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What is a Bear?
A: The most common definition of a "bear" is a man who is hairy, has facial hair, and a cuddly body. However, the word "Bear" means many things to different people, even within the bear movement. Many men who do not have one or all of these characteristics define themselves as bears, making the term a very loose one. Suffice it to say, "bear" is often defined as more of an attitude than anything else - a sense of comfort with our natural masculinity and bodies that is not slavish to the vogues of male attractiveness that is so common in gay circles and the culture at large.
Q: What is a Cub? Daddy? Otter? Wolf?
A: These are subclasses of "bear". A "cub" is a younger, perhaps smaller, less experienced bear, sometimes interpreted as a bottom sexually. Conversely, a "daddy" is an older, more mature bear, usually a top sexually. "Otters" and "wolves" are thin bears, the "wolf" being more aggressive.
Q: How do I join the Bears Mailing List (BML)?
A: There are complete instructions on the web page for the BML.
Q: How do I get my personal homepage added to the Bear Profiles section?
A: Use the AddBear service to add yourself to our database.
Q: Do you endorse or verify any of the third-parties
(businesses, online services, etc.) that are listed on your site?
A: We do not, unless it is explicitly stated for that specific party. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to insure that every business and service that uses our free listings is reputable and trustworthy. Please exercise the same level of caution that you would in the real world when dealing with an unfamiliar party. You use the RfB's services at your own risk.
Q: I'm a member of a bear club, and we don't seem to be on
the list of bear clubs. How do
we get added?
A: One of the club officers can go to our Bear Clubs page and follow the links for adding the club to our database. We prefer that the registration be submitted by a duly appointed representative of the club. Please do not enter information without checking with the club first.
Q: I'm a member of a bear club, and we don't have a web page. How do
we go about getting one?
A: There are a large number of companies that offer free web pages. You can find them through Yahoo or your favorite web search engine.
Q: Can I get my Leather club or my Chubbies club listed here?
There are a lot of bears in it, after all.
A: Yes, provided that the club actually provides outreach for the bears community. Typically this means that there are no other bear clubs in the immediate area, although sometimes clubs in the same metro area focus on different things.
Q: I run a bear-oriented business, and I want to have a homepage
on your site.
A: Sorry, but we don't have the resources to provide homepage space for businesses. However, if your business does have a homepage elsewhere on the web, we will gladly link it in to our BearBusiness section!
Q: I have a bear business that makes/sells more than one kind of
product/service. Can I have the business listed in more than one
category?
A: Yes. The SELECT box on the
AddBusiness form supports this.
Q: I submitted...
- ...a new listing for the Bear Profiles section...
- ...a bearclub page update...
- ...a URL change...
A: We run this site on a strictly volunteer basis. It's a labor of love for us, but to be honest, we all have lives besides the bears pages. It isn't unusual for a request to sit for a few days (or even longer) before one of us gets the chance to act on it. Please be patient, we will get to it!
Now that most of the services are database-driven, we typically have turnaround times of under 24 hours. (Remember that the pages do not get updated until early the next morning, Boston time!) If your request has not been processed after several days, let us know about it.
Q: I am a heterosexual bear, or a woman looking for heterosexual bears. Where can I find resources?
A: The Resources for Bears Site was created with a mandate to serve the gay and bisexual bear communities. As such, most of our resources are geared in that direction. However, heterosexuals are always welcome to use our resources, and we will gladly link in heterosexual-related bear sites, should they come to our attention. But unfortunately, at present, we aren't aware of any.
A: There are many bear flags, several of which are on our Clip Art page. By far the most popular is the International Bear Brotherhood Flag, shown above. This flag is Copyright © 1995 by Craig Byrnes. The colors represent the fur colors and nationalities of bears throughout the world and it was designed with inclusivity in mind. Craig allows individuals and clubs to freely use the flag for non-commercial purposes, and markets a line of Bear Flag merchandise. The Resources for Bears page design is derived from Craig's flag, used with permission. For a complete history of the flag, see the Bear Manufacturing page.
Q: Who runs this site, anyway?
A: Resources for Bears was founded by Bob Donahue and Kevin Jacobs in 1994. The site is now maintained by Bob and several volunteers. For more info, see the RfB administrators web page
Q: Where can I get information about
animal bears (the kind that walk on four legs)?
A: As you might guess, we are not a resource site for that sort of thing. But some good sites to try are: http://www.ursusinternational.org/, http://www.greatbear.org/ and http://www.wildernesschallenge.com/.
Q: I received an email message from
"www_bears@resourcesforbears.com" that was infected with a
virus.
A: We don't use that address anymore, so the message didn't come from us. It's a forgery.
Many PC viruses, including W32/ Klez and its variants, can send email with a fake sender address. Thus, it may appear that you have received a message from us, when it was actually sent from someone else's computer. Viewing the full message header will display the actual sender's address.
Q: What happened to the Chat section of your site?
A: Our chat provider changed their software without telling us. We're sorry for any inconvenience. If you have suggestions for replacement chat software or other Bear-specific chat resources, we'd like to hear from you.
Q: Can I use your clip-art for my business?
A: NO. RfB Clip-Art is provided for the private, non-commercial use of the Bear Community (i.e., bears can use it on their personal web pages). All images are believed to be Public Domain. Commercial use is not authorized. If you have a business, create your own copyrighted graphic art.
Q: My question isn't on this list...
A: Well, you can send us e-mail and we'll try to help you out.
      
      
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Text and images are Copyright © 1994-2008 by Resources for Bears
and their respective owners. All rights reserved.