Say Your Farewells~

New DoA was where I cut my teeth in the doll community. I was only 13, 20 years ago already, when I found out about it and made an account. I spent years pouring over photos of other's dolls and having a sense of community in this hobby. I've bought and sold so many dolls here over the years. Reading the news actually made me tear up. This forum was such a huge part of my teen years. A huge part of my doll journey and I wouldn't be where I am with my collection without this forum. I will miss it wholeheartedly. I hope all the best for everyone and I'll see you all out there in this crazy doll world.

 

New I'm really sad about the news, I've been part of this community for a really long time, I have found my life long partner within the doll hobby, I've made my best friends and also got to know a ton of people from all parts of the world. People that I consider true friends, some that I never even met, but that live deeply within my heart and that I consider more close than my own family. I really hope somehow we're able to pull this situation around and can keep up with the forum, but if not, I just want to state how thankful I am for all the years I spent here, for everyone who took their time to make comparison pictures, to learn more about other people's works, to share content and help new collectors.

I wish I was more active on the pasat few years, I confess it's been a while since I ldid my part here with the community, but I still enjoy the Market Place and still think it's one of the most reliable places to buy and sell dolls, considering all the scams or the difficulties we have to even search for BJD sales on social media. So I thank Den of Angels and the mods for all the work they put up to keep this place going.

I really hope it's not the end and that we will find a way out of this situation, but, if not, I hope to see everyone outside DoA and to keep in touch with my dolly friends from around the world.

It was a pleasure to be friends with everyone, to help with what I could and to be helped as well!

​

 

New I’ve always loved den of angels, it’s been a core part of my doll collection, research, buying and community. I hope something can be done to continue it.

 

New I was really hoping this was a delayed April fools prank I’m so gutted, I truly don’t even know what this hobby looks like without Den of Angels!! I hope something is able to be done to save it.

 

New I am very saddened by this news. I'm on the forum daily, browsing threads and of course the marketplace. I hope something can be done to change this outcome, I love DOA.

 

New I'm relatively new to BJDs and to this site, but it's really sad to see it go. I'm glad it's getting left up as a reference, but I've had some good chats with people here. I'll miss having it around.

 

New DOA is INTEGRAL to the community! There is NO OTHER place on the internet to get very valuable, very needed information about old sculpts, companies and information. No algorithms, long standing community. I am so shocked that this wealth of information would be let go just like that, especially with how badly it's needed in today's world. Can someone please consider another option other than just flat out closing it? Can someone make a copy site? A new forum entirely? Or something? Do we not have contact information for the owner? I can't believe there isn't some option.

Heartbroken is too calm a word for how I feel right now. In the world of algorithms, AI and shareholders, we desperately need an updated and archival place to continue the hobby. Without it, most of the information, history and art of our beautiful community is more or less lost. We have to do something and fight.

 

New Ive met some really nice people on DOA and its one of the trusted places i have for selling and looking for stuff too. Ive been around since April 2007... and it feels like that was only a couple years ago. Im glad that DOA will stay up and maybe the OG owner can see whats happened and make things change for the better.

i always find the waiting rooms, general discussion threads entertaining and a great place for questions and to share our new/incoming or older dolls.... I hope things change so we can continue the life of DOA

i have started a lot of doll ideas and met people online and offline from here... sad that its going to be coming to an end (at least new posting wise)

thanks for all you mods have done

 

New I only joined in 2018, but learned so much about BJD's from this site since then. Bought and sold dolls here and everyone was very helpful and nice. I'll miss the waiting rooms and the themed threads but at least the site will still be searchable. I hope this place can be saved! Thank you to the mods for your hard work and dedication.

 

New I’m mostly a lurker and a more new member of the community, but it really is a massive loss of history and information that’s quite literally almost as old as I am.

I cannot really attest of anything personal because again lurker except it’s just fun to read the stories of others! With the future closure, I am happy that the mods may finally rest. It must’ve been stressful to try to handle such a large project and responding to upwards of thousands of users. Thank you for all you have done even when it came down to just two of you.

 

New I am very thankful to the mods who have kept DOA running all these years. Thank you for all the time and energy that went into such a thankless job to keep this space open for all of us, and for giving us this notice so that we can archive important information.

I don't know how to express how devastated I am though. DOA was my teenage years and is still my internet safe place. Even when I wasn't very active in the hobby, it was always such a comfort knowing that DOA is around and I can return to it any time. I don't know how to process that it may be winding down like this.

Hoping that the owner can be reached and there is a solution that can be reached...

 

New I still frequent here everyday- I’m quite sad DoA has been a big part of my life since 2006. I hope something can be done to keep this site running for another 20 years.

I’m very grateful to all the friends, discussions and joy we’ve all experienced here and for the mods keeping this site open

 

New I'm really heartbreakon about this. I understand why it's happening, and I know it can't have been an easy decision, but I'm still deeply sad about it and hope a miracle will happen.
DoA has been such a big part of the hobby, for so many years. I've been able to ask so many questions and get answers, to exchange with other passionate people, to discover new dolls... This really feel like the end of en era.

 

New This news is devastating. I hope something can happen so that the site can be transferred to someone who can better deal with what it needs, and if not, that maybe the community can migrate to another forum.

There’s no other place that’s even remotely comparable to here, no other archive that’s quite the same. I’m really heartbroken about this really

 

New This is heartbreaking news, but I want to thank the moderators so very much for everything they've done for the community over the years. That takes so much work & dedication, and I completely understand why they're making this difficult decision.

I first learned about DoA in Aimee's book Japan Ai, which itself I learned about through the Shojo Beat manga magazine, way back in 2007. I was a silly little anime-obsessed high-schooler, and I quickly became absolutely enthralled by these dolls and this community. DoA was my happy, safe place, the source of so much excitement, inspiration, & joy for me back then. I've taken many hiatuses from the hobby over the years, but it's always been so comforting returning to DoA every time I get back into things. Den of Angels has been such a massive part of the ball-jointed doll community for so many years, and I'm so glad I was here to enjoy it. Thank you all

 

New I’m absolutely heartbroken by this news.
Even after 15+ years I’ve been on here, I still log in daily, checking all my favourite threads. There truly isn’t another place like it, and the BJD hobby is surly going to suffer from its loss. From the marketplace (I’ve bought so many precious dolls here), to all the galleries, doll profiles, and discussions, all of it will be so deeply missed.

I can only hope some sort of solution is reached before it’s shut down.

 

New I feel like I don't have the words I want to say. With that heaviness of it being a last farewell. This one hurts deeply. I've long wished for more resources to be available as good go to's for BJDs, but DoA has been the only constant. It's loss is so wide-ranging that its hard to process.

I joined DoA in 2006, a few years after I found it. I used to visit, but just hadn't joined, until one day I realized I should. I've had doll hiatuses and have come and gone. Been an absolute lurker. Shared knowledge. I've also learned so much from the other people here. Through the years, there have been plenty of ups and downs, but this is still the best site for new company news, on-goings in the BJD world, education, shared resources, commaraderie, meetups, and still a powerful 2nd hand market.

There will be a massive hole left when it's gone.

And I will miss all of you.

 

New I never thought this day would actually come DoA has been the homebase of this hobby for so long, it's so sad to see it go. I have not been active in the hobby for a few years now, but I do still enjoy looking at the gallery and checking the news occasionally to see what's happening on the community. I am glad the information will still be available, but it's so sad to see the place I spent so much of my 20s closing down.

Thank you to the current remaining staff for all you've done for this community! You have given so much and you deserve a chance to do something new!!

I too am praying for some kind of solution before August

 

New I just celebrated my 1st anniversary as a member here.

I was a unregistered lurker for much longer though and it feels devastating to lose all this community just as I found it. I really hope that there's some kind of last minute miracle here...

that said Im gonna make a effort to get all my Doll Profiles filled out and posted. I want to leave something behind for folks to look at once the sites frozen

 

New I mainly popped in and out over the years, but this was such a nice forum to have for discussions. I really don't want to wade into Reddit or Facebook for doll stuff now... It feels like a loss.

Thank you so much to the staff for keeping an old-school forum format going for so long.

 

New oh no ...so much information and hobby photos on here, and also ,our creative artists ...praying something can be done in time ...some people have alot of need for this community and our wonderful vendors....thank you mods for ALL your work and devotion, my collection can be found on Instagram in the mean time {{{cry}}} Instagram

H E L P

 

New This forum has been so much fun to join. Reading through all the different threads, talking to people in the hobbies and finally finding others to connect in this niche hobby, the huge amount of crafting ressources, the shared photos and thoughts and just the general beauty of it... Thank you for your continued effort in making this a safe and accessible space for BJD hobbyists all over the world! It's beyond saddening to know that this place will no longer exist in the future. I will miss it very much

 

New This is so sad I really enjoy this place and it’s a massive pillar of the community. I do hope it can be saved!

 

New this really fucking sucks

just wow

 

New This is absolutly terrible. DOA is not just a forum, it is history. I never thought I would have to read something like this so soon after my comeback. I hope a solution will be found... Would a 'clone' perhaps be a possibility?

 

New

You expressed my thoughts and feelings better than I could. I feel in shock.

My first thought was...losing DOA will obliterate the hobby...as there is no one place to see, learn, and converse about all the different resin bjds and issues concerning them...out there...anywhere. Certainty no trustworthy place.
I am gutted.

 

New I have no words. Just sadness. I hope a solution can be found.

@luluna you said it.

 

New Sadness… I have been on here so long… that it’s hard to say goodbye…
My favorite memory is still the Con that happened many years ago.

 

New Like im waiting for the mods to be like "jk, sike, April fools! But like its April 3rd...its like a punch to the gut, 2026 already sucks lets be real...and now this?
Ive met so many hobbiests through the bjd community, made friends along the way, lost or cut ties and all off it was character development, necessary for the journey. I remember I was 9yrs old when I saw my first bjd->> luts and volks go figure! I remember being so star struck it was a internal feeling I had to be apart of the community and immerse myself because the way I was passionate about my OCs was unmatched when I was able to save up enough money I remember the joy I felt when I hit the add to cart button...my life was changed and has been since. Its crazy how rapid the hobby has changed and how we fade out of each other's lives when dolls are not the focus point...I hope to stay in touch with some as long as possible. DOA has helped me shape my crew, helped me reach others in the hobby I wouldn't in any other way and now I have to say goodbye. Some people who use DoA refuse to use any other platform to do doll related things, so I hope they are able to adapt or that another forum is created. So many good memories with DOA its genuinely heartbreaking, I do hope everyone is able to find their happiness still within the hobby.

 

New This is such horrible and sad news. I don't know how I'll get doll information now! I hate waking up to this.
I'm at least thankful that we'll still be able to have the site in a frozen state, but this is truly something to mourn. Thank you for your time, service, and for a good community.

 

New This is really sad news. I was never very active on this forum, but this was such a safe place and a gem to find any inspirations, ideas or advice about BJDs, I never imagined it would shut down one day ...

 

New This is an end of an era. And I am so so sorry this is happening. I havent been as active the last year or so due to in life major things happening and regret that now.

I prefer forums over an algorithm mess any day.

RIP DOA

 

New This is so sad. I have been on here since 2012 and even though I don't post anywhere near as much as I used to I still love reading, looking at photos and catching up on what everyone is up to. DoA has been a huge part of my life and I am going to miss it terribly.

 

New I'm heartbroken as much as any member is, but more than that, I feel moorless. DoA has been the cornerstone of the community for so many years, and as many spaces that might have popped up over time... they're just decentralised too much. I love browsing through individual portfolios of photos, don't get me wrong, but... community-wise? Instagram is lifeless, reddit, discord, facebook, twitter, bluesky... never felt the same way this place did. Individual accounts are, of course, more about the individual. DoA felt like it was for everyone. We're standing to lose so much if this space is gone, and I fear it will fracture the core of our hobby community even more than it has been the last five+ years.

Because let us be honest. No other community will ever be like this one. There can never be a replacement for what this forum is. It was my home on the internet for too long, it's how I brought my local community together when I lived in Greece. Where I got the best tips for customising my dolls, sewing, wig making when I was first starting out. The marketplace is where I found most of my most special dolls. Galleries brought me endless joy. To this day, it's the place I come to in order to reread old threads and hold on to this time when the internet felt real and the future still seemed bright. While I understand this is beyond any single person's power to fix, I will mourn the loss of this space if it comes to pass.

Surely, surely there has to be another way.

 

New This is so so sad - DoA is the only BJD-related place I go to, and I feel like I would not be in the hobby without this forum at all (at least not very actively... maybe I would have spent less money though hahaha). It feels very safe here, and everyone is so nice, it's been such a joy to be here and play dolls the past couple of years. With the general impermanence of the internet, DoA seemed to be a last fort standing kind of... I really hope this can be turned around. I know there are Discords and other platforms, but this kind of mixing of hobbyists of so many different ages and hobby histories is rare and very precious.

I think I'll be setting up a personal website or blog just in case, and making sure to share contacts and links with whom I want to stay in touch with... it's incredibly hard to lose a community like this! I've checked the calendar like 5 times while writing this, still not 1st of April, ugh!

Even if it is the end now, I hope we all have a nice time for the last few months!

 

New Noticed Dezarii has a very old account on Flickr, wonder if this account is linked with an active email account?

 

New I'm extremely sad and devastated by this news. I've been a member of DoA for ten years, and I’m really hoping for a miracle! This community has always felt like a safe place for me. While I haven't personally experienced any issues, between 2016 and 2018, I've often heard stories about the BJD hobby being filled with drama and bullying outside of DoA, especially on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which were said to be the worst for bullying. I’ve been active on Instagram for years, and I haven't experienced or witnessed anything. I don't know if I'm just lucky, having a small Instagram, or if it’s not as bad as I’ve heard.

I'm sorry if this isn’t the right place to ask, but if DoA does officially close, are there any other safe communities out there? I know nothing will ever compare to DoA, but I’d love to know my options.

 

New As an old-timer in both life and on this forum (twenty-one years this August!). This news feels like a bucket of ice-cold water right to the face. I never thought I would live long enough to see the end of DoA. I learned and experienced so much about creative doll customization, thanks to all that ever posted on here. People who are no longer around, for one reason or another, people like me who have been on (and off) coming back to check what's new, who's retiring (doll-makers, doll-sculpts, etc.). Read people's inquires, answer a few, leave a few. I always thought of this place as a living encyclopedia, and now it might just become just the latter part. It is incredibly sad. I hope we still get to see it be alive for many years to come. Inevitably, everything comes to an end eventually, and I just as much as everyone else hope this is not the end for DoA as we know it. I hope there is something that can be done, before it is a sure closing of DoA as a forum.

 

New This is really sad news. I haven't been here for very long but I loved this forum. I really wish this conclusion will be averted.

 

New This is heart breaking.

 

New Haven't been here that much but I'm still on the vinyl forum and FB/insta/YouTube.

I had a great time when I met some of u irl at Dolly Day in Barcelona. I'll be at this month's UK BJDCon with a couple of my vinyls.

Life for the hooman is tough right now but my dollies keep me going.

 

New I'm so sad to read this. But I understand how much of a burden it would be for two people to have to do everything, while not having legal or admin control.

 

New My heart is aching, I can not even say how devastating this is for me, it feels like the end of the world Maybe a miracle happens and we can stay here

 

New First, I want to thank the moderators for working so long in an environment that must have been so difficult to manage without the proper tools and support. You've done a wonderful job with so little.

This is so so sad... As someone who has recently joined the hobby after many years of admiring it, I have been so thankful for the people I've met here and the wealth of knowledge everyone has shared. I really value the long form conversation and posts available on a forum rather than what's available on mainstream social media. The searchability is unrivaled.

I feel like the internet has been taken over by corporations and grifters and the lovely hobby and creative spaces have dwindled. This place has been like a reservior amongst a desert of the internet where ads are integrated into websites in ways that mimic old viruses. The proliferation of AI and generalized art theft has turned me off almost every other social site. DOA was such a joy to find and join over the last year.

I would be interested in joining any efforts to migrate to a new forum. I believe the "old internet" needs preserving and that community moderation (by humans, not algorithms) is invaluable.

 

New I'm devastated. I'm the admin of Materiel Celeste, the biggest french BJD/doll forum. I'm a DoA member since 2005, and DoA is my role model and the reason I created MC, and I've always seen DoA as MC' s big brother.
I really hope a new team will take over and allow DoA to keep going.
(While the forums are way less active now, MC is still here and another person owns the admin rights so my forum can be safe if I can't admin it anymore.)

 

New I only joined DoA late last year and it has been invaluable to me as a newcomer to the hobby. This news is so depressing and I really hope a solution can be found.

 

New Thank you so much to the mods for all of your hard work, love and passion over the years. It takes a LOT to moderate communities, and it is honestly usually thankless. The outpouring of love here hopefully shows some of that gratitude!

I am also absolutely devastated. I have been here 17 years and DoA has been a foundational part of my hobby experience. I treasure all of the knowledge shared and community built here.

My biggest dear in all of this is that the domain/hosting itself will end up unpaid, through no one's fault, and that the site will not be accessible. This is what happened to a cherished forum my husband was on. It just... vanished.

I am very interested to try and personally back up any and all important hobby history threads. Fun stories, interesting releases; anything you think may be significant to retain if the worst happened. I have created a new thread here if anyone would like to help contribute to this effort.

 

New I'm so sad about this! I understand why it's happening, since ownership really does lock moderators out of things in so many ways on so many platforms. I know this wasn't something decided on lightly, and I'm just happy we still have a few months before the plug is pulled. I am incredibly grateful to the mods here who have been keeping things running for all of their hardwork!

I hope the owner will make an appearance before then and a different solution can be reached! DoA is the best place to learn and share about bjd's around! I look forward to checking it every day after work, and I'll miss that part of my day

 

New I need time to process this. It's like preparing for the death of an old friend.

 

New Time to collectively make a backup plan if the forum can’t be saved. We have to figure out something while everyone can still talk here.

 

New I was never as active in here as I'd like to. That's my greatest regret. I've met lovely people and seen wonderful dolls here. I can’t wrap my head around the idea that we won't have DoA anymore, frankly. It's a shock. I hope for the best, but it's been a pleasure being part of this family.

 

New Thank you, moderators, for all you have done in spite of the pressure and lack of options available to you. No time spent here has been wasted, on your end or on ours, and we appreciate it immensely.

That said, it is devastating to once again lose an invaluable forum and community space. The community has become increasingly decentralized and fractured across various social media, all of which have a vested interest in becoming less useful for the sake of advertising and stakeholder profits. It has been truly wonderful to have a central location to find other hobbyists, have long-form discussions, access archived information, and more. In many ways, losing Den of Angels feels like losing the last foothold of a bygone internet era that I remember quite fondly, the era before corporatization and endless profit.

It has been an honor. May we all meet and play dolls again out in the great digital yonder.

 

New Man, it is always sad joining in on the tail end of communities. Only bought my first doll last year, so I am still very new to the hobby overall. I've always loved the simplicity of forums, and you hate to see one with this much lineage end like this. I really hope that things can, somehow, figure themselves out, but I know how these things go.

 

New I don't really know what to say. It's such a shock. I feel numb.

The burden for the current mods must be very heavy. I wish something was said sooner as then there would've been more time to figure out how to help. The least I can do is thank you for all your hard work! Two people carried the most important bjd forum all this time... That takes so much strength.

Hopefully the admin can be found to resolve this. The bjd community needs this forum. It's the only place I know where the hobby actually comes first. Social media has become a hostile chaotic place with big tech breathing down your neck (sometimes even banning people for posting normal doll photos because their ai is dumb). It just doesn't compare.

 

New I never imagined my life without Den of Angels to be perfectly honest. Since I joined (through the coveted invite system!) 15 years ago I have looked at this forum almost every single day.
I have struggled with pretty extreme isolation my whole life and it was kind of a miracle for me, brought about only because of this hobby and the social oasis of of DoA and old Flickr (before it was ruined) that I made some genuine friendships as an adult, and besides those, at least had a place to practice casually socializing with peers.
I wrote to friends here in messages spanning over months and years, in 15 years I bought almost all the dolls I ever had from this marketplace. I read all the time, learning the history of doll sculpts I owned, their companies, puzzling out hybrid compatibility for my collection, connecting with others and feeling inspired by observing their different creative ideas and processes.
I know it's too melodramatic to say the loss of DoA will be the final death of the hobby, but I think it kills the hobby as I knew it and I'm not sure another equally good version of the hobby can await me, personally.

I'm so sorry so few moderators were left in the end and I had no idea of the owner absence for this long on top ... So I am not surprised.

Guess I've got nothing more to say than that. but with

 

New My bjd buddy said DoA was closing and I thought it was an April fools joke.

I've been out of the bjd loop for quite a few years now, but I still have all my dolls. I joined DoA in June 2006. So I'll have been a member on here for 20 years when it closes. It's very surreal to think about.
It's hard to encompass all my memories, good and bad, in that two decade span. But I'm extremely grateful to all the friends and acquaintances I've made over the years.
Thanks to everyone for putting up with my dumb kid antics back in the day.
It's a sad chapter to see closing on the hobby. I understand forums have fallen by the wayside in current Internet trends, but this wealth of information is something I had hoped would be available indefinitely. Can this even be fully archived on something like the WayBackMachine?

I can only hope that folks continue to love and support this hobby, and with the introduction of cheaper "entry level" BJDs (those lil mystery box guys) into the market, maybe a whole new generation will be ready and willing to carry the torch as others (like myself) fall away from the active community.

I love you all, and I hope you're safe.
(To quote biggaming64 on yt)

Man I'm gonna miss these smilies ughhhhh

 

New Wow. I am stunned to say the least. There is so so much information stored on this site. I've been on here a LONG time. I hope that some of the pages will be able to be archived on the way back machine.
Thank you mods and admins for keeping this site and the original yahoo group going for all these years.

 

New I’ve always loved den of angels, it’s been a core part of my doll collection. I hope something can be done to continue it. I would be very happy if the website didn't end. :<