Technically
I start out by giving a quick lesson in Greek. First, I would like to clarify that while anthropomorph is technically correct, it is so broad that I prefer a different word to describe furs. An object is deemed anthropomorphic if it has been given human attributes; usually including the capacity for rational thought, emotions, and an upright posture. An anthropomorphic animal, by that definition is a hybrid that is somewhere between a human and the original species. This definition, however, fails to land on what the word anthropomorph really means. Therefore, as I said earlier, I prefer the use of a different word...zoanthrope. Here's a little Greek background for you then, and the same that I give to others:

Anthropos - human or human-like
Morphic - of shape or form
Zoo - animal or animal-like

So when you put it all together, an anthropomorph is anything with a human shape or form. A zoanthrope, however, is either a human-like animal or an animal-like human, just depending on your point of view or the situation. I guess in all technicality the best "real" word to describe furs would be zoanthropomorophic...but that's just an ugly word. Too many syllables.


Not-so-Technically
Usually by this point I've almost so helplessly confused whomever I'm talking to that I revert to a really simple description. "Think of a werewolf--or any werecreature--that can't change forms. It's permanently stuck in its were state." That usually clears things up enough to actually start having an intelligent discussion.

If you look over in the Guest Art section, you'll see a few drawing that, hopefully, will clear things up just a little bit.

Those are a couple of prime examples of what a fur might be. So, if you were to hear a person referring to a wolf, they'd want you to see a wolf in the way that the first image in that section is a wolf.

Also, furs are generally not restricted to real-life species, as (last I checked) gryphons, dragons, and the like aren't all that common in today's world--although many furs are represented by these species.

So, in essence, each of the images in that section is a concise graphical representation of what a fur would be if it existed in today's world. None of these beings are capable of shape shifting. There is no fully-human or fully-animal forms to them. They are not were-creatures. Their permanent forms are exactly as depicted.

Hopefully at this point I haven't lost you, because I'm about to make it a whole lot more confusing.


Real Life
Alright, so now that I've given you the theoretical version of what a fur is, I'm going to try and explain the reality of it. Or maybe that should be the other way around...

Either way, I think we can agree that furs, as I've described in the above two sections, do not exist in our world. At least to the extent of my knowledge or the knowledge of anyone I know...to my knowledge. Umm...right. Anyway.

So if such things don't really exist, how can there be people out there (such as myself) that claim to actually be furs? Well, there is the insanity explanation, but that's a matter of semantics. I say all people are insane to some degree or another. You have to be to get through life.

Some say that anyone who takes an interest in art or literature that involves furry subjects is a fur. I, again, have to disagree with this. Mainly because if this was the case, it could be claimed that everyone was a fur. Because who doesn't like Loony Tunes? Or Disney? Those characters are classic and common examples of furs. Bugs, Daffy, Mickey, Chip & Dale, the cast of Disney's "Robin Hood"...all furs. The Beast, the 101 Dalmatians, and the casts of "The Jungle Book" and "The Lion King" are all furs as well...they may not be human in shape, but the are unarguably human-like. The list goes on. I don't know of a huge number of Nuggets fans, but I know a lot of people are fans of their lightning-bolt-tailed mascot, Rocky. Even cultural icons such as Smokey the Bear could fall into the definition of a fur.

But just because you happen to enjoy these movies or characters--that is, just because you're a fan--doesn't automatically make you a fur...at least in my book. Now this is somewhat tricky to define because, as we established, furs don't exist in the real world. So from that position, everyone is just a a part of the fandom to some degree. On the other paw, since furs, in the sense of the word defined at the beginning, don't really exist, a certain amount of liberty can be taken in deeming what makes someone a fur or just simply a fan.


The "True" Fur
Now that we have all these things that a real-world fur is not, what exactly is a real fur?

Well, if you ask me, I think a fur is someone who takes the fandom one step further. A person who somehow associates him/herself with an animal in some way. Iron Raptor, one of the artists in the fur community, said it in a way I particularly agree with. He said that furs "are a symbol of instinctual urges that humans subconsciously have, but never knew it existed." The only part of that I would change is "never knew it existed" to something more like "have repressed."

Talk to most any of the individuals in the sub-culture and they will tell you that they're into the furry culture because they feel something more inside of themselves...that they feel as though they're in touch with something a little more primal. The extent to which each individual agrees to this statement will vary widely. On one end of the spectrum they might say they just like to imagine what they might look like with the features of a chosen animal. On the other end you might hear that the furry persona is a part of their psyche, where the division between their character and themselves exists only in the minds of psychologists. Some have a firm grasp on reality and can distinguish between fact and fiction, reality and imagination, spirit/mind and body. Others will become thoroughly offended if you, in any way, refer to them as human.

In a nutshell, fans enjoy the artwork and stories while the actual furs live the lifestyle to some degree.

I guess the biggest thing that needs to be considered, though, is that while I can sit here and try to describe the concept of furry to no end, you're possibly going to sit there and agree with some things and not with others. That's not to say that I'm right and you're wrong, but it's also not to say that you're right and I'm wrong. Like I said above, the lack of existence of a true fur by definition leaves the whole thing open to certain liberties. One of the pages I visited summed it up in a simple phrase: Furry is what you make of it.


Art & Fiction, etc.
As I'm sure has already become glaringly obvious, artwork and fiction are very likely the single largest thing that holds the fur culture together. Since there really isn't a way to actually physically express the furry feeling, it has to be represented in whatever form possible. Since the physical world cannot place any bounds on what can be drawn or written the fur culture relies on these tools to express the thoughts and feelings they hold within themselves.

And, as with anything else that any individual across the world could think or feel, the expressions of such range from the absolute mundane to the outrageously sexual to the just plain wrong...and everything and anything between.

One of the other, and more noticeable ways, that some furs choose to express how they feel is by donning "fursuits"--or head-to-toe costumes making them look like furs. Fursuits can go from the after-school project of a true amateur to works that take months of hard work to create and cost thousands of dollars.


Conventions
It's probably not difficult to see that the fur community is not huge. In fact, it's been estimated (by someone who is no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but has put considerable effort into coming up with a number) that the world-wide fur population hovers around the 40,000 mark.

When you take into account that 40,000 furs spanned over the world is going to spread the population considerably thin, along with the fact that most furs don't talk about their feelings (for fear of being considered freaks), it's amazing there's a community at all.

And there really wasn't...up until the internet came onto the market in full force. But even so, it didn't bring a whole lot of furs geographically closer together. You'll find furs here and there, but it's still a thin presence in almost any community.

So, the natural solution is to hold conventions. Furs have (what I think) is an unproportionately huge number of conventions. Just to name the ones I can off the top of my head, there's AnthroCon (AC) in Philadelphia in July, FURther CONfusion (FC) in the bay area in January, Midwest Fur Fest (MFF) in Chicago, Mephit Fur Meet (MFM) in Memphis, Furry Spring Break (FSB) in Florida, ConiFur (CF) in Seattle, Feral! in Ontario, and ConFurence (I can't remember where that one is).

Of these, AC is unarguably the largest, drawing a crowd of over 1,700 in 2002. FC is the second largest, and then most of the others are minor, but still draw good crowds.

Fur conventions allow a place where, usually for a weekend, furs can gather; buy, sell, and trade artwork, stories and other commodities; attend any number of a variety of workshops; and just generally relax.

If you head over to the photos section, you can see a few images of me hanging out at AC '02.

Final Thoughts
I hope this has helped you build or further your personal concept of furry. If you feel the need to praise or argue with anything I have said here, or you feel I have missed an important point, please feel free to e-mail me and let me know.

Here's one "What is Furry?" page I landed on that I found particularly well written and actually still exists:
http://home.microserve.de/juergenr/faqs/usenet-whatis.txt