Welcome to the Brickset forums!

Huw

Many of you have been asking for a forum here, so at last I've decided to add one, at least for a trial period, to see whether it works and adds value to the site.

If you've used any of the other AFOL forums out there you'll notice that this one is very different to those. It's easier to use and read. It's far less cluttered and there's no distracting superfluous content. It has more of a community feel to it. It's more like other modern web sites, like Facebook. At first it may seem strange, but I think you'll soon warm to it and appreciate its cool features.

Unfortunately it isn't integrated with the site's security so you'll need to log in to it separately. The good news is that you can use your Facebook or Twitter accounts to do so. I've also enabled Google log-in and OpenID, but I haven't been able to get Google to work and I don't have a OpenID to test with, so let me know how you get on if you use these.

So, what purpose do I hope it serves? I want it to enhance the Brickset experience and increase the community feel. I don't intend for it to compete with EuroBricks, FBTB, Toys N Bricks etc. which are great places for general discussion about LEGO themes, MOCs, Star Wars and so on, but for it to be a place where you can discuss what you've come to Brickset for: new sets, shopping news, set information, collecting, even the site itself.

Discussions are organised into categories and I'll explain their purpose below:

Brickset

• Announcements: We will use this to make announcements, mostly about the forums, since we'll continue to use the main news channel for everything else
• The forum: Discuss the forum system here, or ask how to use it
• The database: Have a question about the database or noticed an error? Use this category
• FAQs: This is a read-only category that we'll use to answer frequently asked questions about the site and the forums
• Ask Brickset: Do you have a burning question about LEGO you'd like us to answer? Ask us here. Only staff members can reply to questions here, which should keep the noise levels down

The Shopping categories should be self-explanatory.

General

• Collecting Want to discuss how to display or store your collection? Or where to get a particular set? Use this category to discuss any aspect of LEGO collecting
• Phototography Taking great photos of LEGO models is hard: use this category to swap techniques and learn how to improve the pictures you take
• Everything else Anything else LEGO related goes in here

Notice that there's not an off-topic or lounge category. I'd like discussions to remain on-topic and I've recruited several moderators to help with keeping them so. I'll announce who they are later on.

I think that's all I want to say for now, so take a look round, have a play and use The Forum to let me know what you think.