So apparently being a brony means blind loyalty? Here's some copy paste of a post I made from this article [link] on Equestria Daily:

ME:

"""Sigh.....this article. Look EqD, I know you love pony, heck I do but to tell the fandom to basically be oblivious to show or creator faults when they are going on is impossible and frankly unwanted. Season 3 was mediocre and the finale was pants and though any review will look at narrative/ character reasons (which is correct) there will of course be a shift to "why" did such actions occur.

Hasbro obviously holds a lot of blame. I think one would have to be blind not to notice the shift in control of the franchise back to Hasbro since season 3 starts. I also can't turn my back to McCarthy's bad story editing abilities. I'm sure she's a great person (why do I need to say this?) but I'm critiquing her recent contribution, not her personality. Renzetti needs more praise for his time as story editor.

There's a difference between pointless drama and good diversity. MLP:FiM has DONE the impossible and made a show which proved that shows for "little girls" can not only be good but great. Doesn't mean we owe it any slack when bad direction and episodes take place. We didn't do it for The Simpsons and we shouldn't do it here."""

And here's a lovely reply from Dimmet:

"""Owe it any slack? Who the fuck do you think you are, you pus-ridden maggot pantywaist? They don't even have to LISTEN to you, or any of us. Most staff on shows NEVER come into contact with the fans to begin with! They listen to our feedback first hand, they read our letters, they talk to us, they try to assuage our fears and worries, they've been holding the hand of this fandom since the days of Lauren Faust herself. And you want to sound like some sort of goddamn ENTITLED HIPSTER? Please, just burn yourself alive - do us all a favor."""



Now I know that not all MLP:FiM fans are like this, of course but this "get off our lawn" attitude to any people who critique or review the show is apparent and obiouvs. People who've followed me for a while have probably read one of my journals on the Sonic franchise and its fanbase. Similar thing here. I suppose any fanbase has this problem to an extent but the "love and tolerance" motto encouraged by a lot of bronies seems to give them a right to shoot down all reviewers of the show and label them haters. I appreciate the creators take the time to respond to the fanbase, in fact I love it but....and here's a big but...IT DOES NOT MAKE THE SHOW ANY BETTER!! When your reply streams are all "that episode was awesome" or "more Lyra" etc then that's positive encouragement which is good, thumbs up but even if the creators read and respond it won't effect the show quality; I doubt they could put recommendations from fans into the show most of the time if at all.



Here's my reply to Dimmet:

"""I said nothing of entitlment, I never said anything of being owed and finally your personal attack is more than indicative of the worse side of ANY fandom. I never personally attacked any of the show creators so don't take it as me slaking them off. Here's some non-attack based replies for you:

"They listen to our feedback first hand"

That's a good thing of course though I have yet to see anything significant come of it.

"Read our letters"

Again, good, that's good for them but has no real impact on how you take an episodes quality"

"They talk to us"

Already answered

"Try to assuage us of our fears and worries"

And why wouldn't they do this? It's all very "feel good" but you have to understand they would be FIRED if they did the opposite! Can you imagine McCarthy saying: "Hasbro wants more princesses, less character progression, more toy selling things and there's nothing we can do about it"? I didn't think so. She has the mind to reply in kind but that doesn't make the actual show better.

If you want a more accurate point it is this. The show has done wonderful things thanks to a team of fantastic writers, animators and voice actors but this does not mean we owe it sympathy or slack when bad episodes are made. That's bias, plain and simple. It would be like me reviewing.....pffft I dunno, a Sonic game and going "Well this was god awful but since there have been great games before it I better go easy on it". That's not good reviewing my friend.

Your "get off my lawn" attitude to anyone who critiques the show is abrasive, going so far as vile. It's not productive and not encouraging."""


So am I a brony? Well I buy the comics, some of the merch and T-shirts so I guess I am. It's still not going to stop my critical approach to the show because I think it's worthwhile to analyse and debate things.