The fandom and its downfall.

[DoctorWhovian1902 596]

Okay, the guy was overreacting and, ironically, being fairly obnoxious himself. I'll let it slide that he didn't like MLD or "Cupcakes", after all everyone has their opinion, but the constant slur of obscenities made me take him about as seriously as Fox News.

 

Also, I actually like a lot of HiE stories. I can't be the only one.

[hawkflame 3,308]

I seem to be a minority in my opinion on the subject, but I've been really excited ever since I heard of Twilight becoming an Alicorn. Personally, I think it will be a great move for the show, and open up so many new possibilities. I have a question about the whole thing though. Please, do not take offense. It's just curiosity. I'm not judging anyone or male bashing! Is there a gender gap issue causing all the strife? Is it just that male Bronies feel betrayed by a female character ascending? It is playing on the whole "Girls wanna be Princesses" thing, after all. Would the fandom be okay if it was Spike who suddenly grew wings?

 

If Spike grew wings and *became a prince*, it would be the same thing.  It's too much of a change from what we know.  In this show, an alicorn represents something on a level above a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. 

 

@ponyvangelist made a great post in the Alicorn Twilight thread about our concerns here:

 

http://mlpforums.com/topic/37744-twilight-sparkle-alicornprincess-speculation-spoilers/page-38#entry1140844

[Pixel Stick 927]

 

If Spike grew wings and *became a prince*, it would be the same thing. It's too much of a change from what we know. In this show, an alicorn represents something on a level above a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony.

 

ponyvangelist made a great post in the Alicorn Twilight thread about our concerns here:

 

Here's my two cents to counter those concerns (which I posted in that thread as well).

 

 

You know, I think this whole discussion is missing one really major point that's central to the show's entire premise: If Twilight graduates, becomes an Alicorn and/or a Princess, great for her.  But do you honestly think that she's going to give up on her friends, or that her friends are going to give up on her?

 

Think about it.  Twilight has been aspiring for most of her life to fulfill her dream - it's not necessarily clearly stated what that dream is, but she's Celestia's beloved student, her protege.  She holds a very special status already in all of Equestria.  And yet she is best
friends with five other, arguably much more common ponies.  If she values her friendship with them, she will NOT abandon them when she fulfills her dream, and they won't abandon her because she is too important to them as a friend.

 

Granted, I haven't read all 47 pages of this topic, but so far everything I've read in this debate has made it sound as though Alicorn Twilight will be fundamentally and radically different from Unicorn Twilight, and that it will kill the show.  I seriously doubt the creative team is going to do that to her - it would go against everything the show has come to represent.

 

In short, I think people need to have more faith in the writers to find a way to make Twilight's (as of yet unaired) transition into something wonderful.

[Betez 1,734]

I honestly don't think it's going downhill. I just think it's been negative lately because of all the things with Alicorn Twilight and the shutdown of fangames.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

Why are people obsessed with foretelling the doom of our fandom (and being wrong every time)?

 

I mean, we do love the show, right?

We do enjoy being bronies, right?

This is a good thing and we want it to continue, right?

 

So why is anyone still talking about this?

[hawkflame 3,308]

Here's my two cents to counter those concerns (which I posted in that thread as well).

 

 

 

In short, I think people need to have more faith in the writers to find a way to make Twilight's (as of yet unaired) transition into something wonderful.

 

Did you even read the post I referenced there?  It didn't even mention any of the issues you were countering.  Yes, Twilight's not going to abandon her friends.  *That's not the point.*    But to say any further on this issue is to derail this thread even more. 

 

As far as the fandom goes, I think that we're fine for now.  There'll be some tough stretches, but I think we'll pull through.

[Pixel Stick 927]

 

Did you even read the post I referenced there? It didn't even mention any of the issues you were countering.

 

Yes, in fact, I did read the post.  I was responding specifically to this part of it:

 

 

Wings or no wings, Twilight graduating from a student to a princess is a major change to the premise of the show. To draw on The Simpsons again, it's as big a deal as if Homer Simpson were to have become Mayor of Springfield at the end of Season Three, and stayed mayor ever since. Goodbye Sector 7-G.

 

That sure sounds like she thinks the show's premise is going to change significantly.  And I brought it up here because I feel my thoughts directly relate to a significant portion of the debate about people "foretelling the doom of this fandom".  I'm trying to remind people to keep calm and hold true to the ideals they believe they see in the show.

[Jemboi 127]

So now the fandom is ending? Sheesh! Is Rarity behind all this unnecessary drama? Oh wait, of course she's not because while she is very dramatic, she's supportive of her friends and would give Twilight the benefit of the doubt. Bronies need to sit down and let this thing unfold. Stop freaking out over something that hasn't happened and we cannot help either way. This could be bad or a wonderful development. Just give the story a chance, because there's really nothing else we can do. CALM DOWN. 

Edited February 12, 2013 by Twi-Shy-Pie

[Pixel Stick 927]

So now the fandom is ending? Sheesh! Is Rarity behind all this unnecessary drama? Oh wait, of course she's not because while she is very dramatic, she's supportive of her friends and would give Twilight the benefit of the doubt. Bronies need to sit down and let this thing unfold. Stop freaking out over something that hasn't happened and we cannot help either way. This could be bad or a wonderful development? Just give the story a chance, because there's really nothing else we can do. CALM DOWN.

Thank you. That's basically what I was trying to say. If we see ourselves as friends of the Mane 6, and of Twilight in particular, we should be happy for them and supportive of them, come what may. Isn't that what the show tries to teach us?

 

(off-topic: Yay, I apparently just graduated to Cupcake.)

Edited February 12, 2013 by Harvan

[hawkflame 3,308]

Yes, in fact, I did read the post.  I was responding specifically to this part of it:

 

 

 

That sure sounds like she thinks the show's premise is going to change significantly.  And I brought it up here because I feel my thoughts directly relate to a significant portion of the debate about people "foretelling the doom of this fandom".  I'm trying to remind people to keep calm and hold true to the ideals they believe they see in the show.

 

Well, it kind of *is* a major change, unless she renounces Alicorn Princess status and continues to live in the Ponyville library.  I think it's rather hard to deny that.

 

Yes, it's important to remind people to keep calm, but at the same time it's also important to understand their concerns.  This whole situation is reminding me of the moral in Lesson Zero...

[Pixel Stick 927]

 

Well, it kind of *is* a major change, unless she renounces Alicorn Princess status and continues to live in the Ponyville library. I think it's rather hard to deny that.

 

Yes, it's important to remind people to keep calm, but at the same time it's also important to understand their concerns. This whole situation is reminding me of the moral in Lesson Zero...

 

My point is that if such a big change happens, it'll happen for a reason.  Change does happen - things aren't going to remain the same forever, and part of growing up and living in a realistic world is encountering and dealing with that sort of change.

 

Think of it this way: If your best friend suddenly got offered the job of a lifetime but had to move across the country to take it, and they decided to accept the position, would you be happy for them?  Or would you start griping about how your life as you know it is going to end?  Frankly, I see the drama being caused by this Twilicorn thing in about the same boat.

 

It's just unfortunate that the Fighting is Magic shutdown happened at about the same time - the confluence of these two events sure does seem to be stirring up an awful lot of unnecessary drama.

[Gone Airbourne 21,969]

Some think that the fandom is falling but to me I think others are overreacting a bit. I have not been disappointed yet by any of the seasons/episodes but that is just me . 

[Rainbow Dash 1,471]

this is the first i heard of Brony on Brony hate. I thought people were more tolerant with this fandom. This has happened with Star Trek too. fans are nice and then when the show hits a rough patch they lash out at each other. I only bring up Star Trek because the Brony fandom has been compared to the trekkie fandom. The funny thing i read from that blog was "you dont know much about the characters unless you have clopped to them" i thought that was hilarious and true in the case of 4chan. i seriously cant go on 4chan without someone turning the post into a pony simulator thread.

[hawkflame 3,308]

My point is that if such a big change happens, it'll happen for a reason.  Change does happen - things aren't going to remain the same forever, and part of growing up and living in a realistic world is encountering and dealing with that sort of change.

 

Think of it this way: If your best friend suddenly got offered the job of a lifetime but had to move across the country to take it, and they decided to accept the position, would you be happy for them?  Or would you start griping about how your life as you know it is going to end?  Frankly, I see the drama being caused by this Twilicorn thing in about the same boat.

 

It's just unfortunate that the Fighting is Magic shutdown happened at about the same time - the confluence of these two events sure does seem to be stirring up an awful lot of unnecessary drama.

 

Yeah, there's a reason, but unfortunately that reason is called Hasbro.  It's not a change that was organically dictated by the story. 

 

As far as the friend analogy goes, it fails because Twilight is a fictional character.  Real life doesn't follow a storyline, and it's not meant to.  But fiction is different. In fiction, change is only good if dictated by story.  Let's take it to the next level- Twilight turns into a *god*.  You wouldn't be taken at least a little aback from this kind of major shift in the series when the series has pretty much been status quo for the last 2+ seasons? 

 

All I'm saying is be understanding towards people who don't take to the change very well.  Don't be too dismissive, that's just going to make things worse.  I think that telling people to calm down and not overreact *while being mindful of their concerns* is the best way to fix this situation. 

[Pixel Stick 927]

Yeah, there's a reason, but unfortunately that reason is called Hasbro.  It's not a change that was organically dictated by the story. 

 

As far as the friend analogy goes, it fails because Twilight is a fictional character.  Real life doesn't follow a storyline, and it's not meant to.  But fiction is different. In fiction, change is only good if dictated by story.  Let's take it to the next level- Twilight turns into a *god*.  You wouldn't be taken at least a little aback from this kind of major shift in the series when the series has pretty much been status quo for the last 2+ seasons? 

 

All I'm saying is be understanding towards people who don't take to the change very well.  Don't be too dismissive, that's just going to make things worse.  I think that telling people to calm down and not overreact *while being mindful of their concerns* is the best way to fix this situation. 

 

Are we discussing the same show?  I see the story as having a very clear direction: Throughout the whole series, Twilight has been studying magic as Celestia's personal student.  In "Cutie Mark Chronicles", Celestia said herself she had never encountered a unicorn with so much raw ability.  She's obviously grooming Twilight for something big, and I dunno about you, but it's been plainly obvious to me that the series has largely revolved around Twilight's studies, her growth and her evolution as a character, and the lessons she learns about friendship along the way.

 

Also, it's been well established that Celestia and Luna are about the closest things in this universe to living gods - they have the ability to control day and night, they've lived for well over a thousand years, there's some question as to whether they're immortal, and they have powers far beyond any common pony.  Frankly, I don't think the concept of Twilight becoming a god is as far-fetched as you make it sound, but I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting that's what's going to happen to her.

 

I totally understand that people are resistant to change.  It's human nature to be resistant to change.  But as I said, change happens, whether we like it or not, and part of living in the real world, and even an ideal one, is to deal with that change and realize that it's not always a bad thing.  Honestly, I think the show would be at risk of becoming boring if it remained "status quo" much longer - they're going to run out of "run-of-the-mill daily lessons" to teach, and they can only throw so many supervillains at the plot before we all end up going "Yeah, yeah, here comes Twilight to save the day again".  I'd really rather not see that happen.

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

Why are people obsessed with foretelling the doom of our fandom (and being wrong every time)?

 

I mean, we do love the show, right?

We do enjoy being bronies, right?

This is a good thing and we want it to continue, right?

 

So why is anyone still talking about this?

This.

 

WE are the fandom. You, me, everypony here and all around the world. We have no leaders, we have no dejure foundation we depend on. The fandom is us. The fandom can only fail if we fail, and it seems like nopony in this thread is going to let themselves fail in the fandom. Ergo, the fandom isn't failing. Simple. As. That.

[Pixel Stick 927]

By the way, in case people here haven't seen it, it looks like one of the Mane6 development group sent out a heartfelt message to everyone about the Fighting Is Magic project. I think it's worth a look. (I got this as an image from Cheezburger.net, so I don't have the link to the original post handy, unfortunately.)

 

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7055784960/h673F0907/

 

(And no, I promise you this is not an attempt to troll anyone.)

Edited February 12, 2013 by Harvan

[RockinRarity 1,605]

I have to say that I love you guys.

 

I have been reading Facebook comments by hundreds of people who comment on the My Little Pony page whenever they post a new Princess Twilight toy or they put up a teaser for the episode that will be aired this Saturday.

 

Most of them make me facepalm.

 

Reading this thread is a breath of fresh air. Even the people who are apprehensive about the change in the show aren't saying that the show will die and it will suck and everything will be ruined in the fandom. We are all discussing the topic in a reasonable manner, not putting our emotions aside but rather explaining them to others so that we may understand.

 

I admit to being apprehensive about the whole thing at first. But you know what? No amount of complaining or worrying is going to change the show. The episode is already set in stone and there is nothing that we can do to change the direction that the show is heading.

 

So we have a choice. Either we can whine and bitch and complain and refuse to see the new episode in a fair light, or we can watch the episode just like any other episode of MLP, apprehensive or not.

[Prismatic 49]

Well I don't think I've said this but I've watched an entire brony community go up in flames and fall apart (and unforunately as a phoenix it did not reborn as intended).  Needless to say that speaks very, very little of the fandom.

[Pixel Stick 927]

Well I don't think I've said this but I've watched an entire brony community go up in flames and fall apart (and unforunately as a phoenix it did not reborn as intended).  Needless to say that speaks very, very little of the fandom.

 

Any fandom is going to have its volatile spots.  We are the fandom.  We don't have to go up in flames like the other community you mentioned.

[Prismatic 49]

Any fandom is going to have its volatile spots.  We are the fandom.  We don't have to go up in flames like the other community you mentioned.

 

 

Of course; I was mostly hinting at that there are things outside Hasbro that cause bubbles in the fandom's surface.  Just every day things come and go and most of them are unpredictable.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

 

Well I don't think I've said this but I've watched an entire brony community go up in flames and fall apart (and unforunately as a phoenix it did not reborn as intended). Needless to say that speaks very, very little of the fandom.

Hmmmm... may I asked why this happened? How many bronies were in this community and how mature or old were the majority of them?

[Argos 191]

(content has been removed)

Edited March 16, 2014 by Argos

[FoxyCryptid 4,327]

Well I don't think I've said this but I've watched an entire brony community go up in flames and fall apart (and unforunately as a phoenix it did not reborn as intended).  Needless to say that speaks very, very little of the fandom.

Happens all the time in fandoms, I watched an entire creepypasta forum go up in flames because noone there had any self-control and couldn't stop attacking each other and making sock-puppets.

 

We're a fandom born from the internet's ass-end, there's going to be morons and splinter groups full of bile and strife. 

[Prismatic 49]

Hmmmm... may I asked why this happened? How many bronies were in this community and how mature or old were the majority of them?

 

The community in question peaked at 35K+ registrations before it was taken offline and restarted.  My understanding was that its original purpose was to link bronies in a social network and it turned out to mostly devolve into role playing.  The community was split into two sites and as far as I know the idea never caught on.  Its new incarnation is 11K+ registrations (8.5K which appears to be 'valid', dunno how the new system they employ works) but it doesn't account for how many RP accounts there are.  Its companion site only has 3.2K registrations.

 

As for the maturity of the users it is hard to say.  The problem with social networking sites is that they don't require the structure of a forum so as long as users behave it's all good (as far as I know it wasn't too terribly bad).  Normally situations that tend to blow out of proportion of forums don't exist on social networks either.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Prismatic