How does voting work?

It's simple! During the first week of every month there's a Google Form to collect votes. Voters take a moment to consider eligible videos from the previous month, then send 'em in! When the polls close the total vote count is tallied and published as a showcase.

There are important rules regarding what videos are eligible and how to format your votes. 

Please carefully read the rules below or on the form itself.

Need help finding eligible pony videos?


Have questions? 

If they're not answered below or elsewhere on this website, feel free to stop by our Discord server and ask around in the #general-voting channel.

Simplified rules

Be sure to carefully read the full rules. However, these simplified rules should help remind you of the basics! The full rules contain more details and examples.

Videos must be uploaded the previous month in Pacific Time [YouTube's time zone.] You can check a video's upload time with this tool. (3.a)

○ Please copy and paste the title from the original English YouTube video page with no extra text, links, or spaces. Videos re-uploaded to YouTube are not eligible. (2.a, 2.b, 5.g)

○ Vote for at least 5 different eligible videos, up to 10. (1.a)

Avoid voting for multiple videos from the same channel except in special circumstances (6.a). Don't vote for videos from the host's channel [LittleshyFiM.] (6.c)

○ Video must be 30 seconds or longer [not including intros/outros.] (5.a)

Avoid voting for: reuploads, shock videos, low-effort videos, simple gameplay/art, audio/music-centric content, or non-final videos such as animatics and trailers for upcoming videos. (5.d, 5.b, 5.f)


Full Rules

March 2023: 5.e. requirement for videos to be related to generations 4 and onward removed. Videos must still appeal to a brony audience though.
January 2023: Due to YouTube no longer showing a consistent date, clarification about time zones was added as 3.b. The rule itself has not changed.

No significant rule changes since July 2021. 

1. VOTE COUNT

○ 1a.   Vote for a minimum of 5 eligible videos and max of 10. 

○ 1b.   If you do not vote for at least 5 different eligible videos none of your votes will be accepted.


2. VOTE FORMATTING

○ 2a.   Please use the EXACT title of the video. It's best to copy and paste the title from the original English YouTube video page. If you're on mobile, you can do so within the browser version of YouTube. 

○ 2b.   No links, extra spaces, numbers, or channel names please!


3. VOTING PERIOD

○3 a.   All videos must be from last month. Pacific Time [California U.S.A.] is the determination since that is where YouTube is located. 

○3 b.   If a video is uploaded close to the beginning or end of the month you might want to use a tool like this to check: https://ytlarge.com/youtube/video-data-viewer. That tool in particular should show the upload in YouTube's time zone.


4. VOTER ELIGIBILITY

○ 4a.   One vote per person. Voters must be at least 13 years old and use a valid Google account.

○ 4b.   If you want to change your vote you can edit the form submission but this must be done before the voting period ends. If you do not see the option to edit, please do not vote again. The eligibility of your vote may be determined by any of your edits so please do not use placeholder votes.


5. VIDEO ELIGIBILITY

○ 5a.  Short length:

  Videos must be 30 seconds or longer not including intros/outros/credits/etc.


○ 5b.  Unsuitable votes:

The goal is to feature unique and memorable brony videos. Videos which are highly derivative, have very few views, are intended for children, are very low effort, etc. are not eligible.

Examples of unsuitable votes may include but aren’t limited to:

⁃ Unedited reaction videos, compilations of existing work, or simple gameplay with a voiceover.  

⁃ Videos which talk down to the audience and/or otherwise make an effort to appeal to children as a primary audience.

⁃ Joke videos with very little effort put into them or inside jokes intended for a small number of people to understand.


○ 5c.  Vote brigading/cheating:

  Votes suspected of manipulation/cheating are not eligible. For example: someone with a large following instructs their followers to vote for more than one video or do anything else that might affect the outcome unfairly. Asking followers to vote for one's own video is perfectly fine and encouraged provided the voters also have other eligible votes.


○ 5d.   Questionable content:

  Videos with a primary focus to offend, disturb, shock, or videos that are overtly sexual/fetishistic in nature are not eligible. Most mature content is fine as long as it's comedic/satirical and can be reasonably toned down for the final results video.


○ 5e.   "Pony" definition:

  Videos must have My Little Pony and/or bronies as the primary focus, or has been widely adopted by the brony community.


○ 5f.   "Video" definition:

  Votes must be actual complete YouTube videos. If music or audio is the primary focus it is not eligible. Videos must be in a final state with a more-complete version not expected to release. 

Examples of ineligible "non-video" votes may include but aren’t limited to:  

⁃ Non-animated comic dubs or art slideshows [especially if using old art.]  

⁃ Music videos with simple visuals [such as lyrics alongside an image.]  

⁃ Previews, trailers, and animatics of an upcoming video.


○ 5g.   Reuploads/deleted videos:

  Older videos that have been reuploaded are not eligible. This may include edits or remakes depending on originality. Please do not vote for older videos from other platforms even if they were recently uploaded to YouTube. Videos that were once on YouTube but aren’t at the time of voting are technically eligible provided the most current title is used, a copy can be found somewhere, and its removal was not the wish of the uploader.


6. CHANNEL ELIGIBILITY

○ 6a.   You must have at least five eligible votes from different channels/creators. You can include up to two votes from a particular channel/creator if the videos are unique and you're including votes for at least five channels/creators in total. Do not vote for multiple connected parts in a series.

○ 6b.   Do not vote for non-community videos. For example: videos made by companies such as Hasbro are not eligible.

○ 6c.   Don't vote for videos from the current host's channel, LittleshyFiM.

○ 6d.   In rare cases, votes for similar videos from the same channel/creator may be combined and given to the top-placing one if it seems fair to do so. This is done at the host's discretion.

Thanks for taking the time to read the rules! You're awesome /)