Thank you all for all your messages of support, understanding, thanks and even congratulations for my little "side project." Over 700 messages is astounding and humbling. You all are the best.
but anyway: the fact is that the current SE MLP thread exists after a couple other fora banned MLP discussion because it was getting to be problematic. the reason we have the thread is because Whippy offered to keep a lid on it.
and it is a source of reports and issues basically every day and poor Whippy is getting worked into a lather trying to keep a lid on it. so at some point starry-eyed idealism gets taken out back, has things done to it, and comes back as gimlet-eyed pragmatism.
Every day? I mean, sure, there was that thing a few days ago that led to infractions being handed out (for reasons people agree with), but is it seriously getting reported that often?
The only reason I can see that happening is because people who hate people watching the show is spending every day reporting as many posts in this thread as possible regardless of content over and over again. I'm going through the threads and except for that one incident I cannot find anything that doesn't happen far worse and far more often in the mspa thread, at least from when I stopped reading it.
yeah given how much 13 year old cleavage is in the MSPA thread i'd venture that the pony thread isn't quite as "THIS IS THE CREEPIEST THREAD EVER" as people would like it to be
i mean
the human ponies thing is a bit weird to me but then again there's fatferi so
Well, most people grew up knowing about My Little Pony, and how it's been all but exclusively the domain of little girls. Almost no actual little girls follow MSPA. So it's far, far easier for them to jump to the conclusion of it having something to do with creepiness in the MLP case than the MSPA one, even if specific Homestuck thread art is technically more questionable than posted-at-the-same-time pony art.
Because there are real-life kids watching My Little Pony, and even if your stated (and in most cases, actual) reasons for liking this series revolve solely around characterization, stories, quality, humor, or the fact the show's actually good, it doesn't matter. Because they all know what your real motivations are.
I really wish I knew what Homestuck was, but I can't seem to comprehend it
Jintor on
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Caulk Bite 6One of the multitude of Dans infesting this placeRegistered Userregular
edited May 2011
This is just me thinking here but, perhaps when this thread is done, we could try not not making a new one until about a week before the new season starts. Give people a chance to cool their tempers and such.
Caulk Bite 6 on
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Werewolf2000adSuckers, I know exactly what went wrong.Registered Userregular
edited May 2011
Werewolf2000ad on
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
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FactorySquirrelMarceline's HenchmanLand of OooRegistered Userregular
This is just me thinking here but, perhaps when this thread is done, we could try not not making a new one until about a week before the new season starts. Give people a chance to cool their tempers and such.
Fuck.
That.
Shit.
I'm not rollin' over for any geese, no matter what they honk, and no matter how loud.
FactorySquirrel on
"That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn't notice. But we did."
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Caulk Bite 6One of the multitude of Dans infesting this placeRegistered Userregular
This is just me thinking here but, perhaps when this thread is done, we could try not not making a new one until about a week before the new season starts. Give people a chance to cool their tempers and such.
Fuck.
That.
Shit.
I'm not rollin' over for any geese, no matter what they honk, and no matter how loud.
Now see, that kind of confrontational attitude will only serve to our detriment. The other reason we might not renew the thread till season two, is that season one is finished. Another might be to show the mods that we appreciate their allowing us to make these threads at all.
All this, keeping in mind that there are still about sixty pages left.
Caulk Bite 6 on
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
edited May 2011
See, the problem what that idea is that the thread gives the fanbase a concentrated outlet. Take it away and you risk it spilling over wholesale into other threads, dominating chat threads and generally getting the show in general turned into PA persona non grata.
I'd be like taking away the Mass Effect threads. You wouldn't see Mass Effect discussion go away, you'd just see "quads" and "space hitlers" show up in other threads.
The best thing for the MLP thread's continued existence is self-regulation and self-policing. If the fanart/fanfic seems creepy and unpleasant or wrong, just don't post it or link to it. Root out and stop the creepos and pervs before they get the thread banned with their terribleness.
But rooting out and stopping inappropriate content only works on a local level. Rule 34 is called a rule for a reason and there exists naughty fanart for practically everything that's aired on TV more than a couple of times. Even if it's not tolerated here, I'm peeking over in the D&D threads and seeing a lot of guilt-by-association being heaped on this thread because of things that people elsewhere on the internet are doing. We don't have any control over that at all.
No but we do have people going "Well if you go here, you can find naughty stuff" which is the next worst thing to straight up posting porn in the thread.
FactorySquirrelMarceline's HenchmanLand of OooRegistered Userregular
edited May 2011
The perception is that the ponies are a problem. But that perception ain't the truth. These are two facts upon which we all agree. If you had some fellas comin' in sayin' the sky is green and the roads are paved with gumdrops, it ain't gonna be true no matter how many of 'em say it. And if you got some fellas sayin' we're doin' wrong, then they best be able to prove it. We should have nothing to fear, because we are conducting ourselves with a hell of a lot more dignity than some fanbases. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I believe in the truth. I always tell it, and I always wanna hear it, and that's worked pretty well for me thus far. And the truth is that the ponies are not a problem. But we've got folks spreadin' disinformation. Liars. And the quickest way, in my experience, to root out a liar is to go up to him and ask him straight out where the damn gumdrops are. And we know there ain't any here. And that makes us right. And that means we can win. But only if we don't give in.
additionally: Sabre's right about the thread slowing down on its own. We might not need a new thread 'til next season, possibly.
unrelatedly: that Derpy comic is adorable.
FactorySquirrel on
"That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn't notice. But we did."
It amazes me how intimidated people are by ponies. I would further guess that most of the hate is from people who have never even watched it, due to the stigma attached to the brand.
As a mostly-lurker my opinion probably doesn't count for much, but I don't really agree with stopping threads until Season 2. If you don't keep it going on some level and have its existence be tolerated you're going to get a 'not this shit again!' backlash whenever you try to start it up again. And maybe the mods aren't so willing to let it be by then.
On the other hand if we're able to keep it self policed and keep the creepy out of it, maybe people quit making such a big deal out of it being here. If something is around for long enough people usually stop making a fuss about it and just start ignoring it.
See, the problem what that idea is that the thread gives the fanbase a concentrated outlet. Take it away and you risk it spilling over wholesale into other threads, dominating chat threads and generally getting the show in general turned into PA persona non grata.
I'd be like taking away the Mass Effect threads. You wouldn't see Mass Effect discussion go away, you'd just see "quads" and "space hitlers" show up in other threads.
The best thing for the MLP thread's continued existence is self-regulation and self-policing. If the fanart/fanfic seems creepy and unpleasant or wrong, just don't post it or link to it. Root out and stop the creepos and pervs before they get the thread banned with their terribleness.
This is basically how I feel 100%. 4chan's Pony thread exists only because there is one Pony thread at a time, and folks keep to it. Before that, there were Ponies EVERYWHERE, and if you hated you some ponies, there was really no way to get away from it.
Honestly, I think the best way to keep reports about ponies down is to keep it in one thread, and we self-police as best we can.
See, the problem what that idea is that the thread gives the fanbase a concentrated outlet. Take it away and you risk it spilling over wholesale into other threads, dominating chat threads and generally getting the show in general turned into PA persona non grata.
I'd be like taking away the Mass Effect threads. You wouldn't see Mass Effect discussion go away, you'd just see "quads" and "space hitlers" show up in other threads.
The best thing for the MLP thread's continued existence is self-regulation and self-policing. If the fanart/fanfic seems creepy and unpleasant or wrong, just don't post it or link to it. Root out and stop the creepos and pervs before they get the thread banned with their terribleness.
I agree with this.
Pic related:
rc_tech on
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." -C.S. Lewis
The perception is that the ponies are a problem. But that perception ain't the truth. These are two facts upon which we all agree. If you had some fellas comin' in sayin' the sky is green and the roads are paved with gumdrops, it ain't gonna be true no matter how many of 'em say it. And if you got some fellas sayin' we're doin' wrong, then they best be able to prove it. We should have nothing to fear, because we are conducting ourselves with a hell of a lot more dignity than some fanbases. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I believe in the truth. I always tell it, and I always wanna hear it, and that's worked pretty well for me thus far. And the truth is that the ponies are not a problem. But we've got folks spreadin' disinformation. Liars. And the quickest way, in my experience, to root out a liar is to go up to him and ask him straight out where the damn gumdrops are. And we know there ain't any here. And that makes us right. And that means we can win. But only if we don't give in.
additionally: Sabre's right about the thread slowing down on its own. We might not need a new thread 'til next season, possibly.
The perception is that the ponies are a problem. But that perception ain't the truth. These are two facts upon which we all agree. If you had some fellas comin' in sayin' the sky is green and the roads are paved with gumdrops, it ain't gonna be true no matter how many of 'em say it. And if you got some fellas sayin' we're doin' wrong, then they best be able to prove it. We should have nothing to fear, because we are conducting ourselves with a hell of a lot more dignity than some fanbases. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I believe in the truth. I always tell it, and I always wanna hear it, and that's worked pretty well for me thus far. And the truth is that the ponies are not a problem. But we've got folks spreadin' disinformation. Liars. And the quickest way, in my experience, to root out a liar is to go up to him and ask him straight out where the damn gumdrops are. And we know there ain't any here. And that makes us right. And that means we can win. But only if we don't give in.
additionally: Sabre's right about the thread slowing down on its own. We might not need a new thread 'til next season, possibly.
unrelatedly: that Derpy comic is adorable.
Do the friendly thing
See magic everywhere
Neigh! Neigh!
Friendship is magic!
Open your heart
Share the joy
Neigh! Neigh!
Friendship is magic!
I tried to incorporate the 5 elements of magic, but it's kinda hard when I only have 4 avialable lines for each aspect so I just did something else altogether, playing at some general themes.
Maybe add "Love the unlovable" "Befriend the unfriendable"?
It amazes me how intimidated people are by ponies. I would further guess that most of the hate is from people who have never even watched it, due to the stigma attached to the brand.
I think most of it is due to discomfort with people breaking out of gender norms. "Everyone knows" blue is for boys, pink is for girls, and furthermore that things associated with girls suck . . . OMG, boys watching a pink show, OMG, something must be wrong with them.
I collected MLPs for years and never got crap about it, and that was during the years when the shows were mediocre to bad. Presumably this was because I'm a girl.
Anyway, if pony discussion does get banned here for some reason, the Allspark has good pony threads (three of them, last time I checked.) Or there's the MLP Lexicon, the board in my sig. It's a small forum, but active.
Front-facing ponies are weird, and difficult to make look good I've determined. I also couldn't think of a good action for Applebloom that would be representative of McCoy (I'll be honest, I've hardly seen any TOS, I'm more of a TNG guy) so I gave her the medical smock and tricorder. She looks so happy with it though.
At first I kept thinking, "I forgot Applebloom's cutie mark," but then I remembered. (Kind of the whole point of the character...)
Ponies are red
Ponies are blue
Ponies are green
And every hue!
Front-facing ponies are weird, and difficult to make look good I've determined. I also couldn't think of a good action for Applebloom that would be representative of McCoy
RE: Something for McCoy/Apple Bloom to be doing: Glaring angrily at Spock.
edit: quoting it for the new page.
Also, the Kirk pose is perfect. Especially with the belly sticking out like Shatner's would have if he hadn't worn a girdle.
It amazes me how intimidated people are by ponies. I would further guess that most of the hate is from people who have never even watched it, due to the stigma attached to the brand.
As a mostly-lurker my opinion probably doesn't count for much, but I don't really agree with stopping threads until Season 2. If you don't keep it going on some level and have its existence be tolerated you're going to get a 'not this shit again!' backlash whenever you try to start it up again. And maybe the mods aren't so willing to let it be by then.
On the other hand if we're able to keep it self policed and keep the creepy out of it, maybe people quit making such a big deal out of it being here. If something is around for long enough people usually stop making a fuss about it and just start ignoring it.
This pretty much sums it up right here.
If the ponies were in a conflict cutting eachothers heads off while hard rock played and they bellowed out swear words the forum would herald it as the best cartoon ever.
But it doesn't. It's light hearted, adorable, and wholesome. Three things that people cannot seem to understand. We don't watch it for any "creep" factor. We watch it because it's a damned good show with an amazing dedicated group of people behind it to make it so. The creator herself was amazed at the demographics that the show hit and delighted.
I'm finding out more and more that as a society we've so ingrained the idea of masculinity into ourselves that anything that might be opposed to that is so alien that it is immediately considered deviant or evil.
I'll use a personal experience as an example. A good friend of mine heard me and another friend talking about the show. He asked us what show we were talking about since we seemed to be enjoying ourselves. Now I wouldn't normally have pegged him as someone who might enjoy the show but we told him about it anyways and sure enough he was immediately turned off from the idea. Fair enough, we didn't push the issue. We understand that some people won't be interested in it.
Fast forward to a month or so later, he had heard us talking about the show enough to be curious enough to give it a shot. A couple weeks later him and his girlfriend have made it halfway through the series and fully intend to watch the whole thing.
Now sure it's just anecdotal evidence, but the show is enjoyed by all sorts of people all over the place. The idea that watching the show somehow makes you some sort of miscreant is absurd. It was designed to be an intelligent show that parents could watch along side their kids and not feel like they were being dumbed down. The side effect of that is that it is enjoyable by all. It's the same reason you can watch a movie like Toy Story, something clearly designed for kids, and still enjoy it.
I know it's a foreign concept, and honestly it will probably be years (if ever) before people in general accept that it is a "thing". But it is quite possible for a grown man or woman to enjoy a cartoon based on the merits of the cartoon itself and not be involved in some sort of creepy deviant behavior.
Now on a less serious note. REAL Creeper ponies (yes I know the joke was made but I love this picture )
Delphinidaes on
NNID: delphinidaes Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
I'm finding out more and more that as a society we've so ingrained the idea of masculinity into ourselves that anything that might be opposed to that is so alien that it is immediately considered deviant or evil.
You are not bucking gender norms by watching a children's show. This rhetoric is fucking offensive, really.
Children's shows in general? Yeah, I agree.
One targeted at girls? No, I think that's a good point. I wouldn't say "bucking," but you're going against the grain.
I don't see where anyone claimed they were staking a claim in your camp.
And really, a lot of it is a lot trivial shit. Wearing different clothes, consuming different shit, and so forth. It really highlights how ridiculous it is when people unleash their hatred over it.
It is going against a gender norm. Nobody said they are going against all of them because of ponies, nor have they said they are suffering the same unfortunate discrimination as you. Just that one of the reasons there is backlash against the show is because males are enjoying a feminine show.
I'm finding out more and more that as a society we've so ingrained the idea of masculinity into ourselves that anything that might be opposed to that is so alien that it is immediately considered deviant or evil.
You are not bucking gender norms by watching a children's show. This rhetoric is fucking offensive, really.
Children's shows in general? Yeah, I agree.
One targeted at girls? No, I think that's a good point. I wouldn't say "bucking," but you're going against the grain.
As somebody who deals with the consequences of actually breaking gender norms, rather than breaking such a tiny bit of masculine normativity by watching a TV show, its just offensive when you people throw yourself in with my and others like me's lot, you see
Um, no YOU are taking it that way. It may pale in comparison to what you have to deal with (something I actually applaud you for) but as you said it is a break in masculine normativity. I don't think I phrased it in a way that said anything along the lines of what you are insinuating. I'm a 27 year old male and I'm watching a show about my little ponies. To people around me that says volumes about my perceived masculinity, My point was about that perception, I certainly was not trying to belittle what you have to deal with.
Delphinidaes on
NNID: delphinidaes Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
Posts
Also, while I'm catching up on things:
Every day? I mean, sure, there was that thing a few days ago that led to infractions being handed out (for reasons people agree with), but is it seriously getting reported that often?
i mean
the human ponies thing is a bit weird to me but then again there's fatferi so
Because there are real-life kids watching My Little Pony, and even if your stated (and in most cases, actual) reasons for liking this series revolve solely around characterization, stories, quality, humor, or the fact the show's actually good, it doesn't matter. Because they all know what your real motivations are.
Or something.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
Fuck.
That.
Shit.
I'm not rollin' over for any geese, no matter what they honk, and no matter how loud.
Now see, that kind of confrontational attitude will only serve to our detriment. The other reason we might not renew the thread till season two, is that season one is finished. Another might be to show the mods that we appreciate their allowing us to make these threads at all.
All this, keeping in mind that there are still about sixty pages left.
I'd be like taking away the Mass Effect threads. You wouldn't see Mass Effect discussion go away, you'd just see "quads" and "space hitlers" show up in other threads.
The best thing for the MLP thread's continued existence is self-regulation and self-policing. If the fanart/fanfic seems creepy and unpleasant or wrong, just don't post it or link to it. Root out and stop the creepos and pervs before they get the thread banned with their terribleness.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Without new episodes to talk about, the thread/s would degrade.
But rooting out and stopping inappropriate content only works on a local level. Rule 34 is called a rule for a reason and there exists naughty fanart for practically everything that's aired on TV more than a couple of times. Even if it's not tolerated here, I'm peeking over in the D&D threads and seeing a lot of guilt-by-association being heaped on this thread because of things that people elsewhere on the internet are doing. We don't have any control over that at all.
Then again, maybe that was just Halkun. :P
But the disdain coming in from over there has long predated that instance.
It's a story being told on the internet. You could try reading it.
www.mspaintadventures.com
additionally: Sabre's right about the thread slowing down on its own. We might not need a new thread 'til next season, possibly.
unrelatedly: that Derpy comic is adorable.
As a mostly-lurker my opinion probably doesn't count for much, but I don't really agree with stopping threads until Season 2. If you don't keep it going on some level and have its existence be tolerated you're going to get a 'not this shit again!' backlash whenever you try to start it up again. And maybe the mods aren't so willing to let it be by then.
On the other hand if we're able to keep it self policed and keep the creepy out of it, maybe people quit making such a big deal out of it being here. If something is around for long enough people usually stop making a fuss about it and just start ignoring it.
This is basically how I feel 100%. 4chan's Pony thread exists only because there is one Pony thread at a time, and folks keep to it. Before that, there were Ponies EVERYWHERE, and if you hated you some ponies, there was really no way to get away from it.
Honestly, I think the best way to keep reports about ponies down is to keep it in one thread, and we self-police as best we can.
I agree with this.
Pic related:
you need to get over yourself
http://www.audioentropy.com/
Do the friendly thing
See magic everywhere
Neigh! Neigh!
Friendship is magic!
Open your heart
Share the joy
Neigh! Neigh!
Friendship is magic!
Maybe add "Love the unlovable" "Befriend the unfriendable"?
violets are blue
unicorns are magic
and friendship is too
rainbows are all colors
disdain for the royals
Celestia harbors
I think most of it is due to discomfort with people breaking out of gender norms. "Everyone knows" blue is for boys, pink is for girls, and furthermore that things associated with girls suck . . . OMG, boys watching a pink show, OMG, something must be wrong with them.
I collected MLPs for years and never got crap about it, and that was during the years when the shows were mediocre to bad. Presumably this was because I'm a girl.
Anyway, if pony discussion does get banned here for some reason, the Allspark has good pony threads (three of them, last time I checked.) Or there's the MLP Lexicon, the board in my sig. It's a small forum, but active.
Front-facing ponies are weird, and difficult to make look good I've determined. I also couldn't think of a good action for Applebloom that would be representative of McCoy (I'll be honest, I've hardly seen any TOS, I'm more of a TNG guy) so I gave her the medical smock and tricorder. She looks so happy with it though.
At first I kept thinking, "I forgot Applebloom's cutie mark," but then I remembered. (Kind of the whole point of the character...)
Ponies are red
Ponies are blue
Ponies are green
And every hue!
RE: Something for McCoy/Apple Bloom to be doing: Glaring angrily at Spock.
edit: quoting it for the new page.
Also, the Kirk pose is perfect. Especially with the belly sticking out like Shatner's would have if he hadn't worn a girdle.
This pretty much sums it up right here.
If the ponies were in a conflict cutting eachothers heads off while hard rock played and they bellowed out swear words the forum would herald it as the best cartoon ever.
But it doesn't. It's light hearted, adorable, and wholesome. Three things that people cannot seem to understand. We don't watch it for any "creep" factor. We watch it because it's a damned good show with an amazing dedicated group of people behind it to make it so. The creator herself was amazed at the demographics that the show hit and delighted.
I'm finding out more and more that as a society we've so ingrained the idea of masculinity into ourselves that anything that might be opposed to that is so alien that it is immediately considered deviant or evil.
I'll use a personal experience as an example. A good friend of mine heard me and another friend talking about the show. He asked us what show we were talking about since we seemed to be enjoying ourselves. Now I wouldn't normally have pegged him as someone who might enjoy the show but we told him about it anyways and sure enough he was immediately turned off from the idea. Fair enough, we didn't push the issue. We understand that some people won't be interested in it.
Fast forward to a month or so later, he had heard us talking about the show enough to be curious enough to give it a shot. A couple weeks later him and his girlfriend have made it halfway through the series and fully intend to watch the whole thing.
Now sure it's just anecdotal evidence, but the show is enjoyed by all sorts of people all over the place. The idea that watching the show somehow makes you some sort of miscreant is absurd. It was designed to be an intelligent show that parents could watch along side their kids and not feel like they were being dumbed down. The side effect of that is that it is enjoyable by all. It's the same reason you can watch a movie like Toy Story, something clearly designed for kids, and still enjoy it.
I know it's a foreign concept, and honestly it will probably be years (if ever) before people in general accept that it is a "thing". But it is quite possible for a grown man or woman to enjoy a cartoon based on the merits of the cartoon itself and not be involved in some sort of creepy deviant behavior.
Now on a less serious note. REAL Creeper ponies (yes I know the joke was made but I love this picture
Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
Well, I assume it was G1 because it was 1987.
I have no idea how I got it, but I know my Dad eventually threw it out.
One targeted at girls? No, I think that's a good point. I wouldn't say "bucking," but you're going against the grain.
EDIT: Oh god you made a terrible horse pun.
And really, a lot of it is a lot trivial shit. Wearing different clothes, consuming different shit, and so forth. It really highlights how ridiculous it is when people unleash their hatred over it.
It is going against a gender norm. Nobody said they are going against all of them because of ponies, nor have they said they are suffering the same unfortunate discrimination as you. Just that one of the reasons there is backlash against the show is because males are enjoying a feminine show.
Um, no YOU are taking it that way. It may pale in comparison to what you have to deal with (something I actually applaud you for) but as you said it is a break in masculine normativity. I don't think I phrased it in a way that said anything along the lines of what you are insinuating. I'm a 27 year old male and I'm watching a show about my little ponies. To people around me that says volumes about my perceived masculinity, My point was about that perception, I certainly was not trying to belittle what you have to deal with.
Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
http://www.audioentropy.com/