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I just tested Amazon.com's new "Search inside this book" feature (which
provides a cool new full-text search across the content of its books) by
doing a search for "LUGNET". I found a few references in various books
that I hadn't yet known about. In particular I want to correct some
misinformation in the book "LEGO Software Power Tools, With LDraw, MLCad,
and LPub," by Kevin Clague, Miguel Agullo, Lars C. Hassing, published
January, 2003 by Syngress Publishing, ISBN 1931836760.
On Page 369:
> The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the most
> prestigious technical colleges in the world, and LEGO, one of the
> most prestigious toy companies in the world, have officially teamed
> up in the past to design a variety of LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics
> elements such as sensors and programmable bricks.
True.
> LUGNET is also the result of this collaboration, albeit an unofficial
> one, between LEGO and MIT.
False. LUGNET is in no way the result of a collaboration between LEGO
and MIT, nor in any way the result of anything from either LEGO or MIT
separately. Other than being on friendly terms and knowing a few faces,
the only connection LUGNET has ever had with MIT is that Dr. Fred Martin
moved the hosting of his Handy Board mailing list to LUGNET around the
time he left the Media Lab, two or three years ago. (The Handy Board is
a robotics product developed and owned personally by Dr. Martin and not
the Media Lab.)
> Suzanne D. Rich, the cofounder of LUGNET along with Todd S. Lehman,
> attended MIT's Media Lab
True. Suzanne (then Rich, now Green), attended MIT's Media Lab for
approximately a year and a half in 1999-2000. During Suzanne's attendance
at the Media Lab, however, she pursued LEGO research interests wholly
unrelated to LUGNET.
> and later received some funding from LEGO to start the LUGNET site.
Partially true. LEGO Direct (on behalf of the LEGO Company) did make
a one-time cash donation to LUGNET in early 2000, but this had absolutely
nothing to do with the starting of LUGNET (which occurred in 1997) and
had no connection to MIT. MIT's collaboration with LEGO occurred via LEGO
Futura Boston, and LUGNET's early communication with LEGO occurred via LEGO
Direct of New York.
> Although LEGO and LUGNET maintain their independence from each other,
> both enterprises gravitate around the same subject, and there is plenty
> of collaboration between them. After all, LUGNET is the voice of the
> LEGO fan.
There is indeed a large volume of communication between LUGNET's users and
certain employees of the LEGO Company. Suzanne and I have also met with
folks at LEGO on many occasions to discuss various topics in general terms.
--Todd
[xfut -> lugnet.books]
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Hi Todd,
I am Miguel Agullo, the author of the material that you quote. First of all, let
me apologize for any annoyance his might have caused to you or anyone else. It
is ironic that the lines are in from a part of the book devoted to highlighting
for the reader the most important Lego-related website – starting with Lugnet.
I've also let Syngress know about it to see if they can offer any help. I don't intend to shift the blame, but our collective desire and drive to put the book together inside a tight schedule could very well be part of the cause of this misinformation. While the book went through very sage eyes before it hit the streets (thanks again, Lars!); in retrospect, we should have let the owners of the websites mentioned review the material prior to publishing.
(In that sense, while Syngress' methods might not be foolproof, they have
managed to put out a, IMHO, fairly decent collection of Lego books in a
relatively short time.)
Finally, I would like to offer a bit more of insight into what I think was my
biggest error. It seems like that, apart from wishing to provide a more precise
general information about the relations ships between Lego, MIT and Lugnet, your
concerns lie in the following sentence:
“LUGNET is also the result of this collaboration, albeit an unofficial one,
between LEGO and MIT.”
To provide some context, this sentence is part of a “call-out” that adds color
to the main body of text. What I was striving to convey was not that Lugnet is
inferior or a derivative of MITO and/or TLC, but rather that it is an
organization important enough to be in fluent communication with such
prestigious institutions.
It looks like in this instance, I have failed terribly as a writer. Maybe
Syngress should look for someone else next time around :o)
Once again, please accept my apologies and do not hesitate to contact me
regarding this or an other matter.
Additionally, thank you very much for all your efforts.
Sincerely,
Miguel Agullo
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In lugnet.books, Todd Lehman wrote:
> I just tested Amazon.com's new "Search inside this book" feature (which
> provides a cool new full-text search across the content of its books) by
> doing a search for "LUGNET". I found a few references in various books
> that I hadn't yet known about. In particular I want to correct some
> misinformation in the book "LEGO Software Power Tools, With LDraw, MLCad,
> and LPub," by Kevin Clague, Miguel Agullo, Lars C. Hassing, published
> January, 2003 by Syngress Publishing, ISBN 1931836760.
Todd,
Thanks for the corrections! I own and read a copy of this book and I understood
the details to be different from those published in the book. After reading the
book I assumed that information I had heard from "asking" around at conventions
was wrong and that the book was correct. I am glad you corrected these specific
instances of the book.
Maybe this points out something that you an Susan should spend a few minutes on.
Maybe you can create a page or two defining the history. Or perhaps you might be
willing to let someone in the community interview you and Susan and place the
"history" of LUGNET on the LUGNET web site for others to learn from.
I must admit that I was not aware until recently that I have been visiting
LUGNET since 1997. I found some web files on some CD backups that are downloads
of content from LUGNET dated back to 1997. I have never really known the history
of LUGENT and perhaps others could benefit from learning about the impetus and
details of creating and maintaining the LUGNET site.
I am very appreciative of yours and Susan's efforts. I think all of us have
found a voice and realized that none of us are alone in our choosen hobby. As
someone who kept his collection and LEGO purchases private for many years, I was
encouraged by the nature of this community to be open and less private about my
LEGO habit.
Todd (The other Todd, Todd Thuma).
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In lugnet.books, Miguel Agullo wrote:
> Hi Todd,
>
> I am Miguel Agullo, the author of the material that you quote. First of all, let
> me apologize for any annoyance his might have caused to you or anyone else. It
> is ironic that the lines are in from a part of the book devoted to highlighting
> for the reader the most important Lego-related website – starting with Lugnet.
Miguel,
I appreciate your open and non-defensive reply to the corrections that Todd
made. One of the benefits that I find from the Internet over printed material is
that the document can be changed and amended without additional cost and
expense. The Internet and this LUGNET Community demonstrates how valueable it is
to have an open forum or a community of dicussion where corrections to
information can be made in a positive environment. I applaud your appology and
thank you for personnally doing so.
I understand all too well how the order and sequence of words can affect the
meaning of the theme or subject in a sentence. English is my native language and
I have a long way to go in order to master its complexities.
Thank you,
Todd
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In lugnet.books, Todd Thuma wrote:
> In lugnet.books, Todd Lehman wrote:
> > I just tested Amazon.com's new "Search inside this book" feature (which
> > provides a cool new full-text search across the content of its books) by
> > doing a search for "LUGNET". I found a few references in various books
> > that I hadn't yet known about. In particular I want to correct some
> > misinformation in the book "LEGO Software Power Tools, With LDraw, MLCad,
> > and LPub," by Kevin Clague, Miguel Agullo, Lars C. Hassing, published
> > January, 2003 by Syngress Publishing, ISBN 1931836760.
>
> Todd,
>
> Thanks for the corrections! I own and read a copy of this book and I understood
> the details to be different from those published in the book. After reading the
> book I assumed that information I had heard from "asking" around at conventions
> was wrong and that the book was correct. I am glad you corrected these specific
> instances of the book.
>
> Maybe this points out something that you an Susan should spend a few minutes on.
> Maybe you can create a page or two defining the history. Or perhaps you might be
> willing to let someone in the community interview you and Susan and place the
> "history" of LUGNET on the LUGNET web site for others to learn from.
Brief historical bios were posted on lego.com a few years ago. Suzanne repeated
the text of the postings here:
http://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=23
A web archive of the lego.com page (no longer posted on their site) is here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020206185329/http://www.lego.com/press/facts.asp#5
Most of the details are sprinkled throughout the LUGNET forums, an encapsulated
history would be a nice read... perhaps has a forward to the Plan:
http://www.lugnet.com/admin/plan/
-Rob.
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