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Hello all,
Well, you asked for us to provide you with Status Reports, so here goes:
- The LEGO Ambassador Program is currently in the process of moving to a new Server. While this does not affect fans in any way, it certainly affects us and the program. We have been testing our new site, and working to improve the interface and communications in the new system.
- We have provided TLG with an official ‘Issues List’, which is comprised of all of the fan issues we have gathered. That’s right, everything from the color variances, to suggestions for new sets, to set availabilty. Trust me, it is quite comprehensive.
- We are working on submitting some new ideas to TLG. Of course we can’t tell you what they are, but they are cool.
- Some LAs were present at BrickWorld and other recent events, and have shared your comments and issues with TLG and the rest of the group.
I hope this gives you a general idea of what we do. More reports to come....
Nelson Yrizarry
LEGO Ambassador - Cycle 5
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Nelson Yrizarry wrote:
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..
* We are working on submitting some new ideas to TLG. Of course we can’t
tell you what they are, but they are cool.
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Nelson-
OK, I’ll bite: Why would you need to keep ideas submitted to TLC on behalf of
the community secret from the community?
-Ted
SCLTC
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Ted Michon wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Nelson Yrizarry wrote:
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..
* We are working on submitting some new ideas to TLG. Of course we can’t
tell you what they are, but they are cool.
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Nelson-
OK, I’ll bite: Why would you need to keep ideas submitted to TLC on behalf of
the community secret from the community?
-Ted
SCLTC
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Duh! Terrorism of course. 1
Tim
1 Well it seems like a good exucse for every other secret or breach of rights
since 2001 so I figure it’s got to be good for this one too.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Ted Michon wrote:
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Nelson-
OK, I’ll bite: Why would you need to keep ideas submitted to TLC on behalf of
the community secret from the community?
-Ted
SCLTC
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Ted-
The ideas submitted to TLG were made by the Ambassadors themselves for set/theme
designs. Sorry for not phrasing that correctly in my report.
“Big Daddy” Nelson
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Ted Michon wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Nelson Yrizarry wrote:
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..
* We are working on submitting some new ideas to TLG. Of course we can’t
tell you what they are, but they are cool.
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Nelson-
OK, I’ll bite: Why would you need to keep ideas submitted to TLC on behalf of
the community secret from the community?
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Nelson’s reply is good, but it should also be said that it mainly isn’t to keep
secret from the community, but to keep secret from rival companies. If TLG’s
plans are made known before they are ready to act, other companies could rush a
product out to steal TLG’s thunder and sales.
Regarding secret from the community - that does happen, but to a lesser extent.
An example would be how many in the castle community were upset that the Viking
sets were redesigned before final release.
Lastly, as Tim notes, terrorism is always a factor.
-Lenny
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Ted Michon wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Nelson Yrizarry wrote:
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..
* We are working on submitting some new ideas to TLG. Of course we
can’t tell you what they are, but they are cool.
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Nelson-
OK, I’ll bite: Why would you need to keep ideas submitted to TLC on behalf
of the community secret from the community?
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Nelson’s reply is good, but it should also be said that it mainly isn’t to
keep secret from the community, but to keep secret from rival companies. If
TLG’s plans are made known before they are ready to act, other companies
could rush a product out to steal TLG’s thunder and sales.
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That surely doesn’t apply to the ‘Issues List’ though. I for one would like to
see what was on that list, and why.
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Regarding secret from the community - that does happen, but to a lesser
extent. An example would be how many in the castle community were upset that
the Viking sets were redesigned before final release.
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I’m confused. How did they know thery were redesigned if they were kept secret?
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Lastly, as Tim notes, terrorism is always a factor.
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Those kooky terrorists.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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That surely doesn’t apply to the ‘Issues List’ though. I for one would like
to see what was on that list, and why.
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What’s on the list?
The standard range of complaints that you read about on this or other fora:
complaints about colour and quality, piece and set design, themes, gender
bias/availability, leaks, availability and pricing and so on.
Why?
Because they’re fan concerns.
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Regarding secret from the community - that does happen, but to a lesser
extent. An example would be how many in the castle community were upset that
the Viking sets were redesigned before final release.
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I’m confused. How did they know thery were redesigned if they were kept
secret?
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The vikings designs were NOT kept secret. That is the problem. Had the earlier
designs been kept secret, the castle community would not have known how
different the final designs were, and presumably would not have been upset that
they had been changed.
Cheers
Richie Dulin
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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That surely doesn’t apply to the ‘Issues List’ though. I for one would like
to see what was on that list, and why.
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What’s on the list?
The standard range of complaints that you read about on this or other fora:
complaints about colour and quality, piece and set design, themes, gender
bias/availability, leaks, availability and pricing and so on.
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That’s still a little vague. I just think if the ambassadors are going to
complain in the name of the community, the community should get a say in what
they complain about.
Personally, I think it’d be better to take just a couple of the complaints to
the company, preferably ones that are readily fixable (if any are) rather than a
lengthy list dumped on them all at once, and I’m disappointed I didn’t get a
chance to say so before the ambassadors acted in my name.
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Why?
Because they’re fan concerns.
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Regarding secret from the community - that does happen, but to a lesser
extent. An example would be how many in the castle community were upset
that the Viking sets were redesigned before final release.
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I’m confused. How did they know thery were redesigned if they were kept
secret?
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The vikings designs were NOT kept secret. That is the problem. Had the
earlier designs been kept secret, the castle community would not have known
how different the final designs were, and presumably would not have been
upset that they had been changed.
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So the preference amongst ambassadors and the company is for more secrecy?
Allister
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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That surely doesn’t apply to the ‘Issues List’ though. I for one would like
to see what was on that list, and why.
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What’s on the list?
The standard range of complaints that you read about on this or other fora:
complaints about colour and quality, piece and set design, themes, gender
bias/availability, leaks, availability and pricing and so on.
Why?
Because they’re fan concerns.
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Just a point here. I think this is part of why the Ambassadors got that
“Unbassador” logo that I’m sure everyone has seen floating around. Here’s a
perfect example of something that you could have shared with the community, but
didn’t and haven’t. Please do. The report that you shared doesn’t have any real
news or content-- it’s essentially a re-worded description of what Ambassadors
do (apart from the new server thing). We already know that you report fan
complaints and feedback, we already know that you review upcoming products, we
already know that you suggest new products, we already know you go to events.
I’d recommend giving the fan community some substance, so we FEEL like we’re
involved. I realize that it probably doesn’t actually accomplish anything. You
probably ARE aware of all the major fan issues without having to solicit more
input. And telling us what problems we told you about similarly doesn’t tell us
anything new. But what it DOES do is makes the community feel like you’re
ambassadors. It makes the community feel included.
Don’t get me wrong, though. It’s not like I think that the Ambassadors do
nothing. But I still think the Ambassador program is inappropriately named.
Given most of what we’ve seen from the Ambassadors I would call it a focus
group, or a market research group. You *do* do a lot, I know, and the majority
of things you do has to be kept secret. But when it *doesn’t* have be kept
secret, please, tell us in spades. And when you’re asked for community feedback,
ask us. Make the community feel like it’s part of the process.
DaveE
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In lugnet.ambassadors, David Eaton wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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That surely doesn’t apply to the ‘Issues List’ though. I for one would like
to see what was on that list, and why.
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What’s on the list?
The standard range of complaints that you read about on this or other fora:
complaints about colour and quality, piece and set design, themes, gender
bias/availability, leaks, availability and pricing and so on.
Why?
Because they’re fan concerns.
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Just a point here. I think this is part of why the Ambassadors got that
“Unbassador” logo that I’m sure everyone has seen floating around. Here’s a
perfect example of something that you could have shared with the community,
but didn’t and haven’t. Please do. The report that you shared doesn’t have
any real news or content-- it’s essentially a re-worded description of what
Ambassadors do (apart from the new server thing). We already know that you
report fan complaints and feedback, we already know that you review upcoming
products, we already know that you suggest new products, we already know you
go to events.
I’d recommend giving the fan community some substance, so we FEEL like we’re
involved. I realize that it probably doesn’t actually accomplish anything.
You probably ARE aware of all the major fan issues without having to solicit
more input. And telling us what problems we told you about similarly doesn’t
tell us anything new. But what it DOES do is makes the community feel like
you’re ambassadors. It makes the community feel included.
Don’t get me wrong, though. It’s not like I think that the Ambassadors do
nothing. But I still think the Ambassador program is inappropriately named.
Given most of what we’ve seen from the Ambassadors I would call it a focus
group, or a market research group. You *do* do a lot, I know, and the
majority of things you do has to be kept secret. But when it *doesn’t* have
be kept secret, please, tell us in spades. And when you’re asked for
community feedback, ask us. Make the community feel like it’s part of the
process.
DaveE
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While I agree and reiterate Dave’s points, I think that LEGO sees the ambassador
program a bit differently. They are not LEGO employees assigned as ambassadors
to the AFOL community. I believe LEGO sees them as AFOL members assigned as
ambassadors to the LEGO company. Which is fuel for my argument that the
community should have a say in who we send as ambassadors to LEGO. (Not that
I’ve been disappointed in any of the choices so far).
Perhaps something the current set of ambassadors could recommend is better
communication the other direction. I have seen much less from Steve Witt than we
got from Jake McKee. I don’t think most of us are looking for secret product
info, but two-way conversations keep both parties invested.
Aaron
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In lugnet.ambassadors, David Eaton wrote:
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But when it *doesn’t* have
be kept secret, please, tell us in spades. And when you’re asked for
community feedback, ask us. Make the community feel like it’s part of the
process.
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Let me say that I understand your sentiment and your frustration. My aim here
is to outline some of the issues that make it difficult to do what seems
obvious.
Big part of the secrecy issue is actually figuring out what must be kept secret
and what doesn’t have to. Before the Ambassadors, TLG kept everything
underwraps except what they needed to for marketting purposes. The idea of the
Ambassadors meant that some information could be given out. So how do we figure
that out? Information given on the Ambassador list could be okay or it could be
not okay (to announce). The answer is often “I’m not sure, let me check.” So
the Ambassadors ask Steve, and Steve asks his boss, and his boss askes whoever
the information relates to and that person may or may not answer in a timely
manner.
Remember, TLG is not monolithic. Different people in the company have different
opinions about the community and about giving info to the community. Some are
quite friendly and give lots of info and some are suspicious and give none.
Also remember that many people involved in the Ambassador program are aware of
how fragile the program can be. One major leak and a lot of progress will be
reversed, so the feeling is “better secret than sorry.”
But the good news is, as Jake often said, that changes are happening slowly.
Ambassadors have had candid conversations with Jorgen and Tormud about the issue
of secrecy, and Jorgen wants to see more and better communication. But change
takes time.
One specific issue that I was personally involved in was the role of Ambassadors
in the Castle and Space 2007 projects (that became the
Mars Mission and
Castle). A few of us built designs to work
with the TLG designers. Specifically, Ben Ellermann and Mark Sandlin flew to
Billund and built designs that eventually turned into sets. Question: can we
show what we made in this project that would be eventually be turned into a
set? Specifically, Mark made a dropship that turned into
Recon Dropship. So can he show off his
creation? We ask down the line and are still waiting for an answer (as far as I
know, the answer might have been ‘no’). The problem is finding the person who
has the authority to say yes and waiting for them to have enough free time to
hear why we think it should be yes.
So, to address your concern: it is often unsure what is exactly secret or not
secret, and the urge is to fall on the safe side. The other problem, at least
for me, is that a lot of the info that I know and can say, seems to me to be
very mundane and boring. The community actively asking questions of Ambassadors
and responding to Ambassador posts helps.
-Lenny
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Which is fuel for my argument
that the community should have a say in who we send as ambassadors to LEGO.
(Not that I’ve been disappointed in any of the choices so far).
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I agree communities should choose who represents them. But if it was based on a
voting system imagine what would happen; Would people start going to forums and
campaigning-- or worse, mudslinging to get votes? I can see that getting really
dirty. And how would votes be apportioned fairly? Should Europe have as much
representation as South America? Its a sticky situation. Steve Witt is paying
attention and I think more goes into his decisions than is populalry believed.
Its not a matter of who the ideal AFOLs are, its about selecting a fair
represention of the AFOL community. Is there a group that is underrepresented?
Speak up and get on board.
-Felix
LEGO Ambassador
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Lenny,
I can share what I made during the Billund design trip because I was granted
permission by the Castle product design lead. At Brickworld 2007 I gave a
presentation on fan involvement in the design process. Currently I am working
on an online article (and possibly for BrickJournal) which will show how fan’s
ideas influenced the latest Castle sets.
Ben Ellermann
LEGO Ambassador
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So the preference amongst ambassadors and the company is for more secrecy?
Allister
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I’ll bite. This is a mixed question for sure. Product development and release
of information are what need to be kept secret absolutely. The people who work
on marketing plans and developing new things are dependant on the information
not getting out so that those companies with faster response times on their
production can’t bring out a competing product line before or at the same time
as ours (same old story...I know, but no less true today than it was before).
Now, we run into the problem of the information being thrown out from every
direction in ways that we’re constantly having to be vigilant about; catalogues,
S@H servers being scanned, online sites not guarding their product list are all
included in this list. A lot of people in the company are learning the hard way
that the internet complicates things, which is scary to some people, hence a
more conservative approach.
its always interesting to hear about the development process on a lot of things,
but sometimes it just isn’t a prudent business decision to have it outlined in
public all the time. That being said there are a lot of neat facts that will
come out in the future. The real question is, what’s more interesting, the
mystery or the answers?
Steve
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Felix Greco wrote:
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Is there a group that
is underrepresented? Speak up and get on board.
-Felix
LEGO Ambassador
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Not to pick on you Felix (I would’ve voted for you in an ambassador contest or
just about anything else your MOCs are so interesting ; ) but this line is worth
responding to.
Eurobricks is without representation despite, I’m told, many of their admin and
founders applying each term. I think most people would include EB in a list of
the big forums but it is the only one completely unrepresented (Yes ambassadors
post there, but they only have a few posts each.)
I think this has to do with how ‘controlled’ the ambassadors program is. I
understand why, I respect the people in it, but I have very little respect for
it as a program with an ‘ambassador’ role. It’s “just” a focus group (which is
wonderful, we’ve/I’ve wanted to see an AFOL focus group for years, I just wish
they would call it that.) It seems to me that the people involved think it’s
excellent (presumably because they are contributing so much) they then present
it as such to the rest of us, many of whom have our doubts as we see nothing
except a list of names and a few vagaries. Thus far Lego have chosen such well
respected names that the reassurances work and we don’t feel that it is some
sort of elitist yes-man program, but take away those names and, from my
perspective, it is. I’ve heard/learned nothing from my ‘ambassadors’ and I just
have to keep the faith that this is due to necessary secrecy and they are all
doing a great job. I’m sure they are, but it’d be great to know.
In typing this I realized my error. I interpreted the “ambassadors” to be
ambassadors from the community to Lego. This caused my disappointment. In actual
fact they are ambassadors from Lego to us. I remember when Jake used to talk of
great things in the pipeline that he couldn’t tell us about. Now that phrase is
the domain of some of the ambassadors. Does this mean I don’t think they are
telling Lego what we (the community) want to tell Lego? Of course they are! But
they are telling them in the manner of an ambassador returning home and
explaining the mood in the local of his posting. They aren’t going out from us
and returning with news. They weren’t supposed to. That was just my wishful
thinking...
To put it succinctly:
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Is there a group that
is underrepresented?
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Us...
God Bless,
Nathan
Who: doesn’t want to start a war of words, was just giving his own opinion
(which probably can/will be ripped to shreds). And would probably secretly like
to be an ambassador and is just bitter that he can’t be because he is anti-bley
.
I’ve held back this rant for ages now. Apologies for letting it out. Hopefully
I’ll be quiet on the subject for ages now and go build/praise some MOCs...
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Aaron,
Its not an unfair indictment on my part. I must admit to being a bit more of an
observer and less outgoing than Jake, one of the parts of my job I’m working on
at the moment and I will do my best to be more available online.
Steve
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Nathan Todd wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Felix Greco wrote:
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Is there a group that
is underrepresented? Speak up and get on board.
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Eurobricks is without representation despite, I’m told, many of their admin
and founders applying each term. I think most people would include EB in a
list of the big forums but it is the only one completely unrepresented (Yes
ambassadors post there, but they only have a few posts each.)
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This is an interesting question about how representation should be spread. I
believe that each fan should feel like they have access to an Ambassador to a
reasonable degree. That is an ideal that, from cycle to cycle, we should move
closer to. I believe Steve Witt shares that ideal and is working towards it.
A key part of the Ambassador program is the responsibility of the Ambassadors to
keep a visible and wide role in their community. By ‘wide,’ I mean they should
visit and post on as many forums as they can so that each of those people feel
they have representation. And a key part of that responsibility is to step down
when they are unable to maintain that level of activity - to give someone else
who is able and willing the chance to do their duty. A healthy amount of
turn-over will make the Ambassador program stronger.
Personally, I stepped down because my son was on the way and I knew I wouldn’t
have the time to give. I’m not going to re-apply anytime soon because I feel
adequately represented - I have several friends who are Ambassadors and I know
they share my thoughts and concerns. It is better, IMHO, to give more people a
chance by not including my name in the pool that TLG has to choose from.
A second duty of Ambassadors should be informing TLG about the next generation
of community - to help guide the community and the company closer together. I’m
off topic now, but one of the biggest things I did while an Ambassador was to
recommend Nathan Wells to help the Castle 2007 team. He turned out to be very
important in the process, and made the end result much better.
-Lenny
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Steve Witt wrote:
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Aaron,
Its not an unfair indictment on my part. I must admit to being a bit more of
an observer and less outgoing than Jake, one of the parts of my job I’m
working on at the moment and I will do my best to be more available online.
Steve
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I guess I was thinking more of unsolicited participation. Honestly, AFOLs tend
to ask all the questions TLC employees cannot answer. And I know that you cannot
get overly involved in matters of opinion. I just hoped we’d hear irregular
updates on what you can tell us. Release dates on sets we’ve seen previews of.
Higher quality photos. Updates on that possible second LEGOLAND. You know, fun
stuff.
Aaron
-former TLC employee not allowed to answer everything.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Nathan Todd wrote:
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Eurobricks is without representation despite, I’m told, many of their admin
and founders applying each term. I think most people would include EB in a
list of the big forums but it is the only one completely unrepresented (Yes
ambassadors post there, but they only have a few posts each.)
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No offense taken. Because I know some of the European LAs post over at
Eurobricks, I assumed that was the representation for that body. They may feel
they offer fair representation-- I guess I’m out of my element on this one.
Still, I know the issues and concerns that have been raised. Our concerns are,
for the most part, universal. I post very little to classic-castle.com, yet I
consider myself a very avid castle fan. Castle fans would likely not place me
in their camp. But, I definitely share their interests and concerns. So, I’m
inclined to believe the interests of Eurobricks are being looked out for. But
again, I’m out of my element on this topic.
Who would you like to see as an LA? Did you have any names in mind?
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Felix Greco wrote:
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Is there a group that
is underrepresented?
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Based on this brief discussion, I
don’t get a warm fuzzy feeling that 9v train fans are being represented. While
it is mentioned that the Save 9v Trains campaign has been around for awhile,
Nelson’s reaction seemed (to me) to be more of a “Oh, yeah! We forgot about
that. Thanks for the reminder”, instead of a “No worries, we’re actively
working on it.”
One of the things that I’ve been hoping for from either the Ambassadors or from
some other official Lego rep, is some sort of concrete announcement about the
fate of 9v. Either a definite, yes, it’s being kept in production, or a
definite, no, stock up while you can.
At some point last year it was mentioned that Lego would make a decision late in
the year based on sales. We’ve seen some cool product releases since then that
can be interpreted as 9v sets, which keeps up the hope, but still nothing
specific. Motors are still available, and track is still available, but for how
long? Is Lego still trying to make a decision regarding 9v, or have they come
to a conclusion?
Is it possible for the Ambassador group to get us a definitive yeah or nay
answer? I’m not looking for inside information about upcoming releases, or
salary information about employees, just a simple answer to a simple question.
Will Lego continue to produce 9v train products for the foreseeable future?
-Elroy
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
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A key part of the Ambassador program is the responsibility of the Ambassadors
to keep a visible and wide role in their community. By ‘wide,’ I mean they
should visit and post on as many forums as they can so that each of those
people feel they have representation. And a key part of that responsibility
is to step down when they are unable to maintain that level of activity - to
give someone else who is able and willing the chance to do their duty.
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They all seem pretty quiet to me, with perhaps one exception.
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A healthy amount of turn-over will make the Ambassador program stronger.
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Personally, I stepped down because my son was on the way and I knew I
wouldn’t have the time to give. I’m not going to re-apply anytime soon
because I feel adequately represented - I have several friends who are
Ambassadors and I know they share my thoughts and concerns. It is better,
IMHO, to give more people a chance by not including my name in the pool that
TLG has to choose from.
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I agree. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made.
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A second duty of Ambassadors should be informing TLG about the next
generation of community - to help guide the community and the company closer
together. I’m off topic now, but one of the biggest things I did while an
Ambassador was to recommend Nathan Wells to help the Castle 2007 team. He
turned out to be very important in the process, and made the end result much
better.
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I must’ve missed that announcement first time around. It strikes me that this is
exactly the sort of thing the community would like to hear so that we could
share your pride in the achievement, and yet this is the first we’ve heard of
it.
Allister.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Benjamin Ellermann wrote:
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Lenny,
I can share what I made during the Billund design trip because I was granted
permission by the Castle product design lead.
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Got a link to that? I don’t read classic castle, but I am interested in hearing
about the achievements of our ambassadors, and again, this must’ve been one I
missed.
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At Brickworld 2007 I gave a
presentation on fan involvement in the design process. Currently I am
working on an online article (and possibly for BrickJournal) which will show
how fan’s ideas influenced the latest Castle sets.
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I look forward to it.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Benjamin Ellermann wrote:
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Lenny,
I can share what I made during the Billund design trip because I was granted
permission by the Castle product design lead.
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Got a link to that? I don’t read classic castle, but I am interested in
hearing about the achievements of our ambassadors, and again, this must’ve
been one I missed.
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At Brickworld 2007 I gave a
presentation on fan involvement in the design process. Currently I am
working on an online article (and possibly for BrickJournal) which will show
how fan’s ideas influenced the latest Castle sets.
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I look forward to it.
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Allister,
I have not widely publicized the fan team’s involvement with Castle 2007 on
Classic-Castle or any other site. Since we are under a separate NDA for Castle,
I had to wait for permission on what I could and could not share. This was only
granted recently. I hope to wrap up the article quickly so LEGO can review it.
My article will include my prototype images and images of other fan builders
like Nathan.
Ben
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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They all seem pretty quiet to me, with perhaps one exception.
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I can’t speak to what appears to you - but Mark Sandlin, Chris Giddens, Dan
Rubin, Adrian Drake, Felix Greco, Peter Reid, and Nelson Yrizarry have all been
active and accessible. Partly, I know how difficult it is to give out lots of
info on a regular basis - but these guys are active in their communities and
available to speak one-on-one with if you are also active in those communities.
There are a few other people I know fairly well who I assume would stay active,
but I don’t know for sure.
I would hope your friends (I presume they’re your friends), Richie Dulin and
Ross Crawford, are active in their forums. If they aren’t, I’d suggest you
contact them and ask them to step down so someone more willing to do the work
can take over instead.
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A second duty of Ambassadors should be informing TLG about the next
generation of community - to help guide the community and the company closer
together. I’m off topic now, but one of the biggest things I did while an
Ambassador was to recommend Nathan Wells to help the Castle 2007 team. He
turned out to be very important in the process, and made the end result much
better.
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I must’ve missed that announcement first time around. It strikes me that this
is exactly the sort of thing the community would like to hear so that we
could share your pride in the achievement, and yet this is the first we’ve
heard of it.
|
First off, I stepped down last August due to my son. So I bear no
responsibility in subsequent handling of information - I gave that
responsibility to other people.
Secondly, announcement was during BrickFest that AFOLs had helped - a few months
later, Mark and Ben spelled it out in more detailed. I assumed the go ahead had
been given and that others involved could give their input. My own account was
no where near as sexy as Mark’s (who flew somewhere), so I didn’t want to steal
his thunder. It appears that full
details are being prepared for announcement.
Thirdly, it suddenly appears to me that I didn’t have the go ahead to give
information like Nathan Wells being involved. So me saying anything could very
well be out-of-line.
-Lenny Hoffman
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Elroy Davis wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Felix Greco wrote:
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Is there a group that
is underrepresented?
|
Based on this brief discussion, I
don’t get a warm fuzzy feeling that 9v train fans are being represented.
While it is mentioned that the Save 9v Trains campaign has been around for
awhile, Nelson’s reaction seemed (to me) to be more of a “Oh, yeah! We
forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder”, instead of a “No worries, we’re
actively working on it.”
One of the things that I’ve been hoping for from either the Ambassadors or
from some other official Lego rep, is some sort of concrete announcement
about the fate of 9v. Either a definite, yes, it’s being kept in production,
or a definite, no, stock up while you can.
At some point last year it was mentioned that Lego would make a decision late
in the year based on sales. We’ve seen some cool product releases since then
that can be interpreted as 9v sets, which keeps up the hope, but still
nothing specific. Motors are still available, and track is still available,
but for how long? Is Lego still trying to make a decision regarding 9v, or
have they come to a conclusion?
Is it possible for the Ambassador group to get us a definitive yeah or nay
answer? I’m not looking for inside information about upcoming releases, or
salary information about employees, just a simple answer to a simple
question.
Will Lego continue to produce 9v train products for the foreseeable future?
-Elroy
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Elroy,
I agree that Train fans currently are not as well represented as they should be.
I would encourage leaders in the Train community to apply for the next cycle of
LEGO Ambassadors. It is quite possible that few train builders applied last
cycle.
This being said, we will do our best to represent train fans. Most of my lug
(Gateway Lug in Saint Louis) is made up of concerned 9 Volt train fans. I
regularly pass along their concerns to LEGO. 9 Volt is a great system which is
far superior to battery trains and should not be discontinued.
The Ambassadors are currently discussing 9 Volt trains and have asked LEGO for
an update.
Ben Ellermann
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Benjamin Ellermann wrote:
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I agree that Train fans currently are not as well represented as they should
be. I would encourage leaders in the Train community to apply for the next
cycle of LEGO Ambassadors. It is quite possible that few train builders
applied last cycle.
This being said, we will do our best to represent train fans. Most of my lug
(Gateway Lug in Saint Louis) is made up of concerned 9 Volt train fans. I
regularly pass along their concerns to LEGO. 9 Volt is a great system which
is far superior to battery trains and should not be discontinued.
The Ambassadors are currently discussing 9 Volt trains and have asked LEGO
for an update.
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Ben,
That’s all I really need to hear. Thanks for the update.
By the way, any work you all have been doing has been great. Recently released
sets have been proof of that.
-Elroy
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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They all seem pretty quiet to me, with perhaps one exception.
|
I can’t speak to what appears to you - but Mark Sandlin, Chris Giddens, Dan
Rubin, Adrian Drake, Felix Greco, Peter Reid, and Nelson Yrizarry have all
been active and accessible.
|
They may be very active ‘in their communities’ posting regularly to one forum
isn’t exactly fitting your definition of ‘wide’ access.
| |
Partly, I know how difficult it is to give out
lots of info on a regular basis - but these guys are active in their
communities and available to speak one-on-one with if you are also active in
those communities. There are a few other people I know fairly well who I
assume would stay active, but I don’t know for sure.
I would hope your friends (I presume they’re your friends), Richie Dulin and
Ross Crawford, are active in their forums. If they aren’t, I’d suggest you
contact them and ask them to step down so someone more willing to do the work
can take over instead.
|
I did mention one notable exception, did I not?
| |
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A second duty of Ambassadors should be informing TLG about the next
generation of community - to help guide the community and the company
closer together. I’m off topic now, but one of the biggest things I did
while an Ambassador was to recommend Nathan Wells to help the Castle 2007
team. He turned out to be very important in the process, and made the end
result much better.
|
I must’ve missed that announcement first time around. It strikes me that
this is exactly the sort of thing the community would like to hear so that
we could share your pride in the achievement, and yet this is the first
we’ve heard of it.
|
First off, I stepped down last August due to my son. So I bear no
responsibility in subsequent handling of information - I gave that
responsibility to other people.
Secondly, announcement was during BrickFest that AFOLs had helped - a few
months later, Mark and Ben spelled it out in more detailed. I assumed the go
ahead had been given and that others involved could give their input. My own
account was no where near as sexy as Mark’s (who flew somewhere), so I didn’t
want to steal his thunder. It appears that
full details are being prepared
for announcement.
|
Not everyone can make it to Brickfest. Maybe the announcement was made in a fest
report, and I did indeed miss it. I think it’s worthy of it’s own thread though.
| |
Thirdly, it suddenly appears to me that I didn’t have the go ahead to give
information like Nathan Wells being involved. So me saying anything could
very well be out-of-line.
|
The point is, where’s the harm in divulging that information at the time it
happened? ie. when Nathan was chosen for the project. I don’t argue with the
need for secrecy, I just think there’s perhaps more than is really necessary.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
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A key part of the Ambassador program is the responsibility of the Ambassadors
to keep a visible and wide role in their community. By ‘wide,’ I mean they
should visit and post on as many forums as they can so that each of those
people feel they have representation.
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Well, I agree with the first sentence, but not necessarily with your definition
in the second. I’m pretty visible in my local community, and everyone has my
email (which is pretty well known everywhere) and quite a few have my phone
number and address. I try to keep them informed of ambassadorial happenings, and
they regularly tell me what they think LEGO should be doing, although not all
their suggestions make it to the secret forum ;)
I feel I’m doing a fair job in my role, but will re-evaluate at the end of the
current round.
ROSCO
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
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They all seem pretty quiet to me, with perhaps one exception.
|
I can’t speak to what appears to you - but Mark Sandlin, Chris Giddens, Dan
Rubin, Adrian Drake, Felix Greco, Peter Reid, and Nelson Yrizarry have all
been active and accessible. Partly, I know how difficult it is to give out
lots of info on a regular basis - but these guys are active in their
communities and available to speak one-on-one with if you are also active in
those communities. There are a few other people I know fairly well who I
assume would stay active, but I don’t know for sure.
I would hope your friends (I presume they’re your friends), Richie Dulin and
Ross Crawford, are active in their forums.
|
Well, I certainly believe I am both! (A friend of Allister, and active in my
fora).
I keep a LEGOMatrix of my
involvment in the various fora, for those who are interested.
Cheers
Richie Dulin
LEGO Ambassador
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Felix Greco wrote:
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Who would you like to see as an LA? Did you have any names in mind?
|
Late reply but I had a little whip round on EB first...
I’d be grateful if you could at least mention these lads before the next cycle
as nice patches for an uncovered section of the community, they definitely
represent a different group of fans then the other european LAs.
Jean-Philippe BONTEMS aka “jipay” on EB (founder and admin) and
Gaston Douvin aka “xwingyoda” on EB (an admin)
and speaking personally:
Johan Hansens aka “Snefroe1”
Thanks for your interest and (as always) God Bless,
Nathan
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Well it’s time for my semi-annual rant on LEGO Windows...
I do hope the LEGO Ambassadors Issues List contains the problem of there NOT
being a LEGO window system since 1987 (when most of the 9 classic LEGO windows
were retired).
With the worst kept secret about not replacing the glue machine for the 2x2
classic windows and the danger of last white 2x2 windows disappearing forever
from the LEGO Shop-At-Home (we haven’t seen ANY 2x2 windows in any LEGO sets in
a few years now), I do hope that TLG has some plans in regards to this problem.
The new CAFE CORNER set was a wonderful design, but what a hodgepodge of fake
windows. Even the LEGO Designers have been complaining about this problem.
I have to give AFOL’s credit on creative ways to “make” windows, since there are
no longer a matching variety to actually choose from. I was at the NMRA Train
Show in Detroit yesterday, and the interesting ways that AFOLs have come up with
to overcome the handicap of a lack of LEGO windows, was quite a sight to behold.
But when I see windows made with clear bricks and antennas, it becomes another
irritating reminder of what is missing in the over 13,000 part LEGO element
assortment.
But with the TOY OF THE CENTURY having only a few non-matching windows to choose
from for building (and the possibility of the popular 2x2 window disappearing
from the scene), it really is a shame.
Another problem is a the very limited “system” in sloped bricks. Thank God for
Bricklink, otherwise we would only ever see intricate sloped roofs on houses in
red or black.
Sorry to rant, but it had to be said!
Cheers,
Gary Istok
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
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Big part of the secrecy issue is actually figuring out what must be kept
secret and what doesn’t have to. Before the Ambassadors, TLG kept everything
underwraps except what they needed to for marketting purposes. The idea of
the Ambassadors meant that some information could be given out. So how do we
figure that out? Information given on the Ambassador list could be okay or
it could be not okay (to announce). The answer is often “I’m not sure, let
me check.” So the Ambassadors ask Steve, and Steve asks his boss, and his
boss askes whoever the information relates to and that person may or may not
answer in a timely manner.
|
Then it sounds to me like this is an area that Steve and the Ambassadors need to
work on.
If I were LEGO, what I would do is whenever information is being shared with the
Ambassadors, I would include along with that information some indication of “how
secret” it is, and when it can be made public. This way there wouldn’t be this
uncertainty about secrecy.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Gerhard R. Istok wrote:
| |
Well it’s time for my semi-annual rant on LEGO Windows...
I do hope the LEGO Ambassadors Issues List contains the problem of there NOT
being a LEGO window system since 1987 (when most of the 9 classic LEGO
windows were retired).
|
A very good point. I was just thinking the other day about how there’s no good
way to model the most common types of windows one sees in real houses. The only
commonly available windows from LEGO today are the 1x4x3 shape, whereas in real
life I see a lot more windows that would be better modeled as 1x2x3 (double-hung
sashes) or 1x6x3 (windows that slide to open).
LEGO’s part designers are very clever but they haven’t really done anything with
window parts in some time. I know there’s a big resistance to creating new
parts (unless, of course, a licensee such as Lucas demands it) but this is one
area where they really should do something.
Another issue is DOORS. In real life most doors do NOT have windows in them.
Especially interior doors. The only LEGO door that works is the junior-type
2x4x5 frames, and color options are minimal. The standard LEGO door with the
windows filled in would be a BIG improvement (and might even be easier to
manufacture).
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Its certainly not a bad thing for you to mention Nathan’s involvement as he was
very valuable to that project. Also speaking about your role isn’t a bad thing
either, here’s the reason why there’s usually some hesitation when it comes to
working on internal projects:
When people ask if they can speak about the projects they are involved in a lot
of times we have to give the permission with the notice that they not give away
too much internal stuff. its just the nature of anyone who might have been
involved to want to ‘tell all’, but there’s several things on the development
process that just can’t get out. I’d tell you what those things are, but that
would just be silly on my part I think.
You’re not making bad points Allister, One thing I’d really like to point out
about the Ambassador program and all of the the programs is that they’re still
very much in development. Expecting them to be the perfect balance right now is
just as ridiculous as us at LEGO assuming we’ve done a bang up job on it and it
doesn’t need fixing. Part of the process is learning where its place is and how
it fits into the larger community and how it can serve that community best.
Steve
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I must say I felt a bit hamstrung when LEGO Fan crashed because that’s where the
blog I was trying to get established was. it was a bit disheartening to tell
you the truth. That’s going to change soon and I’ll have a specific spot to
throw out information plus we have a whole new years worth of info coming up
that we can spread out soon.
Steve
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I speak to Jipay from time to time when he’s online (haven’t seen him lately to
tell you the truth). I want to say that we haven’t intentionally discriminated
against EB, but we simply haven’t been able to take some of the people who have
applied representing that site for one reason or another, usually its space in
the group.
A lot of times when we’re putting the group together we’re torn between choosing
people by theme, site, or location. A lot of times location wins out simply
because if we chose by theme, we could easily have the group be all Europeans or
all Americans. Where does that leave many other areas. The spread is not
perfect to be certain. We also consider presence within a given market when
we’re putting the group together. This is why the US and Canada have a large
spread of people in addition to Europe having a large spread. When casting the
rest of the group we generally try to include other nations that have applied
and that are also good applicants.
Communication is a big deal for us and being able to talk to one another as
Ambassadors in a professional manner makes a big difference. That doesn’t mean
that everyone in the group has to have a mastery of English, although that is
the primary language we use, its just important that everyone is polite to one
another, even amidst disagreements, and there certainly are some of those.
We also have to make sure that themes are represented strongly, but that is
completely dependant on applicants (for location as well). Its another coctail
that we’re still practicing the mix on.
Anyways, that probably brings more questions than answers, but I do want to
point out that we’re not purposely leaving EB out, its just a bunch of things
that go into every decision.
Steve
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Regarding secret from the community - that does happen, but to a lesser
extent. An example would be how many in the castle community were upset that
the Viking sets were redesigned before final release.
|
Or how many in the same community were upset that Lego put out the Barbie
Knights in the first season of the Knights Kingdom II line.
Ben M.
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
| |
In lugnet.ambassadors, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
| |
In lugnet.ambassadors, Allister McLaren wrote:
| |
They all seem pretty quiet to me, with perhaps one exception.
|
I can’t speak to what appears to you - but Mark Sandlin, Chris Giddens, Dan
Rubin, Adrian Drake, Felix Greco, Peter Reid, and Nelson Yrizarry have all
been active and accessible.
|
They may be very active ‘in their communities’ posting regularly to one forum
isn’t exactly fitting your definition of ‘wide’ access.
|
Your charge was that all the Ambassadors are quiet. They are not quiet.
And to clarify what I meant by “wide” - what I do not mean is that Ambassadors
should visit sites that they would never had visited in the first place. For
example: as much as I know that BZPower needs representation, I cannot be that
person. I do not know Bionicle, I do not understand Bionicle fans. Likewise
with Trains or Mosaics or LEGO fans from Uzbekistan.
What I mean is that any site I do visit, I should, as an Ambassador, remain as
active as I can be. When I was an Ambassador, I felt that I represented Space
and Castle, but also the Minifig Customization Network. Before becoming an
Ambassador, I visited MCN from time to time and enjoyed their creations. After
being chosen, I made sure that I showed up on MCN, I participated, and I formed
relationships with the most active members at MCN. If possible, I reported from
TLG directly to MCN and more often, I told TLG about MCN (mentioned them at
meetings, showed their creations, praised them, etc). My hope was that MCN
members felt they could contact me when needed to make their feelings known, and
knew that I would treat those concerns seriously, and raise them to the
Ambassadors, to Steve Witt, and to whoever else I could.
Not everyone can represent more than one community, nor should everyone
represent more than one. The ideal is that every single fan is within one or
two degrees of an Ambassador. Whether that is the case right now, I cannot say,
but I know that Steve Witt and Tormud (and Jorgen Vig) are working to improve
the program slowly but surely.
It should be noted that this is how I saw the program, and I do not speak for
the Ambassadors, for Steve Witt, for TLG, or for anyone else. When I was made
an Ambassador, I took it seriously, and this was the responsibility I took on
and tried to follow through with. Everyone sees it differently and everyone
should - the key part of this experiment is how we talk about these issues in
an effort to improve.
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Partly, I know how difficult it is to give out
lots of info on a regular basis - but these guys are active in their
communities and available to speak one-on-one with if you are also active in
those communities. There are a few other people I know fairly well who I
assume would stay active, but I don’t know for sure.
I would hope your friends (I presume they’re your friends), Richie Dulin and
Ross Crawford, are active in their forums. If they aren’t, I’d suggest you
contact them and ask them to step down so someone more willing to do the
work can take over instead.
|
I did mention one notable exception, did I not?
|
If anyone is doing their job, it must be Nelson. I assumed that is who you
meant by your “one notable exception.” I guess maybe saying “one” could be
interpretted as “one and only one” - to which I presented a list of many people
who are active in their communities. I suppose if you included your friends in
that list, you’d have said “three notable exceptions.”
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Thirdly, it suddenly appears to me that I didn’t have the go ahead to give
information like Nathan Wells being involved. So me saying anything could
very well be out-of-line.
|
The point is, where’s the harm in divulging that information at the time it
happened? ie. when Nathan was chosen for the project. I don’t argue with the
need for secrecy, I just think there’s perhaps more than is really necessary.
|
Well - there are a few issues: First, that such a project existed was a secret
(eg, that TLG is working on revamping their castle line, ergo other companies
should start trying to figure it out and thus steal TLG’s thunder). Two, saying
that people are working on secret projects just raises tantalizing questions
that have to be ignored (it is no fun being on the outside, and such an
announcement would be making everyone on the outside). Third, if such a project
comes to naught, or is put on the back burner for a while, it.. well, thats
kinda lame. I think it is better to announce a big suprise that is going to
happen and soon. Saying, “Hey I’m working on something that may or may not ever
happen at some indiscriminate time in the future” feels false. Maybe it would
help give an impression that I’m actually doing something, but that’ll wear off
when the fruits of that project are 3 years in the future.
Regarding the amount of secrecy - elsewhere in this thread there has been the
charge that there has been no reported theft of information by MegaBloks (or
whoever else) from TLG. During my time hanging out with TLG employees, I have
heard three or four anecdotes about specifically MB. Specifically, TLG
employees taking marketing strategies, etc and then quitting their jobs suddenly
and getting a new job at MB. Clearly, they were promised a job based on the
information they could provide from their old job. It happens and there isn’t
much TLG can do to stop it.
Whether these anecdotes are true is not immediately important: they express a
common feeling within TLG that information needs to be protected or else it
will make it into the hands of the “enemy.” TLG’s secrecy is to satisfy their
need for security - that they feel secure.
I can tell you that the first time an Ambassador leaks something big it will be
the last. From TLG’s point of view, Ambassadors are a risk and if that risk
costs them, it won’t be any problem to shut the program down. Whether you like
the program or not, whether it is perfect or not, the Ambassador program is
better than nothing at all.
-Lenny
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