The Sucker Takes It All

Every time Stardoll has a new offer, a sigh of gratitude and relief -or sarcasm- is audible from all corners of our Stardoll world. It is simply another excuse for all us Stardollians to spend more of our precious moolah, knowing that we will be generously rewarded for our loyalty to Stardoll.

As of late, the main goal of many users is to join Stardoll's most exclusive and prestigious club: Stardoll Royalty. Many hopefuls have spent hundreds of actual dollars on Stardoll, hoping that it will recognize their bribing loyalty to them by sending that coveted invitation.

The secret of how to join this exclusive club has yet to be disclosed; some assume that being an old member suffices, while others shamelessly spend their parents' salaries trowing that such an action would bring the desirable effect.

But now, dear friends, it is the time for all the desperate Superstars -aka the ones willing to spend real money on Stardoll- to join the soon-to-be laughing stock, once exclusive club, of Stardoll.

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Go spend your precious money, kids, hoping for that invitation to come in your inbox.

Don't be surprised if it never does.

Elites vs. The World

The Stardoll "elites" have been the site's most controversial figures for over three years. Their creative projects, famewhoring ways, their links with other prominent figures of Dollywood have propelled them to virtual superstardom within a matter of months, and, still, years after their heyday, they manage to capture our attention with their laughable antics.

The attention they receive from their fellow Stardollians certainly gives them a sense of superiority, the conviction that they have the right to scorn the "commoners", something that is bound to cause a mixed reaction from them. Of course, there are the loyal admirers, those hopeless romantics who hope for some sort of sign. But, my friend, in this pixelated world of ours, there is not much room for genuine admiration and selfless cordiality. Because amongst us, in the depths of Stardoll obscurity, exist the vilest of creatures. 

Jealousy is a bad thing. Especially on Stardoll, where one can become whoever they desire just by saying so, without having anyone question the validity of such grandiose statements. Naturally, people will be jealous of the blonde, alleged heiress living in Miami who also happens to follow the same lifestyle in her virtual life. Hatred is easily propagated on the Internet, let alone on a website that essentially proves that the seemingly richest, most attractive person will preponderate. 

The Stardoll Burnbooks, a laughable parody of the iconic homonymous pink book from Mean Girls, have proved to be not only unoriginal, but also plain dumb, forgettable and unfortunate pages of the Stardoll History book. Usually, people who aim to put "elites" back into their place, end up respected "elites" themselves, best friends of the people they so desperately tried to distance themselves from (Ahem.), while others are driven by the immense desire to become, themselves, the people they so strongly criticize. Even some of the "well-written, well-thought, well-executed" blogs against the high and mighty "elites" are filled with wry and bilious comments that reinforce the perception that their owners are, quite simply, jealous.

While I, myself, have no respect or admiration whatsoever for the "elite" of the Stardoll world, I would never waste my precious time into something that so blatantly displays my hypocrisy. 

Let's all concede that we'd love to become those we love to hate.

Religion & Stardoll

A few days ago, I came across a rather controversial post on Memoirs Of A Medoll. I am no religious in any way. In fact, I admit, at first, I laughed. In an awkward, what-the-fuck-is-this? sort of way. The religious aspect of it doesn't affect me whatsoever.

Obviously, though, such a post is bound to cause intense backlash. Religion is a controversial matter and when it comes to it there will always be conflict.

It was a given from the start that there would be strong reaction. Let me clarify that this is in no way a gossip blog. Writing about "feuds" and drama was never an option, but considering recent events, I thought I would take a stand.

Popular Stardoll user, Brit-On-Me, a bisexual according to Nojarama (the creator of this controversy), took to his presentation to burst his rage against "f*ggots" Jack (freeduck_) and Noj (Nojarama) as well as " famewhore" ladygagamcqueen. As far as the latter is concerned, I don't particularly give a shit, but the former is absolutely rude and uncalled for. And quite ironic, I might add.

Let me break it down for you.

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I'm sorry, did you mention that Stardoll is racist? How hypocritical of you. Because last time I checked, "f*ggot" is a degrading term, used by bigoted, homophobic assholes. I understand that a dead Jesus used as a model for Lady GaGa's outrageous outfits is disrespectful and offensive, but, instead of using equally disrespectful and offensive terms against other people, how about express your views the way a good Christian would? 

After a propane fueled debate in Effay's guestbook, he decided to remove the awful "statement" and write a half-hearted apology -assuming it was an apology- but the controversial topic had already made its way into many gossip blogs, including including a post by Nojarama himself on BFM -regarding the homophobic rant- and PSG. I suppose he shouldn't have complained about a reaction of some sort, but, like I said, the term used was extremely offensive and unjustifiable, especially coming from an alleged bisexual. 

To conclude, as Baya put it in her post for PSG

"Whatever the drama was generally about, I hate how religion played a part of it. I personally feel when it comes to religion, there will always be conflict. Meaningless conflict."

Amen Baya.

Au Revoir/Hello/Tributes & Hot Buys

You know me, critical as ever, yet Stardoll seems to be my sole concern, something I can freely hate with rabidness, while hiding behind the mask of the blonde beauty in my banner.

Not much -at least not anything spectacular- happened in Dollywood while I was gone, but after the end of the five, blissful, internet-free days I spent outside the chaos of Athens, there is still a lot to write about.

Apparently, Stardoll's latest epic fails, the awful YSL fugfest and the Versus mediocrity haven't taught them anything.

I suppose three times a charm. Get ready fellow Royals, save your precious moolah, ask your momma's credit card, make room in your suite (better buy those two extra rooms for the negligible sum of 99 Stardollars per pair), because this collection is going to be one to show off to all the jealous commoners of our virtual heaven.

No! Not yet! Don't spent all your precious moolah on the extremely reasonably priced  alice + olivia  garments. Save some for... *drum roll please* this month's Not Hot Buys!

UPDATE: The collection is available for purchase at the Starplaza. For a second I lost it, mainly because I thought that we might actually have another Chanel or Dior Tribute in our hands, but a wave of relief quickly washed over me as soon as I saw the monstrosity Stardoll once again tried to foist to us. Phew.

Surprisingly, though,there is one item that stands out for its outrageously low price. Can you guess what it is?

I have to admit that I actually really like some of the items. Hopefully, they will be slightly cheaper than last month's Not Buys, but it's Stardoll, so I guess not.

Oh well. I stopped giving a shit about Hot Buys more than a year ago.

Originality & Blogging.

I have whined made a similar post in the past, but I have just found new evidence that help my case.

Recently, I came across a certain Stardoll-related blog in Greek, titled Stardoll à la Ellinika (Stardoll à la Greek). I can certainly not compare it to the shit that is Ghandoora's blog, (No offense.) since the writers there post in a language they can actually speak, but it is apparent that the posts are distinguished by naivete and have nothing substantial to offer, except from copy-pasted paragraphs from Wikipedia and general facts.

I am not bashing the blog. In fact, I congratulate its owner and contributors for managing to make something as unoriginal and plain that popular. However, it is quite unfortunate that such blogs quickly achieve popular status, while much more deserving projects remain unknown.

In this virtual world of ours, very few projects have survived the test of time. Surprisingly enough, some of Stardoll's most notorious ventures have failed, slowly faded into obscurity, or simply been abandoned by their creators.

It is true; quitting a Stardoll project is almost as common as starting one. On certain occasions, pompusly declaring "I quit!" is the best solution, as the creation of rough-edited blogs and magazines is not off beat nowadays. Usually, though, it's the good projects that end up failing.

One of the, in my humble opinion, most original and well-thought projects is the "Stardoll School Of Blogging". Sadly, after a few promising posts, the owner posted a very brief message, announcing a hiatus. Not surprising, considering the recent lack of posts. Despite the great advice given -which actually prompted me to restart SDATC- it soon became apparent -to me, at least- that the students themselves didn't do much to save the blog. I do not claim to be a better writer, but posts that begin with the sentence "My favorite Stardoll blog is..." are very reminiscent of first grade writing assignments.

Still, such an original venture should be applauded and supported. I guess, though, people are more interested in simple posts that offer no food for thought whatsoever.

Buy Forrest, Buy!

Remember when the Beach Villa was first released? It was highly hyped, but no one expected it to be reasonably priced. Despite Stardoll's encouraging message about an "introductory price", the Beach Villa wasn't inexpensive.

Most people, however, purchased it -including me; yes, I succumbed- and forgot all about Stardoll's supposed offer. No surprise here; as I mentioned, the particular feature was highly hyped, and, I admit it, it definitely caught my eye. Now, if you were facing a dilemma all this time, decide quickly, because Stardoll is in need of your moolah.

[click to enlarge]

Oh, yes. Stardoll will charge all of you belated members 50 extra Stardollars if you happen to purchase "this piece luxury real estate" after July 1.

Honestly, I don't think there will be someone stupid enough to buy the Beach Villa at its "regular price". If they haven't bought it at the "reasonable" 199 Stardollars, don't count them to pay 249.


But, then again, if people bought the entire, fugtastic YSL tribute, you never know.

The Secret Life Of The "Girl Next Door" Or A Brief Study Of The Stardoll Sociopath.

In the three years I've been familiar and/or obsessed with Stardoll, I have met, or rather become made aware of, a vast variety of people. "Elites", famewhores, a few good friends, and the infamous scums.

Quite frankly, the Internet is bound to be filled by despicable human beings with no remorse for their actions, moral sense or emotional maturity whatsoever. As ebonymeme very wisely put it:  

"Their true colors show when you give them the option to hide behind a username."

It's the ugly truth, unfortunately. You never really know someone you've met online. Which is perfectly conceivable. Just think about it; no one knows who you really are on the Internet. You could become a whole new person, reconstruct your identity in order to impress or even, on most occasions, gain someone's trust. Something like that can be easily achieved on a website like Stardoll, considering there is no actual way to know one's real identity.

This freedom enables above mentioned scums to act freely without having to face the consequences of their actions, meaning that your personal information can be easily obtained by virtually anyone with a computer. It, to be honest, makes no sense to act so maliciously -especially considering the fact that it's Stardoll we're talking about- but, still, it's high time we accepted the facts.

I will set an example.

A few days ago, less than a week, a friend of my cousin's -who I haven't actually met- contacted me via Stardoll chat and, quite rudely, demanded that I gave her the password of my account. I politely refused, mainly taking the girl's age into consideration; she is nine. She insisted that she would "simply go to parties" (Uh oh.) and nothing more. In fact, she told me she would add Stardollars to my account and that she really, really, liked my MeDoll's look. After half a dozen of annoying and rather coarse messages, I decided to give her my password on condition that she would not fuck up my MeDoll with her slutty sense of style or, in general, do anything other than go to prepubescent-filled sex parties.

Turns out, it was a grave mistake. Today, I found my MeDoll looking, you guessed it, fucked up, and, apparently, I had also joined a club called "Awesome". The "hacker" had actually striked a conversation with herself using my account, stating that she (I) liked Selena Gomez, Hannah Montana and Patito Feo. Gurl, what the actual fuck? A deal is a deal, so I immediately changed my password, also letting her know about it. 

Her reaction to my action was not a good one. I got a rather nasty message in which she claimed that she could destroy me. I had a good laugh. Until she had her seventeen year-old sister threaten me, that is.

I am amazed at how seriously some people take Stardoll, out of all things. This girl, instead of focusing on her approaching introductory exams and going to college, actually spends time threatening someone she doesn't know for, you know, doing the right thing. 

It is no secret that people of similar nature are fairly common on Stardoll. What never ceases to surprise me, though, is that they have the audacity to be rude to you, threaten you, hack you, humiliate you, showing no guilt for their actions, simply because they are protected by the veil of anonymity. The gracious, amicable girl you are casually chatting with can turn, in a matter of seconds, into a vile, selfish shrew with a grandiose sense of self.

I say, wake up and face the harsh reality of the world you are living in and quit bitching about how Stardoll is your life and I'm not letting you live it on my expense.

Look At Me, I'm So Edgy!

I understand that Stardoll is no longer a website exclusive to children, but, still, a large portion of its members are considerably young -at times, too young to even be familiar with the often bizarre world of the Internet. Apparently, though, sometimes, behind the cogent disguise of the innocent little angel, exists a sex-crazed freak.

Let me unriddle this for you.

Looking through the seemingly endless list of parties held in Dollywood, one's reactions may vary from mildly perplexed to downright disgusted. I find my self somewhere between half-amused and excuse-me-while-I-vomit. Because somewhere among the hilarious "wedding" parties and the forgettable Starpoint-less parties, hide either the most repulsive perverts or the horniest prepubescent brats. Oh yes, prepubescent. From the infamous $ex Parties to the Only-Hot-Juiceheads "fests", Stardoll has basically turned into bait for pedos and psychos.

I am no prude. In fact, I am confoundedly more liberal than most of my try-hard "daring" friends. But the thought that there are twelve year-olds out there with vaster sexual experience than me -real or virtual- is disturbing and, quite frankly, vomit inducing.

As for the large and colorful list of tirades that these underage "scapegraces" flawlessly master, let's just say, in the immortal words of Professor Farnsworth:

A Guide On How To Climb The Stardoll Social Ladder. For beginners.

Let's pretend for a moment that Stardoll is a big deal, shall we?

I, myself, find Stardoll a rather enjoyable past-time, nothing more. I understand, however, that it is deemed very important by a large amount of its loyal users.

Even ever since its first years, Stardoll has been more that just an enjoyable past-time. It has become a way of life, a miniature of the real world. And in this petite society of ours a leader is desperately needed. It is true. We all need someone to look up to. To envy. Hell, we even need someone to hate, to taunt, to stultify. And, most importantly, we need to become that person. To be looked up to, be envied by all. A little bit of taunting will not hurt us the slightest bit.

How to achieve that, though? Well, it ain't that hard. Actual talent, you see, isn't in the list of qualifications required. Not anymore.

I was reading a rather interesting post on my favorite Stardoll gossip blog, Perez Hilton of Stardoll, written by the talented ebonymeme, about famewhoring on Stardoll. Big news, one might think. Sure, it's nothing new, but it's the truth.

Famewhores are the new "Elites", but only because there are no "real" ones. While it's true that famewhoring it up is completely and utterly embarrassing, who gives a shit? It's a website and you are, essentially, a bunch of pixels. Nobody knows you.

Besides, it's easier this way. Since no actual talent is required -and famewhoring is not a talent, just in case you were wondering- you can do whatever the hell you desire. Write vulgar messages on people's guestbooks, for example. It's actually fun, if you don't care about the backlash.

But you know what's cooler than trolling? A billion dollars. A good, old-fashioned scandal. If your name is only slightly recognizable, here in Dollywood, a scandal -fake or real, it doesn't matter- will probably catapult you to instant fame. Or, more likely, will offer you your precious fifteen minutes.

Use them wisely.

VERSUS

The Yves Saint Laurent tribute is so passé. And utterly fug.

Meet Stardoll's newest money-draining scheme. Looks rather intriguing, huh? I, to be frank, have no hopes for this. It will most likely be overly pricey, not to mention ugly, but, hey, at least all of us Royals have found something else to obsess over for the following month. Hooray.

UPDATE: The Versace garments are available in the Starplaza and they are just as ugly and expensive as I predicted they would be. However, I spotted the fabulous Lone Ranger shirt and the lovely Twister Colorblock dress, which I readily admit I intend to purchase.

Why Wasn't I Invited To The Royal Wedding? etc.

Friendly greetings dear nationals.

So, yesterday, I sent a message to Stardoll asking, out of sheer curiosity, when I would be invited to the extremely prestigious Royalty Club. 

Today, I noticed something rather odd. Could it be? Yes, it could! Because, y'all, today I got my invitation and tiffany blue diamond! Hooray for me, y'all!

I've got to admit, my MeDoll looks way too classy for that lame star.

Step aside Kate Middleton Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Why Does Everyone Think That Blogging Makes You A Writer?

It has come to my attention that my rants have become increasingly scarce. And we can't let that happen, can we?

About a month ago, I was roaming through the comment section of PSG and came across a rather suspicious Anonymous. Apparently, Anonymous Ignavus* and Anonymous Canicula** aren't the only species of the Anonymous clan.

Meet Anonymous Conciliator***. This particular Anonymous is quite audacious. Its main purpose is to prey on popular blogs and attack by means of non-stop self-promotion. And what is it that they promote? Their excellent, marvelous, absolutely fabulous blogs, that is!

Obviously, this relentless self-promotion is bound to raise suspicion, so the Anonymous Conciliator will have to engage in conversation with... themselves(!) discussing the awesomeness of the blog promoted.

Honey, sorry, but your terrible use of grammar and the hideous spelling suggest two things.

1. You are a fan of the blog. (Since the only language not spoken written there is proper English.)
2. You are the owner of the blog. (Since the only language not spoken written there is proper English.)

Seriously, English is not my mother language either, but at least I try to make my posts comprehensible.

After a post on MDM about the "anonymity" of such comments, the owner of this excellent, marvelous, absolutely fabulous blog threw a fit about how she did not anonymously promote her blog, blah, blah, blah and had her swarm of admirers (Damn, that blog has 1000+ followers!) tell her how amazing she is. In a more grammatically incorrect way, of course.

Now, this post's purpose is not to bash this girl as I don't know her and do not have any personal issues with her. Contrariwise, after this dramatically long introduction, I wanted to conclude that having a blog does not render you a writer.

A poorly written account of an odd occurrence in Dollywood does not render you a writer. Just because you decide to publish your virtual memoirs on the web does not render you a writer.

And, for fuck's sake, if you do decide to do all of the above without giving a shit if you suck or not, (Props to you!) don't whine when someone doubts your "awesomeness".

Because, really, you are not that great. 

*coward
**bitch
***promoter

Stardoll Loves YOU! Now pay, woman!

I have no words for this.

Because everyone would buy Casper, the friendly ghost for 25 Stardollars, on a website. Because nothing screams "I am awesome!" like a virtual, blinking creep.

Dresses & Shoes & Bags, Oh My!

Let's face it; Stardoll has some pretty creative ways to take our money.

You know, Limited Edition, Antidote, the "special introductory price" Beach Villa and so on so forth.

So, what's the newest addition to the catalogue?

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Young Hollywood. How fascinating! Yet another limited edition store.
The prices are ridiculous, obviously, even though some of the items are beautiful. But, really, Stardoll must think we are complete and utter idiots because I spotted a couple of garments that are almost identical to other much cheaper items from the Starplaza. Oh well.

The collection looks pretty solid to me and is bound to fill plenty of virtual wardrobes, but, in my humble opinion, only one or two items are worth their price.

When Life Imitates Life

Virtual life, that is.

I am well aware that this is old news already, but I just had to post yet another essay about something, well, completely pointless. Oh well, at least my writing skills will improve. You mad?

Anyway, back to our subject. A couple of weeks ago, I came across this. I have to admit it, that spoiler is quite intriguing. The idea, not so much. Playboy is a degrading concept towards women to begin with, and, before you call me prude, nudity isn't always considered an art. Using art as an excuse for presenting women as a piece of meat is beyond deplorable.

And, as if one Stardoll Playboy magazine wasn't enough, this happened.

The graphic itself is quite impressive, especially taking into consideration the fact that anyone who has such an idea is most likely a moron with too much time on their hands. What deranges me the most, though, is the fact that - according to this masterpiece's creator - a project like that is acceptable because it has good graphics.

Nudity is not an uncommon concept, here in Dollywood. From Style_Magazine's controversial banner for It's Stardoll Gossip B!tch, to UndaMyUmbrellla's infamous nipple dress, it is quite common. I personally found both above mentioned ventures quite tasteful. 

There is nothing tasteful about Playboy. Neither the real one nor its poor virtual imitation.

A(nother) Trip Down Memory Lane

Do you remember yourselves three or four years ago? Those were the times.
I discovered Stardoll four years ago precisely. Meet the reason why. This little game looked so fascinating back then. I recall not having joined Stardoll yet, but spending tons of hours dressing up dolls (Avril Lavigne, Gosia Pearline and Goth Idoru were my favorites.) and playing that particular game.

I loved the dollhouse and I wanted one just for me.

When I signed up, I immediately became Superstar. And loved it.

I have to say, I was pretty naive then. Correction. I was an idiot. I even fell for the good, ol' trick "Give me your password and you'll win 500 Stardollars". Silly me. Obviously, I created another account, NessaRosebleed. God, I loved that account. That's when I discovered the joys of blogging. Poor little me was fascinated by the "Elites". Style Magazine became my Bible and I basically stalked the likes of Fakeshake3, Style et cetera. I was hooked. I had to become one of them, to once be featured on PSG, to become someone. Believe it or not, I never had the urge to become someone in the real world. I was content being invisible. But in a virtual reality, where anyone can become whoever they desire, I desired to stand out.

Then, one day, the horror, I couldn't log in. I was panicked. I hadn't done anything wrong. I wasn't a big deal. Why me?

And that's when I woke up. Who you are doesn't matter here. When someone wants to gain something from you, they don't discriminate. I finally realized that people on Stardoll are no different from people out there.

Nowadays, you could get killed for twenty bucks. On Stardoll, you can get hacked, ripped off, robbed off both your virtual and real money.

I can't complain, though. These unfortunate experiences might have made me more cynical and a bitch, but they have also made me stronger and realist.

Because Stardoll isn't the perfect bubble we reckon it to be. Unfortunately, our "Paperdoll Heaven" is only euphemistically a "heaven".


Yet, we still cling to it...

Summer Blowout Or Just Blow-up?

Oh, Stardoll.
Is that a gift in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

[click to enlarge] 

 

Looks promising.

Niiiiiice.

Wait. There's gotta be a catch.

So, let me get this straight. We have to spend at least 25 Stardollars (that I don't have) or at least, I repeat, 100 Starcoins (that I'm not willing to spend) to get our first gift, right?

Oh, Stardoll, don't be so generous. It is bad for your health.