Hokay, so I came across a Journal posted here that, while having great things to say, was said in a rather base manner. Gonna run with it and talk about what I've picked up the... shit, it's July, so officially ten years of being around the Fandom. I guess this'll be rather long-winded, but direct and Realtalky, so here goes if you're down for the TL;DR. I'll also be breaking it up with periodic bulletpoints to kinda square up on the same page and give you a lil insight on how I see things... or how I want to see things and am still working on myself lol:

First off, I'll explain my opinion from experience on the dynamics of popularity, and how it can be a good thing, and a bad thing. Note that it extends beyond, but gonna keep it relevant so keeping within the bounds of the Fandom.

So, I got into Furry through myriad means (Kimahri Ronso and then werewolf porn), and for a year or so, I only knew, like, three, four people casually and built up through Yahoo Groups, IM and then DeviantArt. They pulled me in due to the fact that they were pretty cool, and at the time, I was also new to the Internet, so interacting with people all over was p swank shit.

I did do art, but a lot of it wasn't remarkable (skill-wise, though I do think I had some ambition back then that I wanna recollect lol), so nobody knew me as my "artist name" Silver Fenrir, they just knew me as Fen. I actually got a long with the people I came across, but there were, of course, some dicks that would even bluntly wonder why I was associated (at the time) with big name artists like Cooper, Strype and TiLL. I found it humorous that it mattered, was something new to me as well, so I ran with it, no fuss, no muss.

First Break

-- We are all like that; we all will find something on others that we want, whether it be friendship or not. It's human nature, and the sooner you understand this, the less angry you get when somebody flakes out or turns out to be a user.

-- Deep admiration should be earned, not given. You shouldn't automatically see somebody as a saint or a terrible person given a passive glance at somebody's life. Only if you have extensive knowledge and tangible evidence without much to dissuade a conclusion should you even do more than passively note on a person's characteristics.

-- That aside, initial impressions are fine, as long as you have a sense of chivalrous respect about you. Maybe it was a bad day for them, or maybe it was an extremely good day for them, you only know what little you see or hear, so no need to close the book and write your synopsis if you haven't turned a page.

-- Times change things. Sometimes it can change people as they grow, or deal with what they pick up through life. Accept that time changes things and be grateful for what good sticks throughout, even if it turns into a memory. Which leads to the next section...:

lol Okay, so Y!Gallery popped up and I was going through a rather tremulous personal period. The good of that lead to me drawing more porn, and I got ushered over to FA with the Infamous Furry Exodus with a few prominent artists, unexpectedly boosting my signal as an artist. Things started to change, where I started to get more involved with the Fandom, going to cons, meeting people through the sites, etc. And things changed, got a bit more real as I personally formed some new bonds and lost previous ones. I started to shun artists due to my misconception of what seemed to be the cliquey thing to do in the Fandom, even to the point of being abrasive and judgmental when I'd call artists on their mannerisms.

I did start to get more IMs though, meet more people. People started calling me "SF" instead of Fen, introducing me as "that artist guy" instead of Fen. Talkin about art and Furry artists instead of their life or interesting shit. People that shunned me didn't anymore, and some even saw me as a completely new person, shocked when I'd mentioned that we'd met before. But hey; no fuss, no muss.

Break Two

-- I have friends that are artists, but most are actually not. I go with what I can associate, and while it's cool to talk art shit every blue moon, it bores me to no end if it's just that. Same goes for somebody with that one topic they just won't leave alone.

-- I don't know if I consider myself as an artist. I like to do art, and I've been doing it a lot, but I wanna be known for being more than just some artist guy. Prolly why I'm still learning things I should have a firmer grasp on, but c'est la vie

-- On judging artists (or anybody actually): Not saying everybody I've come across, but a lot tend to have a weird social anxiety, or a "fight or flight" mentality when shit gets heavy. Many are socially awkward and can't handle the pressure of interaction (even if it can be admittedly painfully awkward and/or abrasive at times). While some can't handle their bubble of fame well and it does go to their head, some are actually nice once you understand that they're socially timid or defensive.

-- Not disclaiming that there aren't any dicks in the Fandom (artist or otherwise), fuck those guys. I mean, lookit me, total dickhead lol

So, now. There's a saturation of really solid artists in the Fandom now; names don't hold quite as much power as they once did, which is a good thing. People are being a bit more personal, social, and though there are some awkward points at times, it's a lot smoother socially than it once was. Granted, it's a lot more cynical in nature, negative at times, but also human nature lol

Good thing is that I'm back to being Fen again, or, rather, Rrowdy to some people, which is fine. People still know me through my art stuff (I mean, c'mon, this FA journal lol), but since I'm past my 15 minute bubble of fame, not nearly as many crazy IMs and interactions. Flipside of that is that some of the interaction, if anything, has been condescending since I can't offer what the now-more prominent artists can, and honestly, I guess I can't. Also get occasionally linked to dramas on Chanboards and Forums where people twist and embellish on aspects of my personal life in threads where my art pops up instead of being like STFU post the porn. I've even had people be flatout asinine simply because I have this mysterious clique and I'm "just a popufur artist" when I can definitely say that it hasn't really gotten me much socially, if not points of embarrassment. Shit sucks, but hey, it happens, and no fuss, no muss.

Speaking of ChanBoards, I'll prolly post a Journal on that later lol

Break Three

-- Don't label people. You might miss out on what they can actually offer 'you', not just what they generally offer.

-- In the end, mostly anything that's going wrong in you life can be traced back to your own decisions. Even if something's not directly your fault, just note what happens so that it doesn't happen again instead of bitching about it and doing nothing but living in the past. lol Trust me when I say that I know this as fact, and yes, it's sometimes very hard to overcome!

-- On the flipside, don't be afraid of getting hurt doing something similar to what got you down the first time (unless it's a 'really' dumb idea). Take better precaution before you try again. Just as bad as living in the past, you shouldn't use your pain as a shield to guard you from a potentially great future. Never stop taking chances. But never stop learning.

-- The Fandom itself is very "young". A lot of the people in it are there for gratuitous entertainment no matter how you slice it. Which is fine as long as you accept the truth of it and run with aspects that you like of it while respecting and neverminding aspects that you don't. Yes, there are awkward situations, and yes, it's oversexed, but so is the world, it's just more concentrated in such a small and rather surprisingly closely-knit community.

-- Respect! Negativity will come back to bite you on the ass, and people innately don't like negative people. If you feel like you're cool in a group talkin shit about others, note that those same people will do the same to you the minute you step out of line. I've said things out of anger quite a few times, hell, my Twitter's littered with random outbursts lol

-- Don't ever be That Guy.

-- Popularity just is. Either you're hot shit, or you're not. Sometimes it has to do with something you do, sometimes it baffles the masses on why and 'that' ends up being why you are. It can be skill, marketing, appeal, sheer luck, or a combination of. If you wanna be popular, wish I could offer more, but it's what I know.

-- Popularity is better for business or broadcasting. It actually sucks for personal life lol

-- Don't ever confuse popularity for love. It's not, and you'll seriously be in a world of hurt thinking so.

So, I guess that's my synopsis of what I've perceived. There are exceptions to the rule, and it's also just my perception based on my own path through the last ten years in the Fandom, and shit, before. Just keep in mind that things change, and there are always gonna be high and low points, not just in the Fandom, but throughout life.

Just run with it, have fun with it, live and learn, no fuss, no muss.