The major difference is whether the commercial interests are within the furry fandom itself or not. Furry artists and suit makers exist within the furry fandom, any money sent to them stays within the fandom. If a company like Converse is making money off the furry fandom, that money is leaving the fandom.
The risk that I think most people are worried about is both the money and control leaving the fandom and furs becoming exploited by large commercial interests. That fear is not unjustified. Many commercial entities put the interests of companies or shareholders above those of customers/users, for example Facebook putting advertisers above user privacy, Microsoft putting profits above ebook buyers rights and social media putting engagement above mental health of their users.
While we say that we have avoided corporate control, there have been undeniable changes in the way people engage in the furry fandom. Fewer artists have their own small webpages these days, most interactions occur through larger platforms. While those were originally sites that were furry owned and run, that has also been changing. Furs posting through Tumblr or Twitter instead of Inkbunny or SoFurry are moving outside of the furry ecosystem and into commercial venues. And FurAffinity, which used to be furry owned, was sold to IMVU and is no longer as clearly part of the furry fandom.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
The major difference is whether the commercial interests are within the furry fandom itself or not. Furry artists and suit makers exist within the furry fandom, any money sent to them stays within the fandom. If a company like Converse is making money off the furry fandom, that money is leaving the fandom.
The risk that I think most people are worried about is both the money and control leaving the fandom and furs becoming exploited by large commercial interests. That fear is not unjustified. Many commercial entities put the interests of companies or shareholders above those of customers/users, for example Facebook putting advertisers above user privacy, Microsoft putting profits above ebook buyers rights and social media putting engagement above mental health of their users.
While we say that we have avoided corporate control, there have been undeniable changes in the way people engage in the furry fandom. Fewer artists have their own small webpages these days, most interactions occur through larger platforms. While those were originally sites that were furry owned and run, that has also been changing. Furs posting through Tumblr or Twitter instead of Inkbunny or SoFurry are moving outside of the furry ecosystem and into commercial venues. And FurAffinity, which used to be furry owned, was sold to IMVU and is no longer as clearly part of the furry fandom.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~