The future direction of the Pirate LEGO Forum

[Bonaparte]

There are still some acceptable themes today.

But not great themes like pirates (and classic castle).

I don't understand it. Lego still has the technologie to make good stuff.

Well, good that there is ebay and bricklink to buy those old sets.

Can you give us an idea of your plans for the future Mr. Phes.

An attactive website as a portal to the pirate forum would be a good start.

Here we can have links to the different MOC ships, harbors, fortresses....

Give some news on what is under construction and put some MOC on special display.

It will of course take time to run such a site but it will attract new fans...

I'm always available to give a helping hand...

[Mister Phes]

I can let you in on some of the plans...

The first is to upgrade the Pirate skin which I'm doing little by little starting with the Pirate smiley, but there will be a couple of major changes when I get a new digital camera.

Then comes acquiring a domain like www.pirate-lego.com or similar and with it a monthly newsletter with all the highlights for the past month. This way fans of Pirate LEGO who can't always get to the forum can keep up with what's going on, thus reigniting their interest.

[ukdevilz]

X-O hehe sounds good mate! *y*

[Sting]

I liked the look of the Spanish Armada. I think it was a beautiful upgrade to the Imperial Guards that looked much cooler and added a totally new 'feel' to the theme. These were SPANISH Pirates. I loved it. The only problem with the Armada was the set design was terrible. All 3 Ships from that last era were pretty bad (The Red Beard Runner wasn't too bad... but compared to the Skulls Eye Schooner and Black Seas Barracuda - it was ugly).

Lego never did make a big beautiful Spanish Galleon. Perhaps I should invest some time in doing so... but than I'd need some of those nice white Hull Pieces I love so much. They didn't even have a big nice Imperial Flagship (the Caribbean Clipper and Imperial Flagship were too small to be true Imperial Capital Ships)

Imagine if Lego modernized the Redcoats and Pirates - we could have some amazing Minifigs. If they could keep the set designs decent, we could have a beautiful theme.

[jamtf]

I hope that next year's Aquaraiders will be good. Although not a pirate theme, it has some pirate related things in the sets such as the shipwreck and the pirate treasure and skeleton. That is my only objective for getting those, the pirate related things in the set.

For this reason, I also decided to buy diver sets such as 6559 and 6560, which are some of my most recent additions to the collection.

[Mister Phes]

Lego never did make a big beautiful Spanish Galleon. Perhaps I should invest some time in doing so... but than I'd need some of those nice white Hull Pieces I love so much.

Yes you should, get investing right away!

Imagine if Lego modernized the Redcoats and Pirates - we could have some amazing Minifigs. If they could keep the set designs decent, we could have a beautiful theme.

If the Imperial Guards were modernized then their uniforms would be different and that would create an inconstancy. They'd be like black sheep for those who already have large Imperial armies.

[Scouty]

Modernized Imperials? Pirates? You mean modernized as of today?

[Sting]

Yes you should, get investing right away!

If the Imperial Guards were modernized then their uniforms would be different and that would create an inconstancy. They'd be like black sheep for those who already have large Imperial armies.

Or just be special elite troops, or if they were new and more available troops, the old redcoats would be a special division of the army. That is the best thing about Pirate Lego - unlike some other themes, it is okay to mix alot of different designs because soldiers in that era were highly decorated. I do not have a massive Red Coat army (I have much more Bluecoats) and even if I did I would appreciate an update! It is unrealistic Lego will bring back a good Pirate line. It is even more realistic they will bring back the old one - with the minifig designs untouched. I wouldn't mind either way, but it is more unlikely!

Modernized Imperials? Pirates? You mean modernized as of today?

No, Modernized lego-style. As in... more vibrant and detailed minifig torso/head design. Maybe in the Admirals we could even get special Leg pieces (with decorations down the side or something).

[Mister Phes]

No, Modernized lego-style. As in... more vibrant and detailed minifig torso/head design. Maybe in the Admirals we could even get special Leg pieces (with decorations down the side or something).

That could be good for creating an assortment of officers but it wouldn't work for me having a new uniform for the standard troops.

[Capn Frank]

for those devout to the cause of lego reissuing the pirate them. maybe we should start building mocs that lego could possibly sell in the market. in other words, don't build ships as big as possible and as accurate as possible. maybe limit a moc spanish galleon to only 2 center hull pieces and four cannon and 8 to 10 men included. build a spanish fort using a big giant burp with few wall pieces. and whatever else. Then we could find a way to give these ideas to lego.

With the extreme popularity of Pirates of the Carribean and some popularity of Master and Commander and with megablocks making their own pirate theme, it's hard for lego to deny that there is a market for pirates.

[Bondy]

Adventurers was the last worthwhile theme.

[oo7]

Bondy, (what a nice name!) welcome to the forums and congradulations for being our 1111 member! By "Adventurers" I pressume you mean Orient Expedition as there are several sub-themes of Adventurers including Egyption Desert, Amazon Jungle and Dino Island.

[Norro]

Then comes acquiring a domain like www.pirate-lego.com or similar

May I suggest www.classic-pirate.com? It fits in with the AFOL site pattern (classic castle, classic space) and would thus generate more traffic from within the community. Also TLC has a nasty habit of not allowing 'lego' domain names, hence the plethora of 'brick' and 'classic' sites...

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

Yes, www.classic-pirate.com is probably the most viable option but I'd still attempt for www.pirate-lego.com.

:-/ I don't really see how www.classic-pirate.com is going to generate more traffic. Those who aren't currently in the "online AFOL loop" may not realise its a LEGO website and move along. Part of my marketing strategy is rope in AFOLs that aren't aware of online communities like Eurobricks, Classic Castle & Space, Lugnet, etc.

And I doubt someone who has an interest in Pirate LEGO will see www.pirate-lego.com and think "Hmmm... Better avoid that website since its not 'classic pirate'"

[Bonaparte]

Yes, www.classic-pirate.com is probably the most viable option but I'd still attempt for www.pirate-lego.com.

:-/ I don't really see how www.classic-pirate.com is going to generate more traffic. Those who aren't currently in the "online AFOL loop" may not realise its a LEGO website and move along. Part of my marketing strategy is rope in AFOLs that aren't aware of online communities like Eurobricks, Classic Castle & Space, Lugnet, etc.

And I doubt someone who has an interest in Pirate LEGO will see www.pirate-lego.com and think "Hmmm... Better avoid that website since its not 'classic pirate'"

Are you going to ask permission to TLC for using ww.pirate-lego.com Mr. Phes?

When do you plan to have the website online?

[Sting]

A website must be made and MOCs must be created! The online Pirate Community is not nearly active enough. A website, a Pirate Dedicated site, would be a good idea to start with. We will never have as large of a Community as Castle (much more people into Medieval culture than Colonial culture), but we can still have a large one if we start finding people. The Pirate Community has expanded ALOT since I joined. If we centralize even more with a website (Forums are good for dicussion, but websites are much better for information stockpiling. I find the current Pirate Forums annoying to navigate (sorry Phes).

We could have detailed set and picture reviews of every Pirate Set ever released, discussions on Minifig Designs (are the bluecoats British or French? We do not have to take a stand (as everyone has their own opinion) but we can just show evidence for each). Character, Ship, and Piece guides.

The possibilities are endless, but a forum is not a good way to stockpile easy to access information like this. A website is needed.

Just my idea. LOL

[Mister Phes]

for those devout to the cause of lego reissuing the pirate them. maybe we should start building mocs that lego could possibly sell in the market.

That's easier said than done! Have you ever tried to build a MOC with a design The LEGO Company would use? I have and its a challenge, nevertheless look at Puerto Brico as an example of what can be done.

Are you going to ask permission to TLC for using ww.pirate-lego.com Mr. Phes?

When do you plan to have the website online?

Yes of course. I wouldn't register the name without permission only to have it taken way 6 months later because The LEGO Company disapproves.

I find the current Pirate Forums annoying to navigate (sorry Phes).

We could have detailed set and picture reviews of every Pirate Set ever released, discussions on Minifig Designs (are the bluecoats British or French? We do not have to take a stand (as everyone has their own opinion) but we can just show evidence for each). Character, Ship, and Piece guides.

This will all stay as a forum unless someone with programming skills wants to implement a different system. I don't have any programming skills so its beyond my ability. But all most users need to know is the main Pirate forum and the Pirate MOC forum, the rest are just archives which will be dealt with later.

We already have several discussions in regards to are the bluecoats British or French and I don't see how an independent website would change that.

[Scouty]

Is this like a somewhat of a plan to secede from Eurobricks, I'm slightly confused wether or not it is?

[Mister Phes]

There is no plan. We just gradually get bigger and bigger and if one day we find ourselves an independent website then so be it. But that's not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

[Scouty]

Oh, it's like we're budding off of Eurobricks if that happens. That is that most of us stay here when the pirate community grows that big.

[Mister Phes]

"When the pirate community grows that big?" that's an interesting way of looking at things. It might not get any bigger, it doesn't seem to be getting any bigger than it was 3 months ago when it was at its peak. Users seem to come and go, but we don't really seem to increase the number of users who post every day.

Although, the Pirate forum still receives a healthy following, when we started back in July we had about 4600 posts and now we're nearing 14,600 post. So that's nearly 10,000 in under 6 months which is better performance than any other Eurobrick's forum. So things aren't bad by any means.

[Sting]

"When the pirate community grows that big?" that's an interesting way of looking at things. It might not get any bigger, it doesn't seem to be getting any bigger than it was 3 months ago when it was at its peak. Users seem to come and go, but we don't really seem to increase the number of users who post every day.

Although, the Pirate forum still receives a healthy following, when we started back in July we had about 4600 posts and now we're nearing 14,600 post. So that's nearly 10,000 in under 6 months which is better performance than any other Eurobrick's forum. So things aren't bad by any means.

I'm going to guess about 9,000 of those are you Phes :-| >8-)

I simply am not a huge fan of the major overhaul of the pirate forum (besides these Emoticons!) but It is all I have so I will deal with it. My post was simply in theory what I would like.

Eurobricks has the only truely active Pirate Lego discussion on the Internet, there will be no seceding. I think even if a website was created, most discussion would still take place here.

My problem with discussions as sources of information is they slide down and are annoying to find and can be filled with useless information that has been posted throughout the entire thread. I just think a single page that can be edited when new important information needs to be added is simpler than a forum. Just my humble opinion.

[Mister Phes]

I'm going to guess about 9,000 of those are you Phes :-| >8-)

Even though you're joking I won't say I'm amused by it because you can easily view my post count on my profile. Which for the Pirate forum is 2,224 posts leaving 11,987 posts by other users. So yes I agree I do have a high post count but that's to be expected as an administrator.

My problem with discussions as sources of information is they slide down and are annoying to find and can be filled with useless information that has been posted throughout the entire thread. I just think a single page that can be edited when new important information needs to be added is simpler than a forum. Just my humble opinion.

I suppose when I register the domain and get some webspace a HTML interface can be used to better index all the information. The information will still be contained within the forum but the HTML interface will have better organisation. Then maybe one day someone with programming skills could come along and integrate the HTML and forum.

I simply am not a huge fan of the major overhaul of the pirate forum (besides these Emoticons!) but It is all I have so I will deal with it. My post was simply in theory what I would like.

I agree the overhaul of the Pirate forum is not the most ideal structure but its the best that can be done for now. Eventually the forum will evolve to become more organised and less forum orientated like in your suggestions but only so long as it keeps growing.

Early in the new year I hope to set about registering that domain and once that happens things can move forward.

[Bonaparte]

I'm thinking on a structure like Classic-Castle.

A website that with newsflashes, links to tutorials, ...

While this forum is the place for discussion with a link from the website.

But then some more structure is needed in the pirate forum.

In my humble opinion it would be better to have the "Lego pirates" forum and the "Pirate LEGO MOCs" on the same level.

The first page of the forum should not contain any posts, just an overview (like CC).

Of course, these are my thoughts for the future and I don't want to offend any of the administrators who have put much hard work into this forum to bring it to where it is today.

[Mister Phes]

Yes, you're right Bonaparte, it would be better if the MOC sub-forum was on the same level as the discussion forum but obviously as part of Eurobricks we can't really do that.

Well we could but I don't think it would go down to well...

However, what we can do is have a homepage with news flashes and links to tutorials and reviews. That's what I was referring to in my previous post.