Tales From Outside SL: Plagued Doctor at the Furry Con

Over the years, a few furs in Second Life have complained about harassment from human clubs. But it seems one has encountered it at a furry convention in real life.

JB Raccoon told me about one of his Second Life friends who went to "Furry Migration" in Minneapolis. His costume wasn't a fursuit that most associate with these cons. Rather, it was something from medical history, a plague doctor outfit. For those who don't know, this was the outfit often worn by doctors during the Black Death and other epidemics in late Medieval times. The outfit was all black with a hat or hood, and a mask with a birdlike "beak." In times of old, it would often be stuffed with smelling slats or other substances with strong aromas due to the belief plague was caused by bad odors. But at a modern con, it just makes someone look like a character out of Mad Magazine's "Spy vs Spy."

The man had a few props with him, his cane, a lantern, and claws. "All of yesterday day and today, I walked around with these props and other staff members did not say a thing about them," he explained to JB, "I wore my claw in the left hand, leather one on my right, cane and in left, lantern in right for the later hours. Most of the morning if wore one claw and glove with just my doctors bag. Any other detail, I can get is people commenting how good it was, suiters waving at me. I think some staff liking it, or volunteers." But on the evening in question, " I was walking out of the 4th floor and back to my room when this staff member asked me about my props,and now that I think of it was was something about putting a sticker on them, but I said I’m leaving them in the room for tomorrow."

"So he was there from the opening to current and had no issue 'till then," JB told me, "He had all those props on him since yesterday when he first arrived, and none of the staff approached him. Now, all of a sudden it becomes an issue and he needs some sticker or Lord knows what, that no one seems to know anythng about. I asked some other sources I have about this 'sticker' and was asked what I was smoking. ... Sounds to me like someone just didn't like his outfit. That has been rumored to be a problem there at FM that I have heard from several other attendees over the last couple years. ... I just do not understand why they didn't say something when he went through registration, the staff didn't seem bothered then by it. ...He's not the only one that does cosplay there, they have tons of anime outfits as well."

JB then showed me a youtube of the Furry Migration Parade (https://youtu.be/tyiRnKVT0dg). He also showed me a few still pictures, "About midway through," he told me, "there's a suiter twirling a staff, but with the restricted vision, that's dangerous yet allowed. I see a lantern being used in the parade. Someone else as a plague doctor with a spear type staff in the parade." He also showed me one picture of someone in a hockey jersey with a hocky stick, "You and I both can tell that's no prop, that's the real deal there and can be used as a weapon. This pisses me off."

JB demanded an explanation for why his friend was singled out, but never did get a response, "I'm blasting them on Twitter and all I'm getting from them is silence." So since some furs are in Second Life, he asked the Newser to have his side of the matter explained. He did ask that his friend's virtual identity be kept quiet, at least for now, "He wants to just be named as 'The Attendee.'"

Later on, JB would tell me, "He had someone speak to staff today, before the closing ceremony. They told them without a name of the individual that did approach, nothing could really be done. However, they did offer the 'zip-tie' that was referenced as what is used to indicate accepted props. I am guessing they had some colored cable tie to indicate to other staff it was approved." So it seems the issue was resolved finally, though not without confusion and a damper in what should have been a fun trip.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: Collection of Places That Restrict Furry Avatars

By Lia (Female Winslet)

The sole purpose of this list is to help furries be able to explore Second Life without running into hostile receptions, including bans or being asked to leave because of their avatars. I understand that some owners may feel their restrictions are justified by a desire for historical accuracy, a certain ambience, or other reasons. The reasons for the restrictions are irrelevant and I do not pass judgment on them. I only note that they exist. However, because I do not want to reward these policies or encourage harassment or other bad behavior, I will not provide landmarks to their locations.

I have reviewed the TOS and this list appears to be completely legal. However, I want it to be very clear that this is ***not*** a list to be used for harassment, punishing, or otherwise acting badly. This is a list of places to avoid so that you don't get instantly ejected, banned, asked to leave, etc. No aggressive acts against any of these locations. If that becomes a problem, I will end this list.

The vendor, the list, and the script are copy and trans, but no mod. This way you can distribute copies of the list if you so desire. But the admonishment not to harass cannot be removed.

For questions, corrections, or to report other places that should be on the list, contact Lia (female.winslet). If you are an owner whose location has been erroneously included, please contact me to let me know and I will correct the list.

Adult Tropical LATINO BLUE BEACH RESORT
============================
From the place profile: "No avatars under 60 days aloud [sic], no child avatars, only human avatars."

Aux Bains du Paradis
==============
From the place profile: "Human avatars only."

*BDSM RAINTREE BDSM*
================
From the place profile: "HUMAN AVATARS ONLY*

Berlin 1920
========
Excerpts from the SIM rules:
Our rules;
-1920s clothes only
-Realistic avatars only

-Animals shouldn't talk, walk on 2 legs, be half human, etc. And yes... in Berlin people didn't have wings, pointy ears, claws, vampire teeth, etc, except on stage.

Bogart's Jazz Club
============

This is a part of Frank's Place, which is one of the more well known anti-furry spots. Please see the entry for Frank's Place.

Cage and Cell Club
=============
From the place profile: "Human avatars only."

Club Texas
=======
The rules posted on the community forums include "No Furries."

The Dreamer's Island - Surf
===================
From the place profile: "Human avatars only."

Fairweather Beach
============
From their place profile: "Human avatars only."

Feral Woods Beach and Farm
===================
From their place profile: "Human avatars only."

Frank's Place
=========
Franks The Elites and Franks Place Jazz Club do not allow non-human avatars to use these facilities. You may be ejected and banned if your avatar has any "non-human" features (tails, cat ears, ect.).

Frank's also has a notable reputation for homophobia.

The F**k SPOT - Gangbang and Bukkake Room - Human Avatars Only
==============================================

They put it right in their name. 'Nuff said.

Gianfar Peaks of Pern
==============
Pern roleplay community. Furries are okay as long as th-ey are not engaged in the roleplay at all. But only certain canon feral avatars are permitted to engage in the roleplay.

Golden Sunset Beach
===============
From the place profile: Normal human avatars only[.]

Grandpa's Interracial Warehouse
======================
From the place profile: "human avatars only."

Gregfield 1 and 2
==========
From the place profile: HUMAN AVATARS ONLY!

Hook-Up Hall - "Let's Hook-Up" = %100 Human Only
===================================
From the place profile: %100 Human Avatars Only

House in the Woods
=============
From the place profile: Adult human avatars only.

House of FED
=========
From the place profile: FED Home of human only sadists and victims.

Isla de Amores
==========
From the place profile: Human avatars only. No children or furries.

Libentia
=====
From the place profile: Human avatars only. Exceptions; wings and mermaid and mermen.

~ The Lounge: Jazz By The Bay ~
======================

Cocktail/evening dress only. Quadraped avatars are deemed not compliant with the dress code because quad avatars do not wear clothes, so quad avatars are asked to leave. Anthro furries are allowed. Since there are multiple clubs with similar names, to be clear, this one is a jazz club founded by Xaphyre.Ansar. Xaphyre.Ansar confirmed the policy and called it discrimination.

MacLeod's
=======
From the place profile: Human avatars only.

Manatee Naturist
===========
From the place profile: Human avatars only.

Masters/Mistresses Harem
==================
From the place profile: "Human Avatars only!"

Playa Perdida
=========
According to their place profile "Adult human avatars only[.]"

Pleasures XChange @ Serendipity CMNF
===========================
From the place profile: "Respect and tolerance is expected. Only human avatars."

Ramshackle Gentlemen's Club
====================
From the place profile: "...NO animal Avie or Child Avies Human Avatars Only..."

Ritz New York City
============
Club owner says furries are "a problem" and not welcome at her venue. This is a venue created specially for RFL fund raising and RFL official policy does not tolerate this type of discrimination. Current status is unclear.

*Secret Life Lounge*
==============
From the place profile:

STALLION JAZZ CLUB & HUGH'S BOUTIQUE
============================
From the place profile: "HUMAN AVATARS ONLY."

Tom's Prisoners
===========
From the place profile: "Male human avatars only."

Tranquil Tiki Island
============
From the place profile: "Human avatars only and no weapons allowed."

Turtle Coast Adult Beach
================
Sim rules do not allow furry avatars. Neko is reportedly fine. Apparently sim management may be somewhat lax in enforcing the policy.

U N I F I E D - Adult MEN/MALE AVATARS Only Culture Connections:
==================================
From the place profile: Adult Human Male Avatars Only.

White Horse Hollow
=============
Quote from sim rules:
~~~~ What is not allowed in our sims:
Bronies; Furries; Trolls - not welcome


Lia

* * * * *

Editor's Note: There was a small miscommunication with Lia when she handed me the list, I thinking she intended this for publication. As it turned out, she didn't. But she was okay with it.

Little Issues: Explaining The "Fox Reporter" Look.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Most of what I write about is at least mildly serious, such as charities, or a location someone spent a great deal and time and effort to make. But occasionally there are certain trivial but amusing, nagging, or both, issues that aren't going away from your mind. Especially when someone keeps reminding you.

As a fan of science-fiction and fantasy, I've had as my look a "furry" avatar from the start of my Second Life experience. Initially, it was the starter "ringtail" that was available as an option for a beginning avatar at the time. But once I had the cash for another, after some thought I chose upon the Luskwood red fox avatar. I had roleplayed a felinoid in a sci-fi game a few years before. But after reading Tiffany Ross' "Cyantian Chronicles" in which the foxfolk in her story universe had one of the more detailed and interesting, sometimes tragic, histories of the peoples there, perhaps it was time for a change. That the red foxes in the Cyantian stories were traditionally soldiers or blue collar workers was the reason for the fur color.

At first, I would wear a green shirt, which was a leftover from my days in the "Runescape" MMO (what I played before "World of Warcraft"), along with clothes similar to what I wore in real life, a brown jacket and slacks. I had to skip the shoes as my feet were just too big. But after I landed a job in James and Dana's Second Life Newspaper, I used my first pay to get myself a white fedora and tan leather overcoat. Since I was a reporter, I wanted to look like one. And so, I went about in the classical 20th Century reporter's look. And with the most popular news channel being Fox News, well, that helped add to it with the "fox reporter" catchphrase.

Over the years, I would get other avatars, from Lusk stripped skunk to Kani bunny to AX hyena, to black human, and many others, which I change to on occasion. But the Luskwood red fox has continued to remain my main avatar. I sometimes change to other clothes while still being foxy, such as the red Victorian era suit I occasionally wear at the Steamlands, or a black jacket and jeans while on a motorbike. But usually I can be found with the fedora and overcoat. Although all of my avatars, aside from the human, are PG nude due to the coat of fur, I always go about with at least a pair of shorts in them, except for the mesh tinies and micro fox, which I have yet to find pants for.

Most people are happy with this look, calling it neatly dressed. But one friend for some time has been nagging me a bit, "Why do you wear clothes?"

Although she on occasion has on a full dress, she prefers going about with very little clothes. If someone had a coat of fur, even a short one, she feels realistically would mean he or she couldn't wear much for long. The overcoat and long slacks, she feels, would realistically lead to me quickly overheating. So she feels the coat and pants have to go.

I disagree. For one, this look was popular even indoors in the days before air conditioning. People just dealt with the heat. And in the colonial era when Europeans went to travel about, or take jobs, in places in the tropics, while a few were "going native," most continued to wear their existing clothes meant for a much colder climate in the hot tropical sun. Even if they didn't see the locals as "savages," it was simply the thing to do.

Tiffany Ross would also say a few things on the matter in her comic forums some years ago. The furry people of her fictional world of Cyantia didn't have a nudity taboo, but most who lived in cities and towns still wore clothes in public. As she saw it, clothes allowed her Cyantians, as well as humans in real life, a chance to distinguish themselves as individuals, even for those who aren't fashion snobs. Plus it helped distinguish themselves from those who went "feral" and abandoned civilization, and their clothes.

And of course, if you're standing upright, your "family jewels" are more exposed to things like low branches and flying rocks. So some kind of cover is needed to prevent what realistically would have you bending over in pain.

So the clothes stay. While you may see me in something other than the coat and fedora on the fox on occasion, or an avatar other than the fox such as the skunk at some Relay events, if anyone sees me stark naked in public, it's from a computer glitch.

As for why always a male avatar, aside from when my friends raise an enormous amount of money for charity, that's an issue I've already discussed in December 2013. As for why I haven't replaced this avatar that's been around for over ten years, that's another story.

Bixyl Shuftan

Furry Discrimination

By Grease Coakes

Sometimes in Second Life I just want to chill and hang out at one of the many dance clubs in Second Life. Maybe to work on a writing project with a live DJ jamming tunes for me or goof off talking with friends. Electronic Music Informer is a good source of various music clubs to whatever music genres. Until one day when I walked into a club that was against furries which surprised me, as the majority of human clubs accept me for who I am.

So I find a club at Anaconda (42/32/22) that was playing hip hop. I was accepting that they were playing different music. It’s boring to hear EDM or electric dance music all the time. I was there for less than a minute and suddenly I got an IM from nowhere

Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): WE NEED TO CHANGE HUMAN PLEASE
Grease Coakes: why?
Grease Coakes: Furries aren't allowed?
Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): NO FURRY
Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): NO
Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): MOM WILL BOUNCE YOU
Grease Coakes: That's racist :O
Grease Coakes: I don't understand why don't you allow furries?

When I went there a second time without reason she booted me to a safe haven here at the Vilania sim. What really surprised me is that I was banned there just for being a furry. When I tried to go there to get more answers I ran into a message that said, “Teleport failed You are banned from the region.”

So not only did I not get a reason of why furries are not allowed at this club, I was also banned. That’s sad that in Second life that I ran into a racist club. It’s bad enough to see racism in my first life. Second Life should be a place to chill and relax and if I choose to be a walking talking fox then so be it.

I’m part of a group called  “Furs Against Social Inequality.” I shared my story within the chat group and got some swift responses.

Second Life should be a better environment then the real world to hang out at a club with or without your friends. It’s unfortunate although rare that there are clubs in Second Life that don’t allow you if you’re different then the human norm. Second Life is a fantasy where you should be allowed whomever you want. It’s a shame I found a club that wasn’t okay with that.

Grease Coakes

Editor's Note: The Newser has reported on avatar discrimination a few times in the past, a recent commentary in January examining them.

"Man On The Street" Responses to the Furry Convention Gas Leak

By Locke Esgal

Earlier this week, we here at the Newser found a terrible bit of news passed across our desks. A chlorine gas attack was launched against the Midwest Furfest convention, injuring 19 people and endangering hundreds more. Police on the scene believe that this was an intentional act, while some believe that this was deliberately to target furries, considering the 'hatedom' that the furry fandom has. This has even begun to fuel the belief that other fandoms with a notable hater followings. I've traveled around the grid to find some views on the matter. Several answered, but most asked to remain anonymous. One stallion had said when I asked for his comments. “Furries don't bother anyone. They mostly keep to themselves and don't go shoving it down people's throats.”

     While some believe we might see a trend in vicious attacks against fandoms, many believe that this is going to be a one time event. Thing, both a brony and a furry, said, “It's a pretty nasty thing to do, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it was anything serious. It sounds to me like a couple of guys wanted to be a smarmy and chose a really dumb, potentially harmful way of going about it.” The weapon of choice, chlorine gas, has a history of being used as a chemical weapon, but has notably less lethality then other home-made options. Despite this, it can still be very deadly if deployed correctly. Fortunately, this didn't end up being the case at Furfest.

    Many questions still remain unanswered. While there are a lot of theories, the most prevalent being that this was fueled by the hatred some hold for the fandom, there are still other possibilities. One interviewee said “Perhaps there were people against the convention itself, but let's not forget that some people like to get revenge against another.” Regardless of the motivations behind this attack, nineteen victims were hospitalized from this cruel act. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them, and we here at the Newser wish them a speedy recovery.

Locke Esgal

Sha's Thoughts: Ancient Furries

By Becky Shamen

In my exploration of the sims in Second Life, there have been a few which, I was sorry to discover, do not allow furries. This reporter has as many furry friends as humans and can often be found in the form of a rabbit, fox, raccoon or bat herself. As such, I join my friends in protesting such attitudes, that prohibit anthropomorphic critters from visiting these places. One cannot hope to change attitudes, without understanding the thinking behind them. It is perfectly acceptable for groups and sim owners to make their lands accurate, as regards speech, clothing and inhabitants that fit the theme being enacted there, but they sometimes, conveniently, forget to ask key questions. Are furries entirely make believe? Did they only come into existance, begining with Mickey Mouse? Do they have no ancient history? Are there no furries in real life? It might be said that ignorance is bliss, but it is equally important to remember that, those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Let us join Mr. Peabody (a furry), in his wayback machine and see if we can find answers to these questions. We will be looking into some mythology, but keep in mind, myths are not invented. There is always an element of truth in them.

Sentient life

Some of you may be confused by what I have to say next. Most of you have been told of only two theories of creation: Darwin and the Christian Bible. Imagine if you will another theory. Esoteric literature reveals that most planets serve the purpose of evolving sentient human beings. Before the humans come on the scene, there is a period when the sentient life forms are reptilian. The most highly evolved beings on earth are known as Kumaras. The related word, Makara, means "Dragon." Masters of ancient wisdom are called Dragons. If you want to read more, I recommend the works of Rudolf Steiner and H.P. Blavatsky.

In Genesis, we read that humans, represented by Adam and Eve, did not have knowledge of right and wrong and self-consciousness, until they ate the fruit, offered to them by a walking, talking serpent, a dragon. Amazing! We found the first, non-human, sentient being in Judeo-Christian history, within the first few pages of the Bible. To keep it simple, we will refer to all non-human, anthropomorphic animals, as "furries," from here on.

Can we go back farther and find other furries in history? Yes, indeed. Before the Jews were united in their religion and culture, they lived in Egypt. The Egyptian pantheon had many furry gods, including; Ra, Anubis, Seth, Khnum, Horus, Thoth and Sekhmet.

The ancient Hindus also had furry gods, including Hanuman (monkey) and Ganesha (elephant). In fact, if you study your ancient history, nearly all people on earth, at one time, worshiped furry gods. They can be found in the pantheons of the Greeks, Romans, Mayans, and Aztecs as well.

Keep in mind, before Mickey and Donald made the scene, there was "The Chronicles of Narnia", with it's furry residents and their chief deity, Aslan.

The next time you hear of furries being excluded anywhere in Second Life, you can, armed with the truth, show that they should be shown respect, because they were here first.

Becky "Sha" Shamen

[credits: The art was collected from the internet, the first is based on an illustration by "Flash". The second by unknown artist]

 *Editor's Note* Perri Prinz recommended the essay "Pervasive Anthropomorphic Culture" if one wants to read about the influence of anthropomorphism on human history from ancient times to the present. Plus she has her own "Furry History Project," describing the history of anthropomorphic characters in stories, and how "Furry" as a genre came to be.

Wingless Avatars in Inworldz

By Bixyl Shuftan

With the controversy over Linden Lab's new Terms of Service directed at content creators, alternative virtual worlds to Second Life have been getting more attention. Second Life residents have been dropping over to look. But what about Second Life residents who prefer furry avatars? Going over, unless one was a content creator, he/she'd have to go tailless.

But for those visiting Inworldz, some good news. There's a package of freebie furry avatars available for anyone to pick up for free.

The package is available in the Amber sim, at the Furry Welcome Center in Amber (114, 92, 23). Turn around, and head to the tables. One has three cubes, one labeled Wingless Emoto Avatars. Click on that to receive a copy. For those interested, there's also a pony avatar and house.

For those who don't know, Wingless Emoto is an avatar designer in Second Life. Some years ago, he had a dispute with the retailer he was selling them through, and since the contract stated he couldn't sell his avatars at the time through anyone else, he made them freely available to all. Many residents have kept a copy of a package of the avatars on them to give to others wanting to try a furred avatar. Even after several years, although other avatars have been available for free, no other package that can be held to give to others has emerged. There was a package of newer free avatars available at the AnthroXtacy store recently, but with the company closing down, those avatars are not known to be available.

Like the package in Second Life, the InWorldz Wingless avatars come in a variety of anthro fox, wolf, horse, and hyena avatars in a variety of colors, red, white, blue, pink, etc. But the cube passed around in Second Life was mostly fox and wolf while the InWorldz package has a roughly equal number of the four, plus a few reindeer and werewolf avatars. Like the avatars in Second Life, the Wingless avs in InWorldz have both male and female skins (except the werewolf), and both parts for plantigrade and digigrade feet (except the werewolf and reindeer, plantigrade and digitgrade only respectively), and options for large and small hands. But the Customization and Control HUDs are not in the InWorldz Wingless avatars. A notecard included with the avatar package stated this was a first release, with another one planned later with HUDs.

Like it's Second Life counterpart, one doesn't have to wear the whole avatar. One can just wear the ears and tail (and feet) for a kitsune-style neko look. There are also a few hairpieces included.

So for those in Second Life who prefer looks with a tail, the option for furred avatars is available in Inworldz.

Inworldz Grid, Amber (114, 92, 23)

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: Castle Dark Haven

by Theonlyjohnny Resident

I found this place when I was looking for just a good place to hang out. I will be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed, at first, by the amount of visitors I saw at the club. The dance floor was filled, as were all the seats.


The DJ was rocking the stream better than I have seen anyone else. I immediately came to the conclusion that no one could follow such a great DJ. That was soon proven wrong. All of the DJs have performed the best I have ever seen a DJ perform.

Unlike other clubs, where either only one or two people say hello, I was welcomed by everyone there. I did apply for a job, on my first visit, but was amazed to find that, instead of turning me down, they let me know that I did not meet the requirements of the job. However, they DID give me a shot at being a host, and I was hired.

Be warned, this is an Adult furry club. However, it's not the kind of adult club that is about sexuality and what not. Furrys, and humans alike, come here to hear great music, and just have fun. No one is turned away, and everyone is treated as if they're family.

The design of the club is not simple, and is actually very complex, with each brick having a slightly different texture than the rest (Yes I have looked at the bricks, ha-ha). And the placement of everything is precise and shows how much work was truly put into this club. Even the placement of the dance poles, which are open to everyone as are the tip jars next to them, show that this was not just a random make. It was designed to perfection.

All in all I give this club,

Originality: 5 of 5
Design and Look: 5 of 5
Music: 5 of 5
Staff: 5 of 5
Owner involvement: 4 of 5

In total 24 of 25


TheonlyJohnny

A Day in Second Life

By Grease Coakes

One day Xavier Thiebaud, one of the owners of the A-List, asked me to write out what I did in Second Life as a blog. Writing a blog constantly would be taxing over time. Xavier had a point though that people may be interested in what goes on in a furry’s doings on Second Life, especially one who hops between human and furry hangouts and activities.

So I figured I’d write about a Saturday where I had a few things lined up. For starters on a Saturday morning is brahma yoga class at 4 AM SLT which is 7 AM my time east coast time. The morning class on Saturday is the bajons or spiritual dancing with some meditation. I woke up on time and was frustrated that my Guru Pramiil Magne wasn’t online. 

Not that I can blame him he’s been busy with his job in real life. Despite that my fellow classmates and I decided to meditate without him. Aldaida said she liked my shirt with a picture of Watabou from dragon warrior monsters 1. She called it an alien, but it’s really a tree spirit from the video game. I was in meditation for a short while and I snapped out of it refreshed. I stuck around though and I wanted to prepare a notecard for a tailsale later in the day for IYC. 

I explained about tail sales in an earlier article. I talked with my friends after they got out of meditation for a bit. Celtic wanted to talk about things in her real life so I stopped and listened. When she logged off I warped to AX for a fave event I like to attend. I warped there and left my avatar there as I went afk to grab some breakfast.

After grabbing a bowl of cereal and a soda, no one is at AX yet. Do I look at my notices and DJ Starfall is playing at IYC. I warp over and I hear some awesome trance. Even at 5:30AM SL time, the dance floor is filled with various avatars shaking their tails. Not a lot of them are talking though, so I IM the DJ Ohni Starfall and say a lot of them are afk or in IM/s. He agrees with me. I let his trance relax me as I do my dailies for neopets. When it’s close to 6AM SL time,  I warp back to AX and see Dj Aurora Avila dance with one of her friends Jamaris Pawpaw.

DJ Aurora, in my opinion, is the queen of video game music as she plays a wide variety of video game remixes along with Asian music. She was the first person I reported on for the SL Newser when Bixyl hired me back in January last year. When anyone tips Aurora you’ll get a surprise if you haven’t been to her DJ sets before. DJ Aurora starts her set and suddenly I get an IM.

Spencer Mactire asks “Wait, were you just holding fire?”

I say, “Yes that’s my chat AO. I have lots of them."

Spencer says “That’s cool…” He also says hi to the readers when I tell him his comment is going in my article. I bring up a comment about Iron Man versus Samus Aran (the woman bounty hunter you play as from Metroid) Aurora has this to say as she’s a big fan of the Metroid series. 

[06:09] Aurora Avila: But I know Samus, and Lord knows that if she fights Iron Man, she'll be walking out with about half his modifications customized into her suit, and with a shiny new Repulser Beam. 

I think Tony Stark will have a bad day if he fights the Metroid hunter.

Listening to Aurora’s video game tunes, I decide to play Hubrid’s Hero heist. The worst game you can play in neopets if you want to earn neopoints as quickly as possible as a full game takes a ½ hour or so. It is fun to play in my opinion though, and I have a gold champion trophy in that game sitting on my neopets user lookup as greasy711. Sadly I play a lousy game. But it’s not all bad as I still hold the top score in rink runner of 534.

With expert mouse clicking while listening to Aurora’s music I do much better at rink runner. I asked a lady in a wild crux avatar named Sonicblue Dudek to slow dance with me. She says sure.

Over time the club fills up with various furries as I multitask chatting with people in the club and playing various neopets games earning neopoints. Fun is had by all while everyone hangs out listening to Aurora’s music.

At the end of Aurora’s DJ set I start playing Extreme Herder off neopets, and wanting faster music I warp over to Dance Island. When I started my Grease Coakes account I used to go Tj Icey’s a lot for the club music. Today it’s now Dance Island which features a bunch of DJ/s playing various genres. Dance Island is known for a lot of gestures but it doesn’t bother me as I’m used to Dance Island being an emote fest along with the music.

I click a dance a ball as I say hi to Deirdre Masala who hangs out a lot there. I jam to the trance being played by Bel Air and I start playing more Extreme Herder. My highest score in extreme herder was 353 today which is a good score but not high enough to reach the top scores. I see a notice at Book Island the sim dedicated to books and promoting your own literary works. The event is Jackson Arthur hosting a book discussion at 10am SLT. I leave Dance Island and wander around Book Island instead.

Using my mini map I find a bunch of green dots and hear a man’s voice over voice chat. So I join in and see a group of people sitting around a round table. Looking at Arthur’s top hat makes me think of Simon Linden. He’s one of the Lindens I met in SL and I found his teddy bear. He also asked about moles in SL and Olivia Whitsend answered that moles are a group in SL headed by the Lindens as a public works group.

Brokali, a blue alien, mentioned he was organizing 75 stories about food. Over voice chat he was geeking out about vegetables. He said that the definition of geeking was to be focused on a hobby or interest as their thing. I said jokingly then I geek out about neopets. Olivia said her kids also play neopets so I said my grey neopet will destroy their pets! Arthur said that doesn’t sound good and I joked no it doesn’t ha-ha!

I discussed my children’s book with the group and how I had to rework my book on lulu a few times to get it right. Also how I found an artist to draw for the cover as Arthur was saying he didn’t want to work with covers. A lot of the book discussion covered writing and ways to get published.

When the event was over I was invited to another book Island event, but I declined saying I wanted to go IYC for their tail sale event at 12noon SLT. The sim had to restart but I warped back with ease. A while later IYC got their tail sale under way as I warped through a ball to a waiting area. I joined a separate group IYC tail 4 sale when I was accepted to be sold as a tail for IYC.  

At 12 noon SLT things were still being sorted out as everyone waited for the first tail to go up for sale. The tail sale got a late start as Havok Muircastle wanted to grab more buyers into the sim and kick off the afk avatars. At 12:30 SL time they finally got the tail sale started as Havok spoke out the rules over Voice chat. One thing about tail sales it take a long time as each tail being sold is stretched out being bid on going once, twice, and then a third time.

Many furries ahead of me went for various amounts of Linden of 3k or so. A majority of the sales were offering art work or adult services like the article I wrote earlier on the AX tail sale. Atheu Blindside ahead of me was offering scripting and building weapons was bought by TeiTei for 2,500. I went up next and I can’t move! The sim screwed with my avatar so I could not sit on the podium to be sold. However amazingly, I had high bids and I was finally sold for 5k to Dragonheart. I warped to a sim on my picks then back and I IMed Dragonheart about what she wanted and she was interested in my writing ability. Then DragonHeart kept going and bid on KJ, a girl furry for her artistic ability, for 32,000L!

Jenny of the Sunweavers asked for a DJ for Club Cutlass, so I volunteered. Rita needed my DJ stream so I sent her the DJ information I bought from shoutcast. Then I checked my friends list and my Guru Pramiil Magne was online! Cool. I was excited that he was able to come online for class as I enjoy meditation class with him. I had an intense meditation but I quickly left class to set up my DJ stream with Rita and Jenni of the Sunweavers.

I played a good balance of disco/70’s/60’s and what I usually play for the Sunweavers crowd. I made a fair amount of tips as I played songs like "Hotel California" by the Eagles and "American Pie" by Don McLean. I played a few video game remixes and some House, but I also remembered the audience I was playing for and played disco etc. But the last song I played was a video game remix based upon the first Mega Man.

All in all it was a busy day for me as Grease Coakes in Second Life.  There’s many things to do and experience here on the Grid. Don’t limit yourself to one club or one thing. I guess that’s the moral of this article, if there is one, is just enjoy life and do what you enjoy.

Grease Coakes

Changes in the FCA

By Bixyl Shuftan

The FCA, or Furry Club Alliance, has been undergoing some changes throughout the months of it's existence. Clubs and people have joined up, and clubs and people have dropped out. One club gone inactive, another taken down, and some dormant ones have come back to having events.

Created in 2011, the FCA offered an alliance for clubs where residents of any type of avatar, human, furred, neko, pony, and otherwise could come and enjoy themselves. They could coordinate schedules to avoid competing for limited audiences at the same time, and DJs could advertise their services to several clubs at once. When it started out, the FCA was mostly clubs belonging to or affiliated with Nydia Tungsten. Having gotten her start in Second Life as DJ "Naughty" Nydia, she eventually came to be involved with several clubs: the Club Zero Gravity space club and the Happy Vixen beach club in Purrfection, the Little Dove steampunk airship club  in Southern Colorado, the Castaway Cove pirate beach club in Kalmere Paradise, the historic landmark Club Fur in Kitsuhana, and in December 2012 came the Mardi Gras carnival club in FP Proteus.

Club Fur was inactive except for special events and as a hangout for most of 2012, but being in charge of four going to six clubs was still a logistical challenge in addition to needing help from some supporters. Castaway Cove was scheduled to be closed down in May 2012, but was rescued by Skylark Lefavre whom financed it for the remainder of the year.

Other clubs included Club Cutlass, which is owned by Jenni Greenfield and has been around the longest of the clubs, save Club Fur. Also in were the Raised Tail beach club and resort, which closed in 2011 but still has fans talking about it to this day, the Forest Howlers club which was active for several months in 2012 before closing down. There was the Cocktail Lounge which was also in Purrfection in addition to Zero Gravity and Happy Vixen, but was under a different owner. Later in the year, the club went inactive but continued to rent the land where it sat. Late in 2012, Club Euphoria joined the alliance. The Green Meadows "Xanadu" club owned by Perri Prinz was also in the alliance, but was inactive for most of 2012.

Beginning in December and going on in January, change was in the air. Besides opening Club Mardi Gras to appeal to humans as well as furs, she also planed to reopen Club Fur to regular events. DJ YuliaV Resident whom came back from hiatus about this time agreed to perform in both, and gave the carnival club a successful start and gave Club Fur a diverse crowd. Some pictures posted by her online gave the suggestion that some nights this oldest of furry clubs had a mostly human audience. At the Happy Vixen, Jasmine Dawn Shuftan took charge as manager, and reinvigorated the place with new DJs, and taking the party from the club to the open beach on occasion. Attendance began to blossom.

With six clubs under her influence, Nydia came to the conclusion they needed their own organization. So White Vixen Enterprises was formed, consisting of her clubs, and her KVXN radio station.

Three clubs departed from the alliance in recent weeks however.  Club Little Dove was in Southern Colorado due to a deal with the sim's owner. Eventually the deal fell apart, and Nydia took down the club in January. Perhaps it will find new life in a Steampunk community. Castaway Cove's future grew doubtful when Skylark informed everyone she could no longer finance the club from outside Second Life. In January, Nydia and several other White Vixen personnel met up to discuss its future. Skylark stated as much as she loved the club, she didn't want it up if it meant a high cost to everyone. And so the decision was made to no longer keep it running. The club was closed in early February. Club Euphoria did not really participate in FCA meetings, except for a dancer whom went on her own. In an FCA meeting in February, Club Euphoria was voted out in an unanimous decision. Club Mardi Gras was doing well, but eventually the estate owner made the decision to close down the land. So with nowhere to go, the club was closed for the time being. Nydia however resolved to have it reopened soon.

Although two of Nydia's clubs were closed down, the people working at them had others to go to. Perri Prinz was looking to reactivate Green Meadows, and in January it opened once again with the help of Kiticella whom had managed both Little Dove and Castawave Cove. Once again, the beloved disco club was having regular events. With Mardi Gras temporarily down, YuliaV was free to play more elsewhere. And she began playing regularly at the Happy Vixen, in addition to another night a week for Club Fur. It was at this time Club Fur changed hands. Alynna Vixen was the one who rescued the classic club when it's old home at Furnation Prime closed. When she had to take a break from Second Life, she turned the club over to Nydia. After Nydia got it running again, Alynna returned and Nydia transferred the club back to her. Under Alynna's hands, the club continued to do well.

White Vixen Enterprises was down to two active clubs: Club Zero Gravity and the Happy Vixen, plus it's radio station KVXN. But Nydia planned to change that. She looked for a new home for Club Mardi Gras, and soon found one. On Feb 18th, the club celebrated it's grand reopening with a crowd that was over 35 avatars at times, dancing to the tunes by YuliaV.  Nydia called it the most of any club under her, giving DJ Yulia the credit.

Nydia had other plans as well. In the upper section of Club Zero, she replaced the cuddle couch with "KVXN's new home," a virtual radio station, "any one wanting some air time can come DJ on air for me. When they do they can broadcast from here."

Numerous other individuals have been part of the FCA's clubs.  Hostess Miyuki Naidoo has tirelessly greeted residents dropping in to Club Zero Gravity for the past few years. Alexandra "Sexy Lexi" Tymets, Cynthia Farshore and Kryxia Silverfall were sometimes the only DJs who would take certain hours that tended to draw small crowds. Shockwave Yareach was a song parody singer in addition to being a DJ, and parodies of his such as "Boobie Man" drew chuckles from crowds. Plus many others have also been a part in keeping the clubs going as DJs and hostesses.

Over time, the FCA has seen a number of challenges and changes. It will continue to change as more clubs join, a place for clubs where all types of avatars are welcome.

Bixyl Shuftan

At a Tail Sale

By Grease Coakes

You may or may not have heard of a tail sale at "name your furry club" fellow reader of the SL Newser. Whether you have heard about one or no,t I thought it would be fun to write an article about one. I myself have been up for auction a few times in furry clubs, and you may ask "what is a tail sale?"

A tail sale is held by a furry club where furries go to offer various services like adult roleplaying with the buyer, artwork, or writing or scripting or anything else you may think of. The purpose of a tail sale for any furry club is to raise funds to pay off their monthly tier and more improvements of the club. In general the bid on whatever furry is spilt in half between the club hosting the tail sale and the furry who is up for sale.

For example Bixyl my boss could go up for sale offering a cartoon and puns for whoever buys him. So if Jane Cleanslate bids 2,000L on him then 1,000 would go to Bixyl and 1,000 to the club. Bob Magne really wants one of one of Bixyl’s cartoons though so he outbids Jane’s bid by 500. Jane pouts and Bob at the last call buys Bixyl for 2,500 same as before ½ to Bixyl ½ to the club.

What I offer are my writing services for whoever buys me. I write adult stories and also once I did write a fantasy adventure for Chazore Ayers. I did include a couple of my characters from my children’s book as adults and she gave me a large bonus when I finally finished it as it was rather long. I’ve been in tail sales around furry clubs for a while now.


On February the 9th, the furry club Anthroxtacy held their tail sale which they try to do a few times per year. When I warped to their sim there was already a large crowd of furries and a human or two waiting around for the tail sale to start. It took a while to rez while Akira was playing dance music. At 2pm SL or 5pm east coast Hikari Vixen took over the stream and began the tail sale itself. I was handed a notecard in a tail sale group outside the regular AX group (AX Short for Anthroxtacy). It told me the order of everyone going up for sale I was towards the middle. Each furry goes up on the podium and the host as Hikari describes what that furry is offering. After a period of time she says first call, second call and finally Hikari closes the sale. The furry who was bought now owes the buyer whatever services that the furry offered.

The first furry Lyla Chauveau a tan colored raccoon went up on the podium. Hikari in a happy go lucky voice announced that her bid before the actual sale was 10,000 Linden for adult role-play services. 10k Linden! That’s a lot for a furry’s services, but that’s usual for a tail sale that furries go for high prices especially the lady ones. After a few minutes of taunting the audience to bid higher Hikari closed the sale to Lyla’s buyer at 10,000.

Me and the other furries up for sale waited in a corner a dressing room as the tail sale had a burlesque theme so a few of the girl furries wore corsets to fit the theme. As the tail sale went on Hikari announced each furry and what he or she would offer the buyer. Surianna the head playmate of AX as a snow leopard offered her incredible RP services in adult ways and sold for 5,000L.Akira went for 20k

Linden to Jayrek for artwork or adult role-play services. Typing in 20,000 in the buy Linden bar I saw that if I wanted to buy 20K Linden with real money it would come to $81.27 in US dollars! That’s a lot to bid for someone in Second Life.

Dahlia Blitzstein before me sold her art work skills at a very high price. She had a cube above her head showing off her art work for everyone to see. I found myself looking at the cube looking at the detail of her computer artwork and wishing to buy her artwork. Sadly my hopes were shot down when I saw her bid starting at 6k Linden. Hikari was calling on the crowd to bid higher for her high quality artwork. Almost before the final call Mythology Doesburg who owns AX bid back and forth between Helios and himself. Mythology AKA Myffy as he likes to be called in the end bought Dahlila for 22,000 Linden! That’s a little more than what Jayrek paid for Akira.

Seeing that Dahlia was ahead of me I jumped over to a scripted 1920’s chair behind her as Dahlia auction was closed. I imed Hikari saying I was ready and she posted my tail sale info for everyone to see while she read it out loud.

One lady bought me for a mere 1,000 as a present for her SL wife, so I only got 500. I felt discouraged that I could of gotten more, but I also reminded myself I could of walked away with a big fat zero. I can’t cry over spilled milk, so instead of grumping about it I imed her to see what she wanted as a story. She wants to see what her SL wife wants too.

Looking to make some Linden and show everyone a talent you have? Tail sales are the way to go. Far as I know humans would be allowed to be in a tail sale just like a furry. The Anthroxtacy tail sale is over, but if you keep your ears open I’m sure there are other tail sales around Second Life too.

Grease Coakes

The Return of Bay Club

Furry clubs in Second Life generally have the same theme: provide music everyone can dance to and goofing off after a hard day of work. Also "Tail Sales" come into play to raise money for the clubs, and offer you to "buy" that furry you always wanted.

Then came the Bondage and Yiff club, or Bay. The BDSM slant, which was almost lacking (except for Furr in Chains) came alive with Entangledwolf "Entangled" Snowpaw’s club and hard work to keep it up. I was put off a couple times as he was busy with something, but I did get a chance to interview him and here’s what he had to say.

When he first started, he had a mere ¼ sim when he got the idea from his buddy Red. Even by just messing around and positive word of mouth, 2 weeks later Entangled’s basic version of Bay became more popular than Furr in Chains the other furry BDSM club in existence. When Entangled got on his feet and decided he wanted to go further, he stepped forward and bought the sim from Red and created Bay.

I asked Entangled how his club became popular and rose above the rest. He answered, "Well I attribute this to a few things.... one better advertising and the funding needed to run a club. People rarely realize how much these places cost." Entangled said running a club his size costs 325-350 US dollars a month, "They build themselves a club then when they open, lack funding for contests, streams, or anything else."

He mentioned that he modeled his club after IYC based upon the layout and how well managed the club is. Based upon logistics and layout and the need for empty spaces, also that IYC is a large club to draw people to.

Bay indeed did become a popular draw for furries and a hot spot. Sadly Entangled had some health issues and had to close the club for a few months. Lots of people were sad when the old bay closed down. Amazingly however when word came around SL that Bay would reopen its doors, lots of furries jumped for joy hearing their fave hang out was being brought to life.

Entangled was saying the traffic isn’t quite as high as before. However there’s always new furries and humans coming into Second Life as fresh blood to hang out. Entangled also said that a major challenge is finding staff to maintain his club as sometimes older players of SL get bored and leave. I asked him what he’s hiring for. He answered escorts, bar staff, security and DJ's. I asked to make sure, and Entangled said humans are welcome just like the furry crowd. However to work at Bay you need a furry or neko avatar. Simple enough if a human wants to try out a bartending job.

So even if you’re not into BDSM, but you’re looking for a nice place to hang out, or even if you do like BDSM, stop by Bay and meet new friends furry and/or human.

I might be there to serve you a drink. Entangled rehired me when he reopened Bay. ^.^

Grease Coakes

"Free Avatars" or Maybe Not

Acting on a tip from one of my friends the other day, I headed on over to the "Free Furry Avatar Warehouse" over in the Solbim sim (180,153,91). It's inside a large megaprim off of the main road and holds both a dance club (deserted, like 95% of clubs I see on the Grid, epecially on the mainland) and the "win zone", a place with a lot of Lucky Chairs and Midnight Mania boards. After flying in through the wall of the prim (directly below the pawprint showing the name of the place), I flew up to the second level where the "win zone" was, and was stopped by a wall --- you have to be a part of a group called "Anthropomorphism Therianthropy" and have the tag active before you can go into the Win Zone (or else be ejected from the area and deposited outside of the building).

"Well, that's not free, is it, if you have to do something like join a group to be eligible..." I said to myself. Still, that's not abnormal for SL, as many many groups give out free things to their members all of the time.

Using my camera to pan in, I saw several Lucky Chairs lined along the wall... then blinked to myself as I recognized the avatars. Avatars including the Crux, old equines by Avenity, and most of Wingless Emoto's avatars were available to win. These are avatars I remember paying $L for (1000 for my Crux, about 900 or so for one of my Avenity equines). These weren't "special" avatars available to members of the group, these were copied off of someone else's hard work and given out for free, depriving the makers of another sale.

Now normally, I'd be a bit annoyed about seeing copied avatars, but these are very old versions. I know that the maker of the Crux got out of the avatar making business because the Crux got copybotted in a big way (I do not know the details and I am reluctant to track down the creator for the whole story as I heard it is a very very painful story with way too much drama) and I think Wingless Emoto got out of the avatar making business as well due to "business problems" (I do not know the details). I found myself asking "Does anyone care?" I hardly see anyone wearing any of these old, old avatars. If anything, I see the occasional crux. Maybe some newbies are wandering around in Wingless Emoto's avatars. But other than that, I don't see many wearing these. I know Avenity updated their equines a while back, and these are not the updated versions, so it's not like they're "missed", I think.

Still, they were copied off of someone's hard work. That's really a problem with Second Life. There really ISN'T a way to stop things from being copied and passed around. On top of that, after eight years of being on the internet, there can be only so many ways to make a horse head, or a lion avatar, and so on, and you're bound to get nearly-identical things from time to time. Those trying to build new things after so long on the Grid are running into that as a major problem ("If you go into this now trying to make money, you will fail." someone once told me, and I agree).

Then I noticed that the owner himself, Farthington Whetmore, was in the area. As my opinion is that people who stoop to copybotting are trolls of the worst order, it was time to test that hypothesis and see if he had any "remorse" about stealing. I asked him how he got the avs on the chairs, to be free to all, and his reply was that he got them from various places on the Grid, as well as them being full perms when he got them and that he thought it'd be fun to give them away to newbies searching the grid. I wanted to use our exact conversation, but "Due to the TOS issue and until I research more, I'd rather you didn't." Fair enough.

Still, "Just been" brought to his attention? The tip I got from my friend was about a week and a half old when I decided to act on it and visit the place. "Full perms"? I don't think they had full perms when they were first made. Yeah, my hackles are up, but I'm not going to pursue the matter further for now (mostly because if he IS a troll, I don't want retaliation or drama). I brought up the fact Avenity updated their horses, and it will be interesting to see if I return to the area in a few weeks to find the selfsame things put up on the Lucky Chairs. Given the nature of copybotters/trolls like that, I would not be surprised if my current appearance at the time (a "Verin" avatar out of the company called Derp) got slapped up there as well.

The real problem is that the damage has already been done and that these things are out there. This sort of grid-wide damage can't be undone simply by destroying the place. Linden Labs would fare better simply by saying "What you make you make at your own risk" and leaving it at that, but even being that honest would damn -them- in a way as well and they would lose a LOT of players because that's what Second Life was founded on: The ability to build or make/be anything you wanted.

I doubt I'll return to the "free furry avatar warehouse." I know of -several- places that I can get free things from; this is just yet another place on the grid that does it.

Xymbers Slade