Reader Submitted: Is There Really That Much Hate On Furries?

 

 From Zada Bury

Lately I was read the article about the hate against Furries. Then there was also the readers submit with the flag. Soft (Linden) was also post something on Twi- I mean X.

I was see while doing a Drive a picture on the wall - Furries are everywhere, in a way. And most time it seems to work smooth. And then telling people about the hate again.

 

But is it such big thing? Somebody was commenting it would take getting around in a not that well known avatar to get the experience. I would say, I am not really known in SL. And I am 90% of the time in a furry-avatar (sometimes also a Neko and rarely a human).

Maybe people insult me on voice ... but I can read and write English and Typonese - understanding spoken English, special in different loudness and in a flood other noises might go wrong (special if then also the TV or radio is on or I check YouTube or edit videos) ... so voice is off ... and "Is an insult an insult, if the addressed one not get it?"

It is (for luck) rare, my club becomes griefed ... and the most (and less) trolls we bore out. But is that "Furry specific", as my club is for all species (as long them match an adult appearance, fit trough the door and aren't e.g. war-robots)?

Now you can maybe claim, I don't interact much. Usual you find me in my club. That one is for all species, even the most are Furries (actual Party: 26 participants, 4 human, 22 furs, all having fun). No problems.

Then I am around shopping. Maybe I am in some shops not long enough in a shop to rezz, in others for sure. I was experience before years once an issue, a mall was eject me about "to high ARC". My rant to the owner of the crappy security-system, you can imagine, the excuse was lame. Also the shop-owner got my complaint, and guess, which mall was have in a couple of weeks a store open for rent, as the shop moved?

But anyway: No specific hate against furs.

Also you find me on Linden-events. Them are anyway open for all kind of avatars. As also a lot of the Lindens use non-human avatars, it would be anyway very weird.

You know me also from the "Drivers of SL Grid Drives", where I am since around two years active. This group is open for all kind of people and the drivers are often even more diverse, than the people in my club.

Also no problem,. or not? Once there was a place (group of private Sims), which was hosting the drive in a part, sponsor it also a little, but demanded on "human avatars only." There the Drivers was enforcing their own rules: "Swallow your pride ... or we wont come." You can guess, who was preferring more to have traffic and promote themselves (even the lag was more of a "stay away from here!" sign).

I can understand, if a place say "Here only Human avatars" (or "only furries") , about their concept (even that is stupid). And I can easy accept it, if the place isn't exclusive. For example: If 1-of-100 hangouts make these limitations, it's stupid, but "okay, that I can handle." If it would be 1-of-5 spots for "The new Unobtanium-Game" (nothing real), or "the only store which sells ZYXXYZ-walking houses," it is "not okay."

But that I don't see as hate against Furries.

Maybe somebody else can write about negative experiences, them was made, and how it was come to happen?

Zada Bury

 

Commentary: Why The Furry Fandom Isn't A Community

By Cyfiremmerich

The furry fandom, in both real life and Second Life, can be a protective bunch. It’s perfectly natural to protect something that you’re a part of; especially when that something hasn’t necessarily been portrayed in a positive light in many cases. However, sometimes things need to be put into perspective. Those who have been part of the fandom for a while have no doubt heard about groups of furs with mob mentality going after someone for doing something perceived as going against what everyone has been working towards in the “community;” that being respect and acceptance from the outside world. This is not something that only happens in the fandom, but it’s very prevalent within it.

Let’s put things into perspective, though. The furry community isn’t a community in and of itself. Having a common interest doesn’t mean that you’re part of the same group and that other groups who have the same interest are going to like your group or want to look out for the interests of other people with the same interest. Being a furry is an interest and has nothing to do with being part of a group, family, club, community, etc. I’ve seen many people who have viewed the furry fandom as a whole as one big extended family get disheartened and burned out, myself included. However, I’ve come to realize that you don’t have to worry about others that you don’t know, and letting go of that weight can greatly improve your well being.

There are many pockets of communities, groups, etc. within the furry fandom. That doesn’t mean that any one person or group speaks for the fandom as a whole. There is no president or committee of the furry fandom. This applies not just to real life, but Second Life as well which has a number of different furry communities and hangouts independent of one another.

Relax. Enjoy your day. Failing that, there’s plenty of other things to worry about in 2020.

Cyfir

SLife And Times: Two Sides of Banned For Being Furry

By Bixyl Shuftan

For most clubs in Second Life, it's not a big deal what you look like as long as you can fit through the door and behave yourself, especially if you tip. Being the lone furry or tiny at a mostly human club, or the sole human in a venue of furries might get you a few odd glances, but it's my experience seldom is anyone rude about it. If there's a contest that night, you might actually get a few extra votes and win as you're instantly recognized.

But as most people in Second Life know, eventually you're going to run into someone who has a problem with your looks. This was the case of one furry friend of mine whom was invited to a venue by it's hostess, and got booted because the rules of the place stated only human avatars were permitted, "I was sent an invite, to a club, only to get told I have to leave for being ME!" His name was an obvious clue to his avatar, "She KNOWS I'm furry. What the frack would someone knowing I'm no human invite me for?" He was furious, "I want to go back and torch that f**king club." But once he had a moment to calm down, suggested I try to get the point of view of the hostess, if she was willing, if I was going to write about the event. He did admit that the word "human" was in the invitation he'd gotten, but didn't realize it until after he came back from being away from keyboard pressed the "accept" button to the teleport request, so the part about it being a human event had faded away after several seconds before his return.

Contacting the woman in question, once she heard her name wouldn't be mentioned in anything written she only asked that the article be objective, "This is an important subject, I think." She was tired though, and trying to set up a time eventually we settled for answering questions by notecard. She had first met the fur in question through friends and had a positive first impression. Where she was hosting that night was in a formal ballroom, "In the ballroom it is clear that it is humans only. On the rest of the sim, everyone is welcome as long as they are covered. Not only is it clear in all the literature, the TP I sent that ******* took was very clear. To wit: '? I'm hosting at romantic *** **** ****** 2-4 PM w/ DJ _________, International Romantic Music. Join us? FORMAL, HUMAN?'"

She described the situation after the fur in question showed up, "I knew as soon as he landed as a furry that he was in violation of the venue's policy but there was no pressure. As host, I was in charge of dress code violations (DCV). One of the owners was there, as was the manager. They were very relaxed, both welcomed him in local chat, as did I, calling him my friend." She told me she decided to do nothing as long as no one complained, "****** was there for over an hour before anything was said about him violating dress code. ... The owner responded that Raccoon was my friend and that I would take care of it. ... When the guest complained, I reiterated that he was my friend and posted some comments I always make in support of furries when I see exclusion. One is, 'Did you know RL furries donated 12 Million to charitable causes last year?' ... I had to apologize to him on IM and remind him it was a human only ballroom. I have many furrie friends and always feel badly when they are excluded though I know from speaking with them that they are used to it. I also respect that each venue has a right to design and run things as they choose. My responsibility is to abide by the rules and in some instances, enforce them."

She would go on to say that avatar discrimination happened in other places in Second Life, "There are many exclusions in SL. Children are not allowed some places, non-human AVs, pregnant AVs, collared AVs, or particle emitters, for instance. As a woman, I am excluded some places. Sometimes it for dress, like 'must be nude.' I've been ejected from venues for non-compliance with that rule."

The way she saw it, the fur had fair warning, "He had notice before coming that it was human only so he chose to come as a furrie. He and I chatted, we all enjoyed the event, no one said anything until one of the guests complained." She did acknowledge that he was booted by the owner instead of being allowed to walk out on his own accord, "He said he would leave rather than create drama. Then he posted other's text in local chat, creating drama, disrupting the event, and violating TOS."

That last detail was the one big difference between how the two persons described the event. Talking to the fur later, he told me he never posted any IM conversation out in the open, "I have transcripts of everything." He also stated he was there for less than a minute before being asked to change. As mentioned earlier, he did admit to accepting the teleport request before noticing the word "human" in the invitation, but he had been away from computer, and the notice about it being a human event had already faded.

The hostess did have some final words, "We have the perfect opportunity to make something positive of this unfortunate incident. My personal philosophies and practices are to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion. When we were planning the .... Clinic, some administrators wanted furries excluded but acceded to my argument on why they and everyone should be welcome. The salient points here are that being an activist can be noble, valuable, and serve the greater good. There are ways to be an effective advocate and ways to hurt your cause. ******'s behavior in this instance gave all those there valid reasons to exclude furries, setting back rather than helping. If you feel furries (or any group) is excluded, make a valid and rational case for why this should be reconsidered. I have shared a few of the points I use. Respect the venues. They have no obligation to follow any course other than their mission or business plan. If the venue is considerate enough to state an exclusion policy so there is no surprise, be grateful. Speak privately to the owners if you would like them to reconsider their policy. If you wanted to be respected and treated well, act that way toward others."

The idea of being grateful and respectful in the face of being given the boot is likely to be too much for many of my fellow furs in Second Life to ask for. They are very proud of their looks, and will see exclusion as an insult to who and what they are. A historic RP area such as 1920s Berlin they can usually let slide as the idea is to make it as close to the history books as it was. But a venue that's purely for entertainment such as the infamous "Frank's Place" that sees a furry avatar as the equivalent to ragged jeans and a t-shirt at a high-class establishment, that viewpoint is seen as a pile of waste matter.

Looking at the hostess' comment about "exclusions" one way, it could be seen as saying discrimination is a part of Second Life, and there's nothing that can be done about it. But looking at it another, it could be seen as saying not allowing someone into a club just because they're furry (or because they're not) is as justifiable as saying women are only allowed in if they're naked without anything covering their private parts.

While the Newser has written about this kind of situation in the past on occasion, fortunately, this kind of incident is rare. The amount of time I've been asked to leave a place because of my having a furry avatar can be counted on one hand after over thirteen years here. I've been to high class places with first rate musicians that while asking me to be neatly dressed didn't have a problem with my avatar. One investigation of a place in which someone was thrown out for having a nonhuman avatar revealed that there was a nonhuman on the staff and the incident was likely the result of a hostess' inexperience. Of those who prefer human avatars, most would rather be in places where they can invite their friends. One SL church operated for months with a number of furs in it's flock before getting a new pastor whom then insisted on "keeping it real" and telling the parish human avatars only. The majority of people, humans and furs alike, left.

So while this sort of thing does happen once in a while, it shouldn't define our Second Lives. It's best to take ourselves, and our tip money, to places that appreciate our company.

Addition: It turned out that the hostess had no problem with her name being given.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview With Markus Damone of AllFurRadio

By Bixyl Shuftan

Recently, I met up with Markus Damone, the founder and owner of the AllFurRadio station. Although AllFurRadio is considered an Internet Radio station, it did get it's start in Second Life. After about four years of operation, it closed with the intention or reopening later. In  August 2017, the station would reopen and quickly regain a following inside and out of Second Life. Among it's shows is "Two Vixens and a Wolf," which the Newser wrote about in July.

We met up at at the All Fur Radio Club, which is still under construction, in the FnF AFMedia sim. Although incomplete, the two-story club had a number of furnishings, such as dancepoles and nearby seats, a DJ booth on the first floor, and more.

When asked about where did he first hear about Second Life, Markus answered, "Oh wow.  Um it (was) early 2006, and I did a Google search for free MMOs and it was the only one on the site that was actually free. The ad showed a picture of a goth chick kneeling, and I was like 'sure why not?' Plus it stated you get free in-game currency weekly, like 100 Lindens. So it was like win-win."

Once inworld, "Well, I was a little unimpressed. But then I found the search function, and was like 'Oh hey, furries. I know those things.' I met a fur in Luskwood as I was wondering how to get more Lindens to buy my furry avatar. After the help, I was able to have a little more fun, hitting some casinos, doing some club contests, and after about a month I had my first furry av. After that, I was hooked."

I asked Markus where he first got the idea for a music station. He askered, "I found Furnation and the radio station there. They paid money, and I was like 'Hey I can be entertaining on the air.' So I joined. But my third show, the DJ manager was very rude and disrespectful. So I said, 'You know what, I can do this better.' That was about April 2006. So I started AllFurRadio." But his initial performance was basically a trial run for what lay ahead, though a highly successful one, "The first time I opened up AFRadio  it was packed. Though it was short lived due to the lack of money to buy a streaming server.  But the first airing of it, there was about 80 listeners.  And i knew then that if I had ever gotten the money up (front), I would do it again. So after a day and one airing, I shut it down and went back to work with the station I had came from."

Markus would continue working for someone else for about six months. About then "Several of the DJjs with that station who had became DJs because of my shows came to me complaining. When I heard their talk, I reached out and was like 'Well, I have this idea I did before, and it was great then. I am sure it will be great now.'" They restarted in October 2006.

The reboot in Markus' words, "was like an explosion.  I hit the air with a stream, and before I knew it we had 12 DJs and a battle for Furnation had began between us and the previous station we worked for.  The listener counts peaked and it grew fast and aggressive." The first year was a great success, as was the second, "The first year we hit peaks in the 100s and then we did a live show at Anthrocon.  And  that only peaked us more. Soon we were in all of Furnation. Then we were the official station of Lost Furest, then ZZ Studios, and so many other sims and location began to stream us when they didn't have a live show.  It was fast and crazy."

And they had some inworld locations on sims, "We had several. Our main branch was based in Furnation Kitsune as a dojo.  And then we setup small stations all around.  Furnation also set their Furnation Prime station, and I built a second one in the Ryder sims.  The idea was to make there be a place everywhere that AllFurRadio was." But they eventually closed down, "slowly. That was because the sims ended up going down, and they never got used. We had such a presence in all the sims we broadcasted in that we didn't need to pay for a location. It was just given to us for use. So we would have random shows in the middle of sandboxes because we could.  It got to the point that we had no need for them. No one used them. So I shut the places down to reallocate the money elsewhere."

It didn't take long for their listenership to spread beyond Second Life residents, "Our first convention is when we really started to spread outside. along with starting a branch in Furcadia.  And it was rather successful." But there was one development that dropped their numbers inworld for a time, when the Voice option was added to Second Life, "I started realizing that we had more listeners on the page than in-game. And it was mainly due to Voice being so new. And yes, sadly the moment Voice was enabled in SL, our numbers dropped. Everyone would rather voice with each other then turn the stream and and listen to us."

The station would recover those numbers soon, but from outside Second Life, "by the time that had taken full swing, we had already (been) down several conventions. So a large number of the base was outside of Second Life, (and) had never even heard of SL. And since there is no voice chat in Furcadia, we still increased. So overall, the base in Second Life dropped, but outside it increased.  We also found that the listeners outside of SL listened longer, and were less likely to stop listening in exchange for something else, because at that time, there was nothing else furry related on the net."

The station would have it's challenges over time, "We had  several.  Some DJ would say something and p*ss another off.  The worest though was what helped lead to the station closing   It detailed with one staff member getting so mad, I cant even remember what for, and he convinced the general manager to leave AFradio's Furcadia branch  and all the DJs as well. Overnight the station went dark. This was in March 2011. ... The station closed down." Markus told me real-life matters were part of the reason for the closing, "I had just become a father, (and) I was working crazy hours." He did make one attempt to reopen it a year later, "but it wasn't going to happen."

But in September 23, 2017, AllFurRadio officially reopened, "It was welcomed  and to my surprise many were happy to see if back." It was successful from the start, though Markus credits the "Two Vixens and a Wolf" radio show by Svetlana Snowpaw, Roxy Noir-Snowpaw, and Greigh VonGottreich,  "I was finding it hard to get broadcasters, and when they came along their excitement and enthusiasm was what I needed to refuel the fire. And yes, their show attracts a lot of new listeners each show. It's the entertainment furs want, not just  playing music like a Second Life DJ, but doing a real show that is professional in nature. They showed me what I had forgotten and what I was missing, that excitement, that passion, that form, the time I had lost due to all the things that had slowed down the station."

When I asked about what special event was being planned to celebrate the anniversary of AllFurRadio's reopening, Markus told me although officially it reopened in September, the real reopening was a month earlier, "That's the funny part. The opening was in August, so we ran as soft opened for the time. Our celebrated reopening date was August the 10th 2018. So this day to be honest will just (be) spent with the staff.and enjoyed with each other and our hard work thus far."

And what are the future plans for the station? Markus answered, "More cons for one. We are also opening up our other branches: AllFurMedia and AllFurNews.  Allfurmedia is schedule to be fully open sometime at the beginning of the year with the sitcom "Are You Furreal." AllFurNews "is suppose to be mainly about furry events. Right now, we are working with a contributor,  The Furry Times, and getting them setup as well looking for other correspondence and contributors. We are working on a lot of different things. Thinking of SL shows. full animation. live video, but most of this is in the infancy."

And what do his real life friends and family think of his radio station? Markus answered, "My wife does, and my mother-in-law are both co-owners.  In fact, I met my wife from one of my DJs back when I first ran the station." Second Life and the station had worked out well for him, "Indeed it has. To always for the best, but always great in the end."

A year after AllFur Radio's official reopening, Markus and his station are doing well.

Bixyl Shuftan

Perri Prinz Talks About Her Livejournal Troubles, Facebook Suspension

By Bixyl Shuftan

Besides being the part owner of Club Xanadu in the Sunweaver community, as well as an occasional classic rock DJ, Perri Prinz is known as a writer. For years, she has worked on her serial online sci-fi novel "Spectral Shadows." But she had put that on hold a few months ago and began trying her hand at nonfictional opinion pieces about the furry community and society in general. But that came to a halt when Facebook suspended her account. Recently I went to her to give her a chance to explain what happened.

"What happened with Spectral Shadows?" I asked Perri. She answered, "What happened was that Live Journal and photobucket weren't broke.  So they fixed them.  And now they can't be used unless I'm willing to pay insane amounts of money.  So my site was destroyed." There had been no notice, and they demanded the cash right out of the blue, "and they put ads all over my pages where the background and pictures used to be." So on the front page of her story site, she posted that she was putting her writing on hold. This isn't the end of Spectral Shadows, though, Perri saying, "Niko is trying to build me a new site on Blogspot, but it's becoming doubtful I'll continue it. My heart isn't in it at the moment, and with the way the world is now, I don't see there being much positive interest in what I do."

I then asked about her writing commentaries following her decision to put her fiction writing on hold. She told me, "I've spent most of this year neck deep in the controversy that has pretty much destroyed The Furry Community." And why did  she think it was destroyed with so many fans of this genre of written and visual fiction and art, as well as the many users of furry avatars on Second Life. She answered, "To enjoy being a fan of anthropomorphic you have to leave the community. In the community is nothing but identity politics, hatred, and threats." Hadn't the community faced challenges before and more or less recovered from them? She told me there was one that it hadn't, "The only challenge that approached this magnitude was the Burned Fur War.  And the community never recovered from it.  We've lived in its shadow ever since, and it has a lot to do with why there are bad people in positions of power all over the community who look on this new attack on the community as a chance to finally have their way with Furry Fandom. ... The damage is permanent and will only get worse. You can look at Marvel Comics and any other company, fandom or web site that has been invaded by these same people. Their objective is to destroy, and they will continue to hammer away at the fandom until nothing remains but ruins."

As Perri continued her commentaries, they were less about the community of anthro fans and more about analyzing political trends. She told me, "What's happening to Furry Fandom isn't an isolated incident. It's part of a massive political movement that is causing irreparable social destruction all over the world. It would make no sense to try to address what we face in the Furry Community without dealing with the worldwide disaster that is currently unfolding. ... Much of Europe is already devastated beyond repair, but the same tactics that are being used against The Furry Community, most other fandoms, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook."

Perri told me the response she got was mainly positive, "I was mainly preaching to the choir. Those being attacked in the fandom looked to me as one of the few concerned who could write well and get their message out that they are not what they're being accused of. But those attacking them just call anyone who doesn't agree with them a Nazi, say Nazis don't get a right to speak, and they use every underhanded trick they can come up with to silence their opposition, as well as to close the ears of everyone else with treats of blacklisting, doxxing and real life character assassination. And every day another major Furry site falls under their agenda, Fur Affinity being the latest to implement their kind of censorship. Though we lost Flayrah and Dogpatch Press as far back as last year. So there is no longer any freedom of speech in The Furry Community, and everyone is under threat."

But why resort to calling someone you don't like a Nazi, considering the unofficial rule in internet discussion that once someone invokes the name of Hitler, the discussion is for all practical purposes over on the grounds there can be no further rational argument. Perri commented, "True, but there is someone worse than Nazis.  Someone who could be considered the parent group of Nazis.  The people accusing everyone who doesn't agree with them of being Nazis are Communists.  They march through the streets of America and Europe bearing the flags of Communism, while burning American flags, and turning our streets into riot zones. That is typical Social Justice Warrior behavior.  That's how they took down 2 The Ranting Gryphon, by accusing him of encouraging suicide with his free speech."

Perri believes what happened was that one or more of the people she was criticizing complained to Facebook, which responded by shutting down her account. She had gotten no warning about changing future or present content, "It just went poof." She felt there was no point in contacting them about restoring her account, "They won't talk to me unless I have some kind of official document with the name on the account on it to prove Perri Prinz is a real person. They don't have to show mercy to Second Life characters. I've been in violation of the TOS from day one. And I'm not going to be bullied into opening an account with my real name. It's not worth fighting. This is one of the things that makes Furries vulnerable to Social Justice Warriors.  All it takes is one well placed phone call and there's nothing we can do to defend our sites."

So as a writer, was what happened with Livejournal and Facebook hard on Perri? Not necessarily. She told me, "Actually, it was being involved in this situation that was hard on me. It's not easy trying to write things that will get through to people who openly reject common sense. I'm enjoying being out of the spotlight for a while." So she was taking a break from writing, "I think I've done enough preaching to the choir. It's going to take someone bigger than me to tackle this business."

So what were her plans now, in and out of Second Life? Perri answered, " I plan to be in Second Life as much as possible, with REC (Recoyote Mindes) being in such bad shape, and Erik seems to need me here as well to give him a sense of security. I may tinker around with Spectral Shadows over the next few months and come back next year on the new site Niko is building. That would be my plan. But The Furry Raiders are still after me to keep being their voice. I expect I'll be asked to write some stuff for their site. I'll do my best on that."

At one point, Perri slipped on a varriant of the "Furry Raiders" armband, one that was pink and blue, "Back in the 70's and 80's we used to wear these.  They were for holding cigarettes and other small items."

Perri and I talked a little longer. At one point, she expressed concern that Second Life's furry communities were not necessarily free of the threat of the radicals she had been criticizing. She felt they could easily come here, infiltrate, and try to cause division and discord. Part of their strategy of divide and conquer.

Spectral Shadows picture by Tigers Kitten

Bixyl Shuftan

Angel Pierterson: Second Life Photogrpaher

By Deaflegacy

Angel Pierterson and I met at her house.  She has a gift in photography.  Angel had been a photographer for quite some time.  When she was asked how long she had been a photographer, she said, "Geeze, eight years give or take..?  Quite a while.  But it's been off and on, I have droughts when the muse doesn't visit like any artist."

Angel has a website to show her work on Second Life.  It does contain adult material and people who wanted to see her work would not be able to see it without signing in first.  99 percents of Angel's work is furry related.  Angel's website is at https://dj-angel.sofurry.com/. She does have this to say about photography: "I mean I average about 20 bad shots for every good shot in there and that's a great ratio."

When Angel was asked how long she think she'd continue doing photography, she said, "Until I either pass on or until they shut down Second Life. whichever comes first.  It's something I do enjoy doing even if it's off and on."

"I release my art under a non commercial creative commmons.  Meaning if you don't sell it do what you want with it. As long as I get my credit." said Angel.  "Truth is..  you really don't feel like you've made it until someone tries to steal your art... Not that I've had that happen..Angel did make a good point when she said, "As long as you note that you can't steal it with the permissions as long as you don't make money on it and credit me for it."

Angel does portraiture.  She predates flexies/sculpties/the marketplace/rolling restarts.  She loves helping people out.  She dislikes empty profile spaces.   She has a picture to show how far avatars have came over the years: https://www.sofurry.com/view/459236 . Angel said that the photoshop is crappy but it gets the point across.

"For me it's usually afternoons, because I really don't wake up quick in the morning.  As the quip goes, 'I hate waking up before the crack of noon.'" said Angel.  She said this about her time on Second Life: "You can be anything you want in SL and pretty much my entire eleven plus years here has been exploring my fantasies.  And that's the amazing thing about SL."

Angel often goes out into non furry areas.   She will gladly schedule time with humans and other non-furries.  Her circle is mostly the furred ones.  That's what she generally works with. The prices are negotitable as far as work goes, but she doesn't want her hobby to become a job. 

When Angel was asked about her muses, she thought about it for a bit before answering.  "Music, my friends, my fantasies.  I mean I'll let you and your readers on a secret of mine..." said Angel.  "I'm not a cheetah IRL.. Shocking, I know, right?"

Deaflegacy

Interview With Dusk Griswold

By Bixyl Shuftan

Those whom have been with the Sunweaver/Angel community for a while know about Dusk Griswold. Newcomers might not notice much out of the ordinary about her at first aside from her "full-figured" appearance amongst thinner avatars as she often describes herself as "boring." Actually, she has quite a bit of history behind her, including outside of Second Life where the person behind the avatar was involved in the early days of some Furry conventions.

To begin with, Dusk was one of the founding members of the Sunweavers, or a "charter member" as she describes herself, "I introduced Rita to SL." But a number of Second Life's Furry residents know her better for her time in conventions of the genre in the years before Second Life, "I have a long history in furry." Her story there began in 1992, "Got my first computer and joined AOL, and discovered furry art on there." She didn't join any groups at first, "but by posting to forums, got to meet some people and learn more."

Dusk's first convention, "was in 1994. It was actually a sci-fi con called Duckon, near Chicago. MFF branched of from it several years later, Midwest Furfest."The con had a furry track, but it was floundering. I answered an ad about it, and showed the track lead my puppets. By adding the puppets and helping jump start the idea of a furry variety show, we started to get notice." Dusk had only been involved in puppetry for a couple years, "The puppet shows I did at MFF in 1994 were the first ones ever done at any furry con or furrytrack. I went to Confurence in 1995, which spread the puppetry to a larger audience. After a few years of mainly solo work, other people caught the puppetry bug, and it spread to other cons." She was becoming more successful as a puppeteer, but did other things as well, "Like directing variety shows, doing various staff jobs at cons, teaching puppetry in con panels, helped start MFF."

Of the star characters among Dusk's puppets, "Early on, I had an otter named Odie, a squirrel named Gracie, and a fox named Scarlett. I think it was Vixie that brought me to the next level." Vixie had come about, "By accident, actually. Back in 2000, I was in California at a con, and spent a few days at a friend's house. This friend had a stage set up to record puppet videos, and we recorded several of them that week. One puppet he had was a little fox named Vixlet. I started playing around with it, and soon this personality emerged that the others helping with the videos seemed to enjoy. It was funny because it was a bit obnoxious, a little fox who thought the universe revolved around her. She had a little bit of an ego. The puppet itself was a stuffed animal my friend turned into a puppet, one he found at a thrift store. I had so much fun with it, I started looking on eBay for one. Took about six months to find one. But when I did, I sent it off to my friend who turned it into a puppet." So why spent months looking for a specific kind of plush fox? "I had no choice," Dusk explained, "Not all plush can be made into puppets."

"Vixie was a lot of fun, and she became pretty popular," Dusk went on, "No one big thing, just a lot of appearances at cons, I wrote skits for her, and she also acted as host for the puppet shows. It helped develop her character. Like a lot of characters, she is best when she has someone to bounce off of." Dusk described her as something of a mad scientist. So what were her most memorable scenes? "Hard to say, but she has been blown up, shrunk in size from a juicing machine, and electrocuted, to name a few things.  I see her as a bit of a mix of Miss Piggy, Wile E Coyote, and Dr Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets. She even has her own company, Vixie Labs."

And like a number of mad scientists, "things always backfire on her. Her main nemesis are the ferrets, the Folkmanis ferret puppets. She experiments on them, but they always turn the tables. They got their ultimate revenge in 2008. I needed an excuse to introduce the new Vixie." Dusk had created a much more detailed Vixie puppet, "Vixie invented a ferret washing machine that used gamma radiation. The tables were turned, and Vixie ended up in it, transforming her completely. Actually, in the end, was a good thing. Vixie ended up loving her new look. I had to find a way to explain the big chage in Vixie's look."

Dusk stated that Vixie "was getting popular, but the one problem I had was, being as she was a converted stuffed animal, the design was not mine. I felt it was better to own her fully, character and design." What influences were there in the newer Vixie's design? "A main was was a little know Canadian show that had really nicely made puppets in it. It was called The Longhouse Tales. Except for the nicely made puppets, pretty forgettable. But I borrowed a bit from the fox in it for Vixie." Dusk went on to say. "The ... puppet was built by a former Muppet performer. ... Cost a lot ... over $2,000." She admited the price was hefty, "can get a fursuit made for that," but feels the price was well worth it.



(Click here if the video fails to play)

I noticed that Dusk's Flickr page had the name "Rose Raccoon." "An old name from the past," she told me, "little used one from my pre-SL days." There was no puppet named "Dusk." The name came from an online comic called Faux Pas (http://www.ozfoxes.com/fauxpas.htm), pronounced 'fox paws.' She is actually kind of a nasty fox in the strip. Very pretty fox, but not very nice. I like her, so thought the name would be fun, although I am not her at all." So how would she describe Dusk as a character to those outside Second Life? "Actually, just a decent person. Tries to be nice and friendly, and a bit independent as well."

One thing that sets Dusk apart from some Second Life residents is she doesn't really have a set species, appearing as a bunny, gazelle, fennec (which she did for the interview, and others, "probably a rabbit more that anything, but enjoys sometimes switching species. ... it's more just what I feel like on any given day, no real meaning to it. I like a lot of species, so hard to always be just one."

Dusk first came to Second Life in August 9, 2006, "I learned about it from friends of mine, and I was a bit clueless at first. I talked Rita and Jenni into joining a few months later." Dusk isn't quite sure how long it took to more or less get the hang of things in Second Life, "Been too long." Much of the Sunweavers' early days have already been described by Rita in an interview in 2014. Besides being a charter renter here, she was one of the first DJs at their first club, Club Cutlass, "I just know a lot about music, but no real DJ experience. I like older music, so mainly 60s and 70s music. I try to fit the theme if I can."

Dusk would bring Vixie into Second Life as an alt, Vixie Valiant. "That was part of having her remade into my own character," she described, "I wanted to see if a fully anthro Vixie would work. So SL became a testing ground. Yes, what I leanred was her personality was more important than her looks. But having her custom made was a big investment, and I wanted to make sure." Dusk almost always has Vixie act in character, "Vixie I play more like how the puppet is. If you read her profile, it is explained there. I try to keep her more in character all the time."

Dusk found out about the Relay for Life in Second Life in 2008. Her early days there were "hard, as I got involved when Fimi (Artistic Fimicloud) was going downhill." Her passing was hard for Dusk and everyone else who knew her. But Dusk went on with the Relay, "I did DJ at several events, and (the song) 'Calypso' became a favorite on our team." She wasn't sure why it was popular, though it was a favorite of Fimi's, "just something about it people liked."

In 2012, the leaders of the Passionate Redheads stepped down for personal reasons, and Dusk became co-captain of the team along with Longrem Smalls, at least until a permanent leader could be found. But after the season was done, the decision was made to retire the Redheads and start a new team, "It was a sad chapter, but I think we have moved on." Of the team that replaced it, the Sunbeamers, Dusk feels they have done, "very well, actually."

Of Dusk's plans for the Relay this year, "I am on a different team this year, and hope my experience can help them. They are called Mel's Maniacs." The Sunbeamers have held joint events with the Maniacs last year, "and the plan is to continue that this year. ... Their team is small, but has a lot of similarities to ours. I felt that I could help them. And since the Sunbeamers are doing so well, felt they could spare me." Of the Maniac's plans, Dusk is, "Honestly, not real sure. All I do know is they have started building their campsite. They have the space to make a floating platform to build on. They do start early."

Of her puppetering in real lire, Dusk says she hasn't been doing much of anything recently, "It's actually been a very slow period, not many gigs in reall ife, and no more furry cons." She is taking a break from conventions that she feels is, "likely a permanent one. ... cons have changed, the demographics. The bulk of people who attend are younger, and their interests have shifted." From Dusk's observation, the new generation of furry convention goers shows little interest in puppetry, "or much performance related. Fursuits and fursuit dance competitions are big now. The younger crowd just doesn't seem to care about skits and such." While this may change, Dusk feels, "by then, will likely be too late for me. I mean, I will be too old." Dusk did say that, "someone is writing a book on the history of furry cons, and I will be in it. It will mention my role in the founding of MFF."

It was about this time the interview wound down, and we went our separate ways. Dusk Griswold can be reached by instant-messaging her. She also drops in on events at Club Cutlass, though may leave early if she has plans early the next morning.

Bixyl Shuftan

Editor's Note: Dusk had been earlier interviewed by Grease Coakes in 2012. 

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

The Furry Wrestling Federation

By Becky Shamen

At my home, on Sunweaver Bay, I often have house guests and teach them to build things and become good members of the community. Two of these guests were involved in Second Life wrestling. Back in high school, I was very good in that sport, but don't have much interest now. In thinking of new adventure to experience and write about, I thought wrestling might be interesting, so looked for places to see it. There are many listed, but the one that caught my eye was FWF, the Furry Wrestling Federation.

I TPed to the sim to have a look around. The first thing I see there is a sign, announcing that matches are held every Friday, at 1pm SLT. I scheduled myself to go see it, in action, the very next Friday. The night before, I went to the sim, to see if I could figure out how they worked things at the arena.  While nosing about, back stage, I noticed an av was approaching, on my radar, so I went to introduce myself and see if he knew anything about FWF. It turns out, his name is Tim Vanes and he is the usual announcer, at the wrestling matches. Learning that I was a Newser Reporter, he was happy to explain it and answer any of my questions.

Tim explained, FWF has been around about three years. The owner and one of the wrestling stars is Rocco Racclown. He also pointed out that the wrestlers each developed as characters, good guys and bad guys, like in TV professional wrestling. The westling moves are done by each having a HUD which has all the animations required. Wrestlers go through a training period, to learn to co-ordinate moves and develop their own characters. Naturally, for any given match, the combatants must work with a script, to make coordinated animations, but I promised Tim I would not reveal if the winner was known in advance.

In addition to furry wrestling, they were also connected to GCW, Global Championship West, which features European style human wrestlers, from different countries. The head of GCW is Josh Poffo-Yoshie55 and we'll get back to him in a bit. GCW will begin a regular schedule of Wednesdays at 3pm SLT, beginning November 25th. Both GCW and FWF are always hiring and looking for both men and women wrestlers. They both want more sponsors to get on board.

You can watch FWF matches at the arena and they also can be seen on SL TV. They also do roadshows at other sims. Matches are typically one to one and a half hours and have 3 matches, sometimes as many as 5, with the last match being for the title. I asked Tim if there was special seating for the press and he indicated a place near the TV camera. I thanked him for all his help and promised to see him at the next match.

On Friday, I took my seat, before the show began and looked around to see how many were in the audience. There were only a handfull, so I knew there wouldn't be any lag to deal with. To my delight, I noticed the tag, on the guy sitting behind me, was non other than Josh Poffo, the head of GCW. Learning that I was preparing an article about wrestling, for the Newser and that GCW would also be mentioned, he was happy to answer my questions, between matches.

One of the things I questioned is, if one wanted to hire on, what expense was involved, regarding clothing and HUDs. The cost is very low and for employees, practically nil. Naturally, the next question was, "Do they get paid for each match and how much". turns out, unless they get into "lucky" positions, they aren't paid, though some promoters do pay one or two hundred in "kick-backs". Probably based on how many sponsors the venue has. Josh said, they are not in it for the money, it's a love of being in the show.

At 1pm, the show begins with fireworks on stage and video playing on big screen TVs, around the arena (make sure you have Media and Voice turned on). A man, wearing a referee shirt, gets up from the announcers table and enters the ring, Using Voice, he tells us that the regular announcer was called away on business in real life, so he would be today's announcer and Ref.

The first match was Vidiot vs/ Alleycat. To my surprise, Alleycat was played by Brad, who had been my house guest and he was wearing the trunks that I had custom made for his character. My very first match and I already had somebody to cheer for. The arena gives free gesture collections, so I was able to cheer, when Alleycat won.

The second match was Cam vs/ Fritz. Since I didn't know either of them, my attention turned to their technique. Because they each use a HUD and those are not synchronized and the players are likely a great distance apart in real life, the action had some uncomfortable pauses. Understanding this, the show was still very entertaining.

Last, we have the title match, Rocco Racclown vs/ Crowley the Bat. This is better coordinated, but I notice the Ref stops announcing and his tag says he's AFK. While the Ref is out of action, Rocco leaves Crowley laying on the floor and walks to the ropes. A mangy looking character, called Sandy Bytch, sneaks in, from backstage and throws a pie in Rocco's face. Blinded by pie in the eye, Rocco stumbles around the ring, Crowley gets up and knocks him down, just as the Ref comes back on and does a 3 count. Crowley wins the match.

I found this all very entertaining. It matters little if you are into this kind of show. It is always a pleasure to watch a team work together to produce any show in real life and all the better, given the nature of technical limitations, in a virtual world, to see them pull it off in Second Life. I recommend this adventure to my readers and feel it is also a good place for sponsors to get more recognition of their products and services.

Sha

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."