Has Friendship is Magic impacted you in any way?

[Taffeta]

Some of these stories are pretty horrible >< Snapdragon, that really sucks. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I experienced stalking and threats from people in the G1 community back in around 2000, and it's pretty scary to have to deal with. Fortunately it never came to anything more than threats in my case, and it was only two people involved, but it was still something that lives with me and has made me much more wary of using things like social media or anything that could give away personal details.

On a more recent impact note - G4 just took over Ponycon to the point there was literally nothing for any G1-3 fan other than the vendors and a couple of channels. And it felt oppressive, unwelcoming and wrong.

I admit that this weekend I have wished quite a lot that FIM had never happened, because at least then Ponycon would still be Ponycon, rather than Bronycon. I think, unless there is clear change, this is going to continue to bother me. I have so many good memories of ponycon, but this genuinely left me feeling betrayed. At this rate, I would prefer it went back to the days of small pony meets, rather than seeing it get swept up in the G4 stuff like it's the only pony thing that matters any more.

Yes, Taffeta is angry and bitter tonight.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

All the negatives people have described so far.... I agree.  That has been my experience too. 

I actively do NOT tell people that I collect MLP anymore.  I used to.  But I don't want to be associated at all with that other stuff!

[Nemesis]

Snapdragon, I’m so sorry you went through all that. Honestly, I feel like the types of things you experienced are the main reason I tend to not delve too deep into “fandom” cultures in general, even though being a huge nerd is basically my life. I’ve dealt with stalking and creepy individuals within the anime/gaming/cosplay community, and it was horrible. For these reasons, I refuse to participate in Facebook groups where I would be forced to use my real name and information.

Doxxing seems almost like a new fad—I see it happen so often within various fandoms and communities. These really atrocious acts of harassment are being treated as par for the course in many online communities, and it makes me sick. I don’t think these kinds of behaviors are confined to bronydom especially, but that’s become a prominent example because they took something so inherently innocent and managed to flood the web with NSFW content based around it. There’s... shock value in that.

I’d say I experienced that same initial “high” in the early days of G4-mania. My feelings back then match what you’re describing exactly... I was thrilled that something I’d always loved in relative obscurity was now this BIG THING with t-shirts in Hot Topic and a thriving community of fans. And then... it got ugly. Really ugly. I still miss those early days of G4, when “brony” was just a funny fandom term like Whovian or Potterhead.

[FernMariposa919]

Geeze, reading all these posts, I'm glad I was never involved in any kind of FIM fandom. I actually didn't watch the series until last year when I binged watched it on Netflix. Still haven't seen the last season because it isn't up yet, hmph. Of course I was aware of FIM (duh!) and aware of Bronies, but didn't really know the extent of it, I guess.

But I really enjoyed watching FIM. Very cute and engaging show; I can see why its appealed to so many people. The theme song was pretty darn catchy too!

[Mana Minori]

Some of these stories are pretty horrible >< Snapdragon, that really sucks. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I experienced stalking and threats from people in the G1 community back in around 2000, and it's pretty scary to have to deal with. Fortunately it never came to anything more than threats in my case, and it was only two people involved, but it was still something that lives with me and has made me much more wary of using things like social media or anything that could give away personal details.

On a more recent impact note - G4 just took over Ponycon to the point there was literally nothing for any G1-3 fan other than the vendors and a couple of channels. And it felt oppressive, unwelcoming and wrong.

I admit that this weekend I have wished quite a lot that FIM had never happened, because at least then Ponycon would still be Ponycon, rather than Bronycon. I think, unless there is clear change, this is going to continue to bother me. I have so many good memories of ponycon, but this genuinely left me feeling betrayed. At this rate, I would prefer it went back to the days of small pony meets, rather than seeing it get swept up in the G4 stuff like it's the only pony thing that matters any more.

Yes, Taffeta is angry and bitter tonight.

what the heck happened to warrant the threats?!?!
It saddens  me to hear that you and I’m sure some others with g4 never happened. Hundreds of friendships, weddings, hobbies, and even careers never would happened as a result of g4 coming into existence the way that it had. G4 has done a lot of good for a lot of people, and it’s easy to miss when you only look and focus on the negative aspects of the fandom that is a part of it.

Maybe take a break and have a Snickers, Taff.

[Snapdragon]

Taffeta, lovesbabysquirmy, Nemesis, thank you for your replies. I still hesitate to talk about it at times, because I hate to sound 'weak' or admit just how deeply these attacks affected me. (Plus, if you know bullies, you know they get off on scaring their victims.) I'm not walking around every day in fear, but there were days I did exactly that. I guess I was a little naive in a sense, because while I'd seen harassment and stalking behaviors in the G1 fandom before, it never got to a level where I felt afraid for my physical safety. I'm sure it was there; it just didn't seem quite as prevalent. But as Taffeta shows, it was clearly already here.

Some of these stories are pretty horrible >< Snapdragon, that really sucks. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I experienced stalking and threats from people in the G1 community back in around 2000, and it's pretty scary to have to deal with. Fortunately it never came to anything more than threats in my case, and it was only two people involved, but it was still something that lives with me and has made me much more wary of using things like social media or anything that could give away personal details.

On a more recent impact note - G4 just took over Ponycon to the point there was literally nothing for any G1-3 fan other than the vendors and a couple of channels. And it felt oppressive, unwelcoming and wrong.

I admit that this weekend I have wished quite a lot that FIM had never happened, because at least then Ponycon would still be Ponycon, rather than Bronycon. I think, unless there is clear change, this is going to continue to bother me. I have so many good memories of ponycon, but this genuinely left me feeling betrayed. At this rate, I would prefer it went back to the days of small pony meets, rather than seeing it get swept up in the G4 stuff like it's the only pony thing that matters any more.

Yes, Taffeta is angry and bitter tonight.

what the heck happened to warrant the threats?!?!
It saddens  me to hear that you and I’m sure some others with g4 never happened. Hundreds of friendships, weddings, hobbies, and even careers never would happened as a result of g4 coming into existence the way that it had. G4 has done a lot of good for a lot of people, and it’s easy to miss when you only look and focus on the negative aspects of the fandom that is a part of it.

Maybe take a break and have a Snickers, Taff.

I saw your reply and had to wait a little while to respond, Mana Minori; because I'll be honest, your flippant response of 'just have a candy!' makes me think you aren't reading the replies seriously in this thread, and it's upsetting. You said earlier:

to be fair, I did ask for positive and negative experiences how FiM impacted people, as I realize that FIM may not have struck a positive chord with many. So let’s not discourage sharing.

Yes, good came out of the fandom. A lot of evil came out, too. I said in my reply that a lot of what hurt me was feeling like the average Brony would hand-wave any of the negative aspects away when they were brought up; that's exactly what you are doing here. 'Oh just have a candy/but some people got married!' are dismissive of the very real hurt that Taffeta is experiencing. I also hope you aren't trying to make it some kind of 'more good than bad' because some people got married and made new friends in the fandom. Children were harmed as a direct result of the Brony fandom. It's not a balancing game, you can't add points for marriages and remove points for crimes against children. Especially when this is a fandom for a show that is directly for and about children, and not marriage-age adults.

G4 has done a lot of good for people; G4 has done a lot of evil, too. You can't brush either one away with 'well no one was mean to ME' or flippant references to television advertisements.

Taffeta, I must say that I agree, and I am sad to hear that about Ponycon. I know that Ponycon was very intent on meshing the two fandoms of Brony and pre-Brony (which seemed like a bad idea to me at the time, in the midst of the DWM movement and all of that ugliness directed at female fans), and it seemed like up until this year they had done a fair job at that. I'm sorry to hear the online event didn't maintain that, but it makes me feel better about missing it.

[Mana Minori]

Taffeta, lovesbabysquirmy, Nemesis, thank you for your replies. I still hesitate to talk about it at times, because I hate to sound 'weak' or admit just how deeply these attacks affected me. (Plus, if you know bullies, you know they get off on scaring their victims.) I'm not walking around every day in fear, but there were days I did exactly that. I guess I was a little naive in a sense, because while I'd seen harassment and stalking behaviors in the G1 fandom before, it never got to a level where I felt afraid for my physical safety. I'm sure it was there; it just didn't seem quite as prevalent. But as Taffeta shows, it was clearly already here.

Some of these stories are pretty horrible >< Snapdragon, that really sucks. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I experienced stalking and threats from people in the G1 community back in around 2000, and it's pretty scary to have to deal with. Fortunately it never came to anything more than threats in my case, and it was only two people involved, but it was still something that lives with me and has made me much more wary of using things like social media or anything that could give away personal details.

On a more recent impact note - G4 just took over Ponycon to the point there was literally nothing for any G1-3 fan other than the vendors and a couple of channels. And it felt oppressive, unwelcoming and wrong.

I admit that this weekend I have wished quite a lot that FIM had never happened, because at least then Ponycon would still be Ponycon, rather than Bronycon. I think, unless there is clear change, this is going to continue to bother me. I have so many good memories of ponycon, but this genuinely left me feeling betrayed. At this rate, I would prefer it went back to the days of small pony meets, rather than seeing it get swept up in the G4 stuff like it's the only pony thing that matters any more.

Yes, Taffeta is angry and bitter tonight.

what the heck happened to warrant the threats?!?!
It saddens  me to hear that you and I’m sure some others with g4 never happened. Hundreds of friendships, weddings, hobbies, and even careers never would happened as a result of g4 coming into existence the way that it had. G4 has done a lot of good for a lot of people, and it’s easy to miss when you only look and focus on the negative aspects of the fandom that is a part of it.

Maybe take a break and have a Snickers, Taff.

I saw your reply and had to wait a little while to respond, Mana Minori; because I'll be honest, your flippant response of 'just have a candy!' makes me think you aren't reading the replies seriously in this thread, and it's upsetting. You said earlier:

to be fair, I did ask for positive and negative experiences how FiM impacted people, as I realize that FIM may not have struck a positive chord with many. So let’s not discourage sharing.

Yes, good came out of the fandom. A lot of evil came out, too. I said in my reply that a lot of what hurt me was feeling like the average Brony would hand-wave any of the negative aspects away when they were brought up; that's exactly what you are doing here. 'Oh just have a candy/but some people got married!' are dismissive of the very real hurt that Taffeta is experiencing. I also hope you aren't trying to make it some kind of 'more good than bad' because some people got married and made new friends in the fandom. Children were harmed as a direct result of the Brony fandom. It's not a balancing game, you can't add points for marriages and remove points for crimes against children. Especially when this is a fandom for a show that is directly for and about children, and not marriage-age adults.

G4 has done a lot of good for people; G4 has done a lot of evil, too. You can't brush either one away with 'well no one was mean to ME' or flippant references to television advertisements.

Taffeta, I must say that I agree, and I am sad to hear that about Ponycon. I know that Ponycon was very intent on meshing the two fandoms of Brony and pre-Brony (which seemed like a bad idea to me at the time, in the midst of the DWM movement and all of that ugliness directed at female fans), and it seemed like up until this year they had done a fair job at that. I'm sorry to hear the online event didn't maintain that, but it makes me feel better about missing it.

i wasn’t trying to be flippant. I assure you, I am reading the replies and trying to take them seriously. And I 100% stand by my comment that I made to not discourage people from posting negative experiences. I realize that there are a lot of raw emotions and scars left by certain members of the g4 fandom opinion people here, and it is quite uncomfortable for me to read and to try to relate to. And the thing is- and yes, at times i realize that it might not be appropriate, but I use what I deem as humor to try to diffuse uncomfortable situations for myself, and what works for some doesn’t work with (and can be misinterpreted) be others. So I, again- was definitely not not attempting to be flippant in any way, and am sorry that you interpreted as such.

I was specifically addressing the response to someone wishing that g4 never existed with that post. I realize that it did a lot of harm to people, and I am sorry for that, I truly am. I am just not good at empathizing and say the wrong things at wrong times without meaning to. I make mistakes. But I AM trying.
I’m not hand waving the situation or saying that there’s more good in this fandom than bad. It just hurts me to see these bad experiences from a fandom and franchise that I love and just my really bad attempt to try and ease things and saying the wrong thing and having it misinterpreted. Yes, I fracked up in posting that Snickers comment to Taff, in saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, with good intent behind it, but I hope that you not they, not anyone else hold it against me.

So if it’s alright with you, I would like to try again and offer my deepest condolences, for what they are worth, and am sorry that you had to go through such a traumatic event in this fandom.

Everyone’s personal safety should be protected and I cannot convey how utterly disgusting it is to for safety violators, stalkers and harassers to come from those who claim themselves as fans of this pastel pony franchise. It’s abhorrent and I hope that they get what’s coming to them for doing such things. I know that can make it difficult to trust anyone after such an event, and what lasting effects it can have, but I am grateful that you opened up and shared that with everyone here.

[Taffeta]

TBH I read it as flippant as well, though I don't think my experience really compares to some of the horribleness being discussed here - at the time I was 18 and I was frightened. While there have been impassioned exchanges of views over the years, it does feel like as we've all got older we've basically become cranky grumblies rather than hotheads. But even back then, when we had the scuffles over G2 and whatever, I'd like to think that those things were exceptional rather than normalised in the older gen community.

There are a lot of things in this thread that are uncomfortable reading, but sometimes the truth is uncomfortable. I agree with Snapdragon that you can't validate the bad things people experience because some people had good experiences.

The reason that bothers me most is that in my case, I was not believed by the community. I don't want to go into a lot of detail here because it's off topic for this thread, but the people in question were popular and had friends in mod teams. They closed ranks. Most dismissed it or acted like it wasn't really happening and I'd made it up. Even a few years ago someone posted something about the 'old days' which completely misrepresented the situation as a kind of humorous disagreement.

 It wasn't funny to me then and it isn't now. I felt betrayed by the whole pony community to the point that I left it for almost 2 years - I couldn't even look at my ponies. Only two people were actively involved in the bullying. But by not believing me, trivialising what was happening, or just not doing anything, I felt the rest of the community were also party to what happened. And overcoming that breach of trust was very difficult.

Online bullying is a serious and damaging thing and it can't be trivialised by humour. And I'm sure G4 has done a lot for a lot of people. But I still want to know what those people were doing while others were being victimised. It sounds like a lot of nothing. And I can tell you, that nothing hurts sometimes more than the actual bullying itself.

ETA - Mana Minori, suggest you edit your language in that post before the mod hammer comes.

On the subject of wishing FIM had not happened, it was a frustration over them taking over and in my mind ruining Ponycon - something that I enjoy and which for me is special. Like an unspoken assumption that they can just fill the con with G4 stuff and everyone will be fine with that...like 'being inclusive' means making a half nod to older gens rather than understanding that this is an old gen convention that added G4 in 2011, not a G4 convention that doesn't mind a few older gen things.

 I don't take back what I said, because in general the pony community was a better place before G4 happened. But it's not G4 itself that's the problem. It's the people it invited into pony, and the way it made pony mainstream. Mostly people who collected pony prior to G4 were not mainstream, and didn't want to be dragged into a major media circus. We didn't want memes or media attention or documentaries or articles or any of those things. We wanted to be left to collect ponies and share them in peace and quiet. Maybe FIM did give us, indirectly, the Basic Fun toys, on the back of the pony hype. And the G4 toys themselves? I quite like a lot of them. The early/non M6 ones anyway. But it's FIM that brought all the bad things into the community. Not G4, but FIM the series and its unhealthy fandom.

I went to pony meets before Ponycon and I went to Ponycon over several years. I have never before been made to feel like I don't belong in the convention that this community set up and created. It's hard to care a whole lot about the good experiences of the FIM people - because for the most part they seem to have had it at someone else's expense.

And if that is angry, bitter or biased, so be it. It's how I feel.

[Snapdragon]

Thank you for your reply, Mana Minori. I know it can be hard to tell tone online vs in person, so I appreciate that you were trying to defuse a tense conversation. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with tough or upsetting situations, so it's definitely not just you! It's hard to know the right thing to say at times, and I know it's really hard to see people saying bad things about something you love, especially something that is very important to you. (I think that's why some Bronies are very defensive of the fandom; it's become a formative moment in their lives, and admitting it's not 100% perfect feels like a threat to their reality.) I know a lot of people have had positive, life-changing experiences with the G4 fandom, which is why it really stinks to compare my experience with theirs. I genuinely wish we could have stopped at those early euphoric months, where it was very much a 'woah, we all like glittery little ponies?!' and kept that sense of innocence and wonder. That's what I enjoy about the show, not the NSFW/look-how-edgy-I-can-be stuff.

Taffeta, I'm really sorry you had to endure that; I felt some of that, on a much smaller scale, when I had to leave my very first group chat for G4. I was even made mod in there, but when a creep came in and threatened random members and then myself, everyone stood by and muttered 'don't make drama' while I was being attacked. It was horrible. I can't imagine feeling that on a forum-wide or fandom-wide scale. I have seen some of what you mention, and that kind of behavior is absolutely horrendous and inexcusable. I suspect most people bully because they're unhappy in their lives, but it's hard to do much else but wish them further unhappiness when all they do online is make other people suffer.

[Rychu]

I understand that this is mlp toy collecting forum, so i see how a lot of people might resent g4 for all the attention it got, and not all of it positive, and how it very much reshaped how the "mlp fandom" operated and looked. It was also pretty clear that the g4 fandom was seperating itself from the g1-g3 community for better or for worse. After all the dust settled though, i think it gave many people the chance to not only say they enjoy mlp and not get weird looks, but also gave some them the chance to look back at the earlier gens and see the beauty in them. Mlp fim for me was what got me into ponies and helped me become much more comfortable with sharing my love of things like care bears, mlp, and stuffed animals with others. Before g4 i was terrified to tell people i liked stuffed animals and care bears, cause i was a straight Male high school student and i was VERY afraid of people making fun of me for liking "girly" things. But the existence of bronies and the fandom as a whole slowly helped me be more comfortable with sharing the things i loved with friends. If all these other guys could wear mlp shirts and merch in public and be happy then i probably could too! I never finished watching the show cause i didnt like the later seasons as much but mlp fim has become such an important part of my life.

A bit over a year ago, i stumbled upon an image of the g3 giant plushies and was ASTOUNDED at how much better they looked than any of the liscensed g4 plushies (except 4de, 4de had amazing liscensed plushies). Now much more comfortable with myself i was able to look back to the earlier gens and find something i loved about them. I love the g3 plushies and i found this forum while searching for places to buy some. This is a great place for mlp toy collectors, but is very obviously focused the older gens. Which is fine. But its not surprising that the people here would not care for g4 as much as someone like me or the rest of the g4 fandom. We all have had mlp affect us in various ways. Personally. I would not be as happy as i am right now, being able to show off my toy collections to friends ive made in WILDLY different communities, without g4. Whatever your opinion on g4 is, i hope yall can appreciate the positive impact it has had on many people's lives outside collecting the toys.

[Taffeta]

I understand that this is mlp toy collecting forum, so i see how a lot of people might resent g4 for all the attention it got, and not all of it positive, and how it very much reshaped how the "mlp fandom" operated and looked.

I'm really glad that G4 empowered you, and I actually love hearing when G4 is a gateway into older gens as well. In real terms there shouldn't be a divide between G1-3 and G4, it doesn't make rational sense - but the divide wasn't created here, it was created there, so there's not much we can do about it.

To be honest I've always felt that the resentment came from the brony community, not from us to them. I mean, we collect toy ponies. It's not very globally earthshattering and I don't think anyone here wanted any kind of outside attention for it. Toy collectors don't like people knowing about the rarity of items, anyway. We want to get a second hand sale deal, so the less attention the better, honestly.

But the reason I've always assumed that the bronies resented us is because we existed before G4. They didn't 'create' the pony community, they didn't 'start' the pony fandom, G4 didn't 'invent' MLP.

Reality is that G4 is just number four in a sequence, and not the original, but that seems a problem with some people. I've seen a lot of videos on YT trying to present G4 as the perfect evolutionary result from G1 onwards, as though by doing that it somehow makes G4 win...or something? Not really sure. But G4 really is just another pony generation. The problem is not so much that but the fact the negative attention lumps all pony fans together, and the bad stuff means that people who in the past would talk about their collecting are now reticent to do so in case they are associated with some of these subversive things.

 I don't really care if people like or dislike other gen ponies, but I do have problems with people going into other fandom spaces just to mock something. That kind of behaviour suggests massive insecurity tbh. I remember in the anime community, you'd get Naruto fans invading the Bleach forum simply to write spam about how Bleach sucked. No other reason, no other interest, just the desire to shout down something that other people enjoyed...for some reason that made them feel important.

The same thing happened with G4. It's fine to ignore the other generations, or to dislike them, but to actively seek out G1 videos, G3 videos, artwork, even fan spaces like this in order to belittle existing generations is a bit sad. To me that's a fandom crying out for more attention, or validation through trashing what went before. So for me the resentment has always been from bronies to us.

Although I admit that I do resent the G4ness of ponycon, and I said so, and I won't take it back. But that is because Ponycon is also an old-gen space and an all-gen con, and that is how it should always be - something for everyone. The need for G4 to take over and dominate every space online is very real, so preserving the few spaces like this one where it's ok to talk about older generations without feeling judged is important. For me Ponycon is included in those spaces.

[Nemesis]

I genuinely wish we could have stopped at those early euphoric months, where it was very much a 'woah, we all like glittery little ponies?!' and kept that sense of innocence and wonder. That's what I enjoy about the show, not the NSFW/look-how-edgy-I-can-be stuff.

Again, you’ve managed to sum up my feelings better than I can myself.

But G4 really is just another pony generation. The problem is not so much that but the fact the negative attention lumps all pony fans together, and the bad stuff means that people who in the past would talk about their collecting are now reticent to do so in case they are associated with some of these subversive things.

Exactly this. I love G4 for the same reasons I love/d G1-3. Nothing has changed for me in the sense that I loved magical ponies then, and I still love them now.

But now there’s this fear that if I tell someone who doesn’t know me well that I love MLP, they’ll see that as a red flag. They might remember a weird article they read somewhere about bronies doing creepy things. I don’t know how much of that is real, and how much is me being paranoid, but it’s an uncomfortable feeling.

[Leave a Whisper]

Some of these stories are pretty horrible >< Snapdragon, that really sucks. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I experienced stalking and threats from people in the G1 community back in around 2000, and it's pretty scary to have to deal with. Fortunately it never came to anything more than threats in my case, and it was only two people involved, but it was still something that lives with me and has made me much more wary of using things like social media or anything that could give away personal details.

On a more recent impact note - G4 just took over Ponycon to the point there was literally nothing for any G1-3 fan other than the vendors and a couple of channels. And it felt oppressive, unwelcoming and wrong.

I admit that this weekend I have wished quite a lot that FIM had never happened, because at least then Ponycon would still be Ponycon, rather than Bronycon. I think, unless there is clear change, this is going to continue to bother me. I have so many good memories of ponycon, but this genuinely left me feeling betrayed. At this rate, I would prefer it went back to the days of small pony meets, rather than seeing it get swept up in the G4 stuff like it's the only pony thing that matters any more.

Yes, Taffeta is angry and bitter tonight.

what the heck happened to warrant the threats?!?!
It saddens  me to hear that you and I’m sure some others with g4 never happened. Hundreds of friendships, weddings, hobbies, and even careers never would happened as a result of g4 coming into existence the way that it had. G4 has done a lot of good for a lot of people, and it’s easy to miss when you only look and focus on the negative aspects of the fandom that is a part of it.

Maybe take a break and have a Snickers, Taff.

Talk about unsympathetic! 

[Wardah]

Although I admit that I do resent the G4ness of ponycon, and I said so, and I won't take it back. But that is because Ponycon is also an old-gen space and an all-gen con, and that is how it should always be - something for everyone. The need for G4 to take over and dominate every space online is very real, so preserving the few spaces like this one where it's ok to talk about older generations without feeling judged is important. For me Ponycon is included in those spaces.

Ponycon this year was online right? Maybe they just couldn't find much for earlier gens? Especially since it was on Discord.

[Taffeta]

Although I admit that I do resent the G4ness of ponycon, and I said so, and I won't take it back. But that is because Ponycon is also an old-gen space and an all-gen con, and that is how it should always be - something for everyone. The need for G4 to take over and dominate every space online is very real, so preserving the few spaces like this one where it's ok to talk about older generations without feeling judged is important. For me Ponycon is included in those spaces.

Ponycon this year was online right? Maybe they just couldn't find much for earlier gens? Especially since it was on Discord.

Ponycon happened in June as well, online, and they managed to do it then.
If you don't mind I don't really want to have a 'rationalising' discussion about the ponycon thing, because it upset me and I will probably say something I'll regret if those buttons are pushed.