WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Talk:Pyat

Animal Imitators

2011-10-10T20:28:26Z

Pyat: typo fix

'''''Animal Imitators''''' is a one-hour television documentary detailing the lives of various "animal imitators" of which a few identify themselves as members of the [[furry community]]. The program touches on various aspects related to [[furry]], such as [[therianthropy]] and [[wikipedia:body modification|body modification]].

Animal Imitators was produced by [[Wikipedia:Natural History New Zealand|Natural History New Zealand]] Ltd (aka NHNZ) for TLC.

''Animal Imitators'' aired on ''TLC'' in August 2003.

This documentary was later abridged and recycled as an episode of ''Weird, True and Freaky'' as the episode ''Humanimals'' on Animal Planet in 2008.

== External links ==

* NHNZ
** [http://www.naturalhistory.co.nz/cat/animitators.html Animal Imitators page in NHNZ catalog] ("catalog is intended for business to business use")
** [http://nhnz.marketeer.co.nz/product.pasp?categoryid=&productid=143 Animal Imitators page in NHNZ's Online Store]
* [http://www.flayrah.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1605 "Animal Imitators" TLC Movie May Showcase Furries, Weres] on [[Flayrah.com]]
* [http://www.cityofdunedin.com/city/?page=feat_wildfilm 10 Good Reasons to Go Wild: Programme for NHNZ Wild Film Festival] includes a description of ''Animal Imitators''
*[http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/Furry/media/ Dobie's Video Archive - Furry Media Attention] (Watch online or download) on [[Dobie]]'s website
*[http://fursuit.timduru.org/view/FursuitVideo/FurriesInTheNews/TLC2003 FursuitVideo > FurriesInTheNews > TLC2003] on [[Timduru]]'s [[The Fursuit Archive]]

[[Category:Television programs]]
[[Category:Media coverage]]

Talk:Furnal Equinox/History

2011-10-10T16:30:49Z

Pyat: Socks

-----
When in accord, announce: '''Consensus has been reached'''.
-----

==Stumbling to agreement...===
So.

Any suggestions? :D
[[User:Pyat|Pyat the Mouse]] 20:53, 9 October 2011 (EDT)

I suggest making this section extremely brief and placing in only agreed upon, undeniable facts, with a statement like - "Disagreement exists over the role played by [[Dan Skunk]] in the foundation of the convention. For more information, refer to the section below."

That's the only suggestion I'm going to make on this. I spoke to Dan Skunk about his feelings on the matter and have not been impressed with his interpretation of events or his admission that he would remove and/or favorably change criticism if Furnal would take him back on the convention committee.
[[User:Pyat|Pyat the Mouse]] 10:36, 10 October 2011 (EDT)

:You can't change criticism, you can only change your mind. [[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]][[User talk:Equivamp|talk]] 11:18, 10 October 2011 (EDT)

::And socks, surely?
::[[User:Pyat|Pyat the Mouse]] 12:30, 10 October 2011 (EDT)

2011-10-03T02:26:21Z

Pyat:

{{NPOV}}
{{cleanup}}
{{Infobox convention
|name = Furnal Equinox
|logo = [[Image:FurnalEquinoxLogo.png|right|250px|Furnal Equinox logo]]
|caption =
| subject = Furry
| location = {{flagdiv|can|[[Wikipedia:Toronto|Toronto]], [[Wikipedia:Ontario|Ontario]], [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]}}
| url = http://www.furnalequinox.com/
| status = Ongoing
| first = 6-7 March 2010
| final =
| organizer = Anthropomorphic Events of Ontario
| charity =
| resources = {{con resources}}
}}{{Furnal Equinox}}
'''Furnal Equinox''' (sometimes abbreviated as '''FE''') is a [[furry convention]] held during the month of March in [[Wikipedia:Toronto|Toronto]], [[Wikipedia:Ontario|Ontario]], [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]]. Announced in 2009 and holding its first edition in 2010, it is Canada's largest furry convention by attendance.

== History ==

Prior to 2010, there had never been a large, hotel-based furry event hosted in the Toronto area. ([[Feral!]] has run continuously since 1998, but takes place at a summer camp three hours from Toronto.)

In late 2008, [[Dan Skunk]], after scouting a suitable venue for hotel convention in Toronto and people willing to fund it, created message board on his web site, [[Ontario Furries]] inviting people to become involved in running it.

In early 2009, after discussions on Ontario Furries, an organizing committee was formed to plan the event. This committee consisted originally of [[Aaeden]], [[Benjamin]], [[Blindsight]], [[Danruk]], [[Dan Skunk]], [[Sparrow]], [[KI Wind]], [[Pakesh De]], [[Potoroo]], [[Scani]], and [[Shiro Tora]]. These members of local fandom all made contributions, some quite significant, of time and/or money to make the convention a reality.

The organizing committee that came out of the discussions there consisted of [[Dan Skunk]], [[Sparrow]], [[Danruk]], [[Potoroo]], [[Ki Wind]], [[Pakesh De]], [[Blindsight]], [[Shiro Tora]] and [[Benjamin]], [[Scani]] and [[Aaeden]].

[[Benjamin]], [[Ki Wind]], and [[Aaeden]] soon after resigned and [[Dan Skunk]], [[Danruk]], [[Sparrow]] were later dismissed by the remaining members followed by [[Shiro Tora]]. These removals caused considerable controversy on the Ontario Furries forum, where [[Dan Skunk]] disputed the reasons for his dismissal. [[Dan Skunk]] eventually banned all discussion of Furnal Equinox from the Ontario Furries forum, saying that Furnal Equinox staff had slandered him, a claim disputed by Furnal staff. The dispute eventually led to a split in the local forums.

FE was promoted in its first year as '''Toronto's First Furry Convention''' and formally announced its name on July 1 (Canada Day), 2009.<ref>''[http://www.furry.ca/forum/index.php/topic,1657.0.html Furnal Equinox: coming to Toronto in March 2010!]'', furry.ca (accessed 10 August 2010)</ref>

The name Furnal Equinox was conceived by founding member [[ShiroTora]]. The chosen name plays upon the convention's date in March, close to the beginning of spring (the [[Wikipedia:Vernal equinox|vernal equinox]]).<ref name="fefaq">''[http://www.furnalequinox.com/FAQ FAQ]'', Furnal Equinox website (accessed 17 September 2011)</ref>

{{q|''Our mission is to bring together fans of the furry genre together in a laid-back, casual environment to exchange artwork and crafts, share ideas, participate in entertainment, and meet the fantastic creators and fans that contribute to the furry community, all in one of Canada's premier cities. We aim to not only showcase homegrown talent here in Canada, but bring the best furry artists around the world to our members.<ref name="feabout">''[http://www.furnalequinox.com/AboutUs About Us]'', Furnal Equinox website (accessed 17 September 2011)</ref>''}}

Furnal Equinox has aimed to promote this goal of showcasing the best local talent and attracting worldwide furry names by inviting two Guests of Honour to the convention every year, one from Canada and one from outside of Canada.<ref name="fefaq" />

The convention has raised money every year for the Mississauga Humane Society (MHS) by hosting a charity auction. The MHS is unique among humane societies in that it has no shelter facility or paid staff — rather, all funds are directed towards veterinary bills, food and other supplies for the animals in their care. In total, Furnal Equinox has raised $4,200 for the MHS over two years.<ref name="fecharity">''[http://www.furnalequinox.com/Charity Charity]'', Furnal Equinox website (accessed 17 September 2011)</ref>

== Conventions ==

*'''[[Furnal Equinox 2010]]''' took place on March 6-7, 2010 at the Doubletree by Hilton - Toronto Airport hotel, attracting 330 attendees. The Guests of Honour were [[Heather Bruton]] and [[BushyCat]], and the convention celebrated the theme of "Furry Fun and Games".
*'''[[Furnal Equinox 2011]]''' took place on March 11-13, 2011, returning to the Doubletree by Hilton - Toronto Airport hotel, attracting 450 attendees<ref>[http://twitter.com/furnalequinox/status/47072042683609088 Tweet containing statistics], posted on the Furnal Equinox Twitter account. Viewed on Sept. 16, 2011.</ref> - currently a record for a Canadian furry event. The Guests of Honour were [[FirestormSix]] and [[ZEN]], and the convention's theme was "Wild Magic".
*'''[[Furnal Equinox 2012]]''' will take place on March 16-18, 2012, returning to the Doubletree. The Guests of Honour will be furry artists [[Dark Natasha]] and [[Marci McAdam]], and the theme of the convention will be "Infurnally Yours".

== Operations ==

Furnal Equinox is operated by '''Anthropomorphic Events of Ontario''', a [http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/N/NotForProfit.aspx corporation without share-capital (NPO)] in the Province of Ontario, founded in June 2009. [[Pakesh De]] and [[Blindsight]] have been the co-chairs since the inaugural year of the convention.

== Origins and controversy ==
{{dubious}}
The details and credit for how Furnal Equinox came to exist have been mired in an extensive [[WikiFur]] edit war, stemming from disagreements between [[Dan Skunk]] and members of FE's staff. Generally, Dan Skunk has viewed his role as the main, instrumental and under-acknowledged founder, while the opposing view has been that he was an initial participant (amongst many) in the early stages of the convention's formation, who helped bring together a number of the people who eventually formed the concom.<ref name="festat">[http://www.furnalequinox.com/sites/default/files/FEStatement20100803.pdf Furnal Equinox statement], viewed on July 9, 2011.</ref> What is certain is that over the period from 2008-2010, relations between Dan Skunk and the organizing committee became increasingly acrimonious.

=== Timeline ===

*July 2008 - An event called the [[Islington Furmeet]] was created by [[KI Wind]] and Dan Skunk, which is claimed to have demonstrated the potential viability of a convention in the area. Dan claims to have made several trips to meet with possible hotels and convention centers in the summer of 2008,<ref name="danstat">[http://www.furnalequinox.org/ The founding of a furry convention in Toronto], by Dan Skunk, viewed on July 9, 2011.</ref> to which FE staff have responded, "We have emails from Dan ... in which he states that the original ideas and proposals for the con effort that eventually led to FE, including the suggestion for the hotel that eventually was selected, were not (as he now claims) his ideas, and he ascribes them specifically to others. He did help to promote these ideas and deserves credit for that."<ref name="festat" />

* Late 2008 - ShiroTora began a discussion on the [[Toronto Furry|TorFur Mailing List]] about holding a convention.<ref name="danstat" /> A 17-year-old name [[Sparrow]] offered $5000, and another donor (later identified by Dan Skunk as [[Blindsight]]) offered to get things started, even though there had yet to be any guarantee of an event.<ref>[http://www.crushyiffdestroy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=79596#79596 CrushYiffDestroy post] by [[AshleyAshes]], Feb 17, 2009 1:14 am. Viewed on Sept. 16, 2011.</ref> Dan has claimed that by December 2008, this monetary offer allowed him to "<nowiki>[gather]</nowiki> the financial resources needed to start the convention", after which he "started a discussion ... inviting others to become involved with the project",<ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 300778 by Dan Skunk, 14:59, 24 July 2010.</ref> and that himself and three others "had financial support, organizers, and had found a venue and had created a forum."<ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 302390 by Dan Skunk, 11:48, 9 August 2010.</ref> What is definitively acknowledged by both sides is that Dan created a message board to explore the project on his website and forum, [[Ontario Furries]].

*February 2009 - The message board attempted to determine the convention date and its staff members by nomination, poll and popular vote. [[Potoroo]], the con chair of Feral, posted a harsh criticism to the board, and the debate attracted the attention of [[Crush! Yiff! Destroy!]].<ref>[http://www.crushyiffdestroy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3540 Toronto Furries attempting to run convention, democratically], viewed on Sept. 16, 2011.</ref> In the staff member poll, Dan Skunk received one of the lowest amounts of support (54.3%),<ref>[http://www.crushyiffdestroy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=79754#79754 CrushYiffDestroy post] by AshleyAshes, Mar 3, 2009 8:54 pm. Viewed on Sept. 16, 2011.</ref> and suggested the threshold be set at 50% to indicate organizational involvement.<ref name="danstat" />

*March 2009 - [[Michael Bard|Morgan]] held a furry dinner gathering at the Duke of Devon Pub, during which the convention was also discussed. Dan claims that prior to this meet, he had "made an open invitation for people to join an organizing committee for the convention", that he "started the first discussions with the founding committee", that this dinner was the first in-person committee meeting, and that he had organized it, "coinciding with a furmeet there run by Morgan".<ref name="danstat" /> By mid-March, a private mailing list was created to take a more practical approach to organizing the convention, and to move the discussion away from the drama on the message board. [[Pakesh De]] was chosen as the head of the committee, and would later become co-chair of the convention with Blindsight.

*June 2009 - the committee registered a corporation called Anthropomorphic Events of Ontario, which included Dan Skunk as one of the initial directors.<ref name="festat" /> However, six weeks later on July 20, Dan Skunk, [[Danruk]] and Sparrow were voted out by the other members.<ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 301056 by Wolfmist, 00:18, 28 July 2010.</ref> FE claims the reason for the dismissal was that "as the FE team began to shake itself out and make serious decisions, it became clear that <nowiki>[Dan's]</nowiki> continued involvement would have resulted in the dissolution of the concom."<ref name="festat" />

:Since then, Dan Skunk has openly discussed his disagreements over the voting process and the organizational decisions made by concom; he has expressed his viewpoints on LiveJournal, Ontario Furries and WikiFur. FE has claimed that Dan's comments "...have been almost universally and unfairly critical of the convention; this has hampered our efforts to promote the event."<ref name="festat" />

:In contrast, Dan has claimed he "continued supporting the convention through <nowiki>[my]</nowiki> web site ... giving them constructive criticism on their management ...",<ref name="danstat" /> and that this was "a gesture of goodwill towards the success of the convention, and to prove my value to <nowiki>[its]</nowiki> success ... Instead, the recommendations were met with contempt and derision from the convention's remaining organizers. The wholesale rejection of these recommendations, to me, showed that the success of the convention and service to the community was secondary to the organizers recieving personal recognition for their efforts."<ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 299960 by Dan Skunk, 01:39, 19 July 2010.</ref> However, Dan Skunk's WikiFur edits have similarly been viewed as self-promoting or self-aggrandizing,<ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 300654 by Scani, 16:45, 23 July 2010.</ref><ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 300697 by Scani, 00:30, 24 July 2010.</ref> an assumption not entirely without merit, given that Dan's edits at the time of Sept. 11, 2011 about himself, Ontario Furries and Furnal Equinox contain no less than 42 mentions of his own name.

*April 2010 - A month after the first Furnal Equinox had been held, Dan deleted its forum from the Ontario Furries website, and some of the FE staff members were banned. In July 2010, an editing war broke out on FE's WikiFur page. Although Dan had been briefly acknowledged in FE's conbook, he wanted the WikiFur page to better reflect his involvement. Both sides have since accused the other of mis-stating the facts, and from Dan Skunk's point of view, making insults and slander.<ref>[[Talk:Furnal_Equinox]] edit 301071 by Dan Skunk, 01:30, 28 July 2010.</ref>

:During the editing war, Dan called for an outright boycott of the convention,<ref name="danstat" /> adding that its supporters were not welcome on his message board. Following this development, the chairs of FE posted an official statement,<ref name="festat" /> and the [[What The Fur]] convention severed their relations with Ontario Furries.<ref>[http://whatthefur.ca/Forums/index.php?topic=183.0 What The Fur and Ontario Furries], posted by [[Felinaeus|Feli]] on July 29, 2010, 10:00:53 pm. Viewed on Sept. 16, 2011.</ref>

*August 2010 - The call for a boycott was contentious enough that [[Echelon]] (who hosted Ontario Furries), deleted the site and invited all the users to a new site, [http://www.canadianfurries.ca/ www.canadianfurries.ca], <ref name="danstat" />. Some members of Toronto's furry fandom, dissatisfied with Ontario Furries, had initially moved to another forum in early 2010 at torfurs.com which was run by [[Shane]].

*Late 2010 - [http://ontariofurs.com/ Ontariofurs.com] was established by [[Smash Meerkat]] which attracted more members.

*2011 - Torfurs.com closed down and redirected to ontariofurs.com. Dan set up a domain at [http://furnalequinox.org/ furnalequinox.org] to state his viewpoints and continues to host Ontario Furries under a new provider.

==References==
<references />

==External links==

*[http://www.youtube.com/FurnalEquinox Furnal Equinox] on [[YouTube]]
*[http://www.facebook.com/FurnalEquinox Furnal Equinox] on [[Facebook]]
*[http://twitter.com/furnalequinox Furnal Equinox on] [[Twitter]]
*[http://community.livejournal.com/furnalequinox Furnal Equinox] on [[LiveJournal]]
*[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/furnalequinox Furnal Equinox] on [[FurAffinity]]

{{Conventions}}

[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Toronto]]
[[Category:2010 births]]

Talk:Furnal Equinox

Pyat: Cover image of the anthro fantasy novel, Dream-Carver, by Erin van Hiel, from Sanguine Productions.

== Summary ==
Cover image of the anthro fantasy novel, Dream-Carver, by Erin van Hiel, from Sanguine Productions.
== Licensing ==
{{cover}}