I would be willing to pay the fee, if not only just for the valuable advice, the ability to purchase from trustworthy members, but bc being part of this community is priceless. I’ve met so many of you that I feel that I just know. I hope BB is willing to work with everyone to save the forum.
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I was on DollFan for a while, which is a paid forum. It was mostly collectors there, and the dolls were mostly way out of my price range—Romie silicones, etc. I can’t say for sure, but I feel like introducing that kind of fee to this forum might have a similar effect, with fewer new/beginner artists around to share techniques with. One thing I love about this community is that we have experienced artists AND beginners, and I think that’s partially due to the fact that the forum isn’t a financial investment in itself— it allows people to explore the art form with less risk/commitment.
That said, I also have a feeling that there are more underlying causes to this decision than simply financial ones. We’ve had significantly worse drama than the thread that went off the rails recently, so even with the issue of moderators, I was totally shocked that shutting down the forum was the first solution that was thought of. So I imagine there are other factors at play as well.
I will say that I likely couldn’t return here if a fee was introduced— this is a hobby for me, not a career, so I can’t justify any more overhead fees. Reddit is an interesting idea, but it’s so much more mainstream than servers like this. I imagine we’d have issues with privacy before long.
Forums aren’t a thing of the past, per se, but I can’t think of any other really active ones at the moment. It’s a real shame, since Discord (and other more conversation-based platforms) demand so much more daily attention depending on their size… I can jump on here once a month or less if I’m really busy, and still be able to keep up.
I think forums like this must be more expensive to run, and more centralized than Discord, etc. But fees would exclude the people who most need something more organized and slow-paced… so I’m not sure what to think.
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I’m sure that BB realizes this forum generates a tremendous amount of business for them. From kits to supplies to the ROSE show itself, we all promote BB in one way or the other. It would be a terrible shame if it was not here for everyone to enjoy and share their love of this wonderful hobby. I feel like (from reading Nevins post) that maybe there is more underlying issues going on right now. There’s the whole court thing, the covid-19 virus thing and maybe problems replenishing stock. Who knows whats going on but I hope they don’t do something rash and take it out on the very people who are the most loyal to them!! I’m sure they are just as devastated by all that’s going on as we all are. “This too shall pass”, we have to remember that in this time of inconsistencies in all our lives. It’s a very scary time for them and their business. Hopefully we can be some comfort to them.
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Having only just signed up I would hate to see this forum disappear. There is a wealth of great information and support from members. It feels safe here - I don’t like FB and pretty much all other social media outlets. I like YT for the tutorials and I was following a few collectors on there but there is way too much drama and nastiness that I unsubscribed from many of them.
I have just started out on my reborn journey so I have been buying a lot of supplies from BB - I try and get as much as I can afford in the same shipment fee to Australia. I will be a repeat customer.
This virus has created enormous devastation throughout the world and its so sad to see so many businesses struggling in so many ways - its been a knock on effect for business as we can only now see how much we took for granted with supplies and deliveries. Sorry for the rambling post! Stay safe and well everyone.
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Everyone on this forum promotes Bountiful Baby.
I’ll even go so far as to say we pressure each other into buying more.
Without this forum, I’m unlikely to purchase more reborns in the future, as this feels like a safe space to get to know artists and their work without fear of getting scammed. I’ve learned so much while researching reborns and ended up buying BB dolls through artists here, that wouldn’t have happened without this forum.
I don’t use other social media at all, with the exception of reading Reddit(although I never post anything there). Reddit and the reborn community are currently incompatable. The attitudes and atmosphere there towards reborns is inexplicably toxic, venomous even and could never replace our safe space here.
As much as I enjoy checking out the art on a regular basis, learning more, and getting to know nice people here, sadly, I wouldn’t pay to continue here.
Also, without this forum I’ll be even less likely to become an artist purchasing BB supplies rather than just a Reborn Customer.
Who else would be able to answer all my stupid questions? I certainly wouldn’t have the confidence to ever reborn myself without the support of this group. And I’ve only been posting here a few months! I can’t imagine how much having this resource means to people who have been here for years.
Promotion and support by artists and fans benefits Bountiful Baby in immeasurable ways. Don’t punish your strongest promoters by making them pay! That’s counterproductive.
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I know that some forums have charged. I sure hope they don’t get rid of it. I’ve learned so much from my friends here.
I saw some Reddit threads about reborn dolls - vicious, hostile and so nasty - I would never go there - the internet really can bring out the hatefulness and worst in many people - but then we have this forum 
thank you all
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I believe it was @AGivensBaby that set up a reborn artists subreddit when the deprecation of the forums post was made by Nevin (which prompted this thread) A few of us joined, but it’s quite inactive. Partially due to the fact that there is such a wealth of knowledge here on this forum, but also possibly due to the fact that reddit has a bit of a learning curve.
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