The fandom is alive and well, right?

[Flakk 65]

it ain't the glorious lump of pure chaos that it was from like S1 Drought-S2 Drought but it's still there.

 

On one hand it's kinda become broken into several circlejerks a la Sonic while on the other hand going "Bronies r ghey XDDDDD" has kinda become as dated as Furry hating. Unless you are a Tumblr social justice warrior (Seriously there's like no SJW thread I can find so maybe I should make one I dunno).

[Night Shine 767]

(That's weird. I didn't get notified of you quoting me.)

 

That does seem to be the general idea. A lot of the time when I hear anything about the fandom "dying" or declining or whatever, its because people have grown apathetic. That inspiration has run dry. Another point I often hear is that the fandom is no longer growing or that people aren't in love with the show.

 

Although there is something I would like to personally bring up and that's about there being more to this fandom than just the internet forums. I'm serious. It's something Scootalove brought up: content -- of which a fair amount is still being produced on a daily basis. If you ask me, the fandom is only truly dead when all fanart creation stops.

 

Yes. Content creation is the lifeblood of a fandom. However, I really don't care about fandoms. I joined the Brony community when I felt that it was more than just a fandom, and I chose to give up faith in the Brony community when I realized that my expectations were far too high for a group of mere humans to fulfill. That excitement that I loved over MLP's grandiose Love And Tolerance-based idealism simply can't last forever.

 

Interestingly enough, me simply saying that is contributing to the problem.

 

Still, if you love this community because it is a fandom than I have good news for you: content creation will not wane; it will only grow with time. The fandom will only grow, since the show is still continuing. If you love the Bronies as a fandom, everything's still a-okay. However, given the rampant negativity that initially caused this topic's concern, I may not be the only one who (consciously or not) holds this view.

Edited April 23, 2014 by The Late Night Shine

[Windseeker 546]

Dude, there are tens of millions of us out there in North America alone, who knows how many is beyond the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

 

We are not going any where for a very long time.

[Kel_Grym 1,917]

 That excitement that I loved over MLP's grandiose Love And Tolerance-based idealism simply can't last forever.

 

I never really dug the love and tolerance slogan. Not that love and tolerance don't have a place, it's just that it's place is within context with everything else in this wonderfully horrendous and horrifyingly wonderful universe that we live in.

 

It's good to promote it, honestly, but to set it on such a pedestal is a mistake. I think when you get right down to it, the slogan itself was created and embraced as a defensive mechanism.

 

Oh you're a brony?

 

Yeah, I am.

 

You like a show for little girls? Gay.

 

Love and Tolerate!

 

Oh...ok, fine, if you're going to get all p.c. about it.

 

We live in a society pressing for love and tolerance already. Tolerance for religion, race, orientation, etc etc. So the Brony community flew it's kite under that wind, because it's what the brony community needed. 

 

Love and Tolerance is not a bad thing, but it paradoxically cannot exist without hatred for bigotry, and intolerance to prejudice. Rights for homosexuals, minorities, and women were not won just because of love and tolerance from those who supported them. The were won because they were fought for. Because those who shouted for their rights, made their voice heard, and sometimes even made their fists felt.

 

Protest, whether violent or peaceful, is still protest. It's taking a stand and saying, "I hate this treatment, and I will not tolerate it any longer."

 

The brony slogan would be more honest if it was, "Please, Love and Tolerate us, because if you don't, you're going to have on your hands another movement you don't want to deal with."

 

or in short:

 

"I like ponies. Deal with it."

 

Now that's a slogan I'd get behind.

Edited April 25, 2014 by KelGrym

[applejock 358]

On the decline?...:head tilt: Really?!

 

OH COME ON!

 

What do you think this is? A World of warcraft forum? Have some heart! This is FREAKING MLP! We drip love and tolerance, we scream in the royal canterlot voice, and we post harder and louder then any of Vinyls bass drops!

 

WE ARE BRONIES!....PERIOD!

 

You, YOU are this fandom! Are YOU on the decline? Every post you make, every brohoof you give IS THIS FANDOM! Pony up Son!

 

 

 

....and Heil Queen Rarity! :Broohoof salute:

[Quill Waver 1,408]

Hey everyone,

 

I've only been a brony for about two months. I had heard of you guys for the longest time, and only just recently checked it out in depth. I feel like we are a large entity, but I really don't know in comparison to what we might have been in the last few years simply because I wasn't there. Also, I see a lot of people on other forums saying stuff like "Oh the bronies are dying" and stuff. I still feel like we are a large group though.

 

So... are we as big now as we were in the past or are we on the decline?

 

Thanks for helping out a rookie 

I have always viewed the fandom as being one that might (by some stretch of the imagination) go on the decline one day, but as of this moment, here is what I believe to be the case:

 

We are a strong, solid, slowly expanding community. We have grown into one of the largest, if not the largest, cult phenomenon the world has seen, starting small but quickly growing large into a group than spans tens of millions of members worldwide. Recently, that rapid growth has begun to slack off, but that is just to say we are not gaining new members at the rate we had been before.

 

I personally think that this fandom is strong and healthy and will be for at least the next decade, and perhaps even beyond that. The fandom has grown massive. Longer into the future, the sheer amount of members will eventually lead our fan-base into a Star Trek-esque scenario where the show, despite having been gone for years, will continue to inspire and captivate so many as it now does.

[Espy Vibe 4,278]

It's still going strong!

I've learned the biggest thing though right now is Southeast Asia loves their MLP merch, it's like the Minions craze but ponies instead 

[Princess.Luna 84]

16 hours ago, Trot Shuffle said:

It's still going strong!

I've learned the biggest thing though right now is Southeast Asia loves their MLP merch, it's like the Minions craze but ponies instead 

Are you in Southeast Asia? I would love to see some photos of all that pony merch you are talking about!

[Espy Vibe 4,278]

1 hour ago, Princess.Luna said:

Are you in Southeast Asia? I would love to see some photos of all that pony merch you are talking about!

@Princess.Luna Unfortunately no I don't live there.

I know someone who does and he's told me (and shown me too) that it's quite popular there in that region, including some merch that he's able to get without getting judged for it by the general public. That's all in DM's and I don't wanna share those out of respect for his privacy 

[Paleopony 701]

As far as I know, the brony fandom is still alive and kicking.