| Redisplay Messages: Compact | Brief | All | Full Show Messages: All | Without Replies| Author: | SylvainLS  | | Posted: | May 25, 2020 11:32 | | Subject: | Re: Why are these Hinges? | | Viewed: | 38 times | | Topic: | Catalog | |
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| In Catalog, StormChaser writes:
| | In Catalog, SylvainLS writes:
| | I say “Off with purpose-defined categories!”
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How would you define those and what categories do you consider to be purpose-defined?
I think these probably are, but beyond that I'm not sure which specific
ones you'd consider purpose-defined.
Bracket
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Bracket is a shape.
Hinge is a function.
Shape.
Function.
Function.
If I encounter a part whose function “obviously” is to launch things (and there’s
no “projectile launcher” category and I know there’s no such category because
that would be a function category), I’ll search in a category matching its shape,
or try to search for the term “launcher” or “cannon” in its description.
It isn’t obvious to me that
is a projectile launcher. It’s a 1 x 4 brick with some sort of slot.
Obviously,
is NOT a projectile launcher. It’s not even obvious it’s a projectile.
But all the shapes aren’t equal. Hook is a shape but when you need to add parts
that are obviously not hook-shaped and barely manage 20 parts, then the category’s
existence is debatable.
(You’re looking for a hook? Search “hook” in the description.)
Isn’t a hook, it’s a slope with struts to attach a hook.
But then, there’s all the minifig utensils, weapons, tools….
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| Author: | SylvainLS | | Posted: | May 25, 2020 11:04 | | Subject: | Re: Why are these Hinges? | | Viewed: | 38 times | | Topic: | Catalog | |
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| In Catalog, StormChaser writes:
| | […]
The Hinge category should probably be defined as those parts that had no purpose
other than being a hinge. And even then it's still a problematic category.
I don't know that it would be eliminated completely, but there seems little
need for it when parts with a hinge can be located by typing "hinge" in the search
box.
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Exactly.
Because defining a category by “purpose” (or “function”) is The Problem.
First, how can you know what’s the purpose of a piece you’ve never encountered?
Then, as the usual examples show, parts all have multiple functions. What’s
the main one? The first one? The most frequent one?
You need too much previous knowledge to even try to answer that.
If you already need to know which parts are in a category to know what’s in the
category, the category is useless.
Categories should help find the parts, not the other way around.
When you’re looking for a part, say a plate with appendices, you shouldn’t end
up in “Hinges” because you failed to find it in “Plate, Modified.”
Hinges, turntables, small fingers, locking fingers are all features that are
or should be present in the descriptions.
| | The one thing I can say for sure is that it could definitely be expanded or pared
down. 
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Expanding it means removing parts from other categories. But (most of) these
parts are in those categories for a reason, a supposedly good reason.
I say “Off with purpose-defined categories!”
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| Author: | SylvainLS | | Posted: | May 21, 2020 21:11 | | Subject: | Re: Have Quantity in Wanted List | | Viewed: | 27 times | | Topic: | Inventories | |
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| In Inventories, clohr writes:
| | Hi!
I have uploaded a parts inventory to "Wanted List" using the "Have Quantity"
field, I want to export this information, but it is not possible because downloading
does not rescue the information in that field.
How can I export this information??
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It’s in the “QTYFILLED” element in the XML.
(“Want” is in “MINQTY”.)
It works both for download and upload.
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| Author: | SylvainLS | | Posted: | May 21, 2020 18:08 | | Subject: | Re: Stickers: Space Shuttle Discovery (7470) | | Viewed: | 23 times | | Topic: | Catalog | |
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In Suggestions, Bricksonbricks7 writes:
| | I was wondering, how can I go about finding the parts with the stickers? it looks
like some of the stickers are placed over multiple parts
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They are in the inventory in the Counterparts section, no?
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