Subject:
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Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:38:55 GMT
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In lugnet.lego.direct, Suzanne D. Rich writes:
Suzanne (and All),
Sorry about the delay in responding. I have been swamped this week, and
wanted to run a few things past a few people, Brad especially (who is out of
the office on a trans-European business trip. I had to send the CIA to track
him down!)
Let me start by saying that I would love to have even more communication
happen on LUGNET from LEGO. I am meeting with Brad on Monday and plan on
discussing how to make this possible. While LEGO Direct is up to our ears in
work, we all feel dedicated to and interested in open communication.
> Why are you answering people's questions on FBTB, but not LUGNET?
There are actually two questions here:
1. Why am I answering people's questions on FBTB?
We are participating on FBTB as well as many other LEGO community and fan
sites (e.g. Bionicle Zone, Mask of Destiny, Bricks in My Pocket, etc.). It's
not a question of "either…or", it's very definitely an "and."
When Tim Saupe, the Webmaster of FBTB.net, asked me to help re-establish the
pre-existing Ask LEGO section, I was more than happy to help out. (Ask LEGO
goes back a while, but when the LEGO employee working with Tim on it left
the company, it went silent for a while)
2. Why am I not answering questions on LUGNET?
Most questions of LEGO actually get asked outside of lego.direct. Since I
can't answer those questions "officially" and I'm not sure what the
appropriate method of cross linking the answer with the question, I feel
uncomfortable posting about that issue out of context. I would absolutely
love if I could, along with other LD employees, post directly to a question
with a few brief lines to answer a question in context. Unfortunately,
LUGNET prohibits this.
The questions posed on LUGNET (in lego.direct) are not as easily
"answerable" as those on FBTB. When discussion about small shop resellers
take place in lego.direct, for instance, I don't have, and possibly can't
get an answer I can post. Rather than post "I can't say anything about that
issue", and cause heated debate, I don't answer at all. This of course
prompts the question: Is it better to say something that will get people
ticked off, like "I can't comment" or "I don't know" or to not answer until
I have something to answer with?
However, one key thing to know is that I forward many emails in the course
of a week from LUGNET posts to the appropriate departments. Often, the issue
is solved quickly. Other times, the opinions are factored in. Because we are
a business, I can't always announce the outcome of internal discussions.
LUGNET is, after all, a public forum read by the world (including our
competitors). Your opinions definitely do influence decisions made at LEGO,
mixed in, of course, with many other factors and consumer opinions. This
makes it harder to notice that your opinions to have an effect, but I think
you can see that outcome in the LEGO Direct products, for instance.
> I ask because the lugnet.lego.direct group was created for open dialogue, yet
> LD's posts are now rare and limited to marketing announcements.
Perhaps we should clarify the role of LD at LUGNET. Since the policy
decision a year ago not to allow LEGO to post outside of lugnet.lego
(http://news.lugnet.com/admin/nntp/?n=386), we have been able to interact
only in this area. This means that the dialogue that takes place is
therefore limited:
- LEGO soliciting opinions on certain topics (These posts don't necessarily
dictate any follow-up, and don't necessarily come on any regular schedule)
Example: http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=3462
- LEGO announcing something new, cool, etc. (which some would probably call
Marketing, we actually think of it as inclusion)
Example: http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=4328
- Fans asking for things of LEGO (Which we very often will not be able to
answer because we don't discuss product release plans before they are announced)
Example: http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=4439
- Fans telling LEGO about problems they have had (Which should probably go
to dearlego, no? And these are often forwarded on to the right LEGO department)
Example: http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=4604 or
http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=4558
Basically, it seems to me that there is less dialogue than there is argument
in lego.direct. There is also much more assertion – not necessarily fact
based assertion – than inquiry as well. This is what really gets in the way
of true open dialogue. And of course, being confined to one area of the
site, without ability to link answers with questions doesn’t help much either.
"Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?"
I think this is somewhat misleading. The way it we have understood it, this
is really not "our" newsgroup, but rather the group that we have been given
access to. If it were truly "our" newsgroup, then theoretically *any*
interaction or activity on our part - and this includes "marketing" posts or
information - would not be criticized as a somehow inferior form of
communication.
In order to move forward, perhaps we should come to some agreement for a
baseline of communication?
- I will try to answer as much as possible, given business constraints, time
constraints, appropriateness, etc.
- There is no way any of us will or can answer any questions about upcoming
product launches, what products may or may not be released, and why, or
anything having to do with sales numbers or data.
- If I post something to the effect of "I am not able to answer that
question because (insert reason), LUGNET members will try to respect where
LEGO is coming from.
- Timing is often tough. Some questions that come up are easily and quickly
answerable, and factoring in my crazy travel schedule, I try to get these
resolved as quickly as possible. Many questions, however, are tough to ask,
so I try to group them together so as not to bombard co-workers with a
deluge of questions.
(Have I missed anything?)
Please keep in mind that there are quite a few of us that are dying to share
information about different projects, but are not able to. (Or at least be
able to and still have a job the next morning) Unlike any company I have
ever worked for, the people at LEGO are as passionate about providing
quality products, as the Adult Enthusiasts are about building with them.
When people say hateful, non-constructive things, it hurts us all. I know
TLC might seem like this huge mega corporation on top of a big hill
somewhere, but it's not. It's a company made up of people who want nothing
more than happy consumers. Sure, we don't always get there, but each and
every one of strives to achieve it.
Play Well!
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Senior Producer
LEGO Direct
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Message has 9 Replies:
 | | RE: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| Jake, Thanx for a well thought out response. I hope this is the beginning of what everybody is looking for! I also hope Admin (aka Suz) makes the necessary changes to support this. (assuming this is what she is looking for) Can we all just get (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| (...) "Next year, we hope to give you at least one opportunity to vote -- from a short list of candidates -- for the Legend set you'd like to see us make. When we post the contenders we'll be specific about any changes we'll have to make from the (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| Jake - Excellent response. I believe this helps us all understand a bit more where LEGO Direct is coming from. I sincerely hope the LUGNET administrators revisit the policy towards limiting official posts to just one newsgroup heirarchy. I believe (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| In lugnet.lego.direct, Jake McKee writes: (snip) Just a few things I wanted to express... First off, I have extreme respect and appreciation for what the Lugnet administrators have done. I'm sure the job is a thakless one, and I wanted you all to (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| (...) No problems! Thanks for your response! [snip] (...) One suggestion I'd make - to respond to such questions, please just create a new thread in .lego.direct, referencing the original post (and quoting any pertinent text to make things clearer (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| In lugnet.lego.direct, Jake McKee writes: [...] (...) Thank you, Jake. I just wanted to confirm my suspicion.[1] Such a lack of maturity from one who's actions reflect on The LEGO Company is very disappointing. But, your 'using' of this community is (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct) !!
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| (...) Jake, I'm glad to hear that. We're very interested in that as well. On the one hand, we want to keep the groups as pure and fan-to-fan as possible and remain true to that vision, but on the other hand, we want everyone to enjoy as close (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct) !
| | | Re: Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| I've just been reading the best part of this thread, and I must say I'm amazed.... Amazed at the lack of respect for 'The Community' and for The Lego Company. And amazed at the amount of patience from TLC. I honestly do not see why representatives (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Why the absence of LD in their own newsgroup?
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| Jake, Why are you answering people's questions on FBTB, but not LUGNET? I ask because the lugnet.lego.direct group was created for open dialogue, yet LD's posts are now rare and limited to marketing announcements. -Suz Suzanne Rich LUGNET Admin (...) (22 years ago, 5-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct) !!
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