I've heard that they're nice.

Intimate.

Loving.

I've caught eye of some that meet these criteria.

How wrong am I, REALLY?

(There's a furry convention coming up, in Atlanta, Georgia. I just want to know what to expect -- aside from the usual facts [and bullshit].)

Best I can tell you is that a friend of mine goes to furry cons and loves it, and he's a pretty cool dude.

The furry community isn't all that different from any other internet community. There's good guys, bad guys, and all shades in between.

People at conventions tend to be pretty cool in my experience. You're all there for the love of the same things and you all want to enjoy the experience, so people tend to be in a good mood and get along well. I've never been to a furry con myself, but I don't see why it would be significantly worse than any other kind of con.

Wahai said:
The furry community isn't all that different from any other internet community. There's good guys, bad guys, and all shades in between.

People at conventions tend to be pretty cool in my experience. You're all there for the love of the same things and you all want to enjoy the experience, so people tend to be in a good mood and get along well. I've never been to a furry con myself, but I don't see why it would be significantly worse than any other kind of con.

... or significantly better.

Hmmm... I will just have to go and see.

RedOctober said:
Best I can tell you is that a friend of mine goes to furry cons and loves it, and he's a pretty cool dude.

Does he actually get to meet some of the well-known artists, there?

Be prepared to hold your nose.

Wahai said:
The furry community isn't all that different from any other internet community. There's good guys, bad guys, and all shades in between.

Don't forget explosions

Wahai said:
The furry community isn't all that different from any other internet community. There's good guys, bad guys, and all shades in between.

People at conventions tend to be pretty cool in my experience. You're all there for the love of the same things and you all want to enjoy the experience, so people tend to be in a good mood and get along well. I've never been to a furry con myself, but I don't see why it would be significantly worse than any other kind of con.

This. So much this.

In addition, don't ever pay attention to what the media says. They've shown they clearly don't care about the furry community and they don't know shit about it. The media (and as a result many Americans) associate furries with sex 99% of the time.

This is hardly the case. Some do, some don't. Just like other groups. Being a furry does not mean you have sex in a suit. I cannot stress that enough. But it's all the media thinks about. Just look at the Tyra Banks show.

hg3300 said:
Being a furry does not mean you have sex in a suit. I cannot stress that enough.

Exactly. A lot of us prefer to fuck without 30 yards of fake fur between us.

null0010 said:
Be prepared to hold your nose.

Wha-- Are you serious?

null0010 said:
Be prepared to hold your nose.

Not that different from other high-crowded places. Some (a lot, in fact) people just don't know personal hygiene.

Kaik said:
Not that different from other high-crowded places. Some (a lot, in fact) people just don't know personal hygiene.

I heard that used to be a real problem at Quakecon before they got tighter regulation. Whenever you've got an almost entirely male population of geeks many seem to decide regular showering isn't necessary. This convention you're going to could be even worse though cause there could be babyfurs who get off on shitting themselves in public, not safe or sanitary.

UltravioletMoonRay said:
Wha-- Are you serious?

Pretty much any convention is going to have a funk about it, but anything like an anime/furry/sci-fi convention is going to be a little funkier.

Im sure you will have fun there, ive conversed with many furs though never had a furcon experience and as long as you keep in mind that there are many kinds of people with all kinds of personalities and behaviors there you should thoroughly enjoy yourself. After all im sure there are worse conventions to attend, at least the majority of us furs dont judge one another for liking the same stuff... Usually...

Ivory_Wolf said:
Im sure you will have fun there, ive conversed with many furs though never had a furcon experience and as long as you keep in mind that there are many kinds of people with all kinds of personalities and behaviors there you should thoroughly enjoy yourself. After all im sure there are worse conventions to attend, at least the majority of us furs dont judge one another for liking the same stuff... Usually...

lol

It's nice to know that -- despite popular belief -- furries are human, too.

Kclub said:
Pretty much any convention is going to have a funk about it, but anything like an anime/furry/sci-fi convention is going to be a little funkier.

I'm probably going to end up bringing hand sanitizer with me...

UltravioletMoonRay said:
Hmmm... I will just have to go and see.

This is about the only really reliable way to really know what a furry convention – or any other large scale gathering – is like.

Furries are just as unreasonable, annoying, weird, maddening, and drive-you-up-the-wall-able as any other group of people. Then again, unlike with sports fans, at least furries don't semi-regularly riot or burn couches and cars.

Horny. Very, very horny.

UltravioletMoonRay said:
I'm probably going to end up bringing hand sanitizer with me...

This is highly recommended for any convention or large gathering of people. Wash your hands regularly as well, and try to resist any urges to rub your eyes if you get tired.

I also take low doses of vitamin tablets on the theory it will help boost my immune system (and because actual nutrition can sometimes be hard to come by instead of pizza and brats), and if I'm there for multiple days I'll choose to spend an afternoon dozing off if I start to feel unwell. My experience is that if I try to struggle through the con instead, not only will it dampen the enjoyment while I'm there but I'll also totally crash over the next couple of days after the con and get sick.

It doesn't even have to be about hygiene. Thanks to people coming from random corners of the state, country, or even planet, you're suddenly exposing yourself to a wide array of bacteria and viruses that are different from what your body is used to fighting off. Couple that with the sad reality that no matter where you go, some people will have lower standards than others (or be walking colonies of plague)... yeah. I've never been to a furry con, but cons in general can be great experiences as long as you make it a point to take care of yourself.

I wouldn't touch anything. I read somewhere that furries leave dried spoo behind on everything they come in contact with.

...I really am gonna be found at that con ain't I XD

ippiki_ookami said:
I wouldn't touch anything. I read somewhere that furries leave dried spoo behind on everything they come in contact with.

Wow... What? lol

Aurali said:
...I really am gonna be found at that con ain't I XD

What do you mean?

ikdind said:
This is highly recommended for any convention or large gathering of people. Wash your hands regularly as well, and try to resist any urges to rub your eyes if you get tired.

I also take low doses of vitamin tablets on the theory it will help boost my immune system (and because actual nutrition can sometimes be hard to come by instead of pizza and brats), and if I'm there for multiple days I'll choose to spend an afternoon dozing off if I start to feel unwell. My experience is that if I try to struggle through the con instead, not only will it dampen the enjoyment while I'm there but I'll also totally crash over the next couple of days after the con and get sick.

It doesn't even have to be about hygiene. Thanks to people coming from random corners of the state, country, or even planet, you're suddenly exposing yourself to a wide array of bacteria and viruses that are different from what your body is used to fighting off. Couple that with the sad reality that no matter where you go, some people will have lower standards than others (or be walking colonies of plague)... yeah. I've never been to a furry con, but cons in general can be great experiences as long as you make it a point to take care of yourself.

Hmmm... Well, it's only in Atlanta... Still, precautions will be taken. People are so nasty...

UltravioletMoonRay said:
Hmmm... Well, it's only in Atlanta... Still, precautions will be taken. People are so nasty...

Hey, I'm actually on the staff for Furry Weekend Atlanta for photography. :) So if you see a guy wandering all over the place with a huge camera and like 5 or 6 badges on them that say "Char", you've found me. :P

Also I think that the MAJORITY of furries at a con DO actually practice basic hygiene while they're there. It's true that every once in a while, you might walk past someone that clearly has a body-odor problem... but then that's really no different from everyday life.

I have attended a little over 10 furry cons now. All the horror stories you hear about baby-furs shitting themselves or rooms reeking with body-odor are very rare cases. Out of all the furry cons I've attended, I've never once experienced any of that. It's true that you'll sometimes see people that just come off as pretty creepy for one reason or another, but they're there to have fun just like everyone else too. Furries are, in fact, human beings, and often very decent ones, believe it or not.

Yeah, I don't mean to say that con-goers are on the whole any worse than average for hygiene. I'm just pointing out that you'll be making contact with a lot of people. I might have a weaker-than-average immune system, too; all the better for everyone else that I go the extra mile to avoid becoming a beacon of un-health.

Char said:
Hey, I'm actually on the staff for Furry Weekend Atlanta for photography. :) So if you see a guy wandering all over the place with a huge camera and like 5 or 6 badges on them that say "Char", you've found me. :P

Also I think that the MAJORITY of furries at a con DO actually practice basic hygiene while they're there. It's true that every once in a while, you might walk past someone that clearly has a body-odor problem... but then that's really no different from everyday life.

I have attended a little over 10 furry cons now. All the horror stories you hear about baby-furs shitting themselves or rooms reeking with body-odor are very rare cases. Out of all the furry cons I've attended, I've never once experienced any of that. It's true that you'll sometimes see people that just come off as pretty creepy for one reason or another, but they're there to have fun just like everyone else too. Furries are, in fact, human beings, and often very decent ones, believe it or not.

:o

Your job sounds pretty cool, so far. Photography = art; I "heart" art.

I have taken your words into consideration.

Psst, by the way: Are you a furry? o.o?

ikdind said:
Yeah, I don't mean to say that con-goers are on the whole any worse than average for hygiene. I'm just pointing out that you'll be making contact with a lot of people. I might have a weaker-than-average immune system, too; all the better for everyone else that I go the extra mile to avoid becoming a beacon of un-health.

Lol. "Contact".

Anyway, I hope that the 'Con isn't too crowded; I like my space.

JoeX said:
Horny. Very, very horny.

I'm hoping for that, kinds. It will give me the opportunity to observe the coitus-seeking rituals of a fur. Should be hawt.

UltravioletMoonRay said:
I'm hoping for that, kinds. It will give me the opportunity to observe the coitus-seeking rituals of a fur. Should be hawt.

Observe, suuuure. Bring lots of nacho-cheese and chocolate based lube and you should be alright.

UltravioletMoonRay said:
Lol. "Contact".

Anyway, I hope that the 'Con isn't too crowded; I like my space.

Well I like facebook.

Jjiped said:
Well I like facebook.

Lol ok

I don't

Ratty said:
Observe, suuuure. Bring lots of nacho-cheese and chocolate based lube and you should be alright.

They make that?

I've found that whether you take care of yourself or not, when you go to a convention, expect to catch the "con ick". most people get sick after a convention due to a mix of other people's bad habits, terrible junk food, and just general exhaustion after being a party animal for an entire weekend.

but as for furries, we're no different than any other group of people, and most of the time furries are pretty cool, though you do get the occasional creeps that just want to get in your pants (I say occasional loosely, because although there aren't that many, it seems like they're everywhere).