Steampunk Convention...and comments about Furry

[kuddlepup]

Had a blast yesterday at a new Steampunk event in Daytona.  I put together a little outfit with some things that I already had...nothing elaborate, and certainly not anything expensive...created a character that was, for lack of a better idea, a dirigible attendant.  White shirt, black vest with my silver pocketwatch, khaki slacks, and black shoes

Comments

[crocodile]

I get what you're saying and there is truth in it, but I think someone needs to point out that the behaviors mentioned aren't automatically signs that someone is wrong, or immature, or cliquish.

When people first get into the fandom I think most of them, especially those who weren't indoctrinated by someone else, are pleasantly surprised... it's a whole new exciting world. That's how it was for me and I know that initially when I found it it felt like a chance to be the person I'd always wanted to be... even to improve the person I was so I could connect with all these new people and get the most out of it. Because of this, I think I tried too hard to do everything right and as a result I'm sure I came off as a little trying to people who had been around longer and didn't have self esteem issues. You live, you learn.

As the years go on, assuming that you are socially intelligent you develop a set of friends that you really like. Go to any convention and usually you are going to see a lot of groups of people hanging together, in anywhere from 2 to 5 (or more) people. Granted they usually don't hang together for the entire duration of the con, but more or less people will go to a con and have some idea of the people that they most want to hang out with. Some of them may actually go to a con mainly to see friends. I don't see anything wrong with this. Some people who don't have a lot of money and can't take trips all around the US (or world) don't really have a better option, even though cons are usually less than ideal for quality time. I know that for me the friends going to a con are always going to be a bigger draw than the GoH or any theme or event. I'm not saying that's the same for everyone, but it's like that for most of the friends that I know. A bad hotel is a major deterrent, but really it's more about the people, then the location/facilities and usually then the events.

Most people I know who have been furries for a number of years (more than 5, and especially more than 10) tend to fall away from the fandom as the years go by and focus more on a small group of people that they are closer to. I think that this is not only healthy, but natural. I tried for a number of years to "know everyone" and with as large and rapidly as the fandom is growing, I think it's only gotten harder and more futile to try to do that. Different generations and age groups naturally tend to fall in with each other and end up spending time around each other. Those of us who have been going to cons for more than 10 years usually spend more time around the people we've known longer than brand new people, and there are only more and more new people all the time. So "cliques" as people like to call them, are there, have always been there, and always will.

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