The Facebook debacle & other issues

7 minutes ago, Eiko82 said:

I'm pretty sure that he sold all of his Dollfie Dreams.

My guess/theory is that before he launched Smart Doll, he contacted Volks to make a Dollfie Mirai Suenaga. We know for a fact that he met up with Volks in 2013 because he blogged about it. They probably turned him down and after that, it soured their relationship for good. 

 

EDIT: I'm actually shocked to see the SmD Lover group is no more. I know that the group hated criticisms of any kind of Smart Doll. But I never expected them to just pull the plug like that.

I don't know what is this topic about, but couldn't resist to share my opinion about Danny selling his dollfie dreams. I could understand that maybe something went wrong in his meeting with volks and he was dissapointed for some reason, but that doesn't mean he had to sell their DD's. His dolls were his property. A product volks can't control and it's not their property anymore, but Danny's. Guess I'm closeminded or I'm lacking imagination to think some good reason to do that.

 

23 minutes ago, Eiko82 said:

 

My guess/theory is that before he launched Smart Doll, he contacted Volks to make a Dollfie Mirai Suenaga. We know for a fact that he met up with Volks in 2013 because he blogged about it. They probably turned him down and after that, it soured their relationship for good. 

 

 

Okay but that's petty on a level I can't comprehend. 

It seems as though I was banned from the SmD lovers group, despite never attacking anyone and in this most recent thread, simply stating my piece, citing my background in anthropology as well as calling out ableism. I guess being frustrated at things is enough to get me banned. Cool. 

It's realllllllly gross that people are more concerned with preserving their fantasy world than to accept criticism of any kind, or even polite discourse. It's really something to me that the slightest bit of criticism sends people so far over the edge.  I'm also sad that such a valuable resource was straight up taken instead of people dealing with natural criticisms and moving on. 

10 minutes ago, Pit said:

I don't know what is this topic about, but couldn't resist to share my opinion about Danny selling his dollfie dreams. I could understand that maybe something went wrong in his meeting with volks and he was dissapointed for some reason, but that doesn't mean he had to sell their DD's. His dolls were his property. A product volks can't control and it's not their property anymore, but Danny's. Guess I'm closeminded or I'm lacking imagination to think some good reason to do that.

I don't think anyone is suggestion that Volks made Danny sell his Dollfie Dreams. I think they are suggesting that Danny sold his Dollfie Dreams of his own desire to do so after not having the outcome he wanted from Volks. 🙂 These are just ideas, of course!

There is so much I want to say about this but I can't quite articulate it. I left the group a while ago because things started to bother me there. People being put down as trolls or rotten because they had a problem and dared say something because speaking up is not something they tolerate. His products are some of the best I have personally owned, and I don't believe the customer is always right, but it seems he veers off into the complete opposite direction, and there really should be a middle ground, but it doesn't seem like that is something that is going to happen.

I will enjoy my girls and maybe buy things here or there, but I really don't like supporting stuff like this. On the flip side, there are probably many things I support with my money that are worse and I don't even know it. It is hard to stomach when you do know it though. And someone above stated they wished they loved dollfies as much as SMD and I feel the exact same. I have had some dollfies but I just didn't enjoy them. This forum is the only place I feel I can talk about my SMD honestly without feeling like I may be banned. I know there are probably some that don't like that because this started as a dollfie forum, but there are no good group for SMD that I know of and I prefer forums anyway. I don't post much but I lurk and read often enough.

12 minutes ago, TithorArgentus said:

It seems as though I was banned from the SmD lovers group, despite never attacking anyone and in this most recent thread, simply stating my piece, citing my background in anthropology as well as calling out ableism. I guess being frustrated at things is enough to get me banned. Cool. 

 

If this is what about what I think it is- Thanks for having my back. Ableism is so entrenched in our culture it becomes hard to have a proper discussion about it with abled people without them becoming really defensive.

I love the dolls themselves- they seem very pretty and well made. that's why I bothered speaking up in the first place. I've done this kind of thing before in other fan spaces I've been a part of. I think the inability to address legitimate concerns from hurt people within will kill a community faster than trolls from the outside.

4 minutes ago, milkytea said:

I don't think anyone is suggestion that Volks made Danny sell his Dollfie Dreams. I think they are suggesting that Danny sold his Dollfie Dreams of his own desire to do so after not having the outcome he wanted from Volks. 🙂 These are just ideas, of course!

That's exactly what I wanted to say. Sorry if I was not clear with my opinion. The point is, as you said, I'm also assuming he sold his DD's after something went wrong with the volks outcome. And that's what I don't understand. Fore example, if I like a book or a game, I buy it. And if, after that i met the developer/author and his/her ideas are not the same than mine or even if we finish discussing and hating each other, doesn't mean I have to sell the product he made and I bought. My problem was with that person, not with the product. 

@IgelFullmetal @bbotss I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Anyways, I'm struggling a bit to put my emotions into coherent thoughts regarding all of this, as a disabled person myself (born disabled with cerebral palsy) I feel...angry? Disillusioned? That Danny so blatantly flaunts able-ism and classism in his product description of Monday, and as someone who has never been able to hold any job let alone chase my dream job, I'm just so filled with overwhelming disgust towards the abhorrent words and actions that have come from one company.

Throw in the fact that hardcore SmD fans have been spying on this forum and banning members WITH VALID CRITICISMS from here in their precious little FB groups, I now find myself believing that Danny's 'inclusionary' bs was quite literally intended to be restricted to his 'cult' and merely be skin-deep all along.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Selenae

13 minutes ago, Selenae said:

I now find myself believing that Danny's 'inclusionary' bs was quite literally intended to be restricted to his 'cult' and merely be skin-deep all along.

It's why his whole inclusivity act...is well, an act. Sure, he includes darker skin tones, but issues of racism (and homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, etc.) are closely tied to classism as well. For example, even in my "progressive" country of Canada, people of colour are still discriminated against by employers. So even if a poc has all the right credentials after working hard on their studies, maybe they don't end up enjoying Mondays because of constant racial discrimination. 😕  I'm sure this is relevant in other countries as well.

 

32 minutes ago, IgelFullmetal said:

I've done this kind of thing before in other fan spaces I've been a part of. I think the inability to address legitimate concerns from hurt people within will kill a community faster than trolls from the outside.

And I think you did the right thing speaking up. Even if you were the "final straw" for the deletion of the group, it was going to happen eventually from their intolerance.

I hope I didn't say anything too controversial for this forum...

I’ve been reading this topic ever since I replied and wow..so much things have happened! The smartdoll lovers group being taken down is honestly really...wild. The owner was nice at times but the way she treats people with criticism is just as bad as danny. 

oh and the ableist thing, yeah danny is 100% ableist. I’ve had that man literally call me dumb. <- to a person with brain damage 

12 minutes ago, SakuraRose said:

It's why his whole inclusivity act...is well, an act. Sure, he includes darker skin tones, but issues of racism (and homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, etc.) are closely tied to classism as well.

Omg THIS!! He brags about being the 1st vinyl anime doll company to have such a dark skin doll (which is GREAT. As a black person I appreciate the rep) but then goes on to compare retail workers to slavery. 

He makes dolls with missing limbs, but then posts an incredible tone deaf post about hating Mondays. 

I think all of these issues stem from classism. Theres a lot of intersectionality of a person's identity that affects how they view the world and it's no secret that Danny grew up privileged. And while money doesnt solve everything, if you have a lot of it, it's a thick ass shield. Theres a lot of hard truths that you wont have to learn. However, if you're going to run a worldwide brand, you really need to vet what you're saying on your brand page. 

Smartdoll desperately needs a PR and Marketing team. 😭

8 minutes ago, Kitsooni said:

I’ve been reading this topic ever since I replied and wow..so much things have happened! The smartdoll lovers group being taken down is honestly really...wild. The owner was nice at times but the way she treats people with criticism is just as bad as danny. 

oh and the ableist thing, yeah danny is 100% ableist. I’ve had that man literally call me dumb. <- to a person with brain damage 

Yikes. Whelp, that settles it- Eureka* is gong to be a tan DD.

*Eureka is my oc. I love her so much and i even have a whole backstory to go with her, but that's off topic here.

Holy heck...I am also banned, since I can no longer find the SmD Lover group on facebook. I only posted positive things and pics of my dolls....so I am shocked. And kinda pissed... wtf.

It seems that active members of the SmD Lovers group have already made their way to the SmD Friends group, and it's already quite the sh!t show. There are already so many posts complaining about how Danny is not a member of the group, and so many sappy messages begging him to come back. I'm really not trying to come across as rude, but it's quite pathetic. Can we not just have one group where people can just appreciate their dolls instead of constantly being fixated on who damaged Danny's fragile ego this week?

 

19 minutes ago, Fushipa said:

It seems that active members of the SmD Lovers group have already made their way to the SmD Friends group, and it's already quite the sh!t show. There are already so many posts complaining about how Danny is not a member of the group, and so many sappy messages begging him to come back. I'm really not trying to come across as rude, but it's quite pathetic. Can we not just have one group where people can just appreciate their dolls instead of constantly being fixated on who damaged Danny's fragile ego this week?

 

Oh, god. You're not wrong in calling them pathetic because they really are to beg for Danny to be let in. This whole thing truly is a shitshow of the highest degree as far as I'm concerned, anyways.

8 minutes ago, Selenae said:

Oh, god. You're not wrong in calling them pathetic because they really are to beg for Danny to be let in. This whole thing truly is a shitshow of the highest degree as far as I'm concerned, anyways.

I just really can't understand why they worship him so much. You do not know him personally, he is NOT your friend. If you choose to keep on supporting his company, awesome, that's entirely your choice. If you choose not to, also completely valid. But Danny needs to understand that this drama is entirely a product of his own doing, not because of some "trolls". And he needs to take responsibility for that!

41 minutes ago, Fushipa said:

It seems that active members of the SmD Lovers group have already made their way to the SmD Friends group, and it's already quite the sh!t show. There are already so many posts complaining about how Danny is not a member of the group, and so many sappy messages begging him to come back. I'm really not trying to come across as rude, but it's quite pathetic. Can we not just have one group where people can just appreciate their dolls instead of constantly being fixated on who damaged Danny's fragile ego this week?

 

That and the gall to say that HE was bullied. Poor Danny. Let's count all the people he made fun of on social media and continues to do so on his website and see just who really bullied/bullies who.

Edited May 22, 2020 by Deyja

2 hours ago, MaKayla_Panda said:

Omg THIS!! He brags about being the 1st vinyl anime doll company to have such a dark skin doll (which is GREAT. As a black person I appreciate the rep) but then goes on to compare retail workers to slavery. 

He makes dolls with missing limbs, but then posts an incredible tone deaf post about hating Mondays. 

I think all of these issues stem from classism. Theres a lot of intersectionality of a person's identity that affects how they view the world and it's no secret that Danny grew up privileged. And while money doesnt solve everything, if you have a lot of it, it's a thick ass shield. Theres a lot of hard truths that you wont have to learn. However, if you're going to run a worldwide brand, you really need to vet what you're saying on your brand page. 

Smartdoll desperately needs a PR and Marketing team. 😭

THANK YOU. 

The classism is what I was /trying/ to get at as well. Being able to buy a doll doesn't mean you're swimming in money or privileged at all, it means you happened to be able to get something that brings you joy that you may have saved for for...years in some cases. It's like boomers telling all the millenials that if they just stopped buying coffee they'd be able to afford their student loans. 

2 minutes ago, Deyja said:

That and the gal to say that HE was bullied. Poor Danny. Let's count all the people he made fun of on social media and continues to do so on his website and see just who really bullied/bullies who.

AMEN!👏

2 hours ago, DaemonNoyz said:

Holy heck...I am also banned, since I can no longer find the SmD Lover group on facebook. I only posted positive things and pics of my dolls....so I am shocked. And kinda pissed... wtf.

I'm wondering if anyone was that both a member of here and the SmD group that they could identify got banned. 

1 minute ago, Fushipa said:

I just really can't understand why they worship him so much. You do not know him personally, he is NOT your friend. If you choose to keep on supporting his company, awesome, that's entirely your choice. If you choose not to, also completely valid. But Danny needs to understand that this drama is entirely a product of his own doing, not because of some "trolls". And he needs to take responsibility for that!

I don't think he ever will, to be quite honest. He's too thin-skinned, and he also definitely seems to enjoy playing the victim far, far too much. All of this from the owner of a company that advertises to children to boot. (Which is yet another thing that bothers me, but might be off-topic for this post.)

3 minutes ago, Selenae said:

I don't think he ever will, to be quite honest. He's too thin-skinned, and he also definitely seems to enjoy playing the victim far, far too much. All of this from the owner of a company that advertises to children to boot. (Which is yet another thing that bothers me, but might be off-topic for this post.)

I'm sure you're right, unfortunately. I'd like to hear you concerns about that topic, if not here maybe in another discussion?

6 minutes ago, Selenae said:

All of this from the owner of a company that advertises to children to boot. (Which is yet another thing that bothers me, but might be off-topic for this post.)

I don't think that is. Go on...

31 minutes ago, TithorArgentus said:

I'm wondering if anyone was that both a member of here and the SmD group that they could identify got banned. 

I think everyone who commented here and whom they could identify got banned, from that comment about "recent troll posts... instantly being discussed in another venue". Sooo... they don't want us to debate within their happy group, but we're not allowed to do so in other forums/groups either? If that's not controlling I don't know what it is.

Edited May 22, 2020 by bbotss

One thing I always found irksome about his brand was his instance smart dolls were all ages, while at the same time advertising increasingly outrageous boob sizes and "smexy" outfits for his dolls.  You can't have it both ways. 

Speaking of which, the youtuber MyFroggyStuff got her first smart doll about 2 years ago, this was before Danny trimmed his boob selection and before the channel supposedly changed to cater to people 13+ (I have my own opinions on that, but it's 100% off topic for this forum so ill leave it there.)