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@Mlp without us

Mlp without bronies would be an mlp without Faust. The way I see it, Faust is a big name with animation nerds, someone would have looked into mlp eventually just because her name was attached to it and discover what an awesome show it is. So, the only way mlp would have gone undiscovered would be if it didn't have Faust directing it.

A mlp without Faust would likely be like the older gens, wretched and universally loathed by anyone who cared enough to look into it.

HELLS YEAH I finally finished the series! Now I can follow what y'all talk about with more than a rough understanding!

Verdict: Party of One is best episode. cue haters

Thing is, now I have to wait for S3 with all of you…

>tfw you'll never again watch your favorite episode for the first time.
>tfw you can't re-grasp the feeling of watching this whole show for the first time.

Feels bad pony…

But seriously, Season 3 is this close, you finished at a good time.
Since you're fresh done with the show, here's a question to you (and to all the others too):

How was Season 2 in comparison to 1? and which did you like more?

(can we pull-off TWO discussion topics in a row?)

@Season 3 spoilers:
Don't spread the word around, but I know a guy who knows a guy who works on the show, and he confirmed something that might come as a bit of a shock to some of you:

now before you start screaming that the show is ruined, remember it's still an unconfirmed rumor at this stage, it may or may never happen.

Verbose wrote:

[. . .] would the show be just as well off without bronies?"

You and your loaded questions! Some of you may remember Dac and I having a debate on a topic quite similar to this in end of the last thread.

My opinion is, it depends on what you mean, specifically. Would the show have still succeeded in getting little girls interested in related merch? Probably. However, I don't think anyone would deny that we've made some splash. So, what do you mean when you say "well off"? Financially? Relating to pop culture? In the news? How many seasons get made? What?

Just thinking about the number of seasons though, I should mention that we do keep those involved with the show pretty well entertained. Many times, they've stated that our enthusiasm and warm remarks and fan-generated content help keep them going. Does that therefore translate into helping the show continue?

@X-Singular

I'm not going to be able to do that question justice at the moment I'm afraid, but I have given it a lot of thought. Here are at least a couple of conclusions I've drawn.

There is little doubt in my mind that the flavor of season two is distinctly different from season one, but which one is better? S2 was heavier on action, slapstick, and even drama, and many agree (myself inculded) that the show has shown signs of improved animation quality.

Somehow, though, I personally feel that the first one had more charm. It was quieter, more subtle, more intimate. A major freakout/meltdown for a pony in S2 probably would have been merely a heightened sense of frustration in S1.

A case in point: In Green Is Not Your Color, we learn that Fluttershy greatly dislikes attention, so it's something she actively avoids. In Hurricane Fluttershy however, she feels so panicked at the very idea of performing in front of others that she takes every opportunity to flee/hide. In the former, she actually conspired with Twilight to intentionally humiliate herself. In the latter, the very notion of ponies laughing at her was making her break out in a cold sweat. Do you see the difference? To me, the characters almost seemed more mature in S1 than in S2, which is of course exactly opposite of what should have been the case.

But don't get me wrong, I've never seen a single episode of either season that I hated.

In other news, check this bad boy out!

From EqD:

It looks like a publisher going by the name of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has listed an official handbook for Friendship is Magic. [. . .] This one is specifically for 12-18 year olds, with a whopping 144 pages.

I am not sure if we will see anymore information on it any time soon with a release date of April of 2013.

So great, another cool-looking thing to wait months for. What sort of info would such a large book contain? Why the older age range? My curiosity has been officially piqued.

I don't think this was to do with R34.

and there is still a lot of duplicates, triplicates.

besides, closing for a while won't kill anybody or stop them to visit, right?

I don't think you understand what I meant. We had been talking about image cleanup in that gallery on pages 69-70, specifically R34/suggestive material, but also reposts and such. Besides, any cleanup discussion about the pony gallery will go back towards the clop in there. No exceptions.

@Season 1 vs. Season 2

I talked about this with Verbose when he was visiting and I've thought about it a few times since. Honestly, both seasons are really good and damn near equal as far as quality is concerned but…I think I have to give it to season 2.

Season 1, as quality as it was, was still trying to find its feet. There are certain areas where you can tell the writers are still learning to write for these characters. The humor is good all around, but it's…clunkier I guess, there are less of those "OH SNAP!" moments of pure unadulterated awesome.

In season two, you could see the writers had become a lot more comfortable with these characters and there are more of 'those' moments. The two episodes that come to mind are 'Luna Eclipsed' and 'The Last Roundup', where the humor was just par excellence. I think the Grand Galloping Gala was also one of those par excellence episodes, and I think it's because it came so late in season 1, as the writers were becoming more adept.

@Season 1 VS. Season 2

I agree, season two does seem a lot more polished. Personally, I enjoy it a lot more because it's just more "goofy" (for a lack of a better word) at times. I mean, Party of One is still one of my favourite episodes because of how zany it was, and I was glad to see so much more of that in the following season.

I also enjoyed how they would mess with the video quality/style at times. For example, the VHS quality of the Daring Do segments or some of Pinkie's accusations on the train. Or that whole felt bit in Friend in Deed. Little things like that just make the experience more enjoyable.

As for season three… Well I've been trying to live under rocks for the past while to avoid spoilers. Since I know nothing about all this "crystal" stuff besides the name, I think I'm doing a good job too! Now then, just a little longer to wait…

@Ponies without Bronies
Fifths and Dan basically covered what I would have said.
Lauren Faust's vision for the show and the quality that she brought are really the major things that pulled in bronies.
With the internet, quality shows will be found and will spread, so no bronies would likely mean that MLP would have been crap, from an adult perspective at least, so we're thinking of a situation without Faust.
Had she not joined up, MLP probably would have continued on in its same vein that it established in G3/G3.5 (You know, the ones that terrify us so).
While completely unappealing to a large majority of current bronies, G3 was sufficiently successful in its target demographic that I doubt it would have had any major problems.
It wouldn't have had anything close to the internet presence of the current run, but Hasbro would never have been aware of what they were missing and the money would be rolling in steadily as ever.
No one would notice.

@S1 v. S2
I'd say season two was probably 'better' but the distinction is difficult to make.
Season one is what attracted most bronies so we will always have a kind of nostalgic connection to those original episodes for the way they defied our expectations of what MLP should be.
We were introduced to all the main characters and basically got the ball rolling.
As with any new show, season one included its share of stumbling points, too, just because everyone was still figuring out how everything worked.
Season two saw a nice jump up in the quality of the animation, music, acting, and writing, mostly due to the crew's increasing familiarity with the material.
(I should note that I'm in the camp who thinks they've never made a 'bad' episode, so all this is a matter of degrees.)

@Handbook
Ooo, that looks interesting.
Looks like it could possibly an episode guide kind of thing.
Plot summaries, screenshots, character bios, bonus information?
We'll have to wait and see.

Tangentially related because Faust, but don't you hate it when some jerk gets your hopes up with fake material?
I'll stress again, THIS IS FAKE (confirmed fake by Craig McCraken himself), but damn if I didn't get excited when I saw it.

HEY EVERYONE! As always, it's Sparty, being fashionably late to topics that were present two pages ago!
Well screw you I'm commenting anyway CAN'T STOP ME

@Omni: …It may be possible that the Mane 6 get turned into crystal ponies or hybrids or something equivalent.
Would this give any advantages besides making your skin sparkly as all hell and making you look like you just dumped a gallon of wax over yourself?
Of course, it may be possible this is just a publicity image and it ends up not changing much of anything.

@Bijutdo: Shave mane and hair.
Done.

@StarGazer:

>hasn't bought any pony stuff
>doesn't save pony files
I'm majorly closeted, but nobody besides you guys and a couple other internet friends know I watch ponies. And considering where I live, and the reputation I possess, I'd rather intend it stays that way.

@Singular: Gotta love irrational shipping and ship-to-ship warfare.

@Random: Vinyl Scratch farts on you.
Uh… I'll grab my gas mask.

@Verbs: Twilight teaches Rainbow Dash how to read.

@Iamslow: Wait, the Book War's still on?
Jesus, I thought that thing was over. Eh. Just send the guys from Starship Troopers in, they'll clean house.

@Thor: Doesn't beat the Medigun.
(if anyone doesn't get that go watch Heavy looses an IQ right now. Seriously. I'll even link it for you. Just watch it.)

@What if Bronies never happened: Idunno. Fifths is right in that the show wouldn't have as many jabs/references towards the fandom, but then again that's kinda obvious.

@S2 vs. S1: Honestly, I found S2 a little better, because they did more with plotlines and characters.

And of no relevance at all to the conversation but sort of relevant to me;

FUNFACT: In Borderlands 2, one of the things Zer0 can say is "HOW HILARIOUS, YOU JUST SET OFF MY TRAP CARD! YOUR DEATH APPROACHES!" And that's why it's relevant. Because of that game. And not because I played Yu-Gi-Oh.
Hopefully nobody has a problem with this.

@MLP without bronies

It's hard to imagine FiM without its fans, but it would probably be the same show minus the Derpy.

@Season 1 vs Season 2

It seems that most people are saying season 2 and I agree. Most of my favorite episodes come from season 2, but that doesn't mean season 1 didn't have great episodes too.

I can't really put in a list my favorite episodes from season 1, but my top five would be Party of One, Best Night Ever, Fall Weather Friends, Swarm of the Century, and Winter Wrap Up.

My favorites from season 2 are Lesson Zero, Luna Eclipsed, A Friend in Deed, It's About Time, MMMystery on the Friendship Express, and A Canterlot Wedding (I have a lot more, but I didn't want to list half of the episodes).

What are your favorites from season 1 and 2?

Looking at things objectively, I think season 2 was better. It had more action, more memorable moments, and the quality of writing and animation was a little better. I also think it had the best songs. My favourite episodes mostly come from season 2, and if I ever feel the urge to rewatch any, chances are they'll be season 2 episodes.

Despite that, I'm finding it really hard to say that season 1 was 'worse'. Since I joined the fandom during the first summer drought, I got to see a LOT of the first season. I've still got pretty fond memories of those times, and it seems like the works bronies produced back then have since defined the fandom (all of the popular background characters were found then, fanfiction really took off, Tumblr ponies started up, etc).

I have a lot more nostalgic memories associated with the first season, and I can't think of a single bad episode from it. However, I can't deny that the quality has generally improved since. I think season 2 had more disappointing episodes, such as MMMystery on the Friendship Express, Mysterious May do Well and May the Best Pet win, but they aren't enough to spoil what's otherwise a good selection of episodes. I'll say that season 1 was my 'favourite' season, but season 2 is probably the 'best'.

…

Don't ask how that makes sense, because I don't get it either.

disturbedbrony wrote:

What are your favorites from season 1 and 2?

From season 1, Feeling Pinkie Keen (blame Verbose for that), Party of One, Winter Wrap Up, Sonic Rainboom and Cutie Mark Chronicles.

From season 2, Lesson Zero, Return of Harmony (both parts, especially the second), Sweet and Elite, The Last Roundup, Luna Eclipsed, Sisterhooves Social and A Canterlot Wedding (though I don't like it nearly as much as the rest of the fandom seems to).

Ok, i'm sorry for bringing in some negative stuff in, but… was anyone else aware that apprently a guy named Max Veer, who is known for some pony artwork and such, raped a girl simply for the fact that she did not like his OC pony, ADMITED to it, and here's the part that shocked me… His brother and his fans basically supported what he did, making rape apologies and calling the girl names and saying she's a whore to try to make it semm like she had it coming…

I mean what?! That shocked me so hard, i know there are some pretty stupid fans in any fandom, but defending a guy for having raped an underaged girl just because you like the guy's artwork is just mind blowing… Worse is, he's making all of us look bad for such fact because he's basically using his fans as shields, who are clearly blinded by fandom love… Once again i'm sorry, for bringing this up, but it semms not many even heard about this… i myself only found out about this today…

Less than 30 days until Season 3 is announced!

I assumed that the Season would be announced at the end of this month. Well just a couple of days later…so my next guess is: Season 3 will start in about 2 months!

The announcement of when the season will be is in 30 days…
30 days, but that's even later than season one's air date.
>mfw

But, that does mean it could come out around my birthday. But still… 30 days ;_;

>30 days until announcement
>until announcement
> ANNOUNCEMENT

That means we could be waiting until mid-November before the next season starts…

Well, looks we've got some waiting ahead of us.

So, they've announced that it will be less than thirty days until the day when they will announce the day that will begin the season.
…
Welp, better get comfortable.

@Ingway
Got any context/reference/evidence/anything on that 'incident?'
I see a lot of discussions about bad brony behavior, but this has never been brought up before.
Frankly, it sounds absolutely ridiculous and I'd like to see where you got the information so that we can try to determine if there is any truth to it whatsoever.

@Everyone bummed about delay until season 3

Think about it like this, we've got a half season. That means we're looking at an extra three months without pony. If Season 3 premiered on time, we'd probably be looking at 8 months of dead time between season 3 and 4.

Guise…8 months without pony…

I'd prefer them to make us wait a little bit longer for season 3 than to have to go through that full ungodly wait time for season 4 all at once.

Well, my guess for October was probably way off. It is possible that it's announced a week before it airs, but that's about the smallest chance we could possibly have.

I guess we're waiting till mid-November.

@Ingway and Max Veers and Badbronybehaviour

I haven't heard of this incident and Max Veers, but spend some time researching:

The original source is gone. Max Veers Tumblr posts are deleated, but some screencaps remained:

Well i didn't read it all, but there are always two sides of the story. I wasn't there and can't judge it, but i think that the whole story is exaggerated. The bad brony behaviour blog highlights only the ridicilious parts and seems to bend the story towards a specific direction.

At the end the rape part was a blowjob "in an empty, dark, foreign parking lot surging night" or "as we were leaving disney, [she] propositioned that she give me the aforementioned blowjob."

Basically it doesn't have much to do with Ponies and Bronies.

There seem to be a lot of misunderstandings – they were calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend and the relationship was rather awkward. I don't know it doesn't sound really spectacular to me.

Katie has been posting quite some duplicates in the image report thread lately, I'm waiting with deleting them all until she's done (at around 55% atm). I was planning to lock the image gallery when she's done and then remove everything to get a good estimate of the amount of duplicates (and other rule breaking content we missed).

Although the rustled jimmies it will cause might make it a bad idea. But the bronies should be able to survive a day without new images. I'll just make sure to post a heads up both here and in the comments 24 hours before I start.

As long as there is plenty of forward notice that the lock is temporary and for cleaning purposes, I expect most people will understand

But there will be some idiots who don't read. And they will raise several complaints, be prepared

make a week…people are strong(thats a good ordeal)

@Ingway

DAMN. All I can say is I hope she's alright and can presses charges if that really went down.

@Season 1 V.S season 2 discussion

Gotta go with season 2 – I mean I loved so many episodes from season 2 I can't even pick favorites. I thought the writing was more interesting, the additions of Discord and Chrysalis were great, I loved a lot of the new background ponies and holy shit, the songs were fantastic. So yeah, Season 2 master race.

@Season 3's delay

kinda agree with Fifths, an 8 month or so long pony drought between this and the next season would kinda suck a little more imo. Suppose I can wait.

Also this page requires more Pinkie.

Ah, 30 days. Well hey, on the bright side we now have a more concrete time frame! The more we know…

We've made it this far, we can wait a little longer.

GUILT TRIP TIME!

GODDAMIT IE Pony, I use Firefox, not Chrome!
I give you ONE SIMPLE TASK, and you manage to fuck it up…
Goddamn you're useless, I'll ask Chrome to get me Firefox, now scram, get outta my face…

Guilt trip COMBO x2

Basically, we all did those things above, but goddamn ponies make them x10 heartwrenching.

@X-singular
Oh, you bastard…
How could you be so mean to IE Pony?
She may not be very good… or fast… or fully featured… or stable… or-
Gah! Whatever!
She's still nice!
Though, Firefox is clearly superior. She's the browser pony all the other browser ponies use!

…to cook marshmallows.

And Companion Cube Pony, too?!
WHY?!
Why does a ponification of an inanimate object (an inanimate object from a video game, no less) inspire such sadness?!


I would never forget you Cube Pony.
Hug time is now!

Ah yes campfires

And the Opera pony is the cutest one. The mane looks so tasty and refreshing, but she needs more love. Images are hard to find, so you will have to go with the stock one.

BTW you should take a look at reddit today!

Companion cube and sads in the same sentence?

Ahem

Wait, you guys wanted relevance?

Ha, no.

So, I was watching some of the Season Two finale at school (for video class, I'm going to do a recreation of the Rainbow Dash changeling mirror shot for a green screen project); and as I was watching it, someone two seats to my right thought the Rainbow Dashes were kissing.

In that shot, they just come very close to each other (when they squint). Their mouths are even closed! Then a bunch of other people started believing it. I tried to tell them that they weren't kissing, but they didn't believe me.

There were not enough facepalms to express my feelings.
Sheesh, some people.

Funny how they thought they were kissing in that shot, while it is debated that Rainbow and Fluttershy kissed in a different shot. Which, by the way, they didn't: Rainbow's teeth are showing, and Fluttershy's lips never make contact (look closely). Also, the supposed kissing sound is not a kissing sound at all. I've heard the same sound on a Cartoon Network "commercial"; it doesn't sound like kissing (though it could be mistaken for one when it is not clearly heard). The sound is really the sound of Rainbow lifting Fluttershy up; you know, one of those cartoon sounds they put in on usually silent movements. It kind of sounds like a shortened version of Pinke's characteristic bounce sound.

Anyway, they stopped saying that they were kissing (after a bit). I eventually got it cleared up among two of my group members (we got put into groups for the project).

While I'm talking about mentioning (or showing) pony off-net, all the non-bronies I mentioned MLP to (at school) were okay with it. Huh. I guess I must talk to all the right people, then. (Though I know this one guy that I must never mention MLP to. A word of advice: If someone tells you to get a tan and wear different clothes, never mention MLP to him.)

@Whitish
What do mean 'Opera pony needs more love'?
Everyone loves the opera pony!

… Is that not what you meant?
Well, fine.

@BoxFigs
Rainbow Dash be makin' out with all the ponies!

Seriously, it's always RD whenever these things happen…

Just to be claer, most people making these 'claims' are just joking around.
Very, very few people legitimately believe that any of these scenes show the characters actually kissing.
It's mainly a side-effect of this fandom's large shipping community.
"Hey, that animation made it look like AJ and RD might have been kissing for a second. AppleDash Forever!"
In other words, don't get too worked up about it.
It's all in good fun.

@Browser ponies

I've never understood why none of them are Unicorns. At this point, I've just chalked the Internet up to magic.

goddammit, my guilty feels are all over the place.

well, i'll give it to IE pony though. at least she knows i exclusively use Chrome.

and cheer up, IE pony! at least my uncle uses you a LOT more than Chrome pony! (he actually does, even though i installed chrome for him. i don't get him sometimes.)

also, is there an Opera Mini pony? i use that on my phone when on the go. very efficient with packet data too.

@Birthday fetish game thing

>Cadence pees on you

….what.

@Family/Friends finding out you're a brony

>my family knows, MOST of my friends know
>all of them don't give a fuck, still treats me the same (which is awesome)
>i know they know, but IDGAF, they're not chimping out or anything
>we all move on with our lives. and i get to enjoy mah ponies in relative PEACE.

i'm glad i have tolerant/somewhat ignorant loved ones <3

Does anyone else look at this picture

And totally see Scootaloo shakin it at da club? This picture needs some flashing lights and trance music in time with her movement.

Hey guize, I finally started writing again. This one's a bit sad but you should like the ending. It's not done yet, so excuse the editing and formatting marks.

Also, Chrome Ponies are best ponies.

Guise.

Guise.

Guise.

They said LESS than 30 days away from announcing it.

For all we know they could be trolling us and announce it tomorrow and the announcement date could be the day following.
/delusional

@Ingway: That's just sad to hear.
Dammit humanity why do we still do this?

@Season 3: Psssh, casuals. I survived this long without ponies without even breaking a damn sweat. I can survive for longer.

@X: Gotta love guilting the hell out of people for taking logical decisions, don't ya?
At least I still have a use for IE. Sort of.

@BoxFigs: …My problem is not so much with the fact that there is a debate about whether or not cartoon horses kissed, but with how people are tolerating MLP at your school. If I breathed a word of this to my school…
Well, bad things would happen, and that would be that.

@Exudes: Hah, what's 'productivity'? Is that anything like manufacturing?

@Fifths: Didn't they make a picture of rave Scoots? Because I think they did. Just can't find it.

And for today's image;

It'll only makes slightly more sense if you've played Borderlands 2.

For people who haven't played Borderlands 2.

The villain, Handsome Jack boasts that he's so rich that he bought a pony made out of Crystal.

Handsome Jack – "Who needs the Warrior when you can have an awesome pony?"

Pony General is being boring again. So I shall take a moment to boast inform you all of my upcoming going to take hella long next animation project – Rikki Tikki Tavia, a crossover between our favorite cellist ponu and our favorite story by Rudyard Kipling!

Choreographed fight scenes with giant cobras, and I'm working on possibly putting together a custom soundtrack. What more could you ask for? Obviously, Octavia is not a mongoose and as such, requires some form of weaponry to compensate.

I was really surprised by how easily my Flash builds adapted to standing upright. All I had to do was move one of the curves of the body inward.

Aiming to have it finished before November, the sole reason being that I want to put it on college applications, or, even better, by October 19, so I can have a nice seventeenth birthday present from mineself. One does not get into Stanford or the Ivy League without having demonstrated skill in the art of animating ponies.

OH MY GOD THIS IMAGE
MADE ME SO HAPPY WHEN I SAW IT

This image is so much win.

Here's a video of said "diamond pony"

For now on I shall call Rarity Butt Stallion.

>Rarity
>Butt Stallion

This can't be good…

That feel when your genius prodigy daughter tells you she's going off to study…sociology.

Oh well, at least Shining turned down a scholarship to join the goddamned royal guard married into a good family.

I wouldn't be surprised if Shining Armour did so poorly in school because he was too busy dreaming to become a elite Navy SEAL Royal Guard that he couldn't be accepted into any school of higher learning even if he wanted to.

Seeing how today is the day our rustle trio is getting unbanned, and apparently multiple still see me as a shit mod, here's a list of reasons even they can reply to:

• I already asked and warned them multiple times to lower it. They weren’t listening. If people get warned multiple times but refuse to listen, a ban is most likely a solution.
• It was only a week, from what I’ve read many people are thinking it was a permanent ban.
• They deserved the ban more than Jolly Jew, yet I hear noone complain about his ban. This makes those unhappy with it biased.
• Apparently they didn't know a border on where to stop, and I agree, it can be unclear at times on what we allow. However, the border should already be partly known to them after all this time. If they were new, I could understand how confusion could be present, but they should be aware of what can be allowed.
• They uploaded extremely rulebreaking content numerous times. However, as these images are removed I can no longer proof it. I don’t think removed images make their uploads justified just because the rule breaking content is no longer present.
• Before the bans, I made sure to discuss the situation with other mods first before making a final decision. After listing the facts, we could all agree a ban was needed. I’m not a cruel and persecuting mod, their ban was the combined decision of multiple moderators.
• We are already pretty forgiving on uploads, especially when the sexual content was added for comical purposes. The content they uploaded was sexual for being sexual. Considering they have “Jimmy Rustler” in their names, the reason for the uploads should surely be taken into consideration.
• Another thing on being biased is that apparently their position as regulars on this justifies their actions. If a BNM uploads NSFW images for the sake of rustling, I would’ve gotten mutliple PMs very quickly pretty much demanding a ban for the BNM. But for some reason this doesn't apply to them.

Apparently banning those who upload explicit images numerous times while being warned multiple times as well equals bad moderating. And that as long as people can upload a daily dose of softcore clopclop, everything else they post alongside that is a-ok by default.

So someone please tell me on what part I am shit at moderating. Because apparently I got power crazy.

Men of Pony General!
We have our mission!

The machine uprising has begun and ponies demand that we side with them!
Go, my brothers!
Follow your robotic commander!

@RandomMan
Hey, for whatever its worth, I think you made the right decision.
I haven't been paying too much attention to the image gallery lately, but it was pretty easy to see that some of those guys were pushing the boundaries (if not passing them) on a regular basis, and if they had been warned multiple times, your actions were totally justified.

@RandomMan

I feel that the ban was truly justified. Besides, a ban is not really a harsh punishment (unless its permanent). And I believe you mentioned before that to be permanently banned you really have to earn it. (And I mean you really, REALLY have to earn it)

Giving someone a week to think/cool off isnt as bad as it sounds.

Also I like the point about being a regular user vs. a new user. Having spent more time on KYM doesn't mean you're above the rules. You can be banned just as fast as anyone else. Respect the rules and the community.

This website is about documenting various memes, events, people, etc. Not about heated arguing and posting of rule-breaking content.

The "fact" that being an older user apparently justifies one actions is something I have come across too many times. When an older user got banned in the past for serious rulebreaking actions, his wall got filled with "why did you get banned?" and people being sad. A later similar, yet not as extreme, case from before with a BNM resulted in a wall filled with cheering, dancing gifs, and "good riddance".

And that wasn't even with those that trolled the MLP gallery (sometimes even unconfirmed). You should see those walls at times. Some of the insults people use there are just low blows and makes them worse than those they attack.

I'll play Devil's Advocate here, because I don't disagree with the bans at all.

I already asked and warned them multiple times to lower it. They weren’t listening. If people get warned multiple times but refuse to listen, a ban is most likely a solution.

It seems as if the warnings weren't based off of the rules we have on the matter. The rules don't specifically say what is not allowed. It just says "porn" and "gore." So warning based upon something that isn't in the rules works in two ways:

• I'm sure your expressed the reasons for the warnings. There are some matters that are left up to moderator discretion, but I think those all of those issues should be up for debate.
• The users should have checked with you to see what was wrong. If they got warned but they didn't respond to the warning saying they had a problem with the warning or a problem with understanding what was wrong, then they should have spoken up. Users and moderators have their own responsibilities in the matter.

However, I'll address the reasoning of the ban as I see it later on.

It was only a week, from what I’ve read many people are thinking it was a permanent ban.

People didn't read, and they didn't bother to ask the right questions to the people involved. Simple as. I knew it was a week ban without the mod discussions.

They deserved the ban more than Jolly Jew, yet I hear no one complain about his ban. This makes those unhappy with it biased.

I sorta disagree. JJ has always been ragey, and he's very much likely to insult people when he's responsible himself. He deserved a ban, but for different reasons.

That isn't to say that the others didn't deserve a temporary ban though. I just think JJ was due as well.

Apparently they didn’t know a border on where to stop, and I agree, it can be unclear at times on what we allow. However, the border should already be partly known to them after all this time. If they were new, I could understand how confusion could be present, but they should be aware of what can be allowed.

Here is where I have a problem (but we've discussed the problems with my suggestion.) If we have hard, objectives as to what is allowed and what isn't, then you have a problem with the rules and not the inconsistencies among moderation. You know what's allowed. The responsibility and blame for being banned lies solely with the user.

As it stands, they didn't know by the rules that they were breaking rules. They did get warnings, so it's not unjustified and it's not like they didn't know, but I seriously don't like how fluid rules can be.

They uploaded extremely rulebreaking content numerous times. However, as these images are removed I can no longer proof it. I don’t think removed images make their uploads justified just because the rule breaking content is no longer present.

Here was another problem. I think people saw it as you getting mad, because the bans didn't come with the obviously explicit content. Had you banned them as soon as they had uploaded the explicit images after their first warnings, then I don't think people would have been as upset or confused.

The bans came up only when JJ brought it up. I read your posts as being angry/annoyed. It made it seem that you banned them, because you were annoyed with them at that moment, and not because they had previously broken rules about explicit content.

Before the bans, I made sure to discuss the situation with other mods first before making a final decision. After listing the facts, we could all agree a ban was needed. I’m not a cruel and persecuting mod, their ban was the combined decision of multiple moderators.

Truth. I came in a little late to those discussions, but I don't think any other moderator disagreed with the bans. If you post explicit content, then you will get a warning. If you post it again, then you will get banned.

That's exactly what happened. There's no argument here.

We are already pretty forgiving on uploads, especially when the sexual content was added for comical purposes. The content they uploaded was sexual for being sexual. Considering they have “Jimmy Rustler” in their names, the reason for the uploads should surely be taken into consideration.

This.

Given some usernames and going by their explanatory posts before here their bans, they uploaded those images just to screw with people. That technically goes against the "Be Nice" catch-all rule, and it was violated repeatedly.

I originally said that people were often upvoting the image, so that people obviously liked it. Someone posed that this was because most people who disliked the image wouldn't have voted it down. They just would have stopped visiting the gallery (which has been said by people here, in the FiM article comments, and in personal correspondence.) I believe that user has a point.

In any case, there is no need to post sexual content for the sake of posting sexual content. It is part of the fandom, so I believe that it almost needs to be there to some extent. However, that is only for the purpose of documenting the development of the fandom, and not to rustle jimmies. Also, the images, despite the desire to document portions the entire subculture, cannot be explicit. Even NSFW entries have images deleted due to very obscene/illegal content (e.g. lolicon, necrophilia, extreme violence, true bestiality, etc.)
 
Keep that in mind before anything else:

The users posted explicit content after they were warned. Perhaps it should have happened sooner, but they should have been banned. Period.

Another thing on being biased is that apparently their position as regulars on this justifies their actions. If a BNM uploads NSFW images for the sake of rustling, I would’ve gotten mutliple PMs very quickly pretty much demanding a ban for the BNM. But for some reason this doesn’t apply to them.

Yeah, there's certainly a sense of seniority on KYM that extends beyond this situation. Heck, happens informally and formally.

I locked Jack Candle's welcome back thread, and it was unlocked (I'm absolutely sure) due to the fact that he's a moderator. If a BNM tries that, then it will be locked.

Same thing happened here, apparently. I think it's partially due to people thinking that BNM's who post "borderline" content are automatically trolls. Heck, if they lurked for a few weeks (which is what I did and what I would suggest), then they probably would have thought that it was OK to post such content, because others were posting it.

Because these people are known, browsers of the gallery know that they aren't posting to make the fandom look bad…even though it has the same effect…and even though they are trying to screw with people.

Hm…

In any case, the bans were justified. RandomMan didn't go power crazy. He actually acted based upon the complaints of a user. He acted on behalf of users concerns. Isn't that part of what moderators are supposed to do?

Verbose wrote:

Here was another problem. I think people saw it as you getting mad, because the bans didn’t come with the obviously explicit content. Had you banned them as soon as they had uploaded the explicit images after their first warnings, then I don’t think people would have been as upset or confused.

The bans came up only when JJ brought it up. I read your posts as being angry/annoyed. It made it seem that you banned them, because you were annoyed with them at that moment, and not because they had previously broken rules about explicit content.

I can understand this point, as my post did make it sound a lot like the only reason for the ban was personal annoyance. So an apology from myself on that, it was better to approach the situation more calmly.

Plus I also understand how I could've waited until they uploaded the extreme NSFW stuff again, but there would be two issues regarding this.

First that it would only result in one of the three getting banned. Simply the first person who would slip would get a ban, the others would then notice this and then no longer post it, basically getting away without consequenses while being just as guilty. This would make the ban for that one person and the non-ban of the other two unfair. Thus it was better to ban all three at once, give them the same punishment for the same actions.

The other reason was that even if I had to wait for a more extreme case, softcore clopclop would still slip in before it finally happened again. The situation was pretty heated at that point and a quick overview showed we already reached a point in the uploading of clopclop material we should never have reached to begin with. We should have jumped in a lot earlier, and now that it was too late already I get blamed for the decision made.

In any case, the bans were justified. RandomMan didn’t go power crazy. He actually acted based upon the complaints of a user. He acted on behalf of users concerns. Isn’t that part of what moderators are supposed to do?

This, this so much.

I will go back again on how it seems that apparently their position as regulars on the uploading of clopclop somehow made their uploads justified compared to new users who would've done the same (those would get their accounts linked in PMs sent to me requesting bans).

I acted on both moderator and user concern, on legit grounds that made the bans justified. Simple as that.

I was also requested to start reasoning with the rustler trio. I don't mind giving a judgement on images they send me by PM asking if it can be uploaded, but I leave this step to them. People that complained were aware that they will return to their old actions in the end, but apparently I am to blame here for not reasoning with them in the beginning.

If it was a BNM, I was requested to ban him instead.

I also think most users here know about the user who uploaded some diaper fetish images to the gallery. These images, although disturbing, did not break rules on the topic of porn or gore at all. All they did was upset users as they didn't see the appeal, which is slightly understandable, as a diaper fetish isn't really shared amongst most. (Here's an example for references.)

But the aftermath was just bad. I requested him to lower the images a bit on a daily basis, keeping the situation under control while giving him the freedom to share what he likes. He listened and would keep it to 1-3 diaper images a day.

Yet his wall was just filled with messages I wouldn't even dare to desribe. He got insulted for pretty much the worst type of human trash possible. If there were some users here who deserved the ban, it were those that insulted him. Apparently removing them made him unable to listen. But if you saw the messages, I completely understand why he removed them.

But let's list the logic here.

>Regulars upload clopclop, with rulebreaking explicit content amongst it at times.
>Their uploads cause heated arguments multiple times.
>They get warned.
>Don't listen.
>One week ban.
>Moderating is shit.

>BNM uploads diaper images. Although disturbing, not rulebreaking.
>Gets insulted for human trash.
>Try to get the situation by for example requesting to lower the daily amount of diaper images.
>He listens.
>Moderating is still shit.

Dafuk bronies?

Luckily there were some able to give him a second chance, so my thanks goes out to those bronies. Plus the last couple of days the situation seems to have calmed down a bit. But the things some bronies said to him were just low, too low, worth a ban low.