I like this 'verse quite a lot, but it's not as great as it first looks. There are aspects I'm rather disappointed with and would like to have a serious discussion about because I have a lot on my mind, but I'm the only one in my friend group who reads this stuff, so I'm reaching out here.

Tl;dr, because I don't want to spend two straight days on an essay: The Secret is nonsensical and impossible to keep at the current scale. The Princesses are terrible people unfit to rule because they let their traumatic pasts and backwards upbringing dictate their actions (the Secret, and perpetuation of through both action and inaction, being their most egregious offense). Ponies are too dysfunctional for Equestrian society to plausibly exist: it seems like every 9/10 ponies are too stupid to live, and 8 of them are flaming bigots to boot; this is a problem in the serious pieces, too. The author doesn't know how to write bigotry or racism/sexism/any -ism: they only know how to write strawmen that spew the sort of nonsense that could only come from a fanatic force-fed truth serum. Oh, and said strawmen are almost always ugly in some way, which is not only shallow and spiteful towards the people whom the author has demonstrated a considerable lack of understanding, but offensive to people who are ugly but aren't, y'know, terrible people.

Let me poke up two "But!" objections to the list here.

The Secret is perfectly able to be both a secret and known, given the general tribal nature of ponies.
Unicorns: "Oh, yes. The 'Secret' that the earth ponies pretend to have. Pluuueeese! If they really had that kind of power, they'd use it, right? I mean we unicorns use our magic all the time, although we don't raise Sun and Moon any more. They probably just have some sort of Cornucopia Effect boost that some of their stronger type can do, perhaps those with specific Marks."
Pegasi: "The earth ponies' Secret power? You mean like (shapes a cloud into a rowboat)? Really, if they could do that, they'd build something like Cloudsdale. Now that's awesome!"

Looks: I don't believe any of the bitter social ponies that Rarity has run into have been described as anything but pretty (on the outside). Fleur is a prime example of Pretty/Smart/Talented.

7000839 You're suggesting that not one earth pony in all of Equestria would be willing to tell at least one trustworthy unicorn or pegasus friend? Not one earth pony husband or wife would be willing to see their love or children as an exception to the "They can't be trusted" code? That earth ponies are so paranoid and racist that even after a thousand years, even being fully integrated into a multi-tribe society, even after everything Celestia has presumably done to force equality down everypony's throats as benevolently as possible, they've still kept the Secret?

The only way that could happen is if earth ponies went full Evil Conspiracy Cult, which not only would the Princesses not allow that, such a thing is not sustainable in large numbers. The larger the conspiracy, the less stable it is, because each of those conspirators is an individual with their own views and morals. I would've given a conspiracy on a fraction of that scale a few centuries at most.

7000869 No, not at all. I'm saying the 'Secret' might be better considered as on a parallel with the same secrets humans have been dealing with for ages. For example, the Secret Rituals of the Masons, or the Mormon Church, both of which can be purchased from Amazon.com for reasonable prices. Yeah, they're secrets, but they're not secret-secret, and they're under-valued for what gets revealed.

(checks online) Oh, God. There's even a Freemasonry for Dummies book. Now you've got me picturing Green Grass with his nose in the Dummies book, muttering to himself, "There's got to be something I'm doing wrong. Maybe I've got the wrong kind of shoes. Hm...."

7000869
It doesn't have to be that complete; they just habe to keep it out of the general public. And the Princesses can't just expose it without potentially starting a civil war.

And racists are treated with the exact level of r3espect they deserve.

7000936 I'm saying it couldn't even be kept out of the general public unless earth ponies took such extreme measures as to be evil. Even then, it's simply not feasible at that scale.

As for the Princesses, their responsibility is the protection and prosperity of their people. The Secret is antithesis to these goals, and for over a thousand years, they chose the Secret, and by extension the earth ponies, over the good of Equestria as a whole.

"The exact level of respect they deserve"? The respect they deserve is slander and mockery? Being portrayed as fanatical, brain-damaged, walking tubs of lard? Reducing their arguments to a parody of a strawman's cries to "gas the Jews earth ponies already"? That's what they deserve?

7000947
That's entirely a YMMV problem; plenty of stories use far more unlikely conspiracies as the basis of their plots, and it's far more untenable then in a setting where cameras are new technology and the Telegraph hasn't been conceived of.

Yes, rasism isn't just cruel and unjust; it is stupidity with a lot of emotions on top to keep people seeing how stupid it boils down to being.

7000800

Ponies are too dysfunctional for Equestrian society to plausibly exist: it seems like every 9/10 ponies are too stupid to live, and 8 of them are flaming bigots to boot

Remember that, among other examples, the most recent episode's conflict hinges on ponies literally believing everything they read. Also, Flim and Flam still somehow turn a profit.

Ninety percent of ponies being incredibly foolish may actually be being generous.

7000951 That many people can't keep a secret. It's. Not. Possible. No conspiracy can survive at that size. Sure, you could suspend your disbelief, but the Continuum's whole "thing" is realistic consequences, and the realistic consequence of The Secret is either it breaking within the first century of Equestria's founding, or it necessitating a culling on the scale of a genocide just to make sure the only earth ponies left were the ones who were unquestioningly loyal or the ones who could be kept in check by the loyalists.

As for the racism thing... you know not all racists are hateful extremist bastards, right? Some, in fact I'd wager most, are just people with disagreeable views.

7000989 I'm talking about in the Continuum, not in canon. Canon is its own can of worms.

7000997
Is it, though? The Continuum takes those oh-so-manipulable background ponies and actually provides a reason for such narratively enforced stupidity through evolutionary psychology and literal herd mentality. It's not just the same can of worms, it even comes clearly labeled and with one of those openers that keeps the lid from slicing your fingers.

It's as K put it in Men in Black. A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky animals. And that's before taking the stampede panic response into account...

7000997
That doesn't mean every trope has to be broken down realistically; it's allowed to still be a story. And that's ignoring the fact that, based on lack of.communication every settlement had with every other settlement, the Secret's continuation is. Not. Improbable. The Secret predates Discord, so they aren't responsible for whatever was done to keep it a secret in the first damn place.

Now, if the Secret continues for much longer then it might strain disbelief because communication is becoming easier and easier, and it'd be impossible with the level of technology the show has.

And the level of mockery leveled at racist is perfectly fair because racists deserved to be mocked.

7001006
7001017 The problem is that the narrative takes it to such extreme levels even in the serious pieces that I'm left with the impression that I'm supposed to take such portrayals seriously. And in a serious light, Triptych's pony psychology and culture is fundamentally self-sabotaging in the long- and short-term, even with an immortal, benevolent demigod-princess at the helm.

I don't think there's any proof that the Secret predates Discord? If anything, that hybrid magitech in the newest chapter of Duet suggests the opposite.

So racists deserve to be mocked, but not comprehended? Or do you honestly believe that, "I hate everyone who doesn't look and act like me and I secretly wish they were all dead" is all there is to comprehend about them?

7000989

Ninety percent of ponies being incredibly foolish may actually be being generous.

Heck, that pretty much applies to people, also.

7001006 My favorite MiB quote of all times.

7001038

RE Secret — We know that the Secret happened because of oppression at the hands of other pony states, so it depends on how long we think it took for Celestial and Luna to consolidate Equestria (ie was there time for multiple states to form and act in ways that would have cultural repercussions for centuries) and whether we think such states were possible in the Discordian Era.

RE Racism — Racists deserve to be understood so that they can be countered and, where the circumstances are appropriate for the job and someone is willing to do it, to be deprogrammed. But some racists also deserve to be punched, and I wouldn’t expect to see a Triptych about whether Nazis should be punched and whether, when, why, and how that answer can change depending on the circumstances. The “realism” of Triptych is not a perfectly reasoned, spec evo-devo “this is how a society of sapient equinoids might plausibly have developed.”

For crying out loud, there are multiple stories which wouldn’t be possible except for a bit of wordplay.

Are you an American?

48% of Americans believe flying saucers are ETs & the government has covered it up for 70 years.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/48-percent-of-americans-believe-in-ufos_n_3900669?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20vc2VhcmNoP3E9JTI1K29mK2FtZXJpY2Fucyt3aG8rYmVsaWV2ZStpbitmbHlpbmcrc2F1Y2VycyZmb3JtPUVETlRIVCZta3Q9ZW4tdXMmaHR0cHNtc249MSZwbHZhcj0wJnJlZmlnPWQxMzM4OGQ4MTE4MjRkYmM5ODJiODI2OWNmOGRiNmVmJnNwPS0xJnBxPSUyNStvZithbWVyaWNhbnMrd2hvK2JlbGlldmUraW4rZmx5aW5nK3NhdWNlcnMmc2M9MS00NCZxcz1uJnNrPSZjdmlkPWQxMzM4OGQ4MTE4MjRkYmM5ODJiODI2OWNmOGRiNmVm&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC-E_dMZAJn2JKuNDIZocJCjsqYkwNdMZZqa431OEdKztxdIPZPwa13-66PjWyaf6SKYcOqkpf210TZPC_oqsvp0eMTx1X4f5QkBHmFBiS3dvyqTL7oGw_qR2tz3IJHjX9ieL09qqR2MIIjhTCVHuD6q3qdqzC-hDR4_vlP9u9n3
Did you see the recent mass invasion of Area 51 Roswell, NM?

http://www.22november1963.org.uk/jfk-assassination-conspiracy-theories
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories
https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln74.html
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/657256/Secret-societies-conspiracy-theories-Freemasons-Illuminati-Skulls-and-Bones-Bilderberg
That’s IRL. It’s plausible enough for a work of fiction, for God’s sake. It’s a story, not a documentary.
+ Information spreads a lot slower there -no internet

As to “ponies are too stupid & racist to be believable”
You read ANYTHING about DJT’s followers & ANTIFA?

One final point. It mentions that ponies who revealed the secret were murdered. NEVER said “Who, exactly killed them?”
IRL, the Mafia existed for centuries as a secret society. So have some Chinese tongs.

7001351
Oh, sources on the Mafia thing? I knew that most gangs form in reaction to racism— that because the law wouldn't help them, they took things into their own hands and it escelated— but I don't know much about the Mafia.

7001038

And in a serious light, Triptych's pony psychology and culture is fundamentally self-sabotaging in the long- and short-term, even with an immortal, benevolent demigod-princess at the helm.

That's cannon. Celestia straight-up says that 'they aren't ready to be by themselves yet,' strongly implying that the Sisters are trying to work themselves out of a job.

I don't think there's any proof that the Secret predates Discord? If anything, that hybrid magitech in the newest chapter of Duet suggests the opposite.

No, they were split up by race already when the Discordian era was described— if the Secret doesn't predate him, then it's at least likely that it happened during his reign.

So racists deserve to be mocked, but not comprehended? Or do you honestly believe that, "I hate everyone who doesn't look and act like me and I secretly wish they were all dead" is all there is to comprehend about them?

That's the part that's hurting people, so that's all I care about expunging.

7001383

Let's begin with the word itself. Although the exact origin of the word "mafia" is uncertain, some believe it originated in 1282 during the French invasion of Sicily and the saying, "Morte Alla Francia Italia Anela" (Death to the French is Italy's Cry), or MAFIA. Then, eventually the word "mafia" came to mean "manly", in Sicily.
(This is the theory that I’d heard, that they started as resistance to a foreign invasion, turned to crime to support themselves)
Another theory of the origin of "mafia" begins as early as the 9th century.

http://www.mafiamob.com/history.htm

So, yes, IRL conspiracies can last for centuries

7001388

I forget if Triptych's End has the Secret be revealed to the Sisters. Quite sure it hasn't else we'd be seeing a different plot for Duet.

My bet is that they don't even know it exists, and Duet will have them learn of it.

I wonder if Discord knows and if so, what he thinks.

Does he even know that the Sisters were Earth Ponies?

7001444
Considering what they were Before, I'm not sure how they couldn't know about the Secret. I'm just not sure how they'd expose it without causing a civil war.

7001509

Well, the only way they'd not know of it, is if the establishment date is after they defeated Discord.

Lol and sad if it was something like the first and only public execution / hanging in Equestria was of Earth Ponies 'cause they killed someone with Earth Magic or something, and that's why the Secret happened.

Hmm... The Pony Magic detector could've been made super-far back in Discord Time to detect pony-like creatures, from actual ponies, and maybe has some hidden function to warn against Chaos Magic, and therefore, possibly Hybrids...

7001410
7001444
7001509
Okay... not... not what I was going for...

1. The Secret isn't plausible at this scale. After over a thousand years of relative peace and harmony, some earth ponies would've decided there's no reason to keep the Secret from friendly unicorn and pegasus neighbors. After over a thousand years of intertribal marriages, a substantial number of earth ponies would've decided their spouses and children are the exception to the "Trust No One" rule, and that would've continued down the family trees. After over a thousand years of earth ponies living, raising families, and growing up in other countries, there would have been one that blabbed because they didn't know it was supposed to be a Secret. In over a thousand years of monster attacks and emergency situations, not only would ponies of different tribes have grown closer for coming out of the fire together, but such situations necessitate honesty about what everyone in the group is capable of. It's either that or die, and I don't think every earth pony would've chosen death. Some, yes. Most, maybe. But not all, and "not all" across all of Equestria is a significant number of earth ponies to break the Secret out of necessity and/or camaraderie.

2. Let me take this from another angle: there are certain tones that Estee just fails at. Comedy is one of them: Estee is, 90% of the time, too severe and too long-winded for a quick, light-hearted punchline. They take forever to get to the point and by the time they do, they've dissected the frog. Their comedy pieces fall flat and the only reason I read them is for worldbuilding. And the sprinkles of comedy in their more serious works fall flat because they feel just as tense and introspective as the drama surrounding it, at least when they don't pull out the fat, ugly strawmen to make fun of unlovable extremist bigots, the only kind of -ist that they seem to know of. In short, it's hard to know when they're exaggerating or when they're trying for something other than "realistic consequences" because they're always as long-winded and introspective as they are when writing serious pieces.

3. Let me try this again. There's more to a racist's thought process than "I hate everyone different from me". And, more importantly, "racist" and "bigot" are two different things. A bigot hates. A racist believes certain races are superior to others, but doesn't necessarily hate any of them or want to grind them under their boots. Basically, a bigot is a racist, but a racist isn't necessarily a bigot. With that out of the way, I was complaining about the lack of nuanced perspective on racists from Estee, because given the quality of their writing in other aspects, I know they can do better. Racists have logic. Racists have reasons. I'd wager most of them aren't fat manchildren throwing a tantrum over brown people in their parks. I brought this point up because I think it'd be cool to see Estee actually debunk an argument rather than going straight for the strawmen for once.

7000989

That also plays into how the Secret is kept. Most ponies don't care. They're far more interested in the local gossip or what's for lunch than some Traditional Earth Pony Nonsense. The whole conspiracy isn't really even necessary because it can hide in plain sight like Morris dancing or the more esoteric orders of the Catholic Church.

Even the Local Bookhorse didn't have the first clue until she started being able to hear it, because the ponies writing down things about magic in Equestria are all unicorns, who don't care about magic they can't do. Equestria as it stands is what, a couple generations into their low key Industrial Revolution? I recall trains are relatively new.

Mass communication is just starting to be a thing, and will signal the end of the Secret because it will become massively harder to hide than when it was mostly a few cities and scattered towns mostly made up of Earth Ponies.

7001826
Like I said, I believe that Earth Ponies have killed to keep that secret.
“You talk, you die. You learn, you die”
+ Celestia keeps many secrets & this is obviously one of them.
& it’s happened IRL so, yeah, it’s possible
http://www.1857massacre.com/MMM/danites_index.htm

I also get the impression that mixed marriages are (or were) fairly rare.

I do agree that mass communication & the faster spread of information will put a strain on the secret, likely spelling its end.

I also agree that humor ain’t Estee’s strong suit, but some of them ain’t bad.

So in summary:

* I have never written anything plausible
* I have never written anything effective
* I have never written anything funny
* I have never written anything variable
* I have never written anything enjoyable

Good to know.

7002265 Wow, way to blow my criticisms way out of proportion and intention. Much appreciated.

This is the point where I might try to elaborate, but I've seen how you react to criticism normally, and this is pretty par for the course for you. Do you realize how discouraging your behavior is? You assume the worst of everyone, dismiss criticism as an irreconcilable difference in taste, and blow up at anyone who persists. And that's just when you're not being actively malicious by sifting through a critic's fanfic "resume", of lack of, to discredit them, or writing novella blogs to humiliate anyone who's even slightly mean to you (granted, the one about the pedo was justified, but the blog itself was just kinda ridiculous).

That shit is why I didn't try to discuss this with you like I originally wanted to. I had questions and concerns, but then I remembered how you treat critics and I was afraid you'd do the same to me, which is why I tried to talk to other people instead... not that that has proved any more lucrative.

^ - Self-depreciation humor. I think. Niice?

----

7002115

Yes, Triptych had that diary writer whose last page went missing after he found out. Implies his death.

I know I noted it on TVTropes.

ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument

7002416

...really.

Well, you did say that I failed at comedy.

That shit is why I didn't try to discuss this with you like I originally wanted to.

...really.

So there's something I want to say before I walk, because I don't see any means by which my presence can be a positive in this discussion. In the past, I've felt that a number of people believe my greatest sin to be character interpretation. As with everything above, there are arguments to be made for and against that. I can't say anything there. There's no point. The Author is Dead.

However, I feel as if I have just had my own character interpreted.

That argument might continue for a while. I'm just not going to watch. Because there's a line between telling me what you think and telling me what I think. And I can't win a fight against the persona which exists in your head.

7001826

1. Sure it is. You know how difficult it is to actually tell people things? Even in this day and age of lightning-fast communication? Especially to people who may not want to believe it?

You think a species known for grouping together and being afraid of things and Thinking With The Group are going to want to believe that earth ponies can perform such powerful magic as to be able to shift the very earth itself? You think they'd want to upend their entire understanding of the world and how it works? Sure, a few earth ponies might have blabbed to their spouses or very close friends, and they might even have demonstrated these powers... Individually.

No way is a herd of earth ponies going to set off an earthquake just to show off. No, it's gonna be small stuff, just to prove they're not crazy when they say they can do magical things like hear the voices of their dead loved ones for a few days after they're buried. Oh wow, an earth pony can pull a rock up out of the ground...

That sure is something worth losing the trust of your earth pony spouse/friend/etc. over by telling others about it. /s

2. That's entirely subjective. Estee's humour is quiet, dry, and somewhat dark, yeah, but it's still humour. I, for one, find a lot of Estee's comedy pieces hilarious. It's clever stuff.

3. Yes, the meaning of racism and bigotry has been conflated a little in recent years. Let's look at the definitions of them that google gives:

noun: racism

1. prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

noun: bigotry; plural noun: bigotries

1. intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself.

You can see why people tend to group them together, I'm sure. They overlap.

Nuance doesn't matter with racists and bigots. It's enough to know that that's what they are, so that you can avoid them. The reasonings behind their words and actions? Eh. Who cares? You're not going to be trying to figure out the species of bear that's trying to eat you while you're running from it. You're not going to ask a man with a gun to your head if he had a traumatic childhood or whatever.

There's no argument to debunk because racists don't have one.

7002444 I see. So, no attempt at a rebuttal. No attempt to explain how I'm wrong about you.

I'm just another lost cause.

7002265
Well, *I* like it
Of course, my name is what my friends call me “That S.O.B”
“Sweet Ole Bob” is just what I’m sure the initials mean

& it is hinted, in the show, that sheep & cows are second class citizens
+ the way that Earth Ponies are treated in Hearth’s Warming Eve
(of course that was a LONG time ago & it’s plausible that things have changed since then)

7002543 I said at the very beginning that I like Estee's work...

7002487

I need to put this on hold.

7002632
Yes, for some reason, you DO seem distracted
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/872223/emergency-possible-suicide-in-progress-information-regarding-holy-desperately-needed

7002667 Am I being impatient?

I know I'm being openly critical, but I'm not demanding an immediate response.

7002877
While I still disagree with you, I'm sorry if I escalated this more than it should have been.

7002877
Hey, When Elvis went to England (1950s)
There was an imitation sausage ad campaign
It’s this, it’s that, but is it sausage?”
He got reviewed with “It’s fat, it’s pink & it’s greasy. But, is it sausage?”

Winnie the Pooh (1930s)
Saturday Evening Post was the #1 literary magazine in the USA
Under the penname “Constant Reader” Dorothy Parker was their book reviewer.
She reviewed it with “...and at that point Constant Weader fwowed up.”
& added “This book should not be set aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”

Who is more popular than Winnie the Pooh?
America’s Little Sweetheart, Shirley Temple? (1930s)
Her movie “Wee Willie Winkie” got such a bad review that she (successfully) sued for libel.
They didn’t have the term back then, but he basically called it kiddie porn

ICR the numbers but in one set of rules
No matter how cool it is, someone thinks it’s lame
No matter how lame it is, someone thinks it’s cool
If unchecked by the moderator, these 2 will start a flame war

So, let’s just say “I disagree with you, but doubt that I can change your mind” & let it go at that

7001826
Also, doesn't the CDA portray racism in a complex light? I felt like it did, especially the beginning of Luna VS the Law Machine. Thought I guess that's not in the Continuum...

7003008

“This book should not be set aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”

Okay, but that is a fantastic line.

My favorite was by George Bernard Shaw.
He reviewed a book Why Do I Live?
with the comment “You live because you MAILED this tripe to me”

7002487

Why do you think you deserve a rebuttal, or that anyone is obligated to supply one?

Why does it bother you so much that Estee doesn’t write a nuanced portrayal of racism and bigotry? When I think that an author is lacking, I don’t write a callout post to passive-aggressively inform the author that their work is deficient. I either write in the comments section of the relevant chapter or story thread, or I just stop reading.

7003381
When you get invested in a world and you see part of it as a mistake, you feel compelled to fix it. It was hard as hell for me to let the last story in the Wavelengths Timeline go and it was way more frustrating.

7003381

1. I called out the flaws because I think Estee can do better, and I think self-improvement is something everyone should strive for. That, and I feel improving in the areas I discussed would provide a deeper and more thoughtful reading experience.
2. I did it here instead of in a comment section because I thought I would get a better result consulting people in the group made to discuss the Continuum. I admired Estee and barely have enough of a spine to stand up for myself, so I feared that I would inadequately defend my opinions and get torn apart by someone who has demonstrated time and time again that their response to criticism is to attack the critic.

7004435
What exactly is your criticism, though?

It seems to boil down to 'the premise of a whole continuum of fics is unrealistic, and some of the minor antagonists are flat'. Okay. What's the solution to these? Rewrite the fics and end up with an entirely different universe? That doesn't seem like a realistic thing to ask, ironically enough.

If you can't come up with a realistic solution to the problem you pointed out then it's not criticism, it's complaining. There is a difference.

Perhaps instead of what you said in the OP, you could have come at this from another angle - asked Estee if there was a specific rationale/set of ideas/etc that's remained implied rather than overtly stated as to why the Secret has remained as such. If it's explained well enough for you, well, that's your answer there, and if it isn't then you ask more questions and suggest that readers like yourself may want to see this addressed in a future story, perhaps.
You could have also suggested that antagonists be given more development so that they feel like more rounded characters, and maybe used less aggressive language.

Next time you voice concerns over an issue you've seen, try to bear some of that in mind, maybe?
Criticism is a skill! It's not something you know how to do 100% off the bat so it's important to remember the 'suggested solutions' side of things - which is probably the most important part.

7004496

It seems to boil down to 'the premise of a whole continuum of fics is unrealistic, and some of the minor antagonists are flat'. Okay. What's the solution to these? Rewrite the fics and end up with an entirely different universe? That doesn't seem like a realistic thing to ask, ironically enough.

And yet it's still a legitimate criticism that you're attempting to dismiss. It doesn't matter if it happened so late that all the fics would have to be re-written, what matters is the criticism is happening and you need to engage with it, rather than dismiss it.

If you can't come up with a realistic solution to the problem you pointed out then it's not criticism, it's complaining. There is a difference.

That's not how criticism works. Pointing out the presence of a problem isn't the same as complaining. Now, not having an immediate solution to fix it? Well, as the critic it is on them to suggest alternatives but they don't have to because a good writer who actually takes criticism well would be able to take this new perspective given by someone else and critically examine their works to see how much the criticism actually applies.

Everything else you said is perfectly fine and correct. Criticism is an important skill, but ignoring the first part of criticism, the 'Clearly and concisely pointing out a problem' part is equally as important as suggesting solutions to it, because now that the problem is known people can think of solutions to it.

OP isn't alone in finding "The Secret" unrealistic, you know, that's why I prefer the stories where it doesn't play a part

Ponies may follow "the Herd" but "the Herd" was expanded well over 1000 years before. And while you've got your entire family telling you not to trust these people, you've got these two goddesses most everyone worships telling everyone (at least publicly) they're all in this together. But at the same time I could believe more than just Earth ponies know about "the Secret" yet between them being sworn to secrecy by Earth pony family and not understanding what they know because of how differently the three tribes magic works. Not knowing about it can just mean the non-Earth ponies in the Elements have no recent Earth pony family. And if Earth ponies have killed to keep it?

Lot's of people have killed for an imagined reason, for causes that ended in failure

7004564
Well, the thing is, I don't think that the Secret is unrealistic - I spoke about this earlier in the thread. Ponies in the Continuum are very insular and it makes sense that the few spouses/friends/family who were let in on it wouldn't go blabbing about what they've been told.

So it's a subjective opinion to begin with! Not that either of us are right or wrong, of course! veryveryfluttershy does have a few points, but went about explaining them in a fairly aggressive manner, expecting to be attacked, which is hardly the right sort of attitude to foster growth of an author's skills. You could say that I was critiquing the criticism, haha.

It's just, if you don't have a suggestion about what could be done... What was really the point in saying it? It's like the difference between saying 'the grammar was a little shaky in places, like here where you needed to use a comma and here where you need to capitalise the word' vs 'the grammar was bad' and leaving it at that.

Which one is going to be the most helpful? If you're truly interested in helping an author improve their work? You want to use the first one.

If something is bad, why is it bad? What would make it less bad, in the reader's opinion? Now, the author is under absolutely 0 obligation to listen to anything a reader says. (I mean, come on, this is a fanfic site and fanfic is a hobby that people do to have fun. Not every author has to be the next Shakespeare.) Might this make them a bad author? Maybe, but if it's something they're just doing for fun and have no interest in improving in, whatever. It's their fic. If it's frustrating you too much at that point you just cut your losses and move on.

7004894 If people actually followed the rule of never criticizing unless you can offer a solution, nothing would ever get done. Sometimes you know there's a problem but you're not sure what the solution is, so the very least you could do is bring it up so that someone else can come up with a solution.

Also, I have not been aggressive (except perhaps with Estee, but I'm not sorry for calling them out of their poor behavior). I have been blunt. I'm not going to soften my opinions with hemming and hawing, or verbally prostrate myself for finding fault in someone else's otherwise excellent work.

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If the only thing you say is 'there is a problem' you can't expect an author to do more than just shrug and think 'eh, you didn't like this, so what?'. I guess it's like, pick your battles? If you can't think of anything constructive, you don't need to point anything out. Again, this is fanfic! It's kind of expected to not be perfect, because fanfic writers are generally not professionals and rarely have a dedicated editor sitting down with them to discuss the finer plot points.

If you're posting criticism to encourage author improvement, than you actually need to suggest what those improvements should be, or how else are they supposed to grow? If you've identified something you see as a problem, then surely you have a vague idea that what the solution should be is like, the opposite of that problem. This concept appears unrealistic? Please explain why it isn't. These characters are one-dimensional? Add more dimensions. Etc. If these aren't perfect fixes then at least you've tried to contribute.

If you have absolutely no interest in even trying to think about potential fixes to problems then you might need to reflect on your own intentions with posting what you're posting. Are you trying to encourage improvement, really?

If you don't think you were being aggressive then I'd urge you to consider and rethink some of your language use. For example this part of your OP:

Tl;dr, because I don't want to spend two straight days on an essay:

Quite honestly? This is incredibly rude. You're saying that you could spend two days listing Things That Are Wrong about someone's work, which sort of implies that you really don't like what the content is. Whether it was your intention or not (tone portrayal over text is Hard), that's the sort of implication that has authors grimacing to themselves and ignoring the rest of what is said. If you hate the work that much then why bother considering your opinion, y'know?

You don't have to use soft and delicate words to get your point across, be blunt by all means, but you also don't have to be rude.

7005338 Okay, looking at it in a vacuum, it does look rather rude. In my defense, what I meant was that I knew what I was saying was a bit of a messy blob, but it was either that or spend at least two days trying to get every word just right.