The launch of LittlePa.ws will be delayed until further notice.

A number of our staff have been experiencing a good deal of real life complications, and we simply would not be able to run the site.

We will update everyone once we can determine when to launch.

Our staff came up with some Haiku's just for you!


Ko welcomes you here
With lots of hugs and cuddles
Doesn't matter who!

Haikus are silly
Five Seven Five and more words
So join us and learn!

Welcome to our site!
We have pretty artsy things
And lots of cookies!

Little Paws are Here
Love to Dance and Sing and Cheer
Learning Love and Play

Little Paws is Fun
Except during the raining Spring
We don't have a roof. :(

Little Paws? Oh my!
Let's all grab a slice of pie
As we fall in play


One of our staff tried their best, and they still did well!


Summer Fruit is nice
The Little Paws are playing
I am bad at this


Last February when the idea to create a parent website for Little Paws Elementary School was born, along with the ideas for the various features, it became immediately apparently that while the now replaced Tusks was a good mascot for LPES, LittlePa.ws itself needed someone else. LittlePa.ws needed a general, official mascot! Not just because it's all the rage, but as a way to represent who we are, what we represent, and what we stand for.

So at that juncture I went to a good friend of mine, known to many around the FA community as Nathahniel, who came up with the original concept design for Ko and even the first itteration of the LittlePa.ws logo. My only requirements for Ko was that he be a kemonomimi, that he be a pre-adolescent, and that he be cute and colorful! So, I have to say, Ko definitely met all those qualifications. Nathaniel took that, gave him a name, the outfit you all love, and our mascot was born! So I'm sure you're wondering why I asked for those specific things.

When we say that LittlePa.ws is for littles of all ages, we mean just that! It doesn't matter if your persona/fursona, inner-self, OC, etc., is an infant or even a teenager. If their age is below the age of consent, then they are completely welcome. Making Ko a preadolescent was the middle ground. While Ko doesn't have a definitive age, I'd say that he's somewhere between 9-11. I chose for him to be a kemonomimi for much the same reasons, we accept Littles of ALL species! LittlePa.ws isn't just for furries, so whether you're a feral, anthro, kemonomimi, human, or mythological creature, it truly doesn't matter. Since anthros and humans seem to be the most common extremes, a kemonomimi seemed to be a good middle ground between the two.

So what about the cute and colorful bit? WELL... cute is ultimately subjective. I think that Ko is very adorable! Everyone may not agree on that, and if you don't, that's perfectly fine! Our community is chocked full of people that don't like plain Jane anthros with one species and typical colors, and even people that don't like human personas at all, even of the kemonomimi variety. It's our diverse tastes that are a part of what define us, and as long as you aren't mean to someone because of their opinions that everything is a-okay! But on a less serious but rather true note, his colorfulness is undeniable. I mean, look at that outfit and the paw sneakers! Who doesn't want paw sneakers?

So here we are today, a collective of days before launch, and you have seen all SORTS of representations of Ko; although the majority of them are chibi-fied. While Ko is trademarked by LittlePa.ws, we wanted to keep the art of Ko across the website as consistent as possible. The best way to accomplish that? Use the same artist for all of it. Poor, poor MonochromeAgent from FA and dA, who while a quiet appreciater of all things cute (although we didn't tell you that) took on this rather arduous task. The logo, the images you'll see around the site at launch, and even all the images you saw on the Teaser were all done by this same artist. Other than our being the likely cause of his chronic tendinitis, for which we are very sorry, we are very happy to have him around ^^.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What species is Ko?

Well, Ko is a kemonomimi! Which means a human with animal traits. The question of what animal he is fused with has been a rather contentious issue! In fact, I had always assumed he was a panda bear and I'm the owner of LittlePa.ws (although I'm color blind so I'll simply blame it on that >.>)! Thankfully I was able to get in touch with Nathahniel and get some clarification on the issue. Ko is part Ursus arctos horribilis, otherwise known as a grizzly bear or North American brown bear.

What race is Ko?

This has been a topic of much higher interest than I anticipated! Not really sure why so many people are interested, but here's what I've got for you. Obviously, Ko is not caucasian. Despite his anime exterior, he isn't Asian either. Ko is Native American. Not only because he was born in America, but also because of the animal he's fused with. I have always found the connection between many Native American spiritualities and animals to be intriguing, and LittlePa.ws is, ultimately, an American made website. While that should in no way suggest that we don't accept/encourage members from all over the world, I thought it was a pretty fitting place for him in the whole race thing.

Can I draw Ko?

Absolutely! Anyone is welcome to draw Ko as long as credit for his trademark and link to LittlePa.ws is mentioned. All that we ask is that it not be anything... too extreme. Although if any of you want to regress poor Ko, go for it!

Does Ko mean anything?

In Japanese it means child, kid, infant or tot; that's the short and sweet answer. The kanji that represents his name is 子 which has ALL of those fun definitions (even if there are a variety of Kanji for Ko and other ways of saying those words.)

I have more questions about Ko!

Well ask them below! I'm sure that the staff can Ko-llectively figure out the best answers! We even promise to get back to you real soon!

"What do you mean, the elementary school isn't the only thing in town?!" The well-kept Principal exclaimed in shock, leaving her escort, the esteemed Mayor Libby, to figure out if she was kidding or not for an uncomfortable number of seconds.

"M-Mrs. Heartstrom, please." Libby stated, trying to gain control over himself again. "I don't know if you're serious or not, but how would we have children attending the school if there wasn't a town around it?" He hoped, nay, prayed, that Principal Heartstrom was kidding. "There's a Museum, multiple parks and playgrounds, the school..."

"Oh, gosh, of course I know that." Elizabeth Hearstrom replied, cutting the poor mayor a break. "You're as bad as the First-graders, at least I know I can be convincing while being ridiculous!" She grinned at the relieved Libby, giving him a reassuring wink. "That said, tell me more! It's been half a lifetime since I've lived in town, and I'm sure a lot has changed."

"Right, right!" Mayor Libby replied, trying to not be flustered in front of the new Principal. "Well, let's take a walk while we talk, then. I'm sure you've noticed the Town Hall," Libby stated, waving at the building the two are departing from. "It is, and we are, the backbone of the structure of the city. Things go through us, we make them happen, and then everyone is happy, or so we hope!" Libby explained, the pair walking the sidewalk in cool, spring air.

"We've made a very strong effort to try and make sure there's as much public, fresh-air recreation as we can possibly back into the town." Libby explained as they walk past not one playground but two, as well as a large public park. "There's an old saying about how the town raises the children, and we like to make sure there's enough safe, public space for people to get to know each other and have as much fun as possible, and it's one of our proudest assets! We like to boast how much our population loves the fresh air and playtime, no matter the age."

As the two continue on their walk, the next notable location they pass is a large, stone building that stretches at least the size of two of the parks. "We also have a bit of a local twist on our Museum, too. We had a much too large building for what exhibits we could get our hands on for the longest time, so after a long series of discussions and proposals, we now have a public submissions wing." Libby explained excitedly, clearly eager that the idea took hold and took off. "Anybody, no matter the age, experience, or anything of the sort, is free to submit their own artwork for public, full display. Nobody gets favorites, it's just straight, public exhibition."

As the museum trailed into the distance, there was only one building left that was important to the two: the school itself. "I don't think I need to tell you much about this building, right?" Libby asked, having relaxed in the presence of the friendly dragoness, finally.

"Please, I spent the entirity of yesterday playing on the playground, I think you should know!" Principal Heartstrom replied with a huff of... Could that possibly be indignance? "Though, I've been meaning to ask, what stopped the school from opening on time? I've heard a lot of stories, so I'd like to get the actual scoop."

"Ah, yes, that. We had some minor weather-related damages, roof needed a bit of fixing, playground
needed touching up, things like that." Libby explained as they walked a small circuit around the school.

"Yes, good touching up on that, the swings were just right." Elizabeth interrupted with the same indignant air she had a moment ago. Libby goes quiet for a moment, before she coughs. "Sorry, continue?"

"Right, as I was saying. We had a little bit of repairs to do, and that was okay. We had another inspection done after the little work that needed done, and it turns out there was a lot of environmental damage that we had totally missed. Wiring needed to be redone in a lot of the classrooms, there was mold in some of the walls, things like that. So, we decided that it would be best if we opened late, because we couldn't possibly have a bad rush job done." Libby explained as the pair reached the front of the school again, both of them turning to face it as Libby talked.

"And now we're only a month away from opening again." Principal Heartstrom added, hands in her pockets as she looked longingly at the school.

"Fortunately, the rest of the town doesn't shut down, so even when you're not at work, you've got everything else to do." Libby replied, putting an arm around the dragoness. "Don't be nervous."

"Nervous? Never. Just excited and unsure as to how to handle it. Utilizing my energy is difficult. Hence playground fun." Principal Heartstrom replied, rocking back on her heels. "I sleep well at night and get plenty done during the day. I'm charged and ready, if anything." She finally stated after a few seconds of silence. She turned to Libby, waving her arm. "Shall we go back to the Town Hall, then?"

"Yes, lets, I think we still had some paperwork to fill out?" Libby replied after listening to Elizabeth Hearstrom speak. They turned away and start walking away down the sidewalk, towards the town hall. "So, what was that about the swings...?"

"YES, Right! They're PERFECT, they don't even squeal when you swing too high up!" Elizabeth started to gush when prompted, "And they don't have that stupid plastic coating on the chains so you can twist them up and spin around...!"

As a part of the one month countdown to launch, we are soliciting contributors to create a project of their own to fill each day until then! Right now we have until Sunday covered, but have openings for the 12th through the 7th, with hopefully the 1st-7th going toward long, complex projects. These projects can be anything from art, to prose, to poetry, to songs, to games, or anything else you can imagine! Simple let us know if you'd like to claim a day and what you'd like to contribute by going here! Your creativity is our passion, and we want to see the best you've got! Please note that these ARE hard deadlines. If you are willing to commit to a day, the project MUST be complete by that day.

Note: Last night, unfortunately, plans for the video became very tight and time was running out quickly. We got a WHOLE lot of incredible script submissions, and our eventual plan is to utilize a myriad of clips from different voice actors to create a diverse sound scape for the video. When will that be done? We're not sure! Right now we're working hard to bring LittlePa.ws to you and to make sure we have everything set to go. So hold on tight and we'll get back to ya!

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5742624/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5742624/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5742624/

In order to keep our new website a safe and a happy place to be, we are currently looking for a Head of Public Relations to join our team! If you are interested in this position, just send a note to Libby at  libidinouswonder to schedule a Skype based interview. This note should include why you think you are a good fit for this position, your Skype name, and your availability to be interviewed. In order to be considered for the Head of Public Relations position, you must understand and agree to abide by LittlePa.ws' responsibilities to its members and follow the Safety Patrol Officer Rules, because not only are they important to our Safety Patrol Officers, but are the cornerstone of our uniqueness and what makes LittlePa.ws a better place for everyone.

Our Responsibilities to LittlePa.ws Members

The Safety Patrol at LittlePa.ws exists for the many of the same reasons that moderators do on other websites; they are there as a means to ensure that the site rules, upload policy, and terms of service are followed. However, our Safety Patrol Officers have a much more important part of their job! That part is to ensure that the philosophy and vision of LittlePa.ws is kept intact.

And what is that mission, you may ask? It's very simple. LittlePa.ws is a community where all Littles, fans of Littles, and caretakers; regardless of their age, gender identity, species, likes, dislikes, personality, locale, religion, political philosophy, or any other identifying characteristics can come together, make friends, feel safe, and find a community where they can exist free from harm, chastisement, or bullying. We very much value the way that each of you express yourself, and no matter how different that may be, as long as it doesn't infringe on the abilities of others to express themselves, we are here to help you do that.

To ensure that that happens, we've created a set of six general rules for all Safety Patrol Officers to follow, and we make these rules public so that everyone knows what a Safety Patrol Officer's job and responsibilities are to you, so that you have the ability to provide feedback, so that you know if you are being treated unfairly, and so that you can report an Officer that isn't fulfulling their duties! Safety Patrol Officers are here to help, foster a safe community, and be a benefit to each of you; this is our way of ensuring we accomplish that goal.

Safety Patrol Officer Rules

1. The most important thing you can do in any situation is being open minded. Even if you are dealing with an issue that you, yourself, may not like, LittlePa.ws is a place where everyone should be able to express themselves as they see fit. As such, you must never allow personal biases or opinions to cloud your judgement!
2. Unless someone has broken a rule so severely that it is incredibly obvious that they are a troll or are trying to provoke a reaction from LittlePa.ws member(s) or staff, you should ALWAYS discuss the issue with them first. If someone uploaded something incorrectly, assume it was an honest mistake! If two people get into an argument, be impartial and look at it from all angles! If you don't think you can do that fairly, then it's always okay and MORE than acceptable to ask for help!
3. You never under ANY circumstances have the right to violate anyone's right to privacy. It is not okay to share information that was given to you in confidence. Remember to treat others with the exact same respect you expect to receive.
4. Never say no. Never use negative words. It is best to use positive statements and turn a potential issue into another opportunity! So instead of "no, you can't post this," use something more positive like "if you edit this it's perfectly fine!" It's also very important to always be polite, empathetic, and use your manners. Pleases and thank yous can get you a long way!
5. Never show preferential treatment to friends, popular members/artists, or other staff members. While every rule has a gray area, and not everything can be taken as black or white, it's important that we get an idea of the whole problem to always try and provide a solution that is mutually beneficial to the user(s), the community at large, and the staff. Transversely, you should allow the same courtesy to those you don't know, or even those you don't particularly like.
6. Remember that second chances should be a part of life. Everyone has off days or has issues that they're dealing with in their personal lives. While someone may be beligerent and not listen to reason, it could very well be because something larger is going on behind the computer; always remember that! Be reasonable, be kind, and even if you have to take action to correct the situation you should always make every effort to do so in a way that allows them to come back to the community with their head held high and without fear that we're going to treat them any differently.

Specific Requirements for the Head of Public Relations position

1. This is an executive level position.
2. You must be over the age of 18 in real life.
3. You must have great conflict resolution, communication, and grammatical skills.
4. You should be able to adapt to a wide array of individual personalities, quirks, and grammatical abilities.
5. You must be genial and have a customer service based attitude. Applicants with prior experience in a related field will be given higher consideration.
6. As this position revolves around communication from a variety of angles, you should be able to respond to emails, post Tweets, reply to Tweets, post news on LittlePa.ws, manage our Facebook group, and communicate with users and respond to outside inquiries in an expeditious and professional manner. All responses should balance the communication of all pertinent aspects of our philosophy and promote the image we attempt to maintain at LittlePa.ws.
7. You must be in consistent contact with all staff members.
8. You must be available for several Skype based interviews.
9. You must have a high amount of availability.
10. You must be able to be a part of three Skype groups and not leave them without prior granted approval.
11. You must have prior experience with the most common social media platforms.
12. Any past effective advertising experience is a plus.

The 33 legacy users are all ported over now. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Q&A

1. Why is there a LittlePa.ws FA group and an LPES FA group? Aren't they the same thing?

Actually, they are very different! I could give a complex explanation, but I think it's better to use analogies. But before all of that, let's start from the beginning...

When it was decided to expand what LPES offered to you, it became very clearly early on in the process that continuing to call the entire website Little Paws Elementary School wouldn't be appropriate. Little Paws Elementary School (LPES) is a structured role play environment that attempts to emulate real school as much as is possible. By itself, it certainly proved to be a success and garnered us over 600 registrations in less than a few months! So to say that LPES was a success would be an understatement, but for everyone that joined, that many Littles stated, via emails and notes, that they weren't interested in the concept. So, thinking about it, we figured the best way to rectify the issue was to expand what we offered. We couldn't just be a school, but we also couldn't just be an art site. So what did we do? We decided to become a hybrid! Hybrids are cool, right? LittlePa.ws allows people to upload art, have access to a social media site, be able to make new friends, and even be able to participate in more casual and less structured role play if wanted. So with the concept bursting away from just a school and into something MUCH larger, LittlePa.ws was born.

So when you think of LittlePa.ws, you should think of it as a village. It is a small sleepy town that exists for Littles, their fans, and their caretakers in an environment where they can express themselves, however they'd like, free from judgement or fear of being made fun of! But we knew that just creating another furry art site and abandoning Little Paws Elementary School wouldn't be okay, because we want to offer as much as we possibly can! So within our small village of LittlePa.ws is the school (LPES), the art portion (you can think of it as a museum or art gallery if you'd like), and a social media portion (sort of like the town watering hole, just with a whole lot more diapers!) What LittlePa.ws is is the combination of three ideas, all rolled into one.

Still confused? Don't worry! We have a crack team working on making this much easier to understand.

2. I used to be a student at LittlePa.ws! Do I need to register again?

Absolutely not! In fact, all former student accounts were ported over. There is, however, something that you should be aware of. One thing that we always wanted to do at the old LPES, but were never able to, was to allow a single account to have multiple characters. Since we weren't able to do that, people that wanted to play multiple students ended up having multiple accounts. The new LittlePa.ws, however, has removed that limitation! All you need is one account, and that account can host as many characters as you'd like! Character submissions can be just character submissions, but each character submission also allows you to enroll that character in Little Paws Elementary School if you'd like.

3. What's my username?

Your username is the log in name you created at LPES if you are a legacy member (a member ported over to the new site.) It is not the same as the display/character name that you chose.

4. Where are my stats?

The unfortunate thing about giving you the aforementioned feature is that we were not able to port over stats. As a result of this, when you enroll characters into LittlePa.ws, you will be rolling entirely new stats. While I know that this may be/seem like a major inconvenience, try to think of it as a fresh start! The start of second term at the old LPES was delayed for a very long time, the majority of the old teachers are gone, and there is even a new principal. While the same system, guidelines, reward, and protections are in place that always were, this is a new beginning for us! I do promise, however, that you'll NEVER have to re-roll your stats again.

5. I had a bunch of accounts at the old LPES. How can I get rid of those?

Either at launch or shortly thereafter, you'll be able to delete any account you own at your convenience under 'Settings'.

6. I can't remember my password!

Just click on the handy dandy 'I forgot my password' link on the log in screen! Don't see an email? More than likely it's in your junk or spam folder. While we are working on rectifying this reroute, so far the majority of email providers aren't our biggest fans. Although I assure you password recovery works just fine!

7. Why is there nothing to do?

Well you see, at the moment we are just open for pre-registration! The actual launch will be on June 8, 2014. Then you will get to see all the new, spiffy, and fun things we've been talking about!

8. Is the Spot (chatroom) coming back?

At this juncture our plan is to integrate a site wide IM program with the ability to create individual chat rooms. While we haven't sat down and selected an appropriate platform and it won't be available right at launch, we'll get it out as soon as furrily possible.

9. Where are there already problems/glitches?

For the sake of being transparent and honest, the person that we hired to code the new LittlePa.ws used some very... antiquated and not so safe/beneficial methods. In fact, one of the reasons why our tentative launch date was pushed back by a month and eight days was because of these. Our current savior in arms, , has made the decision to rebuild the entire site from the ground up. While I could delight you with all the fun tech garble I think I'll just keep this sweet and to the point. Although if you have any specific questions we're more than happy to answer them!

10. I have more questions!

Please feel free to comment here or send a note to me on my primary account,

Thanks!
Libby

Early Site Registration for http://littlepa.ws is up!

Right now, functionality is limited for preview purposes, and there may be some minor bugs and uglinesses still. We'll fix it all, promise! *gets out the hammer and makes another hole in the wall*


Key Items that are Enabled
User Registration
View, Upload, and Comment for Characters

Other Items also Enabled
Forgot Password?
Sign In

Access to Philosophy, Terms of Service, and Code of Conduct

View-Only and Comment-Only for Visual Submissions

Principal Tusks spent a moment to adjust the colorful sign at the front door of Little Paws Elementary School. “Welcome, New Students!” was printed across the sign, which hung above a table of pamphlets filled with maps and schedules and teacher profiles. The pamphlets were, naturally, for parents of the new students, but it was only fair to make a sign for the students themselves. The re-opening was some time away still but the staff had already started preparations. Their fervor for the school-term was anything but the real deal, especially after a hiatus caused by environmental damage and the opportunity for remodeling.

“Principal Tusks?” The Walrus turned around when addressed, turning to face the speaker; a short, lean, white dragon with lilac hair tied back in a long ponytail. She was dressed in respectable dress-casual; khaki slacks rolled up slightly at the bottoms with a short sleeve button-up shirt under an argyle vest. She had stopped for a moment to look around the lobby, smiling warmly at the sparse beginnings of welcoming decorations.

“Ah, yes, you must be Mrs. Heartstrom!” Principal Tusks responded with a large smile that wouldn’t have been out-of-place on Santa Claus himself. “Welcome, welcome! I’ve been eagerly awaiting your visit. Please, make yourself at home!” He added, waving his arm in greeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Mrs. Heartstrom replied with a short, formal curtsy. “I think making myself home is exactly why I’m here today.” She added with a friendly wink before following along behind Principal Tusks.

“I’m sure you heard it a dozen times already, but we’re very proud of our school, here.” Principal Tusks started explaining as they wandered slowly past classrooms. “We’re lucky to have teachers who put the children at absolute number 1 and children who respond strongly.” Each classroom typically had a teachers name, a room number, and a sign listing what grade the room belonged to. Some rooms had one or two of those missing, whether because of new teachers who hadn’t started setting up yet or new rooms that hadn’t had teachers assigned yet.

“Of course, children are children. They have their own troubles and the microcosms of their own lives, and often they don’t even know who they are, or who they could be. If they did, we wouldn’t be teachers!” The larger walrus chortled merrily while Mrs. Heartstroms eyes traced the walls, doors, and lockers with deliberate strokes, like she was trying to carve them into her soul. This didn't get past Principal Tusks, who took a silent moment to survey the Dragoness.

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise, you know. You’re not the only one retiring, Mr. Tusks, there’s a couple places I was thinking about.” The new charge commented, never diverting her eyes from the corridors and walls of the school they were slowly exploring. “But, I’ve seen what Little Paws has, and it’s a precious gem. Honor doesn’t begin to describe what I feel at the opportunity.”

Principal Tusks wiggled his tusks; left first, then right. “Honor’s funny like that, because it’s certainly a two way street. If you’re honored to be here, how do you think I feel, hm?” His eyes glistened briefly as he spoke, the pride in them shining through like stars. The one moment of raw sincerity ended as suddenly as it began, though, and he continued. “What else do you feel walking through these soon-to-be-bustling halls?”

“Anxiety. Yeah, definitely anxiety.” Mrs. Heartstrom nodded her head after thinking for a moment as the two peeked into the Nurses Office briefly. “I’m not the only one, at least. I’ve got companionship in the other new students here, too.” She added with a smile and a wink.

Principal Tusks couldn’t help but erupt into loud, happy laughter. “Other students! You certainly do know the talk, Mrs Heartstrom.” The Dragoness was taken aback slightly, mostly at the suddenness at the laughter. She raised a questioning eyebrow at the Principal, feeling indignant and almost upset, before he thankfully continued, “Though, I would do poorly saying it’s just talk; we’re all excited to have you here, I’m just happy to hear such things.” Principal Tusks gave her a firm slap on the shoulder, breaking her awkward stiffness at the situation.

“Do you think you can work with the place, then?” Principal Tusks asked as the pair made their way back into the lobby after a full circuit of the school. “It’s a little late to change things now, unfortunately, but I hope you’ll be comfortable.”

“I’m positive I can manage, sir.” She replies with a firm nod and a determined smile. “You shouldn’t have a doubt in your mind. You’ll be proud on every visit you’ll ever have and of every student who walks out those doors.”

Principal Tusks closes his eyes at the statement and lets out a long, deep sigh. “Thank you.” He states. It’s a simple, flat statement, and one that cannot be more honest. He offers his hand out to the incoming Dragoness, the two hands clasping firmly.

“Do me proud, Principal Elizabeth Heartstrom.” Mr. Tusks states, again flat and simply. His voice cannot help but break; the glisten in his eyes comes back in full force, “I know you can”, he adds quietly, almost under his breath as he turns towards the doors.

Principal Heartstrom felt herself straighten up, almost subconsciously, as her colleague walks out of the building. She takes a moment to wipe her eyes before walking back into the corridors of the school, making another circuit before finding the Principals Office. She puts her finger to the nameplate, “Mr. Tusks,” as she gently slides it off. She rubs a finger against the empty spot where the nameplate just rested, finding it entirely dust-free and unmarred. It was only natural: Principal Tusks nameplate had been there since the door was hung when the school was first built.

Pushing open the door to the Principals office, she silently looks around at the sparse bookcases and the oaken desk. On it is a small, hard-cover book with ‘Yearbook: 1997’ written on the cover. Principal Heartstrom picks up the book gently, like a precious tablet, and sits down behind the desk with it. She can’t help but slowly flip through the pages, before ending up at the end of the book where there’s a picture of the graduating 6th grade class standing in front of Principal Tusks, with the name "Elizabeth Heartstrom" listed under the picture alongside all of her classmates. A young Dragonness with big glasses and a toothy grin stood next to Mr. Tusks in the picture, beaming a smile that said 'Cheese!' to the photographer.

“Little Paws is proud of our graduating class, and we’ll always be waiting with open arms for their eventual return.” Liz Heartstrom reads out loud, slowly savoring each word slowly as they roll off her tongue. She lets her eyes close for a minute or two with the memory, the room eerily silent. She closes the book slowly before putting it back on the desk and picking up the only other thing on the desk: A folder with “Incoming students” written on the front in blue sharpie.

You've patiently waited.

You've wanted a concrete date.

Finally, that wait is over.

LittlePa.ws will launch of June 8, 2014.

Please stay tuned for more exciting news!

The following is a rather garrulous and extensive explanation of the submission rules in place on LittlePa.ws, including the reasons behind why we allow what we allow and why we don't allow what we don't allow. If you would rather just see the progress report, skip down to the bold and underlined title for that section.

Our Submission Rules, in detail...

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; while these famous words were first penned in the Declaration of Independence, an American document, I believe that these are universal rights that should apply to all people regardless of their origin, gender identity, religious preference, age, life choices, or any other defining characteristic. As a people from a global view, we have not achieved this wholly. There are still many people that are marginalized and kept in the gutters due to who they are or what they like, or because of social precepts or ignorance that keeps them from acting in a manner or living a life that they would want to live. Of course none of this can be fixed in a day, and discrimination will never vanish entirely, but for those who truly believe in freedom of expression and the ability to live a life of safety, stability, and love, we can fight to make small changes happen in our own way. I, myself, am one of these believers, and it is the core reason that I created LPES in the first place.

When I first envisioned LittlePa.ws, it was my intention to follow a philosophy beyond what Inkbunny embraces. I wanted to allow the ability of artists to upload any and all content that they wanted regardless of its nature. However, there are many laws that are ill defined within the United States, and many laws that are clearly defined in other jurisdictions, that discourage/disallow shota or loli works and/or put cub porn into a questionable light. While I personally do not necessarily see cub porn or shota/lolicon as a form of art in and of itself, but rather as just a drawn fetish, art is in the eye of the beholder. As a human being who believes in freedom of expression, I do not think ill of anyone that sees those drawings as being forms of art. I also believe strongly that no one else should think ill of them either.

I knew, from a legal perspective, that allowing the direct upload of shota/lolicon to LittlePa.ws would never happen after very little research. It is outright banned in Australia for one, and pornography as a whole, in many parts of the world, is completely illegal. So the next thing that I had to tackle, being that we are a website for Littles with varying backgrounds and interests, was the issue of cub porn. I talked to several popular cub artists who are well liked within the FA community, who will remain anonymous, that are ardently opposed to cub porn. I discussed with them the moral conflict that I had with limiting an artist's freedom of expression next to the legal realities that be or may come to be, along with the very deep and fragile divide within the community on the subject. As a whole, we reached what I felt was a reasonable compromise. We reached an agreement that cub porn should not be directly uploaded to LittlePa.ws.

However, there is a difference between our definition of underage pornography, and other's definition. As per the laws of the United States, simple nude images of children that are not focused on genitalia and do not show arousal are legal. While we do not allow photographs of nude minors, or photographs of nude adults for that matter, that legal boundary does make drawings with such content also legal, regardless of species. So as long as a drawing is made in good taste, within those legal parameters, and it is appropriately rated, it can be uploaded to LittlePa.ws. However, and I cannot stress the importance of this, because not everyone is comfortable with seeing an under aged nude form, a simple to understand content management system was put into place and it will be accessible at launch so that you can make sure that the content you see is the content that you're comfortable with. This content management system is known as your Site Experience.

The Site Experience falls into three levels. The first, Little Angel, is the default site experience and MANDATORY site experience for all members aged 13-17. This site experience only allows access to G-rated content, meaning absolutely no nudity. The next level up, Mischievous, allows access to innocent nude art, as mentioned above, as well as audio and literary submissions that contain profanity or lude language. Innocent nude art would include things such as bath time, a diaper change, or something that would be a logical situation in which a minor character would be nude. The final step, Little Devil, allows access to drawn pornography. This does not include cub porn or shota/lolicon, as both are banned, but can include characters that are clearly above the age of 18 per their back story even if they look younger than that, and hard core fetishes. As an additional layer of protection, ALL of these submissions must have a warning thumbnail so that, even if you are okay with some of the content that falls beneath Little Devil, you can avoid anything that you are not okay with. Also, per the standards and rules that FA uses, the furry website considered to be the strictest on underage character content, you may upload a clean clipping of a cub porn or shota/lolicon related work with a link off site to the actual content.

When these parameters were created and made after seeking feedback from the aforementioned individuals and senior ranking members of the former LPES executive council, it was my belief that everything would be alright. However, as was explained to me this evening, even this may not be enough for some. So I feel it is my responsibility to explain this to you all, ahead of launch, so that you are aware of what we allow, why we allow it, and the protections in place for you.

While we as a website reserve the right to change our policies with sufficient prior notice provided, what is said above will likely remain in force for quite sometime. As long as we are able to allow as much freedom of expression as possible, while being COPPA compliant and controlling site content so as to avoid anyone seeing something they would not like to see, then I believe that I am doing my civic duty as someone that believes in freedom of expression. If laws change in the future, what is allowed could broaden or decrease. It really is dependent upon what governments and courts decide, and my personal philosophical views on freedom of expression will not keep us from maintaining a good standing in the legal community.

I know that this has been a rather long winded diatribe, but I wanted to get it out there to explain to each of you what is going on, in advance of launch, so that you can be prepared. This may not be sufficient for some and some of you may disagree with the decisions made, but it is my sincere hope that you can see that we are doing everything in our power to balance the tastes of each individual with the need to allow as much artistic liberty as we can. I encourage and implore you to comment, send a note to my personal account or this account, or anything else you'd like to do. Whether you have something positive or negative to say, I am open to hear it. However, please do so in a mind of respect, openness, and reason.

So with all the heaviness now done with, I have some very excellent news to share!

Our Amazing Progress Report!

1. The core of the Classroom Matrix was completely constructed in two days. While further implementations will take place this week to finish it, this could not have been accomplished without the hard work, sleepless nights, and tireless dedication of , some non-furry developers, and especially .

2. In response to our prior journal, we have already managed to gain several crucial faculty members! In fact, we are in a position now where we only need to hire four more teachers at minimum! I want to personally thank each and everyone of you who advertised, put the word out, and made this possible. While the start of term will likely not be RIGHT at site launch, it should not be far away from it.

3. We have dwindled the list of things left to do to the site to make it launch ready to only a handful of crucial aspects. This includes improvements to the notifications system, the ability to watch other users, some minor aesthetic issues, and testing the site extensively for security holes or potential vulnerabilities. We are well on our way to keeping to the hopes for a May 1st launch date.

4. We have now partnered with several additional artists that have joined LittlePa.ws in advance of launch who will split proceeds with the website when you commission them! Some of the names on this roster are very well known, so this should be an exciting thing for you all to see!

Hoping that you all had a wonderful weekend and have an even greater week ahead,
Libby

Dear LPES students,

As we stand on the edge of the relaunch and revisioning of our community, there are still several things that need to happen for everything to function properly. While the site infrastructure, coding, and planning is on track, and contingency plans are being created to ensure that the website always runs seamlessly, our school has sadly been dealt a critical blow. I ask that you read this journal in its entirety before responding, because it is important to understand that the majority of the issues that we are now facing are issues that I created, although most of them unintentionally.

When I launched Little Paws Elementary School I did so because I wanted to provide a safe haven for cubs. A place where they could go, role play, thrive in a structured environment, and participate in an place like no other free from judgement and fear. However, I had to look at the reality of the situation. A role play website, in and of itself, will never be sufficient to sustain itself. I had to make a decision; whether to allow LPES to keep going until interest dwindled, or to create something larger that could withstand the test of time. I decided on the latter, and created the website that you will soon be seeing for the first time.

As a result of this decision, my absence from the Teacher Council (a Skype group that contained the faculty members of LPES) and the various slow downs and brick walls we hit when we tried to launch things by a specific date, a lot of faith was lost. This is not the fault of the prior faculty members, coders, or anyone else. I take full responsibility for the events that led to this and give each and every one of you my sincerest apologies. While I could make excuses, many of them valid, now isn't the time for that. And, quite unfortunately, apologies do little to rectify the situation at hand.

We have lost the vast majority of our faculty. While this weekend includes the development and implementation of the Classroom Matrix, there are presently not enough faculty and staff members available to actually run the school. To say that we are in need of new staff members at this juncture would be an understatement, we are in need of everything.

I made a promise when I stated that I would be expanding what LittlePa.ws offers that the school would not go away. As long as I am able, I'm going to keep that promise. However, without a staff we cannot run the school or set a date to start the next term. Without the school, LittlePa.ws is not complete. Even though we are becoming an art website and a social website, at our heart we are still that little LPES that you all joined and grew to love. We will never lose our heart, because staying small and listening is the most important thing we can do. Providing you a place to love and where you can feel loved is what we're always going to be about, regardless of what URL you click to access this community.

So here is my promise to you. At site launch, the Classroom Matrix will be there. I will spend every day, and every bit of energy I have, trying to replace the faculty. I will also be looking intently for someone who can become principal if the current person in that position is unable to fulfill their duties due to real life obligations. This journal is the start of that, and I will be doing other things to promote recruitment and create a strategy for effective training, interviewing, and selection.

So if you know someone that is creative and loves to role play; if you know someone that loves Littles of all ages; if you know someone who has a passion and desire to let this phoenix rise from the ashes; if you know someone who knows that they can commit to this and put in a lot of time, whether that be you or someone else, then please don't hesitate to reply or send a note. We need the best, because the best is what you deserve. We will find the best, because Little Paws Elementary School was always the best. I promise you that the next term at LPES at the new LittlePa.ws will be the best term that you've ever had.

Sincerely yours,
Libby

As the list of items to complete dwindles down, we are now looking at a tentative launch date of May 1st for LittlePa.ws! As a part of this rebranding and retooling, we are working quickly to test to final issues with the website, contact people of importance, and put things together. Just so you are aware of what's going on...

1. If you previously registered at Little Paws Elementary School, then your profile has been ported over with the same username and password before. Your profile URL will be http://www.littlepa.ws/username when the site is launched.
2. The school will be available at launch. We are working to get a date set for start of term.
3. This website will now have several new features. For one, it will be an art site. That is, however, not its only purpose. It will also be a social site, and we will be integrating a site wide IM system post launch for more casual role players.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to comment below!

Thanks,
Libby

Firstly, due to unusual circumstances,  finntusks aka  libidinouswonder will not be around for a while.
Until further notice,  quirkykitty will be taking over as Substitute Principal.

I had been helping the Principal for the last few weeks in order to get the new website ready, so the good news is that littlepa.ws is still going to happen and I will do whatever I can to ensure that all the kiddies don't have too long of a Winter Break... or is it Spring Break now?

With that out of the way, here is where we are at.
1. There is still a big, grand, really really really REEEEEEEEEEEEEALY big list of things that need to be fixed before littlepa.ws will be open for school! Don't worry, because we've been doing our homework and getting it lots smaller! (in fact, it's less than half as big as it was right now!)
2. We know that littlepa.ws is still gonna need to be made better - We've got our list and we checked it twice. I'll be checking it a few more times. :P

If you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer them!



Of course, I suppose a Principal needs to at least give a short introduction... even if they're a substitute!
I'm a young catboy... You can call me Quirky! I'm in my early thirties and never have really wandered the halls of Little Paws Elementary School before now. Unlike Principal Tusks, I haven't been all over the world or done many things... Heck, I don't even have his love for sushi and fish! (we've competed a few times - I lose every time!)

Since I'll be working at littlepa.ws, you may see my son MewMew here and there if you're in the First Grade. He's rather shy, but once he warms up to you... watch out! You may need a teacher to get him away from you. That name came from his mommy by the way, not me!

Someone, who shall remain unnamed, has taken it upon himself to take on the position of treasurer, go through our finances, assist with delegation, and offer his services as a professional business adviser to make the transition to LittlePa.ws much easier, cost effective, and eventually self-sustaining. As a result of his generous offer, LittlePa.ws is no longer for sale.

However, in the interim, there are some things you should know...

1. Presently the new coders are porting older users into the new website.
2. I have attained the backgrounds I needed that I listed in a previous journal and am good to go.
3. I am going through Beta 2 of LittlePa.ws and making a list of changes to make sure that, at launch, everything is good to go.
4. If you sign up for littlepawselementaryschool.com you may not receive a confirmation email. This is because we moved from a VPS to a much slower hosting method because the website, as you know it, is to go offline soon. This is also why the IRC has been down. LittlePa.ws has left Dreamhost due to legal reasons and has moved to a now host with a new VPS.
5. That's about it!

Thanks,
Libidinous Wonder

Hello everyone,

As many of you have heard, there has been a secret project going on for a few weeks now. Unfortunately its final implementation is a tad delayed, as most coding projects end up being, but it is still coming nonetheless. There are, however, several difficult decisions that I've had to make concerning myself, how useful I am to the website, and the potential that LittlePaws has to become something greater. So let's go through the details, shall we?

What is the big secret?

Very soon, littlepawselementaryschool.com will be gone. It will be replaced by Littlepa.ws which will be a very different kind of website. The school will still be there, but it is combining the best of several worlds into one. Not only will you be able to post multimedia (images, flash animations, sound files, stories, etc.), but also characters, create cubby holes (folders) to organize everything, and have a fully customizable profile. This is the world of an art community brought to Little Paws.

Secondarily there is the social component. There will be a notes system, but also the ability to post status updates, instant message your friends, love submissions, status updates, and news articles, as well as be able to comment to all news posts and give your feedback and opinion on what's happening, what should happen, and where you think the site should go.

The school will still be there, but you will also be able to add your interests to your profile. So if you don't like the structure of Little Paws Elementary, you can find private role play partners and create your own world, 24/7, 365. It's as easy as sending a note to a person that has similar interests to you, getting to know them, and becoming friends.

Then, of course, the best part is that LittlePa.ws will be a website for Littles, by Littles, regardless of species. No matter how young you are, you are welcome. You are welcome to share any art that you've made or you've commissioned, you are welcome to tell people about your life, you are welcome to role play in the school or separately, and do anything else your creative mind can come up with. You can do all of this in the first website that caters exclusively to Littles, a place free from judgement where you can be as cubby as you want to be.

When will this be done?

As of now the coding team working on the new site has entered beta phase two. We are collecting the necessary components to finish it on our end, and they are coding the last bits of what you see above. Once it launches, everything will be there. If you have a pre-existing LPES account, you will be ported over. If you don't and are interested in joining this new community, registration will be open from day one.

Why the ominous title?

While this announcement will upset a good number of people, I have done a lot of soul searching about myself and what my capacities are. Little Paws Elementary School was an incredible experience. Constructing it, seeing the interest, meeting the kids, and even being able to teach the first term. Unfortunately what most of you didn't see was me behind the scenes. I have not always been professional. When projects or implementations are delayed, I become upset. When problems arise that I'm not able to fix, I become doubly so. I believe that, at the end of the day, my being chief administrator of this community is not in its best interest. While the new LittlePa.ws will launch monetized and will slowly but surely gain enough funding from advertisements to be wholly self-sustained, and that's a great thing, I have personally put close to $6,000 into this website. I did it because I wanted Littles to have a safe, judgement free place where they can have fun. I did it because I am a Little myself, and understand how important that is. I did it because I enjoy making people happy, but at the end of the day I think that I am most likely ill suited to make that happen over the long term. While that is a lot of money, and a lot of it money I technically didn't have, I don't regret a penny I spent.

As a result, I am, at this time, starting the process of selling the website. Since FurAffinity has been the primary base for our membership recruitment, I thought that I'd place it here first. If I don't find any interest here, then I will look into alternative means. While it would be great to recuperate the funds I've put into this website, I think that it's more important to find someone that is able to invest the time, energy, patience, professionalism, open-mindedness, and openness to critique and suggestions that LittlePa.ws deserves. So if that means that the ideal person cannot afford that much, I can live with that. Ultimately the long term sustainability of Little Paws is what's most important to me, even if it means that I'm the financial loser at the end of the day.

So as of now, I am open to bids. Bids should include a financial component, but also an extensive explanation of what you have to offer, the time you can devote, your experience, and your passion. Without a head that can inspire, LittlePa.ws will fail and that is not the future I want for this beautiful website that I've created. I know, in my heart of hearts, that this website can and will succeed. I know it because of the wonderful Littles I've met, the passionate comments I've seen here and elsewhere, and the vibrant yet often shunned community that still shines despite the animosity toward them here on FurAffinity. I am doing this because I love you all, and I want you all to have a place in the best possible hands. This is a decision that was incredibly difficult to reach, but it was one that had to be made.

So if you're interested, please send me a note at . Even if you can only bid a small amount, that's perfectly fine. Remember that it is your heart and capacities that matter most.

Sincerely yours,
Libidinous Wonder

As many of you know, a very new and exciting LittlePaws is coming your way shortly! In fact, I had the distinct honor of looking at the first beta phase of it this morning, and it's truly glorious. Magnificent, to be precise. With all of that being said, we have run into an issue!

Basically we need a few (or possibly more) 1600x1000 backgrounds. But there are some particular requirements for them...

1. They must be done by high caliber artists that have a deep understanding of depth, proportion, perspective, shading, and working in a light and vibrant color palette.
2. The settings that would be most appreciated would be a kid's bedroom, a playground setting, a classroom, or anything else child related that your creative mind can come up with.
3. There are NO characters required for these backgrounds unless you just want to add some, although we do request that if you do they include anthros, kemonomimis, and humans.

So while I can still not completely ruin the surprise about what new features the new LittlePaws will have, I will say that if an artist was to do this, it could mean a lot of commissions coming their way in the future. Also, with all that being said, there are a few issues...

1. We do not have the money at this time to pay for these commissions. That means that it would either have to be done as a gift or with delayed payment.
2. We are more than happy to exchange services, advertisements, etc., for a discount or for the commission itself.
3. The site would not be able to launch without these backgrounds.
4. If you have any other questions, please feel free to note me at .

So with all of that being said, any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance,
Libidinous Wonder

There are some very important things going on that you all should be aware of! Unfortunately I have to be KINDA cryptic since the new things coming are super topic secret, but I'll do my best.

1. I am no longer than man behind Finn Tusks! Does this mean I'm leaving the site? Not at all! In fact I am remaining the lead administrator.
2. Who is the new person behind Finn Tusks you ask? Well that's a secret!
3. Some of you have sent notes stating that Littlepa.ws is broken. The page indeed does no longer take you to littlepawselementaryschool.com, but I assure you it isn't broken ;).
4. The IRC is going to be down for a few days, most likely. This is because of some hosting things that had to be done to prepare for the big surprise.
5. There will be no more replies to emails and principal[at]littlepawselementaryschool.com will be gone very soon. There is a very specific reason for that but I can't tell you what it is.
6. There is a new submission that may peak your interest D:.

And that's pretty much it for now!

Take care,
Libidinous Wonder aka the former Finn Tusks

What if Little Paws could be so much more than you expected?

What if Little Paws could take the best of three worlds and merge them into one?

What if you had a place to go unlike any other place you've ever seen?

What if Little Paws was a place for all cubs, whether they enjoy role play or not?

In two weeks, Little Paws as you know it is going to change forever.

Every board is now fully functional. At this juncture we are waiting for the ability to upload pictures along with your comments and it will be done. Once this functionality is added the term can start.

Sincerely yours,
Principal Tusks

We recently made a partnership with the artist ! She is trying to extend her outreach to the cub community and in exchange for mutual advertising, she is donating 40% of all profit from LPES cub related commissions directly to the website! She also plans to release an art book in the future that will also give some profits back to us. Please go check her out today!

is being kind enough to make our Valentine's banner at no cost to LPES! She is, however, auctioning off slots for cubs that are interested in being featured! Go check it out if you'd like your chance to be seen by everycub!

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12507601

So in order to catch you all up to speed, our coder is still working very hard to ensure that the Classroom Matrix is released as soon as possible and that any and all potential security holes are patched. In the mean time, we've been doing a lot of behind the scenes stuff to increase the quality and security of your experience, including a very special project that promises to bring all the needed site improvements at once! While said project is VERY extensive, and we do not have an estimated release date, I thought I would go ahead and give you a preview of what v4.0 is going to look like.

Project Choo Choo!

1. The addition of the notes system.
2. The ability to register clubs and have access to use them in various ways!
3. The ability to change your password via email, and that change to occur on IRC.
4. The ability to change your character name, and that change occur on IRC.
5. Additional security functions on IRC so we can release the master password and extend access privileges to students that would prefer using an external IRC client.
6. The integration of a very neat rewards system for our donors!
7. And a bunch of behind the scenes stuff that you won't notice but will be very cool for everyone ^^.

So Project Choo Choo is not going to delay the completion of the Classroom Matrix as these are two very separate things, with one coder working on each. The Classroom Matrix will be up as soon as possible, and then V4.0's launch a bit after that. So at this juncture the project is going to cost quite a bit of money, but thankfully we have pre-made payment arrangements with that coder. In the interim, we need your help!

We are, as always, looking for donations to help us get up to speed and get you these developments even sooner. Even a donation as small as $1 can go a long way! If you are at all interested in helping us, please visit http://www.littlepawselementaryscho.....m/pages/donate or send us a donation via principal[at]littlepawselementaryschool.com on Paypal.

Thanks in advance!
Principal Tusks