Why does the fandom have such a bad rep?

[hicagp 23]

I know about the cloppers, fanart, and stuff like that, but if non-bronies visited our forums once in awhile, they'd know most of the fandom isn't disgusting and horrible. I almost want to think they just want to stir up trouble with us. Are we an easy target or something?

Any thoughts?

Edited March 8, 2017 by Yellow Diamond
No point in linking people to internet fights.

[Blackshirt Brony 415]

Probably because you can go to any site and see ponies and pony-related things being spammed everywhere. Likewise, when people point this out then there's a segment of the fandom that tends to get triggered by any negative responses that they might get.

[TBD 17,262]

Something like this actually happen in this forum? 

 

I think  these people who stir up trouble just  to get fans mad is mostly because they're bored and need a attentions. The best thing to do is ignore them and let the admins here deal with them. 

 

Also the link you sent doesn't open, just letting you know. 

[GeekySonic 1,150]

Who says Bronies have a bad rep? This ain't 2013 no more, most people don't care about us.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

It's because some people can't tolerate the idea that some people are different than them, and happen to enjoy a cartoon with a completely different audience than intended.

 

In other words, (as I have said on a previous thread) it's because some people are stupid.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Intelligent Luigi

[LeafFerret 3,382]

Because they tend to get very whiny and spoiled when they don't get what they want in the show, they're always demanding the writers about what they want and they won't say no as an answer, just look at their reaction when Starlight became a main character. "No, the show shouldn't be Starlight's show, it should focus on the Mane 6." Like 6 seasons of them wasn't enough for them.

[hicagp 23]

Something like this actually happen in this forum? 

 

I think  these people who stir up trouble just  to get fans mad is mostly because they're bored and need a attentions. The best thing to do is ignore them and let the admins here deal with them. 

 

Also the link you sent doesn't open, just letting you know.

 

 

Oh, it doesn't? Thanks for telling me. The article is called 'Ten Most Annoying Fandoms' on Funk's House of Geekery.

[Violet_S 785]

Like everything in life, this fandom has a positive side and a negative side, and everyone tends to listen more to the negative side. If you think about it, there are other fandoms suffering from this too.. the best way to deal with it is by ignoring it. I've met people at college that sometimes ask me if I'm part of the people who want to f*ck horses and I just answer them 'no, I've never met anyone like that' (which is true) and smile like its no one's business.. there was a time when I felt kind of embarrased by these stereotypes but soon I discovered that the people who tend to judge openly are the ones who know literally nothing so I decided to focus on the good that this fandom has to offer and I've been feeling better ever since. So yeah, dont focus TOO much on the comments that people make or you'll end up going crazy and/or denying what you like... 

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,474]

I'm a non brony and I think the issue is in the fact that you not only watch a show made for small girls, but some of you are way too into it. I'm not saying that's bad, mind you. But if you're on a random website having a convo not related to your fandom, and you spout pony stuff every two seconds, people who want to have a different convo are going to get miffed.

 

Some people target you for the same reason furries are targeted: you are perceived as easy because your fan base follows something outside of the norm. People think you are sensitive, and they are going to take advantage and push your buttons.

 

Almost all of you are totally fine with a convo about anything else, and so I personally know that you are not bad people. As for me, I have no doubt that I will rag on you and make fun of you guys, but it's nothing personal. I only do that to people and fan bases I respect.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Someguyinablazer

[Daring_Do 552]

It's because while not everyone may be a clopper, it's definitely a very visible and arguably central part of the fandom - On major fansites like Equestria Daily, which are kind of the public face of the fandom, this thing is very out in the open (and I have reason to think at least some of the site staff there - such as Sethisto - indulge in those things themselves. Actually, I have a very faint suspicion, admittedly with less evidence, that one site mod is into lolicon...).

 

Yes, as people often say, all fandoms have their dark sides. But out here, people are very *accepting* of the dark side and are more than happy to cast a spotlight on it rather than *leave* it in the dark, you know what I mean? I've found cloppers on Equestria Daily (and their sympathizers) can be very pushy at times, too. Even if you're just like "Hey, man, can you not talk about/post that stuff out in public, please" they throw major hissy fits. They insist (literally, not using hyperbole here) that it *IS* normal and a good thing, and that if you don't agree you're just a stupid bigot. They haven't yet given a satisfactory answer for the fact that this would make most of the general public close-minded bigots...

 

More extreme manifestations (thankfully rarer) involve people arguing in favor of incest and pedophilia. No, not just in terms of fictional characters; I have seen some bronies try making a defense for why *real life* incest and pedophilia aren't wrong, and they too get upset when you try arguing otherwise. There is one regular on EQD (he isn't staff or anything, but he's pretty active in the fandom) who I am pretty sure is an honest to God pedophile, and he once got into an argument with me about me being "closeminded". Even here, there's a guy - he seems like a pretty nice guy, so I'm not naming any names - who's admitted very publicly in a post here that he finds real horses "very sexy", and that there's nothing wrong with that because human sexuality is a beautiful thing etc etc.

 

 

All this aside there's also several other issues I found with the fandom since joining, but I've spent long enough on this (which I believe is the major point).

Edited March 5, 2017 by Daring_Do

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

Does it still have a bad reputation? I thought people quite caring about that sort of thing a couple of years ago.

 

I mean if a website wants to make a list making jokes about the fandom, is it really worth anyone getting their drawers in a knot? Sure the finger pointing and mocking can be annoying for some I suppose, but the insecurity due to it is far far worse.

[Pr0m4NV14 839]

What are these "Cloppers" you speak of?

[Daring_Do 552]

What are these "Cloppers" you speak of?

"Clopping" is the fandom term for masturbating to MLP.

[TBD 17,262]

Oh, it doesn't? Thanks for telling me. The article is called 'Ten Most Annoying Fandoms' on Funk's House of Geekery.

Thanks, now I see what you really mean, so to repost my thought on this. There are plenty of fandoms that I'd find annoying as well, but going about complaining about it because you're annoyed? I don't see the point. If you find a specific fandoms you are annoyed with,  just step back from it and move on.

 

 Don't give me "it a free of speech." Take it from me, it will save you the headache.

Sure there is extremist fandoms but.. what can you do right? ignore and move along.

[Vlazamal 338]

I don't think it's cloppers - it's because it's a little girl's show. Pokemon has much more R34 (statistically) and nobody ever notes it.

[TBD 17,262]

As for the fans in any fandoms..calm your horses down.

[Daring_Do 552]

I don't think it's cloppers - it's because it's a little girl's show. Pokemon has much more R34 (statistically) and nobody ever notes it.

It's R34 *of a little girls' show*. So both, maybe. I was once talking with a furry on deviantArt who told me that was his main problem with bronies.

 

As for Pokemon, I'm not part of that fandom so I can't comment, but is the R34 as accepted/mainstream? Or is it the kind of thing where the 'safe" part of the fandom is weirded/grossed out by it and the R34 types hang out in their own little corners?

[The_Gobo 36,257]

I partially agree with and simultaneously disagree with the OP.
Yes, non-bron's react negatively to even the word brony, because they don't see/talk to people on the forum,

More often than not, they're seeing the people in person.

And many of those, in my own experience, that have the courage to get out there and call themselves openly bronies

are often received about as well as those that 'came out' in the 50's. or... y'know would have if they wouldn't have been slaughtered by the KKK or something.
 

There are plenty of presentable people both in their own homes and out,

Problem I've seen is, many of those people don't go to cons or call themselves bronies in public.
Mostly because it's unfashionable to do so...

for now.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,634]

I think the main reason people hate us (aside from clopping) are the people in the fandom who will just start an argument with people online because the non-brony makes a comment about how we should not like the show. When you start an argument with someone to defend a fandom, it usually makes the whole fandom look bad.

[Cosmic Breeze 51]

I can relate to this pretty well about the MLP show and fandom having a bad rep, but on the accusing side rather than the fandom side.  I've actually joined the fandom about... a month or two ago?  Something like that, but before I actually decided to watch the show for the heck of it on Netflix, I somewhat shunned the show thinking that it was for little girls (and yes, I know the demographic is targeted to them) and thinking guys my age, who called themselves bronies, watching it were a bit weird.  I try not to be judgmental, but I guess I wasn't able to help myself about a show with ponies.

 

But that changed when I did decide to watch it, and I was legitimately surprised.  I watched through everything quickly, and pretty much became a brony and associate myself with that now.

 

I think the main lesson I learned was to 'not judge a book by its cover'.  Probably one reason why so many people who don't really know anything about the show hating or targeting us is because they never actually went to watch a couple of episodes to give it a chance, like I did.  Granted, people will have different views even after watching it.  Although, I kind of get it about how the fandom is very open, and thus the dark parts are very exposed, and that would turn people off.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Cosmic Breeze

[FlootahBabby 265]

Because we're weird. It just goes like that.

 

Another thing is that, a lot of people in this fan base seem to be more emotional or sensitive than people who aren't in this fan base. It's something like how Eminem fans get angry over anyone who says he sucks. Eminem fans (also called "Stans") think that because a hater said he sucks, they think he is disrespecting all the things Eminem has succeeded on overcoming in life (Going from rags to riches, surviving an attempted suicide attempt, quitting drugs, etc) truth is, a lot of people who don't like Eminem are probably not even aware those things happened. Or they do, and they're not trying to disrespect things like that, but just say that his music sucks.

 

It's kind of the same thing here. Except with a cartoon instead of a music artist. A lot of people in the fandom can't seem to take any negative thing about them lightly or informatively. We get offended over everything unnecessarily and we think that we'll gain some debate points if we try to win a never-ending argument.

 

I used to argue with a lot of anti bronies on YouTube in 2015, but then I stopped once I realized how stupid it was. This really is just a pointless cartoon to some people, and we have to respect that. We can't portray this show like it's on the levels of Breaking Bad or something. Because it isn't.

 

There's also a problem that is very unfixable without a major change in culture, but everyone has been judging an entire group of individuals, for the action of only a certain individual. It's in everything. Mostly politics. So this message isn't speaking out to every brony/non brony. I know that there are good and bad people on both sides, and smart and stupid people on both sides. It's just a close minded thing to categorize everyone in a group. That is, except for the fact that we're all weird. Because we watch a show for little girls. And sometimes it's a good thing to be weird, sometimes it's not. We're all weird. I don't know.

 

I just think this subject is not really worth debating anymore. People should be debating on more important stuff. Because this is just silly. There is no perfect fandom. And everyone is having this illusion that there should be a battle on who has the greatest.

Edited March 5, 2017 by FlootahBabby

[Leave a Whisper 703]

Not all of them are, but many have been rude, obnoxious, entitled, pushy, sexist and have gone out of their way to harass older members of the MLP fandom and members of other fandoms period.

 

There are plenty of sane, kind people who are just happy with the show and brand and don't suffer from Permanent Verbal Diarrhea as all internet trolls do but a lot of people have had to deal with the worst of the fans more consistently so people's hackles understandably get raised.

 

While it sucks for every sane fan who gets automatically labeled as an obnoxious brony troll, because of all the turds running around, I can guarantee as a rough whole, the bad reputation is not unwarranted or unfounded.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Leave a Whisper

[hicagp 23]

Because we're weird. It just goes like that.

 

Another thing is that, a lot of people in this fan base seem to be more emotional or sensitive than people who aren't in this fan base. It's something like how Eminem fans get angry over anyone who says he sucks. Eminem fans (also called "Stans") think that because a hater said he sucks, they think he is disrespecting all the things Eminem has succeeded on overcoming in life (Going from rags to riches, surviving an attempted suicide attempt, quitting drugs, etc) truth is, a lot of people who don't like Eminem are probably not even aware those things happened. Or they do, and they're not trying to disrespect things like that, but just say that his music sucks.

 

It's kind of the same thing here. Except with a cartoon instead of a music artist. A lot of people in the fandom can't seem to take any negative thing about them lightly or informatively. We get offended over everything unnecessarily and we think that we'll gain some debate points if we try to win a never-ending argument.

 

I used to argue with a lot of anti bronies on YouTube in 2015, but then I stopped once I realized how stupid it was. This really is just a pointless cartoon to some people, and we have to respect that. We can't portray this show like it's on the levels of Breaking Bad or something. Because it isn't.

 

There's also a problem that is very unfixable without a major change in culture, but everyone has been judging an entire group of individuals, for the action of only a certain individual. It's in everything. Mostly politics. So this message isn't speaking out to every brony/non brony. I know that there are good and bad people on both sides, and smart and stupid people on both sides. It's just a close minded thing to categorize everyone in a group. That is, except for the fact that we're all weird. Because we watch a show for little girls. And sometimes it's a good thing to be weird, sometimes it's not. We're all weird. I don't know.

 

I just think this subject is not really worth debating anymore. People should be debating on more important stuff. Because this is just silly. There is no perfect fandom. And everyone is having this illusion that there should be a battle on who has the greatest.

This user needs a round of applause. This is beautiful.

[gamecubeguy214 2,512]

Because in this world, people are very stupid. By stupid I don't mean not liking a show, but I mean when people dislike other people for being into something that isn't actually bad. These people shrug of the show as just a little girl's show, which it is, but they don't ever consider that the content that the show has to offer may be of good quality. I'm not saying these people have to give the show a try, but it's really stupid to me that they automatically think that something aimed towards a young and female audience is complete garbage. I personally find that things designed for people of all ages are much better, because they're often much less realistic and a lot more visually appealing and fun. It's not bad to be into more mature things, but people need to accept that lots and lots of content, whether it's for children or not, may or may not have good quality.

[ShadOBabe 19,016]

Shoot, sometimes it's easy for BRONIES to hate bronies.

There is quite the handful of our fandom that go out of their way to harass others for the pettiest things. Liking different ships, liking unpopular characters, disliking popular characters, having an unconventional headcanon, and so on.

 

You know it's bad when I've never had a anti-brony come start crap with me, but I've had to develop a troll protocol to combat rabid Fluttercord shippers who come to tell me how crap I am for daring to like Dislestia.

 

We're grating to OURSELVES, so naturally we could grate on those that don't even have the common ground of liking the show.

Edited March 6, 2017 by ShadOBabe