no BJDs - thoughts?

I've never seen a non-owner try to give advice.

 

View on non-BJD Owners

As potential targets for conversion into the hobby, especially if they're already on DoA (heh heh heh ^_^)! Joking aside, I'd surely trust the opinion of a non-owner in many areas and welcome their interest -- after all, one does not need to own a BJD to know whether they think a faceup, body type, or clothes fit together for instance.

I probably would not trust a non-owner's advice on care and repairs, since those things generally require first-hand experience to really know what you're talking about. But for most other things related to the hobby, sure, why not?

 

I haven't yet posted a reply to this thread. I only really have one point. It could be argued that on somethings the community is very loyal of, such as MSC being the sealent to use whereas there are other sealents that some may argue are just as good, better or worse. I think a non-BJD owner might have had the time not to stick to these beliefs because they don't have first hand experience as such. If they work with resin out of BJD or other material as such they are likely to actually know more about it then BJD owners. For example, I know a cosplay comissioner that could tell you a surplus of infomation about sealents and safety.
Though I think unless the poster made this infomation clear people will be a bit warry if they knew they didn't own a doll. It's all down to first impressions. If you knew of someone purely what they posted on one forum, you can;t know them fully. I presonally would be guilt of being wary of non bjd owners advice on somethings, even if it may be the wisest words on the subject.
Do I think it is a elitist? To a point, yes. If you look down on someone for not owning a BJD then yes it is, but if I worry about the credibility of the advice due to lack of experience than no.

 

1. doll owners and their view on non-BJD owners
I think it's silly to discount anyone's opinion. Lumping someone into a generalization because they do or don't own a doll is a very immature way of thinking. There are plenty of doll owners out there who know very little about the proper care of dolls, especially when problems arise, and plenty of non-owners who do know what to do. There is an old saying that goes "those who can't do, teach" that I think somewhat applies here. Someone who is really interested in BJDs but does not have the resources to obtain one at that time might spend a lot of time researching on how to take care of the doll when they can have it, and knowing all they can about it. In doing so, they might find a lot of resources/forums pertaining to a lot of things that they might then retain. BJD owners might not do that if they already have a doll, and might only look for things pertaining to specific dolls or problems. But then again, some BJD owners will still look around to know all they can, and some non-owners might just look at dolls and nothing else. So in my opinion, it's really a case-by-case basis.

 

I've been in to BJDs for several years but I have not own any BJDs yet ^___^ I attended doll outings with my friends and they are very nice to me. I never feel like I am alienated in any ways. And no, I am half way on getting my very first doll *O* BJD owners that I know have been very helpful to me and advising me about these dolls too.

 

I'm still technically a "non-bjd owner" since mine is still on its way, but the whole reason why I joined this forum was to learn more about them before I got really serious. Don't get me wrong, I had already spent a number of months learning about them before joining so I was serious, but that was my main reason. And whenever I come across someone who needs help, I try to help as much as I can. Obviously if it's about a specific doll (color, comparisons, etc) I may not be able to help unless I find a video or something to send them!

 

I only wish I had a doll. True, I'm rather new to the doll community as a whole, but I still have an intense passion for them. I absolutely adore their realistic yet anime-ish qualities (plus being a Rozen Maiden fan helps. ^^). Although my family is mostly oblivious to my interest towards most dolls in general...

Anyways, deviating from my small ramblings... yes I consider myself a part of the DoA community, though as a newbie (in more ways than one). I probably wouldn't give advice about doll quality and components, since most of what I know is more on the financial side. The main reason I joined DoA in the first place was to access the second-hand marketplace, but I find this place more and more useful with every visit. I feel I'll become a 'true member' very soon at this rate.

 

[paragraph]2. non-BJD owner experiences As a non-owner yet (big change in life situation, still looking for job) I mostly don't feel like I can give -advice- on the topic, however if someone's got a very specific question, well, I'm having a lot better luck looking things up on Google than I used to have (looking up whale folklore and finding chicken biology, still don't know how that happened) with search engines, and I feel like I can do fairly well at telling a good source from a bad one. What I'm doing at this point is trying to absorb every bit of information I can find, including random tutorials and such, and if I see someone asking about something I've already seen elsewhere, I might direct them over to that tutorial.[/paragraph] [paragraph] I'm a perennial crafting-do-it-yourself-er. I found a tutorial on making eyes out of Fimo clays and I got horrendously excited and had to share it with the BJD owners I met on the Gaia forums. I started making chainmaille jewelry in miniature and have a good length thread on the Dairyland BJD forum discussing, simply, types of clasps that work well for BJDs and the risks for scratching VS magnets sticking in the wrong place. And one of the biggest reasons I want to get into this hobby is to learn to make patterns and sew, on the smaller scale, so eventually I can translate that up into making clothing for myself, but I won't be risking wasting tons of fabric while I learn basics. And so far everyone's been really nice when I start asking questions about things, but for the most part, unless I already have knowledge I'm really sure about on something (like jumping in on a jewelry crafting discussion elsewhere) I won't try to answer a question until it looks like no one else has an answer... And then I usually ask my sister, who's had a few BJDs for about four years and does her own face-ups and stuff, and relay her answer over. [/paragraph][paragraph]Although I will say, even as a non-owner, I haven't really found anyone that's openly discounted my opinion because I don't own them yet. I've been gently corrected, or had more information added onto answers I've tried to help with, but as of yet I haven't experienced any of the elitism that I've heard about.[/paragraph]

 

General view?

I can't say that I really notice the group of non-owners as a collective. I suppose my general opinion of them is that dollless members are either here for research or are joining the community while they're saving up, and as such tend to be lurkers more than actively posting members. So for me, they go largely unnoticed.

How much do you think a person not owning a BJD can even know about them?

When my roommate bought her first doll (long before I ever owned one), during his production period, I was the one who learned how to restring, paint, and make clothes for the doll. I was ready when he arrived for anything that might come up, and although I've learned so much more since then, I can say that I had a good deal of theoretical knowledge before I ever handled a doll for myself.

How do you feel about getting advice from a user who doesn't own a BJD?
If they are knowledgeable, it's fine. Taking the time to search the forum and post an informative and helpful link doesn't have to be done by someone who owns a doll, and can be the best advice.


Do you think that not taking non-owners seriously is a form of elitist thinking?

I don't think it's any more elitist than being the manager of a McDonald's and thinking the new fry guy has no idea what's going on. Sometimes people surprise you, but experience is the best teacher in all things, IMHO.

Any meet-up experiences?
I've been a dollless owner at a meetup, and people were very kind. I was permitted to handle the dolls, ask a million questions, and receive patient, informative answers from beaming owners. If you'll forgive the wandering topicality of this statement, I think we all secretly love it when people are in awe of our dolls, and fawn all over them, and that magical moment only really comes from someone who doesn't get to explore one inside out everyday. I say, bring more dollless people to meets!

Anything else?

... erm, I think I covered it.

 

Being a non-owner and a total newbie to this hobby I can only attest that it makes me much less confident in conversations than I might be if I could more easily relate. It's not because of anything anyone has said or done but rather my own nerves and insecurities. Unlike other non-owners I've been reading on here I've never even been to a meet up and the only Dolls I've had real contact with is a handful owned by a couple I know.

Of course this just means I tale a much greater interest in the visual concepts page or perhaps the debates about appropriate photoshoots. Places that just require creativity or common sense rather than Dollie knowledge.

 

I don't have a bjd, but that's because I'm new, and I'm sure a lot of other non-bjd owners are planning to get one and have researched, which is why they're here, and probably have a fair degree of knowledge, but I don't think they should be advising other people frequently if they're new or haven't physically dealt with dolls a lot.

 

I would say, it depends. Being a non-doll owner, but occupying myself a lot with BJDs, there are some fields where I had some knowledge before.

I could not give any advice about things as maintenance, de-yellowing, etc. I knew nothing of these, only tried to collect information as much as possible here.

But there were some things I had an opinion of, like sizes, molds, etc. Now if someone asks about character dolls (which doll looks like this character?), I thought which mold could do the job. Without having a BJD myself.

Or modding. I have done quite a bit of modding to modelhorses. So I know a bit how to work with this stuff. I gave my two cents to people asking. Same with cloth and prop making. The same rules apply to different dimensions.

So yes, for example if I had questions regarding pants I would rather ask a experienced seamstress who has never seen a BJD before about the problem of solving too low waists than someone who has been owning BJDs for ten year, but their selfmade pants always show the top of their butts.

 

I don't own a BJD, and I am not active enough to consider myself a "part" of the community... more like an observer. I like to research for hours on here, so when I do obtain a doll of my own I will have knowledge on basic things and then some. Besides, many of the people here are wonderful and I don't need a doll in order to admire them.

 

I know when I first started my bjd reseach in 2004 DOA was a lot smaller and more initimate. People were ready to give feedback and advice regarding doll choices or questions with out making anyone feel weird or insecure as one above poster had stated she felt.

Now as a bjd owner I dont really think one way or another about people who dont have dolls. If anything I see them as someone getting in to the hobby and doing their research
We were ALL newbies at one time or another to this hobby. No one was born with a BJD in the hand.

Side note: I'm not sure when 'newbie' became a term to not only mean 'new to something' but also an insult. I think its one pretty lame when someone uses the term in that fashion as an insult.

 

Hardly a debate. Either you have dolls, or you don't have any yet but you like them, or you want to get them. *shrug* Whutever.

 

This is coming from a non doll owner. I've known about this website for about 2 years, when I first started researching the hobby. After 2 years, I finally think I am ready to step up to the plate and buy my own doll. Personally, I would not give anyone advice on their own dollie if they came to me in fear I would tell them the wrong thing and they would mess up. After all, I've only seen/held/interacted with a few dolls in the past few years when I got to go to meet-ups and help with my friends dolls. I still think I need advice, re stringing the first time is going to scare me, I know it! From the doll owners I've met both new to the hobby and years of experience have all been kind to me, if when I knew nothing about it. People are often shocked when I tell them I do not own a doll, but like I said, I've been researching for 2 years!

 

i was hanging on bjdforums in swe yeaars before i got my own doll. i loved pics of them, but i felt somehow left out and not "allowed" to interact since i didnt have a doll on my own and i w'saw myself as a newbie even tho I had learned very much about the dolls. But when i got my first doll, that didnt really change, so it may just be me^^,

 

I have never not felt like part of the community simply because I don't own I doll. Every BJD owner/collecter I've met in real life or talked to on the internet has been extremely nice.


In regards to giving someone advice, I tend not to.


However, if there looking for info on say, how to do face-ups, I'll probably link to some tutorials.

 

Very interesting topic! When I started out I was on DoA for a couple of months before I got my first doll and while I participated in some threads it was never to give advice. I was much more likely to ask than to try to give advice and I guess I always assumed that others without a doll would do the same.

I personally would have no trouble with people giving non doll related advice such as in a sewing critique or advice on a character but wouldn't expect someone who doesn't own a doll to be giving re-stringing advice. Honestly though if it was something they were very confident about I really wouldn't care either way.

 

As an enthusiest who doesn't have any dolls yet, I really don't know how other BJD owners view me. My friends and family aren't enthusiasts, so they really don't care either way. My BJD friends on here have been pretty supportive though, and one of them is pretty excited for me to get my first BJD. She's even offered to help me pay her off before, bless her heart.