Ember's kind worded non-partier con advice.

[Ember]

Sup furries.

For a lot of you this is going to be your first con. And you may be feeling a bit nervous about the prospect of being surrounded by so many new people all at once... Well, don't worry! Here's some advice to help steer you through!   :-3

1) Don't be afraid to say hi! The more people that you get on good terms with the better your con experience will be. Most furries are pretty darn friendly, but lots of them are shy! Be the one to break the ice and watch them either admire your courage or skitter away in a blind panic. Furries like hugs so don't be surprised if you get a couple of 'em.

2) The best way to meet people is to go to con panels and events! There's also a room chock full of video games and I'm sure there'll be something that you'll have fun with in there. The gaming room is open 24 hours. The fursuit events are always good for a laugh. You get a neat program guide with your registration gear that'll list everything going on. You can also find the event schedule here: http://vancoufur.com/events.php Go to meals as a group!

3) Fursuits may be weird to be around at first but you will quickly get used to it. Many suiters will not talk in suit and will instead act out what they want to say with their paws. Fursuits get awfully hot, and if you see a suiter making a fanning motion to their face they may be indicating that they are overheating and would like to go somewhere they can take their head off. If they make a drinking motion with an empty paw be a good boy and go fetch them a glass of water! Fursuits have a very restricted field of vision, don't run up to one from the side- they wont be able to see you and may startle! They're also terribly clumsy sometimes because of this, don't take it personally. Many suiters love hugs but not all of them! If you want a hug hold you arms out to your side, if they do the same then feel free  :-3 Finally, don't scratch a fursuit like you would a dog (with your nails in). It removes hair, damaging the suit! These suits are expensive, many of them worth multiple thousands of dollars. Watch your drinks!

4) You're gonna meet a whack of cool people... find a way to stay in touch! Give out some sort of IM or twitter or email or fa account or something! Especially if you're a local! Take pictures! You'll be surprised what a whirlwind the con experience is.

5) The dealer's den and art auction are full of cool furry swag. Get yourself a neat souvenir to take home! There will also be artists taking custom  art commissions that will vary in quality and price greatly. Many of these artists will be super busy and some of them might be a bit stressed out. Try and be nice and don't waste their time if they don't seem interested.

6) The convention turns into a bit of a different beast at night, with the emphasis placed more on the dances and parties than anything else. If this type of thing isn't for you, don't worry! These people wont be up 'till the late afternoon leaving all of the morning and mid day for you and your peace loving kind.

Remember that the con staffers are there for you and will help you to the best of their abilities with whatever problems you may encounter. Don't be afraid to go up to talk to one- that's what they are there for.

Have lots of fun and please don't be too shy to enjoy yourself.

[Red]

Well written, informative, and helpful. Thanks Ember!

[professor whovianart]

very informative.

and so much more smurfly smurfed in the smurfling ways of smurfing, i do not know if a can smurf it, dang smurfing of smurfness, why you had to go and smurf it all up like that???, people should look for your more colorfully smurfed version, to see what the smurf i`m smurfing about.

[Red]

very informative.

and so much more smurfly smurfed in the smurfling ways of smurfing, i do not know if a can smurf it, dang smurfing of smurfness, why you had to go and smurf it all up like that???, people should look for your more colorfully smurfed version, to see what the smurf i`m smurfing about.

Yeah I only found about that after I had read this, gave me a good smurf, mainly because of all the smurfs in the smurfing article, but it was just as informative as this, just more smurfy

[Star Wonder]

pft I like your other one better... :-3

[Wereman]

After reading the previous one I was a little worried there was a lack of constructive suggestions, yet this is very well worded. Note the other one gave me something to chuckle about.

This information definitely helps for first time con goers to know what to expect, thank you for sharing this.

[Tony Greyfox]

Just to note that for the non-partiers there are activities planned in the evenings that aren't dances or parties too. =)

Good advice all around!

[Sairys]

I like embers original guildlines/advice the new one lacks stuff