So about a month ago it came to my attention that someone was stealing my character - the character this account is based around, Xolani, my wasp character. The character theft came to my attention when someone I know IRL (  VicP ) saw the person join a Discord server he was on and thought the person was me, and approached them in DM. They quickly got spooked by encountering someone who clearly knows me and left the server, so I was left in the awkward position of figuring out and explaining that this wasn't me.

Not me -->

https://i.imgur.com/RNzCnof.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/F1wKCjO.jpg

At the time I wanted to pursue the matter but didn't have much to go on so let it sit for the time being after taking the matter up with Discord didn't bear much fruit on what I had at the time. I was certain he'd come up on my radar at some point again in the not too distant future.

I was right. Fast forward a month or so later and me and my SO are on our way to visit  malk and  davec. Malk says there's someone in a Discord server a person he knows admins going under my name but who didn't know our friends who were in a group picture we had. I confirmed that this person wasn't me and it was arranged with the admins I'd be invited into the server to confront him.

My impostor not knowing my friends -->
https://i.imgur.com/gs4z6yr.png

And here's a few links to the chatlog of me confronting him on this server (he's under Mekhane, these screenshots were taken after the time he changed name and icon) -->
https://i.imgur.com/xdmZO7r.png
https://i.imgur.com/ESj2J8M.png
https://i.imgur.com/fa8Tr7S.png
https://i.imgur.com/rRb49V1.png
https://i.imgur.com/f4u5cKp.png
https://i.imgur.com/E7KrYnE.png
https://i.imgur.com/BeIPWfc.png
https://i.imgur.com/kxDrPdt.png
https://i.imgur.com/jakjJdE.png

And then the DM exchange that took place afterwards -->
https://i.imgur.com/K1bc2T0.png
https://i.imgur.com/m8RGhks.png
https://i.imgur.com/EkToFDN.png
https://i.imgur.com/dHy39h2.png

Anyway to sum up without boring your asses I didn't engage him in DMs until after, well, I'd basically chased him out of the server he'd spent time using my character and identity to ingratiate himself into because I wasn't there for the negotiation he was hoping for, because there was nothing he could negotiate.

Having chatted with the residents of this server about the guy pretending to be me some of the things he told the group and tried to pass off under my identity bordered into the creepy and awkward, and this guy was creating a few potential awkward situations for me by passing himself off under one of my pseudonyms, especially seeming as this server he'd ingratiated himself into up to this point had friends of friends in it.

I wanted to make this post in part to make it clear that I'll create a hostile environment for anyone trying to steal any of my characters or pass themselves off under my identity in any form. If it takes humiliating you so deeply that I confront you about what you're doing in a server where you've ingratiated yourself and made friends that you have to flee immediately then that is what I'll do. My intellectual property is my own and you have no right to appropriate it.

My main "fursona" character is now  DorjeTheStego so go check me out there for a more actively updated profile and art.

1. What is your name?
Xolani.

2. What is your gender?
Dude.

3. How old are you?
29

4. How tall are you?
5'8"

5. Are you in a relationship?
Yes.

6. Where are you staying?
Convention Hotel.

7. What day are you getting there?
Friday.

8. Who will you be with?
 Skawinski, this hyena dude  Tarkndark and  avon

9. Do you have art in the art show?
No.

10. What suit(s) will you have?
None.

11. Can I dance with you?
Me, dance? Hah!

12. Can I touch you?
Only if you're going to follow through baby.

13. Can I talk to you?
Well I'm not going there to sit in the corner and say nothing.

14. Can I hug you?
Maybe. Depends who you are.

15. Can I take photos of you/with you?
Ask first but likely.

16. Can I buy you lots of drinks?
I'll be drinking sparingly. But you can certainly buy me one if you really want to.

17. Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?
I drink sparingly. And I smoke on special occasions. I might take some cigars with me.

18. Can I give you lots of money?
Please do sugardaddy.

19. Can I hang out with you?
If you give me the right vibe sure.

20. How will I recognise you?
Look out for the guy in the yellow t-shirt with a wasp face on it.

21. Where will you be most of the time during the con?
I haven't thought that far ahead, hah.

22. Who are you rooming with?
 Skawinski

23. Attending any events?
Maybe?

24. How can I find you at the con?
Tweet at me or something XolaniVespid.

25. Are you doing anything in line with the theme?
Not really.

26. How are you getting to the con?
Train I think.

Yo all.

I've been working on a self-hosted website. It's got a wiki for hosting technical information about my projects and manuals for doing some cool stuff with single board computers and for other stuff. That bit is here: https://wiki.xolani.tk/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

I've also made a forum for it. XD I have no idea if that will take off at all but who knows? If it becomes a little RP space or furry porn sharing space or whatever then I'll be very impressed.

https://forum.xolani.tk/index.php

I'm also planning on setting up a Mastodon and stuff like that. :3

Check it out!

I still get watches here even though I don't use the site anymore... So what the heck? XD Looking back at my last journal I may as well re-upload my stuff, eh?

Yo all,

I've not used FA in a long while because of pretty heavy disillusionment with the way this site is managed. However I've not disabled my account and only ever removed the content.

I've been considering using FA again because disappointingly the alternatives to FA still haven't really taken off like I'd have hoped they would.

So what do people think? Should I upload at least some of my stuff again?

I've just deleted my entire gallery and am not going to use this site for posting content anymore. Find me at https://beta.furrynetwork.com/xolani/ or https://www.weasyl.com/~xolani

I've been very patient with this website but leaking passwords is the line.

Is painful.

This is a bit belated now, but my exams are all over now and I'm just waiting on the results and the final grade of my degree. So I have more free time for a while now. I've already put some of it to use in dusting off the blog and writing this though, if you're interested, it's a short piece about some of the misconceptions about Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy: http://coveredinbeees.blogspot.co.u.....-buddhism.html

Got the idea for this from  AetherWarrior

I've had Telegram for ages, so if you wanna chat to me, hit me up on there at Xolani. :D

Well, we've barely had a summer. And my bees don't really seem to have made much honey. And I'm worried about some of the colonies going into winter this year...

Hopefully it'll be ok come spring though.

This is the road me and  skawinski live on. The funniest thing is that the resident comment is basically a complaint that the police were more disruptive than the dealers ever were.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news.....category%20p$3

Feels good, yeeeeah. :3

Stolen from  danza

Where are you staying?
The Hilton Metropole.

Means of transportation?
Getting a lift from a friend.

Sharing a room with:
My other half. http://www.furaffinity.net/user/skawinski

What is your gender?
Male

Relationship Status:
See above.

How old are you?
25

How tall are you?
5'8"

Which languages do you speak?
English, some French, some Zulu, a bit of Polish.

Where will you be most of the time during the day?
Probably all over the place trying to bump into people.

Who will you be with?
My boyfriend obviously, and god knows who I'll bump into.

Do you do commissions?/ Do you have prints/CDs?
No.

What suit(s) will you have?
None.

Can I dance with you?
If I'm very drunk.

Can I touch you?
If I'm very drunk.

Can I talk to you?
Sure.

Can I hug you?
If you're not creepy about it.

Can I take photos of you/with you?
If you're not creepy about it.

Can I buy you lots of drinks?
This might help with the above questions.

Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?
I drink, only smoke occasionally while drinking.

Can I give you lots of money?
Yes please.

Can we hang out?
Sure, as long as you're not creepy about it.

Are you nice?
I like to think so.

Other cons you may go to?
https://www.cesfur.org/en/

Attending any events?
Pawpets show for sure. Will consider others.

How can I find you at the con?
Ping me on Twitter XolaniVespid

Can we go out for a dinner?
Um...

Are you buying art?
Probably.

What do I have to watch out for, when I am meeting you?
I have this thing called being creeped out by creepy people. Apart from that you're probably fine.

What is the best way to contact you?
Twitter, see above.

May I kidnap you to my room?
Depends.

You look pretty tired, are you ok?
Probably just drunk.

Last time/last con/last meet/last chat we talked so much and now you forgot my name? Why???
I was probably very drunk.

Will you tell me your room-number and can I surprise visit you?
If I know you.

I have a personal question for the convention. May I ask you that?
Sure. Send me a note I guess.

A serious question: Who'd support me running a kickstarter to expand to a third apiary? How much would you be willing to give?

After being delayed by a couple holding hands and walking slowly in front of me at Liverpool Central, which caused me to miss the train again, I decided to write this.

1. If you intend to stand, stand to the right on the escalator. This allows people who are in more of a hurry to pass you on the left
2. If you are walking slowly, do not walk in double file. Walkways and escalators are often narrow and people need to catch their train or get out of the building. Have your offspring stand in front of you; not to the side
3. If someone asks to get past you, they are not being rude. They just have somewhere to be. The train guard isn't going to keep the doors open while they wander slowly behind you while you hold your partner's hand
4. Allow people to get off the train before you try to ram yourself in past people
5. A disabled space is for disabled people. It is not for your luggage or a pram. Be prepared to move either if a wheelchair user boards. Don't throw a hissy fit about it. This also applies to other forms of public transport including buses
6. If you violate any of these rules and someone barges past you after a polite request to stand aside, blame yourself.

I'm going to Tenerife on Friday for a week to do ecology work for one of my university modules (or classes as you Americans are allowed to call them). It should be fun, but a lot of hard work too. Wish me luck! :D

Well, yesterday (27th) was my birthday. I'm 25 now. And feeling older already. Especially as I didn't spend any time on my birthday doing anything birthday related whatsoever; most of it was spent getting our apartment ready for human habitation.

Oh yeah, that's happening this weekend too. I'm moving into a new apartment with teh bf. :D

Stolen from  Aevsivs and  Chirasul

1. Had sex? Yes
2. Bought Condoms? Yes
3. Gotten somebody Pregnant? No
4. Failed A Class? At school, yes. At university, no.
5. Kissed A Boy? Countless times

6. Kissed A Girl? No
7. Used A Little Paper Bag for Lunch? No
8. Had A Job? 7
9. Slipped On Ice? You should see me ice skating.
10. Missed The School Bus? Yes
11. Fucked a girl? Raging homo. Sorry, girls.

12. Bullied Someone On The Internet? Nobody will answer yes to that; bullies don't think they're bullies.
13. Sexted? All the time
14. Sex In Public? A few times, yes
15. Played On A Sports Team? Rugby Union

16. Smoked Weed? Yes
17. Smoked Cigarettes? Yes, but I'm not a smoker.
18. Smoked A Cigar? Yes
19. Drank Alcohol? Yes
20. Watched porn? Lots

21. Skipped class? No
22. Gotten Arrested? No
23. Done meth? Thank fuck not.
24. Been To A Wedding? Yes
25. Fell in love with a best friend? Yes

26. Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight? 5 hours is nothing
27. Watched TV For 5 Hours Straight? Yes
28. Been Late For Work? sadly yes
29. Been Late For School? yes
30. Kissed In The Rain? Yes

31. Showered With Someone Else? All the time
32. Failed My Drivers Test? I can't drive
33. Cheated on a ex? No
34. Been Outside My Home Country? Yes, lived in one for 5 years.
35. Been On A Road Trip Longer Than 5 Hours? Ugh, yes. Hate it.

36. Had Lice? Thankfully not
37. Gotten My Heart Broken? Yes
38. Had A Credit Card? Too many
39. Been To A Professional Sports Game? Yes
40. Broken A Bone? Once

41. Am I BI/Gay/Lesbian? Massively gay
42. Won A Trophy? Yes
43. Cut Myself Unintentionally? Yes, don't give me a knife and a task.
44. Had An STD? No
45. Got Engaged? Yes, but it didn't happen.

46. Done ecstasy? Yes
47. Tried Out To Be On A TV Show? Yes, I've been on the news
48. Rode In A Taxi? Yes
49. Been To Prom? No
50. Played A Drinking Game? Yes, I was legless

51. Stayed Up For 24 Hours Or More? Any student has
52. Been To A Concert? Yes
53. Had A Three-Some? Yes
54. Had A Crush On Someone Of The Same Sex? Yes
55. Been In A Car Accident? No

56. Had Braces? No
57. Learned Another Language? Yes, 3, including one in progress.
58. Killed An Animal? Yes, I've hunted
59. Been At A Yard Sale? Yes
60. Been To A Japanese Steakhouse? No

61. Wore Make Up? Not really, no.
62. Talked To Someone Via Webcam? Yes
63. Lost My Virginity Before I Was 16? Yes
64. Had My Wisdom Teeth Taken Out? No, but I have had dental surgery.
65. Kissed Someone A Different Race Than Myself? Yes, one of my best friends.

66. Snuck Out Of The House? Yes
67. Bought Porn? No, torrented it usually. Prefer amateur porn anyway.
68. Had A Virus On My Computer? Yes
69. Had Oral Sex? Yes
70. Dyed My Hair? What hair?

71. Gone Skinny Dipping? Yes
72. Graduated From College? Get back to me in 18 months.
73. Wore Someone Else’s Clothes? Yes
74. Voted In A Presidential Election? I'm not American. But I've voted in a general election here.
75. Rode In An Ambulance? Too many times

76. Rode In A Helicopter? Yes
77. Caught The Stove On Fire? No
78. Got In A Verbal Fight? Yes
79. Met Someone Famous? Yes
80. Been On Vacation? Yes

82. Been On A Boat? Yes
81. Been On An Airplane? Yes - in fact I learned how to fly a light aircraft when I was younger
83. Broken Something Expensive? Don't remind me.
84. Had Surgery? Thumb, shoulder, impacted molar tooth, circumcision as an adult.
85. Beat A Video Game? Uh, yeah

86. Found Something Valuable On The Ground? Yes
87. Made A Survey? Yes - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6241685/
88. Stalked Someone On A Social Network? Not really, no
89. Prank Called Someone? haha, that was hilaious as a kid
90. Been To A Library Outside Of School? Yes

91. Spent Over $100 Shopping In One Day? Yes
92. Cut My Hair And Hated It? What hair?
93. Peed Outside? Yes
94. Went Fishing? Yes
95. Helped With Charity? Yes

96. Taken A Pregnancy Test? Not sure they're designed for guys.
97. Been Rejected By A Crush? Yes
98. Been Suspended From School? Almost
99. Broken a mirror? No
100. Thrown up on someone? No

101. Lied to your parents? The worst bit is I still don't regret it as an adult.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who took their time to complete the survey! A total of 754 people participated in the survey, and 548 people completed the survey to the end, excluding the handful of spurious or "troll" responses I got and filtered from the dataset.

This is actually quite amazing, as I originally considered 150-200 fully completed surveys to be an ambitious goal. The incomplete surveys are still useful up to a degree, but most analyses will be focusing on the fully completed ones, which have given me a very good dataset to work from.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. I'll be posting some interesting tidbits from the survey soon before I write a formal analysis of the data.

What is your research for?

The research isn't for any one thing in particular, but more broadly, I intend to use the data from the survey as material for a panel at a convention(s) on safe sex, and to help convince convention organisers that this is an issue we need to discuss more openly and take more seriously on a fandom-wide scale.

How will the data be used

The data will be completely anonymised - date, time, IP etc. of the survey will be erased before being entered into its final raw format, which is an SPSS dataset. The dataset will be analysed using a piece of software called SPSS, which is a software package for statistical analysis.

The results of the analysis will be included in a report, which will have two versions; an informal and formal version. The informal version will be aimed at general readership, while the formal version will read more like a scientific paper. The analysis and report will include graphs, tables, descriptive statistics, and inferential/analytical statistics.

I don't, at this time, intend to approach a scientific journal for publication, although once the report is ready, I'd be happy for anyone in the community qualified to do so, to peer-review the work.

What conventions will you be doing a panel at?

I haven't formally approached any yet as the project isn't even approaching completion, but I aim to start at Confuzzled 2015. After that, it depends on what conventions I can go to.

Why is this research important?

We all know that a large proportion of convention-goers have sex at conventions, but we, as a fandom, treat it as a dirty open secret. We have no idea how many of those people have unprotected sex, how many have or have had an STI, how frequently these people have STI tests, and so on. But we still put hundreds or even thousands of people together in one place for several days at a time, knowing many of them use it as a venue for sexual activity, without ever wanting to raise the elephant in the room, which is sexual health.

Conventions are supposed to take the health and well-being of their guests seriously, but have always been reluctant to address this very glaring issue. In some ways, I can't blame them. With the mainstream perception of sexuality in this fandom, the last thing they want at a high-profile event is someone standing around the lobby, or running an event talking about condoms. This research acts as a tool for convention goers to help them make more informed choices about their sexual activities at conventions, and as a tool for convention organisers to inform their policies on sexual health.

What about fake/duplicate responses?

The survey blocks duplicate responses, and while there are ways around that (which I won't discuss here for obvious reasons), it takes an active effort to do so. In addition, SPSS has tools for detecting duplicates and spurious results.

Wouldn't [insert research method] have been better?

The following were the requirements for my data collection method:

1) Maintain anonymity
2) Gather a sample size of 700+ in 2 weeks
3) Can be promoted on social media
4) At a personal financial cost of £25GBP or less
5) Using a method that produces data which can be quickly and readily imported directly into a statistical analysis package such as SPSS

As such, I feel the methodology I used both fit those requirements, and produced a robust dataset.

Isn't 10 questions a bit restrictive?

10 questions means the respondent can answer the survey fully in under 3 minutes, and can still provide a lot of useful data. Even from just 10 targeted questions about someone's sexuality and sex at conventions, we can extrapolate, as a couple of examples:

* Who had unprotected sex with someone that wasn't their romantic partner at their last con
* Of those with a romantic partner, who has sex outside of that relationship (and who has unprotected sex) at conventions
* Many, many other things

This does have limitations, however. The question about STI tests asks whether someone has ever been diagnosed with them, not whether they have an active infection (though, for example, with HIV, this invariably implies they do).

Why are most of the questions only about my most recent convention?

The purpose of the survey is to get a snapshot of a typical convention from someone. Instead of asking someone to subjectively think back to what they think is their most typical convention, I asked about their most recent convention in order to avoid this subjective judgement, and to ensure the respondent is also thinking about the convention for which their memory is going to be most fresh.

What are your qualifications/credentials?

By trade, I'm a Zoologist with experience in research. I've also previously worked as a youth worker and helped to administer research surveys in that position. I therefore have workplace experience with data collection and statistical analysis, scientific communication, and sexual health education.

When will the report, etc. be available?

When real life allows me to complete it. However, it should be completed well before May 2015.

Well, I've been publicising this survey just about everywhere, so it only makes sense that I'd publicise it here, too.

I'm doing a survey on sex at furry conventions and would very much appreciate as many responses as possible, I'm aiming for at least 250, if not more.

It only has 10 questions and only takes a couple of minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YTX5TLS

Thank you very much. <3

Yes, a lot of my commissions have condoms in them.

Deal with it. X3

Here's a PhD dissertation about European paper wasp sex:

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitst.....61/mizzo_1.pdf

Well, as of last night SergalJerk ( sergaljerk) left TEST Alliance.

That was surprisingly emotional.

Dear everyone,

It doesn't matter how much I know you, I'm not giving discounts on my honey, or worse, free honey, just because I know you. I need the money to invest in new equipment next year. By asking for a discount or free honey, you're asking me to forego revenue I need to build my microbusiness. Processing, bottling, and labelling honey also costs me money. So you are asking me to forego profit at best, and hand you something that cost not only money, but took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to produce.

Let me put it another way: With the honey I already have processed and bottled alone, the revenue will pay for a whole new hive.

You probably wouldn't ask a commission artist for free art, so don't ask me for free material goods that I worked hard to produce, either.

Love and kisses,

Xolani