Kodiak

I could see your point, but this wasn't really a thread to try and redefine the two words, rather to discuss their meanings when used in casual conversation. "Excuses" and "reasons" already have their negative and positive connotations respectively. I'll change my original argument to maybe their literal definitions could be interchangeable, but someone would be more likely to use the word "excuse" when they think the other persons either lying or not being totally honest; word choice would be left to the user. For example, when Pinkie Pie's friends didn't come to Gummy's "after-birthday" party because they had things to do in Party of One, she says: "The more I think about it, the more it sounds like *gasp* excuses!" Though, when she finally came to the surprise party at the end of the episode, Rarity says something along the lines of: "We had to think of reasons for why we couldn't make Gummy's party so that we could get yours ready." Perhaps the words could mean the same thing, essentially, but one could be favored by the user depending on the situation.

I see a reason as something that you honestly couldn't help if you tried. With an excuse, it's more of you trying to take the blame off yourself; an invalid reason. Example: Scenario: You're late to an appointment. A reason would be something like: "There was a sudden accident on the highway on my way over here," where as an excuse would be: "I had to stop for gas." My logic is that one cannot control the actions of others (car accidents), however one can control things like fuel supply (stopping for gas). If you could have preemptively handled a problem, then it would qualify as an excuse. Though, there's always a gray area. If the response was: "My car broke down," it could go either way; it's a reason because things like that could happen randomly, but it could be an excuse if you already knew that there were problems with your car. What do you guys think?

I could easily see this being like the "Bronies: Make it Happen" video at the start of this year. I'm totally in. Couple of things: 1. What kind of format would you like the video? 2. How long do you plan to make it? 3. Are you going to use one of those "inspirational" music tracks in the background?

Thank you for the reply! This really helps.

Yep, I'll be doing the layout and the article itself. The graphics (pictures) are left to another section of the paper though.

Hey everypony! Well, I'm on the school paper and all, and my adviser allowed me to do an article about charities; anything at all relating to it. So, I said "Why not ponies?" Though, I'm going to need you guys' help and knowledge. I'm juggling around three different articles this time around, and won't have enough time to properly research the various brony donation causes as I would want to. I hate to sound like I'm just passing off my work to you guys, but I could seriously use some help. I know of a few such as "Smile!" and the Humble Brony Bundle, but that's about it. In your posts, please give the name and link of the donation cause, and maybe a small description if you feel like being generous I'll gladly post the completed and finalized article here as well as submit a copy to Equestria Daily. Thanks to all who respond!

"Yeah...let's not and say we did."

Mild sauciness: Image link: