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I would advice you to simply look for younger communities or, if those do not seem to exist, simply look for younger zoos to talk to.

I've never really been, at least not felt, part of larger communities mainly because I don't enjoy too many people around me.

Anyway, being new can and mostly always will be a bit awkward and you got to try new things and see for yourself what is best for you.

I see your point of view, but just try to change the perspective for once: Trying to spot the pretenders is a necessity. It has to be done because the online discussion forums are the only window "normal" people interested in finding out what zoophilia is really all about have as we zoos usually stay under the radar. Having a lot of fantasizers and mentally unstable folks trying to compensate something with telling bullshit stories is damaging to our entire community; you can see an example of that by browsing through Beastforum. The enormous amount of people trying to sell their fantasies as "actual, totally real experience" also undermines any trust in each other within the zoo community itself. There´s nothing more discouraging than finding out your longtime contact and "good friend" with similar interests turns out to be a complete liar and his whole "zoophilia" takes place only in his head and in the net.

Honesty is what is missing. And let me set things straight: nobody, not even me, will judge you for being a newbie. But don´t expect us to buy everything you tell us without any scepticism. We´ve had this misinterpreted "tolerant" attitude for far too long now and all it has done to our community is adding up to our unfavorable public image as nutjobs, fantasizing, mentally unstable animal abusers.

Just be honest. Don´t try to sell your fantasies as reality, don´t try to impersonate "a real, full blown zoo" if you aren´t one. Just tell it as it is and no one will judge you. Oh, and don´t expect this to be a hug box.Don´t be scared off because your views are challenged by another one. When you´re older, more experienced, you will notice that this "tolerant, non judgemental" attitude you seem to search for isn´t benefitting you, us and the entire community at all.

What about giving it a shot? Tell us your story and see where it takes you. Stay honest, stay openminded, even for criticism than may arise. Chances are pretty good you can take something from any form of responses, even the negative ones.

Your English skills are something you don´t have to worry about at all, as long as I´m participating in here I haven´t seen someone being bullied for his bad English; I´m a non native speaker who has learned English as a third foreign language (Latin and ancient Greek were my first two foreign languages) and haven´t experienced complaints about my grammar or wording at all. As long as we can get what you´re trying to communicate, it´s okay ;)

as a new face in the zoo community myself, i pretty much understand your feelings. I try to just engage where I can, lurk most of the time myself. I found the chatroom fap cave on discord to be a place where I can talk to people, tho it is at times quiet.

In my opinion, you don't need to prove to others what you feel is you, may it be a feeling that is temporary or, permanent. You know yourself best, (this goes both ways, you're real or fake, you know it) The zoo community is pretty shielded at times, and well, given the fact how society deals with the topic, it isn't a strange thing.

_another new person

Chin up, we were all new once.

I don't think you need to prove anything, but I would counsel you to not make false claims to bolster a perceived need for experiences. The thoughts and experiences you have, even if they are "only" of what and how you feel or think, are sufficient. An honest statement is always more valuable than a lie. A person who has never had sex can still know what love is and provide thoughtful insight on the aspects they are familiar with.

fuk th3 gr4mm3r 4nd 5pe11ing p01ic3! (Fuck the grammar and spelling police). If someone's only nit to pick with you is that you used the wrong the spelling or grammar, take joy in that they apparently cannot argue your point and instead choose the low road of an ad hominem attack (attacking the person and not the idea).

You shouldn't feel like you have to contribute something. If something comes up where you think you have something to add, feel free to do so, but do not feel that your worth is contingent upon it.

Lastly, don't take criticism personally. Sure there are some assholes out there.....fuck 'em. We're all human and sometimes we make mistakes. Sure, it sucks to be wrong and elicits feelings of anger/frustration, but as I see it, the only thing worse than being wrong is being left in ignorance of the error, for if I can see my error, I am far less likely to repeat it. Take it as a compliment when someone takes the time to give you a thoughtful response, they are sometimes rare and to be appreciated.

Don't feel bad, I've been around places 15 years and I never belonged in any of them.

zoophilesforum. A mix of old/new and old/young folks. Rather quiet boards/chat, but genuine people. BF is dangerous, stay away. FL is... unsecured, to say the least.

I'm saddened that you feel this way as I think the main purpose of this sub should be to help new people who are still trying to come to terms with being a zoo and what it means to be one. Really, a lot of the older members could manage fine without this place but, personally speaking, the road to accepting myself would've been a lot more painful if I wasn't able to discuss what I was feeling to people who had been through the same and could relate to me. Theres just some things zoos can do far better than even the best psychologist seeing as this is real life for most of us here.

It's good to have a reminder that most of us came from a place of uncertainty about ourselves and what the future had in hold. Please do not hesitate to make a post no matter how silly it may seem, I guarantee at least a few of us have been in the same situation as you at some point and hopefully we can share some valuable experience.

Posting newbie questions here will get you valid answers, eventually. You shouldn't feel judged, and if you do feel judged, see what you can learn from the experience other than exiling yourself to the corner. People are sometimes jerks and i'm sure that would be true on a "newbie board" too.

In agreeing with you, the hardest balancing act in my opinion is to ask questions of an overtly sexual or "how-to" nature, without sounding like a pervert

The classic example of this is the question "what breed of dog will be comfortable doing this?" This always draws out the nose-in-the-air types to jump in on how you shouldn't be determining the breed of dog you adopt by physical attributes. But you know, odds are they went through wondering that themselves at one point, if they are dog people, and there are plenty of dogs out there of every size and shape that you can adopt and love.

I think your response is a good reminder though, a little healthy skepticism is okay but it should not be to the point of jumping to conclusions and being rude to newcomers.

knotty.me is a good place. It doesn't have the activity it used to, but it's still around. There's also a new Telegram chat that's been started. I think they're being relatively careful with who they're letting in but if we might chat more I may put in a good word for you.

There are a large number of people in this particular sub whose comments indicate that they generally hate humans, so don't take it personally, just join multiple subs and forums until you find one where people are nicer.