Why Doesn’t Vinyl Scratch talk? (Theory)

[Taffeta]

they were weird with Vinyl's name, I'm sure I saw some official stuff that called her "Vinyl Scratch"?

I think "DJ Pon3" or however you spell it (stupid name why they went with that over Vinyl or anything else, I'll never know) was originally a fan name too, though.

I actually don't know specifically with this pony (For me the name is what is on the package, however ridiculous xD) but I was thinking more about Sweetie Drops/BonBon.

...In any case, Hasbro really only did for the fans what they thought they could market back to those fans. And it basically worked.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

DJ Pon-3 has always been referred to such as in any official merchandise, but I would love to see something saying otherwise because I do so hate that name. ><
BonBon has been referred to as Sweetie Drops on all official toys, but there's at least one book where she's called BonBon.

Spoiler

The FiM explanation is that her real name is Sweetie Drops, she's a secret agent who had to take a new name after her team had to disband. She chose BonBon.

[Zapper]

"DJ Pon-3" is like someone calling themselves "DJ Hum4n"

[Carrehz]

I think I recall seeing some early toy concept design (or something??) that called her "Bon Bon" so I'm wondering if it was just that they couldn't trademark that, or something.

I dislike DJ Pon-3 since it really only works in writing. Still not sure how you're meant to actually pronounce it o_O "DJ Pon-three" sounds weird, and "DJ Pony" just... yeah, like Zapper said, DJ Human. It's just silly. I know they had that explanation w/ Bon where they said both names were right, I wish they'd done that with DJ too x) normally I go with the official toy name over fan nicknames, but DJ.. I just can't...

[lonewolf]

I think I recall seeing some early toy concept design (or something??) that called her "Bon Bon" so I'm wondering if it was just that they couldn't trademark that, or something.

I dislike DJ Pon-3 since it really only works in writing. Still not sure how you're meant to actually pronounce it o_O "DJ Pon-three" sounds weird, and "DJ Pony" just... yeah, like Zapper said, DJ Human. It's just silly. I know they had that explanation w/ Bon where they said both names were right, I wish they'd done that with DJ too x) normally I go with the official toy name over fan nicknames, but DJ.. I just can't...

It's just supposed to be "pony" or "pone", with the 3 in place of the E just to make the name look cool (a similar thing was done by Playstation with their game Driver 3. The logo says "Driv3r").

[MJNSEIFER]

Regarding her name; I have a headcanon that Vinyl Scratch initially pronounced DJ Pon3 as "DJ Pony", but somepony introduced her as "DJ Pone-three" during a set, and she was about to correct them, but decided that she liked that pronunciation better, so she went along with it and that became her official DJ name.  Yes, this is a play on the fact that Hasbro missed how "Pon3" was supposed to be said.

To this day, I still don't get that there are debates on her name, when it can easily be assumed/imagined that "DJ Pon3" is just her stage name.  It sounds like the easiest ones to compromise, since Vinyl Scratch sounds more like a real name in FiM at least, but DJ Pon3 sounds made up even by their standards, so it sounds more like a stage name a DJ would give themselves, rather than their real name.

I'm sure others must have seen it this way too (I know my friend/pen pal referred to DJ Pon3 as a stage name), but I've seen more people debate about it, or feel they should have gone with Vinyl Scratch completely, which struck me as odd, as it was such an easy name to compromise over, in my opinion.

[SunPony]

To this day, I still don't get that there are debates on her name, when it can easily be assumed/imagined that "DJ Pon3" is just her stage name.  It sounds like the easiest ones to compromise, since Vinyl Scratch sounds more like a real name in FiM at least, but DJ Pon3 sounds made up even by their standards, so it sounds more like a stage name a DJ would give themselves, rather than their real name.

I'm sure others must have seen it this way too (I know my friend/pen pal referred to DJ Pon3 as a stage name), but I've seen more people debate about it, or feel they should have gone with Vinyl Scratch completely, which struck me as odd, as it was such an easy name to compromise over, in my opinion.

This is what I always assumed, too.  Granted I haven't seen much of the show, but when I became aware of the character, her job/hobby, and that she seemed to have two names, I figured it just like you did.  A normal-sounding given name and a "hip" and fun stage name.

As for why she doesn't talk, I have no idea, but I will say I can definitely relate to strongly preferring other means of communication...

[LadyAmalthea]

I just assumed she didn't talk because she was busy listening to her music on her headphones and was too cool to be bothered with talking.

As for her name, I also assumed that she had a stage name for show, but wasn't born with her DJ name. 'Scratch' might be her family name, like Pie is Pinkie's family name. I was hoping to think of clever first names her other family members might have to go with that, but I've got nothing. Vinyl Scratch is a cool name, but most other words that one might associate with 'scratch' are kind of unsavory! Maybe...Chicken Scratch?

[Carrehz]

I always assumed "DJ Pon-3" was a stage name, too.

I think I recall seeing some early toy concept design (or something??) that called her "Bon Bon" so I'm wondering if it was just that they couldn't trademark that, or something.

I dislike DJ Pon-3 since it really only works in writing. Still not sure how you're meant to actually pronounce it o_O "DJ Pon-three" sounds weird, and "DJ Pony" just... yeah, like Zapper said, DJ Human. It's just silly. I know they had that explanation w/ Bon where they said both names were right, I wish they'd done that with DJ too x) normally I go with the official toy name over fan nicknames, but DJ.. I just can't...

It's just supposed to be "pony" or "pone", with the 3 in place of the E just to make the name look cool (a similar thing was done by Playstation with their game Driver 3. The logo says "Driv3r").

Oh, I get the idea behind the name, I just think it sounds silly when said out loud.

[brightberry]

I'm going to assume they didn't keep the name because the person who thought of it (or thought they did) might demand some sort of compensation.   I once drew a picture of a sheep and a coworker saw it, gave it a nifty name and said they would want a large share if I marketed them that way.  They were serious and I went another way.    So, I would think Hasbro wouldn't even want to tempt that kind of headache.

[Carrehz]

but DJ Pon-3 was a fan name too - not to mention the other fan names they've used - Lyra, Steven Magnet, etc

granted I think most of the fan names they used were more generic than "Vinyl Scratch", so you might have a point