Furry social network Furry 4 Life is raising funds to leave the Ning social platform. Over $800 has been donated towards a $3000 goal of two years of hosting.

Established in 2008, Furry 4 Life boasts over 24,500 members, but has become hamstrung by an abandoned platform. Staff hope to complete the move by the end of the month, although they warn migration may last until January 2016.

Network creator Shy Matsi, who also founded adult-only furry social network FurriesXtreme, explained why the community was moving, while cautioning that some data would be lost:

Ning, back in 2008, was the best answer to the question "How can I build a social network for my niche community?". They really were the best option and still remain a powerhouse in hosted social software platforms. We really do owe a lot to them, but we are moving in different directions, and the Ning Platform is no longer a solid solution to our growing community.

Ning-based social network Furry United has closed after the termination of free hosting.

Founder Zenon Tigerpaw recommended users move to Furry 4 Life or the MyFur Network.

Update: Furspace also appears to be offline, while MyFursona is closing down this Christmas.

Social networking platform Ning is to withdraw free services, disappointing many non-profit educational and social groups, including furs.

Furry 4 Life, FurNation, Furry United, Colombiafur and The Furry Den are based on Ning, with F4L and FurNation already paying for ad control.

Zenon Tigerpaw, founder of Furry United, had two words in response to the news: "Oh shit." He later announced plans to move to a new host.

See also: FurNation relaunched as Ning site - Colombiafur moves to Ning - other Ning-related stories

Spanish-language furry community Colombiafur has followed Furry 4 Life and FurNation onto the Ning platform.

Site founder Richard Wolf VI explained his objectives in a blog post [translated]:

We are looking for ways for the community to achieve stability; it is not an immediate process, but I hope to achieve it.

The first step is to establish an online community platform, trying to tame the fury of instant messaging with Ning's more stable decentralized system. The platform seems ideal, due to the convergence of services and great potential for user participation.

FurNation has been reborn as a Ning-based community, following the course set by social networking site Furry 4 Life.

The 14-year-old site has a long but oft-troubled history. Over the past two years, its community has faced repeated requests for server hosting funds.

The new owner, Reyedog, intends to revive FurNation's hosting on a separate server, as Ning's terms of service limit images to "tasteful nudes."