LDD/LDraw/Instruction Requests

[supertruper1988]

I am getting very tired of opening up tons of great MOC or MOD threads only to see a bunch of people not even commenting on the MOC or MOD and only asking for LDD/LDraw/Instruction files. It is getting really irritating. We are here to admire and comment on others work not just shamelessly rip it off. 

Every time I see those requests I really want to reply back "ITS LEGO you can figure out how to build cool sh!t as well, just get to building, ya bellend!"

There are also those threads that get bumped after years or a decade only to say "Hey, got a file?" Way lame, IMO.

 

Im not sure if this bothers anyone else as much as me but I figured I would see if there is the possibility of this being added to the etiquette of the forum that LDD/LDraw/Instruction files should not be asked for unless offered by the OP?

Also is there a way to auto lock posts after say 2 years so that we stop getting a decade old thread bumped up just to ask for a file? I know that some forum software can auto "archive" posts after a certain amount of time.  

[Johnny1360]

The funny thing is it's usually someone's first ever post requesting the files, like they sign up to EB just to ask for the files for a moc they like, then they never post again. Doesn't really bother me so much, just seems odd. Sometimes I think it's people that work for Lepin or some other rip-off type scam. 

[Stimy]

I must say that I'm now building a Lego MK V* tank, and i started loosely on the images of Sariel's version of this (no LDD provided)  In the beginning I was a bit ashamed because Pawel put all the hard work in making the thing and now I was just gonna copy it. However after 1-2 weeks into it I decided to change some things that I think are better and eventually got to a point where I am now completely changing the whole model.

Sometimes it's good to have the first step of the stairs so that you can climb up further?

[supertruper1988]

5 hours ago, Stimy said:

I must say that I'm now building a Lego MK V* tank, and i started loosely on the images of Sariel's version of this (no LDD provided)  In the beginning I was a bit ashamed because Pawel put all the hard work in making the thing and now I was just gonna copy it. However after 1-2 weeks into it I decided to change some things that I think are better and eventually got to a point where I am now completely changing the whole model.

Sometimes it's good to have the first step of the stairs so that you can climb up further?

I totally get this viewpoint and I have a HUGE library of LDD/LDraw files on my computer for this very reason but I went out and collected them from places like LDD Gallery, MOC-Pages, Brickshelf, etc. I learned a lot from them and I am willing to share with most anyone in the same way. 

The point of this post was to hopefully put an end to single line comment on a MOC/MOD that just says "Instructions Please?" or "Hey got LDD for this?" Its just a frustrating experience to have to see how selfish folks can be. Its like come on can't you appreciate the time and effort it took to build the MOC and photograph it and post a thread about it. Take in the techniques, ask about how it was built, dont just say "yo imma copy yo sh!t"

[Chiaroscuro]

Sometimes people like to build but do not have the creativity or skills to make good MOCs themselves yet. In my point of view it is not bad to ask or buy instructions as long as you are not harassing the author.

 

I have bought some instructions in the past and still want to buy them if available for great looking mocs, it is a nice way to learn building technics, as diferent people has different solutions for similar problems.

 

I came out of my dark ages a little more than 2 years ago. At first building official sets, then I tried to make some otiginal creations in LDD but found the first steps quite difficult. Building other people MOCs and trying to reproduce them in LDD is a great learning tool. Example, last month I tried to duplicate some sets from the Zhonghua series from Xingbao, based on online photos and video reviews. I was able to reproduce a set 100% but after that I change it to be able to build it with real Lego bricks, and start thinking in ways I can improve it. The result is quite different than the original model and I learned a lot about building in LDD.

 

As long as you are not bothering the original authors I think it is ok. And I agree: appreciate the MOC first, share your thoughts with the author, and maybe request if you can build it too. Do not make pass by posts of just “can I get the instructions?”

Edited September 7, 2018 by Chiaroscuro

[ShaydDeGrai]

There are entire websites dedicated to sharing instruction files and I'm fine with willing authors putting links in thier posts to make such files available, but having received at least one "Instructions Please" post, without further comment or even the simple courtesy of ending the post with a question mark to make it a request rather than a demand, for just about every MOC I've ever posted, I have to agree with the original poster here.  It's annoying, and when you dig a little deeper and see that the "requestor" only has a dozen posts to their name and ALL of them are demands for LDD files from all different theme fora, it makes you feel like someone is just fishing for MOCs to rip off.

Sometimes the request just defies common sense.  I did a MOC of Barad Dur from the LOTR that was somewhere between 70,000 to 100,000 parts (building on that scale you count cases, not bricks).  The finished model was a meter and half tall and literally cost thousands of dollars in supplies and took a year to build.  I got dozens of people asking for the instructions (both on-line and in-person) as if they could pop over to a pick-a-brick wall and build their own in an afternoon for $15.95.  When I pointed this out to one of the posters (on a different forum), they asked if I could scale it down to under a thousand pieces and mail them the directions - the supplied email address ended in .cn (china).  As someone who gets paid to design things for a living, it made me feel like they didn't really care about the value of my time or effort, or even the quality of my MOC; they just wanted free instructions they could exploit.

I don't even use LDD, I make crap up as I go along, that's the beauty of Lego.