Phoxtane Posted May 8, 2018 Posted May 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Lind Whisperer said: If they're just going to get locked, subsections work just fine. If twenty-five forums - not actually that many, and pretty well organized, too - are too many - increasing that number isn't going to help. Subsections work fine, and don't fill up the main page with a bunch of games people can't play. I wasn't incredibly clear on this point, but ideally this would be something that would be done in conjunction with some of the merges I had suggested - overall, it would be a decrease in the number of forums. Also, while I'm thinking about it, I would like to see more MOCs from these games highlighted on the front page, which could work partly as advertising for the games as well. Quote
fred67 Posted May 8, 2018 Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) I will start off by saying I understand I'm not a popular person around here (for various reasons). I joined in 2009, and I used to come back to EB several times a day to keep up with what was being posted. Early last year I stopped coming to EB pretty much at all. This year, because of something work related that actually gave me a bit more free time, I started reading EB again. I do not pull my punches - if I have something to say, I will say it, and I won't beat around the bush (but I also never name call or let my "discussions" devolve into flame wars, either - probably why I'm still around). On 5/1/2018 at 7:49 PM, Littleworlds said: I am a "relatively" new member still, so I can't really tell how it was a few years ago, but I find it a shame that excellent and inventive MOCs often get no comments at all, or just very few. Of course we can't force people to appreciate them, and honest c&c is better than just generic praisal - but it would be nice to see interest in MOCs increase. I will tell you that, for me, there are various reasons. Often, the MOCs are really good and I have nothing to offer, and I don't like being one of all the "great MOC!" posts that don't really address anything. Sometimes I force myself to comment because I think a MOC is worthy of more attention than it seems to be getting, and if I see something that I think could be better, I will mention it - but generally I look and don't say anything. It's not that I don't appreciate them, it's that, as others have said, you're not building your MOC for me, you're sharing it with me, and I really shouldn't feel obligated to say something, particularly at points in my day/week/month where I'm very busy. I want to give huge props to LegoMonorailFan for starting his monorail thread; these are the kinds of threads I'm interested in, and will actively participate in when I have something to say or share. If it weren't for him, I probably would have browsed EB back in January.... and then not come back again for a long time. On 5/2/2018 at 4:40 PM, bombcar said: My 2¢ - the "sticky" threads detailing reviews, etc, are all very stale and unmaintained. It is really hard to find, for example, reviews of Friends sets after 2014. Perhaps those threads could be updated or changed into a wiki-type format that could be more easily edited? Links like the set review index: https://www.eurobricks.com/sieg/dex/ don't work, for example. And I know some of the older reviews are killed by Photobucket dying, but it would be nice (for me at least, and I'm almost certainly the most important person here! ) to be able to find that content again. For example; there is no list of Reviewer's Academy reviews that I can find. I love reading them, but I have to manually poke around to discover new ones. This is absolutely true, but also one of those things I hate complaining about. I have woefully little free time, or I would love to help out on something like that - it's not fair for me, then, to complain someone else isn't doing it. I'd add the straightshooters list in the buy/sell forum has not been updated in some time, and that forum is pretty much dead, anyway - very little participating, which is why I now trade on reddit. They have an automatic system that lets you know how many successful trades someone has. There is, perhaps, some apathy; if you have 1000 ships in your sticky ship thread, you may not feel like adding every new one that comes along. On 5/3/2018 at 8:15 AM, Digger of Bricks said: I know it may seem pointless commenting on this issue if I haven't any answers or solutions to offer, but, I'd like to particularly lament upon how inactive The Embassy Forum is. In concept, it should be earning a lot more attention, given that it's essentially a near direct line of communications to TLG through Ambassadors. So, can anyone think of a few good ways to revitalize traffic on that subforum? I would think topics such as @Bonaparte's Survey: New parts and new colors and @CopMike's What minifigs are we missing - post your detailed suggestions here should be earning as much attention as they did back then, but... My problem with the embassy is that it seems like TLG just doesn't really care about us, anyway. What's the point in asking for something, or suggesting something you know you'll never get? The responses always seem to revolve around what kids want, and that TLG is focused on kids, and they won't do this or that because kids don't like it - then they turn around and release an $800 Millennium Falcon, and a $200 modular every year. I have to wonder how the Diner tested with kids. Anyway, this is one of those sore spots with me that I know bothers other people, and it's not for this thread, but the Embassy, indeed, doesn't seem to offer much anymore except what seems like the occasional link to a fairly useless TLG survey. On 5/6/2018 at 1:53 AM, mocbuild101 said: That would be a good idea... You can see it when you hover over a member's avatar That's wonderful, but I didn't know that - and how would I? When they changed forum software there seemed to be a lot of little things like this that popped up. I will answer the list of questions below, but because my interests are so varied, but to answer one here: I normally just go to the "show unread posts" link as my first stop at EB. Sure, there's a lot I need to skip through, but it's the quickest way to see new posts in all the forums I read. Only the new software didn't include a link to go to the first unread post... except it did, but there was no way I could have known that's what the little dot or star was until someone told me. Which brings me to another point - I think by now I've given this newer software a validly long time to grow on me. As a software developer, I'm well aware one of the biggest complaints about new user interfaces is that they aren't the old user interface. People could get things done faster with the old one because they knew how to use it. But I also know that we make changes for a reason, and hopefully people will ultimately not just adapt to the new interfaces, but see that they can do things better, more quickly, or with more options. But that's not the case, in my opinion, with this current forum software, and I wonder if you graphed participation in EB along a timeline, and noted when the forum changed to the new software, if there's any data showing people's participation slowed (or stopped completely). In any event: Would you like to see more contests? I often don't participate for a number of reasons - there are thousands of EB readers, but maybe only dozens who are really great at making MOCs, maybe hundreds that make pretty good ones. I'm generally not one of them. What is your opinion of Tags (those small images on the left <---)? A sore spot that I don't complain about, but since you asked: I've been here nearly 10 years, have posted a number of MOCs and techniques (see my signature for a few), and never got a tag for it. That's OK - my posts vary wildly from theme to theme, and I maybe haven't shown enough proficiency in any one thing to warrant getting one, and I'm OK with that. But there are other tags... like tags for women fans of LEGO. That's cool, too. But a few years ago we had an "older than dirt" thread for us aged LEGO fans 50+. I'm now in that group, and mentioned it in the thread. I, and several others, have posted there that we're now north of 50; Andy D (who started the thread) even asked for us to get our tags.... and nothing. Again, I didn't say anything, I didn't complain, but you you asked. Do you use, if ever, Eurobricks reference materials (ie. lists of Reviews, lists of MOCS, lists of Forums)? Not really. Sometimes I might take a look at a list of MOCs; I definitely look for reviews for some themes. I have bookmarked a couple of building topics for ideas/how tos. Reviews here are generally top notch - I don't often want to see video (except where things are supposed to have motion - like the roller coaster, or a train set); I want to see good pictures. Have you participated in games on Eurobricks (ie. Role-Playing, Mafia, etc.)? I did once, and it was kind of crappy - very loose, few rules, things broke down and I just didn't enjoy it all that much. That was a very long time ago, though; I normally don't participate because I can't guarantee that I will be able to come back every day. Joining and not participating would screw it up for everyone, and that's not really fair, so I just don't join. Do you use/visit the Eurobricks Facebook page? Eurobricks on Flickr? etc. No. I personally hate Facebook with a passion. I have to deal with it tangentially for work, I do have an account, but I haven't participated on Facebook in a very long time - since long before the last election, if you get my meaning, as I already saw how bad it was way back then. Do you post MOCs online? What hosting platform do you prefer to use? I have flickr, imgur, and a long time ago brickshelf. Do you prefer broadly defined threads or multiple specialized threads? Depends on the subject. I think threads should stay focused on a theme, at least, but I also think some threads are discussing something specific - a specific set, or someone has a question or topic for discussion, and I don't like when threads meander away from those points - if someone thinks of something interesting as a tangent, they should start a new thread about it. What is the first page you visit when opening Eurobricks on your browser? My bookmarked link goes straight to "unread content." For each set of pages it shows me (between the "load more content" link), I open the pages I'm interested in in new tabs. After I'm done reading or posting, I close the tab and go back to the new content list and do "load more content" until I'm done or exhausted (if I've been away for a while). Reasons I don't visit EB as often as I used to: 1) real life gets in the way. 2) sometimes my interest in LEGO just wanes a bit. 3) I'm simply not as excited about new sets as I used to be. I used to love Castle, but not Nexo; I was super excited about LOTR, but was completely disappointed in the sets, overall. I'm an old man and I love the original SW trilogy - I have all the ships, I don't need repeats, and I'm not interested in sets from the new films (particularly the prequel trilogy, which just sucked). I am a train fan, but TLG is not offering much for us older people (creator sets). I want to build a city/train layout, but the new creator 3-in-1 sets are awful. I used to love CMF before they doubled the price and started screwing around with us, like with Mr. Gold and the classic policeman. I have no new CMF, and I'm completely disinterested, whereas I used to buy a case for every new series. So this isn't EBs fault, but TLG has changed direction over time, and my interest overall in LEGO has diminished. Perhaps a discussion for another topic, but it seems like they are going really high end with really expensive sets for AFOLs (that I can't afford), and broadening what they're offering kids (which I don't want). 4) I get why you don't want to run afoul of TLG's lawyers, but the simple fact is we see pictures of new leaked sets much more quickly on other sites. 5) Too many threads get derailed. Let's talk about upcoming <insert theme here> sets turns into wish lists and "they should have done <this>", even when you know what the sets are - this is one of those times where the subject matter is clearly defined. If someone starts a "what would you like to see in <theme>," then hammer away at your "wants." 6) Over the years a lot of other sites have popped up, some of them quite good. They may not all be forums (blogs), but then that means the owners/moderators of those sites pick and choose the best MOCs to show, as opposed to wading around a forum. Perhaps there should be a MOCs forum with rules, like reddit, that people post the theme, like "[SW] Hoth Battle Scene," perhaps with some way we could sort by theme... I mean, I'd like to see all the trains, for example, is there a simple way to do it here? What could EB do to make me want to participate more? I don't know, honestly. I'm not thrilled with the board software. I certainly don't mind the moderators - there may have been a couple of cases where I thought they were hasty in shutting down a thread, but for the most part they've been great at keeping the peace. I don't know what JustToGood meant by "fakers," but I do feel like the signal to noise ratio has dropped over the years. Also, just from reading the comments above, I know you've gotten a lot of younger readers (in violation of EB rules) that might be very enthusiastic, but post a lot of not-helpful things (noise). 45 minutes ago, Phoxtane said: I wasn't incredibly clear on this point, but ideally this would be something that would be done in conjunction with some of the merges I had suggested - overall, it would be a decrease in the number of forums. Also, while I'm thinking about it, I would like to see more MOCs from these games highlighted on the front page, which could work partly as advertising for the games as well. Well, look - I really don't think these things would drive more traffic here, but they are good ideas nonetheless. I think a wrap up post that includes all the MOCs from a game could be cool; maybe a thread with JUST the MOCs would be cool, like they do for contests. Edited May 8, 2018 by fred67 Quote
Hobbes Posted May 8, 2018 Posted May 8, 2018 I don't know you, @fred67, but can I be your friend? I actually didn't want to post anymore but you made me. I loath the board software, too, but they don't have much choice. You're a software developer, you said, so you know they have to update it now and then. Problem is, Invision doesn't really offer "security updates only". They pack new features into it and the whole thing looks completely different after an update. But if the board isn't updated it's prone to attacks. I really liked the second version, I think it was. Way more "compact" and totally easy and comfortable to navigate. Then in 2007 or 8, I think, the base for the current iteration came out. And I hated it from the get go. But what can you do... Back to the activity: as always in this kind of threads there is the MOC appreciation subject. I'm not a MOCer myself, I merely MOD stuff. And even that I do with ideas/techniques from existing models because I'm creatively incapacitated. I do check out MOCs, and sometimes they're awesome (like Modulars or Technic) but so vastly out of my league that I'm not interested any further than that quick glance. What I look for are pictures of layouts or dioramas or simply collections. I have accumulated a bit of LEGO sets over the years myself and just love to see how others do. Pictures don't have to be professional, I just want to be able to recognize what it is. Don't care if there's a sofa in the picture or a TV or a cat or an ugly carpet. Just bring 'em... Quote
Peppermint_M Posted May 8, 2018 Posted May 8, 2018 A word of advice for people who want to draw attention to positive things or situations that do not qualify for reporting, you can also @ -someone into the thread or message a staff member. There is a lot of things to get through on a forum, and sometimes once a half-dozen spam posts are zapped and an argumentative or off topic post is de-escalated, there isn't a great deal of time to go searching for things that need doing extra to the usual staff to-do list. Quote
mocbuild101 Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 On 5/7/2018 at 12:32 PM, Phoxtane said: For example why did we get a Scale Modeling forum? As far as I can tell, that's a variation of Model Team, which already has a forum. Why keep index threads pinned when they haven't been touched for 5+ years in some cases, becoming hideously outdated? Why even have index threads? Why keep threads for speculation from previous years pinned? do we have to change the entire forum's color scheme every three months? Why not just change the banner? It's incredibly jarring. Why are we hiding so much useful photography information in the Reviewer's Academy? If you have compared the MOCs in those forums, you should be able to see why... Well, because they're indexes... But I agree that they should be updated more often. For discussion of the previously speculated sets. (I think...) Yeah, I noticed that too - when I edited a post, all the quotes turned pink... Don't know, I guess there's no other better place to put them... 20 hours ago, LegoMonorailFan said: I think another thing that helps keep Eurobricks active is WIP topics. Things like WIP modular layouts, citys, train yards, etc. are the type of topics I'd like to see more of. @tmctiger's WIP layout topic for example has been a blast to follow. I agree, it also gives members a chance to add their thoughts before a MOC is finished. 15 hours ago, fred67 said: That's wonderful, but I didn't know that - and how would I? When they changed forum software there seemed to be a lot of little things like this that popped up. Yeah, there should be more information about the hidden features... Quote
MAB Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 On 07/05/2018 at 9:58 PM, VBBN said: If we place more attention to our Twitter / Facebook, would you value these as a news source? Would you use them more or less than our front page? 1 I don't use either but it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if you used Twitter and/or Facebook more to highlight content on Eurobricks. However, only if it highlights content on EB, and is not used for novel content that is not available here. Loads of (LEGO) sites use FB and twitter to advertise, but if I had to go there to see content, I'd just read it elsewhere and that would mean less visits here. I don't like having to visit one place for some content, then somewhere else for other content. It is not like there are no other LEGO fan sites that carry news. And that is probably another major factor, there are so many sites these days, all copying news / rumours from one another. When I read some news, I like it to be news. Quote
MAB Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 Something else that is off-putting is that the descriptions feel very out of date. For example LEGO Action and Adventure Themes gets the tagline "Adventurers, Agents, Alpha Team, Aquazone, Atlantis, Dino 2010 / Dino Attack, Elves, Ninjago, Pharaoh's Quest, Power Miners, Rock Raiders, Time Cruisers". There is no mention of some recent or current themes such as Chima or Nexo Knights. They appear to be very out of date, especially for anyone new visiting. If a new user sees Aquazone, from 20 or 10 years ago, they may assume EB has not been updated for many years, like some other LEGO sites that have just become dormant. Similarly, in Action Figures, Ben 10 and Slizers are mentioned and these haven't been around for almost 10 and 20 years respectively and both themes only had a handful of sets when they were active. Same with history - Wild West, Ninjas, Vikings. Even LOTR and Castle (although these are the most up-to-date!) I wonder if generic descriptions rather than actual theme names would make the taglines appear a little more up-to-date. If there are to be more competitions, I'd like to see a single thread or separate area / folder for the entries for each one [a bit like the Xmas raffle thread]. For example, in action and adventure, loads of the current threads on the first page(s) are [Lester]. It would be much easier to find the entries if they were in one thread or in a sub-folder, so people didn't have to look through all thread titles. Similarly, if you have no interest in the competition, you wouldn't miss other stuff disappearing in amongst the large number of competition entries. Quote
tmctiger Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) On 8.5.2018 at 3:47 PM, LegoMonorailFan said: I think another thing that helps keep Eurobricks active is WIP topics. Things like WIP modular layouts, citys, train yards, etc. are the type of topics I'd like to see more of. @tmctiger's WIP layout topic for example has been a blast to follow. Hi @LegoMonorailFan, Hi All first af all thanks for your shout-out ! Yes, I also love to see various WIP project, how the project come together, what problems the guys had and how they solved them, etc, etc ... I use Eurobricks mainly for watching others creations (man there are a ton of and they have an overall very good quality), WIP threads and of course asking questions and presenting my own work. On the first page there where some question (and in the middle of the thread), and I try to answer them: Would you like to see more contests? Yes, why not! Although I most certainly will not attend --> I think I am, first of all, not good enough in MOCing, and second, lacking of time... What is your opinion of Tags (those small images on the left <---)? I do not have a real optinion about them, they are just here form me. I have a question though: How can on gather such a tag? Perhaps they the have mor meaning for me?! Do you use, if ever, Eurobricks reference materials (ie. lists of Reviews, lists of MOCS, lists of Forums)? sure, e.g. the town index , the and the town layout index. The list of all Sets built in LDD/LDRAW ... Have you participated in games on Eurobricks (ie. Role-Playing, Mafia, etc.)? no Do you use/visit the Eurobricks Facebook page? Eurobricks on Flickr? etc. no regarding Facebook no regarding Flickr Do you post MOCs online? What hosting platform do you prefer to use? Yes some time ago I hosted my Images on brickshelf.com, since the hompage is quite outdated and akward to use I host my Images nowadays on bricksafe.com Do you prefer broadly defined threads or multiple specialized threads? definitly specialiced threads I don not like threads where different Sets/MOCs are discussed only due to the fact that they are released in the same year or have the same general theme. I vote for a thread per Set/MOC What is the first page you visit when opening Eurobricks on your browser? LEGO Town LEGO Train Tech What do you believe Eurobricks has too much of? nothing What do you believe Eurobricks does not have enough of? How would you like to see this addressed? also nothing ... although perhaps more WIP threads, but this can only be addressed by the users not by Eurobricks What do you value the most about Eurobricks? the global community What do you value the least? Lego Friends Theme What value would you find in a Eurobricks YouTube channel? What kind of content would you like to see on one? I think there are already alot of very good lego channels out there, I don't think Eurobricks should enter this field. It should concentrate on the forum and improve it... If we place more attention to our Twitter / Facebook, would you value these as a news source? Would you use them more or less than our front page? no, I do not use FB nor Twitter and I will not start to use them. I hope answering these questions will help to improve Eurobricks! BR, tmctiger P.s.: I plan a small WIP update soon ... Edited May 9, 2018 by tmctiger Quote
Peppermint_M Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 4 hours ago, MAB said: I'd like to see a single thread or separate area / folder for the entries for each one The point of contests is to get people building and posting more on the forum, so to push them all into one place during the entry process defeats the purpose of running the contest. That is why there is then a voting thread to find the entries and award points. A raffle is a way to grab attention, with such low entry requirements and a random draw to win the prize there is a lot of people all posting what could even be four bricks roughly portraying the "theme" and the better builds get lost unless the creator posts them as a separate thread later. So, yes, there has been a flurry of activity now in A&A with Lester MOCs, with the contest at the voting stage. My hope being people might think to build a little more within the theme and post a MOC or two. If you take a look, there is a dearth of threads before the contest started. The last few days of the contest was the most activity in a long while. Quote
Littleworlds Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 @VBBN I looked at your questions and here is my feedback: What do you believe Eurobricks has too much of? Too much focus on IPs (like Star Wars) or other specialized themes. It seems a lot of users only post inside of their special interest group. What do you value the most about Eurobricks? That it is a large community with a lot of creative MOCs and the possibility to communicate with their creators directly. What do you value the least? Rumours and wishlists. What value would you find in a Eurobricks YouTube channel? I Would see it as an addition to the site, but not a replacement for me personally. I prefer pictures over videos when it comes to MOCs, for example. A youtube channel would certainly would change the way EB is perceived and possibly lead the userbase away from discussing sets and MOCs in the forum itself, which I perceive as a negative possibility. What kind of content would you like to see on one? Balanced and objective (non-sponsored) set reviews. If we place more attention to our Twitter / Facebook, would you value these as a news source? I personally won't, as I am perfectly happy with an "oldschool" forum-style Would you use them more or less than our front page? Definitely less. Quote
makoy Posted May 10, 2018 Posted May 10, 2018 On 5/8/2018 at 4:58 AM, VBBN said: What do you believe Eurobricks has too much of? What do you believe Eurobricks does not have enough of? How would you like to see this addressed? What do you value the most about Eurobricks? What do you value the least? What value would you find in a Eurobricks YouTube channel? What kind of content would you like to see on one? If we place more attention to our Twitter / Facebook, would you value these as a news source? Would you use them more or less than our front page? Too much lurkers... the silent majority of members who just visit or read. Too much speculation. Not enough attention. What I mean by that is -- with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram grabbing all the attention due to easy accessibility, EB is likely getting less participation because it is also less accessible. How to address this? Drawing attention (to re-direct the spotlight back to forums) and staying relevant in social media is one strategy. I value the community the most Outdated pinned topics EB is so far behind the Youtube game I'm okay that the EB team do not stretch themselves and focus on its strength instead. I can see any social media as channels to draw in more users back to forum. The forum should always be the primary source of information. The rest are secondary. As an ex-blogger, I know from experience it's really hard to balance social media to serve the needs of followers/supporters while ensuring the website still gets the primary attention. I know it's hard but it can be done. Quote
bombcar Posted May 10, 2018 Posted May 10, 2018 The Galidor contest, for all its insanity, has produced some amazing MOCs that never would have seen the light of day without the contest. I don't mind it - in fact this is exactly the time of content you cannot find anywhere else in the world! One type of thread I miss from the old days is the detailed "how to build this style" - there was a very detailed post on making medieval buildings that was phenomenal - but the pictures are probably broken now, and video might replace this format. I do love reading, however, as I can do it while doing other things, whereas video demands my whole attention. As an aside, I've noticed an uptick in spam (that I've been the reporter on), perhaps we should be all reporting spam more quickly? It shouldn't last 60+ minutes in the "new topics" list on the front page. Quote
MAB Posted May 10, 2018 Posted May 10, 2018 The Derfel Cadarn thread is still there, if that is the one you mean and the images are all fine. There is also another more recent similar one with smaller tutorials, although the downside is that it is hosted off EB. Quote
KotZ Posted May 10, 2018 Posted May 10, 2018 Both of those threads have been incredibly helpful, as has CGH's frigate tutorial. I'd love to see more like these in other subforums, or maybe there already are but I just don't frequent them enough. Quote
pombe Posted May 10, 2018 Posted May 10, 2018 I wanted to talk about the topic of games, specifically, and how incredibly fun they are. My experience is limited to Andromeda's Gates (AG), Nar Eurbrikka (SoNE), and Brethren of the Brick Seas (BoBS), which is just a small slice of all the fun games offered on Eurobricks by the staff. I specifically wanted to follow up on something that @Cyclone Titan wrote: On 5/3/2018 at 3:11 PM, Cyclone Titan said: So on the LEGO side, I wonder if lack of investment, in narrative or new sets has influenced a lack of activity among especially the younger segments of LEGO fans here on EB. I have to say that the narrative element remains really strong here on EB, with all the roleplaying games that I've seen. And I'm sure that there's a bunch that I haven't seen. But making a narrative out of MOCs is and always will be a brilliant way to drive investment in this forum for the basic element of the brand--not the sets, but the bricks. In a word: YES!!! As much fun as I have building a MOC in a vacuum, I have so much more fun building a MOC in a context. I can build a car and that would be fun; and I can take my time and build it well and showcase it with all its clever parts usage to the world. Or...I can build a getaway car used by veteran bank robbers; it's non-descript with four doors so the robbers can get in quickly and its minifigure driver is a cool headed woman who knows all the back alleys and nearby garages to evade and confuse the cops. And now, I need to build a second car (bonus!) because the robbers will need another car after they ditch the getaway one. Suddenly, the MOC takes on a personality and becomes part of a narrative that makes it so much more interesting and fun to build. And it makes it more fun to view. I see LEGO bricks as an awesome medium for story telling, most likely because that was how I built as a child. I didn't just build spaceships. I built adventures. The spaceships I built had crews and they would swoosh about defeating the bad guys and their evil madness with all the pew pew glory my young mind could muster. I joined Eurobricks a while ago, because of my young love of LEGO, and just sort of lurked. I shared a couple MOCs and participated in a contest or two and posted a (terrible, in hindsight) review. But it was all just sort of dabbling. I bought LEGO sets, but didn't build much: I just couldn't find the magic I once felt. The spaceships didn't swoosh, the weapons didn't pew, and I didn't even build bad guys to defeat. Then @Bob De Quatre announced he was creating a new game, Andromeda's Gates, and holy hell I found the magic again and it came with a bonus side of fries. I've read the criticisms of the games and I understand the high barriers of entry to join them (or even just to view), especially when a game has been going on for a long time. Additionally, I feel that many Eurobrick members don't go into game subforums because they just want to see MOCs and don't understand how to view ALL THE INCREDIBLE GAME MOCS because of the confusing [FACTIONX - LOCATIONY - BUILDZ] pre-fix bits in the titles, which unfortunately, are necessary for game mechanics. It seems that a MOC index or some sort of organization is something many, including players, want for these games. One of the best features of AG was the external webpage dedicated to the progress of the game (major props and shout out to @Bob De Quatre):http://www.bakahomepage.com/EB/AG/ It made the game easy to navigate (use the tabs!) since anyone could easily see the influence each faction had on each planet, where each faction was in the tech tree, and (BEST OF ALL) see an index of all players AND ALL OF THEIR MOCS INDEXED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. Holy moly, it was awesome. Anyone could go there and just read all the stories of any player straight through without having to sift through months of noise. How's that for convenient? Now, players could easily go back and refresh their memories if they were gone for a while, and spectators could effortlessly follow the stories of their favorite players. However, there was one flaw with this super awesome webpage. It wasn't well advertised. Sure, it was linked in the rules and background post. But thinking back on it, it should have received its own topic and made clear that this is a great resource for anyone (players or not) who wanted to follow the game. Not only that, but it solved the problem of having a MOC index for the game. Over the course of the ~90 week long game, AG players collectively built over 2,000 MOCs, which would be impossible to organize in a single thread. I know that the webpage was a lot of extra work for @Bob De Quatre, and it's unreasonable to ask that every Eurobricks game has such a thing (it's still there, so anyone who wants to check out some incredible brick built adventures can do so!). And I know for existing games, some players take it upon themselves to keep a personal MOC index. But I will say that the external webpage was great to have, and I think was a valuable tool to lower the entry barrier for participation and spectatorship. Then, there's this: On 5/7/2018 at 7:47 AM, MAB said: It is sad if people don't comment on MOCs (both positively and negatively). But it is even sadder if people stop building MOCs just because they don't feel they get recognition. Surely the primary point of MOC building is for the fun of the building, not for the recognition the builder feels they deserve. No feedback? No recognition? NO PROBLEM! JOIN A GAME!!! I've found that fellow players will comment and critique your game MOCs OUT THE YANG. EB somehow feels too cliquey for you? Can't break in a group and feel like you belong? JOIN A GAME!!! The players will instantly welcome you and you will immediately be part of a clique. You will be added to private discussion groups where players on your team routinely share WIPs and story ideas. And best of all, the players on the other teams will start TRASH TALKING TO YOU (better than getting ignored, right, right?). Don't want to join a game since you can't build every week like the Tazmanian Devil on crack cocaine? No game has a a requirement that says you have to build or be kicked out. It's not uncommon for players to take breaks and/or leave and come back after a long hiatus. Everyone builds to their pace. So what are you waiting for? JOIN A GAME!!! Quote
rodiziorobs Posted May 10, 2018 Posted May 10, 2018 (edited) I am glad this thread exists. I noticed that EB seemed less active lately, but I wasn't sure if it was just me, since due to Real Life I haven't gotten around to building anything in about two months, and it's been even longer (probably close to a year) since I finished a project. I still enjoy Lego as a hobby to the extent I can, but since I can't actively contribute builds for now, I rarely check in on them either. I appreciate all the comments so far; this is the thing I love about EB the most--I see familiar users and we talk about different things. For contrast, I used to keep up with an entertainment blog and there was a healthy contingent of regular commenters. About a year back they switched their system to Facebook comments and as such the regulars are gone, it's all just random posters and trolls from the web at large. Posts are mean, angry, and provocative (not in a positive way) and as such I rarely read there anymore. But here it is still the folks you know. Some are gone, and there are always new ones, but there is still a feeling that we're all welcome, and can come together here and discuss our hobby or other things. As to the questionnaire: 1) more contests? Sure! It was a contest that first got me here (hello, mini camper van!) and Andromeda's Gates that kept me active. Not every one appeals to me, nor do I have time for all of them (I missed the Lester one), but I think sometimes a good contest is all it takes to turn a lurker into a bona fide contributing member. 2) tags? Sure, they're a fun addition to the forum. 3) EB reference materials? Um, not much. But I could, I suppose. I have used reviews before, to verify how complete a set was before buying it--I like how many reviewers note how many bags come in a set, that info isn't readily available most places. 4) EB games? Yes. See my answer to #1. I feel like some of them (BOBS, ie) are a bit too complex for their own good. I don't have the time or motivation to commit to learning 5 sets of rules from day 1. AG was easy to jump into, although the endgame sort of dragged on. 5) Facebook or Flickr? When I can post my own stuff, I see things on Flickr. But don't really go there unless I'm uploading my own stuff. I hate Facebook. 6) Hosting? Yes, Flickr. Although if Verizon/Oath screws it up I'll drop it like a hot potato. 7) Broad or narrow focus for threads? It depends on the subject. Super heroes or Harry Potter threads are busy enough that following topics in a single thread is unmanageable; you need to separate topics out, whereas Elves generally has a smaller audience, so talking about it in one place makes sense. 8) first page? Forum list, although I visit the "new content" link in my profile before browsing the other boards. 9) has too much? I honestly don't know. 10) has too little? Again, I don't know. 11) value most? Community. 12) value least? The embassy forum. The only discussion there I really read is Ideas, and that is sporadic. It could be useful, but no one--not members, mods, or TLG--really does much over there. And that's fine. 13/14) YouTube, Twitter, Facebook? These would all be useless to me. I hate Facebook and find Twitter useless, and I prefer reading reviews with still photos over videos. I believe I have watched exactly two Lego video reviews ever. Why? Because most sets don't need videos. Full stop. If something absolutely needs to be seen in action, then don't give me a two minute intro or lots of talking. Put the text in the description, and use the video for the action only. Looking forward to much more great participation with you all on these boards! Edited May 10, 2018 by rodiziorobs Quote
ReplicaOfLife Posted May 13, 2018 Posted May 13, 2018 (edited) On 8.5.2018 at 8:37 PM, fred67 said: I will tell you that, for me, there are various reasons. Often, the MOCs are really good and I have nothing to offer, and I don't like being one of all the "great MOC!" posts that don't really address anything. Sometimes I force myself to comment because I think a MOC is worthy of more attention than it seems to be getting, and if I see something that I think could be better, I will mention it - but generally I look and don't say anything. It's not that I don't appreciate them, it's that, as others have said, you're not building your MOC for me, you're sharing it with me, and I really shouldn't feel obligated to say something, particularly at points in my day/week/month where I'm very busy. I see where you're coming from, and since I post my (infrequent) MOCs here, I know both sides of this particular coin: As a MOCer, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to reply - even if it is just a quick "Great MOC!". As you said, MOCers want to share their MOC with you / the community, and the main reason for doing so is to get feedback. If someone posts his MOC, the thread gets 2000 views but just one or two replies, the MOCer will propably think that his MOC just isn't good enough, or that the subject matter is of no interest to the community. If this happens again and again, and he also sees it with other threads, he'll ultimately be discouraged to post his MOCs on here, thinking "no one cares anyway". And this again contributed to the slow death of the community, because more people that produce content will be replaced by newbies not reading threads and asking questions answered 3 posts above their post... As a reader/fan, I of course don't reply to every thread about a MOC I check out. No one should be or feel obligated to reply. For me personally, I more or less post a reply when 1) I'm genuinely amazed by the MOC. 2) I spot something that triggers some reaction - e.g. a suggestion for improvement, a nice/unusual part usage, a part I can't identify but would like to etc. So whenever I have something nice to offer that I think the creator of the MOC would appreciate, I post. Basically, I'm thinking "If this was my MOC, would I wnat someone with my reaction to it to communicate that to me?". Usually, I try to write a bit more than just a one-liner complimenting the MOC, pointing out things I like in particular. But sometimes (especially when I'm late to the game and others have already pointed out the things I like), I just chime in. And a quick one-liner literally only takes a few moments to write. One other thing that popped into my mind when thinking about this is the issue of digital MOCs. I'm usually disproportionally less interested in a digital MOC than a 'real' one. I'm not really sure why that's the case, but that's the way it is. Of course, presentation is a key factor here (LDD screenshots with one of their crappy backgrounds will cause me to hit the 'back' button faster than you can say 'back'), but even when the MOC is presented with high quality renders, I find myself disappointed in the fact that it's not a real one. And thus only really exceptional digital MOCs will trigger a reply from me. Does anyone else feel that way? Another (german) forum I'm one just has two categories for MOCs: digital and real. I quite like that, but it propably wouldn't work on here, since EB is still far more active, and we have all those categories for all the themes. Speaking of that, I'd be in full favor of reducing the number of sub-forums. When I'm here, I usually just check out the Town forum and the General Lego discussion, since those are the places that I find the most threads I'm interested in. Sometimes, I'll also pop into the Space forum, but not nearly as often as you'd think considering that classic Space themes like Futuron, Blacktron I, M-Tron, Space Police I and of course Classic Space are my second big Lego interest besides modulars. I also like to look at great train/train-related MOcs, but I hardly visit that forum either. On the other hand, on that german forum I mentioned above, I sometimes find myself commenting even on Castle, Pirates, Star Wars or other MOCs that I'd never see on here because I just never look at those boards. Edited May 13, 2018 by RogerSmith Quote
cheetor1981 Posted May 13, 2018 Posted May 13, 2018 I find it kind of funny that this thread cropped up as I was talking/ranting to friend about the same thing before this thread started. I said that it kind of stinks that the Lego web forums I frequent have dwindled in activity as of late. I am someone who loved Lego as a kid & came out of their dark age in 2009 because of the resurgence of the pirate theme. I've been lurking here for years but only officially joined a couple years ago. I don't participate online much due to being busy in my personal life. This is just my 2 cents regarding this topic... I tend to agree with a lot of what others have already commented on within this thread. I think the lack of activity is a multifaceted problem. I think it is due to the growth in popularity of Lego (a natural evolution in how the community communicates), a natural evolution of the Internet & the popular tools available/preferred for communication, & due to changes in society as a whole. I also think it has to do with our own growth as unique individuals & other responsibilities we have in our lives. Overall, this board is one of my favorites as well as 3-4 others I frequent...but all sites seem to be dwindling in activity...not just here. I agree that places like Facebook have become more popular than traditional web forums. In my observations on this board & others I frequent, there is a lot of elitism that exists which turns new folks off to participation. This type of interaction, even once, can turn someone off completely. Lack of participation could also be due to real life responsibilities (work, home life, school, etc.). I know I research & observe others' creations more than I build on my own. I am a huge Lego fan & buy parts or sets all the time...but I buy more than I build. So, I scour the Internet to see what everyone else is doing or to understand cool building techniques more than I actually build. I don't think there is a simple solution other than continuing forward in a positive, welcoming, & inclusive fashion. Quote
dcc123 Posted May 13, 2018 Posted May 13, 2018 Wow, so I probably shouldn't comment as I'm a bit of a lurker (sorry people); but as a member for 8 years I really miss the activity. The front page used to cycle through stuff really fast, and I'd log on each day for the highlights. The front page does not change much at all nowadays and I really miss it. The moderation is also a lot stricter. I used to love the to and fro that "offthewall" used to incite (whatever happened to that fella?). Just my thoughts, hopefully not offended anyone. Quote
Andy D Posted May 14, 2018 Posted May 14, 2018 Just answering the questions--- • Would you like to see more contests? I like the contests, I do not participate in many because of my skill level, but it gives me a chance to see what some of the expert builders are capable of, it inspires me to improve. I would like to see some contests just for the less experienced builders. It would give some of the less experienced builders to win something. I have no idea how to select who is eligible to enter a “less experienced builders” contest though. The only contest I participate is Cop Mikes' Christmas Raffle, I really, really like that “not contest” I enjoy seeing all the imaginative entries. • What is your opinion of Tags (those small images on the left <—)? I like the tags, some show that some builders are very experienced have done. • Do you use, if ever, Eurobricks reference materials (ie. lists of Reviews, lists of MOCS, lists of Forums)? Yes, I do use the reference materials, and I like it that the reference materials are pinned (no matter how ling it has been since something was added) much of that older material is beyond value and cannot be replaced. • Have you participated in games on Eurobricks (ie. Role-Playing, Mafia, etc.)? No, I do not understand he games, but it seems that others have lots of fun with them. • Do you use/visit the Eurobricks Facebook page? Eurobricks on Flickr? etc. I mainly visit the EB Flickr or Facebook page when EB is down to see what’s happening. Is a problem on my end or the other end? • Do you post MOCs online? What hosting platform do you prefer to use? When I post a MOC, I use Flickr as the photo hosting site. • Do you prefer broadly defined threads or multiple specialized threads? I like both, broad threads are good, but specialized threads get to the point, like a review. I really, really like the reviews. • What is the first page you visit when opening Eurobricks on your browser? When I visit EB, the first page is the Portal page, it shows me what is new, then I go to my favorite sub sections after I have reviewed all that interests me on the Portal. Lastly, I really like it that EB is broken down it to so many different sections. My favorites are the General section, Town, and Technic. Lately I spend most of my time in Technic, but in the past I have spent time I'm Train, Star Wars. History and Science Fiction. Even the smaller sections are really good, as it gives folks interested in those themes a more intimate setting. Yeah, some sections are really small because of not much interest anymore, but they are still valuable. When I first saw this thread I promised myself that I would not write too much, but oh well. Andy D Quote
8BrickMario Posted May 14, 2018 Posted May 14, 2018 Huh. This topic gave me a lot to think about. I know I used to be one of the most obnoxious users on here, saying far too much about anything, but now I find I have nothing to say. I've seen good threads go dead and active threads which just have nothing of substance, being wild speculation and wishlisting with no actual opinion or commentary, anything worth reading. I now find myself clicking on threads just to clear my notifications, but not to actually read them. I always liked having discussions about new things coming out, and I remember a higher percentage of thought-out long answers instead of quick comments without much to say, but in the past three years at least, I've seen fewer places for genuine engagement. I don't really know how that would be solved, because moderation does its best, but never have I seen these irrelevant conversations truly improve. There are still things I come for; I love @Robert8's minifigure design thread and discussing designs and writing bios, and whenever a CMF series is out, I'll be there to share my thoughts, but any licensed theme discussion feels like it's full of fluff. I've never been one for general community activity, but I did enjoy having real discussions about sets and fan creations. I see less of that now. Quote
snaillad Posted May 14, 2018 Posted May 14, 2018 A lot of interesting questions posed. Well done to @LegoModularFan for starting the ball rolling. In the time I've been a member there has definitely been a lot of familiar faces either don't visit very much anymore or have moved to just image hosting sites such as flickr. It's a shame for EB but maybe its a sign of the times that those methods of communication are more accessible and easier to use. I joined EB to comment on peoples creations and post my own MOC's after being inspired by what I saw here, I still am amazed by the great builds I see, but sometimes I've already seen them elsewhere on sites such as flickr so EB never feels like the first place to go. I still like to post here to give a more in-depth opinion as the site feels much more personal than say flickr. I think peoples habits have changed and forums are probably an old-fashioned way of keep in touch and up to date. I think that's everywhere and not something only EB is finding. My main interests on EB are the town and general interest forums. I've never participated in a game before as most of my pieces are of a town style so a town based game would interest me! Apart form that I think EB could benefit from a youtube channel, maybe highlighting MOC's of the week, building techniques, reviews - it wouldn't necessarily need to be a voice over - slides might be a good enough start? Maybe the 'adverts' could help pay towards the upkeep of the site. Although I don't use it for a group conversation, maybe a bunch of whatsapp groups for various themes? Quote
BrickJagger Posted May 15, 2018 Posted May 15, 2018 Just thought of another small thing. I feel like the April Fool’s jokes that the staff used to do were a fun way to bring the forum together. Those topics used to get a couple hundred replies each iirc and it was interesting to see how the site layout would change, or if we had been taken over by the Disney overlords. In the past few years though, there hasn’t been one. It’s really just a small thing, but is there a reason why the mods stopped doing them? Quote
Robert8 Posted May 15, 2018 Posted May 15, 2018 11 hours ago, 8BrickMario said: There are still things I come for; I love @Robert8's minifigure design thread and discussing designs and writing bios Oh thank you very much Quote
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