I'm here! I can post!
jeolo...@miavx3.mid.muohio.edu
I did it! I learned how to post! I can't tell you what it has been like, being
able to see all these great conversations taking place and not being able to
participate. Now I can! I should introduce myself... I go by the handle "Don
Karnage" (my ideal furry self) and am from Middletown, Ohio. I'm 21 years old,
and have been a furry for as long as I can remember. But I had no idea that
there were others like me until about 2 years ago. Maybe I would of been a
bit better off not knowing there were others, because I'm a bit sadder and a
bit wiser for it all. But I'm here! I can post and be heard. I'm very tired
now and am going to bed.
Scott Alan Malcomson
bunch of po' folx anywhere else in comics fandom! -:)
---LCD (aka Scott Malcomson, akka Roy on FurryMuck)
Ronald Deaver
Welcome! Glad to see another furry from Ohio! Not too many of us around
these parts (that I know of).
Taliesin
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Gary Breuckman
>In article <1993Nov18....@miavx3.mid.muohio.edu>,
> <jeolo...@miavx3.mid.muohio.edu> wrote:
>>
>>I did it! I learned how to post! I can't tell you what it has been like, being
>>able to see all these great conversations taking place and not being able to
>>participate. Now I can! I should introduce myself... I go by the handle "Don
>>Karnage" (my ideal furry self) and am from Middletown, Ohio. I'm 21 years old,
>>and have been a furry for as long as I can remember. But I had no idea that
>>there were others like me until about 2 years ago. Maybe I would of been a
>>bit better off not knowing there were others, because I'm a bit sadder and a
>>bit wiser for it all. But I'm here! I can post and be heard. I'm very tired
>>now and am going to bed.
>
>Welcome! Glad to see another furry from Ohio! Not too many of us around
>these parts (that I know of).
>
>Taliesin
puma's in Wisconsin, there are quite a few here - between Milwaukee,
Madison, northern Illinois, and *FurryMUCK* is here too!
We need a midwest furrycon!
--
---
pu...@netcom.com
Steve Arlow
>In article <1993Nov23....@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> rrde...@nyx.cs.du.edu (Ronald Deaver) writes:
>>In article <1993Nov18....@miavx3.mid.muohio.edu>,
>> <jeolo...@miavx3.mid.muohio.edu> wrote:
>>Welcome! Glad to see another furry from Ohio! Not too many of us around
>>these parts (that I know of).
>
>Madison, northern Illinois, and *FurryMUCK* is here too!
>
>We need a midwest furrycon!
I second the motion! JT the LFM was talking about putting one together
in the Chicago area awhile back... You listening, JT?
--
"Funny animals such as yourselves were Steve Arlow, Yorick Software Inc.
meant to be CUTE and ENTERTAINING, not 39336 Polo Club Dr. #103
larcenous." -- The Mighty Magnor Farmington Hills, MI 48335-5634
(Aragones/Evanier) s...@ais.org
Steve Plunkett
comes to Chicago.
Ronald Deaver
one can be organized. My hat is in the ring to do what I can to help...
Taliesin
--
* Taliesin, the Magical, Scottish Shapeshifting Unicorn-morph Bard *
* Changewinds, the Furry Homebrewer's BBS! Amelia, OH (513) 752-8431 *
* Furry Stories, GIFs, Storyboard Conferences & Homebrewing Help *
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Michael Hackett
>Third call here! A mid-west ConFURence/furry con is long past due. Hope
>one can be organized. My hat is in the ring to do what I can to help...
>
>Taliesin
Well, here's my vote too! Y'all out on the coast get to have all
the fun... (Then again, y'all have a higher FurryDensity ratio than we
do...)
I know I've brought this up before, and my biggest opponent was
the fact that no one jumped up to say they'd do the work to arrange it herre
in the MidWest. Well, I'm willing to help, but I certainly can't arrange
a whole con on my own. Are there other MidWestern Furries that would
like to get a con in the MidWest, and if so, would you help to arrange it?
"Be well..."
Michael, the Lionman.
lio...@tyrell.net
& Lionman on FurryMUCK!
Jazmyn Concolor
>one can be organized. My hat is in the ring to do what I can to help...
>
>Taliesin
>--
Who would run it? We (The CF staff/comittee) live in California and it would
be too expensive to move the con out of state. Just transporting the art show
panels would cost a fortune.
Why would someone put out the money for a mid-west furry-con? CF is lucky to
break even and LOST a lot of money the first 3 years. Who would take the gamble and have no idea if they could even make enough to cover expenses? There was
talk of a CF East in Florida, but when the people who talked about doing it
found out how much the function space was and couldn't garrentee room nights for
the hotel, it fell through. A con isn't just something you put together over-
night with no planning or thought..
First..You need a dealers room. This includes tables, chairs, access to
electrical outlets when requested, etc. Having dealers to fill it is nice
too and many might be wary of putting out the time and money to come if they
have never heard of you before
Second..You need an art show. Face it. The art show is the biggest
attraction at CF and attracts many artists and buyers/collectors from all over
the world. People might not always be sure of finding furry art at SF or
gaming cons, but the KNOW there will be tons of it at CF.
Third..You need a popular/famous/realy talented artist/writer/actor/etc who is
known for doing furry books/movies/art/etc for your GUEST OF HONOR. Some GOH
posibilities for cons have to be asked up to two years before the con and some
will only do cons if paid. They must be transported to the con and given rooms,
food and such. Most cons do not pay bar tabs though. Two GOHs are a good idea
in case one can't make it and cancels. Having back-ups is good to. It is
posible to have a con without any famous GOHs, but it tends to hurt membership
a bit..
Forth..fifth..sixth..etc....Other things exspected are...
Gaming rooms
Video (anmae or furry cartoons/movies) Requires staff to run it and stand
gaurd over the equipment..
Filking
Special Interest Groups
Panels or round table type discussions.
Ice cream social and/or some sort of luncheon/dinner thing (like the pizza
feed) This requires catering in most cases since hotels often don't allow
people to bring in outside food for functions. Also the con staff is often
too busy to worry about preparing food..
You also need STAFF! Volunteers! People with enough of a clue to keep things
running smoothly.
You need publicity. Flyers, a mailing list, ads in places like Fandom
Directory helps. Some comics will runs ads.
You need time..Lots of time. To answer letters, build art show panels, talk
to hotels (and remind them you are still there from time to time so they don't
forget you), measure rooms, figure out what function will be in what room and
how much space is required for it, send out updates/art show info/etc. to
members or even non-members that you hope will come/send art. Time to gather
art/articles/stories/etc for your con book/programs/video sceduals/flyers/etc.
Time to go to other conventions and promote your con. This part isn't much fun
for us since we are stuck sitting behind a table promoting during the day
(missing the con programing) and stuck in the room at night (running furry
parties). Yup..Takes LOTS of time. Its sorta like having a second job that
you don't get paid for.
Last, but not least..You need MONEY! Exspect to lose money the first
3-4 years..This is normal. CF charges less for memberships then most cons, but
we have sponsors who donate money to help make the con better and help cut the
cost of attending. The money goes for a lot of things, from printing costs for
flyers/con books/programs/etc to hotel fees/catering/equipment (like for the
video room or caberet lighting) to postage (You wouldn't believe how much
postage costs run each year!) to whatever.. A convention can't be run on a
shoestring budget it seems. Though we try to cut costs where we can without
giving up the quality. Its not easy. Most cons never break even and are a
labor of love. A few cons make money, but not much. Getting backers/sponsors
is hard for a new con and getting the hotels to take you seriously is even
harder yet.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't try to start a mid-west furry con, I'm
just warning people what is involved and stating that while CF could give
advice for people running a mid-west furry con, we won't be the ones to run it
ourselves. We are too far away, lack the time and can't afford to help
pay for it. CF is not our 'job', but a rather exspensive hobby. We have
real jobs and CF work gets done before or after our real jobs. CF is a non-
profit organization and thus isn't what we do for a living. I process the mail
and am the art show director. It takes me between 2-6 hours a day to process/
answer mail. During the con, I don't get to see much..other then the art show.
I just am too busy.
Due to how busy I am at CF, I would rather like being able to ATTEND the con
for once and not have to work. :(
I've watched the Highlite tape and said, "Looks like a great con! Wish I had
been there!" :)
Goat
> lots of excellent and absolutely true stuff about running a con deleted for
>space.....
This is all absolutely true, but every year, hundreds of cons brave the
odds and put on a show, and many of them are back the year after, and every
year following. This sounds evil, but perhaps the thing to do is to approach
an EXISTING con and push them to expand their furry programming (and promise
not to frighten the Klingons. :) Philcon looks like a good choice for this,
and it kind of looks like it's already happening (though I wish it were about
10 hours drive closer to ME. *sigh*)
If a convention can make MONEY off of the furry crowd, they will make
ROOM for them. If the furry crowd is just large and obnoxious and just expands
to shove out the paying members then they will start banning furry activities.
If a con has any furry activities, it would not hurt to write the con chair and
thank them for including furry stuff. For every one letter they get, they'll
assume that there are 10 other people who did NOT write who feel the same way.
Remember, filking was not part of programming for just about ANY cons
ten years ago. Ditto with gaming. They made their place at cons with
determination and stubborness, and now it's unthinkable to have a con without
them (as evidenced by Jazmyn's list of "essentials" which had gaming at the
top). So instead of trying to re-invent the wheel and create a new con from
scratch, how about simply spreading the word in the furry community, through
whatever channels, that thus-and-such convention will be a meeting place for
furries?
My 2 quatloons worth....
<<< GOAT >>>
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Steve Arlow
> Remember, filking was not part of programming for just about ANY cons
>ten years ago. Ditto with gaming. They made their place at cons with
>determination and stubborness, and now it's unthinkable to have a con without
Okay, so what can we use as the furry equivalent of a dandelion?
(A dandy lion? You draw it, and I'll print up the stickers...)
Michael Hackett
>
> Who would run it? We (The CF staff/comittee) live in California and it would
>be too expensive to move the con out of state. Just transporting the art show
>panels would cost a fortune.
> Why would someone put out the money for a mid-west furry-con? CF is lucky to
>break even and LOST a lot of money the first 3 years. Who would take the gamble and have no idea if they could even make enough to cover expenses? There was
>talk of a CF East in Florida, but when the people who talked about doing it
>found out how much the function space was and couldn't garrentee room nights for
>the hotel, it fell through. A con isn't just something you put together over-
>night with no planning or thought..
Jazmyn, we aren't without con experience out here. We do have several
cons locally, and some that draw some known names. We have a local con in
Kansas City for comics and such that's drawn several names, most of which have
gone on to become regulars at cons all over the US. We've got Antartic Press
down in TX, and their people strung from north to south..I'm sure they'd like
the chance to be a GOH at a con. (Yes, I do have some future questions to
ask the AP folks for local cons..;)
> First..You need a dealers room. This includes tables, chairs, access to
>electrical outlets when requested, etc. Having dealers to fill it is nice
>too and many might be wary of putting out the time and money to come if they
>have never heard of you before
>
> Second..You need an art show. Face it. The art show is the biggest
>attraction at CF and attracts many artists and buyers/collectors from all over
>the world. People might not always be sure of finding furry art at SF or
>gaming cons, but the KNOW there will be tons of it at CF.
Kansas City is rated as the #1 location for convetions in the US.
(Not my words, the high muck-mucks that decide where the best place to have
cons are.) The above mentioned items are important, and require you to
select a hotel or convetion center designed for that. Most hotels that could
house attendees, will have these facilites. (Or rather we do here in KC.)
> Third..You need a popular/famous/realy talented artist/writer/actor/etc who is
>known for doing furry books/movies/art/etc for your GUEST OF HONOR. Some GOH
>posibilities for cons have to be asked up to two years before the con and some
>will only do cons if paid. They must be transported to the con and given rooms,
>food and such. Most cons do not pay bar tabs though. Two GOHs are a good idea
>in case one can't make it and cancels. Having back-ups is good to. It is
>posible to have a con without any famous GOHs, but it tends to hurt membership
>a bit..
Absolutely! You gotta have a name or two to draw folks, particularly
in the MidWest. And this, I believe, is what would hurt us most. Jazmyn is
quite right. We could get some names, but we'd have to get enough to draw a
reasonable crowd. This, IMHO, would be the most difficult part. I know for
a fact there are a number of West Coast artists and such who wouldn't attend
a con in the MidWest, because it was too far, or too much of a strech on their
budget for the year to attend both CF and a MWCF.
> Forth..fifth..sixth..etc....Other things exspected are...
>
> Gaming rooms
> Video (anmae or furry cartoons/movies) Requires staff to run it and stand
>gaurd over the equipment..
> Filking
> Special Interest Groups
> Panels or round table type discussions.
> Ice cream social and/or some sort of luncheon/dinner thing (like the pizza
>feed) This requires catering in most cases since hotels often don't allow
>people to bring in outside food for functions. Also the con staff is often
>too busy to worry about preparing food..
She's been kind in listing only a very few, select things on her list
here. There's a heckovalot more than she's mentioned.
> You also need STAFF! Volunteers! People with enough of a clue to keep things
>running smoothly.
Well, I know of exactly 4 furries in MO...and several others who
would attend but don't consider themselves furry. That's not enough to make
up a staff. This would be a catch too...the MidWest isn't known for Furry
Population Density. :-<
> You need publicity. Flyers, a mailing list, ads in places like Fandom
>Directory helps. Some comics will runs ads.
Yep, yep...uh-huh, lots o' this stuff! And you have to be careful
what age group you target for all this. Who do you want to come to the
con and where do you want them to come from?
> You need time..Lots of time. To answer letters, build art show panels, talk
>to hotels (and remind them you are still there from time to time so they don't
>forget you), measure rooms, figure out what function will be in what room and
>how much space is required for it, send out updates/art show info/etc. to
>members or even non-members that you hope will come/send art. Time to gather
>art/articles/stories/etc for your con book/programs/video sceduals/flyers/etc.
>Time to go to other conventions and promote your con. This part isn't much fun
>for us since we are stuck sitting behind a table promoting during the day
>(missing the con programing) and stuck in the room at night (running furry
>parties). Yup..Takes LOTS of time. Its sorta like having a second job that
>you don't get paid for.
I don't need to say much more on this subject, Jazmyn's about covered
it all. It's *GOT* to be a team effort, for at least a year to get ready
to do it. Otherwise, it won't happen because there isn't enough manpower.
> Last, but not least..You need MONEY! Exspect to lose money the first
>3-4 years..This is normal. CF charges less for memberships then most cons, but
>we have sponsors who donate money to help make the con better and help cut the
>cost of attending. The money goes for a lot of things, from printing costs for
>flyers/con books/programs/etc to hotel fees/catering/equipment (like for the
>video room or caberet lighting) to postage (You wouldn't believe how much
>postage costs run each year!) to whatever.. A convention can't be run on a
>shoestring budget it seems. Though we try to cut costs where we can without
>giving up the quality. Its not easy. Most cons never break even and are a
>labor of love. A few cons make money, but not much. Getting backers/sponsors
>is hard for a new con and getting the hotels to take you seriously is even
>harder yet.
Yep. Trying to start a new MWCF (MidWestern ConFurence) would likely
cause problems for us, in lack of funding, and detract from the WCCF, by t
trying to take their sponsors away from them. No one wins in that scenerio.
:-/ To make a con happen, you've got to have the interest and the people
who'll dedicate themselves to the task at hand..
> I'm not saying that people shouldn't try to start a mid-west furry con, I'm
>just warning people what is involved and stating that while CF could give
>advice for people running a mid-west furry con, we won't be the ones to run it
>ourselves. We are too far away, lack the time and can't afford to help
>pay for it. CF is not our 'job', but a rather exspensive hobby. We have
>real jobs and CF work gets done before or after our real jobs. CF is a non-
>profit organization and thus isn't what we do for a living. I process the mail
>and am the art show director. It takes me between 2-6 hours a day to process/
>answer mail. During the con, I don't get to see much..other then the art show.
>I just am too busy.
Oh yeah...you're gonna give up most of your free time for a year to
put on a MWCF. I'd love to see it done, and I'd be glad to throw my hat in
the ring and help, but I certainly, as Jazmyn has pointed out, CANNOT do it
by myself. Now, the question is: Do we have enough people interested in
putting on a MWCF?
> Due to how busy I am at CF, I would rather like being able to ATTEND the con
>for once and not have to work. :(
> I've watched the Highlite tape and said, "Looks like a great con! Wish I had
>been there!" :)
Hmmm...maybe in a year to two there will be a MWCF, and you can come
attend and not have to do anything, Jazmyn! It's a nice dream, at least, huh?
"Be well..."
Michael, the Lionman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ There are no maps to where we are. It is a forgotten place. ~~
~~ But it is warm and it is safe, and we have all the room we ~~
~~ need. . .so we live here. . .and do the best we can. . .and ~~
~~ try to take care of each other. ~~
~~ -Vincent ~~
~~~~~~~~~~| lio...@tyrell.net |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Hackett
Hey, Goat had an EXCELLENT idea. And I also have to agree with
his "10 hours closer" comment. Philadelphia is too far for me..I'll be
lucky to get down to MidSouthCon in Memphis, TN. (I guess I consider
Philadelphia the east coast..)
Does anyone have suggestions for more central cons in the MidWest
that we might approach? I'll start the list with ArchCon..held in St. Louis.
anta...@news.delphi.com
for a sec.
Antarctic Press would be happy to consider going to a midwest furry con.
In fact, we would be interested in attending any convention with a
significant furry and/or manga contingent, whether it is in Texas,
California, Florida, Illinois, or whatever.
This does not mean unconditional support, though - we have to weigh
each and every convention individually. In some cases, it's simply not
worth going money-wise (which is why we didn't go to Philcon). In some
cases, there are time conflicts (which is why we didn't go to BayCon).
Anyway, if anything ever materializes (with a midwest furry con, or the
previously-touted ConFurence-East, or any other location), please keep
us in mind.
Cheers,
- mlh
Goat
>that we might approach? I'll start the list with ArchCon..held in St. Louis.
Well, there's Conquest in Kansas City. It's not a huge con, but it's
been going on for a lot of years, and their mascot is already a winged cow. :)
Gary Breuckman
> Does anyone have suggestions for more central cons in the MidWest
>that we might approach? I'll start the list with ArchCon..held in St. Louis.
Milwaukee has GenCon, organized in August each year by the TSR folks,
it's mostly role-playing-games, with some Sci-Fi, there was some
furry art in the show last year, and there was a furry presence but
not too much in organized activities.
--
---
pu...@netcom.com
Jazmyn Concolor
I-Con (New York) has shown interest in furry fandom and expanding their
programing to include it.
Michael Hackett
>> Does anyone have suggestions for more central cons in the MidWest
>>that we might approach? I'll start the list with ArchCon..held in St. Louis.
>
> Well, there's Conquest in Kansas City. It's not a huge con, but it's
>been going on for a lot of years, and their mascot is already a winged cow. :)
>
> <<< GOAT >>>
Here-here! I second this nomination. I hadn't even thought of it,
and I LIVE HERE! *sheesh* I'm sure just about any con wouldn't mind a
well-enough behaved group added to themselves, particularly if they add $$
in attendance.
PeterCat
>... This sounds evil, but perhaps the thing to do is to approach
>an EXISTING con and push them to expand their furry programming (and promise
>not to frighten the Klingons. :) Philcon looks like a good choice for this,
>and it kind of looks like it's already happening...
I'll second that notion, since I probably won't be able to get out to a
ConFurence for at least a couple of years. This year (--err, next year
--oh, you know what I mean!!) I'll be at Arisia in Boston, which is the
same weekend as CF5. (Otherwise I'd propose Arisia as an East Coast furrycon.)
(BTW, hi folks! I just got (re)connected to Internet last week, and I've
been catching up messages.)
-- PeterCat