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A breath of fresh air
a year ago
There are just some things I want to say today. Mostly about this website and community. The first ever furaffinity account I made was in april of 2012. Back then everyone was so kind and there was so kind and supportive. With all the positivity and feelings of hope, feeling like I wasn't alone? I felt so welcomed and its a the reason I'm still in the fandom today.
As I branched towards other websites for reach and showcasing my artwork, I noticed social media just kept getting worse and worse. Draining my energy and my passions, all of my hopes and aspirations were filled with dread and depression as a constant stream of negativity was flowing in front of my eyes day in and day out. New drama every day, more scary articles and people being so vicious towards each other. Artists being constantly ridiculed for being humans and not work machines, overflowing posts of AI art and having to compete with each other rather than lift each other up. Fighting algorithms and watching our follower counts. Wishing we were able to make enough to get by, forcing ourselves to post on every site possible for even the smallest piece of engagement to sell our work but end up drowning in the sea of talent. I can't lie, it left me feeling hopeless. For the past 2-3 years now I've been contemplating giving up on art entirely or finding a new fanbase to draw in.
But the reason I brought up furaffinity earlier? I can say I've been on here for over a decade now and everyone on here is always so kind and supportive, your art doesn't disappear in an algorithm never to be seen again within a day of posting. Lately I've been going back to using this site more like when I was a kid and even though its not as easy to get followers or "big numbers" on here that doesn't even matter to me. The overwhelming positive responses and genuine care for each other is enough to make me want to keep creating and have faith in this community again after toxic platforms like twitter have had me second guessing my lifelong hobby. I just want to be able to say thank you to everyone for being so kind to me. I've not been doing well for a while now, my mental and physical health has been plummeting but I feel genuinely cared for here. As well as seeing how many people came together to support and donate to this website and the creators families after his passing? That absolutely blew me away and reminded me why I joined in the first place.
Some things never change, one of them being that this fandom can be a light in the dark. I will never be able to thank you all enough for every kind comment I've ever received.
You are appreciated and you mean the world to me. 
I'm glad this fandom can be a light in your dark moments, it certainly is for me as well :3 I hope you feel better soon!
I don't exactly remember how I found your artwork, but it was VERY recent, and whatever algorithm or chance brought me to your page makes me want to stick around and see what else you create!
You also are just a breath of fresh air too, being someone who wants to share their passions with the rest of us!
I hope you keep going with it, cause I would love to see the old and the new you bring <3
Thank you, your kind words inspire me to keep going
Go go go! Create and make the world beautiful <3
I think i liked the furry community bet as a community, but like think of high school, how like 4 friends could keep you there but like 4 people screaming could make you want to avoid it.
I think the same could be said for modern communities except with hateclick advertising, the crazies were given microphones so people would check them for security. The russians had a saying, "capitalists would rush to be the first in line to sell you the ropes you'd use to hang em" / "Be careful of what you choose to sell".
And i feel like quarterly stock driven vs long term thinking has a problem with that.
Lets sell more things this quarter! /s.
it's just not safe or sustainable, dangers are kinda ignored sometimes and i missed the sweet days but yeah sometimes gut feelings are off sometimes. I see dragoneer as a symbol like many others, but have any of you guys seen some of the "I don't get why we have to bury him or cremate him, his 1-8k funeral takes away funds from the site" "We should just bury him in a cardboard box, artists need the site more than he needs a burial" comments?
Like it's just a few of those 2 in 1000 but yikes. Guy spent all his savings on a site that allegedly consumes 240k/month(???) (finances unclear).
And people are worried about the cost of a cardboard box to put him in when most others spend 10k on a casket to be put into a hole.
The furry fandom is made up of it's community members but yikes to 2024 i say sometimes.