Alright, here is the first of several post to /go/ that I will be making over the coming weeks. They involve the initial notes on various subjects that will be checked on later, with open to contributions by others (if possible).
So, this website, I had run into it a few times over the years and never really given it much thought. I knew it was a mlp news website with a forum and booru that was more restrictive in rules but that's about it. The news section didn't last very long (I think they closed in 2015) but the forum and booru lived on. http://roundstable.com/forums/ https://web.archive.org/web/20130206185534/http://www.roundstable.com/ (archive link, because at some point they deleted their news section) http://www.bronibooru.com/
The website is fairly interesting now that I've given it a look, if not a tiny bit strange. The website seems to be populated with tumblr types, more left of center than than the apolitical with left sympathies that I'd say be the average equestria daily user. There's social justice terminology thrown around (safe space, expanded genders beyond gay/bi/trans, you get the picture) and the political conversations I've seen so far much more left leaning with no right leaning opinions at all . I'm not really going to judge them on that, unless I see the type of bulling and competitive fake virtue singling that such communities can often breed . It's fine if they have there own little space, especially if otherwise they'd feel uncomfortable at some of the main sites (and or try to change their dynamic in an undesirable way). This isn't the strange part however.
The main thing that seems a little strange to me was the extremely restrictive rules of the booru. They have a no non canon shipping rule on their booru. I thought it seemed a little excessive even for sfw and the only reason I could think it be there would be there would be because of social conservatives trying to block gay ships. Considering the left leaning bend with an LGBT presence this left me scratching my head. I wondered if they had been an more apolitical or right wing bunch who has shifted over the years or something but there's a gender and sexual minorities pride thread from 2012. http://roundstable.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=375 By the way, the booru has post dating back to 2011. http://www.bronibooru.com/posts/246?tags=princess_luna
So, doesn't it seem a little insane that the they couldn't post any gay shippings to the booru at all till recently with the confirmations of a few characters? Seems it would be a dampener on the LBGT side of things, and they technically could only post lesbian ships at that. I did find this rule being violated frequently but it's still in the rules and the fact that they seem to be unsure about whether a pair of characters in a vector lifted from the show counted as a violation back in 2018 shows they must still enforce it partly or something... http://www.bronibooru.com/static/terms_of_service?url=%2F
