What was it like being a brony in 2011?

[Lil Pip 775]

I didn't become a brony til late 2013 if I recall. So I'm curious. I saw SaberSpark's documentary before but it doesn't tell me how it was at a personal level as much. Just gained curiosity from something off of youtube.

[Glimmer 78]

Twas fun. There were way more headcanons back then, because way less had been established. Everyone was hoping Trixie would come back. Discord's design got made fun of a bunch, lol. People hoped the show made it past 65 episodes. The biggest fandom meme was 'Scootaloo is a chicken,' which got tired super fast. I remember personally hoping the show would last at least 3-4 seasons... glad we've made it far past that. 

[Prospekt 10,984]

I wish I had been a brony back in those days when I was an awkward middle school kid. The aforementioned SaberSpark documentary, The Brony Chronicles, is the best brony documentary I've ever seen (I actually haven't watched the "official" ones like A Brony Tale yet), but I agree that it doesn't do much to talk about the fandom as it was back in Season 1 and early Season 2. It just talks about the beginnings on 4chan in the earliest days of the show and then it's like "Boom! 2013!"

Edited August 5, 2016 by Prospekt

[Moonlight 7,279]

This is more of a personal opinion, but I think the fandom was overall more welcoming, made better art and music, and was a lot more fun to be in.

There were overused memes like there are now tho, like the Scootaloo is a chicken joke.

 

It really depends on personal opinion tbh, I recall joining in season 1. It was more enjoyable overall for me.

[Luigi 7,868]

Back then I was into the kinda stuff an average high school football player is interested in. My fiancée DID try to convert me even back then, but it took her 3 years to succeed.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,738]

Well I wasn't one back then, but I do remember seeing it pop up occasionally I think overall there was just more hype around it. You'd notice people telling others the definition of brony, like the whole bro + pony = Brony now I think people just pretty much assume you know what it is. So as I say, I wasn't one at that time but I'd notice it occasionally and I suppose there was more enthusiasm? I'm not sure if it's fair to say so, when I became one there was a lot of enthusiasm and a whole lot of positivity I did become a brony in 2012 when the hype was peaking. Now in comparison, well I think it's still pretty enthusiastic but a lot of dramas have happened and each time the fandom took a heavy hit. Therefore, now it's different still good though, I still enjoy the fandom at least. 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Fluttershyfan94

[Radiance64 7,051]

It felt new and different back then, for me being that into a cartoon anyway lol. Discussion was also a bit more thriving because I don't think we got as much information about what was going to be on the show back then. Not to mention all the now-classic fan projects were just coming out around then, it were good times.

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 2,700]

I think it was a more exciting time because Bronydom was new. Because there lacked content by the fandom (though I think considering how new it was it was still fairly impressive), it was generally more interesting to see more of these projects being worked on. I think 2012 was a highly active year in terms of art produced.

 

I feel the fandom was more on the defensive side back then because of the feeling of needing to defend watching My Little Pony as grown adults which I think now people care far less about.

 

I think "Love and Tolerance" was taken more seriously back then, though I would still question how seriously exactly. Whatever the case, it's clear that trying to make that as an aspect of Bronydom failed.

 

People were concerned about the quality of the show deteriorating with the leaving of Faust, but it's clear that there was nothing to worry about.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,329]

I didn't get into the show until early 2012 so, close enough?

 

I definitely felt more excited about the show and the fandom upon first getting into it. It's kind of like the honeymoon days of a marriage. Where you're so passionate on the show and think you're so rebellious for watching My Little Pony even though society says you shouldn't. It was way more memey from what I can tell, with more of poking fun at stuff that happens and episodes rather than critiquing it to the ground. Back then, the only 2 episodes that a lot of people hated were Feeling Pinkie Keen and The Mysterious Mare Do Well. Also, the analysis community wasn't a thing at the time, with the only person regularly reviewing episodes being Paleo. Sure, a few others like CR were around but they weren't as known as Paleo. 

 

But hey, that's what happens when your fandom is establishing. People fear the fandom is dying but hey, that's just because bronies aren't really a hot topic anymore due to being around for 6 years.

[Lil Pip 775]

Fluttershyfan94, on 05 Aug 2016 - 4:57 PM, said:

Well I wasn't one back then, but I do remember seeing it pop up occasionally I think overall there was just more hype around it. You'd notice people telling others the definition of brony, like the whole bro + pony = Brony now I think people just pretty much assume you know what it is. So as I say, I wasn't one at that time but I'd notice it occasionally and I suppose there was more enthusiasm? I'm not sure if it's fair to say so, when I became one there was a lot of enthusiasm and a whole lot of positivity I did become a brony in 2012 when the hype was peaking. Now in comparison, well I think it's still pretty enthusiastic but a lot of dramas have happened and each time the fandom took a heavy hit. Therefore, now it's different still good though, I still enjoy the fandom at least. 

Can you give me an example of the kinds of dramas that went on?

 

C.B, on 05 Aug 2016 - 6:19 PM, said:

I didn't get into the show until early 2012 so, close enough?

 

I definitely felt more excited about the show and the fandom upon first getting into it. It's kind of like the honeymoon days of a marriage. Where you're so passionate on the show and think you're so rebellious for watching My Little Pony even though society says you shouldn't. It was way more memey from what I can tell, with more of poking fun at stuff that happens and episodes rather than critiquing it to the ground. Back then, the only 2 episodes that a lot of people hated were Feeling Pinkie Keen and The Mysterious Mare Do Well. Also, the analysis community wasn't a thing at the time, with the only person regularly reviewing episodes being Paleo. Sure, a few others like CR were around but they weren't as known as Paleo. 

 

But hey, that's what happens when your fandom is establishing. People fear the fandom is dying but hey, that's just because bronies aren't really a hot topic anymore due to being around for 6 years.

Why did they hate Pinkie Keen?

[captainborgue 343]

I didn't become a brony til late 2013 if I recall. So I'm curious. I saw SaberSpark's documentary before but it doesn't tell me how it was at a personal level as much. Just gained curiosity from something off of youtube.

 

I got into the show in October 2010- I remember it vividly, as I was in the hospital and the prognosis was "We don't wanna say you'll die, but... you might". I found the show charming and colorful and cheerful, which I was in dire need of at the time.

 

Finding out that there were other people, other ADULT people, who liked it too was refreshing.

 

I went to meet ups, I went to cons, I was all over the local Brony forum and lurked on several larger forums. Every Brony I met was charismatic and personable and kind. It was wonderful, to say the least.

 

Then as time passed, it changed.

 

I'm not going to go into a long drawn out story. Suffice to say, I no longer consider myself a part of the Pony fandom. I still enjoy the show, but the fandom... not so much.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,738]

Can you give me an example of the kinds of dramas that went on?

 

Well I was referring to up until now, there weren't many of my knowing so it was more something that became more frequent later on. Like when Lauren "left" my little pony but there were many dramas up until now like Twilicorn, equestria girls there were a lot of them. Not many of them now though, just like there weren't many back then it's more during that period in between. So yeah, a lot of bronies started abandoning the show during those periods when drama happened so yeah.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Fluttershyfan94

[cider float 2,535]

Since it was such a revolution back then, there was a lot more love and creativity back then. Being a brony was a great experience but what also came with it was a lot of self-reflection and the haters/trolls of course. People have really toned down a lot on it.

[S.F. 1,560]

Since it was such a revolution back then, there was a lot more love and creativity back then. Being a brony was a great experience but what also came with it was a lot of self-reflection and the haters/trolls of course. People have really toned down a lot on it.

This is true, I used to frequent ponychan back then, and I remember 4chan raids flooding it with nsfw content. I've not been on ponychan in years, so not sure if the raids still happen, but the trolls definitely seemed more active.

 

 

 

 

I think there was a lot more novelty too, as it wasn't so wide spread, it almost felt like you were part of an exclusive group.

 

Having said that, I'm definitely not one of these claiming that 'the fandom is dying/ruined etc', while there may be more drama now (kinda natural considering how big it has gotten - I just ignore it). It is definitely different, besides the aforementioned drama, it is less in your face (which I think is what sparked a significant amount of the trolling), while not everyone is necessarily accepting of it, those outside the fandom seem to be able to at least to co-inhabit with it better and as its no longer the 'latest fad', it is not as entertaining to troll any more.

 

So, while (for me) it has lost some of the excitement it had when I first got into the show in 2011, I'm happy with how it has matured and am actually enjoying the fandom aspect of it more now then ever.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,329]

Can you give me an example of the kinds of dramas that went on?

 

Why did they hate Pinkie Keen?

People really didn't like the moral. They compares it to religious debates and stuff.

[Megas 27,063]

It was fun until MMDW, which was one of the fandom's earliest shitstorms that I was a part of

[CinnamonPop 3,341]

If you weren't by the right people, then you missed out. Unfortunately that was my case and I waited 4 years till actually doing something. I assume it was more fun being a part of the fandom during that time than now, but it's still fun being part of.

[HorsesandMOARGaloar 300]

That was the year when I entered the fandom, being the meme-obsessed lad I was.

 

I was reluctant at first, but then my interest in FiM and (especially) its fandom was fuelled by:

• the bronies' memes,
• their spamming the Hub's Facebook posts for "more ponies / where are the ponies?!",
• their attacks on anything that supposedly made Fluttershy cry, and
• awfully fascinating things like the grimdark Cupcakes fanfiction and Krastos the Glue-maker.

The fandom back then was fuelled by wild theories (the show's setting was not mapped out yet as it was today, and it was new back then), memes, and people obsessed with ponies and meeting the ponies, that it was a barrel of laughs for me.

Edited August 7, 2016 by HorsesandMOARGaloar

[CT-1138 3,180]

It was an interesting time. There was a lot of hate on the internet towards bronies, and a lot of bronies were pushy about ponies, leading to more hate. We were still more subculture than fandom back then, and there was a sort of fun guilty pleasure feeling from watching what most deemed to be a girls show. 

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

The fandom was definitely on the rise back then. Some of our best-known creative works were being developed between 2011 and 2012, especially animations like "Double Rainboom", the .MOV series, and such, as well as music and fanfic. MLP was probably the hottest cartoon on TV at the time; Adventure Time was a couple of years old and shows like Gravity Falls and definitely Steven Universe didn't exist yet.

 

We were on Hot Topic shelves and commanding the curiosity of some of the mainstream media for the first time. People were trying to paint this as some kind of big social movement or escapism en masse because of how enthusiastic and how new the fandom was back then, even if it is just about the show and the fan works. I'd say this fandom's Woodstock moment was the 2012 Summer BronyCon; it was the largest-scale convention attended by the largest amount of show staff in the largest venue ever booked for a pony convention at the time, and was the focus of John de Lancie's documentary.

 

2011-2012 was the time when MLP was the hot new thing on the block. That ball has been passed around ever since, to works like Gravity Falls, Five Nights at Freddy's, Undertale, and of course Steven Universe now. Whether any of those have reached the same heights MLP has (particularly Steven) is debatable, but there's no denying that media as a whole, especially cartoons, have evolved to a higher form since MLP came out. MLP has had some struggles keeping up with the times, thus some of the more casual fans moved on.

[cmarston1 5,951]

Back before the Twilicorn controversy, the Equestria Girls Freak Out, the Filli Vanilli Fiasco, and before the fans were eating eachother over the current season, those most have been good times.

I didn't really join the fandom until 2012, so I don't really know what it was like before hand.

[FluffyGoat13 375]

Oh the early days. I was there. But on the wrong side. I was one of those useless turds throwing hatred at the fandom for being weird, calling Bronies gay and whatnot.

 

 

Well, times have certainly changed.

Edited August 25, 2016 by FluffyGoat13

[cider float 2,535]

It was a lot more addictive and fun to be in the fandom back then than now. Since bronies also doubted themselves watching a girl's show they doubled their efforts on having their voices heard to convince others and themselves that watching this show was okay and others should just stop hating. This was the cartoon gender wars and it was glorious and being in the fandom was just more fun that it became addictive. It united bronies like glue and made it all the reason more for creative artists to use this mojo to make what they make now.

[-Nobody- 514]

It was really fun back in the day. I think it felt better back then because it was new, we didn't really know what to expect, and since it was so new, the fans were rabid in "ponyfying" everything, which resulted in the mass amounts of pony stuff. Oh, and since nothing much had been established, the headcannon was wild, which helped spawn many fanfics. It also felt like it had a lot more fans because it had the people partaking in the newest fad, and we were more active in letting everybody know we were fans of ponies.

[gamecubeguy214 2,511]

As a brony from 2011, I would say that I remember being wayyy more excited about being part of the fandom, as I was very new to this show with these characters, and I did not care one bit if someone said "But that's a little girl's show". Though being very young, I would just blurt it out and use "everypony" as if "everybody" wasn't a word. I'm glad I moved to a different school. Also, 2011 and 2012 had extremely good music. Just listen to everything by Evening Star.