My problem with CUUSOO

[Phoxtane]

I think that part of the problem is that there's just no good way to make sure that all entrants are above the age of eighteen. I mean, Eurobricks itself has that policy, and the mods are pretty lenient about it - as long as what you contribute is thought-out and mature enough that you can mesh with the existing community without causing issues.

I do recall seeing some posts back the argument that a parent could have submitted the project on behalf of their child. Who would, as a parent who probably loves Lego along with their kid, deny them the chance to have their MOC [be it a rainbow warrior or otherwise] become an official Lego set?

The whole "lowbrow submission" issue isn't limited to Cuusoo; NXTLog, the official Lego Message Boards, and MOCpages are plagued with the same issue. Unfortunately, it's a unwritten rule of the internet: With or without age limits, the larger the group of people using the service, the larger amount of people who can't really handle the responsibility of not being immature about anything. It's what drove me away from the Minecraft forums entirely, actually.

[Erik Leppen]

It's funny how everyone jumps on my Vampire statement without bothering to consider what else I said. And yes. I literally said "it's a great model". I'm agreeing with everyone else on that. However everyone here is talking about "the model being produced as a set". And yes, I'd love to see that as well. I just think it's very probable that that won't happen. Look at Hayabusa and Minecraft. The Minecraft model was rigorously altered. The Hayabusa was completely redesigned as well. Given that, I expect that when this gets 10,000, it will be redesigned as well. So it's not "the model being produced as a set". It's "the idea being considered for viability to create a set out of". That's what I meant when I described the problem I think CUUSOO suffers from - we think in models, not in ideas.

And I still think the idea is not new. I didn't talk about building techniques, I talked about the subject matter - which is the same as 8448 and 8070 (in the same way as 8421, 8460 and 8053 all share the same subject matter). I think it's wishful thinking to expect that TLC will use the same building techniques as presented in the example model. They didn't with the previous example models. But I will re-evaluate my opinion based on what will happen with the models currently in review, and admit mistake if need be.

[DLuders]

The Lego Group could redesign some elements of the Vampire GT car to save costs (especially if the Lego Cuusoo "Supporters" will buy the set only if it is below a certain price). They may alter the design to integrate some newly-available part(s).

In the Technic theme, the Vampire GT's gullwing doors have only appeared on the Lego 8466 4x4 Off-Roader set, and the number of official Lego Technic Supercars can be counted on one hand. The "subject matter" (a supercar) would be far more interesting than the same-old Technic Tractors being offered every year. Something like the Vampire GT's gearbox hasn't been seen in a generation (since the 8880 Super Car from 1994), so it would be "new" to a whole new set of teenagers.

[Conchas]

It's funny how everyone jumps on my Vampire statement without bothering to consider what else I said. And yes. I literally said "it's a great model". I'm agreeing with everyone else on that. However everyone here is talking about "the model being produced as a set". And yes, I'd love to see that as well. I just think it's very probable that that won't happen. Look at Hayabusa and Minecraft. The Minecraft model was rigorously altered. The Hayabusa was completely redesigned as well. Given that, I expect that when this gets 10,000, it will be redesigned as well. So it's not "the model being produced as a set". It's "the idea being considered for viability to create a set out of". That's what I meant when I described the problem I think CUUSOO suffers from - we think in models, not in ideas.

And I still think the idea is not new. I didn't talk about building techniques, I talked about the subject matter - which is the same as 8448 and 8070 (in the same way as 8421, 8460 and 8053 all share the same subject matter). I think it's wishful thinking to expect that TLC will use the same building techniques as presented in the example model. They didn't with the previous example models. But I will re-evaluate my opinion based on what will happen with the models currently in review, and admit mistake if need be.

Right! I think we have to few examples to extrapolate what TLG will do with future CUUSOO projects. We must wait at least to see what happens with the projects currently in review phase, to see how the get changed.

We have now substantially different models, either in size and subjects, although all with something that LEGO definitely have not done before.

What this will mean for a Technic model? - We still have to see. Thus better to try it, to know and get an answer from TLG. And this is where I most fundamentally disagree with you.

Vampire is worth to support, not only for the innovations he brings in itself but also for us to get the missing answers, guidelines and experience.

IMHO the Vampire is actually one of the Technic proposals best qualified for a review and to give us some answers. We have actually a Technic model with more than twice the supporters, which besides a nice experiment is much less likely to get a go from LEGO. Unless it gets substantially modified and re-sized, but the the original presented idea is gone!

But this is the most tricky aspect on CUUSOO - to match the fans judgment with TLG review goals, and why we will continue to have successful projects made unsuccessful and virtually successful projects never getting there. The rigid 10.000 magic number is here playing the Damn Bastard.

If one wants to think about innovation and Technic like models, or at least something TLG never did, we should probably try a blend between Technic, and Model Team. Nice looking and realistic LEGO models with motorized working functions.

We have great builders in that area unfortunately it seems most of them are not much interested in CUUSOO.

Let me drop here a few (Ok, not a few...) examples of this expression and which I think that could succeed in this area,

M-Longer has several ones (some below):

- http://www.technicbr...herr-l-580.html

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- http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=301700

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(not motorized but functional)

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(not motorized but functional)

Makorol has some other great examples:

- http://www.technicbr...al-wheeled.html

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These by SFRIP are also amazing and within the same spirit

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=71918

One could even think in models like these:

- http://www.technicbr...er-compact.html, by Nico71

- http://www.technicbr...skid-steer.html, by Shmade

And of course, some other great models from Mahj in a similar trend, since his GITS was fated to fail

- http://www.technicbr...-want-some.html

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But if we think purely in Tecnhic terms, the Vampire is the flagship!

[Erik Leppen]

I think we have too few examples to extrapolate what TLG will do with future CUUSOO projects.

That's a valid point. Maybe I'm too quick to draw conclusions.

What this will mean for a Technic model? - We still have to see. Thus better to try it, to know and get an answer from TLG. And this is where I most fundamentally disagree with you.

Vampire is worth to support, not only for the innovations he brings in itself but also for us to get the missing answers, guidelines and experience.

This is again a good point you make. We don't know. And now I think of it, maybe that's part of the problem. We cannot predict what will happen because we don't really know how CUUSOO will handle a project that reaches 10,000. What "part" of the project will they base their model of? It is "only" the idea, or is it more than just that? I think it's made more difficult for us than it could have been.

If one wants to think about innovation and Technic like models, or at least something TLG never did, we should probably try a blend between Technic, and Model Team. Nice looking and realistic LEGO models with motorized working functions.

This makes me wonder...why did Lego stop the Model Team series? The current Creator series is similar, but less advanced. If there were one idea that would be interesting, it is "bring back Model Team", provided with a few example models from the type you listed.

[Meatman]

I still don't quite understand your theory of "It's just a car" I mean Lego supposedly has a new motorcycle coming out for 2013 and they have released 2 other ones in the last 4 years and they are basically the same idea. Same with heavy machinery, Lego is constantly improving and updating the same things. Sure, maybe Lego won't produce Paul's car the way he intended it, but there most certainly are ideas that could be implemented. It's one thing to not bother helping to support something, but it is altogether different to go out of your way and use a fellow builder's excellent model as an example of what is a bad idea and not worth supporting.

[Erik Leppen]

Please note that the purpose of my initial post was not to "use a fellow builder's excellent model as an example of what is a bad idea", but to illustrate what I think is my problem with CUUSOO (topic title). There is no problem with his model. There is a problem with CUUSOO (in my opinion) and the best way to explain myself was by example. And yes, that means I had to use someone's project as an example. One can only improve a system if one is made aware of its problems. So that, and that alone, was my intent.

Also, yes, there are probably ideas, but the point is, we don't know what they are. However, Conchas has explained to me that the answer to that is "well, then let's find out".

(Also please note that what will happen to a project will also depend on what prices people enter when supporting. They don't ask that just because.)

[ShaydDeGrai]

I won't deny that CUUSOO certainly has its issues and, yes, it _should_ be about new ideas, not just new models, or new tweaks to old models, or reviving old ideas, etc. but the simple fact is models are what sell proposals and ties to popular franchises are what, to date, seem to grab and hold the spotlight, leaving (nearly) everyone else in shadow. CUUSOO's entire crowd sourcing model suffers from the fact that crowds are not known for their clear logical thought. TLG might _want_ novel concepts to succeed, but on sites like these, people _react_ to what they are shown; most aren't thinking about the big picture. In many cases the person voting may not even be an AFOL, they just got a Tweet about "My Little Pony" or "Shawn of the Dead" or "Firefly" and rushed over to create an account, cast one vote, and never return.

This is not to say that there was anything inherently "wrong" with the proposals I just mentioned (I thought all of them were very well done, actually) but the mechanics of CUUSOO allows a non-AFOL flash mob to drive the "crowd" in a way that isn't thinking about the grander concept of new "ideas" from a viable Lego perspective. In these cases, was all about a cool model that resonated with a fan base of another franchise; meanwhile original models and novel ideas were pushed aside and lost in the mire of 3500 or so other back proposals that aren't getting noticed because the screen real estate at the site is heavily biased to push, effectively, the top 10 projects by support and a small handful of the most recently added projects into a spotlight at the expense of all others. Over the past six months, if I had to guess, I'd say that the typical new project got half its current support in the first 24 hours of public viewing, then a new batch of "most recent" projects got posted and projects (good and bad like) slipped away.

Certainly, quality projects continue to get a trickle of support by AFOLs who look for them and appreciate them, but it's a slow, up-hill battle. It's made even harder if you're trying to sell an "idea" (even a really good idea) while watching proposals that are trying to sell cool models or the "concept" of a Lego tie-in to yet another franchise fly past you. It's demoralizing to watch a "trendy" project get more _support_ in one day than your proposal even gets _viewed_ in a week, and I think, in its own way, that discourages some designers from pushing the idea side of things; the mob wins.

I don't think CUUSOO itself knows what to do about this, as the structure of the site and its policies are, at best, enablers for this "cool model trumps novel idea" phenomenon. Take, for example, the question of new part proposals. One would think that a new part pretty much _IS_ all about the _idea_, not whether it shows up in a Star Wars kit, or whether an expert builder used it to great effectiveness redesigning the latest Technic bulldozer. The basic rules set up a category explicitly asking for new part designs, with separate rules for how the designer would be compensated if the idea flies, slightly different submittal process, etc. On the surface, all this strongly implies that they _anticipated_ people being able to make serious parts proposals through this site.

It all sounds like this would be great for really soliciting actual novel ideas, but then if you try to support a part proposal you get the standard support dialog asking how much you'd pay for it (with a minimum value of 1USD), what you liked about the model, etc. Those questions make sense when asking why you'd support the concept an UCS Sandcrawler, but really aren't apropos to the question of a new angle bracket or roof tile. Forget about the price, they can figure out what it would cost to make it, and that will drive the PaB and Bricklink market as well as amortization over set MSRP; it's a calculation TLG does all the time, not an matter of popular opinion. They should be asking people what they'd do with the new part if it were available. How versatile is it? Do people want one or two or would MOC-ists be ordering them by the case? By asking the wrong questions, they again, intentionally or not, discourage people from embracing ideas and put the focus back on models.

I know from experience, most people on CUUSOO don't even bother looking at parts proposals and those that are have difficulty finding the handful that are there. Given that all parts proposals are already self-identified as such at the moment of submission, would it kill the CUUSOO team to just lump them into a separate tab on the home page such that people who want to see just parts ideas can find and compare them? Many new parts designers try to use the tag system so that their proposal can at least be found on a search for terms like "new piece", but it's entirely on the designer to anticipate what search term they need to include to be found; despite having all the information needed to tag and retrieve these "pure concept" proposals automatically, the CUUSOO engine does nothing; and again, the "new idea" gets set aside in favor of the "cool model" in the mind of the CUUSOO audience.

In the interests of full disclosure, I freely admit that I'm the author of the Curve Builder Bricks proposal over on CUUSOO, so if you chose to dismiss this as the ranting of an embittered old parts designer, I'll understand, but I'll still cling to the opinion that there are a lot of good ideas for both sets, lines and parts to be found over there that are simply being lost in both the noise of mediocre projects and the dust of meteoric (if not particularly novel) ones.

[Faefrost]

CuuSoo is both at the same time, and you can't really have success in it without both. You need a new or compelling idea. And then it needs to be well presented and executed. It's that simple. No 10k votes without both.

And to make it all the way through, ideally well presented means a bit more than either not Ning more than a wish list for Lego to work out the details, or a super spectacular MOC. The challenge is to design something that grabs the attention at under 1000 pieces.

[davee123]

The whole idea about CUUSOO is to gather ideas and see which ideas are popular.

[...]

I would conclude that the CUUSOO (business) model is flawed.

I think one of the overwhelmingly basic goals of CUUSOO is being overlooked here: It's a marketing tool.

In other words, they want you to encompass you with LEGO all day long. They want you thinking about LEGO, and more importantly telling all your friends about LEGO all the time. They want to give you an avenue for hope, so you'll walk away with a positive feeling about LEGO, and the possibility that your model might get produced someday.

They don't really care about whether or not high quality models get in there. Because, let's face it, if you submit an idea to CUUSOO, you're probably going to spam your friends about it. "VOTE FOR MY LEGO MODEL!" Your non-LEGO friends will visit the site, see your model, and might even create an account to back you.

It gets people into LEGO, and keeps them into LEGO. It's brand building.

In that regard, LEGO doesn't really care all that much about producing amazing sets. I mean, let's face it-- they've got fantastic design teams and model builders that have been churning out great models, especially in recent years. They don't really need crowdsourcing for new ideas (at least not until they start going through some sort of big downturn).

One thing that's depressed hobbyists for years is that LEGO refuses to accept ideas. The standard response from Brad/Jake/Steve/etc was "sorry, we can't accept ideas". It meant that as hobbyists, we felt like we were fighting with the company for their attention-- everyone believing that their idea was obviously worthy of being produced, IF ONLY the company would look at it! But now, with CUUSOO, we're not fighting with the company (at least not as much-- since we still fight with the ideas that hit 10,000 and get turned down), but we're fighting with other fans for attention. It gives us a better relationship with LEGO, and gives us an outlet to submit all those ideas that we always WANTED to submit but were refused.

And don't get me wrong-- it's not the ONLY goal of CUUSOO to be a marketing tool. It *IS* in part about producing and selling cool models. But don't forget that there's more to the picture.

Anyway. I don't think it's a flawed business model. It just may have some goals that you don't share.

DaveE

[mcfarlandman]

I think DaveE makes an excellent point - if any of my Facebook friends didn't know I was an AFOL, they certainly do now that I've bombarded their walls with pleas for CUUSOO votes. I'm telling anyone who will listen about my project and that can't be a bad thing for Lego.

I agree with what most everyone has already said in regards to problems with CUUSOO, but I think a lot of the problem has to due with a certain apathy and even bitterness in the AFOL community toward it. We are the experts - we are the Lego critics. We see a model and we may not support it because we could do a better job ourselves, or its too similar to something Lego has done before, or its something we know from experience Lego wouldn't do. We have a lot of extra information informing our votes that the average person doesn't.

Compare that to someone who was logging into EVE online, saw the EVE ship, and thought "Cool, I played with Lego when I was a kid - this looks neat," and lends their support. They don't really care if there are new parts used, impressive techniques, or similar ships already available. As long as they recognize the model as something else they like, it's good!

So what do we want out of CUUSOO and how do we get it?

Mb_Bricks's Modular Western Town was our shining example. The AFOL community came together and supported the model. All the major sites called out for supporters and it got there, but it still took months to do it, much longer than most of the licensed ideas that have made it to 10,000. What this shows me is that if we (as AFOLs) want something to make it through CUUSOO we need some leadership and some clear direction. Don't get me wrong, many of the licensed ideas I voted for too (I'm a sucker for Zelda), but what I'm most interested in are good old yellow minifigure inhabited pure Lego sets that we haven't seen before. Set's like the Western Town (We've seen western before, but it oh-so-badly needed an update). Who supports these types of projects - projects that are pure Lego with no other brands attached - we do, or at least we have to if we ever want to see them.

If I want supporters for my Medusa's Temple (shameless plug) I have to rely on you guys. Greek mythology isn't something that people are frequently and repeatedly scouring the Internet for. No mythology forum on the Internet is going to get me to 10,000 supporters. Where else are others like Bobsy's Medieval Theater, or DeTomaso's Birds, or any of the brilliant new part ideas, going to get their supporters if not from us?

After the Western Town achieved 10,000, CUUSOO largely disappeared from the AFOL community. Nothing really shows up on the Eurobricks frontpage. Brickset tried a CUUSOO corner which showed Huw's 10 favorite projects, but it soon disappeared after he was flooded with people asking for their model to be included. Have we given up? It seems like it. Are we waiting to see how the Western Town actually turns out? Maybe.

We need leadership again. We need some of the higher ups in the Lego community to tell us who to vote for. It probably won't be my model, but I'd be happy just to see something from "us" and for "us" - the AFOLs.

If any of the Eurobricks staff is reading this, please, show us the way!

[Faefrost]

I think the greatest thing that would help drive the projects would be the simple mechanism of breaking down the proposals by category or theme. I don't mean simply adding a keyword. I mean using a basic theme category list, not unlike we have here at EB. Space goes in space, licensed goes in licensed, etc. make it easy to find stuff that interests you. Show the top 10 in each category. Just some basic changes to the website and database structure that could radically improve the presentation and the overall application of the site.

[drdesignz]

I would certainly like to see more original creations, rather than licensed sets. I think certain designs have an unfair advantage. The recent Google Android is a good example.

[AndyC]

Mb_Bricks's Modular Western Town was our shining example. The AFOL community came together and supported the model. All the major sites called out for supporters and it got there, but it still took months to do it, much longer than most of the licensed ideas that have made it to 10,000.

I think too much is made of how long it took for that to get to 10,000 votes. I'm sure many people, like myself, saw it as something too big and expensive-looking to fully get behind. It's an awesome build but, at the same time, it's never going to be produced looking like it does in the picture. It's not dissimilar to the things that counted against the UCS Sandcrawler or even the Portal set, which has far too many custom pieces IMO. Of course if you're pitching mostly to a non-AFOL community (which licensed models usually do) then many of the voters are probably going to overlook the practicalities because their focused on the "ooh, Lego Portal, how cool would that be!" factor.

I think if the AFOL community came together behind a model with no fancy new parts, no complex licensing and that could realistically be somewhere in the $30-$50 range, then votes would accumulate quite quickly. The trouble is that requires making a small model with wide appeal and getting people to pay attention to it. In many ways, the MOC community makes this even more difficult, because you're competing for attention with people who, for the most part, aren't having to consider the budgetary restraints in their models.

[Faefrost]

While I normally try and refrain from cross posting or pointing out CuuSoo projects on these boards, This one caught my eye and I just wanted to use it as what I think is a great example of a well done presentation of a non licensed project. It seems to hit all the right notes. I have no idea if it will get anywhere near 10k. But I think jwnm69 did a fabulous job is how he put together his project presentation.

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/24273

- It seems to be just the right size for a mid to large set. Big enough to be a full scaled playset, but not so huge as to push it into overpriced or adult only.

- It's built in the actual brick, and then photographed well.

- The colors and design pop out at you

- That #1 picture captures the feel of the whole set in one eye grabbing photo. You know what this is the moment you see it. No clutter, no confusion.

- It is a set, not a theme, yet it compliments the CMF's perfectly. And would be perfectly at home alongside several existing themes.

- While being a classic subject that would display well on an AFOL's shelf, it also has a ton of play value with animals and minifigs and activities. In short it is a living set, not simply a display piece.

- It is simple yet classic. Something that has broad age and theme appeal.

- It leverages existing parts and materials, and then takes the further step to limit the sources used for those.

Well done jwnm69! Regardless of whether you love or hate the actual subject. This is a great object lesson in how to present a non licensed subject for CuuSoo.

[glenbricker]

I think the greatest thing that would help drive the projects would be the simple mechanism of breaking down the proposals by category or theme. I don't mean simply adding a keyword. I mean using a basic theme category list, not unlike we have here at EB. Space goes in space, licensed goes in licensed, etc. make it easy to find stuff that interests you. Show the top 10 in each category. Just some basic changes to the website and database structure that could radically improve the presentation and the overall application of the site.

Doesn't searching by Tags effectively do this? I do agree that there should be established Tabs though that people opt in to or out of, and then a list of "fill it yourself.

But for the most part a search based of Tag in order of Support should get what you are looking for right?

[Conchas]

Unfortunately don't think LEGO will do a Circus either, just because most children nowadays don't know what a circus is anymore.

Heard it from inside (Marketing) and it seams TLG took the leeson from their DUPLO Circus.

[Faefrost]

Doesn't searching by Tags effectively do this? I do agree that there should be established Tabs though that people opt in to or out of, and then a list of "fill it yourself.

But for the most part a search based of Tag in order of Support should get what you are looking for right?

Sadly it really doesn't. Searching by tags on almost any site tends to be a clunky mess that most users will simply ignore. Tags are more of a power users tool. Necesary and powerful, but not the domain of the typical web surfer. They want a nice clean ability to browse categories. Not some mashed up list or guessing game in a search box. Here's the difference. CuuSoo should be presenting the new projects to the users in a clean easily browsable format. The problem with search by tags is it still means the users have to go looking for stuff, which defeats the entire purpose of the site concept. It's a subtle thing, but it is key to this sort of site functioning well or not.

[Bobsy]

If I want supporters for my Medusa's Temple (shameless plug) I have to rely on you guys. Greek mythology isn't something that people are frequently and repeatedly scouring the Internet for. No mythology forum on the Internet is going to get me to 10,000 supporters. Where else are others like Bobsy's Medieval Theater, or DeTomaso's Birds, or any of the brilliant new part ideas, going to get their supporters if not from us?

It's an interesting thought, and one I've considered quite a bit. I think you're selling yourself short on the mass appeal of sets like ours. Indeed, the speed that your supporters rocketed past mine shows there is widespread appeal for it, I think.

But in cases like ours there are untapped reserves of supporters out there, probably surpassing the fanbases for Eve and Minecraft many times over. There are a couple of hundred thousand Eve players in the world, but there's many, many times that in people with an active interest in Greek history and mythology. The problem is that they're not as focussed as the communities of licenced projects. Eve fans congregate on one site in particular, but Perseus fans do not. They're spread, they don't liase with each other as closely. But they are out there.

(incidentally, if DeTomaso hasn't been posting on twitcher message boards about his birds, he really ought to)

We need leadership again. We need some of the higher ups in the Lego community to tell us who to vote for. It probably won't be my model, but I'd be happy just to see something from "us" and for "us" - the AFOLs.

If any of the Eurobricks staff is reading this, please, show us the way!

Well that's the trick, isn't it. It's the biggest failing with Cuusoo at the moment I think. The way the facebook page is highlighting projects is the right idea, but they're going about it in the most half-arsed way possible. They choose a theme for the week, and highlight a different project of that theme every day. Last week's theme was history. They picked a grand total of two projects.

Don't get me wrong, they're both great projects, but they're quite similar in what they're trying to represent - both are historical vignette projects. What about the Roman Bireme, the King's Mountain Manor, Marko's Trebuchet, the Glory of Rome, and yes, the Medieval Travelling Theatre and Medusa's Temple.

This week's theme is cars. The first staff pick of the week? The same Landrover Defender that's been on the front page of the site for months now.

Again, it's a good model. But it doesn't exactly need extra exposure, does it? Every model on the front page is now snowballing support, and will inevitably reach 10,000 eventually. Being on the front page means you will supporters at a faster rate than anyone else, so you're unlikely to ever leave the front page. Meanwhile projects like this fantastic steampunk flying ship don't get the exposure they need to compete on an equal footing.

Essentially what I'm saying is that Cuusoo staff picks need to be more varied, more far reaching, and more willing to find projects that need to be seen - the projects that don't have an automatic fan base ready to swoop down and pile on the votes like Minecraft and Eve.

[Meatman]

I would like to see cuusoo rotate the models that they showcase on the front page. If you break into the top 6 in votes, you have a huge advantage over anyone else.

[Erik Leppen]

Of course if you're pitching mostly to a non-AFOL community (which licensed models usually do) then many of the voters are probably going to overlook the practicalities because they're focused on the "ooh, Lego Portal, how cool would that be!" factor.

Shouldn't we do the same?

[AndyC]

Shouldn't we do the same?

Maybe, but then you end up with a lot of models getting 10,000 votes but failing review because they just aren't practical (or passing review and ending up somewhat of a compromise). I'm not sure that's necessarily a better result.

[Robominer]

Forgive me if this was already spoken about but my biggest problem with CUUSOO is the way it is set up. I am a SW Lego only collector and after doing a simple Star Wars search i see multiple different entries for the same set. For instance a UCS Venator or a different starfighter. Each has a few hundred or so "supports" What bothers me is that if all the UCS Venator CUUSOO entries were combined to one, the amount of 10,000 supports would not be as difficult and maybe we would acutally see more sets picked by fans. This is my small rant just wanted to get it out there.

Well, I find it hilarious that when one Legend of Zelda has already been achieved, another, similar project about Legend of Zelda is the fifth most supported project as of this post. Even though the achieved project is more weapons-based, there really isn't that much difference between the two projects. So even if the second project does get the 10,000 supporter, regardless of if the other project is produced as sets, the idea will not be produced because it is almost the exact same idea as the other.

[Erik Leppen]

Maybe, but then you end up with a lot of models getting 10,000 votes but failing review because they just aren't practical (or passing review and ending up somewhat of a compromise). I'm not sure that's necessarily a better result.

It's not up to us to find out what is "practical". Given we are a minority and (I believe) not the target audience, the team should not rely on visitors to seek the "practical" projects. What Lego wants to know is what we would want (cuusoo means wish, remember? ), and if something gets 10,000 it's up to them to convert it into something that's practical. And if it can't be made practical, then it shouldn't be allowed to gain votes (which would mean it would have to be taken down by moderators. They did it with My Little Pony and Tachikoma, for example)).

[AndyC]

And if it can't be made practical, then it shouldn't be allowed to gain votes (which would mean it would have to be taken down by moderators. They did it with My Little Pony and Tachikoma, for example)).

But they went beyond merely "impractical" and were entirely in the realm of licenses that TLG simply could never have even gone after. And, if anything, were promoting a competing brands products. So, it's hardly surprising that they were pulled.

The problem with us, as a community, pushing big and "impractical" suggestions is that they quite probably will reach 10,000 votes. And then they will either be entirely dismissed or scaled back to something people didn't really want. If that happens too often, people will start to see Cuusoo as a failure, never really delivering anything they're voting for. And then people will simply lose interest.

Far better for the community to get behind and promote some of the really great models that could very well come to fruition without heavy compromises. Because in doing so we will not only get great new models, but help to make Cuusoo more of a success. And the more successful it becomes, the greater scope the Cuusoo team will gain for trying out somewhat riskier ideas, including the bigger and more challenging projects that many AFOLs would like Cuusoo to tackle.

Edited September 23, 2012 by AndyC