Generally a good overview of major conventions around the world. There are a couple places which I think I could use a bit more bit more context or should be changed.
There is no need to make an arbitrary camp/convention distinction. They are not mutually exclusive. I think we can use Fred Patten's definition of a convention which, as I recall, had 3 requirements. A convention 1) requires registration to attend, 2) lasts at least one night on location (most people stay at the convention, they don't go home and then come back) and 3) there are scheduled events. I think there are many camp cons that meet all those requirements.
I just found it funny that you said "macro furs in America" but it wasn't about macro furs. :p
In terms of momentum, I think it's also worth remembering that while the first convention was held in the US, Eurofurence is currently the longest-running furry convention in the world. So there is plenty of momentum there. It doesn't invalidate your argument but I think it's worth noting.
Anthrocon also benefited from this arrangement, as it continued to have more room to grow and grow up until it became the second-biggest furry convention to this day.
The phrasing here implies that Anthrocon grew to the 2nd largest convention. That's a bit misleading as it was the largest convention in the world, I think by quite a margin, for several years in a row.
In the same way that MFF is located near a large international airport (ORD), Berlin (both by train and plane) is easily accessible from the rest of Europe, thus making Eurofurence truly European.
Further context could be important here. Eurofurence was designed to be truly European. Eurofurence has only been in Berlin since 2014 (and once in 1999), and it was already a big European convention at that point and moved for more space. For its first 10 years, it was in a new location every year; including Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Czechia.
Understanding both the non-native-English-speaking furry community’s potential to grow and the reasons why they haven’t reached the same heights as conventions in the US/Canada will help to break stereotypes and, perhaps, make our community more united and better for everyone.
This implies that the bigger conventions are better conventions and massive conventions are what we should all be aiming for. That is not always the case. I think several conventions are intended to be kept smaller for a more personal feel. That was a point of disagreement among Eurofurence staff early on and one of the founders left Eurofurence to found another convention because he didn't want it to keep growing to those huge sizes. Given there is no shortage of furs in Europe, perhaps one reason the conventions are not as big as the ones in the US is a matter of preference. The US has a tendency to go for size, whether it's conventions, cars, food portions. That's not necessarily what everyone is looking for.
On a not-so-much-furry note, at times it feels like you're also trying way too hard to be inclusive and that comes across disingenuous and unnecessary. Over valorising people for not speaking English or not being American or not being white or whatever does not help any argument. And at time it may also blue other issues which could be worth discussing. For example, you bring up wealth/poverty at several points usually with the assumption that as people get richer, there will be more furs. To a certain extent that may be true but it's not clear that it will be true to the same extent that you get the furry fandom in America. There had been some discussion about the topic in South Africa, because the South African furry fandom demographics do not represent the country's demographics. It may be that some groups have a stronger cultural identity, whether for good or bad, and it's possible that a stronger main cultural identity may reduce the chances that someone would seek out a sub-cultural identity like furry. It's hard to say, since it's difficult to ask people who didn't join the fandom why they didn't, and I don't know that field well enough to say anything with too much confidence. I would be cautious about attributing everything to money and neglecting other factors which can affect the growth of the fandom in other countries.
"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~
Generally a good overview of major conventions around the world. There are a couple places which I think I could use a bit more bit more context or should be changed.
There is no need to make an arbitrary camp/convention distinction. They are not mutually exclusive. I think we can use Fred Patten's definition of a convention which, as I recall, had 3 requirements. A convention 1) requires registration to attend, 2) lasts at least one night on location (most people stay at the convention, they don't go home and then come back) and 3) there are scheduled events. I think there are many camp cons that meet all those requirements.
I just found it funny that you said "macro furs in America" but it wasn't about macro furs. :p
In terms of momentum, I think it's also worth remembering that while the first convention was held in the US, Eurofurence is currently the longest-running furry convention in the world. So there is plenty of momentum there. It doesn't invalidate your argument but I think it's worth noting.
The phrasing here implies that Anthrocon grew to the 2nd largest convention. That's a bit misleading as it was the largest convention in the world, I think by quite a margin, for several years in a row.
Further context could be important here. Eurofurence was designed to be truly European. Eurofurence has only been in Berlin since 2014 (and once in 1999), and it was already a big European convention at that point and moved for more space. For its first 10 years, it was in a new location every year; including Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Czechia.
This implies that the bigger conventions are better conventions and massive conventions are what we should all be aiming for. That is not always the case. I think several conventions are intended to be kept smaller for a more personal feel. That was a point of disagreement among Eurofurence staff early on and one of the founders left Eurofurence to found another convention because he didn't want it to keep growing to those huge sizes. Given there is no shortage of furs in Europe, perhaps one reason the conventions are not as big as the ones in the US is a matter of preference. The US has a tendency to go for size, whether it's conventions, cars, food portions. That's not necessarily what everyone is looking for.
On a not-so-much-furry note, at times it feels like you're also trying way too hard to be inclusive and that comes across disingenuous and unnecessary. Over valorising people for not speaking English or not being American or not being white or whatever does not help any argument. And at time it may also blue other issues which could be worth discussing. For example, you bring up wealth/poverty at several points usually with the assumption that as people get richer, there will be more furs. To a certain extent that may be true but it's not clear that it will be true to the same extent that you get the furry fandom in America. There had been some discussion about the topic in South Africa, because the South African furry fandom demographics do not represent the country's demographics. It may be that some groups have a stronger cultural identity, whether for good or bad, and it's possible that a stronger main cultural identity may reduce the chances that someone would seek out a sub-cultural identity like furry. It's hard to say, since it's difficult to ask people who didn't join the fandom why they didn't, and I don't know that field well enough to say anything with too much confidence. I would be cautious about attributing everything to money and neglecting other factors which can affect the growth of the fandom in other countries.
"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~