What is Your Favorite Thing About DoA?

I love all of it. Forums like this are my favorite - I used to be part of a JRock one and a Roleplaying one but they both went defunct. I like how easy it is to look for something, to ask for help, to share my dolls, and most of all make new friends. This forum is my only form of "social media" and it amuses me greatly that Discord added threads to be more forum like.

 

Functional search and helpful community.

I'm not very active at the moment, but still enjoy just browsing through from time to time.

Also the news section helps keeping me up to date :3

As most have said: easy to navigate, properly organized and yeah.

 

As an old-timer, on this forum and collecting in general. I also find the structural guidelines or rules of this particular forum the things that I like the most. I know a lot of people frown upon how strict the rules are all the time and want to say everyone on here is an elitist or boot licker due just being a member on here. I feel that's just people who love chaos and creating drama where there's none. As an old fart (and even when I was much younger, around the time I discovered these particular dolls) I never liked drama myself. I prefer actual peace and quiet, and I feel that's precisely why DoA has lasted for as long, and still continues to outlive other similar forums in these times of more modern types of social networks. Maybe it's the me that comes from a strict Catholic family, but I love rules and structure, I don't see a point in people freely insulting others without rhyme nor reason, bringing up controversial topics you can find literally anywhere else, why drag them over to where you can just forget about all of those. That's what you'll see and will get from places that don't have rules or even a very basic set of guides. That's just human nature to want to give personal opinions, even when they are negative, when no one asked. Or ignite hatefulness, just because their opinions don't match others. It's the complete opposite on here, if no one asked for your personal opinion, you kind of don't share it -- more so if it's an ugly ill intended opinion about other collector's personal collection. DoA is also like a living encyclopedia, with most members contributing to all kinds of useful information or tutorials everyday! Just the wealth of information found on here is probably immeasurable, that's another thing I love about this forum. (:

 

Not going to lie, my favorite thing has always been the lack of NSFW here. I get exhausted avoiding things that I really didn’t want to see on Social Media, having to unfollow or snooze friends because they go through a period of expressing things that I didn’t sign up to see, and more… but DOA is structured and a safe space to just be a collector of dolls, to enjoy pics, have discussions, buy and sell. It’s just freaking nice.

 

When I first discovered BJDs back in 2006, the very first thing I did was join DoA. This was the place to learn, to daydream, and even on occasion, to shop! It was the best move I ever made. Any information I need, it’s here. Any example I want to see, it’s here. Any discussion I want to be part of in a safe and non-threatening environment, it’s here. Any news about new releases I’m interested in, it’s here. And I should know because I’ve literally been on this forum with my morning coffee every single day since I first began this hobby all those years ago, getting my daily fortifying dose of beauty and creativity. Hail to the Mods for keeping this forum the easily navigable, informational, and safe place it has always been.

 

Many of the reasons already listed by others here would be top contenders (organization, lacks the drama of social media sites, sizeable database of bjd information, chill/polite atmosphere, helpful responses to questions, etc.), but there is one specific thing that particularly comes to mind for me. What might that be? The ability to have conversations on subjects that seem to be "highly controversial" on other bjd social media. I'm not talking about truly controversial things, mind.

To give an example: I once tried starting up a conversation in a bjd Facebook group about dolls that people found unsettling/uncomfortable, which ended up becoming a pro versus anti Angelphilia battle before the thread got locked. It was honestly frustrating and disheartening how easily offended people got over differing opinions like that.

The thing I especially appreciate about DOA is that we can have civilized discussions about these topics without it turning into all-out war. It's refreshing to be able to have a differing opinion on something and not have it either get misconstrued or end up being chewed out over it.

 

Put me in as another vote for the Old School forum format... I absolutely hate trying to have a discussion with anyone about anything on most social media platforms. If DOA ever goes down, that'll probably be the end of my talking about dolls anywhere online.

 

Sooooo many things! The forum style, easy to find stuff, safe organized marketplace, discussion, rules to keep people civil, seeing the same people around often (and becoming friends with a few!), lack of annoying ads, so much information. I loved the anniversary events they used to do, and greatly miss them.

But my favorite by far is how things have to stay on topic. I've quit almost all social media and am very picky about who I follow on Instagram because I'm just so sick of the negativity and drama. Social media tends to wrap all aspects of life into one, including a ton of stuff I want to avoid during my hobby time. We all need a break from the "real world" sometimes, and I think DoA does a very good job of letting us escape and just play with our dolls.

 

I'm another one of those old-school internet people who really really prefers forums to any other format xD No, I don't think reddit does half as good. No, I don't want to join a Discord group I'm incapable of finding the information I need and everything just goes so fast I get overwhelmed quickly.

One thing that I also love about forums, including this one, is that even if I don't post a whole lot, I see comments by people I recognize and it's like they're familiar faces. It was also very sweet when I posted about how bummed I was I missed out on a doll limited release, and months later when one of them popped up as an in-stock item...I had no less than 3 people from this community reaching out to me (or at the very least "I knew someone wanted it! I just couldn't remember who, but I was trying so hard to figure it out! I'm so happy you're the one who got it!!!!") and alerting me that it was available - and I was a complete stranger to them. That sort of thing wouldn't have happened on IG, or Discord etc. I wouldn't have gotten my boy if it wasn't for this community.

 

Definitely prefer the old school format of a forum over social media. As well as all the other reasons people have mentioned, I've been using forums since I was a teen so it feels really comforting and nostalgic. And I love being able to look back at posts/threads from years ago! (it's funny now seeing how people reacted to some of the classic sculpts when they were first released)

Another thing about DoA that I love - how much safer it feels buying & selling on the marketplace here. And how easy it is to search for/see things.

Ohh I also love the doll profiles. It pleases me to have all my dolls' info there on my profile, and to be able to see other people's. And whenever I'm thinking about getting a particular sculpt I will still search for it on the database so I can see how everyone else styled theirs and get ideas/get excited.

So many things I love about DoA!

 

You know, I didn't realize that's why I keep coming back. My social media is sort of compartmentalized, each one has a purpose, and I Iove how I can keep this as My Thing right here for just me and I will share with others at my speed.

My experience with more typical sites is a mess. When you try to search anything, unrelated things pop up because someone is manipulating search terms. I can be rest assured anyone trying to funnel niche interests to their unrelated business will be ousted pretty quickly.

And of course the organization so I'm not just browsing through regurgitated nonsense over and over.

 

One thing I love about DoA (and the forum format in general) is that it's built for long term use.
Even things like rules about staying on topic is there in part to keep the forum searchable and easy to navigate.

Another thing I like is that since the entire forum is basicly about different aspect of just one thing, meaning that every single person who logs in here is in a mood and mindset to entertain this topic. One problem with trying to have hobbys on general platforms is that people gets pulled in all directions. Some are easily distracted, some don't keep their mental hygene well enough to know how much they can take in at a time and so flood their brain with other stuff before they get to the hobby and some can't even keep topics apart. It takes some effort to keep that up and it only takes a sigle person to poison that well. And without moderators? Of course it's not sustainable.

DoA, on the other hand just has more and more info available the longer it's around. Rules and mods keeps us on track and of course the general mood here is polite and helpful, that's what this place is for. A place for us BJD people to share our love for the dolls with other people who are genuinely interested.

 

The moderation for sure. This is one of the very few places that I can feel safe online in the doll hobby. I have never had an issue in years of lurking and after joining.

Instagram? It’s a constant battle of “do not suggest” whenever someone decides to spam the hashtag with something NSFW or off topic. Or both, like when someone decided to spam the Minifee hashtag with Beanie Babies recreating 50 Shades of Gray. I did try lurking on another forum once and was forced to surrender. Not going to get into details, but one of the mods made it a very uncomfortable place to be. I’ll take good moderation any day of the week over the alternatives.

 

I second so many of the comments here. I love that DoA is so much more relaxed than social media. It's not a place to flood with our daily lives or political opinions, or that's full of distractions and drama––it's just a place for dolls. This means, like others have said, that it's a safe place to escape our problems for a while and discuss specific topics with other hobbyists. This place reminds me of the old days when people could converse without falling into petty arguments and name calling. In addition to this, the organization here makes finding information infinitely easier and the ability to have real discussions instead of just short comments is refreshing.

But one of the things I appreciate most of all is that everyone gets a chance to have their content seen. On places like Instagram, it's all about how many followers you have or what the algorithms decide to bless you with. There have been times when I didn't bother posting progress photos of my doll projects because it felt like no one saw them. Here, I'm thankful to be able to share these things with anyone who's interested in seeing them, not just a select few who follow me, or whoever Instagram decides to show it to.

This is exactly the kind of community I was needing and I'm truly thankful for it. There may even come a time when I leave Instagram and use DoA exclusively for connecting with the hobby. If that day comes, then I'm even more grateful DoA is here ^^

 

I love the diversity on here