F.I.A.

The F.I.A. (or Furry Intelligence Agency) was a fictional organization invented for the theme of Eurofurence 8.

Background
In 2002 a design for the EF8 website was needed. The fur in charge of the webdesign, Pangur Ban, decided on a Men in Black look-alike theme. Unfortunately, Pangur was later forgotten when recording credit for work in the conbook.

The theme was adopted by the DoPE for the pawpet show and the conbook design had elements of it as well.

Rumors
Soon after EF8 the rumors started to spread; in particular, some of the people who didn't attend the convention and those who were new to the fandom thought the F.I.A. was for real. The whole purpose of the F.I.A. would be to control the fandom and have everyfur on file for some reason. Helping these rumors was the fact that F.I.A. agents and cars were seen on the pictures from the event.

Some alleged agents played the game and kept themselves covered when it came to the talk about the F.I.A.

The years after EF8
Regardless of many attempts by the organizers of Eurofurence to bring light into this issue, some folks are still convinced that the F.I.A. really exists.


 * You can still find the logo on the security team badges at Eurofurence.
 * You may once in a while see a jeep with the insignia of the agency.
 * You may notice people dressed in black suits at a convention.
 * And so on ...

Actually, this is for the sole purpose of fun for the agents and the attendees of a convention.

Now speak after me: The F.I.A. does not exist ...

Did you know? One of Uncle Kage's popular stories is about his experiences as a guest of the F.I.A. - it came back to bite him when he was hauled offstage at the end of his Story Hour at Anthrocon 2006