I think more people are just using different forms of social media. Lots of Twitter, Tumblr, and others rather than FA. Either that or everyone is busy with classes and jobs ;P

i agree. I know people that used to meet and socialize with other furries here but have now replaced it entirely with twitter and telegram

It's a lot easier to keep yourself updated on twitter and such. You can just kinda pull out your phone for a few seconds and glance at your timeline, whereas with FA I wouldn't even think about using this site on my phone.

well i Used to just fav a lot due to sheer amount of subs id have to look at. I do try comment more myself. A lot of artiest I can guess more onto full time work else where :-/ It can happen i guess

Social media killed the chat forums, what with patreon being the new hotness for everything, no one sees a point anymore to commenting.

this is a trend evereone notices atm.
I belive it is the mass of furry art that flooded the fandom the last two or three years.
it's not like we have just 100 rlly good artists (like in past) we got like 10.000 now. (no real numbers)

I am just too nervous to comment most of the time. ;u;
I want to be more active commenting here but I'm just so bad at socializing.
Other then me I feel others are just busy with life considering it's the start of the year.

Welp, call me guilty, i haven't commented on one of your journals for a few months.

I'm kinda finding that these days people just comment less - As a general trend, not just on FA. Maybe its people having less engagement? Thinking that there are 100 comments already so theirs will be ignored, or that whatever they would have said has already been said?

Not only that, but when you click 'watch' you cant choose which notifications get sent to you, I'm wondering if people get to 100+ watches and just get in the habit of nuking the journals and looking at the art?

EDIT: Vanillaheart ^^^^ above me made a good point too. Some people dont want to comment because they are non-confrontational, and this is the internet, so an argument is likely. Or they are nervous, worried about the response to the comment.

Yeah, I noticed I get a lot fewer comments than I used to.

I comment less but I think it's just part of becoming disenchanted with the fandom and not really wanting to interact with people on the internet anymore. Too many poor interactions the past few months.

You arnt the only one ive heard say this either its become a common complaint and ive honestly noticed it myself. Its alot less fun to post the art you get if all you get reaction wise is a bunch of favs.

It's winter, we're hibernating, go back to sleep Ethy!

Seriously though, been noticing less favs, watches and comments other than my usuals now that you mention it, but I don't think it's really related to other media. I see the same on my other galleries like tumblr, pixiv, etc. I don't have a big enough follower base to make any accurate assessments though.

Could simply be 'cause it's winter and folks are sick (really everyone seems down with something nowadays).

Etheras, while I typically don't leave any comments on art, you know that I appreciate everything you have made. I think of you as one of the most attractive fennecs on FA, and there is no doubt in my mind everything you have had done is wonderful. That being said, I'll make an effort to say something nice about each one from now on.

It's hard to fap and comment at the same time yo.

The issue prolly is we all got a lot sexier

People not commenting is a universal problem lol

I think a lot of us are getting old.

No really!

Fa started in 2005, yes? I made my first account in 2008, when I was 18. Here we are some 8-9 years and 2 accounts later and still kicking. If you consider the fandom's modern median age to be around the same, we're all well into adulthood by now. That's not a bad thing, but as time goes on, we move on and spread out more. There are a lot of artists I know who monotonize their work, either through personal promotion or services like Patreon. The art scene on social media is pretty happening as well, I recently rejoined Twitter to keep an eye on it myself. I recommend it.

As for tumblr, don't be afriad. Their layout is more likely to scare people than the content.

On a side note, I follow your account here becauase I really like your character and the artists you choose to commission. Please keep it up!

Personally, I think it's because many furs are becoming jaded. There are just so many times you can watch Etheras getting taken by a horse or zebra before it becomes old hat and given the ho-hum treatment. When furry was young, the access to quality images was limited, and most scenes were never seen before. Now, after viewing the 120th version of the same scene, they just don't hold interest anymore.

I like to think of Commissioners as a CIRCUS.

The commissions they get reflect the performers and animals and all the carnival games that you'll find at their account.

WHen people show up to their circus they see some pretty rad shows. However like you said when the "Circus" only choose to do the same show over and over and over again to the point that the Audience starts to just become a Turnstyle of Old Audience Members getting bored and leaving along with New Watchers whom are being introduced to this particular circus. Well, the people leaving is generally bigger than the people coming in and that'll show after a long enough time.

It's one of the reasons that I like to commission a variety of things from silly to sexy. You can't expect your Audience Members to stay interested in the show if you're constantly showing them the same thing every performance.

Perfect explanation and analogy, funny AND smart, I am starting to really like you :p

I agree, I think that's also my opinion on the not reaction. I just don't think there's anything to say when you see a similar picture over and over. There's only so many times you can be like "wow, nice horse dick". Once you run out of things to say that have already been said, many people don't like repeating themselves so you usually get less reaction.
also, maybe just breaking up the porn a little with a cute picture or something else besides just him being sexual. I think there's just so much sex on FA, not saying it's bad but once you keep seeing sexual pictures over and over and over you kind of want something to break it up, like a palette cleanser.

Plus when you're a commissioner, it's harder to get comments simply because there's not much to say and there's not much variety, but characters can be interesting and you can have a fun character specific account. I mean you can't really be like "love the shading" or whatever.

personally, I like mini-stories with the pictures or an explanation. I also love a characters personality being presented in pictures, maybe he likes to cook, get a picture of him cooking. I dunno. That's just me.

so in short, I completely agree.

Where have all the furries gone? Loong time passing

but seriously I'm pretty introverted, so unless I think of something witty and sarcastic or just sarcastic I don't usually comment.

i'm usualy to shy to comment, but i always love your work!

I'm on telegram like 24/7 so that's def a possibility of where the commentors are going. I still try to comment though

This is the age of twitter man.

Most furries nowadays can't read or write.

Commenting tends to be a little tiring and not much to say to a lot of artists, plus fear of grammar nazis jumping at every missed comma, period and verb mix up.

I pretty much don't comment unless it's a piece of art I've gotten or I just REALLY like the piece cuz I know 9/10 times I won't get a response

I think discord is popular. You should start your own if you want people to congregate around you.

Though personally, I'd prefer more story-driven content and less sex.

Well to some and it might not be all of us and hell I could just be speaking for myself, its really a two fold thing. One a lot of times I have commented in the past it really just seems like I am adding anything to the conversation, either I don't see the point in putting "Hey nice artwork, really cute ~insert species here~" or something cause a lot of people will put that. Then if I try saying something outside of it, I feel like I make an ass out of myself due to the creator not getting it or I get a response from someone about my comment being bad, not funny, and/or "offensive" and do this for a year or so and you pretty much think "well whats the point?"

Then on top of that there is the other side, the people with popular furry characters who think they are either too good to interact with people, feel harassed by people for a lot of little things including comments, drama llamas (hey kids look how fucking old I am! :P), and ones that can be bitchy in general. Not saying you are one of those, but there is enough of them out there to really just sorta kill the fandom at large. I mean I pretty much gave up on socializing on this site because of that. It was either "Hey you don't know me, don't talk to me" and funny enough that kinda stopped happening once I got a few more pieces in my gallery, imagine that. Then it turned to, "Your only talking to me cause of my hot character, fuck off" which again killed things for me only after a few encounters. So while not fully answering this is what I could see a big issue of it, coming from someone who used to use FA as a means of meeting people. Now I just don't have any means of meeting people, just sorta stick to talking to someone irl I guess.

I'm with the wolf above here on most points. Often times I feel like adding a comment or critique of a piece is more about drawing attention to myself than reinforcing or criticising the poster or artist. The really good artists and character owners tend to also have this air of inaccessibility too, deserved or not, so you sort of get a complex like commenting on a currently hyped pop song on Youtube that's got a zillion views already - you added very little if anything to the actual conversation, if that makes sense.

Yeah I made the mistake of trying to critique someone's art before because I thought it would help them. Oh hell fucking no I'm not trying that again....

Someone needs to start a support group for people who do this. I think all new furs do it at some point to try to be helpful and....well yeah.

I been hearing a lot about twitter to and stuff like discord and telegram, but i dont think sites like this will be dead any time soon

everybody and their grandma ask me "Why don't you get myspace/facebook/twitter/tumbler/deviantart?" and I tell them "Because I already have FA."

I think a large part of the problem is that the furry fandom has diluted itself across dozens of different platforms. Twitter, weasyl, Inkbunny, Sofurry, Telegram, Discord, FA... The list goes on and on. So unfortunately, you won't see as much of a concentrated mass of furries as you would've before.

I think this would explain a lot. The choices used to be a few sites, IRC, and maybe a personal messenger. Now in the last year or so I've had people drag me toward six (!!) different (non-interacting of course) messenger services alone...by means of a messenger we were both already on. Then there's the five or so most common sites that all try to be art curation sites for furries to greater (FA, IB, Weasyl) or lesser (tumblr, e621) extents. Plus all the normal social media diaspora on twitter, reddit, etc...

Variety has benefits, but if the population doesn't grow with the number of places to go, involvement will weaken.

Sadly I never get comments on anything I get done, I thought it was normal :(

In the long time I've been here, I've been that silent silent guy stalking in the shadows. I've just never really known how to interact or express myself. It was only late last year that I've gotten my first commission, and this being my very first comment on a journal (15,741 un-nuked journals) maybe I should start becoming a more active participant.


So uhm, hi there.

I work 70+ hours a week, I barely get enough time to Glace at 50% of the art that rolls thru my submissions folder, let alone comment on maybe %5 of it

and hardely Anything of mine gets comments or +favs
at least you are interesting enough for people to wanna +fav and comment on

Personally I've never been a commenter in the first place, most I do is shout to people if they watch/fav me or something, but besides that I don't comment on things, maybe more people are just doing that now?

I've noticed the decrease in general discussion and commentary as well, so it's not just you. I don't know what the precise cause is but I'm guessing it's due to energy and attention being diverted elsewhere to other social media venues like Twitter, Telegram, etc. As someone who likes to write and discuss substantive topics, I find it rather discouraging to see the decline. Like you, I find it not so fun without the participation.

Im still here :-3

I kind of faded way back in the switch from Jaspian to Etheras. I've never been a big fan of the dominant / master area so it just didn't clique with me. I still watch not as a huge fan but as an admirer.

Honestly, a buttload of people use Inkbunny for the rumours and rules and abuse that goes on here on FA, even if I've noticed very little of it myself. As a result, people LIKE me, who maybe aren't dissuaded by such things, have noticed a lot more engagement on IB and a lot less on FA, making us less likely to upload here. That means less people coming to FA in the first place, and thus less comments.

In my case I just don't have time to write out a well thought out comment. Things are just to busy. If it's not very clever I don't really bother posting.

I'm justb plain old intimidated by people and don't want to make a fool of myself. Can't speak much for others..

A lot of people are changing their service to normal social media I think. Also there are a ton of people, like myself, who are simply lurkers. Once I follow someone I don't fav their stuff which is a strange paradox but I don't have a need to favorite their things because I just keep them in the submission notifications I get. Its a shame its set up like this because I understand it makes it seem like there are less people liking your art when that really isn't the case at all. Also I hardly ever comment so if I had to guess there is probably multiple other people who wont comment for every single person that does comment.

It isn't of nervousness or anything that prevents me from commenting more frequently, it's that I seldom am sure as to what would be appropriate. A favorite conveys "I like this." Else I wouldn't have favorite'd it.

Telegram. Furs spot out art and fun stuff, link material and don't even visit FA anymore.

I usually ask for source if I see something nice and pay respects and throw faves on the profile of the respectable artist or art collector. But not everyone can be arsed to do it. XD

Don't worry about who isn't here, after all your highness, such other fans tend to come out of the woodwork, given time!

Looks like you "got comments".
I stoped after the 3rd white knighting, no negative comments, just atacked.

I'm too old for services like telegram, I like the closed website format, maybe FA needs to be more social friendly, like with an APP or something, although I am just getting going on FA, I can see that I need a tumblr and a twitter to keep up with the times.

Too many furs are too busy fapping maybe? :o

We get told off for commenting in so many ways that posting comments seems no-longer worth the effort.

I noticed this too. 2008 FA was a much livelier place. It's possible though they they've moved on to the more professional feeling DA.

I think it has a lot to do with people just leaving the community. I just returned after three years of having a malfunctioning computer, and it seems like half of the people on the site just disappeared.