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Update to DeadParrot's panda edit.

Basically, it should be debunked. But in case it isn't, time for some spoilers:

I've really got to consider using Derpy Hooves News from now on.

@Favorite Favorites

→Favorite Pony →Luna
→Favorite Princess →Luna
→Favorite Kind of Pony →Unicorn
→Favorite Ship (If any) →Santa María
→Favorite of Mane 6 →Twilight Sparkle
→Favorite Side Character →Big Mac
→Favorite Background Character → Derpy
→Favorite “One Shot” Pony →Cherry Jew B. Lee

It is both, but what’s also important how they differ and indentify themselves from the rest.

Difference, yes. Identification, yes. I interpret the presence of difference as evidence of dissimilarity and distinctness. The quality of being unlike or dissimilar, as I see it, is (or can be) axiomatic in any degree. In this case, we have recolors of a template. The ability to exploit and change this template is present, and when changed, I think that we have a "different" image.

I wouldn't call this…

…the same thing as this.

Is everyone involved with their creation, or are those small amount that create them just getting a lot of attention?

The latter is correct, as far as I know. However, true though it may be, it's still a second-fiddle argument. In my opinion, who creates the images is inconsequential in comparison to the more ponderous question of who uses and spreads the images.

Would you call Dashboard ponies a meme because everyone uses them?

Would I call them a meme because everyone uses them?

This equates to my earlier question, and, in the same spirit, to the point you made: popularity is important, but it's not everything. Dashboard ponies are popular. A lot of people use them. As is true for all memes. So that's something.

Popularity is important, but it's not everything. I concur. But the case with dashboard ponies, as I see it, is that they are a viral concept. What is a meme?

As I see it, a viral concept.

There is more to it than that, but if I'm considering just the intrinsic qualities of "memes" as an idea, as an answer to your question, I would think so.

Are Goo Girls a meme because they are different than other artwork styles?

From what I'm reading here, your question is whether or not the "Goo Girls" idiosyncrasy and appearance is memetic.

Hmmph.

Well, in and of itself, no. The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh (using him specifically in this example, because Dutch) are not Internet memes, style notwithstanding.

If the concept is spread on the Internet, then "Goo Girls" would be a meme. Or maybe I'm not understanding your question.

I should point out that if you're asking to me to accede, I will.

→Favorite Pony → Raibow Dash (Because, F*** You! That's why)
→Favorite Princess → Luna
→Favorite Kind of Pony → Pegasus
→Favorite Ship (If any) → SoarinDash
→Favorite of Mane 6 → See first response.
→Favorite Side Character → Applebloom
→Favorite Background Character → Lyra
→Favorite “One Shot” Pony → None

Dash is my least favorite character in the Mane 6!

I should point out that if you’re asking to me to accede, I will.

You may be able to take your same argument to a different moderator who would say that the entry does not deserve to be deadpooled. But I won't speak for RandomMan.
 
I'm not an Entry Moderator nor do I have those powers, because I don't do much research outside of a few certain areas of interest (and most of that "research" is just me enjoying the Interwebz.) But if I might chime in, I tend to think that this doesn't strike me as memetic subjectively.
 
I don't think many people have to create certain memes. I think the spread of them is the more important attribute of them. The Bump Girl entry I'm on has one primary and well-known artist. When searching for images, his are the ones that appear most often (beware of searching for that entry. Highly NSFW, and I've got some image deleting to do in there that hasn't been done yet for explicit images that aren't crucial to documentation.) In any case, although only a few people have created images of Bump Girl, the entry hasn't been deadpooled straight away because of that.

I'd say that most memes have crossovers, comics, some tumblrs, and other documentation other than "played straight" instances. These gifs seem to always be played straight in that there aren't any media instances that play on the original template (e.g., Derpy being on a turntable and falling off, Discord being on a turntable that's upside down, Nyan Cat running on a turntable.)

However, you could say the same thing for When I'm Bored (also technically NSFW.) It's always the same video without variation, but to change it too much would make it a different meme (a la X Sauce or Brodyquest) has different characters in the videos from different shows (including FiM).

If the turntable ponies had similar kinds of deviations and variations with the characters portrayed, then I'd be more likely to say that it was memetic. I'd be hesitant to deadpool it immediately, but I'd expect it to go that way.

shes getting there

I read your post.

I could tear your arguments apart and/or otherwise undermine your post in a three-post response. I really don't want to (you can read that as "I don't have an argument" if it makes you feel better.) Several other people here could do that same thing. But I think your point here was to rant and not necessarily be logical, so I'll let you have that.
 
But I could tell you my stance:
 
 
You're missing out on a great season that the combination of DHX and Hasbro is bringing to us. You can be "right," or you could just let it go, lower your blood pressure, and enjoy the cute Poni.

It really ain't that serious. Canterlock is used for fun. Not to make points.

@Derpy in season 3

She's still in the opening.

That counts, right?

@Misterdude

Well, I suppose I could write up some kind of rebuttal, or humor you with something uplifting, or perhaps just find a rude condescending image macro that you had not posted already…but nah, I can't be bothered. I'm done caring.

So I'll say this to silence you once and for all: You are right. Derpy is dead. She's gone from the show permanently just like you feared. I'm sorry we ever doubted your warnings

Now you can either fall to bits over that or you can simply deal with it, move on with your life and just enjoy cute poni as Verbose put it.

Balls in your court.

I stopped talking about or really being mindful of the Derpy issue essentially immediately after the rectification (if you could call it that) of The Last Roundup. Now it just doesn't matter anymore, despite what some hardcore bronies might have to interject.

@MisterDude: I see your argument and raise you a question- Why do you even care about Derpy if you haven't seen any of the show's episodes?

When I first skimmed your text, I thought you just didn't watch this season's episodes, but then I reread over and noticed you said you didn't even see one episode "and never will." I'll add on to Verbose's statement and say that not only are you missing out on a great season, but you are missing out on a great show in general. DHX is doing the best they can, even if there is some executive meddling, and I have to say they have done a great job so far.

As Hasbro's executive meddling themselves, it's normal business practice to say the least. An MMO like MLP Online would probably need money to maintain the site and game for servers and such, and that is money that wouldn't have gone to the IP's company. (ie: Hasbro) That's why free games like Fighting is Magic and Super Smash Ponies are still in development. The only way they could have gone with continuing the project is if they did what Capcom did with Street Fighter X Megaman, but that would have to include some type of compromise that the two groups probably couldn't agree on.

BLOOPIDOO~

Speaking of Derpy, I finally got a vinyl figure after so long (and the last one in the area too!) and I have to ask, should I or shouldn't I take it out of the box? Here's a pic of my Derpy so I don't seem like a liar or something:

@Misterdude.

I don’t remember much of my earlier post, regarding several negative predictions towards Derpy’s future. But I remember most of the topics.

But I remember my reply.

Remember when I said that I expected her to vanish completely during the season, and you guys didn’t believe me?
Well, SHE JUST DID. Now what?!

1. We never claimed that.
2. Now what? How about we just watch the season and enjoy it? We didn't bother with season 1 about Derpy's appearance until that one scene in Feeling Pinkie Keen. Why should we care now? You're making a mountain out of a molehill here.

It wasn’t her.

We know that. Big fucking deal?

You cannot draw conclusions from outdated materials, and EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT THAT.

What about the voice change, the temporary iTunes removal, or the underping of the eyes? That's pretty outdated as well imo if you call the season 2 opening outdated. You're calling your previous rant invalid here.

Seriously, a game where you BUY the characters for a price higher than the game’s price itself? That’s evil.

That's marketing. Good luck in the real world if this already makes you rage. Nobody forces you to buy the additions.

I dare to say that Hasbro is getting closer to become a fan hating company.
Just like those who supported SOPA back then.

What was that again before about outdated arguments?

Also, I remember saying that you guys didn’t try hard enough to save her, and you all argued that everyone tried hard; TOO hard, actually.
Okay. You tried hard. I can understand that now.
But for HOW LONG? Did you KEEP TRYING? Did you AVOID GIVING UP AT ALL COSTS?
You guys were going so well, but then you just STOPPED COMPLETELY.

Ummm… no. We said you were trying way too fucking hard because it was a trivial matter one shouldn't care too much about. Most of the rage back then was due to the moment, and people were blinded by anger. If instead of going full assault, those petition and everything else bronies decided to calm down and tried to be rational, the Derpy incident wouldn’t go down in brony history as bad as it is now. They are their own worst enemy. And seeing here how you are still bringing it up, you are to blame that the Derpy incident is still one that people want to avoid. It's because of people like you that we can't have a calm and reasonable discussion about it.

What we said was that you guys should never have done so much against it to begin with, as it was you people who turned the Derpy incident in such drama and made it go down in brony history as the disaster it is now.

And now, here are the consequences.

It's a trivial matter. Should I care that Derpy, a fucking fan character, is no longer in the show? No, of course not. She is still making appearances in fan creations on a daily basis, and plenty of bronies still love the character. The character isn't gone, she is more alive than ever.

You know what I think about all of this? I think that Hasbro is not only greedy, but also BLIND and DEAF.
They just pretend that we don’t exist.

Cons, twitter replies, Twilightlicious, constant DeviantArt replies, some AmA's, Etc. Etc. Etc. You name it.

They don’t listen to our opinions; the opinions of the people who made the show famous in the first place.

The show would've aired without us as well. I rather keep episode creation to the professionals who do this stuff for a living than a bunch of fans who will most likely only create bad episodes due to biased preferences of the fandom.

Equestria Daily just updated their post on that. The voice acting was meant to be for a fan project.
This means that nothing of it really matters at all. Even less so knowing that it’ll be taken down by Hasbro just like it happened with the other fan stuff, anyway.

How is this related to ponies again? This was EqD jumping the gun, not Hasbro.

I, still, didn’t watch any of the show’s episodes, and I never will. I lost all my trust in Hasbro and everything related to ponies this far.

Then stop being a brony, and no longer mention ponies anywhere anymore. Oh wait, that's what you're doing here right now. In other words, you still care about the show and the fandom!

Honestly, you are majorly overreacting here. I don't see how the new episodes are banished evil. You didn't bother with Derpyless episodes in season 1, why should you now? You're missing out on a great season here and you only got yourself to blame for that.

I'm not going to quote everything, you're mentioning each argument like 3 times. It's not worth my time.

At least Ice manages to calm the fires by posting a Derpy model officially licensed by Hasbro that they're still making in fact they just decided to make more of them.

You should take it out of the box. Ask yourself: if I'm going to have Derpy standing on my desk, do I want her to be in a box or do I want her to not be in a box? It's not like there's going to be a future market for mint-condition, original packaging vintage My Little Pony vinyl figures. Right? …Right?

I should order some in bulk, just in case.

ExudesAffluence wrote:

You should take it out of the box. Ask yourself: if I’m going to have Derpy standing on my desk, do I want her to be in a box or do I want her to not be in a box? It’s not like there’s going to be a future market for mint-condition, original packaging vintage My Little Pony vinyl figures. Right? …Right?

Keep derpy in the box:

(seriously though keep that shit MISB. she's a goldmine in about 12-ish years)

@Rinsan

@MisterDude: I see your argument and raise you a question- Why do you even care about Derpy if you haven’t seen any of the show’s episodes?

Your question can just be shortened to this:

"Why do you even care?"

Top that.

@Random

Okay then…

Y?

That's about as short as I can make it.

Well, who needs question marks? They're so overrated.

@20% Cooler: The box doesn't even have a seal on it. If you wanted to, you could keep all the packaging, rebox it to sell it and no-one would be the wiser.

Besides, they look even better out of the box.

@Misterdude: I'm going to be blunt: you're the type of brony that annoys the hell out of me.

Seriously, whether or not you're going to watch the season hinges on the appearance of a single character with one (now-retconned) speaking appearance?

Are you fucking kidding me?

Have you forgotten about things like excellent, mature writing and compelling, constantly developing characters? Have you forgotten about the things that brought you to watching the show in the first place? Well then I'm sorry that you've become so petty about it.

Sure, I wish that Derpy would show up. But honestly, I prefer this to last season, when Derpy kept stealing the show in the background and breaking my focus on the actual important part – the plot. We don't need Derpy, we still have a show with the majority of the creative staff striving to keep up Lauren's vision despite Hasbro trying to butt in and interfere all the time. You should be happier about the fact that Twilight hasn't become an Alicorn already, or that Derpy is still recognized by the staff, or that John de Lancie has definitely recorded lines again. Be glad that we still have a strong show and watch it instead of complaining that ONE character hasn't shown up and refusing to watch it because of that.

And don't even dare say that you're not watching it because they won't acknowledge us. Let me show you why:

Okay, so maybe that last one is just me.

Still, there's been so many nods to our fanon this season that there's no way you can truthfully say they're ignoring us. Look at Verbose's "Bonbon with Lyra saddlebag" pic. I'm pretty sure that was Season 3 too. DHX knows we're still here, and they make sure we know they know.

I'm not going to say you should watch the new season. If you don't want to, that's your decision, but you are missing a great one. I've gotta say, though… If you're going to argue about something… Be familiar with the source material.

EDIT: I'll be honest, I barely skimmed your post because I hate these angry, always-innacurate rants. This just stood out more because it's a common worry, but not to this extent. As for the Gameloft game… Have you ever played a farmville-style game? They want you to pay money. They only make it free and easy at first to suck you in until you feel like you have to spend money. Besides, RD is the same price as Rarity now. I'm not going to argue about anything else, though; my edit time is limited.

And then Twilitlord was ninja'd by a dozen people.

@Misterdude

Concerning the Gameloft game:
Gameloft doesn't just overprice on the MLP game. They're quite infamous for doing it on nearly every game they come out with. Hasbro also doesn't have nearly the amount of control you would expect on such a thing. They can give approval for it for a small percentage of the profit, but the production company can charge however much they like for anything – especially if it's considered a secondary transaction.

Concerning MLP: Online:
It wasn't a copyright infringement, it was a trademark infringement. You may ask, "Well, what difference does that make?" but it's actually very different. Trademarks don't expire, you just lose them when something becomes common use. If a trademark infringement suit comes up from a third party (you don't even have to be associated with them), and you don't defend it, you lose your copyright. Hasbro loves us. We have money, and will obviously give it to them. They do not, however, love us enough to give up the cash-cow that is MLP just to protect a fan game. I don't expect them to do so, and neither should you. They're a company, not a charity.

Concerning YouTube videos:
Four words in, and your argument starts to have issues. EqD isn't a journalistic site, it's more like a community blog. You don't need two source approvals, and you can honestly post whatever you want with almost zero backlash.

If a company files claims about something that is actually under their trademark, then they will most likely look deeper to see if there are any more. Some of the videos are pretty amazing with the quality makers to put in to make them look as official as possible. Hasbro may have filed claims in fear that people would take these as actual official media. St. Germaine actually did a voice recording for one of BlackGryph0n's videos (and it very well done). It received a complaint, and was taken down. The reason is because it became very similar to official, approved media when one of the official VAs became involved. Trademark is once again the issue here.

After that, the issue is more a historical one than anything. I'm sure you heard a long while back about Viacom's trademark obsession. After that, YouTube began to get a little more timid with what they allowed on the site. Restrictions are still light, but if claims are made, staff won't hesitate to quickly purge anything that may be related.

Concerning Derpy:
Yes, Derpy merchandise is made. Yes, they made it so as to make more money. Hasbro is a toy company, this is their entire purpose. What exactly are you expecting here?

You claim Derpy has been killed off, despite her appearance in the intro. "No fair!", you might claim, but it does count as part of the show. If Hasbro went to the effort of revoicing her, they'd go to the effort of removing her from 2 seconds of screen time. As to why her vectors are gone from the main scenes? Well, quite a bit of S3 development was going on just after the Yamino complaints (I refuse to call it Derpygate, "-gate" is used far too often), and some design artists may have just decided to remove her to avoid any more fuss. They never bothered to add her back in. That's a whole scenario of editing, redistributing for color balance, getting new approvals.. blah, blah, blah. Considering she's been in the introduction of nine of the openings so far, I'm going to assume artist influence and not company.

There are no facts to provide here because we have no official statements. Don't get excited though. Because of that intro, you cannot actually prove that she's been killed off. I suggest you just drop the issue until we get final word on it.

Concerning the rest of it:
It isn't our job to prove you wrong. Hell, courts don't even "prove something wrong". It's a counterarguments job to cast doubt on the claims. I believe I have done so here. Before a counterargument is asked for, do not limit the level of a reply. It's an opening that indicates even you may have doubts about your argument. If people cannot provide a fact, then it will not be provided.

The rest of your argument was a rambling, unpleasant-to-read mess. I can't refute nonsense.

Can we go back to enjoying ponies now?

You should watch the new season. It is pretty good, and the quality has definitely improved now that many writers have a good feel for the characters. If it upsets you that one of your favorite background characters isn't around as much, well just join the people who are upset that Rarity has had less focus this season. They seem to be doing pretty okay.

====
Well, now you've had one extra view. Nice art, could use more poni.

Oh! Well whatdoyakno! That's good, I thought I was gonna tear the box. (Because I'm a bastard with packaging XD) Here's some crappy quality Derpy pics:

Now that's what I call pone!

I have another theory about Derpy. Instead of being removed because right-winged soccer moms got offended about Derpy, I feel that the producers removed her so that she wouldn't become a "forced character" meaning that if she appears in too many episodes, people will get tired of her.

right wing soccer moms

Okay, for starters, let's just take that bit out. Being right wing or being a soccer mom isn't going to make anyone more likely to take offense to what they think is a stab at mentally disabled people. Some people don't like Derpy, and you'll just have to deal with it instead of lumping them together as "right wing soccer moms."

Second off, I don't think the "forced character" idea is true. Yes, her inclusion is just fan service, but take a look at all the other fan favorite background ponies. Lyra, Bon Bon, Doctor Whooves, Colgate, et cetera, et cetera, they're all used a million times per episode, every episode, sometimes more than once in a single scene. Only very rarely do they have any screen time dedicated to them, but they have no more and no less than has been dedicated to Derpy; Doctor Whooves and Lyra have each only had one speaking role, to my knowledge, ever. And yet we have still created a massive amount of fan stuff about them. They've had their fair share of fan service: Doctor Whooves got to be the timekeeper in that one episode, Lyra's card mentioned her love of bonbons, and so on. Their presence alone doesn't spoil any of the fanon built around them, and I'd say the studio knows that applies to Derpy, too, only that the fandom tends to be a bit more volatile about her. But one thing is for certain, and that's that we'll never get tired of her.

I honestly think the reason she hasn't been present is that Hasbro is just being a little more cautious. The episodes post-Last Roundup had all been made with Derpy well before she was removed, so it makes sense that she'd still be in those, but Hasbro might just be treading a little more carefully with season 3. I don't think it's any decision on the studio's part; the Derpy Flash resource in one of the games posted to the Hub website was titled MLP_CharW_DH_definitely_canon.swf*, so, as far as I'm concerned, if the studio calls her Derpy Hooves, then it's certainly not their choice to keep her out, or it's just coincidence. Hasbro obviously doesn't disapprove, given that they continue to license Derpy merchandise to Hot Topic and WeLoveFine and the like, but they might just see leaving her out of the show, for at least a little bit, is a smart business decision. Remember, for all the Derpy "censorships" and YouTube takedowns and cease-and-desist letters, Hasbro has treated the fandom damn well, better than they're obligated to, and I don't expect that to change.

So I'm chalking up the lack of Derpy to either A. a (very temporary) removal by Hasbro, just until everyone forgets, or B. coincidence.

Also, shit, niggas, we didn't have a livestream.

*Yes, I care what they name their Flash resources. IT'S DEDICATION.

@Misterdude

Well I have one question for you:

"You-Tube"? Really? That's how you spell YouTube? Come on, even Firefox has the correct spelling as YouTube, but why put the hassle over pressing the "-" key when you can just leave that thing out? It's shorter that way, jeez.

/grammarnazi

And no, Derpy is not dead.
Did you expect Derpy just to randomly appear in the Wonderbolt Academy during the episode where it took place in? (SHE'S A MAILMARE, COME ON.)

Would you expect a random Derpy to appear in the most outrageously nonsensical of places, like in the forest during Sleepless in Ponyville or during the Apple Family Reunion in the episode with the exact same name???

HOW THE BLOODY HELL DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE??? She's not part of the damn family at all! Why the bloody hell would she be in some place she wasn't supposed to be?!?!

And no, just because there's the Crystal Empire does not mean that Derpy can fly into there haphazardly.

@20%
Your pictures reminded me of a shot I took a long time ago (Just checked: October!) that I totally forgot to share.

I randomly found myself with a chocolate chip muffin and did the only logical thing: Derpy swarm!
My original intent was to repeatedly zoom into the boxed Derpy's eye to eventually reveal a small tear (the lament of the boxed Derpy, forever alienated from her true love) but I was having trouble with the editing and I forgot/gave up.

To the current topic:

First, I have to point out the silly little laugh I had at the recent progression of this thread.
Literally within 24 hours, I brought up how people believe that the show is being ruined by pandering (a.k.a. too much fan influence) and that is quickly followed by a complaint that Hasbro is actively trying to reject and ignore the older fanbase.
The fact that these two polar opposite positions can be cooked up from the same content (Season three) goes to show how ridiculous both of those extremes really are.

MLP Online:
As I recall, the primary issue here was one of money.
The MLP Online team was actively asking for donations on their website.
As they do not own the property for which they were being 'paid,' legal issues emerged and, as Crazy C said, Hasbro was forced to act or risk losing its claim to the brand.
Other projects, most notably Fighting is Magic, are trying to avoid the same fate by openly stating that no donations or payment of any kind can or will be taken in any way, shape, or form.
Their technical legality s still a little grey, but immediately cutting out the financial bit should hopefully go a long way toward their preservation.
(Side note: Yes, this does imply that other fan-made things like customs, plushies, costumes, hats, etc. are all technically 'illegal,' but Hasbro has generally turned a blind eye to them. The exact reasoning for this has always been a little fuzzy, but for now, it seems to be working.)

Voice Actors:
The removal of Tabitha's video was likely came down to three factors, neither of which really fall under trademark:
1. Actor contracts – Hasbro is paying Tabitha essentially for her Rarity voice. They are buying her portrayal of that character. It is likely that her contract stipulates a certain level of exclusivity in the use of that voice. There's a bit of the 'why buy the cow when the milk is free?' thing in there too.

2. Implied Endorsement – When a fan-work gets assistance from someone on staff, it can be seen as an endorsement of that work and/or fan artist. That's a shaky area for a company to want to get into as Hasbro knows nothing about this person that they are now 'endorsing.' Banning unauthorized participation in unofficial projects is a pretty common thing for this reason, as well as the first point.

3. Actor Demand – This one is probably the easiest to understand. Tabitha is one person who is under contract with Hasbro to conform to a certain work schedule. If she was suddenly allowed to work with fans, it is easy to imagine how many people would be sending requests for her to perform in their radio play or game or whatever. There would be no possible way for her to keep up with all of it and her paid work on the show so it is simply easier to say that she can't work on any fan projects at all.

Gameloft Game:
As others have mentioned, the game's structure is exactly that of many other free-to-play style games out there. Some may argue that the MLP version took the price structure to an extreme, and they may be right, but the general idea is common.
In my opinion, the most annoying part about the game is its technical issues.
The little Android tablet that I have is not one of those on Gameloft's seemingly arbitrary list of 'supported' hardware so I literally cannot even play the thing at all.
Lots of others have had the same problem and even many people who can get the game to load report numerous glitches and crashes.
Basically, the Android version is a very crappy port of the iTunes version and there seems to be little effort being put forward to correct this.
I WANT TO PLAY, DAMN IT!
Seriously, this happens:

I WANT IT!
WHY WON'T YOU LET ME HAVE IT?!

Derpy Stuff:
Everything I would have said here has already been covered but I will repeat, "If you are only watching the show because a grey pony would occasionally appear in the background of a few shots, you are severely missing the point."
I look at it like this.
MLP is a giant ice cream sundae (or insert the desirable item of your choice) and Derpy was the delightful little cherry on top of it all.
Now the store has stopped giving out cherries.
Did you like the cherry? Yes.
Are you sad to see it go? Absolutely.
Were you ordering the sundae just to get the cherry? Hell no.
The sundae is as good as ever (maybe even a little better) and while the loss of the cherry is regrettable, it by no means spoils the rest of it.
The fact that you say that you have never watched any of the episodes and never plan to only confuses me more.
From your perspective, you should see no difference.
Outside of the show, Derpy is alive and kicking in all kkinds of merchandise and fan content.
She's freaking everywhere!
Hell, the fandom's primary image depository is named after her!
She could have become a primary character but if you don't watch the show, you'd never know or, more importantly, care.

Edit: Almost forgot
YouTube Takedowns:
The removal of full episodes should be obvious as they are pretty much directly losing money there, but the main issue here seems to be with what you called 'fan video.'
If I am remembering correctly, the big loss in this sweep was the Friendship is Witchcraft series so I assume we are talking about them.
Yes, the doctrine of 'fair use' does cover quite a lot of what happens on YouTube in terms of parody and remixing, but it does have its limits, fuzzy as they may be.
Using short clips and snippet of the show as context markers in an argument or review? Perfectly allowable.
Replaying large segments of unedited footage? Probably not.
It does get a little grey, but FiW was essentially using Hasbro's official animation and simply dubbing over it.
In most interpretations, this kind of thing would not be covered by fair use in the same way that you couldn't legally upload the entire Star Wars trilogy and claim that it's legal because you rerecorded all of the lines yourself.
You are still using massive amounts of other people's copyrighted material and should not expect legal protection for it.

I bought one of those Derpy figurines at Hot Topic too! Of course the minute I got back to the car I busted that sucker out of the box because ponies are meant to run free damnit! Also I recently watched the whole Toy Story trilogy and I was imagining the interaction between her and my Tali'Zorah love statue action figure.

But really now, Derpy's bigger then ever, everywhere but the show. Most notably in the official canon, and I'm going to repeat that incase you didn't hear my text, official and canon comic series produced by IDW.

And I'm going to take this opportunity to ask you people why the hell you haven't bought issue's one and two of that series multiple times like I have. Those comics are not only fan-freakin'-tast-freakin'-icly drawn and written, but they're full of high adventure and epic plot lines that smack more then a little of Faust's original plan for the series. Go buy 'em… I'll wait.

What was I talking about? Oh yeh, Derpy. If Dinky is a stupid fanon concept, then Sparkler is as good an idea as stapling your ears a pair of manta rays so you look like an elephant. Oh wait, that's not really the pointless controversy we're talking about is it. Let's try that again.

Oh yeh, the comics are awesome, how could I forget? Trick question, I didn't. Just look at this:

That is a gang of giant fugitive tarantulas that live in the mines of Moria if it was dug by a canine version of Ziggy Stardust. (Fun fact, giant sentient tarantulas also have cutie marks that appear on their backsides, another fun fact, that is awesome.) And the one on the far left is known pretty obviously as "Derpy Spider". Derpy Spider isn't just a throwaway background character either, she's got her own jokes and tons of panel time (she also makes a Toy Story reference which I dare not spoil, and it seems this overlong post has come full circle), oddly enough she's the only spider that actually talks too, even if it's just for a joke. So I guess Spider Equestria (or Arachnia, ok, now I need to make a series about that.) is basically bizarro Pony Equestria.

My over long and roundabout point is, if you want some Derpy, some action, and toooooooons of reference jokes, read the comics. Actually scratch that, buy the comics, they cost less then a Big Mac (no not that Big Mac).

Man I'm in a typative mood today, and there couldn't possibly be a reason for that. I mean it's not like my tumblr has just hit 500 followers today and I'm using that as an excuse to finally upload that stained glass picture, submit it to EqD with a link to my blog and wait for it to explode like a kitten in the microwave.

That would be silly.

For a moment I thought that red spiders' fangs was a handlebar mustache. brb need to purchase comic

@Gigatoast:

Is there a place to get the comics on PC? I DON'T MEAN PIRATING! It's just that I only have an iPhone 4 so getting the comic on iTunes is not an option thanks to the small screen.

And I can't get physical copies….err…for no reason. I am totally not trying to hide my power level

@ DeadParrot: DAMNIT, You've been holding out on us!

@Phoenix: I've kept hearing that the digital version of the comics on iTunes, so checking there first would be a good choice if you can't find a physical copy.

What on earth happened while I was asleep?

Leave for just 12(?) hours and the place is full of rants about whether Derpy is dead or not!

I mean, why? At this point it's pretty much established that whether in the show or not, people are still going to address her existence. I once showed her riding a Alien being through the air while blindfolded! And I had/have plans for her.

…And that reminds me that my Tumblr thing isn't the only thing I started. And considering I don't have much to do until Another Blind Pony gets a Name I should go work on said other thing…

Anyways, Derpy was entirely self generated. Popping up out of the pure essence of Randomness out of nowhere. And when she surfaced, we dragged her out and made her part of our culture, and the show ran with it for a while.

But whether she's in the show or not doesn't matter… she didn't make the fandom great, she just gave it a mascot. And like all great mascots, she doesn't have to be acknowledged in any official capacity to unite us or anything. A single wondering dog around the dustiest region of Australia can become a legend that isn't officially recognized for years, but still gives an uplifting story for which to keep moral up.

And… FFFF- I've got myself caught up in this too haven't I?

Well, whatever! The show's still good, that's what matters and all…

But I really have to ask… Why don't some other minor elements to the show become quite as prevalent? Bat ponies and Crystal Ponies seem to be an incredibly small minority among our art. Crystal Ponies less so, since they had an entire opening arc about them. But still… We've kinda got some weird priorities on what constitutes "Important enough to jump on".

…And now I'm realizing I'm just Complaining that there's jack all Bat pony stuff… Must… Resist… Urge… To …whine…

@ZB: Don't worry, we're all just trying to play straight man tho Dude's…. interesting argument against Hasbro. Also, I got a Derpy figure! :D

You know, I sometimes wonder, what would it be like if Hasbro, Mattel and Bandai came together to so some kind of crossover that isn't Toy Story. You know, like a fusion of the toy line's worlds, like the Mane 6 teaming up with He-Man or Autobots fighting Gundams.

…

My brain farts out weird ideas.

@Rinsankajugin:

I know they're on iTunes. I don't want to use that because I only have an iPhone 4 and would rather see the comic in full screen glory on my PC (and not pirate it).

But I think I've found the solution:

http://www.comixology.com/My-Little-Pony-Friendship-Is-Magic/comics-series/9023

Comixology has both the first two issues and allows me to read the comic on ANY device I want, INCLUDING my browser and Android devices. Not just Apple products.

As a bonus, the second issue in 1$ cheaper than iTunes.

@ Derpy situation

Derpy is a fun character, but BY NO MEANS the best character in the show.

People got offended NOT because Derpy was portrayed as slow, but because Rainbow was so mean to her.

She won't be around for a while because the episodes airing NOW were created DURING the "incident". She'll be back once we get to the being made now (Season 4!).

Oh, and Derpy was awesome in MLP #1 (available wherever comic books are sold).

@ 20%cooler
Many cameras will let adjust the settings to focus on things very close up. Look the little flower icon. #Protip

Playing around a bit with Comixology and I love it. Reading the comic on my monitor in 1920×1080p resolution is amazing.

There is a full screen option for excellent, no distraction viewing as well as being able to zoom in to get every little pixel of detail.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO THIS! Andy Price shoved a lot of details into the background My favourite is a book in Twilight's library titled "Why apes will rule the world"

Here's a preview of what it looks like on your monitor:

So Comixology? Highly recommended.

@Everyone

I read all of those posts.

Yeah. I really shouldn't speak about that, I guess.
As I said at the beginning of my horrible post: I'm sorry.

It's just that I fell that, sometimes, big companies have a tendency to hinder the abilities of creative minds.

After thinking about it, I really don't know what made me post that.

Okay, the subject I started is officially over now.
I was going to start a new (and happier) subject to talk about, but I guess you guys already did that.

I'll go back to my hibernation now.

@Serious Business: People got offended NOT because Derpy was portrayed as slow, but because Rainbow was so mean to her.

I don't agree with that. In my opinion, people got offended because of, well, her way. Clumsy , the eyes, the way she was acting, and even her voice.

@20% Cooler: Hmm, ok. Ponies with Transformers? Littlelest Pet Shop? He-Man? I don't know what kind of crazy history could connect that histories, but knowing Hasbro… I would be scared and excited at the same time.

I wonder how a Movie about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would be…

Oi! There have been a lot of posts in the past hours, it seems that the holidays are over. But I will just go back a page, resuming the Lauren Faust discussion.

@Lauren Faust
I can understand that she doesn't follow the show anymore. She has created all the main characters and their personalities. They are basically her brainchildren and I am sure that she had vision for their futures and the paths, but she has resigned the control and handed it over. So even though the future of the characters might not change, the paths surely do.
If I would watch my show without having any influence on it anymore, I would always see things I would have done differently, I just couldn't enjoy it. This doesn't mean that everything has to be worse, it could be details like uh that voice work of Tara Strong wasn't superb here , but it could also be stuff that I didn't think of.

You just can't sit back and watch it like a casual viewer, if you have been so involved with the show before. But she still has fun with trolls from time to time:

And one more statement from Lauren Faust about a particular episode, a very special episode:

Here the source with the linked parent comment.

>I wish I could back and clarify it further.

This doesn't sound exactly like a perfect, flawless, 10/10, "best episode ever" episode to me;)

Wait let me hear this one part again…

"It’s just that I fell that, sometimes, big companies have a tendency to hinder the abilities of creative minds."

Two things there…

One, I've learned that having a structure to fight for every inch within, and bounce yourself off of actually allows you to have enough direction to make something in the first place! Whether it's in spite of the restrictions, or because of them! But either way, you kinda have to narrow your focus to something specific or you end up being OVERWHELMED WITH UNLIMITED POSSIBILITY YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND ENOUGH TO PUT PEN TO PAPER TO DESCRIBE! MUCH LIKE STARING INTO THE FACE OF THE GREAT CTHULHU!

Two, my biggest problem when it comes to making something is that I DON'T have someone there to keep me chained to my desk to finish my work, or tell me what's a stupid idea. I have no chains, so I just fly off into space and nobody ever sees my work again for months!

In other words, Everyone needs to be pulled back a little, or else they won't get anything done… And frankly, Hasbro gave them plenty of reign over the project; and from what I can tell, it wasn't just them who pulled Derpy out for a while. It was also the entire studio I presume, and It was also the collective chains of society itself that pulled them back for just long enough for everyone to forget about the incident…

As others have mentioned, the episodes airing now were made during the incident; and that what they're making now probably includes Derpy again. So ultimately, since this season is giving us time to recuperate from the "Derpy incident", we'll all be much happier when she finally comes back.

… Of course, me realizing all this NOW of all times is simply reminding me of all the work I SHOULD be getting done but have put off… All because nobody is there to pull be back to get some work done…

…I think I just told myself off there…

Anyways, for everyone else: I finished the new Rainbow Knight Page; Forum Friendly size included.

Obligatory Link to Deviant Art

This is page is both an example of why we need someone to keep us working, seeing as I put it off so long untill people started vistiting my deviant art page all at once; and is part of a story that I only thought up so much detail for because I had a couple rule-sets to work off of to give me ideas… possibly the most rigid rule set ever!

But the amount I've been putting this off for is nothing compared to the work I should be doing for College that I've been putting off!

/Sad

Now don't go Bashing on Hasbro just for wanting money dude; because EVERYONE both WANTS AND NEEDS money. And if you don't like them for their decisions on Derpy, remember its because at the time they made those decisions, it was the best decision they were able to make as of that time. Hasbro DID THEIR BEST!

… Now excuse me while I shame myself for the many weeks I lost that I should have been working on fixing up a game level for a project… Which I have already probably failed!

EDIT: Still waiting on some good names for the second Bat Pony on my Tumblr, even thought she looks like a lighter version of the first . No pressure, just… Remember I made ten Ponies, And I can't expect myself to come up with a good name for all of them.

This doesn’t sound exactly like a perfect, flawless, 10/10, “best episode ever” episode to me;)

Alternatively:

OH TEH NOES WHITISHCOLLAR IS GETTING AWAY WITH MAH GOAT

BRING BACK MAH GOAT

I smell something strange:

It's working like a charm:

Guise, look at this new fucking panda ring.

UGH! Fucking diamonds and sapphires? Why would anyone ever put nice things they think people will be pleased to see in anything!? I'm never buying panda rings again they are ruined forever! >:(

@derpy shit

I also miss seeing derpy during new episodes. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones in which derpy appeared because they surprised me and made me laugh the most, but I can't blame Hasbro for wanting to play it safe. To be honest the hardcore, unreasonable derpy supporters that act like she was brutally murdered and still can't let it go bug me a lot more. We may not see her much in future seasons either but there will always be the 40 something episodes that she did appear in.

I still say this shit was adorable and consistent with Pinkie's character.

Hey everyone! Guess what??? I'm baaack!!!!

<img src = "http://powet.tv/powetblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/my_little_pony_friendship_is_magic_pinkie_pie.jpeg">

PAAARRRTYYY!!!! That's right, I'm back to do whatever it is I did before the winter break!

And I return to… Hm. You know, I'm really not sure what's going on here. I guess some things never change! Better go back and read 70+ pages worth of comments to get caught up… But actually not. I'm far too lazy for that.

Anyway, just glad to be back online!

@Commadore 64

Here's the run down of the last however many pages I've been here:

GAK, Bats, Whining, Derpy and whether she's dead, AJ's Episodes always getting stolen for someone by something like bats, the lack of bat ponies, Christmas sucks and I need to see one of these ghosts of christmas, Pages and pages of comics, philosophy, repeated introductions, and the movement to get the word Spam Replaced with the word GAK!

Oh yeah, and For some reason I'm realizing that Ask Tumblrs are a Hit and Miss Affair, considering nobody wants to be around to name 10 or 12 Ponies.

But I've said that like 4 times in a row, it's getting old.

@Whitish (Ignoring your little tiff with Verbose over Pinkie Keen)
Lauren Faust has always been an expert anti-troll, though I'm relatively sure that that example in your post is a joke.
The directness of the trollface and rickroll were just a bit too blunt for me to think that he was genuinely attempting to annoy.
Here are some real examples from the past, though.


And one of my personal favorites for its cheery simplicity:

Truly Faust is one of the fandom's greatest anti-troll weapons.

I see the time she spent on 4chan's /co/ was not wasted!

I always have been a fan of Lauren Faust and her ripe and mature responses to questions and comments she is presented with. Whether or not the asker is trolling doesn’t particularly matter, unless counting how much funnier her responses are when the asker is a troll.

As such, it is a bit depressing to see her reply to a Tweet in a rather melancholy manner regarding the future (and, come to think of it, past) of the show, keeping in mind that the characters are practically hers. To develop such a popular and high-quality work, and then to be hindered from continuing to actively contribute to that work, and to watch it carry on without her…it has to be a cheerless experience.

Regarding the MLP: FiM comic books, I only own and have read the first issue. (A physical copy, because I’m a dork.) The artwork is, of course, excellent, as is the storyline. The second issue became obtainable too recently for me to have any time to make an effort to acquire it. I have to make it a point, I think, to check out the website that burning_phoneix recommended.

As for DeadParrot222’s question of whether or not Hasbro and DHX have been pandering to us; I consider “pandering” to be actually tampering with the plotline and development of the characters to cater to the brony fanbase.

With this in mind, not really, at least not this season. Of course there will be fan service (subtle though it may very well be), so it wouldn’t be far-fetched to speculate that to some extent, the fanbase influences what is canon and what isn’t. But I don’t think that anything that might be considered “pandering” (and that’s a stretch as it is, keep that in mind) is too far from what could objectively be considered canonically likely, no? And even those things that might have been less likely (in which case, considering it “pandering” would be more reasonable), I’m still in the “some character development needed to be instilled” boat. That may or may not just be me in denial, though.

I think that Verbose more or less hit the nail on the head, actually, particularly when fielding the question of whether or not the show has “lost its roots,” so I don’t think I can make an argument for my thoughts without essentially repeating what he has already said.

Also, Feeling Pinkie Keen was a good episode. Plebeian.

Hey, here's a survey that you guys could take!

…

And it's better organized than the one I helped put together!