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Awesome. Some people are interested.

I think that the attraction to the older ponies (as old or older than the mane cast) is understandable. I've always said that most of their mannerisms and all of their personality is like that of humans. These are well-written and developed characters, much like people you'd meet in everyday life (outside of some very animated reactions.) I don't have to stretch my mind to understand why people have crushes on the mane cast.
 
I'll even dabble into understanding how the actual cartoon pony form is attractive.

• Horses (and most equines like ponies) kinda stomp around. They have horse-like faces. They don't have appealing voices with much personality outside temperament. They don't really have facial expressions. It's a horse

• The ponies in the show lift their front leg in a way that mimics a horse, but it's more like a dog. They trot more like dogs if they trot like any animals. And take a look at this animation. Twilight Sparkle is simply walking. But I don't see many horses walk that fluidly. It reminds me more of a fashion model making her way down a catwalk. Their faces are more like a hybrid of a "pony" (barely with the nose) and a cute anime face. Their manes are actually just exaggerations of human hairstyles. Their facial expressions are like that of either humans or cute and human cartoon faces. And I think it's hard to remove all of those aspects from the FiM ponies and simply say they aren't attractive visually because they are ponies, because they are barely ponies. They were meant to have a lot of human characteristics as cartoon ponies, but they are far more human than pony.

I have other thoughts on that (along with some individual confessions,) but I'll let that sit if someone wanted to respond or say something for themselves.

@MDFication

1. I've suggested that. A few others have suggested that. I don't like short posts. They don't contribute much. Many of which are simple reactions. Someone just said bye to the people in the thread. That isn't a forum type of post.
   1. However, Pimp Abra said that there isn't a problem with the rate of posts in the thread. He even said there isn't a problem with the length or "quality" of posts in the thread.
   2. Should I go find some of your posts that you or other users have made in other threads? I'm willing to bet that some of them are just as brief or just includes one image.
   3. Again to paraphrase Pimp Abra, "Ignore it." It's not hurting you.

I understand it's annoying. I get annoyed with all the cheetos, but even that hasn't been active for a year or this active for a year. I've said my two cents on several occasions. That's all I can do. And even if other users on this thread simply call you a troll when you obviously aren't, they can ignore you and your suggestions completely.

We have to answer to forum mods, and the forums mods have said that we're not doing anything wrong. I don't always like the thread, but that's the bottom line.

No

Do we have any accurate representation of the number of bronies. All the recent EqD polls average around 20,000.

I'm pretty sure most bronies use EqD, so I think that would be right around the actual numbers.

Anyone named ice_of_fire99 On steam i got a friend invite

Here, discuss this while I'm at my birthday dinner. Adios.

That's my estimation as well. Something around 20,000 and probably a bit more. The largest Facebook group for Bronies is about 14,000 strong, but even those include FC and OC Facebook accounts. And many of those probably vote on EqD themselves.

Someone said in a screencap of a conversation that there are at least 2,000,000. But I wonder if that simply includes all fans of MLP. Like fans befre FiM and girls below the age of 12. They may also be Bronies, because they are involved in the Brony community, I don't consider them Bronies by default, because they aren't representative of the recent phenomenon.|

Here's a comment under that conversation:

Verbose, they may be getting the 2 million number from this statement concerning the viewership of the show "The phenomenon began taking hold soon after "Friendship Is Magic" debuted last fall. As the brony ranks grew, monthly viewership -- which was 1.4 million a month in November -- nearly tripled to 4 million by the end of the first season. "
http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/09/seriously_my_little_pony_grown.html
Maybe a bit of a strech to say that all of the viewers added after the series premiere are bronies but I'm betting a significant portion were. Using EqD as a guage as to the size of the community is flawed because I'm sure there are a lot of fans who,like me, rarely if ever go there.

EDIT: In hindsight, I'd have to agree with or acknowledge this person's logic. Sometimes, big stuff happens on EqD, and people on this thread have no idea about it, so the polls may be undershooting the actual population. But I'd still doubt that we're even close to 7-digit figures.

Yep that's me i'm the black man that sent that.

Really? By the insane ammount of things its produced about the show, I thought we were much more.
But still, great stats.

Heres My Steam Profile Cuz i want to play TF2 with you guys too :D

Story of my life right here. Even as I write this I'm supposed to be studying

@Verbose

Thanks for the link!

>reads

Well… errm…that was…
Wow.

I don't know what to think about those confessions. Seriously, I've tried putting my thoughts to words 4 or 5 times now, and failed every time. I don't know whether or not I should be glad that we're allowing such people to admit to their problems, or creeped out by the abundance of weird in our fandom.

Dash has just seen a plot she likes and is thinking very dirty thoughts. You can tell by the glazed look in her eyes and that meet me in the barn look. Although she is letting her imagination get the best of her by letting her tongue hang out that far. It's a good thing she isn't drooling all over the place. That or she just saw your birthday cake. Happy Birthday Connor.

Minds how you take it. I believe there are different levels of bronies:

• First there's the hardcore bronies. These people watch it everyday, check fanart, read fanfics, etc. This group represents the fandom the most. Unfortunately these also bring the negative side of the fandom. As this group contains the people who watch and create Rule 34, plus the people who are capable of spamming MLP on the non-designated places.

• Second, there's the "regular" type of bronies. They like the fandom and everything that comes with it. They show an interest in the show and don't mind discussing it. There are some steps between group 1 and 2, so you may doubt to which group you belong.

• Third, we have the regular fans. They see themselves as bronies, but just want to have fun with the fandom. They don't really like the major discussions about it, nor do they understand why it receives so much hate. They rather stay on the sidelines and continue having fun.

• Fourth, there's the silent group. They like the show, but don't post about it and rather avoid conversation about it. They can understand bronies, but don't show major interest in the fandom. They, however, don't mind checking some fanworks and reading some articles. If someone drops the subject, they don't really mind joining the discussion.

• Fifth, there's the doubting group. They are aware of the show and everything around it, but are "afraid". They don't know how a show can generate this much popularity. They probably watched an episode or 2 and have viewed their share of fanworks, but they rather stay silent until they are more convedent about their interest in the show. But they are still curious and want to know some answers how the show got this much popularity. They can be found on both positive and negative conversations about MLP.

• Lastly, the non-fans. This includes everything to make it shorter. The haters, people who avoid it, people who ignore it, etc. But there are still people in this group who watch some fanworks on occasion, reasons may vary.

You also have to remember. Equestria Daily is the most popular brony site, but that doesn't mean everyone watches it. The "20,000" are probably 99% group 1 and 2. The complete number is certainly higher. Also, not everyone has Facebook, nor do all bronies join the group. So I find that 14,000 rather inaccurate.

The table below gives another example, but I thought it would be better to explain it myself as well. Don't worry, this varies for every person, your division of "groups" might be completely different.

I guess that chart makes me Twilight Sparkle.

This explains my love of Trixie….

That chart was made at the beginning of the fandom. I think now that we have more insight on the characters emotions it should be changed and even added to.
I'm somewhere between Rarity and Twilight but none of them really apply to me.

Spiderman is best pony

One of my pics made it to the EqD drawfriends last night (I didn't notice until now). Not that spectacular but it gave me a few more watches on DA, and I still haven't uploaded my comic anywhere but here.

I really need to update my Deviantart more if I'm going to achieve internet stardom.

Yeah, but that's my own division of type of bronies, the table is just an extra example.
Like I said, yours may be completely different.

Btw, I added a third group and moved everything up. This group is probably closer to you.

@RandomMan
Great, another statistic I defy. I should be a Twilight (evidence: every f*ckin where on this site) but I keep my brony status secret IRL unless asked about it. What does this make me, Random? Am I gasp

Off-topic question. Has anypony heard about Darklore Manor?

I'll help you achieve internet stardom. Drop me a link to your DA, and that bitch will get watched.

None of my stuff makes it to EqD. :( Owens! Support me more! Please?

Oookay, time to weigh in again (about earlier stuff…)

About categorizing bronies: Being human, we always have a tendency to try to categorize everything so it's easier to understand, and in some cases this works, but I don't think it really works for this. Since brony-ism is largely internet-based, it has an intrinsic anonymity that allows its members to approach it without any type of societal constraint. You can see this in the diversity of fan art. For example, categorizing Rule 34-ers with hardcore fans is wrong to me, because I would think most, if not all, hardcore fans would hate anything even remotely Rule 34-ish. So to my mind, brony-ism is more of a spectrum, with some people being really, really into it, and some just casually interested, and everything in between.

As for trying to define yourself in terms of the characters, I think it's tricky because the characters' symbology can be so fluid. You'd have to look at the characters overall, not just as they're represented in a particular episode or fan fic, and figure out which sort of societal archetypes they ascribe to, but they tend to be pretty ill-defined. So long story short I think that you have to be either really specific or really general bout it.

That's just what I was thinking, I know people tend to have different approaches. But if we didn't, the community wouldn't be so diverse and creative!

I'm the PInkie Pie of the thread. 'Nuff said.

No doubts. What. So. Ever!!

Yeah, you do sort of have the party mentality with the tinge of unspeakable evil…hehe

I'm currently in a thin line beetween Twilight and Pinkie.

Does that make me insane?

That's right! So let's……

PARTY!

@Dr: You're thinking of Twinut and PInkamena. Two different people.

You all know that there is something broken in the depths of my mine I'm not sure what it is but it's been 3 months sense I had my last night terror! Plus I hang out with Karnage alot on the internet. Just be happy that MLP is a kids show so it keeps alot of my darken thoughts at bay.

I've had some freaky dreams but haven't had a night terror in forever.

Gonna hit the hay now. Night everypony.

Ah… night terrors.

Its been a solid three months since my last. Here's hoping it stays that way.

As for what kind of brony I am…

It'd have to fall between Twilight and Pinkie, for sure. I like to think I'm pretty hardcore, but not super hardcore. My entire life doesn't revolve around ponies, but I like to think I love the show more than other people.

Certainly, It's BlockEraser.deviantart.com

This is the pic that made it by the way. It was my first real attempt at shading, usually I just use flat colors to make a sort of faux vector look.

Yeh, it's the one I'm using for my avatar, it's also my iPhone wallpaper.

I always think it's good to talk. It may not be good for people to know that it is you talking, but I prefer someone get it out there. I've more thoughts on pony-philes:

My background is Sociology, but I majored in Psychology too. My definition is like the clinical psychologists definition of a problem: if it causes you or others harm and that harm, then it is a problem.

Gigatoast and CitationNeeded won't have any of it, but as long as the pony R34 isn't causing a problem (e.g., missing everyday responsibilities, causing you to want to have sex with actual ponies or children) then I have trouble seeing it as a problem. I just see it as different.

So that is my question in terms of etiology. What do you like about the ponies?

• Do you like the fact that they are like kids? (i.e., That CMC remark was very bothersome. That's dangerous ground to tred, because they are like children.)
• Do you like actual horses? (That's a problem with bestiality.)
• Do you like the shape/movement/sound of the cartoon ponies? (That's certainly weird. No way around it, but it may slightly be the attraction that some people have to hentai and anime characters that also don't completely resemble actual humans in personality or even looks.)
• Are you attracted by the personality and therefore the physical form from which you know the personality comes? (That's a matter of not being able to separate the form from the personality which may or may not be a problem.)
• Are you beginning to forsake actual/the hope of romantic/sexual relationships because of Ponies? (That's an issue of not being able to have healthy relationships with other people.)

There are a lot of questions I could ask of these people, but I'm no psychologist.

Now, people who don't know anything about Bronies and just know that we are largely teen or adult men who watch My Little Pony will immediately attribute pedophilia/being man-children/being transgendered man-children/bestiality as the reason for liking the show. A lot of these people won't listen to reason. It's just too weird for them. A lot of people will listen to reason and accept it even if they don't like it. And a few will actually come to like the show to some extent and see it for what the cartoon is: a good, fun, and happy 22 minutes of entertainment.

So the main problems are the perception of the community and how the show may negatively affect our lives. A massive majority of Bronies are not dangerous to animals or children, and majority of us do not like R34 of the show. Most of us are able to lead normal lives and ponies are simply a small (sometimes a large) part of it.

• But there are those who really can't help but be attracted to certain things. I can't make an assessment as to whether it's dangerous or not simply after hearing that someone likes cartoon ponies. I think this is a good step to take in recognizing that something is different. The next step is to be honest with yourself to see if you really are dangerous or if you would like to have this attraction. After that, the best step to take is that with a therapist, to be honest. Attraction to odd things (specifically dangerous things like children and animals) does happen. As such, it can't be shoved under a rug. It should be addressed and talked about.

• Since there are more than a few (but still a minority) of Bronies who feel that way, we have to deal with how people perceive us in that sense. I don't want to tell people that they're freaks or anything, because that's not helpful to them. I also don't want to condone the behavior, because it's potentially dangerous. Furthermore, condoning R34 or completely ignoring outsiders who are critical of us isn't helpful either. It has to be a savvy, honest, and understanding opinion of what all of us are and in what numbers.

I actually shortened this. But it's too complicated to simply say that everything is OK or to say that Bronies that like the R34 are sick. It's a complex topic.

EDIT: GEEZ, I TYPED "their" INSTEAD OF "they're." I have shamed my family…

I was gone for a while, come back and read the last few pages.

But, but….

Just when I think I can take a shot at Verbose, he makes another post.

This is where Firefly comes from.

For those of you who don't get the reference, neither did I. It's DragonBall Z.

I love me some good psychoanalysis Verbose…

lolwut

Thing is I've been gone all day, came back and noticed I had 2 pages to catch up on. A week or so ago, I may have had 5 or more to catch up on after being gone that long. There were also alot of long posts recently. It's actually starting to resemble a chatroom less and less because some of us had already encouraged everyone else to post more meaningfully.

and I'm the Gummy

Verbose, I pressed your krama button went 1 to 4. Me gusta.

I personally think that all bronies are one unified group, but not simultaneously. Your opinions on different parts of the canon and fanon are always changing. When I stared I absolutely abhorred R34, porn, shipping, and pony fetishes. Now that is one of my favorite parts of the fandom. I don't know how any of you have changed. But I think that the journey of accepting different parts of the fandom is the same for every brony, just at different times for each of us.

@Cheeto Logic
Yeah, I got it as soon as I saw it. I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode of DBZ and many of them twice. There are a couple of other Pony comics out there like this one.

@RandomMan
But why would you shoot me, yo?

Or did you mean take another shot at my logic? Since we are talking about a topic and are talking with each other, I should keep these posts shorter, so people can respond to just one thing instead of trying to respond to everything.

@Verbose.
It the personalities and semi-structured nature of the characters and world of ponies.

Perhaps this may explain a little…

Dear thread,
I'm sorry I killed you. I'll just go do homework for awhile.

Ah, a development approach. (Oh, and I'd strongly suggest reading opspe's post. He knows his sociology just as well (if not better) than I do.

It's true. My thoughts on the matter are changing. Part of it is listening to other users talk about things (Gigatoast heavily influenced my thinking,) and part of it is being introduced to things we never knew about.

I don't dislike shipping as much as I used to. I'm neutral/ambivalent on humanized R34 (it's appealing but I'm uncomfortable with looking at it, so I don't.) I don't like nor am I attracted to pony R34, but I've "met" people who like it, so I'm willing to hear opinions on it (best way to change unfair prejudices.)

And I think in terms of community, some would rather not acknowledge some people and call them furverts and various other names. I'd still call myself a Brony (something between closeted and quiet IRL,) and anyone else who's is involved with the community a Brony. We just like different things about the fandom.

Seriously Verbose, sometimes I wish I could come up with a real good reply for your posts, but I seem to get the dumb everytime I think of it.
__________________________________________________________________________________

But just concerning on something that you mentioned, about some people feeling attracted to the show for the more orientalized look of the characters.

I believe it's true that it have certainlly caught the attention of otakus making them bronies as well. But if some just did for the hentai, all I can do is facehoof.

Yeah, I saw that and found it interesting.

In all honesty, it doesn't strike me as dangerous to others. It does strike me as potentially problematic for a person wanting to exist within human society. Do you remember that post where burning_phoneix said that he would be willing to sacrifice Equestria in order to save our own?

I think it was you (and I know me) who wouldn't be willing to degrade or sacrifice it if an alien Equestria did exist, because we saw it as an innocent, utopian culture. These are logical decisions from logical people based on different values to come to different conclusions.

Well, our conclusions aren't particularly practical. Of course, in terms of existence, Equestria is not likely to interact with Earth, at best. But our opinions do indicate a dislike of the current state of humanity. Me to the point that I have trouble caring about people, and you (according to the image) to the point that you'd like to relate to another society all together. Given that we do interact with this world, we aren't always going to value humanity's place as much as others. In effect, we are at odds with much of the world. And there are some potential implications of that.
 
 

I like the personalities of some of the characters myself, but I haven't felt the need to be like them or to be with them. But I do have my own fantasies much like everyone else has. They just don't involve ponies.

Like I have pointed out in the past Bronies should be the last people to shun or hate anyone else for all the hate they have received in the past. Rule34, furries, shipping, macros, etc. are all part of the fandom. Who are you to say that they don't belong.

I think Verbose had a good point when he said that some R34 cloppers are attracted to the ponies' personalities (and therefore their physical form). I think that one of the big draws of the show is the likeable characters, and for some who maybe don't have a whole lot of meaningful real-life relationships (or at least not good ones, through no fault of their own), they can become too attached to the characters. It's certainly not unique behaviour amongst bronies, but the fact that the characters are young animals adds an…interesting…dimension to the issue. People start thinking of bestiality and paedophilia, which I don't think apply to the majority of cloppers, and that causes bad external perceptions of the brony community. I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with R34, as long as it's..ahem, used…in a safe and healthy way. That being said, I personally think that if someone feels curious or interested in pony R34, they should seriously consider why, and maybe think about what real-life factors could be contributing to their interest.

oh and ps, @verbose thanks for the shout man! love your posts too, always worth a read.

@Verbose
:C I have nothing to say to that. I just very much dislike humanity and would try to be pony-like in thought. (Similarly to Buddhism, but instead of letting go of worldly attachment, letting go of human attachment.)

Ponies have already alleviated my attraction to humans somewhat.

We are all one unified fandom and have to stick together to survive. I love you all like brothers and close friends. Never leave.

Wait, if everyone is saying which pony they are…….
THEN WHAT THE FUCK AM I?!!!
I'm random like Pinkie, a nerd like Twilight, a hardass like Rainbow, and I'm hard-working like AppleJack.
What am I?!!!!!!!!1!!!!