No more Invitations to Den of Angels

[MeltedCaramel]

;____; I just wanted to say thank you. You all know who you are, just...thank you!! It means so very much to me, I can't put it into words. I know it's just an invite to a board, but sometimes small kindness can reach deeper than grand gestures. <333

As for versora, sweetie, keep being an active member here and if someone hasn't already extended an invite, you can ask again once your name has turned brown and you've proven that DS isn't just a stopgap to get to DoA. Personally I don't think you're trying to do that at all, and I don't think anyone else thinks this either, but from what I understand DS has had major problems with this in the past, which...obviously led to this thread being made. Just stick around and participate (or get sucked in and try and visit as often as you can like I do! ) and I'm sure someone will extend an invite.

I feel so bad. DoA is tempting for new doll collectors, and I understand the allure, because it has such a wealth of knowledge in it, but it's also an "exclusive club" (which unfortunately makes it even more alluring to some people). Still, everyone on Dollieh Sanctuary has more than enough knowledge and experience between everyone to answer most if not all questions you have. Besides...DS is just better.

[DollyKim]

Information is power. The better informed you are on anything the better choices you can make.

DOA is a cautious place for people very new to this hobby. It's better to start somewhere that's more open to "silly" questions, allows more kinds of dolls, and is more forgiving to mistakes.

[Kirahfaye]

Within a 2 week time period we had several people become members here only to spam the other members for invited to DOA and then disappear without a single post on DS. A couple of them actually spammed ALL the members. Thus the reason behind the decision to stop giving invites.

I know it's a disappointment for those who truly want to be active members of both forums. Just be patient and show that you are interested in participating here, also - even after you get your DOA membership. We are a great group of people who love all types of dolls and many have a wealth of knowledge that you can't even get on DOA. And we are nice here, too!

[K2!]

Within a 2 week time period we had several people become members here only to spam the other members for invited to DOA and then disappear without a single post on DS. A couple of them actually spammed ALL the members.

After receiving an invite, one of them actually PMed Greyhaunt and told Grey she only joined to get the invite.

[versora]

I read that. And that wasn't very nice of them to that. I would never do something like that. I like the people here. Much nicer. And have been very good about my silly questions, well the ones I posted anyway . But I prefer nice and open people over an exclusive club.

[MeltedCaramel]

DollyKim Well put!! Honestly, just from the bit of browsing I've done, that DoA's policies are so tight they border on outright tyranny(okay, overdrama, but I can't think of a nicer word) at points. I truly only want the informational posts from there. DS is definitely the place to let loose and be yourself and not worry about judgment for what your "doll drug of choice" is, and if you make a mistake, there's not a bunch of people ready to jump on the slightest indiscretion. Truthfully I'm afraid they'll reject my invite simply because when asked what my favourite doll was, I was honest and answered with one of my (only BJD) "want" dolls, a Dear Mine limited edition Manticore, but I forgot to put the sculpt type in, so I feel like that's already a strike against me! DS is my home, DoA is a place to lurk in the shadows for me.

Kirahfaye Oh my...no wonder the decision was made to stop giving out invites!! I was under the impression that it was more of a "this happens a couple times a month and we've had it" type deal, I had NO idea it was such a massive influx in such a short time!!

Honestly, like versora and myself, I don't think DoA holds much real appeal as a community so much as a resource catalogue. I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing DoA and I know many people here are members of both communities and are sweet as pie, but there is no denying that DoA has earned its rather dubious reputation for a reason.

We are a great group of people who love all types of dolls and many have a wealth of knowledge that you can't even get on DOA. And we are nice here, too!

<---Exactly why DS is truly my sanctuary (with quite the apt name!). Everyone here is laid back and I agree with the wealth of knowledge. I've asked questions here and been given information that I haven't seen anywhere else on the net. And of course everyone is nice here!! That's why this place is such a haven.

K2!

After receiving an invite, one of them actually PMed Greyhaunt and told Grey she only joined to get the invite.

<---Please tell me Greyhaunt put a boot up her ass. That is a level of rudeness I can't imagine. "Hi, yeah, I joined your forum to spam your members and got an invite so SEE YA SUCKA!"

versora You're free to ask anything you'd like here, and someone will almost always come to the rescue with an answer. I'll personally answer anything that you'd like to know that's within my scope of knowledge, and anything I can't answer, someone else undoubtedly can. Everyone here is lovely and giving with their expertise and time. I hope you'll nestle in quite comfortably here!

[DollyKim]

Don't freak out too much, sometimes questions are just to see if you're a human being or a spam robot. If they didn't allow new people in they'd dry up pretty fast. It might take time because they only approve on certain days or they might be checking your user name to see if you're a doll person. I've never been invited to a few forums and don't let it get to me.

And a great way to find links to off DOA sites is to go through an image search. Put in the topic you want like Ball Joint Doll Making and you'll find all sorts of blogs and tutorials.

[K2!]

Don't freak out too much, sometimes questions are just to see if you're a human being or a spam robot. If they didn't allow new people in they'd dry up pretty fast. It might take time because they only approve on certain days or they might be checking your user name to see if you're a doll person.

DoA's admissions policy is understandable from a moderator's point of view. We have a similar admissions policy here where every registration request is reviewed by a real person, which sometimes can take a while. This has helped keep our board spammer and (mostly) troll free. As an example of what can happen with an open admissions policy, Parabox (the Obitsu retailer) has an open/automatic admission policy on their board. Sometime in the early fall of 2013 the spammer community "discovered" their forum and they have been inundated with new "members". In the last 8 months alone their membership has gone from about 27,000 members to over 135,000. That's over 3 times DoA's total membership. There are nearly daily spam posts and while all those new members aren't spamming the board (yet) I find it difficult to believe most of those new members aren't bots.

[Trethowan]

Don't freak out too much, sometimes questions are just to see if you're a human being or a spam robot. If they didn't allow new people in they'd dry up pretty fast. It might take time because they only approve on certain days or they might be checking your user name to see if you're a doll person.

DoA's admissions policy is understandable from a moderator's point of view. We have a similar admissions policy here where every registration request is reviewed by a real person, which sometimes can take a while. This has helped keep our board spammer and (mostly) troll free. As an example of what can happen with an open admissions policy, Parabox (the Obitsu retailer) has an open/automatic admission policy on their board. Sometime in the early fall of 2013 the spammer community "discovered" their forum and they have been inundated with new "members". In the last 8 months alone their membership has gone from about 27,000 members to over 135,000. That's over 3 times DoA's total membership. There are nearly daily spam posts and while all those new members aren't spamming the board (yet) I find it difficult to believe most of those new members aren't bots.

Let's be fair, though. Bots love dolls, too.

[versora]

Ah, yeah. can understand that, No hard feelings for DoA though. And yup, not even bots can resist the luring allure that is BJDs,