/26 20:41]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ok, so I guess we should start walking
[2015/04/26 20:41]  Lauren Thibaud: he's sprightly!
[2015/04/26 20:41]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Or rolling in your case, I'm guessing
[2015/04/26 20:42]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): yeah!
[2015/04/26 20:42]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I'm fast
[2015/04/26 20:42]  Catalina Staheli: I wanna see y'all!!!
[2015/04/26 20:42]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): what about Kelly Clarkson - A Meowment Like This?
[2015/04/26 20:43]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Meowterial Girl by Madonna?
[2015/04/26 20:43]  Catalina Staheli laughs
[2015/04/26 20:43]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): I should go ask for donations with this face
[2015/04/26 20:43]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): who can say no to a pouting pink dinkie granny?
[2015/04/26 20:43]  Melodie Jigsaw: Pawtown Funk
[2015/04/26 20:44]  Fuzzball Ortega: Stray Cat Strut
[2015/04/26 20:44]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Sting Cat Strut?
[2015/04/26 20:44]  Melodie Jigsaw slaps herself in the head - of course!
[2015/04/26 20:44]  Fuzzball Ortega: Oh, that's not a pun. Sorry
[2015/04/26 20:44]  Bixyl Shuftan: ha ha
[2015/04/26 20:45]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): taking a lap around the FF sims
[2015/04/26 20:45]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): join us if you can find us!
[2015/04/26 20:45]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): starting on Poppetsborough
[2015/04/26 20:45]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): sponsored by Dandelion Daydream Factory
[2015/04/26 20:48]  IshtarAngel Micheline: i just got back there. if i see ya ill take pics
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Catalina Staheli: Woo-hoO!
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Fuzzball Ortega chants, "We are Dinkies. Stay out of our way"
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Melodie Jigsaw: uhoh - dinkies with cattitudes!
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Bixyl Shuftan: "Keep your hands off my dinkie."
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Fuzz as a dinkie? Why do I get the feeling that is more dangerous than Cartman with authoritah?
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Melodie Jigsaw: rofl bixyl
[2015/04/26 20:50]  Bixyl Shuftan: heh heh
[2015/04/26 20:51]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): dinkies with catitudes - that would be a good Relay team name
[2015/04/26 20:51]  Melodie Jigsaw: O.o!
[2015/04/26 20:51]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): ty Melodie. Oh my. And OldeSoul being the tallest one around for once... How often does that happen?
[2015/04/26 20:52]  Melodie Jigsaw: Lauren and Rynn are killer good :0
[2015/04/26 20:52]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): ohhh - WINGS!!!
[2015/04/26 20:52]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahhahaha
[2015/04/26 20:52]  Melodie Jigsaw: he's HOOKED
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): by the end of this, I'm going to be advocating for dinkie rights
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Melodie Jigsaw: makes a miniature sammich board for sting to wear
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Stingray (stingray9798.raymaker): losing myself in tall grass
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Melodie Jigsaw: hahahahah
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Rights for all. So, yeah, I'll stand with you on that, Sting
[2015/04/26 20:53]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): END TINY OPPRESSION NOW!!!
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Melodie Jigsaw: put a tall flag on your head
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Hear hear
[2015/04/26 20:53]  Random Darrow (random.padar): wave your purse around Sting someone will see you
[2015/04/26 20:54]  OldeSoul Eldemar (oldesoul): Toss sum skittles out
[2015/04/26 20:54]  Madonna Daehlie (madonna.milena): Mmmmm... Skittles.
[2015/04/26 20:54]  Melodie Jigsaw: *perks* skittles!
[2015/04/26 20:54]  Catalina Staheli: Woo-hoo!
[2015/04/26 20:54]  Catalina Staheli: Purple skittles?
[2015/04/26 20:56]  Branwyn Emerald: Good Evening
[2015/04/26 20:56]  Melodie Jigsaw looks under the big leaves - did the dinkies get lost?
[2015/04/26 20:57]  Wyn (branwyn.emerald): I am starting the planning for the Torvaldsland Thing-Fair for RFL and its been a long time since I did this.


Eventually, the Relay chat turned to more serious subjects. But this was one moment those witnessing would remember. The time when Stingray was showing off his little pink dinkie.

Source: All pictures after the first from the Relay group

Bixyl Shuftan