Now you see me...

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

Hello everyone. 

 

So.  The challenge.  How to do an intro post that isn't dreadfully dull...  I'm not exactly sure I'd call myself a brony.  I have enjoyed (most episodes of) the show so far, but I don't use pony avatars on other forums or use brony-specific culture tags ("brohoof!" etc.)  How did I get here?  I'm a fan of the epic fanfic Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.  The author (Eliezar Yudkowsky) mentioned in one of this Author's Notes that another story, Friendship is Optimal: Caelum est Conterrens (trans. Heaven is Terrifying) is the only horror story that really scares him, unlike, say, H.P. Lovecraft.  This story is based on another story called Friendship is Optimal.  

 

The premise of these stories is that a game developer becomes frightened with the highly-developed A.I.'s her company is developing for video game adversaries are becoming too smart.  When the Loki character they're developing for a combat game (descriptions make it sound a bit like God of War) asks her about the nuclear arsenals of China and Russia, she panics, deletes it immediately, and tries to think of a solution to the imminent arrival of true artificial sapience.  "Problem," because computers run so much faster than human brains, and any true AI will be able to think circles around human beings, and use its superior cognitive abilities to improve itself still further.  It doesn't have to become an evil Terminator--it might just decide that it has a better use for those carbon atoms in your body, the way we pave over an anthill without a second thought.

 

It's too late to stop, as DARPA is already investigating the kernel software of her company's previous combat game.  Her solution: she and her company will have to beat DARPA in the AI race--by creating an AI that is (she hopes) guaranteed to be Friendly.  The AI she chooses to create is Princess Celestia, at the heart of a MLP MMORPG.  She and her company succeed, and the bulk of both stories center on how CelestAI sets about to Satisfy Values...Through Friendship and Ponies (i.e., getting people to upload themselves into Equestria simulations and live there as ponies, forever).

 

As I started in, I decided that I ought to watch a few MLP episodes, so I would know what the background (e.g. "Equestria," "Princess Celestia," etc.) was about.  So I started watching MLP episodes on Youtube.  Ironically, one of the comments on one of the first episodes I saw went something like this:

 

"I used to hate bronies and think the show was stupid.  Then I watched a few episodes.  Then I was like, 'This isn't so bad...' and then I watched some more and now I'm a...  FUUUUUUUUU---"   Which was rather like the plot of the stories that led me to MLP in the first place.

Anyway, watching MLP videos, getting to know the characters represented in brony avatars, etc. got me more curious about the brony community itself.  Google: brony forum.  Aaaand, here I am.

 

 

InvisiblePinkUnicorn

 

Note: The "Invisible Pink Unicorn" and the logo I'm using for my avatar come from a joke anti-religion.  I'm not here to represent that.  I just like the logo, and I also had an idea for an MLP RPG character who would be an "invisible pink unicorn" (again, nothing like the IPU of the joke religion), a young unicorn who turns herself invisible, and must discover the Magic of Friendship^tm before she disappears from reality altogether.

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,794]

*Inb4 Pinkie Pie's welcome song*

 

Welcome to the Forums, fellow brony. Feel free and enjoy your stay.

 

What else can I say? Have fun!

[Krys9 456]

Hey there! Welcome to the forum! You have such an awfully long introduction post as well which is quite alright. I hope you enjoy your stay here. See you around!

[Guest]

Nice to see ya

 

But srsly tho, welcome to the mlp forums ! enjoy your stay.

[Vermillion 613]

hayyyy there friend welcome to the coolest part of the internet

i hope you enjoy your stay

eveypony is really nice here

so dont be shy to post 

 

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

Thanks for the kind welcome everyone/everypony!  In case anyone's interested, I posted the first chapter of a fanfic, "Equestria Girl: The Other Side of the Mirror" on the forum.  The premise: the EG trailers show HumanVerse counterparts of all of the Mane Six, except Twilight.  What happens to her HumanVerse counterpart?  Anyway, for anyone interested in reading, I'd like to know what you think.