BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Suggestions, sonnich writes:

Yesterday at the post office I needed some adresses from BL it was under maintenance
- it said

Maintenance Time : Nov 19, 2019 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM EST

When is that according to GMT?

Please add times in GMT at the rest of the world uses - I have no idea what EST
is, not have the majority of the world.

Google (other search engines are available) is your friend

Author:

HarryPotter71

Posted:

Nov 20, 2019 13:24

Subject:

Re: Better time information on maintenance

Viewed:

45 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, sonnich writes:

Yesterday at the post office I needed some adresses from BL it was under maintenance
- it said

Maintenance Time : Nov 19, 2019 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM EST

When is that according to GMT?

Please add times in GMT at the rest of the world uses - I have no idea what EST
is, not have the majority of the world.

EST = Eastern Standard Time

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Nov 20, 2019 04:30

Subject:

Re: Better time information on maintenance

Viewed:

58 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, sonnich writes:

Yesterday at the post office I needed some adresses from BL it was under maintenance
- it said

Maintenance Time : Nov 19, 2019 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM EST

When is that according to GMT?

Please add times in GMT at the rest of the world uses - I have no idea what EST
is, not have the majority of the world.

Could you have just looked it up, for example, here:
https://time.is/EST

If they add GMT, then no doubt others will want their time zone too. It makes
sense for BL to stick to one time - BL time - and do all times in that.

Author:

sonnich

Posted:

Nov 20, 2019 03:25

Subject:

Better time information on maintenance

Viewed:

150 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Yesterday at the post office I needed some adresses from BL it was under maintenance
- it said

Maintenance Time : Nov 19, 2019 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM EST

When is that according to GMT?

Please add times in GMT at the rest of the world uses - I have no idea what EST
is, not have the majority of the world.

Author:

JusTiCe8

Posted:

Nov 15, 2019 15:04

Subject:

Re: Suggestion for extra function in Bricklink

Viewed:

72 times

Topic:

Funny how idea flows in the ether as I think of a similar feature but a bit more
from a practical point of view. I encounter the same issue with the mini/micro
Serenity by Brothers Bricks which use a medium dark flesh modified tile on top
to hold the 3x3 dish, which I don't have obviously

, and while building
it I've figured out colour doesn't not matter at all, one part bought
quite uselessly.

So, I have imagine an invisible brick detection feature, maybe by using a light
source in a brick and by some kind of occlusion, or whatever the right name
is, calculations (lights vector can be computed and some algorithm could be use
to see if the light vector hit a face of a 3D object as it is done for "basic"
rendering technique like in deferred rendering).

If the light source is not visible from outside = bingo, the brick could be any
colour.
If not, its colour actually matters (if the builder also care of following designer
guidelines).

I don't have work enough in 3D rendering to get any kind of solution, I still
offer a way which can actually be done I guess.

In Suggestions, JLvL writes:

Hello,

Over the las couple of months i have designed some cars in Studio.
Some bricks in the middle may have a different color than the color I am currently
building. So if the color doesn't matter you select 'not applicable'
for that specific brick.

It always takes quite some time to figure out in the wanted list which bricks
should be on not applicable. I think it is much easier to include the 'color'
not applicable in the list.

As an extra function it is then useful to be able to choose the color of the
'not applicable' bricks. For example, if you are building a model in
red, you can set the 'not applicable' bricks to yellow. Because of the
contrast between these two colors you keep the overview on the model.

Greetings,

JL

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

Nov 15, 2019 12:23

Subject:

Re: Suggestion for extra function in Studio

Viewed:

37 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JLvL writes:

Hello,

Over the las couple of months i have designed some cars in Studio.
Some bricks in the middle may have a different color than the color I am currently
building. So if the color doesn't matter you select 'not applicable'
for that specific brick.

It always takes quite some time to figure out in the wanted list which bricks
should be on not applicable. I think it is much easier to include the 'color'
not applicable in the list of colors in Studio.

As an extra function it is then useful to be able to choose the color of the
'not applicable' bricks. For example, if you are building a model in
red, you can set the 'not applicable' bricks to yellow. Because of the
contrast between these two colors you keep the overview on the model.

Agreed… but the dedicated forum for Studio is http://forum.bricklink.com/

Author:

JLvL

Posted:

Nov 15, 2019 11:58

Subject:

Re: Suggestion for extra function in Studio

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, JLvL writes:

Hello,

Over the las couple of months i have designed some cars in Studio.
Some bricks in the middle may have a different color than the color I am currently
building. So if the color doesn't matter you select 'not applicable'
for that specific brick.

It always takes quite some time to figure out in the wanted list which bricks
should be on not applicable. I think it is much easier to include the 'color'
not applicable in the list of colors in Studio.

As an extra function it is then useful to be able to choose the color of the
'not applicable' bricks. For example, if you are building a model in
red, you can set the 'not applicable' bricks to yellow. Because of the
contrast between these two colors you keep the overview on the model.

Greetings,

JL

Author:

JLvL

Posted:

Nov 15, 2019 11:55

Subject:

Suggestion for extra function in Bricklink

Viewed:

119 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

JusTiCe8

Posted:

Nov 14, 2019 08:40

Subject:

Re: Daily and monthly downtime - I'd like to help

Viewed:

118 times

Topic:

Hi,

not sure it is the right place for this and most importantly, if company such
FB can afford such a yearly uptime, is because they know how to do their job
right (at least in the server architecture). Plus, the lower the downtime is,
the higher it cost, 99% is a lot more cheaper than 99.9999%, 1% of a year is
quite 3.6 days off. Lowest downtime are a few hours or even minutes.

The cheapest and easiest way to remove downtime almost completely would be to
set-up a mirror of everything (web server mostly) they have now, upgrade one
while leaving the other running with old stuff, do the switch (here could be
a minor downtime), then upgrade the other and finally enable both together.

Anyway, we don't know how things has been setup behind the scene and how
they are actually managed, except it is not done according to BL expectations.

In Suggestions, Ethan1701 writes:

Hey,
I'm a database administrator (Business intelligence specifically), and I'd
like to help eliminate the daily and monthly downtimes. The way I see it, if
Facebook can have an uptime of 99.9999% while rolling out new features, so can
BL.

Hit me up, I'd love to know what the downtimes are for, and help see if we
can design a better solution for those needs.

Author:

Ethan1701

Posted:

Nov 14, 2019 06:52

Subject:

Daily and monthly downtime - I'd like to help

Viewed:

141 times

Topic:

Status:

Open

Vote:

[Yes|No]

Author:

cycbuild

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 17:01

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

73 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

There are certainly some improvements to be made - pinning posts, notification
/ subscription plans, ability to edit or completely remove posted material -
but most of what you are asking for here can already be done.

First, the BrickLink Discussions Forum is actually many individual Forums all
joined together, including hidden Forums backstage for our community admins.
If you don't wish to read everything, start on this page and read only what
interests you:

https://www.bricklink.com/messageTopics.asp?utm_content=subnav

Second, you can customize the Forum to your exact specifications, including viewing
each thread without the replies. You can also block certain Forums (e.g. sales
posts). See the settings on this page:

https://www.bricklink.com/messageFilter.asp?viewFrom=P

I've never seen a Forum with this level of user customization, and I believe
most members don't even know about these options. Try out these suggestions
and see if that helps your impression.

I have been reading the Forum consistently for over 10 years, and I've noticed
that like rainy and dry periods with the weather, Forum participation ebbs and
flows with time. And if by "community involvement" you mean people like Foster
and Dan/Jon beating each other up on a regular basis, that sort of behavior isn't
tolerated anymore.

It might benefit the regulars and newcomers if this was added to the top of the
forum with links below to a shortlist of FAQs. And a hide option, if possible.

https://www.bricklink.com/help.asp?helpID=126

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 14:25

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

[…]

My point was that forum.bl.com uses a modern, off-the-shelf, forum engine (and,
if I’m not mistaken, phpBB (it uses the Ariki style, designed for phpBB 3.0)).

So BL knows about and has experience with modern, off-the-shelf, forum engines

And our experience has not been good. Very difficult to manage, and a real challenge
to customize.

Yes, that’s why new ones are always popping up.

We had a bug for over year that prevented us from deleting any
post.

And there are no notifications for private messages (took me months to see I
had some), and those can’t be deleted (well, you can, but they are still there).

I actually rather like the mailing-list / usenet look of this old forum. And
the macro tags and the inventory change messages….

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 14:11

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

68 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

[…]
Just like to add that our forum has all the functionality of this one as well
as the ability to edit, add attachments, conduct polls, plus more and its free
software - phbbs forum. It took our web guy an hour or so to get it installed
and me about a day to learn all about it (and I still don't know all there
is to know) […]

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

From the front page:

Most users ever online was 20 on Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:25 pm

That was around the time ADP was announced.

And our experience has not been good. Very difficult to manage, and a real challenge
to customize. We had a bug for over year that prevented us from deleting any
post.

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 13:56

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

33 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

From the front page:

Most users ever online was 20 on Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:25 pm

That was around the time ADP was announced.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 13:35

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

71 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

From the front page:

Most users ever online was 20 on Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:25 pm

That was around the time ADP was announced.

Considering that was from 35 total users at that date and we have a very restricted
membership that isn't worrying. We are still growing there and as things
develop I am sure more will participate. I am not purporting that our forum is
better than this one far from it, but at the same time it shows what can be done
in a short space of time where there is a will.

My quote was from the Studio Forum, not your Forum.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 13:31

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

34 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, yorbrick writes:

I don't monitor all the most used AFOL forums, but my impression that the
BrickLink Forum has been the leading and most active AFOL forum for a long time
now, despite it's archaic appearance and limitations. To the extent that
that is true, we don't want to break something that is performing so well.

I don't think it is, at least not for general LEGO discussion, MOCs, new
sets, etc. Eurobricks is more active and has way better content than here.

However, the BL forum is the most active and leading forum when it comes to Bricklink
issues, and aspects of buying and selling on BL. And isn't that primarily
what it should be? A forum that supports BL users with issues when using BL.

So what if the forum is a bit old fashioned looking. It is functional, I'd
hate to lose things like the easy tagging in of sets, parts and minifigures,
and so on.

Sorry for this

Author:

yorbrick

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 13:24

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

40 times

Topic:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 13:07

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

36 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

From the front page:

Most users ever online was 20 on Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:25 pm

That was around the time ADP was announced.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 13:02

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

42 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Hi Russell and thank you for your comments on this topic (which isn't ours)
as you can tell.

Just like to add that our forum has all the functionality of this one as well
as the ability to edit, add attachments, conduct polls, plus more and its free
software - phbbs forum. It took our web guy an hour or so to get it installed
and me about a day to learn all about it (and I still don't know all there
is to know)

The Bricklink forum and messaging system , as you know, are well out of date
and whilst most of the regular members love this archaic piece of software (and
we have a liking to it as well), newer users are used to much richer applications.

You use the word "richer", but in some ways BrickLink's Forum is much richer
than these one-size-fits-all applications. It is fully integrated with the site
- Inv Change requests, Catalog and suggestions, moderator tools, messaging system,
macro tags, ID cards, and the list goes on and on. Sure, you can set up something
cheap and quick, and because it is new, it has some richer features. But overall,
if we did something like that, it would severely cheapen the BrickLink experience.

It's true that the Forum (as well as all the old code on the site) needs
to be completely rewritten and possibly redesigned. But we need to be sure while
doing that that we don't water down a core feature that made the site great.

So does this mean that is what is going on? Or is the focus still the new tangent
XP?

I don't monitor all the most used AFOL forums, but my impression that the

BrickLink Forum has been the leading and most active AFOL forum for a long time
now, despite it's archaic appearance and limitations. To the extent that
that is true, we don't want to break something that is performing so well.

I think the OP first and susbsequent messages has shown statistically that the
forum is not being used as much as t it had been in the past, and whilst I agree
it is a little like the weather, constantly changeable, he may have a point from
strictly the number side. Don't get us wrong - we enjoy using the forum -
it is really the only communications that goes on on the site, other than comms
via the messaging system.

Still, as we and others have said there are many more important things to be
done than the forum or messaging. My earlier point was it could be done quickly
and easily with plug ins (which is the way most modern software is put together.

Mo one, anywhere can do it all, not today, anyway. Dan and Eric had a head start
and brought this site to what it is today and we, like many others will not forget
that. Of course, improvement and updating is needed, but where and what that
transpires to be is currently outside of our knowledge.

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 12:55

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

82 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

From the front page:

Most users ever online was 20 on Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:25 pm

That was around the time ADP was announced.

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 12:53

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

27 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, Leftoverbricks writes:

We must not forget their promise to the users after their acquisition

"Message from Jung-Ju “Jay” Kim, founder of the online game company Nexon, incoming
owner of BrickLink.com:

(As of June 5th, the Hong Kong-based company Bricklink Limited has acquired the
assets of BrickLink.com. Bricklink Limited is a subsidiary of NXMH.)

Dear BrickLink Community,

I am extremely pleased to be taking over the operations of BrickLink.com. I’ve
been a LEGO fan for 40 years and an avid user of BrickLink.com for over a decade.
My first plans are to upgrade the website, and do our best to make users happier
and more prosperous, while staying true to the original vision of BrickLink.com
founder, Daniel Jezek. We will work hard in order to ensure that BrickLink.com
becomes stable, secure and as user-friendly as possible.

I want to sincerely thank the family of Daniel Jezek, especially his mother Eliska,
as well as the BrickLink.com Community, for the opportunity to upgrade and operate
such a beloved website as BrickLink.com. In order to expedite the process of
renovating BrickLink.com, I and Bricklink Limited will be asking users to e-mail
us with their ideas for the improved functionality of the site, as well as any
current issues that need to be addressed in order to provide users with the best
possible selling and buying experience. We’ll establish those lines of communication
very soon.

Thank you for your continued patronage and support of Brick"Link.com

Jung-Ju Kim, incoming owner of BrickLink.com

Not really sure we have seen any of the promises turn into reality, but willing
to listen to debate about that.

In the past two years or so the owners of Bricklink showed no interest whatsoever
in changing the old 1990's code. Maybe they think 'don't change a
thing while it's working'.

Their wording was 'Spaghetti code' at the Brickworld conference in Octboer
of last year.

Changes to the forum?
This will not happen.
I wish it would.
But I'm sceptical.

As are we all

BL is really something special: it's outdated but yet thousands of sellers
earn a nice income using the outdated interface.
So I can understand BL's POV: never change something that already works fine.

I think they have bent that guideline several times with updates to the system.

But it's bad anyway. BL is 1990. We need 2019!

They should have started that with a proper system analysis and design project
coupled with liaison with the membership. (It was over 6 years ago and re-doing
this site is not a 6 year development project,

Author:

Admin_Russell

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 12:50

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

84 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Author:

calsbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 12:46

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

26 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, SylvainLS writes:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

That is a more up to date forum but as we are not either users or interested
in stud.io we don't see it.

Does prove they can do it if they want to, but that also shows where their focus
is and it isn't the classic site.

Author:

SylvainLS

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 12:30

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

32 times

Topic:

In Suggestions, calsbricks writes:

Take a look at http://forum.bricklink.com/ ….

Author:

Leftoverbricks

Posted:

Nov 8, 2019 12:28

Subject:

Re: Forum Reforms

Viewed:

29 times

Topic: