Dogpatch Press

5 Responses to “After #tonytigergate, companies go Pro Furry and the Daily Show gets involved.”

1. Troj says:

   January 29, 2016 at 1:44 pm

   Thanks for your observations, Patch! A few things have occurred to me:

   First, I think people should remember that these social media accounts are usually managed by some poor person (often an intern) who has to stoically sift through all the complaints, hate, trolling, dumb questions, and the like.

   Some of the tweets I’ve seen have been amusing, wink-wink, and funny, but a few have really been gross and creepy.

   Personally, I think it’s often worth asking oneself if what you’re planning to tweet is something you’d be willing to say if you could see the face of the person behind the screenname.

   Second, I think furries need to acknowledge that you can’t insist that people see your hobby as innocent and non-sexual one minute, and then make sexualized tweets to a corporate social media account the next. People who are upset about the fandom’s reputation need to think about how their own actions help to shape that reputation.

   Third, I think furries as a community could stand to think more like the media sometimes, in order to take more control over how we’re portrayed.

   Meaning, in this case, people need to realize that Gawker Media will be entirely too happy to “innocently” pretend not to understand irony, sarcasm, or satire if a “this group of people is ACTUALLY insane and weird” headline will generate more clicks and shares.

   So–back to point two again–if you as an individual don’t want to be seen as somebody who actually wants to bang a cartoon mascot, you have to be more mindful of the ironic or satirical statements you make to that effect on social media.

   Sadly, it’s very easy for statements and even jokes to be snipped, clipped, edited, or otherwise taken out of context, and you can’t always flawlessly anticipate or guard against this.

   I wondered if furries could potentially take their power back by making fun of Gawker et al for not getting the joke/not understanding lulz. In some corners of the Internet, not understanding trolling/lulz is considered a capital offense. I wonder if we could play that card to our PR advantage, of if I’m just overthinking things again?

   Anyway, I’m trying not to be a wet blanket, a prude, or a kink-shamer here. I’m just noticing that the fandom tends to care about its reputation, so that’s where I’m coming from here.

   Reply
2. Excelsior Da Lion says:

   January 29, 2016 at 2:30 pm

   Yea, this whole Tonygate thing is hilarious! Some furries that complain need a sense of humor! 🙂

   Reply
3. Patch O'Furr says:

   January 29, 2016 at 2:57 pm

   Hi troj, great comment. As to the first point, I definitely get it. Internet manners are shit. Be nice and try not to harm people in the way of a joke.

   About art-prank statements I enjoyed thinking about the “Tony Is Back” website linked here. That one definitely had a purpose to make you think about the goodness of brands portraying truth and confidence. “Tony has lost his way, what should tony do” is poking you to self examine as a consumer and about what you’re sold. I think some of that was lost behind the shock value put up front by the news articles about it, and even the impressive production value of the parody. They did that with sex satire.

   The front line person is always used to defuse criticism. For example if you criticize police brutality, are you anti-cop? I dont think its not part of the job of social media handlers to deal with off color behavior. I wouldn’t condescend to tell them to earn the pay but I would mention that budgeting for PR is useless if it isn’t noticed. As a job, at least they arent getting screamed at with customer service. I think that makes some grossness tame in perspective.

   You’re 100% right you can’t simultaneously have this and claim innocence. My preference is to say, it’s not the same individuals saying it. Don’t make slippery slopes. And yes there are romantic themes, off color jokes etc but so what. Rather than hold up pretensions about it, better to shrug and focus on the intentions of people pointing it out. If its a documentary piece that seeks to understand, no problem. If its a clickbaity exploiter, point out how they are dishonest for money. Have outsiders prove themselves to get inside. And overall, chill out because it’s just another social group.

   I think DIYness is underrated here. I dont often hear that term. In that respect, let corporations have reputations and let an alternative fan group have creative expression, sometimes even explicitly to make fun of conventional limits.

   Reply
4. Anonymouse says:

   January 29, 2016 at 3:24 pm

   The sad part is, when trolls pretend to be furries like this, powerful idiots (see: news media) will ruin everything.

   Because why do furries need positive reputation anyway?!?

   Reply
   • Patch O'Furr says:

     January 29, 2016 at 3:37 pm

     I can assure you that tons of real furries ™ enjoyed this (however, very few have any libidinous interest in a corporate PR account.)

     Reply