G1 through g3 fandom becoming extinct?

[Strawberry Swirl]

I think part of the reason you've not been seeing much activity is that for the most part, MLP collectors have our own space on the Internet for ourselves. Think of it sort of like an island where recently, members have been traveling to the mainland bringing tales and physical goodies from home.

I also think that our community isn't really much of a "fandom" in the traditional sense, though we do have a few similarities. Probably to me one of the reasons why is that I rarely see the common jargon everybody uses to not be used here. I remember way back when I first joined the arena, I met more people who had no idea what a 'headcanon' or 'ship'  is than those who do!
That, and the nature of our interest being mainly physical items rather than characters in a show or something- sure I can name plenty of pre G4 characters with established character (cough Wind Whistler cough cough) but how many ponies weren't in a cartoon or book at all? At least in the US, the later into G1 you get the less characters get spots in books and such.

I feel like this makes it harder for a lot of fan works to be made, although I have seen plenty. But that's just my opinion.



Also, I think places like dA or Tumblr have MLP communities that are made of younger people and therefore don't know that other gens exist. I sure didn't until people were suddenly talking about the mane 6 being based off of these other ponies, and even then I was all Firefly who? Posey who?
It probably mostly depends on where you're looking tbh.

[lunar_scythe]

Another point is G1-G3 collectors are primarily *collectors*, not fandom.  Fandom vs collector may seem like minor differences, but think of it this way:   
at a comic con, you expect cosplay, fan interactions, and all that kind of thing.

at a comic book show or collectables show and trade, you don't.  They are two vastly different things, right?
We older collectors are somewhere in between, but probably closer to the second.  Fan works have never been a huge item, for many, only original ponies without drastic restoration "count", those of us who collect unofficial fanmade art and customs are about half of the community, but I wouldn't say the majority collect fanworks.

[Sunset]

Another point is G1-G3 collectors are primarily *collectors*, not fandom.  Fandom vs collector may seem like minor differences, but think of it this way:   
at a comic con, you expect cosplay, fan interactions, and all that kind of thing.

at a comic book show or collectables show and trade, you don't.  They are two vastly different things, right?
We older collectors are somewhere in between, but probably closer to the second.  Fan works have never been a huge item, for many, only original ponies without drastic restoration "count", those of us who collect unofficial fanmade art and customs are about half of the community, but I wouldn't say the majority collect fanworks.

This is an excellent point.  It always surprises me at the large sums of money that some bronies have spent on fan- made material but look down on official Hasbro toys because they aren't "show-accurate."

I guess it's just a matter of how you devote your time.  I make fan art on occasion but I go to the local flea market *every* week even though I don't find ponies a lot more often than I do.  I've also devoted an entire bedroom (and then some) of my house to my collection.  My counter is currently full of ponies recovering from a "spa day".  So it's not that I'm not as devoted as any other member of a fandom, it's that my love shows itself in ways that are not easily quantifiable online.

[Stormness_1]

I think the issue here is the perspective of the current generation with the new one. When something is new, sites pop up everywhere, and as they get older, only the biggest, most popular survive. In pre-g4 MLP, you have the few forum sites, and a handful of ID sites, as well as the odd social media group. We've narrowed it down to what we as a community need. When we're looking for information, there's a reputable place to go for that information, and so superfluous sites aren't really needed. If you want to share your collection, there are forums  or social media pages where you can go to do that. Ask a question, same thing - there's a reputable place or two where you know your questions will field results. While that may seem like the community is dying, it's not, we're just more organised. It just means that we have what we need to get what we need from our community.

With the FiM community, as you even said yourself, the excess sites are falling away. As things progress, why go to 10 sites to get information, when you could just visit one or two and know all you need to know? As the fan numbers level out into people that aren't following a fad, FiM won't be everywhere anymore either. People have other interests, and don't want to spend their free time maintaining a site that no-one visits anymore, or visiting sites that aren't as up-to-date as another site. FiM is what you need to worry about, with it falling away before the show even ends, what will happen when there's no new media? Will it die completely apart from us, the original pony community? Will we be all that is left to remember G4? As others have stated, our community here is far more resilient and have been through many more years intact than the Brony community. We don't need media and Hasbro pandering to maintain our sense of community, we never have. After G1, we didn't know if there would ever be ponies again, and yet we were fine, trading and talking pony, asking questions, and discovering new things about pony around the world, and we're still doing it 20 years later. It's a fun community, there's no malice in it, so people keep coming back, and so the sense of community grows rather than diminishes. So in response to your concerns: don't worry, we'll be absolutely fine.
 

[Loa]

OP,
I'd suggest you take a back seat on some of these confrontational threads and read up on the vibe of the Arena.

[KarentheUnicorn]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

[Leave a Whisper]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

Shhh. Don't give away our secret plan that we've been planning to plan.

[Carrehz]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

Shhh. Don't give away our secret plan that we've been planning to plan.

[KarentheUnicorn]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

Shhh. Don't give away our secret plan that we've been planning to plan.

haha!

Apparently after 30, young people feel you no longer exist. I guess since I'm +40 that officially makes me dead.

Yes, I am extinct, young ponypeople.

Come dig up my fossels...or like a pharaoh I have a tomb full of pony treasures!! Be careful of the curse of the Unicorn!!!! muwhahaha.

[Taffeta]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

Shhh. Don't give away our secret plan that we've been planning to plan.

haha!

Apparently after 30, young people feel you no longer exist. I guess since I'm +40 that officially makes me dead.

Yes, I am extinct, young ponypeople.

Come dig up my fossels...or like a pharaoh I have a tomb full of pony treasures!! Be careful of the curse of the Unicorn!!!! muwhahaha.

Maybe they think we're all senile.
Can the curse be broken with a bribe of cookies?

[Leave a Whisper]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

Shhh. Don't give away our secret plan that we've been planning to plan.

haha!

Apparently after 30, young people feel you no longer exist. I guess since I'm +40 that officially makes me dead.

Yes, I am extinct, young ponypeople.

Come dig up my fossels...or like a pharaoh I have a tomb full of pony treasures!! Be careful of the curse of the Unicorn!!!! muwhahaha.

Opening her tomb will release a deadly swarm of Flutter Ponies that will rule the air, taking her stuff will unleash angry unicorns who will blast you with laser-horns, step on the wrong switch and sea ponies will flood the oceans and sing hypnotic songs to crew members so that they give up their cargos of precious import toys and media.

All hail Pharaoh Karen!

[CrystalSnowflake]

I also think that there are a large number of collectors that are like me.
We come here to read and see the latest posts but don't post unless we have something to say.
We also have chats with others through the message service offline from the rest of the forum.
I also think a great many of us have this thing called a busy life take us away from the forums for a time as well.

I know I have been a lot less active since I have been busy with my real life concerns.
I'm hoping that will change and I can be more active in the community again.
Maybe even plan another local meet.

[Majesty]

Despite what some people think this message board isn't soley for G4 fans.  As others have said this message board was here long before that.  Most of the people here are fans of G1 and G3 ponies, I certainly am.
I'm not into G4 as much, I was early on but things changed and not for the better in my opinion.  I enjoy watching the show but most of the episodes don't work for me.  It's basically just something to watch.

Post Merge: June 25, 2017, 04:53:13 PM

OP,
I'd suggest you take a back seat on some of these confrontational threads and read up on the vibe of the Arena.

Well said Loa. 

[Wysteria]

Are the old collectors all disappearing or are we just hiding, waiting for our moment to take over the pony world again and instigate a revolt....

muwhahhaha....

Shhh. Don't give away our secret plan that we've been planning to plan.

haha!

Apparently after 30, young people feel you no longer exist. I guess since I'm +40 that officially makes me dead.

Yes, I am extinct, young ponypeople.

Come dig up my fossels...or like a pharaoh I have a tomb full of pony treasures!! Be careful of the curse of the Unicorn!!!! muwhahaha.

We've already taken making G1 back into our own hands if you haven't already heard of the wishes do come true project;) I do feel like a lot of the older collectors aren't around anymore but like someone said we come to check out threads and don't always post. I spend most my time on FB or just skype with collector friends.

[mlly]

I don't think so.
There are many people, including me, who through G4/whatever the most recent incarnation of MLP is, have discovered and also became fans of previous gens.
Me and many others became collectors of G1-G3 because of that.

I guess the lack of activity is because you can only collect so many products that are long out of production.

Maybe if Hasbro finally acknowledges previous Gens and the pre-g4 collectors, and/or finally makes good-or at least decent quality products again then maybe the community might become more active.

re: 'fandom' vs collector community
There are many toy collectors that just do not care for fandom.
Other brands like Transformers, Gundam, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. have toy/collector only discussions/communities that manage to be active without having to do with anything 'fandom' related.
That is because their brands either continue to acknowledge both old and new versions and both old+new fans, and/or continue to release products that collectors/both old and new fans will like.
I remember the pre-reboot Monster High and Bratz collector communities were pretty active too without being a 'fandom', that was because their brands were releasing products that both kids and collectors liked.