The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Loa on October 16, 2017, 04:43:01 PM

Title: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Loa on October 16, 2017, 04:43:01 PM

We couldn't post this while the Arena was having *burping* problems, but we recently celebrated our 14th Birthday!
 :good: :cheer: :newpony: :cheer: :inlove: :cheer: :tort: :cheer: :party: :cheer:  :good: :cheer: :newpony: :cheer: :inlove: :cheer: :tort: :cheer: :party: :cheer:

We would LOVE to hear your memories from the past 14 years, so share them below, and get some details on what makes the mods so "special"!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Leave a Whisper on October 16, 2017, 05:37:27 PM

Happy birthday Arena! Wow thats a long time!   :tort: :beerchug: :green: :hearts: :party: :birthday:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: northstar3184 on October 16, 2017, 06:35:48 PM

Happy birthday to our beloved arena!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Crowning_Glory13 on October 16, 2017, 06:38:29 PM

The random act of kindness section inspired me. It's nice to ship something nice, even just a card:)

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Safflower on October 16, 2017, 06:49:50 PM

Woohoo, happy birthday Arena! Heh, I've only been here for a few months but they have been so fun and awesome! My best memory is when I made my introduction post. Everyone was so welcoming and so kind! And that kindness is tiny compared to how great the arena and the members here are :biggrin: :birthday: :yippee: :cheer: :newpony:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Goanna on October 16, 2017, 07:06:38 PM

Wow, congrats to the Arena!!  :party: 14 years is a huge achievement!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Ponyfan on October 16, 2017, 07:06:54 PM

Happy birthday Arena!  :party: :birthday: :party: :cheer:

I've been here for 8 years.  I remember when the Arena went down for several days and when it came back up someone made these really cute sigs. I didn't save the artist's name though.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login



Also when SDS and YLH pulled an April Fool's joke in the Adoptables section. We were promised a mystery adoptable if we filled out the form and this wasn't what we were expecting.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I think they're really cute anyway   :biggrin: :biggrin:


Ponyfan

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: TheBeatlesPkmnFan42 on October 16, 2017, 07:21:59 PM

Happy 14th, Arena! :party: :party:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: BlackCurtains on October 16, 2017, 07:56:50 PM

Happy Birfday, Arena! :tort:

I can't believe I've been here for 7 years. And in that time, acquired hundreds of ponies :P

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Mewtwofan1 on October 16, 2017, 08:40:55 PM

Happy arenaversary! Number 14? Man. I've been on here for a bit less than a year. Not a lot of memories like you guys, but the arena is a sort of home for me. People united by one common item of interest. Because of this, I've learnt so much about ponies and the rest of the world. Friendship truly is magic, and almost nothing shows that better than the mlp arena. We come from so many different places and have many differneces. But here we all are, talking about pastel coloured bits of plastic like we're family. Because we are a family of friends.
Here's to 14 years and many more to come! :birthday: :newpony:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Einhornbaby on October 16, 2017, 11:27:06 PM

Wow 14 years already! :D AMAZING, congratulations and thank you soo much for he oportunity to meet pony friends from all over the world here!!!

I met so many nice people on here, learned many new things and survived the Arena blackout too lol :D Its been 11 years for me here and I enjoyed every minute!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Ringlets on October 17, 2017, 12:59:59 AM

14 years... wow I feel OLD!  :faint:  :whoa:  :silly:
seriously 14 years of pony awesomeness is totally worth celebrating!!  :hearts:
 I love the Arena :lovey: -  so many lovely peeps!! Our fantastic members , my amazing Mod Family, and I've met some of my best friends on here - close friendships that have lasted years  :tackleglomp: :grouphug:
Memories... I have so many!!!! learning that there were so many other people from all different backgrounds and from all over the world was amazing!!!! and you could learn new stuff and talk ponies anytime you want - first discovering that was like----- :cheer:  :cheer:  :cheer:   when I found out that we could  buy ponies  missed out on from childhood in the sales forum was another amazing thing!! hahaha I lost so much monies that way but it was worth it ;)   ... I remember pony pic spamming lol, writing brag picfics, having fun with name swaps, doing trades, buying loads and loads and looooaaaads of ponies I've always wanted ( Oohh ooh it was so fun when I finally got Greek Ladybird and Rapunzel with the help of Arena friends !!! :squee:  and the Arena made it possible to get even my major grails MOC and MIB US and UK BnG Ringlets and BB Chief! :inlove:  I never thought that that would be possible  :hug:  , loved all of the swaps I've been in - we have some seriously talented members here!! !!! and I survived the Arena blackout too!
I've been lurking since 2008, a member since Jan 2009, and then a Mod and it's been awesome
:happy:  :wow:  :biggrin:   :good: 
  :glitter:  :cheer:  :frolic: Beerchug:  Happy Arenaversary  everyone :beerchug:  :frolic: :cheer:  :glitter:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Taffeta on October 17, 2017, 01:03:33 AM

Happy Birthday Arena :D

I remember when the Arena first started though I didn't post here a lot - hardly at all when it first began. I was mostly on other sites. But then I'm old and I remember the mailing lists and stuff like that ;) I've been here in the community 20 years more or less, and I joined the old Arena when it began I think, but only ever posted here when someone poked me to comment on a Uk issue. I was in and out of the pony community in terms of active posting for a long time but when I came back to posting properly I decided to come here and I don't regret it.

 The Arena has changed a lot in some ways and not in others but I think the biggest positive for me with this forum is that it is a welcoming place for people whether they've been here ages or whether they haven't. At least, so it seems to me. It feels like a proper community.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Shaiyeh on October 17, 2017, 01:43:08 AM

Happy Birthday Arena! :lovey: :lovey: :frolic: :frolic:


I remember the Blackout, too! O: I didn't know what to do with myself during the days the Arena was gone ;A;

Quote from: Ponyfan on October 16, 2017, 07:06:54 PM

I remember when the Arena went down for several days and when it came back up someone made these really cute sigs. I didn't save the artist's name though.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

I've been here 11 years, and I'm so happy to see the Arena is still going. I love this place so much. Thanks for keeping it running! I agree with Taffeta - it's so very welcoming to everyone, and it truly feels like a proper community.
:lovey: :lovey: :lovey:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: allymer on October 17, 2017, 04:35:04 AM

OMG OMG

Happy Birthday my beloved Arena and Ponyfriends! :) it's been that long? oh ha what an amazing place its here and hoe amazing its been over the years...

i haven't been around as i used to in early years mainly becasue i stopped been a teenager and had to spent more time in real life than in poniville.

i'm still a collector. though i barly buy G1 which are my favorite.
i left the collection in a cabinet at my parents house till the day me and my hubby will buy our own house then we will get the ponies. in our second year together he bought me another cabinet for the G4 friendship is magic collection....

i have so many wonderful memmories from around here- first of all the company- the memmbers we are the rarest and the best friends around- people at the arena are uniqe and kind and loving!!!!

i remmember that when i sign in
there were so few boys around i actually had to came out of the closet twice in my life-
as a gay man in my reall world and as a male pony collector here  LOL

i love u guys and hope for many more years of pony friendship.

u can catch me more often in social networking (facebook/instegram) as Jonathanvk9930 / jonathan vaknin and i would love to see some familliar faces

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Foxtale on October 17, 2017, 06:16:56 AM

Happy Birthday!!!!

I can't believe it's been so long but at the same time I can't imagine my life without it. This has been my pony home for about 13 years (although I was a lurker for the full time).

One of my first memories of the Arena was sitting in the computer room after school in high school browsing the forums waiting for the bus to go home. One of my fondest memories was participating in the Photo Contest. Those were always so much fun!

I love seeing all the things people get as brags and all the information share we share from new stuff to old things I never even knew existed. I love watching the swaps (I hope to participate one year).

Happy Happy Birthday Arena! <3 <3

Here's to many more!!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: SkyCakes on October 17, 2017, 08:01:23 AM

A very happy birthday Arena 14 years is a long time to be around. I had so many wonderful memories from here. I hope to have more. This is definitely a family of collectors. :) All the mods are simply wonderful they do a great job keeping everything around here running so smoothly.
I had many fun swaps I participated in the past. Unfortunately, I can't do that as much anymore. :/ I love hanging around the Pony Corral its my favorite place around here. :)

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Barnacle_lady on October 17, 2017, 08:09:18 AM

Happy Birthday Arena :) As long as I collect the Arena has always been in my mind

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: kCherry on October 17, 2017, 09:05:33 AM

Uh-Oh... Almost old enough to drive... XD

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: mlp4me on October 17, 2017, 09:13:17 AM

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

i.imgflip.com

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: NightGliderSA on October 17, 2017, 09:26:48 AM

Happy birthday arena!!

I have only been a member for a short time here, but I have so enjoyed it!   :frolic:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: glitterball on October 17, 2017, 11:35:40 AM

 :dance: :birthday: :green: :hearts: :party: :cheese: :choc: :rasp: :straw:
Happy Birthday, Arena!

I have been a member here for only a short time, but feel very much at home as everyone is so friendly!  :heart: :heart: :heart:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Kiwi on October 17, 2017, 01:07:36 PM

Quote from: Loa on October 16, 2017, 04:43:01 PM

We would LOVE to hear your memories from the past 14 years, so share them below, and get some details on what makes the mods so "special"!

14 years, geez!

Well, I guess my most special memory (aside from being staff of course) would be...
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Skeen on October 17, 2017, 01:36:36 PM

Can't have a birthday thread without mentioning STRIPPERBERRY.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: pinkkittywinks on October 17, 2017, 02:04:58 PM

Happy Birthday MLParena.

Thank you for the friends I’ve made near and far :heart:

Love pkw xxxx

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Gator on October 17, 2017, 04:34:36 PM

Happy birthday!  I sometimes still feel like the odd one in the room, but I love being able to come here and hang with fellow collectors.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Marlin on October 17, 2017, 09:29:18 PM

This has, and probably always will be my online pony home. I'm not a prolific poster, but I love reading and lurking through the posts and have learned so much through here. Happy Birthday Arena :)

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Cadence on October 18, 2017, 12:20:16 AM

Happy 14 years, Arena! I love how friendly everyone here is - and it's cool to see so many familiar members still here. Even after 5+ years and some members' user name changes, I still recognize everyone's ponysonas and it's great to be a part of such a lovely niche :)

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Broken Irishwoman on October 18, 2017, 12:19:10 PM

Wow, 14 years! That's awesome!  :pillow: :frolic: :party:

I registered 9 years ago. The Arena was the first pony site I found, I had no idea that collecting My Little Pony was a thing. I thought it was just me being weird; still collecting my childhood toys. When I found the Arena, I was shocked. :mrgreen:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: SourdoughStomper on October 18, 2017, 03:00:05 PM

The Arena is old enough to join the Arena!

I remember when I started the very first thread with the new [ you ] function. Much hilarity (and equal amounts of confusion) ensued. :lol:

Also, the :throw: smiley for all our fakie throwing needs.

EDIT: I found it. http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,305434.0.html

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Loa on October 18, 2017, 03:48:30 PM

Oh that smiley has gotten us through a lot of tough days!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Leave a Whisper on October 18, 2017, 05:00:06 PM

It is a welcoming and special place, the staff is great and though I've not been here very long, I've made some great friends and had a lot of laughs and fun times. :grouphug: to all my pony peeps!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: ghouldilocks on October 18, 2017, 09:55:34 PM

Wow! I can't believe it's been 14 years! Before I had this account, I had an account on the "old Arena," before the overhaul. I take a lot of breaks from actively collecting (for financial reasons, lol) but this is always my pony home. I grew up with G1 from the late 80s until the end of their run, and when G3 started showing up in stores, my love was rekindled and I found this amazing community.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: buddyboymama on October 19, 2017, 10:36:40 AM

Happy birthday, dear Arena. Happy birthday to you. And many more ...

Wish I would have been here from the beginning. I remember finding Dream Valley to identify my childhood ponies, but several years went by before I decided to dive into collecting and found this place. When I joined here, there were several members using pictures of male celebrities as avatars. I thought bronies must be hot!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: TornadoLovesMelody on October 19, 2017, 11:00:20 AM

Happy birthday, may there be many more to come!

Personal reasons for celebrating the Arena:

My online pony life started at Dream Castle. The first place where we spoke of ponies and where we got to see the Delaneys (anyone remember them?) get this huuuuuuuge haul of MIP ponies. Almost at the same time, back then, I joined MLPTP .  My name used to be Steamer_Tex. My two first boys which I got on my way back from horseback riding one day, after my dad said we had to go some place cause he had found an ad...

And then came MLPArena. At first it was a bit weird. Almost as if it was to start a rebellion against MLPTP.
In a way, for me, it did.
I couldn't get the kinds of connections with collectors on the MLPTP.  Here at the arena I was treated like a friend. Truly.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the MLPTP but the arena offered so much more. All the kind people I knew from the MLPTP were here and we started having really broad discussions.
I also remember playing certain photo games together with some.

And then there were the dark times. When my life eroded and finally broke into pieces.
Arena was here.
Always.
Always with encouraging words and true support.
Some people whom I had met and some whom I still haven't were always there, offering advice, a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on.
I hate myself for not remembering all the names from way back when but then again, my brain took some damage and I lost quite some memories.
Whenever I've had dark times or felt like it's the end I've always come to see the Arena for one last look.

Trying to remember everyone and the advice I was given has given me courage more than once.
The past 5-6 years I've mostly come to the arena for a pc or two and to sell some things off when times have been rougher.
Now it seems as if I've finally found a place to stay for a while, after years of moving and my ponies will finally be getting back up. Hopefully this means that I will get to see the Arena more often too.

I'd love to keep celebrating a community that supports its members. Where everyone is always welcome and where a helping hand is close by, no matter the actual distance.
I've missed you. A lot. I miss being part of a certain forum that helped me grow and also gave me hours of fun.
I'm going to earn my place and return one day.

Happy birthday,  MLPArena! <3

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Harmonie on October 19, 2017, 11:26:00 AM

Congratulations! I only joined a few years ago... Wish I had been into MLP back then. G3 is my favorite generation of toys, after all.

Quote from: SourdoughStomper on October 18, 2017, 03:00:05 PM

The Arena is old enough to join the Arena!

Good lord, time if flying by so fast!

Of course, I was not a part of these forums back in 2003, but I was just beginning to be allowed to join forums that year, and I just can not even begin to fathom that people that were born that year are now on these forums.  :blink:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Diamond on October 19, 2017, 05:47:56 PM

Dang Skippy has it been that long?

One of my favorite memories, the time (or two) we changed mods and some members names.  Ah fun times....

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Loa on October 19, 2017, 06:03:27 PM

Quote from: Diamond on October 19, 2017, 05:47:56 PM

Dang Skippy has it been that long?

One of my favorite memories, the time (or two) we changed mods and some members names.  Ah fun times....

Nothing stopping us from being naughty now...

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: aquamarinemolly on October 19, 2017, 06:28:52 PM

Happy birthday Arena! Facebook ain't got nuthin' on you <3

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Sky_Rocket_Sammie on October 20, 2017, 10:43:28 PM

It's been a great place to make friends and learn about ponies from all generations. I remember stumbling on this place in 2009 while I was looking for a Transformers board to join. Joined TF World 2005 and after that joined here. Can't say enough good things about this board and the folks who post here, I've never felt unwanted or silenced.

Happy Birthday and here is to many more birthdays. Several of my favorite memories:switching the board over to its current one,the great black out,my first swap,checking the "coming out/out now" thread for the latest ponies being released,the joy of knowing G3 was going to a thing.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: sangeeth on October 20, 2017, 11:04:49 PM

I joined in 2005 and I still visit though I don't collect ponies anymore.

Back in the day I used to love the Christmas theme and seasonal forum that came up every December.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Loa on October 21, 2017, 12:11:21 AM

Quote from: sangeeth on October 20, 2017, 11:04:49 PM

I joined in 2005 and I still visit though I don't collect ponies anymore.

Back in the day I used to love the Christmas theme and seasonal forum that came up every December.

I was just thinking I hadn't seen your name in a long while!
I miss the Christmas theme too. I wonder if we can make it happen...

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: applejackbunny on October 21, 2017, 12:29:24 PM

Happy birthday Arena!  :biggrin:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Stormness_1 on October 21, 2017, 10:38:24 PM

Happy birthday Arena! 14 years, that's crazy in online terms... especially considering how active things are still here. Glad to call this my online pony home.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: princessluna11706 on October 22, 2017, 04:01:35 AM

14 years already, where has the time gone?! I don't post all the time, but I would never leave. The arena is my pony home.

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: kestral_kitsune on October 22, 2017, 06:00:04 PM

wooot happy birthday arenaaa!!

remember being happy to find this place! and yes that blackout XD and all the fun

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: dragonfly on October 22, 2017, 06:19:49 PM

Happy birthday to us!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: applejackbunny on October 23, 2017, 09:14:42 AM

Quote from: princessluna11706 on October 22, 2017, 04:01:35 AM

I don't post all the time, but I would never leave. The arena is my pony home.

Same for me  :)

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: achab1984 on October 23, 2017, 06:37:32 PM

Happy Birthday! I love this site, I might not come on it much but I still love to come and visit time to time!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Gingerbread on October 24, 2017, 05:31:24 AM

 :cheer: Happy Belated Birthday MLPArena!!! :cheer:


The [ you ] threads that come up occasionally are hilarious...the pokey/pointy stick wielded by Loa is scary...swaps are awesome...the members are all incredible  :tackleglomp:

I don't feel like I fit in 100% here but that's because of anxiety issues. I haven't made any proper friends - I have new friends on FB through the Arena but I don't actively speak to anyone. BUT...the Arena has to be the friendliest, easiest place online for me to be, and I love it here :lovey:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: hilamb on October 24, 2017, 11:08:56 PM

Super happy birthday arena!

 :lovey: :heart: :fox: :tackleglomp:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Sea_Breeze on October 25, 2017, 01:31:07 AM

Happy Birthday !!!  Crikey 14 years

Wow SO many memories over that time. The blackout,  guessing the mods baby pics, that MH Model competition, guess the pony comps. The Arena Derbys... ahhh lots of fun stuff thats for sure. Best part is we all LOVE ponies and its been an amazing place to talk with like minded people :)

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: CrystalSnowflake on October 25, 2017, 04:56:55 PM

Happy Birthday MLP Arena!
Thank you Mods for making this such a great place. It wouldn't be what it is without you!
Thank you great members for being you!

I have made a lot of great pony pals here from trades and such!

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Carrehz on October 26, 2017, 09:44:24 AM

I'm late to the party as usual (sorry I haven't been around the MLP Arena lately - been sick, plus life's just been getting in the way in general, so I've just been lurking) but happy 14 years, Arena!! Here's to 14 more :party:

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Silversnow on October 27, 2017, 04:28:38 AM

Wow!!! Time flies! Major congrats and happy birthday team!

I've been here since April 2005 so I'm very proud to have joined so "early"!

x love to all

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Loona on October 30, 2017, 11:42:06 AM

Oh wow, happy belated Birthday to the Arena! And many more to come! :party:
I have only joined 5 years ago, but I was immediately sucked into the friendly atmosphere - I wish I found this place earlier :) This is truly the most loving and caring place on the internet I have ever come across, I just love how welcome, friendly, helpful and understanding this community is towards everyone <3

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Moonbreeze on October 30, 2017, 02:26:10 PM

Omg 14 years already! Happy birthday Arena! :D Glad to be here for so long. It makes me feel a bit old :P

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: Mainsail on November 02, 2017, 02:40:48 AM

Happy Birthday, Arena!!! :cheer:

Unfortunately I've been off and on here lately, mainly because I put MLP on hold for a while but I've been slowly working my way back, very slowly.... :P

Title: Re: It's been 14 years!
Post by: princesskitty on November 02, 2017, 01:08:10 PM

14 years! Wow that’s awesome!
I remember joining on the old site, my first trade and first custom were through here. Whenever I drop off the fandom train for a few years I always come back to the arena.