Lamar's stories

Conduct and harassment policies: what they are and how to enforce them
Sun 3 Sep 2017 - 16:50

A clip from RainFurrest 2015's Code of ConductThere's a common line of recent social failure states in furry fandom, and in fandom in general. Not having a conduct policy, having a poorly-phrased or contradictory conduct policy, having an unenforceable conduct policy, or failing to evenly or consistently enforce the policy.

Good, enforceable, clearly understandable, and well-published conduct and harassment policies should be everywhere in furry fandom. But what is the best practice that the furry fandom needs to adopt in the face of not only common every-day jerks, but organised groups such as the Furry Raiders and Alt-Furries?

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Are insular furry communities and MUCKs at risk of Alt-Right takeover?
Thu 24 Aug 2017 - 06:48

In recent years SPR MUCK, a long standing furry fandom MUCK with an international user-base, has quickly seen it's membership decline. In my opinion, this has been caused by a small group of highly vocal users. These users would consistently quote from the playbook of the alt-right, attempt to suppress any discussion of topics such as 'Black Lives Matter' with accusations of being anti-police, and go so far as staging a take over of a location on the MUCK that explicitly allowed political discussion in order to then change the rules and shut political discussion down under claims that it 'only causes drama'. I was very surprised to discover one of these users had been made staff on the MUCK, and wanted to know how this could have happened.

To answer this question, I'd like to present to you an on-the-record conversation I had this weekend with "Snout", the head of policy. This conversation has been edited for terseness. It may serve as an important indicator of the risks of insular fandom attitudes and the peril of existing within a local bubble.

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Rocky Mountain Fur Con canceled following neo-Nazi associations, tax irregularities
Mon 10 Apr 2017 - 19:46

Colorado furry convention Rocky Mountain Fur Con has been canceled. Funds collected in advance of this August's event are to be spent on existing liabilities, and refunding attendees and dealers where possible; any remainder will go to the convention charity.

While their official statement cites rising security costs, the closure follows the controversial issues surrounding CEO Kendal Emery (Kahuki Liaru), and the "Furry Raiders" group. It has also been discovered by Flayrah that the convention's parent company's Federal tax-exempt status, obtained in 2009, had lapsed, and it had not filed taxes for a period of seven years, while still claiming to be a registered 501(c) non-profit. In this investigative report we can identify the issues that have contributed to the end of Denver's furry convention.

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Opinion: How to handle the Zootopia fans
Mon 7 Mar 2016 - 11:50

zootopiafans.jpgYes, we know, we all saw the box office figures. Zootopia is a big hit, and seems to be the establishing mass-media beachhead for "furry fandom". But please, please spare a moment to think about how best to interact with people arriving into the world of anthropomorphic-fiction. Consider this conversation you may well have in the near future ...

"Hey, is that Zootopia fan art? I loved that movie."

"No, it's actually my fursona."

"Oh, like a Zootopia OC, yeah I have one of those."

"No, No, this is from before Zootopia, from the furry fandom."

"Oh. No, I'm not into that stuff."

Stop right there ... Now, this is where you do not rant.

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Opinion: Hotel management doesn't care what your fursona is
Tue 16 Feb 2016 - 12:17

In 2002, I wrote an article here about the problematic side of furry fandom, and what we needed to do about it. In 2007 I gave the fandom positive grades for progress made. In 2011 I praised the fandom for it's growth and outreach while also cautioning that growth can also come with its own difficulties. But now I fear that I need to talk to the fandom again.

The fandom has grown. With that comes a growth in the number of idiots and trouble makers, so risk isn't a hypothetical anymore. Damaging chairs, wrecking public areas, inappropriate conduct and a return to the "squick the mundanes" attitude that I'd hoped we'd moved beyond. This has already resulted in the failure of one major convention, Rainfurrest, and we need to all act to prevent it from happening to another.

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Creators beware: Contesting to fail
Wed 8 Jun 2011 - 16:33

The new big thing in Furry Fandom is contests! Yes, now you can enter into a contest to win a paid commission. All you have to do is submit a piece of art, of the finest quality you can make, to specification and for free to the person running the contest… see the flaw yet?

To those of you who've not worked it out: yes, this is what we call a "scam".

Updated with some probability theory showing the scammy nature of these contests.

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Furry, not an obscure little fandom any more
Mon 4 Apr 2011 - 16:07

Furries have long thought of our fandom as a little niche thing, the fandom that only a tiny number of people are into. The weird fandom, the one that gets picked on and sidelined. We're small, weak, and need to hide…

Well, I've got news for you. We're not. We're amongst the biggest fandoms in the world.

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Further Confusion - It's Not Burning Man, But We Like It That Way
Wed 5 Mar 2008 - 13:37

This year I attended my first Further Confusion, and I have to admit I liked it. Of course, I'm the more social kind of con attender, going to meet people, wander and catch a little bit of everything going on. And I should admit to having friends who were execs and staff, which might colour my views a bit, but I liked the con a lot. But it seems not everyone did...

Some advice about Norovirus for convention visitors
Wed 9 Jan 2008 - 17:23

What is Norovirus and why the concern?

As some of you may already know, there have been various outbreaks of Norovirus, commonly known as stomach-flu, that seems to have spread pretty quickly. Hospitals from Boston, to New Zealand to England have been reporting outbreaks, and this years strain seems to be pretty active. Catching the Norovirus can lead to some acute stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhoea for a few days. With so many people travelling from around the world to visit conventions, it's moderately likely someone will bring the Norovirus with them. Norovirus infections can spread quickly in mostly closed environments such as cruise ships and convention hotels, so there are some preventative steps that can be taken.

The Fandom's Report Card
Mon 6 Aug 2007 - 11:36

It's been five years since I wrote a short editorial here, called “State of the Fandom”, and to my suprise it's still in the top 10 of most read articles here. So I felt it was time to give you all an overdue follow up, and grade the fandom on it's progress. So I submit to you, the Fandom's Report Card.

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