BrickLink Discussion Forum

In Suggestions, jennnifer writes:

I am not trying to stir up bad feelings or cause trouble, but the reality
is that if we change our names to suit some users, we are causing problems for
others. It's like BrickLink's XP wanted to dumb down our catalog structure
so that newbies have less trouble. What they ended up with was a mess! There's
a balance and I think much of what we have built here is good for most of us
and occasionally confusing for new people.

I think the OP should also consider the irony in Jennifer not thinking this is
a good idea, having been involved in the last change AND having th store name
“OLD GREY BRICKS”.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Author:

infinibrix

Posted:

Feb 17, 2021 08:03

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Suggestions, StormChaser writes:

In Suggestions, infinibrix writes:

Either way what is it about ‘old’ in the colour names that Bricklink doesn’t
like?

Old is an undefined word, as is new. Old as relative to what? We've run
into problems in the past using old/new as descriptors and are definitely moving
away from using those two words. They are ultimately meaningless.

For example, if TLG deliberately changes the colors of grays again, we're
stuck renaming everything again. And to what? Old LBG, New LBG, and Even Newer
LBG?

You could also say ‘Very Light’ as relative to what? or ‘medium’ as relative
to what?
The term ‘Old’ would be relative to how the catalog is now/today keeping in mind
that I feel it is highly unlikely that Lego will intentionally replace what has
now become their core staple shades of colour for both those light and dark greys?

On the same token if Lego release a new shade of Grey that is lighter than Light
Bluish Grey but darker than Very Light Bluish Grey you’re still in the same predicament
of what to call it? and having to change Light Bluish Grey to Medium Bluish Grey
in order to make way for the new shade of colour?

I fear you are attempting to future proof something that can’t be future proofed?
That said there is one way to future proof it but I fear people will no doubt
dislike the idea:-

But let’s say in relation to the colour grey there are only 4 or maybe 5 shades
of grey that are ‘Current’ and in production by Lego at any one time and let’s
say they are given these simple clear definitions within the catalog:-

Pale Grey
Light Grey
Grey
Medium Grey
Dark Grey

Each current shade will keep and hold that position until the time (if it ever
comes?) it becomes discontinued or replaced whereupon the new shade will take
up its positon using the same colour name. The discontinued grey would remain
within the catalog using the same name it once had but with the added extension
of the year it was thought to be discontinued?

So along with the above greys the catalog would also contain shades of grey renamed
in the following way:-

Light Grey 1984
Light Grey 2007
Dark Grey 1996

But heres the situation....

If you hate the idea then you probably needn’t worry too much as I don’t foresee
Lego changing the shade of its core colours very often if ever at all and so
very few colours will need to be marked with a discontinued date!
And if I’m wrong your still faced with trying to fit in all these new future
shades of colour which will involve a bigger headache when you’re restricted
by the catalog and having to make up new names on the spot like ‘Light Medium
Bluish Grey’ or worse! just to accommodate all those similar shades of grey that
have long since been discontinued and have already taken all the good sensible
colour names?

Author:

tec

Posted:

Feb 17, 2021 06:54

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

Viewed:

35 times

Topic:

I was not fully aware of the problems that might arise. So I sincerely welcome
your input.
The shorthands could be many more, not just lbg, it could be hard to decide how
far to go with them.
The substitution method? I was suggesting one can substitute entire phrases to
catch Lego-sanctioned names, traduce to BL, and go. BRICK YELLOW means Tan in
the end, but hey it uses both YELLOW and BRICK, words with a meaning, we must
ingest it, but we already know that such search will fail (try it) so uhm...
let's rewrite it to Tan and hope the search ends with what a user wants.
A bit like google autocorrect. Probably not good on BL, plus the bad example.
End.
For the names-switch I was thinking of NOT changing db and the like, just rewrite
words in the page when it is showed to us. No need to change the engine. Just
like sites in multiple languages, they seem to replace text with other text,
not changing what the site does.
In conclusion I was not thinking enough, i'm sorry I haven't advanced
any good contributions

Author:

infinibrix

Posted:

Feb 17, 2021 06:21

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

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Topic:

In Suggestions, GreatBuy writes:

LEGO colours are not nearly as varied as paint colours. The point I was trying
to make was that BL named its colours to cater to the secondary market, not to
be tied down to exactly waht LEGO designates them to be. Would it be easier for
them to be the same? Yes, but I don't think everything here has to line up
with what LEGO does because LEGO may not be doing something in the best way for
all situations. Our ability to designate things independent of LEGO is important
to withhold.

But we're not independant of Lego anymore? Which goes back to the same argument
of being consistent with Lego names and using their references though I don't
think I have the energy to go over that same debate in this thread.

A colour name shouldn't be tied to its purpose, hence why flesh was changed.
It wasn't changed because people were confusing colors, and it was not a
painless change. It has no relevance here.

So I craft company that sells a paint called Daffodil Yellow should only be used
to paint flowers? I used to paint Lead figures as a kid and there were all kinds
of paints with names from Orc to human flesh. Do you think people only used those
colours for painting those types of flesh?
I accept differing opinions from people but if your going to base your argument
entirely on logic you have to expect people to counter the reasoning behind that
so called logic?

To offer my opinion, the change you propose is likely not to happen yet. There
just isn't a good enough reason that I can get behind and agree with, and
I imagine a lot of users feel the same way. While my store is relatively new
compared to others, I sell an equal number of LG and LBG pieces and have never
received a complaint from a confused customer. If no one in 500+ orders complained,
I feel like this is being described as more of a problem than it is. I'm
not doubting that confusion never happens, only my experience is that it doesn't.
Like I said, the resources are out there for those who need the clarification.

Well as someone who buys and sells accross multiple platforms I can tell you
it creates immense confusion not just for me but no doubt my customers also.
To start with should I label my own stocks/inventory as per Legos Colour Names
(Medium Stone Grey) or Bricklinks (Light Bluish Grey) and then how should
I list them for sale on other sites like ebay? should I just play it safe and
call it (Light Grey) and hope that an inexpereinced parent buying for kids can
make sense of it all or should I be concerned that an expereinced buyer is going
to quiz me on the fact that I've sold them Light Bluish grey instead of the
described Light Grey? Either way it seems I already have three different reference
names in use for the same colour depending on where I'm buying or where I'm
selling, who I'm picking for or how I'm labelling my inverntory!? Not
confusing enough?

Author:

Stellar

Posted:

Feb 17, 2021 04:41

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

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Topic:

In Suggestions, randyf writes:

In Suggestions, infinibrix writes:

Thoughts?

Voted no.

The grays are a difficult area because of the history behind them. We can't
just rename one set of grays without renaming the others. The easiest way to
screw everyone up is to start calling the newer grays the same names that were
just used for the older grays. It would be a huge mess.

However, there is a need to be able to use the official LEGO color names on the
site.

The way to solve this problem is to add a column to the BrickLink color table
in the database that would store the official LEGO color name alongside the BrickLink
color name. The site would then use the BrickLink color names in the catalog,
but the LEGO color names could be searched for and cross-referenced to the BrickLink
color names when necessary.

This would require the site to develop the solution and implement it, but it
should be the long-term goal of the site.

Cheers,
Randy

This is the best approach in my opinion.

Author:

cosmicray

Posted:

Feb 17, 2021 03:43

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

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Topic:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

In Suggestions, infinibrix writes:

I hope others will share the same logic in what I’m trying to suggest or perhaps
I’m barking up the wrong tree? Thoughts?

We have considered harmonization of colors in the past, and we continue to do
so. But one thing I will mention is that the word "OLD" is likely not a term
we will include in Item Names or Color Names.

On BrickLink, the color and item name are often concatenated, meaning they are
stuck together for use as a single term. The official color numbers of Modulex
were removed from the color name for this very reason, to keep people from getting
confused.

My impression, from being around at the time, is that the proper names for the
shades of gray, that were introduced around 2003 were: Light Stone Gray and Dark
Stone Gray. Certain other sites (e.g. Peeron) seemed to have a better back
channel to obtaining this information than BL did. At one time I think TLG
viewed BL as something less than desirable, and hence the lack of communications.

And speaking of numbers, I'm thinking the first step in harmonization would
be to replace the BrickLink color numbers with official LEGO numbers. What do
people think of THAT idea. When we speak to internal folks, they tend to use
the numbers instead of the names, so there is value in those numbers.

It would be conformal. I made a whimsical suggestion a month or two back, that
selling an AFOL targeted set, with a 2x2 tile made from each of the several hundred
colors, and having the color number (the TLG number) printed on the tile, would
go a long way towards getting everyone on the same page. Perhaps include with
a 32x32 baseplate in black, which I don't think has ever been produced (and
would be instantly collectable).

Nita Rae

Author:

popsicle

Posted:

Feb 17, 2021 00:14

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Suggestions, calebfishn writes:

In Suggestions, popsicle writes:

In Suggestions, calebfishn writes:

Please do not start changing the existing colour names.

I am not interested in whatever Lego officially calls colours. I just need to
know what Bricklink calls them, so that I can list parts for sale, and purchase
parts on Bricklink. I don't think I am unique in this matter.

As a person living with a form of colour blindness, let me tell you that all
the fancy names that colorists come up with do not help me at all. I just want
to know, "Is that thing basically blue? Or is it red?" Spare me the "August
Sunset", "Sea Foam" and "Dusty Rose" type of labels.

How do you feel about your next brick color, Dark Turquoise or Bright Bluish
Green?

What the heck is "azure" anyway?

Dark Azure? Well, it's kinda like Tiny-Medium Blue, which I'm sure you're
well familiar with

Its funny. But you shouldn't make fun of the handicapped.

Actually, Dark turquoise is one of the colours that is causing me a lot of grief
these days - it is essentially invisible to me.

Sorry about your condition, but we all have our problems. Instead of listing
for you my physical ailment/handicap, let's just have a laugh

When you hit 2,500 we'll celebrate your new brick color, nonetheless!

Author:

calebfishn

Posted:

Feb 16, 2021 23:47

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Suggestions, popsicle writes:

In Suggestions, calebfishn writes:

How do you feel about your next brick color, Dark Turquoise or Bright Bluish
Green?

What the heck is "azure" anyway?

Dark Azure? Well, it's kinda like Tiny-Medium Blue, which I'm sure you're
well familiar with

Its funny. But you shouldn't make fun of the handicapped.

Actually, Dark turquoise is one of the colours that is causing me a lot of grief
these days - it is essentially invisible to me.

Author:

popsicle

Posted:

Feb 16, 2021 23:44

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

Viewed:

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Topic:

In Suggestions, TBS writes:

In Suggestions, popsicle writes:

In Suggestions, Admin_Russell writes:

And speaking of numbers, I'm thinking the first step in harmonization would
be to replace the BrickLink color numbers with official LEGO numbers. What do
people think of THAT idea.

I think it's a good idea and logical first step towards harmonization.

To me, this seems and absolute bad idea. Because the LEGO naems are even more
confusing than the BL-Light,Bright,Standard,Dark Varitations.
I´d rather see LEGO adopting the BL-Names, than the other way around.
But doubt they ever will.

And switching to colour codes/numbers only. Oh i don´t know. htis makes it even
worse, especially by dealing for/with noobies.

I don't believe that's what is being suggested. It's the color reference
number used by fewer than use the color names, but crucial for internal use here
and over at TLG, I assume. Not removing or replacing the BL terminology for colors
(the names) rather adopting Lego’s color code (numbers) as a first step towards
harmonizing both color identification systems of BL and TLG

As I understand, it’s a move that can be done without affecting the end user
as much as changing the actual terminology, a first step.

If i remind correctly, these numbers aren´t even grouped?, correct?
Meaning, you can´t say Blues are 301 to 320 from light to dark...
They are 4 ,16, 51, 86, 325, 478 or so, because of their time/year being brought
in existence.

Could somebody check this ? Admin?

Author:

wahiggin

Posted:

Feb 16, 2021 23:34

Subject:

Re: Adjusting Colour Names such as Bluish Grey?

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Topic: