Participating in the online doll community?

I discovered the dolls before I discovered the community and I have kind of mixed feelings about the online aspect of the hobby. On the one hand, I've met a lot of nice people through the hobby, and it's certainly much more fun to share what I've made for my dolls online than to just keep it to myself, and most people really are nice (people have been wonderfully nice to me here on DoA). Unfortunately, I tend to be sensitive and bewildered by rude people, and so when someone tells me my dolls are "eye poison", or picks at me about how I sew, it takes a bit of the fun out of the whole experience. I was really excited to share my dolls when I first found the online community, now I'm feeling much more reticent about it and now avoid certain forums.

That said, I love looking at doll pictures on flickr and here, it's inspiring and fun to see what people from all around the world do with their dollies.

As for trends, I have no clue what's trendy or not. I don't follow that stuff for me or my dolls -- I'm old! I live in a cave!

 

I think the online community is supplementary to having a doll.
If like myself you know no other people who collect or have an interest in ABJD it is a way of sharing your enjoyment of the hobby.
Its not anywhere near as much fun being alone.
It also has the added disadvantage of meaning that you never learn more about ABJD, something this forum is invaluable for.

 

The online doll community is a wonderful, wonderful resource. The databases are great for looking up if I really, truly want that sculpt... Shipping questions are answered, the marketplace is awesome... The workshop forums are so helpful!

My interest in the hobby expanded almost exponentially after I joined DoA.

 

I think that if it wasn't for DoA, I wouldn't have bothered getting into the hobby. I saw BJDs on ebay and such, and once even in person before I'd joined, but I had absolutely no idea what you could do with one, and there's no way I'd have been that interested in owning a bjd myself if I hadn't discovered the community. It also helps with such a niche hobby as an invaluable resource for shopping, shipping questions, and finding other people who are interested in what you're interested in. If you're like me and you haven't got a single doll person in your group of friends, then this is particularly valuable.

 

Well, I had known about dolls for a while before being on DoA, but never had a chance to register. I wanted to join, but I had heard lots of scary stories about drama and bad dealers and things... Well, when I decided I wanted a doll of my own I started doing crazy intensive research; reading tutorials, looking at websites, trying to find books, asking doll owners on deviantART a LOT about their dolls, looking at many many pictures, reading many informatives and even more tutorials... Basically I had something doll-related open on my computer 24/7. Although I knew plenty about them before making my first doll-related purchase, I wish I had been on DoA while doing my research... It would have quickened and improved it considerably!
But now that I'm here I love it and I still learn more every day~

I did once find a girl on Facebook who had dolls, which was very unexpected because she was my childhood friend's girlfriend, and although I'd heard a lot about her I'd never seen her... I asked her if she was on DoA and she said she wasn't.

 

As a resource, sites like DoA are very important. BJD's can be quirky in so many ways. Also, the photos can give you ideas and information. But the community aspect has been a mixed bag for me. Computers, in general, can be time sumps, and I found that participating on this forum was taking time away from the very hobby it represents. So I have been trying to spend more time doing things, rather than typing about it.

 

Do you feel it is important for one to be a part of the online doll community to get full enjoyment out of one's doll?
I think it depends on how you enjoy our doll, but from my personal standpoint I think it is important to me. Sharing photos, ideas, resources, tutorials, etc all add to the ways I can enjoy my dolls. Since the crafting of things for the dolls and sharing photos is a big part of my enjoyment, being part of the online doll community is a very big part of how I enjoy my resin.

Should trends in the hobby influence and affect how owners enjoy and play their dolls, or are they entirely superfluous to the hobby?
I don't think trends should necessarily influence how people enjoy and play with their dolls but again, I think that falls back to the person and their ideals. I find the trends can get me really psyched about something only for me to get involved and find that I was just caught up in the hype of it all. Especially when it comes to the big doll companies and the waves of popularity. Some trends can be fun but I don't think a person should just go with something because it's the newest big thing - do it because YOU like the idea.

 

The online community is nice, but I don;t need it to get the full enjoyment out of my dolls. Its a good way to look up and chck on events and the news and so forth, and the Marketplace is great, but i know for me it was hard to get in those 40 comments. It took me a year to get them because I'm so used to just reading and taking in information rather than engaging in debates or conversation. For other people, it may be important, but its not a major part of why I love my dolls.

 

I was drooling over BJDs for a couple of years before mustering the courage to buy one, and I would have never done it if not for the DoA. Researching the hobby demystified it, reassured me that there are people just like me who are doing exactly the same things I want to do.

Also, being someone with a rather low opinion of the human race in general, I find it comforting to read intelligent and thoughtful comments from talented and artistically inclined (albeit opinionated!) people on this board. It makes me feel better about mankind.

 

I was fortunate enough to discover DoA when I first learned about ABJD, and I was instantly hooked on both the dolls and the community. I was happily awestruck by the creativity and artistry of it all, and felt like I had just fallen through the rabbit hole into Wonderland! Could I still bask in the enjoyment of my little crew if I didn't belong here? Oh sure, but why the heck would I ever want to give up all the sharing, comraderie, artistic inspiration and creative exploration I discover here on a daily basis?

And yeah, we all know about the elitist and entitled egomaniacs, the self-serving rude bullies who then whine that they're being picked on, and the snotty self-promoters who think that because they have a gay, emo, cross-dressing Luts boy in a faux-fur wig with a company faceup that no one else can possibly come up with the same idea without "stealing it" from them. But you know what? For every one of those, there are a hundred wonderul, caring, artistic, supportive and helpful people on this forum who are a sheer delight to interact with on a daily basis.

4 years ago I discovered a magical place that was the perfect venue for my artistic exploration and creative self expression...today, I can honestly say it still is. So everyday, it's right back down the rabbit hole for me!

 

I tend to go back and forth between being/wanting to be really active in the online community and wanting to just shut myself off from it entirely (with the exception of chatting with a few friends in private or popping onto the forum to look up some information). Usually it takes something specific to make me shift from one view to another. For example, if something particularly hurtful or annoying happens to me, it might turn me off of participating in an online doll community (DoA or otherwise) for a long time. Or if I have been away for a while, the need to connect with people who understand the hobby or the need to research something specific might draw me back in. I guess I like knowing that the community is there and I think it's a great resource for learning about dolls and doll-related things, but I don't feel a need to participate all the time and I don't think that being in an online community is always essential to enjoying the hobby, though it can definitely add another enjoyable dimension to the hobby.

As for trends influencing how owners play with their dolls, I think owners should do whatever makes them happiest. If that means following trends that's cool, and if not that's cool too.

 

Although there are some parts of the online doll community I don't like (one or two things, partly my own fault, we can talk about it privately if you're that bothered ), I find the many parts I do like greatly enhance enjoyment of my dolls. I love seeing all the different types of doll/customisation that ordinary owners post all over the internet; they inspire me to improve my own collection, not because I'm mindlessly following trends (kill me if I ever do), purely because they make me realise just how stunning these things can be. Also the brilliant people I've encountered, and even those I've not exactly seen eye to eye with, broaden my mind and make the whole thing more entertaining.

 

I don't believe it's necessary, but it can be helpful to you and other people. Being in a community helps you learn how to properly care for a doll.
It's also probably really fun to show photos off. I know that when I get mine, I want to take it to my friend's who have others and take pictures.

 

*Necessary*? Absolutely not. That's one of those all-or-nothing questions that pretty much supplies its own answer. A person is entirely capable of collecting bjds by going through web sites on his/her own, methinks. Is it *helpful* to be at least aware of and a registered member of some various doll communities? You bet. There are opportunities for learning and sharing you can't get on your own - a prime example having been mentioned (owner pictures are so much more useful than sales photos!).

Is it *fun* to be in the online community? Oh yeah. At least, it can be. For me, it's a real struggle to get to a meetup (I think my last one was a minimum of 2 years ago) because it's a LONG drive to the closest one and my physical carcass has very limited energy and stamina. On a forum like this I can do the same kind of oooing and aaah-ing I'd do at a meet without having to fight the panic of social phobia . And seriously -- watching the photos and the wigs and tape couture and seeing the fabulous artwork and sets in this past month's 6th anniversary events? That's the kind of creativity that is inspiring and mind-blowing and just a privilege to share.

Do trends influence the hobby? Of course. They influence what fashions we have available for purchase, the sorts of bodies that are out there for posing and resin matching and...everything. I wish they didn't influence it QUITE so much but the world is what it is, and no argument. Should they have an effect on how we enjoy the hobby as individuals? Again, I wish not so much -- I hate seeing the lemming rush from this to that sculpt with the accompanying dump-off of previously loved sculpts -- but that's human nature.

 

There are snarky people that bring others down all the time. You kind of wonder what is wrong with them to take time out of their day to make you feel bad. Luckily, there's an ignore function.



Do you feel it is important for one to be a part of the online doll community to get full enjoyment out of one's doll?

DOA is hub of useful information on buying dolls, and everything that goes along with it. In this sense, I do think many people need to be a part of it to get the info they need to enjoy their dolls to the fullest. As for socializing, that's individual.



Should trends in the hobby influence and affect how owners enjoy and play their dolls, or are they entirely superfluous to the hobby?

No way. People here come from all walks of life. Being that ABJDs do lean towards certain trends that aren't for everyone, why should we all do things the same way?

 

I don't think I would have entered or even stayed in the hobby for very long without the doll community in Den of Angels. I see how a doll looks in an owners hand, how they customise it and I read their stories about how their friends reacted and their reviews about customer service. Without Den of Angels I probably wouldn't be aware of what goes on behind the scenes in the asian doll market, from design to manufacture to distribution. I wouldn't even know about new companies or sculpts.

My dolls do interest me and I do my own things with them which have nothing to do with outside input but having a community to share that with is definately another part of why the two go hand in hand.

~*~

I can't really guess what it is like for other people. It does look like some people get into the hobby for having a place to belong and share. Many people seem very concerned about what other people in the hobby think of anything from doll clothing to doll brand, from expensive to cheap dolls, to how they should or should not play with their doll, where they can bring their doll and even turn to the community to decide how a real life relationship should go if there is a dispute about their doll over finances or even the "strangeness" of the hobby itself.
For some people it does appear that this community plays a profound role in the way they enjoy their dolls (or don't enjoy as is sometimes the case)

~*~
Being a part of an online doll community does play an important role for me in this hobby but not in terms of how I should or shouldn't enjoy my doll - rather for the information, support and inspiration.

 

Although I did not buy my dolls as a hobby I am enjoying the online community.

I do appreciate the hobby and am continuously amazed at all the awesome concepts and mods that people do. I love other peoples box openings and photostories. I think if I had more money then I would take it up as a hobby myself as I have several characters that I would love to see as dolls, but unfortunatly I am both poor and part of other expensive hobbies.

But yes, the online community rocks and is very encouraing.

 

The online community is important to me for information on so many things, although I wish I were managing to make more actual friends here. The resources, and the ability to squee with even random people I don't know, and being able to keep up on trends from the doll companies are all quite worthwhile to me.

Even if I don't follow all trends, I like to keep on top of them. I'm not sure why, I just like being up-to-date on my obsessions! And new dolls or products excite me even when I have no intention to buy. I just like seeing what creative types come up with .

 

I am very glad there are online doll communities. I learn so much from them. There are no doll shops where I live and it has been hard to find other people who collect dolls. The online groups are so wonderful. We share and talk and exchange information. I don't think I wold have nearly as much enjoyment of my dolls without them.

 

I think it's just nice to talk to other people who share the same interest in a hobby as you. Its not really something you have to do to enjoy your doll though. Connecting with other people is just fun. =)