Like the Show, Dislike the Fandom?

[Sunlight 357]

I get cha. I found a group of brownies in school.

What flavour were they?

OT: I'm not totally fussed over hardcore fans either. They can get a little over the top sometimes, and it does get to the point of 'strange'. I love this fandom, but some of us do go a little nuts over it all.

[Love4discord18 269]

What flavour were they?

OT: I'm not totally fussed over hardcore fans either. They can get a little over the top sometimes, and it does get to the point of 'strange'. I love this fandom, but some of us do go a little nuts over it all.

I meant bronies xD auto correct

[Sunlight 357]

I meant bronies xD auto correct

I know, that happens to me too.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

I like the fandom, but some of us are just going a tiny bit overboard. This actually started in the origin of the fandom, 4chan. It's rule 34. Then there's some that dedicate their LIVES to ponies. Pointless.

That extreme of fans are like super football fanatics, miserable and annoying.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,473]

Honestly, these kind of people are not what bother me. They love this show, that is their way of expressing it so whatever as long as I am not involved. There are many fans that do these kind of things so whatever there too. Be passionate about what you love and enjoy, that is a great thing.

 

However, I really do dislike most of this fandom. This fandom is filled with arrogance, elitism, narrow-mindedness, extreme negativity about the show itself (I might be negative but I try to enjoy this show unlike some), and sheer ignorance to these very things. The love and tolerate mantra is incredibly idiotic as it never really feels like what they say, just an elitist way of saying 'we are better than you because we tolerate everything' and even then, what is the toleration limit? Just, everything? All of this gets old. Plus there are the people who constantly try to be special in some way or another by trying everything and clearly trying to outdo or be like there peers. Notice how many people try music or art in this fandom? Trying new things is fine, but when this is the clear intention of it, what is the point?

 

Meh, I just really have grown tired of most of the fandom. I love this show but I feel it is best enjoyed when the fandom is ignored for the most part. Granted, there are many great things in it, but this hiatus showed me the worst this fandom has to offer and it left a horrific taste. The sheer nitpicking and elitism that goes with it...just, wow, have I seen some really anger inducing stuff.

 

So I love the show and kinda hate the fandom at this point. Hopefully it can change my mind eventually. It kinda seems like it could but...I don't know.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

 

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, is it wrong that I love the show proper, but am strongly put off by the more extreme parts of the fandom shown in the documentary?

Nope. I've taken that sentiment up myself too at one point but I've come to accept that the fandom is so uncontrollably diverse. Fandoms are communities in just about the loosest possible meaning of the word. I'll be respectful whatever you decide to do.

[Erza 581]

I really like this fandom, but extreme bronies always piss me off when they keep bragging about MLP and the fandom.
To me, they are as annoying as Anti-Bronies.
To be honest, Anti-Bronies are ever worse, at least extreme bronies enjoy what are they doing, but Anti-bronies just spread their hate for no particular reason.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

A bit of advice based on something I've learned since I've been here, and based on a problem I seek to rectify about myself. Everything is so much more enjoyable when you stop being judgmental of people. I've learned that judging others and looking down on them when they've done nothing to really deserve it is one of the worst feelings in the world. It makes you feel like an asshole, and a misanthropic bastard. These people are enjoying the show and showing their love in their own way(as quirky and weird as it may be), we shouldn't look down on them just for having fun and enjoying themselves.   

 

In fact, I've found that the people that pride themselves on being "normal fans" tend to be massive pricks with a ego-complex and their heads shoved up their asses about how "we're not like those other pathetic freaks" and the fanboys/fangirls tend be the actual nice people. 

 

In short, we should see all the harmless, yet crazy and colorful differences we all have as beautiful and just have some fun.  

Edited February 11, 2014 by Shoboni

[Koelath 445]

If you saw the thing I watched, you have every right to not only be incredibly disgusted but also the right to punch out any of those people if you ever see them on the street. The fandom is, quite frankly, full of unpleasantness of many kinds...But the pleasant parts compensate well.

[King Sejong 859]

   I love the show, but I am cautious of the fandom, granted I would not mind meeting other bronies, but I would be contentious. Over the top fans do exist, and I would not bother them just as long as they don't bother me, if they are not hurting anyone then let them act out in their fantasy, and if you don't like it then find fans similar to your perception. I will have respect for moderate and creative bronies, they do much good for the fandom, or try to do good, we could give them that much credit, however I do have a dislike of bronies that can't find the good in a particular episode, they are overly critical with an arrogant elitism, and will not like a writer or a character that interferes with their desire of what the show should do, or because there is a plot element than does not make sense in their logical storytelling, even with fun episodes some high maintenance bronies find it hard to enjoy, finally I will end by saying that I love the show, and is cautious of the fandom, provided that the fans can enjoy something about the show and bronies on a personal relationship.  

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I get cha. I found a group of brownies in school, and I got myself associated with it. We all were nicknamed our favourite ponies which I was alright with in the group. I'm a closet brony, I don't necessarily wear my brony badge everywhere because my main group was computer engineering students, and they already cracked bad jokes about the fandom so I stayed quiet that I was in it.

 

What set me off from the group was that they started calling me Discord at school. Most average people don't know that discords a pony, but they wanted me to call the their pony nicknames too. And the one guy who loved Fluttershy started hitting on me and trying to kiss me, saying we had to " complete his otp " ( being Fluttershy x discord ).

 

so that kinda set me really off because I started wondering if every brony was this weird and creepy.

 

My guess is that was more derived from him having a thing for you, and just being screw-all horrible at flirting(or just being a massive douche, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference), chances are he would have pulled it no matter how you to came to be social connected, it just would have been a plain old bad pick-up attempt instead of a brony pick-up attempt.

 

As for others, they probably just think nicknames are fun and meant no harm by it. Some people that get used to being called by nicknames feel really awkward when someone calls them by their real name.  

Edited December 18, 2013 by Shoboni

[Skeletor Brony 703]

Out of all the things I expected to discuss and do in AP Psychology today, examining the MLP fandom was not one of them. But, lo and behold, my Psych teacher showed us a 40 minute documentary on Bronies, (I don't know if it was the documentary that everyone was all gaga about or not, since I never saw it) then had us identify the developmental issues and deficiencies in the various fans shown in the documentary, or what fixations they had from earlier stages of development. Of course, as we did this, everyone was laughing and talking about their favorite parts. (As in, who they thought was the most embarrassing) Of course, I joked along with my friends and did the assignment, and as I did, I thought on what I had seen on the documentary.

 

To be honest, the Bronies that I saw on the documentary, all garbed in pink and purple and wearing wings and horns at one of the cons, were people I would never want to associate with. I was disturbed at what some of the were talking about to the interviewers, (such as their various 'waifus', among other things) and thoroughly ashamed to think that I was in the same group. 

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, is it wrong that I love the show proper, but am strongly put off by the more extreme parts of the fandom shown in the documentary?

Holy shit, it's like you read my mind... I think it's just stupid, to be honest. I love the show. I like the fans, but the "hardcore" ones are just creepy to me. When I see the hair dying and "accessories", I feel like a creep just being slightly part of this (Being in the fandom). THIS... I almost left the fandom due to these dudes:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCsQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLQO82ys_5Rw&ei=4b2xUvSTGeKS2AW5_oGQDw&usg=AFQjCNGVK0FlLOV9DbJAMnJAF-qyDCm_3w&bvm=bv.58187178,d.b2I

[Midnight and Shira 123]

I love the majority of the fandom, the soft spoken, friendly people who actually learn from the morals of the show. The attention seeking 'fans' who paint their faces, wear wings, put their hair up like manes, and carry around plushies are not my type. I find that they are simply striving for individuality and attention, and the kind of just annow me, lol.

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

This thread appears to be related to the My Little Pony franchise and/or the Bronydom in general. Thus, it has been sentenced to Sugarcube Corner.

 

This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

Yeah I have seen people who are like that. It makes sense, our fandom is not really the best when it comes to reacting to stuff.

[SomariFeyWright 776]

No more than I dislike any other fandom I'm a part of.

 

See, yes, the brony fandom has its share of bad apples. But so does just about every fandom that has ever existed. Heck, I bet even the Klonoa fandom has a few poor fanboys. Heck, I've seen them, swearing off the company for not making another new game or for screwing up the Wiimake of the original.

 

I don't mind the fandom much at all because "bad fans" are everywhere, in every fandom.

[Zhortac 1,474]

I don't really mind any fans of anything...except the ones that delve WAY too far into it. I really don't like the whole concept of "shipping" either...esspecialy when people go so nuts over it, and treat it like its canon. Also, don't like fans who swear up and down, nothing is better in anyway shape or form, to what they like, or their favorite character is unbeatable and can do anything.

 

And no, this is not the only fandom to have those problems, but thankfully, its not as bad as some other ones I've seen.

[Judgement 445]

There's levels.

 

1.Liking the show

2.REALLY liking the show

3.LOVING the show

4.OBSESSING about the show

5.TALKING about the show every 5 minutes

6.YOU ARE THE SHOW. IT REPRESENTS YOU AND YOU REPRESENT IT.

 

I personally am a number 3. Mellow, but I still love to talk about it. When it comes to things like videogames, I am a number 6. I KNOW I annoy people in real life, so I am sure people that are one with MLP know that they get on people's nerves sometimes. I feel like when there are too many people with a level of number 6 in one place, it gives the fandom a bad name. Heck, it gives ANY fandom a bad name.

 

I stated this before, but I will NEVER dye my hair to look like one of the mane 6. I will also probably never go to a convention. I respect people who do, but I just can't imagine being in their shoes.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Judgement

[Zekromic 1,054]

I don't dislike the fandom, because there are weirdoes in EVERYONE one them

[Pocky Pen 27]

Personally, I love the show but have a bit of a love-dislike thing with the fandom. I've seen and met some wonderful bronies that make me want to be half as good people as they are. A few of my brony friends at way better people than I could ever hope to be. Then there's those who are as vicious and volatile as the Anti-Bronies and they make me want to hang my head in shame.

 

And then there's the "extreme" bronies.

 

To be honest, they are a grey area for me. I don't know any personally, but I have met and seen some briefly at the previous Anime Expos I've attended. And in all honesty they didn't seem like bad people. A bit obsessed with the show maybe (and I'm not one to talk, really, given my growing pony merchandise collection), but not bad. The cosplay doesn't really bother me, and neither does carrying plushies (as I've noticed a few have complained about here) because c'mon, those plushies are adorable. I wouldn't carry my Pinkie plush around in public during non-con times, but that's me personally. I get embarrassed easily.

 

As others have already said, every fandom has its moderates and its extremists. Hell, I can easily draw parallels between the general anime community and the brony community; they are really alike from my experience. From shipping wars to crossplaying, character nicknames to talking about the show almost all the time (or at least referencing it), there's so much similarity. And how do we really draw a line anyways as to what is considered "extreme"? What is extreme to some may not be to others and the varying combinations of traits that people claim make one an "extreme" fan can really blur the line. Other than dedicating one's life completely to the show (and that's probably extreme even by extreme standards, whatever they are), there's really no definite line for extremism; it's all just up to what each person likes and dislikes or is comfortable with that makes their definition of extremism.

 

I'm comfortable with the cosplaying, crossplaying, cuddling plushies, buying the toys and other merch, drawing, music-making, analyzing, shipping, fanfic writing, wearing pony shirts/accessories, constant lurking/chatting on forums, and daily referencing/talking about the show aspects of the fandom, so those don't quite reach the extreme line for me. R34 bugs me and I refuse to go looking for it, but that's not quite extreme either as it's really par the course for most if not all fandoms. Same with clopfics; no fandom can escape the lemon bombs. And waifu talk (then again, the general anime community may have had some influence on that with me). The only thing that makes me think "extreme" is holding a real-life wedding between yourself and your waifu and whatever else I can think of that passes that. And even then I only think it's quirky or oddly interesting, but not creepy or disgusting.

 

Maybe I'm just weird like that. I'unno. Feel free to TL;DR if you want.

[Envy 6,162]

I do not usually pay enough attention to the fandoms of things I like to realize whether I dislike them or not (except for maybe The Sims fandom, which was hard to not see, because they're all so easily amused, and EA has taken so much advantage of that). Additionally, I don't think it's at all fair to associate all members of the fandom with those who have 'waifus' and are...sexually attracted to cartoon ponies.

 

However, there are lots of traits I've been seeing that disgust me that are not merely in the "fringe" of this fandom, and thus I've become to feel a bit alienated, and I've begun to not think as highly of the "Brony" fandom altogether as I did at first. Don't get me wrong... Guys are free to watch the show in my mind, and people that think otherwise seriously need to grow up, but this fandom (in general) has certainly attained some widespread issues that are making it hard for me to even want to defend it anymore.

 

I will remain here as a fan of the show, but not necessarily as a part of 'fandom'.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Envy

[FNGRpony 658]

Super fans make sane people cringe. We have a lot of super fans

[Acchan 232]

Overboard fans creep me out no matter what the fandom, brony or otherwise. I just pick to hang with the... less creepy ones.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I do not usually pay enough attention to the fandoms of things I like to realize whether I dislike them or not (except for maybe The Sims fandom, which was hard to not see, because they're all so easily amused, and EA has taken so much advantage of that)

 

I think the fact they sold an Ikea item pack for the price of a full game demonstrates that pretty well, I have never seen a game with so many useless add-on packs as The Sims 2.

[Shanks 10,816]

There are some fans who go a bit overboard but if someone want to dress as in pink and wear wings and horns at a con than even though it is not my cup of tea I don't see the harm in it. If someone did that every day and at every opportunity I would see your point but although there are some annoying fans I think you are being a wee bit too judgmental here and will probably be a bit happier if you stopped judging what other fans did.