The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Mana Minori on June 04, 2017, 07:26:53 AM
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I know there are still many old gen fans hanging around, but things like old gen forums seem to be dead (even most g4 forums). Is the fanbase for the first 3 gens shrinking? Moved elsewhere? Or maybe I'm just not in the loop as to where all the old timers are milling around, these days. Am I worrying too much?
G4'ers are so reluctant to discuss anything from g1 through g3. Its like pulling teeth
Will it continue to shrink as mlp progresses in the era of g4, and future gens?
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Dude, have you even looked at the other threads on here? The Arena was around waaaayy before all that G4 nonsense came into the picture, and it'll prolly stick around long after G4's gone and all the sites and forums for it are dead.
If G4 fans aren't into the previous gens then that's their choice, you know? No point forcing the matter if it's not something they're interested in.
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Dude, have you even looked at the other threads on here? The Arena was around waaaayy before all that G4 nonsense came into the picture, and it'll prolly stick around long after G4's gone and all the sites and forums for it are dead.
If G4 fans aren't into the previous gens then that's their choice, you know? No point forcing the matter if it's not something they're interested in.
this is but one wesite, though. It may be active here, but what of other old gen Facebok pages, forums, dA communities, and the like? They're not so active, and that worries me. I don't want he legacy of the first 3 generations to be forgotten.
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also, you've got to keep in mind - in general (not just for MLP), the older something is, the less fan content there is for it out there. People move on, you know? It doesn't mean they don't love it, it just means they're not interested in making content for it at the moment. Obviously that's not an absolute rule, but in general newer stuff is always going to be more popular anyway.
I've seen a fair amount of newly-created G1 stuff on Tumblr, though? And I mean, I barely even look on Tumblr, so. It's definitely out there? I'm not really sure I understand your concern, lol.
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I think MLP is actually more accessible to most fandoms in terms of "cross generational interest", by which I mean the fan of one generation also becoming the fan of a different generation--whether it's old fans getting interested in a newer gen or a new gen fan getting interested in older gens.
When I look at the Transformers fandom, by contrast, you can totally have someone who is only into Transformers Prime and no other gen, or only TF Animated, or only G1 Transformers, or only into the live action Michael Bay movies. And if you are a fan of the goofier Japanese animes, like Beast Wars Neo or Beast Wars II, then prepare to be lonely, lol. Whatever is newest gets the most fanart, whether it's good or not. (Right now there's a lot of Robots in Disguise fanart, even though the series is just not very good.)
Interestingly, Beast Wars (not BW II or BW Neo, but the original BW) is widely viewed as having THE best characterization and story in Transformers, and yet I hardly ever see fanfiction, fanart, etc, for it. But whenever there's a "what's your favorite show" poll, it always does well. So I guess I would say just because you aren't seeing something being discussed much, or having much creator content, doesn't mean that something is unappreciated or forgotten.
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So I guess I would say just because you aren't seeing something being discussed much, or having much creator content, doesn't mean that something is unappreciated or forgotten.
:iconclap:
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To be honest I feel like it's the opposite? There's retro stuff everywhere now, even non-collectors are becoming more aware of the (G1) pony world. I would hardly call that extinct... If anything, people are actually picking up on it?
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I'm not sure why this is even a discussion point, to be honest. It's like saying "look, there are a lot of Star Wars fans. We're in trouble."
You're looking at it from the wrong angle. There isn't a comparison here. You're looking at the negative of what you see right now, but not thinking about the bigger picture of this community and where it has been to where it is now. The G4 community is nothing to do with it. We have G4 fans here too, but they are just newer members of our family, not competition. If the G4 only fandom is as successful after G4 ends, good for them. You said yourself, though, that some G4 sites have also gone. That implies that probably they will transition, too, once their series and toyline is gone. G1 ended more than 20 years ago. Some new pony fans are younger than that. So it's a silly comparison to make.
I've been in and out of this community 20 years and so have many people. That community was tiny. This is not a comparison with then. In those 20 years I have seen us go from a place where all trade lists had to be emailed to the TP owner, where there was only one ID site and where there were a total of three UK people in that community. I remember when there were no forums, and just email mailing lists, like ponypeople and dreamvalley, which was the only mode of communication. I remember when MLP was not a category on ebay (although it became one during G3). I remember a time when there were not pony meets, though now people take the Pony Fair and UK Ponycon as a natural part of the year, as well as there being lots of smaller meets. I remember when we didn't know about pony variants from some countries, and now we have members from those countries, like Greece, or Mexico. For every ID site that has closed, another has come in its place. Members have left and members have joined. This community is the product of 20 years of change and development and evolution.
The G4 community has nothing to do with that. Fans who want to be here can be here. Fans who don't don't have to be. We're not competing with them. Frankly, and I have to be honest, I don't like that this thread and your other one about creativity seem to be comparing the old and original pony community with the new. We were here first, we built the foundations, and we will be here when G4 ends. I would not be asking the question about G1 love, or even G2 or G3. If we're here now, so long after those ponies ended, we'll be here in the future, too.
I frankly don't care what the G4 only community do or don't do. It's their business, it's their community. I have no ill will towards them, nor do I think they should be forced to talk about older gens if they don't want to. There isn't a comparison between that part of online MLP and ours.
I have to admit I don't understand your rationale for this post or the one on creativity. The two of them so close together make me somewhat uneasy. I hope they weren't made in an attempt to undermine old MLP generations, because it really doesn't work. And if you are genuinely worried about the old generations, don't be. We've been here a long time. We have roots. We're not going anywhere.
Adding in response to what Regenveertje said - this is also very true. G1 retro stuff is really popular right at the moment. Primark has been selling MLP G1 stuff for several years, but only G1 stuff so far. I had forgotten that, but it's a really valid point.
It's also true about anime fandoms. Most anime I like are obscure, but even the ones that aren't have a really fickle long term fanbase, apparently. ><
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i don't think it has anything to do with the fans, just the method of communication. i've seen a lot of message boards of MANY fanbases close up shop because a lot of fans are going to things like facebook groups and tumblrs and imgur etc etc the fans are there, but the communication means are really whats changing.
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I'm not sure why this is even a discussion point, to be honest. It's like saying "look, there are a lot of Star Wars fans. We're in trouble."
You're looking at it from the wrong angle. There isn't a comparison here. You're looking at the negative of what you see right now, but not thinking about the bigger picture of this community and where it has been to where it is now. The G4 community is nothing to do with it. We have G4 fans here too, but they are just newer members of our family, not competition. If the G4 only fandom is as successful after G4 ends, good for them. You said yourself, though, that some G4 sites have also gone. That implies that probably they will transition, too, once their series and toyline is gone. G1 ended more than 20 years ago. Some new pony fans are younger than that. So it's a silly comparison to make.
I've been in and out of this community 20 years and so have many people. That community was tiny. This is not a comparison with then. In those 20 years I have seen us go from a place where all trade lists had to be emailed to the TP owner, where there was only one ID site and where there were a total of three UK people in that community. I remember when there were no forums, and just email mailing lists, like ponypeople and dreamvalley, which was the only mode of communication. I remember when MLP was not a category on ebay (although it became one during G3). I remember a time when there were not pony meets, though now people take the Pony Fair and UK Ponycon as a natural part of the year, as well as there being lots of smaller meets. I remember when we didn't know about pony variants from some countries, and now we have members from those countries, like Greece, or Mexico. For every ID site that has closed, another has come in its place. Members have left and members have joined. This community is the product of 20 years of change and development and evolution.
The G4 community has nothing to do with that. Fans who want to be here can be here. Fans who don't don't have to be. We're not competing with them. Frankly, and I have to be honest, I don't like that this thread and your other one about creativity seem to be comparing the old and original pony community with the new. We were here first, we built the foundations, and we will be here when G4 ends. I would not be asking the question about G1 love, or even G2 or G3. If we're here now, so long after those ponies ended, we'll be here in the future, too.
I frankly don't care what the G4 only community do or don't do. It's their business, it's their community. I have no ill will towards them, nor do I think they should be forced to talk about older gens if they don't want to. There isn't a comparison between that part of online MLP and ours.
I have to admit I don't understand your rationale for this post or the one on creativity. The two of them so close together make me somewhat uneasy. I hope they weren't made in an attempt to undermine old MLP generations, because it really doesn't work. And if you are genuinely worried about the old generations, don't be. We've been here a long time. We have roots. We're not going anywhere.
Adding in response to what Regenveertje said - this is also very true. G1 retro stuff is really popular right at the moment. Primark has been selling MLP G1 stuff for several years, but only G1 stuff so far. I had forgotten that, but it's a really valid point.
It's also true about anime fandoms. Most anime I like are obscure, but even the ones that aren't have a really fickle long term fanbase, apparently. ><
I'm sorry you don't like my topics, but I do have a right to express my fears and concerns. Do I not? While some may think that they are baseless, the fact is I personally don't see the older fandoms thriving, save for this one active site, and some art groups on dA. And that wories me. I am genuinely concerned, here. That's what it boils down to. So you saying that you don't like my topic comparing new and old generation (I see massive content and activity for g4) hurts. Yeah, the oldbies set the foundation and there have come more than there has been, in the beginning, but I still fel scared and worried for the older gens as far as fandom and fanmade content, as time continues, and I believe that its not fair for you to basically scoff at my feelings in the way that you worded it. It was very rude and hurtful.
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Lol no. Just because a fandom isn't online as much, doesn't mean the fandom is dying. The younger crowd seems to forget that Online is not the Only Way to keep a fandom going. Its relatively new in the grand scheme of things. How on Earth do you think fandoms survived Before the advent of the internet? Star Trek, Doll Collectors, Comic Fans.Do you think they were chatting it up on the net way back when? Plus some of us have passed on the love to our kids.
Also please remember that the G2 and G3 fans are coming into their own as teenagers and young adults.
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A lot of it is simply collectors move in waves: for a while, everyone was going to facebook and not coming to forums; now I am seeing more activity here and less on facebook. We older collectors tend to be most active at certain times of the year, too; just like how when it's off season for a tv show, there is less fan activity. :)
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Taffeta, Leave a Whisper, as usual you two hit the nail on the head.
I'm gonna be honest, I don't get this "let's preserve the fandom!!" kind of attitude at all.. in general, not just for MLP, as I've seen it for other things. People move on, stuff changes, fandoms/communities/etc slow down and sometimes die and y'know, that happens? It's a part of life. Honestly I think we've done pretty well, considering. There's a _lot_ of G1/G2/G3 stuff out there still, there's new stuff coming in all the time.. the fact that all this is still going on, what, 30 years after G1 should show that it has staying power, I would've thought.
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I'm sorry you don't like my topics, but I do have a right to express my fears and concerns. Do I not?
Of course you do, but you need to remember, so do I. So do all of us. And if you open a discussion like this, you invite responses. Some of those will disagree with you. Some of those will challenge you. And you also need to think about what you said, and how those things might make other people feel.
I dislike disharmony between generation collectors. I also despise comparisons. Comparisons imply that something is superior and something is inferior. In a collecting sense, or a fandom sense, that can only ever end badly. I don't want competition with the FIM community. I am not interested in their digital media or fan output, because that's not my community. If I wanted to be there, I would be. But I'm not. I'm here. And I think that is true for a lot of us. It doesn't matter what another community puts out, because the people in this community are here for a reason. And if we are here, we're here because we love this fandom and this product...even if our way of doing so isn't the same as theirs.
That is pretty much what I said in my original post, only paraphrased to try and make it easier to understand.
Because I dislike disharmony between generation collectors, it bothers me when someone comes up with the kind of post that is essentially derogatory to this community in some way. I don't think it was unreasonable to ask about the motivation behind it, because two posts in a few days by someone who principally posts in the FIM sections is going to get anyone a little bit on edge. I don't want the rivalry that was there in the past to flare up into something nasty again. I like that our different communities can do what we like without being forced into comparison with each other. I don't like that the FIM community should be made to like G1-2-3 if they don't want to, and I don't like people coming here with a view of the G4 community and saying we don't match up. Whatever your motivation, that can't possibly end well. And instead of taking it as a personal insult, I'd just like you to stop and think about what you are asking, and how much you actually do know about the community you say you are worried about. It seems to me like you are trying to see it through the G4 way of doing things, but G4 didn't even exist when this community came into being, and so obviously isn't going to be the same. Nor does it need to be.
Your information is also lacking; the Arena is not the only G1-2-3-4 pony forum.
The thing is that FIM is and has been from the start a different kind of generation. It is driven by the cartoon, not the toys. That lends itself to way more fanfiction and digital media. Also what others have said about generation probably applies. I wrote MLP fanfic as a kid and as a teen, but I don't do it now. You can't expect all G1 fans, for example, to act the same way they maybe did when G1 was out or had just disappeared. That doesn't mean this community is in decline. As someone who has been here to observe it over two decades, I know the different stages it has been through in its evolution. People all have different reasons for loving MLP, and this community welcomes all of them. I think overall it has become a stronger place for cross-generational fandom, because people get into a newer generation but often end up then collecting others as well.
For that reason, I find the aspersions cast on our fandom's creativity and community both 'hurtful' and 'rude', to use your own language. This community was here before FIM. It will be here after FIM. I really hope that when FIM ends, we might one day end up with one whole community, rather than separate strands - but even if not, it won't be until FIM ends that we see how that fandom really is. I think at this point this fandom is the stronger, because it has self-perpetuated without any help from Hasbro or Hasbro products over a long period of time. So if you genuinely are worried, there's really no need to be. But even if you are, you also have to accept that your premise itself is an offensive one - telling people that the community they love and belong to is inferior and dying, and not accepting it when they disagree.
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Taffeta I want to marry your most recent post. Just. So perfect :heart: You literally said everything I wanted to but wasn't sure how to put it, haha.
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I'm sorry you don't like my topics, but I do have a right to express my fears and concerns. Do I not?
Of course you do, but you need to remember, so do I. So do all of us. And if you open a discussion like this, you invite responses. Some of those will disagree with you. Some of those will challenge you. And you also need to think about what you said, and how those things might make other people feel.
I dislike disharmony between generation collectors. I also despise comparisons. Comparisons imply that something is superior and something is inferior. In a collecting sense, or a fandom sense, that can only ever end badly. I don't want competition with the FIM community. I am not interested in their digital media or fan output, because that's not my community. If I wanted to be there, I would be. But I'm not. I'm here. And I think that is true for a lot of us. It doesn't matter what another community puts out, because the people in this community are here for a reason. And if we are here, we're here because we love this fandom and this product...even if our way of doing so isn't the same as theirs.
That is pretty much what I said in my original post, only paraphrased to try and make it easier to understand.
Because I dislike disharmony between generation collectors, it bothers me when someone comes up with the kind of post that is essentially derogatory to this community in some way. I don't think it was unreasonable to ask about the motivation behind it, because two posts in a few days by someone who principally posts in the FIM sections is going to get anyone a little bit on edge. I don't want the rivalry that was there in the past to flare up into something nasty again. I like that our different communities can do what we like without being forced into comparison with each other. I don't like that the FIM community should be made to like G1-2-3 if they don't want to, and I don't like people coming here with a view of the G4 community and saying we don't match up. Whatever your motivation, that can't possibly end well. And instead of taking it as a personal insult, I'd just like you to stop and think about what you are asking, and how much you actually do know about the community you say you are worried about. It seems to me like you are trying to see it through the G4 way of doing things, but G4 didn't even exist when this community came into being, and so obviously isn't going to be the same. Nor does it need to be.
Your information is also lacking; the Arena is not the only G1-2-3-4 pony forum.
The thing is that FIM is and has been from the start a different kind of generation. It is driven by the cartoon, not the toys. That lends itself to way more fanfiction and digital media. Also what others have said about generation probably applies. I wrote MLP fanfic as a kid and as a teen, but I don't do it now. You can't expect all G1 fans, for example, to act the same way they maybe did when G1 was out or had just disappeared. That doesn't mean this community is in decline. As someone who has been here to observe it over two decades, I know the different stages it has been through in its evolution. People all have different reasons for loving MLP, and this community welcomes all of them. I think overall it has become a stronger place for cross-generational fandom, because people get into a newer generation but often end up then collecting others as well.
For that reason, I find the aspersions cast on our fandom's creativity and community both 'hurtful' and 'rude', to use your own language. This community was here before FIM. It will be here after FIM. I really hope that when FIM ends, we might one day end up with one whole community, rather than separate strands - but even if not, it won't be until FIM ends that we see how that fandom really is. I think at this point this fandom is the stronger, because it has self-perpetuated without any help from Hasbro or Hasbro products over a long period of time. So if you genuinely are worried, there's really no need to be. But even if you are, you also have to accept that your premise itself is an offensive one - telling people that the community they love and belong to is inferior and dying, and not accepting it when they disagree.
again- I didn't make these topics to cause division between the fandoms, nor did I intend to compare. I like all gens of ponies, and as I said, I have my concerns. I call things like I see them, and what I see on my end is the older fandoms not being nearly as active as the newer. Admittedly, I MAY be looking in the wrong places, Google search results give communities that are dead, dA communities seems to have slowed to a crawl, but if I don't post about it expressing those concerns, then how on earth am I supposed to know? I have no rl pony fan friends of any generation to discuss pony things about, so where else can I get the info but here, which seems to be the most active?
I want to be a part of both communities- old and new- and all this topic boils down to is getting my concerns across. If you say that the fandom of g1, g2, and g3 is still around, then point it out to me, other than this site. I don't WANT to be worried. I don't WANT to cause division. I just want confirmation. And I wasn't telling ANYONE that their fandom was dying. Nor did I say it was inferior. I was simply asking. You said yourself that I had every right to express my fears and concerns, but that end statement makes it seems like I can't.
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That's true and I know your not trying to create division Nightmare Muffin, but like we've said, you have to think about this community, which spans 4 generations and 30+ years, through a pre-internet lens. ;) A lot of communities have existed, thrived and survived for decades beforehand. They'll do fine for years to come. The net is just a different, faster way for fans to connect.
A good example of this would be DC fans. They've been kickin around for a very long time, comics collected and carefully preserved, passing a love of it onto their kids, pulling in new fans with each re-iteration, movies and toys and merchandising all without needing websites about it.
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My opinion would be that it's diminishing too. I used to not worry about resale value of my MOC collection, now I kinda do.
I don't know why but the post seems to have a lot of bad aura? over a simple view stated by the OP.
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My opinion would be that it's diminishing too. I used to not worry about resale value of my MOC collection, now I kinda do.
I don't know why but the post seems to have a lot of bad aura? over a simple view stated by the OP.
Nothing lasts forever. Not even twinkies. :silly:
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Yeah I posted in the other thread about the pre-Internet days and fandom. There aren't that many pre-internet fandoms preserved online historically, but they DID exist! DC, Marvel, science fiction in general, Star Trek, Star Wars (yeah where DO you think the Christmas Special was traded around for decades?;) ) Disney fans, I could go on ....
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,386561.15.html
But I will re-post in case the mods delete .
"weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell... here is another perspective....
According to Internet Legend, in 1981, Bill Gates was attributed as saying, "'640K of memory should be enough for anybody.'"
Now, he did not actually say this, but it is very indicative of computers and their users during the 80's-90's. Pretty much until Windows 95, MOST home users did not have machines capable of video-editing. Or fan mp3 music. Or anything like that. My home computer in high school, it did not have the memory to be able to PLAY an MP3 file!!!!, let alone EDIT one! LOL
Sure, sure we had a huge Apple lab stocked with Macs and some PC homebuild stuff, but that was school and the district invested in our tech education. MOST kids at home didn't even have a computer yet and if they did, it was either Dad's work one, or it was filled with family learning software for your younger siblings.
So it wasn't that people weren't making massive gigabyte files' worth of fanvideo ... it's just that people were more likely using off-line options to create, and technology just wasn't around to digitize it.
on the MLPTP, one of the most popular activities was Spooky's Photo Hunt! People would use their FILM cameras to develop photos. As in, you took the film canisters to a store, you waited a week, and then you got a little folder of printed-out photos. And you had to scan them and upload them to a hosting site to share them. Not just "whip out your iPhone, do a little Snapchat, run it through an Instagram photo filter, push two buttons and cross-publish across your Flickr/Tumblr/Facebook/IG/Twitter/Google+ !!!"
I have cassette tapes packed away that contain my voiceovers and radio plays - I don't have the paper scripts anymore but I have the tapes. But do you think I'm going to find a cassette tape player that can help me transfer to a MP3 file? Not without special equipment!!! And you must remember, this equipment did NOT exist for home use back then - you were super lucky if the adults in your life had professional reasons to have this hardware, and that is IF they even let you use it (supervised or NOT)! And certainly you weren't uploading it to the web.... first off where???? NO website building site had the ability to allow you to upload massive files like that!!!! And who would have the capacity to download it or play it?
I have note books filled with fanfiction and art.... but that would require weeks of scanning,and then uploading. And many of these papers are barely readable and they are super brittle, paper is quite degradable. And why would anyone care what my MLP drawings looked like from when I was five? What's the point? Do you have all your childhood art, you know, all your stick figures and marker scribbles, is it all scanned and viewable on your DA account? Did your parents send you a big .zip file of it all? ;)
It's a very similar situation for many of us who grew up with MLP.... I think you are not clearly seeing the G1 and G2 eras through the proper historical lens, as it were..."
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Yes pretty much without the older members said. We're still here, we may not be fans with same way that younger generations are, but we aren't going anywhere. Lol also consider, g3 fans are still teenagers, and will cycle around to be collectors again once they grow up into adults and want to rekindle childhood memories. :-)
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We collectors are definitely still here, but the medium that we use for connecting has changed.
The arena has totally died off. I remember when I first joined this was THE place to talk ponies (along with the TP) and dream valley was still kicking around and there were dozens of pony dedicated websites that I would visit. Now most of those sites are gone or have much less traffic.
The era of the forum/website is done. Now we are seeing a lot more collector activity on social media sites like facebook and instagram. I can talk ponies with my friends on IG and its a much more convenient way to share photos- though I will say I do miss the discussions of the forums.
Collecting, to me, feels like it's less discussing and more content sharing these days.
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I want to be a part of both communities- old and new- and all this topic boils down to is getting my concerns across.
First of all, thank you for posting your position more clearly. That post was much better in that it explained your position and your rationale. I do think, though, that you are looking at this from a very "new" angle. What LBS says is true for a lot of us. Platforms have changed radically from the middle 1990s, and that probably also impacts on what stuff is available in the fandom.
I used to be a moderator in an anime fandom for a manga/anime that was hugely successful and popular, more so than FIM has been on a global scale. And yet the moment that anime disappeared, the fandom basically died. Although a ton of digital content was produced for and by that fandom, it could not survive the death of the series because there was no new input coming into it and so people drifted away.
We don't know yet if that will or won't be the fate for the FIM community. But it is just strange to my mind to try and compare the fandom of a current TV show and toy line with the fandom of something that was withdrawn more than 20 years ago.
To sum up, fandoms are communities of people with a shared interest, not a mountain of media production. Media production is one way of expressing that fandom. But it not the only nor the most valid way to do it.
And, if I may say so, if you are concerned, then maybe it would be a good thing for you to set up a media hub for older generation digital work. The community survives because people add to it and create new things to take stuff forward. The sites and people now are not all the same as they were in 1997, but that doesn't matter. If you are worried, it's a perfect opportunity for you to add and create something to give to the community and help it in the long run. I am sure nobody here would object to you doing that.
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To sum up, fandoms are communities of people with a shared interest, not a mountain of media production. Media production is one way of expressing that fandom. But it not the only nor the most valid way to do it.
This is such a good way of putting it. I like a lot of things. I draw fanart sometimes but I tend to keep it to myself for various reasons. I only write fanfic once in a blue moon. I don't have the talent/ability to do fananimations or music or anything like that. But that doesn't mean I don't like those things! There's various ways of showing your love for a fandom.
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this is but one wesite, though. It may be active here, but what of other old gen Facebok pages, forums, dA communities, and the like? They're not so active, and that worries me. I don't want he legacy of the first 3 generations to be forgotten.
G1 fandom has been around longer than all the places you've just listed. Seriously, we're as old as the internet just about. Older than Google. Older than Chrome, heck, older than internet search services. Back in the day there were human maintained listings and webrings and that was about it as far as navigation went. Compared to most of the other toy lines of the era, MLP is doing very well.
G4 is the soup du jour. Yes it's big and bright right now, but it remains to be seen if it'll stick around after the show ends. I sort of doubt it. Most G4 fans are the type attracted to the Cult of the New, and will move on to the Next Big Thing. That's the life cycle of most fandoms.
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Just to add to what others are saying and what I said above, there is a theory that this generation (I mean globally not specifically MLP) will leave very little history behind for future generations because of changing media platforms and the risk to digital data of being completely lost or corrupted. I don't know if that is or is not the case, but I think that there is something tangible and real to my experience of the MLP community. I mean, I've been to pony meets. I've made custom ponies. I've met ponypeople in real life and some of those I've known for years. I've still got my old story cassettes, and my handwritten stuff like LBS mentioned. And my ponies. A lot of FIM fans don't buy the toys or collect the merchandise.
I feel like if the whole digital era changed and disappeared, the tangible elements of my experiences in this community would still be there. That would mean the fandom was still here, even though the internet wasn't. We'd be more likely to start getting in touch in other ways, too, because we used to have to find interesting ways to do things. I mean, we had no paypal, so it was cash in fakies time. When you put it like Baby Sugarberry has, we outdate a lot of the internet as a whole. That's pretty amazing, really. O.o
My chief memory of the old community is that we mostly communicated through mailing lists and we mostly found websites through webrings. Those two things aren't used any more, and as Eternia said, mediums are still changing. We've tended to change with those mediums, though, I think...just in different ways.
I think before you can worry about this community, you have to understand how crazy and resourceful we have been over the years to get from individuals in their homes with pony hordes to a group of people around the world who can communicate with each other from their homes about the colour of a particular pony's eye or symbol. I think that's why the comparison with a new shiny community that has had all the advantages from the start of easy internet access and options is a bit of a strange one and not very productive. As others have said, there are older communities. My Dad collects puppets from the 1950s and he used to belong to a postal mailing list relating to it.
We are the community, basically. So long as we are here, it is. We don't need to upload tons of pictures to prove that.
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Yes!!! Webring!!! Sigh... <3 side note, when did Dreamvalley go down? :( tried to access it today for accessory ID. Taffeta, do you remember the hot pink and black MLPTP??? Or am I really showing my age.?
Anyway, it should be noted - MLP G1's values continues to climb... so no worries about collectors falling off the face of the earth. We're out there. If just looks different to the younger generation. ^.^ I mean...I don't have a Facebook account, twitter, Snapchat, etc... I find them too invasive. But I have been collecting online since '96/97ish. And I can vouch for a lot of other faces around here too.
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Yes!!! Webring!!! Sigh... <3 side note, when did Dreamvalley go down? :( tried to access it today for accessory ID. Taffeta, do you remember the hot pink and black MLPTP??? Or am I really showing my age.?
I do! I remember that when I first found it back in Summer 1997 (dial up internet at the library, LOL!) I didn't even have an email address so I sent an email via the library email to Jenn with my phone number in it! In the UK! And of course I didn't expect to get phoned but I did, and that was my first trade partner (in the US). There's something nostalgic about the memory of the old TP, somehow.
There was a thread about DV when it went down - I think it was at the end of last year. I think it was because Kim decided to stop paying for the server.
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Yes!!! Webring!!! Sigh... <3 side note, when did Dreamvalley go down? :( tried to access it today for accessory ID. Taffeta, do you remember the hot pink and black MLPTP??? Or am I really showing my age.?
Anyway, it should be noted - MLP G1's values continues to climb... so no worries about collectors falling off the face of the earth. We're out there. If just looks different to the younger generation. ^.^ I mean...I don't have a Facebook account, twitter, Snapchat, etc... I find them too invasive. But I have been collecting online since '96/97ish. And I can vouch for a lot of other faces around here too.
I don't have them either, for the same reasons.
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Oh sad..I LOVED DV. :'( I wish I would have known, I would have donated to keep it running. She had so much awesome info on there. I used to sit for hours going through her site and plan out my collection goals.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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OP,
I'd suggest you take a back seat on some of these confrontational threads and read up on the vibe of the Arena.
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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....
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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.
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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.
:devious:
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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.
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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. :woot: :ohyeah:
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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.
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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.
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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.
Well put mlly