Frequently Asked Questions - All FAQs
FAQs -
All FAQs
We are only a group in name and have no fixed dogma. I doubt you'd ever get all of us to agree on anything. ;-) In fact, I cannot claim to speak for all dragons with this FAQ, and differences of opinion are certainly welcome. (See "Contact Information" at the bottom of this document.)
Dragons come from all walks of life, span all ages from schoolchildren to grandparents, are widely distributed geographically (no, this isn't just a California thing), and in general are hard to pick out in a crowd. Speaking from experience, though, I will observe that most dragons seem to be introspective individuals, many of whom felt a social detachment from their peers at an early age, and many of whom are either well-educated people or bright underachievers. Draconity cuts across gender lines, although males apparently outnumber females (which is true of just about any group on the Internet). The majority of dragons are avid readers, and unsurprisingly, they seem to enjoy fantasy/science-fiction novels.
No.
A cult is an organization, usually with religious overtones, characterized by the presence of a charismatic leader, a demand for unconditional acceptance of its dogma, and a focus on financial support from its members.
Being a dragon is completely at odds with all of these danger signals. The dragon community has no members which could rightly be called "leaders." There is nothing one must believe in order to call themselves a dragon (except draconity itself, by definition). And there is no place to send money to.
We do not try to "hook" gullible people into draconity. On the contrary, conversation in dragon circles tends to be intellectual and social (e.g. pun wars, riddles), and if people stay it is because they like the casual and friendly atmosphere which characterizes all of our online correspondence. Non-dragons are always welcome, and there are many humans who have been in dragon circles for years! No social pressure is ever applied -- one does not have to be a dragon to participate in any dragon community activities.
Dragons are a very diverse group, and if one stays for long enough they are almost certain to be exposed to a wide range of beliefs, but there is no agenda we have to push upon others. If someone you care about is a dragon, you can rest assured that it is by their free will.
Dragons are only a group in name and have no fixed dogma. The only requirement for believing that one is a dragon is to believe at some level that dragons exist (by definition). There is no organization that sets standards for draconity. There are no fixed rituals, no social conventions, and no necessary ethics. In short, no.
I am not aware of any religions which specifically preach to dragons (2), although (as might be expected) some religions appeal more to dragons than others do. I suspect that the "typical dragon" has a worldview that does not fit into the framework of any world religion, although one may certainly be a dragon and be of various faiths.
Believing that one is a dragon does not, in itself, create incompatibilities with any religion -- there is no dogma of draconity that states what you need to believe. There are, of course, conflicts with some faiths, but these are caused by the dogma of the religion in question, most often when the religion labels dragons as inherently evil.
To provide a specific example: Christian churches that call for a literal interpretation of the Bible traditionally have had problems with draconity. (See following questions.)
Christianity, in general, demands a belief in Jesus Christ as one's savior and in the unity and supremacy of God. Draconity is not incompatible with either of these concepts, and so being a Christian dragon is certainly possible. "Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps." (Psalm 148:7)
It is far simpler to be a dragon, to be certain, in a liberal church. In more conservative organizations, which tend to insist on a literal interpretation of the Bible, draconity can be incompatible with the teachings of the institution (see next question).
Christian dragons, in my experience, tend to have a very colorful and living mythology that unites their conception of dragon with their conception of God. One friend of mine, for example, identifies dragons as among God's angels.
Just like everything else in such a symbolically loaded book, it all depends on interpretation. Dragons have typically been associated with the Antichrist mostly on the strength of the book of Revelation (specifically Rev. 12:1-9, among other references). However, there's considerable speculation that John was writing symbolically about the Roman Empire in that passage, and so the question may hinge on: Why was a dragon used as a symbol for something so evil?
Dragons are a very powerful Other, instantly recognizable as something alien to humanity. In a religion so centered on humanity as Christianity, this placed them naturally in the role of enemies. They may have been associated with the enemy simply because of the strength of their symbolism and mythology and their universality.
Of course, not all references to dragons in the Bible portray them as evil. But in general, Western thought has been to condemn them -- unfairly, I say.
One either is or is not a dragon, and trying to "become" one is rather like trying to change sexes without the proper medical procedure. In short, people cannot "become" dragons.
However: This is not to say that dragons always know who they are! Very few are born with the knowledge of their inner draconity; most have to grow into it and discover it. Draconity is just as legitimate if discovered late in life. True draconity is not a "becoming," it is a "returning," and true dragons know the difference.
Ultimately, the question boils down to "How do I know if I'm a dragon?" (answered above). However, one can certainly join the dragon community whether they are a dragon or not (see next question). And many members of the dragon community "adopt a character" at the beginning of their stay -- but later grow to find that the "character" has adopted THEM.
All people, whether they are dragons or not, are welcome to the dragon community. On the Internet, this community takes the form of Usenet newsgroups (such as alt.fan.dragons and, to some extent, alt.lifestyle.furry), Internet Relay Chat rooms (such as Dalnet's #afd channel), a tangled web of WWW pages (the AFD page, http://www.dragonfire.org, is a good starting point), MUCKs (such as Alfandria at alfandria.chameleon.org, port 8888), and scattered mailing lists, spin-off chat rooms and bulletin-board style discussions. Nearly all of these forums are open to the public, so feel free to walk in, listen for a while, and make your presence known. Information on joining the newsgroups or IRC channels is available from many sources, including here (which is also maintained by me).
The longer you stay and the more you contribute to the community, the more your name will be known. So come on in and make a difference!
