Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Tag: public service announcement

Someone I kept out of a furry party is charged with domestic violence murder of another furry

by Patch O'Furr

In 2018, I told Dizzy he shouldn’t come to a furry party at a club in San Francisco. I was one of the organizers who keeps an eye on who is coming. He was a soft-looking guy who acted persistently pitiful about it, so I let him know it wasn’t because of something I knew he did, or any personal issue. It was for caution and to keep things harmonious, and there were other events he could go to. If he had a bad reputation, he could change it by doing good at other ones. I just wasn’t going to be pliable to begging for pity. If you don’t respect someone’s “no”, that’s a red flag itself.

To my confidential knowledge, the caution was because of multiple people tipping me to beware of someone abusive who they were uncomfortable being around, who they said would try manipulating for sympathy.

A few years before this, some other manipulation pulled me in to being a victim of a con artist. (He was judged liable for fraud and elder abuse after I had to defend whistleblower retaliation, cross-sue and beat him to stop it, winning a $32,000 judgement. When people sue me for defamation, I don’t settle and I bankrupt them.) The con artist was a monster with a lot of power over others, who were viciously whipped up against me for reporting abuse by their then-trusted manipulator. The experience of being the only person to point at The Emperor’s New Clothes and fighting for vindication made it easy to say no to Dizzy, stay firm, and watch what happened.

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Tip Your Makers! Why to pay more for art to improve commissioning and spread the love.

by Patch O'Furr

Missing, flaky commissions suck. it’s a chronic problem that’s only modestly addressed by small watchdogs like the Artist Beware community.

Things should be smoother.  But there’s a reason why commissioning is unpredictable. Things are dragged down by underbidding among artists. Nobody becomes an artist to get rich, and many don’t charge enough for the service they’re doing.

Why ask a customer to fix problems of a business?  I get it… if someone promises something, they should deliver without expecting more than they earn.  But give me a minute… if this is a passion-driven fandom and not a cut-throat market, maybe there’s a little room for common problem-solving and partnership.

Assume good faith.  Give credit to artists for being full of love for what they do.  But it’s awfully hard to get good and be competitive.  That’s how so many of them plan to get things done on a thin margin and tight schedules.  It’s easy for plans to go off the rails, people get sick, there’s unexpected mistakes or accidents, and burnout is common. Then commissioners are left waiting for extra weeks, months… or nearly forever.

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