What is Your Favorite Thing About DoA?

I really love how focused and organized it is. That is actually something I’ve missed a lot about forums like this ever since other types of social media became more popular. I just love that if I only want to follow conversations about 1/4 scale dolls from a single company or crochet projects specifically for dolls or other more niche things, I can either make or find a thread about only that. Makes it a lot less likely that I’ll miss things I’m interested in, without having to sift through a bunch of other topics that don’t appeal to me as much.

 

The massive amount of information that has been collected here. We've lost many photos unfortunately but this is still the best place to research. The mods have done at great job at organizing the site and keeping what they could of old posts. (RIP old box openings)

If DoA ever goes down I hope and pray an archive will be uploaded somewhere. It would be a huge loss to lose it.

Also I really like how everyone says smexy in pre 2010 posts. If you are reading this, I give you permission to call any of my boys smexy.

 

I've been on here for half a year now and have met lovely people who love their dolls and our hobby. No negativity whatsoever so far! It's great to read new posts, look at photos of other people's dolls, research some stuff, ... This is my favourite thing: it's all about the dolls over here, nothing else.
I'm sorry that you had such a negative experience, I'm not on Instagram so I had no idea it could be like that. By the way, the Flickr community is very welcoming and nice too.

 

@industrious.jenn Agree. Hands down the friendliest, most supportive online community I've ever encountered. I can only assume the mods have magic powers.

 

The incredible archive of bjd info! Even though there are some broken images and links, the size comparisons, tutorials, company/product reviews, bjd profiles and databases are so helpful.

Also the hivemind (hivecollection?) is really amazing here for photo reference on very specific things - never would I have ever though someone would actually put different hands on a specific body and take pictures to help me

It's great that there isn't a focus on hype for new products and trendy dolls and everything happens in a very relaxed and all-welcoming manner instead.

 

I just love forums and hate the social media format. Forums are so easy to navigate and are curated for specific communities. I pop on to find something specific about dolls and then maybe share a little chat or two about dolls. No matter how hard I tried to "tune" my social media feeds it was nonstop unrelated ads and content that I had no interest in. Seriously I had to keep a twitter to follow one (1) doll account and no matter how I change my settings they won't just let me pick the thing I want to see Reeeeeeee

 

I really love how nice everyone is! I asked a question that turned out to have been answered before, but instead of blasting me like other forums have, I was linked the previous thread and given a lot of helpful tips!

 

Welcome to the forum!
I also love the peaceful environment, the organized structure and how easy it is to focus on specific topics/areas. For example, I adore tinies and spend a lot of time lurking in those discussion threads.

More things I love: the project journals and box opening areas! Box openings are great for finding dolls you may not have heard of yet and sharing people's excitement for them

And there's so much beautiful work and skilled people sharing their ideas with peoject journals, it's inspiring to read through!!

 

I honestly only have social media to follow artists, companies, and dealers for news but forums are where I actually discuss my specific interests with others. It feels more like a group conversation where everyone contributes and I really get to know other collectors. I also like the organization of forums, information and conversation gets buried on socials.

 

Like others have said, I greatly prefer the forum format to any kind of social media or even Discord servers. With a forum, I am able to search for, and view the content that interests me in a non-linear way. As someone who is still quite new to the hobby, I love being able to see 10 year old posts along with newer ones. It's like a little time capsule of all the things people have done with their dolls, what people are into now, and still into (smexy boys! )

 

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DoA feels civilized, like it used to be in the old Yahoo groups.
In the world of "social media" being social seems to be ignored.
Here I can have intelligent conversations with other like minded
people.

 

Favorite thing? People- specifically the Mods. You know how incredibly rare an online forum with clearly posted rules and MODERATION is these days?? Like a tiny fragment of Old Internet from twenty years ago, a place having any rules at all now gets it flak from other social media sites and people who don't like the lack of free-for-all backbiting or something.

 

I agree with what other people have said – the years of bjd knowledge, the calmer, slower-paced atmosphere, and the moderation keeping things from getting out of hand. I used to moderate a video game chatroom back in ye olde days of skype so I know how hard people-wrangling can be!
Plus, I've found DoA is quite welcoming despite its apparent reputation for being strict. I'm here for dolls, not drama!

 

One word: INFORMATION

No, but seriously, I discovered DOA about the time I realized that bjds could actually be purchased by ordinary people (prior to that point, I was only aware of Enchanted Doll bjds and thought that those kinds of dolls were only available to wealthy collectors).

Finding out that there are many types of collectors and many types of dolls was so exciting for me! I wanted to know everything about them, and this was the perfect place to learn. The amount of information available, even with occasional broken photos or links, is a real treasure that I haven't found elsewhere. And everyone has always been so kind and patient in answering my questions. I am truly grateful.

Aside from that, my favorite aspect of DOA is the ability to share works-in-progress in a non-judgmental place! I was thrilled when they added the doll-making part of the forum, and some of my favorite places are the "what are you sewing/crafting/etc." threads. As a pretty reclusive introvert and someone who has difficulty traveling due to health issues, attending meets is too stressful for me, so having a way to be part of a community from a distance means a lot. I have no idea if anyone here recognizes my name/avatar or notices when I post a photo or comment (which isn't that often haha), and I haven't made friends here in the sense that I chat with anyone consistently or know them outside DOA, but I'm perfectly happy with that - I recognize and enjoy the personalities of others who post regularly, and that makes me feel connected in a safe and undemanding way.

All that said, welcome to DOA! I'm so glad you are enjoying being here!

 

I came back recently after purchasing a new doll. Been on DOA for... probably 10+++ years. I love how..easy it is to find things. Kudos to the mods! Marketplace is way easier to look than insta sales. Especially now I can't even find the recent insta sales.

I actually missed forums. Things can get lost easily on social media.

I still go to the photo reference section to check out how my fave dolls look with different faceups