| Sci-Fi Fandom | Furry Fandom |
First, the basics. | |
| You know how there are people who really like sci-fi TV shows/books/movies/whatever? These are "sci-fi fans". | There are people who really like stories/cartoons/art/whatever with animal protagonists, animal/human hybrid characters, and so forth. These are "furry fans". |
| You know how there are sci-fi conventions, where a bunch of fans get together to meet each other, buy stuff, listen to panels and so on? | There are furry conventions where fans go to meet each other, buy stuff, listen to panels, and so on. |
| You know how not everyone who reads sci-fi or watches Trek/B5/Farscape/whatever goes to sci-fi conventions? | Most furry fans don't go to conventions, or do anything else much out of the ordinary. |
Now, some of the specialty groups. In furry fandom, these have specific names, and people get insulted or confused if you mix them up, or if you assume that all furry fans do one of them. Here are the relatively normal groups. | |
| You know how there are sci-fi fans who write their own sci-fi stories? | There are furry fans who write their own animal-themed stories. These are "writers" (same as anywhere else). |
| You know how there are sci-fi fans who draw pictures of space ships or futuristic cities or aliens and so on? | There are furry fans who draw a wide variety of animal-themed pictures. These are "artists" (same as anywhere else). |
| You know how, while there's good fan art and fan writing out there, J. Random Fan is just going to write a really bad fanfic about him boinking 7 of 9, or draw a bad picture of the same? | There is good furry art and writing out there, but 90% of it is either horrible writing or bad porn or both. |
| (I know that good art, good pinups, and good porn are available at sci-fi cons and on fansites. You can put down the pitchforks.) | (I know that good art, good pinups, and good porn are available at furry cons and on fansites. You can put down the pitchforks.) |
And here are the less normal groups. | |
| You know how there are people who not only go to sci-fi cons but who dress up as klingons/vulcans/etc. at them? | There are furry fans who make animal costumes so that they can look like their favourite story/art/cartoon/roleplaying character when attending cons. These are "fursuiters". |
| You know that the people in costume at sci-fi cons are still mostly harmless. They just like to party/want to entertain/want to make peoples' lives more surreal/etc. Strange, but mostly harmless. | The people who dress up in animal costumes at furry cons/events are mostly harmless. They just like to party/want to entertain/want to make peoples' lives more surreal/etc. |
| You know how there are a few people in sci-fi fandom who take their fandom a little too seriously - speaking in Klingon at work, wearing a costume at home, and making it their life's goal to "follow the path of the True Warrior", for example. | There are a few people in furry fandom who take their fandom a little too seriously. They honestly believe that, at heart, they are some kind of animal (real or imaginary), and weren't supposed to be a human. These are "lifestylers". |
| These people are still mostly harmless. Just don't get them started about their favourite topic, and smile and nod when they talk about their Warrior nature. | These people are still mostly harmless. Just don't get them started about their favourite topic, and smile and nod when they talk about the fact that they're not really human. |
| There are sci-fi fans with sci-fi related sexual fetishes. Whether it's boinking in costume or using phasers in non-Starfleet-approved ways, you know it's there. | There are furry fans with furry-related sexual fetishes. This may involve boinking in costume or using stuffed toys in non-Ty-approved ways. |
| They're not hurting anyone or breaking the law, and the less I know about this the better. | They're not hurting anyone or breaking the law, and the less I know about this the better. |
| There are a few people on the fringes of sci-fi fandom who are genuinely insane, criminal, or both. They may stalk celebrities, grope people at cons, threaten people with Klingon blades, or what-have-you, but unfortunately they exist in any sufficiently large population. Whether they count as fans or are just nut-bars depends on your point of view. | There are a few people on the fringes of furry fandom who are genuinely insane, criminal, or both. They may stalk other fans, grope people at cons, perform sexual acts with creatures unable to give legal consent, or what-have-you, but unfortunately they exist in any sufficiently large population. Whether they count as fans or are just nut-bars depends on your point of view. |
Now, who in either fandom makes the best news story? ...Right. | |