# the manual of furry behavior and etiquet



## deathshadow1991 (Nov 12, 2009)

you heard right, this foxx is going to do his best to write a manual about what it means to be a furry. if you guys are interested in helping me i would love to send you what i got so far and get your opinion on how im doing


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## Nebuk (Nov 12, 2009)

In a fictional furry world, or IRL?
I can see that being sort of cool in a ficitonal world; 'keep your tail to yourself' and the likes.


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 12, 2009)

its about a real furry living in this world, it covers what it means to be a furry in the real world and what you will have to deal with becoming a member (ie troll)


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## Aden (Nov 12, 2009)

Be sure to spell "etiquette" correctly when you do.


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 12, 2009)

i have spellcheck when im writing the real manual


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## CryoScales (Nov 13, 2009)

As long as it's full of furry satire that relates to trolls. I am up for helping out.


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## Aden (Nov 13, 2009)

CryoScales said:


> As long as it's full of furry satire that relates to trolls. I am up for helping out.



No, this doesn't seem like it will exhibit any higher levels of thinking whatsoever.


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 13, 2009)

What of many furries don't comply with your view of 'what it means to be a furry' that you write into your manual?


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## Duality Jack (Nov 13, 2009)

as long as it promotes the Kicking of bestiality lovers I'm for it (also kicking babyfur pron lovers)


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 13, 2009)

The Furry Manual:

How To Be A Conformist Retard Like Everyone Else;  'Yiff' is the furry word for sex.  Stop, don't think that it's stupid infact stop trying to think for yourself at all.  If that's what you wanted to do, you wouldn't have started reading this, would you?  Now refer to all forms of sex as 'yiff' and you'll be totally different just like everybody else who's different exactly like you.


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## Dyluck (Nov 13, 2009)

deathshadow1991 said:


> this foxx



I'm not taking any advice from you and neither should anyone else ever.


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## Atrak (Nov 13, 2009)

David M. Awesome said:


> I'm not taking any advice from you and neither should anyone else ever.



Wow, you're getting so much support already  .

On a serious note, OP, they are right. You should not right a book telling people what to do. A better idea might be a book to help overcome furry social problems, or stories of furries who did, like a Chicken Soup for Furries  .


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## Carenath (Nov 13, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> What of many furries don't comply with your view of 'what it means to be a furry' that you write into your manual?


Same that happens to the furries that don't comply with your views of course


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 13, 2009)

i think you guys are missunderstanding me a little bit, the "manual" im writing is more of just an informitive piece than a ruleset. i make sure to note on many occassions that the deffinitions i use are very open and generalized and just seek to give people outside the fandom a generalized look about whe i think it is to be a furry.

other things i go into is in addressing the problem of trolls on public internet areas, in this section i include a list of some of their most common phrases and trashtalk.

finally i plan on including a small dictionary of fur related terms and puns that are common in the fandom. (when it comes to the term yiff i will include both that it is a term that furries use to describe anthro. related adult material and that it was originally a term used as an entusiastic hello or a very happy yes)

now if you guys truely hate my idea i implore you to first read it. if you want to do so then PM me with an e-mail address and i will send it to you once i finish the rough draft


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## Aden (Nov 13, 2009)

deathshadow1991 said:


> i think you guys are missunderstanding me a little bit, the "manual" im writing is more of just an informitive piece than a ruleset. i make sure to note on many occassions that the deffinitions i use are very open and generalized and just seek to give people outside the fandom a generalized look about whe i think it is to be a furry.



What YOU THINK. This is your opinion, but you're naming it "The Manual of Furry Behavior and Etiquette".

:T



> other things i go into is in addressing the problem of trolls on public internet areas, in this section i include a list of some of their most common phrases and trashtalk.



Please no



> finally i plan on including a small dictionary of fur related terms and puns that are common in the fandom. (when it comes to the term yiff i will include both that it is a term that furries use to describe anthro. related adult material and that it was originally a term used as an entusiastic hello or a very happy yes)



http://www.furcen.org/fgc/glossary.html


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 13, 2009)

well the title was just something i came up with quick to call it, the title can be changed upon completion to something more fitting.

secondly, if im going to tell people about the fandom then im going to include a section warning new members about trolls, i might not include what they say but they will be mentioned.

and finally thank you for the dictionary link


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## Attaman (Nov 13, 2009)

All you need to put about trolls:  Grow thicker skin.  That's it.  Trolls are healthy, not harmful, for the fandom considering without them a lot of messed up shit will be swept under the rug as "Furs will be furs". 

On guidelines for being a furry:  Why?  Furry means different things for different people.  This is like trying to say to someone that Trekkies should follow a specific code of conduct.  All that you're really going to be stating is common sense things.


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 13, 2009)

well i have two purposes for writing this, first is for the fandom, the second is for my high school portfolio. its one of the few things i know enough about to write a good piece about


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 13, 2009)

deathshadow1991 said:


> first is for the fandom


 
Why would the furry fandom need a manual on being furry?  They're already furries, mission accomplished.


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## Xipoid (Nov 13, 2009)

I'm... not really sure what to say to this. To be honest, I don't really see the point in it if it is serious. Perhaps as satire, but then it is just so trivial. In the end, it seems like it would just reduce down to etiquette in general without too much being specific enough to "furry" to warrant being "furry". Maybe it will, but I question its length.


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 13, 2009)

Xipoid said:


> Perhaps as satire, but then it is just so trivial.


 
An in depth and satirical 'Furry Manual' would be freakin' AWESOME.  I'd pay for a print copy of that.  However $20 says deathshadow1991 has no intention of such awesomeness and instead it will be 'serious' and 'instructional'.


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## Atrak (Nov 14, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> An in depth and satirical 'Furry Manual' would be freakin' AWESOME.  I'd pay for a print copy of that.  However $20 says deathshadow1991 has no intention of such awesomeness and instead it will be 'serious' and 'instructional'.



AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! I prefer the pieces that are instructional AND funny  . Actually, I was thinking about this the other day...take instruction manuals, and turn them into fictional short stories/novels  . I was thinking about learning swordsmanship, at the time  . If you did this, and did it well, I would read it twice, which is really saying something, because after I read something once, I can't read it again  . Only about three books and a short series were good enough for me to do this, and I've read hundreds, if not thousands of books  . I move forward, and rereading is retracing my steps -.- . *yawn* But if you're book is good enough to make me read it twice, it is DA BOMB XD . But if it's completely serious...well, I'm going to take a nap now  .


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 14, 2009)

well this is why i came to you guys before finishing the manual, you see i'll admit that i probably dont know what im doing in this, that is why im asking for help. now if you guys would take some time away from downing me and making me want to drop the idea and offer some help i might be able to make something worth while


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## Atrak (Nov 14, 2009)

atrakaj said:


> Wow, you're getting so much support already  .
> 
> On a serious note, OP, they are right. You should not right a book telling people what to do.* A better idea might be a book to help overcome furry social problems, or stories of furries who did, like a Chicken Soup for Furries  .*



I did  . Just because I hid it within jocular sarcasm doesn't mean it's not there  . Just don't copy a chicken soup exactly, make it your own.


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 14, 2009)

well i was going to include a section about overcoming problems and places they can go to find other furries who would help them, ex. right here at FA. but i need help because i dont want to give people a wrong idea of us.

my manual is more focused on getting new members interested, not as much helping current furries with their problems.


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## Atrak (Nov 14, 2009)

Ah, I see. In that case, I would do it as a fictional novel or short story, like when I mentioned instruction manuals above. *shrug* You're just not going to get many words if you only do straight facts and such. Also, it would have to be very general in order to apply to most people, and that would defeat the purpose, because we aren't very general  .


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## Aden (Nov 14, 2009)

Page 1: Don't take the fandom too seriously
Page 2: There is no page 2


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 14, 2009)

Aden said:


> Page 1: Don't take the fandom too seriously
> Page 2: There is no page 2


 
If he could follow the instruction on page 1, he wouldn't think that a manual is necessary.


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## M. LeRenard (Nov 14, 2009)

Next person who posts something inane and unhelpful gets a warning, then I start handing out infractions.  This forum is for requesting and giving out useful advice, not just spewing witty retorts at something you haven't even read yet.


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## yiffytimesnews (Nov 14, 2009)

I have been trying to get a Furry for Beginners guide on my blog and frankly I could not come up with much, If any one wants to add to it just message me.


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## Aurali (Nov 14, 2009)

ya know, I have probably a quadrillion things I could put on a "furry guide"

but then again... they'd end up being a "how to live life like a normal person" guide.

Would you like it anyway?


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## VÃ¶lf (Nov 14, 2009)

Hmm... interesting idea, but idk if it would be worth the effort in the end


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## Attaman (Nov 14, 2009)

I am still not getting entirely what you're making.  A manual on behavior and etiquette for the Fandom... but for newbies?  Do you mean how to get yourself involved?  How not to be driven out for being a moron?  How to behave in general, but most especially aimed at newbies to the fandom?

If for the first, a good one would probably be "lurk more".  Lurking is very helpful before jumping into any fandom's forums / social events.  You don't want to make repeat threads that were resolved five months ago / stir up an issue at a 'meet that was already dealt with.  Similarly, you don't want to be Jimmy 12-year-old Furry who, without looking, jumped onto a website that is full of "Bad" material.

Number two, lurk more still applies.  However, there's a few other things you can do.  First, don't say stupid stuff.  While there is no overall standard (so you should see, once more, "Lurk more"), making cries about things like Fursecution, calling out established members as trolls because of a disagreement, things like that should be avoided.  Second, act like you would in public without being surrounded by a posse of peers.  Don't wear a diaper and go in it while in public places, as a very extreme example.  Lastly, don't be a blaring hypocrite.  "Oh, it's fine that they draw [x].  Furs will be furs."  ">(  How dare that sick fuck draw [y], that material does not belong in the fandom!"


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## Thou Dog (Nov 14, 2009)

OP, I don't want to be brutal here, but I hope for the sake of everyone (yourself included) that you use standard punctuation and grammar, as well as spelling. I won't fret if you use British instead of American styling, since I don't know where you're from; but seriously, it has to be in proper English.

That said - I'm curious to see what the finished product is.

BTW, "new members" don't really need to be "interested" by us - the fact that they are new members already indicates that they have sufficient interest to actually join up. You know, I didn't call myself a furry until I discovered the existence of furries (in the broad sense of persons enjoying the ideas or depictions of anthropomorphic animals), but once I discovered that there were people out there who were into the same stuff, it clicked immediately. From what I've heard from other furries, that's generally the way people get into it. They're infected at an early age, and they don't call themselves "furries" because they don't know the term, until suddenly, they do.

Where was I going with this? I think I lost track.


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 15, 2009)

I think the real problem is that such a manual is going to be based primarily on stereotypes and just reinforce them.  Especially as it would be intended to act as a 'guide' then people will feel compelled to conform to such a guide.

While I'm just guessing, I imagine a chapter on 'Fursona Selection' which attempts to relate character trates to specific species.  This would be a prime example of the stereotyping I think this project would be riddled with.  Especially when many of the people who justify fursona choices really just base their own decisions on stereotypes in the first place.  This would just reinforce stereotyping and even attempt to engrain it in the culture.

I dunno, I picked snow leopard cause it had cool spots.  That's the depth of my decision.


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## Atrak (Nov 16, 2009)

Thou Dog said:


> OP, I don't want to be brutal here, but I hope for the sake of everyone (yourself included) that you use standard punctuation and grammar, as well as spelling. I won't fret if you use British instead of American styling, since I don't know where you're from; but seriously, it has to be in proper English.
> 
> That said - I'm curious to see what the finished product is.
> 
> ...


 
I completely agree. I didn't know I was a furry until after I hit puberty. I've always liked animals, but when I 'grew up,' I discovered that I was getting turned on everytime I petted an animal really well (not just a pat on the head, but some real petting and scratching, like they like it  ). I thought at first I might be into bestiality, but it was only the fur that turned me on, really. I knew what furries were at that time, but I didn't know I was a furry until that moment when I had that sudden realization/minor epiphany.

It happened more like you said with my beliefs. I was describing what I believe to someone on a game, and they had read the first adventure in my series, and said that I was a starseed. I had no idea what it was, but after some research, found that many of my general beliefs were the same, and I *was* a starseed  . I don't believe in that religious crap some of them spout, but I'm a starseed all the same.




AshleyAshes said:


> I think the real problem is that such a manual is going to be based primarily on stereotypes and just reinforce them. Especially as it would be intended to act as a 'guide' then people will feel compelled to conform to such a guide.
> 
> While I'm just guessing, I imagine a chapter on 'Fursona Selection' which attempts to relate character trates to specific species. This would be a prime example of the stereotyping I think this project would be riddled with. Especially when many of the people who justify fursona choices really just base their own decisions on stereotypes in the first place. This would just reinforce stereotyping and even attempt to engrain it in the culture.
> 
> I dunno, I picked snow leopard cause it had cool spots. That's the depth of my decision.


 
My favorites are the wolf and bunny. The wolf I feel a certain connection to, and have always liked, but I didn't realize I like bunnies until I felt the padding fur on their paws. It's sooooooooooooo soft ^^ .


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 16, 2009)

ok im sick of people saying that this is a dumb idea or beliving that this is going to suck without even reading it. that is why i chose to upload what is done so far for the opinions that acctually are based and solidified.

now do not post anything more until you have fully read what i have so far and acctually have something constructive to say.

for those of you acctually interested in helping then you can find sections 1-8 here


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## M. LeRenard (Nov 16, 2009)

The link is a good idea.  Thanks for that.
Anyway, the first problem I can see is that you don't have any sources listed, which means we all have to assume this is your opinion and your opinion only.  Hence, when you write things like


> Considered the lowest level of furries, being a member focused on the adult content of the site. These members are the basis for most negative ideals about the community.


under the category 'furvert', the reader has to ask, considered by who, and what do you mean by 'lowest level'?
Anyway, reading through it, I can see that some of the general complaints people were having here are turning out to be somewhat accurate.  I would suggest not poo-pooing the comments in this thread just yet and instead reading them and trying to determine if you are, in fact, falling into the traps some of these folks have predicted you would fall into.
I'm wondering just how much you actually researched these things you write about; claiming that American Indians dancing in animal skins is akin to wearing a fursuit, for example, is sure to royally piss some people off.  This is the kind of statement you can't just make offhand without some good support, you see.  Give concrete examples, rather than just saying, 'many Indian tribes do this, therefore....'
Same goes for your section on trolling.  You basically paint people who troll the forums as being heartless, evil bastards who stop at nothing to make furries look bad.  Well, there are nuances.  And, in fact, rather than being akin to 'racists' as you say, the general consensus seems to me to be that people just do it for the pleasure of getting a wild reaction.  Hence, it's all in good fun, and the advice you give regarding them would be wildly different (not so much 'unity as we stand and fight' as 'ignore them and they'll go away').
You should probably take your own advice when it comes to writing this thing and do some more research.  This kind of a piece needs backing to have any authority.

Now I'm questioning why I left this thread open, since it seems to be asking for critique on a specific work.  Well, I'll give the excuse that up until now it was more of a discussion of an idea for a work, which is okay under the rules.
...dodged a bullet there, right? ;-)


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 16, 2009)

> â€œA furry is an individual who has a deep-set interest or a connection to anthropomorphic characters or idealsâ€.



'Anthropomorphic Ideals'? What?




> Bare minimum furry, Forum Fur, Solo Sona, Fanticizer, Convinchifur, Suiter, Commissioner, Spirit Pawz, Furvurt



Convinchifur? Spirit Pawz? Not only are these pretty stupid I'm pretty that you came up with some of these terms on your own and you are now trying to MAKE them accepted terms via this manual. your entire 'levels of furry' thing also suggests a hierarchy which I'm uncomfortable with.




> . Possibly the oldest reference to furries would come from ancient Egypt with their gods and idols



*RAGE*

You seem to be unable to seperate 'the furry fandom' with utterly unrelated examples of anthropomorphism. You also use the word anthropomorphic as if it only refers to human-animal things when a singing and dancing animated refridgerator attempting to sell you an ice maker is also 'anthropomorphic'. You even specifically call these examples 'furry'. Your use of terminology here is eratic.




> So without even knowing it there are a lot of people who qualify as a member of the furry community without even knowing about it.



No, I'm pretty freakin' sure that to be a member of a community, one must know about it and participate in it. Watching Ninja Turtles as a kid doesn't make you a defacto member of the 'furry community' or every child from 1989 would be a furry.




> The presences of tolls has been known for years and for the longest time was gaining strength and followers as quickly as furries were.



What are they? The Illuminati?




> Currently trolls have lost most of their power over the community; their numbers are shrinking while the number of furry members continues to steadily increase.



Maybe one could argue that 'trolls' have become less of an external entity and have rather become an eternal entity. The majority of the hostile critics of the furry fandom now come from directly within the furry fandom. (Like me!) Do you actually believe this or are you just making it up?




> Over time of furries disproving these claims and outwitting trolls has shown that our community is one of unity that will stand for what they believe in and not conform to that of others around them.



...A super computer would need seven and a half million years to generate the emoticon that could express how this line makes me feel...


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 16, 2009)

ok i must admit that its not a good piece yet and that there are alot of unchecked facts. mostly i wanted to get some opinions on the idea to help refine my rough draft, then go deep down into research to get the facts referenced, then let it be read by a few people to see if they agreed, and then after much revising and editing, post it.

unfortunatly due to everyone trashing on the idea i thought the best way to get accurate comments would be to acctually post it up and get peoples opinions that were acctually based on what they read. 

now about a couple of things that were brought up by ashleyashes.

1. the deffinition i gave is what i felt gave a good idea of a general furry is, like the rest of this manual that is editable and not concret.

2. yes i did make up those terms, if you would have read carefully i stated in the piece that i did make those terms up and they were not a form of hiarchy, just a general grouping mecanism for a later idea of deepr explaing ideas such as fursuits or greater details in the sections.

3 i was not saying that the references from egypt were parts of the fandom today, just stating that the idea of animal like humans have been a part of human history for ages. i also plan to revise the deffinition of anthropomorphic used in the manual to address that it means anything given human-like characteristics yet the use of it in this manual focuses on that of animal anthros.

4.i said that they QUALIFY to be a member, i did not say that they were a member, just that they show the interests to be a member if they so choose. this statement was also made in a way to show that people who think that furries are just sex-crazed pedofiles that a furry can be as normal as they want to be.

5.i dont fully understand your comment on this but with this i was just showing that there were just as many people against the fandom as there were members in it

6. i wrote the trolls section mostly based on opinon, if i hadnt been tempted to post it early i could've done some research and found out that, thanks to your comment i will now fix that.

7. im not fully sure if you mean that to be an offencive comment or a compliment.


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## M. LeRenard (Nov 16, 2009)

> mostly i wanted to get some opinions on the idea to help refine my rough draft, then go deep down into research to get the facts referenced, then let it be read by a few people to see if they agreed, and then after much revising and editing, post it.


Okay, well, hopefully this thread is doing the job.  People at least are telling you what they don't want to see in such a manual or why they don't want to see such a manual in the first place.  You should be able to glean something from that, some way to make it more useful.
The general idea I should think would be potentially useful for younger people who are new to the whole furry thing, but only if you make it a lot more impartial than it is right now.  And don't hesitate to just browse around forums and pick out useful quotes from peoples' posts, too, because you'll find that a lot of this has been covered in many threads here and elsewhere.  The more opinions you show, the better the guide, because then it allows people to pick and choose their own methods, rather than limiting them to just one.
Good luck.


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 16, 2009)

M. Le Renard said:


> Okay, well, hopefully this thread is doing the job. People at least are telling you what they don't want to see in such a manual or why they don't want to see such a manual in the first place. You should be able to glean something from that, some way to make it more useful.
> The general idea I should think would be potentially useful for younger people who are new to the whole furry thing, but only if you make it a lot more impartial than it is right now. And don't hesitate to just browse around forums and pick out useful quotes from peoples' posts, too, because you'll find that a lot of this has been covered in many threads here and elsewhere. The more opinions you show, the better the guide, because then it allows people to pick and choose their own methods, rather than limiting them to just one.
> Good luck.


 
thanks for the great advice but there is one problem, im kinda on a time limit on this and its closing in fast, i dont have time to search through years and years of topics for one or two helpful comments to use. i guess i should just quit complaining and just look for the info instead of trying to have others find it for me.


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 16, 2009)

deathshadow1991 said:


> 2. yes i did make up those terms, if you would have read carefully i stated in the piece that i did make those terms up and they were not a form of hiarchy,





> Section 2: The Levels of Furry


 
LEVELS OF FURRY.  In this context, you are using 'levels' as in 'a ranking system'.


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## Felicia Mertallis (Nov 16, 2009)

THIS...will be lol worthy.


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## MilkHermit (Nov 16, 2009)

> 3 i was not saying that the references from egypt were parts of the fandom today, just stating that the idea of animal like humans have been a part of human history for ages. i also plan to revise the deffinition of anthropomorphic used in the manual to address that it means anything given human-like characteristics yet the use of it in this manual focuses on that of animal anthros.


As Ashes said, you can't just "point out" that anthropomorphism in regards to animals has been present through all of human history, especially when you're essentially drawing a straight line from the Egyptian pantheon to Bugs Bunny. It's confusing, misleading, and downright offensive - it shows that you don't care enough to devote the necessary time to back up this comparison with research and insight. If you're really serious about this project, and you have limited time, I would suggest cutting out all the Egyptian and "Indian" parts and just starting with recent animation, where in my opinion the _fandom_ was born. You're not writing about history, you're writing about social mores and details in the furry community.


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## nybx4life (Nov 16, 2009)

The only idea now that might gain support is to be a "real" furry in the real world.

A fictional tale, but something in the manual version.


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## Aden (Nov 16, 2009)

Alright, even though I HAET downloading word documents, I'm going to proofread this thang. This is (no longer) a placeholder. tl;dr ensues.

--------

Sections in red are grammatical corrections.
Sections in green are my notes, and sections of writing [within blue brackets] are being made note of.
Indents have been removed and sections have been bolded for clarity.

--------

[Word-Art title. Drop this affront to all that is good, fast]
The Manual for Becoming and Growing as a New Furry

[Like I believe I said above, calling this "THE Manual" is presenting the document as definitive, when you repeatedly try clarifying that these are just your own opinions. Consider changing]

By: Matthew â€œWhisp the Foxxâ€ Whitt

Hello to all of you out there. The fact that you picked up this manual goes to show shows that you have an interest in the furry community, and personally, I cannot blame you. The furry community [has got to be] [Extremely colloquial, juvenile. Replace] [the single greatest sub-community in the world today] [Under whose definition? Clarify. Also clarify what determines greatness]. Now there might be some of you out there who either: does not know what a furry is, are on the fence about becoming a furry, or have [some] [Colloquial] [media-induced misconception of us] [Doubtful, but nevertheless clarify. I, however, would avoid bringing up negatives in the FIRST PARAGRAPH of the "manual"]. Through this manual I hope to educate any reader in the ways of this [grossly misunderstood subculture] [Again with the negatives and the persecution complex. If I were new to the fandom, the first impression I'd be getting right now is "baawwww"]. [The topics I will cover in order are what a furry is and the different levels of furries, clearing up the most popular misconceptions that are associated with members, a history lesson on where furries originated and some ancient references, a walk-through on the process of joining and becoming a furry for yourself, and finally a dictionary of terms that would confuse outsiders.] [Not necessary, especially if you're going to include a contents page (which you should)] Enjoy the readâ€¦ [Nix the ellipses, maybe replace with exclamation point]


*Section 1: What is a Furry?*

This is a question that has been in debate [The question is not in debate, the answer is] among the community for several years. There are probably as many definitions as there are members of the community itself. [First good, apt, helpful line so far (not even sarcasm). Preserve] The most commonly accepted definition would have to be this: â€œA furry is an individual who has a [deep-set interest] [How deep is required?] or a connection to anthropomorphic characters or [ideals]â€. [What are anthropomorphic ideals? Take out of definition, raises more questions than answers] This is widely accepted as the [bare minimum requirement] [I disagree. Like above, what is a "deep-set" interest? I can't be a furry if I just like animal-head people? Also, this phrase sounds like you're taking this waay too seriously] to claim yourself as a furry. For those of you who do not know what an anthropomorphic character is, [an anthro] [This is not an answer. It IS, however, a terrible sentence fragment and a very poor end to this sentence. Rephrase, merge with next sentence]. This is a character possessing characteristics of humans and animals [Not specific enough]. [Some of the most widely known references to examples of this would be are [cartoon] characters such as Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse] [Passive sentence. Switch order, assert it more]. [Now] [Colloqual. Consider replacing with "However,"] [just as there are different levels of furry members] [Using a subject you haven't covered yet as an example. Don't do it] there are different [levels] [How so? Did you mean "types"?] of actual furry characters. [Basically] [Colloqual], [it's] [Replace pronoun with its reference] personal preference. Anything between talking dogs to a human with a tail can be considered a furry.

[You seem to transition into sentences with very immature starting words. You're writing, not trying to give a faux-enthusiastic middle-school speech.]

*Section 2: The Levels of Furry*

Before I start this section I must say that there are no locked-in levels or definitions of what separates the furries into groups [Why do the furries need to be separated into groups in the first place? This sentence indirectly makes it seem like classifying different furries is the normal thing to do]. These following figures are my personal classifications and groups. Going by the bare minimum, we already know that a furry is someone with interests in anthroâ€™s [Apostrophes are NOT for plurals. Bad. >:c].  [Well] [See above note. I'm just going to start referring to this type of bad writing as "1"] here is a list of some [other types of people and what exactly qualifies them for that group] [Sloppy structure, wording].

[The following categories were originally organized in a table, which did not carry over with the copy/paste. Categories have been underlined for clarity]

[Title caps the groups. Saying it here because I don't want to correct it all there]

Bare-minimum furry - Has interests in anthropomorphic characters and ideas. ["Bare-Minimum Furry". You make it sound as though having a casual interest in animal-head people is lazy or not looked favorably upon. Great way to turn away new readers who might just be developing a passing interest]

Forum Fur - A person who holds membership to a furry-oriented forum or website. [Why does this need its own classification?]

Solo 'Sona ["'Sona" is a contraction of "fursona", therefore an apostrophe should be used] - A member who has a fursona but does not actively participate in furry [events] such as conventions or [forums] [I don't think posting in a furry forum counts as an "event"]. [Just work on the bad name and I can see this one working]

Fanticizer Fantasizer - A member who participates on on-line ["Online" is one word nowadays, bro. Get with the times] role-playing that involves their his or her own created furry characters.

Convinchifur - A member who attends public conventions or meets in which other members are present. [Seems like it COULD be a valid classification, but oh god that name is so bad oh god]

'Suiter [Remember what I said about the contraction. "Fursuiter" -> "'Suiter"] - A member who owns or uses a costume that is based off of their his or her [fursona] [You haven't explained what a 'fursona' is yet]. [People who fursuit do not necessarily have to own 'suits of their own characters only]

Commissioner [Consider changing. A "commissionER" is usually the person who commissions the work] - A member who accepts payment to create artwork, stories, or costumes pertaining to the fursonas of other members.

Spirit Pawz - A member who believes that their fursona is a representation of their spirit of spirit animal. [Aside from opening the way to the clusterfuck that is Therianism and the like, "Spirit Pawz" is a horrible, horrible name. Seriously]

Furvurt - Considered the [lowest level of furries] [Whoa, whoa, I thought these were classifications, not "levels". Also, way to inject personal opinion into a DEFINITION], [being a member focused on the adult content of the site] [Bad sentence structure]. These members are the basis for most negative ideals opinions about the community. [Actually, I think people who take the fandom too seriously are, but that's another debate entirely. Either way, try not to be negative about any parts of a fandom in an INTRODUCTION TO THE FANDOM. Simply omit the things you feel are distasteful]

[Now] [1] these are just general levels for members and each member can hold multiple [titles] ["Titles"? Way too formal. What happened to "groups"?]. The titles a member holds is strictly determined by personal preference and are in no way permanent. [This just shows again that the furry community is a very open and flexible group to be a part of] [Sloppy, consider revising].


*Section 3: History to Present*

[It is known] [It is? By whom?] that furries the furry fandom was established and recognized as a sub-community in the late 1960â€™s to early 1970â€™s [Source?] but [ideas of interest] [Huh?] or even worship of anthropomorphic creatures goes back much farther than many people think. Possibly the oldest reference to example of furries anthropomorphic animals would comes from ancient Egypt [with their gods and idols] [Rephrase], the most well known of which being Isis, the god of death [The oldest example of anthropomorphism in art is an ivory figure of a human with a feline head, found in Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, dating approx. 30,000 BCE. Come to think of it, that's one of the earliest examples of art that we have found, period]. Usually presented with the head of a dog and the body of a human, this idol from ancient Egypt fits the qualifications to be claimed as a furry [No it doesn't. It was not made with the fandom in mind, I'm sure. It's simply anthropomorphic].

Another reference to ancient appearances of furry based creations can be found in the rituals of Indians from all nations. In their rituals they would wear the skins of animals and dance in hope that it would lead to success in a hunt, harvest or even war. Crude as it may be, these coverings made from the skins of real animals can be considered some of the first fur suits [Please no. Please, please no. Do not even begin to compare their purposes with our hobby]. [You see] [Not a middle-school speech. 1] in some rituals the dancers would wear the skin of an animal in hopes to attain some of their attributes, in example the strength of a bear or the speed of a fox. So this lightly connects to the way that modern day suiters wear their costumes to display the mental attributes of some of these animals.

[You say a lot of things and never mention a source. I can't help but think that you're just dredging up what you may remember from somewhere in order to fill space and validate the fandom]

On a more modern [scale] [Huh?], furries are everywhere. Whether you notice it or not is [debatable] [Re-word] [but think of it like this] [1]. Everyone at one point or another has seen a cartoon or a movie in which there is an animal or animal-like character and in some cases people tend to like these characters. So without even knowing it there are a lot of people who qualify as a member of the furry community without even knowing about it. [No, no, no! You do not become a part of a community without your knowledge. This is just another attempt for furries to claim things as theirs without proper reason. Reeks of desperation]


*Section 4: Trolls*

Iâ€™m not talking about the crazy haired dolls that some people played with as kids [ur hurr hurr].  Iâ€™m talking about those out there who openly oppose the furry community whether it be online or in real life [So if they don't like us, they're "trolls"? What? Study up on your internet lingo, bub]. The swarming of the trolls on anything furry related is as old as the furries themselves ["The Swarming of the Trolls". Really?]. Theirs is a kind of blind hate towards our community and they scrutinize any piece of furry related material to the [level of racists] [NO. Christ. That's it, I'm done with this section. See notes below]. The presences of tolls has been known for years and for the longest time was gaining strength and followers as quickly as furries were.

Currently trolls have lost most of their power over the community; their numbers are shrinking while the number of furry members continues to steadily increase. This is suspected to be the cause of a lack of originality in the trollâ€™s arguments, for the past few years the same bogus theories and lame spamming comments have continued to sprout up around the net. Over time of furries disproving these claims and outwitting trolls has shown that our community is one of unity that will stand for what they believe in and not conform to that of others around them.

[Okay, so, my note above about simply omitting the negative parts when introducing new people notwithstanding, this sounds like really low-level editorial writing. How long have you been in this fandom? Clearly not long enough to grow out of this "oh no, not the evil trolls!" bull. Drop this subject entirely, come back when you have more maturity and less of a persecution complex]


*Section 8: Donâ€™t just jump and pray*

Through this manual so far I have made it abundantly clear that the furry community is very accepting and very caring [No you haven't], at least in most parts [Again, omit negatives]. You see [1] the fact that the fandom has been around for many years means that there are a lot of events that have been established well before now. As suggested by fellow members the best thing for any new fur to do is to browse  through forums for a while and do some research before joining in on debates and making inappropriate comments to a decent fur who just disagreed with you. [Where is this paragraph going? What's the focus? Where's the advice that's not common sense?]

------

Soooooo yeah. In all honesty, I'd scrap this and wait another few years before attempting this kind of a project. It's obvious that you're not overtly knowledgeable about the fandom, and it's even more obvious that you do not have a mature, respectable mindset about a great many things. This is not a good combination with which to bring in new furries. Sorry. If you really cared about new furries (and old furries), you would heed this advice. Doing otherwise is just being stubborn.

\Helpful enough, *M. Le Renard*? >:V


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 16, 2009)

how many times do i have to say this, it's in it's editing phase. if you guys would give me time i will address these problems. first of which, switching levels to classifications.

the second problem is to clearly show and research the purpose of these animal/human figures in history and how they can relate to furries today to simply show that the ideas of humans dressing like/respecting animals has been around for many years.

and once i fix those ill come back to hear what else you have to say


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## Aden (Nov 16, 2009)

deathshadow1991 said:


> how many times do i have to say this, it's in it's editing phase. if you guys would give me time i will address these problems. first of which, switching levels to classifications.
> 
> the second problem is to clearly show and research the purpose of these animal/human figures in history and how they can relate to furries today to simply show that the ideas of humans dressing like/respecting animals has been around for many years.
> 
> and once i fix those ill come back to hear what else you have to say



It's not just about grammar, word choice, and sources, bro. See above post.


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## BobtheDancingFlea (Nov 16, 2009)

(I took a crack at editing this, too. :3 I'm not as nice and organized as Aden so I just edited everything in good ol' red.)

The Manual for Becoming and Growing as a  New Furry
(Keep the font normal. Big, flashy fonts like this are kind if tacky and distracting. Plus, the title itself is awkward, but I see you're planning on changing it.)
By: Matthew â€œWhisp the Foxxâ€ Whitt (I would avoid putting the nickname here. It makes you look less credible.)
Hello to all of you out there, (awkward. The phrasing of this is yeuch. You may want to say something like, "hello, readers". Also, you might want to adopt a more formal tone in this. The introduction can be more informal, since you're introducing the reader, but when you start to talk about facts you need to sound more formal.) the fact that you [have] picked up this manual goes to shows that you have an interest in the furry community and, personally, I can not blame you (it doesn't necessarily mean that. It might just mean they want to know what the term itself means. That might be a good way to start off this manual: by focusing more on what makes a furry, a furry.). The furry community has got to be the single greatest sub-community in the world today. (Debatable. You need proof to state things like this. Assumptions are a no-no in a manual. You need to know your shit!  You might, instead, want to talk about how it's grown, rather than its "greatness". Greatness is pretty hard to define, anyways.) Now, There may be some of you out there who (reading this/who are reading this. You may want to change the beginning of this sentence altogether, to maybe, "You may be wondering some things about the furry fandom/community", or "there are many reasons you may have picked up this manual".In the case of the latter, this should be used in place of your sentence about why they have picked up the manual.) [who] either"("either" suggests two. You have three possibilities.): do not know what a furry is, are on the fence about becoming a furry, or have some media induced misconception of us. (The third option is similar to not knowing what a furry is. Your two options could, instead, be "you want to know more about furries/the furry lifestyle/the furry fandom/the furry community (pick one) or are interested in becoming part of it." Don't let your own biases come through. It's clear you're feeling like people are prejudiced against you, and are DEAD WRONG!!!) Through this manual I hope to educate any reader in the ways of this grossly misunderstood sub-culture. The topics I will cover in order are what a furry is and the different levels of furries (these don't exist. You may just want to say, you're going to group them together in order to discuss them in a more clear way. My grammar isn't very good there but I'm not the one writing the paper. xD), clearing up the most popular ("common" might be a better word to use here.) misconceptions that are associated with members, (furries, members of teh furry fandom. Be more specific.) a history lesson on where furries originated (make sure you KNOW where they originated from. Do some research!) and some ancient references (bad word choice. I would say you should stop trying to introduce the topics and just stick to a table of contents.), a walk-through on the process of joining and becoming a furry for yourself, (I've read this and you haven't included this. I know this is a rough copy but make sure you put it in.) and finally a dictionary of terms that would confuse outsiders (again, I didn't see this...but I understand it's still a work in progress.). Enjoy the readâ€¦ (You don't need any dot dot dots! It makes you seem unsure of yourself. An exclamation point would be much better.)

Section 1: What is a Furry?
	This is a question that has been in debate among the community for several years, and there are probably as many definitions as there are members of the community itself. The most commonly accepted definition would have to be this (poor choice of words. Try introducing with a definition from an online source, and compare it to the common conception. You should also discuss the fact that many people have different opinions on what makes a furry, a furry. For a lot of people, it's just the interest in how anthropomorphized animals look.): â€œA furry is an individual who has a deep-set interest or a connection to anthropomorphic characters or idealsâ€. (Source this quote. Who said it? I hope it wasn't you! You're not the only furry out there, you know!  )This is widely accepted as the bare minimum requirement to claim yourself as a furry. (a) No it isn't. b) "bare minimum" makes this sound way too serious, like they're applying for a membership. xD It's just a hobby, a pastime, an interest, it's not that serious. You might want to make a poll on the forums and ask "what is a furry?" That way, you could see what opinion is in the majority. Well, on this website, anyways.) For those of you who do not know what an anthropomorphic character is (you introduce this idea out of the blue. When you define furries, mention their interest in anthropomorphic characters. That way, this sentence will seem like a natural transition.), an anthro (sentence fragment to the max!!!). This is a character possessing characteristics of humans and animals (kind of rote. You might want to say what anthropomorph_ism_ is, first, and explain that it's applying human characteristics to non-human things. Then, you can explain that furries apply it to animals (and sometimes bugs--HEH).). Some of the most widely know references to this (?! "examples of anthropomorphic characters", maybe? You use the word references incorrectly a lot. Watch out for that.) would be characters such as Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. (I'm gonna agree with Aden here and say you could switch this. "Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny are two popular/well-known/prominent/whatever examples of anthropomorphic characters...") Now, (Agreeing with Aden again. You start sentences in a very simple, informal way. You also say "now" a lot. Grab a thesaurus!) just as there are different levels of furry members ("just as"? You didn't discuss it, though! Don't refer back to something that hasn't been said yet.) there are different levels of actual furry characters. Basically, it's personal preference, anything between talking dogs to a human with a tail can be considered a furry. (Really? I was always under the impression that humans with ears and tails had a different name. I could be extremely wrong, though. You also might want to say that people choose different species/colours/personalities and some people make them involved characters whereas some people just make something cute to draw. "Levels" is kind of deceptive and, like (I think it was Aden?) said, suggests a hierarchy. Members of the furry fandom don't want to feel like they're "below" others in the same fandom, especially because it's all supposed to be just for fun.)

Section 2: The Levels of Furry (Change the title. Maybe just, "getting to know furries" or "understanding furries" or just something that suggests it's for informing rather than...clique-ing.)

(I'll edit the rest later. I am already getting an achey head. ): Expect more from me! When is this due, by the way? You said the deadline was fast approaching.)


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## TakeWalker (Nov 17, 2009)

Take off any suggestion of definitiveness if this is just your opinion. In fact, if it's just your opinion, there's no need to really make a big deal out of it in the first place.

Better yet, hang around the fandom for a few years before you start to classify it. If you actually want to make something definitive, look for references (many of which have been suggested to you already) and above all else, _talk to other furries_. Look for people who've been around for ten, twenty, upwards of thirty years now, people who have been there and done that. They're the ones who are going to be able to tell you what's what. What you've got now is unhelpful and polarizing.


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## AshleyAshes (Nov 17, 2009)

TakeWalker said:


> Better yet, hang around the fandom for a few years before you start to classify it. If you actually want to make something definitive, look for references (many of which have been suggested to you already) and above all else, _talk to other furries_. Look for people who've been around for ten, twenty, upwards of thirty years now, people who have been there and done that. They're the ones who are going to be able to tell you what's what. What you've got now is unhelpful and polarizing.


 
Minus the 'furvurt' title, every other 'level' he listed really sounds more like 'common activities within the fandom' rather than specific archetypes.


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## Atrak (Nov 17, 2009)

Aden...wow...

OP, don't just dismiss someone's thread just because it includes grammar corrections. This entire thread you've been asking (being nice here) for people to seriously answer your question. Aden read your work and worked VERY hard on his response, and you just dismiss it? Seriously, that's extremely hipocritical. Please read his post and take it seriously, as you've been asking us to do of your work, which Aden DID.


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## Aden (Nov 17, 2009)

atrakaj said:


> Aden...wow...
> 
> OP, don't just dismiss someone's thread just because it includes grammar corrections. This entire thread you've been asking (being nice here) for people to seriously answer your question. Aden read your work and worked VERY hard on his response, and you just dismiss it? Seriously, that's extremely hipocritical. Please read his post and take it seriously, as you've been asking us to do of your work, which Aden DID.



I believe he posted that before I finished editing my post with all my notes, but thanks.


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## Atrak (Nov 17, 2009)

No problem.

OP, I know it looks like we're all against you, hate your idea, and aren't listening to your or taking this seriously, but we ARE listening and taking it seriously. *shrug* Some of us don't like the idea and are against it *cough*ashley*cough* , but even those are trying to help you, in their own way.

I honestly don't see how you can pull this off the way you want it to, and told you some ways to change it so that it might be more interesting.

Ashley was stating her opinion, which is what you wanted, isn't it? He just stated them in BIG FUCKING LETTERS  .

TakeWalker went for the socialize method, which might actually solve almost every problem with your manual, but I understand that you don't really have time for this.

Ren was right in that you need others' opinions, and you said that you would get them, but only after you found out what was wrong with your manual. Please understand that getting the opinions of others will SOLVE most of these problems.

There are others that were helpful, but I will stop here  .


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 17, 2009)

ok first i must appologize to Aden, when i first read your post it did not have your corrections on it, now that i have read through them i have started work on improving the quality of the work overall. ill be posting my second draft of it tomorrow.


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## Bladespark (Nov 17, 2009)

I have to say, I'm going to join Ashley here in not liking this at all.  The fandom is already far, far, far too plagued with stereotypes and snap judgments.  This kind of thing is only adding to it.  You can't lump everybody with a sexual interest in furry in the same category, for example.  There's a difference between getting off on the art and being a perverted creeper.  And the whole business about them being the lowest... ugh.  I wish they wouldn't talk to the media and give the rest of us a bad rep, sure, but that doesn't make them lower than me, that just makes them people who annoy me.    (And that's just the ones who wave their fetishes around in public, some of the other "furverts" in this fandom are among my closest friends.)

What exactly is this supposed to accomplish?  What benefit will it provide?  Who will it help?  I don't see anywhere where you answer those questions, even though they've been asked.  What reason do you have for writing this?


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## Poetigress (Nov 17, 2009)

I've tried to make this constructive; mods can let me know if I was successful or not. 

I think there are a couple of different directions you can go with this sort of piece, and personally I suspect you may have chosen the wrong one for your situation. It looks like you're trying to write something purely persuasive/instructional, and yet -- well, putting this as gently as I can -- according to your profile on FA, you're 17 and you've been a furry less than a year. That's not a great deal of experience, especially with a fandom as complex and varied as this one. Because your experience level is where it is, it doesn't lend you a lot of credibility on its own for this type of project, so you have to make up for it, as others have already said, with objectivity and references. And with the huge topic you've chosen -- essentially Furry for Dummies -- you've got so much ground to cover that it makes everything seem oversimplified.

The other option (and forgive me if somebody's already suggested this on the first page) would be to go more of a targeted, personal-essay route. Talk about the fandom in general, yes, but discuss it from your life and your point of view, and then expand outward from that where it's appropriate, in order to give context for what you've experienced. You still have to do research so that the more objective parts of the essay don't come off sounding as if they were pulled out of nowhere, but I think overall, you might have a much better shot at pulling off that kind of piece with where you're coming from right now, instead of the instruction manual-type idea. (Just make sure to research writing personal essays. It's not the same as an op-ed or a journal entry.)

I also still think you need to clarify your audience. "Any reader," including those outside the fandom, those new to it, or those with misconceptions, is really too broad. Since it sounds like you're writing this for school, you might be better off thinking of your audience as people who know little about the fandom and are curious about it (though not necessarily wanting to participate in it themselves). 

And again, if you go a personal-essay route, think about focusing down to a smaller area. For example, do you have or want a fursuit? Ever tried one on? Why? That one area of the fandom, based on your experience ("this is why I do this, and this is what other people say that I've talked to," not "this is why people do this"), could make an interesting paper on its own. Or, how did you choose your fursona? Do you know someone else who'd be willing to talk to you about their different reaons for choosing theirs? Why create an animal character to represent yourself? That sort of thing.

The trickiest part of all of this, I think, is going to be tone. Whenever someone's been involved in something they love for a fairly short amount of time... well, they're in love with it. Whether it's a hobby or a religion or a fandom, it's hard to admit or even see the flaws in it, and that can lead to a sort of gushing I-found-God tone, where everything about the activity/cause/faith/whatever is noble, and any criticisms of it are therefore completely undeserved. So far, setting aside the various technical and philosophical issues pointed out by others in this thread, I think the biggest advice I have is, when writing about something like this, acknowledge the weaknesses as well as the strengths, and while you don't have to dwell on the aspects you don't like or don't agree with, don't belittle those aspects either in hopes of making them go away. I think that might be easier for you to do when writing about your own personal experiences rather than making big generalizations about the fandom as a whole.


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## deathshadow1991 (Nov 17, 2009)

well that was one of my fears when writing this, that my own personal experiences wouldn't be sufficient to make it worth anything. but as i have said before, there is no other subject i feel i know enough about to make a worth while piece within the restrictions of the piece itself. so i beg of you, dont just dissmiss my work as the yappings of a noob, i might have only been a part of the fandom for a short time but i have expirienced alot in this short time. soon you guys will see that im right, i just need some belief and support.

i am going to spend the next few days rewriting the entire piece, taking all of the things said in this topic into concideration, and i dont want any more posts until i post up a revised edition


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