Subject:
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Re: Lego Hobby Blues
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Wed, 7 Dec 2005 23:33:40 GMT
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Viewed:
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2070 times
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In lugnet.general, Thomas Main wrote:
> The thrill is gone. There's so much about our hobby that has changed over the
> last few years and a lot of it has changed for the worse.
I'd say some of the fun in gone, but maybe it is just out of our reach and it is
up to us to make the most of it.
I personnaly have so many driving and creative juices I could be occupied for
the next umpteen years. Does the community hold the same appeal to me? No.
My enthusiasum is still there, I just can't find many people to share it with.
To many special interests have fractured any sense of centralness in our
"community". Hey but that's growth, no one is chained here.
Lego Fan? What's that. We hardly are anymore. Instead we are groups of people
who like Space, Mecha, Trains, CAD, Pirates, Robotics Castle and so on.
Most of the people in their "prefered Genre's" don't give a hoot about other
people's efforts if it is not what they are interested in.
Some of the most stunning MOCs receive little if any attention at all from
people outside their own interest groups. That sucks.
Hey look I made a real robot that can recite the dictionary and tie your
shoelaces! It took 15 years to build! "Oh it doesn't have a corridor connection,
and no coupling device? NOT INTERESTED."
That's a crime. Be a Lego Fan for buildings sake. So what if it is not a Castle
with a mote, so what if is not your prefered Matoran character or doesn't belong
to a faction, ITS MADE FROM LEGO.
Then you got certain CLUBS that only pay attention to themselves.
....and that's fine. I just say "Remember the Hood".
Make them join us, don't just join them. Share some of your energy with the rest
of the community, we need it, it could help in many ways.
I for one have been a member of this forum for going past 5 years now.
I see the same names all the time. Yet I never hear from half of them.
I almost feel like if we have been around eachother all these years and we keep
"side stepping" eachother for this long, then forget it, I don't need you
either. Thanks for ignoring me all these years.
Pardon me, that was a little rant. Really though I make a point of trying to
enjoy all things people build despite my own building preference. That is what
I'd like to see more of.
Sure we are compartmentalized here and we like it. There is such a thing as
picking your head up out of your own soup.
> LUGNET
>
> This used to be THE place that the online community got together and talked
> about the hobby. Now, it has a fraction of the news it used to have.
I keep telling myself don't walk away from the people you might meet.
Just as I value the friendships I have made here, I know the reward is partly
what you put in.
> Yeah, there are other sites now -- but I don't want to have to visit 10
> different sites to get what I used to get in ONE place. Plus, there's little to
> none of the cross-pollination that having Lego stuff centralized on LUGNET
> provided. Classic-Castle, Classic-Space? I never go to those sites, whereas I
> used to see some cool castle and space stuff on LUGNET and enjoyed it, even
> though those areas aren't my primary interest.
Just because there is handy software out there for this doesn't mean we have to
go out and use it! Then again, if people want to, it is their right.
I just can't believe some people have left altoghter without giving a darn about
where they first got to know everyone.
> Where are people getting news these days? LEGOFan? The few times I have
> visited that site, it seems to be directed at a different audience (those new to
> Lego?). And why is the closer integration with a TLG a good idea? I mean,
> really...wasn't there something kinda cool about FANS building with Lego without
> any involvement from the company? What's the benefit? Lego Ambassadors?
> Certified Builders? Have any of these developments actually increased anyone's
> enjoyment of just clicking together bricks? Is having a handful of regular
> people "in-the-know" a benefit to you personally or to a sense of community?
I must admit I'm a little puzzled by all of that too. I'm NOT trying to bag on
anyone, but I really don't know what the ambassadors are doing, I never hear
from them, some or most of them don't even interact here, while some are
friendly other are not very open.
My point is there seems to be a lull in those projects. If there is something
going on, we the community at large are not seeing it. If they are working on
stuff I'm sure it will be great. Really it seems like a big to do with little or
no consequence.
If I offended anyone I am sorry, really I'm just commenting and wondering what's
going on. I imagine there is/are/will be plenty of cool things for them to do.
> THINGS THAT ARE WRONG
>
> Our interest in the Swanberg case -- it's a court case, it's a person's life, it
> only has to do with Lego incidentally.
What a fiasco!
I almost feel bad for the guy in how much we MOC'd him (hahaha pun).
Then again, he did something really wrong and truth is it could reflect on us;
the other Lego Fans.
> Our addiction -- how much Lego is too much? I probably had about 100 sets when
> I was a kid, built up over 4-5 years -- now I have 60,000 pieces. I feel bad
> about this. I want to buy more Lego, but why? What's reasonable? $200 a year?
> Is more irresponsible? There are people living in poverty all over the world --
> it's kinda sickening to think I spend more on a toy in a month than some people
> spend on food. :( I'd really like to know what a sane amount of money is - not
> based on what we have done as a community in the past - but what is really a
> moral amount. Anyone want to really examine this? Do we dare?
I admit I have not spent much if anything at all on LEGO this past year or two.
Reason is I am still trying to use what I have!
Then again, I will buy the newest and hottest sets to get the newest and hottest
parts so I am up to date. Really I would if I could. I just feel a forboading
sense that I should use what I have. I have some elements and pieces that have
been around for years waiting to used.
Can you believe I never used Brick Link once!
And Brick Link is one of THE most amazing things ever to happen to the Lego Fan
Community. (the day will come when I go nuts and re-stock my collection)
I once heard another Lego Fan say, "I have enough to last me a life time.."
Now if I took apart each of my creations and continually built from what I have
already, sure I could do with out for many years to come.
However, our minds tend to wander, our creativty grows. Lego is a toy, a tool
and and Art Medium. Don't fight it. If you need some more 1x1's go out and get
them. It makes sense to use what you need. So long as you do use it and do not
squander your resources. Enjoy it, also have respect for its gravity.
So when I think of starving people, I know the world must also co-exist with
creativity and the progression of Mankinds ideas. So I take some solice in
knowing what I make today inspires me and possibly others to make the world that
much better. Better through LEGO building? Not really. Just that it serves to
quench the creative desire I have inside of me. That drive channled to make the
world around me better and hopefully for other. It is an excersize in developing
what we have around us to make the world a better place.
> I know this soinds like a complaint - it is - and it's not as structured or
> thought out as I had hoped it to be. But what it comes down to is that I am
> looking for answers. I used to feel good about this hobby. Some days I still
> do. But I want to know what happened to the community - is it still there? Is
> it thriving or dying? And I want to know how sane and moral this hobby is. To
> me, these are important questions. I am hitting a wall coming up with answers
> -- I am looking for discussion and insight....
>
> --
> Thomas Main
> thomasmain@charter.net
Thomas, first off YOU ARE A GOOD BUILDER! I know it.
Second of all, your not complaining. You are free to bring up most any topic you
like. We are fellow fans and builders. You are in good company.
Here is a little annecdote. When people come to my studio, or see one of my
exhibits there is a phrase that I always end up saying to somebody....
"Oh you think I have a lot of Lego? Well there are some people who have MORE."
Infact, I was thinking the other night, "Can I keep up with the level of
creativity that is going on in the Lego Fan community in the future?"
I'm not sure, like I said with Brick Link and some of the Train Clubs and their
fantastic layouts, wow, to think some people have multiples of parts in great
quanities, making huge buildings, awesomly detail buildings and ever more
sophisticated robots and ever cleaner leaner designs.....
The sky is the limit, always has been.
So to touch on your talking point; Is it insane?
Yes, my friend, it is....embrace the ideas you have and build them.
As far as the community is concerned, I'd like to see more comradry less narrow
genre driven focus and a return to saying hello to people who's names you see
all the time, but never bother to interact with.
This place is what you make it. Be a LEGO Fan for buildings sake, play in your
own sandbox and you really miss out of the joy accross the board.
I think it should be every LUGNETers' duty to be a LEGO Fan first and share in
the joy of building, and not be so entrenched in the genres that keep us
seperate.
There's the duality again. If you like something by all means, delve in to it.
I still think there is something to be said about the person who calls themself
a LEGO Fan yet only gives a hoot about a certain genre.
That to me is narrow minded and a great cause of what we see going on here
today.
[1] I posted my thoughts with out proofing them
[2] I posted my thoughts freely without wanting to argue
[3] I posted my thoughts because I felt comfortable doing so.
[4] I posted my thoughts because I feel there is a problem, but I know it is
difficult to describe and in the end they may just be things I hope for.
I am a people person, I like to reach out to others, not everyone is same.
Now what's going on over .clickets?
e
Lugnet Member 1051
www.biomechanicalbricks.com
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Lego Hobby Blues
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| Cheer up, emo kid. There's no reason you should be hinging all that on whether or not you got responses for a given MOC. If number of responses is the only way you measure your model's worth, maybe you should try harder to be impressive. Also, (...) (19 years ago, 11-Dec-05, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Lego Hobby Blues
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| The thrill is gone. There's so much about our hobby that has changed over the last few years and a lot of it has changed for the worse. LUGNET This used to be THE place that the online community got together and talked about the hobby. Now, it has a (...) (19 years ago, 7-Dec-05, to lugnet.general)
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