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Suggestions for forum improvements
playwell
Member Posts: 2,333
Hi I had two suggestions for the forum the first is for a MOC category to be added as at the moment it’s a big part of AFOL life that is missing from brickset. People could post a new topic telling people about their MOC.
The second is to add another new category with a topic for each line Lego currently has. No other topics will be started in this category. The point would be for people who like a line to have a place to take about it without needing to start a new topic every time something small happens. I would also help create small communities within brickset.
Any thoughts on the idea would be appreciated.
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Comments
- the focus of Brickset is collecting rather than MOCing although I appreciate that almost all of us do both
- There would be dozens of topics, the number of which would grow over time. There's also the possibility that discussions and the community would become too fragmented.
However, I can see the value of both.
Discussing MOCs is something I suspect many would want to do and at the moment other than the 'everything else' topic there's nowhere else to do so.
The community is now probably large enough that fragmentation might not be an issue any more and perhaps if, rather than specific themes, topics for 'licensed themes', 'constraction', 'girls' (!), 'historical' etc. as grouped here: http://brickset.com/browse/sets, were used instead it would be more manageable.
Let me know what you think, if there's a strong case the admins will discuss and implement.
I don't mind theme categories for discussion but I would prefer there not to be a "Girls" one!
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/14663/the-brickset-builders-guild-share-your-mocs-here#latest
as well as this one, which kind of covers both MOCs, sets, and mods:
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/7617/what-are-you-building-right-now#latest
There is also a hodgepodge of other MOC-related threads that organically appear at times in the building and techniques section.
I think the MOC section of the forum is currently covered pretty well. Just as we don't want a dedicated thread to each and every Ideas creation that someone is pushing, I don't think we want people opening new threads for every MOC either. The Brickset forum fundamentally works more off of long-running evergreen threads that just continue to get added to and evolve, and not as much off hundreds and thousands of one-off posts, like other forums operate. I think this is a good fit for the community.
As for separate sections for each theme, I like the concept, but also think perhaps a single *thread* per theme might be the way to go as opposed to an entire forum section which would end up with dozens of one-off conversations.
- Star Wars
- Superheroes
- Creator/Creator Expert
- City
- Space
- Historical
- Action/Adventure
- Minidoll Themes
- Technic
- Miscellaneous (1 off themes - in house and licensed)
Thanks Huw, always the first to post on these kinds of topics really great to see.
The good thing about specific themes is that it is easy to understand what goes where and although there would be a lot of topics if it had a category then just the top 5 would show on the home page. Just because someone wants to talk about Harry Potter does not mean they want to talk about Jurassic world. I can see the value of putting lines together but this is harder than it look, I would also put girl lines together but I would call it Minidolls and have Friends, Disney Princess and Elves but they are in 3 different groups on brickset. Not many people would look for space under Action/Adventure and I feel like other sites suffer from trying to make there own categories in this way unless there is a hard rule like non minifigure lines.
But saying that I would use a historical topic and a licensed topic although I would hope at least the big ones would have there own topic like Star Wars and Super Heroes.
As for MOCs this is not something I have found on brickset just by browsing so I think giving it its own category would make it a much larger part of brickset life.
I'm also against a "Girls Theme". Even LEGO have got rid of their Girls section, and now call it "Beautiful LEGO® World" (covering Friends, Elves, Princess etc.)
So maybe I need to write something a little longer and when I have the time I will write something more detailed. Let me just put this out there Brickset has at time of writing 47 member and 11 guests on the forum, Eurobricks has 158 members, 750 guests viewing there forum. There might, just might be something Brickset could learn from Eurobricks. Don’t get me wrong brickset has a lot going for it and Eurobricks has a lot of problems. Forget the numbers and look at the difference between signed in members and guests. Brickset has 19% of its forum views at the moment from guests, EB has 83% of its views from guests. I would say that the Brickset forum is hard to browse for people who don’t use it every day. I don’t want the Brickset forum to become Eurobricks but I do feel there is room to expand upon what has been built. I am also guessing the numbers of people who use the forum would not come anywhere close to those that use the main site for news and the database. So why are people not being brought to the forum from the main site in greater numbers?
Quality, not quantity....
The 'Share your MOCs here' thread works perfectly well and I see no reason why threads like 'Discuss Star Wars sets here' or whatever, as ^ suggested could not serve the purpose you require.
I don't necessarily think bigger is better when it comes to forums and I have no wish to complete with EuroBricks which serves a different purpose and audience. It's nice and cosy in here :)
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/21311/names-for-the-next-wave-of-minecraft-sets
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/20522/thoughts-on-ninjago-temple-of-airjitzu-70751
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/21113/tru-bricktober-sets
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/20914/star-wars-episode-vii-sets-complete-line
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/21090/first-image-of-lego-seasonal-holiday-train-40138-spotted-in-lego-store-calendar-october-2015
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/21134/what-on-earth-are-2016-superheroes-racers
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/19605/dc-superhero-girls
So, I think this pretty much shows that the forum is meeting the need for discussion as is. As said, if there is a topic you want to discuss about a particular theme, wave, or set, just start the topic. If people are interested, it will flourish. If not, it will age of the page.
^ None of those discussion are a continuous discussion on a line, just one offs over and over again with no continuity. So it kind of makes my point if anything. I could start a "General Star wars discussion", "General Super Heroes discussion" and so on but it feel a bit forced if that is not what is wanted.
With the amount of people I see on both sites its hard to agree that the two sites serve a different audience.
I am amazed at how closed people are to making improvements, not saying my ideas are the way to go but I don't think the forum matches the heights of the main site it seems no one wants to make changes but people do vote with there feet.
I do find that there is a tendency for some people on brickset to look down on eurobricks but that is where a lot of bricksets discussions come from.
I find the duality of the two brickset sites odd with the main site adding improvement and updating regularly and the forum lagging behind.
Creating a bunch of forum categories and topics doesn't magically lead to a bunch of "general" discussions in any of those topics. It's just a holding place for conversations to occur. But we already have those holding places, and anyone who wants to start a conversation can already do so. If they eventually die out of inertia, then that's the community saying they really don't have anything more to say at this time, which is what my examples above (and many others) show. A new wave or theme gets released, and we discuss it to death here until eventually there isn't anything new to say. Then the patterns repeats again later with a different wave or theme.
;-)
^ No I am used to that :)
What things do you think could be improved?
in terms of having specfic threads, i think thats where a lot of the critism about eurobricks come from, because it leads to the mods having to be over active in policing discussion, and frankly
I prefer conversation to have a natural flow.
i think the forum here functions fine, and style changes are about preferences, not improvements.
I didnt say I wanted EB style, on the other hand everyone hear keeps pointing out how bad the moderating is, how hard it is to read with all the signatures and how many kids are there. So why do you and I and a lot of other AFOL us it?
I use to use brickset just for the buying topics as they are better than EB they are probably a few other areas where brickset is better too. But for collecting which brickset is all about I used EB because I could talk with a theme have an ongoing conversation with the same people. Trying looking for talk about Nexo Knights on here, its under '2016 sets names found on Amazon'.
I said MOCs could do with its own category and everyone said no it has its own topic, now if I said the opposite about UK Shopping and said we don't a category lets just make one topic everyone again would say no we need different topics. People will agree to keep things the same and wont use the same logic when looking at two different things. Now some people will also think I want to make it just one topic and not understand what I am trying to say at all.
Concerning the second point I've quoted, yes, this is a good example of where mods might consider being more active. I know Brickset's mods like to take a hands off approach and treat people like adults (and that's great and it works), but I think when a topic 'evolves' like that, it might be beneficial for new people if the mods split it off, even if a few old hands might expect to find specific discussion of a new theme in an unrelated thread. ;-)
(That said, I haven't read through the Amazon thread in question, so I don't know if the entire thread became a Nexo Knights thread or if it was just mentioned once or twice - still, if you want to discuss Nexo Knights and you think there's enough to discuss, why not make a thread to discuss them in?)
I just thought that if there was a new category with topics for each line then this would be something easy for everybody to find, If a new person was looking for something like ninjago even if ninjago had not been talked about for some time it would not be too far down the list. As it is if I started a new ninjago topic it could be lost quickly. I wanted to make it easy for new people to have a place to start for people that don't read the whole forum and for non members who are just browsing.
When news breaks, I don't think a 'breaking news' thread would be helpful because topics can stay active for months and months - and nobody likes trying to follow five different discussions within a thread.
Although I do agree the mushing of MOC discussion to into 'Everything Else Lego' would probably be better served with a separate MOC sub-group.
I would also suggest putting a few 'keyword' descriptive terms just below the title of the discussion with relevant Lego themes. I think this would help differentiate topics.
I also agree that improving the search options for threads would vastly improve the experience. Particularly with the Marketplace threads.
Along those lines, for people who routinely buy, sell and trade, having the option to keep one topic open and be able to change the thread name to reflect changes in items sought or available would be helpful as well.
I think folks like to suggest changes for the sake of changes or they don't necessarily appreciate why things are the way they are.
(And I don't mean that in a negative manner.)
I think more expansive search options would be helpful. Or perhaps a moderator review system for new topics in the Collecting and Buying and Selling sections, to narrow duplicative topics.
I've just recently become a member of EB also.
Brickset and EB are two completely different animals.
Brickset is primarily for LEGO enthusiasts who collect LEGO and/or buy LEGO for reselling. Most members collect sets and/or minifigures and keep them just as LEGO designed them and like to discuss topics revolving around this in a casual atmosphere.
I'm not saying that there aren't any members who do MOCs, I've just started to heavily do them myself, but if you look at the threads that are about building and sharing MOCs or LEGO photography you will see that the majority of posts are usually done by the same people. Under the category "Building and Techniques" I don't really see any threads about techniques.
So these threads:The Brickset Builders Guild - share your MOCs here!
What are you building right now?
The Brickset Photography Guild - Share Your LEGO Photography Here!
are currently sufficient enough for members of Brickset who like to do MOCs. @LordofLego has also started something he calls Nice Parts Usage that we hope more Bricksetters will join.
EB is all about MOCs. Do they discuss new sets and collecting? Yes, but it is primarily a site for people who enjoy ripping sets apart to make their own creations and want to share those creations with other LEGO enthusiasts. People there are usually very positive and encouraging when you share your MOCs and get involved with specific building threads.
EB is not a very encouraging forum if you want to just casually talk with other LEGO enthusiasts. Scroll through a thread having to do with a specific topic like "Rumors for Marvel LEGO Sets in 2015" and you'll see all these people who have been BANNED from EB because they went off topic. When I first started visiting I was afraid to say anything wrong.
I've occasionally posted things here that I regret saying but I'm still here and I am grateful.
The only suggestion I have for Brickset forum would be to "clean house" and do away with old threads that are four years old and even eliminate some of the posts in threads that are still popular such as
Predictions on Discontinuing Sets and their Secondary Market Value
This thread was started in 2011. Obviously a lot of it is not relevant to today.
Is it not possible to eliminate threads completely or is it simply too daunting a task? (This is a sincere question and not a sarcastic remark.)
That's really the only suggestion I have. For now, anyway. :)
Sorry this post is so long! I just want to add that I enjoy reading what the "regulars" on this forum come up with and it's also good to see new people joining in and I hope I've given more positivity to this forum myself than negativity. Thanx. :)
"I'm not saying that there aren't any members who do MOCs, I've just started to heavily do them myself, but if you look at the threads that are about building and sharing MOCs or LEGO photography you will see that the majority of posts are usually done by the same people."
That's a good point but does that mean people on brickset don't MOC or don't post them on Brickset and if its the second why not.
I would also say that EB is all about collecting the topics that are always at the top of the sub forums are always the main general colleting topics, yes the moderators kill these topics time and time again by stopping people having a conversation but they are still at the top of every page.
When I started to collect Lego I would browse the brickset forum, I saved this to my favourites.
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/8610/lego-lord-of-the-rings-new-set-10237-the-tower-of-orthanc
But I never made the link to other topics as they seems a little random and I didn't become a member.
So I looked around and found EB, with topics for collects where you can site in one topic and talk in a conversation that moves on but doesn't end. As I collected more there was a topic for everything I collected. So as a collector I find it odd when people say EB more for MOCS and try and make out its a completely different audience.
(ok please don't take this next bit the wrong way, I am NOT saying people on brickset are all..., or saying these things matter I am just trying to convince you that the brickset forum is a better fit for me than eurobricks but I chose eurobricks because it does some things better)
I should fit into the brickset group, I collect and don't MOC (at the moment), I am English, not that young (30s), bit middle class, educated, good job although I do have a bit more hair than @Huw. I came to brickset first, I made an account for the database and added my sets, I read the forum. So why did I then move onto EB.
This is not about what kind of AFOL I am.
OK so I am not going to convince you with words so I am going to try it with one topice to start with:
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/21323/general-star-wars-discussion?new=1
I still think it would work a lot better if it was created by @Huw in its own category with other general line discussions.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm rather annoyed.
If you prefer EB's structure, go to EB. No need to force it on us here. I think the rest of us like the way the forum works, dis-functionality and all.
Sorry if it upsets people, I did just start with one (Star Wars) but sets numbers and prices have been added to amazon.de so I saw it as a time to try it. Rather than starting 7 topics with just a title I had some information to add. Give it a week and it will be used or will be gone having fallen down the list if no one post. I will be added more set info that I have to each one over night so as well as trying something new I will be adding something to the site.
I do agree its not really something a member should do (starting topic after topic) and it would annoy me, so sorry for that.
Sorry @Huw if it was unhelpfull
I wont add any more but will post more info on the ones I have made, if a mod asks me to stop or wants to delete/lock than I am ok with that and understand.
I can understand trying your idea for the SW thread, but then you proceeded to launch 9 other threads. I'm not so annoyed by you trying out your idea, as I am about the fact you're trying to "force" it on everyone. Keep your ideas to a single "test" thread, don't try to push it on everyone with 9 other threads.
If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Brickset works fine the way it is, it doesn't need to be set up like Eurobricks. Honestly, that's the reason I think it's successful.
I am trying to add to the site I have not just started 7 topics but I am digging up all the info I can find to help, its a lot of work and I am not doing it for fun. This is not what EB has it is different.
It would be better in its own category so it didn't push down the other topics, it would be better if a member doesn't try and change a site on hims own. So I am conflicted, but I don't think I am spamming.
The way some members see it now is that you're spamming. Take our (so far) courteous input, and stop.
Also, I don't think "Give it a week and it will be used or will be gone having fallen down the list if no one post" holds any water weight considering how often you're commenting on your own threads. The few comments your threads have received have had automatic replies from you keeping them fresh at the top.... something else that's rather aggravating to me.
I reason for the posts is I am answering questions that people have that I know the answer to or I am joining in because I have an interest in what they are talking about.
I have stop posting new topics as you asked even thou your not a mod and I am trying to understand what you are saying.
I don't have bad motives which doesn't mean its right and I am open to that.
By no means was I suggesting you start ten new topics. And I'm sure @Huw would probably have had some thoughts about it before you opted to run roughshot over a forum with a well-established pattern of discussions.
If anything, starting one 'General' discussion and giving it a week to see if there was a positive response would have been a much more measured approach.
I'm sure we all appreciate the enthusiasm, but exercise some restraint.
OK thanks SumoLego nicely put I can understand that.
Here is some info if anyone wants to use it:
http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/18325/moderator-list#latest
I am unsure if one Star Wars topic will really test anything as even if you call it general topic or whatever and people use it a lot what does it prove that people use one off topics.
Some thing just have to be tried to see if they work or not, although a member shouldn't take over/spam/in force his will so again sorry for that.