Adverts as Frontpage news

[Hobbythom]

Hi guys,

I don't know if this is the right place for this topic and/or if it is my place to post it but I just want to share something that is a minor annoyance to me.

I love Eurobricks and the way it is set up: the forums are a sprawling web of great topics and the frontpage newsposts help you by highlighting noteworthy topics, MOC, campaigns or contests which I would've otherwise missed. They let me glimpse at creations in themes I myself don't work in. So far so good.

What bugs me are the occasional ads for (i.e. The recent brickarms release) aftermarket products. While I don't mind the products themselves the advertising posts about them on the frontpage, to me, stick out like a sore thumb in between alle the great creations and community activities. It's like they don't fit in. I was wondering how others feel about this.

Happy building!

Edited July 9, 2014 by Hobbythom

[mysteriouspi]

I personally don't think it's a big problem. There aren't many of these posts to be begin with, and they're not too different from postings about new LEGO products. Some people here like BrickArms and BrickForge products as much as official LEGO products.

Also, those posts tend to read "What do you think? Discuss here" instead of "Make sure you buy some!" Were it the other way around, there might be a problem, but that's not the case.

Plus (I feel like Emmet giving a speech), those products are LEGO creations of a different sort. While not built out of LEGO pieces, they are specifically designed to be used by minifigures. So they're "fan creations" in a different way.

Just my two cents.

[jodawill]

I don't see them as advertisements. A lot of people are interested in the new releases.

[Sir Brickalot]

I'm in the same boat as jodawill. I'm not into all that, but I do appreciate that there is a large number of people who do.

[eurotrash]

I'm ambivalent about them.

[LuxorV]

I can grant you those are not commercial adverts. EB does not get any money out of those, as we do not get any from sharing news on upcoming LEGO products. In fact, they are the same thing: just like we are all interested in new MOCs and LEGO products, some people in the AFOLs' community (many, actually) are interested in high quality custom products too.

[Bonaparte]

Speaking as a LEGO fan, not an EB staff member, I can say I'm interested in seeing updates of the new products of Brickarms, Brickforge and alike.

I think they offer a welcome addition to the official LEGO parts and I have already purchased quite a bunch of those 'non-official' parts.

[rollermonkey]

While I know they aren't going to stop showing up on the front page, I've got to agree with hobbythom: They aren't any more LEGO than MegaBloks or any of the other clone systems. The difference is that those are treated like villainous scum of the earth, but BrickArms gets front page plugs pretty much every time they have something new for sale. People get knocked down by admins all the time for plugging Ideas/CUUSOO projects or MOC instructions for sale in the wrong place, but BrickForge and Brick Arms getting front page plugs Is an inconsistent message, and smells like favoritism.

That's just my $0.02, your mileage may vary, and with the previous two posts supporting the practice, it's pretty clear what the outcome will be.

[Bonaparte]

While I know they aren't going to stop showing up on the front page, I've got to agree with hobbythom: They aren't any more LEGO than MegaBloks or any of the other clone systems. The difference is that those are treated like villainous scum of the earth, but BrickArms gets front page plugs pretty much every time they have something new for sale. People get knocked down by admins all the time for plugging Ideas/CUUSOO projects or MOC instructions for sale in the wrong place, but BrickForge and Brick Arms getting front page plugs Is an inconsistent message, and smells like favoritism.

That's just my $0.02, your mileage may vary, and with the previous two posts supporting the practice, it's pretty clear what the outcome will be.

There is a big difference between Megablocks and clone brands on one side and Brickforge/Brickarms (just to name these 2) on the other side. The first group are direct competitors to LEGO, making full sets or copies of fully LEGO sets. They don't position themselves are being an extension to LEGO. The second group are not making sets, only individual parts, positioned for compatibility with LEGO. As a LEGO fan I'm not interested in the first group of products, but I am interested in the second group.

[rollermonkey]

That's part of the point I just made: these kids trying to sell MOC instructions are getting shoddy / inequal treatment like they are on a par with MegaBloks when they are even more further removed from that idea than BA or BF. BA and BF are businesses. Plugging them on the front page is a form of free advertisement, and it seems weird when they pop up compared to the typical parade of major reviews of official sets and praising high quality MOCs.

It's all well and good if EB wants to support these guys, but it walks a line that depending on personal interpretations, doesn't always make sense/seem fair. Being a site with a worldwide membership means that there are as many different viewpoints on it. I agree with OP that it feels weird to me, whether it's the majority opinion or even EB staff's position, he's not alone in thinking that they feel like adverts.

Edited July 10, 2014 by rollermonkey

[Brickdoctor]

We have in the past supported CUUSOO projects with frontpage mentions or posts; marshal banana's Western Modular comes to mind. We have nothing against supporting those types of projects in addition to sites such as BrickArms and BrickForge. Rather, our guidelines regarding Ideas/CUUSOO are in place to prevent members from spamming posts about their proposals, since we want EB to give discussions and MOCs priority over asking for votes.

More importantly, with BrickArms and BrickForge being the reputable customs sellers that they are, frontpaging their new products is really just minifig customization's equivalent of frontpaging the set pictures that show up in our other theme forums. For our members who are primarily interested in the MCW forum, this is like new set news.

[Clone OPatra]

Kids selling MOC instructions or people only plugging an Ideas project don't really compare with announcements every once in a while about third party products. If EB allowed the former group fully, we'd see an influx of new members all the time with about one topic to their name just trying to promote themselves. That would cause pretty major mayhem.

Third party products are a large part of the LEGO world. Go to a convention, at least in the US, and you'll see multiple different vendors selling their own custom prints, moulds, etc. I understand how it could feel like an advertisement to some when those get posted on the front page, but it is a thing that a lot of AFOLs care about.

[Slobey]

As an "average AFOL" I really have no interest in customisation of existing lego pieces but I do really like what guys like Brickforge, Brick Arms and Brick Warriors do and am interested in any new products they bring out.

I agree that while these companies might not be the purists cup of tea they do belong in the same sphere as Lego whereas Megablocks etc do not.

[Hobbythom]

Thanks everyone for the replies. They clear some things up. I never realized that third party products are so popular. Now that I do I can see why they get posted on the front page.