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In lugnet.events, William R. Ward wrote:
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Sounds great. But whats the deal with the name change? Why does every
brick conference have to have a new name?
I dont really care what name we used. For years, Brickfest was the standard
name for this event, but now I guess those are only going to be in Portland.
But sooner or later were going to run out of unique names for these events!
It seems to me like there is a lot of duplication of effort and unnecessary
competition for all these events. A little more cooperation between event
organizers, starting with a stop to this proliferation of event names, would
be nice.
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The names are proprietary; they are owned by various people. The name BrickFest
is a bit debatable (I think 4 people claim rights to it) but one person commands
$3,000 fee to use it. I figured, To heck with that, Ill start my own name and
give $10,000 to charity first. That would be more fair. And thats what were
doing, and hence the name BrickFair.
Then theres risk involved. Does Brickworld want to lend us their name just to
watch us fail and mar the BW name? Course not. Theres other reasons I wont
bore you with.
Its really not competition. Over the past several months Ive had great
support from other event participants, past and present.
Todd Webb
| | | | | | | | | | | | | In lugnet.events, Todd Webb wrote:
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In lugnet.events, William R. Ward wrote:
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Sounds great. But whats the deal with the name change? Why does every
brick conference have to have a new name?
I dont really care what name we used. For years, Brickfest was the
standard name for this event, but now I guess those are only going to be in
Portland. But sooner or later were going to run out of unique names for
these events!
It seems to me like there is a lot of duplication of effort and unnecessary
competition for all these events. A little more cooperation between event
organizers, starting with a stop to this proliferation of event names, would
be nice.
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The names are proprietary; they are owned by various people. The name
BrickFest is a bit debatable (I think 4 people claim rights to it) but one
person commands $3,000 fee to use it. I figured, To heck with that, Ill
start my own name and give $10,000 to charity first. That would be more
fair. And thats what were doing, and hence the name BrickFair.
Then theres risk involved. Does Brickworld want to lend us their name just
to watch us fail and mar the BW name? Course not. Theres other reasons I
wont bore you with.
Its really not competition. Over the past several months Ive had great
support from other event participants, past and present.
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Well, I think its pretty darn petty to insist on a $3,000 fee. If Brickfest is
off the table, I would hope that we as a community can come up with a name that
*can* be used relatively freely. I do agree that certain standards should be
maintained, and that the name shouldnt just be in the public domain, but if the
owner of the name would be willing to let it (and the corresponding domain name)
be used without onerous demands, financial or otherwise, I think it would be a
great service to the community.
Brickfair is actually a great name. But how would you feel about someone
wanting to use the Brickfair name for an event somewhere else in the country?
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In lugnet.events, William R. Ward wrote:
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Brickfair is actually a great name. But how would you feel about someone
wanting to use the Brickfair name for an event somewhere else in the country?
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Well this leads me to all the boring reasons I didnt list. Lets see here.
Just speaking for myself, I dunno how many other fest leaders share my
thoughts...
1. I would not wish to share the BrickFair name and watch someone else fail,
thus dragging down what Ive built up.
2. I would not wish to share the BrickFair name and watch someone else blow me
out of the water! I dont mind losing to a Brickworld, or a NWBrickCon or
whatever. But losing to my own name would be sad.
3. I have visions that guide my decisions in creating this event. The more
obvious is the charitable aspect. I would not wish to lend out my name to
another group who didnt share this vision.
4. That leads to another issue. When sharing the name, Id have to either list
a bunch of rules and bylaws regarding its use, or just let others do as they
wish -- which may include ignoring my original vision. Neither of these options
appeal to me.
5. I think the same name but different (a-la BrickFest and BrickFest PDX) is a
generally bad idea. It seems neat, to be organized. But I think its not worth
the confusion. When you hear Brickworld, you immediately know Chicago. Now
when you hear BrickFair you immediatly know Washington DC. I rather like that.
Also theres the matter of size and atmosphere. Each event has its own
character, its own personality. When you come to know NWBCon as a certain type
of event with a certain feel, its name takes on that persona. But with 7
different events and 7 different leadership styles, different locations (school,
hotel, whatever), different attendance, etc, it would seem odd to me to have
them share a name. Like walking into a McDonalds; when you enter, you know
what to expect not matter where you are in the world. But these events are not
McDonalds. Were all different, and our names personify that.
Personally, I prefer the different names. I suspect that large part of your
discomfort is with the appearance of BrickFest, the disappearance, and now the
replacement. And the fading PDX to boot, I hear. It all feels flip-floppy,
unstable and uncontrolled. But if the remaining big venues persist in Chicago
and DC for several consecutive years, then that will feel better, obviously.
And then maybe the concern over all the name changes will fade.
Todd
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