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Welcome to guest poster Summercat – a great friend to Dogpatch Press, with a cool interest in Furry Comics and Zines History.

When I joined the fandom in 1999, there were very few ways to shop for furry fandom merch. Most of your purchases were made via mail-order, or at a convention dealer room. There were few options for buying things from individuals – I recall having to mail a money order for my first online purchases.

Anthrocon 2006 Dealer’s Den. Photo by GreenReaper.

But that was 18 years ago. Today, with low-barrier tools like Square and Paypal, it is easier than ever to purchase work directly from someone living somewhere else in the world. Starting in the mid-2000s, the Furry Fandom has had it’s marketplace explode in volume and quantity. While there is a wealth of options around us, it can be confusion on where to go or start when trying to see what sort of Furry merchandise is available.

Here, I have compiled a list of online places where people can find books, comics, clothing, fursuits, and commissions from a variety of people. Due to otherwise overwhelming the list, I am excluding publishers that primarily sell their own imprints. For those, see: Furry Publishers – A Resource for Artists and Authors. This list is not exhaustive – if you feel something has been left out, please speak up and let us know!

I’ve broken down the locations in this list into three categories: Storefronts, Auction Sites, and Listing locations.

Storefronts

 

While not intentionally not an exhaustive list of everywhere you can buy books and comics, these stores feature work from a variety of companies and artists, with merchandise you purchase directly.

Rabbit Valley – Books, Comics, Prints, Misc

Rabbit Valley started off as a mail-order distribution company, selling works via catalog on behalf of small publishers and individuals. They have since expanded their operations to include their own in-house publishing, but remain one of the biggest distributors of wares in the fandom. In addition to selling newer works, Rabbit Valley also has a large back catalog of older works from the 90s and early 2000s as well.

InkedFur – Comics, Prints, Dakis, More

Founded in 2014 as a seller of art prints, InkedFur offers artists the ability to sell prints and other items with no up-front cost. InkedFur offers printed towels, acrylic stands, prints, artbooks, wall scrolls, pillow cases, and dakimuras.

Second-Ed – Comics, Zines, Misc products

Started in 2003, Second-Ed is purely a distributor of Furry, GoldDigger, and related items. While Seond-Ed does get in new items, it also sells a wide variety of older Furry Fandom items from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s as well.

Windshear’s Wares – Comics, ‘zines, Doujin, Misc

Windshear’s Wares is a Furry comic and Japanese Doujin importer and distributor. In addition to stocking newer items, Windshear’s Wares also has a large backlog of comics and zines due to long years of operation.

Fusselschwarm – German language importer

Fusselschwarm is a German importer of Furry Comics, Books, and zines. They import from Inkedfur, Thurston Howl, Rabbit Valley, Furplanet, and others. Thanks to Fred Patten for the tip!

Pawstar – Apparel

Crossover between anime, cosplay and furry dealer den fare, with raver appeal too.  Animal themed hoodies and kigu’s, ears/paws/tails, collars, goggles and hats, jewelry, and fur by the yard.

Auction Sites

 

While nothing in the fandom could compare to the power of e-bay, auction sites have been a feature in the fandom for a long while. All sorts of items and goods can be listed and sold.

The Dealer’s Den

A low key auction site, The Dealer’s Den has listings for commissions, prints, books, partial suits, and allows adult work. While there is a $1 account verification fee for buyers and sellers and a $0.50 “Featured on the Home Page” optional fee, there are no other costs for using the site. Payments are made direct to the seller, but The Dealer’s Den offers an invoicing system to help keep track of things.

Furbuy

Launched in 2000, Furbuy is one of the more well-known – though with its share of critics – furry auction sites. While basic accounts are free, there is an optional $5/month verified account that allows for more than 4 auction listings at a time. There are no fees for listing items.

Etsy

A craft and vintage focused, boutique alternative to ebay for the smaller seller.  Tailoring your searches can find well established furry-specific storefronts.

Listing Locations

 

Listing locations are not storefronts or auctions. These are places where people can list they are open for commissions or sales, and in a few cases that they are seeking to get a commission done. All of these need an account to interact with, but are free to use.

Weasyl Marketplace

One of the features of online art site Weasyl, the Marketplace is a searchable and filterable list of Weasyl users who have marked themselves as open for commission.

Telegram Channels: The Dealer’s Den, Furry Market Place

Lumped together for brevity, these are Telegram channels specifically for posting ads seeking to buy or sell commissions. Both are very specific and strict about off-topic chatter and discussion. TheDealersDen has over 2000 members, while FurryMarketPlace has over 1250.

Furaffinity Art Sales and Auctions Sub-forum

The Furaffinity Forums have long had a marketplace for people offering and buying commissions and items to meet up, and this is the most current iteration.

Facebook Pages: Group 1, Group 2

Two Facebook groups for people to list they are open for commissions. They require a Facebook account and to join the group in order to see the postings.

Did I miss anywhere? Have a question about why a site may have been excluded? Please comment down below – as I said before, I could have very well left a site or location out of ignorance, so please let me know! – Summercat

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward. They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

Roo and Tugs sit down with Tenax Raccoon to discuss the world of taurs. What is the draw of four legs? Where does it come from? What kind of taurs exist? Is there prejudice against taurs? What are the best parts of being a taur? We explore all this and more in this deep dive into the multi-legged world of taurs! We also debut a new segment - Boozy's Bits, alongside Space News and our olde timey ad. Click in and listen!





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SHOW NOTES
Special Thanks

Tenax, our guest.
Vix Vulpes
Venio Darcony
Skips
Kampa
Tobias the Wolftaur
Otaku
Anonymous
Shred Venita

Write in and let us know how the topic helped you. We want to know if episodes like this are of interest to our audience!

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Potty Break Music: Fredrik Miller - Morning Light: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

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Next episode: Our next episode is about second-generation furries! Send your email by December 1, 2017! S7 Episode 4 – One skin, two skin, three skin, four LEGS?! - Roo and Tugs sit down with Tenax Raccoon to discuss the world of taurs. What is the draw of four legs? Where does it come from? What kind of taurs exist? Is there prejudice against taurs? What a

Hello, Papabear!

I wanted your thoughts about a dream or nightmare, I had a few months ago, Since our last letter (see this column from 2016) I've done some research into chronophobia and would seem that's what I'm suffering from, there where some suggested things a person with chronophobia should do, so I took out ticking clocks or anything that would remind me of time out of my bedroom and made some lifestyle changes that would take up most of my free time, which honestly helps me sleep more easily at night

Anyway to the dream. I was working, nothing unusual, familiar faces and surroundings, than suddenly something hit me, I went from standing to being laid out on the ground faster than I could think, as I lay there, I tried getting up only to realize I couldn't move, all the familiar people around me began to panic as they looked at me, didn't take long for me to realize I was dying, my eyes were open, but everything was fading to black, the familiar voices started to fade to silence, however I didn't feel any fear or regrets, my literal thought was " My time is done, let's see what's on the other side " but that's when my mate pop into my mind, than I struggled as hard as I could trying to force myself to stand, telling myself " I can't leave him, I can't die! " that's when I woke up already sitting up in my bed, in a panic I hopped out of bed looking for my mate, only to realize he wasn't there and for the first time in years I cried

I had this dream while at work, it was very vivid and to this day it gives me chills, I haven't told my mate about it, but everyday I tell him I love him, since than I haven't felt fear, not even during a " bumpy " helicopter ride, but at night chronophobia sets in even more now, I wanted to know if you had any thoughts on this? Does it have a meaning or connection to my fear of time? Or maybe I'm just thinking about it too much? Love to hear from you and as always thank you for reading.

Hale
 
* * *
Dear Hale,

I believe this is all related to your earlier letter and your fears of the future and of aging. A fear of dying is definitely tied into these. With your apparent PTSD, I hope you will not be offended if I suggest it might be a good idea for you to explore another career besides firefighting. Have you thought about this? I am not questioning your bravery or commitment to service, but for your own sake (mental and emotional health) there is no shame in looking for something that doesn't stress you out so much.

Hugs,
Papabear

No, not that one. Cats With Hats is a new full-color independent comic book series written and illustrated by Aynsley King from British Columbia. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the first issue is out and available now in paper or digital form. “Five cats: Viva, Jinx, Olive, Purrche and Soots. They don’t remember who they are, or why they have hats that grant them the power to change into the animals with powers they wouldn’t have otherwise. Together, these strangers must work together using their new hat powers to piece together their shared mystery all while uncovering the conspiracies in Catsopolis…” That’s what the official web site says. Go check it out!

image c. 2017 by Aynsley King

"Born to this cradle below the stars, not unlike those who carried the torch before..." These are the opening words of J. Malan's new novel ReWritten, and they could not be more misleading. Despite the beauty of the opening lines and the equally stellar cover art, this is paws-down a book you do not want to read at night.Starting out as an almost dystopic National Treasure, ReWritten follows Professor M. van Elsburg and several dangerous mercenaries into the wastelands--the kind of place no one of common sense wanders--in search of a historical artifact and its mysteries. There have been others seeking the same artifact...but no one's heard back from that expedition.Part-dystopia, part-horror, part-posthumanist philosophy, part-furry, and altogether great fiction, ReWritten is a must-read. Coming into this book, I had high expectations from reading J. Malan's other work. While again, my initial thoughts as I began the novel were, "Wow, is this really going to be a furry National Treasure?" my concerns of it being cliche were quite quickly ripped from my mind. This book is scary. Not just on a visceral horror kind of way, but also in an ethical way. I walked away from this with actual philosophical insight, and that's rare for me, especially in a furry book.I usually like to give my English students short challenges like offering exactly three words in response to a piece of literature. My three words in response to ReWritten would be: "Chilling ... provocative ... haunting."Now is usually when I come to the weaknesses of the book and suggestions. Aside from the weak formatting of the interior, shoddy proofreading, and the inappropriate (for the genre) cover design, I would say the greatest weakness lies in the often shallow descriptions. But still, even with these minimalist sensory evocations, the psychological aspects of the horror are convincing and alluring.All in all, I'd recommend this book to any furry who wants a quick read, especially if they want to be haunted a bit. I would not recommend this book to ... anyone who is reading before bed.Ever onward,Howl

A late to air and shorter episode this week. Been taking lots of time to work on the new studio! Meanwhile, we got a much needed discussion out of the way in this episode. See you at MFF!

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Path Hyena’s “Furry Conventions and Changing Acceptability in Public Spaces”
• Paradox’s gray paint test
• Calibrated Gray Paint
• Paradox’s new license plate

News:

• Neo-Nazi furries are Trump’s latest and most puzzling alt-right supporters
• How White Nationalism Courts Internet Nerd Culture
• Slippery Stairs – A Must Have Gameshow
• Church that Worships AI God

FC-286 Yellow Brick Cable - A late to air and shorter episode this week. Been taking lots of time to work on the new studio! Meanwhile, we got a much needed discussion out of the way in this episode. See you at MFF!

A late to air and shorter episode this week. Been taking lots of time to work on the new studio! Meanwhile, we got a much needed discussion out of the way in this episode. See you at MFF!

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Path Hyena’s “Furry Conventions and Changing Acceptability in Public Spaces”
• Paradox’s gray paint test
• Calibrated Gray Paint
• Paradox’s new license plate

News:

• Neo-Nazi furries are Trump’s latest and most puzzling alt-right supporters
• How White Nationalism Courts Internet Nerd Culture
• Slippery Stairs – A Must Have Gameshow
• Church that Worships AI God

FC-286 Yellow Brick Cable - A late to air and shorter episode this week. Been taking lots of time to work on the new studio! Meanwhile, we got a much needed discussion out of the way in this episode. See you at MFF!

A late to air and shorter episode this week. Been taking lots of time to work on the new studio! Meanwhile, we got a much needed discussion out of the way in this episode. See you at MFF!

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• Path Hyena’s “Furry Conventions and Changing Acceptability in Public Spaces”
• Paradox’s gray paint test
• Calibrated Gray Paint
• Paradox’s new license plate

News:

• Neo-Nazi furries are Trump’s latest and most puzzling alt-right supporters
• How White Nationalism Courts Internet Nerd Culture
• Slippery Stairs – A Must Have Gameshow
• Church that Worships AI God

[Live] Yellow Brick Cable

And once again, another animated property that the entire world seems to get except us here in the USA. Cracked (also known some places as Cracke’) is a series of comedic shorts created by Squeeze in Canada. The premise is simple: Ed is a friendly if nervous ostrich. (Don’t ask us why he’s red, or why he appears to have no wings. We don’t know.) Ed is a single dad who is trying to raise his brood of 8 eggs to hatching. Very, very wild hi jinks ensue. Animation World Network mentioned the series last year, when it was distributed in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East, and Continental Europe. Recently they added Japan to the list — but still no mention of the USA. Well, if you visit the Squeeze web site, you can learn more about the series and how to download it as an app.

image c. 2017 Squeeze

Me right now. (The whole not moving part)
View Video

Talk about International! Cloth Cat Animation in Wales and 9 Story Distribution in Canada have teamed up with Magic Mall Entertainment in China to bring Magic Mall’s new animated TV series Luo Bao Bei to the wider world. This is from Cloth Cat’s web site: “The series centres on spirited, fun-loving 7 year old Luo Bao Bei as she explores everyday life with her friends, family and animal companions, having adventures and learning that even though we seem different on the outside, the emotions we all feel make us fundamentally the same. Starting life as a popular cartoon spokesperson and community icon in Beijing, this show is created by Grace Tian.” The head writer for the new series is David Ingham, who is well-known for his work on Shaun the Sheep and The Octonauts.

image c. 2017 Cloth Cat Animation

So Casper mattresses makes you fuzzier? One could hope.
View Video

In lieu of an episode here is Kaar's segment for this week. A very pressing topic - Hope you all enjoy Kaar Segment - Solo 02 - Missing Sharks

Speaking of MIPCOM, as usual the hey-buy-our-TV-series trade show has given us lots of anthropomorphic animation to hope might make its way to our shores. Among them is Brewster the Rooster, created by Salty Dog Pictures and distributed internationally by Monster Entertainment. According to C21 media, “The show… follows the adventures of six-year-old Maggie and her best friend Brewster as they find out the answers to questions only children could think to ask.” Animation magazine has an article from a year ago about this and other interesting projects that Monster has picked up for distribution.

image c. 2017 Monster Entertainment

I guess we had to expect somebody would flip the whole bigfoot thing.
View Video

NOM. Got your ear! Do you like that? You do? Then bring your ears, paws, or anything else that needs nibbles to Wild Things. It’s the quarterly 18+ play party for furries, petplay, and more. (Share to invite new friends… or your next lunch!)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017 1:00 PM – 6:30 PM SF CITADEL, 181 EDDY ST., SAN FRANCISCO

wruffstuff.com

(Brief break for discussion!) This week, Furry Twitter has been howling with drama. Controversy seemed to come out of nowhere: for colorful animal-people, is it OK to have strictly PG kid-friendly events? Or are fur cons so adult that a tame option amounts to kink-shaming? And are pup hoods a fetishy toy not to wear in public, or is that an insult to the expression of inner identity?

It looked like the drama erupted from just a few negative tweets, but here’s the real reason.  A week before, Anthro Northwest had its first con with some bold surprises – like regulation on adult content. Everything afterward was a reflexive reaction. But was it deserved? There’s so many cons and meets and parties now, having one tame option might just be a narrow part of widespread growth. Like veggies on a buffet, it doesn’t stop you from picking meat if you prefer it. How about having a little of everything?

The drama is one reason why Wild Things is a special happening, and a good sign that nothing is being tamed down. This could be the only openly-advertised, furry-themed adult play party at an established club (a BDSM Dungeon) in the world. Can you imagine the howling if this existed 15 years ago at the height of the MTV/CSI/Vanity Fair inspired Yiff Panic? We’ve come a long way to turning the tables. So swallow that and consider allowing a little room for kid-friendly events. Kinky people can be as mature and responsible as anyone else, on or off leash. (Back to party info!)

Wild Things is it’s own space that strongly encourages (optional) costume like fursuits, murrsuits, petplay gear, or just anything fetishy and fun. Big Bad Wolves may eat you (with consent.) Bring someone tasty along, or just hang out in the lounge with lots of party food. That’s the chill area separate from the play dungeon, designed to be relaxed and welcoming to newcomers. Expect a diverse crowd of overlapping communities that’s LGBT friendly and on the younger energetic side. See you there.

• More info: http://tiny.cc/wildthings 
• RSVP on Fetlife: https://fetlife.com/events/586436
• RSVP for Bay Area Furries on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/SFBayAreaFurs/events/244992503/

Past parties:

• Who let furries in the goth club? Death Guild vs. Wild Things – Monday July 3.
• Wild Things: Cinco De Mayo – furry fetish party in San Francisco, May 5.
• Wild Things: the festival before Mardi Gras – furry fetish party in San Francisco, Feb 25.

Events coming soon!

Did you know there's multiple #furry parties in the SF Bay Area? Check out @Frolicparty and @partyanimalssj - they'll transform your life.

— SF Wildthings (@WildThingsSF) November 19, 2017

Our next Frolic, we've got a very special guest DJ. Don't miss it, tell all your friends to come! We're gonna be poppin that night! pic.twitter.com/Px4vRvIvqd

— FrolicParty (@FrolicParty) November 12, 2017

Tail noms are the worst kind of noms. pic.twitter.com/fNhXZiY4FO

— Renegade Kangaroo (@renegade_roo) November 20, 2017

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

What I learned from lurking the Furry Raiders chat

Hi, I’m Aristide, and I’m a narc. For the past several months, I’ve had a sockpuppet account in the Furry Raiders Telegram, Skype, and Discord groups and periodically leaked screenshots of them to @edgedestroys. I chose Edge in order to protect the credibility of my sockpuppet account, and because I work in a sensitive workplace and worry about being doxxed. Most speculation about the Raiders – that they’re Nazis, they’re Alt-Right, they’re losers – is generally correct. I want to provide a better picture of what we, as a community, are dealing with.

Same Losers, New Politics

The general population of the Raiders community is a combination of old-school 4Chan racists, conspiracy theorists, new wave white supremacists, and impressionable but misled minors. Racist memes from a long-forgotten era of /b/ populate the chat in equal measure to WorldNetDaily or YourNewsWire links. Several dozen in the chat subscribe to the Daily Stormer and similar neo-Nazi websites, while a refrain against “fake news” rings against any news source that is not part of the alt-right media ecosystem. Lost in this mix are impressionable minors, 13 to 17 year old kids that found their way to the Raiders one way or another. Some of them joined because they hated SJWs – (the GamerGate to Alt-Right pipeline is well documented) – others were actively recruited by Foxler, Kody, and other de-facto leaders in the Raiders.

The first commenter left the group with a statement at bottom of article.

It comes standard with far-right communities to use fear and in-group pressure to ‘encourage’ their members to stay, instilling a “you’re with us or you’re with them” mindset. Members who left spoke of being blacklisted from their friends that remained in and around the Raiders, others that tried to leave were warned they’d never be re-accepted. These behaviors have transcended three organizers of the Raiders – Foxler, Kody, and Dionysius – and have been adopted by the group at large. Their virtually non-existent moderation has allowed for organized harassment, most notably and consistently against Deo, as well as unfiltered discussions about whether or not the Holocaust is historical fact.

Draconas had an intense reaction about this article and reached out to make things better.

Employing childish rationalizations to protect their egos is common too – any point that goes against the Raiders’ mantra gets branded as leftist fake news, or SJW rabble, preventing any kind of critical self-reflection of individual or group behaviors. This extended to projecting about recent mass-shootings and other tragedies in the United States – two prominent white supremacist Raiders hoped that the Sutherland Springs shooter was a leftist or a Bernie Bro, with no legitimate evidence, solely to justify their biases. This is a variation of the Backfire Effect, where ingrained biases force an individual to irrationally justify their beliefs. This is an example of small-minded thinking the Raiders possess and employ to maintain ideological homogeny.

It’s not about Free Speech

Re-litigating arguments over free speech won’t work on these people. It does not matter that the government isn’t involved, or that private organizations have the right to restrict some forms or speech. The new far-right, in Europe, North America, and elsewhere, seek nothing short of dominion – they seek to legitimize their cause, which they cast as oppression and the defense of whites, as a vehicle of domination over identity and ideology. They seek a community where slurs are used freely, where callousness and animosity are driving vehicles of discourse, where unsourced wingnut conspiracy theories lay equal to well-gathered evidence. It is a prominent example of anti-intellectual populism concentrated in a fringe, and spearheaded by childish brats who can’t fathom the concept of self-reflection. These are not people with respectable ideas.  They deserve to be marginalized and silenced to the greatest reasonable extent.

There exists genuine fear of fully grown adults that are willing to commit their minds to this toxic thinking. Organized attacks against Califur, and the demise of Rocky Mountain Fur Con under well-deserved criticism, are examples of what arises when we fail to organize against the worst parts of our community. We cannot wait for their violent fantasies to reach a boiling point – we’ve seen Charlottesville and Portland – action after harm cannot be the norm. Neither can we ignore the children at risk from these communities: protecting them from sexual exploitation and far-right radicalization is an objective moral duty.

Within our community, we should be approaching these people with genuine concern over their propensity for violence, whether at conventions, meetups, or otherwise. Given the meteoric rise of public shootings in the United States, regardless if you believe it to be a firearms issue or a mental health issue, this must be addressed seriously. Healthy, well-adjusted adults do not behave like this. There is no negotiating with groups like these.

Lord of the Flies

After a few weeks of lurking, I noticed that some of the Raiders that would filter in and out were young teens, welcomed with open arms to a “real, accepting furry community” that did not persecute them like “Twitter SJWs” would. This became a genuine trend after more time passed; there was a disproportionate number of minors in this chat than in a general cross-section of other furry populations. While pornographic and other adult content was banned from these chats, mixing young teens with people like Dionysius, who once said that child pornography “[is] just 1s and 0s on a hard drive”, is cause for concern. Those sexual norms were common in the Raider’s chat – it can be said that the production or possession of child pornography was not seen as a moral crime there, and many would have it legalized if given the chance. Some Raiders did voice incredibly violent opposition to the concept of pedophiles, most of it originating over the folk conception of pedophiles violently raping children, whereas ‘boy love’ (read: molestation and less-violent coercion) was not seen as explicitly pedophilic.

Felix responded that the image is from 2016, when he cut ties with the group out of disagreement with it.

Through individual chats, it became clear that many Raiders condoned or endorsed the idea of ‘boy/girl love’ to varying degrees. Through initial discussions with individual Raiders, these revelations also branched out beyond the Raiders chat to individuals wholly unaffiliated with them who discussed the same explicit material. I will not be releasing details of who was involved in these discussions, nor to what extent these discussions crossed moral or criminal bounds. I have provided evidence of what may or may not be criminal activity to appropriate authorities, and disclosing any evidence implicitly or explicitly may negatively impact an investigation that arises from said evidence. If you or someone you know is aware of any illegal activity, related to the Raiders or otherwise, you can provide the FBI with an anonymous tip.

off and on I've spoken to a 16 year old they brought into their fold to try to coax him out and the shit they've put in his mind is scary

— Soyboy Shounen (@edgedestroys) October 23, 2017

It started off so innocently enough. The idea of taking all furs in regardless of their background sounds good only in theory. I saw found myself with a lot of sickos

— Tea Collie (@Teawoof_Collie) November 14, 2017

Underage recruiting by Furry Raiders. Newest member on their Facebook is an apparent middle schooler added by Foxler. pic.twitter.com/o5X7p1knPm

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) November 20, 2017

Thank you to watchers inside Furry Raiders. When Foxler targets underage kids, watchers are tipping parents and it works. 1 less today and members list closed. But they can't avoid it until they stop recruiting. And they have to go to Russian artists now. https://t.co/GANSltkJzc pic.twitter.com/MAGGQn8gHb

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) November 20, 2017

Our next steps

Blocklists and blacklists are not enough. The furry intelligentsia of Twitter and elsewhere neither deserve nor are beholden to continually push back on the misaligned in our community. More must be done from higher stakeholders that have the ability and prerogative to act to make our community better, while acting within the bounds of the law. We cannot expect to continually uproot, expose, and chase out individual members while the malignant ideology remains to infect and spread anew – change must come from the top. It must be unequivocal.

FurAffinity’s September 4th Terms of Service update is a model to follow. Explicitly banning the glorification of hate groups and banning individuals from engaging in malicious speech stems the ability for Alt-Right and Raider-like groups from self-representation and recruitment (in addition to getting rid of Nazi and white nationalist garbage no self-respecting person wants to see.) Put your fears of historical representation aside – the FurAffinity TOS specifically says ‘promote hate groups and their ideologies’, so historical context can be preserved for appropriate use. Other websites ought to follow this same model and enforce it strictly – ‘content intended solely to disrupt the community’ would aptly describe the Raiders, who exist almost exclusively among themselves to troll mainstream furry for their own entertainment.

Conventions ought to follow the same model, as well as strictly vetting who is able to volunteer and work for cons. DenFur’s staffing policy is a step forward in ensuring that staff are able to help any attendee without fear of biased case management. A more aggressive approach is needed to prevent Raiders and other convention-liabilities from attending if they are likely to cause trouble – public accommodation laws are strict on protected classes, but being a racist nor being a jerk isn’t a protected class. I am not a lawyer, and nothing I say constitutes legal advice in any state, but I would strongly encourage conventions to adopt strong and clear language that bars individuals from attending if they have a history of preaching or advocating for hateful and violent acts.

It is unlikely that we will ever be fully able to rid ourselves of these unwanted individuals from our community. Private telegram chats and discord channels will always exist in the dark, as they should. Marginalizing these groups to the greatest extent under the law should be our goal, so that their art is rarely seen, their voices rarely heard, their ideas rarely considered. We cannot resort to brutish solutions that undermine our own credibility, or worse, our own moral character. There will never be a definitive solution to online hate in our community, but we can minimize their influence to the best of our abilities. There is no greater moral imperative than to safeguard freedoms to live, and freedoms from hate.

– Aristide

UPDATE from the first pictured commenter. Sirop posted a followup thread about leaving the Furry Raiders: “I’d like to use my previous experiences to help people… My chance to help make the furry community better, one way or another.”

Check the Altfurry and Furry Raiders tags below for much more on this topic.

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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

The Art of Aardman: The Makers of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and More. Foreword by David Sproxton and Peter Lord.
San Francisco, CA, Chronicle Books, August 2017, hardcover $24.95 (128 pages), Kindle $9.99.

Aardman Animations was founded forty years ago in Bristol, England. Since then it has become one of the world’s leading stop-motion animation studios. Most of its popular films have involved anthropomorphic animals, from Gromit, the long-suffering dog in the “Wallace and Gromit” shorts and the Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit feature to the features Chicken Run (chickens), Flushed Away (rats), and Shaun the Sheep the Movie. Even The Pirates! in an Adventure With Scientists! had Mr. Bobo, Charles Darwin’s chimpanzee assistant.

This book does not focus on any of their works in particular. It is rather about the studio’s production techniques. First come the ideas for the plots and characters, then creating the worlds that go with them – the secondary and incidental characters; the backgrounds, and so on; the “Mechanical Marvels” (no Aardman production would be complete without some intricate device, often Rube-Goldbergian or steam-punk, including Wallace’s fanciful inventions; and Aardman’s attention to lighting.

These sections are filled with examples, from preliminary pencil and crayon sketches to complete stop-motion models, taken from the studio’s archives. The popular anthropomorphic characters are shown here, but it is a hit-or-miss affair; they are mixed in with Aardman’s other art. The sketches are identified by artist, primarily Nick Park; others include Sylvia Bennion, Peter de Sève, Johnny Duddle, Norman Garwood, Phil Lewis, Peter Lord, Matt Perry, Michael Salter, Matt Sanders, Christian Schellewald, Richard Starzak, Jo Symanowski, Evgeni Tomov, and more. The finished models and stills from the films are labeled Production still or Puppet.

Image provided by Chronicle Books

Whichever you like, you will find it here. This is a very enjoyable book for the fan of Aardman’s creations to just browse through.

– Fred Patten

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Another one we learned about from Animation magazine: Italy’s Rainbow Studio (home of Winx Club) has teamed up with Canada’s Bardel Entertainment to bring us 44 Cats, a new animated TV series. (The title is based on a very very popular song in Italy.) Here’s what the creators say: “The series centers on a group of cats who act normally when thy are around people, but act just like humans when they are on their own. Just like children, the little cats see the world of adult humans as confusing and full of strange rules. Highlighting themes of friendship and altruism, 44 Cats is driven by the main characters’ love of helping others.” Currently the show is at MIPCON, searching for distribution in the wider world.

image c. 2017 Rainbow

We have a new Danish cartoon network series! The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe follows young forest prince Ivandoe, whose father (The Mighty Stag) has sent him on a mission to reclaim a magical Golden Feather from the Eagle King. No idea if this will get translated to English but interesting as it is.
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