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User:WolfeBanshee

2016-11-02T03:47:51Z

WolfeBanshee: Created page with 'connect with me on twitter https://twitter.com/WolfeBanshee or email me wolfe *daught* banshee *aht* hotmail *daught* com'

connect with me on twitter

https://twitter.com/WolfeBanshee

or email me

wolfe
*daught*
banshee
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hotmail
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Talk:Otherkin

2016-11-02T02:31:54Z

WolfeBanshee: /* Somebody is trying to delete us */ new section

{{Featured}}

== Wikipedia discussing merging Otherkin and Therianthropy ==

FYI, some wikipedian(s) are consider merging [[wikipedia:Otherkin]] with [[wikipedia:Therianthropy]]. Discussion is at [[wikipedia:Talk:Therianthropy#Proposal to merge from Otherkin]] and the "Keep them seperate!" thread on the same Talk page. --[[User:EarthFurst|EarthFurst]] 21:27, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

== Community history section ==

It was suggested that some otherkin community history I researched for Wikipedia might be more welcome here than it proved to be there. I've added it to the article; hopefully you'll be able to use it. :) [[User:Vashti|Vashti]] 22:08, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

== Description ==

Is it me, or does this article seem a bit overly general in its descriptions? I'll admit I don't have a lot of experience here, but look at the opening line:
"Otherkin are those who believe that their physical forms do not define or fully encompass their mental states, personality, psychology, or spiritual nature."
Whatever Otherkin is, exactly, I don't think you can safely call that a description of it - not so much because it doesn't accurately describe Otherkin, but because it covers too many bases. I certainly wouldn't say my body "fully encompasses" my psychology or personality, but I'm reasonably sure I'm not a subscriber to Otherkin. Much of the article sounds like it's trying to avoid dwelling on the "weirder" aspects of the culture, but I think the results are just plain misleading. [[User:Caswin|Caswin]] 01:03, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

== Something important ==

I wish to bring up that it is very important for Otherkin to realize that there are people out there who have been Therians longer than the internet has been around. They might not appreciate the idea of having the term originally used to refer to their spirituality turned around to label something completely different.

For example, I know a therian who has been one for 8 years. She only holds to the idea of totemism, and has an animal spirit guide that was given to her by a Native American tribe member. She has nothing to do with Otherkin. She is sometimes misassociated online as being part of the Otherkin Community due to you all forcing an association between Otherkin and Therians. Therefore you all need to be aware of what you are doing and it's impact on other people. Not all therians want to be forced into association with Otherkin and it is not your place to force that association when something has has been around longer than you and your group.

Hence why I edited the Otherkin and therian part because it needs to show the other side. It needs to not be so absolute. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Trpdwarf|Trpdwarf]] ([[User talk:Trpdwarf|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Trpdwarf|contribs]]) 19:06, 25 December 2008 .

== External Links Edit ==

Sorry, I forgot to add an edit description to my last edit: I added a link to [http://dreamhart.org/2012/01/a-revised-otherkin-faq/ A Revised Otherkin FAQ] to the external links section. As the author of that document I am admittedly biased but to my knowledge it is the most complete and up-to-date FAQ on the subject of Otherkin that currently exists, and it links in turn to many of the older ones. [[User:Jarandhel|Jarandhel]] 18:44, 18 March 2012 (EDT)

== External Links ==

There are some dead links in this article, for example:
https://sites.google.com/site/frameacloud/1/intro
and http://www.otherkin.net
We could add https://www.kinmunity.com and remove the two that are dead? [[User:ShiroUlv|ShiroUlv]] ([[User talk:ShiroUlv|talk]]) 00:15, 1 December 2015 (EST)

: Hmm, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150416061503/http://www.otherkin.net/index.html otherkin.net was up in 2015], switching to [https://web.archive.org/web/20150607022131/http://www.otherkin.net/index.html "site is down" webpage starting around June]. Is good enough that instead of removing, switched to archive.org version. --[[User:EarthFurst|EarthFurst]] ([[User talk:EarthFurst|talk]]) 19:22, 6 December 2015 (EST)

== Somebody is trying to delete us ==

Over at wikipedia, somebody is trying to delete our page!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Otherkin_%282nd_nomination%29
They claim we do not exist. Well let's go show them!

Otherkin

2016-11-02T02:30:57Z

WolfeBanshee:

{{Cleanup}}
{{Wikify}}
{{context}}
{{unref}}
[[File:Elven Star Rainbow.jpg|right|thumb|The Elven Star, a symbol of otherkin. [http://www.otherkin.net 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.

First appearing in use on the Internet on April 18, 1990, the word was coined when a member of The Elfinkind Digest, Torin, "got tired of typing elf/dragon/orc/etc.-kin and just used otherkin" as shorthand.<ref name="timeline">[http://orion.kitsunet.net/time.pdf Otherkin Timeline] by Orion Sandstorrm</ref>

==Otherkin beliefs==

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 [[W:fairy|fairy and fay]] folk, [[W:elf|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 (mythology)|demon]]s; as well as "non-living" types such as [[W:golem|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.

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.

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 [[wing]]s, 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.

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.

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.

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.

==History of the community==

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]].<ref name="marxism">[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).</ref>

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 "of elfin descent".<ref name="gandalf">[http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/4730/gandalf.htm Tyrannosaurus Rex] - ''Gandalf's Garden'' (July 1968)</ref> Bolan was also frequently referred to as "the Bopping Elf".<ref name="bolan">[http://www.marc-bolan.com/public/biography2.htm "From Darling Of The Underground To Dandy In The Underworld" - A Brief Bolan Biography], The Official Marc Bolan Fan Club (accessed May 8 2005)</ref>

Another musician of the time who used similar fantasy imagery was Donovan. In the cover notes to his 1966 LP [[Wikipedia:Sunshine Superman|"Sunshine Superman"]], he wrote "starring mr. plod in action with a daughter of the evil land of mordor."<ref name="donovan1">[http://www.sabotage.demon.co.uk/donovan/writings.htm#part_one Sunshine Superman] - Donovan's Non-Poetic Writings (1966)</ref> In the cover notes to his 1967 LP [[Wikipedia:A Gift from a Flower to a Garden|"A Gift from a Flower to a Garden"]], he wrote "We shall fill their days with fairies and elves and pussys and paints, with laughter and song and the gentle influence of Mother Nature."<ref name="donovan2">[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)</ref>

And in the underground publication ''[[Wikipedia:International Times|International Times]]'', better known as IT, John Peel advised readers to "go to the children's playground in Kensington Gardens and stare at the elves on the trees there".<ref name="peel">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/27/db2701.xml Obituary: John Peel] - Daily Telegraph (27 October 2004)</ref>

The 1970s saw a group calling themselves the Elf Queen's Daughters base themselves in the South Bay area of San Francisco, California.<ref>Silver Elves (2001). The Gainesville Letters. In ''The Magical Elven Love Letters, vol. 1'', pp. 9. Silver Elves Publications; no ISBN. See [http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfletters1.html The New Eald of the Silver Elves] for revised publication information.</ref> The Elf Queen's Daughters were also linked with [[Wikipedia:Seattle, Washington|Seattle, Washington]].<ref name="druid">[http://www.student.carleton.edu/orgs/druids/ARDA/ARDA-07.pdf The Druid Miscellany, pp. 2] - A reformed Druid anthology (August 1 1996)</ref> They published a newsletter and focused on "bringing together female elves in celebration of ritual and magic and understanding of Fae", according to the Faeid website.<ref name="faeid">[http://www.faeid.com/elfqueens.html The Elf Queen's Daughters] - Are you a faeid? (accessed May 4 2005)</ref> 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.<ref name="silverelves">Comment by the Silver Elves.</ref> One quote from an anonymous founder of the group indicates similar ecologically-based pagan beliefs to those common in the modern otherkin movement — "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."<ref name="aeona">[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.religion.all-worlds/msg/89f26a9ce27ab423?dmode=source&hl=en Aeona Silversong Interview] - The Electronic Foghorn (June 15 1993)</ref>

According to the Silver Elves, the Elf Queen's Daughters had ''"given up the path to elfin"'' around 1977. However, in 2004 they wrote that they had recently encountered one of them, Loriel Lyndoreyn.<ref name="loveletter">[http://www.renaissancefestival.com/community/discussion/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=875 magic connects us] - magical elven love letters (accessed May 21 2004).</ref> Another former member, Aeona Silversong, became a priestess in the Church of All Worlds in 1993, while continuing to identify as an elf.<ref name="caw">[http://web.archive.org/web/20040407120835/http://www.caw.org/clergy/index.html CAW Clergy] - CAWeb (accessed February 23 2004).</ref><ref name="aeona">[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.religion.all-worlds/msg/89f26a9ce27ab423?dmode=source&hl=en Aeona Silversong Interview] - The Electronic Foghorn (June 15 1993)</ref> 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.<ref name="necromancer">[http://silverelves.angelfire.com/necromancer.html The Way of the Necromancer] - The Elven Tree of Life (March 15 2012).</ref>

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, ''"it had been nearly two years since the Elf Queen's Daughters had forsaken the dharma of the magic letters"''. 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.

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)|"Drawing Down The Moon"]]'' in 1979 and [[Wikipedia:Laurie Cabot|Laurie Cabot]]'s ''"Power of the Witch"'' in 1989.<ref name="adler">Adler, Margot, ''Drawing Down The Moon: Druids, Goddess-worshippers and other pagans in America today'', ISBN 0670283428, Viking Press (1979)</ref><ref name="cabot">Cabot, Laurie, ''Power of the Witch'', ISBN 0385297866, Delacorte Press (1989).</ref>

In 1990, R'ykandar Korra'ti founded the Elfinkind Digest, an e-mail-based mailing list for "elves and interested observers".[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.games.frp/msg/834976939ac48fcc?dmode=source&hl=en] At the time, her signature on Usenet was "Elfinkind Unite!" The next year, in 1991, she posted a subdued announcement to several newsgroups publicizing the Digest for the first time.<ref name="elfinkind1">[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.games.frp/msg/834976939ac48fcc?dmode=source&hl=en Small mail-based digest] - Usenet (September 26 1991).</ref> As of August 2013, more than 2700 digests have been posted, and this otherkin mailing list is generally acknowledged as the first one.[http://www.murkworks.net/~elflist/]

While Korra'ti had expected to find only other elves through her mailing list, she in fact discovered people with ''"a large number of self-identifications."''<ref name="elfinkind2">[http://www.rialian.com/elfinkin.htm Elfinkind Digest] - Elven Realities (December 23 1996).</ref> This was one of the first indications that there were other [[species]] identifications out there besides those of elves. The term otherkin was itself coined in the Elfinkind Digest #16 as a result of this fact. <ref name="timeline">[http://orion.kitsunet.net/time.pdf Otherkin Timeline] by Orion Sandstorrm</ref> There was reportedly some talk of renaming the digest The Otherkind Digest, but this didn't happen. This dichotomy also persists to this day in the name of one of the more popular otherkin mailing lists, elven-realities.

On 6 February 1995, the [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.magick/msg/e5adba21569abd19?dmode=source&hl=en Elven Nation Manifesto] was posted to Usenet.<ref name="manifesto">[http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.magick/msg/e5adba21569abd19?dmode=source&hl=en The Elven Nation Manifesto.....everyone must read this!] - Usenet (February 6 1995).</ref> 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 "Veil to the Otherworld", or the invisible boundary between the real world and the magical world of faerie.

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.<ref name="elvennation">[http://www.rialian.com/elvsnatn.htm Excerpts from the Elven Nation mailing list] - Elven Realities (accessed May 4 2005).</ref> At least one person considered it to have played a part in their awakening.<ref name="polson">[http://web.archive.org/web/19991009032307/www.absinthia.com/otherkin/awakening/willow.html Willow] - Awakenings (October 9 1999).</ref>

The community first hit the headlines in 2001 when the Village Voice published an article on it. Entitled "Elven Like Me", it drew gentle comparisons with the antiglobalisation movement, and suggested that otherkin were antimodernist.<ref name="mamatas">[http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0107,mamatas,22273,8.html Elven Like Me] - Village Voice (14 February 2001)</ref>

==Otherkin in the media==

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.

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.

==Otherkin and therianthropy==

Otherkin bears no small resemblance to [[therianthropy#Modern_subcultural_use_of_the_term | therianthropy]], and some people consider them the same thing and use the terms 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 (species)|bears]], [[cat]]s big and small, or [[otter]]s might be seen as a therianthrope. This is not a hard line, however, and you may find animal otherkin and draconic therians, among others.

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.

== Otherkin and furry ==

[[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.

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.

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.

===Controversy within furry fandom===

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.

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.

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.

==Outside otherkin==

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.

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.

==Otakukin==

'''Otakukin''' (a portmanteau of the terms [[Wikipedia:Otaku|Otaku]] and Otherkin) is a term used to refer to those who, like otherkin, believe that their physical forms do not define or fully encompass their mental states, personality, psychology, or spiritual nature, but, unlike most otherkin, view such attributes within an [[anime]]-, [[video game]]- or [[manga]]-centric context. It is often interpreted within anime fandom circles as a term for describing those who have human bodies and the souls of anime or manga characters, and is often severely derided as being to the extreme of "otakudom" (a term for the general Western anime fandom).

The term otakukin was coined by Kinjou Ten, a member of the otherkin community, on his website Temple of the Ota-kin.<ref name="otakin">[http://otakukin.otherkin.net/ Temple of the Ota-kin] by Kinjou Ten</ref> The terms mediakin<ref name="mediakin">[http://www.otherkin.net/articles//mediakin.html Some thoughts on Mediakin] by Lupa</ref> and fictionkin<ref name="fictionkin">[http://soulbonding.wordpress.com/fictionkin/ Fictionkin]</ref> also refer to otherkin whose identities reference fictional sources, and are used somewhat more commonly today as a generic term with no connection to japanese media.

== See also ==

* [[:Category:Otherkin|Otherkin]] on WikiFur
* [[W:Otherkin|Otherkin]] on [[Wikipedia]]
* [[Theri There]], a webcomic about otherkin

== References ==

<references/>

== External links ==

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Otherkin_%282nd_nomination%29 Assault on our identities]

* [http://otherkin.wikia.com Otherkin Wiki]
* [http://anotherwiki.org AnOtherWiki]
* [http://otherkin.net Otherkin.net]
*[http://orion.kitsunet.net/dir.pdf Directory of Otherkin Writings]
*[http://dreamhart.org/2012/01/a-revised-otherkin-faq/ A Revised Otherkin FAQ]
*[http://www.thegreenwolf.com/afgto.html A Field Guide to Otherkin] at [http://www.immanion-press.com Immanion Press]
*''[https://sites.google.com/site/frameacloud/1/intro A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes]'' by [[Orion Scribner]]
*[https://otherkinsanctuary.wordpress.com Otherkin Sanctuary]
{{lj-search-interest|otherkin}}
{{fa-search-tag|otherkin}}

[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Terms]]
[[Category:Spirituality]]

{{featured article}}

[[eo:Alispecano]]
[[hu:Otherkin]]
[[ru:Иность]]

Talk:WikiFur Furry Central

2016-11-02T02:28:56Z

WolfeBanshee: /* Come out loud and proud */ new section

I have protected [[WikiFur Central]], as it is clear that otherwise it's going to continue to get vandalised. You can still edit each section on this page, and I encourage you to do so (assuming you don't intend to vandalise it! :-). However, you must learn how to use templates, first. This will require reading through the [[Help:Contents|help]] and the guide linked from there. Consider this a small competence test before you can edit the first thing people see when they surf here! If you still can't figure it out and want something changed, let me know on user talk or externally, and I can see what I can do.

If you have an idea for a better layout of this page (one which ''cannot'' be easily changed through the templates), please construct it somewhere first, and then let myself or another [[Project:Administrators|administrator]] know. I'm sorry for the lack of flexibility here, but sometimes protection is a necessary evil.

Happy editing! --{{UT|GreenReaper}} 09:23, 14 Aug 2005 (UTC)

== Moving to WikiFur Furry Central ==

I've moved the main page because it turns out that not actually having "Furry" in the name of the main page is a signifcant downer in terms of search optimization strategies. Hopefully this should bring us a little more traffic. :-) --{{UT|GreenReaper}} 01:15, 19 Sep 2005 (UTC)

== Gotcha! ==

I logged on this morning and thought I was going to have to hunt down and revert a bunch of edits, before I remembered what day it was. Good one! --[[User:Mwalimu|mwalimu]] 18:26, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

== Help us improve ==
I vote that the "Help us improve" bar be moved to the top of the right column; otherwise, I think it's not as easily seen when sandwiched between two larger articles. [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 22:20, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

:You're right - it's not as easily seen that way. However, I tried that to start with, and I thought that it spoiled the look somewhat when it is was put there, because the Did you know? section gets shifted down one (the uneven headers look bad).

:It does give me an idea, though. Originally, we had a "wanted pages" section below the new bar, and above. It got removed because stuff was staying on there too long and it was a pain to update. Still, it was in a good place for attention.

:How about we put all of the furpile articles into an expanded "To be improved" category (maybe just by asking people to write a very short stub of them and putting it in stubs), and then use the [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/DynamicPageList DynamicPageList extension] (already installed) and a [http://alistapart.com/articles/taminglists/ modified list style] to display it in a similar way to the other lists? That way there's more chance that people will have something that they can improve on a given day, and articles get more than one chance at improvement. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:38, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

:We might even be able to swing [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/DynamicPageList2 DynamicPageList2], which would remove the need for many of the hacks, allow us to include more categories and allow a better ordering for this particular use. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:43, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

::I considered suggesting that the wanted bar be replaced, heh. And with my OCD tendencies, I'd certainly offer to take updating the wanted bar as one of my "jobs". [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 22:49, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

:::Ideally, this would be something that was self-maintaining (like the newbar ''should'' be). If that doesn't work out then yes, someone updating it would work as well. I want to try and let people spend as much time on writing articles as possible, if possible. '''*grin*''' --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:52, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

== New layout? ==
I'm not a terribly big fan of the new layout...but I'm going to assume it's still under construction, seeing as how there are 3 columns on the left and only 1 on the right -- which I have now fixed. [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 20:42, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

:I would rather have three on the left and both upcoming events and something else that works well in a small width on the right.

:Anything specifically that you don't like about it? --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:59, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

::The 3-1 column right now makes the page lopsided and too long, in my opinion (unless future featured articles/DYK? are going to have less content). I also don't like the shortened bars - with long titles like "Help us improve" and "New categories", you can really only see 2-4 items at the most. But if that's the only way to prevent problems on other browsers, I can deal. ;)
:: Also, should the "Admins - Help" part at the top be centered on the second line, or else the text made smaller so it all fits on one line? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 23:02, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
:::I put a link to Community Central in the main header, and since the new/newcat bars are featured in full there, perhaps they should be removed from the front page? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 00:46, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Looks good, GR. [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 08:04, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

:Thanks. I would still like to get the new pages on there somehow. Do users click them, though? I would have thought so, but I don't know for sure . . . --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 08:24, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

::Personally, I think it mostly served the purpose of showing "Hey, WikiFur's updating new articles all the time" rather than inducing people to click on them (unless they saw something they related to). Plus, most new pages are tagged as stubs, so they'll get picked up on the Furpile bar as well. I think it looks fine without the newbars on the main page. [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 09:21, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

== Article of the ____ ==
Perhaps we should just have "Featured article" and "Featured comic", rather than specifying a time period? [[User:SpazKitty|Spaz Kitty]] 05:04, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
:Agreed, so long as we don't update them regularly. -- [[User:DeVandalizer|DeVandalizer]] 05:05, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
::I think this just means that we (me? :-) shouldn't be so lazy in featuring stuff! The trouble is I get occupied with other tasks and never seem to get an uninterrupted block of time to choose and write up something. :-/ --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 05:12, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

== Protected talk page ==

Is there a reason this talk page is locked to "users with sysop privileges" only? -- [[User:Sine|Sine]] 21:28, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

:I suspect it was to deal with a past spam or vandal problem. I've lowered it to "registered user" level. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 21:32, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

== Caching ==

Is anyone else finding the recent (July 31) vandalism on the front page coming up instead of the latest (reverted) version? I suspect I'm hitting a caching mechanism somewhere between here and Wikia, Inc. but I wanted to see if anyone else was experiencing this problem. [[User:Simba B|Simba B]] 21:45, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

:If in doubt, go to [http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/WikiFur_Furry_Central?action=purge this URL] to clear the cache. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:41, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

== Alphabetically by *first* name rather than last? ==

People should only be listed according to their first name if they have no given surname. Basic encylopedia rules. And yet I see Fox McCloud under F, Bucky O'Hare under B, and so on and so forth. Any particular reason for this? - [[User:Kooshmeister|Kooshmeister]]

:That's their rules. That's not our rules. :-)

:Many people in the fandom are known under one name, or worse, might have a two-word name but only be commonly known under the firest, so people looking for the first name might not see them. There are few cases where people are better known by their second names - in the cases you gave, people know both their first and second names - so why order by them? --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 02:09, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

::Um, so, in other words, you're doing it for the benefit of people who don't know how to properly navigate an encyclopedia? - [[User:Kooshmeister|Kooshmeister]]

:::Eh, my apologies if that sounded harsh. This is just a serious pet peeve of mine. - [[User:Kooshmeister|Kooshmeister]]

:::We're doing it for the benefit of users generally. As I see it, the main reason for sorting people by their last names in regular encyclopedias is that people are generally better-known by their last name, or their last name is important because grouping people by family is important (really two sides of the same coin - in both cases, the objective is easier searching or browsing by last name).

:::The furry fandom is a community where people tend to be better known to one another by their first names than their last (e.g. [[Deyna T. Otter]], [[Flinthoof Ponypal]], [[Kaijima A. Frostfang]] - and we also have a '''large''' proportion of people with just one name, or with an InterCapped name like my own). Our articles about people tend to be about these people (as opposed to "external" people, like [[memoryalpha:Talk:People|Star Trek]]). A sign of this is that we tend to refer to people by their first names throughout articles, even if they are "real" people (e.g. [[Mark Merlino]], [[Rod O'Riley]]). The number of people with the same last name is very small, and those that are related to one another will usually link to each other (and since wiki is not paper, you don't have to turn lots of pages to get there). Therefore, it seems better to consistently sort by their well-known first name rather than by a last name which they may or may not have, and which people may or may not know.

:::All other categories are sorted in this manner, so that means we have a self-consistent categorization system. It also happens to make the lives of editors easier, as they don't have to add reordering tags to 1500+ pages about people (and you know people would forget, or not know how to do it, resulting in pages that are ordered incorrectly).

:::The main place in which it seems sensible to reorder is when part of their "name" is an honorific, like [[Uncle Kage]] - people would probably expect to find him sorted under Kage rather than Uncle, especially since his "real" nickname is Kagemushi Goro. There are cases (usually with nicknames) in which this might not be the case, like [[Doctor Fennopolis]] or [[Lord Foxhole]]. Again, the ultimate criteria to make it easier to find people, which is the same reason we have the article name be the most common name (especially if people forget to add redirects from alternate names, as often happens).

:::Regarding your specific point: A '''lot''' of people don't know how to "properly" navigate an encyclopedia. Why should we make their lives harder for the sake of a convention that doesn't apply to our group? Being able to tweak the rules to suit our community is one of the benefits of having a separate wiki in the first place, after all. :-) --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 09:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

== Site display problems ==
It would appear that the new featured wikis strip on the right side of the page is messing up the layout. It's making the navigation strip appear a lot lower than the WikiFur logo, leaving about 400 pixels of space between them. This doesn't happen on all entries, just in some.

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/4934/wikifurb0rkenaf4.png (No ads, all blocked due to Adblock)

At first, I thought it was due to Adblock, but it seems to happen when it's deactivated as well.

http://img445.imageshack.us/img445/6786/wikifurb0rken2gd9.png (Adblock disabled)

Any clue if that can be fixed?--[[User:Kitsune Sniper|Kitsune Sniper]] 22:06, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

:We're discussing the problem on the #wikia IRC channel right now. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

== Featured article length ==

I think the featured article and comic as displayed on [[WikiFur Furry Central]] should be shorter. On the displays I use (reasonaly large, with a browser window taking up a good portion of the screen) the featured comic is "below the fold" and easy to miss without scrolling. -- [[User:Sine|Sine]] 21:57, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

:Just raise your resolution. It's never been too far down for me. --[[User:Akir|Akir]] 23:26, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

::Some users are, alas, unable to do that. The situation is improving, but 800x600 users still make up 6.4% of our user base, and 47.4% use 1024x786. We need to consider how the site will look to them. The most obvious improvement would be to remove the "WikiFur Furry Central" at the top, or shift the content up to cover it, as [[Wikipedia:Main Page|Wikipedia does]]. I will investigate that possibility. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 23:43, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

:::Have tested, now waiting on a Wikia CSS fix so that the thing I want to do will work on IE7. :-) --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 03:58, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

::::End result - 3 more lines of content gained removing the header on the front page, so it moves up automatically. This will be possible to do with CSS in MediaWiki 1.9 - for now, it will only work for people with Javascript enabled. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 05:51, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

== It's all broken! ==

The featured article, featured comic and featured image sections are all not appearing correctly. --[[User:Robomilk|Tori Belliachi]] 00:03, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

== 21st Century Fox was already featured. ==

Other than that, I before saw the page featuring FA's article. So, any idea what's going on with the main page? --[[User:Shadow Fox|Shadow Fox]]

:It was set back to this time last year because there were no conclusive decisions on front page content. If you are interested in what happens on the main page, I suggest contributing to [[WikiFur:Featured article candidates]], [[WikiFur:Comic of the Week]] and [[WikiFur:Featured picture candidates]]. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 17:58, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

== Laaaaag ==

Is it just me, or has all of WikiFur been unreasonably slow lately? I've noticed very slow load times for a few days now. [[User:Immelmann|Immelmann]] 18:27, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

:There ''have'' been recent performance problems, some due to the [[Special:Version|move to Version 1.12alpha]], and some not. Wikia is working on improving this situation, but I'm afraid that due to the holidays it will probably not be completely solved until January. Should give you plenty of time to write some original content, though. ;-) --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 18:34, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

== Megaplex variety show ==

Megaplex has had a variety show since at least 2004 (MP3). The featured article seems to suggest otherwise. The whole ending part of the featured article text seems to have been added on (it is not from the original article) and I question its accuracy. [[User:Wag|Wag!]] 13:39, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

== "Upcoming events" and nationalities ==

Approaching this issue with due apprehension, since it frequently causes huge arguments on Wikipedia... how come, in the "Upcoming events" section, RBW and ConFuzzled are given British flags, but ScotiaCon is given a Scottish one? For consistency's sake, either they should all be given UK flags (which would be my preference) or RBW and ConFuzzled should have English flags. Given that the UK includes Scotland, it's inconsistent to have it as it is at the moment. [[User:Loganberry|Loganberry]] ([[User talk:Loganberry|Talk]]) 20:10, 19 October 2009 (UTC)
:Hey, that's what you get with devolution! ;-)
:My reasoning was that Scotiacon is designed only to attract furs from Scotland, while RBW and ConFuzzled are intended to draw people from the whole of the UK (it wouldn't be RBW with just white and red . . .). However, if you feel the Scottish flag is inappropriate, feel free to change it. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 20:22, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

== I have to refresh every page... ==

Why is it that I have to refresh every page or else it looks like it did the last time I visited it? Sometimes it says I'm not logged in when I really am. Is there a fix for this?... Mrperson777 11:17, 20 July 2010 (UTC)
:Not at the moment, no. Wikifur has had a caching issue for a while that's being worked on, but no fix has been implemented as of yet. [[User:Silver seren|Silver]][[User talk:Silver seren|seren]][[Special:Contributions/Silver seren|C]] 17:14, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

== Well that ain't right... ==
Dunno if this is a browser issue or not, but the front page seems to be lacking in pictures. (They're showing up as broken links) [[User:Dreaming|Dreaming]] 23:57, 1 January 2012 (EST)

== Time for a new set of featured stuff? ==

The featured article and featured comic haven't changed for at least as long as I've had an account here, and I've had an account here for a while. Time for a change, maybe? [[User:Fluffy|fluffy]] 00:52, 27 August 2012 (EDT)
:Feel free to change them! --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 14:24, 8 August 2014 (EDT)

== Template changed, main page didn't? ==

I edited the Upcoming Events template and the update shows on the template page, but not on the main page. I feel like I had this problem with MediaWiki once before and the resolution was that the main page must be edited to re-pull the template pages. Or does it do that automatically on some kind of schedule? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Timoran|Timoran]] ([[User talk:Timoran|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Timoran|contribs]]) .
:This can happen if the page is cached. Add ?action=purge to the URL and load the resulting page. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 14:23, 8 August 2014 (EDT)

== UK Furry Convention Flags ==

Relating to what was said about Scotiacon having a Scottish flag while the other UK furry conventions have a UK flag, speaking as a Scottish fur myself I feel that for consistency's sake all the UK fur cons should have the same flag as each other. I think it is inappropriate for Scotiacon to have the Scottish flag instead of the UK flag when many of the convention's attendees come from other parts of the UK as well. Would it be possible to change the flag next to Scotiacon to a UK flag like it is with ConFuzzled and Just Fur The Weekend? - FreyFox.

:Sure, I've made this change, per this and the [[#Upcoming events" and nationalities|prior discussion]]. We can keep that flag around in case it's needed later. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 18:04, 24 October 2016 (EDT)

== Come out loud and proud ==

Some tool over at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Otherkin_%282nd_nomination%29 wikipedia doubts our existence]. Let's show them we're noteworthy and our identities are valid!
[[User:WolfeBanshee|WolfeBanshee]] ([[User talk:WolfeBanshee|talk]]) 22:28, 1 November 2016 (EDT)