Ainmhícon Code of Conduct

Preamble

Ainmhícon is an Irish furry convention that seeks to meet the desires of furries to come together and discuss the things that they love. We want to bring people together and to share our love of the anthropomorphic arts. This is a safe, inclusive, LGBTQ+ led convention, that has no tolerance for harassment or abuse of attendees or staff. We note that this Code of Conduct is required to be read and agreed by all attendees in order to attend the convention.

Registration / Badges

Attendance

“Ainmhícon”, “the Convention” or “AnV” is a private event, and only registered attendees are entitled to attend. Attendance at the Convention without a valid registration will result in ejection from the Convention space and a possible ban from future Conventions.

You must be at least 18 years of age by the date of your attendance at the Convention.

AnV reserves the right to refuse entry to any person, including registered attendees. If you feel you were unfairly refused entry, you can contact mail@aimhicon.ie regarding same.

Identification

In order to receive your badge at the Convention, you will be required to provide a physical form of Government-issued identification that matches the name you provided during registration. Digital forms of identification are not considered sufficient for Ainmhícon. This identification must show:

  • your legal name,
  • your date of birth,
  • and an image of yourself.

This identification must be physically presented to the registration team in order to receive your badge.

Examples of valid identification include an in-date passport or drivers licence.

We note that the Irish Public Services Card and the Garda Age Card are not considered valid forms of identification.

If your personal identification is updated between when you registed and when you attend the Convention, please update your registration on the registration portal.

Convention volunteers will be identifiable by lanyards that are of a different colour to attendees. Convention volunteers are required to wear this lanyard only whilst they are on shift, and are to change to a different lanyard when not on shift. Attendees are not to wear lanyards that may be mistaken for staff lanyards.

Badges

You must keep your badge on you at all times and it must always be visible. Those in fursuit, cosplay or otherwise dressed up can keep their badge in their pocket or with their handler if needed for their costume, but must be able to produce it at any stage.

Your badge must not be altered nor concealed partially or fully, noting the above exception for those in fursuit, cosplay or otherwise dressed up.

Badges are non-transferable.

General Conduct / Behaviour / Consent

In order for everyone to have a good time at the Convention, we note that all attendees must listen to instructions from hotel staff and AnV volunteers at all times and obey instructions promptly.

We require attendees to treat everyone with respect, Convention volunteers, hotel staff and other attendees included.

Consent

Consent is key and is required prior to any physical contact of another attendee. “No” means no. “Stop” means stop. “Go away” means go away. Consent is Ongoing, Mutual, and Freely Given (“OMFG”). No other interpretation is accepted by AnV.

We note that consent can be expressed verbally or through clear body language (eg: nodding, mouthing the word “yes”, and/or the “thumbs up” sign). If ever in doubt, always ask again to confirm. It must be noted that those who are under the influence of alcohol may have an impaired ability to consent and this must be taken into consideration.

Note that consent can be revoked at any stage by an attendee before or during an interaction and that giving consent for a prior interaction does not indicate consent for future interactions. Additionally, please keep in mind that different people may have different levels of interaction that they are comfortable with generally and between different groups of people (eg: their close friends compared to strangers).

Failure to obtain consent prior to physical interaction may result in your removal from the Convention and attendance at future Conventions reconsidered. Inappropriate behaviour may be reported to the Gardaí.

Conduct

There is to be no sexual conduct in public spaces. Anything beyond a regular expression of affection, eg: kissing, hugging, petting of the head or shoulders, may be considered unacceptable behaviour. Items of clothing with “O” or “D” rings are not to be attached to a leash, rope or other tether, and “O” and “D” rings are not to be tugged.

AnV is not a pet-friendly convention, and neither is the hotel venue. No animals are to be brought onto the grounds, aside from registered service animals. An animal that is not a registered service animal but is considered by the owner/handler to be an emotional support animal is not to be brought onto the grounds of the hotel. Emotional support animals are not recognised under Irish law.

We note that attendees are not to damage property or to interfere with Convention or hotel operations. Please be mindful of large props, wings, tails, antlers etc that may increase your chance of knocking something over. Please consider if you require a handler whilst you are in fursuit/cosplay, and consider the limits on your vision, hearing, and touch. Attendees are expected to maintain good hygiene, and failure to do so may result in temporary removal from the Convention space until issues are rectified.

When taking photography of the convention space, always ask for the consent of subjects before taking their photograph. If you intend to use this work commercially, please avoid identifiable symbols of the Convention venue hotel, for example the logo should not be visible in the photograph.

Please refer to the clothing section for information as to what is and is not acceptable to wear at Ainmhícon.

Weapons, Faux Weapons, and Props

The definition of a weapon can be very broad. It includes, but is not limited to, any object or nuisance that can cause personal injury, whether intended or accidental. Harmless objects that do not cause injury to people and are part of a costume can be carried at Ainmhícon, for example foam swords. Weapons that may be considered to be of a sexually explicit nature are not acceptable at Ainmhicon. The Convention reserves the right to make the final decision about a weapon at Ainmhícon.

All weapons, including imitation, airsoft guns, replica and toy weapons, must be approved by the Convention in order to be allowed to be carried around during the Convention. Weapons must not be loaded. Weapons that Ainmhícon volunteers deem unsuitable to be held in the Convention space are to be brought back to your hotel room immediately or left with ConOps until you leave for the day.

Weapons will be “peace bound” once deemed acceptable by the Convention, and the weapon and the badge name of the user recorded. Items will be peace bound with a zip tie and this zip tie must not be removed at any stage during the Convention. Please find below a non-exhaustive list of banned weaponry:

Compound bows are not allowed at Ainmhícon, but recurve bows can be carried, provided they are not made of hard material nor loaded with anything beyond a soft, foam arrow. LARP weapons that are sufficiently padded (eg: made mostly of foam) are allowed, once cleared by Ainmhícon staff.

Attendees must not be struck with weapons. Mock swordfighting/use of weapons is allowed only where prior consent is obtained from Ainmhícon staff. Weapons (which includes nerf guns and bubble guns/wands) should not be discharged inside the venue.

Clothing

Ainmhícon reserves the right to require attendees to remove costumes, part of costumes, accessories or any part of item of clothing that may cause offence or a safety issue to other attendees or hotel staff. Ainmhícon and the hotel staff also reserve the right to require you to put on more clothing or change your outfit if deemed inappropriate for a public setting.

Clothing Coverage

We understand that attendees may want to express themselves through fashion, and this is encouraged so long as the Code of Conduct is adhered to.

At a minimum, the groin, entire buttocks, and nipples of all attendees must be covered at all times. The material used to cover these areas must be fully opaque, so materials such as mesh or translucent material is considered insufficient to meet this criteria of minimum coverage of the groin, entire buttocks and nipples. Suitable footwear must be worn at all times. In a nutshell, an outfit consisting of an opaque crop top, shoes and opaque shorts/skirt and underwear meets the criteria.

Accessories used in a non-sexual context, eg: head or body harness, are considered acceptable at the discretion of Ainmhícon. Collars and cuffs may be worn. Costumes that have inflatable cores, such as tails and wings are acceptable to wear.

NB: No harness, cuff, collar, or any other item of clothing is to be attached to a leash, rope or other tether. This is for safety reasons.

Unacceptable Articles of Clothing / Items

Certain types of clothing, styles of dress, and items are considered unacceptable for attendees to wear or carry around with them at Ainmhícon. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • signs, symbols or wording that may cause offence,
  • political ideologies,
  • political parties or organisations,
  • face/body paint, even if smear resistant,
  • Articles of clothing or items made of real fur, latex*, neoprene*, or commonly made to be used in a fetish context*,
  • Fullbody inflatable outfits*
  • Pet play hoods, pet play muzzles, pet play non-insertable show tails, jock straps*,
  • Petsuits/printed/skintight bodysuits*, unless worn with at minimum a pair of shorts/skirt or trousers over the bodysuit and suitable footwear,
  • Costumes with anatomically correct genitalia and/or explicit costumes - to clarify, this does not apply to breasts, which are not sexual organs,
  • Outfits that the wearer is unable to free their head and hands without assistance,
  • Outfits relating to past historical or current events, for example military outfits that symbolises Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, or the Israeli Defence Forces, or
  • Sexual or suggestive signs, symbols or words.

* See below “Exceptions” section

Ainmhícon reserves the sole discretion to determine if something causes offence and their decision is final.

Exceptions

We understand that the world of dress is broad and it is extremely difficult to prepare for every scenario. We also understand that some attendees may want to wear particular outfits that would be covered under the Unacceptable Articles of Clothing section.

The following items may be worn in events (if any) that are specifically designated as having a more relaxed dress code. This will be clearly identified in the events schedule to all attendees. Latex in particular is a known allergen and attendees will be clearly advised if there is an event at the Convention that may have latex present.

  • Articles of clothing or items made of latex, neoprene, or commonly made to be used in a fetish context,
  • Pet play hoods, pet play muzzles, pet play non-insertable show tails, jock straps,
  • Petsuits/printed/skintight bodysuits, without the requirement of a pair of shorts, skirt or trousers to be worn over the bodysuit. Suitable footwear must still be worn.

Note: This document may not be reproduced in full or in part by any person or publication without the prior consent of the Board of Ainmhícon Company Limited by Guarantee