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Three Letter Sculpt Names-Your Reactions To Them

Sep 30, 2011

    1. Yup, you can't find words with three letters or below. How irritating is it that you cannot search for owner pictures on DOA! Examples are: Iplehouse Asa and Soa. What are your experinces and how do you combat this sticky situation? And is it because the company is over confident with their sales that they need not have four letter names at the very least to ensure free 'promotion' on DOA? I thought that if Iplehouse Soa is Soah instead, it will save me a lot of hair-pulling.

      I searched using advanced search. Key words: three and letter
      If there is a similar thread, mods, please delete or merge. Thank you!:)
       
    2. I ran into this problem when I wanted to find owner pix of AoD Gu.....THAT was horrible! I ended up just starting a thread in picture requests to see him.

      Sometimes, searching the company name and scale works, but that does give you a million threads to sort through. :(

      Basically...I just cope with it, but it IS a pain. But I get it...the way some searches work, they'll bring up every thread with any word with those letter in sequence. So. for example, searching for "Min" would also bring up unrelated threads containing words like "miniature", "minute", "minimize", etc. So....still not too helpful.

      I doubt companies name their dolls based on DoA's search capabilities. It's possible, I guess, but I doubt its a major factor either way. It's kind of like naming a kid with the concern of how easy their friends can find them on Facebook....do we want a name so rare that only one kid has it and everybody can find him or one so common you have to sift through a billion, but he's just so awesome, he'll stand out and be popular on his own? :P
       
    3. I know!! I ran into that problem with AoD Gu too! And also when I was looking to buy AoD Rao, and An. Hoo boy, looking for An was a mess... >_< Same goes with Elfdoll K.
      At this point, I usually just search for the company by name and deal with scrolling through all the threads. In the marketplace it can be easier, as I can select what size I'm looking for and all that. But just looking for photos, or comparisons or anything, I end up sticking to the databases to find info. Then I'll get all stalkery - if I find someone who has the doll I want to see, I'll see if they have any other threads with photos, or pm them o ask them questions. :)

      I also agree about the search engine focus. When a company creates a new doll, they are going to focus on a name that fits their theme, and what they want to accomplish with the doll.
       
    4. Their promotion is putting a news post up, usually (although often members do this when they spot news on the company website). I don't think it crosses the company's mind when choosing names. It certainly must not have come up at Iplehouse when they made I! *_*
       
    5. I don't know if this has been mentioned, but try putting the company and sculpt name inside quotes: "Iplehouse Asa". I usually use that method to get round the three letter problem.
       
    6. :lol: True.

      Personally I don't think companies consider DoA as their primary marketplace. DoA is a major forum in the h.obby, but the focus of these companies will probably be their own local community
       
    7. I think it's a bit arrogant to think that most bjd companies even give a passing thought to a english forum when deciding scuplt names/etc. It's more the specific forums search downfall than the companies, if anything. I've run into the problem plenty of times though myself, so I can sympathize * *;;
       
    8. Crobidoll Nia. 'Nuff said.

      But I agree with revien, it's the search function that's the problem, not the companies. I also wish the search would let you specify areas of the forum, like just searching the marketplace or pic requests . . . ah well, can't have everything
       
    9. It is possible to search specific sections of the forum. Just go to the search single content tab on the search menu and select which section you want to search. You can also go the specific subforum you want to search and click the 'search forum' tab right under the page number bar. :)
       
    10. It's a big problem for me. I own a Angell Studio 'Van', and then three Domuya 'Van's. So not only do I run into the 3 letter problem, I have the same mold name/different company issue. Some dolls it's easier to deal with, such as Soom Bix or Soom Io which have 'other' names/titles that can be used, but that is not often the case.

      I was annoyed by the 'same name different company' issue that I made the Wiki page where dolls with the same name but different companies could be listed. Maybe we need to add a list of three or less named molds and create what should be used as the simi-official long abbreviation for the doll. So Angell Studio Van becomes: 'ASVan' and Domuya Van is 'DVan'.
       
    11. I agree that it's frustrating! I have a RS Ni, B&G Sky and Luts Ani, plus a DZ Hid on the way - all impossible to search for. It's great to put the whole thing in quotes, like "Dollzone Hid", but sadly lots of people use abbreviations so you still can't find them. :( I figure I probably find enough pictures, even if it's not all of them nonetheless. It's just a bother sometimes!
       
    12. Oh wow . . . lol thanks!
       
    13. I know two letter names are difficult but three letters are easy. I always encourage people to put the company and sculpt name in thread titles and not use abbreviations. With a company like B&G I will add (Boy & Girl) to the thread title to make it a bit easier to search.

      I always do advanced, title only, keyword searches in the sub-forum I want to look in and usually have luck. So in Larger Dolls I would look up Boy* Girl* to find threads about B&G, or Iplehouse* Asa* or Delf* Soo*, as long as you add the extra * character more will come up and you will more than likely find what you want. If it's an old sculpt I have the results come up backwards by thread start date. Two letter sculpt names put you up a creek unless the company name is in the title.

      I don't think companies give a thought to searches on internet forums when they name a sculpt. I think they have enough considerations without having to worry over that. It would be smart to use longer names for the sake of advertising and chat on sites like DoA but if they don't bother I can't blame them.
       
    14. Seriously? :lol: No, companies don't do it on purpose. They're not thinking about your personal searching convenience when they choose a doll's name.

      Once you get used to using the Advanced Search option on DOA you'll have a much easier time of things. It's very powerful, but nobody seems to want to be bothered to use it. You can search specific post types & specific subforums & partial-string searches & prefixes & tags & thread-title vs. body-text. You can also try keywords that would probably be found in context with the name you're looking for. Try narrowing your search, instead of just typing 3 letters and then flinging up your hands & screaming I Give Up.
       
    15. *sigh* I remember when the seacrh function was useful and actually brought up the things to wanted it to. Since all the changes I hardly bother to use it, I can't find anything I want on it anymore.
       
    16. From the very beginning of DoA there was EL... So I can't even worry about THREE sculpt names. :D

      Yeah, short names are a pain when doing a SEARCH on DoA, but other than that, I don't mind what the sculpt is named.

      For the search thing... maybe everyone could agree to use names that made searches easier??? That wold be cool.
       
    17. Are you seriously suggesting that companies have given any thought at all to this specific forum, especially in naming their dolls? :lol: Companies pick the names they like best for their sculpts, not ones that have anything to do with anyone's searching convenience. Yes, three letter (and two letter, which are even harder to search for) names are a bit of a pain for search purposes, but I don't have a problem with them.

      Really, three letter names are not that difficult to search for. As at least one other person has said, you simply use an asterisk after three letter words. For example, Ark* will work for finding things, while just Ark does not. Narrowing your search by using the advanced options also helps a lot.

      Using keywords that are related, like company names or even company abbreviations can be very useful, and can at least provide a starting point from which you can find a sculpt specific thread. It seems like many, many people either don't bother using it or don't know how, as it would stop a good number of the "I can't find it!" and "Sorry if this has been posted before" posts we get. It's not hard to learn to use the advanced search function, though it's enough of a problem to get some people to use the basic search function.

      Also: if you think searching for a sculpt with three letters is difficult, try owning a sculpt whose name is only one letter long. Dollzone X, Latidoll's one-letter sculpts and Iplehouse's I are possibly the hardest to search for sculpts on DoA.
       
    18. I've been advised to try using an asterik: * before the word like: *Asa or whatever. But it's never worked for me.
      I thought of this topic when Iple introduced their "I" sculpt. It's terrible. You have to sift through so much junk to find what you're looking for. :(
       
    19. Being interested in the Iplehouse I mold, I can agree that it's awful trying to find owner pictures, especially when "The Database Database" isn't updated.

      However, using quotes around the company and sculpt will usually get you a few links. Like this &#8594; "Iplehouse I"
      But if not, I search Flickr and Deviantart, or even just Google Images. There are bound to be photos somewhere, right? ;)
       
    20. Laughter is the best medicine~:lol: No what I meant was that since BJD collecting isn't a mainstream hobby, I assumed compaines need as much promotion as possible to survive? I am not sure. And I tried "Iplehouse Soa". Found nothing. Did find much about Iplehouse Asa, so not really a waste of time. And I remembered using Google. The only Soa thread I found was the news thread. It was a tad annoying. I didn't bother searching only Iplehouse, that will be waaaaay too much stuff to sift through.*_*