Question: What is the FURSUIT LIST?
Answer: The Fursuit list is an email list for the discussion of Furry Costuming.
Question: What is a FURSUIT?
Answer: Besides being the name of this list, the term "FURSUIT" has
come to mean:
An animal costume created or performed primarily as a personal hobby.
Question: What is the focus of the FURSUIT mail list?
Answer: Our primary focus is costuming technology and performance.
FURSUIT is intended as a support forum for AMATEUR costumers, but professional costumers
are also quite welcome.
Just remember, the primary reason we all costume is for FUN!
Answer: Tell me about any costumes you may have made/worn/contributed
to.
Look
here
for details.
The Fursuit FAQ has many resources to help you get started.
Question: What sort of people are on this list?
Answer: Quite a wide selection. We have Pro/Semi-pro/Amateur Mascots,
Pro/Semi-pro/Amateur costume Creators, Performers, and Furries. This includes SF and
Fantasy costumers, children's performers, SFX people, and anyone else who has a desire to
make or wear anthropomorphic costumes. For those of us who are furries, we make costumes
for a variety reasons: As a work of art, as an expression of an inner self or a totem
animal, or for other reasons. All are welcome. (for practical reasons, we must forbid
discussion of sexual use of fursuits if that's your cup of tea -
what you do in private is your own business, but we require that the list can't figure it out
from your postings)
Question: I don't quite qualify, but I REALLY REALLY want to join.
Answer: If you are starting your first costume, I'll let you in if
you have a specific design you can describe in some detail, AND you have obtained some of
your materials.
Question: Why haven't you responded to my email?
Answer: I have a lot of responsibilities.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but I can't help it. I give requests from
existing members higher priority than requests from potential new members, so new requests
are at the bottom of the queue.
Normally, I try to answer most of my email within two weeks. If more time has passed,
maybe it got lost, or maybe I sent you a response and your return address bounced. Best to
try again.
Question: Why do you restrict membership only to people who have worn
or made a costume? - Isn't that rather elitist and unfriendly to beginners?
Answer: We control membership only to minimize "noise" comments from people without relevant experience or people with bad intent. We offer a beginners package for those who are just starting construction. A serious beginner can qualify for membership in less than a day if they wish - we just require all our members to show the ability to DO something in addition to talking.
Question: What is the "personality" of the list?
Answer: Rather chatty, but mostly on topic. Remember that this is
an AMATEUR list so some people are not as SERIOUS as some professionals would prefer. To
get the "feel" of the list, one needs to listen for about a month.
Question: How do I change my email address on the list?
Answer: First, you must have a username and password set up in the fursuiter info page.
Second, you visit the mail list admin page and you can change the
address, as well as the list you subscribe to.
Question: I need to unsubscribe - how do I do it?
Answer: Visit the mail list admin page. Just de-select all the lists you are joined on, and you will get no more email. You will be able to re-subscribe by re-visiting the page.
Question: If my email address bounces occasionally, will you kick me off the list?
Answer: No - I usually wait until an address bounces consistently for about a week before I remove it from the server. Some internet access providers such as aol can intermittently bounce at any time
Question: How often should I post a message to the list? Will you kick me off if I just listen?
Answer: Just post when you have something CONSTRUCTIVE to say. I do not kick people off the list for lurking (listening, but posting nothing). Remember we have over 400 people on this list. If most of us didn't lurk, the list traffic would be out of control. Also, don't feel obligated to reply to every open question.
Question: Can you add my fursuit making friend Pat at "Pat@somewhere.com"?
Answer: No - I require new members to contact me directly. This is to ensure that everyone who joins really WANTS to be here. Tell Pat to visit http://fursuit.org/ for info on how to subscribe. This gives some proof that the email address has no typos and also I need new members to agree to our policies.
Question: Why did it take so long to get me added to the list?
Answer: In administering the list, I give top priority to email address updates and issues impacting our existing members. Adding new members is at a lower priority. I only have a few hours a week to devote to processing email and adding new members sometimes gets handled in a monthly batch.
Question: Why can't I post pictures to the list?
Answer: Because it will overload the email clients of some of our members. (plus, they really mess up the archives). Please give us a link to your picture on your own web site or FTP site instead.
Question: Why do you ask us to send email without any MIME/HTML/BINHEX/UUE extensions?
Answer: Because email with this stuff is a major inconvenience for many of our members. (plus, they look really ugly in the archives). The standard for email is plain text. All email sending programs should have a switch that you can throw that allows you to send JUST PLAIN TEXT. (NOTE: the program called EUDORA is the biggest offender here, because it does not send plain text by default - you need to flip the switch to turn OFF html extensions).
Question: Why are you letting people on the list that don't meet the qualifications?
Answer: I'm not. But frequently people who legitimately qualify have an attack of SELF DEPRECATION when they give their introductions. I tell them not to be shy, but they frequently omit past costume experience they may feel is less than wonderful (even if it did get them qualified).
Question: Is this list server safe from SPAMMERS (senders of unsolicited commercial email)?
Answer: It is as secure as I can make it. Your email address on the fursuit info list is hidden behind a server side script, therefore an automatic spam harvester cannot retrieve it. You may optionally leave out the public viewable email address if you wish.
Question: Can I mention/advertise my fursuit related business on this list?
Answer:
Only with extreme restraint!
We'd much prefer that you only BRIEFLY MENTION your business and maybe
give us an email address or a URL for your web page.
Further mention is only appropriate if it is relevant to answering someone's
questions, providing new information, or requesting help for new challenges
you are facing.
Do NOT:
--post generic add copy
--post repeatedly just for the purpose of getting your name out there.
If your postings look like SPAM and smell like SPAM, you will get a warning.
If the SPAM continues, you will be removed.
If in doubt, don't! - ask the list admin for clarification.
Question: I'm leery about the comments in the policy statement about restricting discussion on erotic or adult costumes. What's going on here?
Answer:
We have a very diverse membership. So far we have all been able to get
along.
This is because we have agreed to keep the list within PG standards.
We have a few members who make or wear costumes designed to be sexy or even erotic.
But as long as we can't tell that from the discussion, things are fine.
We also have underage members and we have members who need to keep their
family reputations squeaky clean.
But our needs for technology and technique are remarkably similar and I see
no need for any additional artificial barrier.
Question: I'm a teacher and I'd like to recommend this list to my students, but the fact that some of your members might use fursuits for sexual purposes (off list) makes me hesitant - what is your advice?
Answer:
I can't answer this one for you. I personally think that a closed list like
this is far safer than any open list or news group, but I suggest you join
personally and see what it is like yourself.
Question: Why don't you make this an adults only list so we can talk about all the naughty bits we want???
Answer:
Several practical reasons:
--All of the stuff we discuss is NOT ADULT.
--We'd easily loose half our membership. My goal is for this list to be
accessible to as many of the people who need it as possible.
--Verifying someone is "adult" is administratively difficult and potentially
makes me liable to lawsuit if I make a mistake.
--Adult lists have a history of having poor content
Question:
I'm a Costume Performer, and all this discussion of Costume Construction
is making me feel like a second class citizen here!
AND
I'm a Costume Creator, and all this discussion of Costume Performance
is making me feel like a second class citizen here!
Answer: RELAX! Both of these fields are essential and intertwined. If you have a post that you think is only of interest to one group or the other, prefix your subject with "CONST:" or "PERF:"
Question: Are there any discussion subjects to be avoided?
Answer:
Yes. The following fursuit issues have been found to be noise inducing and
should be avoided:
--The use of real animal products in costumes
--Religion, sex, and politics.
--Firearms (except for paintball guns)
--Any form of bashing (repeated criticism of an off list entity).
Question: I asked a question and got NO RESPONSE! Everyone else seems to be getting responses, but why not me?
Answer: There are lots of possible reasons for this one:
1. Did you ask a question that's already answered in the FAQ? Be sure
you check the FAQ first.
2. Maybe no one knows the answer to your question?
3. Maybe your question was too vague. Vague questions are hard to answer.
If you ask "How do I make a costume?" that's way too vague.
4. Maybe it just got lost in the shuffle. Did you ask on a super-busy day?
5. Maybe your question was answered recently in list discussion?
6. Maybe everyone thought that someone else was going to answer your question.
Ask again. Briefly mention that you asked earlier.
7. Was your question on a loaded subject that no one wants to touch?
8. Was your question buried deep in a long post? Make sure the question
stands out.
9. Is your question asking for too much?
Question: I'm a fairly knowledgeable costumer and I've offered my expertise to help some people with their problems posted here. I GOT NOTHING IN RESPONSE! NO thankyou, no constructive discussion, NOTHING! What's up?
Answer: Did you send your answer/advice directly to them or to
the list?
1. Unless it is private, send your answer to the list, not just to them, so
we all can benefit. Make sure your response goes to:
fursuit-list@fursuit.org
2. Maybe that person received several private responses and maybe they only
responded to the ones that they could use the best?
3. Some people can be very slow to respond to their email - I've been known
to take weeks or even months. Bear in mind that for many people email rolls
in faster than they can answer it, so most of us resort to a sort of "triage"
approach. Pleasantries (thank you messages) usually come out at a low priority.
Personally, I look for thankyous when I meet the people in person or when
they finish a project and publish a "thanks to" list.
4. Not everybody who asks a question will reply with a thankyou if that's
all they have to say. It may seem rude, but it probably isn't intended to
be rude. Internet culture drives some of us to be very minimal in our
responses (although others blather on endlessly). You only get to know the
true person when you meet them in person.
5. Some question askers may assume that you already posted it to the list as
well and that is what gives one "credibility" in this group, so a thank-you
seems unnecessary.
6. Did your post contain any real information, or just a pointer to you?
If your email just said "I'm an expert on that subject, send me email", then
a post with real content and answers usually will overshadow it.
7. Since it sounds like some of the email you are seeing is irritating you,
let me explain one of the pitfalls of email: Since text does not convey
tone of voice or emotion clearly, it is VERY easy to read a clumsily
composed letter in the WORST possible way. Be generous in interpretation.
8. Before you get upset and label us a group of selfish twits, ask yourself
what YOU want to get out of the list. Information? Egoboo? Credibility?
Visibility? Satisfaction of helping new costumers?
Regarding Information: you are probably ahead of much of this crowd - the
few people who can answer any info gaps you may have tend to lay low.
Regarding Egoboost: Don't look for a lot of this ON the list - rather look
at the list as a means to network with those who admire your work.
Most egoboo happens privately.
Regarding Credibility: I think you already have that with many, but answering
questions on the list does lend one credibility
Regarding Visibility: The list does give one a unique visibility in a
World-wide forum.
Satisfaction of Helping New Costumers? This is what the list is for. But
remember that for every 10 newbies you help, 6 will disappear, 3 will
thank you politely, and one will thank you, succeed wonderfully, and
remember you for life.
This is good enough for me, but it may not be good enough for some.
To send a message to the list owner, send it to
f u r s u i t @ f u r s u i t . o r g