- Joined
- Jul 20, 2019
Two bits of drama happened at about the same time at different conventions:
First off, Furry Weekend Atlanta posted a response to all the people complaining about featuring a non-furry musical act at their convention. It boils down to "fuck off and stop harassing Mystery Skulls, if you don't wanna see their show, then don't. We still have five other furry musical acts planned as well, and we have dances with furry DJs like literally every other furcon."
(archive)
Secondly, the Portland-based furry convention Furlandia kicked out their guest of honor, Mary E. Lowd (a well-known furry novelist with several awards) for the horrible crime of... using a piece of AI Art on the cover of one of her novels.
(archive)
Mary responded that she believed this removal wasn't in good faith, pointing out that at last year's Furlandia, she sold physical novels in the Dealer's Den with AI art covers, added prominent stickers and disclaimers stating they were AI art, and even asked permission by contacting Furlandia staff beforehand and was given the okay to sell them. In other words, the staff knew she was using the art well before they even asked her to be a guest of honor, yet suddenly had an issue with it a couple of months before the convention. If this is even remotely true, it's not a good look for the convention.
(tweet archive)(open letter archive)
Unsurprisingly, the replies to both Furlandia and Mary are the usual "AI bad!!!1!" screeching.
First off, Furry Weekend Atlanta posted a response to all the people complaining about featuring a non-furry musical act at their convention. It boils down to "fuck off and stop harassing Mystery Skulls, if you don't wanna see their show, then don't. We still have five other furry musical acts planned as well, and we have dances with furry DJs like literally every other furcon."
(archive)
First Letter:
A Letter To Our Community
February 23rd, 2024
First, we want to make it clear that we love our community, that's why we work so hard for everyone in it. We appreciate all of the love and support that the vast majority of you give us every year. That being said, we need to have a conversation about a growing problem that our fandom and furry conventions have been facing by a small, aggressively toxic portion of the community: Harassment.
We get it, sometimes you may not agree with a decision that a convention makes and that's okay! Our community's strength is in its diversity and the make-up of the entire group. Voice your concerns, and provide constructive feedback. We always have, and will always listen to your feedback aimed at making the event better. Every furry is part of building this amazing fandom into the open-arms heartfelt and warm community it has become today.
What's not okay, however, are the personal attacks on our community members: your friends, and your family, who work hard to put on these amazing events worldwide. Working for a convention is year-long and tireless work that our community members volunteer their free time to do. This is unethical, we have to do better.
Additionally, since our announcement, Mystery Skulls has been facing direct harassment by a group of our community members. Mystery Skulls is a kind-hearted ally of our fandom. Not only has he supported and loved the furry community, but he has also supported and defended our community at his other shows and online. He has shown nothing but love and energy towards our fandom. It's, frankly, reprehensible that people in our community, whom he has defended, would take to personally attacking him. This is not what our community is. This is not what our community does. He is an artist and a performer, no different than many of our own community members. It's unacceptable. Harassment in all forms is unacceptable. Our community, which prides itself on mental wellness, support, love, and an open-arms environment, doesn't stand by when members of our community, especially artists and performers, are being unfairly treated. This is no different.
Though our team has decided to address this topic now, this has been a growing trend for a while and it is not limited to FWA; we have watched other events and community members face unfair and unjust treatment. Enough is enough.
- The Furry Weekend Atlanta team
Second Letter:
Addressing Misinformation
Often, on social media, a lot of misinformation is shared. We felt that it was prudent of us to address some of the most common misconceptions about FWA, our strategy, and how we come to the decisions we make.
-We actively pursue talented artists inside of the community first and foremost, talent outside of the community is not the focus. We already announced one furry performer, and have 5 more planned. Those announcements have been delayed so we can address this topic.
-Special Guests are professional artists with a large appeal to our community, who successfully tour across the world. We book them to bring our fandom an experience that they can't have anywhere else.
-When selecting talent to perform on our stage, our focus is to provide our furry community with a memorable experience. This is true for performers inside of our community and outside of our community. We're focused on the fandom - always.
-When we evaluate performers both furry and not, we look to see the impact that they can make in the community, and make sure they share the same mission and values that we do. If they don't, we don't work with them.
-DJs ARE compensated. We provide every booked DJ with registration to our event and a gift to show our appreciation.
-The numbers being discussed on booking fees are not even close to accurate - we always negotiate any vendor, performance, and artist fees so we can provide the absolute best experience to our guests for as little cost as possible.
Every decision that the Furry Weekend Atlanta team makes is rooted in our mission statement:
Furry Weekend Atlanta is a community-driven, volunteer-led organization that is devoted to providing memorable, educational, inclusive, and safe experiences where our community is encouraged to explore and express their true self.
One of the core values of our mission statement is making the event memorable for all our attendees. We understand that many of our guests move the earth to make cons happen and often, it's the only time they get to see a lot of their friends. Because of this, we pursue once-in-a-lifetime experiences that our attendees can have in a safe place where they can be unapologetically themselves.
- The Furry Weekend Atlanta team
A Letter To Our Community
February 23rd, 2024
First, we want to make it clear that we love our community, that's why we work so hard for everyone in it. We appreciate all of the love and support that the vast majority of you give us every year. That being said, we need to have a conversation about a growing problem that our fandom and furry conventions have been facing by a small, aggressively toxic portion of the community: Harassment.
We get it, sometimes you may not agree with a decision that a convention makes and that's okay! Our community's strength is in its diversity and the make-up of the entire group. Voice your concerns, and provide constructive feedback. We always have, and will always listen to your feedback aimed at making the event better. Every furry is part of building this amazing fandom into the open-arms heartfelt and warm community it has become today.
What's not okay, however, are the personal attacks on our community members: your friends, and your family, who work hard to put on these amazing events worldwide. Working for a convention is year-long and tireless work that our community members volunteer their free time to do. This is unethical, we have to do better.
Additionally, since our announcement, Mystery Skulls has been facing direct harassment by a group of our community members. Mystery Skulls is a kind-hearted ally of our fandom. Not only has he supported and loved the furry community, but he has also supported and defended our community at his other shows and online. He has shown nothing but love and energy towards our fandom. It's, frankly, reprehensible that people in our community, whom he has defended, would take to personally attacking him. This is not what our community is. This is not what our community does. He is an artist and a performer, no different than many of our own community members. It's unacceptable. Harassment in all forms is unacceptable. Our community, which prides itself on mental wellness, support, love, and an open-arms environment, doesn't stand by when members of our community, especially artists and performers, are being unfairly treated. This is no different.
Though our team has decided to address this topic now, this has been a growing trend for a while and it is not limited to FWA; we have watched other events and community members face unfair and unjust treatment. Enough is enough.
- The Furry Weekend Atlanta team
Second Letter:
Addressing Misinformation
Often, on social media, a lot of misinformation is shared. We felt that it was prudent of us to address some of the most common misconceptions about FWA, our strategy, and how we come to the decisions we make.
-We actively pursue talented artists inside of the community first and foremost, talent outside of the community is not the focus. We already announced one furry performer, and have 5 more planned. Those announcements have been delayed so we can address this topic.
-Special Guests are professional artists with a large appeal to our community, who successfully tour across the world. We book them to bring our fandom an experience that they can't have anywhere else.
-When selecting talent to perform on our stage, our focus is to provide our furry community with a memorable experience. This is true for performers inside of our community and outside of our community. We're focused on the fandom - always.
-When we evaluate performers both furry and not, we look to see the impact that they can make in the community, and make sure they share the same mission and values that we do. If they don't, we don't work with them.
-DJs ARE compensated. We provide every booked DJ with registration to our event and a gift to show our appreciation.
-The numbers being discussed on booking fees are not even close to accurate - we always negotiate any vendor, performance, and artist fees so we can provide the absolute best experience to our guests for as little cost as possible.
Every decision that the Furry Weekend Atlanta team makes is rooted in our mission statement:
Furry Weekend Atlanta is a community-driven, volunteer-led organization that is devoted to providing memorable, educational, inclusive, and safe experiences where our community is encouraged to explore and express their true self.
One of the core values of our mission statement is making the event memorable for all our attendees. We understand that many of our guests move the earth to make cons happen and often, it's the only time they get to see a lot of their friends. Because of this, we pursue once-in-a-lifetime experiences that our attendees can have in a safe place where they can be unapologetically themselves.
- The Furry Weekend Atlanta team
Secondly, the Portland-based furry convention Furlandia kicked out their guest of honor, Mary E. Lowd (a well-known furry novelist with several awards) for the horrible crime of... using a piece of AI Art on the cover of one of her novels.
(archive)
February 23, 2024
Dear Furlandia Community,
Early this week we made the difficult decision to remove our Writing Guest of Honor for 2024, Mary E. Lowd. This is a decision we do not make lightly, and is all the more difficult a for us as they have been a long time supporter of Furlandia. So why have we done this? It comes down to their decision to use Al-generated art as a tool in the creation of things such as book covers, the professional backlash that has accompanied it, and the general attitude towards this topic in the fandom.
Undoubtedly the topic of Al-generated art is incredibly divisive and controversial in our fandom at this time, and a lot of people have very strong opinions about it. We've made this decision not to push a particular opinion, but because our goal is to bring people together to celebrate the furry fandom, of which artists are the undeniable backbone. Continuing with Mary as a Guest would have made people understandably uncomfortable and that's not something we want. This is not an easy thing for any convention to have to do and we hope anyone who's disappointed will understand.
Thank you,
Furlandia Executive Staff
Dear Furlandia Community,
Early this week we made the difficult decision to remove our Writing Guest of Honor for 2024, Mary E. Lowd. This is a decision we do not make lightly, and is all the more difficult a for us as they have been a long time supporter of Furlandia. So why have we done this? It comes down to their decision to use Al-generated art as a tool in the creation of things such as book covers, the professional backlash that has accompanied it, and the general attitude towards this topic in the fandom.
Undoubtedly the topic of Al-generated art is incredibly divisive and controversial in our fandom at this time, and a lot of people have very strong opinions about it. We've made this decision not to push a particular opinion, but because our goal is to bring people together to celebrate the furry fandom, of which artists are the undeniable backbone. Continuing with Mary as a Guest would have made people understandably uncomfortable and that's not something we want. This is not an easy thing for any convention to have to do and we hope anyone who's disappointed will understand.
Thank you,
Furlandia Executive Staff
Mary responded that she believed this removal wasn't in good faith, pointing out that at last year's Furlandia, she sold physical novels in the Dealer's Den with AI art covers, added prominent stickers and disclaimers stating they were AI art, and even asked permission by contacting Furlandia staff beforehand and was given the okay to sell them. In other words, the staff knew she was using the art well before they even asked her to be a guest of honor, yet suddenly had an issue with it a couple of months before the convention. If this is even remotely true, it's not a good look for the convention.
(tweet archive)(open letter archive)
Furlandia knew I was using and vocally supporting AI art when they asked me to be Guest of Honor a year ago. I even sold a book with an AI cover in their dealers’ den last year, with their permission and a sticker labeling it as such. It sold quite well.
An open letter to Gene Armstrong, Furlandia 2024 Chairman:
I have all the same knowledge and accomplishments that I had when you asked me to be guest of honor:
– Ursa Major Award Winner x 3
– Cóyotl Award Winner x 4
– Leo Literary Award Winner x 11
– Cóyotl Award Chair for 8 years
– Editor of ROAR volumes 6-10
– Founder and editor of Zooscape
– Author of 28 books and 239 short stories, including 44 in Daily Science Fiction and 6 in Analog Science Fiction & Fact
Arguably, now I am even more qualified with my added experience in self-publishing, horror, and poetry in addition to having even more books out. My publicly held convictions have stayed completely consistent since you asked me to be guest of honor.
So, I’m to understand that you’ve canceled my position because you received complaints about my behavior, not because my behavior is wrong but because you’re responding to public opinion despite having already concluded that my accomplishments are worthy of the position.
You asked me to be your guest of honor, and I would have done a very good job for you. I would have done and been exactly what I promised to be when you asked me. You, however, have flipped entirely from supporting me as a writer to blaming me for other people engaging in a hate campaign against me. I’m extremely disappointed in you, Gene. This behavior is beneath you.
I hope you have a good con. I’ve always enjoyed Furlandia because of the kindness of the actual attendees. However, in my experience, it is always so badly run that I have to wonder if it’s worth the trouble of attending. I was only willing to attend this year because you were running it. I guess that hasn’t counted for as much as I thought it would.
Sincerely,
Mary E. Lowd
An open letter to Gene Armstrong, Furlandia 2024 Chairman:
I have all the same knowledge and accomplishments that I had when you asked me to be guest of honor:
– Ursa Major Award Winner x 3
– Cóyotl Award Winner x 4
– Leo Literary Award Winner x 11
– Cóyotl Award Chair for 8 years
– Editor of ROAR volumes 6-10
– Founder and editor of Zooscape
– Author of 28 books and 239 short stories, including 44 in Daily Science Fiction and 6 in Analog Science Fiction & Fact
Arguably, now I am even more qualified with my added experience in self-publishing, horror, and poetry in addition to having even more books out. My publicly held convictions have stayed completely consistent since you asked me to be guest of honor.
So, I’m to understand that you’ve canceled my position because you received complaints about my behavior, not because my behavior is wrong but because you’re responding to public opinion despite having already concluded that my accomplishments are worthy of the position.
You asked me to be your guest of honor, and I would have done a very good job for you. I would have done and been exactly what I promised to be when you asked me. You, however, have flipped entirely from supporting me as a writer to blaming me for other people engaging in a hate campaign against me. I’m extremely disappointed in you, Gene. This behavior is beneath you.
I hope you have a good con. I’ve always enjoyed Furlandia because of the kindness of the actual attendees. However, in my experience, it is always so badly run that I have to wonder if it’s worth the trouble of attending. I was only willing to attend this year because you were running it. I guess that hasn’t counted for as much as I thought it would.
Sincerely,
Mary E. Lowd
Unsurprisingly, the replies to both Furlandia and Mary are the usual "AI bad!!!1!" screeching.
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Of course he's not breaking character from being ALL CAPS DOG even when writing a massive textwall so I'm going to unroll this and convert it into sentence case so you don't kill yourselves. No I will not fix all the formatting
