Dogpatch Press

A need for better info about geography and accessibility

Good day (or night) everyone, I am Zeldstarro, a semi-furred dragon that really likes geography and travel. I have made a map of furry conventions which can be found here, and a map of other large furry events which can be found here. You can also follow my project on Bluesky, Fur Con Watch.

I made these maps not just to help other furries find conventions, but also because I had a special interest in transit accessibility. I believe that a good public transit system is an incredibly beneficial thing for any city it’s in, and for the world as a whole. So, I wanted to find one place to compare the locations of furry convention venues with their current transit accessibility (and walkability).

The most easily accessible source I found was a map on Wikifur. Disappointingly, this map was (and is) unreliable. It sometimes lists out-of-date venues and other inaccurate information, and includes events that aren’t conventions and don’t fit my purpose. This led to starting my own solution.

Zeldstarro’s map-making process

The first step was to start a map on Google MyMaps, then move to the better Open Street Map–based Umap. I showed it to a non-furry friend, and recorded hours of video lecturing about how some conventions were more centrally located and accessible than others. I wrote about it on Flayrah, which received quite a negative reception in the comments (as posts on Flayrah seem to receive, apparently). This process helped modify my interest to hotel-based conventions.

The wikifur map includes hotel and formal camping conventions, as well as night dances and camps that I wouldn’t count. It’s important to make this distinction, as I think Wikifur’s definition was too broad and would include furmeets that are far less formal, smaller and more manageable. I also wanted to differentiate hotel experiences that are mostly indoor, air-conditioned, and pre-booked for larger scale — from camping that is outdoors, farther from development, and possibly easier to book for smaller groups. This doesn’t make one kind better than another, just different. I also find the hotel kind to be fascinating and worthy of study. They are not easy to set up, and especially during the 2000s and earlier it wouldn’t have been easy to convince hotel chains (which are likely fiscally conservative) to host a nerdy, often queer fandom. (In my opinion, the “nerd boom” of the 2010s has made it easier based on the success of comic and anime conventions.)

My map comes from a personal mindset of researching and observing patterns (thanks to my autism), to which accuracy helps as much as possible. Once I shared this map and its usefulness, it got pretty darn popular. My original Google Drive map has over 90,000 views and my Umap version has more traction on Bluesky than I was expecting. I have differentiated it from Wikifur’s map by adding a separate, broader map of other large furry events (which includes camping) and included the years of founding when possible, as well as adding past conventions that don’t exist anymore alongside their Wikifur pages. I wanted to introduce furry history and trivia about where conventions used to be, as well as where they are now.

The goal of providing these tools, and how you can help as fandom collaboration

As plain maps, these are useful for people that care less about geography than I do, to find out about conventions or furry dances in the United States and Europe. They could also find out about country-specific phenomenon, such as Kemoket and Furrymosa, which are furry-focused doujinshi fares in Japan and Taiwan respectively (there used to be one in Korea as well). As someone interested in traveling and exploring the world, experiencing the fandom from other countries’ perspectives sounds amazing, and going to a doujinshi fare or a convention in Latin America or a camp in Estonia could be an enlightening experience. (Mexico’s Confuror, by the way, is amazing, though I sadly haven’t attended since 2022 due to cost.) This shared value in loving conventions is something I intend to embrace as the map continues updating, as it has evolved far beyond judging transit accessibility.

I could go on about the geographic and cultural implications we could potentially learn with this map to the point of writing another post. Of course, that’s difficult to achieve by myself, and something I don’t want to achieve alone. I want others to notice inaccuracies and point out conventions I’m missing, or an out-of-date venue, instead of having to update it themselves through a hard-to-learn system like what Wikifur currently uses. I want furries in the future to learn about past conventions and help keep the map good, accurate, and helpful.

As for how you can help, simply DM me on my Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/furconwatch.bsky.social) or email me at zeldstarro@gmail.com. It’s also possible to join me as an editor on Umap. I ESPECIALLY need help identifying conventions from non-English-or-Spanish-speaking countries, like Brazil or ESPECIALLY China (navigating the Chinese internet is difficult for someone who doesn’t know Mandarin). I could also use help with adding former furry conventions and former venues.

Overall, I am very happy that this map has been appreciated by so many people, and it should only get better over time.

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