"toxic Smart Doll community"?

3 hours ago, Jezrah said:

so there really are a bunch of people that already own them.

just as a clarification, the dolls in this current batch, or could have they been from the previous stoner thing ?

 

54 minutes ago, KittyFields said:

50% of the checkboxes are pure weird,

You havent seen Gremlins ? (and any stereotypical superhero movie for the other)

4 hours ago, sunlightandtea said:

and one for a passcode of sorts. No clue what it was supposed to be.

Could have been a quick and dirty means of fowling people running automated snipe purchase programs ... seems to be a thing in the graphics card market these days.

1 hour ago, finnleo said:

just as a clarification, the dolls in this current batch, or could have they been from the previous stoner thing ?

That’s kind of what I was wondering, and a Facebook poll isn’t exactly scientifically accurate. Anyone could claim they got one just for the sake of feeling included. 

1 hour ago, finnleo said:

just as a clarification, the dolls in this current batch, or could have they been from the previous stoner thing ?

 

1 minute ago, BeyondTime said:

That’s kind of what I was wondering, and a Facebook poll isn’t exactly scientifically accurate. Anyone could claim they got one just for the sake of feeling included. 

My impression was that there were many people who already had them before the recent drop, so they would have either been pebbles (have to follow every post to catch) or influencer gifts.

9 hours ago, KittyFields said:

I actually got a screen grab of that screen. 50% of the checkboxes are pure weird, the other 50% are obviously targeted at the so-called "entitled customers."

g

Thank you for getting a screen grab of it, and oh my! It seems I just needed to read a little closer! How embarrassing haha! I’ve always struggled with that. I was going to the links and searching! 

If it makes you feel better, I was in such a panic when I purchased that I didn't see what the actual pass phrase was either, so I did like a panic-Google, then when there was no mention of a pass phrase from that quick Google I went back and actually PROPERLY read the darned thing rather than skim it. ^_^; I only had this screen shot because I was helping another person with the pass phrase... it has to be typed with that exact capitalization or it won't work, and some phones autocapitalize and it's a struggle to correct, which I think was the issue this person was having because when I gave them the pass phrase to copy-paste they were able to make the purchase. I actually saw a few people say they missed purchasing because they were struggling with the pass phrase.

I imagine it is both an anti-bot method and a method to ensure first-time buyers know what they are getting into with Smart Dolls, but my panic-gotta-buy-now-before-it-sells-out brain wasn't mentally prepared for that and it almost defeated me! Hahaha.

Edited April 23, 2021 by KittyFields

9 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

That’s kind of what I was wondering, and a Facebook poll isn’t exactly scientifically accurate. Anyone could claim they got one just for the sake of feeling included. 

The fb poll had an option for pebbles, which had 4 votes. Though I don't know why people would lie about getting a doll in a private fb group, especially when not getting one has caused some sadness. 😕 (28 people voted "missed out", 5 people voted "couldn't afford", 23 voted that they were waiting for a different blue doll.)

Even outside of Facebook, I combed the smartdoll tag on instagram and counted 11 orders which contained Singularity dolls. And it didn't seem like there were any duplicates. ^^; That data collection isn't perfect though, as while I did exclude orders which were just for blue parts without dolls, I didn't check and cross reference every post to see if they had been posted as #smartdoll, #smartdollsingularity, or under both tags (some people posted only under one. I can't remember the number of #smartdollsingularity posts, because the main tag had a higher number so that's the one I remembered.) Mostly because not everyone posts their orders on insta, I'm inclined to take the fb poll as genuine... I know I don't use the order image things :<

*No, I don't think this is a conspiracy where people are photoshopping their order confirmation images

It's a real shame that people missed out because of the passphrase thing. ^^; I think it's less anti-bot and more to quiz people on actually reading the blurb. Which sucks. Also wow that's a really long passphrase 😕 Sympathise with @KittyFields that it's a lot if you're ordering in a hurry and/or for the first time! (Glad you were able to get one!)

Edited April 23, 2021 by Katsudon
Oops, repeated a point so wanted to add some

4 hours ago, Katsudon said:

Though I don't know why people would lie about getting a doll in a private fb group

In my experience people will do that, but agreed it would be silly. 

I’ve come to expect the worst from random people on Social Media. 

48 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

 

I’ve come to expect the worst from random people on Social Media. 

Oh that's true. I've been away from regular social media for so long I forget! Plus I think my sympathies for everyone sad over missing her is tainting my perspective. I still can't believe how fast she went.

22 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

That same thought crossed my mind. If that is what happened, then @Cauldroness unintentionally executed the perfect troll by calling bull$#!% on his claims. XD

.....y--yes. "Unintentionally."

Cauldy log #206: My plan is working perfectly. No one suspects a thing. The stage has been set for Stage 2 of my scheme. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

1 hour ago, Cauldroness said:

.....y--yes. "Unintentionally."

Cauldy log #206: My plan is working perfectly. No one suspects a thing. The stage has been set for Stage 2 of my scheme. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Now you call him out on only giving blue SmDs to influencers on Instagram, until he sells me one?

https://www.instagram.com/p/COCAZoxBy1A/

Quote

A new member joins the Solar Marines in their battle to Vanquish The Entitled. We call her "Kabuki."

"The Entitled", huh?

He's...really not being subtle, is he?

Nope, not at all. Urgh.

1 hour ago, Galvatim said:

Now you call him out on only giving blue SmDs to influencers on Instagram, until he sells me one?

I’d upvote that if I could. 

2 hours ago, Lurks said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COCAZoxBy1A/

"The Entitled", huh?

He's...really not being subtle, is he?

I can’t be the only one uncomfortable at how ‘the entitled’ are portrayed in these weird stories as subhuman (very much not human anyway), surely... Especially when knowing how little one even has to do to be classified as being ‘entitled’. It’s been making me really uncomfortable.

I really don’t think ‘some people aren’t human and should be punished for it’ is a positive message for children. 

T

9 hours ago, Lurks said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COCAZoxBy1A/

"The Entitled", huh?

He's...really not being subtle, is he?

For a doll called 'kabuki', her mie is meh.

Throwing shade hardly anyone will get, lol. Sorry, I couldn't resist the mie joke. Welcome to my TED talk about the influences of kabuki on manga.

I'm not too keen on 'the entitled' stuff. Plus in that doll's bio it's only a half truth that women can't perform kabuki: they can, depending on the venue. Also does that make her (him?) an onnagata then. 😅

7 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

Also does that make her (him?) an onnagata then. 

Maybe a more masculine bokukko ... ala Orekko.. cant recall did Fino Bloodstone out of yushibu have a term associated, with the whole oresama thing..

sorry.. just came back in from the garage filled with paint fumes ...

 

22 minutes ago, finnleo said:

Maybe a more masculine bokukko ... ala Orekko.. cant recall did Fino Bloodstone out of yushibu have a term associated, with the whole oresama thing..

sorry.. just came back in from the garage filled with paint fumes ...

 

Oooh that sounds almost takarazuka-esque XD I'm kinda enjoying this tangent haha. Helping me learn stuff I only have side knowledge of from other hobbies! 

@Monty I didn't even catch that until my second read-through. It definitely makes me incredibly upset, and it is indeed not a message that is okay to send to children. :s

18 hours ago, Monty said:

I can’t be the only one uncomfortable at how ‘the entitled’ are portrayed in these weird stories as subhuman (very much not human anyway), surely...

His Solar Marines may discover that every Napoleon must eventually meet his Waterloo; even in outer space.

I could also quote Nietzsche, something about “gazing into the abyss.”

Just to be clear, I wasn’t referring specifically to the description of Kabuki but the concept of The Entitled in general as he’d been talking about them since before Kabuki. It’s particularly blatant on the descriptions for Singularity and Dauntless2.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN65WtBBwDI/?igshid=mhnfw72mvol1

(In the images)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNr4xbRBYXT/?igshid=1nqlxy6xwomvy

(In the description)

the talk of ‘destroying’ the ‘entitled’ is... hmm. If you got a faulty product   (including the ones that fall way outside the boundary of ‘wabisabi’) it’s good to know he fantasises about killing you like a cartoon alien for daring say something I guess.

Given the topic of this thread, well, it’s (yet) another example of what encourages the ‘us vs them’ in the community I feel. 

Yeah, I agree. For anyone new to the scene, it probably seems amusing. But for people who've been following along, it's kinda not a good look to revel in it. Though, I think it's kinda diluting what it means to be 'entitled' too. The threshold is so low, it's kinda crappy.

On 4/23/2021 at 8:35 PM, Lurks said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COCAZoxBy1A/

"The Entitled", huh?

He's...really not being subtle, is he?

Oh my goodness, I cringed so hard at this. It was so... uncomfortable to me. Like someone trying too hard to fit into a particular group.

On another note, I’m so sad to see another thread like this pop up. I, admittedly, am one of those newbies who got in proper doll collecting through SmD. What a few of you said earlier about the ease of access into the hobby through the SmD website and marketing is true; it was much easier to learn and felt much more accessible. That and I do really like the SmD sculpt and fell in love with the 2 dolls I would end up ordering.

I love my dolls, Thys (Moment) and Min (Ruby), but it makes me sad that I started the hobby through what feels like a sour gate... after some extra hands and busts to support these 2 dolls, I likely won’t purchase directly from CJ ever again. I have this sense of stress attached to the beginning of my hobby now. I remember feeling dread and panic while ordering, like I might be denied and I wouldn’t get to see my girls come home. Looking back, I leaves me feeling sad.

However, I’m very excited that I’ll be ordering a DDdy body soon for a Ranka head I bought for a shell, and I have 3 MSDs ordered (2 2D dolls, and 1 Xaga because the loving heart body is so incredibly cute I couldn’t resist.) So at the end of the day, they’re my dolls and the characters I’ve created and bonded with that makes me unconditionally happy.

Also, I’m very glad to have found this site.

5 hours ago, Veravey said:

I remember feeling dread and panic while ordering, like I might be denied and I wouldn’t get to see my girls come home. Looking back, I leaves me feeling sad.

I have a feeling that my IP will get eventually banned because "omg you've visited our site so many times but you haven't ordered anything!". While I think that it would be very stupid for them to do stuff like that, based on all customer quality checks and stuff I can't help but think that what if...  

@Veravey Aw, so much sympathy! It is a shame there's a lot of, well, stuff like 'the entitled' narrative thing, because the dolls are really pretty. I still really love my Smart Doll, a lot! And I'm kinda glad that I think I will always love her. (It helps that there's places like here where people can be truthful about their feelings, both positive and negative). Also, Moment and Ruby are gorgeous :3 so lucky! I almost chose Ruby too! I had the same stress when ordering - so scared I was gonna be denied and banned. Still scared of being banned to be honest. 

@Akito Don't worry, people have been visiting and refreshing the site so much trying to get the latest dolls, I think you're safe. XD