Is There Something or Someone You Miss on DOA?

Oh man- so much! I don't recall most user name to be quite honest, but I've been in this hobby for at least a decade now and a greater part of my conscious life I remember how I idolized clothes by Brennil, Mio, Softly She Walks, etc, how unoas cost a cool grand (I don't miss that lol), how easy it was to make and stay friends. The Lounge was my internet haven. A little later the photostories by @Hakari-chan and @mendokusai were all the rage, I wanted nothing more than a hat by @keishi-chan. Dale Rae shoes were the coolest option, as well as hoodies by @crazykimochi , bedding by @kpatillo , monstrodesigns was a thing but so much different back then!
I love how far this hobby has come and grown- but I'm also glad I have all these silly, warm fuzzy memories of it too

 

Court and Castle shoes. Apple Avenue coats, Sterling's chain armor. Aziza's fluffy fur wigs... Those were just the bee's knees. I do miss seeing them, along with Softly She Walks and Just Shining's outfits. I miss a lot of the old face-up artists, too... Cherry Street Sera, About a Boy, Ulat, Bread17… They all did interesting things. I find myself wondering sometimes what those folks are up to these days.

 

This might be nostalgia talking but I kind of miss Den of Angels being basically the only game in town. Everything was centralize and easy to find. I could go to one place get news, community and photos. Now, while DoA is still my home for news, doll information, and selling; I feel like I have so many other places to check for what's happening the community. Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr ect. It's great to see the community growing and being so many platforms. I guess I am just old fashioned. lol.

 

I miss Ravendolls' faceups. Two of my dolls have faceups by her but the colors have now faded. Here is an example of her subtle and soft style:

DIM Doll In Mind Bellosse head with faceup by Ravendolls SD BJD | eBay

 

Oh I have totally forgotten about Court and Castle shoes (and I own like 4 pair!)

I remember those photostories by @Hakari-chan and @mendokusai! Always loved when a new "episode" came out. AND my favorite photostory from @StephG and her Resin Hearts Romance series

 

This x1000! I have two remaining ravendolls faceups as well (including my avatar girl) and she always did such lovely work.

Also I can't believe I forgot this, but does anyone remember Darkwood's "Super Pigfie" series?! She had a whole storyline with her Soom Uyoo getting into these little resin pigs and it was just such a good tongue-in-cheek tribute to the hobby. I just checked and Darkwood hasn't been active on DoA for 10+ years (wow does time fly).

 

Yes, yes, yes, I remember the Super Pigfies! Hadn't thought about that series in years.

 

I had forgotten about @Lizzard's death -- I miss her good sense and good humor, too. I hear from @FairEmma occasionally; she's not very active online anymore, but I think she'd be glad to hear from you if you sent her an email, @idrisfynn (same address as ever).

Shout-out to @aznbutterfly!! I have some of his gorgeous silk outfits, and I think about him fondly every time I put one on a doll.

I miss @celticgeekess and @Taco so much -- I always counted on them to help fight the good fight when idiocy bubbled up on the forum . . .

 

I miss @Vindalootoo and her Wiishu! I'm friends with her on Facebook, but she's not online much anymore.

I also miss seeing @Darkwind and @trinlayk around here. I'm friends with them on FB as well, and thankfully they're active, so we can chat about dolls there.

 

Having been in the hobby wince 2007, I miss the days where it was still relatively easy to get a faceup from SDink, and what ever happened to Lilykoi who used to make lovely faceups as well. I also miss Zagzagael's gorgeous photography. I miss the hysteria when a new Bermann was announced. I still remember Mio's lovely jeans for Unoa and the way she sort of disappeared.
The hobby was still relatively new and esoteric, and then Chinese manufacturers became aware of its existence and the economic possibilities and wham! everything changed. It was no longer about artisans lovingly sculpting a doll by hand and making small production runs, it's now about sculpting in ZBrush, prototyping with a 3d printer and casting in three different sizes all proportionnal.
I miss the days where SD was a young adolescent, MSD a 10 year old and YoSD a young child, and clothing was more standardized. Now you can have what is technically a MSD but in reality is just a 70cm doll that has been shrunk to 43cm.

A lot of the members from back then no longer are as active on DoA or have switched over to Instagram etc. I myself stopped for awhile and then came back.
I may be in the rarity but I agree with DoA's stricter policies,being on topic and civility. I also find that looking for information on Facebook and cie is much harder.

 

Not long ago, I actually came across an artist selling little resin pig pet dolls... I bought one for Teacup.
I've been giggling about him finally having a real resin Pigfie ever since. Her name is Esmeralda.

 

For me it would have to be @yldenfrei
I miss those awesome photostories, and dedication.

I guess I miss the overall dedication you'd see from people in the hobby. It feels as if you hardly see the same doll twice anymore. Back in the days you'd steadily get to know characters/dolls.

 

I was just thinking about @Vindalootoo and Wiishu the other day (though I'm rubbish with names so I couldn't remember either, but I recall the photos and character of Wiishu well). I do definitely miss seeing her around, though, even if I couldn't remember her username.

 

I miss DiverseDesigns clothing as well! I purchased quite a few shirts from them in the past. It was always exciting to see what they would come out with.

Overall I think I miss a general friendliness that I found in my earlier years of DOA. I feel like I don’t make as many (or any) connections with members now, and people seemed so much more social in the past. I could be imagining it but I feel like members are just more guarded now. And as others have said, the discussions on here seem to be more of people just adding their two cents, and not really reading or responding to others, so I don’t bother doing many discussions anymore. Maybe it seems this way be the forum has grown so much and it’s harder to keep track of people and comments.

I also feel like the marketplace is a lot less as exciting. I used to find some real gems of clothes! Maybe that is because of the decrease of seamstresses others have mentioned!

Overall though DOA is still my go-to for everything dolly and I’m grateful for it!

 

I miss Effie's World. They were these adorable photostories by @Scarlett Empress that were uploaded from 2010 to 2015 and spanned 6 seasons. The props, the attention to detail, and the love she had for the characters really blew me away. Even though you can still catch her uploads (and spoilers!) on her flickr, I would love to be able to read her stories again.

 

I got burned something awful on another doll forum that prided itself on "openness" but was a mess of drama, favoritism and picking on those who didn't meet arbitrary standards. I find the strictness here a relief from that toxic soup.

As a librarian, I prize ease of finding information. DoA isn't perfect, but I don't want to take my chances searching for specialized BJD data elsewhere.

 

Lot of folks I'm very relieved to see are still around and there's an number of people who have left the hobby or passed that I miss seeing around. There's a few folks I'm racking my brain to recall their usernames but haven't been able to spot. There's a lot of crafters, creators, and painters missing that I'm bummed to see go, but I also get having to cycle out what you work on in your life.

I was very active with meetup groups (particularly central Virginia), but a lot of people I met over the years have reduced their presence or moved (including myself). I don't see meetups for most of my previous living areas, and I've been keeping an eye out for an actual meetup in my new local but I might get the itch to just set one up. Overall the meetup forum seems much neater but also a lot more empty.

Overall I'm very surprised at just how quiet it feels on here. Digging for the thread you forgot to subscribe to doesn't seem as pressing. Posts seem to be a lot lighter and less likely to disagree. While I completely understand why the "debates/controversial topics" forum was removed (probably in no small part to several threads I was pretty sure turned into site-wide brawls) I had found them amazing to get a lot of passionate opinions, dust off, and shake hands. Maybe that was just my experience.

Like @saraquill , I've been shying away from many external groups for varied reasons.

 

It's wild seeing so many familiar names in this thread. Really takes me back.

I have to agree with @saraquill. I think with all it's faults and not, DoA was an important resource for bjd information. I still use it to find references. I do miss when the community was more populated and active, though. Many of the reference threads are now filled with dead links. Glad something like the BJD database is still up, eventhough I'm not sure if people still use these resources or not.

This place has really shaped my understanding and experience of this hobby. I've encountered many people on here which have helped me — and some, less helpful. I didn't even mind the hint of elitism which came with some of the forum members as long as it was active and you could pool intel fairly easily. I'm curious to know how things have changed for hobbyists now and newcomers.

 

I miss @psyence and her stories. The photoshootings with her minimees, especially hide and Yoshiki, were just hilarious. Also @JennyNemesis hot hunks and her comments, which often made me laugh.