Making dolls is usually thought of as a "high-touch" activity, so it may seem surprising that many dollmakers are active on the World Wide Web, the epitome of "high-tech." Indeed, some sociologists have stated that high-touch activities have become more popular as a reaction to the high-tech activities that are an increasing part of our lives. It seems that high-tech is also becoming popular among the high-touch crowd. The World Wide Web is only one part of the Internet. The Internet has become a blessing to the computer-literate dollmaker. There are now several dollmakers clubs and a whole host of other mailing lists, web sites, and newsgroups of interest to dollmakers. In this article, I will review the clubs and tell you about some of the many other resources available to the computer-literate dollmaker. If you are a member of an on-line (computer) club, mailing list, or newsgroup of interest to dollmakers or collectors that is not listed here, please tell us about your club by sending an email to .

• About the Internet
• Netiquette
• On-Line Doll Clubs
  • Friends of Cloth Dolls
  • Dollmakers
  • Doll Street Dreamers
  • Other On-Line Clubs
• Newsgroups
• Sewing Machine Mailing Lists
• Miscellaneous Mailing Lists
• Bulletin Boards
• Chat Rooms

The internet has web sites, mailing lists, newsgroups, bulletin boards, and chat rooms. Before we begin looking at lists of things to do, let's see what the differences are:

• Web Sites:

  A web site is a collection of electronic "pages" that you may browse through. Different pages at the same web site are "linked" with buttons or underlined words that you can "click" to take you to the page for the subject described on the button or underlined words. You are now "browsing" Mimi's Dollmaker's Paradise, a web site operated by Mimi.

• Mailing Lists:

  A mailing list is a way that you can send an electronic mail (e-mail) message to many people at the same time by sending the message once to the mailing list's server (or robot) for re-mailing. You do not even need to know the e-mail addresses of the people that you are sending to — the list server takes care of that. Similarly, you receive messages from other members of the mailing list automatically from the list server.

  A mailing list always has a specific topic (such as dollmaking). The mailing list may be moderated or unmoderated. On a moderated list, all mail first goes to the moderator who decides which messages are actually posted to the list. Also, the moderator may edit messages and add comments. On an unmoderated list, whatever you send in your message goes on the list.

  All mailing lists have owners. On moderated lists, the moderator is usually the owner. The owner of a mailing list determines who may be a member of a list. Usually, anyone who wants to be a member of a list is allowed to join and participate. Sometimes there are membership limitations to keep the size of the list reasonable. People who post abusive messages may be "unsubscribed" by the list owner.

  There are two formats for mailing lists: direct mail and digests. A single mailing list may be available in either or both formats. The direct mail format sends each message to all members as it is received. The digest format saves up messages and sends a "digest" of accumulated messages to members one or more times a day.

Newsgroups:

A newsgroup is similar to a mailing list, but instead of automatically receiving the messages, you have to ask for them. In a newsgroup, the subject line of each message is listed and you can then request the specific messages of interest to you. The messages can be grouped together by subject into "threads" of conversation. You can request that all messages on a specific thread (about a specific subject) be sent to you automatically. While this may seem inconvenient compared to a mailing list, a mailing list usually has only a few hundred members at most while a newsgroup may have thousands of members. You can think of a newsgroup as a giant mailing list where you would be swamped if you read everything, so you get to select only those messages you think might be of interest. A newsgroup may be moderated or unmoderated.

• Bulletin Boards:

  A bulletin board is exactly what it sounds like. A place where you can post public messages and others can read them and reply to them. Usually, only the subject line of a message appears on the bulletin board and you have to then request the messages that you think might be of interest. Some bulletin boards are moderated, and some are unmoderated. The difference is that on an unmoderated bulletin board your message is posted immediately and anyone can reply immediately, while on a moderated bulletin board your message must first be approved by a moderator which can take time.

  Some bulletin boards are organized like mailing lists with no order to the messages except the time and date they were posted. Some bulletin boards are organized like newsgroups with "threads" about specific subjects.

• Chat Rooms:

  A chat room is the real-time version of a mailing list. Instead of saving and forwarding messages, a chat room sends messages immediately, but only to those members who are presently "in" the chat room (on-line). It's like attending a cocktail party and hearing all the conversations at the same time — terribly confusing until you get used to it. In addition to being included in the general chat, you can also have private chats with one or more persons at the same time. In fact, you can be in several chat rooms (on different subjects) at the same time and be participating in several conversations in each chat room.

  The advantage to a chat room is that it is immediate. The disadvantage is that you and the other members usually have to meet by appointment since messages are not saved.

  A chat room always has a moderator, but the moderator does not approve each message. Instead, the moderator has the ability to control access to the chat room and to remove people who are abusive.

  There is another form of chat room that is used for teaching and interviews. In this case, all messages go to a moderator who decides which items to pass on to the teacher or person being interviewed. The comments from the teacher or interviewee are then passed back to the other people in the chat room. This format prevents duplicate questions and allows some structure necessary to teaching.

Getting along on the Internet is usually fairly easy. There are only a few things that you should keep in mind:

• It's a good idea to listen before you talk. If you are a new member of a mailing list, newsgroup, or bulletin board, read what others are posting for a few days to get the flavor of the list, group, or board before you post. This is called "Lurking." On many mailing lists, your first post is expected to be an introduction of yourself so the other members will know who they are talking to. Introducing yourself is not usually done on newsgroups or bulletin boards, but there are some where it is the common practice.

• Many mailing lists, newsgroups, and bulletin boards have a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers. On newsgroups, the FAQ message is usually posted at regular intervals. On mailing lists and bulletin boards the FAQ message may be posted, or it may be on an associated web site. It is a good idea to look at the FAQ message before asking a question as the answer may already be there.

• PLEASE DON'T SHOUT. Messages in all capital letters are considered shouting.

• Remember that people can't see your face or hear your tone of voice. It is very easy to say something that someone else may misinterpret. Try to think about how somebody else might interpret what you have said, and give others who seem to be saying something offensive the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes it helps to add a smiley :-) to tell people that you are only kidding. There are also certain abbreviations like <g> (grin) that can be used. A list of smileys and abbreviations is in the Nerdsville: Computers & the Web department.

• Sooner or later you will get "flamed." A flame is a nasty message or even hate mail in response to something that somebody thinks you said. If you get a flame, the best thing you can do is ignore it. People who write flames don't like being ignored and they will soon go away. I usually answer flames or hate mail with a message that says only: "Thanks you for your input."

• The Internet is full of good information. It is also full of bad information. Consider the source of anything you read. The Internet is like a giant game of pass the message. People pass on what they think they heard somewhere else. They pass on incorrect information with correct information. They pass on untrue rumors with truth. Be sure anything you pass on is both true and accurate.

• The Internet is like real life. There are good people and bad people. NEVER send your password or credit card number to someone who you do not know or trust.

Those of us who make dolls, make them not just for ourselves, but for our children, our grandchildren, or any other appreciative audience we can find. We enjoy the experience of creation and we wish to pass this joy on to others. We constantly try to improve our work and we try to pass the things that we have learned on to other dollmakers so that they too may benefit from our experience, and so that they too may experience the joy of creation. One of the ways that we both learn and share is through dollmakers clubs.

There are many clubs and organizations for dollmakers. The advantage of on-line or computer doll clubs is the immediacy of sharing. Most local doll clubs meet for a few hours once a month. A computer doll club meets for hours at a time every day. In a computer doll club you can always find someone to talk to. While you can always telephone the friends you meet in a local doll club, you can only carry on a conversation with one of them at a time, and only when it is convenient for both of you. In a computer doll club, you meet new friends in the club. You can carry on conversations with many of them simultaneously in two ways: you can carry on a many-part conversation through the club's e-mail list or chat room, or you can carry on many separate e-mail conversations with different members. A chat room, like a telephone call, must be convenient for all parties at the same time. The chat may be either by talking, or by typing, and is something like listening to all the conversations at a large cocktail party at once. E-mail conversations are the equivalent of sending letters to others that they can answer at their own convenience, but with the immediacy of getting an answer within a few hours instead of taking days. An e-mail list simply copies and sends your letter to all members of the discussion, and sends all of their letters to you.

Here are several on-line doll clubs, each of which has a different flavor that may appeal to you. Mimi is currently a member of several of these clubs, and I suggest that initially you may also want to join more than one of them. That will let you see which (if any) of them suit your personal needs and preferences the best.

Friends of Cloth Dolls

This is the largest on-line doll club with over 850 members, and the tone is light and fun. Friends of Cloth Dolls is a "moderated" list. This means that all messages must be approved by one of the IVC employees (who are not dollmakers) before being posted. IVC's touch is light, and is generally non-intrusive. It discourages advertising, flame wars, and other disruptions so that the list runs smoothly. Rather than have a specific person moderating the list, IVC has indicated that various staff members will perform that task.

Subject matter covers exclusively cloth doll making, sources for patterns and dollmaking materials, and almost anything else that dollmakers might be interested in such as recipes, family Christmas traditions, etc. There are many activities among members such as fabric swaps, secret pals, traveling dolls, and more. There are also a number of on-line dollmaking classes with well-known designers and artists.

There is an associated web site at www.thedollnet.com/friends that has been attractively designed by Gail Kellison.

Mimi is a member of Friends of Cloth Dolls.

To subscribe to Friends of Cloth Dolls, go to: <www.thedollnet.com/clothdolls/subscribe.html>

DOLLMAKERS Mailing List 

The DOLLMAKERS Mailing List is an on-line (computer) doll club that meets continuously by electronic mail. It is several years old and has over 300 members (estimated, based on traffic), mostly in the United States and Canada, but with some from Europe. You can join the DOLLMAKERS Mailing List in two ways: you can get every e-mail as it happens, or you can get a digest once a day. If you choose the digest, you will get about 4 to 24 pages (printed) of e-mail once a day. Subject matter covers all aspects of doll making, but the emphasis is on professionalism and technique in cloth, polymer clay, paper clay, and original & reproduction porcelain dolls. The tone is more for the doll artist than for the casual dollmaker. There are only a few organized activities among members.

Dollmakers will find the DOLLMAKERS Mailing List considerably different from the other doll clubs because of the different emphasis (professionalism and technique), and relative lack of chatter.

Mimi is a member of DOLLMAKERS. The membership includes several NIADA fine artists, many original porcelain (with WOW web sites), polymer clay, paper clay, and cloth artists, and even some dollmakers who are beginners but want to learn from the professionals. Subjects include all aspects of dollmaking techniques, materials, and the business aspects of dollmaking. Recently, there have been a few activities (such as doll swaps) organized by members, but there are far more activities on other lists. There are several associated web sites maintained by members. One site contains a list of suppliers. A second has biographies and (doll) pictures for many of the members. The locations of these sites is published from time to time on the list, and are not publicized for non-members.

There is now a third web site with a form that you can use to subscribe to DOLLMAKERS. To do it the easy way, visit www.everink.com/dm.

In the event that you have trouble subscribing to the DOLLMAKERS Mailing List, please contact Dawn Albright, the list owner, directly at: <dawnwich@world.std.com>

Doll Street 

Doll Street opened on July 1, 1997, and had over 400 members at the time it changed over to a dues paying club ($20/year). It now has several hundred members again and includes a fabulous web site that is completely available to anyone who wishes to visit. There is a sense of intimacy and warmth that characterizes the mailing list.

For daily communications, Doll Street Dreamers post messages to the Doll Street Journal™. The Journal is unmoderated, but disruptive activities are actively discouraged.

The Street is determined to foster, encourage and promote the work of the Dreamers, which explains the popularity of D'Art Gallery where members are invited to show their work. D'Art Gallery includes a Peanut Gallery for children's dolls. Dreamers report that they feel more creative when they actually see their work featured. Still others are inspired by the work of others. A recent addition to D'Art Gallery is a free web page where Dreamers can showcase their dolls and patterns that are for sale.

In addition to all the usual doll club activities, the Street also holds fund-raising events and awards scholarships to promising new artists from the receipts. There are a number of on-line dollmaking classes with well-known designers and artists. Mimi will be teaching a class at Doll Street.

Mimi is a member of Dollstreet.

Anyone who makes or enjoys dolls will want to stop at Doll Street in the city of Dolltropolis at <www.dolltropolis.com/dollstreet>. When you reach Molly's Folly on the guided tour, stop for a minute and apply for membership.

Other On-Line Clubs 

There are several other on-line doll clubs that are not reviewed here. The ones that were listed here have mostly disappeared. New clubs come and go all the time. As new clubs become mature and gain membership, they will be listed.

To subscribe to a newsgroup, you need a news reader. Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and the AOL browser all have built-in news readers. See the help information on any of them for more information. You can also get free copies of several good news reader programs such as Free Agent through the large shareware library at Stroud's Consummate Internet Apps List.

Be very careful about posting messages to newsgroups. There are robots that search the newsgroups for e-mail addresses so that they can send you unsolicited e-mail about get-rich-quick schemes, fraudulent stock investments, and pornography. Be sure to use an incorrect return address in both the From header and in your signature. (Just add "NOSPAM" somewhere in your return address. People can figure out how to fix it, but robots can't.) The help information for your newsreader will explain how to set these fields.

Here are some newsgroups that you might find interesting:

• rec.collecting.dolls

  This newsgroup is almost exclusively for people who collect commercial dolls such as Barbie, Beanies, etc. In addition to toy dolls, there are collectable dolls by Effandbee and other limited edition manufacturers. Out of 1700 posts, only one was related to artist's dolls, but several were related to sewing doll clothes (for commercial dolls).

• rec.crafts.dollhouses

  This newsgroup covers anything having to do with doll houses. Most of the messages are related to dollhouse furniture, supplies, construction methods, moving, etc. There seem to be very few messages having to do with dollhouse size dolls.

• rec.crafts.polymer-clay

  This newsgroup covers all aspects of polymer clay. The primary emphasis is on caning, jewelry, figurines and techniques for mixing, baking, painting, and decorating polymer clay. There are some very interesting articles about dolls, but not many.

• bit.listserv.clayart

  This newsgroup covers pottery and ceramics.

• rec.crafts.textiles.quilting

  This newsgroup covers all aspects of quilting. Since many quilters also make cloth dolls, I was surprised that less than a hand full of the 1800 messages reviewed had to do with dolls.

• rec.crafts.textiles.sewing

  This newsgroup covers all aspects of sewing. Much of the discussion is about sewing machines or patterns. There is almost nothing on dollmaking except an occasional message about sewing clothes for children's play dolls.

These mailing lists are for people who own specific sewing machines. This discussions cover how to use the machines for various purposes, tricks and traps people have learned, and where to get fabrics, and sewing techniques.

• Bernina Fan Club

  This list is for Bernina sewing machine owners. To subscribe to the regular regular version of the list, send a message to <Bernina@pcnet.com> with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line and the body of the message blank. For the digest version, send the same message to <BDigest@ox.ttsw.com> instead.

• Bernina 1630

  This mailing list is provided by Martie Sandell and sponsored by Quiltropolis and is open to the discussion of any questions or comments relating to the Bernina 1630. To join, visit the Quiltropolis Mail Lists page.

• Featherweight Fanatics

  This list is for Featherweight and other antique sewing machine fans. Buying and selling of Featherweights is allowed. Available in Digest format only. To subscribe, send a subscription request to: FWFanatics@ttsw.com

• New Home/Janome

  This list is for NewHome/Janome sewing machine owners. To subscribe, send a message to <Wades@norfolk.infi.net>

• Pfaffies

  This list is for Pfaff sewing machine owners. To subscribe, send a message to: <majordomo@embroideryclubs.com> with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line and Subscribe Pfaffies Your Full Name (fill in your name) all on one line in the body.

• Pfaffers

  PFAFFERS is a List for Pfaff owners who own 1475, 7550 and 7570 Pfaff sewing machines. The guidelines for this list are strictly set to allow busy sewers and quilters to share Pfaff information on a list that is narrow in focus. This is a No Chat, No Off-Topic messages list. Topics will include discussions of machines, techniques, accessories, teaching, computer design for stitches and embroidery, using the PCDesign software and other technical and creative aspects of sewing with Pfaff sewing machines. Pandy Lolos and Susan Druding are guiding the opening of this list, we hope list members will be self-moderating. To join, visit the Quiltropolis Mail Lists page.

• Viking Venerations

  This list is for Viking sewing machine owners. To subscribe send a message to <majordomo@acpub.duke.edu> with no subject and a one line message saying: subscribe viking-l (small L, not 1 at the end).

• Viking2Sew

  The Viking2Sew list is provided by Quiltropolis and owned by Gail Dennis. This is a list for Viking owners. We encourage topics relating to: Viking sewing machines and sergers, Embroidery, Customizing and Digitizing - any related software or computer problems regarding this software and general sewing topics. To join, visit the Quiltropolis Mail Lists page.

These mailing lists are for people who are interested in the specific topic of the list. There are hundreds of mailing lists. The ones listed here are those I think might be of interest to dollmakers.

• Historical Costuming

  This list covers recreating period clothing from the Bronze age to the mid-20th century. The emphasis is on accurate historical reproduction of clothing, historical techniques for garment construction, and the application of those techniques in modern clothing design. Other topics appropriate for discussion include adapting historical clothing for the modern figure, clothing evolution, theatrical costumes, patterns, materials, books, and sources for supplies. To subscribe, send email to <majordomo@world.std.com> with a blank subject line and subscribe h-costume or subscribe h-costume-digest in the body.

• SewBiz

  This mailing list is provided by Judy Kaufman and sponsored by Quiltropolis and is open to the discussion of any questions or comments related to sewing business. To join, visit the Quiltropolis Mail Lists page.

• Wearable Art List

  The wearable art clothing mailing list concentrates on the design, motivation and execution of wearable art and designer-type original clothing. Discussions include sharing the "how to" on finding and using suitable patterns, combining them for unique looks, or creating and drafting your own. We talk about color theory, color and pattern blocking, and coloring and painting fabrics through dyeing, marbling, air brushing, the application of fabric paints and silk screening. We share experiences creating textured pieces from flat fabric and learn to use unusual materials or various fabrics to achieve special effects. To subscribe, send a message to: <Majordomo@embroideryclubs.com> with the subject line of the message blank, and either subscribe wearable or subscribe wearable-digest in the body.

• Art2Wear

  Art2Wear is a moderated list (by Edie Evans) and sponsored by Quiltropolis for the intermediate to advanced fiber artist with an emphasis on wearable ART. Discussion of technique, resources, designers and the creative process form the backbone of the list. To join, visit the Quiltropolis Mail Lists page page

There are literally thousands of bulletin boards available. The best way to find a bulletin board is to look for one associated with (or mentioned in) one of the on-line doll clubs or mailing lists described above. Unfortunately, searching using the word "doll" or "dolls" will result in mostly pornography listings.

There are literally thousands of chat rooms available. The best way to find a chat room is to look for one associated with (or mentioned in) one of the on-line doll clubs or mailing lists described above. Unfortunately, searching using the word "doll" or "dolls" will result in mostly pornography listings.