So I've Noticed a Trend in People's Furry Avatars

[Fiad]

Say, do Nekojins count as furries?

That one depends on the person you ask, I say, no they are not. Others say yes. There are as many definitions of the fandom as there are members of it. As each person has their own unique view of what is and is not furry or what makes someone furry.

 

[Shuswah_Noir]

I know a furry artist (Naira's Illustrations, if you care to look her up), and I'm reasonably certain not all her work contains that smile.

 

[GraveeKing]

Am I the only one who can see this going downhill very quickly? - Don't say I didn't warn you!

Back on topic though, furry avatars often have said creepy smile for a few different reasons:
A - They're trying to look cute and to other furry's they usually do.
B - It was a cropped down version of one of the many 'yiffy' pictures to keep it clean but the facial expression is... well one from a yiff picture hence a somewhat unusual smile.
C - It's meant to look creepy to make it look gothic/badass or whatever they're trying to do.

The most common reason going from A to the last common being C.
Any questions?

 

[health-bar]

Furries:
Possibly the strangest sub-culture in all of geekdom. Furries range from being harmless fans fascinated by anthropomorphic characters and animals, to immensely withdrawn or self-abosrbed persons who actually believe, or want to believe, they're eagle-winged fox-like versions of themselves with giant gentalia who wouldn't dare be anything else that could be considered mundane. Furries defy any coventional or unifying definition.

now that that's out of the way...

I guess you have a point...but i find all sorts of smiling creepy, it's not restricted to Furries.

also, I've noticed a large amount of video game avatars, usually in a similar heroic pose, nobody seems to notice that.

 

[MagusVulpes]

EDIT:
Shit, to not be interested in non-human characters would close me off from a great portion of games, books, and even mythologies. So, if having an interest in non-human characters makes me a furry, I'd have to be a bigot not to be.

You get the lightbulb award for realizing what the furs already know. Yeah, I'd say I'm a member of the furry fandom. Animal characters interest me. I loved Redwall as a kid, and I like anthropomorphic animals in general largely because they're visually more varied and interesting than humans.

If you want to know what 95% of the furry fandom is actually like, read this [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FurryFandom]. CAUTION: Link is to a TV Tropes article and poses extreme risks to your free time.

I followed the link 3 hours ago... Where did my 3 hours go? Do I have a concussion?

 

[Elf Defiler Korgan]

The smile gets you? I think what gets me is that people are somehow attracted to cartoon cat people.

And hybrid horse/cow sex.

 

[jackpipsam]

does it matter that there are furrys here?

 

[CptJackRabbit]

I dont think my avatar has a creepy smile at all.

 

[Legendsmith]

In my travels of the internet I see 4 groups:

1. Fursuit sex fiends
2. Furries who wish they were fursuit sex fiends
3. People begging for acceptance
4. Batshit crazies i.e. "I'm not a human who thinks I'm an arctic fox, I'm an arctic fox who looks like a human. Honest."

There's also that 5h group.
The ones that don't announce that they're a furry because nobody really needs to know what sexual fetish a stranger on the internet has. Those are the best sort of furry because nobody knows they are one. They're the sort that #3 on your list should/want to be, but for some reason can't.

 

[Freechoice]

I dont think my avatar has a creepy smile at all.

Hmm, is it my imagination, or is there something on that picture that is not PG-13? I salute your audacity, sir.

 

[CptJackRabbit]

Just thought I'd gather some of the idiots who didn't bother to read anything that was posted before them so they could be singled out.

Seriously, either read through and understand what has been said or don't participate at all.

Also, I created an account to post here, so this is my first post, but I've kind of lurked for a while. At any rate, hi guys ^^

I dont think my avatar has a creepy smile at all.

Hmm, is it my imagination, or is there something on that picture that is not PG-13? I salute your audacity, sir.

Step 1: Hi Alex!

Phase 2: As far as I can tell, it fits in the guidelines... and honestly, I really like this avatar, and I have used it for a long time, but thank you.

Step 5: Be a millionaire!

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

Shit a thread about furrys!! Lock the thread, bring out the flame shields we got another 3-2-7 everybody run!!!

Move along, nothing to see here​

I have no real problem with furry avatars smiling, it's far better than other things they could be doing, live and let live you know? Besides if you're complaining about that you may as well complain about the anime avatars smiling.

The only major complaint I have with the group as a whole is that it is too wide ranging and those who draw comics (VG cats) with animal characters anthromorphised into humans are placed with the same label as those who...do more sociably undesirable things (Ohhh yeah, diplomacy).

I also object to the fact that if I find a real life animal pulling a cute pose and put it as my avatar people would judge me a furry even though I'm really not.

 

[Freechoice]

Step 1: Hi Alex!

Phase 2: As far as I can tell, it fits in the guidelines... and honestly, I really like this avatar, and I have used it for a long time, but thank you.

Step 5: Be a millionaire!

Well, I believe there's still a smile in that picture. Certainly put a smile on my face.

 

[TilMorrow]

I too have noticed that strange smile on the furries that some people have for avatars and I agree it does look creepy most of the time. However the furry avatars that have more humanoid faces over animalistic ones aren't that unsettling when smiling. Most of the time.

VG Cats is a furry comic because Scott, the creator draws the characters as animals. This is true for a lot of webcomics and most of them, that I've seen, are quite on the level.

Well I wouldn't describe VG Cats as a furry comic and I hardly think the fact that he draws his two main characters as cats is evidence. I would describe it as a comic that makes fun about failures in the gaming industry and has two cat characters in most but not all the comics. I mean there's the peas, potato man, the hobo, the guy with pants on his head, etc. There are other comics which are much better examples of furry comics like the one I've seen advertised on a banner next to a comic I'm currently reading but at the moment it seems kinda creepy. The Men have turned into female furries, the Women have turned into male furries and everything in-between have turned into furries... Whaaattt?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I too have noticed that strange smile on the furries that some people have for avatars and I agree it does look creepy most of the time. However the furry avatars that have more humanoid faces over animalistic ones aren't that unsettling when smiling. Most of the time.

VG Cats is a furry comic because Scott, the creator draws the characters as animals. This is true for a lot of webcomics and most of them, that I've seen, are quite on the level.

Well I wouldn't describe VG Cats as a furry comic and I hardly think the fact that he draws his two main characters as cats is evidence. I would describe it as a comic that makes fun about failures in the gaming industry and has two cat characters in most but not all the comics. I mean there's the peas, potato man, the hobo, the guy with pants on his head, etc. There are other comics which are much better examples of furry comics like the one I've seen advertised on a banner next to a comic I'm currently reading but at the moment it seems kinda creepy. The Men have turned into female furries, the Women have turned into male furries and everything in-between have turned into furries... Whaaattt?

That sounds like El Goonish Shive to me. Trust me, the furry aspect is one of the less weird things about that comic.

[sub][sub][sub]It's also a pretty good read...[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[Chrono212]

You mean a smile like ':3' or something else?

I happen to be a furry too, so, yeah. Ohooohhooh! *wavy fingers* I've come to suck your blood! Oh, wait, that's the other one.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Oh, and it is generally considered to be in poor taste to use quotes without quoting who said it, as they don't get the notification for it.

And there are people like me who measure their self worth on the forums by how often they get quoted. I'm not entirely sure weather I'm joking or not.

I know what you mean, if someone's quoting you it makes you feel relevant, whether the quote is for good or ill, you've said something worth discussing.

Just a tip, if you want to get quoted. Sneak a post onto the Religions and Politics forums. . Trust me, them posts gets quoted.

OT: I thought I was in the Religions and Politics board still. . God was I suprised when I noticed I was in a thread about Furry Avatars . . . Anyway, I really like that weird smile that girl in Spice and Wolf makes doing the first intro. OR does he mean that :3 thingy? I Didnt ever see an actual example.

 

[TilMorrow]

-snip-

I think you might be right about the name of the comic. But I don't find the furry aspect of the comic unnerving as such it's the fact that all the characters get changed from human into a furry form of the opposite gender and those in-between just become furries. It kind of makes me want to respond with... Wwhhaaatttt?

 

[Erana]

Well, smiles look great on cartoon animals. Not to mention, having a defined corner of the mouth, rendered in reference to the human face indicates that the subject in question would be able to speak. Its a quick way to go, "This isn't just a stylized image of an animal's face, its an animal that can use speech in the same way that humans can, indicating that the thought process of this beast is anthropomorphized."

Wow. I overanalyze everything.