Even though federation has led to racists and/or NATO defenders showing up, I've also encountered a number if very cool people from other instances posting things like helpful advice on federation stuff, vivid descriptions of getting vored by a pack of anthro-hyenas, interesting insights and opinions on Star Trek lore, etc. I still haven't found much in the way of active hobby communities, but it's pretty cool to see more Star Trek and furry stuff in the timeline, and I feel it makes having to deal with the occasional deranged lib worth it.
Anyways, to all the genuinely cool people who wander into Hexbear threads, I'm very glad you've showed up to bless us with your wonderful posts and I hope you stick around.
Russia is a neoconservative dictatorship, period. The US is crony capitalist hell but it's nowhere as bad as Russia. Try being gay in Texas or Ukraine and tell me it's worse than being gay in Russia.
So what's it like being gay in Texas and Russia? I've never met anyone who's lived in both.