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Recent FA Drama and the Quest for a Backup Account
7 years ago
General
Hi, it's me!
You may or may not have heard of recent drama concerning FA and its management. I won't go into details. I'll just say that two very talented artists have already left the site in protest over it (you know who you are. I'm not judging you for it) and that it's kind of made me feel a bit uneasy about the fandom.
For this reason, I may take a break for a while, so don't be surprised if I'm not as active on this site as I previously have been.
On another note, I'm now mulling over getting an account on another site like Weasyl, Furry Network, etc. as a precaution. I don't think I'm going to leave FurAffinity just yet, but I'd feel a bit better if I knew that option was there. Trouble is, FA seems to enjoy hegemonic power over the fandom, and the artists I like are pretty scattered between different sites. I did a bit of digging and found that only 25% of the 'essential' FA accounts that I follow have Weasyl accounts (though the two good artists that recently left FA are among them), and most of the other sites have even less than that.
If you don't have any accounts on sites other than FA, I recommend you do get at least one, whatever your opinion of the recent controversy. I just don't think it's wise to put all your eggs in one basket.
If you have any tips on what site I should pick for a backup account, I'd appreciate it. I'd like something that has the 'browseablity' and diversity of FA, and I'd like it to be story-friendly, but I'd also like to feel that the site has a decent amount of overlap so I feel I'm not missing out on anything there.
UPDATE: I've redone my research and I've found that Weasyl in fact has almost 70% of my essentials and Furry Network has around 45%. I may need to check the other sites again.
For this reason, I may take a break for a while, so don't be surprised if I'm not as active on this site as I previously have been.
On another note, I'm now mulling over getting an account on another site like Weasyl, Furry Network, etc. as a precaution. I don't think I'm going to leave FurAffinity just yet, but I'd feel a bit better if I knew that option was there. Trouble is, FA seems to enjoy hegemonic power over the fandom, and the artists I like are pretty scattered between different sites. I did a bit of digging and found that only 25% of the 'essential' FA accounts that I follow have Weasyl accounts (though the two good artists that recently left FA are among them), and most of the other sites have even less than that.
If you don't have any accounts on sites other than FA, I recommend you do get at least one, whatever your opinion of the recent controversy. I just don't think it's wise to put all your eggs in one basket.
If you have any tips on what site I should pick for a backup account, I'd appreciate it. I'd like something that has the 'browseablity' and diversity of FA, and I'd like it to be story-friendly, but I'd also like to feel that the site has a decent amount of overlap so I feel I'm not missing out on anything there.
UPDATE: I've redone my research and I've found that Weasyl in fact has almost 70% of my essentials and Furry Network has around 45%. I may need to check the other sites again.
DeviantArt, FurryNetwork - Really bloated, Feels really slow, Don't like the UI. Search is terrible. Know nothing about communities over there.
SoFurry - Somewhat better for stories that FA at a UI level. Not much art. Search is okay. Not sure about community.
e621 - Best search ever, seriously. However, mostly an image board but I think it has a small community.
InkBunny - UI is pretty good. Search is terrible. Kind of creepy there, community might be too.
Weasyl - UI is okay. Search is okay. Can't say it does anything particularly well though. Heard community was okay.
Transfur - Single topic related, but still a good site. Search is meh, but it works. Small community.
My recommendation?
Have a dummy account for all sites so you can view as you wish, so all in this case.
Post everywhere you are comfortable with, so one to many.
Participate in only one community, so one to one.
Last, there is always going to be drama.
I just stay out of it and do my own thing.
Your dummy account idea sounds good, but I feel a bit leery of putting myself out on the internet on sites that I hardly use. I don't want those accounts to sneak up on me.