<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="https://en.wikifur.com/w/skins/common/feed.css?303"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
		<id>https://en.wikifur.com/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&amp;feedformat=atom&amp;user=Rhainor</id>
		<title>WikiFur - User contributions [en]</title>
		<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://en.wikifur.com/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&amp;feedformat=atom&amp;user=Rhainor"/>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Special:Contributions/Rhainor"/>
		<updated>2026-10-08T05:35:28Z</updated>
		<subtitle>User contributions</subtitle>
		<generator>MediaWiki 1.23.16</generator>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Affinity</id>
		<title>Fur Affinity</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Affinity"/>
				<updated>2009-02-14T06:43:58Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: Updated staff listings in infobox; updated new search info; corrected Ferrox info (Ferrox software is not in use yet).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{LinkingSupporter}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{time}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{Infobox website &lt;br /&gt;
| title = Fur Affinity&lt;br /&gt;
| image = [[Image:Fender.jpg|150px]]&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;Fender, drawn by [[Mutley James]]&lt;br /&gt;
| caption = &lt;br /&gt;
| author = '''Owners:''' [[The Dragoneer]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Site Founder:''' [[Alkora]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Lead Admins''': [[Damaratus]], The Dragoneer&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Admins''': [[Ahkahna]], [[Bijoux]], [[Fox Amoore]], [[Glaide]], [[Kyoujin]], [[Wicht]], [[Rhainor]], and [[Pinkuh]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Coders''': [[Eevee_(person)|Eevee]], [[Net-cat]], [[Tsawolf]], [[yak]]&lt;br /&gt;
| url = http://www.furaffinity.net/ &lt;br /&gt;
** '''Forums''': http://forums.furaffinity.net/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Wiki''': http://wiki.furaffinity.net/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''LiveJournal''': http://community.livejournal.com/furaffinity/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''IRC''': [irc://irc.furnet.org/furaffinity #furaffinity] on [[FurNet (IRC)|FurNet]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Steam''': [http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FurAffinityGamers Fur Affinity Gamers] on the [http://www.steampowered.com/ Steam Network]&lt;br /&gt;
| status =&lt;br /&gt;
| began = 16 January 2005 - 1 August 2005 (staff dispute &amp;amp; coding/server problems)&lt;br /&gt;
** 10 December 2005 - Present&lt;br /&gt;
| ended = Ongoing&lt;br /&gt;
| genre = Multimedia archive&lt;br /&gt;
| rating = &lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Fur Affinity''', also known as '''FA''', is the [[furry fandom]]'s largest online community with focus on the promotion of art, music, stories and more.{{fact}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The site was created by [[Alkora]] as an alternative to various art community sites such as [[SheezyArt]] and [[deviantART]], promoting itself by allowing artistic freedom of expression regardless of content rating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{WikiFurNews|Fur Affinity access disrupted amid ownership dispute}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{WikiFurNews|'Krystal sandwich' meme strikes Fur Affinity}}&lt;br /&gt;
== History ==&lt;br /&gt;
{{main|History of Fur Affinity}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Features and rules ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity's features for users include the ability to allow users to track new updates from particular [[artist]]s; highlight favorites; and upload a wide variety of art (images, music and stories). The site attempts to promote community through its comments system and individual journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While works of all ratings are accepted (other than ''photographic nudes and images whose intent are to slander or discredit others''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.furaffinity.net/faq/ Fur Affinity FAQ]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;), art rated as mature or adult is not shown to visitors, or to users who have not specified it as a preference (which requires giving a date of birth indicating an age over 18). In addition, a tagging system is in use, but in the current version of the website software it doesn't have any effect on the site functionality, being used only as a visual addition to the submission page. Previously, users could browse and block the display of art based on these tags, but much like the search feature it was disabled due to performance issues. It has since been reimplemented on February 2009.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity used to have a search feature that allowed users to search for specific art on the site, but this feature became disabled in mid-2006, listed as 'temporarily disabled', and a faux search feature was temporarily implemented on April Fool's Day, much to the chagrin of some users. No news regrading to when (and if) the search feature will come back has been posted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
EDIT: As of 2/7/2009, there is a [http://www.furaffinity.net/search/ search function] active and working.  There is link to the search page in FA's sidebar navigation box; it is now properly labeled &amp;quot;Search&amp;quot; (when first placed, the link was labeled &amp;quot;That Thing You Want&amp;quot;).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Project Ferrox==&lt;br /&gt;
The FA development team ([[Eevee_(person)|Eevee]] and [[Net-cat]]) are working on a new backend system called [[Ferrox_(software)|Ferrox]] which, in addition to being used for the next major revision of Fur Affinity, will be made available as [[Wikipedia:FOSS|FOSS]] (Free and Open Source Software) for other sites to use.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{seealso|Ferrox (software)}}&lt;br /&gt;
== Mascots ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Fender]] is the Fur Affinity [[mascot]]. He was primarily created by artist [[K-9]], based upon a character concept by [[Preyfar]]. He is half [[fox]] and half [[ferret]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A second mascot, [[Rednef]], a female dragon, was announced in May 2007. She has been shown in the Fur Affinity header on April 1, 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fender was displayed as a three-toed [[sloth]] for April Fools' Day 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Controversies ==&lt;br /&gt;
{{main|History of Fur Affinity#Controversies}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Facts ==&lt;br /&gt;
=== Statistics ===&lt;br /&gt;
* In less than a year since the site's re-launch, Fur Affinity gained over 45,000 users and over 300,000 submissions.&lt;br /&gt;
* The site transfers a daily average of nearly 80 GB of data and well over 10,000,000 individual files. The site's peak bandwidth record stands at 33.2Mbit.&lt;br /&gt;
* Alexa ranked Fur Affinity in the [http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?site0=www.furaffinity.net&amp;amp;site1=vclart.net&amp;amp;site2=&amp;amp;site3=&amp;amp;site4=&amp;amp;x=75&amp;amp;y=15&amp;amp;h=300&amp;amp;w=610&amp;amp;h=400&amp;amp;w=700&amp;amp;z=3&amp;amp;range=1y&amp;amp;size=medium&amp;amp;y=r&amp;amp;z=3&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.furaffinity.net top 4,000 sites] on the web as of 1 November 2007, showing greater traffic than the VCL for most of previous year. Fur Affinity has ranked as high as 3,475 on individual days.&lt;br /&gt;
* Account import strings began and ended with &amp;lt;tt&amp;gt;!pie!&amp;lt;/tt&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Fur Affinity gets approximately 2.5 million page hits per day (estimated on 01/11/2007).&lt;br /&gt;
* Fur Affinity reached its 1,000,000th submission on January 11th, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== The hardware ====&lt;br /&gt;
There are currently six servers held by Fur Affinity:&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Gecko''', the original FA server, is a dual 3.0Ghz Nocona Xeon system with 4GB of RAM and 2X 250GB drives configured in RAID 1. This server is not use and is currently being re-purposed.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Tiamat''', the DB backend server, is a twin dual core 2.0Ghz Opteron 2212 with 8GB DDR2-533 RAM. Storage consists of 4x 74GB 10k SATA WD740ADFD hard drives on a 3ware 9650SE-4LPML hardware raid card, running in RAID10 configuration.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Bahamut''', a data storage server, is a dual core 2.0GHz Opteron 1212 with 2GB DDR2-667 RAM. Storage consists of 4x 500GB Seagate Barracuda ES drives on a 3ware 9650SE-4LPML RAID controller, configured in RAID5+1. ''Bahamut'' is currently offline due to failure of its onboard Ethernet chip and will be re-purposed once its new motherboard is installed.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Ghostlight''', the wiki and forums server, is a virtual server held at a separate data center to ensure up-time even when primary site may be down.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Trogdor''', the new data server, is a Dell Poweredge 2970 2U Server with 32GB RAM.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Novastorm''', the web front end server, is a Sun Fire X4150 with dual quad-core 2.5Ghz Xeon 5420 processors, 4GB of RAM and 2x 146GB 15K RPM drives in RAID 1.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://irc.netsplit.de/channels/details.php?room=%23furaffinity&amp;amp;net=FurNet statistics of #furaffinity on FurNet IRC network] on irc.netsplit.de&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Mature art archives]][[Category:Mature story archives]][[Category:2005 births]]&lt;br /&gt;
{{featured article}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[de:Fur Affinity]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[es:Fur Affinity]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[fr:Fur Affinity]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[pl:Fur Affinity]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[ru:Fur Affinity]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Likeshine</id>
		<title>Talk:Likeshine</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Likeshine"/>
				<updated>2009-02-14T06:21:30Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: Created page with 'Undid DrakenByte's edit, as it was marked as a &amp;quot;minor edit&amp;quot; when it should not have been.  Then re-did the same edit (removal of the &amp;quot;fiance is&amp;quot; bit) to bring the article's actua...'&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Undid DrakenByte's edit, as it was marked as a &amp;quot;minor edit&amp;quot; when it should not have been.  Then re-did the same edit (removal of the &amp;quot;fiance is&amp;quot; bit) to bring the article's actual info back up-to-date.  '''Minor edits are ONLY for ''minor'' things like spelling/punctuation fixes, etc!'''  (Forgot to log in before making those edits, BTW.)  [[User:Rhainor|rhainor]] 06:21, 14 February 2009 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Clawcast</id>
		<title>Clawcast</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Clawcast"/>
				<updated>2008-11-10T17:10:43Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: /* External links */  cleaning up links; they worked fine, but they might as well be exact.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Infobox Podcast&lt;br /&gt;
| title = Clawcast&lt;br /&gt;
| image =  [[ Image:Bloglogo.jpg]]&lt;br /&gt;
| caption = The premier call-in podcast covering all things furry.&lt;br /&gt;
| host = [[Flain Falcon]], [[Puc]], [[Zim Skunk]], and formerly [[Schryari]].&lt;br /&gt;
| url = [http://www.clawcast.com clawcast.com]&lt;br /&gt;
| rss = [http://clawcast.com/blog/?feed=podcast rss feed]&lt;br /&gt;
| status = 17th show as of December 2007; updates alternating Thursdays&lt;br /&gt;
| genre = General Furry&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Clawcast''' is a [[furry]] [[Wikipedia:Podcast|podcast]] produced by '''Flain Falcon''', '''Zim Skunk''', '''Puc''', and formerly by '''Schryari''' (also known as '''Scry''',) who resigned as a regular host in December 2007 (although she still appears on the show occasionally).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Content and features ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The podcast covers a variety of topics including an &amp;quot;honest&amp;quot; look at what furry is for different people, issues facing the [[furry fandom]], furry news, and reviews of furry-related media. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The producers of Clawcast also have had several guests on the show over the course of its run, including furry comedians, [[artist]]s, [[author]]s, and representatives from the fandom's various sub-groups.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Clawcast includes the ability for listeners to call in live or leave messages relating to the show's content or furry events. There is a rapidly growing forum community as well as the #clawcast channel on [[FurNet]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Future appearances and projects ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The show is planning a future series of live-recorded, and even live-streaming events, including live shows at some conventions.  Their 21st episode was the first of these, recorded live at [[Furry Weekend Atlanta|FWA]] 2008, and published on March 3.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Clawcast crew have been invited to [[FA: United]] as Special Guests, where they plan to hold a live-streaming show.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://clawcast.com Clawcast] official web site&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://clawcast.com/forum/ Clawcast] forums&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{Template:Podcasts}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Podcasts]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Forums]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Affinity</id>
		<title>Fur Affinity</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Affinity"/>
				<updated>2008-07-29T07:22:27Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: /* The hardware */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{LinkingSupporter}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Fender.jpg|right|350px|Fender, drawn by Mutley James]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Fur Affinity''', also known as '''FA''', is the [[furry fandom]]'s largest online community with focus on the promotion of art, music, stories and more. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The site was created by [[Alkora]] as an alternative to various art community sites such as [[SheezyArt]] and [[deviantART]], promoting itself by allowing artistic freedom of expression regardless of content rating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Addresses''':&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Website''': http://www.furaffinity.net/ &lt;br /&gt;
** '''Forums''': http://forums.furaffinity.net/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Wiki''': http://www.wikiffinity.net/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''LiveJournal''': http://community.livejournal.com/furaffinity/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''IRC''': [irc://irc.furnet.org/furaffinity #furaffinity] on [[FurNet (IRC)|FurNet]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Frapper''': http://www.frappr.com/furaffinity&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Second Life''': http://slurl.com/secondlife/Critter_Valley/158/130/28&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Administrators''':&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Owners:''' [[The Dragoneer]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Site Founder:''' [[Alkora]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Lead Admins''': [[Damaratus]], The Dragoneer&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Admins''': [[Ahkahna]], [[Bijoux]], [[Dave Hyena]], [[Fox Amoore]], [[Glaide]], [[Kyoujin]] and [[Wicht]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Coders''': [[Eevee_(person)|Eevee]], [[Net-cat]], [[Tsawolf]], [[yak]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Server Administrator''': [[Gushi]]&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Ran from/to''':&lt;br /&gt;
** January 2005 - 1 August 2005 (coding/server problems)&lt;br /&gt;
** 10 December 2005 - 1 July 2008 (&amp;quot;server hardware fault&amp;quot;)&amp;lt;ref name=fa-outage-2008&amp;gt;[http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=22182 &amp;quot;Server Hardware Fault&amp;quot;] (2008, July 1). Fur Affinity Forum.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{WikiFurNews|Fur Affinity access disrupted amid ownership dispute}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{WikiFurNews|'Krystal sandwich' meme strikes Fur Affinity}}&lt;br /&gt;
== History ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Launch ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity was launched on January 16, 2005 as an alternative to SheezyArt with the forum going live on that date and the main site being transferred a few days later from [[FurPawz]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''[http://www.sheezyart.com/journal/51100/ Furaffinity.org information]'' - launch of forum on Furaffinity.net. Posted on SheezyArt, 16 January 2005.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''[http://www.sheezyart.com/journal/54575/ Furaffinity - note re. transfer of mainsite and 400+ users]''. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Posted on [[SheezyArt]], 21 January 2005.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; During that time period, Sheezy abruptly changed policies to both remove adult art and take a stronger stance against users and their uploads. Warnings were supposedly issued from the site's service provider, advising Sheezy Art that they were not permitted to host adult content on their site. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Much of Sheezy's community was abandoned after the rules change took effect. This migration left many with few alternatives. Many of those burned by SheezyArt went on to sites such as Fur Affinity and [[y!Gallery]]; when the latter decided to ban [[anthro art]] in May 2006, Fur Affinity gained further traffic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Server problems of 2005 ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity had suffered from major security holes and a hacking in during Summer of 2005. The site was shut down on 1 August 2005 due to a disagreement between lead coder Jheryn and host provider [[Arcturus]], the primary administrators of the site. At that time Fur Affinity had 12,174 user accounts and nearly 100,000 submissions. Arcturus and supporters went on to found [[ArtPlz]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thanks to the community, Fur Affinity was able to build a stronger, faster server than the site originally used for operation. Over the course of 2005, Fur Affinity was able to raise $1,500 in donations towards the purchase of new hardware for its primary server; a server which would, unfortunately, not realize itself until the middle of 2006.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity returned to operation in December 2005 with a solid backbone and more efficient coding, although full operational status would not be reached until December 10 due to a defect in the ASUS motherboard which powered the server. During Fur Affinity's official re-opening on December 10th, over 10,000 submissions for music, art and writing were submitted to the site during its initial 12 hours. These submissions included imported art from returning users and pieces not previously posted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Fur Affinity: United! ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In August 2007, FA held its own [[furry convention]] titled Fur Affinity: United!. The convention was such a success another one is planned for August 2008 (see the main article [[FA: United!]] for more information.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== 2007 breach ====&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On August 11 2007, The Dragoneer's admin account was compromised at [[FA: United‎]] when he used the hotel's unencrypted [[Wikipedia:Wi-fi|Wi-Fi]] connection to access it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=11488 Thread by Preyfar on the FA forums about the August 2007 breach&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=11484&amp;amp;pid=195037#pid195037 Post by Preyfar on the FA forums with a more elaborate account of the 2007 breach&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The first sign of trouble was a note left on the front page that announced the following:&lt;br /&gt;
{{q|''Administrator notice: We're sorry, our vaginas are currently full of sand. We're makin' pearls here, folks! :D! FA:U rocks. We all got handjobs from Glaide and Damaratus. -- hacked by [[jheryn]]''}}&lt;br /&gt;
Assurances were made that the password database had not been compromised, and the main site came back online 48 hours later. The FA forums were not affected by this breach.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== 2008 hardware fault ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On July 1, 2008, Fur Affinity went completely offline again. Staff member Dragoneer explained on the site's forum that a &amp;quot;server hardware fault&amp;quot; was to blame.&amp;lt;ref name=fa-outage-2008/&amp;gt; All of FA's pages, as of this announcement, show an angry Fender stomping his computer in sheer anger, followed by a notice about the failure and a link to the forum thread.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As of July 7th 2008, Fur Affinity's members had donated about $16,000-$18,000 within 5 days (since July 2nd) to solve the issue&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FA Forums: [http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=22182&amp;amp;page=120 ''Server Hardware Fault''], page 120, post #1786 by [[Artie]] reads ''&amp;quot;$10,477.15 via Amazon, plus over $6,000 via PayPal. So, '''over $16,477.15 total''' so far.&amp;quot;'' on July 6th 2008, 5:35PM EST&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FA Forums: [http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=22411 ''Public Donation and Expenditures Log, Please.''], page 1, post #15 by [[Seppel]] (based on an official file published by Dragoneer [http://forums.furaffinity.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3481&amp;amp;d=0 here]) reads ''&amp;quot;I checked the budget Dragoneer posted. $18,000 is more than twice FA has ever had. ''[...]'' $18,000 will go far. Very far.&amp;quot;'' on July 7th 2008, 9:03AM EST&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and donations are still coming in. On the same day, Dragoneer posted on the FA forums that a new server, an HP ProLiant quad-core Opteron code-named ''Trogdor'' had been ordered and is presently en-route. As of Monday, July 14, 2008, the order for the HP ProLiant quad-core Opteron, Trogdor, was cancled due to confirmed issues with Trogdor. Fur Affinity Forum users private messaged, Fur Affinity Staff Member, yak about the issues. The replacement for Trogdor was a Dell PowerEdge 2970. With the help of one Fur Affinity user, Fur Affinity recieved a dicount on the Dell PowerEdge 2970. As Of Wednesday, July 23, 2008, The Data Server, Storage Array, and DB Server Upgrades have arrived. The Web Server has been shipped.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Product Information:'''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Data Server''' - Dell Poweredge 2970 2U Server, 32GB RAM&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Storage Array''' - 14 1TB hard drives&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''DB Server Upgrades''' - 24GB additional RAM&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Web Server''' - Sun Fire x4150 1U Server, 4GB RAM&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Features and rules ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity's features for users include the ability to allow users to track new updates from particular [[artist]]s; highlight favorites; and upload a wide variety of art (images, music and stories). The site attempts to promote community through its comments system and individual journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While works of all ratings are accepted (other than ''photographic nudes and images whose intent are to slander or discredit others''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.furaffinity.net/faq/ Fur Affinity FAQ]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;), art rated as mature or adult is not shown to visitors, or to users who have not specified it as a preference (which requires giving a date of birth indicating an age over 18). In addition, a tagging system is in use, but in the current version of the website software it doesn't have any effect on the site functionality, being used only as a visual addition to the submission page. Previously, users could browse and block the display of art based on these tags, but much like the search feature it was disabled due to performance issues, and haven't been brought back since.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity used to have a search feature that allowed users to search for specific art on the site, but this feature became disabled in mid-2006, listed as 'temporarily disabled', and a faux search feature was temporarily implemented on April Fool's Day, much to the chagrin of some users. No news regrading to when (and if) the search feature will come back has been posted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Pornographic cub art ====&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August 2006 saw the restart of an internal administrative debate over the presence of [[pornographic]] underage furry artwork (or &amp;quot;cub art&amp;quot;).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''&amp;quot;[http://dragonmyr.deviantart.com/journal/10641590/ DA account reactivated -- FA Truths revealed]&amp;quot;''. Posted by [[Myr]] on November 6, 2006 and deleted several days after.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Such art was forbidden by the site's Terms of Service, which specified that &amp;quot;depictions of sexually immature characters in any sexual situation are not permitted on Fur Affinity&amp;quot;, but bans for this rule were not uniformly enforced. As with previous discussions, administrators could not come to an agreement on whether or not to modify site policy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=4335&amp;amp;pid=63174#pid63174 Comment by The Dragoneer on previous attempts to solve the cub debate]. Posted on November 6, 2006.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Over the following months the issue developed into a public debate, with forum polls and discussion suggesting that the site's members were divided on the topic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On November 5, it was announced that such work would be allowed, with the requirement of mandatory tagging. The main reasons given for this decision were that no actual minors were harmed during the artwork's creation, and that depictions of many other illegal activities, such as rape, murder, and drug use, were permitted. Conversely, work that depicted [[human]] children, including [[anime characters]], in sexual situations was forbidden.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''&amp;quot;[http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=3965 ''FA Policy Notice - &amp;quot;Cub&amp;quot; Art'']&amp;quot;''. Posted by The Dragoneer on November 5, 2006.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Some artists had threatened to leave the site if it was not forbidden, and some of these did so.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Ferrox code update ====&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As of June 21, 2006 the site announced an impending upgrade to the site. FA opted to shed their previous naming convention (v1, v2 and v3) and go by codename for the major upgrade, known as &amp;quot;Ferrox&amp;quot;. The code reached an estimated 60% completion before being pushed back to an early Winter/Spring 2007 release in effort to follow new quality and coding standards.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The effective release date is &amp;quot;when it's ready&amp;quot;. Ferrox is not going to be released until the coding team feels it has undergone sufficient testing and bug hunting.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Features announced as introduced or improved upon are:&lt;br /&gt;
* A new user interface supporting better web programming standards, user-requested features and more streamlined navigation for ease-of-use&lt;br /&gt;
* Revised submission interfaces for art, music and stories to allow for faster, more accurate uploads and provide unique features for each artistic area&lt;br /&gt;
* Re-written server back-end to better support scalability and future upgrades&lt;br /&gt;
* Time-limited editable user comments&lt;br /&gt;
* Flood detection to prevent spam and abuse&lt;br /&gt;
* Enhanced site security focusing on account creation and content delivery&lt;br /&gt;
* A flexible keyword-based search system&lt;br /&gt;
* Communities, allowing users to post art directly to themed submission groups&lt;br /&gt;
* Community-sponsored error messages inspired by [[VCL]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Monthly themes and mini-contests where users can obtain ranks and profile enhancements&lt;br /&gt;
* Better integrated help and site information.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Mascots ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Fender]] is the Fur Affinity [[mascot]]. He was primarily created by artist [[K-9]], based upon a character concept by [[Preyfar]]. He is half [[fox]] and half [[ferret]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A second mascot, [[Rednef]], a female dragon, was announced in May 2007. She has been shown in the Fur Affinity header on April 1, 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fender was displayed as a three-toed [[sloth]] for April Fools' Day 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Facts ==&lt;br /&gt;
=== Statistics ===&lt;br /&gt;
* In less than a year since the site's re-launch, Fur Affinity gained over 45,000 users and over 300,000 submissions.&lt;br /&gt;
* The site transfers a daily average of nearly 80 GB of data and well over 10,000,000 individual files. The site's peak bandwidth record stands at 33.2Mbit.&lt;br /&gt;
* Alexa ranked Fur Affinity in the [http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?site0=www.furaffinity.net&amp;amp;site1=vclart.net&amp;amp;site2=&amp;amp;site3=&amp;amp;site4=&amp;amp;x=75&amp;amp;y=15&amp;amp;h=300&amp;amp;w=610&amp;amp;h=400&amp;amp;w=700&amp;amp;z=3&amp;amp;range=1y&amp;amp;size=medium&amp;amp;y=r&amp;amp;z=3&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.furaffinity.net top 4,000 sites] on the web as of 1 November 2007, showing greater traffic than the VCL for most of previous year. Fur Affinity has ranked as high as 3,475 on individual days.&lt;br /&gt;
* Account import strings began and ended with &amp;lt;tt&amp;gt;!pie!&amp;lt;/tt&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Fur Affinity gets approximately 2.5 million page hits per day (estimated on 01/11/2007).&lt;br /&gt;
* Fur Affinity reached its 1,000,000th submission on January 11th, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== The hardware ====&lt;br /&gt;
There are currently six servers held by Fur Affinity:&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Gecko''', the original FA server, is a dual 3.0Ghz Nocona Xeon system with 4GB of RAM and 2X 250GB drives configured in RAID 1. This server is not use and is currently being re-purposed.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Tiamat''', the DB backend server, is a twin dual core 2.0Ghz Opteron 2212 with 8GB DDR2-533 RAM. Storage consists of 4x 74GB 10k SATA WD740ADFD hard drives on a 3ware 9650SE-4LPML hardware raid card, running in RAID10 configuration.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Bahamut''', a data storage server, is a dual core 2.0GHz Opteron 1212 with 2GB DDR2-667 RAM. Storage consists of 4x 500GB Seagate Barracuda ES drives on a 3ware 9650SE-4LPML RAID controller, configured in RAID5+1. ''Bahamut'' is currently offline due to failure of its onboard Ethernet chip and will be re-purposed once its new motherboard is installed.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Ghostlight''', the wiki and forums server, is a virtual server held at a separate data center to ensure up-time even when primary site may be down.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Trogdor''', the new data server, is a Dell Poweredge 2970 2U Server with 32GB RAM.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Novastorm''', the web front end server, is a Sun Fire X4150 with dual quad-core 2.5Ghz Xeon 5420 processors, 4GB of RAM and 2x 146GB 15K RPM drives in RAID 1.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://irc.netsplit.de/channels/details.php?room=%23furaffinity&amp;amp;net=FurNet statistics of #furaffinity on FurNet IRC network] on irc.netsplit.de&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Mature art archives]][[Category:Mature story archives]][[Category:2005 births]]&lt;br /&gt;
{{featured article}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[de:Fur Affinity]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Affinity</id>
		<title>Fur Affinity</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fur_Affinity"/>
				<updated>2008-07-26T14:19:55Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: Corrected the name for the new Sun Fire server.  The superhero-combo name was never official.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{LinkingSupporter}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Fender.jpg|right|350px|Fender, drawn by Mutley James]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Fur Affinity''', also known as '''FA''', is the [[furry fandom]]'s largest online community with focus on the promotion of art, music, stories and more. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The site was created by [[Alkora]] as an alternative to various art community sites such as [[SheezyArt]] and [[deviantART]], promoting itself by allowing artistic freedom of expression regardless of content rating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Addresses''':&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Website''': http://www.furaffinity.net/ &lt;br /&gt;
** '''Forums''': http://forums.furaffinity.net/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Wiki''': http://www.wikiffinity.net/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''LiveJournal''': http://community.livejournal.com/furaffinity/&lt;br /&gt;
** '''IRC''': [irc://irc.furnet.org/furaffinity #furaffinity] on [[FurNet (IRC)|FurNet]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Frapper''': http://www.frappr.com/furaffinity&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Second Life''': http://slurl.com/secondlife/Critter_Valley/158/130/28&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Administrators''':&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Owners:''' [[The Dragoneer]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Site Founder:''' [[Alkora]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Lead Admins''': [[Damaratus]], The Dragoneer&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Admins''': [[Ahkahna]], [[Bijoux]], [[Dave Hyena]], [[Fox Amoore]], [[Glaide]], [[Kyoujin]],  [[Silverwolfe]] and [[Wicht]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Coders''': [[Eevee_(person)|Eevee]], [[Net-cat]], [[Tsawolf]], [[yak]]&lt;br /&gt;
** '''Server Administrator''': [[Gushi]]&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Ran from/to''':&lt;br /&gt;
** January 2005 - 1 August 2005 (coding/server problems)&lt;br /&gt;
** 10 December 2005 - 1 July 2008 (&amp;quot;server hardware fault&amp;quot;)&amp;lt;ref name=fa-outage-2008&amp;gt;[http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=22182 &amp;quot;Server Hardware Fault&amp;quot;] (2008, July 1). Fur Affinity Forum.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{WikiFurNews|Fur Affinity access disrupted amid ownership dispute}}&lt;br /&gt;
{{WikiFurNews|'Krystal sandwich' meme strikes Fur Affinity}}&lt;br /&gt;
== History ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Launch ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity was launched on January 16, 2005 as an alternative to SheezyArt with the forum going live on that date and the main site being transferred a few days later from [[FurPawz]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''[http://www.sheezyart.com/journal/51100/ Furaffinity.org information]'' - launch of forum on Furaffinity.net. Posted on SheezyArt, 16 January 2005.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''[http://www.sheezyart.com/journal/54575/ Furaffinity - note re. transfer of mainsite and 400+ users]''. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Posted on [[SheezyArt]], 21 January 2005.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; During that time period, Sheezy abruptly changed policies to both remove adult art and take a stronger stance against users and their uploads. Warnings were supposedly issued from the site's service provider, advising Sheezy Art that they were not permitted to host adult content on their site. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Much of Sheezy's community was abandoned after the rules change took effect. This migration left many with few alternatives. Many of those burned by SheezyArt went on to sites such as Fur Affinity and [[y!Gallery]]; when the latter decided to ban [[anthro art]] in May 2006, Fur Affinity gained further traffic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Server problems of 2005 ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity had suffered from major security holes and a hacking in during Summer of 2005. The site was shut down on 1 August 2005 due to a disagreement between lead coder Jheryn and host provider [[Arcturus]], the primary administrators of the site. At that time Fur Affinity had 12,174 user accounts and nearly 100,000 submissions. Arcturus and supporters went on to found [[ArtPlz]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thanks to the community, Fur Affinity was able to build a stronger, faster server than the site originally used for operation. Over the course of 2005, Fur Affinity was able to raise $1,500 in donations towards the purchase of new hardware for its primary server; a server which would, unfortunately, not realize itself until the middle of 2006.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity returned to operation in December 2005 with a solid backbone and more efficient coding, although full operational status would not be reached until December 10 due to a defect in the ASUS motherboard which powered the server. During Fur Affinity's official re-opening on December 10th, over 10,000 submissions for music, art and writing were submitted to the site during its initial 12 hours. These submissions included imported art from returning users and pieces not previously posted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Fur Affinity: United! ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In August 2007, FA held its own [[furry convention]] titled Fur Affinity: United!. The convention was such a success another one is planned for August 2008 (see the main article [[FA: United!]] for more information.)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== 2007 breach ====&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On August 11 2007, The Dragoneer's admin account was compromised at [[FA: United‎]] when he used the hotel's unencrypted [[Wikipedia:Wi-fi|Wi-Fi]] connection to access it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=11488 Thread by Preyfar on the FA forums about the August 2007 breach&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=11484&amp;amp;pid=195037#pid195037 Post by Preyfar on the FA forums with a more elaborate account of the 2007 breach&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;The first sign of trouble was a note left on the front page that announced the following:&lt;br /&gt;
{{q|''Administrator notice: We're sorry, our vaginas are currently full of sand. We're makin' pearls here, folks! :D! FA:U rocks. We all got handjobs from Glaide and Damaratus. -- hacked by [[jheryn]]''}}&lt;br /&gt;
Assurances were made that the password database had not been compromised, and the main site came back online 48 hours later. The FA forums were not affected by this breach.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== 2008 hardware fault ===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On July 1, 2008, Fur Affinity went completely offline again. Staff member Dragoneer explained on the site's forum that a &amp;quot;server hardware fault&amp;quot; was to blame.&amp;lt;ref name=fa-outage-2008/&amp;gt; All of FA's pages, as of this announcement, show an angry Fender stomping his computer in sheer anger, followed by a notice about the failure and a link to the forum thread.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As of July 7th 2008, Fur Affinity's members had donated about $16,000-$18,000 within 5 days (since July 2nd) to solve the issue&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FA Forums: [http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=22182&amp;amp;page=120 ''Server Hardware Fault''], page 120, post #1786 by [[Artie]] reads ''&amp;quot;$10,477.15 via Amazon, plus over $6,000 via PayPal. So, '''over $16,477.15 total''' so far.&amp;quot;'' on July 6th 2008, 5:35PM EST&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;FA Forums: [http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=22411 ''Public Donation and Expenditures Log, Please.''], page 1, post #15 by [[Seppel]] (based on an official file published by Dragoneer [http://forums.furaffinity.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3481&amp;amp;d=0 here]) reads ''&amp;quot;I checked the budget Dragoneer posted. $18,000 is more than twice FA has ever had. ''[...]'' $18,000 will go far. Very far.&amp;quot;'' on July 7th 2008, 9:03AM EST&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;, and donations are still coming in. On the same day, Dragoneer posted on the FA forums that a new server, an HP ProLiant quad-core Opteron code-named ''Trogdor'' had been ordered and is presently en-route. As of Monday, July 14, 2008, the order for the HP ProLiant quad-core Opteron, Trogdor, was cancled due to confirmed issues with Trogdor. Fur Affinity Forum users private messaged, Fur Affinity Staff Member, yak about the issues. The replacement for Trogdor was a Dell PowerEdge 2970. With the help of one Fur Affinity user, Fur Affinity recieved a dicount on the Dell PowerEdge 2970. As Of Wednesday, July 23, 2008, The Data Server, Storage Array, and DB Server Upgrades have arrived. The Web Server has been shipped.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Product Information:'''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Data Server''' - Dell Poweredge 2970 2U Server, 32GB RAM&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Storage Array''' - 14 1TB hard drives&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''DB Server Upgrades''' - 8GB additional RAM&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Web Server''' - Sun Fire x4150 1U Server, 4GB RAM&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Features and rules ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity's features for users include the ability to allow users to track new updates from particular [[artist]]s; highlight favorites; and upload a wide variety of art (images, music and stories). The site attempts to promote community through its comments system and individual journals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While works of all ratings are accepted (other than ''photographic nudes and images whose intent are to slander or discredit others''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.furaffinity.net/faq/ Fur Affinity FAQ]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;), art rated as mature or adult is not shown to visitors, or to users who have not specified it as a preference (which requires giving a date of birth indicating an age over 18). In addition, a tagging system is in use, but in the current version of the website software it doesn't have any effect on the site functionality, being used only as a visual addition to the submission page. Previously, users could browse and block the display of art based on these tags, but much like the search feature it was disabled due to performance issues, and haven't been brought back since.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fur Affinity used to have a search feature that allowed users to search for specific art on the site, but this feature became disabled in mid-2006, listed as 'temporarily disabled', and a faux search feature was temporarily implemented on April Fool's Day, much to the chagrin of some users. No news regrading to when (and if) the search feature will come back has been posted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Pornographic cub art ====&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
August 2006 saw the restart of an internal administrative debate over the presence of [[pornographic]] underage furry artwork (or &amp;quot;cub art&amp;quot;).&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''&amp;quot;[http://dragonmyr.deviantart.com/journal/10641590/ DA account reactivated -- FA Truths revealed]&amp;quot;''. Posted by [[Myr]] on November 6, 2006 and deleted several days after.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Such art was forbidden by the site's Terms of Service, which specified that &amp;quot;depictions of sexually immature characters in any sexual situation are not permitted on Fur Affinity&amp;quot;, but bans for this rule were not uniformly enforced. As with previous discussions, administrators could not come to an agreement on whether or not to modify site policy.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=4335&amp;amp;pid=63174#pid63174 Comment by The Dragoneer on previous attempts to solve the cub debate]. Posted on November 6, 2006.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Over the following months the issue developed into a public debate, with forum polls and discussion suggesting that the site's members were divided on the topic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On November 5, it was announced that such work would be allowed, with the requirement of mandatory tagging. The main reasons given for this decision were that no actual minors were harmed during the artwork's creation, and that depictions of many other illegal activities, such as rape, murder, and drug use, were permitted. Conversely, work that depicted [[human]] children, including [[anime characters]], in sexual situations was forbidden.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;''&amp;quot;[http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=3965 ''FA Policy Notice - &amp;quot;Cub&amp;quot; Art'']&amp;quot;''. Posted by The Dragoneer on November 5, 2006.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Some artists had threatened to leave the site if it was not forbidden, and some of these did so.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== Ferrox code update ====&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As of June 21, 2006 the site announced an impending upgrade to the site. FA opted to shed their previous naming convention (v1, v2 and v3) and go by codename for the major upgrade, known as &amp;quot;Ferrox&amp;quot;. The code reached an estimated 60% completion before being pushed back to an early Winter/Spring 2007 release in effort to follow new quality and coding standards.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The effective release date is &amp;quot;when it's ready&amp;quot;. Ferrox is not going to be released until the coding team feels it has undergone sufficient testing and bug hunting.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Features announced as introduced or improved upon are:&lt;br /&gt;
* A new user interface supporting better web programming standards, user-requested features and more streamlined navigation for ease-of-use&lt;br /&gt;
* Revised submission interfaces for art, music and stories to allow for faster, more accurate uploads and provide unique features for each artistic area&lt;br /&gt;
* Re-written server back-end to better support scalability and future upgrades&lt;br /&gt;
* Time-limited editable user comments&lt;br /&gt;
* Flood detection to prevent spam and abuse&lt;br /&gt;
* Enhanced site security focusing on account creation and content delivery&lt;br /&gt;
* A flexible keyword-based search system&lt;br /&gt;
* Communities, allowing users to post art directly to themed submission groups&lt;br /&gt;
* Community-sponsored error messages inspired by [[VCL]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Monthly themes and mini-contests where users can obtain ranks and profile enhancements&lt;br /&gt;
* Better integrated help and site information.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Mascots ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Fender]] is the Fur Affinity [[mascot]]. He was primarily created by artist [[K-9]], based upon a character concept by [[Preyfar]]. He is half [[fox]] and half [[ferret]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A second mascot, [[Rednef]], a female dragon, was announced in May 2007. She has been shown in the Fur Affinity header on April 1, 2007.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fender was displayed as a three-toed [[sloth]] for April Fools' Day 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Facts ==&lt;br /&gt;
=== Statistics ===&lt;br /&gt;
* In less than a year since the site's re-launch, Fur Affinity gained over 45,000 users and over 300,000 submissions.&lt;br /&gt;
* The site transfers a daily average of nearly 80 GB of data and well over 10,000,000 individual files. The site's peak bandwidth record stands at 33.2Mbit.&lt;br /&gt;
* Alexa ranked Fur Affinity in the [http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?site0=www.furaffinity.net&amp;amp;site1=vclart.net&amp;amp;site2=&amp;amp;site3=&amp;amp;site4=&amp;amp;x=75&amp;amp;y=15&amp;amp;h=300&amp;amp;w=610&amp;amp;h=400&amp;amp;w=700&amp;amp;z=3&amp;amp;range=1y&amp;amp;size=medium&amp;amp;y=r&amp;amp;z=3&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.furaffinity.net top 4,000 sites] on the web as of 1 November 2007, showing greater traffic than the VCL for most of previous year. Fur Affinity has ranked as high as 3,475 on individual days.&lt;br /&gt;
* Account import strings began and ended with &amp;lt;tt&amp;gt;!pie!&amp;lt;/tt&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Fur Affinity gets approximately 2.5 million page hits per day (estimated on 01/11/2007).&lt;br /&gt;
* Fur Affinity reached its 1,000,000th submission on January 11th, 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==== The hardware ====&lt;br /&gt;
There are currently six servers held by Fur Affinity:&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Gecko''', the original FA server, is a dual 3.0Ghz Nocona Xeon system with 4GB of RAM and 2X 250GB drives configured in RAID 1. This server is not use and is currently being re-purposed.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Tiamat''', the DB backend server, is a twin dual core 2.0Ghz Opteron 2212 with 8GB DDR2-533 RAM. Storage consists of 4x 74GB 10k SATA WD740ADFD hard drives on a 3ware 9650SE-4LPML hardware raid card, running in RAID10 configuration.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Bahamut''', a data storage server, is a dual core 2.0GHz Opteron 1212 with 2GB DDR2-667 RAM. Storage consists of 4x 500GB Seagate Barracuda ES drives on a 3ware 9650SE-4LPML RAID controller, configured in RAID5+1. ''Bahamut'' is currently offline due to failure of its onboard Ethernet chip and will be re-purposed once its new motherboard is installed.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Ghostlight''', the wiki and forums server, is a virtual server held at a separate data center to ensure up-time even when primary site may be down.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Trogdor''', the new DB server, is a Dell Poweredge 2970 2U Server with 32GB RAM.&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Novastorm''', the web front end server, is a Sun Fire X4150 with dual quad-core 2.5Ghz Xeon 5420 processors, 4GB of RAM and 2x 146GB 15K RPM drives in RAID 1.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://irc.netsplit.de/channels/details.php?room=%23furaffinity&amp;amp;net=FurNet statistics of #furaffinity on FurNet IRC network] on irc.netsplit.de&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Mature art archives]][[Category:Mature story archives]][[Category:2005 births]]&lt;br /&gt;
{{featured article}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[de:Fur Affinity]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Otherkin</id>
		<title>Otherkin</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Otherkin"/>
				<updated>2008-06-24T06:29:03Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: /* External links */  &amp;quot;Otherkin Wiki&amp;quot; link removed, as the link presents a &amp;quot;parked domain&amp;quot; type page when clicked.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Elven Star Rainbow.jpg|right|thumb|The Elven Star, a symbol of otherkin. [http://www.our-elysium.com/otherkin.htm Source]]]'''Otherkin''' are those who believe that their physical forms do not define or fully encompass their mental states, personality, psychology, or [[spirituality|spiritual]] nature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The term predates its use on the Internet, and is believed to have been coined in the late 1980's by those who felt an affinity or connection to the ''fae folk'' and/or ''[[Wikipedia:elf|elves]]'' of traditional mythological culture and folklore. First appearing in use on the Internet in the mid-1990s, the word was intended to imply some form of kinship with an 'other' element outside of a person's biological nature, physical mind and experiences, and [[human]] life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Otherkin beliefs==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Otherkin feel they have a sympathetic connection, affinity, or some other form of relation with another animal or being. Traditionally these have been mythological in nature, beginning with fairy and fey folk, elves, and a few other European mythological archetypes. Later, associations with other creatures became common, including [[unicorn]]s, [[gryphon]]s, [[dragon]]s, angelics, and [[demon]]s; as well as &amp;quot;non-living&amp;quot; types such as golems and other inorganics. In time, some people also began to describe concepts for beings which were derived from mythological archetypes, though having unique qualities; fully undefinable or one-of-a-kind kin types appeared as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With the unusual nature of the basic otherkin premises, there has been skepticism directed at it along with the proposal that many people adopt the otherkin identity to justify social difficulties - the outcast syndrome - or because they have a delusion and are in denial about their biological humanity. The idea that otherkin believe they are physically non-human in a spectacular way - such as actually being biological dragons - is seen as a pervasive misunderstanding by otherkin themselves, who point out the spiritual and psychological focus of the concept. Some community members believe this confusion arises from those unfamiliar with the concept or having only a sketchy or distorted awareness; comparing it to psychiatric cases such as [[lycanthropy]] and dissociative identity disorder, and concluding that in order for someone to state that they identify as an elf or gryphon, they must be experiencing a form of hallucination or delusion. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Contrary to [[stereotype]]s which have been perpetuated, most who identify as otherkin are fully aware of their biology and human existence. Many otherkin do have particular spiritual and metaphysical beliefs, and as part of those beliefs have discussed elements of a proposed spiritual reality which is not to be confused with the material world. Even if a given person believes, for instance, that on a spiritual plane they may have wings, it is uncommon that they are making a claim about such things that is scientific in nature, or that they exist in what most people might consider the real world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Despite these points, some dislike the otherkin concept on the grounds that they feel it is abused by individuals who wish to present themselves as special and unique without merit, and that making unverifiable spiritual claims is one way to achieve this. Over time, otherkin has proven to be appealing to a number of people for this reason, and those within the community can be rigorous about screening out 'me too' and 'fluffbunny' adopters of the otherkin moniker. Some otherkin themselves do not consider the Internet Kin community to have much or any validity, saying that it is easy and tempting for a person to claim almost anything within the realm of online anonymity. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Within the loosely defined otherkin community, online or off, there is no consensus as to just what makes a person otherkin. A variety of phenomena have been observed and theorized about which many feel create some sort of affinity between a person and something else. In this light, some see otherkin as related to concepts such as [[Wikipedia:Totemism|Totemism]], which have appeared in human culture since ancient times. There has also been some debate over how potential factors such as [[Wikipedia:Clinical lycanthropy|clinical lycanthropy]] may account for a percentage of the experiences otherkin believe they have had. While many, and some conjecture most, otherkin follow a paradigm of spiritual reincarnation in some form to help explain their state of being, not all otherkin share this, and may view themselves in other spiritual, philosophical, or psychological frameworks. Even among those who believe in reincarnation, there are a wide variety of interpretations.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Another viewpoint is that the term otherkin largely denotes a social network and should not, or can not, be used as a description for individual spiritual beliefs or to describe an particular theory or explanation for phenomenon. Many people use the otherkin community to find discussion for a variety of subjects and to compare subjective experiences without considering themselves to be otherkin in a descriptive sense.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==History of the community==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although there are spiritual parallels with shamanism and totemism, the modern otherkin subculture appears to trace its roots back to the counterculture of the 1960s. [[Wikipedia:Hippie|Hippies]] and [[Wikipedia:Flower child|flower children]], in particular, were heavily influenced by the fantasy works of [[Wikipedia:J.R.R. Tolkien|J.R.R. Tolkien]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2004-April/006893.html Tolkien and radical ecology in the sixties] - Mailing list marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu (accessed April 21 2004).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One example of this influence was the rock band [[Wikipedia:Tyrannosaurus Rex|Tyrannosaurus Rex]], whose drummer took the name [[Wikipedia:Steve Peregrin Took|Steve Peregrin Took]], after a [[Wikipedia:hobbit|hobbit]] character from ''[[Wikipedia:The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. The short-lived magazine ''[[Wikipedia:Gandalf's Garden|Gandalf's Garden]]'', named after another Tolkien character, described the group's singer-songwriter [[Wikipedia:Marc Bolan|Marc Bolan]] as &amp;quot;of elfin descent&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/4730/gandalf.htm Tyrannosaurus Rex] - ''Gandalf's Garden'' (July 1968)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Bolan was also frequently referred to as &amp;quot;the Bopping Elf&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.marc-bolan.com/public/biography2.htm &amp;quot;From Darling Of The Underground To Dandy In The Underworld&amp;quot; - A Brief Bolan Biography], The Official Marc Bolan Fan Club (accessed May 8 2005)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Another musician of the time who used similar fantasy imagery was Donovan. In the cover notes to his 1966 LP [[Wikipedia:Sunshine Superman|&amp;quot;Sunshine Superman&amp;quot;]], he wrote &amp;quot;starring mr. plod in action with a daughter of the evil land of mordor.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sabotage.demon.co.uk/donovan/writings.htm#part_one Sunshine Superman] - Donovan's Non-Poetic Writings (1966)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In the cover notes to his 1967 LP [[Wikipedia:A Gift from a Flower to a Garden|&amp;quot;A Gift from a Flower to a Garden&amp;quot;]], he wrote &amp;quot;We shall fill their days with fairies and elves and pussys and paints, with laughter and song and the gentle influence of Mother Nature.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sabotage.demon.co.uk/donovan/writings.htm#Oh,_what_a_Dawn_Youth_is_Rising_to A Gift from a Flower to a Garden] - Donovan's Non-Poetic Writings (1967)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
And in the underground publication ''[[Wikipedia:International Times|International Times]]'', better known as IT, John Peel advised readers to &amp;quot;go to the children's playground in Kensington Gardens and stare at the elves on the trees there&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/27/db2701.xml Obituary: John Peel] - Daily Telegraph (27 October 2004)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The 1970s saw a group calling themselves the Elf Queen's Daughters base themselves in the South Bay area of San Francisco, California.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Silver Elves (2001). The Gainesville Letters. In ''The Magical Elven Love Letters, vol. 1'', pp. 9. Silver Elves Publications; no ISBN.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; They were also linked with [[Wikipedia:Seattle, Washington|Seattle, Washington]].&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.student.carleton.edu/orgs/druids/ARDA/ARDA-07.pdf The Druid Miscellany, pp. 2] - A reformed Druid anthology (August 1 1996)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; They published a newsletter and focused on &amp;quot;bringing together female elves in celebration of ritual and magic and understanding of Fae&amp;quot;, according to the Faeid website.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.faeid.com/elfqueens.html The Elf Queen's Daughters] - Are you a faeid? (accessed May 4 2005)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In actuality the Elf Queen's Daughters were composed of both male and female elves, although they were Goddess oriented and they referred to all their members as sister.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Comment by the Silver Elves.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; One quote from an anonymous founder of the group indicates similar ecologically-based pagan beliefs to those common in the modern otherkin movement — &amp;quot;the image of the Earth being a woman with trees for her hair, rivers for her veins flowing through. That was one of the first to use the image of earth as a physical Goddess.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.religion.all-worlds/msg/89f26a9ce27ab423?dmode=source&amp;amp;hl=en Aeona Silversong Interview] - The Electronic Foghorn (June 15 1993)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the Silver Elves, the Elf Queen's Daughters had ''&amp;quot;given up the path to elfin&amp;quot;'' around 1977. However, in 2004 they wrote that they had recently encountered one of them, Loriel Lyndoreyn.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.renaissancefestival.com/community/discussion/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=875 magic connects us] - magical elven love letters (accessed May 21 2004).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Another former member, Aeona Silversong, became a priestess in the Church of All Worlds in 1993, while continuing to identify as an elf.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.archive.org/web/20040407120835/http://www.caw.org/clergy/index.html CAW Clergy] - CAWeb (accessed February 23 2004).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.religion.all-worlds/msg/89f26a9ce27ab423?dmode=source&amp;amp;hl=en Aeona Silversong Interview] - The Electronic Foghorn (June 15 1993)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Furthermore, Circle Network News published an article on the seven-pointed elven star citing the group as late as 1986. The Silver Elves suggest that the Elf Queen's Daughters were adept with magic and the use of the Ouija board.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.sonic.net/~elves/necromancer.html The Way of the Necromancer] - The Elven Tree of Life (May 4 2002).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Silver Elves are one of the more prominent groups in the modern subculture, mainly because of the Magical Elven Love Letters which they have regularly published for over twenty years. In their published compilation of these letters, they write that at the time they began to write them in 1979, ''&amp;quot;it had been nearly two years since the Elf Queen's Daughters had forsaken the dharma of the magic letters&amp;quot;''. This would indicate that the letters of the Silver Elves are a direct descendant of the newsletters released by the Elf Queen's Daughters; furthermore, the Silver Elves themselves profess to have been awakened as elves by that group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Until the Internet became accessible, the letters were sent out by post and further distributed by their recipients, as well as being printed in various newsletters and magazines. Contact details for the Silver Elves were also listed in pagan books, such as [[Wikipedia:Margot Adler|Margot Adler]]'s ''[[Wikipedia:Drawing Down the Moon (book)|&amp;quot;Drawing Down The Moon&amp;quot;]]'' in 1979 and [[Wikipedia:Laurie Cabot|Laurie Cabot]]'s ''&amp;quot;Power of the Witch&amp;quot;'' in 1989.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Adler, Margot, ''Drawing Down The Moon: Druids, Goddess-worshippers and other pagans in America today'', ISBN 0670283428, Viking Press (1979)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;Cabot, Laurie, ''Power of the Witch'', ISBN 0385297866, Delacorte Press (1989).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1990, R'ykandar Korra'ti founded the Elfinkind Digest, an e-mail-based mailing list for &amp;quot;elves and interested observers&amp;quot;.[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.games.frp/msg/834976939ac48fcc?dmode=source&amp;amp;hl=en] At the time, her signature on Usenet was &amp;quot;Elfinkind Unite!&amp;quot; The next year, in 1991, she posted a subdued announcement to several newsgroups publicizing the Digest for the first time.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.games.frp/msg/834976939ac48fcc?dmode=source&amp;amp;hl=en Small mail-based digest] - Usenet (September 26 1991).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; As of 2003, more than 2000 digests had been posted, and this otherkin mailing list is generally acknowledged as the first one.[http://www.murkworks.net/~elflist/]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While Korra'ti had expected to find only other elves through her mailing list, she in fact discovered people with ''&amp;quot;a large number of self-identifications.&amp;quot;''&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rialian.com/elfinkin.htm Elfinkind Digest] - Elven Realities (December 23 1996).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; This was one of the first indications that there were other [[species]] identifications out there besides those of elves, and this dichotomy persists to this day in the name of one of the more popular otherkin mailing lists, elven-realities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On 6 February 1995, the [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.magick/msg/e5adba21569abd19?dmode=source&amp;amp;hl=en Elven Nation Manifesto] was posted to Usenet.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.magick/msg/e5adba21569abd19?dmode=source&amp;amp;hl=en The Elven Nation Manifesto.....everyone must read this!] - Usenet (February 6 1995).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; This document was interesting in several ways: firstly, although it included a real name and a postal address, as well as a partial email address, it was posted through the anonymous remailer at anon.penet.fi. Secondly, several of the common themes in the modern otherkin movement are visible in it, such as the concept that elves have something significant to contribute to the world, and mention of the &amp;quot;Veil to the Otherworld&amp;quot;, or the invisible boundary between the real world and the magical world of faerie.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since it was posted to eleven newsgroups, it also violated Usenet's crossposting etiquette, which was far more strictly observed at the time than it is today. On Usenet itself, the document was universally panned and considered to be either a troll or an attempt to frame an innocent party. However, enough people contacted the original author of the Elven Nation post in good faith for a [http://www.rialian.com/elvsnatn.htm mailing list] to spin off from it.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.rialian.com/elvsnatn.htm Excerpts from the Elven Nation mailing list] - Elven Realities (accessed May 4 2005).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; At least one person considered it to have played a part in their awakening.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://web.archive.org/web/19991009032307/www.absinthia.com/otherkin/awakening/willow.html Willow] - Awakenings (October 9 1999).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The community first hit the headlines in 2001 when the Village Voice published an article on it. Entitled &amp;quot;Elven Like Me&amp;quot;, it drew gentle comparisons with the antiglobalisation movement, and suggested that otherkin were antimodernist.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0107,mamatas,22273,8.html Elven Like Me] - Village Voice (14 February 2001)&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Otherkin in the media==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The otherkin phenomenon has experienced less exposure in general media than subculture venues such as furry fandom, although it has been noted with increasing frequency in [[Wikipedia:Neo-Paganism|Neo-Pagan]] culture due to crossover of shamanistic and spiritual elements that has brought otherkin to the attention of contemporary pagans.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To date, there has been little formal study or publication of culture and theory relating to otherkin. One of the first reference volumes to deal with the otherkin culture specifically, ''A Field Guide to Otherkin'', by Lupa, was released in April 2007. The book contains the results of surveys distributed throughout the otherkin and therianthropy communities by the author and volunteers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Otherkin and therianthropy==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Otherkin bears no small resemblance to [[therianthropy]], and some people consider them the same thing and use them interchangeably. Of these, some might feel there is insufficient difference between the concepts to present them separately, while others might be outsiders who are not familiar with the nuances or history of the ideas and communities surrounding them. However, in tradition to date, otherkin has come to be associated with people who experience an affinity with an animal, creature, or being which might ordinarily be considered mythological, or sometimes entirely unique/alien. In contrast, therianthropy is heavily connected to the affinity for ''existing'', real-world animals which have been observed to live today in nature or to have lived in the past. Typically, someone who identifies with fairies, elves, dragons, gryphons, unicorns, or even angelic or demonic beings might be seen as otherkin. While one who identifies with [[wolves]], [[foxes]], [[bear]]s, [[cat]]s big and small, or [[otter]]s might be seen as a therianthrope.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In some cases, a specific person might consider themselves - if they use a formal term or subculture association at all - a member of either community in spite of their species/entity connection. For example, someone who feels they are a part of the general otherkin community socially might use the term therianthropy to describe the mechanics of their own nature.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Otherkin and furry fandom==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Furry fan]]s appear to be generally aware of otherkin and therianthropy. The practices and viewpoints of many [[furry lifestyle]]rs have some similarity to these ideas; because of this, some lifestylers associate with one or both terms. Likewise, while [[furry fandom]] in general might not have been formed to explore spiritual connections with animals and other creatures, many otherkin and therianthropes find the content and subject matter of furry appealing because of their own interests. In the opposite direction, many [[furry fan]]s discover the otherkin community through the fandom and begin to take part in it as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A noticeable number of people within the otherkin community are also furry fans in some capacity and frequently attend events such as furry [[convention]]s in addition to otherkin-specific social events. The philosophy and spirituality tracks at some conventions have hosted otherkin and therian speakers. Panels and discussions on mythology have also attracted otherkin to participate. Otherkin who are artists have used furry conventions to display their work, and those with an interest in make-up and costuming have attended for masquerade contests and dances.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some otherkin feel that the furry fandom is a more relaxed atmosphere in which to explore ideas of animal and human relations and hybrids, seeing the fandom's lack of core spiritual doctrines as neutral ground. Due to this, some people decide to leave the general otherkin and therian communities in favor of furry. Furry events are sometimes popular as a meeting place with otherkin who are geographically isolated from kin-specific events.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
===Controversy within furry fandom===&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Opinions vary as to whether or not their association with the fandom is positive, negative, or irrelevant. Some people find the association of furry with things beyond its base definition of the appreciation of [[anthropomorphic]] animals in art and fiction to be inappropriate, ridiculous, or uncomfortable. Because of this, otherkin and therian connections or intermingling with the fandom have taken on a pejorative tint for such people. Much as furry lifestylers are sometimes disliked, otherkin might be made to feel unwelcome or derided by some furry fans. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A large degree of fandom awareness has been spread not only by contact with otherkin within the fandom, but by the adoption of otherkin as another topic with which to portray elements of Furry in humorous or negative light by websites such as [[Something Awful]] and [[Crush! Yiff! Destroy!]]. Due to such framing, otherkin has for some people become a generic term to identify furries who feel there is something more to their animal avatar than [[role-playing]]. Some also point out that a good deal of otherkin awareness has been spread by sardonic humor, which often singles out individuals with the most outrageous behavior or controversial opinions. As a result there appear to be inaccuracies in the knowledge of many furry fans and nonfurs relating to more moderate members of the otherkin community.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In response, others have said in spite of this confusion, there are those who identify as otherkin while putting forth dubious claims and questionable behavior. Because of the effect of visibility from the crowd, it is often the most over-the-top examples that are seen by outsiders, and thus tend to be associated with the entire fandom, not unlike many of the other problems with publicity that furry fandom has endured over time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Outside otherkin==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Otherkin is a label to describe personal beliefs, experiences, and traits that occur in a variety of combinations depending on the individual. As there is no consensus on what qualifies as otherkin, not everyone who shares similar beliefs feels the term is appropriate or useful for themselves. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some who might otherwise describe themselves as otherkin downplay or conceal the affiliation. Citing outbreaks of controversy, individuals have confessed reluctance to reveal the extent of their beliefs for fear of losing status or being ostracized by a particular community, to avoid employment difficulties, or relieve pressure from friends and family.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[:Category:Otherkin|Otherkin users on WikiFur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Wikipedia:Otherkin|Otherkin]] on Wikipedia&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Theri There]], a webcomic about otherkin&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== References ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.otherkin.net Otherkin.net]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://z3.invisionfree.com/Otherkin/ An Otherkin Message Board]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.thegreenwolf.com/afgto.html A Field Guide to Otherkin] at [http://www.immanion-press.com Immanion Press]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Culture]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Terms]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{featured article}}&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar</id>
		<title>Talk:Preyfar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar"/>
				<updated>2008-05-16T17:14:00Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This page has been blanked and locked upon request. --{{UT|GreenReaper}} 15:03, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Could you maybe either delete this or set up a redirect to [[User:Preyfar]]? Zero byte articles are quite vexing. --[[User:Xax|Xax]] 21:28, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Whoa...I was under the impression that, as the person in question himself said below, it would be better to wipe the &amp;quot;Dragoneer&amp;quot; page and redirect here, instead of wiping this one.  I'll probably be e-mailing him to see what prompted this. [[User:Rhainor|Rhainor]] 17:14, 16 May 2008 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Merge? ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Should this be merged with [[Dragoneer]], since he lists it as his alias? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 01:53, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:I'd rather it go the other way around if you decide to delete me. [[Dragoneer]] is my artistic alias while Preyfar is, and always has been, my primary.--[[User:Preyfar|Preyfar]] 06:12, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Merging the &amp;quot;Dragoneer&amp;quot; page into this one sounds like a good idea.  In the meantime, someone should edit this page to reflect that he's no longer living in Kyrgyzstan. --[[User:Rhainor|Rhainor]] 19:53, 30 April 2008 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar</id>
		<title>Talk:Preyfar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar"/>
				<updated>2008-04-30T19:53:03Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This page has been blanked and locked upon request. --{{UT|GreenReaper}} 15:03, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Could you maybe either delete this or set up a redirect to [[User:Preyfar]]? Zero byte articles are quite vexing. --[[User:Xax|Xax]] 21:28, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Merge? ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Should this be merged with [[Dragoneer]], since he lists it as his alias? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 01:53, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:I'd rather it go the other way around if you decide to delete me. [[Dragoneer]] is my artistic alias while Preyfar is, and always has been, my primary.--[[User:Preyfar|Preyfar]] 06:12, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Merging the &amp;quot;Dragoneer&amp;quot; page into this one sounds like a good idea.  In the meantime, someone should edit this page to reflect that he's no longer living in Kyrgyzstan. --[[User:Rhainor|Rhainor]] 19:53, 30 April 2008 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar</id>
		<title>Talk:Preyfar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar"/>
				<updated>2008-04-30T19:51:03Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This page has been blanked and locked upon request. --{{UT|GreenReaper}} 15:03, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Could you maybe either delete this or set up a redirect to [[User:Preyfar]]? Zero byte articles are quite vexing. --[[User:Xax|Xax]] 21:28, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Merge? ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Should this be merged with [[Dragoneer]], since he lists it as his alias? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 01:53, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:I'd rather it go the other way around if you decide to delete me. [[Dragoneer]] is my artistic alias while Preyfar is, and always has been, my primary.--[[User:Preyfar|Preyfar]] 06:12, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Merging the &amp;quot;Dragoneer&amp;quot; page into this one sounds like a good idea.  In the meantime, someone should edit this page to reflect that he's no longer living in Kyrgyzstan. [[User:Rhainor|Rhainor]] 19:51, 30 April 2008 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar</id>
		<title>Talk:Preyfar</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Preyfar"/>
				<updated>2008-04-30T19:49:16Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;This page has been blanked and locked upon request. --{{UT|GreenReaper}} 15:03, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Could you maybe either delete this or set up a redirect to [[User:Preyfar]]? Zero byte articles are quite vexing. --[[User:Xax|Xax]] 21:28, 15 Aug 2005 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Merge? ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Should this be merged with [[Dragoneer]], since he lists it as his alias? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 01:53, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:I'd rather it go the other way around if you decide to delete me. [[Dragoneer]] is my artistic alias while Preyfar is, and always has been, my primary.--[[User:Preyfar|Preyfar]] 06:12, 15 June 2007 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::Merging the &amp;quot;Dragoneer&amp;quot; page into this one sounds like a good idea.  In the meantime, someone should edit this page to reflect that he's no longer living in Kyrgyzstan.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Gushi</id>
		<title>Gushi</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Gushi"/>
				<updated>2008-04-29T06:07:05Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;'''Gushi''' is a [[fur]] from [[Wikipedia:Long Island, New York|Long Island, NY]].  His main [[fursona]] is a heavyset white [[ferret]], usually shown carrying/wearing a bunch of geek gear, including a VR Helmet/HUD.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gushi is involved in several projects to benefit the open-source and furry communities as a whole:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Side 7]], an art community and not-for-profit organization run by a small group of volunteers.  Gushi's main function is to keep the servers in happy tune.&lt;br /&gt;
* Gushi is the internet service provider for the main [[FurAffinity]] servers, and also volunteers his time to help manage them.&lt;br /&gt;
* Gushi ran the [[dealer's room]] wireless network at [[Anthrocon]] while it was still at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Pennsylvania.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gushi's main company, Gushi Systems also hosts hundreds of furs, artists, and other creative types, from leathercrafters to DJs.  The service is unique in that barters are almost universally acceptable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
{{Contributor|Gushi}}&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.side7.com Side 7]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.furaffinity.net FurAffinity]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://hosting.gushi.org Gushi Systems]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People]][[Category:Ferret characters]][[Category:Long Island]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Dragoneer</id>
		<title>Dragoneer</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Dragoneer"/>
				<updated>2008-03-25T04:47:50Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: /* Other */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Dragoneer wiki.jpg|right|Dragoneer, drawn by the Dragoneer]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''The Dragoneer''' is an [[artist]] known for drawing soft- and hard-core [[erotica]], primarily of [[male]]s. His artwork is predominantly of [[scalie]]s, [[lizard]]s and [[Digimon]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Dragoneer's [[character]], also known by its Digi name of Murasadramon, is a purple and neon-orange [[Digimon]]. His species is a [[hybrid]] mixture of Guilmon and Exveemon rolled together into one. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Other ==&lt;br /&gt;
Dragoneer is the owner and lead admin of [[Fur Affinity]], where his responsibilities include moderation of the site, PR, rules and regulations as well as site funding. He has lent his time and effort to the site since early 2005.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Along with Fur Affinity, he has also assisted and worked as [[con staff]] for various [[furry convention]]s in the past, such as [[AnthroCon]]. Currently, Dragoneer is working as a member of the board of directors for Fur Affinity's first convention, [[United!]], a part of the [[Northeast Anthropomorphic Association]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==External links==&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.furaffinity.net/user/dragoneer/ The Dragoneer] on [[Fur Affinity]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.thedragoneer.com/ The Dragoneer's website]&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://thedragoneer.livejournal.com/ The Dragoneer] on [[LiveJournal]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:People|Dragoneer, The]][[Category:Artists|Dragoneer, The]][[Category:Animators|Dragoneer, The]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Dragon characters|Dragoneer, The]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Clawcast</id>
		<title>Clawcast</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Clawcast"/>
				<updated>2008-03-08T21:08:15Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: /* Future appearances and projects */ Updated, etc.  See talk page.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Infobox Podcast&lt;br /&gt;
| title = Clawcast&lt;br /&gt;
| image =  [[ Image:Bloglogo.jpg]]&lt;br /&gt;
| caption = The premier call-in podcast covering all things furry.&lt;br /&gt;
| host = [[Flain Falcon]], [[Puc]], [[Zim Skunk]], and formerly [[Schryari]].&lt;br /&gt;
| url = [http://www.clawcast.com clawcast.com]&lt;br /&gt;
| rss = [http://clawcast.com/blog/?feed=podcast rss feed]&lt;br /&gt;
| status = 17th show as of December 2007; updates alternating Thursdays&lt;br /&gt;
| genre = General Furry&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Clawcast''' is a [[furry]] [[Wikipedia:Podcast|podcast]] produced by '''Flain Falcon''', '''Zim Skunk''', '''Puc''', and formerly by '''Schryari''' (also known as '''Scry''',) who resigned as a regular host in December 2007 (although she still appears on the show occasionally).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Content and features ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The podcast covers a variety of topics including an &amp;quot;honest&amp;quot; look at what furry is for different people, issues facing the [[furry fandom]], furry news, and reviews of furry-related media. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The producers of Clawcast also have had several guests on the show over the course of its run, including furry comedians, [[artist]]s, [[author]]s, and representatives from the fandom's various sub-groups.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Clawcast includes the ability for listeners to call in live or leave messages relating to the show's content or furry events. There is a rapidly growing forum community as well as the #clawcast channel on [[FurNet]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Future appearances and projects ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The show is planning a future series of live-recorded, and even live-streaming events, including live shows at some conventions.  Their 21st episode was the first of these, recorded live at [[Furry Weekend Atlanta|FWA]] 2008, and published on March 3.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Clawcast crew have been invited to [[FA: United]] as Special Guests, where they plan to hold a live-streaming show.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.clawcast.com Clawcast] official web site&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.clawcast.com/forum Clawcast] forums&lt;br /&gt;
{{template:radio}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Podcasts]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Forums]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Radio]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Clawcast</id>
		<title>Talk:Clawcast</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Talk:Clawcast"/>
				<updated>2008-03-08T21:07:00Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: New page: Talk page created.  I also updated, rearranged, and cleaned up the &amp;quot;Future appearances and projects&amp;quot; section. -~~~~&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Talk page created.  I also updated, rearranged, and cleaned up the &amp;quot;Future appearances and projects&amp;quot; section. -[[User:Rhainor|Rhainor]] 21:07, 8 March 2008 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Clawcast</id>
		<title>Clawcast</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Clawcast"/>
				<updated>2008-01-11T06:32:08Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: Added clarification of Schryari's resignation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Infobox Podcast&lt;br /&gt;
| title = Clawcast&lt;br /&gt;
| image =  [[ Image:Bloglogo.jpg]]&lt;br /&gt;
| caption = The premier call-in podcast covering all things furry.&lt;br /&gt;
| host = [[Flain Falcon]], [[Puc]], [[Zim Skunk]], and formerly [[Schryari]].&lt;br /&gt;
| url = [http://www.clawcast.com clawcast.com]&lt;br /&gt;
| status = 17th show as of December 2007; updates alternating Thursdays&lt;br /&gt;
| genre = General Furry&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
'''Clawcast''' is a [[furry]] [[Wikipedia:Podcast|podcast]] produced by '''Flain Falcon''', '''Zim Skunk''', '''Puc''', and formerly by '''Schryari''' (also known as '''Scry''',) who resigned as a regular host in December 2007 (although she still appears on the show occasionally).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Content and features ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The podcast covers a variety of topics including an &amp;quot;honest&amp;quot; look at what furry is for different people, issues facing the [[furry fandom]], furry news, and reviews of furry-related media. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The producers of Clawcast also have had several guests on the show over the course of its run, including furry comedians, [[artist]]s, [[author]]s, and representatives from the fandom's various sub-groups.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Clawcast includes the ability for listeners to call in live or leave messages relating to the show's content or furry events. There is a rapidly growing forum community as well as the #clawcast channel on [[FurNet]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Future appearances and projects ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Clawcast crew plans to attend Furry Weekend Atlanta, and is slated for a special guest appearance and live show at [[FA:_United]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The show is planning a future series of live-streaming events, including live shows at some conventions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.clawcast.com Clawcast] official web site&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.clawcast.com/forum Clawcast] forums&lt;br /&gt;
{{template:radio}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Podcasts]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Forums]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Radio]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>//en.wikifur.com/wiki/Xelaros</id>
		<title>Xelaros</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Xelaros"/>
				<updated>2008-01-11T04:10:16Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Rhainor: Fixed link to Xelaros website.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Xelaros is a group of novels consisting of four series. Each series contains ten books, minus &amp;quot;The Zitsu's,&amp;quot; which contains up to twenty. Each book is nearly 500-pages long. The author and illustrator is [[Inali Kealoha]] of [[Spirit Creations]]. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== History of Xelaros ==&lt;br /&gt;
Xelaros has been in development since early 1999. Inali has spent those years developing the plots, lives, twists, and personalities of the characters and how they interact with each other as the series grows. The readers of these series will be introduced to a new world including new plant life, new wildlife, and a different species of beings, as well as new religions and other worldly matters. Xelorians are not furries, as they are not Earth animals, but an alien race that resemble fox-cat hybrids. Xelaros mimics the same issues we face on our own planet. To make the readers more comfortable and to make the stories more personal, Inali has not created much new technology as the series may be confusing enough with learning a new ecosystem and names of countries and continents. For example, Xelorians own televisions, computers, cars, etc, even though their cars and such are different than ours. The novel series deal with real life issues versus a fantasy plot. The Xelaros series are not smut stories, but there will be sexuality, as well as intense violence in some chapters, especially in &amp;quot;The Rise of the Doragon&amp;quot;. Each story contains many plots and twists, as well as intense character development. Some twists are very hard to find and the reader may or may not notice such twists at all. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== The Zitsu's ==&lt;br /&gt;
The first series is called &amp;quot;The Zitsu's,&amp;quot; and is about a non-traditional, non-conformist family living in the country of Seiji, a large island on the planet Xelaros. The series introduces the first of eleven main characters and deals with the importance of family, friendship, and most importantly, loyalty to yourself. There is no real detailed plot to this series as it deals with the life of one family and follows such family as they go through their lives. The readers watch as the characters evolve and develop themselves and react to the situations they will encounter in their lives. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Kavua ==&lt;br /&gt;
The second series, named &amp;quot;Kavua,&amp;quot; may be one of the most taboo series Inali has created. This series introduces nine new main characters and is about a young Socio-Cultural Anthropologist named Siara, who goes to live on the island of Kavua to study the culture of this mysterious people. She finds more than is expected, such as a new way of life, adventure, danger, love, and most of all, she finds herself. This series deals with planetary issues and has a deep-rooted spirituality in the story. It also deals with the plight between different cultures and ways of life, as well as the internal conflicts we all must endure. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== The Rise of the Doragon ==&lt;br /&gt;
The third series, also taking place in Seiji, is called &amp;quot;The Rise of the Doragon,&amp;quot; and features eight new characters. It deals more on the dark side of life, as the main characters are in a crime syndicate. There are also many taboo situations in this series and may make some readers uncomfortable. This series will deal with self-change, loyalty, dealing with the past, and battling personal inner demons. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Way of the Warrior ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Way of the Warrior,&amp;quot; featuring seven new characters, is set a few hundred years back than the other series. It deals with politics, government, battles of the sexes, and society, as well as The Way of the Warrior and what Inali thinks it really means. The setting is in the country Seiji in the 1700s. Seiji had broken out into a civil war between the North and South territories as the Northern people set to overthrow the Empress, as they believe males should only hold positions of power in the government. This series follows a rogue, liberal warrior and his experiences during this oppressive time in Seijin history, and the family he loves. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
----&lt;br /&gt;
== External Links ==&lt;br /&gt;
[http://www.lildobe.net/users/spiritcreations/index.htm Xelaros Website]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Story series]][[Category:Novels]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Rhainor</name></author>	</entry>

	</feed>