BearlyRare
Lurker
Cross-posted from ZooCommunity.
Being a younger adult zoo, it's hard to imagine times when zoophilia wasn't deemed as harmful and taboo as it is today, or when furries didn't vehemently advocate for the removal of zoos from their spaces. It seems a much further past than it really is though, all things considered.
Trying to find earlier instances of casual zoophilia on the internet, I began searching for a site that had some time and history put into it compared to the modern apps and chats that we have and I found interesting stuff. Just from a casual search on dreamwidth, not even having an account, I was able to find users from back in the early 2000's categorizing "zoo" as a subset of furry culture, of equal status as "lifestyler". This is from the account of multiple users who, according to their account history, have never identified as zoos themselves but associated with them due to the fandom. Alongside those tidbits there was the expected mentions of MUCKs, telnet, and IRC, and seeing those previous options for zoos made me feel rather lonely.
While this forum is a great place to stop by and read through, and I'm sure there are those who have spoken more personally with this site as the medium or maybe through a telegram chat, it likely feels very different to have to bunker down here and hide than it would have felt to log onto a fairly accessible talker back in the day. I wish I could have been around to see it, if only for a little while. As it stands, the zoos who I've seen mention those chats were talking to each other in the times where my house only had one shared computer in the family room, and I hadn't yet learned how to type.
I know that those avenues are still technically around, older zoos have mentioned still using IRC and I've seen the New Years posts about there being a reunion on talkers, but it almost feels like I would be invading the space of older zoos if I barged in trying to use those sites, especially if I don't know the etiquette. Every space on the internet, even from back then, has its own culture and social rules, and I feel wholly unprepared to engage with that part of the community, though I would like to someday.
It would be amazing to hear folks talk about their experiences using the older communication routes, cool stories from those days of zoos they met and may or may not still talk to today (with adequate anonymity maintained, of course), or just to hear some information on how modern zoos could get involved with talkers and IRC, ways to use them properly and stay secure and such. I personally think hearing experiences from elders and grey-muzzles in a community is important as it gives us context for the modern day and history of how we got where we are.
It would be great to have the wisdom and experience from those zoos passed down, so if anyone is willing to (safely) share then please fill up this thread!
Being a younger adult zoo, it's hard to imagine times when zoophilia wasn't deemed as harmful and taboo as it is today, or when furries didn't vehemently advocate for the removal of zoos from their spaces. It seems a much further past than it really is though, all things considered.
Trying to find earlier instances of casual zoophilia on the internet, I began searching for a site that had some time and history put into it compared to the modern apps and chats that we have and I found interesting stuff. Just from a casual search on dreamwidth, not even having an account, I was able to find users from back in the early 2000's categorizing "zoo" as a subset of furry culture, of equal status as "lifestyler". This is from the account of multiple users who, according to their account history, have never identified as zoos themselves but associated with them due to the fandom. Alongside those tidbits there was the expected mentions of MUCKs, telnet, and IRC, and seeing those previous options for zoos made me feel rather lonely.
While this forum is a great place to stop by and read through, and I'm sure there are those who have spoken more personally with this site as the medium or maybe through a telegram chat, it likely feels very different to have to bunker down here and hide than it would have felt to log onto a fairly accessible talker back in the day. I wish I could have been around to see it, if only for a little while. As it stands, the zoos who I've seen mention those chats were talking to each other in the times where my house only had one shared computer in the family room, and I hadn't yet learned how to type.
I know that those avenues are still technically around, older zoos have mentioned still using IRC and I've seen the New Years posts about there being a reunion on talkers, but it almost feels like I would be invading the space of older zoos if I barged in trying to use those sites, especially if I don't know the etiquette. Every space on the internet, even from back then, has its own culture and social rules, and I feel wholly unprepared to engage with that part of the community, though I would like to someday.
It would be amazing to hear folks talk about their experiences using the older communication routes, cool stories from those days of zoos they met and may or may not still talk to today (with adequate anonymity maintained, of course), or just to hear some information on how modern zoos could get involved with talkers and IRC, ways to use them properly and stay secure and such. I personally think hearing experiences from elders and grey-muzzles in a community is important as it gives us context for the modern day and history of how we got where we are.
It would be great to have the wisdom and experience from those zoos passed down, so if anyone is willing to (safely) share then please fill up this thread!
