Beads?

[altivo]

*temporarily aborts planned entry*

"Furry bead code?" Huh?

This is a joke, right? Like the handkerchief codes and all that other nonsense? You're face to face with someone and you can't ask them a question if it's something you need to know? You'd rather be completely confused by a dozen contradictory color codes being passed around and your inability to distinguish "sparkles" and "stripes" in poor light conditions?

Jeez, as if there wasn't enough masochism inherent in being visibly furry, we have to dream up stuff like that?

Comments

[farhoug.livejournal.com]

Well, master that, and you'll find you can easily understand the small stuff like binary clocks. At least those have less (and steadier) colors. =)

Hmm, I wonder if there's a furry bar code already... Would make con registrations more easier anyways.

[duskwuff.livejournal.com]

Assuming you're looking at this entry from yiffsafely... well, most of the responses there seem pretty negative, so yeah. And woe be unto he who confuses yellow with gold (for instance).

Also, this entry is now the fifth Google hit on a search for "furry bead code" (with quotes). Impressive.

[atomicat.livejournal.com]

So I have a pair of side-cutters and some 120 grit sandpaper in my left back pocket, I walk into a bar called "The Toolbox" for a wee after-brunch martini... who am I gonna get hit on by? (I really missed the boat on this one, how embarrassing!)

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I think it's a cute idea, myself. Probably not really all that useful, of course, but then, the same can also be said about hankies (and people use those, too, despite that).

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Always kinda thought the handkerchief code was an exaggeration or urban legend, what with no two sources seeming to agree what colour means what. (Besides, what happens if I just need to blow my nose?)

Those binary clocks, incidentally, look adorable.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Compared to the randomness of color codes (and the rigidity they seem to imply but fail to deliver) a binary clock is child's play. ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Eeek. You're right. In fact, it's fourth when I search it this morning. Maybe I should make up yet another utterly contradictory version of the silly thing just to confound the matter before it grows any farther?

Yes, I was looking at that entry in yiffsafely after the topic was introduced in an online conversation last night. The other party in the conversaion, however, was looking at the even more complex and mostly contradictory entry at web.mac.com, which of course produced immediate confusion.

The mane of my fursuit has large colored beads braided into it. By either of these codes it would be sending some very peculiar messages.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Just beware of the guy with the slide rule sticking out of his right hip pocket. That one's a real nasty kink. ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hanky codes generally agreed on red and blue, and that was about the only thing I ever saw anyone pretending to take seriously. On the other hand, it also implied a rigidity of role-taking that I found rather disappointing.

I preferred the parody version of the code that had things like White hanky, any pocket: "I have a cold".

[altivo.livejournal.com]

See my note to schnee above. Some people did try to take the hanky codes seriously. Generally it was a sign that they were new to the scene and had no idea what life was really all about.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* The hanky codes definitely suffered from many issues - rigidity and a lack of flexibility, colour overload, incompatibilities, and so on.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

And, it would seem, so does the furry bead code. Already two completely contradictory versions in circulation. ;p

[damnbear.livejournal.com]

What are the color codes for "I have a life, a home, am unfun, have way too much work to worry about you're particular fetishes are, and I like to make fun of those with too much time on their hands?"

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* One of them actually is an older one that was revised later on after some input posted in kinkyfurs..

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Which explains why the newer one is nothing but kinks and no simple generalities?

If such a thing were to be useful at all, it has to depend on much broader categories and distinctions than those implied by the horribly complex code now listed at web.mac.com. Not only that, but reading that code requires an ability to distinguish fine differences in color and variations that are simply going to be too confusing in the poor lighting conditions of a furry dance or room party.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

There are no codes for that, of course, and we need to make some up. Unfortunately, they've already used up all the practical colors. We'll have to settle for confusing shades like chartreuse with purple sparkles, and mauve tinted glass.

I'm amused by the discovery that this LJ post has already made it into the top of the Google results for "furry bead code" though.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Furry bead code?

Is this just another excuse for furries to not have to talk to one another and show how poor their social skills are?

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I really don't know what you mean.

Things like "collects art", "has animals", "gamer" etc. sure seem like "simple generalities" to me, and I'm not sure how you'd make those "much broader". Also, it doesn't seem "horribly complex" to me; you just use one bead for your (character's) gender, add a couple for your interests, and add one or two for what you're looking for, if anything. "Horribly complex" is something different.

Furthermore, there are no "fine differences in colour", either - it's not as if there's twenty different shades of green, for example. Heck, there's only TWO different shades of green which are clearly distinguishable (neon green and regular green), and many other colours even come in just one variety.

And of course it's going to be difficult to read in poor lighting. So what? It's also going to be difficult to talk on the dancefloor, at least assuming the music is loud enough (and it generally will be), but that doesn't mean talking to others is a bad idea in general. FWIW, it might even serve as a conversation starter.

So, well... is it actually useful for finding play partners and so on? I'm not sure, but I doubt it. Is it going to catch on big time? Unlikely. Is it the horrible mess you make it out to be? Not that, either, though, and I think it's important to judge the code on its own merits rather than based on the antics of its author, on old versions and so on.

YMMV, of course, but that's what I think.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

My reference to "complexity" refers to white stripes, black stripes, sparkles, and so forth. I also think the difference between yellow and gold is going to be hard to see, likewise two shades of green which will vary greatly depending on the lighting, and anything black or white which can easily be some other color, again depending on lighting.

I can see the need to announce one's gender when in fursuit, but probably not the rest of the time.

On the whole, unless people carry little reference cards around to look up the meanings, this is just too complex for practical use. It has as many shades and levels as the text-based furry code, which no one tries to interpret out of their head. Instead we have to use a reference site on the web that runs it through an interpreter. ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Probably. It certainly made me laugh, especially in the context in which I encountered it and with the immediate confusion caused by two of us using different versions of the code in discussing it.

Gary's reaction was as mirthful as my own. He thinks someone needs to take an industrial design and a business communication course in order to learn some practicality before attacking a project of this sort. ;p

[schnee.livejournal.com]

My reference to "complexity" refers to white stripes, black stripes, sparkles, and so forth. I also think the difference between yellow and gold is going to be hard to see, likewise two shades of green which will vary greatly depending on the lighting, and anything black or white which can easily be some other color, again depending on lighting.

That argument pretty much makes it impossible to use any colours at all; you'll always be able to find lighting conditions under which you can't distinguish between something. As for yellow and gold... I always thought of "gold" as a shiny, metallic bead myself, while "yellow" would refer to a duller one that looks more like plastic, so under reasonably normal lighting conditions at least, these should be easy to distinguish.

That being said, nobody's forced to use it, either. If it catches on, it catches on; if it doesn't, it doesn't, but nobody will be forced to participate, not even on a social level. The world's not gonna come to an end if people start using it, just like the world also isn't gonna come to an end if they don't.

[delphinios.livejournal.com]

Like I feared, it got overcomplicated as such codes often do.

It would probably be simpler just to write your FurryMUCK WIXXX on a card and pin that under your namebadge. :D

[altivo.livejournal.com]

My real issue with it is the fact that I have used beads all along as part of my costume. It would be a nuisance to have to remove them all in order to avoid people making false assumptions.

That really does happen. I've had several experiences of that sort, and I find it quite irritating.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Except the print would have to be so small for some people to fit all their stuff on there you'd need to carry a magnifying glass or bend down and peer at the thing in the dark.

Whatever happened to the idea of talking to someone to figure out whether they really are interesting or not?

*snicker* Don't get me started on wixxx, now. It has terminology that NO one understands.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Yeah, I can see why that would be irritating...