The fandom is alive and well, right?

[QuickWit 42]

Hey everyone,

 

I've only been a brony for about two months. I had heard of you guys for the longest time, and only just recently checked it out in depth. I feel like we are a large entity, but I really don't know in comparison to what we might have been in the last few years simply because I wasn't there. Also, I see a lot of people on other forums saying stuff like "Oh the bronies are dying" and stuff. I still feel like we are a large group though.

 

So... are we as big now as we were in the past or are we on the decline?

 

Thanks for helping out a rookie 

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

I think the fandom is in equilibrium, like most big fandoms that are currently active. Not growing at the exponential rate it once was, but stable, and attracting less media attention. In short, it's stabilized into being yet another big fandom.

[silvadel 1,393]

The REALLY LONG hiatus between season 3 and 4 did not exactly help but there will not be nearly so long a break between 4 and 5.  The other thing that did not help was Hasbro stunting some of the high end projects.  There is a bit of a chill when it comes to some fan projects.

 

All in all it is kind of maturing and adapting as opposed to declining.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

It has plateaued into another sizable fandom. It will not explode exponentially like before, but it will not die off suddenly either.

[caramba2654 601]

There was a census made a while ago that had that info. I can seem to recall its name, though. It was probably something like brony census 2013/2014.

[Scootalove 10,684]

We usually see a break/hiatus during the off season of the show, but the fandom still produces content.

[LED Dasher 228]

The fandom is doing fine. Even if it does decline, it will not happen anytime soon. It is very stable and will probably last as long as other popular fandoms such as the Star Trek fandom and the Doctor Who fandom.

[NavelColt 22,875]

Oh the bronies are dying

 

Considering how...

• People have been saying this, along with a list of other negative, groundless claims that could fill a dictionary-sized book since halfway through season 1
• Hasbro is extending the show and franchise for several more years due to the incredible popularity, size and diversity of the fandom

I'm gonna say 'yes, yes it is alive and well' :3 People like to think they can rationalize and make reasons for why something is or isn't happening, but the reality is, communities are living organisms, and are thus both unpredictable, and sturdy. The most one can say is that there will be dips and climbs, and that it's unlikely to explode exponentionally like it did through seasons 1 and 2. Past that, take everything anyone says with a grain of salt Fandoms do not just 'die off', ever, especially from things that have become all all but popular culture, as this fandom is on its' way towards.

 

Note: People also like to draw no line between 'Parts of the fandom are changing and adapting to something I don't like' and 'it's declining', a lot.

[Cassafrass 249]

I'm right there with ya... I just joined the fandom (as a Pegasister) this past month as well! Although I have actually liked the show for about two years buuut that's another story... but from what I've seen, the fandom is doing very well. It may not be quite as big as it once was, but it is still going very strong, and I doubt it will fade out anytime soon... or possibly ever (even when the new gen of MLP eventually comes someday).

[tripfly 264]

I'm honestly happy it died down a bit, lot less ridiculously.... everywhere, pretty discouraging when something is everywhere *cough*frozen*cough*

[QuickWit 42]

Considering how...

• People have been saying this, along with a list of other negative, groundless claims that could fill a dictionary-sized book since halfway through season 1
• Hasbro is extending the show and franchise for several more years due to the incredible popularity, size and diversity of the fandom

I'm gonna say 'yes, yes it is alive and well' :3 People like to think they can rationalize and make reasons for why something is or isn't happening, but the reality is, communities are living organisms, and are thus both unpredictable, and sturdy. The most one can say is that there will be dips and climbs, and that it's unlikely to explode exponentionally like it did through seasons 1 and 2. Past that, take everything anyone says with a grain of salt Fandoms do not just 'die off', ever, especially from things that have become all all but popular culture, as this fandom is on its' way towards.

 

Note: People also like to draw no line between 'Parts of the fandom are changing and adapting to something I don't like' and 'it's declining', a lot.

 

Yeah I definitely agree with you. One of my friends the other day tried to convince me that they were going to cancel the show soon, but I think it's going to be around for like another 5 seasons at least. Hasbro is making too much money off of toys and there are also little girls watching the show along with the bronies. Plus, MLP is a regenerable form of media/marketing, so even if G4 is canceled one day, i'll be damned if they don't try to make a G5.

 

Thanks! This makes me feel a lot better 

[ghostfacekiller39 23,856]

I think the fandom is alive and well, and, as stated above several bazillion times, we've just stabilized into being a fandom like the Whoovians and the Trekkies  

As long as I got Rarity, though, I really couldn't care less

[Virgil 685]

 

 

As long as I got Rarity, though, I really couldn't care less

So I'm guessing I shouldn't mention that thing I heard through my CIA and Ex-KGB contacts about Rarity dating Big Mac next season then?

[ghostfacekiller39 23,856]

So I'm guessing I shouldn't mention that thing I heard through my CIA and Ex-KGB contacts about Rarity dating Big Mac next season then?

Nahh.

 

Because Rarighost has been confirmed for canon

 

In my dreams...

Edited April 23, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[MarcelineA 126]

it IS alive! and it's mad cool (most of the times especially if topics relate to the actual fandom) but yeah I've actually been here a few days but I've made a lot of posts I just like the fandom a lot ^-^ and I need a new fandom to focus on too I got TOO obsessed with Adventure Time to the point it isn't even healthy XD so I need to focus on something else like MLP

Edited April 23, 2014 by MarcelineA

[Soulcrifice 21]

its gonna grow,  and grow, and grow, and grow, and grow...

Seriously though, I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.   

[ms-coco-pommel 64]

Bronies are here to stay!

[Kel_Grym 1,917]

The fandom will be around for a long time...unless,

 

A catastrophic economic collapse happens, and the comfortable consumer lifestyle we as Americans enjoy simply disappears from beneath our feet and our lives become a horrid survival story in a country thrust into civil unrest as your neighbors try to beat down the doors to your home and your forced to fight them off and possibly even resort to cannibalism because the looters took all the food in the local stores and you have to spend most of your time dodging the growing coalition that has started conscripting soldiers for the insurgency against the government that has cracked down on the populace as a police state in a desperate attempt to remain in control while the rest of the country spirals downward into a chaotic maelstrom of terror and mayhem....

 

Not that would ever happen...buuut.

 

Just saying.

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

Hey, OP, I'm in the same boat as you.  I only just became a brony about a month ago.  I'm a huge fan already, but I feel like I've missed out on a lot because I got here so late.  I'm excited about my newfound interest, but when I bring it up, I sometimes get a "enough with the ponies already, been there done that" vibe.  Eventually, things like this will always stop being new and exciting and settle into a comfortable equilibrium.  But I think the community is still strong.  For me, though, it's still new and exciting!  So, I guess what I'm saying is that there are plenty of others like you who are pretty new to this and still discovering it.  Brohoof!

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

We usually see a break/hiatus during the off season of the show, but the fandom still produces content.

That it does. A lot of people said it already; the fandom seems to have more or less reached a steady state.

 

Though really, as I've traveled to other pony forums, MLP Forums seems to be the only one that is still this large and vibrant 

Many others -- at least the ones I've been to -- have also reached some kind of equilibrium where you only see regulars and newbies don't seem to last very long. Another thing I've found is alienation from the show and fandom. I'm guessing people don't quite understand what it means for a fandom to "be alive" and all this doom and gloom is just people not knowing a better way to express alienation; always having to validate themselves by making the problem to be bigger than themselves even when it's not.

Edited April 23, 2014 by SunBurn

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

The fandom has finally become more stable.

 

We're more like the Dr.Who fandom now. We've become quieter than we initially were, but we're definitely still here.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

Say, how is the "aliveness" of a fandom to be judged anyway?

[Night Shine 767]

Hey everyone,

 

I've only been a brony for about two months. I had heard of you guys for the longest time, and only just recently checked it out in depth. I feel like we are a large entity, but I really don't know in comparison to what we might have been in the last few years simply because I wasn't there. Also, I see a lot of people on other forums saying stuff like "Oh the bronies are dying" and stuff. I still feel like we are a large group though.

 

So... are we as big now as we were in the past or are we on the decline?

 

Thanks for helping out a rookie

If size is all you are worried about, you don't have to worry at all. The "fandom" is constantly growing—for example, check out the rate of growth in membership on this very forum. However, if size is all people worry about nowadays, then I'm worried for the future of what I once called the "brony family."

 

Say, how is the "aliveness" of a fandom to be judged anyway?

Collective excitement and faith in the group as a whole, as well as hope for its future.

Edited April 23, 2014 by The Late Night Shine

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

Collective excitement and faith in the group as a whole, as well as hope for its future.

(That's weird. I didn't get notified of you quoting me.)

 

That does seem to be the general idea. A lot of the time when I hear anything about the fandom "dying" or declining or whatever, its because people have grown apathetic. That inspiration has run dry. Another point I often hear is that the fandom is no longer growing or that people aren't in love with the show.

 

Although there is something I would like to personally bring up and that's about there being more to this fandom than just the internet forums. I'm serious. It's something Scootalove brought up: content -- of which a fair amount is still being produced on a daily basis. If you ask me, the fandom is only truly dead when all fanart creation stops.

[applejock 358]

Unless your a call of duty dog, your not going to find a more active fandom online, period. Youtube is packed to the brim with Brony made videos,Pmvs, and original songs. This forum along with others sees hundreds of new threads a week and thousands of posts a day. Your dealing with a fandom that spans from age 5-55 and has voices louder then Bieber talking about his hair.

 

 

Welcome to the Herd, stay warm in the night, and bask in Celestias Sun, your home now.