Are you hearing this?

[Navron]

...because this needs to be said.

I joined the fandom in late July, which coincidentally was also the same time period a large portion of new bronies came. Up until that point, the fires of the fandom had only spread to certain places after 4chan, so there were more people who had no idea about it, and were more willing to embrace it, because it was new.

Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves in a stalemate. The majority of the world knows about bronies. They know the show the fandom is based on, and at this point in the fandom, we should still be welcoming more and more people to the herd, but we aren't. In fact it's the opposite, and we're losing people in the fandom, some of whom were very well known and respectable bronies. Here's what I've personally seen in regards to the overall changes in the fandom.

More Hate
Back in August, I recall seeing a nightly roundup featuring a clip from the Christian TV Network titled, "Is My Little Pony Satanic?" Obviously it entitled some very extremist views by the show's hosts, but what I recall clearly from that roundup, were the comments.

Absolutely no hate. I personally read through the entire 300+ comments that were mostly in response to that clip alone, and what I saw amazed me. Atheists, Agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Catholics, all discussing the video, with respect to eachother's beliefs.

Take this same situation anywhere else on the internet, and you would have had an enormous religious debate, riddled with personal attacks, and denouncing eachother's beliefs.

Nowadays, you can't post a simple update about a person's account being trolled off YouTube without seeing this in the comments.

>because they're goddamn communists

Retarded americunt detected, please die in a Fire.

This is just the tip of the iceberg too. Past issues such as the Pony Archive cease and desist, the trolled crackdown on YouTube episodes everyone assumed was Hasbro itself, etc. have all been riddled with comments such as the one above.

Clopping/R34 Issues
Rule 34...no exceptions, we all know what it means. Clopping. According to a recent poll, 1 in 5 are into it.

The issue I once believed was the result of the fandom giving more publicity about this, but that isn't the issue, nor is it an issue with r34 artwork, clopfics, or saucy videos and/or pics.

The issue is the division that has resulted in the community. On one hand you have fans who are afraid of the damages to perception of the overall fandom, and on the other hand, you have those that believes the fandom should be tolerant of all kinds of artwork and types of people.

I guess you could say this after I found myself in a nasty comment exchange over a picture on deviantArt, but the issue is not with the artwork itself, but the drama it causes between those who support it, and those who don't.

Diss Order didn't quit over the fact r34 got posted. He quit because of the ensuing drama that resulted, and having been in many online gaming clans and communities since 1997, I can state with absolute certainty that drama kills everything. People don't trust eachother, constant fights break out, and it eventually tumbles into a mess where the only ones left are the extremists on either side, and they can never recover.

Trolls
We've always had parasprites since the beginning, but they have adapted to us and improved their ways of getting to us, and we've stuck to the same defenses since the beginning, which surprisingly, would still work, except we've forgotten the entire defense itself, which leads me to...

What can we do about it?
Oh boy, here we go, have some copy paste from my reply to the Alex S. topic on EQD:

So take the time to remember the Hearth's Warming Eve episode. It's symbolic with this situation in so many ways it's downright creepy, but we aren't following the wisdom in it.

The parasprites are feeding off our frustration. They want us to lash back at them, to report them, to attack their websites, and to bicker against eachother. They want to prove that we're just like them, to bring us down to their level, and it's starting to work.

However, if you want to truly defeat these parasprites:

Don't attack their websites.
Don't flag their own videos.
Don't acknowledge them, and don't argue with them.

Our biggest weapon has been our own elements of harmony.

Honesty - We are true to our selves and to others.

Generosity - Smile! Christmas Charity Album. HumbleBundle. BronyPatches. Bronies give to the community for their enjoyment and expect nothing in return.

Kindness - We don't hate anybody. We can get frustrated, but we show respect and kindness to the haters, regardless of what they do, and that kindness is unwavering.

Laughter - Parodies, comics, memes, etc. The Brony Show, Brony Movie Night, and the show itself. We don't attack the haters, we laugh at how silly they are.

Loyalty - We do not abandon our friends. We support those who have been trolled. We let them know we've got their back, but most importantly, WE DO NOT argue or attack our own.

Magic - We're the odd balls of the internet, simply because we were spawned from the most cynical place on the internet, and yet have flourished everywhere whilst remaining non-confrontational and tolerating of others. That in itself, is magic.

The choice is yours fellow bronies. You can continue to argue amongst yourselves and stoop down to the troll's level by lashing out at them in retaliation, or you can take a deep breath, watch the first couple episodes again, and embrace the elements of harmony that keep this fandom strong!

We've essentially forgotten the elements that brought us together, and as a result, we have divided amongst ourselves. If we truly want to keep this fandom going strong, we need to learn what we did wrong, put these incidents behind us, and band together once again with our love for the show itself, not for the memes that have resulted, or as musicians, artists, etc. Everybody needs to think back to what made them become a brony in the first place, and we can bounce back stronger than ever.

Let's show these trolls the true meaning of love and tolerance!

[bartekko]

On a serious note, Supersaw has got a very good point on the "Overanalyze" part, but trolling back is a very bad idea, like the Worst. Possible. Thing.

My best advice would be: Disregard trolls, talk with bronies, be yourself,



remember when you came to this fandom and treat otherr how you want to be treated

[Supersaw Hoover]

I don't get what the hell everypony's so worked up about. It's the Internet. Learn to live with it, and that means learn to handle trolls correctly--that is, to not give the trolls a reason to troll, because usually they have a good reason that you may not necessarily be receptive to. If they don't, troll them back. Baseless trolling is weak at its foundations.

All this sticking to 'love and tolerance' has only resulted in more problems because bronies have unlearned how to handle themselves on the Internet. I facepalm continuously at over half the fandom. Having discussions and plans and all this shit is stupid and only makes things worse because it makes people over-analyze things and draw unnecessary and often incorrect conclusions that just screw things up more.

[Navron]

All this sticking to 'love and tolerance' has only resulted in more problems because bronies have unlearned how to handle themselves on the Internet. I facepalm continuously at over half the fandom. Having discussions and plans and all this shit is stupid and only makes things worse because it makes people over-analyze things and draw unnecessary and often incorrect conclusions that just screw things up more.

I'm sorry, but I think you completely missed the point of my post, because you're echoing it.

The issues we are having today, is because we've lost our ability to handle ourselves online. I wasn't more trying to over-analyze the situation, than I was pointing out that people are taking things too seriously and the end result is drama, which is what we should be avoiding, by going back to not arguing with trolls, not letting them bother us, and not dividing ourselves because of petty differences.

When once we ignored trolls, we're now trying to troll them back, which is always a bad idea.

I'm simply advocating a, "remember how you behaved back then," and find ways to bring yourself back to that attitude.

The love and tolerance principle is not the reason we've forgotten how to handle ourselves. It's the fact people used it in context to a meme to counter anything they disagreed with. The, "I'm going to love and tolerate the shit out of you," simply got abused to the point it was being used as an easy out of the discussion.

The underlying principle of love and tolerance is we don't acknowledge or play with trolls. We either ignore them entirely, or we show them that they aren't affecting us at all.

Let's put this in a different perspective.

Trolls don't bother me. People in the community lashing out against trolls, or sending angry letters at Hasbro, or the entire Pony Archive situation, that bothers me.

[Cyril]

Navy Brony. You are a gentleman and a Scholar. Thank you.

[Makkon]

NavyBrony, you and I and a few other members on this board need to write a formal letter to Bronydom and touch on these issues, because you nailed it so perfectly on the head. People have forgotten why they joined this fandom, and because people have the tendency to slip back into old habits, it's important to have reminders.

Add me on Skype if you haven't yet, it's makkon06.

This is an excellent discussion that needs to happen, and I want to talk about it.

One thing that I've noticed myself is the way that many bronies push the whole love and tolerance thing. They expect everyone else to love and tolerate them, to accept them, but they never love and tolerate others. The biggest offenders in this regard are the r34 people, who expect people to respect their tastes and preferences but have no interest in respecting other people and their standards/tastes. We can't keep at this. People can do whatever they want, but it's so vital to show respect for other people. This has been my main gripe with the community of MLR, and it's much more prevalent in the rest of the fandom.

Not to mention disrespect to other's religions. I was so utterly shocked at the treatment I received when I mentioned on EQD that I was Mormon. I almost left the fandom when it happened.

[Tsyolin]

As always Ben... no not you Makkon, the other Ben... you inspire me with your words. I didn't regret reading a single word of this. Other Ben (The one with the "a" in the last name instead of the "i"), I am willing to contribute some words as well, I have been noticing this sharp decline myself and have a few things to say.

[Tephnos]

I think this is an inevitable consequence of popularity. The period of July-August is when a lot of young people were on summer break, and extremely bored. They find out about this growing fandom, and join it. They don't care about the morals and things that the show teaches, they just want to join in with the new "cool" thing. Before then, it was a sort of niche community. The people back then willing to embrace it were those who were going to stick to the 'love and tolerate' (in the good way). Those who disliked it were vocal, yes, but they themselves were able to tolerate the small community, largely because the bronies ignored them and didn't troll back on a mass scale.

Now, with the extra popularity and the fact that the fandom has exploded all over the internet, has led to the haters becoming intolerant (this generally happens with any big fandom) of us and resorting to trolling. Remember what I said about those who joined the fandom because they were bored during the summer? They like to troll back, and hard, because it's "fun" to them. All this drama has eventually seeped it's way into the older members of the community, and like you said, they are beginning to forget why they came into the fandom in the first place.

Can we recover? Realistically speaking, I have yet to see a fandom that has returned to it's roots after this kind of drama. Like I said, an inevitable consequence of popularity. Our small community in the fandom can go back to its roots of course (if we're all proactive about it), but we'll be the niche once more. The back and forth trolling is a problem that unfortunately, isn't going to go away anymore. History repeats itself, and bronies are no exception. When things get popular, this kind of stuff will always happen on the internet.

I hate to sound like the downer. I myself wish it was different, but...

[InC]

I just learned about this whole issue today, as the Smile event is pretty much my only involvement in this community since June, but there are a few things I really want to say. I have never been part of any other fandom or similar online community, because every single time I looked at them, I saw that immaturity and cynicism people refer to when they say that "it's the internet". This was different, and at was amazed at the mature, creative and respectful community that somehow rose from 4chan, the very embodiment hatred and cynicism. Why else would I be here, sorely communicating in a foreign language ? We may have never seen a fandom get back to its roots, but 4chan giving birth to a community of love and tolerance is an ever greater achievement. Even know, a simple glance at the Humble Brony Bundle and the Smile charity event shows that we're not nearly done yet. We did it before, we can do it again, as long as we don't resign ourselves to letting our community sink just because that's what is supposed to happen on the internet. You have my full support for an open letter to the community, and I hope that it can be the spark that will make our values rise again.

[Sugarholik]

I hate to sound like the downer. I myself wish it was different, but...

But hey! We won't lose anything if we try. If we won't try, we'll lose. For sure.
Make that letter happen guys!

[Navron]

Another thing that's been relatively new to the community, is the fact that we're no longer facing the simple, "Ha! You guys are fags," type trolls. We're being deliberately attacked by some very dedicated people who are coordinating together, and hitting us where they know they can hit us hard, by targeting the YouTube accounts of some very popular bronies.

Reading up on EQD, it seems many musicians are pulling their music off the public listings because of the whole AlexS situation and the NCF. I personally don't think this is a very good idea, as it denies the fandom the ability to enjoy the music and videos we've created, in addition to giving them the perception that the situation is much worse than it actually is.

I got a sudden surge in popularity after having a couple of my PIRL videos get featured on EQD, and now I'm at the point I have over 2500 subscribers, something I never thought would happen. My channel is now a prime target for the NCF, so I've prepared myself as much as possible, but here are some ways you can prevent yourself from becoming a target.

Password: Hackers have a variety of ways to get your password, such as dictionary, brute force, or rainbow table attacks. All they need is to intercept the encrypted hash that gets sent to the server to log on, and they can use those techniques to decrypt your password. If you utilize only letters or only numbers, it isn't too difficult to crack a password. So here's some password requirements required by government/military computers:

- At least 14 characters.
- Must contain 2 uppercase letters, 2 lowercase letters, and 2 special characters at a minimum.

Using these password requirements, I've tried my hand at cracking my own password, using both brute force and rainbow tables, and the shortest time to crack it was estimated at 20 years.

Keyloggers: I've already posted about that nasty virus I got. Thankfully, this was a scam to try and get me to buy their program, but if you suspect you are infected, do not log in to anything. Run your AV program, eliminate all traces of the virus, then before you proceed normally, verify you aren't hacked by going to command prompt, and typing in netstat -ano (make sure you do this without having any online programs running such as a browser and/or messenger.)

This opens a listing of all the current connections to your computer. If you do not have any browsers or messaging programs running, you should see every state as, "Listening." Seeing an IP as, "Established," means you could be hacked, so look at the PID number to the right of the status, and open up your task manager. Go to view>>>select columns, and turn on PID (Process Identifier). Double check the PIDs that are listed as "Established," and verify they are normal programs. I myself always have a couple listing as established but have been found to be related to Bonjour and mDNSResponder, both of which are utilized by Apple for library syncing, and are not a threat.

Anything else you see as established, look it up to see if it's a threat. The matter at issue is a keylogger process could be established to a hacker, which records your key strokes, meaning you could have the most secure password in history, but they wouldn't need to crack it, because they have a recording of the keystrokes you pressed for each website.



I've been reading up on counter-hacking techniques, just in-case something happens along the lines of what happened to CelticBrony. The simple truth is, your videos and songs can be flagged and taken down by YouTube, but you can file a counter-claim and have your videos put back up because the hackers obviously won't try to take you to court. However if you are careless, such as using a simple password, or don't check periodically to see if you are hacked, they can gain access to your YouTube channel itself, in which case you're more than likely done for. I'm actually very surprised Celtic got his channel back, but he left, probably due to the whole nightmarish situation trying to resolve that.

[bartekko]

- At least 14 characters.
- Must contain 2 uppercase letters, 2 lowercase letters, and 2 special characters at a minimum.

http://xkcd.com/936/

This seems related

[Mundius]

As always Ben... no not you Makkon, the other Ben... you inspire me with your words. I didn't regret reading a single word of this. Other Ben (The one with the "a" in the last name instead of the "i"), I am willing to contribute some words as well, I have been noticing this sharp decline myself and have a few things to say.

Both Ben Hale and Ben Sims are knowledgeable people from which I'd love to learn. Now we have Diss, Navy, and a lot of others.

Can we just remind EqD of this?

[Pustulioooooo]

I wholeheartedly agree with what NavyBrony and Makkon said.

I would also like to contribute in saying some words on these issues because to me, as everyday passes I'm seeing people of the fandom slowly lose their sense of love and tolerance, and this fandom will crumble upon itself if it continues at this rate. A good example of this would be the Pre-Pony Service Announcement Seth had made in response to some of the fandom.

We truly have to get the word out.

[SuperGiantRobot]

Just make sure to back up your stuff; they're a lot more active than usual. Normally, I'd see this much activity in the better part of a month; multiple accounts have been copyright-trolled over the last two days.

[Tiaaaaa]

I first joined this community over the summer because of the kindness and acceptance I was seeing from it, completely unlike any community I had been a part of before. When I first started watching ponies I thought I wouldn't really get involved with the community, but then I found the love and tolerance thing and the more I watched the community the more I felt that maybe I would feel at home here. Seeing the community become jaded, cynical, and even downright hateful and cruel is possibly one of the most painful things I've been around for.

I hate to sound negative, but Tephnos does have a really good point. People are people and they won't be changed unless they want to be changed. Our community has gotten huge and that of course means it includes a lot of the seedier parts of the internet as well. We can't change them and we can't very well tell them they aren't allowed to like ponies or be a part of our community either.

But as people have also said, failure is never having tried. It can't hurt to address the community and as long as you are courteous and polite (and of course loving and tolerant) no one can really fault you. As much as they might try. Even if it doesn't work, at least you tried and in the end that's more than most people can say.

[TheSunAndTheRainfall]

I don't really have much to add, I concur with what Makkon and NavyBrony have already said. It makes me sad to see the fanbase has been corrupted to some extent, and I can only hope it's not too late to fix that.

[Navron]

Tiaaaaa:

There's a difference between normal fans of the show, and the over-obsessed, harmful fans.

The difference is we give them attention, and that's the fundamental thing that's changed between the summer and now.

The amount of r34 content I stumble across is surprisingly small, yet people make it seem as if it's all over the place, so that extra attention then causes normal fans of the show to perceive an actual issue to be larger than it really is.

So really, the best way to keep the fandom's image strong, is to keep promoting the good parts of the fandom such as the MLR charity album. Make news updates about it, post on facebook about it and encourage even your non-brony friends to buy it.

As long as we promote the good-hearted nature of the community, and don't give trolls or the obsessed side of the fandom any acknowledgement, then we'll keep the fanbase growing strong for quite some time.

Supersaw pretty much nailed it that the big issue is giving attention and acknowledging the trolls and obsessed fans. When people see constant posts of, "The fandom is dying," or, "There's too much r34," then they focus on the negative while the positive gets pushed from the spotlight.

[Diss Order]

Diss Order didn't quit over the fact r34 got posted. He quit because of the ensuing drama that resulted

Someone mentioned this to me (thanks).

To anyone who wonders about my true reasons, this might prove to be an interesting read:
http://djdissorder.deviantart.com/journ ... -274935165

And I'd like to highlight this reply to one of my comments too, because it touches the subject of bronies in general too:

"Megaskype is not the only issue. People only alter their behavior on MLR itself but outside of that site they refuse to discontinue their [*REDACTED*] ways and I just don't want to be associated with them.

Sure, there are people genuinely concerned, and you won't hear me say that everyone there is an [*REDACTED*], although some of the people who appear to be concerned in the Dear MLR thread don't really give a [*REDACTED*] in reality.

The MLP fandom was great when it was still small and filled with people who genuinely loved the show and supported its message. Now it's 80% little high schoolers who just hop on the bandwagon to 'be different', 'be hipster' or just to use it as an excuse to act like a [*REDACTED*] to anyone who disapproves of brony culture... And I'm sick of it.

The term brony means nothing anymore."

No offense to younger bronies by the way. I was just referring to the fact that it became 'that cool hipster thing' after Twilight... And I really need to ease down on the cussing. <_<

Anyway, this ^^^^^ combined with the journal is pretty much my main frustration. Even among bronies there's so much hate right now. Between different communites, competing sites, etc... Did you guys follow the Pony Archives issue? If you haven't, this article sums up the whole situation quite eloquently:
http://bronynews.com/article/pony-archi ... l-synopsis

Saying it was a mess would be the understatement of the year.

I will continue watching the show and appreciate fanworks and music for what they are (read: I will like/fave/download and listen to them), but I won't be participating in the community in any way except for moderation of the PoniesPlus group on deviantART. It just saddens and frustrates me too much to be even remotely enjoyable.

Now excuse me while I retreat to my cave...

[Tiaaaaa]

Supersaw pretty much nailed it that the big issue is giving attention and acknowledging the trolls and obsessed fans. When people see constant posts of, "The fandom is dying," or, "There's too much r34," then they focus on the negative while the positive gets pushed from the spotlight.

You're right. I'm sorry, I think I've just been letting apocalyptic dread go to my head.

The amount of r34 content I stumble across is surprisingly small, yet people make it seem as if it's all over the place, so that extra attention then causes normal fans of the show to perceive an actual issue to be larger than it really is.

I'm really glad to hear this said, though. Many 'negative' aspects of the community, especially the r34 community have been surprisingly considerate in this fandom and I think people worry about it far more than they need to. But I was afraid to say anything to that effect since I don't really keep in the loop with those parts of the community and so I didn't know if things had changed between now and then.

So really, the best way to keep the fandom's image strong, is to keep promoting the good parts of the fandom such as the MLR charity album. Make news updates about it, post on facebook about it and encourage even your non-brony friends to buy it.

As long as we promote the good-hearted nature of the community, and don't give trolls or the obsessed side of the fandom any acknowledgement, then we'll keep the fanbase growing strong for quite some time.

This is an excellent point, not just for bronies but for all things. I will try to stay more positive. After all, life is too short to spend it being miserable.

[Navron]

This is an excellent point, not just for bronies but for all things. I will try to stay more positive. After all, life is too short to spend it being miserable.

Exactly!



I don't know about you guys, but I enjoy the show and the community because it makes me happy. Those are the roots we need to get back to.

I think I'll watch the first 2 episodes of Season 1 again

[TheSunAndTheRainfall]

I don't know about you guys, but I enjoy the show and the community because it makes me happy. Those are the roots we need to get back to.

I think I'll watch the first 2 episodes of Season 1 again

You know what? I think I'm gonna go do the same. I'm feeling a little low right now and that seems like the best idea ever right now.

[Senator Myth]

If ya'll are going to write a letter to the community, here's my insight. Everything that has been said about love and tolerance in this thread is absolutely true. It has been misused to the point where it has lost its original meaning, and really it's been that way since summertime. I don't ever use these words, because they've become a bitter joke. Half the time it's being used to chastise Bronies, and half the time it's being used to be complete idiots to trolls.

I believe in these words, but I don't ever use them. I try to live them, although I have indeed failed in that regard many a time. If you have to use the words "love and tolerate" to get your point across, you're doing it wrong.

Here, let me provide a little idea to tie everything in this thread together. Our message to the Brony fandom should not be "love and tolerate". Rather, it should be "be lovable, or at the very least tolerable." Turn the expression right on the head so that it points inward at the person instead of outward at their actions. Simply repeating a meaningful expression over and over doesn't help anything, and in fact deprives the expression of its meaning. But in this accusative sense, its meaning becomes more constructive. Don't be a dick. Don't troll or even countertroll. Try to be nice to people, but don't be obnoxious about it. Keep your Bronyhood to yourself, like a mature adult. You don't need to go plastering it all over the internet in places where it isn't welcome.

Try to be lovable to your Bronies, but at the very least be tolerable to non-bronies. It goes much farther in the long run than countertrolling, stupidly posting ponies everywhere, and "HERP A DERP LOVE AND TOLERANCE ROFL"

--

I agree with Tiaaaaa. In the end, try to be happy. It can be very easy to lose sight of yourself in misery and doubt, and to treat friends and strangers wrongly thereby.

Above all else, this show is about joy. Sometimes when I watch it, I feel like pure joy is being pumped directly into my bloodstream. It doesn't feel like a drug or any other kind of vice. It doesn't deaden the senses or one's thoughts or feelings. It's just joy. We don't need to prove anything to the rest of the internet or to the trolls. Let them do as they please, we'll ignore them. Let's not lose sight of what's really important, which is the joy that this series has brought to so many people. What do the trolls have? We have joy.

Pure joy.

[Tephnos]

Tiaaaaa:

There's a difference between normal fans of the show, and the over-obsessed, harmful fans.

The difference is we give them attention, and that's the fundamental thing that's changed between the summer and now.

The amount of r34 content I stumble across is surprisingly small, yet people make it seem as if it's all over the place, so that extra attention then causes normal fans of the show to perceive an actual issue to be larger than it really is.

So really, the best way to keep the fandom's image strong, is to keep promoting the good parts of the fandom such as the MLR charity album. Make news updates about it, post on facebook about it and encourage even your non-brony friends to buy it.

As long as we promote the good-hearted nature of the community, and don't give trolls or the obsessed side of the fandom any acknowledgement, then we'll keep the fanbase growing strong for quite some time.

Supersaw pretty much nailed it that the big issue is giving attention and acknowledging the trolls and obsessed fans. When people see constant posts of, "The fandom is dying," or, "There's too much r34," then they focus on the negative while the positive gets pushed from the spotlight.

Perhaps, but this goes hand in hand with what I said in the first place. People are people, and cannot and will not change unless they actively want to. Sure, we can promote the fandom's image here by being proactive about it, but we're a small dent in the larger community at whole. A community, that when it grows, becomes filled with 'bad' apples that make it easy for other people to be manipulated into seeing more of the negative than the positive. This is an inherit human trait, and it won't go away just because we try to shut it outside. I'm not trying so sound dreary and dreadful here, I'm just being realistic. We can do what we can, but what I mentioned isn't something that will go away or be improved upon.

When I joined the fandom, it would have been early September, just after this stuff was starting. I did see it, and it made me apprehensive to be associated with it in any shape or form. For a while I just called myself a generic 'fan' of the show, nothing more. However, following on with Tia's point, in the end I went 'screw it' because all that really matters is that you are content with yourself. I just try to avoid the bad apples when I can and focus on the good. However, I'm not going to wrap myself up in bubble wrap and pretend that whatever is outside can no longer harm me in any way. I know that the fandom's image will continually be pushed into the gutter as the show gets more and more popular, because that's just what happens.

Since watching the show, I genuinely feel like I've become a more tolerant, helpful and respectful of a person. I am in brony related communities in which the people are nice, I try to avoid the trolls, and I'm happy. The general fandom itself? I've quite honestly stopped caring about it. I'm not going to be able to prevent the inevitable, you're not going to be able to, so why the hell worry so much about it? Just do what you enjoy and make friends along the way, whilst avoiding those 'trolls' when you encounter them.

That said, we should still do what we can.

(I'm probably going to wake up and wonder what the hell garbage I just typed. 6:30am sucks. Teph out)

[Lethaargic]

I don't know about you guys, but I enjoy the show and the community because it makes me happy. Those are the roots we need to get back to.

I think I'll watch the first 2 episodes of Season 1 again

You know what, I think I'm gonna go do the same. I'm feeling a little low right now and that seems like the best idea ever right now.

It sure does, im going to re-watch them too : )

I’m not normally one for deep analysis, but I can no longer sit idly by only to one day realize that what the brony community once was has been lost, as Celestia once lost Luna by similar means. Moreover, seeing things as a whole, in my naivety, I didn’t see it either. I expected all could learn to love and tolerate, and we set ourselves up, not for failure, but for inevitable hardship.

Things are getting complicated around here; this is a microcosmic reflection of the macrocosm of the universe. There was once a theory developed about cyclical time. Every time things start to get better, love and connectedness begin to spread; eventually there is a back lash. Things always balance themselves out. How many people thought that the love revolution of the 1960’s would never end, only to be met with the realization that the magic had been lost? But it returned, it returned with the rise of rave culture. It returned with the creation of the internet itself. It returned when my little pony – friendship is magic, brought together thousands of people and changed lives, and it will ALWAYS return. Because you can take with you the smallest amount of light into the darkness, and instantly that darkness flees. But you can’t do the opposite; you can’t take any amount of darkness into a place full of truth and love, and have any effect whatsoever.

Love and tolerance means tolerance of those who cannot do so as easily. I wish I could say I had a more practical solution, but I don’t.

For those who have or are considering leaving this community, I cannot tell you not to do so simply because I do not understand your plight. But I implore you to have hope.