According to one of the features of a typical beasthuman, if a beast has no legs (such as fish, marine mammals, snakes or slugs), then a beasthuman will have a corresponding tail instead of legs, and structurally resemble a mermaid. However, it may be necessary to create a bipedal beasthuman with the features taken from a specific legless beast. In this case, the following method should be taken into consideration.

One should create a new, usually hybrid, species of a beast that will have legs. Consequently, a beasthuman derived from such a beast will also have legs.

This method can be demonstrated by the example of a sharkhuman. In order to endow this beasthuman with legs, one should create a hybrid beast. For the purposes of this demonstration, let it be a creature called a "shasaur", which is simply a shark with proportionally developed limbs of a lizard. Consequently, a beasthuman derived from it will be called "shasaurmorphic human", or "shasaurhuman" for short. According to the features of a typical beasthuman, a shasaurhuman will have a number of features from the aforementioned hybrid beast, including legs.

Beasthuman is a creature that has a number of bestial features, but is a human in their nature.

This definition follows the Modifier-Nature structure, and in its unabridged form sounds as "Beastmorphic human". The adjective "beastmorphic" is a modifier that denotes the family or species of a creature from which additional features were taken. The noun "human" denotes the nature and base species of a creature.

A typical beasthuman has the following features:
- The torso, pelvis, arms and genitals are structurally identical to those of a human.
- The head, tail and lower limbs are structurally identical to those of a beast.
- If a beast has no legs (such as fish, marine mammals, snakes or slugs), then a beasthuman will have a corresponding tail instead of legs, and structurally resemble a mermaid.
- The appropriate body covering such as fur, feathers, scales, skin, carapace, etc.
- The structure and proportions of the body are balanced enough to allow a beasthuman to remain bipedal, and the bestial parts of their body to function normally with human ones.
- The intelligence and behavior are identical to those of a human.
- By default, all unmentioned features are identical to those of a human.

The structure of this definition allows to change the modifier or nature in order to specify the source of additional features, the main species, gender and age of a creature. Therefore, the same beasthuman can be named with such words as: beastman, bovinehuman, bullhuman, bovineman, bullman.

Anthropobeast is a creature that has a number of human features, but is a beast in its nature.

This definition follows the Modifier-Nature structure, and in its unabridged form sounds as "Anthropomorphic beast". The adjective "anthropomorphic" is a modifier that denotes the family or species of a creature from which additional features were taken. The noun "beast" denotes the nature and base species of a creature.

A typical anthropobeast has the following features:
- The head, torso, pelvis, tail, genitals and hind legs are structurally identical to those of a beast.
- The forelimbs are developed enough to be able to grasp things, and structurally resemble human hands.
- The structure and proportions of the body allow an anthropobeast to walk on its hind legs for a short time.
- The intelligence is developed enough to make the simplest logical conclusions.
- The behavior is almost identical to that of a beast.
- By default, all unmentioned features are identical to those of a beast.

The structure of this definition allows to change the modifier or nature in order to specify the source of additional features, the main species, gender and age of a creature. Therefore, the same anthropobeast can be named with such words as: anthropoanimal, anthropobovine, anthropocow and anthropoheifer.

Considering the increasing diversity of fictional creatures, popular culture needs not only specialized definitions, but also generalized ones. Words such as anthropoanimal, anthropobovine and anthropocow are easy to use to name an anthropomorphic creature whose base is a strictly defined animal. But what if a hybrid of different creatures or even materials is used as the base of a creature? Moreover, what words to use when a creator or client simply doesn't need precise definitions to design a fictional creature?

To solve the aforementioned problems, it's worth considering the use of a generalized definition. Fortunately, for centuries, human culture has used such a simple definition as "beast".

Beast is any non-human creature.

Due to its broad generalization, this definition can be used for at least two purposes. Firstly, any non-human creature can be called a beast - from real animals and mythical creatures, to extraterrestrial and fundamentally different forms of life. Secondly, the word "beast" can be used when there is no data about a specific type of a creature, or when this data is intentionally hidden.

Aside from a precise denotation of an object, a quality definition should follow a specific structure of words. Such an approach makes it easy to explain a definition, and also lays a foundation for the development of a whole group of new definitions. This can be best illustrated by the example of the Modifier-Nature structure.

Definitions that follow this structure use the next two concepts:
- Modifier. Denotes any feature that modifies the original object. It's conveyed through an adjective.
- Nature. Denotes the original object and its very essence. It's conveyed through a noun.

To denote a creature, it's worth considering the following definitions:
- Anthropomorphic beast. "Anthropomorphic" is a modifier that denotes the family or species of a creature from which additional features were taken. "Beast" denotes the nature and base species of a creature.
- Beastmorphic human. "Beastmorphic" is a modifier that denotes the family or species of a creature from which additional features were taken. "Human" denotes the nature and base species of a creature.
- Andromorphic woman. "Andromorphic" is a modifier that denotes the appearance pattern. "Woman" denotes the natural gender of a person.
- Gynomorphic man. "Gynomorphic" is a modifier that denotes the appearance pattern. "Man" denotes the natural gender of a person.
- Beast-shifting human. "Beast-shifting" is a modifier that denotes a shapeshifter's alternative form, while "human" denotes its natural and main form.
- Human-shifting beast. "Human-shifting" is a modifier that denotes a shapeshifter's alternative form, while "beast" denotes its natural and main form.
- Beastmerged human (a creature similar to a centaur). "Beastmerged" is a modifier that denotes a body used for locomotion and at the withers with which the main body is merged. "Human" denotes the main body including head, arms and torso, and which is merged with the lower body at the place of own waist.
- Androphilic woman. "Androphilic" is a modifier that denotes a person's attraction to masculine partners of either gender. "Woman" denotes a person themself.
- Gynephilic man. "Gynephilic" is a modifier that denotes a person's attraction to feminine partners of either gender. "Man" denotes a person themself.
- Ambiphilic man. "Ambiphilic" is a modifier that denotes a person's attraction to both masculine and feminine partners of either gender. "Man" denotes a person themself.
- Malebehaved woman. "Malebehaved" is a modifier that denotes that a person behaves according to the male behavioral archetype. "Woman" denotes a person themself.
- Femalebehaved man. "Femalebehaved" is a modifier that denotes that a person behaves according to the female behavioral archetype. "Man" denotes a person themself.

In addition to using two concepts, the Modifier-Nature structure allows several methods of forming definitions:
- Shortening a definition in order to facilitate its pronunciation and writing, which in turn makes it easier to apply other methods.
- Changing the modifier or nature in order to control the precision of a definition.
- Using multiple modifiers to denote a number of object's properties.
- Using a definition as a modifier or nature to form a new, compound definition.

It is worth noting that each definition that follows this structure can consist of many modifiers, but only one nature.

Shortening a definition means merging its adjective and noun into a single compound noun, such as:
- "Anthropobeast" instead of "Anthropomorphic beast".
- "Beasthuman" instead of "Beastmorphic human".
- "Androwoman" instead of "Andromorphic woman".
- "Gynoman" instead of "Gynomorphic man".

The control of the precision can be demonstrated by the "beastmorphic human" definition. Changing the modifier will specify the family or species of a creature from which additional features were taken, resulting in words such as "bovinemorphic" and "bullmorphic". Meanwhile, changing the nature will specify the base species, gender and age of a creature, resulting in words such as "man", "woman", "boy" and "girl". Thus, the generalized "beastmorphic human" definition can be transformed into a more precise one - "bullmorphic man".

When several modifiers are used, the one that is adjacent to the nature can be merged with it into a compound noun, like in the "gynomorphic bullman" definition.

The formation of a compound definition can be demonstrated by the complication of the "beast-shifting human" definition. The "anthropobeast" definition can serve as a modifier, which will form a compound definition - "anthropobeast-shifting human". In this case, the shapeshifter's alternative form will not be an ordinary beast, but an anthropobeast. Moreover, another definition, such as "beasthuman", can serve as a nature, what in turn will form a new compound definition - "Anthropobeast-shifting beasthuman". Now, the shapeshifter's alternative form will be an anthropobeast, while the main form will be a beasthuman. It is worth noting that the modifier and nature can be specified, deriving a definition like "Anthropowolf-shifting wolfman".

Along with the biological gender and appearance pattern, the behavioral archetype plays an important role in the life of an individual. Regardless of whether it's the result of upbringing or a conscious choice, each individual usually behaves according to one of two natural archetypes - male or female.

To denote the aforementioned behavioral archetypes, it's worth introducing such definitions as "malebehaved individual" and "femalebehaved individual". Each word in these definitions plays its own specific role. The adjectives "malebehaved" and "femalebehaved" are used to denote the target behavioral archetype that the individual has achieved in one way or another. Meanwhile, the noun "individual" denotes the base - the individual themself.

The following examples describe different individuals with different combinations of behavioral archetype and biological gender.
Malebehaved man - a man who behaves according to the male behavioral archetype.
Femalebehaved woman - a woman who behaves according to the female behavioral archetype.
Femalebehaved man - a man who behaves according to the female behavioral archetype.
Malebehaved woman - a woman who behaves according to the male behavioral archetype.

Along with orientation, attraction to certain patterns of the partner's appearance and behavior plays an important role in the sexual life of an individual. Traditionally, there are two such patterns - masculinity and femininity. The "Androphilia" definition is used to denote the attraction to masculinity, while the "Gynephilia" definition is used to denote the attraction to femininity. Also, the "Ambiphilia" definition is used to denote the attraction to both patterns.

Since the aforementioned definitions denote the very phenomenon of such an attraction, to characterize the pattern preference of an individual it's worth deriving the corresponding adjectives - "Androphilic", "Gynephilic" and "Ambiphilic". In this form, these definitions can serve both as an alternative to, and a supplement to the sexual orientation of an individual.

In the case of an alternative use, the specific pattern preference will replace the orientation of the individual. Thus, all that will matter for a particular individual is not the gender, but their partner's masculinity or femininity. For example, a gynephilic man will be interested in feminine partners of either gender.

In the meantime, the use of the pattern preference in conjunction with a sexual orientation will allow to more accurately denote the preferences of the individual in choosing a partner. For example, an androphilic heterosexual woman will only be interested in masculine men.

The following examples describe different individuals, each of whom has different preferences in choosing a partner.
Androphilic woman - a woman interested in masculine partners of either gender.
Gynephilic man - a man interested in feminine partners of either gender.
Ambiphilic man - a man interested in both masculine and feminine partners of either gender.
Androphilic heterosexual man - a man interested only in masculine women.
Gynephilic homosexual woman - a woman interested only in feminine women.
Ambiphilic homosexual man - a man interested in both masculine and feminine men.
Ambiphilic heterosexual woman - a woman interested in both masculine and feminine men.
Gynephilic bisexual woman - a woman interested in feminine partners of either gender.

Ancient greek myths and legends describe a variety of both unique creatures, and hybrids whose body looks like the merge of at least two real creatures. One of the most prominent of them is a centaur - a creature with a human upper body, extending below the waist with a typical equine body. In modern popular culture, the definition of "centaur" has been expanded to include all humans merged with the body of any ungulate animal, such as equine, cervine or bovine. Meanwhile, in the Furry community, any centaur-like creature is denoted by the generalized word "taur" and is usually depicted as a beastmorphic human merged with a matching typical beast. This word is also used as a base to form such compound nouns as "cervinetaur", "felinetaur" and "caninetaur". However, the usage of the word "taur" to denote centaur-like creatures is erroneous, because instead of the information about the body structure, it conveys a completely different meaning.

Considering that the word "Taur" is derived from the word "Centaur", it's worth studying the etymology of the latter. This word comes from the latin word "Centaurus", which in turn is a translation of the greek word "Kentauros". At the time when ancient greek culture did not yet know anything about horseback riding, contact with skilled riders from northern cultures gave rise to fantasies about the humans merged with a body of a horse. One of these fantasies has been reflected in the legend of the horse archers who managed to exterminate a herd of bulls that threatened a certain kingdom. Through their deed, these people became known as centaurs. The greek word "Kentauros" is composed of two parts - "Ken" the root meaning "to pierce", and "Tauros" the word meaning "Bull". Therefore, the greek word "Kentauros" and its latin version "Centaurus" can be translated as "Impaler of bulls" or "Slayer of bulls".

In order to better understand of the true meaning of the word "Taur", it's worth studying an additional example. Ancient greek mythology has described an another well-known creature - the Minotaur. This word is a proper name and is derived from the greek word "Minotauros". It's composed of two parts - "Minos" which is the name of the king who owned the creature, and "Tauros" the word meaning "Bull". Therefore, the word "Minotaur" can be translated as "The bull of Minos".

Based on this, the word "taur" cannot mean anything else other than "bull", and such compound nouns as "cervinetaur", "felinetaur" and "caninetaur" will mean "cervinebull", "felinebull" and "caninebull" respectively. Thus, in view of its inapplicability to denote a creature's body structure, the word "taur" should be discarded and replaced with a new definition. Considering that the body of any centaur-like creature is structurally the merge of different bodies, one can derive two definitions from the word "merge" - "beastmerged creature" and "mergid".

Beastmerged creature is a two-torso creature whose body is merged from the bodies of two creatures at the place of the waist of the base body and the withers of the target body. Due to the merge, the creature lacks the legs of the base body, as well as the neck and head of the target body.
Mergid is a generalized definition for any two-torso creature whose body is merged from the bodies of two creatures at the waist of one body and the withers of another one.

In the "beastmerged creature" definition, each word plays its own specific role. The adjective "beastmerged" denotes the target body at the withers with which the base body is merged, and which serves mainly for movement. At the same time, the noun "creature" denotes the base body which is merged with the target body at the place of own waist, and which performs the mental activity and most of the interaction.

It's worth noting that the "mergid" definition can be used either alone to denote all creatures with the aforementioned body structure, or with an additional word to clarify the target body of the creature without mentioning the base one. For example, the phrase "horse mergid" will denote any creature that has a typical horse target body, regardless of the base body.

In addition to this, adjectives and nouns can be adapted in order to clarify the base body, target body, gender and age of the mergid. The following examples describe the different types of mergids.
Horsemerged man - a creature whose body is the merge of a human man base body and a typical horse target body. Commonly known as a male centaur.
Horsemerged woman - a creature whose body is the merge of a human woman base body and a typical horse target body. Commonly known as a female centaur.
Felinemerged felineman - a creature whose body is the merge of a felineman base body and a typical feline target body.
Lionmerged lionwoman - a creature whose body is the merge of a lionwoman base body and a typical lion target body.
Horse mergid - a creature whose body is the merge of any base body and a typical horse target body.
Feline mergid - a creature whose body is the merge of any base body and a typical feline target body.

It's important to note that in order to avoid duplication of meanings and due to the fact that it's exactly the base body that performs the most important functions of the creature, gender and age should be indicated just once and only in the base body. Based on this, phrases such as "Lionessmerged lionwoman", "Stallionmerged man" and "Stallionmerged human" are not correct.

Throughout the history, the folklore of different cultures gave rise to images of not only monsters and various hybrids, but also creatures who possess the ability of shapeshifting. Some of the most recognizable of these are the european werewolves and the japanese foxes known as "kitsune". European werewolves are traditionally described as humans capable of shapeshifting into a wolf-like creature, either at will or due to a curse. At the same time, in japanese folklore, foxes were ascribed with a number of mystical abilities, and one of these abilities was shapeshifting into an attractive human girl. Nowadays, the image of shapeshifters is used in such areas of popular culture as literature, visual arts, animation films and video games. But due to the lack of universal and accurate definitions, modern authors may have problems with the denotation of complex and unique types of shapeshifters, the image of which differs from folklore.

In order to solve this problem, it's worth introducing such definitions as "Beast-shifting human" and "Anthropo-shifting animal". In each of these definitions, the adjectives "beast-shifting" and "anthropo-shifting" are used to denote the target form of the shapeshifter, while the nouns "human" and "animal" are used to denote the base, original form of the shapeshifter.

In addition to this, adjectives and nouns can be adapted in order to clarify the base form, target form, gender and age of the shapeshifter. The following examples describe completely different types of shapeshifters.
Wolf-shifting man - a human man capable of shapeshifting into a typical wolf.
Anthropo-shifting wolfess - a typical wolfess capable of shapeshifting into a human woman.
Wolfhuman-shifting man - a human man capable of shapeshifting into a wolfmorphic human. This target creature is bipedal, has human intelligence and behavior, hands and torso structurally identical to ones of a human, but has head, hind limbs, tail and fur covering almost identical to ones of a typical wolf.
Anthropowolf-shifting woman - a human woman capable of shapeshifting into an anthropomorphic wolfess. This target species has similar behavior and slightly more developed intelligence that ones of a typical wolfess, forelimbs developed enough to grasp objects, torso and hind limbs structurally similar to ones of a typical wolfess.
Anthropowolf-shifting wolfman - a wolfman capable of shapeshifting into an anthropowolf.
Wolfhuman-shifting anthropowolfess - an anthropowolfess capable of shapeshifting into a wolfwoman.
Anthropowolf-shifting wolf - a typical wolf capable of shapeshifting into an anthropowolf.
Wolfhuman-shifting wolfess - a typical wolfess capable of shapeshifting into a wolfwoman.

It's important to note that the base form by default defines all the unmentioned features of the target form, therefore, if the gender and age of both forms are the same, then they should be denoted just once and only in the base form. Based on this, phrases such as "Wolfman-shifting man", "Wolfman-shifting human" and "Anthropowolfess-shifting human" are not correct.

Due to its total length and the presence of three roots, the "Anthropomorphic animal" definition in the Furry community has been reduced to a single truncated root - "Anthro". But despite the simplicity of writing and pronunciation, this word cannot serve as an independent definition and cannot be used to form other ones.

If the purpose of the "Anthro" definition is to denote exactly anthropomorphic animals, then this word conveys information only about the creature's similarity with a human, and nothing about the animal. At the same time, if the purpose of the "Anthro" definition is to denote any anthropomorphic creatures, then it is too generalized for accurate use. Furthermore, due to its truncated root, this word cannot fully convey its meaning outside the Furry community. While members of the community are accustomed to the fact that the word "Anthro" should mean something anthropomorphic, for the rest of the people this word is just a misspelled root "Anthropo".

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the word "Anthro" should be discarded and replaced with the root "Anthropo" which can serve to form new independent definitions, be it the adjective "Anthropomorphic" or the compound noun "Anthropoanimal". At the cost of somewhat decreased convenience of writing and pronunciation, phrases such as "anthropomorphic animal", "anthropoanimal" and "anthropobull" convey all the necessary information about the creature without forcing the reader to learn the slang of the Furry community.

Throughout history, the human image has been used both to illustrate mystical phenomena and to conveniently describe fictional characters. From deities to mythical creatures, their appearances have been described as completely human, as human with a number of altered proportions, or as human with animal body parts. In addition to this, in modern science fiction alien intelligent life is often portrayed as creatures that strongly resemble humans in appearance and body structure. This approach to the imagination of alien life may be due to both the desire to facilitate the perception of non-human characters, and the assumption that life on other planets can develop in approximately the same way as on Earth.

For denoting all of the aforementioned creatures, in recent years it's customary to use the "humanoid" definition. But it's worth noting that despite some similarities between these words, the "humanoid" and "anthropomorphic" definitions are not synonymous. The "anthropomorphic" denotes something that has a number of human characteristics, but has a completely different base appearance and behavior. Meanwhile, the "humanoid" denotes a creature whose body in appearance and structure is as similar to a human as possible.

Recently, the "humanoid" definition mainly denotes a creature similar to a human with such human-like characteristics as bipedalism, an upright torso, hands capable of grasping objects, binocular vision, and feet that are structurally similar to humans. But this definition is inaccurate due to the fact that it uses only the basic features of the human body structure. It can even denote a beastmorphic human which only partially resembles a typical human.

Based on this, it's worth introducing the following extended and more accurate definition.
Humanoid is a single-torso creature that has its own head, torso and arms structurally identical to those of a human, with possible deviations in proportions and specific details. Such details include, but aren't limited to horns, tail, wings, the number of arms and sense organs, the natural covering of the body and locomotion organs.

The following examples demonstrate the deviations of specific humanoids in comparison with a typical human.
Elves, Halflings, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, Ogres, Trolls - deviations in proportions.
Angels - addition of wings.
Satyrs - addition of horns and tail, legs replacement.
Cyclops - deviations in proportions, change in the number of sense organs.
Demons, Succubuses - addition of horns, tail and wings, change of the body covering, legs replacement.
Nagas - change in the number of arms, legs replacement.

Having only two natural genders - male and female, throughout its entire history humankind didn't hesitate to imagine people who possessed the features of both genders at the same time. Be it ancient myths or modern art, there is a huge amount of artworks that depict both, females possessing sturdy masculine physique, and males possessing sophisticated feminine physique. Nonetheless, as the number of artworks grows, so does the need to define clear distinctions between the aforementioned character types.

For example, words like "shemale" and "futanari" have recently been used to refer to a person who looks like a woman but has male genitals. Furthermore, there are well known phrases which have their first word naming genitalia, and the second one being a "girl" or "boy". All of the aforementioned examples should not be used for the following reasons.

The words "she" and "he" are not definitions, but references to female and male genders respectively. Based on this, the words "shemale" and "hefemale" also won't be definitions and will only serve as references to the character's false gender.
The word "futanari" is translated from Japanese as the noun "androgyne" or the adjective "androgynous". These words serve as generalized definitions of anything that possesses traits of both genders. Therefore, the word "futanari" cannot serve to clearly denote the base and target genders of the character.
As for the phrases like, so to speak, "genitalia-girl" and "genitalia-boy", since the visible genitals are just the part of the reproductive system and biology of the individual, the names of specific organs cannot be used to denote the entire base gender of the character.

In order to strictly define the target and base genders of the character, it's worth introducing such definitions as "andromorphic female" and "gynomorphic male". Each word in these definitions plays its own specific role. Adjectives "andromorphic" and "gynomorphic" serve to denote the target gender, whether it's just body features or gender still not achieved during the reassignment procedure. Meanwhile, the nouns "female" and "male" are used to denote the base gender according to which the character plays a certain role in the reproductive cycle of own species.

Based on this, the following basic definitions can be derived.
Andromorphic female is a female who has an appropriate reproductive system and plays the role of a female in the reproductive cycle of her species, but has the rest of her body features that look like a male's physique.
Gynomorphic male is a male who has an appropriate reproductive system and plays the role of a male in the reproductive cycle of his species, but has the rest of his body features that look like a female's physique.

It's useful to note that the aforementioned definitions allow adaptation of their nouns in order to clarify age of the character. Furthermore, phrase can be merged into a single noun. For example, the word "woman" in the phrases "andromorphic woman" and "androwoman", denotes an adult female whose target gender is male. Similarly, the word "boy" in the phrases "gynomorphic boy" and "gynoboy", denotes a young male whose target gender is female.

In addition, nouns can be adapted in order to clarify character's species. This can be best illustrated by the example of beastmorphic humans, such as in the phrases "andromorphic cowwoman" or "gynomorphic bullman". It's important to note, that the creature's species defines the possible gender at birth, while the gender itself does not define the creature's species. Therefore, the adjective must convey the target gender, while the noun must convey the character's species and base gender. In other words - the phrase "gynomorphic bullman" is correct, while the phrase "bullmorphic gynoman" is not correct.

Before proceeding to the discussion of the future, one should pay attention to what the Furry community is in recent years. Since the mid 90s of XX century, the word "furry" in addition to its natural meaning began to be used to denote a certain group of fans who liked any creations and media products featuring anhropomorphic animals. Along with the development of the Internet, this group has gradually gathered around its interest a noticeable number of people who are known for drawing illustrations, writing stories, creating plush toys, tailoring fursuits, roleplaying and visiting themed conventions. This community is well known for its openness and friendliness towards the newcomers.

But despite all the variety of activities and openness, the Furry community, as a group, is fundamentally flawed. Its purpose is directed inward - to serve needs of its members, be it material requirements or mental comfort. Due to disorganization and excessive acceptance, the community is not capable to strictly define own values, and not capable to set a single far-reaching goal. Therefore - the Furry community has no future other than to remain at the level of an interest group without any possibilities for development. But this can be avoided if its members will find the strength to critisize themselves and their community.

First, community should pay attention to its own name - "Furry". This word is not a proper noun and cannot serve to describe community members because there are enough of people who are interested in other types of creatures, such as reptiles, marine mammals, fish or insects.

Second, community should work out a set of values which it wishes to defend and promote. Without those values, community won't have any basis for development and growth, while any crises will threaten to divide the group every time they happen.

Third, community should set a single far-reaching and ambitious goal. One that will focus members' attention on the priority tasks, and that will allow implementing initiatives at least at a state level.

Finally, every member of the Furry community should ask themselves several simple yet defining questions. Such questions include, but aren't limited to the following ones: Why and for what purpose am I in the Furry community? What role do I play in this community? How exactly the Furry community influences my life goals, mentality, political views, etc., and is this influence beneficial, harmful or mixed one? Why should I associate myself or my characters with this community, and is there any alternative? For what purpose do I use the word "furry" to tag my creations?

Considering the fact that the definition of "anthropomorphic" means anything that possesses some human-like traits, this definition by itself cannot serve for accurate description of an object or creature. Therefore, inappropriate use of such words as "anthropomorphic", "anthropomorph" or "anthro" can be misleading and make a search for specific content much harder. This problem is most noticeable in the visual art, namely - in the development and depiction of fictional characters.

The phrase "anthropomorphic animal" is still not clearly defined. It's being used both for describing animals which barely possess human-like traits, and for describing characters which have mostly human body build but just covered in fur coating. For solving this ambiguity, one should refer to the old yet well known word "beastman", and then derive a longer form - "beastmorphic human".

In order to understand the differences between definitions "anthropomorphic animal" and "beastmorphic human", one should study the role of words in phrases. Each of these phrases has both an adjective and a noun. Nouns "animal" and "human" describe base species and the basis, while adjectives "anthropomorphic" and "beastmorphic" describe target species and deviation from the basis.

Based on this, the following basic definitions can be derived.
Anthropomorphic animal is an animal which possesses human-like traits in its behavior or body structure.
Beastmorphic human is a human which possesses animalistic traits in its behavior or body structure.

In practice, such creatures can be mainly characterized in the following way, while all non-mentioned features should be taken from the creature's base species.
Anthropomorphic animal. Has torso and hind limbs being structurally similar to ones that base animal species have, but are adapted enough to be capable of standing on the hind limbs and carry own weight only on them for some time. Forelimbs are developed enough to structurally resemble human hands and to be able to grasp things. The intelligence is developed enough to draw basic logical conclusions, while creature's general behavior resembles that of a typical animal. Structure of the genitals is similar to one of the base animal species.
Beastmorphic human. Has the structure of torso and upper limbs identical to that of a human. Has head and legs structurally similar to ones that target animal species have, but are adapted enough to funtion normally with a human torso. Tail structure depends on one that target animal species have, with the possible increase in mass in order to maintain balance during walking. If the target animal species have just tail instead of hind limbs, such as a dolphin for example, in this case tail will take place of the creature's legs. Coating or skin type depends on one that target animal species have and covers creature's entire body with the possible exception in groin and crotch areas. Structure of the genitals is identical to that of a human.

It's useful to note that the phrases "anthropomorphic animal" and "beastmorphic human" allow adaptation of their adjectives and nouns in order to clarify base species, target species, gender and age of the creature. Furthermore, phrase can be merged into a single noun as in the case of aforementioned "beastman".

The following phrases use different levels of accuracy in describing the same anthropomorphic animal: Anthropoanimal, Anthropomorphic bovine, Anthropobovine, Anthropomorphic cow, Anthropocow, Anthropomorphic heifer, Anthropoheifer.
The following phrases use different levels of accuracy in describing the same beastmorphic human: Beasthuman, Beastmorphic woman, Beastwoman, Bovinemorphic woman, Bovinewoman, Cowmorphic woman, Cowwoman.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that not only animals can be anthropomorphic. And bestial traits not only humans can possess. But that's another topic for discussion.