#barq — Public Fediverse posts

When furries make better rules than big networks #furry #barq #noAI

"The BARQ situation is CRAZY."

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This started as a Telegram message to a private group as I was attempting to do research and get a better overview of the series of events. But it kept growing and I didn't want to spam the poor group members with a small wall of text. So I figured, heck, may as well rewrite and edit it, then post it here. Been a while since I logged into CubHub, so hopefully I'm not doing any formatting faux pas!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If you're a babyfur and active on Bluesky, chances are you're aware of the Barq situation. The relevant events seem to have been, in mostly chronological order:

• Barq podcast event happens at Anthrocon 2026, featuring Flame aka. FlameTheFawn (appears to be a 20-year old popufur fursuiter) as a special guest.

• Later that same night, Flame posts "I think we should crucify all babyfurs" on Twitter.

[ Screenshot of message: https://bsky.app/profile/vaporeon.baby/post/3mpsboohpus2f ]

• On Bluesky, babyfurs express their dismay with Barq having platformed this person.

• Barq posts a message on Bluesky, thanking Bluesky users for bringing this to their attention and saying they do not condone violence.

[ Barq's post: https://bsky.app/profile/barq.app/post/3mpt44xdw5c22 ]

• Barq then posts a statement on Bluesky, explicitly naming Flame and saying they do not stand behind him, and explicitly mentioning babyfurs being a valid part of the community.

• Babyfurs are angry that Barq only posted the message on Bluesky, and not to their Twitter account (which has more followers – and is where Flame and his followers are).

[ Call for Twitter post: https://bsky.app/profile/rockhardhudson.bsky.social/post/3mptlscm52s2i ]

• Barq eventually responds that this was an oversight (Barq's response message is signed "Ramp"), and they then post the message to Twitter as well.

[ Response saying it was an oversight: https://bsky.app/profile/barq.app/post/3mq2mnc3im22w ]

• Barq faces backlash from anti-babyfurs on Twitter.

• Two-ish hours after posting to Twitter, they delete both the Twitter post and their Bluesky post.

[ Twitter posts and deletion: https://bsky.app/profile/betasheppy.bsky.social/post/3mq2xsghex22a ]

• Flame posts an apology of sorts of his own to Twitter, saying it was an attempt at a joke, that he worded his opinion poorly, and that he does not condone violence. One of his responses reads "fuck babyfurs but no violence", and he talks of how babyfurs are "sexualizing children" (a common current rhetorical go-to for anti-babyfurs).

[ Flame's apology and comments: https://bsky.app/profile/fritzdaskunk.bsky.social/post/3mptubdkcss24 ]

COMMENTS:

I'm unsure if the Barq Bluesky post was deleted before the Twitter posts, or at the same time. Some messages on Bluesky seem to indicate the Bluesky post was actually deleted at about the same time they posted to Twitter. I also don't know if the deleted Bluesky post was fully identical to the Twitter post(s); I've only seen screenshots of the post(s) from Twitter.

[ Message saying Bluesky message was deleted first: https://bsky.app/profile/vaporeon.baby/post/3mq2rio5n3k2a ]

The current common reading is that Barq got spooked by the backlash on Twitter from the anti-babyfurs, and deleted their posts. Anti-babyfurs are known for using troll tactics, issuing threats and engaging in doxxing. So things may have gotten too heated, they feared the repercussions, and they decided to abandon their babyfur userbase by retracting their "babyfurs are welcome" statement.

To speculate further. It might be the message was never intended to be posted to Twitter, only on Bluesky, as Barq likely knows the split in demographics and miljø between the two platforms. Most babyfurs left Twitter for Bluesky (or Mastodon), so that's where most babyfurs are likely to see Barq's posts. Twitter has become more volatile and right-wing oriented, has more active young furries, and it's a platform that thrives off of conflict. Either they changed their mind when they saw the anger from babyfurs on Bluesky. Or there had been some miscommunication or disagreement internally in the Barq social media team, and the poster (likely Ramp) acted alone and not in accordance with their strategy, whether by accident or deliberately.

A more charitable reading of the situation could be that they deleted the posts while preparing a more proper announcement about the situation and their stance. But it would be an odd choice to either not let it stay up until such a point, or to make some general "stay tuned for more information" post.

TAKEAWAYS:

Deleting something on social media doesn't make it go away. People remember, people take screenshots, people share.

I thought the message I saw from Barq on Twitter was actually pretty decent! It made it clear babyfurs are welcome in the community and on their platform, and it distanced Barq from their guest and his values.

The act of deleting a statement is in itself a statement. If you make a post saying "babyfurs are welcome", then delete said statement, you are in effect communicating that babyfurs are not welcome.

I would love to see Barq posting another, longer statement (on both Twitter and Bluesky), standing up against the bigots, and inviting a popular babyfur to a future Barq podcast. This, combined with an explanation on why the Twitter oversight initially happened and why both were deleted, could do a lot to make good with the community they now appear to have abandoned.

The current gold standard for handling attacks from anti-babyfurs is ConFuzzled. But they've also done the arguably smart move of removing themselves fully from Twitter.

[ ConFuzzled post and statement: https://bsky.app/profile/confuzzled.org.uk/post/3ml7mbcmmoc2i ]

Babyfurs should let their thoughts and feelings be known and contact Barq to voice their dismay. Of course doing so in a calm and civil manner.

... and if no official word is forthcoming, I'd suggest a simple boycott. If you want to go all out, you could delete your user, make a GDPR request to have your data deleted, uninstall the app, block or mute their social media accounts, avoid their events and content, and recommend that other babyfurs and furry allies do the same. At the very least, not actively using their app. I don't think we should support a platform that doesn't support us.

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If anything here is factually incorrect, please feel free to give corrections! And if I've done any Mastodon/Cub Hub errors, feel free to comment that too (I'm pretty rusty).

#Barq #Babyfur #ABDL

Puh, diese Doppelmoral 😖

Gerade habe ich in der Furry- und Puppy-App Barq die Gruppe „CoasterPaws“ entdeckt. Untertitel: „Themepark, Waterpark & Zoo Furs“ 🫣

—

Gruppenbeschreibung:

🎢🐾 CoasterPaws – Where Thrill Meets Fur! 🌊🦁

We're a furry community obsessed with theme parks, water parks, and zoos! Whether you're into coasters, slides, or cute animals ^^

🎡 Hop in and ride with the fluffiest thrill-seekers around! 🐾

—

Der Inhalt des angepinnten Beitrags
„Welcome in the Group 👋😋🥰“:

🇩🇪 Deutsch:

Heyho und herzlich willkommen bei CoasterPaws! 🎢🐾

Ich bin AlpinWolf | Alex – Gründer dieser Gruppe und absoluter Freizeitpark-, Wasserpark- und Zoo-Fan.
Hier treffen sich Furries, die genauso viel Spaß an wilden Achterbahnen, nassen Abenteuern und tierischen Begegnungen haben wie du!

Fühl dich frei, dich vorzustellen, Bilder zu teilen oder einfach mitzuchatten.

Viel Freude und let’s ride! 🎡🌊🦁

🇬🇧 English:

Hey and welcome to CoasterPaws! 🎢🐾

I’m AlpinWolf | Alex, the founder of this group and a huge fan of theme parks, water parks, and zoos.
This is the place for furries who love big thrills, splashy fun, and furry friends – both human and animal!

Feel free to introduce yourself, share photos, or just hang out and chat.

Have fun and enjoy the ride! 🎡🌊🦁

—

Auch wenn sich aktuell nur sechs Personen in der Gruppe befinden, konnte ich das nicht unkommentiert lassen:

Auch auf die Gefahr hin, mich unbeliebt zu machen und blockiert zu werden:

Ich finde es erstaunlich und traurig, zu welcher Doppelmoral der Mensch immer wieder fähig ist.

Ich mag Tiere und möchte sie daher für mein Vergnügen weder eingesperrt noch anderweitig ausgenutzt wissen.

–

#Barq #Zoos #Zoo #Furry #Puppy #GoVegan

The "open in app" button on "Barq" profile links doesn't seem to work on any browser on my phone.
Which is quite in line with my general feeling about that app.

But, to be fair, my negative feeling towards that app mainly comes from them still not being open-source, so, we'll see how long until I'll delete my account there again. I've got the feeling that all I got from it was more spam on Telegram. 😅

#Furry #Barq

If you collect #barq convention groups (CCC cons) :
- MRMCD25 : https://barq.app/e/iMSP2Mg
- 39C3 : https://barq.app/e/CLpRn6f

Getting added on Telegram by someone claiming to be from #Barq (which is a location-based app), then talking to some 'guy' there, which awfully sounds like the most basic ChatGPT responses (always applauding you, agreeing to what you're saying and generally pretty bland and repeating wording), only for them to ask me where I'm from.

I mean, wtf, just look at my Barq, that's what it's literally for.

I hate these bots.

I don't like what #barq did to the event system.
Apparently, I have to "search" for events now, instead of simply saying "wtf, just show me all events within 100 km".

(The "events nearby" feature seems not to work as I expect)

Weird, #Barq banned my account for a low quality profile but I don't have any emails or anything about the ban. Didn't even know this was a thing, very odd.

Wait what's up with that #barq update ? What are friends ? And why do I have to turn on geoloc to see people around me ? It's too precise (even when editing the options), I want to set a location aaaah.

Schreibt mich wer auf #Barq an, Franzose(in?), wo grad hier inner Stadt is für Messe.

"ey, cool du wohnst hier...kenn hier keinen Bock mir die Stadt zu zeigen?"

wahrscheinlich sehr netter Mensch, aber mein innerstes so "tooooo fast" x'D

uff.

​:blobfoxtrash:​ Furry trash? Coming to the #37c3? Join us on telegram and the #barq group ( https://barq.app/e/dszbAqN )

Reposting it : #furry trash? Attending the #37c3? There's a #barq group for that! ​:blobfoxtrash:​
https://barq.app/e/dszbAqN

​:blobfoxtrash:​ Furry trash ? On #barq ? Going to the #37c3 ? There is a group for that !

https://barq.app/e/dszbAqN

​:blobfoxtrash:​ Furry trash ? On #barq ? Going to the #37c3 ? There is a group for that !

https://barq.app/e/dszbAqN

Speaking of #37c3 : here's the (unofficial) #barq event : https://barq.app/e/dszbAqN

Are you #furry trash ? Coming to the #37c3 ? On #barq ?
Then join the group https://barq.app/e/dszbAqN !