Master thesis done: Standalone Complex (Explaining bronies)

[webkilla]

Greetings bronies

Some of you may remember me from a months ago when I asked for various opinions on things like "What does it mean to be a brony" and "what don't you like about bronies"

well...

about a month ago I finished my work, got my exam done, and now I have a masters degree. Go me.

so... wanna see what I made?

http://psitech.keens...loneComplex.pdf

Its 116 pages, contains metric flankloads of internet psychology, observations of the effects of anonymity or pseudonym-use on the internet, as well as all the other fun things one might expect a master thesis on internet anthropology to contain.

But you want a TL:DR, don't you?

Sorry, can't do that. There's a reason this is 116 pages, not 3 pages.

But, I do have a copy of the presentation video i made for my exam. it is 7 minutes long and explains fairly well what my work is about. You should quickly be able to see the connections between my theories on Standalone Compelx Communities and the bronies (1:45)

But beyond that, what's this good for?

Very simple: It explains how bronies work. It explains that there are no brony leaders, no brony membership lists, no 'true' way to be a brony - it explains how being a brony is, for the individual, a very subjective thing, while at the same time the entirety of the brony community can seem to be a deceptively uniform entity.

I make roughly the same conclusion for the furry fandom and that of Anonymous.

As always, I will be answering questions.

[Volt]

Page 78 everypony ;D

But, let's get real. That's obviously an interesting topic to choose for a degree.

And quite popular, I'd assume. To be honest, I'd like to print it to read it thoroughly, considering I'll be having the same degree in just 2 years I guess. Unfortunately, that would be violating the owners rights, so I'll just stay with old fashion and destroy my sight by reading it whole on the PC screen

As soon as I'll find some time.

Hm. I wouldn't expect any less from that kind of work I guess. In-depth insight et caetera.

Self-note during reading #1: I am quite curious about the % data you gathered. Some numbers clearly surprise me.

Self-note during reading #2: Comparisons... They're important part in that kind of documents. Page 86... Something concerns me. I will put it on the shoulders of my personality, because I assume I simply unify myself with one side and pull biased opinions.

Self-note during reading #3: Funny to say it about masters degree work, but it's entertaining. I found myself enjoying reading the analysis concerning the differences between bronies. It gave a nice overview generally and left the idea open, so that anybody could come up with his opinion on their own. Neutral, just facts. Exactly how it should look.

Self-note during reading #4: Page 87, line 27. Speechless. Never would have guess that just a show may have such an influence on people. I shall thank you for making me smile.

Self-note after reading #1: Not going to search for big words, I like that. I've finished only the Brony part of course, but this encouraged me to reading it whole some day. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll agree with everything, as you've shown and learned the diversity of people on your own, for needs of this work. But generally, I admit I learned something from this. And if it has educational values, it's worth reading. Moreover, I now know the community much better. It leaves a sting of sadness, learning things you wouldn't like to learn, but I knew what I'm getting into by deciding to read it. Summarizing, facts, numbers, neutral attitude, quotations, analysis. Just what I've expected to see. My thoughts on the topic itself? I'll leave those to myself. For the sole reason of not raising needless discussions.

Although I restrained myself from following the referents. If I missed anything of great importance, please let me know.

A question though... why do tags contain "lemons"?

Cheers.

[Ashton]

Woah! Congrats Webkilla! I'll be watching the presentation when I have time I wont be interrupted, sounds very interesting. (I have to ask though, obviously it shares a name and theme with the anime 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex' does it uphold the psychological concept from the series or did you shoot holes through it?)

[Volt]

(I have to ask though, obviously it shares a name and theme with the anime 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex' does it uphold the psychological concept from the series or did you shoot holes through it?)

"I have taken the term Standalone Complex from the title of a Japanese anime series called “Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex” (1)"

"1. Masamune, Shirow. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. productionig.com. [Online] 2011."

Reading the introduction helps ;P

I am sure that the document isn't about the things you might find in anime. The SAC is a term he came up with "on his own", as a great addition which describes the general idea of the work.

"The basic notion of a standalone complex is not new. There are several examples of seemingly spontaneous events taking place, or at least events where there was little actual organization – but the ultimate result could give the outside impression of organization. A series of these events will be examined as part of this thesis." - I might be wrong, but I'd assume the term is being used due to it's accurate sound. Of course, it just a tip of the iceberg, but I wouldn't connect anime that heavily with that kind of work. After all, it doesn't concern the psychology which occurs in anime, but it's an attempt of BITING a bit of internet psychology.

Sorry if I cannot express myself clear, but writing such stuff at late evening, when brain works much slower than usually, really doesn't help.

Still, I do hope my intentions will be spotted.

[weesh]

Was there a reason that coderbrony's "state of the herd" census was unusable in your analysis? Or maybe I just didn't see it?

I'm going to have to dig deeper into this later...

[Ashton]

"I have taken the term Standalone Complex from the title of a Japanese anime series called “Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex” (1)"

"1. Masamune, Shirow. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. productionig.com. [Online] 2011."

Reading the introduction helps ;P

I admitted I didn't look at it yet

I am sure that the document isn't about the things you might find in anime. The SAC is a term he came up with "on his own", as a great addition which describes the general idea of the work.

"The basic notion of a standalone complex is not new. There are several examples of seemingly spontaneous events taking place, or at least events where there was little actual organization – but the ultimate result could give the outside impression of organization. A series of these events will be examined as part of this thesis."

That contradicted what you said. The quote you used sums up the psycology of the events in the series. (Ghost in the Shell is HEAVY on psychology)

[OccupyEquestria]

This is excellent work. I want to comment more, but have not completed reading this full thesis yet.

[Rosewind]

Congratulations on your degree! I'm sure your thesis is very detailed and has a lot of thought, time, and research put into it. I agree that "brony" culture is definitely subjective in meaning to the individual.

[Kirby Krackle]

Congrats! I knew you could do it! Now all I need to do is steal an office printer for personal use.

[weesh]

Alright, check my logic here:

1. Not an SAC: Kony 2012 was a directed and organized force designed to get a large response.
   
2. SAC: When Bank of America recently announced a new debit fee, there was a fast, powerful, severe outcry, and the bank stood down.
   
3. Not an SAC: Fans of Boardwalk Empire because there was a huge media blitz when it came out designed to spread the word.
   
4. SAC: Bronies because it was basically a word of mouth explosion without any real central organization to it.
   

If those four statements are correct, then I have more questions based on them...