Normally I try not to vent here on Fur Affinity; there is all too much of that on the site as it is. Today, however, occurred a positively Æsopian tale I feel compelled to share.

For quite a long time I have hung out on a private MU*, chatting and occasionally participating in light role-playing over the course of a typical day. In recent years I’ve done so less and less as the population of the MU* has changed, and the events of this morning are another step on that road.

A few weeks ago, out of a sense of whimsy, I changed the species setting and description of my character, noting that she had “succumbed to pony fever” and become a pegasus pony with the same color scheme the character normally has. This has occasioned some amusing byplay—along with some slight grumbling from a few quarters. In the last week or two, several other characters have undergone similar transformations as their players have fallen under the spell of Friendship Is Magic. Moreover, conversation about the series and related topics have become somewhat more frequent, albeit hardly continual.

This morning on the MU* in question, two steadfast and vocal holdouts against the pony phenomenon exploded messily with a good deal of verbal arm-flailing. They complained vociferously and at length about how much time and attention were being devoted to the subject, not only on the MU* but on the Web in general. Within minutes I logged out to forestall an incipient headache and tooth-gritting anger, not about the tantrum per se but about what I consider its rank injustice.

A few years ago—I don’t recall exactly how many—for a period of several months, the MU* was utterly dominated by World of Warcraft, something in which I have less than no interest. Sometimes for hours on end the MU* client window scrolled continuously with big chunky paragraphs, effectively squeezing out all other topics. At the same time, and even to the present, the Web presence of WOW dwarfs FIM. At least one of the instigators of today’s meltdown was a major participant in this all-WOW-all-the-time phase, and I believe the other was as well, although I don’t remember as clearly in that case. (In addition, two roommates at the time were playing the game incessantly; I literally could not escape it.)

Yet in the interests of amity and diplomacy I held my tongue on the MU*—perhaps not perfectly, but with a conscious, concerted effort not to rain on other people’s parade. I feel I have been very poorly paid back for that restraint. What have I learned from this affair? That it’s okay to beat a dead horse, as long as it’s someone else’s—but mine are off-limits.