Well. Furry to me is a collective of people that are interested in the anthropormorphic arts or have a connection with an animal of some type. One that is strong, bordering on spiritual. Furry is not about sex. Furry is a means to explore your inner animal. To imagine what it feels to run on paws, to have claws to scratch, maybe a tail to wag. It is to have a connection with an animal that has a controlling place in your life. A true fur has one form, the form of their bonded animal. It might take on subtle changes from format to format but it will always be the same animal. The strongest furs have only one character wherever they are. It is as much a part of them as breathing. Those that have many multiple characters and multiple forms are roleplayers with an identity crisis, not furs. Your furry character is part yourself and part your chosen animal. How much of yourself you let into your animal will control it's appearance and actions. Maybe your character is quite friendly but in life you are really reserved and standoffish. It seems a lot of furs, socially at least, have a large gap in their lives. The furry world allows this gap to be filled, safely and without it intruding into your real life (unless you allow it to). You can visit with friends, meet new entities, maybe meet another fur that you bond to in the realm of RL, or just explore what it feels like to have the form of your chosen and there is no mess and spilled food to clean up afterwards. It's a great place to exchange ideas, find information or just while away the time. And no one looks at you strangely when you feel the urge to bark, howl, wag your tail or open nuts with your teeth.
          Then there are the artists and the fans of same. To be able to draw good anthro art is a skill. To make it look anatomically believable is a gift. There are some excellent artists out there in the community and I take a hat off to those that take the time to help or give hints to those who are trying to draw and make an attempt to do it right and take enough pride in their work to ask for help.
          There are also those that seek sexual gratification through furry. They are not the old style furry, only using the format to satisfy themselves without any involvement. The animal form they choose means nothing to them and they probably know little if anything about it. Example are those who claim to be foxes. Foxes mate only for a few weeks out of the year, WITH ONE MATE ONLY and smell very bad. Most people that pick a fox for a character seem to feel it's an excuse to engage in sex play with anything that comes along. How sad that you don't even have a clue as to the true nature of the animal and choose to dishonor its spirit in this way. Then there are the Zoos .. No comment. Animal abuse has no place in Furry. Zoos engage in beastiality and it is nothing more than that. If you really like animals and respect them you don't elect to screw them. If your dog chooses to have sex with you .. fine. But you are not furry. Those that search out sex and nothing else here need to get a life. There is much more to this environment than to waste it.
        I enjoy furry and have met some very nice characters. I have been a fur since even before home computers. It's nice to be able to indulge in wolfish thought every now and then and know there are others that feel the same. I think it's a shame that what was once a fun and entertaining collective has been perverted and corrupted by fringe groups that have no concept of the original intent and are only interested in gratifying their own perverted interests.