Have most people moved on from the Arena?

[Oberon]

Hadn't bought a new doll for at least a couple of years, so got out of the habit of checking this forum.

I came back on over the last few days, as I bought 2 Cave Club dolls, just to see what dolls people were collecting and sharing about since MH kind of fizzled out....  But I guess I was late to the funeral... The forum seems pretty quiet now.

Where did everybody go? Have people moved on to new forums related to different doll lines or is there just no real doll fandom without MH?

Where should I go to see cute doll pics and chat?

photo_2021-01-16_13-44-44 by renzoknight, on Flickr

[ponycatmeow]

There's still a doll fandom, I wish I knew what forum everyone went to..
It seems these days most use Facebook and Instagram, but they just aren't the same as traditional forums to me.

[Kris]

I would agree that there's a "Dollstagram" community that is pretty active on instagram. I have also seen doll blogs still active on tumblr, but I'm not sure about forums. Maybe on Discord?

[Wynnegen]

Yeah, I think most people hang out on instagram now, but honestly that place scares me. Don't think I've seen much doll stuff on Discord.

I think there used to be lots of doll blogs on tumblr, but tumblr as a whole seems muted nowadays. I used to follow a lot of toy channels on YouTube, but I fell out of the habit a while ago. Those comment sections (where they're still available) can get quite lively.

Nowadays I mainly follow blogs like venivididolli  (I maintain my own, but it's not really doll focused) and check out new releases on youloveit or just by trawling Amazon.

I try to play my part on this forum by posting as much as I can, but I don't think we'll be seeing a full-scale revival anytime soon.

[Carrehz]

I think it's partly MH dying, and partly forums in general being largely superceded by social media. Which really sucks since forums are soooo much better...

I'm still hanging around here, anyway.

[Jade]

Congratulations on the dolls! They are very pretty!

[ponycatmeow]

Yeah, I think most people hang out on instagram now, but honestly that place scares me. Don't think I've seen much doll stuff on Discord.

I think there used to be lots of doll blogs on tumblr, but tumblr as a whole seems muted nowadays. I used to follow a lot of toy channels on YouTube, but I fell out of the habit a while ago. Those comment sections (where they're still available) can get quite lively.

Nowadays I mainly follow blogs like venivididolli  (I maintain my own, but it's not really doll focused) and check out new releases on youloveit or just by trawling Amazon.

I try to play my part on this forum by posting as much as I can, but I don't think we'll be seeing a full-scale revival anytime soon.

Oh, I love blogs! I keep a RSS feed. Do you have any to recommend, or where I can go to find more? Is there like a site that lists blogs and such?

[Wynnegen]

I don't think I know about any blogrolls or lists, but I can list a few off the top of my head:

VeniVidiDolli, updates regularly
Papusilemele, used to update more frequently with Barbie and some Steffi Love (a German sort-of Barbie knockoff) but now updates whenever with more collector stuff. She's also on instagram.
Barbielistholland, for if you need any Barbie news. Usually just keeps a yearly giant aggregator page of all the Barbie releases (this is the page for 2021) that updates when information comes in, so you just have to visit once in a while.
FlyingPurpleMonkfish, updates are irregular, but tend to be long-reads

Almost forgot! My blog Toy Zeitgeist, I write about dolls more than I review them. I don't just write about new releases, I also try to cover the history of lots of different lines.

[Wuvmykitties]

Unfortunately, I had to downsize my monster high collection. I had over 200 dolls and had to donate them because they were taking up too much space. I simply had no more room, and with MH rebooting and becoming childlike, as well as Mattel dropping the ball (not to mention the massive recycling) I lost interest. Now I’m pretty much focused on vintage Barbie, Takara Jenny, and small dolls like Topper Dawn.

[YukiDelValle]

People use Reddit a lot too!

[Oberon]

Never got to grips with Instagram and Reddit

Are they good for engaging with the doll community?

Still doing some doll photography here and there.. Today's theme was "Purple"

!!!! by renzoknight, on Flickr

[Wynnegen]

Is that an EQG Rarity on a Monster High body? It's a stunning combo!

I haven't taken doll photos in a while. Maybe I should try my hand at it again!

[Oberon]

Is that an EQG Rarity on a Monster High body? It's a stunning combo!

I haven't taken doll photos in a while. Maybe I should try my hand at it again!

Yeah. It's Rarity's head on the body from the MH Power Ghouls Spectra. I also have a Rainbow Dash head on a Freshwater Lagoona body.

And you totally should take lots of doll photos, would be great to see them!  Let's revive the forum one pic at a time!   

! by renzoknight, on Flickr

[lilyflower332]

I'm 19 and forums seem a bit old-fashioned to me, so yeah, i think everyone has mostly moved to social medias. Some discord severs do feel like forums though, honestly, and instagram does seem fairly active, along with tiktok somewhat, i've seen MH cosplays and doll room tours or just nostalgic for them in general.
I like it here though, so 'i'll be around.

[Konzern]

I pop in every now and then, but there's definitely not much activity.  I am on the Monster High Reddit, and it's kind of slow, but it does have its moments.  Apparently, from what I've gathered on there, TikTok has breathed some life into the series. 

[QueenGab]

People use Reddit a lot too!

I think r/Monsterhigh is our new place. Found lots of interesting advice and also members from the arena there

[SaelaVe]

Never got to grips with Instagram and Reddit

Are they good for engaging with the doll community?

Personally, I don't find them to be very good for engaging with the community. Not like forums are. But I also think that forums just suit my personality a bit better. I'm on Instagram, but I only share photos and like photos. I don't talk at all.

[NinaMarie]

It definitely seems like forums are not as popular these days. It's my preferred medium like SaelaVe though I use Instagram and browse Reddit. I also have Discord but haven't joined any active groups. I like the way forums work and how they promote pure discussion as well as image sharing. I'm not "good at" Instagram because I hate having to post pictures all the time. I've never felt a sense of community anywhere but with MLParena and MHarena.

Gosh I feel like an old person complaining about new technology and "well in MY day"

[lilyflower332]

oh yeah i just checked on the reddit and it doesnt feel like a community at all, it feels more like just tossing content into the void

[Carrehz]

^ yeah, this is exactly what I hate about most social media, the lack of a sense of community. I haven't tried any doll Reddits, but on other Reddits I've noticed it's VERY hard to get a proper conversation going. You make a thread and it just gets buried under memes and the same question that gets asked every other dang day. (Another reason I prefer forums: more/better moderation!! more of an emphasis on reading the dang rules, using the search function, and not asking the same thing 300x >_<) Less conductive to posting lots of pics, too.

But yeah on social media it's all about likes and reblogs and upvotes... it's called "social" media but there seems to be an awful lack of proper user-to-user interaction!

Instagram's never appealed to me. Too mobile-based. I tried signing up a while ago just to try and contact someone and it just would _not_ work on a computer! Ended up giving up and finding a different way to contact them. Annoying site to try and navigate, too - can't stand that "autoscrolling" nonsense.

("In my day, we had to walk uphill through the snow both ways to find a good forum on the internet...")