The forum changed to Collectorfreaks.com back in July 2018 when Sideshow cut ties with it because Dave was still allowing the discussion/selling of unlicensed 1/6 pieces and SS didn't appreciate this so they cut ties and removed the Freaks from the affiliate programme. So, Collector Freaks was born. Dave always said there was no bad feeling but I'm not so sure. Here's Dave's announcement of it:Was there a big change when ownership changed? Not trying to stir the pot just curious. I was pretty oblivious to Dave selling it until the whole sponsor thing came up on the LOTR forums (also had no clue that there may have been bridges burned or bad feelings on the whole thing). I did notice the name change but I just figured it was because Sideshow was no longer active like they used to be way, way, way back when I joined back in the heyday of Spooktacular with the Spook chat, etc. Man do I feel old now.
As far as toxic goes, I think what it is varies from person to person. Some may find a person’s words or implied tone toxic while others may not. They may just see it as venting, an opinion or something completely justified. For me, I just start skimming over or stay away for a while when I feel things have derailed into what I feel is too toxic for me to be around. I will say in my opinion (not necessarily other’s) the negativity has gotten worse in this section of late. Hopefully as more figures come out that changes.
Dave sold the forum in 2021 to Group Builder so we now have new Admin and the rules changed accordingly.Hi all,
I know some of you have noticed some changes around here. Most are aware of the crackdown recently by Sideshow on not only bootleg but "custom" figures of unlicensed subjects. They are withdrawing affiliate membership for any website that references any kind of sale of pieces or full figures that are not licensed.
This forum is very expensive to run and I did what I could to eliminate the conflict of interest so that we could continue as an affiliate. Even though affiliate sales most months don't come close to covering the basic costs, it makes a huge difference and allows the site to continue to run.
You've all noticed advertising recently and that was created to help defray the costs. It may get more obvious as we increase the ad space to help compensate for the loss of affiliate money. I thank those that became Premium Members - that also helps pay for the basic costs.
However I did not do enough to mitigate the unlicensed discussion and sales so Sideshow has cut ties with the forum.
I have no animosity for Sideshow, I have many friends that work there and even more that worked there in the past. I completely understand their position, even if I don't necessarily agree with it. Stifling creativity in the collector community is a bad idea even if there is pressure from the license holders to crack down. I started in this hobby as a customizer 20 years ago and now that I'm in the industry I believe that it only helps the industry to have fans engaged and attempting to always help improve and innovate.
Sideshow has always been very supportive of this forum and me personally and although I'm not happy about their decision, I have no ill will towards them for this move.
Some of you may have noticed the new logo - CollectorFreaks. You can also find the forum now by using the URL collectorfreaks.com.
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