Subject:
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Hold on bub, this truly is the Golden Age of LEGO Re: Whatever happened...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto
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Date:
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Wed, 22 Dec 2004 02:59:26 GMT
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608 times
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Calum,
I've been around since the earliest days of rtl, and have followed the
evolution of the AFOL community with great interest. The direction things
have taken does not surprise me. It's like anything else (ie, the Wild West,
founding of Silicon Valley, hippies, etc). A few visionaries get something
started, others get involved, the movement grows and matures and sometimes
it withers and dies.
However, I emphatically disagree with those who bemoan the current state of
affairs. To me, excpet for Lego's tragic error regarding the new colors,
this is truly the Golden Age. The MOCs and train show displays alone are
astounding and go beyond my wildest dreams. Even if I never saw another MOC,
I have enough stuffed into my hard drives to inspire me for the rest of my
life.
Plus, we have Lego Direct, Bricklink, Pick-A-Brick, and yes, even Ebay. The
sales and deals at Walmart, Amazon, KayBee, Target etc. that I almost always
find out about through Lugnet. A virtually endless supply of brick if you
shop smart and are willing to be flexible by making a few substitutions here
and there. The quality of my collection is astounding when compared to what
i used to have.
As if that wasn't enough, we have LDraw, Brickset, Brickshelf, Peeron and a
myriad of other online resources. I can look up just about anything I want
with a few keystrokes.
And, finally, despite the perceived problems, AFOLs are still some of the
friendliest people you will ever meet.
If you disagree, take the taste test! Head on over to Google, look up the
alt.toys.lego and rec.toys.lego newsgroups, pour yourself a cup of coffee
(or tea) and spend some time reading. There's just no comparison.
"Calum Tsang" <tsangc@mie.utoronto.ca> wrote in message
news:I915EG.1wyI@lugnet.com...
> What happened to the old days? I don't remember Lego being this un-"fun":
>
> -People never used to complain MORE of a cool set was coming along. Sets
> weren't "collectable" and no one worried about "exclusivity".
>
> -Scalping wasn't an accepted way of doing things. People used to help
> each
> other out buying sets based, mostly on karma. Find a set someone wanted?
> I'll
> pick it up for you, and in return, maybe one day someone will help me out.
> Or
> at most, maybe a finders fee. None of this, "I'll buy 200 copies" and
> huck them
> on eBay or BrickBay or whatever it's called. It wasn't to say people
> didn't buy
> stuff to sell, but it was an auxiliary thing, not the core of the hobby.
>
> -Builders didn't steal each others design, they praised and tried other
> people's
> ideas and techniques. There was never debate about "copyrighting" a
> frickin
> spaceship design and Lego fans didn't sound like 12 year olds in the
> schoolyard
> kvetching about who invented the "Supergalaxinator 9000". "Bobby did,
> defintely. He revealed the revolutionary Maxowhomper EX+ cannon at recess
> yesterday, and it's clear Robert here has stolen the design!" It was
> pretty
> well a given you wouldn't go and try selling the design of someone else,
> while
> calling it your own.
>
> -Lego fans weren't gay or straight, they just were Lego fans. That wasn't
> to
> say there weren't gay Lego fans, it's just it wasn't a big deal" They were
> Lego
> fans first, and only. There weren't big debates from right wing religious
> nuts
> or segregation into newsgroups based on sexual preference. People just
> accepted
> each other and let them be on their way.
>
> -People never held Lego to their word (and when did Lego have a "word"
> anyways?)
> like it was a legal contract or griped about it as if they were betrayed
> by
> their father. "You were a mistake! A 9 month long mistake!" :) Sheesh.
> It
> was accepted back then that Lego was this huge company that did things you
> had
> no control over. In a way, maybe it was better than way, because no one
> had the
> expectation or self-congratulation that they were somehow important.
>
> Hell, I'm even agreeing with Larry as of late. What the hell happened?
> Maybe
> I'm just whitewashing the old days, but did Lego suddenly grow up?!
> People just
> didn't take this stuff THAT seriously a few years ago. We were ADULTS
> having
> fun with a KIDS toy. Now people go about it as if it was their livelyhood
> or
> religion.
>
> Calum
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Message has 3 Replies:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Whatever happened...
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| What happened to the old days? I don't remember Lego being this un-"fun": -People never used to complain MORE of a cool set was coming along. Sets weren't "collectable" and no one worried about "exclusivity". -Scalping wasn't an accepted way of (...) (20 years ago, 20-Dec-04, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto) !!
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