Well here we go again;
As a smoker (and fursuiter), I know both sides of the story.
Here my opinion:
From fursuiters view:
- I know where the smoker spots are, so I tend to avoid them or atleast watch out where I walk and with whom I am with; I want to avoid burnholes but it can happen, as it is part of the risk you take as you go outside near the spots that are marked as "smoker spots"
- When I want to go for fresh air without that risk, I go to the fursuit lounge with enough ventilators to kill my high body temperature
- I hate smokers aswell who stand right next to the door but sometimes they do it to protect other fursuiters who are standing right in the middle of the so called "smokers area"
My view as a smoker:
- I dont know a single smoker that's not extra precausios when it comes to cigarettes and fur; I always keep my hand "over" my cigarette as if its raining and tend to make sure suiters aren't able to jump into me since I dont wanna damage their suit
- We already have such a tiny area near the hotel where we can smoke without being hoisted away every 5minutes cuz of cabs
- We already stay near ashtrays as that is "our place"
- About 60-75% of the furs I saw smoking used the ashtrays to not harm suiters feet. so yes we do care
- Smoking in line sucks balls as it makes us uncomfortable aswell, but since sometimes waiting time was 1hour+ delayed, and most of us wouldnt wanna leave our spot...
I could go on for ages. Yes I know both sides, yes I know fursuits are hot as fuck and that the hotel lobby wasn't well ventilated (hell, I was walking around in a tshirt and shorts in there just fine, but when I walked outside it was plainely cold). But we're already a scapegoat, we have these few spots for over 400 furs (easily) to stand in, which are obviously assigned to smoke in as there were 8 ashtrays alone.
I can't deny fursuiters from there, just as much you can't deny us from smoking at that certain area... All you can ask from "us" is that we be carefull around fursuiters, which we are as much as possible (or atleast I, and my friends, are).
Plus, if you dont want your suit to get wet, you shouldnt go outside when it's raining; same for suits that smell like smoke (which is easily killed with some fibrese); when you dont want your suits to smell like smoke, dont go near smoker area's or the campfire.
But yes, you could go for a no-smoking in lines, as that is a place where people don't choose to be near smoke, but you cant ask a smoker to give up his place entirely just so he can have a cigerette cuz of delays. Then non-smokers should be nice enough to keep that certain spot for this person, or don't complain about the smell tbh... I would do the same for someone that needs to go to the toilet or get something to drink.
Ofcourse you can ask people to not smoke at a certain door, but you can only ask I guess and not forbid...
Cuz in this way I feel less and less welcome at Eurofurence and that only because I like my cigarette every once and a while... People who take glass outside (and dont take it back inside) are more likely to hurt a suiter (tail sweeping glass from a certain area, breaks, certain liquides inside on fur, sugary goop... not nice) or the candles in the lobby (tail swoops table, candle falls over, wax in fur; fursuit ruined)
So I don't know, in my opinion, if you're really bothered with it check out the other opportunities, as you guys have more of them then we do (as we only got outside), but yes smoking near an entrance/exit; not really cool, unless they take into consideration that there are 5fursuiters in a very tight space and they feel pressured to do so indirectly cuz of these kind of discussions.
