A decline in the doll hobby?

I know I've been away from the forum for about 6 months with a crazy work schedual, and am just now getting back. Love all the updates, BTW, mods! I agree that with the addition of "Newbieland" there isn't the influx of the same discussion threads in the General Discussion area, so maybe it seems a little less busy.

But primarily, with the new layout and Marketplace, thread clean-up and all the work the mods do, DoA just seems like a much more organized place! It's like walking into a cluttered room vs. a room with built-in storage... they may both have the exact same amount of stuff in them, but the cluttered room just looks so much fuller! Everything in DoA is nicely compartmentalized, so it doesn't seem as busy even though it is.

 

I literally spilled my drink all over the place. Thank you very much for the good laugh, I needed it! ^.~




I honestly also believe that it’s just individual perception. I still see a lot of activity in the galleries sections
of the forum at some point or another during the day, although not all day long. The gallery section in particular
moves really fast sometimes you can’t even blink! So there must still be some interest in the dolls, if not the
“rest of the hobby” per se.


- Enzyme

 

Wow - I actually found a spot to reply/post. I don't know why, but several spots I tried said I'm not allowed to post on that thread. Odd.

Well, I guess the thing to do is post where I can and maybe the rest will open up for me... eventually.

I'm not a bit concerned about a decline in the hobby. I think such things come and go. I don't consider myself a Collector, as such - I'm only serious about one style and that's my Himstedt Collection. I have a fairly sizable group there.

For BJDs - not so much. I only have two now and sold four several months back. I'm favoring and pleased to see lots of the jointed dolls in many other styles I've had over the years. But still am not "collecting" them. I tend to choose one or two of each style so I can design and sew for them. I'm more interested in models.

But I really enjoy others as they make stories and stunning photos. I relish others photos and find the whole of doll collecting really interesing. Nobody I know cares or enjoys dolls - just me. That makes me sad.

I know in the Himstedt world - the values have gone down. That's sad too. I don't know if it's the same with BJDs - since I sold all mine at a loss, I suspect it is the same. However, with Himstedts, there will be no more since Annette is gone as an artist. With BJDs - there's always someone or something new. It's a really exciting field of interest.

Good to chat - now to see if I can learn something else... onward!

D.

 

It's a combination of factors for me. Money is getting tighter these days so I feel less inclined to spend on things I like and more on things I need (ie. clothes, food, hanging with friends and family, etc.). Also, I'm getting more into the customizing aspect of the hobby so I am sometimes on just to check for reference but not... much else.

But yeah, like others have stated, I don't really mind the decline. Maybe it's because I am on less but I think it makes the hobby more like how it was in the old days (do I qualify as 'old' too?? ) There was a boom recently if I recall, but as with all booms, it usually fades back to the original number.

 

Yeah I don't think the forum has died down, I think maybe the economy isn't as good or something, its just so quiet

 

^ Good points by you and PenguinCheese. I can recall seeing three or four meme threads all asking about doll names. They were all asking the same thing. Sure, there was a little extra question introduced, but they all required I answer the same way. I really didn't find it necessary to go into the story of how my dolls got their names in every thread.

I think the "Is it ok/wrong" themed threads quieted down once a thread was made about why people were getting tired of them - I think the thread's idea stemmed from people discussing in-thread why they were tired of seeing this question. I agree that there's only so many times I want to reply "It's your doll, do what you want with it."

Here's a link to the thread discussing them.

So while there might be some questions that do pop up that I want to answer, there are some threads that seem very redundant, even when asking the question a slightly different way.

I've noticed some good questions in the "^<v game" thread that could be used as separate threads. I might see what I've asked, and see if it's thread-worthy.

 

Okay - I'm so green and new that I hated to strike out with an opinion and, therefore, didn't...

But since it's been mentioned, I did think it rather odd/strange to see various questions like "what should I do" and "is it okay", "is it right, is it wrong", etc.

Really? Do you really care what we think about what you do? Are there "rules"? Really? Don't you think this world already has ENUF rules??? Let's leave BJDs out of it - and do as we please with our purchases. Purchases. Doesn't that make them mine then? I can do what I want and so can you. Yes?

Funny - odd. I figured it was maybe just me - glad there's at least two others. Hurray.

Being new here - I'm really trying hard to find my way around AND to do searches. Sometimes it doesn't work - the search does not pull up what I want. I hate redundancy also.

Tolerance. I guess that's the method to stay in the realm of norm (whatever that might be).

 

aceinit and PenguinCheese pretty much summed up my feelings. I used to participate, but now I feel like it's a lot of repeats.

I'm to the point in this hobby, where I don't feel like socializing as much within the community. I can enjoy my dolls all by my lonesome and be perfectly happy. And my collection isn't growing anymore either. So I basically just drop by to check on the News subforum occasionally and then I'm off again like a shot.

 

This makes a very good point as well. The forum was a lot less organized "back in the day." The mods have made some wonderful improvements to streamline forums without resulting to a bulk delete to make it happen.

Don't be afraid to have an opinion, even if it may be an unpopular one. If we all agreed on everything, it would make for some boring discussions. One of my favorite places is the Debate Forum because it encourages a variety of opinions.

 

This is true, also. I joined in '08, so I don't know when "back in the day" refers to, though, plus I wasn't constantly on it until last year. I originally believed all BJD forums were this neatly organized, but when I signed up to another one, I couldn't believe how jumbled it was. It was a big reason why I decided not to participate.

I thought I was the only one! You post in a relatively 'busy' thread, and then no one posts after you for days - or forever. Sometimes I have wondered if I said something utterly offensive, and no one can think of anything good to respond with, and that I killed the thread. lol

Don't be afraid to voice how you feel. Even if you're in the minority, don't treat it as if you're necessarily "wrong" - sometimes, there is no right answer, anyway. Just be ready to defend your view with relevant facts and examples. If you don't give your opinion, both sides could lose out on a perspective they might not have thought to bring up.

 

I know I haven't posted much in the last year or so, and I think part of it is I'm not in a place to afford any new dolls and there have been times I have been seriously considering my dolls to cover day to day expenses. Also with most of my dolls having reached a stage where I am happy with the way they look I don't have much to talk about.

 

My other hobby got to that point. Of course the fora memberships were a miniscule fraction of this one, it made it harder to avoid the people who got on your nerves (one of them was by invitation only, too). I didn't quit the hobby so much as stop socializing within it.

Here, I'm kind of into the under-rated, less popular sculpts so those threads move more slowly. So I probably wouldn't notice if there was an actual decline or not. I tend to look around a lot and only post occasionally. As others have mentioned, what is left to say that hasn't already been said in most threads?

 

I'm almost brand new here and I must admit that I haven't seen new topics being posted, the majority being other newbies posting on really old threads started a couple of years ago. I've tried starting new threads a couple of times but each time they got deleted ^^;

This forum is still way more active then most forums I'm aware of though so I don't think we're at the stage where we need to worry yet.

 

Hmmm...

My original reply was to "a decline in the hobby" - meaning Doll Hobby - not DOA. I have no experience with DOA and its past, having only re-joined in April and refreshing my acquaintance here. So I can't speak out on that at all - other than having heard rumours that there had been a lot of contention of ideas here on what is and is not a BJD and certain dolls cannot be mentioned or talked about.

That's my only heresay about DOA and I do know several people left because of that and other things.

But the overal Doll Hobby is quiet, I believe, due to the wretched economies we are all experiencing everywhere - no jobs - no money to spend. Some buying, but not like it used to be. Lots of trades amongst trusted friends on forums.

I don't consider myself shy - just quiet in groups. I tend to lose that in writing on forums. I don't argue or debate well face to face because I can't seem to think fast enough and remember all my facts - with writing, I can do it easily and even well...sometimes. So shyness is never a problem online.

I love being alone and keep myself hugely busy, so I don't seek out a lot of social activity.

I have to say - it's really, really nice to see someone (you) who considers themselves to be "shy" begin a thread and have such nice interaction to it.

So far - I'm noticing (being so new) - that most of the active ones here seem to be young... really young. I'm not. So, I'm probably not going to seek out face to face interaction at dollmeets - I'd feel out of place with those a whole lot younger than me - and I'd be diversely disengaged with any mutual interests - maybe even in the doll world. Somethings just gross out old timers. LOL

 

There are threads here for every age group. There's a teen thread, a 20-something thread, an over-30 thread and a 55 and up thread. I'd definitely recommend checking out the one for your age group. The great thing about this hobby is it really is ageless.

I attend our local doll meets every month I can manage. Most of us are in our late 20s and thirties, but our meets have encompassed all ages, from teens to 50+. People have brought their little siblings, their grandparents or their kids. And most of the conversation is about the dolls themselves, sculpts and faceups and styling and general oohing and awwing, what company is doing what and ooh...did you see such and such? I've made some good friends of all ages at our meets, and I adore all of them.

I'm not a social butterfly myself. I am with you when you say "I love being alone and keep myself hugely busy, so I don't seek out a lot of social activity." But I have always enjoyed our monthly meetup and look forward to them every month.

I would recommend at least checking one out. You may end up being pleasantly surprised. And, if they're not your thing, you can always skip the future ones. Either way, it's a great chance to check out lovely dolls you might not otherwise get to see in person.

 

Thanks. Definitely 55 and up!!!!! I'm 70 - can you believe that? I can't. How'd I get here this fast?

70 means you've seen a lot of stuff - but that's pretty much all it means. LOL My mind still thinks I'm about 34 and gets quite a shock when I catch myself in strange mirrors or walking by windows. You don't spend much time in front of mirrors when you get this old. I see my Grandma in me every day - wonderment!

I'll have to check out the other groups - that'd be interesting. I could go to meetups - but that's where I get shy. Maybe I will though - there's one coming up in October at Disneyland - perhaps, perhaps a venture there - kinda far for me, but might be such fun to see others BJDs.

Thanks for your interest and recommendations. I'll make use.

 

I wonder if that might be the result of more variety in the doll company market. People are more informed because of DoA and there is less box opening regret? Another market place decline might just be that there are more people doing business on Etsy, and more doll clothing companies? The initial rush of excitement might be over, but we come here for the grounded base of the hobby.

 

It seems pretty active here to me -- I haven't noticed any kind of decline. It is true that the marketplace can be slower, however, there's many many more dolls available now than there used to be (more competition) and a down economy. I wouldn't chalk it up to hobby decline, personally. Also, active members will get busy with other stuff, disappear for awhile and come back. And as other people have mentioned, you do get repeat discussion topics which while normal, not everybody is going to want to answer the same question for the sixth time. The forum rearranging could also make things feel different around here without any over all real drop off of participation.

 

Regarding the "is it okay" blah blah blah stuff: I don't mind seeing people asking some of the same questions such as "How do I use MSC?" and "Will Sharpie hurt my doll?" because those are basic care questions. Every new person in a hobby will have those questions - heck, one of my first threads was about me being afraid my doll was yellowing when it was just the sealant yellowing. I'm forgiving of that sort of thread.

However, the sheer number of threads that question the very morality of having/modifying/whatevering your dolls just gets...very, very old after a while. Maybe it comes from having dolls for a long time and viewing that as objects instead of family members/sentient being. Who knows. But I find myself participating in General Discussion and Debates very rarely these days. I don't find myself commenting so much on Box Openings either...again, probably just tired of it from being here for a while but one can only see so many blurry, hastily shot pictures of bubble wrap and cats in boxes before you just stop caring. xD Edit: Oh yeah, and when drama-llama situations like Mikhalia happen, it just pushes me a little further away from the community, if not the hobby itself.

As for an overall decline in the hobby: I wouldn't say DoA has declined at all; it's just more organized and certain rules are a bit more enforced which has resulted in less clutter. Plus, Newbieland has probably REALLY helped, that was a great idea to keep the aforementioned "How do I use MSC?" type questions more or less in one place! The hobby itself may have declined slightly because of economic problems making luxury products a bit less easy to buy, but the number of new companies popping up every single day shows that the hobby certainly isn't going away - it's getting bigger and more mainstream as new companies appear, trying to satisfy everyone's aesthetic desires. And those companies often disappear just as quickly as they appear.