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New Banner + FAU 6 July Newsletter
General | Posted 12 years agoBanner updated! This time, the art comes the fantabulous lunacatta. Although, we're pretty sure she's going to explode when she sees her banner up and the oncoming shout/watch spam!
FA United 6
July Update
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block
2) Two Words: POOL. PARTY.
3) Final Dealer's Den and Panel Lists Coming Soon!
We're a little more than a month and a half out, and we're getting down to the wire and wrapping up loose ends. Pre-reg numbers are higher than ever, and we're expecting a larger turn out than ever before!
Don’t forget to pre-register for FAU6! Pre-registration closes August 1st!
http://www.faunited.org/register.html
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block
Reservations end August 1st! If you don't reserve your room by the 1st we can not gaurantee the discounted FAU room rates!
Also, some attendees have recently reported that they've been having trouble getting rooms with double beds, but fret not! We've talked to the hotel, and they've confirmed that there's still plenty to go around (though on a limited scale). Be sure to reserve your rooms while the gettin's good.
http://www.faunited.org/hotel.html
2) Two Words: POOL. PARTY.
The Summer? Hot. Sweaty. And what's better than air conditioning in the sweltering Summer heat? Pools. Come Saturday, August 17th, we'll be hosting a pool party for several hours. Live music, free food and friends -- and it's completely FREE for all registered attendees!
We'll be offering hamburgers/cheeseburgers, hotdogs, German potato salad with apple smoked bacon, coleslaw, garden salad, watermelon, corn on the cob, cookies and more! And it's FREE for all attendees! Sodas will be available, and a bartender will be on hand offering beer and cocktails (for a cost).
3) Final Dealer's Den and Panel Lists Coming Soon!
We've got more panels and events this year, and we're wrapping up final details. We'll have the site updated by this weekend with a prelimanary schedule of events and panels. Stay tuned!
FA United 6
August 16-18, 2013
Hanover Marriott (Whippany, NJ)
www.faunited.org
With Guests of Honor Strype & Miss Mab
Live Musical Performances by Matthew Ebel & Look Left
Featuring panels from a real rocket scientist, Lazarus!
FA United 6
July Update
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block
2) Two Words: POOL. PARTY.
3) Final Dealer's Den and Panel Lists Coming Soon!
We're a little more than a month and a half out, and we're getting down to the wire and wrapping up loose ends. Pre-reg numbers are higher than ever, and we're expecting a larger turn out than ever before!
Don’t forget to pre-register for FAU6! Pre-registration closes August 1st!
http://www.faunited.org/register.html
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block
Reservations end August 1st! If you don't reserve your room by the 1st we can not gaurantee the discounted FAU room rates!
Also, some attendees have recently reported that they've been having trouble getting rooms with double beds, but fret not! We've talked to the hotel, and they've confirmed that there's still plenty to go around (though on a limited scale). Be sure to reserve your rooms while the gettin's good.
http://www.faunited.org/hotel.html
2) Two Words: POOL. PARTY.
The Summer? Hot. Sweaty. And what's better than air conditioning in the sweltering Summer heat? Pools. Come Saturday, August 17th, we'll be hosting a pool party for several hours. Live music, free food and friends -- and it's completely FREE for all registered attendees!
We'll be offering hamburgers/cheeseburgers, hotdogs, German potato salad with apple smoked bacon, coleslaw, garden salad, watermelon, corn on the cob, cookies and more! And it's FREE for all attendees! Sodas will be available, and a bartender will be on hand offering beer and cocktails (for a cost).
3) Final Dealer's Den and Panel Lists Coming Soon!
We've got more panels and events this year, and we're wrapping up final details. We'll have the site updated by this weekend with a prelimanary schedule of events and panels. Stay tuned!
FA United 6
August 16-18, 2013
Hanover Marriott (Whippany, NJ)
www.faunited.org
With Guests of Honor Strype & Miss Mab
Live Musical Performances by Matthew Ebel & Look Left
Featuring panels from a real rocket scientist, Lazarus!
Banner Update - Affinity Crossing!
General | Posted 12 years agoBanner has been updated, and a fantastic new addition by 
jazzycat!
The full banner can be found here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10772499/
Leave your Animal Crossing 3DS Codes in this journal! Make friends, get new neighbors and DO NOT hit them with the shovel!
jazzycat!The full banner can be found here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10772499/
Leave your Animal Crossing 3DS Codes in this journal! Make friends, get new neighbors and DO NOT hit them with the shovel!
[UPDATED] Thursday Connectivity Update (06/27/13)
General | Posted 12 years agoAfter testing and monitoring, we are confident enough to state that the issue has been resolved. We are still working with our host to isolate the exact cause of the problem, and will be doing continued testing over the next few days on replicating issue with the router.
In the mean time, we'd like to extend our thanks to everyone who submit tracelogs and reports. The overwhelming response (over 1,000+ notes! We had trouble keeping up!) was vital to helping us research the problem.
We'd also like to extend a special thank you to
kurin for creating http://isfaup.tk. The site helped us monitor the outage from a user's perspective when we could not see it first hand. Thanks to this, Kurin helped us narrow down the possibilities and helped get this resolved.
We had our host shut down the routing from from their secondary router (cr2.iad2.inforelay.net). The router is no longer active for FA, and should force people to route through the primary router (cr1.iad2.furaffinity.net) to connect to the site.
Please let us know if this helps with any connection issuess you may still be having.
In the mean time, we'd like to extend our thanks to everyone who submit tracelogs and reports. The overwhelming response (over 1,000+ notes! We had trouble keeping up!) was vital to helping us research the problem.
We'd also like to extend a special thank you to
kurin for creating http://isfaup.tk. The site helped us monitor the outage from a user's perspective when we could not see it first hand. Thanks to this, Kurin helped us narrow down the possibilities and helped get this resolved.We had our host shut down the routing from from their secondary router (cr2.iad2.inforelay.net). The router is no longer active for FA, and should force people to route through the primary router (cr1.iad2.furaffinity.net) to connect to the site.
Please let us know if this helps with any connection issuess you may still be having.
Connectivity Update (06/25/13)
General | Posted 12 years agoWe're still investigating the connectivity problems plagueing some users, and we need more information from you. Our host has made changes to their side to help us troubleshoot the system, and we need new sets of traceroutes to help narrow down the problem.
In addition, we also need to know what ISP you're using (Comcast, Brighthouse, Time Warner, etc). If you're still experiencing connection issues please submit new traceroutes via note.
We appreciate your patience as we try to get to the bottom of this. We understand that this is frustrating, but we are working with our host to determine the point of failure so we can get this cleared up.
How to get Traceroute information:
Windows:
1) Click Start > Run and type in "CMD". Alternatively, in Windows 7 or late you can hit Windows+R, then type in "CMD".
2) Type tracert www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
3) Highlight the results, then hit enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
Mac:
1) Open the Applications folder, and click to open the Utilities folder
2) Double-click Terminal.
3) Type traceroute https://www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
In addition, we also need to know what ISP you're using (Comcast, Brighthouse, Time Warner, etc). If you're still experiencing connection issues please submit new traceroutes via note.
We appreciate your patience as we try to get to the bottom of this. We understand that this is frustrating, but we are working with our host to determine the point of failure so we can get this cleared up.
How to get Traceroute information:
Windows:
1) Click Start > Run and type in "CMD". Alternatively, in Windows 7 or late you can hit Windows+R, then type in "CMD".
2) Type tracert www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
3) Highlight the results, then hit enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
Mac:
1) Open the Applications folder, and click to open the Utilities folder
2) Double-click Terminal.
3) Type traceroute https://www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
[COMPLETE] Mini-Outage -- 06/24/13
General | Posted 12 years agoMini-outage over. Took all of 6 minutes! We'll be continuing to watch the situation and communicating with users directly to try to determine the source of the issues for those affected.
We'll keep you informed if we learn anything.
- Fender
========================
We will be resetting networking at 5:00PM EST (UTC -4). The outage should last 5-10 minutes while we reloading our gear to in an attempt to resolve the sporadic connectivity issues some users are experiencing.
As usual, if you continue to have issues with connecting to FA, please send us Tracert logs. You can run a tracert by doing the following:
Windows:
1) Click Start > Run and type in "CMD". Alternatively, in Windows 7 or late you can hit Windows+R, then type in "CMD".
2) Type tracert www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
3) Highlight the results, then hit enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
Mac:
1) Open the Applications folder, and click to open the Utilities folder
2) Double-click Terminal.
3) Type traceroute www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
Please ONLY send tracert logs if you are experiencing sporadic connections to the site.
We'll keep you informed if we learn anything.
- Fender
========================
We will be resetting networking at 5:00PM EST (UTC -4). The outage should last 5-10 minutes while we reloading our gear to in an attempt to resolve the sporadic connectivity issues some users are experiencing.
As usual, if you continue to have issues with connecting to FA, please send us Tracert logs. You can run a tracert by doing the following:
Windows:
1) Click Start > Run and type in "CMD". Alternatively, in Windows 7 or late you can hit Windows+R, then type in "CMD".
2) Type tracert www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
3) Highlight the results, then hit enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
Mac:
1) Open the Applications folder, and click to open the Utilities folder
2) Double-click Terminal.
3) Type traceroute www.furaffinity.net and hit Enter.
4) Copy/paste the results in a note to Fender.
Please ONLY send tracert logs if you are experiencing sporadic connections to the site.
Connectivity Issues Update
General | Posted 12 years agoFollowing up to our last journal, we believe we have narrowed down the issues with site connectivity for select users. The problem appears to have been a DNS issue on our host's side. Somehow, one of our IPs was issued out to another site via the DNS PTR records, and the conflict caused some issues for certain users. We discussed the issue with our site's host and they made changes this morning to try to rectify the problem.
Many of the users reporting connection issues have contacted us saying that their connection issues have been resolved. For others still experiencing problems it can take up to 24 hours for the full DNS changes to propagate. If you're still having access issues by tomorrow please let us know as we're continuing to investigate things on our side.
Many of the users reporting connection issues have contacted us saying that their connection issues have been resolved. For others still experiencing problems it can take up to 24 hours for the full DNS changes to propagate. If you're still having access issues by tomorrow please let us know as we're continuing to investigate things on our side.
Connectivity Issues
General | Posted 12 years agoGreetings, all!
We've been hearing from a few people that there have been intermittent connectivity issues for some users on FA. We're not seeing outages or disconnections our end (server side), and we're trying to determine if it's a routing issue, and need your help!
If FA's connections times out for you please go to Network Tools ( http://network-tools.com/ ) and run a Trace on FA. Just put the site's address in the box, then click "Go!". When it's done, you can send the trace results to me via note (do not post them here as they CAN reveal your IP address!).
Not everyone is experiencing these issues. They seem to only affect a small number of people, but we're trying to find the root cause of it. Please bear with us!
Note: This does NOT apply to "504" errors.
We've been hearing from a few people that there have been intermittent connectivity issues for some users on FA. We're not seeing outages or disconnections our end (server side), and we're trying to determine if it's a routing issue, and need your help!
If FA's connections times out for you please go to Network Tools ( http://network-tools.com/ ) and run a Trace on FA. Just put the site's address in the box, then click "Go!". When it's done, you can send the trace results to me via note (do not post them here as they CAN reveal your IP address!).
Not everyone is experiencing these issues. They seem to only affect a small number of people, but we're trying to find the root cause of it. Please bear with us!
Note: This does NOT apply to "504" errors.
Banner Update
General | Posted 12 years agoJune's banner update brought to you by: 
zacharie!
zacharie!Adventure Time with Finn and Jake
General | Posted 12 years agoGreetings, citizens!
At the end of February we hosted a hardware donation drive, and got an amazing response. Over $5,000 worth of new gear in just two days! Fantastic! We've had to order an additional $2,000 worth of gear to be able to bring the new servers online, but it's well worth it. There have been a few delays along the way (shipping, Dragoneer moving to a new apartment, and other requirements like upgrading FA's power and bringing bandwidth up to 500Mbit).
The new servers are "Finn" and "Jake". Both servers are dual quad-core Xeon 2620, 64GB of RAM running 8X Seagate 300GB 15K drives.
We recently upgraded the power (as you may know), and are currently working on bringing the servers online. Our goal is to do this with minimal to no downtime, so we're working on that in the background. We're working on porting the data over and getting the new servers setup. After that, the only thing we need to do is procure 2 new BBUs (batteries) for the MegaRAID controllers powering the servers. Downside: the BBUS are $150 a pop. Ouch! But we're working on that, and should have another update on the new servers in about a week or two!
Stay tuned for this and other exciting news! Algebraic!
INVOICES AND RECEIPTS THUS FAR:
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_1.png
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_2.png
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_3.png
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_4.png
At the end of February we hosted a hardware donation drive, and got an amazing response. Over $5,000 worth of new gear in just two days! Fantastic! We've had to order an additional $2,000 worth of gear to be able to bring the new servers online, but it's well worth it. There have been a few delays along the way (shipping, Dragoneer moving to a new apartment, and other requirements like upgrading FA's power and bringing bandwidth up to 500Mbit).
The new servers are "Finn" and "Jake". Both servers are dual quad-core Xeon 2620, 64GB of RAM running 8X Seagate 300GB 15K drives.
We recently upgraded the power (as you may know), and are currently working on bringing the servers online. Our goal is to do this with minimal to no downtime, so we're working on that in the background. We're working on porting the data over and getting the new servers setup. After that, the only thing we need to do is procure 2 new BBUs (batteries) for the MegaRAID controllers powering the servers. Downside: the BBUS are $150 a pop. Ouch! But we're working on that, and should have another update on the new servers in about a week or two!
Stay tuned for this and other exciting news! Algebraic!
INVOICES AND RECEIPTS THUS FAR:
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_1.png
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_2.png
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_3.png
http://www.frostdragon.net/order_4.png
FAU 6 May Newsletter
General | Posted 12 years agoFA United 6
May 14 Update
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block Extended
2) Events, new Guest of Honor and More!
3) The Dealer's Den Expanded
4) Looking for Panelists
The FAU staff are checking in with May’s newsletter. We’re knee-deep in prep, and we’re hammering out the final details.
Don’t forget to pre-register for FAU6! Pre-registration closes August 1st!
http://www.faunited.org/register.html
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block Extended
We’ve recently received word that the Hanover Marriott sold out of Thursday and Sunday night room blocks, making it hard for some people to reserve their rooms for the con. Never fret! We’ve taken the issue up with the hotel and added more room nights across the board!
Haven’t reserved your room yet? Act quick, rooms are filling up fast. Reserve your room today by clicking here:
http://www.faunited.org/hotel.html
2) Events, new Guest of Honor and More!
Unfortunately, due to life events Fossil is no longer able to make the convention. We’ve saved a spot for him next semester at FAU7!. Stepping up in Fossil’s place is renown artist Strype! Hailing from far, far away in a land known only as “Canadialand”, Strype is an artist known for richly detailed scenes and life-like mecha, armor and cybernetics. He will be joining Miss Mab as one this year’s fantastic Guests of Honor and will be hosting panels on art, lighting techniques and design.
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/strype
Not only that, but this year we have a number of events we’re really excited about. We’ve invited a real-life rocket scientist (Codename: Laz) to come out, will be hosting a poker tournament (where all proceeds go to charity), plus our annual auction, live music and entertainment, DJs and much, much more!
Also returning this year is the band Look Left. They will be performing live during cocktail hour! They’ve got a new album out and they’re sounding better than ever. Don’t miss it!
3) The Dealer's Den Expanded
We’ve rejiggered the Dealer’s Den, and managed to squeeze in half a dozen piping hot, oven fresh new tables. If you’re looking for a table for FAU 6 you’d better act quick and get ‘em while they’re hot! Head on over to the Dealer’s Registration page to reserve your space.
http://www.faunited.org/dealer.html
The FAU 6 Dealer’s Den. Always fresh, never frozen.
4) Looking for Panelists
FA United is looking for talented and creative people to host panels at the convention! Have a topic you’re passionate about, an art style or technique you wish to share or just a general interest you want to share with others? Sign up to host a panel about it! Your panel can be about anything, from arts and crafts, to music and technology, even ponies or unicorns (or the deathrays that can take them out!). Panels of all sizes are accepted, including panels catering to mature audiences (18+).
http://www.faunited.org/panel.html
The sooner you get your panel in, the better shot you have at getting the time slot you want! The deadline for all panels to be submitted or any changes to be made to existing panels is Monday, July 1st, 2013. So get yours in now!
FA United 6
August 16-18, 2013
Hanover Marriott (Whippany, NJ)
www.faunited.org
With Guests of Honor Strype & Miss Mab
Live Musical Performances by Matthew Ebel & Look Left
Featuring panels from a real rocket scientist, Lazarus!
May 14 Update
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block Extended
2) Events, new Guest of Honor and More!
3) The Dealer's Den Expanded
4) Looking for Panelists
The FAU staff are checking in with May’s newsletter. We’re knee-deep in prep, and we’re hammering out the final details.
Don’t forget to pre-register for FAU6! Pre-registration closes August 1st!
http://www.faunited.org/register.html
1) Hanover Marriott Room Block Extended
We’ve recently received word that the Hanover Marriott sold out of Thursday and Sunday night room blocks, making it hard for some people to reserve their rooms for the con. Never fret! We’ve taken the issue up with the hotel and added more room nights across the board!
Haven’t reserved your room yet? Act quick, rooms are filling up fast. Reserve your room today by clicking here:
http://www.faunited.org/hotel.html
2) Events, new Guest of Honor and More!
Unfortunately, due to life events Fossil is no longer able to make the convention. We’ve saved a spot for him next semester at FAU7!. Stepping up in Fossil’s place is renown artist Strype! Hailing from far, far away in a land known only as “Canadialand”, Strype is an artist known for richly detailed scenes and life-like mecha, armor and cybernetics. He will be joining Miss Mab as one this year’s fantastic Guests of Honor and will be hosting panels on art, lighting techniques and design.
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/strype
Not only that, but this year we have a number of events we’re really excited about. We’ve invited a real-life rocket scientist (Codename: Laz) to come out, will be hosting a poker tournament (where all proceeds go to charity), plus our annual auction, live music and entertainment, DJs and much, much more!
Also returning this year is the band Look Left. They will be performing live during cocktail hour! They’ve got a new album out and they’re sounding better than ever. Don’t miss it!
3) The Dealer's Den Expanded
We’ve rejiggered the Dealer’s Den, and managed to squeeze in half a dozen piping hot, oven fresh new tables. If you’re looking for a table for FAU 6 you’d better act quick and get ‘em while they’re hot! Head on over to the Dealer’s Registration page to reserve your space.
http://www.faunited.org/dealer.html
The FAU 6 Dealer’s Den. Always fresh, never frozen.
4) Looking for Panelists
FA United is looking for talented and creative people to host panels at the convention! Have a topic you’re passionate about, an art style or technique you wish to share or just a general interest you want to share with others? Sign up to host a panel about it! Your panel can be about anything, from arts and crafts, to music and technology, even ponies or unicorns (or the deathrays that can take them out!). Panels of all sizes are accepted, including panels catering to mature audiences (18+).
http://www.faunited.org/panel.html
The sooner you get your panel in, the better shot you have at getting the time slot you want! The deadline for all panels to be submitted or any changes to be made to existing panels is Monday, July 1st, 2013. So get yours in now!
FA United 6
August 16-18, 2013
Hanover Marriott (Whippany, NJ)
www.faunited.org
With Guests of Honor Strype & Miss Mab
Live Musical Performances by Matthew Ebel & Look Left
Featuring panels from a real rocket scientist, Lazarus!
Commission Tab Update
General | Posted 12 years agoThe Commission Tab has been restored, completely re-written from the ground up (and overdue!). It was initially intended to be part of the UI update, but as that got pushed back a few weeks, we decided to release it early. Happy April Fools Day!
We'll be adding and improving to the Commission Tab (offering places for "Artistic Terms of Service" and work queues) in the coming weeks, along with some other goodies.
Q&A
Q: What does "Submission ID" mean?
A: That's the submission number of one of your images. For example, if your submissions ID is http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4483888/ then the number you'd want to use for the preview would be 4483888.
Q: What does "Display Order" mean?
A: You can set a number so that you can change the order in which commission slots are displayed. 1 would show first, 2 would show second, etc.
Q: The page where I enter commission information doesn't look quite right.
A: The page should look like this: http://imgur.com/ztEf6wH If it doesn't, try doing a CTRL-F5 on the page to re-cache the CSS files. It should help with any layout issues you're having.
Q: How do I access the commission pages?
A: There's a link to it on your userpage.
We'll be adding and improving to the Commission Tab (offering places for "Artistic Terms of Service" and work queues) in the coming weeks, along with some other goodies.
Q&A
Q: What does "Submission ID" mean?
A: That's the submission number of one of your images. For example, if your submissions ID is http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4483888/ then the number you'd want to use for the preview would be 4483888.
Q: What does "Display Order" mean?
A: You can set a number so that you can change the order in which commission slots are displayed. 1 would show first, 2 would show second, etc.
Q: The page where I enter commission information doesn't look quite right.
A: The page should look like this: http://imgur.com/ztEf6wH If it doesn't, try doing a CTRL-F5 on the page to re-cache the CSS files. It should help with any layout issues you're having.
Q: How do I access the commission pages?
A: There's a link to it on your userpage.
AUP Feedback Wanted!
General | Posted 13 years agoGreetings, citizens of the realm!
It's been a few months since our last AUP update, and we're planning some small fixes to wording and to try to make things clearer, more transparent. We're asking for feedback on the forums. Do you think wording can be improved? Do you think a policy is confusing, or not detailed enough? Let us know!
Leave your feedback on the link below:
http://forums.furaffinity.net/threa.....AUP-Discussion
Please keep feedback and commentary civil!
It's been a few months since our last AUP update, and we're planning some small fixes to wording and to try to make things clearer, more transparent. We're asking for feedback on the forums. Do you think wording can be improved? Do you think a policy is confusing, or not detailed enough? Let us know!
Leave your feedback on the link below:
http://forums.furaffinity.net/threa.....AUP-Discussion
Please keep feedback and commentary civil!
Artist Spotlight: Fablefire
General | Posted 13 years agoIn a rare moment, we like to try to highlight people who have done interesting things to benefit the community. One of the people we'd like to draw attention to today is the artist "Fablefire". She's a fantastic artist that's known for simplistic designs that tell an amazing story, capturing emotion through simplicity or a great design.
We've seen her shirts designs from Anthrocon to Further Confusion, FAU to Texas Furry Fiesta. Her designs have gone viral in a lot of aspects, and she's proven that sometimes a simple idea can go a long, long way. Her shirts are well know and beloved, and many of her older designs have been brought back.
Woot is offering an artist spotlight for her many designs and products, and felt we'd take some time to promote her work and her gallery!
Fable Fire's Woot Spotlight:
http://shirt.woot.com/plus/shirt-wo.....ight-fablefire
Go check out her designs on Woot and on her FA account,
fablefire.
Congratulations on making Woot's artist profile!
Do you have interesting news, events or artist/furry news you'd like to share with us? Let us know, and we may feature your story of success, generosity or good deeds on a future FA news post!
We've seen her shirts designs from Anthrocon to Further Confusion, FAU to Texas Furry Fiesta. Her designs have gone viral in a lot of aspects, and she's proven that sometimes a simple idea can go a long, long way. Her shirts are well know and beloved, and many of her older designs have been brought back.
Woot is offering an artist spotlight for her many designs and products, and felt we'd take some time to promote her work and her gallery!
Fable Fire's Woot Spotlight:
http://shirt.woot.com/plus/shirt-wo.....ight-fablefire
Go check out her designs on Woot and on her FA account,
fablefire.Congratulations on making Woot's artist profile!
Do you have interesting news, events or artist/furry news you'd like to share with us? Let us know, and we may feature your story of success, generosity or good deeds on a future FA news post!
[Updated] Hardware Donation Drive Over -- And Thank You!
General | Posted 13 years agoWe're pleased (and surprised!) that in less than two days we've managed an incredible amount of support. We've received well over $5,000 worth of gear and almost $1,000 in giftcards for new hardware within 2 days!
What we were able to raise:
2X Supermicro SuperServer SYS-6027R-WRF ($1,200 each!)
2X Intel Xeon 6C E5 2620
96GB of RAM
6X Seagate Cheetah 15K.5 HDDs
6X Western Digital Red (3TB)
$936.11 in Amazon Gift Cards to use to by additional hardware
We will buy out the remaining hardware and items from on our side. We want to extend thanks to everyone who helped you. We could not have done this without you, and this site would not be here without you.
Thank you.
Among the contributors:
kits5786, 
Sargon, 
Taasla, 
Jarlidium, 
Datfatcat, 
WhimsicalUnicorn, 
TheSnowedOne, 
SolidState, 
BrokkenTWolf, 
Draconas, 
Baphnedia,
carme-wolf, 
marymouse, 
flamingrawrs, 
biscuits, 
cyrin, 
foxwolfie, 
urbanhermit, Sidney K., Sam W., Nadja V., Narkiel, Mirepoix, and others! More names will be added as they are confirmed.
Jarlidium Press was one of the individuals who purchased a SuperMicro server chassis, and as such has earned our respect for life. Not to mention free advertising. Jarlidium is a furry publishing company, and have been long time supporters of furry art and artists.
Be sure to check out their page (and their booths at conventions) to offer them thanks.
We have all this hardware coming, now what? First, we have to wait for the gear to arrive, then assemble it. As things come in, we'll ill post pictures, scan invoices (names removed) and post all (ALL!) transaction logs for the money and donations to show full accountability. It may take a few weeks for the gear to come in, but we'll keep you update to date on their progress and keep things completely transparent.
UPDATE 1: Added more donors to the list
Hardware and donations are starting to come in already!
https://twitter.com/Dragoneer/statu.....22456820785154
https://twitter.com/Dragoneer/statu.....92324023054337
UPDATE 2: Added more donors.
What we were able to raise:
2X Supermicro SuperServer SYS-6027R-WRF ($1,200 each!)
2X Intel Xeon 6C E5 2620
96GB of RAM
6X Seagate Cheetah 15K.5 HDDs
6X Western Digital Red (3TB)
$936.11 in Amazon Gift Cards to use to by additional hardware
We will buy out the remaining hardware and items from on our side. We want to extend thanks to everyone who helped you. We could not have done this without you, and this site would not be here without you.
Thank you.
Among the contributors:
kits5786, 
Sargon, 
Taasla, 
Jarlidium, 
Datfatcat, 
WhimsicalUnicorn, 
TheSnowedOne, 
SolidState, 
BrokkenTWolf, 
Draconas, 
Baphnedia,
carme-wolf, 
marymouse, 
flamingrawrs, 
biscuits, 
cyrin, 
foxwolfie, 
urbanhermit, Sidney K., Sam W., Nadja V., Narkiel, Mirepoix, and others! More names will be added as they are confirmed.Jarlidium Press was one of the individuals who purchased a SuperMicro server chassis, and as such has earned our respect for life. Not to mention free advertising. Jarlidium is a furry publishing company, and have been long time supporters of furry art and artists.
Be sure to check out their page (and their booths at conventions) to offer them thanks.
We have all this hardware coming, now what? First, we have to wait for the gear to arrive, then assemble it. As things come in, we'll ill post pictures, scan invoices (names removed) and post all (ALL!) transaction logs for the money and donations to show full accountability. It may take a few weeks for the gear to come in, but we'll keep you update to date on their progress and keep things completely transparent.
UPDATE 1: Added more donors to the list
Hardware and donations are starting to come in already!
https://twitter.com/Dragoneer/statu.....22456820785154
https://twitter.com/Dragoneer/statu.....92324023054337
UPDATE 2: Added more donors.
FA Hardware Donation Drive
General | Posted 13 years agoGreetings, all!
We're looking to improve site performance, enhance speed and increase uptime by adding redundant systems to the site. To do that, we need to upgrade our server hardware (which is somewhat ancient, with most of our gear dating back from 2007-2008). And we'd like to ask your help. Rather than directly ask for money, we'd like to ask those of you out there who can spare it to help chip in with the hardware itself. New hard drives, processors and servers can go a long way.
Hardware List: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wish.....rlist_go_o_C-1
Want to help out? Just buy items from our Amazon wishlist (linked above), and you can send the drives right to us during checkout! Easy as that! Be sure to put your name on the invoice so we can give you credit.
We understand that the items on the page are expensive, but server gear is expensive. We plan on investing $5-6K of our own funding into the new hardware, but are asking for you help with the rest. We're willing to make some trades to compensate. Buy a processor, and we'll toss in free advertising for a year. Buy a server chassis, and we'll give free advertising for life and guaranteed Dealer's Space at FAU. If you'd like to try to work something out directly please note me (Fender) and we'll get back to you.
For those looking to donate cash we CAN take donations via check or money order, though we'd prefer the hardware if possible. Otherwise, you have the option of helping out with Amazon gift cards we can use to purchase the hardware as well. That said, again, we understand the costs of the parts involved. It's expensive.
http://donations.furaffinity.net/
FA's been around for 8 years, and the site continues to grow on a daily basis. Help us grow even further!
Thanks,
The FA Team
We're looking to improve site performance, enhance speed and increase uptime by adding redundant systems to the site. To do that, we need to upgrade our server hardware (which is somewhat ancient, with most of our gear dating back from 2007-2008). And we'd like to ask your help. Rather than directly ask for money, we'd like to ask those of you out there who can spare it to help chip in with the hardware itself. New hard drives, processors and servers can go a long way.
Hardware List: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wish.....rlist_go_o_C-1
Want to help out? Just buy items from our Amazon wishlist (linked above), and you can send the drives right to us during checkout! Easy as that! Be sure to put your name on the invoice so we can give you credit.
We understand that the items on the page are expensive, but server gear is expensive. We plan on investing $5-6K of our own funding into the new hardware, but are asking for you help with the rest. We're willing to make some trades to compensate. Buy a processor, and we'll toss in free advertising for a year. Buy a server chassis, and we'll give free advertising for life and guaranteed Dealer's Space at FAU. If you'd like to try to work something out directly please note me (Fender) and we'll get back to you.
For those looking to donate cash we CAN take donations via check or money order, though we'd prefer the hardware if possible. Otherwise, you have the option of helping out with Amazon gift cards we can use to purchase the hardware as well. That said, again, we understand the costs of the parts involved. It's expensive.
http://donations.furaffinity.net/
FA's been around for 8 years, and the site continues to grow on a daily basis. Help us grow even further!
Thanks,
The FA Team
10,000,000
General | Posted 13 years agoTonight, we hit a record breaking milestone: 10,000,000 submissions!
It's been a long road, sometimes bumpy, but entirely worth it. For all those who have been here since the beginning we give you our thanks. To those new users of the site, we welcome you, and hope you stick around for our next 10,000,000.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10000000
It's been a long road, sometimes bumpy, but entirely worth it. For all those who have been here since the beginning we give you our thanks. To those new users of the site, we welcome you, and hope you stick around for our next 10,000,000.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10000000
FA United 6 Land Rush Sale Ending + Dealer's Den
General | Posted 13 years agoPlanning on attending FA United 6 (Whippany, NJ Aug 16-18)? Our early bird sale on registration ends in 12 hours! You can save $15 on Sponsor and $30 on Super Sponsor registration for the event!
https://www.faunited.org
It's your last chance to save on Sponsor and Super Sponsor levels! Don't wait 'til the last minute!
In addition, the Dealer's Den is almost sold out. If you've signed up for the list, you will receive an email notification this weekend.
https://www.faunited.org
It's your last chance to save on Sponsor and Super Sponsor levels! Don't wait 'til the last minute!
In addition, the Dealer's Den is almost sold out. If you've signed up for the list, you will receive an email notification this weekend.
FA United 6 Announcement + Banner Update
General | Posted 13 years agoThe all new, all spiffy FA United 6 site is live, and we're opening the convention with good news! Pre-registration is up, along with hotel reg and an early land rush sale on Sponsor and Super Sponsor registrations! Until the 22nd, you can get $15 off Sponsor, $30 off Super Sponsor! Dealer's Den registration is also open as well!
http://www.faunited.org/
August 16-18, 2013
Whippany, NJ
And given that it is no longer Valentine's Day here on the East Coast, our banner has changed once again! This time, rudragon has crafted a banner we feel worthy of the site. Congrats on your banner, and may the flood of watchers and commenters be kind to you.
http://www.faunited.org/
August 16-18, 2013
Whippany, NJ
And given that it is no longer Valentine's Day here on the East Coast, our banner has changed once again! This time, rudragon has crafted a banner we feel worthy of the site. Congrats on your banner, and may the flood of watchers and commenters be kind to you.
rudragon
rudragonHappy Valentine's Day!
General | Posted 13 years agoWe told ourselves, "No Valentine's Day banner. Nope. We're not doing it. Hell no." and kept repeating ourselves over and over as we slowly rocked back and forth in the corner of the room, hiding. Then cupcakecreature comes along, draws this, and we all went "THIS IS SO FREAKIN' CUTE!" all at once (before exploding into balls of poofy fur!).
And here we are. With a Valentine's Day banner.
Go figure.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9890857/
And here we are. With a Valentine's Day banner.
Go figure.
Banner by 
cupcakecreature
cupcakecreaturehttp://www.furaffinity.net/view/9890857/
Happy New Year!
General | Posted 13 years agoChinese new year, that is! To celebrate the new year tomorrow we'll be offering up an amazing new banner by tygerstkuan for the next week!
tygerstkuan
tygerstkuanSite Slowdowns + Notes Re-Enabled
General | Posted 13 years agoWe are continuing to investigate slowdowns currently causing site performance issues. We thank you for your patience while we investigate the issues.
In addition, we have disabled notes are temporarily while we troubleshoot and try to narrow down the problem. We understand that this is an untenable outcome, and are going to limit the time while the system is offline so we can test potential causes of the lag.
Admin Recruitment Update!
General | Posted 13 years agoGood news, everyone! We're back with another exciting admin news update!
We are currently done our admin recruitment drive (with one or two potential candidates still in discussion). In the end, we've brought on 18 new admins and 2 returning ones (Sciggles and Xerun). 20 admins in total! They're trained, active, and hard at work to better serve you, our community! We've successfully closed over 80% of our backlog of tickets, and our response times have been reduced dramatically.
Your new admins are as follows:
Asia Neko, Fancyskunk, Tow, Demacia, Helperdog, Odin36519, Sheepdust, Keio, Simba the Lion, Koani, the Modergator, Jasufox, Quoting Mungo, Squirofl, Weegee06, Shivadramon (Sciggles), Nero Silent, Zlimplap, Xaerun and Moskintia.
The staff page will be updated tomorrow with all the new staffers.
We are currently done our admin recruitment drive (with one or two potential candidates still in discussion). In the end, we've brought on 18 new admins and 2 returning ones (Sciggles and Xerun). 20 admins in total! They're trained, active, and hard at work to better serve you, our community! We've successfully closed over 80% of our backlog of tickets, and our response times have been reduced dramatically.
Your new admins are as follows:
Asia Neko, Fancyskunk, Tow, Demacia, Helperdog, Odin36519, Sheepdust, Keio, Simba the Lion, Koani, the Modergator, Jasufox, Quoting Mungo, Squirofl, Weegee06, Shivadramon (Sciggles), Nero Silent, Zlimplap, Xaerun and Moskintia.
The staff page will be updated tomorrow with all the new staffers.
AUP Update 2: Commission Notices & Auctions
General | Posted 13 years agoWe're posting a second journal as we have made some additional revisions given user feedback. As we have more significant clarification, we wanted to make sure those changes could be highlighted.
Permitted in your Gallery
* Price guides may be posted but are limited to one submission per type of art (e.g. one for visual arts, one for fursuiting) at any given time.
* Submissions used to sell art (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables, YCH) may be uploaded but are limited to one submission per account at any given time. Advertisements posted must be new and original submissions. Reposting of the same item is not permitted. Previously sold items (such as original characters or designs) may be left in a user's gallery as art.
Permitted in Scraps
* Advertisements (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables, YCH) which exceed the limits above may be uploaded.What this change does (over previous rules) is this:
* Artists get far more freedom to upload to the main gallery, while still being limited so as to prevent spam. This will help give them exposure, but limit flooding on the main page. The limit of one does not apply to streaming notices, which can still be posted to. It is SOLELY to items that are "for sale" on the site.
* Artists can still upload additional auctions/adotpables/YCHs to scraps. The previous update was only intended to limit them to the main gallery to no more than one at a time. This will allow you to sell your your watchers, or link to them.
* Artists can post multiple price guides for each kind of art they do (e.g. fursuit building, visual arts).
Note: A future update will give people an option to post sellable items to "For Sale", and give them he ability to have their work searched through the Browse and Front Page options.
Hopefully that helps clear things up a bit.
Permitted in your Gallery
* Price guides may be posted but are limited to one submission per type of art (e.g. one for visual arts, one for fursuiting) at any given time.
* Submissions used to sell art (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables, YCH) may be uploaded but are limited to one submission per account at any given time. Advertisements posted must be new and original submissions. Reposting of the same item is not permitted. Previously sold items (such as original characters or designs) may be left in a user's gallery as art.
Permitted in Scraps
* Advertisements (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables, YCH) which exceed the limits above may be uploaded.What this change does (over previous rules) is this:
* Artists get far more freedom to upload to the main gallery, while still being limited so as to prevent spam. This will help give them exposure, but limit flooding on the main page. The limit of one does not apply to streaming notices, which can still be posted to. It is SOLELY to items that are "for sale" on the site.
* Artists can still upload additional auctions/adotpables/YCHs to scraps. The previous update was only intended to limit them to the main gallery to no more than one at a time. This will allow you to sell your your watchers, or link to them.
* Artists can post multiple price guides for each kind of art they do (e.g. fursuit building, visual arts).
Note: A future update will give people an option to post sellable items to "For Sale", and give them he ability to have their work searched through the Browse and Front Page options.
Hopefully that helps clear things up a bit.
[UPDATED] AUP Update Regarding Commission Notices & Auctions
General | Posted 13 years agoOn our last episode of As the AUP Changes, we had left our intrepid Ferrox knee-deep in user comments! Were they complaints? Were they compliments? Does Fender even know how to read? Find out in our latest installment!
Previously, we made an update to the AUP which stated "Advertisements (e.g. auctions, YCH/Your Character Here and commission notices/price guides) may be uploaded" to scraps. Some users have expressed concerns that this limits their outreach and potentially stagnates sales. The rule was included to help stop the Incredible Flood of Advertisements™ that we sometimes got to encounter on a daily basis. We've changed the policy to one that offers more freedom for users yet helps stop the flood of advertisements. A middle ground, if you will.
The new policy reads:
* Price guides may be posted but are limited to one submission per type of art (e.g. one for visual arts, one for fursuiting) at any given time.
* Submissions used to sell art (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables, YCH) may be uploaded but are limited to one submission per account at any given time. Advertisements posted must be new and original submissions. Reposting of the same item is not permitted. Previously sold items (such as original characters or designs) may be left in a user's gallery as art.
You may post auctions or items for sale to your galleries, but are limited to no more than one at a time.
Q: Can I incessantly post auction reminders every 10 minutes so that people know I have an auction up?
A: Nope.
Q: If created 10,194 adoptables, can I post a submission for each one of them?
A: Nope.
Q: Why not?
A: Nope.
UPDATE
We revised the policy further to help make things more clear. The old revision was "Commission prices guides may be posted, but are limited to one submission at a time. Advertisements for art-related items (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables) may also be uploaded, but are also limited to one submission at a time. Advertisements posted must be new and original submissions."
Previously, we made an update to the AUP which stated "Advertisements (e.g. auctions, YCH/Your Character Here and commission notices/price guides) may be uploaded" to scraps. Some users have expressed concerns that this limits their outreach and potentially stagnates sales. The rule was included to help stop the Incredible Flood of Advertisements™ that we sometimes got to encounter on a daily basis. We've changed the policy to one that offers more freedom for users yet helps stop the flood of advertisements. A middle ground, if you will.
The new policy reads:
* Price guides may be posted but are limited to one submission per type of art (e.g. one for visual arts, one for fursuiting) at any given time.
* Submissions used to sell art (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables, YCH) may be uploaded but are limited to one submission per account at any given time. Advertisements posted must be new and original submissions. Reposting of the same item is not permitted. Previously sold items (such as original characters or designs) may be left in a user's gallery as art.
You may post auctions or items for sale to your galleries, but are limited to no more than one at a time.
Q: Can I incessantly post auction reminders every 10 minutes so that people know I have an auction up?
A: Nope.
Q: If created 10,194 adoptables, can I post a submission for each one of them?
A: Nope.
Q: Why not?
A: Nope.
UPDATE
We revised the policy further to help make things more clear. The old revision was "Commission prices guides may be posted, but are limited to one submission at a time. Advertisements for art-related items (e.g. commission auctions, adoptables) may also be uploaded, but are also limited to one submission at a time. Advertisements posted must be new and original submissions."
New Admins, Ticket Queues & FA Extension Issues
General | Posted 13 years ago==ADMINS AND TICKETS
First off, we'd like to open this update with an apology. Towards the end of 2012, we had some staff changes that left FA understaffed. Because of this, there was a backlog of tickets that began to mount. There's no excuse for that. We let things slip.
We apologize to those who waited on responses, and none came in a timely manner. We're intent on turning over a new leaf, and providing better service in every aspect of the site. As such, we put out a call for new admins and received over 750 applications. Of that, we narrowed it down to our top 40, and have so far recruited several new staffers to help bring the queue down and provide better service.
In the past two weeks, we've successfully closed over 1,600 tickets, reducing our backlog by over half. We're working on slaying that other half. In the past 90 days, over 4,500 tickets have been closed in total.
We're working on improving the site, and so far 2013 is off to a good start.
For those wondering, here are the new admins:
asianeko 
keio 
jasufox 
sheepdust 
odin36519 
helperdog 
moskintia 
nerosilent
More admins are coming in, too, but are still going through initiation. We'll update the staff page in a few days as admins come out of training.
==FA EXTENSIONS
Recently, we have been forced to take action against people using several abusive extensions. These extensions have a tendency to spam the site with excessive requests. There are two known extensions causing problems at this time: the "FA Status" extension for Chrome and the "Fur Affinity Mobile" app for Android. These apps are NOT supported by the site, and their use can potentially result in suspension or IP banning.
In the mean time, if you are using these apps we highly encourage users to STOP use immediately. We are willing to work with users who are suspended in such manner.
First off, we'd like to open this update with an apology. Towards the end of 2012, we had some staff changes that left FA understaffed. Because of this, there was a backlog of tickets that began to mount. There's no excuse for that. We let things slip.
We apologize to those who waited on responses, and none came in a timely manner. We're intent on turning over a new leaf, and providing better service in every aspect of the site. As such, we put out a call for new admins and received over 750 applications. Of that, we narrowed it down to our top 40, and have so far recruited several new staffers to help bring the queue down and provide better service.
In the past two weeks, we've successfully closed over 1,600 tickets, reducing our backlog by over half. We're working on slaying that other half. In the past 90 days, over 4,500 tickets have been closed in total.
We're working on improving the site, and so far 2013 is off to a good start.
For those wondering, here are the new admins:
asianeko 
keio 
jasufox 
sheepdust 
odin36519 
helperdog 
moskintia 
nerosilentMore admins are coming in, too, but are still going through initiation. We'll update the staff page in a few days as admins come out of training.
==FA EXTENSIONS
Recently, we have been forced to take action against people using several abusive extensions. These extensions have a tendency to spam the site with excessive requests. There are two known extensions causing problems at this time: the "FA Status" extension for Chrome and the "Fur Affinity Mobile" app for Android. These apps are NOT supported by the site, and their use can potentially result in suspension or IP banning.
In the mean time, if you are using these apps we highly encourage users to STOP use immediately. We are willing to work with users who are suspended in such manner.
