Frequently Asked Questions - All FAQs

FAQs - All FAQs

Jafira Dragon is the administrator of Dragons Valley, as he feels that it is important for others to know about the administrator of any community and what they stand for, he has added a brief time line into the faq.

Jafira was a late comer to the Internet first gaining access in the year 1998. Upon gaining access Jafira quickly discovered Altfandra and other dragon themed websites. Jafira always believing himself to have had a spiritual connection with dragons vowed to make a dragon based website as well.

 

In 2001, Jafira took classes in web design, (his results were poor to say the least) and created a small geocities page, introducing himself and his dragon personas as well as some fictional stories and artwork. -
http://www.jafiradragon.com/old_site/html/

 

In 2003 he opened a larger more appealing site at http://www.jafiradragon.com/index2.htm  From there on in he had a small message board within his site but was never able to obtain sufficient traffic or become well known. Furthermore the main forum that Jafira constructed was so plagued by spam-bots that he eventually just gave up.

 

For many years Jafira lurked on communities such as Draconic, Tysha's Dragonforum, Draconomicon, Dragons Empire, Silverdragonsbreath, Silverdragonsden, Rashans, NTTS, DMBH, Nukapai's and Dragon Realms, however due to a personal issue concerning shyness he was never able to remain active for more then a few months.

 

In 2003 Jafira met Mojo Lahojo (Smotri) who acted as a mentor and friend to him, as well Jafira later came into contact with others in his neighborhood who had otherkin style beliefs. These new friends helped Jafira to better his social skills and begin to slowly overcome his problem with shyness.

 

As far as Jafira's interest in dragons goes, he studied them on line and off for most of his life and has gained an extensive collection of dragon literature, as well as collections of dragon themed media, artwork, statues, and a variety of other dragon collectibles. Always the dragon fanatic Jafira often wore dragon themed clothing and pendants, gaining the ire of his more conservative family members and instructors.

 

In 2004, Jafira fantasized about uniting all of the dragon communities on the web into one large super-site, he published his vision in a project titled New Alftandra. - http://www.jafiradragon.com/NAFD/NAFD.htm
 
This dream however was later deemed unnecessary as the dragon sister sites that existed online at the time fulfilled the need. Furthermore it was figured that a variety was indeed better than one all encompassing site.

 

In 2007 Jafira obtained the means to build Dragons Valley. However the software which he was given to do such was several years out of date. Although it had surprising support and fanfare from the admins of neighboring communities, the first variation of Dragons Valley quickly collapsed under the weight of its security flaws and Jafira was forced to abandon the project. One year later after obtaining a more recent version of the technology and gathering up the proper resources Jafira quietly re-opened Dragons Valley in 2008.

 

Dragons Valley as a community never truly recovered from the first failed start or Jafira's weakness in social insecurities, it had several small bursts of activity over the years but never truly took off, it stagnated for several years until its code became irreversibly deprecated in December of 2018. Jafira was encouraged by his friends to recreate the community and thus this incarnation was created in early 2019 with the help of his closest friends.

 

That concludes a brief history of who Jafira is.

 

Further things you should know include: Jafira is still extremely shy, his political views are liberal, his religious views are fairly new age, he is an art fanatic but is pained by the fact that he himself cannot draw, he is a fantasy writer and explores during most of his free time, he is poor at web-design and doesn't know what the hell he is doing, he seldom watches TV and is media inept, he loves snakes almost as much as he loves dragons, and lastly he is obviously considered to be a loser offline. For further information, visit his homepage or contact him directly. Meh.

Dragons Valley is a dragon themed community designed to provide a gathering place for dragon enthusiasts to come together, exchange ideas and have fun. It was primarily designed to be a refuge for those who have a strong interest in dragons, or happen to have dragon spiritual beliefs. Dragons Valley was inspired by such sites as AltFanDragons, Tysha’s Dragon Forum, Draconity.org and Dragon Realms.

In the Spring of 2007 Dragons Valley appeared on line for the first time, it was active for less then a month, and had great support from seasoned administrators from other forums. However it had a very rough start and many problems occurred. Jafira worked many sleepless nights, whenever he didn't have college or work, in the end however, a security vulnerability caused irreparable damage and this site was lost.

Jafira exhausted from the sleepless month of coding and failure decided to take a long break from the web. One year later in the spring of 2008, Dragons Valley returned for round two, and we are hoping this time it will be successful. (Edit: It wasn't --> Let's try its 2019 incarnation.)

In Regards to draconity:
Some individuals may feel a spiritual connection with dragons, or have a personal belief system based around dragons, others may personally believe themselves to be a dragon in mind or spirit, further information can be obtained by reading the accompanying draconity faq.

In Regards to the forum:
Although dragon spirituality is a primary aspect of this community, it is not the sole purpose. Dragons Valley has been designed to cater to anyone who has an interest in dragons, not simply those who have dragon spiritual beliefs.

Our forums have locations for role playing, general discussions, entertainment, debates and so on. Only one location is based specifically on dragon spiritual beliefs and that would be the draconity board. So long as we can all mutually agree to respect each others personal beliefs there should not be a conflict.

Where the name came from:
The name Dragon Valley was based off of a valley paradise from my old stories. It is based of the homeland of my dragon Korageth, a realm personal to me. I named the community after my fictional paradise the Tycosian Valley  – "Dragons Valley, a dragons paradise."

It has come to my attention recently that there is a “dragons valley” within Second Life, I assure you that I was not aware of that until fairly recently and that I find it neat, but must iterate that it has no relation to this site other then name and association to dragons.

I did my best to find a compatible wiki program for Dragons Valley, but I was sadly unable to bridge it to our community at this time, as a result, it will require you to create a separate account if you wish to add or edit. Still, I hope that it is to everyone's liking!

To use our wiki, first you must create a separate account in the right corner of the page, then simply click on the edit option of any page or category you wish to alter, then type or add your information. Using html is not necessary, but if used within your writings it may allow for added page effects.

To create a new page in any category simply type the title of your new page in double brackets --> [ [ your new page ] ] while in a text editing box, then save and a link to your new page should appear.

Due to the risk of abuse, I have locked the dragon wiki from non-members. I am trusting you all to act responsibly and not abuse this tool, please be mature and helpful, overall, have fun!

The Members Gallery feature installed into Dragons Valley only requires that you create a personal album before art can be uploaded.
 
This option is available to all registered members; simply sign in, click the member galleries link from the menu and check out your options, it is all fairly simple, any questions just PM Jafira.

Do these four words describe you or someone you know? If so, chances are good that you''re curious about what that statement really means.
 
Many people wonder about the psychological basis for draconity. Perhaps you''re concerned about the spiritual implications of calling oneself a dragon. Or what sort of community resources are available.
 
In this document, I would like to try to address all these concerns in a straightforward and informative way. Whether you're coming to terms with your own draconity, or concerned about a friend or relative who is, I hope you find this useful.
 

If you have a question (specific or general) that is not answered in this FAQ, please refer to the "Contact/Copyright Information" section at the bottom of the document. All sincere inquiries are welcome.

Dragons are mythic creatures (see "What do dragons mean to you?" below) found in the legends and stories of almost every civilization. There are two major types: Western dragons, which are associated with reptiles, and are often seen as guards of great treasure or tests of a hero''s strength in their culture''s legends; and Eastern dragons, which are characterized physically as amalgams of many different creatures and are associated with the powers of nature. 
 
A far more detailed account of the different types of dragons and their stories and symbolism can be found in the alt.fan.dragons FAQ at http://www.dragonfire.org/IndexFAQ.html or at Jen Walker''s "What Is a Dragon?" page at http://www.draconian.com/whatis/.
It is a statement of identity. "I am a dragon" means that one has chosen to acknowledge dragons as an important part of their life -- as a social group, as a way of looking at themselves, as a way of looking at the world. 
 
Beyond that, it is up to each individual person what to make of their draconity. Many draw strength from this identity in everyday life, but some submerge it in order to deal with the human world. A few treat their draconity with such importance that they identify only as dragons even to strangers; many will answer to both their human and dragon names in public; some only feel comfortable with their draconity among close friends.
Dragons are powerful symbols, transcending everyday life and cutting to the heart of far deeper and more eternal struggles. Whether they are good or evil -- whether they embody power or wisdom -- whether they guide humanity or oppose it -- are all dependent on culture and personal worldview. 
 
This is because dragons are mythic creatures. Myths are stories that are profoundly true and have deep impact on believers' lives, like Jesus' death and resurrection, Hindu creation stories, or the Big Bang theory. Regardless of whether or not they are objectively true, myths are certainly true to their believers, and answer fundamental questions about the nature of the universe. 
 
Draconity, in its own way, is just an encompassing a myth as any of those listed above. Because there is no single standard of a "proper dragon," its answers, truths and consequences vary from person to person, but there is one thing for certain: they are big.

Because that's what we are. ]B=8)

Draconity is certainly a different belief to the average person, but it's important to keep in mind that different and crazy are not the same. Liking garlic ice cream (it exists!) is different. Pulling out an AK-47 at the local McDonald's is crazy. I do not know any crazy dragons. 
 
In general, one of the greatest struggles that dragons have to go through is coming to terms with their draconity, simply because it is such a different worldview. Embracing it means confronting many doubts and demons, often completely alone. It is far easier for someone to ignore the question of their draconity than it is for them to deal with it honestly. Therefore, accepting one's inner dragon requires high self-esteem and inner peace -- two qualities that truly crazy people lack.