Were you an AFOL before the term was coined? Before the internet?

[AmperZand]

When I came out of my DA in the early 1990s, I didn't know there were other AFOLs. I supposed there might be but the internet was in its infancy and it didn't occur to me that there might be other collectors of historical/castle/fantasy minifigs (and buildings) that I could trace. So in my own mind, I was a pioneer: defying society's norms that adults don't buy kids' toys for themselves (except, possibly, train collectors and investors in classic toys). Is it wrong of me to take pride in being an AFOL pioneer, getting myself LEGO when I didn't know for sure that other AFOLs were out there?

The other day I was in WH Smiths feeling packets for a Mr Burns from the Simpsons CMF line. The staff assumed correctly that I was looking for minifigures for myself and asked me to identify minifigs for them while I was at it which I did. What a contrast from when I used to buy LEGO from a store called Boswell's over 20 years ago and tried to make it look like I wasn't buying it for me! I probably sound like an old gasbag when I say that young AFOLs don't know how lucky they are.

[talos]

I don't think I ever stopped liking Lego from when I was a kid, I never thought of myself as an AFOL I guess...I just hung on to my old bricks and sets, now I have the time and can get back into it, I think its great. I wouldn't hide that I am buying something for myself.. I'm 51 now!

[Hrw-Amen]

I don't think I went into a dark age until around 1995 by which time I was well into adulthood and with my first house. In fact my dark age was somewhat forced upon me by having to move with my job and being back with my parents suddenly having one room where I used to have a whole house. It picked up again a few years into married'ness when once again a house was mine. Did I ever consider myself to be the only one? You know I don't think I even thought about it all, it was just something I did. Maybe it helps now though as even off line I know quite a few Afols so I know it is not a kids only hobby regardless of the internet.

[Lego Otaku]

Before I slipped into second DA early 2000, I did have a few LEGO sets after I finished college, had free space, and got a job. At the time internet was just "starting" up and it was still mostly online services like CompuServe, Prodigy, and AOL. There weren't much else although I did find eBay (back when their servers were named after skinny animals like anaconda and mudpuppy) I had never come across the term AFOL or anything related to adult and LEGO other than occasional impressive creations. Star Wars LEGO was just released when I slipped into second dark age.

(first dark age was from start of high school until end of college, not enough free time or money)

[Risgrynsgrot]

I find the term AFOL to be pretty silly. I mean, you're a fan of LEGO, so just say so. Telling people you're an "adult fan" shows a need to separate yourself from younger fans, which only increases the stigma you're trying to avoid.

[naf]

The Internet played a role in putting me in my dark age, as I stopped playing with toys in the mid 90's and started getting interested in electronics, computers, and video gaming. Ironically, the Internet helped bring me out of my dark age with sites like this.

I don't think I ever stopped being a fan, I just took an extended break. Glad my Lego didn't disappear during that break.

[Herky]

I find the term AFOL to be pretty silly. I mean, you're a fan of LEGO, so just say so. Telling people you're an "adult fan" shows a need to separate yourself from younger fans, which only increases the stigma you're trying to avoid.

I find this comment to be dead on, I really don't care if I am in the Lego aisle or Lego store by myself or with my kids. I see folks of all ages, even upper 60's, in the Lego Store all the time and they are now retired and having something fun to do...one guy told me he hated golf so he fills his time with what he enjoys.

I think I was in a dark age more because of having kids that were young and not into it, and also building my salary level. The disposable income wasn't there. I wish I had come out of it a bit earlier though. I made a huge mistake too, I had gotten all of the early Star Wars lego but when my daughters showed no interest I sold them...every single first 2 waves of Star Wars legos, every set from 1999 and 2000...and the kicker is I sold them at cost. The good news if there is any is that I know the kid I sold them to and have offered to buy them back if he wants to sell, sad thing is he threw away the boxes and only the good Lord knows if the instructions are still there, but if I could get the pieces I can figure out the instructions.

[AmperZand]

I find the term AFOL to be pretty silly. I mean, you're a fan of LEGO, so just say so. Telling people you're an "adult fan" shows a need to separate yourself from younger fans, which only increases the stigma you're trying to avoid.

For some people, using the term AFOL may be a way of avoiding the stigma associated with what is primarily seen as a kids' toy, but it's not the only reason. It can also be a way of recognising that AFOLs have different interests than KFOLs. AFOLs tend to play with LEGO differently from KFOLs (e.g. less role-play, so less interest in play features like flick-fire missiles), have different interests (e.g. Architecture sets) and buying patterns & concerns (e.g. the increasing price of CMFs affecting AFOLs more).

There are also social implications. I used to go to a regular meeting of AFOLs in the evening at a pub. I don't think kids were prohibited, but if there had been lots of kids, it would have changed the focus of the evenings. If no distinction were made between A- and K-FOLs, it would also affect online forums such as this one. Whether the term AFOL is silly or not, for example, is of interest to some AFOLs but I doubt to many kids.