Solitarily liking ponies?

[Ponybookworm]

Collectors are generalised and stigmatised, but again it's the people who do that who have the real complexes.

At the end of the day, if someone is more concerned with judging what other people are doing than thinking about how to enjoy their own life,they're the one with the problem, right? At the very least they're wasting time and energy disapproving of something that's nothing to do with them...

There are a lot of people out there who need more imagination

I'll let the other stuff alone because it's going way off the topic, but I have a lot of theories why pony is so popular with people on the spectrum.

I'd be interested to hear them sometime if it ever comes up in an appropriate thread...that's all I'll say about that! It's a fascinating subject to me.

Wish granted xxx

[BubbleTea]

Over the past year the 3.5 ponies have really grown on me but the vast majority of people hate them. That's completely fine by me though because I can buy a ton of them online for really cheap. It's not uncommon to see MIB ones go on eBay for $10 or less.

Spoiler

maybe I could do some guilt-free deboxing 0_o

I'm probably one of a few people who love the Pony Life ponies. Not bothersome, but could do without the "Burn it!!" comments. I really do think they're quite cute.

I love them too! They have great quality and accessories and the show is really cute. I totally get why people don't like them but people overdo it with the PL slander =(

[Wardah]

I'm probably one of a few people who love the Pony Life ponies. Not bothersome, but could do without the "Burn it!!" comments. I really do think they're quite cute.

I love them too! They have great quality and accessories and the show is really cute. I totally get why people don't like them but people overdo it with the PL slander =(

Especially when a lot of these same people got upset when FIM fans did the same thing about G1. It's a tad hypocritical. Nobody has to like everything but what ever happened to if you don't have anything nice to say keep it to yourself?

[Taffeta]

I'm probably one of a few people who love the Pony Life ponies. Not bothersome, but could do without the "Burn it!!" comments. I really do think they're quite cute.

I love them too! They have great quality and accessories and the show is really cute. I totally get why people don't like them but people overdo it with the PL slander =(

Especially when a lot of these same people got upset when FIM fans did the same thing about G1. It's a tad hypocritical. Nobody has to like everything but what ever happened to if you don't have anything nice to say keep it to yourself?

Good point made in the wrong direction. I don't want to quote specifics because I don't want to point fingers of my own, but in recent weeks the most vehement anti-PL comments have come from people who are also fans of FIM (whether or not they have other generational interests).

Most G1 fans don't care if PL exists or not. And not caring enough to get involved =/= trashing.

And there is not a binary line between "G1 fans" and "everyone else" anyway.

[Wardah]

I'm probably one of a few people who love the Pony Life ponies. Not bothersome, but could do without the "Burn it!!" comments. I really do think they're quite cute.

I love them too! They have great quality and accessories and the show is really cute. I totally get why people don't like them but people overdo it with the PL slander =(

Especially when a lot of these same people got upset when FIM fans did the same thing about G1. It's a tad hypocritical. Nobody has to like everything but what ever happened to if you don't have anything nice to say keep it to yourself?

Good point made in the wrong direction. I don't want to quote specifics because I don't want to point fingers of my own, but in recent weeks the most vehement anti-PL comments have come from people who are also fans of FIM (whether or not they have other generational interests).

Most G1 fans don't care if PL exists or not. And not caring enough to get involved =/= trashing.

And there is not a binary line between "G1 fans" and "everyone else" anyway.

I mean bashing of whatever is new is par the course for the MLP community since G2 first appeared (except G3 seemed to always be pretty well liked). I'm just pointing out that some people who like most generations of MLP are drawing the line with PL and then do it in ways that when it was done by people who are just FIM fans wasn't acceptable.

[Taffeta]

Your post clearly indicated G1 fans, as you said FIM fans criticising G1, not some people who like most gens drawing the line at PL. Completely different implication.

There's also no comparison between what happened with the bronies towards G1 and especially G3 and what has been said about PL, at least here on this forum.

As for your other comment, what happened with G2 was an anomaly, but it was not repeated with G3 or G4. What happened with FIM was an unexpected level of hostility from the new fanbase that none of us really anticipated or expected. It wasn't a reaction to G4 as a toyline or a TV show and actually, I remember very clearly how much excitement and anticipation there was over it at ponycon in 2011, where they aired the first episodes.

There are perhaps parallels between what happened with G2 (albeit due to the scope of the net, that was on a much smaller scale) and the way those certain FIM fans dealt with older generations. But that was more than 20 years ago now. I need to also add that the reason G2 was so controversial was because it split the community. A good half of us were not hostile to G2 and got attacked because of it as well. You paint a picture that all old gen fans immediately criticise a new generation when it's introduced, and that's not only simplistic, it's also massively incorrect.

And, I have seen most complaints about PL coming from people who are invested in FIM, which actually makes the most sense, given that they are also more invested in the M6 as characters. And there are also fans of FIM who like PL, which also makes sense. So your point is valid but imo aimed at the wrong detractors.

[Wardah]

I mean there were plenty of people complaining when G4 came out that they "don't look like horses" and even recently someone in another thread meant for positive things about G4 said how they wish G4 never even existed. Both "ew the original sucked" and "ew change is bad" are unpleasant experiences for people who like the things in question. Nobody likes being told what they like sucks.

[Leave a Whisper]

I've been griping about the style of PL and its hideous removal of lower jaws, wonky anatomy and baldness yes. But I've been griping about the disappointing trend of unhorseyness of mlp since 3.5, long before I ever found my way into this community.

No one who dislikes PL  here is attacking or bullying others for liking it. No one that I've seen has been nasty in people's brag threads about it.

[SunPony]

Any one person doesn't know exactly what another person's experiences with a fandom has been.  Nor has anyone experienced every single bit of a fandom, and every single reaction to that fandom.  People's experiences and feelings are their own.  It's not kind to put words in their mouths, or make assumptions about their experiences.

[Taffeta]

I mean there were plenty of people complaining when G4 came out that they "don't look like horses" and even recently someone in another thread meant for positive things about G4 said how they wish G4 never even existed. Both "ew the original sucked" and "ew change is bad" are unpleasant experiences for people who like the things in question. Nobody likes being told what they like sucks.

I'm not saying that you're wrong about people and their experiences, I'm just saying that you cannot contextualise the extensive period of unpleasantness from bronies towards older gen fans with a few people saying "I think this sucks".

There will always be a handful of people who complain about something new, but again that's a far cry from it becoming institutionalised for a new gen to be brutalised by older gen fans the moment it comes out. As I said, even with G2, that was not the case.

I've noticed an actual hypocrisy from some fans who seem to think it's fine that older gen fans endured years of derogatory abuse on their YT videos, on their DA accounts, on forums like this and other places...but not okay for fans to say they don't like FIM once or twice in a discussion about FIM held on a multigenerational board like this one (where, ironically, there is more integration between fans of different gens than probably anywhere else now on the entire internet).

What happened with G2 was different to anything that has ever happened since with a new gen coming out, and the only thing that has come close to it was the hostility from some FIM fans towards older gens for simply existing. By the same token, I know there are some FIM fans who also took abuse for trying to state opposing opinions on G4/FIM in those communities as well, just like those of us who liked G2 or stood up for it had to deal with that as well.

On another line, and without defending abusive comments about any generation - people are allowed to not like something, and to say so. Confusing the dislike of a pony/pony line with a personal attack is problematic. I mean, I'm not a fan of Sundae Best ponies, but I don't think I have traumatised anyone over the last several years by saying their smell is noxious. It's especially problematic when (without naming names or pointing fingers), the same people who want everyone to be nice about FIM are also the ones making some of the most brutal statements about elements of other generations.

Saying that you don't like how PL look or the art or whatever is nowhere near the same thing as, say, drawing a picture of a G1 pony killing a PL pony and posting it in spaces where fans of PL reside...which is what actually happened, among other things, when G2 came out...and not that far from what happened from some FIM fans towards older fans.

It's all a matter of context, and generalising is sometimes unhelpful.

[banditpony]

I personally find it hard to enjoy, or participate, in certain threads here if people just want to continue to say how much they don't like something. So, for some people, it does have an effect.

And don't get me wrong. People are totally ok to hate something, and even say it. But at some point, it gets tiring.

It doesn't matter to me whose experiences are worse. Any negative experience stinks. Kinda like stubbing ones toe, vs breaking ones foot. Sure, breaking is worse, but that doesn't mean that stubbing ones toe doesn't stink.

[Taffeta]

I personally find it hard to enjoy, or participate, in certain threads here if people just want to continue to say how much they don't like something. So, for some people, it does have an effect.

And don't get me wrong. People are totally ok to hate something, and even say it. But at some point, it gets tiring.

It doesn't matter to me whose experiences are worse. Any negative experience stinks. Kinda like stubbing ones toe, vs breaking ones foot. Sure, breaking is worse, but that doesn't mean that stubbing ones toe doesn't stink.

Also accurate, but there's still a matter of context, and saying that "I've stubbed my toe now so I know what it felt like when your foot broke" is also potentially insensitive.

Speaking as someone who saw the carnage of what happened with G2, it bothers me that anyone can compare that - or the FIM backlash abuse situation - to someone saying they don't like x.

We all get annoyed by stuff, by other people's opinions, by what is said or not said, and sometimes it can get heated or we can all disagree strongly. I'm not underestimating the impact that can have on someone. I've had physical reactions to online conflicts just like other people have, and I'm not saying they don't matter or that there's no need to be respectful.

BUT I don't like when someone tries to suggest these things are the same when they are not. I am not justifying bashing PL, or indeed, any other iteration. I am just pointing out that a situation where half the community is at war with the other half over personal preferences and that spills over into targeted personal attacks based entirely on what generation you belong to, then it can't be put in the same context as criticising something that's inanimate. And that has only happened twice in the 20+ years of this community. Once, around the intro of G2, and once with the brony incursion.

Yeah, it sucks when people say I hate G1 ponies. But I am fine with someone else having that as their honest opinion, because they're entitled to it. I am much more bothered when people come into G1 spaces and say it to get a reaction from G1 fans.

By the same token, I'm perfectly entitled to say that I don't like FIM. But I'm not going to go into brony spaces and write long posts telling them their fandom is stupid.

One is expressing an opinion on a thing. Yes, that opinion might annoy other people, but it's still expressing an opinion. The other is expressing that opinion about a thing in order to upset the people who care about it. Having experienced both, many times, in various communities - they're not the same thing and all I wanted to point out was that there are problems with conflating them.

This is what I mean about context. You use a hammer to break an egg, you end up with a mushy mess.

[SunPony]

One way we could try to keep threads more civil is to be careful with our language and use phrasing like "I find x ponies to be tacky" or "this pony is a bit too bright for my tastes" instead of phrasing like "the x ponies are tacky" and "this pony is too bright".  The former keeps it clear that this is a subjective opinion held by the writer, while the latter sounds objective and makes the mood of the statement more divisive and is more likely to make others who don't hold that opinion feel bad.  I leaned this method from a friend who does mediation, and I've tried to implement it in my own communications. 

[banditpony]

My comment was about how I feel on this forum, and that the bashing from people within this community, and all that negativity DOES effect people.

[Taffeta]

My comment was about how I feel on this forum, and that the bashing from people within this community, and all that negativity DOES effect people.

Are you saying my comment is insensitive?

No, I was challenging Wardah's original comparison, and her generalisation, which was why I said right point, wrong target.

I basically agree with the point you made, just that there's a risk of conflation of two different types of dislike.


SunPony is probably right that everyone (you and I included) can think more about what language we use and how we state things - I tend to feel like if someone dislikes something I like, but can explain their rationale for that dislike, then it's easier to stomach than just "x sucks".

On a more positive note, it's kind of nice that the pony community does think of these things without having the context, because it suggests the bigger, badder incidents are much rarer and that's how it should be.

But there's a potential risk if you try and stamp out people having different opinions and expressing them, that that can backfire as well. You run the risk of people only replying to the same threads about the same things, and not sharing opinions or discussing across the divides, which is what a community needs to be really thriving.