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Comments
Yes but this is not eurobrick's we don't want or need 3 topics about the new UCS Millennium Falcon, one will do and unlike eurobrick's it is ok to go off topic. Maybe the mods should come along and change the title when it stops being a rumour, surely that time is close. I think talking about what you would like to see in the set would add to the discussion, for example: do you want an interior, would you like figures from both the new and old films, would you like additional parts to make a Force Awakens MF.
These discussions are much more useful to the forum than pictures of concrete Millennium Falcons that someone then replies to including the original picture and when you scroll thought all you see are silly pictures. Also more conversations like:
*UCS Battle Droid coming; it's a foot tall. Also, kicks off the UCS Duplo line. 50 pieces
*UCS Death Star coming (in 7 years after the current one retires); it's a football. 1 piece
I think there is a difference between going off topic by talking about Lego which adds to the forum and posting pictures of concrete which adds to the nonsense.
OK we all knew that wasn't going to be the case.
There have been a number of sets over the years that have had multiple threads about them.
And if it is OK to go off topic, then you can't complain just because someone goes a little more off topic than you want.
When there is no news, people chat and it tends to get off-topic. If they cannot chat about what they want, then they will probably stop using bricksetforums. And if they stop using the forums, then they stop using brickset, and consequently the affiliate links. Whenever I buy anything from amazon, personal or work, I always go through a brickset link if I have a forum window open. It is a quick click to the homepage, then any amazon link, then I add whatever I am actually buying to my cart and checkout. No doubt Huw / DrDave gets all sorts of weird purchases appearing in their logs, not just lego (although I admit to none of it). I don't know what the rate is these days, but if it is still about 5-8%, then I reckon I "pay" £12-15 a month to BS. If I feel I only really need a once weekly visit to the forum instead, then that affiliate money will go elsewhere, probably to hukd or whoever I last clicked through to amazon from.
Yes, as soon as you posted a passive aggressive link after my "try-to-close-it-out" post, I knew that you weren't letting it go. C'mon pal.
A small side note on "posting for likes"... I post just to post. If people are posting for fear of getting or not getting likes, then that sounds like a personal problem.
I'm going to echo a previous sentiment and say that you should seriously consider creating your own LEGO forum, @SMC . I'm actually stating this as an honest suggestion that I think would benefit everyone greatly. You clearly have a vision of what you think the ideal LEGO forum would be, so make it happen. I know I'd love to see how it turns out and maybe I'd even join it! At the same time, you can continue to be a part of Brickset. While I disagree with just about everything you say, I still value your posts because you offer a different perspective. It's sort of the best of both worlds for you, I see no reason you shouldn't try to give it a shot.
Different people get different things out of this forum. For some this is a kind of family, bound by a love for TLG's ABS bricks, for others that's not what they are looking for. Personally my favourite thread is the Status one. This forum is the first site I open in the morning, and in 90% of cases I will look at the Status thread first. The other 10% were largely related to Legoboy's charity walk. Again, that's probably just me, and other people might not even read those threads at all.
Anyway, keyword for everybody: empathy. We are all unique, and one size does not fit all.
As for your second point if the forum really did lead to income on the main site then it would be in Huws interest to encourage more people to the forum. In which case we need to have the conversation as to why so few people use the forum compared to the main site.
^^ I don't start my own forum as I don't have the expertise but most importantly a good Lego forum needs a lot of member, more members than this forum has. Otherwise you don't have a large enough group to have active discussions about the main themes and it gives a few member too much power in shaping the forum.
Maybe Huw, not you, should decide that.
Who is the judge of that... you?
And when you presumably answer "of course not" to the above, I have to say that it certainly sounds like you think you're the judge of what's right and what's wrong in this forum. You've had that tone for over a year now.
Tone is also in the eye of the beholder, for example you thought a link without comment was passive aggressive.
How much affiliate revenue on the main site is generated as a direct result of having a forum I couldn't say but I suspect it's negligible given, as some have pointed out, the relatively small number of members here (about 2,500 active member per month) compared to the main site.
I joined the Brickset Forum because of Brickset.com and not the other way around. HUW will have to decide what is in his best interest of course.
I do agree that the silliness can be a bit much at times, but that will happen when there is no news to report in a particular thread. You are probably saying to yourself, "If there is no news to report, don't post in the thread." Fair enough, but it is just as easy to scroll through a few memes and nonsense as well.
I do love this forum, but I do not want to walk on eggshells around here either and I definitely don't want people like you coming in here and wanting to control everything and have the Forum be more of a militaristic environment.
For that same reason, I propose that this thread is closed, so that everyone can go back to peacefully discussing Lego in other topics :)
As someone who spends a lot of time on the forum compared to the main site because I like the people and community spirit on here If it would help fund things I would be all for it.
@Paperballpark You know you can just ignore this thread, Right?
http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/161/the-age-issue/p1
"increased risk of polluting the forum, which was an overriding goal to be without. I mention increased risk because a) there is no guarantee that the forum won't be polluted with the current 16+ designation"
"I sure don't want to have to wade through a bunch of "junk" to get to the post that I feel apply to me as an adult"
"if it ensures the quality of posts on the forum"
"and a more adult conversation are important. I have seen some open discussion groups that are very anoying, like that other lego discussion group BrickQ.com. That was just hopeless to have any meanful discussion."
"My two favorite forums (something awful and frontrow crew) both have barriers in place to stop non-useful discussion regardless of age."
"Well stupid comments seem to be where there are teens."
"I like the forum the way it is right now, with a lot of interesting topics and mature posts,"
"It will remain at 16. There is a good, mature, vibe in here and I want that to remain."
https://brickset.com/article/24149/2016-user-survey-results
The forum 49.1% 58.0% 58.0%
http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/20550/an-open-letter-to-eurobricks-deleted/p1
"I've never used their forums, there's too much chaff and not enough wheat, if you know what I mean."
So what are the real results
Now I am surprised by that number, I actually think its quite impressive and a lot more than I thought. This is why I don't start my own forum, no way I would get those numbers. But compared to the main site or eurobricks its very small. I would also be interested to see how that number has changed over time. I might be completely wrong, the forum might be growing @Huw?
I posted a few links about what people wanted when the forum first started. I also posted a topic I made when coming back to brickset, its interesting reading back over this one:
http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/20550/an-open-letter-to-eurobricks-deleted/p1
I said this about eurobricks:
“I also think that if a topic has not had any news to talk about then a bit more leeway should be given to people going off topic. People tend to get to know each other in a topic of interest and even if there is no news they still want to talk about their favourite Lego theme, this keeps the topic alive in the slow times and I don’t see a lot wrong with it but again we are told off.”
Here I am advocating off topic talk but if you look at the part in bold I am talking about Lego related talk, even theme related talk.
I even go onto say:
"I know what you mean about the chaff and its true but I kind of liked it"
Here I am advocating silliness.
The two sites (brickset and eurobricks) are so different. One you cant talk about anything other than the exact title of the topic and in the other you can talk about anything in any topic.
I am somewhere in the middle, probably a lot closer to the brickset side. My point is I am not against the concept of off topic talk, I was not even against silliness but the nonsense has got so bad here I hardly post anymore and if you look back over what the original members wanted including Huw it was a mature and intelligent discussion.
Good for you. Funny thing is, SMC, as much as we disagree I'm probably at the same so called "level" as you in terms of how much silliness I do or do not want. The big difference between us though, is that I don't feel the need to make everyone conform to the way that I want the forum run.
You earned a silver star for this observation. Unfortunately it's not quite a gold star, as your conclusion was to remove said system instead of realising what it's reflecting in real life.
So, let's broaden it out. It's not simply "like", "post", and "forum", it's actually "positive reinforcement", "behave" and "society".
i.e. To now revisit and paraphrase "Positive reinforcements change the way people behave so much, and (they) change a society completely. I have found I behave differently in this social group than other social groups because of the positive reinforcements, and I am sure others do to."
Welcome to parenting, childcare, and any other position of responsible guardianship of any community.
When a child/relative/colleague/friend/citizen behaves in a way which pleases us, we reward said behaviour. We ignore or chastise that which does not. (And they, likewise, us).
In doing, we all individually encourage our collective preferred behaviours and shape a more socially mindful person, better capable of interacting with one another in a positive manner which suits all parties.
In the real world, these positive cues will come in the guise of smiles, laughter, applause, kisses, spoken affirmations, gifts, and other signs of affection, anything which we find a natural disposition to enjoy and seek more of.
It's the most basic form of natural social reward for a mutually beneficial and stress-free environment. And it goes both ways.
Online, a 'like' or its equivalent, is a simple yet elegant facsimile of such a cue. Yet we will all respond slightly differently to behaviour which pleases us INDIVIDUALLY.
Some will enjoy and respond to a laugh, others find a piece of trivia more pleasing. Some appreciate a well reasoned post, or thoughtful insight. And for many it's a mix of all these, and many other things besides, too innumerable to mention.
The like system enables everyone here to individually reward the interactions THEY find pleasing. Nobody is playing 'guess the post to like', nobody is worrying what other people will click.
Equally, there are many who don't even bother. I, myself, don't always 'like' a post I like.
So, Important tip n.1: "liking" is not compulsory... but it does inform.
So take note: just be yourself. Stop trying to be funny, if that's not your bag. Stop trying to "game" the system. Not everybody even 'likes' funny. And if you aren't funny, you won't even get a like from those who do.
Also stop trying to antagonise members with all the "Some of the members (I don't like/could do without/are the "wrong people")" stuff seen in this thread, that's certainly not earning you any friends, is it?
Just be yourself. The likes system, (and spam/abuse) before it, has helped the forum members that ARE here inform each other what THEY responded to. But it is NOT exhaustive. If you post informative technical stuff, it'll probably be liked. If you improve the mood of a person from having a shit day with a pithy remark, it'll maybe get one or two likes or a friendly pm. If you continually berate the members on their being intransigent blowhards... Nyyyeeah, You probably won't get much from that. Crazy, I know.
;0)
This is not all I have to say, but is all I'm saying for now.
Play well, friends.
And as for the social aspects, visavis banning memes, and otherwise scaring off the entertainers with "ban this", "restrict that", "stay on target"... Remember, a forum isn't just for data mining; the membership not for farming. It's not database v.2, to plunder in fly-by visits. It's a meeting place. A confluence of the hobbyist, not necessarily the hobby.
And It began as an experiment. A social platform to accompany the brickset news and database website.
So remember, any who are planning world domination and other such sweeping changes, that some of us are here for the scenery. Some of the social butterflies (the "wrong ones?!?") are the ones who made this forum so welcoming, friendly, fun, and altogether appealing to everyone else in the first bloody place.
:0)
I guess my philosophy is everything can be improved, no matter how good it is. And we should try and improve it.
I posted the forum results of the 2016 user survey in another post, taking out the forum the main site gets around 90% across the board. Personally I would give it more like 95% but I still email Huw suggestions from time to time. Why not go for the extra 5%?
Now you have chosen to put a negative spin on my actions just like you did to a comment less link. It was kind of like a inkblot test where you and others saw what you wanted to see. If you had a better opinion of me to start with you might have seen something different in that post.
Recently we have had the concept of fake news and the idea that though social media a bubble can be created whereby you only hear from people that agree with you. This creates a distorted view of how many people think like we do.
The forum will always be a bubble because by its very nature it will be full of people that are alike. People that like the forum will use it and people that don't for the most part won't. So it is understandable that when I say I can see a problem I get shouted down.
But if the question you are asking is how do we grow, how do we improve, the members are not always the best people to ask. Brickset is in a unique position because of the main site to talk to a large number of people that might use the forum which would be a much better sample.
That's too idealistic what about peer pressure, not all reinforcement is positive. When you get a group of people together they tend to conform to the norm (what ever that might be) rather than to the good.
Look at the way people in this forum have reacted to me in the past. I post a comment people don't like and someone posts what could be considered a personal attack back. Now people who would never have made that comment themselves like the post.
In fact people tend behaviour worse in large groups, like this one.
I believe that was meant quite literally. And just like that we've amazingly come full circle... proving that we're actually getting nowhere.
I've somehow become roped into the pointless shenanigans that I was trying to peacefully end when I first posted in this thread. I think at this point, @SMC, it would be in both of our best interests to shake hands, call it quits, and just move on. Agreed?
You tried to attack me again with what has become a new brickset forum meme by the looks of it.
And than after that you say lets shake hands.
Bad form!
Did someone say raffle?! Because I heard raffle just now.
(Not for the raffle-I like raffles)
The biggest problem I think that the written word comes without facial expressions or possible a extra explanation in the moment, I think the feeling of being persecuted might not necessarily mean you are being persecuted.
Moreover, he's a mod (see one of the first topics in this thread and is therefore even less likely to attack (on this forum anyway).
- just when I was out, they pull me back in!
Ps : I added that last line because I kept thinking of it while posting (yes, I'm a bit of a geek) plus I think it's funny, I like making jokes and I was hoping someone else might find it funny too. Doesn't mean I'm craving likes. What will they buy me? More Lego? Better health?
On the second point, where would these people come from. Huw can encourage brickset members to join the forums, but has less influence over non members. Brickset members can already choose to use links if they want to. Attracting them to the forum wouldn't increase revenue.
Now there are MOC competitions.
The focus of the forum changes with time.
Let's all go back to discussing our favourite toy in a civilised manner.
I'll just reply to @CCC first
I didn't say they are not important, of course they are, just that they are probably small but I have no way of knowing.
I have no plans to close the forum even if might run at a loss. It's not all about making money...