Best Years of the Fandom?

[Lambda Lumis 23]

I hear a lot of older bronies say that 2011 and 2012 were the best years of the fandom. I can understand this as that's when it all started to blow up and exploded across the world. Also this is the time where the most famous fan content such as brony music and animations were made as well as popular fan fiction.

 

Being a new member of the fandom, I would like to hear the opinions of both new and older bronies on which years of bronydom have been the best or are they yet to come?

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

I hear a lot of older bronies say that 2011 and 2012 were the best years of the fandom. I can understand this as that's when it all started to blow up and exploded across the world. Also this is the time where the most famous fan content such as brony music and animations were made as well as popular fan fiction.

 

Being a new member of the fandom, I would like to hear the opinions of both new and older bronies on which years of bronydom have been the best or are they yet to come?

 

Hey there. Been in this Fandom since September 2011.

 

By the time Season 2 arrived, the Brony community was still kinda small, compared to today. But at the same time, we where also very creative. I remember Music Videos like this:

 

 

Though, where these times really better then today? I wouldn't really say so. I admit, i look at that time with fondness, because everything was so new and fresh and i thought about Pony 24/7. But nostalgia can blind somebody and i think there are still some very creative stuff out there.

 

What i can see is, that we have become an established fandom, with a big community and way bigger then almost 5 years ago since i started, so some might think that it's not as comfortable as it used to be.

[Simeon Leonard 119]

I've been bronying since 2011 and I do remember the meteoric rise of pony very fondly, but I think the best time to be in this fandom is right now! It's true that the fandom has become less cohesive as it's grown. That was inevitable. In the early days, it felt more like everyone was moving in the same direction. Now there are factions, but there's also something for everyone, which is great! There's still tons of content being produced, the convention scene is stable and worldwide, and probably of the greatest significance is that pony isn't fringe anymore. It's a thing. We did it! We built a fandom! The most important thing we can do now is keep having fun, keep creating, and keep looking forward to what's next

[Buttonmash1973 1,024]

I been around since autumn 2011. Also 2013 Despite Derpy drama that Winter and on.

[Luminance 2,181]

Figuratively speaking, its based upon your own to depict which time in the fandom was the best. For me, I joined this year and can see that the fandom is still going strong. The upside of this is whether to not look back into the past but to brace yourself for the future for the fandom.      

[Megas 27,060]

Definitely the earlier days where people were just excited about the show and simply have fun watching it. Nowadays there's too much drama

[The Taxman 274]

It depends on how you define 'best years'. The fandom was way more active and productive during Seasons 2 and 3, but there was a lot of drama about the show and the fanbase, not to mention an annoying number of anti-brony trolls on the Internet. The fandom is less active now, due to a lot of people losing interest in between Season 4 and 5, which is disappointing, but it's generally quiet enough for people to discuss the show without much drama. 

 

The period in between mid Season 1 and mid Season 2 was probably best. There were new people coming into the fandom every day, there hadn't been any major changes to the show ala A Canterlot Wedding/Magical Mystery Cure/Equestria Girls, which meant that there wasn't much drama in regards to the show, and the fanbase was excited to see what direction the show could go. 

 

If we had more people in the fandom right now, I would have said that we're currently at our best, because both the toxic parts of the fandom and the anti-bronies have seemed to shut up a lot. Way better than the hell in between Season 3 and 4.

[silvadel 1,393]

The fandom had an early culling with the projects that were given cease and desist orders from hasbro.  This not only stopped said projects but put a chilling effect on future projects by other artists/etc.  I miss Janimations stuff by example -- culled early. 

[Ed Lyons 105]

I joined last year and I wished I joined around that time. there are many fanfics that originated in around those years and were good- to start off with. there have been many many many terrible remakes that make me want to throw up my insides. I think the best stuff originated around those times. but then again, I was 8-9 years old then and, although I am a boy, I was sort of in the intended demographic.

[Trixie Heartstrings 433]

I joined back in 2014, and felt like I joined when it was "too late", but then I was fine with it when I found out that the fandom was growing each year (even though the growth isn't as drastic as it was previous years). I think 2011 and 2012 were probably the best years as far as fan made content goes, but other than that I'm okay with joining when I did. I was interested in the fandom back in 2013, but due to all the drama, and that there was no way I could watch the show w/o my family finding out (my laptop kept overheating, the only way was Netflix). I do think 2013 was the worst year as far as drama goes (Alicorn Twilight and Equestria Girls were this year).

[FluffyGoat13 375]

Although I've been a brony since 2013, I've seen it grow from the beginning, from all sides (yeah I was one of those prats during the early flamewars) and I can honestly say..... I don't care. I really don't, I consider these days to be just as good as the start, yes we may have slowed down with the production of  fan material, either by Hasbro's orders or through people losing touch with the show, but we're still here, and that's good. Not only have we established ourselves as a fandom that is here to stay and not just a short fad that happened and then vanished, but we've also stopped pissing people off by flooding their feeds and favourite sites with ponies. We've been able to see the show adapt and develop from it's humble beginnings at Season 1 to what it is today. 

Edited May 9, 2016 by BritishBrony 13

[ChikaChan 7,320]

the war in 4chan when bronies were only in that website >.>

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

The 19 aughts, for sure.

 

Personally, it seems a tad silly to me to analyze the best years of something that's only six years old.  But on the other hoof, it's blatantly hypocritical of me to say that, as I often reminisce about the good ol' days of Minecraft, before it got too big for its britches, so what do I know.