From: FURRJK@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu (Joel Furr)
Subject: Suicide note
Organization: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 16:22:41 GMT


I don't expect many people will be interested in what I have to
say, but I'm posting this for those few who might.

My name is Joel Furr, and I'm fairly well known on FurryMUCK and
to a lesser extent on Time Traveller for my obnoxious, irritating
characters.  In real life, I'm a 24-year old PhD. student in
Public Administration at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.  Among
my interests is writing, public speaking (I'm a District officer
in Toastmasters International, believe it or not), history, and
geography.

I asked to have all my remaining characters toaded on the evening
of Thursday, April 16, 1992, and this was done.  At present I
have no plans to stage a semi-glorious return to either MUCK and
doubt that anyone will miss my characters anyhow.  If a new MUCK
comes open at some point that needs builders, I might wander over
there, but I really doubt anyone would want me there.  Unlike
most of the better-known irritating people one encounters on
MUCKs, I was always well aware of the contempt many people felt
toward me.

I did do a lot of building on FurryMUCK: I built the Lyric
Theater, demolished months ago at Siegfried's demand; Pandapas
Pond, taken over by Siegfried when I got sick of fighting with
him; Furry Island, Max's Glacier, the FurryMUCK Arctic Regions,
the FurryMUCK North Pole, Max's Fish Market, the Rathskeller beer
tavern, Aphrodite's Greenhouse and Meat Bar, Tycha's Reality
Counseling practice; the southeastern Henson Lakeshore; and
probably other things I've since forgotten about.

I also had lots of characters.  I think that, in total, I've had
something like 12 character slots.  Some of my characters were
better known than others.  The following is a list of characters
I used on FurryMUCK.  These are original creations except as
noted.

1. Chune.  A banana-morph, about six feet tall, with spindly arms
and legs and a confused look on his rubbery face.  Known for
sudden frenzies and occasional bouts of cannibalism.

2. Igburyanki.  A bigfoot, known for building Pandapas Pond and
the Lyric Theater and the original sewer system (since redesigned
by Neikrad).  He incurred the wrath of Siegfried when he insisted
that he did NOT own too many rooms, actions, exits, etc (approx.
250 total), and that there was no need to recycle bits and pieces
of the Lyric and Pond just to make Siegfried happy.  Eventually
he asked to be toaded rather than face a daily battle of wills
with Siegfried over dbase bloat each time he logged on.  Sieg-
fried screwed the Pond up once Igburyanki was toaded, of course.
Igburyanki returned after an eight-month hiatus to run the
properties built during the interim by the other characters, and
to open up a chain of stores selling cheap manufactured goods to
visitors and newcomers to FurryMUCK.  Eventually left the muck
altogether when too many people became annoyed with his blather-
ing and pranks.

3. Tycha.  A cheshire cat, non-morphic, owner of the only Reality
Counseling business on FurryMUCK.

4. Max.  A non-morphic penguin, apparently lost and unable to
find his way back to Antarctica.  Owner of Max's Fish Market and
builder of Max's Glacier and the Arctic coast of the FurryMUCK
continent.

5. Anonymous.  A spy, known for wearing a trenchcoat, dark
glasses, and a big hat.  Species uncertain; no one could see past
the "professional spy outfit."

6. Russell.  An elderly, irascible mole, who worked as night
custodian at the Lyric Theater.

7. Crockagator.  A reptilian furry, with powerful jaws and
stylish preppy clothing.

8. Aphrodite.  An ambulatory Venus Flytrap, with eight "mouths"
and numerous extendible tendrils.  A huge fan of ice weasles for
reasons never entirely determined.  Also known for spreading
paranoid rumors of impending air raids.

9. No-Neck.  An anthropomorphic wolf, very muscular, with essen-
tially no neck.  He worked for a while as a waiter at the Cafe
Rose but was too erratic (read, reckless and irresponsible) and
eventually moved on to become the builder of Furry Island, just
north of Unicorn Point.  (Not totally original.  Character was
inspired by the wolves with no necks who served as bouncers in
the Cafe Rose.)

10. Eddie.  An anthropomorphic lemur, with big curious eyes and a
mischevious, kleptomaniac personality.  The only non-rodent to
serve in the Rodent Defense Service, albeit as a member of the
RDS Primate Division.  Eddie was builder of the FurryMUCK North
Pole.

11. grass.  The quasi-intelligent, semi-ambulatory grass from the
West Corner of the Park.  (No one knows for sure who thought the
furry grass up.)

12. Octopus.  A furry, warm, cuddly octopus, vaguely anthropomor-
phic.  Owner of the sub-aquatic restaurant, the "Octopus's
Garden."

13. Furr.  A typical furry with typical dreams.  So named because
his player's last name really was Furr.

14. Shapechanger.  A nine-foot-high pile of violet furr.

15. Fang.  A furry who was mostly a mouth on two legs.  Lots of
sharp teeth.  Slavered a lot.

16. Mobius.  An odd being, known for his perpetually morphing
facial features.  Generally humanoid, known to wear a silver
ship-suit and green traction boots, Mobius's face was always
changing, one moment that of an owl, the next moment that of a
crocodile, and after that a bear... this is what happens to
people who tamper with the fabric of reality.  Mobius built and
operated the Rathskeller beer-cellar on Sable Street.

17. Joel.  A human being, six feet two inches tall, 180 pounds,
dark brown hair, fair skin, brown eyes, a practical-joker mental-
ity, and an extreme dislike of such idiots as Vulpis/Hunter and
Blaze/Sley.

18. Possum King.  Visitor from the 30th Century, Possum King was
a superhero endowed with the power of flight and super-strength
as well as the ability to play dead and hang upside down by his
tail. (Inspired by the Legion of Super-Pets)

19. Daisy.  A winsome young anthropomorphic she-kitten, not known
for wearing lots of clothes.  Created to see how desperate the
West Corner of the Park "studs" really were.

20. Wave.  A creature of the sea, half-sealion, half-man.

21. Crisis.  Crisis was a tiger-cat of greater than normal
intelligence, equipped with the ability to speak, and possessed
of a large number of shares of Coca-Cola stock.

22. Norman.  Norman the Vermin.  A sewer rat.  Employed by
various municipal sewer departments to do the maintenance jobs no
one else will do.

23. Silence.  A storklike bird, white in color, with long stilt-
like legs and a long pointy beak.  Known for staring fixedly at
people for long intervals and saying nothing.

24. littlewolf.  The innocent little anthropomorphic wolf who
never did learn to speak English, communicating only through a
garbled canine dialect similar to Foxish.  (Inspired by little-
fox)

25. Pearl.  The only oys'taur ever to visit civilization.  In
appearance, much like a regular centaur, except that where a
regular centaur would have a head, Pearl had a two-foot-wide
bivalve mollusk shell.  (Inspired by a quip from Stephan)

26. Mr. Kool-Aid.  The anthropomorphic pitcher-being, nine feet
tall, with a smiling face on one side of the pitcher and stubby
legs and arms.  Usually went around pouring people glasses of
Mountain Berry Punch and saying "Oh Yeaaah" in his trademark
style.  Not well liked by the hapless JimStoatlings of the Cafe
Rose, who had to repair the walls each time he came crashing
through.  (Stolen from the Kool-Aid tv commercials)

27. Charlie Tuna.  A tuna'morph, known for his good taste.  Blue
in color, prone to wearing black-rimmed glasses, a black beret,
and a little beatnik beard.  (Not original: stolen from the
Chicken Of The Sea commercials)

I think I made some contributions to FurryMUCK society during the
year I had my various characters on there. I tried to help new
characters out; I tried to do a good job of building; I annoyed a
lot of people.  My personal playing style tended to annoy too
many people, and that's entirely my own fault.

I'll miss some of the people I knew on FurryMUCK.  I hope that
the possum, the small white unicorn, the squirrel from Escondido,
the entirely brainless toon mouse, the black rabbit, the
gngroundhog, the ermine, the ice weasle, and all the rest of the
people who did put up with me will think of me now and then.  If
any of them want to contact my RL self, I'm always available at
furrjk@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu, or you may write Joel Furr, E-50, 1210
University City Blvd, Blacksburg VA 24060.  Like I said, I don't
plan a return; I think the MUCK will be well off without me.  But
you never know.
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