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Dollfie: A Generic or Specific Term?

Apr 19, 2006

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    1. To tell you the truth, it really annoys me when "Dollfie" is used as a blanket term. >.< The last con I was at, the girl came up to my table (where I had my CP boy sitting) and asked if that was a "Super Dollfie". I told her "No, he's actually a CP Luts, My Super Dollfie (Yume) is at home." Trying to educate her about the deferent terms used. In which she proceed to argue with me about it. "Well, they're all Dollfies aren't they?" Then I just left it at that..I didn't want to cause a fight. But the point is, not every doll is a "Volks Super Dollfie". It would be like some one calling all ABJD's "Delfs" or what not. It's a type of BJD, but shouldn't cover all the others.
      However, I do understand why people would use "Dollfie" as a blanket term. Seeing how Volks was the first company to bring ABJD's to the public, yeah?
       
      #21 Littledemonkurai, Apr 19, 2006
    2. it bothers me too. my dolls are not dollfies; i did not buy them from Volks. they are bjds bjds bjds bjds :ablink: i don't know why it bothers me so much.
       
      #22 alasandalack, Apr 19, 2006
    3. I perform Early Music (Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque). A brass instrument of this period, called a Sackbutt, looks like a trombone. When someone says, "Wow, I didn't know they made trombones way back then," I say, always with a smile, "They didn't. That's a Sackbutt." As insiders we know the detail-y distinctions. I don't expect outsiders necessarily to be up to speed on this stuff ... I'm just grateful for their interest. At one point, I was an outsider and thought these dolls were all, generically, dollfies! I wasn't trying to irritate people, I just didn't know.

      As a writer, I know that my copyright is a legal thing, but it only means something if I enforce it ... and for it to remain my copyright, I must enforce it. This is why some folks hire people to review the world at large for copyright infringement - imagine how hard it is to keep a watch on this stuff.

      So is Volks just saying they "discourage" use of the term dollfie, or are they actively enforcing their trademark?

      Lisa
       
      #23 FairEmma, Apr 19, 2006
    4. "dollfie" = doll figure. "Dollfie" - Volks dollfie.

      End of.
       
      #24 marc, Apr 19, 2006
    5. So lower case means no holds barred?

      Lisa
       
      #25 FairEmma, Apr 19, 2006
    6. And in conversation...?

      Or in Japanese katakana when there is no capitalization...?
       
      #26 Dezarii, Apr 20, 2006
    7. There is no difference with lower case, it's still a proper noun and although is not always capitalized just due to typing errors, it always means the same thing.
       
      #27 usagi665, Apr 20, 2006
    8. I'm inclined to agree with you usagi ... which is why I actually wrote with a wee tinge of sarcasm (and I think Dezarii echoed that sarcasm) in response to marc's short and to-the-point post directly before mine, where he suggests if you use a lower case 'd' it's generic, but a capital 'D' is proprietary.

      If Volks coined the term, capital or no, and zealously polices its usage, then it's a proprietary word.

      Lisa
       
      #28 FairEmma, Apr 20, 2006
    9. Agreed. My guys aren't Dollfies... And usually when someone asks if they are (I've had about half a dozen do so, so far-), I grin and say something like "Sort-of. Dollfies are made by a company in Japan called Volks. These guys were made by a different company in South Korea." If they seem interested, then I'll go into more detail about what BJDs actually are... but either way, they come out of it knowing that my CP boys are basically the same sort of doll as the Volks SD-types they're thinking of, and that there's more than one company making ball-jointed dolls. That's a pretty good compromise as far as I'm concerned.
       
      #29 Brightfires, Apr 20, 2006
    10. Maybe it's different here in the UK. For example "coke" is either a form of fuel, or a dark fizzy drink, whereas "Coke" is Coca-Cola.

      Interesting that Americans think that their terminology is international, but it isn't. No-one in the UK would ask for a Kleenex - we call them tissues. We call all vacuum cleaners "hoovers" (I've even heard people talking about their Dyson hoover ....) . We call sticky tape "sellotape", whereas Australians call it "durex", much to our amusement.

      We also tend to call BJD's dollfies. What are we like, eh?
       
      #30 marc, Apr 20, 2006
    11. It can also be a matter of being understood, when 'incorrectly' using the term Dollfie. If you run a panel called "Super Dollfies," then more people who are just getting into the dolls are more likely to come than a panel called "Asian Ball Jointed Dolls", because they aren't as familiar with the term.

      Also, if I'm describing my dolls on a message board not related to dolls, I'm going to assume the person I'm talking to doesn't know any other brands or the generic ABJD term until proven otherwise.
       
      #31 DeadLegato, Apr 20, 2006
    12. I never type in Dollfie when I'm searching ebay. I just go to Home> Buy> Dolls & Bears> Dolls> By Brand, Company, Character> Dollfie

      If someone has put an auction for BJD stuff anywhere other than that, I guess I don't find it.

      I never actually USE the word Dollfie, it's too babyish sounding.
       
      #32 The Elf Piper, Apr 20, 2006
    13. I don't own any dollfies or super dollfies. So, all of mine are Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, and that's how I refer to them in conversation.

      Dollfie/super dollfie ARE Volks trademarked terms, period.
       
      #33 gayle, Apr 20, 2006
    14. No one's debating that they're trademarked. The debate is over whether it's appropriate to use the trademark term (IE, calling tissues Kleenex), or whether it isn't.

      Personally, I think *for now* calling them Super Dollfies is okay, because that's what people understand. However, we as a fandom can start acquainting people with the term ABJD. Once people know what an ABJD is as well as they know what a Super Dollfie is, it won't be necessary to use the trademarked term anymore.
       
      #34 DeadLegato, Apr 20, 2006
    15. So you, in effect, let eBay use the word generically for you, even though you personally wouldn't use the word in speech or type it in a search. And you accept that when you select the category "Dollfie" on eBay, you are actually selecting a category that means "BJD", not "Volks Dollfie" or "Volks Super Dollfie"?

      Lisa
       
      #35 FairEmma, Apr 20, 2006
    16. Actually, ebay is pretty picky about how you create a listing using that term.

      For example I recently had my Dollmore Ray up for auction. If I had listed her as
      "Super Dollfie, Dollmore Ray", the auction would have been pulled. However I listed her as "Dollmore Ray, 60 cm Ball Joint doll, like Super Dollfie", that is an acceptable way to use the term in ebays eyes.

      Key word is "like".
       
      #36 gayle, Apr 20, 2006
    17. They may be more conscious of it, but they've got a ways to go given many of the auction titles similar to this: Customized Luts BW Dark Elf Soo BJD SD Dollfie PEPSTAR, a 5 day auction with just a little over a day to go for a Luts doll. This auction hasn't been pulled, nor have many others like it.

      And if they really are getting picky, then why under Brands/Company/Characters is the only BJD category called "Dollfie", through which they link to all sorts of BJD companies?

      Lisa
       
      #37 FairEmma, Apr 20, 2006
    18. I am sure ebay lets some things slide simply because they don't make the connection. I mean they probably aren't real knowledgeable about these dolls in the first place. However, I do know that when things get pointed directly out to them, via email, they can be pretty ruthles about pulling auctions.

      I learned that lesson the hard way when I fisrt started selling clothes for Sharmin and I would incorrectly use the term MSD. I had two auctions pulled for that very reason, so I now am very careful how I write the listing so there isn't any confusion.
       
      #38 gayle, Apr 20, 2006
    19. When refering to general doll sizes, I don't think its a problem to refer to dolls as either "SD size" or "MSD size", though I prefer the terms full-size and mini size or 1/3 and 1/4 scale. Its really not a big deal to me which terms are used, though. ^_^

      But it kind of bugs me when people say they are selling clothes for "SD" or "SD sized" dolls, only to discover that they are selling clothes for, say, a Delf Boy, or to click on a post selling "MSD" clothes and find clothes made with a Souldoll mini as a model.

      If you say that something is for SD size, than dangit, it should fit my Super Dollfie! When it comes to clothes, I wish sellers would use the term Super Dollfie like Volks, the company who makes said dolls, uses it. Super Dollfies (the original line) are not the same as Super Dollfie 13's, nor are they the same as CP dolls. What fits one will not necessarily fit the other!

      And if I see the term "Dollfie" without "Super" in front of it, I would expect it to be referring to the little 1:6 scale dolls (that I am also quite fond of).

      Okay, done now, sorry about the rant. ^^;;
       
      #39 Dolly, Apr 20, 2006
    20. This is my main problem with the oversimplifying of the term, it makes finding clothes difficult when the person says it fits SD13 boy yet the only model is a CP Delf boy.
       
      #40 usagi665, Apr 20, 2006
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