You know you're a furry fan when... The semi-official YKYAFFW list! Version 1.7 (February 2002)

Okay, what is a YKYAFFW, you ask? Well, it's a tongue-in-cheek listing of all the tell-tale (or should that be 'tell-tail'? ) signs that you are a fan of furry/anthropomorphic/funny animal characters... in other words, a furry fan!

It was originally compiled from a message thread on the OzFurry email list, and was first posted to the newsgroup alt.fan.furry around October 1995. Subsequent versions have had additional entries collated from a.f.f posts and email, as well as anything else I could find or think up at the time :)

Many thanks to all the contributors, past and present. You know who you are.

You know you're a 'Furry Fan' when...

Rabies replaces cancer as your number one disease concern.

Your favorite character from Star Trek is Lieutenant M'Ress (from the animated series).

is Lieutenant M'Ress (from the animated series). You think " Beauty and the Beast " was spoiled by Beast becoming human.

" was spoiled by Beast becoming human. You replace Elle McPherson pinups with those of Amy the Squirrel, Erma Felna, or Minerva Mink.

You slip the word 'fur' into as many places as possible in your mail.

You can identify a captionless book illustration as being Doug Wingers' in under ten seconds.

None of your favorite female (or male) fiction characters are actually human.

You go to see ' Pocahontas ' for the animals.

' for the animals. You've seen " Balto " so often you can recite the dialogue off by heart.

" so often you can recite the dialogue off by heart. ... and you think Jenna is sexy.

Furry image files consist of over half of your PC's hard-drive capacity.

You know what 'yiff' means.

The section you most frequent in the video store is the children's section.

You can identify which issue of ' Albedo ' the first use of 'sociopolitical ramifications' was used.

' the first use of 'sociopolitical ramifications' was used. You find any excuse to use "sociopolitical ramifications" in a sentence. (And other neat jargon like "psych bugs".)

You try to make a journey to a mystical place called 'ConFurence' each year.

You infiltrate your local SF convention committee, and persuade them to start a furry track/panel/room.

You know what FurryMUCK is.

... and you know the IP and port number by heart.

You have more than one character on FurryMUCK.

You really do buy ' Playboy ' or ' Penthouse ' for the articles.

buy ' ' or ' ' for the articles. You buy wildlife magazines and ' National Geographic ' to get character ideas for your drawings.

' to get character ideas for your drawings. You socialize with the pets rather than your relatives at a family gathering.

More than half your clothing has an animal motif.

You're disappointed when the "foxy babe" your friend talks about turns out to be a good looking human.

... and when you finally get introduced to her, you think how much better she would look with vulpine ears, thick red fur, and a bushy tail.

she would look with vulpine ears, thick red fur, and a bushy tail. Insults such as "you weasel" or "son of a bitch" bring about wishful thinking.

You regularly visit the University at night, but only to hand-feed the possums (or MUCK, snarf off Avatar, run naked..)

Watching one particular furry film has given you a life-long love of a particular animal species/breed.

You're intensely jealous of Pascall Fox, Mike Rabbitt, Simon Ferret, Possum Borne...

Your best friends no longer remember your real name.

You know what "digitigrade" means.

... and you can spell it.

... but not "ankle".

Magazines and videos with "Vixens" in the title that don't contain actual foxes are regarded by you as dealing in false advertising.

You wish when a human pops up in a furry cartoon that he'd go away.

You become indignant at TV Medical reporters who describe harelips as disfiguring.

You name a useful program, computer, network or ISP after favourite animals.

Two-thirds of your browser bookmark file points to furry artist and story sites.

Your computer backdrop/wallpaper is always a furry picture.

a furry picture. ... and so is your screensaver.

... and your workmates/family no longer comment on it.

Someone says "Oooh, what a piece of tail!", and you spend several confused seconds looking for it.

You spend more time on FurryMUCK than off it.

You dream of romantic interludes with comic or cartoon furries.

... and after a while it gets even more... errr... intimate ;)

You dream that famous furry artists come to live in your neighbourhood.

You take your furry portfolio to job interviews that have NOTHING to do with cartooning, animation, or comics...

Your favorite Robin Hood film was made by Disney and did not star Kevin Costner.

film was made by Disney and did star Kevin Costner. The absolute worst thing you can say about any animated production is "too many damn humans."

You send in drawings of furries to your art tutor for your 'life studies' class.

You read ' Genus ' in public places.

' in public places. ... and see nothing wrong with it.

The 'FoxPro' icon in Windows is used for ALL your Windows computer programs.

You intently watch the exchange rate to figure out how many more cool foreign prints, 'zines etc you can buy for your lousy Australian/New Zealand/ Canadian/< insert country of origin > currency.

> currency. You remember what Avatar actually was.

You immediately begin to experience withdrawal syndromes when you favorite furry art archive goes down for moving, restructuring, security holes, etc.

You change your Internet provider so you can better access FurryMUCK.

You don't mind what you get reincarnated as, "as long as I can be drawn by Terrie Smith".

You wonder, when people in horror films are transformed into werewolves or animals, why they always think of it as a bad thing...

thing... You consider volunteering for genetic engineering experiments just so you can become your favorite furry species.

Your pets are named after characters in Albedo, Xanadu or other furry comics.

You want to name your cat "Omaha".

You catch yourself saying " @wheeeee ."

." You change your name to Wolf, Fox, or Otter.

You watch the X-Files just because Mulder's first name is Fox.

just because Mulder's first name is Fox. You can remember when alt.fan.furry contained more discussions than flames.

contained more discussions than flames. You 'yiff' in a movie theatre (or other public place).

You ALWAYS use the werewolf character while playing either Killer Instinct or Darkstalkers.

You seriously consider what would happen if a furry-portrait of yourself had gone into your high-school yearbook.

You mentally choose appropriate species for your workmates.

You keep looking for the bigger, better morphing computer program, just so you can morph your face with that of a critter.

You occasionally try to walk digitigrade, just to see what it's like.

You keep wondering why Darth Vader in " Star Wars " sounds so much like Mufasa from " The Lion King ".

" sounds so much like Mufasa from " ". You have more plushies than the local toyshops.

You post to alt.fan.furry on a regular basis.

on a regular basis. ... in third person, as your character on FurryMUCK.

You start to think of racial issues as analogies of furry problems, rather than the other way around.

You try to imagine " Prince of Thieves " or any other movie with foxes and the like.

" or any other movie with foxes and the like. Artistic 'life studies' classes always mean a trip to the local zoo or wildlife park instead of drawing a nude human model.

You drink beers for their names and the animal pictures on their labels.

You watch reruns of M*A*S*H , and think that Hawkeye always calling Frank Burns "ferret face" was meant as a term of endearment, rather than an insult.

, and think that Hawkeye always calling Frank Burns "ferret face" was meant as a term of endearment, rather than an insult. You think the Bennigan's restaurant slogan "Food and fun for humans" might be grounds for a discrimination lawsuit.

You actually look forward to foxes or raccoons raiding your garbage.

The Kathy Ireland poster in your dorm room is taken down and replaced by a REALLY BIG furry wearing a swimsuit.

You lobby actively to change your school's nickname to an animal name.

... and if that doesn't work, you change schools instead.

You pick up a copy of Fur-Fish-Game , expecting to see a catalog of furry MU*s, but are cruelly surprised.

, expecting to see a catalog of furry MU*s, but are cruelly surprised. Acting on sacred and divine rules of morality and righteous indignation, you replace all the copies of Field and Stream on the rack in the waiting room with InFurNation .

on the rack in the waiting room with . You have at least one video copy of Animalympics , The Lion King , Meet the Feebles , Fritz The Cat , Balto and/or The Secret of Nimh .

, , , , and/or . ... and foreign language dubs of at least one of the above.

... and at least one furry tape that is a different video standard to the one used in your country.

... and you buy a multi-standard VCR just to play it.

You have unclean thoughts about Fifi LaFlume.

You think " Gadget Goes Hawaiian " ranks right up there with " Apollo 13 ".

" ranks right up there with " ". You rate sports teams (Rugby League, etc) by their animal mascot rather than their playing ability.

You eat breakfast cereals just for the animals on the box.

You discontinue treatment for baldness, and start thinking you have mange instead.

You carry animal plush toys with you on business trips, and show them to the flight attendants and hotel receptionists.

... and they start asking after them whenever they see you in the lobby.

You boycott the magazine " Loaded " on general principles after that article on Confurence.

" on general principles after article on Confurence. You have animal plush toys at your workstation in your office - and refer to them by name.

Your interest in Egyptian mythology stems from a fascination with animal-headed gods like Anibus and Sekhmet.

You read the Journal of Medicine in hopes they'll approve fur grafts.

in hopes they'll approve fur grafts. ... or prosthetic tails.

You spend more money on buying animal soft toys on trips than buying duty-free.

... and you buy passports for each of them.

... and you try to get the passports for your animal soft toys stamped by Immigration on overseas trips.

You think the use of the term "coyote ugly" is derogatory - for coyotes.

You get sensory feedback from body parts that you don't have.

You refer to the humans from a third person/species point of view.

You made your own 'You might be a Furry if...' list.

You are digitigrade more than half of the time.

... and don't realize it.

You turn around whenever you close a door so that you don't get your tail caught.

You are upset that video game systems offer so few animal characters.

You grow your own winter coat.

You have been banned from the vets until you get a pet.

The police keep your bite marks as well as fingerprints on file.

You call your bed a nest.

... and it looks like one.

You call little ones cubs, pups, hatchlings, etc...

You worry that if you bite someone you will have to be put down.

You've ever barked at a passing car.

You've tried to make an appointment with a "Dr. Moreau".

You've grown and sharpened your nails into claws.

Please note that contributions to this list are no longer being accepted (the barrel has well and truly been scraped on this one). Thanks to all who have contributed in the past.

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