Unpopular Opinions about LEGO

[Murdoch17]

1 hour ago, jimmynick said:

I may have expressed this opinion before - but clicking on a MOC thread that just had a link to LEGO Ideas inside - not every MOC has to be an Idea! Build things because you find it fun, not because you want the prestige of TLG turning your MOC into a real set.

For crying out loud.

Exactly! Not to mention those types of threads are against the rules here on EB... so, every time I see one that's just begging for votes without any real content besides a link, I report the thread.

[jimmynick]

4 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

Exactly! Not to mention those types of threads are against the rules here on EB... so, every time I see one that's just begging for votes without any real content besides a link, I report the thread.

Well, yes, there is this - but there also high-quality MOCs presented well here on EB, with excellent photos, etc. etc., and at the very end a link to Ideas. Again, my refrain: not everything needs to be an Idea. I can appreciate someone else's artwork on its own merits, and not just by how marketable it is.

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, jimmynick said:

but there also high-quality MOCs presented well here on EB, with excellent photos, etc. etc., and at the very end a link to Ideas

My trick is: Simply ignore the link and just enjoy the presentation. It always worked so far ...

Best
Thorsten 

[Lyichir]

3 hours ago, jimmynick said:

Well, yes, there is this - but there also high-quality MOCs presented well here on EB, with excellent photos, etc. etc., and at the very end a link to Ideas. Again, my refrain: not everything needs to be an Idea. I can appreciate someone else's artwork on its own merits, and not just by how marketable it is.

While I'd certainly agree that not every great MOC is suited to being a set, I don't see anything wrong with MOCists submitting their work and leaving it up to the community (and Lego) whether or not it would be something they'd as a product. I don't think it's always about "prestige" so much as it is about making something because you wanted it and letting other people decide if they'd like to have something like that too.

[MAB]

11 hours ago, jimmynick said:

Well, yes, there is this - but there also high-quality MOCs presented well here on EB, with excellent photos, etc. etc., and at the very end a link to Ideas. Again, my refrain: not everything needs to be an Idea. I can appreciate someone else's artwork on its own merits, and not just by how marketable it is.

I tend to read as far as the link or mention of 'vote for me' then stop. So if the link is at the bottom, I would have looked at the images and might be interested enough to vote. If the link is at the top,  I don't get any further.

And if there is just a link to IDEAS and the user couldn't even be bothered to learn how to link images, they have no chance of a vote from me. This is usually new users that have signed up only to post their IDEAS submission with no interest in the site or duscussion. Chances are that they have also recently joined other LEGO fan forums and will have posted the same on those too.

[smazmats]

On 9/1/2025 at 1:10 AM, MAB said:

And if there is just a link to IDEAS and the user couldn't even be bothered to learn how to link images, they have no chance of a vote from me. This is usually new users that have signed up only to post their IDEAS submission with no interest in the site or duscussion. Chances are that they have also recently joined other LEGO fan forums and will have posted the same on those too.

While we have gotten some fantastic sets from Ideas and I’ve seen some pretty cool MOCs on there as well, I honestly have really grown to dislike the lego ideas platform. This is mainly from the amount of spam and “negative noise” that it generates in online Lego community spaces. It’s a big problem on reddit and Facebook. People trying to get votes will post their project everywhere that it might be barely applicable (any subreddits with “lego” in the tile seems to be fairgame for some people) often repeatedly in a short time frame or with rather meaningless updates (like at every 1000/500 person milestone). Years ago, I remember someone getting so ticked off and hostile that their classic space IDEAS projects were getting removed because it was off topic for the lego NASA/ space themed FbGroup i was in. IMO,  there are diminishing returns with promotion and If I constantly see a project repeatedly, its only going to lower my chances of voting for it, not increase it.  I find this behavior so spammy and annoying and also kinda sad because there is no community in it and its just every AFOL for themselves.

Not all project creators are guilty of this thankfully, but it feels like there is a loud majority with no regard for etiquette when promoting thats just ruining it for the rest. 

[jimmynick]

2 hours ago, smazmats said:

This is mainly from the amount of spam and “negative noise” that it generates in online Lego community spaces. It’s a big problem on reddit and Facebook. People trying to get votes will post their project everywhere that it might be barely applicable (any subreddits with “lego” in the tile seems to be fairgame for some people) often repeatedly in a short time frame or with rather meaningless updates (like at every 1000/500 person milestone).

And even besides any 'negative noise' there are creators out there whose raison d'etre seems to be to get projects built as Ideas or Bricklink sets. Exhausting.

[Yperio_Bricks]

7 hours ago, jimmynick said:

And even besides any 'negative noise' there are creators out there whose raison d'etre seems to be to get projects built as Ideas or Bricklink sets. Exhausting.

Yes it is exhausting! It's like a whole new hobby. Feels like people are more interested to get recognition as a designer of a Ideas or Bricklink set than building with Lego. Lego bricks are just a necessity to get there.

Same goes for all the rebrickable ads. Its not a hobby but a business. So why they have to spam hobby forums?

[MAB]

22 hours ago, jimmynick said:

And even besides any 'negative noise' there are creators out there whose raison d'etre seems to be to get projects built as Ideas or Bricklink sets. Exhausting.

It is understandable when you look atbthe numbers. If they get a BDP set approved and sell a large number of sets, they can make huge sums of money. They get 5% after delivery and taxes are taken off. So a £300 set makes them in the order of £12 per set sold. If they sell 25000 sets, that is £300,000, about eight years average UK salary. 

[KotZ]

On 9/6/2025 at 4:21 PM, smazmats said:

While we have gotten some fantastic sets from Ideas and I’ve seen some pretty cool MOCs on there as well, I honestly have really grown to dislike the lego ideas platform. This is mainly from the amount of spam and “negative noise” that it generates in online Lego community spaces. It’s a big problem on reddit and Facebook. People trying to get votes will post their project everywhere that it might be barely applicable (any subreddits with “lego” in the tile seems to be fairgame for some people) often repeatedly in a short time frame or with rather meaningless updates (like at every 1000/500 person milestone). Years ago, I remember someone getting so ticked off and hostile that their classic space IDEAS projects were getting removed because it was off topic for the lego NASA/ space themed FbGroup i was in. IMO,  there are diminishing returns with promotion and If I constantly see a project repeatedly, its only going to lower my chances of voting for it, not increase it.  I find this behavior so spammy and annoying and also kinda sad because there is no community in it and its just every AFOL for themselves.

Not all project creators are guilty of this thankfully, but it feels like there is a loud majority with no regard for etiquette when promoting thats just ruining it for the rest. 

I'm of the same mind. Sure there is a non-zero chance I'll put something on the platform eventually, and I've met a few people who have had their sets picked and made and are very nice people. But oh man, there's just too much of it now. Etiquette like you said is lost for it, but I think that's just the loss of internet etiquette in general. Funny how when the internet was much more anonymous it seemed (maybe this isn't true and rose-tinted glasses and all) a bit more... polite? That's a discussion for a different board/topic though.

But I agree, there is so much of just spamming in other places just barely related to the MOC at hand or constant posting of the same thing. We see it here on EB as well sometimes when people just drop the link to Ideas and don't engage with the community.

On 9/6/2025 at 6:49 PM, jimmynick said:

And even besides any 'negative noise' there are creators out there whose raison d'etre seems to be to get projects built as Ideas or Bricklink sets. Exhausting.

On 9/7/2025 at 2:52 AM, Yperio_Bricks said:

Yes it is exhausting! It's like a whole new hobby. Feels like people are more interested to get recognition as a designer of a Ideas or Bricklink set than building with Lego. Lego bricks are just a necessity to get there.

Agree with you both here. It's like the fun aspect of building has been lost. Not every MOC needs to be submitted to Ideas or anything. Sometimes it's ok just to build something for the fun of it and share it with people.

[Calanon]

On 9/8/2025 at 5:05 PM, KotZ said:

Agree with you both here. It's like the fun aspect of building has been lost. Not every MOC needs to be submitted to Ideas or anything. Sometimes it's ok just to build something for the fun of it and share it with people.

That's crazy talk. Where would we be without everything being turned into a side hustle?

I completed several digital Star Wars MOCs in the last year which I shared in a group chat. Haven't posted any proper picturers anywhere because I want to make sure they work IRL and I had a few people suggest I put them on Rebrickable. I know it's a compliment but the idea everything has to be on there I just find a little exhausting. It also really frustrates me when some people churn out a lot of digital builds and put the instructions up for sale before checking it really works.