And this is why I keep my head down and my ears open, just watching, like a cat should.

As for being dominated by pictures, you must mean illustrations. This place certainly isn't for photography, or at least I don't think so. The most annoying part is the bullshit over 'manufactured items', and the prohibition on them, which, if applied by an asshole admin, would require the removal or transferring to scraps of almost my entire gallery. The admins must understand that there is a difference between just snaps of somebody's collection (guns, MLP, whatever) and actual artistic photography, or what I like to call it, anyways. For instance, some 'manufactured items':

http://www.furaffinity.net/full/8187382/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/6249386/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/4757702/

Perhaps I make my point, perhaps not. I'm not entirely sure why I'm still here, to be honest...perhaps inertia, if nothing else. Perhaps I could find a place that's a bit more receptive, and perhaps I could even find a place where people actually leave comments instead of just favoriting things (assuming they do either one). Or perhaps I'm just bitching, heh. Still, all of this does remind me of two quotes that I'm rather fond of.

1: Sunshine is the best of disinfectants.
2: Often times organizations are successful not because of management, but in spite of it.

As for being dominated by pictures, you must mean illustrations. This place certainly isn't for photography, or at least I don't think so.

The intent of the site, from the top down, has always been that it is only for artists... The term 'artist' has always been narrowly defined as "illustrators". Perhaps it's just because that definition is the one that's been ingrained in the fandom for years... Or maybe the motivations are simply economic (there only so many slices the in furry pie, after all). It seems like any support for writers, photographers, performers, etc. has always been grudging at best (the mushy policy around fursuit pics are a great example of this).

I'm not entirely sure why I'm still here, to be honest...perhaps inertia, if nothing else.

Pretty much this. There's a huge amount of fandom inertia around this site. The reason you're still here is because everybody else is here. It's something of a nasty feedback loop, because as time goes on the entire fandom becomes more and more dependent on a single site. The artists (and I mean illustrators) stay because it's good for commissions. The rest of us stay to be connected with friends... Which really isn't the intent of the site (I feel like one of the greatest missed opportunities in the history FA was not broadening it from "just an art site" to a fully-fledged general-purpose Furry social network, rather than just the de-facto one).

Sunshine is the best of disinfectants.

I would really like to believe this... But after watching this same merry-go-round of scandals and drama spin over the years, I really don't think that there's anything that the management could do, short of shutting the site down for good, that would so terrible that it would drive users away from the site for good.

Also, I really wish that FA had the ability to edit post so I can change those underlines to italics. =P

I've always considered fursuit pics to be a waste of space, myself...but perhaps that's more because they're just random snaps rather than anything with any particular artistic merit or intent...and because they give me the creeps by bringing up bad memories. I don't really do all that much around here, and I'm not particularly social either...I am a cat, after all. As far as all the drama...I ignore it to the best of my ability. I actually haven't had any technical issues with the site myself, so I'm not entirely sure what all the fuss is about that.

I really should return to dA, because at least there I got a bit of notice. Probably only reason I'm still here is that there are others around here that I watch.

How scandalous. I've not heard of this.

yeah, I only found it because I was on Twitter.

Hmm. This does explain some of the situation - it's actually the first post of its kind I've ever seen not to have been written by a screaming bellend, which definitely lends a lot of weight to the argument.

And a bit of credence to the screaming bellends, I guess.

"Screaming bellends." Good name for an English hardcore band.

     Hmmm. Long-ish comment, but maybe you've sparked an idea or two.



     I got here a year and a half or so back. Knew nothing of the history of the place. And
no way to know it either (short of doing three months of intensive research).

     Has FA management committed some real fubars over the past eight years? Little
research is needed to know this. Has all that piled up high enough and stinks enough
to earn the label rotten? Possibly. The FA Leaker appears to think so.

     That FA needs to be managed better: No reason to dissent. Save for a tiny detail
about FA that renders that a tricky notion. Took me a few months to clue in to
it, too. It's subtle.



     FA looks reasonably pro, works pretty well, and thousands of users hack away on a daily
basis and enjoy themselves doing it. Mostly. You could be forgiven for thinking that
there's a reasonably efficient business operation behind FA, smoothly keeping the
lights on. Mostly.

     Wrong. Dead wrong. What's more, flat-out wrong.

     FA is not a business. It is owned *by* a business (Ferrox Art LLC), but it ain't one.
And likely never will be.



     FA does not charge admission. It does not make a profit. It does not report to
shareholders. There's no board of directors or CEO post. None of the people who
work in FA management are paid (except perhaps for minor stipends).

     Except it still looks like a business, right? FA is a pretty sophisticated website. There's
nothing to say it isn't a business. The TOS/AUP/SA look pretty business-like,
you'll agree.



     All a false front. FA is purely and wholly a thing of the fandom, built for fur fannish
reasons, organized by fur fans, and (here's the kicker) *run* by fur fans. It has
been like this from the start. Thus it shall remain until the end.

     Whuffo? Because there's no easy way to make the leap to a *professional* management
echelon. As in, people who are getting paid for it, chiefly because they've got the skill,
the talent, and the training to do the job.

     And above all, they're doing it for the paycheque, not out of a sense of fannish dedication
and commitment. In a future theoretically well-run FA, your management chops and
resume will count first.

     Your fannish cred and track record will come a far second. If you are a fur fan, good.
But if that's all you've got to offer, come back after you've picked up that Business
Admin degree. Try to keep the tail hidden under the graduation robes or people
will talk. :- )



     Some organizations can function with all-volunteer, amateur management. There aren't
many of them out there. FA's been running for eight years on exactly this. All of the Admins
have had impeccable fannish reps (when they started, anyway), and they all brought
high dedication and commitment to the job.

     But genuine, business-grade, management skills? Some have had 'em. But not
all. Ergo all the fubars. And after eight years FA is still here. There is cause for some
astonishment at that, IMHO.



     It's not that a tight, well-trained, and well-organized mob of fur fans can't run FA. A
helluva lot of cons are managed this way, and usually with some success. But a con
only has to run for three-four days.

     FA has to run 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. It's a whole different management
challenge. Any dissent? None heard. Moving on.




     To close, a recent drive was made to raise funds to pay for new hardware. Bueno.
Have to think it'll help.

     But we did say we want FA to be managed better. So how fast can we raise the funds to
pay for a well-trained, five-person, pro-grade, management team? Might be able
to make do with four.

     Their primary task: Keep the volunteer Admin staff (fans) from fubaring things. And
maybe make sure the work gets done. Either task, they'll earn their Krugerrands.



     As ideas go, this one is low on practicality but moderately rich on [possibly] useful
insight. The people who run FA tend to think fannishly, not in terms of business and
management. Or rather, those who do think that way run headfirst into those who
don't, with predictable results. There's our Achilles Heel.

     Mind you, it happens to take up both footpaws up to the knees. Thus does Admin
trip over it's own toeclaws every so often. Achilles had it easy, the lucky bastard. :- )

FB.




(PS: The reasons why writers get short-shrift around here are both technical and
damnably subtle. Out of [semi-desperate] self-interest, been beating brains out
pouncing on a few of those reasons. See link below--if you haven't already--for
some of the work that's gotten started about that. More to come.)







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The FA Writers Directory v 1.0

I think the problem with FA is two fold. One, it's essentially THE furry gathering spot. The fandom would, like it as not, be a different place without FA. Two, the owner places loyalty above all else. The latter damages the site and delays needed and desired updates. The former prevents the latter from getting its ass kicked.

Until FA starts getting its ass kicked and loses ad revenue and users in droves, then I don't think anything will change.

     Much shorter reply: You got about 3/4 agreement from me there.

     Back in 2005, FA was the 'killer app' for a fandom that wanted one. Everyone piled on, gawdawful
warts and all, standard fannish drama and turmoil and all.

     Pretty fractious beginnings, so I've deduced. Sorta glad I missed it.



     Now, FA's the 800-pound gorilla in the fandom, grown humongous for a reason (works well enough
for most). It's shortcomings and history have spawned imitators and innovators. So yah, on paper
there is now pressure on FA to improve.

     This is causing is some drain on the userbase. But what this actually means is FA's growth will just slow
down, not end. A catastrophic bail-out could only be sparked by a truly fubar-ish, every-user-affected,
catastrophe.



     Crucial point: There are quite a few genuine businesses operating in the 'fur space.' But like FA, all of the
other organizations out there are fannish, more or less. As in, volunteer-based, depending on a
charismatic exec team to attract and motivate and hold workers. And to try and prevent fubars.

     This is why business was invented: To get away from this frankly feudal, neo-tribal, ideology-driven,
semi-religious *cesspit* of a management environment. The miracle is that FA's not more fugged up
than it is. It's had eight years of running.

     It'll be several years before FA's competitors get out of the teething stages that FA's already been through,
and survived. This means that FA management knows there's breathing space, and that change and
improvement don't have to be rushed.


     Least of all changes to how FA is managed. Drat it. Even 800-pound gorillas gotta get some exercise
now and then. Come on, you chubby anthropomorphic anthropoid, lift that bunch of bananas higher,
gimme five more solid reps, and four, and three... :- )

FB.


(PS: And unless I've gone blind, the inherent problems that plague writers on FA
do *not* look like they've been solved by any of the other places. Be ironic as all
heck if it was on FA that solutions were found, and implemented here first.)







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The FA Writers Directory v 1.0