iB/PhM Keep-in-Touch Project

Because losing a bunch of friends becase your single point of contact goes down isn’t fun.

Started in July 2019, the iBrony/PhilomenaMagikz Keep-in-Touch (KiT) Project aims to help reconnect brony friends of times past by listing publicly available or volunteered contact information of former users of three defunct brony social networks: iBrony, PhilomenaMagikz, and (to a lesser extent) Cutie Marks. All information is gathered and input in the spare time of several contributors, many of whom are seeking to preserve the nostalgic remnants of a long-dead community.

A brief history

In January 2012, users Celestia and Discord founded iBrony, a brony-oriented social network. In late 2013, Cutie Marks was launched by some of the iBrony staff, hence its being somewhat a sister website. Several iBrony members migrated from iBrony to Cutie Marks for a diverse set of reasons, though largely to avoid long-standing drama. And then it got wiped off the face of the Earth in March 2014, prompting many to return to iBrony.

Shortly after Cutie Marks’ disappearance, iBrony also went down for good, leaving thousands of bronies with no place to go. LightningBlaze then opened up his then-in-progress competitor PhilomenaMagikz earlier than scheduled as a refuge to which iBrony users could stay together. PhilomenaMagikz stayed in service till October 2017, after which many users migrated to various other communities. Many bronies still active in the fandom can be found on Canterlot Avenue.

For a more in-depth history of the three websites, check out the (work-in-progress) iB/PhM History page.

Requesting access

Get in contact on the PhM diaspora server on Discord. If you just want to provide some information, use the submission form and/or message a project member. If you wish to have full access, however, send a message to [email protected].

Make sure to periodically check the update log for any new users or features added to the database.

Removing entries

Though all non-volunteered contact information in this directory comes from publicly available resources such as the Wayback Machine, website member listings or even a simple Google search, your right to privacy will be respected. If you don’t want to be listed in this directory, submit a takedown request; your name will be internally blacklisted so that project members will keep your record blank.

How can I help?

There are several things you can do to help the project, varying from easy and simple to what feels like the job of a PI.

  1. Sift through old friends lists and chat logs. If you still use or have access to accounts you used during the brony era, go through and see if you recognise any names. Even if they’re clearly inactive, every bit of information helps.
  2. Browse the Wayback Machine. Search the URL for usernames, and look through their profiles for contact info or links to other users.
    1. PhilomenaMagikz
    2. Cutie Marks
    3. iBrony
  3. Search websites for keywords like “iBrony” or “PhM”. More often than not, posts about or involving iB/PhM are by users from said websites. Following/followers lists could be of great help here.
  4. Check on other brony SNS. Not everyone used/uses iB exclusively; many can be found on current sites such as Canterlot Avenue or MLP Forums by their OC names.
  5. Do a straight-up Google search of their name. Make sure you use "quotes" so you don’t get weird corrections and irrelevant results.

If the information you have isn’t publicly available, check whether the person in question is okay with their info in this directory.

Contributors

  • Araziel Kael Dynnian
  • Echo Synth
  • Gaslight Whooves
  • Harmonia Clef
  • Harmonic Hooves (Seth)
  • Liam
  • LightningBlaze
  • Mist Chaser
  • Neon Splash
  • Nepotera
  • Ratchet Wrench
  • Sketchy Mane

Other archived resources of interest