General discussion - public

[Bread]

You want to see real hostility, try joining a Star Wars or a Star Trek or a LEGO or a Barbie or a My Little Pony forum sometime.

As someone who collects Star Wars Black Series figures, this statement is very true. Usually I am not picky by the majority of figures since it is indeed "sci-fi," so interpretations can have a range far wider than prehistoric models. Nonetheless, there have been constant bashing and literal threats made to not only Hasbro, but to other collectors as well that have different opinions from one another.

[Faelrin]

Like I said, I'm part of the Skyrim modding community. The level of toxicity that goes on is probably comparable to those communities, if not worse at times, what with all the constant witch hunting, entitlement, etc that goes on. I've been involved with it longer then I have been on this forum anyways, like since the game released in 2011, and before that it was with Oblivion (still involved with, but much more chill out now for the most part. Skyrim was worse right from the get go because it attracted far more mainstream attention, and with that, way more toxic people. Worse yet it is still the most recent entry in the series, with Elder Scrolls 6 still years away). Like on several occasions I ended up getting burnt out, and straight up quitting for quite a while, and it certainly didn't help my depression of all things. I think things have slightly mellowed out compared to previous years, but well there's still the above that happens from time to time.

I also used to participate back in the MLP community way back in 2012 to like 2014 I think before I lost interest in it all together (depression you know), and yeah I've also seen my fair share of toxicity then as well. Quite strange considering the show it was based around had a lot of good lessons to learn you know? Heck I've also seen enough with the Star Wars communities, etc, as well as even the more relevant Jurassic Park communities. I mean I don't know if it is any different in female dominated communities, cause like I don't participate in them, and I know women, or girls can be extremely toxic too (in fact I do have PTSD regarding that during my childhood), but most of the (mainstream) communities I've encountered are (straight) male dominated, and with it can comes a lot of toxic masculinity, etc. In any case though, yeah this forum is definitely much much tamer then any of those things, despite the dram. I mean I certainly haven't felt a real drive to quit yet, other then like because of the usual depression stuff. In fact a lot of the time it gives me a reason to stick around, gives me purpose, etc.

Though all the same, I think it is to important to remember everyone has their own limitations and tolerance for this sort of stuff. Again others have quit here over it in the past, so regardless if those other communities were way more toxic or whatever, it was clearly too much for them to handle, which isn't acceptable either. Sometimes it just gets to be too much for folks, in addition to whatever else is going on in the world, or their personal lives.

[PumperKrickel]

You want to see real hostility, try joining a Star Wars or a Star Trek or a LEGO or a Barbie or a My Little Pony forum sometime.

No, I want to see the forum make good on the promise of being open and welcoming to everyone, which would include taking people seriously when they report being occasionally overwhelmed with the negativity and nitpicking. I resent the implication that these people are too soft and the fact that some forums are worse in certain aspects is frankly unhelpful.

It's certainly true that this forum could also be worse, if it wasn't for the dedication of users and mods alike. It could also be even better, if we decided that it's worth it.

[stargatedalek]

Is it not also toxic to let REBOR throw their weight around and use our forum as a marketing opportunity, let alone when they are spreading active lies? Sometimes an aggressive response is warranted.

[thomasw100]

Is it not also toxic to let REBOR throw their weight around and use our forum as a marketing opportunity, let alone when they are spreading active lies? Sometimes an aggressive response is warranted.

I would say that there is a fine line here that should not be crossed. On one hand I find it perfectly OK if a company representative or affiliate uses the forum to carefully and openly promote their new products, to announce new product releases, to ask for feedback and also for doing some sort of market research like asking what species would be most welcome. This is what the representative from Haolonggood does. The line would, however, be crossed in my opinion when a company representative uses the forum to criticize the products of other companies or comes up with any accusations against another company. I would say that some of the comments from the Rebor representative have crossed this line. Also the completely unfounded accusations about the status of the CE certification of the Haolonggood products was another example of crossing this line. Do we know who was really behind these accusations which to me felt like a smear campaign? Could that have been rumors spread by a competing company? I could very well imagine this.

[Libraraptor]

A teacher of the school I am working at once faced a bad situation: Pupils would insult each other via WhatsApp and other "social" media. After school, in which they seemed to get along together quite well, certain pupils used to spread insults and negativity, sometimes in a refined manner, sometimes more obviously and directly. They would form "parties", mobbing dynamics emerged and the online discussions would eventually bear on the real life.
Usually teachers ignore that and say they are not responsible for what the students do outside the classroom, which in my opinion is a careless perception.
What the teacher did was gathering these pupils in one room and having them read all the overnight discussions to each other in person. It ended in crying; these students never did it again.
We must not forget that the fact that this is a forum and we don´t look each other in the eyes influences the mood we create here a  lot. Humans normally are not made for discussion forums like these.
On the one hand this means treating each other with the utmost respect, on the other hand we should not take everything so seriously.

[Faelrin]

T @thomasw100 That all started when Everything Dinosaur said they didn't have it and to avoid them on a FB post, and someone shared it here. When people starting asking them why they claimed such in the first place here they never responsed. They used to readily response to things here. Honestly now that I think about it, it feels kind of out character for them, short of it purely coming from a buisness perspective (because they don't sell those products, only on Amazon and Aliexpress currently), to say something like that. I don't think it was good at all that they posted any of that, as it was all where the damage and concerns being done to Haolonggood's brand came from in the first place. It was mostly just praise and excitment here on the forum prior to that.

Yes I was also one of the people with serious concerns at first after seeing that post from them, but after seeing different points of view from other members and Haolonggood themselves I apologized, etc. I even bought one of their figures when that post had me hesitating initially despite being such beautiful figures.

@stargatedalek I agree with you about the Rebor stuff, but this also goes beyond them as well.

@Libraraptor Yeah a lot of the human element is lost and folks can easily misinterpret things. Throw in some language barrier stuff at times, and it can also make things come across worse meaning then they actually are.

That said I'm autistic. I would do much worse in person then online. I've always struggled reading people's tones, faces, etc. I also actively shy away, and avoid eye contact with people I'm not familiar with. A forum also gives me the chance to take my time and think on things. I don't get that opportunity in a "speaking" conversation, and the way I was brought up/abused could possibly slip through, combined with my social awkwardness, and do more harm then good. Never mind throw in society's (sometimes) unconscious discrimination of shorter people, I fear I would either be ignored or not taken serious enough if I also were to participate in such, where instead I can get a fair opportunity here that I might otherwise not get.

[Faelrin]

Do any of you follow goldbugsofficial on Instagram? Some really incredible finds they've shared as of late. First is this wonderfully preserved Naraoia with legs, antennae, etc:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv7TZQHu1YK/?img_index=1

Next is this Triarthrus with potential prey item in the form of an ostracod. It's also preserved belly/legs up, with a good look at the mouthparts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv8PKFFJwZP/?img_index=1

They have posted another one in the past like this as well:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-ClNhPr6w/

[Faelrin]

Didn't feel like making a thread on this, but are there any figures out there of the Baiji or Yangtze river dolphin? Came across a video of the last known captive specimen (Qiqi), and it's heartbreaking to know they are another victim of the man made extinction crisis, like so many countless others. Was such a beautiful and adorable animal.

[Halichoeres]

There's one from Xidi/Happy Kin: https://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=2011.msg20861#msg20861

And there's this cutesy resin one:


There may be others, but those are the only ones I'm aware of.

[Faelrin]

@Halichoeres Thanks. Glad to know there's a few out there after all.

[Faelrin]

I got to see Jurassic Park at the theater today. Went with my father and brother. Went in my obligatory Jurassic Park shirt as well. Was my third time seeing it in the theater. My first was at the initial 3D release back in 2013 I think? Second was in 2017 at the Jurassic Exhibition event in Philly hosted by Jurassic Outpost.

The T. rex breakout scene is definitely the high mark of the film in the theater for me. It always hits the hardest with how loud it is, and the huge screen really helped it to feel properly intimidating. I thought the Brachiosaurus CGI (in the first scene with it) looked much better on the big screen then watching it at home as well. Like its certainly aged, but it looked crisper there? Not sure how to describe it. It was in 3D, so maybe that played a part as well.

I also noticed something for the first time, despite how many times I've watched this film (including back in May for my birthday). In the scene where Hammond meets with Dr. Grant, and Dr. Sattler for the first time, I spotted the classic Carnegie Collection Tyrannosaurus on top of one of the shelves, which I have in my collection.

My theater was also mostly empty, though probably not shocking since it was shown at noon time. Would have actually missed out if my brother and mother didn't have a discussion about Richard Attenborough last night, all because he didn't know that he played Hammond. He went to look it up, and saw it was playing at the theater right next to us today.

[Dinoxels]

Probably a stupid question, but how does one change their signature and/or profile picture? I'm rather lost.

[Faelrin]

@Dinoxels Click your name at the very top of the forum. It should be a drop down menu.

You'll want to select Profile Details to change your signature and profile pic.

[Faelrin]

So I'm watching an episode of Star Trek TNG (Brothers), where Data meets his creator, and caught wind of the Carnegie Collection T. rex model (at least 2), and I think I also saw the Invicta Woolly Mammoth as well (another figure in my collection).

[CityRaptor]

I think we have a thread for Dinosaur toys in movies and series.


Also check out this 1 Star Review for the 1976 The Dinosaur Dictionary:
https://www.amazon.de/product-reviews/0806505192/ref=acr_dpx_hist_2?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=two_star&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar
That book is nearly 50 years old, of course it is missing a lot of Dinosaurs.

[Halichoeres]

Took me a bit to find it, but here it is!  "Toy Dinosaur Film and TV Cameos" https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=1451.0

[Faelrin]

So me and my dad were watching the 1977 The People that Time forgot, and I was caught surprise by the fact they had a pareiasaur in the film, and pretty decent take on one. Wikipedia says it's Scutosaurus. I tried to search for a thread pertaining to this film, but didn't come up with anything. Didn't really feel like making a new one just to share this find. I'm guessing this is probably the first and only film with this kind of animal (aside from documentaries like BBC's Walking with Monsters which featured Scutosaurus)?

[Halichoeres]

I had never even heard of that movie! From the still it does look like a decent design.

[Stegotyranno420]

I had never even heard of that movie! From the still it does look like a decent design.

I thibk you already saw, but the new Netflix documentary also has a pareisaur shown in the trailer