Jeric

On 7/11/2017 at 5:47 PM, Burpy said:

It was a pony roleplaying site from 2012 to 2017. Since I joined MLP fandom almost exactly a year ago I was there almost everyday, made a few friends, roleplayed and had fun. Then I had a little break, wanted to come back today and saw it was closed, rip xD Dunno why, I asked on Facebook and they didn't tell me.  Any of you were using the site too? I'm kinda sad at the moment when I found out about this :c

(+ do you roleplay on some sites other than here on forums?)

Yeah .... well I do have some news for you.

They kinda tipped their hat on MLPF and on the Poniverse Discord server, but the spiritual successor for that old site is Canterlot Avenue. It's a Poniverse site that is currently being developed and register to none other than Feld0. It's using phpFox 

The site is going to be here

It is currently under development. Cheers. 

To answer whether or not I RP. I am sitting on a few EQE applications for this site, but I'm holding back until plans for the new site are unveiled because I'm not about to waste time here if it moves and poof ... no canon RP. I am waiting until I know the plan going forward. Is EQE going to make the transition? Don't know. 

Opportunity cost and all that. 

7 hours ago, Rikifive said:

Cover dimensions are 1270x248. Images with different dimensions will be scaled up/down to that resolution.

This not the case on a smaller viewport. I know the height aspect changes on mobile ... 

Technically finding a sweet spot and centering the image you want to use with a decent amount of environmental elements above and below it would work on both. 

I know I may be the outlier since I am almost always on my phone when using this site, but it's something to keep in mind. 

4 hours ago, CypherHoof said:

Isn't that pretty much the plot to RR though, so that the white rang... erm Sunset Shimmer can save the day?

That's not what a plot is, so ... no? The timing of the event in a story should also have a meaningful impact on the tone and what follows. The Mane Six getting trounced in Rainbow Rocks is nestled firmly within the final rising action elements leading to the end of the climax. The Mane Six getting their collective asses handed to them is part of the inciting incident. 

Basically having a tension builder like that early on psychologically primes the audience differently so what follows feels different. It's a vanilla story telling technique, but one that works. And yes I expect them to continue to get their asses handed to them during the rising action as well. 

If anyone here was hoping to see the writers reinvent the wheel, I think their expectation need to be brought back to reality. This isn't avant garde. Even Pixar doesn't stray from the classic building blocks of a story. 

What does matter is execution, something that once cannot see in a textual plot point reveal, or usually a trailer. So nobody here can say that this will or won't be well executed. 

3 hours ago, Goddess Sunset Shimmer said:

I have also noticed that for subscribers/donaters such as myself, the size for the avatar is the same as a normal user's size, and that you have to ask a staff member to change your user title for you.

These are both issues yes. The Admin Control Panel only allows them to adust the size of the avatars one way -- increase both the height and width. Before they were able to adjust just the height. The problem is that by increasing the width at the same time ... it makes the formatting of the style look bad for everyone. 

It's likely on the list. 

In the interim the should consider something else in it's place. There aren't a lot of subscribers ... maybe have subscribers pick a banner or something. A promoted blog maybe? 

3 hours ago, Goddess Sunset Shimmer said:

It would also be very useful for those of us who are pro-active about reporting these spam bots

To say nothing of the bewbs lady popping up again. I just started harassing a friend who is also staffer on Discord. 

I hate grabbing an Admin or a Mod that way. Everytime I bother an MLPF staffer ... a pegasus loses its wings.

It's why we have so many Earth Ponies these days. 

12 hours ago, ~Onylex said:

I might even put it into a Forum Banner at some point!

Yes please.

Spike was rock solid in Season Six. I've always like him as a character, but they figured out how to use him in a way that can not only carry an episode, but go through personal growth while (and this is huge) actually imparting a lesson on the more mature characters -- including a pair of Princesses. That's amazing. 

Will Triple Threat be bad? I haven't seen it so I can't say. We have a recent positive track record with him so I'm going in optimistic. Here's the thing, even if it is ... the character is still good enough to warrant a pass. It won't make my opinion change one iota. He's a great character who is as integral to my enjoyment as the Mane Six. Don't let my avatar fool you, my love for Pony does not start and stop at Rarity (who doesn't have a perfect track record either -- nobody does). 

This season has shown me that when a synopsis looks troublesome, we can still get a gem. I was giddy watching Flurry of Emotion because of how well executed it was. Royal Problem also had me a little weary and I fucking loved that episode. Perfect Pair was a so anticipated that I was concerned they wouldn't deliver ... and they did ..  Oh yes they did. Basically, they have earned my optimism this season. 

Two of my bucket list items for this show revolve around Spike (his egg and having him mature out of his crush). So I have high hopes for his future potential as well. 

5 hours ago, ggg-2 said:

If by "Ponyville" they mean Canterlot, because the trailer obviously shows CANTERLOT.

The problem with PR people is that they don't always know the brand XD

Though I would love it if McCarthy wrote that and made the mistake in a fugue state caused by juggling so much and no sleep. 

7 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

 

Why do they keep doing this?

Better than running off in cowardice, or the impending doom and omnipresent threat ... blah blah. The Mane Six need to get their asses handed to them. 

This formula can be traced back to Homer ... If this film is your tipping point ... you have a lot of books, movies, and tv to burn that came before. Good luck with that!

Of course if you wanted a reason that completely marginalizes you try this one: the target audience doesn't have much exposure to tropes yet. What we see as repetitive, the 6 year old will see as novel. Children's authors point this out often enough that I always thought it was taken for granted. It isn't laziness, it's ensuring reinforcement of traditional story telling that allows for a foundation that eventually allow children to grow into nitpicky film goers just like us.

Just now, ponygal111 said:

rude but it's your choice

And mine. 

As Vader said 

#alltooeasy

5 minutes ago, MegaSean45 said:

I'm not 100% sure about Big Mac though since he's got Sugar Belle now.

Being in a relationship doesn't mean you need to sever ties with friends. I get that this happens to some people, but it certainly doesn't have to. In the world of FiM I'm sure Big Mac will be able to keep doing his tabletop hijinks. 

11 minutes ago, Ganondox said:

I interpret that as Scootaloo is just trying to find an explanation for why she can't fly, and it's the not necessarily the actual reason for her problems. 

Right, and that is a valid interpretation. My reply was mostly framed that way due to the fun "your opinion is invalid" meme. 

16 hours ago, Pippinjack said:

For example, I tend to overuse 3 consecutive dots...

Anyone who has talked to me at length online knows I adore ellipses ... a lot. 

I have quite a few others. An 'in person' thing is that I tend to say, "Yep yep" as my affirmative. I occasionally do that online too since I put forth an effort to write on here like I speak. 

A weird quirk I have is that I will always (without fail) wave my hands like a Jedi when approaching a automatic sliding door. This has became something I actually don't know I am doing at times so I have to force myself not to do it if I'm in a social situation that it could be embarrassing for the other person. XD

8 hours ago, Techno Universal said:

To be honest I believe that message is that your wife is actually an evil killer deep inside and she's plotting to eventually murder you. Well that's my theory of what the message of what you're dreams are but still just keep an eye on your wife as she might actually be exactly what I described.

Well ... now I know that you aren't reading what people are actually typing, and you are focused on your next post. You kinda missed something salient in my posts. Here let me help you out ... 

My wife, who was a member here, died in late January. 

My kid also posts here. If she actually sees this topic (which she will because she follows my posts)  ... good times.

1 hour ago, CuriUndersXeno said:

Aural? You mean atmospheric/environment or some dream effect, tone?

Her voice. 

1 hour ago, CuriUndersXeno said:

Yeah that makes enjoying lucid dreaming even harder then if she is the trigger specifically. There are probably ways around it, like having a lucid dream funeral or something to bring closure. And what sorta conversations do you have, does it become like 'you are dead..' or is it about regular or random stuff or normal conversations?

Yeah it becomes me acknowledging that it isn't real. That she isn't real, at least not in that way. Your other points are good observations.

Anyway, I probably won't be posting in this topic again, but if you are interested in continuing a discussion on this, feel free to shoot me a PM

46 minutes ago, CuriUndersXeno said:

oh well nvm lol

At least you found out what you learned today. I learned that apparently YouTube videos have more cred than peer reviewed scientific articles and studies. I've been doing science wrong all this time!

And regarding your comments earlier about why I am uneasy about my wife in my dreams, it is because she has become that reality check component. Her appearance in my dreams will always trigger that state of consciousness. From that point I know it isn't real. Of course being very detail oriented means that the visual and aural aspects appear too perfect. When this happens ... I don't have a conversation ... I just wake up. I'm aware that there is a subconscious message I'm ignoring, but I'm pretty sure I know what I'm trying to tell myself.

I've complained about having insomnia for months and this is likely the root cause of it. 

19 minutes ago, Jon the Bronynerd said:

Now, here's a mystery in itself which not even Google is able to determine where they even come from. And no, I do not have head lice myself (never liked thick hair, always wanted to cut them really short, but did had dandruff before). I know head lice usually come from people with no proper hygiene or I dunno, they just exist. The biggest issue is that no one knows where do head lice even came from. And I don't meant he person's head because its just too vague that even a toddler would understand it. Same goes for kids who share combs and hats without a care because hey, sharing is caring, right? Wrong! And yes, that's what they come from too but even so, its actual origins have been left unanswered.

Ina ll honesty, where do lice ACTUALLY come from? And I don't mean combs, hats or hygienic stuff. Even Google can't figure that one out either.

Enjoy

20 minutes ago, CuriUndersXeno said:

Drug dependence is because of psychological changes and breathing is controlled by the brain as an instinct. You would need brain damage or something else to cause people such an issue, in which case lucid nightmares are a side effect not a cause. Like runny nose isn't an illness, its a symptom of the illness. But if that's a real average surely you can link me to where you found those numbers out?

And even then it'd be death by suffocation or neurological degeneracy causing rage or psychotic behavior or malformed sleep-walking, it would never professionally be called or have evidence for the concept of lucid nightmares. Like pirates of the caribean. One person said, those pirates leave no survivors. Then Sparrow said where do the stories come from then if there are no survivors? Similarly if one has a lucid nightmare and dies, there can be no evidence. And if one has a nightmare or night-terror and lives, its not evidence that lucid nightmares are even a lethal thing.

Agreed. I'll need to delve into my old medical texts, but for now I'll simply say 

I despise when this happens to me. It's a constant event too and it messes up my whole night. My main issue is the distorted nature of it all, not the odd stuff like how sensation is not quite right, and that extremities are not quite there ... it's the greater distortion of reality that Waggoner discussed. I need that like I need a hole in the head. It isn't real and it needs to stop. 

I've actually been focused on trying to stop lucid dreaming. It's not fun for this guy. 

3 hours ago, Trixie The Evil said:

I like seeing her get more episodes. I'd rather that then the same old mane 6 with reused plot ideas, and the same old mane 6 saving the day as they always do. 

14 minutes ago, Adderbane said:

Starlight serves as an alternate main character for episodes where the Mane 6 won't work ( such as rock solid friendship and no second prances), and as a replacement Twilight for things Twilight has had too much character development to do.  Can you imagine the people screaming "out of character!!!!" if Twilight had taken Starlight's role in a royal problem?

Complete agreement. This is actually why the character is extremely valuable for the people who craft the stories. With many of the Mane Six fully realized characters with so much progression, you sometimes need a new vessel to tell stories you find yourselves locked out of. It's why the staff adore her.

Tangentially related: Kelly Sheridan is awesome. I remember her telling me and my son, "Yeah, I'm a bit of a controversial pony, but I have so much fun playing her."

3 hours ago, Firedog said:

Okay, now you are all free to complain about this thread in the comments.

I appreciate the permission you have granted us to have open communication on a public forum. Blessings!

*Sees common internet phrase that laugh in the face of original language and the power of dynamic communication

*Cracks knuckles. 

I don't see them as forcing anything. At least not in the way many here would mean that when they say it. I mean, we aren't actually creating the show ourselves so whatever they produce is just there for our consumption. It's like saying they are forcing us to listen to the theme song, or see Spike. We have literally no agency over what stories get broadcasted. That is with full knowledge and awareness that some characters are controversial. We have no agency in creating FiM. Unless somehow I missed a cool choose your own adventure version of the show. So yes, they are forcing Starlight on us, by nature of the fact that they are forcing everything on us. 

But! We do have one form of agency. We choose whether we like something, or not. Once we make that decision we choose how we act. Keep watching. Stop watching. Take to the internet to lament with others over the state of affairs of Ponies. There are quite an assortment of responses. 

Now, do I think that Starlight Glimmer is being used too much to drive specific episodes? Not really. So far she has had a purpose in every single one of her episodes. I enjoy her appearances. Do I believe that the show is purposely increasing her involvement with full knowledge some people really hate her ... 

Any more of that and I'm going to have to consider her a main character and protagonist. I'll still watch. 

11 hours ago, Hierok said:

I post from a tablet, but when I set a mention, spoiler or quote, I can't delete it anymore. Is there a way I can delete this? It is very frustating sometimes! 

 

To my knowledge, no. It appears to be a flaw in the editor that IPS incorporated into the forum software (on mobile at least). It is possible that I am missing something though. 

12 hours ago, Christhegreat141 said:

Maybe you can add additional content like mini-games(real ones) like, I dunno, a puzzle or guessing game or follow the leader?

MLPF and Poniverse aren't game developers, and to my knowledge they don't have game developers on staff. Currently they are trying to find a Lead Developer for the sites under their umbrella for more functional needs. While I do think there are opportunities to implement gamification elements to the site (particularly in RP), actual games isn't something that they would be able to realistically support. Not without a real effort from several knowledgeable and talented staffers that want to tackle that. 

Long ago I worked with some developers of another php based forum to incorporate previously built flash games into phpBB, an arcade of sorts, complete with scoring and user leaderboards. Looking at this forum's code, and recalling that experience from phpBB, I don't think there is enough value to warrant the time investment involved in even that approach, but that's just me.

That said, this fandom does have a small but dedicated group of Brony game makers, some of which have been posting games in Octavia's Hall. 

You could learn to make your own games. I have no shortage of resources surrounding game development for hobbyists.

8 minutes ago, Unlikeable Pony said:

I'd very much enjoy it, 100%-- THAT BEING SAID, I Also think that would be best left to an alternate continuity or reboot than trying to change FIM at this point-- trying to change a show's darkness level midway through rarely works out well in the end.

That last part I agree with. There are some capable fic writers that touch on themes that don't fit with FiM's tone, and they do it well. In a situation where they do a full reboot, it does give them the ability to move the chains a little, though I wouldn't expect My Little Pony to ever resemble Legend of Korra. That said, the team did have a better harmony between light-hearted and mature with TLA so that's always a good tone to shoot for if Goldner pushes McCarthy and her boss to put together a creative team to launch a more action oriented show. 

It's certainly not something that is impossible. How current FiM fans will take it is another story entirely and I could see it go either way. But yeah ... changing FiM tonally is not a wise decision for marketing, production, and creative reasons. 

4 hours ago, FirePuppy said:

The only pair that I'd prefer to see is Pinkie/Fluttershy without any other Mane Six ponies. Their only episode was Buckball Season, but that was also with AJ and RD.

For the sake of precision and clarity, can you breakdown how one is inherently better than the other? 

How I see it is this

The Mane Six are still the six pones that represent specific fundamental attributes of Friendship. That hasn't changed. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Dashie, AJ, and Flutters. 

There are ten main characters though. The Mane Six, Spike, and the CMC. If Season eight continues to have Starlight as a main character or protagonist then I will consider her the eleventh. FiM is an ensemble cast at this point. 

40 minutes ago, AlicornSpell said:

I think the writers obviously want to make the show more darker and more serious than it is, but Hasbro won't let them do it. I personally think the show would be way better if it was more darker and more serious than it is.

I dunno. The supervising director (DHX guy) got into a contentious back and forth about how the show's themes and tone are meant for little girls. He didn't do so as a PR thing. There was serious passion behind those words. I don't think for a second that they want to make it dark at all. Every time a fan makes some reference to that, you can almost hear the muscles straining trying to prevent the eye roll they want to make. 

Ever been to a con? That question comes up in several variations. I tend to be pretty good at reading body language. You get a weird visual change in posture as if they want to protect their wholesome playground from dirty hands. 

This isn't a Meghan McCarthy/Hasbro thing (she's Hasbro so she could probably get away with it for a few episodes). They honestly believe in their product and how it's presented. I mean, I respect the artistic integrity that comes from doing what you firmly believe in. If they were reluctant and wanted some more grit and grime some would argue that they would artistically bankrupt.