The Facebook debacle & other issues

I still wanna make "wasabi" t-shirts, but worry it would out me XD

Maybe I can find another way 🤔 

3 hours ago, CrazyDollPerson said:

That may sound stupid but that mentality does creep me out to my core, and I am having a hard time enjoying what I have because of it

If he's telling the truth and 80% of his buyers are actually children, that makes the entire fancult situation even more ick-inducing, imo.

10 hours ago, CrazyDollPerson said:

I am having a hard time enjoying what I have because of it

My suggestion would be to enjoy the dolls as they are; they are what you choose to make of them and their creator's influence on them ended when they left the store.

I'm increasingly inclined to think that mediums like twitter, facebook, and instagram are unhealthy in general. This is just another example of how so called social media is made toxic by people we would never choose to associate with in person, but they have an out-sized amount of direct access to us wherever we are through online mediums and smartphones. 

8 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I'm increasingly inclined to think that mediums like twitter, facebook, and instagram are unhealthy in general. This is just another example of how so called social media is made toxic by people we would never choose to associate with in person, but they have an out-sized amount of direct access to us wherever we are through online mediums and smartphones. 

This times a million.

My suggestion, like not just for smart doll but for anyone interested in the BJD hobby: stay off social media. Enjoy your dolls, take pictures of them, keep it for yourself and your good friends.

Or do what people do whenever a creator is problematic or objectionable in some way... pretend the product is made by Hatsune Miku XD (people do this with Minecraft and some other stuff I can't remember. Hatsune Miku sure is prolific!)

But yeah, just enjoy your dolls for what they are. :3 tbh all the heavy stuff just melts away when I look at my doll.

35 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

pretend the product is made by Hatsune Miku XD (people do this with Minecraft and some other stuff I can't remember. Hatsune Miku sure is prolific!)

It's only a matter of time before Miku owns everything on the planet; Miku knows this!

Personally, I think Miku was created by the cats, and their creation got away from them. 

1 hour ago, Blueberrie said:

If he's telling the truth and 80% of his buyers are actually children, that makes the entire fancult situation even more ick-inducing, imo.

Either his older teen/adult fans are a very vocal minority, or he's being dishonest about his buyers being 80% (for) kids. Usually if you have that high of a young kid/teen following, the comment section would "reflect" that and you'd see more comments coming from kids or teens. I feel like a great majority of the comments from fans on the IG page are from adults.

I just wish that whenever new things are posted on the IG account, it would just be about that item or doll and not include a "I don't give a sheep about the haters, but let me tell you about ___" or "Customers don't know how to read, LOL!" type of comment. I know some days ago, there was a post about how to put on the stain protecting body-suit on a Smart Doll, and he mentioned how someone wanted to put it on their doll without covering the feet, and it was such a lengthy post. I'm thinking about unfollowing the IG at this point because it feels like they're happening more frequently than before, and I realized that I seem to be "dreading" each time I see that there's a new post.

15 minutes ago, HanaLuka said:

Either his older teen/adult fans are a very vocal minority, or he's being dishonest about his buyers being 80% (for) kids. Usually if you have that high of a young kid/teen following, the comment section would "reflect" that and you'd see more comments coming from kids or teens. I feel like a great majority of the comments from fans on the IG page are from adults.

 

I too am very skeptical of his claim about 80% of his customers being minors. For comparison, according to Bandai, the demographic of people who buy Tamagotchis is about 60/40 kids and adults respectively, and this is for a toy that costs between 20 and 60 US$. Imagine buying a doll that costs 500 for a child that you can't buy repair parts for, and you're also SoL if you said something bad about the front-runner or his product on social media.

Most people in the group SDL when someone did an age poll were 30+. I know some of the people purchased a doll for their children, but most people won't spend $500 on a doll for a child. I know my parents wouldn't have even if they had the money. I was perfectly content with Barbies and I wouldn't have been able to even appreciate the difference, so yeah I call BS on most of his buyers are children.

5 hours ago, Katsudon said:

I still wanna make "wasabi" t-shirts, but worry it would out me XD

Maybe I can find another way 🤔 

My brain just auto-filled with this visual
a tshirt with a picture of Avocado on it (like the cartoony half-cut with a pit visible) and words "wabi-sabi" OR "wasabi" on it
Triple the meme lvls potential

If you ever do make this happen, mah girl Rin would absolutely need one

1 hour ago, HanaLuka said:

Usually if you have that high of a young kid/teen following, the comment section would "reflect" that and you'd see more comments coming from kids or teens.

Not that it stops people, but there is a 13(?)+ age restriction on instagram, right? So that could be a reason for not seeing the obvious kids in the comments.
...though most comments has a juvenile/immature vibe about them to pass for kids...

Edited August 24, 2020 by Yumeiro

2 hours ago, Chise said:

My brain just auto-filled with this visual
a tshirt with a picture of Avocado on it (like the cartoony half-cut with a pit visible) and words "wabi-sabi" OR "wasabi" on it
Triple the meme lvls potential

I would pay good money for a doll shirt that had wasabi in Kanji, or one with it in hiragana over drawing of a pile of wasabi peas. (Those things are so good)
 

I may have to get that commissioned. 

There is a Champaign and chocolate bar in Brussels called Alex & Alex. When I was there they had chocolate covered wasabi.
 

Oh and did I mention, it’s a bar themed around pairing Champaign with chocolate. 

Life can be so kind sometimes. 

1 hour ago, Yumeiro said:

Not that it stops people, but there is a 13(?)+ age restriction on instagram, right? So that could be a reason for not seeing the obvious kids in the comments.
...though most comments has a juvenile/immature vibe about them to pass for kids...

You have a point, although I know when I was into collecting Ever After High and Monster High dolls for a time (which both had a pretty noticeable teen and adult following, along with kids), you would certainly see and tell that kids and preteens would be in the comments on their [EAH's and MH's] Instagram and Facebook pages, along with older teens and adults. Certainly a different vibe/atmosphere compared to what I see and get in the SmD comment section, if that makes sense. 

I could see if he stated something like 20% or 30% of buyers are (for) kids, maaaybe even 40%. But 80%? Unless that's based on a "buyers within the last year / _______ months" time frame, that's too high to be an accurate number, even if you don't take in social media into account.

My only response to....literally everything is big oof. 

Y'all want more boys? PUT THEM TOGETHER YOURSELF LOL and also there's like two kits available so good luck

Y'all want wigs? TOO BAD 

Y'all want a creepy weird photo of your God King pwning the h8rs? YOU GOT IT 

I just. What? w h a t  

Edited August 25, 2020 by TithorArgentus

19 hours ago, Blueberrie said:

If he's telling the truth and 80% of his buyers are actually children, that makes the entire fancult situation even more ick-inducing, imo.

I really can't see that percentage being accurate, but if it is I could understand the mentality better, because I have seen kids go ape sh!t in comments about their dolls and become super argumentative over the tiniest things. That isn't to say they are all like that, just that from what I have seen with other types of dolls that the behavior would make more sense to me if it was kids, unfortunately the comments that have irked me most came from adults and if kids are seeing this behavior it just makes it all the more reason for them to emulate it. I am not sure if I am articulating this the way I mean, so apologies in advance.

 

18 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

My suggestion would be to enjoy the dolls as they are; they are what you choose to make of them and their creator's influence on them ended when they left the store.

I'm increasingly inclined to think that mediums like twitter, facebook, and instagram are unhealthy in general. This is just another example of how so called social media is made toxic by people we would never choose to associate with in person, but they have an out-sized amount of direct access to us wherever we are through online mediums and smartphones. 

That is a great way to look at it, and I have gone back and forth on it. I try to think of all the people that actually worked on the dolls and items I have, and that I am supporting them in their work etc.

I agree that these social mediums are not good. People behave in ways online that they probably wouldn't if we were all face to face. It stinks because I want to be part of a group where we can share the dolls we love, and be able to talk openly and honestly about them without the fear of backlash for feeling a certain way  

The irony of this post, especially the part where he says "you will notice how people who constantly speak ill of others... continue to live in the rut that they dug for themselves". THE IRONY.

Edited August 25, 2020 by bbotss

I wish I could reliably get SmD news another way that wasn't this instagram.

I want so desperately to seperate product from creator but it seems to be not allowed!

(Also- Tomorrownis hella cute.DANG IT)

16 minutes ago, HazelMaze said:

I wish I could reliably get SmD news another way that wasn't this instagram.

I want so desperately to seperate product from creator but it seems to be not allowed!

 

I dunno is he doing this on pourpose, because of rules like we are trying to keep up here of not going after the dude himself ... but eh ... if he thinks he's spewing wisdoms, that have been in the bible since jesus was a hippie group leader -- the golden rule of do unto others as thy would thyself ... *sigh* Customer service, plz? okay? Just a little? maybe a few spares for those who need them without rediculous markups?

Edit: But I guess its just a hatefull thing to ask for others, since I dont do smart dolls... and I am really tempted to use the title for the dolls I thought when he removed the only reason to call them smart in the first place... so yea, we hatefull bunch who dun like his products.

 

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by finnleo

56 minutes ago, bbotss said:

THE IRONY.

The whole karmic thing suggested in that Instagram post isn't even correct to the best of my knowledge. The way it works, at least based on what I read in a book on Buddhism, is that Karma is the idea that good actions bring good results and bad actions bring bad results. If you drop a hammer on your foot it's bad Karma, but it's the bad Karma that come from dropping a hammer on your foot and not some cosmic payback for stomping on Little Susie's toe when you were 5.  The purpose of Karma in that case is to teach you to be more careful with hammers. If you fail to learn from Karma you will keep getting the same bad results.

The idea of a cosmic judge or balancer is an idea from western theism that the west has conflated with the eastern idea of Karma.

Bad actions on the part of heads of industry are likely to cost them business as well as business partners. All it would take is one angry parent with a viral Facebook post about how their child was treated atrociously because they asked about a product defect, and the Culture Japan partnership will become like a hot potato to a lot of their business partners. People at the top need to keep in mind they aren't invulnerable, and actions that reflect badly on those around you can have severe consequences. 

That said, snarky posts on Insta tied to Culture Japan's own creations aren't enough, and I'm guessing the rants don't show up on product pages for the collabs.

 

22 minutes ago, HazelMaze said:

I wish I could reliably get SmD news another way that wasn't this instagram.

Unfortunately the same rant is on the product page, so it's the wellspring from which it all flows.

 

22 minutes ago, HazelMaze said:

I want so desperately to seperate product from creator but it seems to be not allowed!

CJ can't forbid you from doing it.

17 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

39 minutes ago, HazelMaze said:

I want so desperately to seperate product from creator but it seems to be not allowed!

CJ can't forbid you from doing it.

As long as official product teases, information, and whatnot releases come served with a dose of Daily Danny (tm), CJ is indeed forbidding it.

CJ can't go hunt you down for not prasing the holy ground Danny Choo walks on. No amount of his cult followers can stop you from enjoying the dolls as they are. ONCE THE DOLL IS YOURS YOU CAN DO WHAT EVER YOU WANT WITH IT. Divorce it of whatever that man says, its your doll. The only thing that really is tightly ingrained between Danny's "philosophy" and the doll IS THEIR NAME. Some of the older SmD dont even have that kind of negative ideology, take it as you will.

Sigh. 

40 minutes ago, finnleo said:

As long as official product teases, information, and whatnot releases come served with a dose of Daily Danny (tm), CJ is indeed forbidding it.

I would argue that it makes it hard to separate them rather than forbidding it. At some point it may just take not paying attention to the press releases / product blurbs. 

Granted that’s easier for me, because even though I have SmartDolls I’ve opted to only buy them third party and clothe them through sites like TTYA. Having no investment in CJ itself, it’s much easier for me to mentally separate the creation from the creator. If you must follow every word in order to have even a slim chance at getting a high demand product, then you’re admittedly caught between a rock and a hard place. If you can’t tolerate the word, then the best thing might be to love your existing SmartDolls, and look to Volks or Obitsu for new dolls. They both have some really beautiful dolls and outfits. 

My SmD are all Milk too, so if they break the head could just get melded with a DD body. Obviously not a viable option for the Tea, Cocoa, and Cinnamon owners.

From a business standpoint there really is a huge benefit to a company practice of tweeting announcements without personal commentary. The downside for the owner is no fan-cult, and the business to customer relationship is professional and not personal. Maybe the big difference here is that Volks started as a Mom & Pop and the “rush” came from seeing joy on children’s faces when they found a toy they loved. Growing the business meant bringing joy to more kids, but they don’t get to see them in person anymore. 

Re. "Karma" stuff... I have so many questions for Danny, that are probably inappropriate for this forum..? Like what did I do to deserve [x]. Or how can karma make me not be disabled? Because that's the rut I'm stuck in.

It stings a bit, but not because I have done anything wrong. The opposite. Kinda wish he would leave the just world fallacy behind.

But then, at least it's not on a sculpt I'm interested in. So it'll pass me by and I can forget it.

(Self censoring here just for the sake of it)

1 hour ago, BeyondTime said:

If you must follow every word

you can’t tolerate the word

(skip to 0,42 for the gag if it dun work as planned) ... and I'll be letting myself out around now...

2 hours ago, bbotss said:

The irony of this post, especially the part where he says "you will notice how people who constantly speak ill of others... continue to live in the rut that they dug for themselves". THE IRONY.

First off I guess a short hello as this is my first post here but have been lurking for a while.

 

I have been trying to avoid the drama regarding this person because I try to "justify" it by at least he does make dark skinned dolls. However, the above post you quoted has bothered me. 

 

It bothers me on several levels. The whole thing about Black Lives matter is to allow us to speak (us as in Black people so, yes me). 

1. While again I do appreciate he has dark skinned dolls, that shouldn't be the flag you wave about how diverse you are. I'd like to see more people of color working in that company because it will lead on to my next point. As far as I've seen on his company or team page I only saw one female that was Black.

2. The reason I mentioned more people for hire of color and diversity isn't just employment but the doll above demonstrates why you want to have more people of color giving feedback. I'm well aware that darker skinned dolls are also harder to color due to the complexion but there is a bit of uncanny valley with these dolls (or some photography issue where red is picking up more than it should - but even then having people around who film darker skinned people is a plus), but often I find the faceups on the gaudy side. The cheeks look more like skin blemishes than blush. The eyebrows of this particular doll look strange with the white highlights. Too much contrast. I would tone it back a few shades. I know again faceups for dark skinned dolls are harder, but that's why I feel the benefit of people with that knowledge and are of Color themselves would only benefit the product, not hurt it.

After seeing so much debacle, there's a slight fear that if I do try to order this product any critique would be met with backlash and have my ordered cancelled which is why I said little before or didn't want to chime in and dogpile (as I am a nobody). However, at this point if I'm discriminated against just for voicing my concerns and behavior maybe at this point then maybe someone completely misunderstands the whole BLM movement he used this doll for. I shouldn't feel like I'm held hostage because the owner is one of the few (that I know of) that creates vinyl dark skinned dolls of this type. 

 

Thank you guys again for having a nice forum back to lurking!