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Second Life and the Furry Fandom, Part 1
6 years ago
This is kind of an extension of some thoughts I posted on my twitter.
I've been in the fandom for about 16 years, 13 if you don't count years where I didn't have a personal fursona but was really into furry art.
Of those thirteen years, seven of them were spent basically only interacting with the furry community on Second Life. Though I knew there was a larger community of people who went to cons, roleplayed on mushes, etc - for all intents and purposes, Second Life was the entirety of the furry community in my world.
Six years ago, I got onto twitter, and started branching out. It was only then that I realized what a bad reputation Second Life furries had. It was only then that I realized that there was this separation.
You see, I've come to realize something - and this doesn't describe everyone, it's just a trend.
Furries on Second Life largely think going to cons is dumb, they're not into fursuiting, etc. They've seen the pictures and heard the horror stories. The worst parts of going to cons - the stuff I never actually see at cons, but still gets talked about and shared - that is what keeps people away from conventions. There is this idea of what convention furries are like. I know this because I actually believed it for some years, until a friend of mine convinced me to go.
And then I realized, hey wait a second; cons are kinda rad. They're what you make it. You hang out with the people who are like you, who share your perspective, who share your idea of how to have fun.
... the reverse is also true.
Since I've joined twitter and started going to conventions, it surprised me to learn that people have a really ugly idea of what Second Life is like. They see the pictures, they hear the horror stories. The worst parts of second life - the parts I never actually see on SL, but still gets talked about and shared - that is what keeps people away from Second Life. There is this idea of what SL furries are like.
The reality is that SL is also what you make of it. You hang out with the people who are like you, who share your perspective, who share your idea of how to have fun.
I mean... maybe that's hanging out in a hyper-fur sim where everyone has giant cocks and giant tits? No judgment here.
But it can also just be hanging around being creative with friends, or chatting and goofing around with people of a similar sense of humor. Second Life is a big wide world full of people of different stripes. It can be hard to get settled, and I think that's the real difficulty. Finding the people like yourself is harder than finding the people like yourself on twitter, or forums, or whatever. It can feel like a needle in a haystack. But that's no different from just showing up at a con and just hoping you meet some cool people. But once you do, being able to get on and interact with other furs you like and respect is fantastic.
And it's worth mentioning - if you're willing to put the work in, you get to do it all while potentially looking like a visually stunning version of your fursona.
I would have thought that would be appealing to most furries, at least the ones who are online at all. And yet there's this divide. People hear bad things, maybe they try it once and it's awkward and everyone they run into in the most obvious furry places are weird, or socially awkward, or whatever. And they bounce off it, because they've confirmed their bias. And that's a shame.
Anyway, next time I want to talk about avatars and fursonas and dispel some misconceptions that have lead to this idea that furry avatars are cheap copies of each other, rather than the beautiful, unique, complex, and time-consuming projects that they actually are.
I've been in the fandom for about 16 years, 13 if you don't count years where I didn't have a personal fursona but was really into furry art.
Of those thirteen years, seven of them were spent basically only interacting with the furry community on Second Life. Though I knew there was a larger community of people who went to cons, roleplayed on mushes, etc - for all intents and purposes, Second Life was the entirety of the furry community in my world.
Six years ago, I got onto twitter, and started branching out. It was only then that I realized what a bad reputation Second Life furries had. It was only then that I realized that there was this separation.
You see, I've come to realize something - and this doesn't describe everyone, it's just a trend.
Furries on Second Life largely think going to cons is dumb, they're not into fursuiting, etc. They've seen the pictures and heard the horror stories. The worst parts of going to cons - the stuff I never actually see at cons, but still gets talked about and shared - that is what keeps people away from conventions. There is this idea of what convention furries are like. I know this because I actually believed it for some years, until a friend of mine convinced me to go.
And then I realized, hey wait a second; cons are kinda rad. They're what you make it. You hang out with the people who are like you, who share your perspective, who share your idea of how to have fun.
... the reverse is also true.
Since I've joined twitter and started going to conventions, it surprised me to learn that people have a really ugly idea of what Second Life is like. They see the pictures, they hear the horror stories. The worst parts of second life - the parts I never actually see on SL, but still gets talked about and shared - that is what keeps people away from Second Life. There is this idea of what SL furries are like.
The reality is that SL is also what you make of it. You hang out with the people who are like you, who share your perspective, who share your idea of how to have fun.
I mean... maybe that's hanging out in a hyper-fur sim where everyone has giant cocks and giant tits? No judgment here.
But it can also just be hanging around being creative with friends, or chatting and goofing around with people of a similar sense of humor. Second Life is a big wide world full of people of different stripes. It can be hard to get settled, and I think that's the real difficulty. Finding the people like yourself is harder than finding the people like yourself on twitter, or forums, or whatever. It can feel like a needle in a haystack. But that's no different from just showing up at a con and just hoping you meet some cool people. But once you do, being able to get on and interact with other furs you like and respect is fantastic.
And it's worth mentioning - if you're willing to put the work in, you get to do it all while potentially looking like a visually stunning version of your fursona.
I would have thought that would be appealing to most furries, at least the ones who are online at all. And yet there's this divide. People hear bad things, maybe they try it once and it's awkward and everyone they run into in the most obvious furry places are weird, or socially awkward, or whatever. And they bounce off it, because they've confirmed their bias. And that's a shame.
Anyway, next time I want to talk about avatars and fursonas and dispel some misconceptions that have lead to this idea that furry avatars are cheap copies of each other, rather than the beautiful, unique, complex, and time-consuming projects that they actually are.
