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This is a good question -- as a relative newbie to the community, I've often
regretted that this is the standard acronym.
It's pronunciation is unclear; I've heard old AFOLs say anything from "A.F.O.L."
(i.e. just spelling it) to "A-full" (long "a"), but other reasonable
pronunciations would be "afull" (short "a") or even "awful", which is how
non-AFOLs I've shown it too usually say it. Certainly not a very complementary
acronym if you see it that way. And even with the long "A", it's vaguely
reminiscent of slang word that starts with "A" and ends with "hole" (especially
if you pronounce the "FOL" part as "fole").
Much better would be Adult Lego Enthusiast (ALE), which not only makes a nice
clear acronym, but also is a better description -- we're not just fans of the
LEGO company, we're enthusiasts of the LEGO hobby. Someone who's into trains
isn't a train fan, they're a train enthusiast (or hobbyist).
But I don't suppose there's a snowball's chance of the term ALE catching on now,
is there? Or some other more carefully-considered acronym?
Best,
- Joe
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In lugnet.general, Joe Strout wrote:
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Much better would be Adult Lego Enthusiast (ALE), which not only makes a nice
clear acronym, but also is a better description -- we’re not just fans of the
LEGO company, we’re enthusiasts of the LEGO hobby. Someone who’s into trains
isn’t a train fan, they’re a train enthusiast (or hobbyist).
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I’m in agreement with you on this, I’m not so much a fan, as an enthusiast. And
I describe myself to others as such.
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But I don’t suppose there’s a snowball’s chance of the term ALE catching
on now, is there? Or some other more carefully-considered acronym?
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Sure, if enough of the community recognized that one particular acronym was
better. Shifting gears isn’t easy but can be done. I say BrickLink without even
thinking now, but at first, I’d say BrickBay and then have to correct myself.
Jason Spears | BrickShelf Gallery | MichLUG | CLB
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"Jason Spears" <spielboyAT@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:IH3xAr.st8@lugnet.com...
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> I'm in agreement with you on this, I'm not so much a fan, as an • enthusiast. And
> I describe myself to others as such.
[ ... snipped ... ]
I posted a few weeks ago regarding my feelings of the term "AFOL":
http://news.lugnet.com/legoland/california/?n=761
Re-reading my post, I don't think I worded it as strongly as I should have.
I really dislike the term "AFOL" and find it mildly offensive to be called
one. I would never refer to myself as an AFOL and I don't use the word in
conversation. Could be just me, but I don't care for the term.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=mpw - CTB/Brick Depot
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In lugnet.general, Mike Walsh wrote:
> I posted a few weeks ago regarding my feelings of the term "AFOL":
>
> http://news.lugnet.com/legoland/california/?n=761
>
> Re-reading my post, I don't think I worded it as strongly as I should have.
> I really dislike the term "AFOL" and find it mildly offensive to be called
> one. I would never refer to myself as an AFOL and I don't use the word in
> conversation. Could be just me, but I don't care for the term.
What aspect of the term do you feel is inaccurate? From your post, it would seem
that you object to the word "fan", because it implies a stronger dedication than
the word "hobbyist"? Of course, the resulting acronym with "Hobbyist" is ..
uh... a touch more vulger :) Would "enthusiast" work?
I know other people have objected to the word "Lego" since they don't feel that
they're fans of the *company* per se, but feel more like fans of the bricks
themselves-- in some cases even being fans of *other* brands in addition to
Lego. Perhaps "ABBE" (Adult Building Brick Enthusiast)?
Personally, I've always been happy calling myself an AFOL, but I'd probably be
happy to call myself any of the acronyms that have been tossed around (though I
personally would want to include the "Lego", since I'm partly dedicated to the
brand thanks to nostalgia in a way that I'll never be attached to other brands).
DaveE
(FUT .general to strip out .faq)
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In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Mike Walsh wrote:
> > I posted a few weeks ago regarding my feelings of the term "AFOL":
> >
> > http://news.lugnet.com/legoland/california/?n=761
> >
> > Re-reading my post, I don't think I worded it as strongly as I should have.
> > I really dislike the term "AFOL" and find it mildly offensive to be called
> > one. I would never refer to myself as an AFOL and I don't use the word in
> > conversation. Could be just me, but I don't care for the term.
>
> What aspect of the term do you feel is inaccurate? From your post, it would seem
> that you object to the word "fan", because it implies a stronger dedication than
> the word "hobbyist"? Of course, the resulting acronym with "Hobbyist" is ..
> uh... a touch more vulger :) Would "enthusiast" work?
>
> I know other people have objected to the word "Lego" since they don't feel that
> they're fans of the *company* per se, but feel more like fans of the bricks
> themselves-- in some cases even being fans of *other* brands in addition to
> Lego. Perhaps "ABBE" (Adult Building Brick Enthusiast)?
>
> Personally, I've always been happy calling myself an AFOL, but I'd probably be
> happy to call myself any of the acronyms that have been tossed around (though I
> personally would want to include the "Lego", since I'm partly dedicated to the
> brand thanks to nostalgia in a way that I'll never be attached to other brands).
I personally dislike refering to myself in accronym form. Accronyms are pretty
much an indicator of complete geekishness, which, when cruising the beach for
babes, I try to avoid. I usually say "LEGO Fan" and "LEGO Fan Community", and
then hope that my obvious sense of fashion will clue in my listener than I am an
adult. Sometimes people mistake the facial hair, the height of 6 foot, and my
manly voice to be genetic anomalies rather than an indication of adultness.
If forced to use an accronym, I'd use PoLAWEBwLBBa/oBoOB (Persons of Legal Age
Who Enjoy Building with LEGO Building Blocks and/or Blocks of Other Brands).
-Lenny
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In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Mike Walsh wrote:
> >
> > Re-reading my post, I don't think I worded it as strongly as I should have.
> > I really dislike the term "AFOL" and find it mildly offensive to be called
> > one. I would never refer to myself as an AFOL and I don't use the word in
> > conversation. Could be just me, but I don't care for the term.
It's not just you, Mike -- I feel much the same way.
(David replied)
> ...
> I know other people have objected to the word "Lego" since they don't feel that
> they're fans of the *company* per se, but feel more like fans of the bricks
> themselves-- in some cases even being fans of *other* brands in addition to
> Lego. Perhaps "ABBE" (Adult Building Brick Enthusiast)?
I'm sure there are such cases, but from what I've seen, the majority of people
in this community really are much more enthusiastic about LEGO bricks than clone
bricks.
> Personally, I've always been happy calling myself an AFOL, but I'd probably be
> happy to call myself any of the acronyms that have been tossed around (though I
> personally would want to include the "Lego", since I'm partly dedicated to the
> brand thanks to nostalgia in a way that I'll never be attached to other brands).
All right then. I hereby propose that we, as a community, try to start using
the term "Adult LEGO Enthusiast" (ALE if you want an acrynom) in place of AFOL.
It's more accurate, sounds less stilted when you say the whole thing, and is
more clearly pronouncable in acronym form. From my own experience, it will make
a better impression on people who aren't LEGO enthusiasts when we try to explain
about our hobby.
While it does still exclude kids, I think that's necessary for the term to be
useful, as people *expect* kids to be into things like LEGO. What's distinctive
about us, from the non-ALE's point of view, is that we're into LEGO *and* we're
adults. We need a term that recognizes that, and makes it clear that this is a
large and active adult hobby. Otherwise, if I just tell a non-ALE that I'm a
serious LEGO builder, they will simply assume that all the other serious LEGO
builders are kids and I have some maturity issues to work through. (This is
unlike model trains, which have become accepted as an adult hobby in common
culture -- LEGO is not to that point yet, though it is making progress.)
It will take a while for such a change to spread, but if even a few of us make
an effort to use the term whenever the opportunity rises, then it will have a
fair chance. So please tell all the ALEs you know!
Best,
- Joe
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In lugnet.general, Leonard Hoffman wrote:
> I personally dislike refering to myself in accronym form.
I used to like it until someone pronounced my initials (DPE) as "Dippy".
Actually (man, this is going off-topic FAST), when I was a wee one of about 7
years old or so, my name betrayed me. My mom was "Moo-Moo". You'd be "Loo-Loo
Hoo-Hoo". Jake Mckee would be "Joo-Joo Moo-Moo". Don't ask why. I was some sort
of demented kid.
The system worked great until I applied it to MY name. "Doo-Doo Poo-Poo Eoo-Eoo"
(pronounced "Ew! Ew!"). Oh yeah. That worked out well.
> If forced to use an accronym, I'd use PoLAWEBwLBBa/oBoOB (Persons of Legal
> Age Who Enjoy Building with LEGO Building Blocks and/or Blocks of Other
> Brands).
Ha! I'm gonna have to try that from now on. I can *almost* pronounce it.
"PO-la-web-wull-BAY-oh-boob". Very classy.
DaveE
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"David Eaton" <deaton@intdata.com> wrote in message
news:IH42Lw.1wsw@lugnet.com...
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> What aspect of the term do you feel is inaccurate? From your post, it • would seem
> that you object to the word "fan", because it implies a stronger • dedication than
> the word "hobbyist"? Of course, the resulting acronym with "Hobbyist" is • ..
> uh... a touch more vulger :) Would "enthusiast" work?
[... snipped ... ]
Yes, I believe you are correct, it is the term "fan" I have an issue with.
When I hear to see the term AFOL, I think "Adult Fan of the LEGO Company".
While there are a lot of things I like and respect about LEGO the Company,
there are a number of things I don't care for either. So I wouldn't call
myself a "Fan" of LEGO the company any more than I would call myself AFOAB
(Adult Fan of Anheuser-Busch). While I purchase and enjoy their products, I
don't consider myself a "Fan" of either company per se, certainly not enough
to label myself.
As I mentioned in my other post, I consider myself a LEGO Hobbyist.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
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In lugnet.general, Mike Walsh wrote:
> [...]
> I really dislike the term "AFOL" and find it mildly offensive to be called
> one. I would never refer to myself as an AFOL and I don't use the word in
> conversation. Could be just me, but I don't care for the term.
Suz's drive-by butt-in..
I don't use AFOL in ref to myself because I don't like it either. Not that it's
-horrible-, but I don't feel as though it covers me. "Fan" implies "fanatic",
which I'm not. (Though I certainly was ten years ago..)
Plus it's difficult to speak. :-) I say, "an A-F-O-L". ...heh, it's like some
of the old Usenet terms that were never really meant to be used offline.
When talking to strangers, I describe people of the greater community as "adult
LEGO users" or simply "LEGO enthusiasts". And I describe myself as: "a
blahbidy-blah using LEGO as a medium." Blah being based on my audience.
"curriculum developer", "educational toy designer", "modeler", "student",
"ed-tech researcher", or whatever.
that's my two cents of data! :-p :-) hee-hee.
btw, I'd never look down on anyone for using the term. or for considering
themself accurately depicted by it.
-Suz
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In lugnet.general, Suzanne Rich Green wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Mike Walsh wrote:
> > [...]
> > I really dislike the term "AFOL" and find it mildly offensive to be called
> > one. I would never refer to myself as an AFOL and I don't use the word in
> > conversation. Could be just me, but I don't care for the term.
> I don't use AFOL in ref to myself because I don't like it either. Not that it's
> -horrible-, but I don't feel as though it covers me. "Fan" implies "fanatic",
> which I'm not.
This is probably my biggest issue with it as well. When I hear the word 'fan' I
have a hard time disassociating it from 'fanatic'.
Also, I work in an environment where I'm besieged with acronyms daily...
sometimes two or three per sentence. I try to live my home life as acronym free
as possible. :)
So when asked, I simply tell people I'm a "LEGO builder". It's short and sweet
and seems to get the message across with little explanation required. If I'm
speaking about people here on LUGNET or people who post to Brickshelf I might
refer to them as other "adult LEGO builders" (1) without ever trying to turn it
into an acronym.
Just my two cents.
Allan
(1) Though I realize the sometimes inaccuracy of the first word in that phrase.
My apologies to younger builders... no disrespect intended.
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Nice. I'm going to adopt this one myself : )
Allan Bedford wrote:
> So when asked, I simply tell people I'm a "LEGO builder". It's short and sweet
> and seems to get the message across with little explanation required. If I'm
> speaking about people here on LUGNET or people who post to Brickshelf I might
> refer to them as other "adult LEGO builders" (1) without ever trying to turn it
> into an acronym.
>
> Just my two cents.
>
> Allan
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In lugnet.general, Joe Strout wrote:
> In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote:
>
> All right then. I hereby propose that we, as a community, try to start using
> the term "Adult LEGO Enthusiast" (ALE if you want an acrynom) in place of AFOL.
> It's more accurate, sounds less stilted when you say the whole thing, and is
> more clearly pronouncable in acronym form. From my own experience, it will make
> a better impression on people who aren't LEGO enthusiasts when we try to explain
> about our hobby.
I dislike the term "AFOL" and would gladly support a shift to use "ALE" or
another non-acronym based phrase.
--
Thomas Main
thomasmain@myrealbox.com
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