Well, I've been posting stuff on SoFurry, too, in an attempt to reach a wider audience, and the way the site works has been erratic from time to time, but I've been giving it a chance because it's still new. And in my time there, I've noticed a trend I really can't explain.

A while back, I got a comment on one of my drawings-- it was one that had a herm in it. And the comment said nothing but "herm." Just that one word.

How am I supposed to reply to that? Do I say, "yes, that's correct"? Or "thanks for pointing it out"? For a moment I thought I might have made a mistake in tagging and labeled the character as something other than a herm, and perhaps the commenter was trying to notify me of that... but I checked, and the creature was clearly identified as a herm in both the tags and the description. Someone had apparently thought it was worth stating the absolutely obvious.

And then it happened again. I got a comment on a drawing that was based on a scene from my mate Zmeydros' story "Shifting Consequences." The comment consisted of two words: "Shifting Consequences." And it was a different person from the one who had commented on my herm.

Was this poster trying to point out that I had used a scene from that story-- even though I myself had clearly pointed out that information in the description? I don't know, but shortly afterwards I got another comment, on a drawing depicting a scene from the story "Unprivate Shower." It said "Unprivate Shower." And it was from a third person, with a different name from the other two.

I'm not saying this whole pattern bothers or offends me in any way-- my reaction is simply bafflement. I've considered the possibility that it's some kind of spambot, but if so, wouldn't it be advertising or linking to something? The comments contain no urls, no product endorsements, and when I click on the user icon, it invariably takes me to the barren page of someone who has nothing at all for people to look at. Whoever they are, these posters are calling attention to themselves despite having nothing whatsoever to show or tell.

Perhaps this in itself is a new form of minimalist, absurdist furry art, a daring quest to stretch the definition of creativity and challenge people's perceptions of the world of furry fandom. Perhaps by making me so confused that my eyes start to cross, these guests on my SoFurry page have accomplished their own creative purpose, and filled their own odd little niche in the artistic world.

Or maybe not.