The Facebook debacle & other issues

@Sebby - Great job!! I had forgotten about some of these things happening. It can be a challenge going through all these pages and trying to filter out the info. I really appreciate it!

Edited August 19, 2022 by Eiko82

8 hours ago, Sebby said:

Mention of Danny turning a question about flying on his IG climate post in a full attack.

Attack on what? What was the question?

Also since this is for new people, there should be a quick explanation of "Pebbles" and "Chaos".

But anyway thanks for going through everything and weeding out irrelevant comments for this!

2 hours ago, Eiko82 said:

@Sebby - Great job!! I had forgotten about some of these things happening. It can be a challenge going through all these pages and trying to filter out the info. I really appreciate it!

I applaud you for doing 50 pages 😅😂 I got so tired from reading after like 10 pages 😅 If anyone feels like reading and filtering out the things that happened, only 68 pages left 😂 we're halfway!

Just now, monkeypizzasonic said:

Attack on what? What was the question?

Also since this is for new people, there should be a quick explanation of "Pebbles" and "Chaos".

But anyway thanks for going through everything and weeding out irrelevant comments for this!

I don't know, someone mentioned it in here and I do remember the post but I couldn't find it anymore.

 

I'll update the list to explain pebbles and chaos

6 hours ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

Attack on what? What was the question?

Also since this is for new people, there should be a quick explanation of "Pebbles" and "Chaos".

But anyway thanks for going through everything and weeding out irrelevant comments for this!

Oh, I remember the flying incident.

Danny posted about being concerned about the environment, and how he wanted to buy some land to turn into a forest to help be carbon neutral. Someone in the comments points out that he often posts pics of his dolls on a plane, and that using air travel less often would be a step to helping the environment. Then tantrum I guess?

BTW it might be worth including more detail about the disability incident, either a link to the post, or an archive of the post, because the person explains how they're also neurodivergent iirc, and how they got upset and posted online while frustrated, and Danny saw, and the rest is history.

Edit: thanks to @Sebby and @Eiko82 of course! 🎉🎂

Edit again: sorry for being so focused on the disability incident. It's just because Danny markets Smart Doll as being so inclusive, but the moment he actually has to face the realities disabled people deal with, we become inconvenient for him. I know he has back problems etc, but it doesn't seem to make him at all sympathetic to people with other experiences. People need to know how Danny really views disabled people and their thoughts and feelings.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Katsudon

5 hours ago, Katsudon said:

Then tantrum I guess?

If so, that's a pretty clue that he's completely fake. Good people do the right thing even when no one is looking. For him to declare good intentions in a public forum, and then melt down when he's called out is a pretty bad look. 

I know my alt. insta account was banned for asking about his flying.

Quote

 

May 21 – page 68

Smartdoll fans attacking others over customizing work. (nothing to do with Danny himself but it is related to Smartdoll). I am guessing this was about the whole dyeing dolls thing, but not much info around page 68. Maybe later in the thread.

 

This one was quite complicated, if I remember correctly. At that time I was not as involved in the community anymore, so I may be fuzzy on the details. But at least part of this debacle was one customiser attacking someone's girlfriend over their particular customising style. Instead of saying it just wasn't their preferred style, they straight out attacked the other person and said they destroyed the dolls. 

 

Like the curious rat I am, I decided to ALSO go down memory lane since I have an obscene amount of free time compared to most. (Sorry work boss, I will repent later.)

Just to touch more on the Disabled Individual (Mentioned on Page 12 and Page 64) because since two people have asked for elaboration, I will try to elaborate on it in a coherent way.

April 28th 2021 (page 64) // Arm Strength

Roughly around April 8th 2020, a new policy is published on the CJ website. The general gist of it is :

"If you do not have the ability to assemble your Smart Doll Eiji V2 / Crimson V2, these dolls weren't made for you."

(A little bit of context : During this time, outside of limited SMD Boys, all standard SMD Boys were shipped out with the 'Macho Arms' by default. The Macho Arm is so bulbous at the top that the peg BARELY fits into the socket of the torso skeleton. This is an issue I myself, have struggled with, and several others who are not physically disabled. The skeleton used the depth of the girl skeleton, so you can imagine that the peg is actually too short for the boy shoulders.)

In light of all the 'Disabled Representation' that D.Choo had been doing up till April 28th 2021, a Tumblr post was made by Customer A (I do not know the username they go by online, I can correct it in future) detailing why the policy came to be. Customer A begins the post detailing that they ; are on the Autism spectrum, has dysgraphia (a hand disability that effects their motor control), and hand arthritis.

Chain of events that lead to policy change :

- The arm socket of their SMD Boy dislodges during dressing. Customer A struggles for 1 hour to put the arm back in with no success.

- Customer A takes to the Smart Doll Lovers Facebook group during an emotional state to vent about the arm socket issue, and says a few less favorable things about SMD. (I actually remember seeing this post, I personally didn't think what they said was too overboard, they were visibly distressed.)

- The post is removed 20 minutes later by a mod, and the mod hops into their DMs to help them get the arm back in.

- Customer A manages to reattach the arm and apologizes both to the mod, and publicly. They explain their disabilities and why the meltdown occurred.

Little did anyone know, D.Choo was likely livid, for he immediately left the SMD Lovers group, and the policy for Eiji V2 and Crimson V2 was updated shortly after.

Silver Lining : In much later releases. D.Choo announces that all SMD Boys will be shipped out with the 'Slim Arms' by default instead of the 'Macho Arms' due to reoccurring criticism relating to how difficult it is to put the Macho Arms into the skeleton socket of the SMD Boy Torso.

(Community Happenings surrounding this :  There are questions of the intentions of his 'Disability Representation' items due to how he handled this situation, and some sorrow over how much he's changed, considering how willing to help he was just a few years prior.)

------

Because I had alot of time, I went through Page 68 to Page 81. (Gentle reminder if you couldn't tell, I ramble. I am actually a terrible narrator, so I apologize again oTL) (Another notice, I have included a few Community Happenings aswell about topics that looked interesting to me. Those are also skippable.

May 28th 2021 (page 69) // The Restock Timer (I consider this a more undetermined issue)

(Context : There used to be a timer on sold out pieces on the CJ website for pieces D.Choo intended on restocking)

D.Choo posts to Twitter that the Restock Timer will officially be removed due to 'complaints'. He ends the tweet with: 'You see- we do listen - folks complain and so we remove the source of the complaint ;-)'  (His fans proceed to defend him on Twitter)

Except it is revealed on Page 70  that people were actually asking if he could allow customers to essentially pre-order the items being restocked, rather than expect them to camp a timer.

May 29th 2021 (page 69) // Credit Card Fraud Protection

D.Choo posts to Twitter out of the blue detailing that in order to battle credit card fraud, he has circulated the details of his Banned Customer list to his SMD dealers (like Fabric & Friends, etc).

This doesn't sound like a problem, until you remember that he has banned NUMEROUS PEOPLE simply because they asked innocent questions.

Folks on other Facebook groups quickly find out that some of them have been banned from the CJ website, even though they have never even spoken to D.Choo before.

( Community Happenings in Page 69 : There are more discussions over the legitimacy of his 'Disability Inclusion' pieces, especially what with The Arm incident, and surrounding the prices of his tinier accessories. Child Safety Hazards are brought up too since alot of the pieces are also choking hazards.)

June 5th 2021 (page 71) // Deal With It Early Description

Screenshot of an early vent post D.Choo made (possibly on the CJ website) in relation to the backlash he faced for his first BLM Support post. (Remember, he's trying to twist the narrative that the backlash was towards his 2nd post.)

He writes this post with strong 'You guys are bullying me, but I won't let you win!' attitude, Because There Are Only Haters, Not Critics!

The ending paragraph basically details how he thinks people who tell him to hire a PR team, are actually trying to silence him and that they want him to just bend to their will.

(Context : Screenshot of his 2 BLM Support posts are posted on Page 72 as a reminder. He equates Black minority as to being the same as > 'we are minorities (cause I choose) employees over customers!' and other self righteous jibber jabber.

I mean, you can SEE why the first post was an issue, right?)

June 16th 2021 (page 76) // Super Girl Cautionary

On the road towards the SMD Super Girl release, D.Choo had this caution posted up (I assume the CJ website) :

"Folks who have only purchased licensed or limited edition products from this site will have to show evidence they still possess those items. If evidence can't be provided, orders are canceled and refunded."

I ASSUME this is to combat scalpers, but it was a topic of interest since there ARE collectors who had only enjoyed his limited releases.

June 27th 2021 (page 76) // Pre-purchase Questionnaire

Screenshot surface of a pre-purchase screen with 4 multi-choice answer questions.

Questionnaire asks 3 somewhat condescending questions, one of which is : 

'Do you believe SMD staff should be forced to work long hours to make sure something is restocked?'

or "Do you think Smart Dolls are perfect?"

(Community happenings in page 78 : A forum member mentions having $400 charged from their bank despite having been 'refunded'. They had no means to contacting Danny Choo to resolve the issue since they were shadow-banned. I'm sure the issue is probably resolved, but this is one of the issues aswell of just banning people and blocking them from even CONTACTING you, whilst relying on an automated system for refunds. Resolvable, but stressful.)

(More Happenings on Page 80 : Smart Doll Centaur Garage Prototype, the magnificent vinyl beast held together by blu-tac in OFFICIAL prototype photos, proudly goes up for sale to customers with the glorious price tag of 6k USD. Price is later bumped down to 4.5k, I recommend anyone interested to go and take a look because good god the shots of the tacked up joints sure are something else.)

(Straggler Choo Happenings That Are Super Small :

- Discussions on Page 79 about his disabled comments section on his Youtube, discussion talks about his poor handling of troll comments and how it might have lead to him choosing which videos to disable comments from.

- Discussion on Page 80 over his lack of prior notice or any notice really as to when items are permanently discontinued. Patterns show that he only says something is discontinued forever if someone asks him weeks later.)

 

@Eiko82 and @Sebby 

H-

How on EARTH did you two go through all those pages, and retain enough sanity to make a cohesive-to-the-point breakdown? I am EXHAUSTED.

Edited August 20, 2022 by freakie-oppa

On 8/20/2022 at 10:17 AM, freakie-oppa said:

Like the curious rat I am, I decided to ALSO go down memory lane since I have an obscene amount of free time compared to most. (Sorry work boss, I will repent later.)

Just to touch more on the Disabled Individual (Mentioned on Page 12 and Page 64) because since two people have asked for elaboration, I will try to elaborate on it in a coherent way.

April 28th 2021 (page 64) // Arm Strength

Roughly around April 8th 2020, a new policy is published on the CJ website. The general gist of it is :

"If you do not have the ability to assemble your Smart Doll Eiji V2 / Crimson V2, these dolls weren't made for you."

(A little bit of context : During this time, outside of limited SMD Boys, all standard SMD Boys were shipped out with the 'Macho Arms' by default. The Macho Arm is so bulbous at the top that the peg BARELY fits into the socket of the torso skeleton. This is an issue I myself, have struggled with, and several others who are not physically disabled. The skeleton used the depth of the girl skeleton, so you can imagine that the peg is actually too short for the boy shoulders.)

In light of all the 'Disabled Representation' that D.Choo had been doing up till April 28th 2021, a Tumblr post was made by Customer A (I do not know the username they go by online, I can correct it in future) detailing why the policy came to be. Customer A begins the post detailing that they ; are on the Autism spectrum, has dysgraphia (a hand disability that effects their motor control), and hand arthritis.

Chain of events that lead to policy change :

- The arm socket of their SMD Boy dislodges during dressing. Customer A struggles for 1 hour to put the arm back in with no success.

- Customer A takes to the Smart Doll Lovers Facebook group during an emotional state to vent about the arm socket issue, and says a few less favorable things about SMD. (I actually remember seeing this post, I personally didn't think what they said was too overboard, they were visibly distressed.)

- The post is removed 20 minutes later by a mod, and the mod hops into their DMs to help them get the arm back in.

- Customer A manages to reattach the arm and apologizes both to the mod, and publicly. They explain their disabilities and why the meltdown occurred.

Little did anyone know, D.Choo was likely livid, for he immediately left the SMD Lovers group, and the policy for Eiji V2 and Crimson V2 was updated shortly after.

Silver Lining : In much later releases. D.Choo announces that all SMD Boys will be shipped out with the 'Slim Arms' by default instead of the 'Macho Arms' due to reoccurring criticism relating to how difficult it is to put the Macho Arms into the skeleton socket of the SMD Boy Torso.

(Community Happenings surrounding this :  There are questions of the intentions of his 'Disability Representation' items due to how he handled this situation, and some sorrow over how much he's changed, considering how willing to help he was just a few years prior.)

------

Because I had alot of time, I went through Page 68 to Page 81. (Gentle reminder if you couldn't tell, I ramble. I am actually a terrible narrator, so I apologize again oTL) (Another notice, I have included a few Community Happenings aswell about topics that looked interesting to me. Those are also skippable.

May 28th 2021 (page 69) // The Restock Timer (I consider this a more undetermined issue)

(Context : There used to be a timer on sold out pieces on the CJ website for pieces D.Choo intended on restocking)

D.Choo posts to Twitter that the Restock Timer will officially be removed due to 'complaints'. He ends the tweet with: 'You see- we do listen - folks complain and so we remove the source of the complaint ;-)'  (His fans proceed to defend him on Twitter)

Except it is revealed on Page 70  that people were actually asking if he could allow customers to essentially pre-order the items being restocked, rather than expect them to camp a timer.

May 29th 2021 (page 69) // Credit Card Fraud Protection

D.Choo posts to Twitter out of the blue detailing that in order to battle credit card fraud, he has circulated the details of his Banned Customer list to his SMD dealers (like Fabric & Friends, etc).

This doesn't sound like a problem, until you remember that he has banned NUMEROUS PEOPLE simply because they asked innocent questions.

Folks on other Facebook groups quickly find out that some of them have been banned from the CJ website, even though they have never even spoken to D.Choo before.

( Community Happenings in Page 69 : There are more discussions over the legitimacy of his 'Disability Inclusion' pieces, especially what with The Arm incident, and surrounding the prices of his tinier accessories. Child Safety Hazards are brought up too since alot of the pieces are also choking hazards.)

June 5th 2021 (page 71) // Deal With It Early Description

Screenshot of an early vent post D.Choo made (possibly on the CJ website) in relation to the backlash he faced for his first BLM Support post. (Remember, he's trying to twist the narrative that the backlash was towards his 2nd post.)

He writes this post with strong 'You guys are bullying me, but I won't let you win!' attitude, Because There Are Only Haters, Not Critics!

The ending paragraph basically details how he thinks people who tell him to hire a PR team, are actually trying to silence him and that they want him to just bend to their will.

(Context : Screenshot of his 2 BLM Support posts are posted on Page 72 as a reminder. He equates Black minority as to being the same as > 'we are minorities (cause I choose) employees over customers!' and other self righteous jibber jabber.

I mean, you can SEE why the first post was an issue, right?)

June 16th 2021 (page 76) // Super Girl Cautionary

On the road towards the SMD Super Girl release, D.Choo had this caution posted up (I assume the CJ website) :

"Folks who have only purchased licensed or limited edition products from this site will have to show evidence they still possess those items. If evidence can't be provided, orders are canceled and refunded."

I ASSUME this is to combat scalpers, but it was a topic of interest since there ARE collectors who had only enjoyed his limited releases.

June 27th 2021 (page 76) // Pre-purchase Questionnaire

Screenshot surface of a pre-purchase screen with 4 multi-choice answer questions.

Questionnaire asks 3 somewhat condescending questions, one of which is : 

'Do you believe SMD staff should be forced to work long hours to make sure something is restocked?'

or "Do you think Smart Dolls are perfect?"

(Community happenings in page 78 : A forum member mentions having $400 charged from their bank despite having been 'refunded'. They had no means to contacting Danny Choo to resolve the issue since they were shadow-banned. I'm sure the issue is probably resolved, but this is one of the issues aswell of just banning people and blocking them from even CONTACTING you, whilst relying on an automated system for refunds. Resolvable, but stressful.)

(More Happenings on Page 80 : Smart Doll Centaur Garage Prototype, the magnificent vinyl beast held together by blu-tac in OFFICIAL prototype photos, proudly goes up for sale to customers with the glorious price tag of 6k USD. Price is later bumped down to 4.5k, I recommend anyone interested to go and take a look because good god the shots of the tacked up joints sure are something else.)

(Straggler Choo Happenings That Are Super Small :

- Discussions on Page 79 about his disabled comments section on his Youtube, discussion talks about his poor handling of troll comments and how it might have lead to him choosing which videos to disable comments from.

- Discussion on Page 80 over his lack of prior notice or any notice really as to when items are permanently discontinued. Patterns show that he only says something is discontinued forever if someone asks him weeks later.)

 

@Eiko82 and @Sebby 

H-

How on EARTH did you two go through all those pages, and retain enough sanity to make a cohesive-to-the-point breakdown? I am EXHAUSTED.

TLDR: How CJ Lost his groove.

Edited August 26, 2022 by DollyDearest

@freakie-oppa Great job!! Yeah, I'm gonna be honest: after reading and summarizing 50 pages over several days, I was exhausted too. I don't know it I have the stomach to do more XD

9 hours ago, belpita said:

This one was quite complicated, if I remember correctly. At that time I was not as involved in the community anymore, so I may be fuzzy on the details. But at least part of this debacle was one customiser attacking someone's girlfriend over their particular customising style. Instead of saying it just wasn't their preferred style, they straight out attacked the other person and said they destroyed the dolls. 

 

You're right. I've followed the one person on instagram since 2018 and have spoken to him a couple times. It was his girlfriend's work that was trashed. He sold most of his Smart Dolls including a Mirai Plus and left the group with his girlfriend.

9 hours ago, Eighteafive said:

You're right. I've followed the one person on instagram since 2018 and have spoken to him a couple times. It was his girlfriend's work that was trashed. He sold most of his Smart Dolls including a Mirai Plus and left the group with his girlfriend.

Yes, I think they were having some financial issues lately, unfortunately. 

He also had a falling out with another owner (a clothes designer), which had hints of some unwanted advances being made as well as trash talking the girlfriend. But more of a personal mess, than anything to do with DC.

---------------

I saw that there is a new "Why not to buy" up. It's actually really informative on the making of the dolls and there seems to be quite little snark, more on the dad joke side this time. I think this is what always made me go back in the past; wild mood swings followed by perfectly reasonable behaviour. But then that's classic gaslighting, isn't it? You begin to doubt your own sanity/reasoning and move your line for what is normal.

Edited August 21, 2022 by belpita

I remembered something when I read this quoted below. Some theories I have about this happening, which obviously are just interpretations of perceived behaviour. So you know, take it with that proverbial grain of salt.

Quote

- Discussion on Page 80 over his lack of prior notice or any notice really as to when items are permanently discontinued. Patterns show that he only says something is discontinued forever if someone asks him weeks later.

These are some things that could be at play here:
- financial result and actual physical sales don't live up to the desired result, sometimes despite how much DC himself likes a product (maybe?)
- a new shiny thing appears, ie a sense of urgency to produce all the ideas he has, perhaps because declining health (he has hinted at eventually not being able to walk)
- lack of ability to organise and structure creativity, so all ideas are equally important or good (not being able to "kill your darlings")
- a genuine dislike for being "ruled by someone else", ie taking back the power of his life again (I'm basing this on some of the books he seems to read and also knowing  his background in the foster care system, but this is very speculative)
- taking the idea that "customers are never right" to its extreme, by showing he will always have the last say in production issues (related to the above, but also part of his general work ideal, which goes against many Japanese workplace situations)

I do know that seasoned SmD owners are aware you should always seize the moment once something is released and that you should never put your money on a prototype being shown, because they may end up never being produced. In that sense, SmD is very different to all other doll makers: if they show a teaser, it is of a doll that is in production and will be released to the market, whereas for SmD is more of a feeler on if the market likes the idea of the product. I think this leads to a lot of disappointment for some newer customers.

Edited August 21, 2022 by belpita

 

On 8/20/2022 at 5:40 AM, Katsudon said:

Danny posted about being concerned about the environment, and how he wanted to buy some land to turn into a forest to help be carbon neutral. Someone in the comments points out that he often posts pics of his dolls on a plane, and that using air travel less often would be a step to helping the environment. Then tantrum I guess?

Adding this to my post for clarification, thanks!

 

19 hours ago, freakie-oppa said:

 

@Eiko82 and @Sebby 

H-

How on EARTH did you two go through all those pages, and retain enough sanity to make a cohesive-to-the-point breakdown? I am EXHAUSTED.

Why do you think I quit after page 68 😅😂 I applaud Eiko for managing 50 pages. 

 

13 hours ago, Eighteafive said:

You're right. I've followed the one person on instagram since 2018 and have spoken to him a couple times. It was his girlfriend's work that was trashed. He sold most of his Smart Dolls including a Mirai Plus and left the group with his girlfriend.

Yep that's who I was talking about. It was a huge mess and thinking back on it... Also a bit of a shame. Sure the customizations weren't my style but to each their own. If she was happy with it then fine. Many of the current "faceup artists" aren't really that much better and they get a lot of compliments. And the guy was always pretty cool. I met him irl and he was super nice. 

Edited August 21, 2022 by Sebby
Blep

as bit of a reminder, there is also the more questionable SmD community centric thread where the sub-plots described recently were gone through (i seem to recall at least), so thats where most of the meat would be for those topics.

Why is is questionable?

19 minutes ago, belpita said:

Why is is questionable

 

"toxic Smart Doll community"?

 

I think the title sayes it all.

Just trying to soften the topic a bit perhaps, and also differentiate that not everybody around smd fandom is as edgy.

https://info.smartdoll.jp/en/posts/reasons-not-to-buy-imperfections

This make some sense, a part some cringe joke.

But never use an oily product on synthetic wig and never use oily product with vinyl doll this is big fat nope also for resin bjd

Quote

The oil used for wig styling may leave residue on the top of the head (photo 8) - this may bother folks who plan on having their girls bald. Most of the residue can be removed with some thinner and then some melamine sponge

 

Is this human condition called "madness" Leader."?      ~cybermen doctor who.

On 8/21/2022 at 3:44 AM, Eighteafive said:

You're right. I've followed the one person on instagram since 2018 and have spoken to him a couple times. It was his girlfriend's work that was trashed. He sold most of his Smart Dolls including a Mirai Plus and left the group with his girlfriend.

Yes. One of the reasons they were attacking his gf was because she was wiping default faceups on non-chaos heads and making them into customs, and the hardcore fans felt that she should have used blank chaos heads instead.

17 hours ago, 3lysa said:

https://info.smartdoll.jp/en/posts/reasons-not-to-buy-imperfections

This make some sense, a part some cringe joke.

But never use an oily product on synthetic wig and never use oily product with vinyl doll this is big fat nope also for resin bjd

 

I’m most surprised by the fact that in that article they mention if you have difficulty installing a wig due to arthritis, they will be willing to help pre-install the wig.

On another store page, it said that the arms on a male SmD were a tight fit and hard to install. If you have difficulty with this or weak hands, then you shouldn’t buy SmD.

  

The part about the wig leaving a mark on the scalp is probably because of my friend; his Destiny's wig had a wet, oily stain inside the wig cap that left a mark on her forehead and he e-mailed Danny to figure out what it was, after which Danny told him to send back the whole doll if it's a problem and then made one of his snippy little Instagram posts about how the wig partings are set with liquid silicone and might leave marks on the vinyl head and not to buy his wigs if that bothers you. 

 

On 8/21/2022 at 11:57 AM, 3lysa said:

But never use an oily product on synthetic wig and never use oily product with vinyl doll this is big fat nope also for resin bjd

This is not entirely true and synthetics (for dolls and humans) are often styled with oils; Volks even sells an oil spray specifically for their doll wigs. 

7 hours ago, nChoco said:

I’m most surprised by the fact that in that article they mention if you have difficulty installing a wig due to arthritis, they will be willing to help pre-install the wig.

It's only a matter of time till his rules start contradicting themselves

8 hours ago, Yumeiro said:

It's only a matter of time till his rules start contradicting themselves

but will anyone question it?    or when smart doll fabulous & intelligence release, will they look the other way? lolz

Edited August 23, 2022 by DollyDearest