November update: after a not-so-brief hiatus of my own, your humble webmaster has returned from meatspace and is ready to get back to work on this site.
The Golden Oak Library is my ongoing attempt at crafting a handmade, old school-style My Little Pony fansite.
MLP (specifically the show Friendship is Magic) took the internet by storm in the early 2010s, when the age of personal websites was already rapidly waning and most netizens were moving the entirety of their internet activities to a few increasingly consolidated social media platforms. In some ways, the wider scope of those social media platforms was what allowed the fandom to catch on in the first place and spread so easily from fan to fan, but it also wasn't without its drawbacks in my opinion. It's a shame that MLP and the age of the personal website were like two ships passing in the night, as I always thought the MLP fandom and the Old Web would have been a match made in heaven.
Both of them, at their best, share values such as unbridled self-expression and creativity, an appreciation for amateurism over monetization and professionalization, and a playful, well-meaning rebelliousness against polite society's norms and expectations. The rich imaginative world of the fandom, with its thousands of unique background ponies, original characters, and ponifications, complements the free-wheeling aesthetic possibilities present in the Old Web as well. You can think of this site as a modern approximation of what the fandom, or one small part of it, might have looked like in that 'wild west' era of the world wide web.
To emphasize: this is a personal website. My goal is not to create an objective encyclopedia or archive of MLP facts and figures. We already have those. Nor does it have a particular focus like a single character, artistic endeavor, or fan theory. The beauty of MLP and the world of Equestria is that it is many things to many people; I want to express what it means to me, in my own way.
(My way includes being kinda wordy, so let me just manage that expectation right out of the gate. I like to write. A lot.)
My love for MLP (not just FiM, but the franchise as a whole) is boundless, and there's a lot I'd like to add to the site, from lore essays and episode reviews to art galleries and fanwork round-ups. But something important to remember is that building a personal website or fansite is as much about the journey as it is the destination. My vision for this place won't be realized overnight. With that in mind, I thought it best to start with the very basics. In the coming days I'll be working on creating some initial pages covering some pony basics to give myself a starting point to branch off from. The links in the table below, once these pages are active, will take you to a few pages covering some basic information about Friendship is Magic and a few ideas about why so many people (myself obviously included) fell in love with these colorful little horses. So, you know, keep your eyes peeled for these as they go live.
| Friendship is Magic (The Show) | The World of Equestria | The Mane 6 | Bronies and Pegasisters (The Fandom) |
You know how above I talked about what I want to do with the site? I'd like to keep a track record of what I have planned, and what's new. Until I work out a more elegant solution I'll be using this section to track developments.
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