Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

[Murphie]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Seriously. It has fast cast. Keep that shit on.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Alright .. I'll bite. Somefurry explain furries to me. Personally, if an otherwise attractive female or drawing of one happens to have animal ears and a tail I am not weirded out by that but neither do I particularly care for it. But, I can more easily understand someone self-identifying as another gender and feeling more comfortable with different organs than I could understand someone identifying as anthro and being more comfortable with different ears and a tail.

Okay, but why? I mean, maybe that's as meaningless as asking someone why their favorite color is what it is, but it seems like a bigger deal than that. There's this whole community of people whose self-image deviates sharply from perceived norms, all in a very similar way. I want to know what that arises from. Why is a furry furry?

Ok, this discussion is clearly going nowhere until YM shows up. Anybody want to talk about hats some more?

OHAI GAIZ.

So, I'm going to preface this by saying that furry is a pretty over-convoluted topic, and "furry" can potentially mean different things to different people, for a wide variety of reasons. Even though most people don't, I still regard "My Little Pony" as furry, but whether I did or not is largely inconsequential, other than allowing me to pull out the hipster glasses and say that I was furry before it was cool.

In all seriousness, though, for most furries, what I have observed is that the anthropomorphic animal one chooses to represent oneself as is literally nothing more than a persona. One crafted to a degree for self-expression, sure, but largely just for fun, and most furries don't have delusions of confusing it for the person who they really are.

It's for basically the same reason why I parade around in an online RPG as a magical knight: not because I have any actual delusional claims to knighthood (in spite of my still-fitting forum title), and I could only wish I had half of my in-game magical abilities (particularly Silence). But it's a persona that I happen to particularly enjoy taking on. The same thing applies to most furries, the biggest exception being that we aren't restricted to any one particular game engine, or even any particular source material whatsoever! (This amount of freedom usually ends up being the greatest difficulty in crafting any sort of structured furry RPG system, by the way; not that people haven't tried, though, and even occasionally to great success.) That last part usually ends up being what most people end up having trouble wrapping their heads around.

I'll admit to owning a fuzzy ear-hat, but not because it makes me feel "closer to my real self." It's a pure novelty, meant only to liven up festive occasions. And I certainly don't parade around with it in public around people who don't already know me (and they usually don't give a crap on the occasions I choose to wear them), nor do I have any particular desire to do so. Not even any hidden ones.

Have I made myself crystal clear? If not, I'll be wading through seven more pages of text tomorrow to clarify. >.>;

[Firewind]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

It's for basically the same reason why I parade around in an online RPG as a magical knight: not because I have any actual delusional claims to knighthood (in spite of my still-fitting forum title), and I could only wish I had half of my in-game magical abilities (particularly Silence). But it's a persona that I happen to particularly enjoy taking on. The same thing applies to most furries, the biggest exception being that we aren't restricted to any one particular game engine, or even any particular source material whatsoever! (This amount of freedom usually ends up being the greatest difficulty in crafting any sort of structured furry RPG system, by the way; not that people haven't tried, though, and even occasionally to great success.) That last part usually ends up being what most people end up having trouble wrapping their heads around.

That comment alone wins the entire internet.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

I never saw this link unbroken. If I had a decent quality duelist's chapeau, I would buy a whole new wardrobe to support it. That hat is not situational.

Yes, but what sort of outfit would you need to go with it?

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Yes, but what sort of outfit would you need to go with it?

Um, duh.

Does "pimp hat" mean nothing to you?

[Mhurron]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Um, duh.

Does "pimp hat" mean nothing to you?

I don't know who shit on the fashion thread more, Takelli or you just now with that abomination.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Probably Tak, but that was pretty awful regardless.

[Mhurron]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

...

I'll admit to owning a fuzzy ear-hat, but not because it makes me feel "closer to my real self." It's a pure novelty, meant only to liven up festive occasions. And I certainly don't parade around with it in public around people who don't already know me (and they usually don't give a crap on the occasions I choose to wear them), nor do I have any particular desire to do so. Not even any hidden ones.

I think it's the bolded part everyone is having a problem with, since once you're viewing it like that, it has long since passed the 'for fun' angle.

[Taskmage]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

I think I get it and it ties into the clothing discussion. It's because appearance and self-image are connected. People become trapped in a self-image that they're dissatisfied with, but it's hard for them to redefine themselves because they look the same. So they need a new, distinct image to write the new self into, and for people who attribute certain virtues to animals, which has been the case since cave man days, or revile characteristics they believe are peculiar to humans, shifting to an appearance that's more animal and less human makes sense.

I did the same kind of thing with my tarutaru. I exhibited a different persona in the game than in real life, and it was easier for me to act in an idealized way because that new face didn't come with the same baggage as the old. I wouldn't have said that was my "real self" but it was definitely a distinct and preferred self while it existed.

[Armando]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

The same thing applies to most furries, the biggest exception being that we aren't restricted to any one particular game engine, or even any particular source material whatsoever!

While we're on the subject, I think this is the main reason people don't "get" furries. When you've got Trekkies or diehard Star Wars or LotR or Harry Potter fans, at the average outsider can think "Damn, that guy's got an unhealthy obsession with <source>." But they know lots of people that also like those works and act "normal" by their standards. With furries, though, there's really nothing to relate them with, except the bad press the media gives them.

[DakAttack]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

With furries, though, there's really nothing to relate them with, except the bad press CSI gives them.

FTFY

[cidbahamut]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

The media gives furries press?

[Mhurron]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

I think I get it and it ties into the clothing discussion. It's because appearance and self-image are connected.

Except how do you go from 'I feel like an awesome human so I'm going to dress like an awesome human' to 'I feel like a wolf.'

Yes the feel like a wolf to dress to look like a wolf fits, but the initial 'I don't feel human' is where you've taken a dive off the deep end.

---------- Post added at 11:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 AM ----------

The media gives furries press?

Only when anthrocon is going on.

---------- Post added at 11:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 AM ----------

Taking a brief segue away from our more interesting recent topics, here is a list of some of the easter eggs in the Siri app on the iPhone 4s.

iPhone 4S (Siri) Easter Eggs, One Even Does Pimping! | VOIP IP Telephony

[Taskmage]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Except how do you go from 'I feel like an awesome human so I'm going to dress like an awesome human' to 'I feel like a wolf.'

Yes the feel like a wolf to dress to look like a wolf fits, but the initial 'I don't feel human' is where you've taken a dive off the deep end.

Humans are complicated and feeling like one is hard. I was probably a slow learner in this respect, but through high school and into college I did not get it at all. Animals are easy to understand, empathize with and emulate, especially if you simplify their character further by thinking of them as being dominated by certain virtues. Dogs are loyal; Cats are playful; Foxes are clever; Wolves are stalwart loners (Which doesn't fit with the majority of real wolves, but characterizes everyone I've met who identifies with wolves.) You could probably draw a line here to superheroes and apply this to Comic-Con attendees as well: Animals are easily understandable role models that provide a template for the person you want to grow into.

---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------

In retrospect, it would have been easy for me to have gone down a different path and been a furry myself. There, but for the grace of dog, go I.

[Mhurron]

Re: Official Bored at Work / Off-Topic Chat Thread II

Animals are easily understandable role models that provide a template for the person you want to grow into.

So are people when you simplify their traits down to that level. We usually call that stereotyping though and it's a bad thing. Quite frankly the simplifications used are just as flat out wrong.

Beat a dog and see how loyal it is, or hell, meet a dog for the first time and see how loyal it is. A dogs loyalty is earned just like anyone else's and the level of loyalty from dog to do dog.

A cat is playful, when it is relaxed and not sleeping. 16~20 hours in a day a cat is asleep. Have a stranger show up. Let a cat that has never been out of the house to roam or simply dump them in a new house and see how playful they are.

A fox is no more cleaver than any other wild animal that is still alive.

And then we have the quintessential 'you have no idea what your talking about and are just trying to be different' "Wolves are stalwart loners."

Basically we have covered the following:

Blacks are criminal thugs
Jews are money grubbing tightwads that will sell you out for a bagel
Whites are rich and privileged
Asians are smart and perverts
Native Americans are savages

Not a single one of them is true, but you can take all of the evidence in the world, distill it down and twist it to get each conclusion.

Animal behavior, real animal behavior, is complicated. Basically just as complicated as any human interaction. Finding a human roll model is easier. At no point are you honestly going to relate to any animal, there is basically no normal thought process that can lead you to actually identifying with an animal. You might identify with an idea in your head, but that still has nothing to do with any animal.

Furries still diverge from any other fandom like this. The dude at comicon doesn't think he is, or identify himself as a superhero when he cosplays as Superman, he just likes Superman comics and is there for fun. A large number of Furries do identify themselves as whatever animals fake personality profile they decide to emulate. The guy in a wolf suit does have a high chance of honestly believing that he is a wolf born as a human.