LiamM32

Well, it is not a duplication. Advertising them based on how many total supporters is flawed. The quantity of supporters is not only affected by how people that see it like it; it could also mean that it has somehow simply gotten more attention. And then it is given more attention because it already got attention. This is why we need to have the good in ratio with the bad votes. With this new rating and advertising system, it would advertise them based on how well the people who already have seen them liked it. In the second paragraph, you have suggested a very helpful idea that I have somehow missed. That could encourage people to use the rating system honestly. It would also help the user by hiding the projects that they have already seen and didn't like. I have was already planning to add a section to the essay about advertising projects to the user based on their favourite tags and least-favourite tags. I also like your suggestion, so I should add it to the Rating System section.

Well, that is a surprising thing to read from you. You came-across as sensible, rational, and fairly respectful by what I have read from you before. I have edited that section to add a mechanism that I figured out to stop grief-rampages. So then you only get one "grief" a day, before it gets too slow and boring. You actually suggested that as a good thing in your first post, so I am again surprised. Ratings would only appear as a percentage, so it wouldn't have much potential to insult the creator. But the main reason for the ratings is to make a less flawed way of advertising then to select the currently most-supported projects. But I don't think that it would work as badly as some (including you) suggested. Users would be meant to just rate it down if they think it's a bad idea, rate it up if they think it's a good idea, and neutral if they approve but don't endorse (which tends to be the least common rating). If you think that "Little Billy's first LDD" is a poor project, then rating it down is just what you should do. I don't see it happening much for competition. The creator of a project may downvote a competitor, but they would only be one person out of many users of Cuusoo. Competing projects are projects with the same target audience; If a user is a fan of Ghostbusters, then they would be unlikely to upvote their favourite and downvote the less interesting one. If they are acceptable quality, then they would most likely upvote both of them, as their main goal would be for any Ghostbusters project to become a product.

There is something that I must point out about the Ghostbusters projects that I don't think anyone has mentioned on here yet. I actually think that Ghostbusters is quite likely to pass the review and become a product, and maybe a theme. If no one has mentioned this yet; the Lego Group themselves has asked about the Ghostbusters specifically in one of their quarterly surveys. Take a look at the results:

I didn't have much time to post in the past few days because of my cousins wedding. I'm back now, so I will try to respond to some of your posts. Thank you for your constructive criticism. You made me realize that I was going to far on resisting licensed projects, and restricting the site to Lego fans. I have edited the essay now. Now it is more focused on promoting the projects that are liked by the people that see them. Those are the most important parts of the essay. The more difficult registration is an idea that I thought of later to further resist those projects, which is probably more unfriendly than helpful. You have mostly stayed on topic as I stated in the first post. The only thing that I want to read a bit more of is more specific suggestions of rules for how to solve the problems. You appear to have misinterpreted some parts, which I should try to clear up. When I say that the "better projects" are not succeeding, I don't mean it entirely on my own judgement of the projects. Yes, a small part of it may be from looking at the projects that I like, and predict success as products. But it is more about reading other FOL's complain about the lack of "quality projects" achieving. Even by my first-hand judgement, I think more of how well it fits as a Lego product, not my own interests. Many Lego products on the shelves would probably fail if they were on Cuusoo, even though people buy them in the stores. However, the failure of good projects is simply my reason to propose this. The actual rules that I propose do not specifically promote the products that I like, but the projects that are liked by the users of Lego Cuusoo that see them. If it turned out that not as many people like Vampire GT than I thought, than my evil plan to make Vampire GT achieve would fail. So you don't like the Rating System as Faefrost did, but you may have misinterpreted the purpose of it. It would not replace the supporting system as a way to decide which of the countless projects achieve. The rating system would primarily be used as a way to determine the amount of advertising a project would recieve on the website. The way it is currently, the projects that have already been supported the most get advertised, making it more difficult at the beginning. If advertising was based on the rating system, than the idea would be that if the people that saw it liked it, than show it to more people and see if they support. The quantity of people supporting would still be the basic requirement for projects to achieve. One last thing about the different requirements for supporters to become a product. The rules on this part have since been edited, but I will still comment. Some projects would be more expensive for TLG to make a product out of. Some projects may be predicted by TLG to be more successful on the store shelves than on Cuusoo. As I said above, some retail Lego products would probably fail if they were ever on Cuusoo. Part projects have never achieved (as they are less exciting, even if useful), even though many would work well for building. Thank you for the suggestions. I have taken some of them when I edited the essay last night. I want to send this to The Lego Group when it is finished. I just forget to mention that when I first posted. I posted it here first to make sure that I was actually reflecting other peoples opinions, to make sure that it doesn't strictly follow my own interests. I didn't entirely delete the intro, as you can see. I just heavily edited it to make it less negative (as you suggested), and more respectful. I might delete it entirely later if it still doesn't work. I have edited the section on Delayed Products and Payments. It is difficult for me to write that section well, as I am not very knowledgeable on that part. It is a good point that you made about people choosing to buy a newer-but-similar product instead of an older one that they used to want. I wrote it so that it would be automatically returned to the website at the right time. There should be something to give it a boost at the start. With my Repeating Supporting system, they could remove one "support" from each supporter. Alternately, they could put an advertisement for it on the frontpage when it returns, and put a notification on the website for previous supporters of the project. Well, the reason that I wanted to put more trust into more dedicated fans when I originaly posted this was because I thought that the true fans would be more likely to buy the products that they support. Now I have changed it so that most features (including supporting) would be accessible to anyone that would already be allowed on Lego Cuusoo as it is, but just a small restriction for the rating system and a larger restriction for the VIP Awards feature. Yes, there are going to be some changes made to what is presented as a Cuusoo project when it becomes a product. But I think that this might be the reason for asking "Why do you like this project" in the support form; So that TLG knows which aspects should be kept and which ones they shouldn't hesitate to change. Under this theory, the product wouldn't be changed as much if there is a greater variety of reasons that people like the project. For example, if CrowKiller's Vampire GT car got these answers in the support form, than the final product would be kept the most similar: James answers "I have always wanted to see a large Technic model that utilizes all the space available for manual functions." Kira answers "I like the chrome red colour that this set would add to the pallette, and the wheels look good in it." Kim answers "This is asthetically and structuraly the best Technic car front design that I have ever seen." Darci answers "I would like a good large Technic set with a good price-per-piece, and a decent unmotorized model." For the crappy LDD screenshots, refer to the sections Rating System and Unsuccessful Project Deletion/Archive. People would often give these projects negative ratings the rating system, which would reduce advertising and put them at risk of deletion. In the Project Deletion section, it proposes a rule that would delete all the projects that didn't get enough supports multiplied by the rating in the past season. I might simplify the way that that section works. I also briefly mentioned in the Linking Lego ID/VIP section an idea to put a small fee of VIP points to submit a new project. That should assure that projects would only be submited if the creator is confident about it, limit the quantity of projects per person, and reduce accessibility for the little guys. As for the Minecraft part. I have not yet written a rule that would help much with that (unless if the Unsuccessful Project Deletion feature would kill 'em off). I just thought of 2 new ideas to solve that though; The first one is something that could be a good section to add to the essay. Each user would be allowed to list their favourite and least favourite project tags. You could then list "Minecraft" as a least favourite. It would then remove those projects from the advertisements that you view, remove them from searches unless if you search "minecraft", but that would only affect you and other people who put that as a tag. The second idea would apply more to Minecraft than most other licenses, but it would affect the whole website for all users. I know Minecraft from hearing my obsessed 2 friends and brother talk about it. I think that on Minecraft, mods are more popular than on other games. "Mods" are modifications that users make to the software, that many gamers like to put up for download. The idea for the rule that I have on this is to put a limit of 2 degrees of separation between the final product and source material. This would ban projects based on modifications to games, because that would have 3 degrees of separation; Video Game > Software Modification > Cuusoo Project > Lego Product

I normally don't get many licensed sets, but I actually like this idea. I rarely watch anything on broadcast TV, but this is one of my few favourites when I do watch TV. People have complained about it being unsuitable for children. I think that the Simpsons is the most child-friendly of all the animated comedy shows targeted mainly at adults. I honestly think that it is better for children than Star Wars, which we don't often get complaints from. I admit that I thought of this license idea before, but I wouldn't expect it to be done willingly by Lego, but Cuusoo at the most. My now-10-year-old brother has said some interesting things to our parents that they didn't expect him to know (such as Heaven and Hell), that he said that he learned from the Simpsons. They would probably look better next to classic yellow minifigs than most licensed minifigs (as long as they use the same head mold), because even in the show they have yellow skin. They might make a new head mold that is 1-plate taller with a mouth bulge, but I would prefer that they use the same head for compatibility. If they use the classic head, than I would expect new hair pieces that would be meant to blend-in with the head better. I am glad that they will mostly be small sets, as it doesn't have the "nerdy" appeal of LotR to make people spend the big bucks. Most of my money on Lego is for a few large unlicensed sets such as Modular buildings, trains, etc. But I would probably just want to spend about $30 Canadian on a Simpsons thing so it doesn't set me back much from my main focus. I think it would be ideal for the Simpsons sets to be made mostly out of basic but not very small system parts, to give it a good price for the volume of the set.

Nice review. I must correct you though on your "Space Factions" display. The Clockwork Robot and Robot Lady should not be grouped with space or sci-fi. They would be more appropriate for steampunk. They are spring-powered wind-up machines, which is a technology that has declined. So the concept is about old Technology if it was further developed to be more advanced than todays technology. I will comment on the minifigures in this wave. I will list them from favourite to least, and put the more notable (to me) in larger text. Pretzel Girl: (fka "Lederhosen" or "Bavarian Lady") She is the first on my wish list for Series 11. Like the Skater Girl (my favourite in series 6, when I started buying them), she appeals to me because she could fit in fairly well in my town display, but she still has enough interesting features to be "special". It's also nice to have more Lego women. I also haven't seen many pigtail (if any) in the last decade. Scientist: Both me and my young brother like this minifigure. I like Science myself, and she could fit in my town if I build her a chemistry lab. Her face is generic but unique. She represents what she is supposed to be. Welder: This is also on my brothers top 3. He is another career guy for the town. My brother's minifigure that he plays with is a car builder, so he will have a new imployee with this guy. Island Warrior: I don't know much about old polynesian cultures, but this guy looks quite cool to me. Interesting that his mask is made of Krana rubber. His skirt is just a different implementation of the one from the Hula Dancer. Scarecrow: The printings on this guy look well-detailed but still somewhat generic. The crow on the head is a nice feature, an old joke on TV, and a nice part for my town. If I was the designer, I would have made an inanimate scarcrow face on one side of the head, and a living "monster" scarcrow face on the other. But the face that Lego made would work for either living or unliving scarecrow. My town currently has no agriculture, but I should try to make some little urban farm later on, including this guy. Hi fork is nice, but I don't know if there have previously been any. Grandma: This point isn't pointed-out nearly as often as the gender imbalance, but Lego sets are short on the oldies. Yes, so much that an old man and old woman are already unique enough to be collectible minifigures. I might get her for my town. It's also nice to have the cat and bag. Mountain Climber: This is my brothers favourite in the series. I am not really sure if I would be able to give him a place to climb, but it would be nice if I could (but expensive). His print could work. His pick and helmet are common, but still good. I would prefer a real rope, or at least a rubber one that could uncurl. Gingerbread Man: I don't yet have a use for him, but it is still an interesting concept. Nice "Dunk-me" mug, which is probably the only accessory that they could come-up with. Saxaphone Player: Interesting costume. It should be easy to make him a street performer in my town. I don't agree with how the saxaphone was implemented though. I would prefer a partially brick-built one with one specialized and 1 or 2 brickier parts, that could be changed between the two types. Yeti: Nice one, I used to be quite interested in cryptids. The popsicle is a bit strange, but probably just a joke. I think it should look more like an ape, which the yeti is often believed to be (besides introducing a new oranghutan head). It would be more accurate to the typical belief if they made new bigger hands for this guy, but it still might be nice for some to have the rare light-blue hands (which is also in the Scientist). Constable: Nice to have an old-fashioned police officer. I would probably be more interested in getting a similar minifigure from a future modular building though. He won't be high on the list though. Diner Waitress: It triggered a bit of curiosity when I first saw it, but for the idea, not the actual minifigure. So I asked my mom and found out that there used to actually be rollerblade waitresses. I didn't think that her hair was worth making, but I accept it more now that I see the back (which is often the thing that gets me). She looks better in the real photos now that I can see the true colours. Evil Mech: Not my style, but I like the rumour of it's association with Blacktron (even though that was before my time). I like how the made the gun though. Barbarian: I don't know much about what these are, but I think that he looks to similar to the Jungle Boy. Holiday Elf: Don't think that I am getting this one. A companion for the previously released Santa Clause which probably got the little guys going "Don't you find it strange that they made a real person (Santa) as one of these minifigures, while the rest are fictional). The teddy and gift box could be useful. I don't like how they made the hat. He has ears, which human minifigs strangely don't have. Lady Robot: I think that this is probably the worst idea that has ever been made as a collectible minifigure. I liked the original clockwork robot. But I didn't even think that it had a gender; it is a machine.

Firstly, you should replace the term "non-AFOLs" in the title with "NFOL's", as the former could also refer to child fans of Lego. I disagree more than I agree with you here. Yes, there are sometimes more uses for them, sometimes unorthodox. But the statement was that there are too many of them, and I think that they are only useful in small amounts. When there are so many of them in total, and more importantly that there are so many types, it is hard to utilise them in creations. It also depends on the extent of the specialization, and I think the borderline is quite a bit less extreme of a level than airplane wings (which should NOT have ever existed). Also, specialized pieces are more expensive to produce. I would typically not prefer the ones that are both more expensive and more useless. Also, I have seen the NFOL's complaining more about the simple fact that the sets even include instructions, not that it is difficult to reuse the pieces. They are rarely complaining about it being too hard to reuse the pieces, but that you are even allowed to build without creativity. Ha, I remember one December evening trip to Toys R Us. In the Lego section, there was a woman in about here 60's holding a brick tub, speaking on a cell phone (probably to her daughter about her grandchildrens gift) complaining "X dollars for a bucket of Lego's^ I have never seen something so ridiculous in my life!". Fit's both aspects of that statement. I am however slightly (and just slightly) skeptical that it would really be that expensive to make. They probably reuse molds much more than other toy companies, and more of the labour is given to the customer (being a building toy). I would expect it to only be slightly more expensive than others with the higher durability. But anyways, the simple-minded NFOL's are probably complaining primarily because they think "It's just a toy. It should be cheap". When I go to Toys R Us (mostly at times less busy for children), I often see adults (most likely parents) looking in the Lego section at the assortments, with a fair balance of praise and complaints. Both these points are evidence of a bigger market for the parts assortments than TLG might realize. As a Lego fan I am myself unhappy with the selection of "Bricks and More" sets that I see on Shop at Home. There should be a larger selection (with the already large selection of total sets that they have), and also divide them by colour or function. Creator sets would be a good stand-in if they weren't so focused on vehicles. But I still think that it is silly that they act like part assortments are entirely extinct, without really doing research. I think that the specialization part is more important. If the parts within the themed model are usefull enough, than it could be as good for creations as a mixed-colour brick bucket. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but oh well. Rant over. That one bugs me. When I became a more dedicated fan of Lego with the Emerald Night, my favourite MOC artist was Nannan Zhang, mainly because of his wonderful Containment model. He just happened to be the same guy that sold me the Emerald Night on Bricklink. On his project page on Lego Cuusoo, he says "Lego's". Really, even you Nannan?

I sort of liked this topic when I first saw it, but now I think it's quite a bad idea. It makes no sense that so many people refer to pieces in plural as "Lego". You should say "Lego's" you [insert less harsh word for "idiot"]. In this languange, plural words must end with an "S". Lego should not worry about new molds, and detailed specialized pieces. Using the same old boring simple molds that we already have is just a lame form of cost cutting. TLG should make specialized realistic molds for things that they don't have, to look detailed and realistic. We don't mind paying the extra bucks for that stuff. And lets be honest; What is more interesting? An awesome detailed dinosaur, or ... a brick. Anyways, it is certainly so difficult to build much when most of the pieces are such simple little shapes. No one cares about sets just because they are in a "realistic" modern setting. The modular buildings are especially pointless in that respect. We don't want the same boring things that we see in real life. What we need much, much, more of is LOT'S AND LOT'S OF ACTION. I really hate it that AFOL's look back at Bionicle as if it was a good thing, while they never show positive interest in those awesome Ultrabuilds. Now, instead of those lame biomechanical who-knows-what, we have SUPER-HEROES. Iron man! Batman! Spider-Man! Hulk! Awesome guys that we are supposed to love! All factory-produced for you in high detail. You don't even need to screw with the horrible building difficulty of Bionicle. A big mistake that the Lego group makes too often is overestimating their fanbase. Most sets are too difficult for most (potential) fans to enjoy. They should be doing more of the work for us in-factory. They should try to make things systemic so that we can make things ourselves. Who really likes to do that these days? We would all rather take another trip to store whenever we want something different than just make it ourselves by reusing what we have. More licensed products. How am I supposed to be interested in some building when I don't have any movie or anything to explain what it is for me? It is obviously easier to pull something out of a good movie to adapt than to think of an interesting and original idea made specifically for a Lego set. The Lego group goes too far on their restrictions against violence. No modern military allowed? You gotta be kidding me. The farthest they are willing to do at all in the last decade was just some silly little theme about some guys shooting down dinosaurs with machine guns and stuff. Too bad we couldn't get closer. As for today, just furry Fabuland characters killing each-other on motor cycles fighting over some "valuable" thing. What really is good for young boys is war and stuff. Completist collecting is a hobby that more people should try to enjoy. A "collection" of minifigures is terribly incomplete if there is any minifig ever made that is absent. Also, the fact that some thing is rare but often-desired by other people should be all it takes for someone to go rabbid over it (like Comic Con exclusive figs). Also, the fact that some people might want to use these rare collectibles in their creations does NOT make them higher priority than the people who like to display them alone. I mean, all those creations would do is distract from those awesome things that deserve their own merit.

I was introduced to Playmobil at a toy store by my friend and his dad. It did not appeal to me. It looked like what themed Lego would be if it wasn't a building toy. I never got a Playmobil set myself, but my younger brother got one half a year ago as a birthday 9th birthday gift, and he thought the same thing as I did. Well, to say something in agreement; I also like to look up old toys, films, etc from childhood. Hotwheels was probably my second-favourite most of the time. Too bad that I didn't know about these databases like Brickset back in those days.

Welcome to Eurobricks forums. Adult Fans of Lego often refer to these multi-year breaks from a Lego hobbie as a "dark age". I also have technological interests. I recomend Lego Technic to you for that, as it is all about vehicle technology.

Well, there were many Lego sets that got discontinued during childhood and I wished that I had gotten them later. It's harder to blame myself for back then though. I had very little money (being young), no paid work opportunities (damn those child labour laws ), so of course I had to rely on my parents for that. They were also quite bad with online purchases, and eBay would have to be the most difficult. However, the one that I regretted most during childhood was the 2003 Bionicle set 8594 Jaller and Gukko. If they were willing to use eBay than that would be an easy one. Even today, the price is hardly higher than the original used and almost tripled new. In more recent years, the one that I regret most would be 10193 Medieval Market Village. It looked great to me when it was available, and a great deal for the money, but I chose not to because I was focusing on building a town, not medievel. Not so long after it was discontinued, my almost-10-year-old brother (who lives with me) decided that he wanted to start a castle-themed display. Damn; Even if I didn't want castle, it would be a good parts pack. But anyways, I could just buy it from Bricklink for the same price at this point. Well, I guess I am not the only one who wished that I had gotten that one. Well, I guess that's why it is so expensive on Bricklink. I shouldn't really blame myself for that one though. Most of it's shelf time was during my short dark age, and I got back into Lego just a short time before it was discontinued. I didn't even know about it while it was available, but I wasn't ready to buy such expensive sets at the time. It is also my favourite modular building (judging by the photographs). A limited-edition rerelease would be nice for that one. The last one I want to mention is Technic 8049 Tractor with Log Loader. Sure, the reviews criticised the functionality of the model itself. But it was the set to reintroduce pneumatics, and it was only selling for $80 Canadian. Now the available options for pneumatics are a $250 licensed truck which I believe has three of them, there will soon be a $150 set with pneumatics (which I want to get), or buy them on Bricklink for many dollars a piece. I almost forgot this one, but it is possibly the biggest. I almost got into this with the Emerald Night. I wanted it for the entire 2 years of shelf life. I was sad that it got discontinued at the new years eve 2011, but I fortunately made my first purchase on Bricklink soon later; A sealed Emerald Night from Nannan Zhang (before I discovered his amazing works , becoming my favourite Lego artist).

Last weekend, I visited the Vancouver Lego store to spend the most money that I have ever spent on Lego in a day. Most of the money was for 10211 Grand Emporium, which I decided on with the help from other users in the "What should I buy?" topic in the choice of 4 large sets. I also threw in a Summer Scene polybag, and 2 series 10 minifigs (Librarian & Warrior Woman). At the checkout, I asked if they were still doing the Hero Factory promotion (which I was expecting). "Yes, but that's just for Hero Factory purchases," he said. Then he reached down to grab a polybag and said "Here, take one. You got a large set,". I typically avoid Hero Factory, but those brains have some appeal to me. I originally wanted it for the HF month contest, but that's over. I have not yet opened the Grand Emporium. I am looking forward to building it. It is my second modular building set after the Pet Shop.

Thank you for the feedback. I immediately edited the first 2 sections after reading your post. I am going to edit it further, I just didn't have the time for all of it. It is good that I posted it now and asked for help rather than stressing on having it complete before posting. I appreciate your honesty, admitting both good and bad points. I could try to make it less exclusive to the less dedicated users. It is a good point that you stated that it will flow in new/returning Lego fans. I should erase most/all of the mechanisms to filter out other fan bases. Just the fact that it is a website about Lego and a concept for a Lego set would naturally make it tendent for the people that sign-up to have some interest in Lego. I wanted to put a bit of resistance on the licensed projects and make it easier for the originals. But because I suggested that the licensed projects would take more supporters, that would do it minimally without kicking-out the individual members of other fanbases and therefore preventing new fans. Like I explicitly stated, the VIP card is just an option and not a prerequisite for joining. It would mainly give access to a feature to give projects better promotion. I am pleased to hear that you support the idea of the rating system. The reason that I gave minimal restrictions to that feature is so that even if thousands of fans from some movie or game rush in to support the project, then the ratings of those few projects don't rush-up with it. I did not believe that there is a 1 to 1 ratio between Cuusoo supporters and customers, or that any feature will successfully achieve that (accept for pre-orders, but I won't recommend that). If it was 1:1, than my idea of repeating supporting would not work. Now I am confused about that last sentance of yours that I requoted. Just what does that mean? Another question too; Do you also think that my proposed rules are overall too complex? Like I said in my reply to FaeFrost, I am going to edit it to make it easier on the lesser fans, or former fans, etc, making it more open to new members (as it already is). I think that you're right; I probably did go to far with resisting other fanbases. I think that what I will try to make it now is so that anyone who would have the interest to bother signing up and supporting projects can do so (accept for children if there is no way around the legal barrier), give a minor extra boost to the more dedicated (without completely excluding the casual ones), and alter the tendencies (through means that don't involve exclusion of people) to make the higher quality projects have a higher chance of success (which may be licensed or original). I am sorry if I got a bit insulting. It is supposed to be updated by now. But I got directed to a different page while typing, so I am to sick of that to restart now, so I will do it tommorrow. Damn, this problem really must be solved.

The concept of Lego Cuusoo is very great for the Lego fan community. I am sure that when it was first revealed, it would have appeared almost a dream for Lego builders to have an opportunity to have their brick-built pieces of art and other product ideas published as official Lego sets. However, there have been problems with the website recieving worthy criticism from Lego fans, which I think should be solved. Most of the projects that have achieved so far propose licensed products based on films, TV series, and video games. It is very difficult for an original project to achieve on Lego Cuusoo, even if it has a high chance of success on the store shelves. I am not suggesting that licensed projects should be forbidden, or to limit access to dedicated fans of Lego, as these offer a good opportunity for new Lego fans to enter or re-enter. The ideas that I propose are to make it easier for projects to achieve without a license, and to give a better chance to the projects liked by the people that see them. I will avoid placing my own taste preferences in the rules that I propose, but design them to react to the users of Lego Cuusoo or The Lego Group themselves. Some creators of good-quality projects express hopelessness, but I am optimistic for major changes in these tendencies if the website ever gets a reformation in it's structure. I have pondered about some ideas for some time, and I have thought of some ways of reforming the site to better support the praised projects that would succeed in sales. This essay has been edited multiple times since first written, and I may further edit it based on responses to the proposals. I have tried to list the proposed features from best to worst. Rating System: This is a rating system for Cuusoo projects similar to the ratings for Youtube videos. There would be a set of buttons on the page of each project with options to give the project a negative, positive, or neutral rating. There would be a percentage bar set for each project of the average rating. These ratings would have a very large effect on the amount of advertising for the project on the website. Refer to the Improved Advertising System section for more information on how it would affect the advertising. There would be some small prerequisites to use the ratings buttons; They must have logged-in to Lego Cuusoo on at least 7 separate days, they must have either had a Lego.com account for at least 2 months or made a purchase with VIP, and they must have supported at-least one project and posted a comment on at-least 2 projects. The reason for this restriction is so that when an external fan base rushes in to support a licensed project, than the ratings don't get skewed for the frequent users of Lego Cuusoo who like to browse projects directly on the site. When a user starts to meet the requirements, it would give them a short message explaining some of this information, and remind them that clicking "like" counts as support. Unlike support which is meant for people who are likely to buy the product themselves, it is recomended that the rating system be used based on how well the viewer thinks that it would work as a product, even if it's themed outside their main interests. Some have suggested that the rating system could be misused for greifing or weakening competition if there is no mechanism to resist this. I personally don't imagine this happining very badly, but I have thought of a way to reduce it; After rating a project, the user would have to wait 5 minutes to rate a different project with the same rating or 3 minutes for a different rating. It should also require someone to stay on the page for more than 30 seconds before rating (unless if the project is bookmarked). It would then be difficult for people to go on a grief-rampage. It would take a bit of time to read a project anyways. This would not replace the support system to decide which projects become products. It would just alter the amount of advertising on the website, as opposed to advertising the projects that already got many supporters. It would have little or no direct affect on the decision of what becomes a product and what doesn't, but just an indirect affect from due to advertising. It wouldn't flaw the goal of the website nearly as much as the current way of advertising. Improved Advertising System: Like there is currently on Lego Cuusoo, there would be multiple ways a project could get advertised for different on-site advertisements. The way it currently is on the website, it mostly advertises the projects that got the most total support. This is a flawed way to select them, because it means that it's giving more attention to to the projects that already got much attention. The new most common type of project advertisement would be 'random-by-rating'; The advertisements would display randomly selected projects with their chance of being selected being based on their rating percentage. Every project would get some advertising (unless if their rating is 0%), but a project with a rating of 80% would be appear 4 times as often as a project with a 20% rating. The above rules apply to the projects that have not yet rated been rated by the user that sees the advertisement. After a user rates a project, then the advertising that appears on their account for that particular project would be based on their own rating, instead of the average rating. This is how the chance of adverting would be determined specifically to an individual user (based on their own ratings); No rating + no support = community average rating, Negative rating = 0% relative chance (never appears), Neutral rating = 50% relative chance, Positive rating + no support = 100% relative chance, Support + Positive rating = community average rating, until they are allowed to repeat support in which it would reset to 100% If my proposed "VIP award" system was implemented, then there could also be advertisements for those on the Discover page, which would display the text from the award. The most-supported projects would only be seen on a list on a dedicated page, to reduce unwanted tendencies. This would more fairly distribute the amount of attention to each project. The New Projects advertisements (which already exist on the Discover page) would also be on the site, giving all projects a good start. There could also be an "Endangered Projects" section for projects at risk of archive (see section "Unsuccessful Project Deletion/Archive"). Variation in Supporters Required and Payment Given: Unlike currently, not all projects would require the same amount of supporters to become a product. Some types of projects would also pay differently than others to the creator. The final number of supporters required would be judged by Lego in a shorter review when it reaches the minimum (I'll say 4000), based on factors such as initial cost to produce, business case, etc. The payment would vary slightly based on how much of the project is really an original creation. It is really up to the Lego Group to decide on these rules, but I will just write some estimations/examples in this section of what would happen to different types of projects here. Original projects would probably have lower support requirements than a licensed project, because a licensed project has more initial costs and tends to get more "support"s then purchases. Licensed projects and projects about common generic ideas (like unicolour parts-packs) would have lower pay then original ideas, because the submitter didn't create as much of their own ideas, but just presented how to implement it. A series of products would take more support (especially if they propose 2 products to be released at once), because they would take more support so to reduce advantage over splitting them into different projects. If there is a presented model that looks so complete on their own, that the Lego Group barely needs to modify it, then it would pay more. If the Lego staff sees a project going "I really hope that this project gets more support. It would work great when it hits the shelves,", then it would take less support. For new part projects, it would probably be lower if they are deemed "useful" due to their tendency to attract less attention, but I can not estimate exactly. The most obviously implausible projects (like Dark Bucket) would get stopped immediately at the minimum. Of course these are just my estimations of what The Lego Group would want to do. I do not mean to place my own values on this. It would really be up to the Lego Group to decide what happens. But if it costs TLG more money to make, then it should cost the community more support on Cuusoo. Improved Tag System I have read people suggest that there should be a better way of finding projects that suit a persons interests than searching for tags. I have not come up with a way to replace tags, but I have thought of ways to improve and expand them. When a user is editing a project that they submitted, it would recomend tags to add to the project (which they do on YouTube, but not in this advanced system). Many of the recomended tags would be "special tags", which should also have a tutorial on the Lego Cuusoo blog. Special Tags would influence the advertisements and search results in more ways than just causing the project to show up when the user types the words. There could be recommended age special tags, which makes the project more likely to be advertised to people around that age (or with children of that age). There could be a "New Elements" special tag, which means that the project focuses on new part molds (mainly for categorization purposes), and a "Generic" special tag for projects based on a common idea (like unicolour parts-packs) rather than an original creation. The major category-based special tags should have their own filters on the search settings. It could also recommend (non-special) tags of official Lego themes (or common MOC themes, such as Steampunk). For licensed projects, it should also require a tag of the official brand name (in correct spelling). Users should also be able to add a tag to someone elses project. There could often be cases when a different user recognizes a potential audience or appeal to a project that the submitter didn't see. Users should also be able to edit their "Favourite Tags", a way to list their personal interests to affect advertising on their own account. It should recomend tags based on the projects that they supported. This is similar to something done on Facebook, where they select advertisements to show to a user based on the interests that they listed or "Like"d. Linking with Lego ID and VIP program: Lego Cuusoo users would have the option (and only as an option) of linking the Lego Cuusoo account to an existing Lego ID or VIP card, which could be done either at registration or in the settings for existing accounts. Of course, this would only be an option, not a prerequisite. There would be a few website features that are only accessible to users that have linked these accounts. Any user would still be allowed to support any project after signing-up. There should be a small fee of VIP points required to submit a new project. This would make it harder for people to submit an excessive quantity of projects with little thought, and make it more difficult for underage people to submit projects. Repeating Supporting: An idea that I have to give more power to the more dedicated supporters is to allow people to repeat supporting projects after a given amount of time, implying dedication to the project. After the first time supporting a project, it would give the user 6 months before they are allowed to support it for the second time. Every additional waiting time to support a project would be 6 months longer than the previous time, so it would be a year for the third time and so on. It would only count the months when the user either logs into Cuusoo, Lego.com, or makes a purchase with VIP. They cannot repeat supporting if the last project that they supported was the same one. Every time a user repeats supporting, the support form could be slightly different. It may ask about the projects secondary set, ask how the idea should be modified, or repeat asking why they support to see if their opinion has changed. There would be no email notifications, but users can see previously supported project from a list when logged into the site. If 6 months (maybe change it to 3 months to 1 year) goes by without the user visiting the project page, than they would automatically lose 1 support. They should be notified a few weeks before on the website. A user may willingly remove their support from projects if they please. A flaw that I have clearly noticed myself in this section is the supporters that come less than 6 months before achievement, especially for the projects that grow quickly. You are encouraged to write an alternative solution to automatically remove abandoned supporters, or I could simply remove that part. Posting Projects and Images For someone to post their own project, they would have to pay a small fee of VIP points. This would limit how many projects a single person can post (quality over quantity), and reduce the chance of underage users submitting projects. Posting images would not be as limited as it currently is. They could allow 2 to 4 images when the project is first submitted. As the supporter count increases, it would allow them to post more images. Support count shows interest in the project, making it worthy of showing more detail. There would only be a small fraction of projects that get many supporters, so it wouldn't cost to much to store the images in the database. They should also be able to post GIF images to show things such as Technic Functions. Also allow 1 YouTube video per project page. Support Form and Polls: The support form would be slightly customizable to make them more appropriate for the particular project. For the "How much would you pay" part, the creator could label what exact product it is, if the project covers a series of products. There could be an alternative question for projects based on a range of new parts. Creators could also make optional polls that supporters could answer such as "Which model should be released first?" or "What colour should this car come in?". There would be 2 check boxes; "Make support visible to project creator" (on by default) and "Make support visible to public" (off by default). The support form should be slightly different for the repeated supports (and possibly slightly smaller). It could ask how much they would pay for the second product, and updated questions (from either the creator or TLG). I have not figured out this part entirely yet, so you can give suggestions to help out. Lego Digital Designer Files: Projects that propose new element molds should be able to have file downloads of LDD add-ons, so that users can test how they can build with them. There must be an update to LDD to add features to support this; Allow 3D model imports of custom elements, have a built-in feature to search Lego Cuusoo for unofficial elements, and rate or support them within the program. This would really benefit projects about new elements; They don't attract much attention with the current structure, because they are more practical than fun. VIP Awards: Here is the idea I have come up with to give extra power to VIP members (which proves that they are actual customers), while not entirely excluding the people without a VIP account: Members of Lego Cuusoo who link their VIP accounts could spend points on giving "awards" to projects that they support, which increases the adverting of a project on the dedicated "VIP awarded" advertisement spaces on the website, and also adds one "support" without affecting the waiting time for repeated support on that project. There would also be a tab on project pages to view all awards. They would give the award a title, and type a description which would be publicly visible. Here are the VIP awards that there would be; Copper Medal: The more unique supporters there are for the project, the more points it would cost to award it a copper medal. This would allow Lego fans to speak-out about good projects that have not yet gotten much attention. The chance of this award showing-up on the advertising spaces is divided by how many months-old the award is. Silver Medal: A VIP member could spend more points to upgrade a copper medal to silver. The price of this award would be cheaper if the project has better ratings. The chance of showing-up on the advertisements is divided by how many multiples of 2 months ago the award was given. Gold Medal: An upgrade from silver. The price would be determined by how long it has been since the user first seen the project. The chance of showing-up would be divided by how many multiples of 3 months ago the award was given. Staff Picks: Projects recommended by Lego staff members, which they would like as Lego products. They already have something under this title on the Facebook page. This is just a way to label it on the page, and give it more effect within the website. If someone adds an award to a project after supporting it multiple times, then it would adjust the number of times that they have supported it, and how much wait time they have left as if they gave the award when they first supported it. The "VIP-Awarded" advertisement spaces would appear with a randomely-selected VIP award with title and description, appearing below the project title and image. This would give a small extra boost to the projects that are favourites of dedicated Lego fans. I do not think that it would significantly harm the "cult-follower" projects, not even over-power them much. In fact, it could even help them if the projects do appeal to Lego fans. VIP points suit this purpose; they better ensure that the user is willing to buy the product by showing that they have spent money but not having to spend money specifically on the project. Unsuccessful Project Deletion/Archive: I have heard a few people suggest a feature that automatically deletes projects that rarely get a new supporter. Here is my idea of how this should work; Once every season (near the quarterly-review deadline), each project would be automatically counted of how much the support count has increased in the past 3 months. If the number of years that the project would take to reach achievement at that rate of increase is more than the rating percentage (as a whole number) divided by 5, then the project would be labeled as "endangered" for the following month. If the support does not improve, than the project would get archived. This section may be too complex. I might edit it later to simplify the rules to propose. Easier Collaboration: It would be good if it was easier for users to collaborate on projects. This is especially true for common ideas for Lego products that multiple users propose. I have not figured out how this would work, so I encourage you to help me fill this in. Parent-Child Accounts: They would start to allow accounts shared between a child and their parent, which would be good because children are the demographic the Lego group gets the most money from (or parents that buy them for children). Of course, this would only be for children to support existing projects, not submit their own (for legal reasons). Those two rules already apply to users ages 13 to 17. They would need parental permission to submit each project support form (which could be by email, or by typing in a parent's password). They should also disable comments for these accounts, as I believe that there are legal restrictions for online communications for people under 13. User Communication: I once read that TLG wanted the project comments to only be used to say things about the project, but that the rule is frequently broken because it is the only way to communicate. I will take some inspiration from YouTube to propose more ways to communicate; On YouTube users can post comments on the page of a video, post a comment on the users channel, or send a private message. It would be nice to have messaging on the users profile page, similar to the channel comments on YouTube. While the comments on projects would be about the project itself, the comments on user profiles would be more free. Delayed Projects: If there are problems faced with immediately putting a Cuusoo product into production (often license-related) that will not apply in the future, then the project page would be put to "hibernation" until the reason no-longer applies. When it is reactivated, some or all of the supports would be removed. My idea would be to remove one "support" from each supporter (with the repeated supporting system that I proposed). All supporters would be given a notification on the Lego Cuusoo website, to remind them to resupport.[/size] This appears to be the most criticised section of the essay. I have changed it to avoid problems. Now it only covers projects that have things such as licenses getting in the way, not people who are too young to get paid (who would have to wait until 18 years to post their project). I will delete this section if it continues to be criticised. So that was my long essay filled with ideas of how I think that Lego Cuusoo should change to let the better projects succeed. It was many weeks ago when I started this. I wanted to get it complete before posting it, but I decided post it not-entirely finished so that I could get feedback from others on it. I realize that there are still some missing details of how some features would work, but you could help me to fill them in. I encourage you to constructively criticise my essay, and suggest your own ideas. But please stay strictly on-topic. There are already 2 chatterish topics in this forum about Lego Cuusoo. In this topic, I want you to just specifically address problems and explain how you think that they should be solved. I will probably send this to The Lego Group later on. I posted it here to see if other Lego fans agree to the ideas, and let them modify and add proposals. The letter should be more affective if it is known that it was written with the help of multiple people, rather than being entirely by a single person.[/size]

Whoa! I didn't know that it was that hot there. I am going to Italy in August so I will experience it for the first time. But I don't see what the temperature has to do with gender balance of a particular job.

I would like to repeat my unanswered question; Where did you read that statistic of 64% of Lego Cuusoo accounts? I would like the source of this information. I got very interested when I read that from you, but I couldn't find any other source of it on a Google search. Whoa! That MOC really is similar to the set (judging by the images). I am surprised to hear about that.

Whoa! So I'm not alone. At least most of mine have are likely to be in the hands of someone today.I used to have a collection of over 30 Bionicle canisters during childhood, along with a few small and large sets. When not in use, I liked to store them in the canisters neatly on shelves, which appears to be a rarity if you see used canister sets selling on Bricklink. When I was 10, my mother pulled all of them off the shelf as a punishment for something very bad that I did (which neither me nor her can remember today, which is rare for me), and hid them deep somewhere in the house where I was never able to find them (which is rarely done so well by her). I never again saw them since. (acception for the Ussanui, which was a childhood fantasy-come-true when I found it with my brother). I once asked her what she ever did with them (years older). Her most clear memory is that one day when I was about 12, she found the bin in the storage room (not thinking about the Bionicle sets). She can not remember exactly what she did with them, but said that she probably donated them to charity. When she found them, she assumed that I had gotten to old for them, and my brother was too young for them. So she just went ahead and gave them away (not being the person to throw them out). She told me that she didn't give them back to me by the time that she would have forgiven me because I never asked for them. Well I never thought that it would be that easy . . . I remember many days when I would try to search for them in secrecy. Earlier I was mostly looking in her walk-in closet where she typically hid things stolen as a punishment (temporarily in other cases), but I appeared to run out of places in that closet to find a large bin of Bionicle sets hidden, and she also emphasized the hiding place as a very good one shortly after the incident. I ended-up spending the most time looking through the storage room next to the playroom where many similar bins were stacked and things cluttered (as I did get to witness in the incident the bin that she put them in). I spent much time alone trying to look into the many bins there to try to find them, but I didn't move things around and dig-in to far because I didn't want to get caught. Well now I know that all I had to do was ask. There might be some children in some unknown, far-away location enjoying the sets that I had, but I still would of liked to keep at least one canister from each wave, and most of the large sets. I doubt that my mother would have known what to do with the unboxed models from large and small sets (I don't know how a charity could accept those), but Takanui's Ussanui survived (with some exterior parts missing) due to the unrecognizability to her as Bionicle. Like I said 2 paragraphs up, my brother was deemed to young for Bionicle figures when they were rediscovered. He started out as a Bionicle fan about a year later at about the beggining of 2010 (inarguably the worst time to become a Bionicle fan/customer) with the Stars sets. I got him interested in the old Bionicle telling him what I remembered from it (which was surprisingly much), showing him the Official Guide book and movie trilogy, and even finding things that I never knew on the internet (he got me back interested). The sadness of loosing my collection certainly spread to him (despite occuring before he got interested in it). I am mostly (but not entirely) recovered from that old incident, and I am not sure exactly about him at this point but I know that he really wishes to have them. I bought him 2 Bricklink orders of used sets in the past year (which was probably about half of the recovery for both of us). That is the best happy ending that I have. Well that was a long story that was mostly off-topic, but just2good really inspired me that it was time that I post it here. Edit: We should start a petition to put a big fine on throwing-out Lego.

I can mostly agree to that statement that I underlined. There is likely to be a large portion of supporters for (at least) most projects. Yes, even the Lego fans probably support a fair amount of projects that they wouldn't end-up buying. But this has to be much more common for people of other fanbases who generally don't buy Lego. I don't understand the reason for your message of niche fans not being less interested (per-individual) than members of larger fanbases. From what I have seen, niches appear to have more dedication from each individual fan. You appear to be responding to something that someone said, but I don't see any opposing view on that particular topic in the quote that you inserted. Update: I thought about it, and I think I understand your point now. Because every project requires 10 000 supporters to pass, so the success is just a reflection of the fanbase. It may still be assumed by some fans and TLegoG that the fan base is niche. I admit I might not end-up buying some of the products that I supported on Cuusoo, if they end-up getting made. This is more because of my limited budget though. I also supported a few that I really thought would benefit the Lego fanbase, but I am often more confident about the ones that suit my own interests. There were 2 particular projects that I got especially attached to, posting a fair number of comments after supporting. I would try to save-up for those 2 expensive single-set projects if they were made, as I wouldn't want to bail out of the ones that I was more dedicated 2 (even though on Cuusoo, all supports are supposed to be equal). The two of them were the Corner Candy modular building, and your Vampire GT (remember "GeekTeen2", with the Tesla Roadster avatar?). And by the way; you often seem to be out of hope for the most part of you Vampire GT succeeding to production. Yes, it is certainly difficult for non-licensed projects to achieve as previous results have shown, as they must start their own fanbase instead of calling a developed one. But on the top-left corner of the Lego Cuusoo website it says that it is still the Beta version. I am optimistic that if there are major changes to the ways that the whole Lego Cuusoo website functions, that the tendencies of which projects succeed will change tremendously, for the better of true Lego fans. You can read more of what I have to say about this on the repley to the next quote. About Purdue Pete: I didn't know about Purdue University, Purdue Pete, or even seen the Lego Cuusoo project for it until I logged in one day to see that it achieved 10 000 on the frontpage. The Cuusoo Project description failed to explain who the heck that guy is. I looked him up on Wikipedia to find that he was a mascot of Purdue University, mostly for the sports. But he is not the main official mascot of the University, but the other mascot is a steam locomotive called Boilermaker Special. A steam locomotive would work much better as a Lego set, as it could even be purchased by people who don't know about Purdue University. Alternately, the could have made an Architecture microscale model of the University. I am especially interested in the statistic that you have of throw-away accounts (which I bolded and underlined). I tried to search for the source of this information on Google, but I didn't find it. Please post the link to the page of this information. I think that the system of Lego Cuusoo should be changed to make it more difficult for non-fans of Lego to join. I partially agree with your point that the quantity of supporters is more important than the dedication from each individual. My disagreement is that the more dedicated supporters are more likely to actually purchase the final product. It wouldn't help much to have a supporter that wouldn't remember the project a week later. Yes, It is unfortunate that Lego Cuusoo as it currently works is better at testing peoples willingness to post things on the internet than the desire to buy for the set. I don't think that this issue is entirely unsolvable (on TLegoG's part). They should ask people why they are joining Lego Cuusoo when they sign-up, just as they ask why people would like a product idea. They could also figure out a way to involve the VIP program without entirely excluding the people who only buy from retailers and other reasons. It is good that Lego Cuusoo is still Beta, as it has too many problems to work as the final version. I have recently been working on an essay; a proposal to reform the system of Lego Cuusoo. It should be packed with features to alter the tendencies of which projects succeed, by things such as ratings and improved advertising system. It would make barriers for non-fans of Lego at registration. I have some ideas to connect it with the VIP program (to prove legitimacy), but some of the ideas that I had on that might be considered a form of gambling. However, I have thought of one idea for VIP that could work, without excluding the non-VIP's. I might also find a way to give children some level of involvement in it. I should post it on the Embassy forum when I finish, and possibly send it in an email after some feedback. About the Modular Western Town; I think it was unfair to turn it down. I never signed as a supporter for that one, as I am not much of a cowboy guy. I was however looking forward to it when it achieved, and happy that it proved that non-licensed projects have a chance of succeeding. Yes, I realize that Disney had already forbidden them from doing it in the contract that was already signed, to avoid competition with the Lone Ranger sets. What I am suggesting is that they delay the project until the Lone Ranger sets go out of production. Waiting 2 years for it would certainly be better than having it turned-down altogether. I also have one more question for all of you here; There used to be a button on the right side of the Lego Cuusoo website labeled "feedback", which linked to a website called "get satisfaction" where people could suggest changes to the system of Lego Cuusoo. At one point I remember that on that website, it said that they were moving the feedback to a different website. Now I do not see a link to either feedback website on Lego Cuusoo. On Google search I can not find the new feedback site. What website is it now?

I actually think that this isn't a bad idea for an event. If a themed month doesn't work out, than you could just start your own contest. Well, I think you can, but I don't know if there are any restrictions on who can host contests. If the admins like it, than they could put the contest on the frontpage. Even if the whole theme of underground things isn't popular, I would appreciate the idea more for the opportunity for people to learn a new building style for caves, more building techniques, and photography techniques to make scenes appear enclosed. Many creators who are not used to making a roof covering the entire displays, or even geo-modelling in general would get to try something new. If you were to make an underground contest that would include people that don't normally build within this theme, then there should be at least two categories; The first one for more straight examples (mining, action, exploration), and a second more-flexible category focused on underground living (underground villages, cave dwellings, other civilian structures). The first category would be targeted at the true fans of these themes, while the second category would be for people more used to building other types of creations. There is currently a mining sub-theme of Lego City. One of those might work, but City is quite <insert that tiresome argument>, so a gift certificate would probably be better. However, I don't think that every MOC contest really needs prizes. Like I said above, the contest could have decent turnout if the rules are kept flexible in (at least part of) the contest. The MOC's don't wouldn't have to be just action and mining, but also civilian things like underground residential areas. The fun for outsiders would be more about trying to build withing enclosed caves then the mining theme seen in Lego sets. And about that first sentence, I don't think that the quality of the official sets has much effect on the MOCs (as long as the right pieces are provided), but the good concept certainly helps. Good idea. I think that I missed out on getting one of those sets before the were discontinued, but the appear pretty good for the most part.

I want to buy a large Lego set soon. I am developing my Lego town display. I also like Technic because of my interest in mechanical technology, but I am currently focusing more on developing my town. There are 4 large sets right now that I would like to get; 10224 Town Hall - $250 CAD - This would be my second modular building to add to the Pet Shop. My town currently doesn't have a municipal government. This is the most expensive on this list. 10211 Grand Emporium - $200 CAD - A corner building to add to my town. The only shops currently in my town are the pet shop and a few stands at the farmers market, mostly for food. 10233 Horizon Express - $150 CAD - My favourite set that I have is the Emerald Night. With this one, I would also have a modern train. I don't currently have much track though (24 curved, 8 straight, 16 flex). Although it appears cheaper than the above 2, it would cost more to get separate Power Functions components. 42008 Service Truck - $150 CAD - A yet-to-be released Technic set. Like I said above, I like Technic because of an interest in mechanical technology. I don't have a very large collection of Technic parts, so a set like this should boost my collection. I am especially interested in the Pneumatic components.

I just returned from my trip to my cottage in Saskatchewan, so I have some late replies; As I said earlier that I was offended by that post. If you want it to come across as an opinion that someone may simply disagree with, rather than being offensive, than I suggest that you edit this post to replace the "Here's a fact:" with "I think that". @Itaria No Shintaku & @Capt.JohnPaul: I think it is important to note that the colours that boys and girls aesthetically like may differ from the colours that they look for when shopping. They might simply know that the products that they like or are targeted to them tend to be coloured blue or pink. They just know that the products that they want come in those colours; you don't grab a grey Technic axle instead of black because you prefer the colour grey. I see what you mean. There should be a feature on the website to prevent that. I was actually going to mention that pink used to be a masculine colour in one of my previous posts, but I accidentally backed out of the page and had to restart. Yes, I see what you mean that we have different observations of things because of living in different places. But I am skeptical that female construction workers are so rare in Italy. If there really are so few, than that is a problem that must be solved in society. Here in Canada, any job that I know people working in a find both men and women (typically in uneven numbers). People here rarely call it ironic of their gender for someone to choose a particular career. I think that this is because nothing in society stands in someones way of getting the job that they want, but just their own skills. If it is ever seen as weird for someone around here of a particular gender getting a particular job, it would be men, if they work at a makeup shop or somewhere like that. If there are no social barriers, than you would normally have both men and women, but just in uneven numbers. Of course, I am just stating a concern, but not making you responsible for it. I don't think it is really worth discussing thee thing about a black ghost-buster. You say that no one should care about the gender/race of the ghost-buster, but that can't happen if you accuse the one black-African of being forced. I just think that making one of them black-African is just a way to make them look different from each other, as they don't want four identical ghost-busters. And about the Robot Lady minifigure, I can agree with that. I think that it is the worst idea of all the collectible minifigures. I liked the original clockwork robot, but I didn't even think it had a gender. Now I want to make my own statistics of minifigure gender demographics, just a Aanchir did earlier. I will do some things different from him. Hopefully that will bring us back on topic (somewhat).

I like this model. It looks pretty good (even though I am not so into the HF armor pieces). I wasn't getting into Hero Factory month at first being a Bionicle fan(boy). Now that I see that the contest is like a Rahi building challenge (one of my favourite areas of Bionicle), I might decide to enter my own creation. And by the way, I recently uploaded a Bionicle MOC called Toa Leham; http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=84719&hl=

Are you saying that if I added a username to the tags or to the text on the topic, than they would be notified? What if the first post in the topic quoted them?