Updated Review Features/Editor and Review Contest!

[Fcbarcelona101]

Love Grolim's title for the remakes article LOL

[Grolim]

Love Grolim's title for the remakes article LOL

:-)

Seemed like a pretty obvious one when it came to me in a rare flash of creativity.

[mikeur86]

But it does apply. An average LEGO set and category should get a 4, 5, or 6 rating. There is no perfect LEGO set, with maybe the exception of the 10179. Most LEGO sets should not rank and 8, 9 or 10. A 6 or 7 is a solid LEGO set IMO.

Touch

[Ed Mack]

Here

[Fcbarcelona101]

Here

[Guest eightbrick]

Are you guys ready for the final month sprint? I have been sidetracked so much lately I think I am going to need a rocket-propelled flick fire missile to catch up to some of you guys.

[Fcbarcelona101]

Are you guys ready for the final month sprint? I have been sidetracked so much lately I think I am going to need a rocket-propelled flick fire missile to catch up to some of you guys.

I'll be slowing down a bit, moving very soon and preparing to take the GMAT as well...

[Guest eightbrick]

Lets Rumble!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFkdcQgNJHo

 

lol

[Blackjack]

Are you guys ready for the final month sprint?

 

No.

[Blackjack]

Lets Rumble!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFkdcQgNJHo

 

lol

 

The most appropriate video ever!

[Ed Mack]

Here

[Fcbarcelona101]

My article about CITY planes and airport sets should be on the submitted list, right after the Sleeper sets article.

[Ed Mack]

My article about CITY planes and airport sets should be on the submitted list, right after the Sleeper sets article.

Thanks...I modified it.  Any more changes?

[Fcbarcelona101]

Looks good now.

[Guest eightbrick]

You probably stated this somewhere, but what if we submit some articles or reviews at the last minute and they aren't published until after the contest is over, will they be included in the considerations? Thanks in advance.

[Ed Mack]

You probably stated this somewhere, but what if we submit some articles or reviews at the last minute and they aren't published until after the contest is over, will they be included in the considerations? Thanks in advance.

Yes, they will be counted.  All of the articles will not be released before the contest ends, for several reasons.  One, we don't want to flood the site with so many quality articles at once.  They will get lost in the shuffle.  Two, they take some time to convert to HTML so that we can post on the site.  I go through each one, add and tweak them, and add my editorial section on the end.  We just have been busy with the new Price Guide data and forum upgrade to post more.  Now, Jeff is finishing up the Brick Classifieds.

 

I promise that all will be accounted for and the community will have a say in some of the winners.  Jeff and I and the mods will go through all of the articles and review data and announce the 3 main winners.  Due to the large amount of articles, we might have to move back the winner announcement a couple of days in order to assimilate all the content.  More to follow...

[TheOrcKing]

Lets Rumble!

Yeah, LET'S ROCK!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49OZ0M_0fhg

[TheOrcKing]

Due to the large amount of articles, we might have to move back the winner announcement a couple of days in order to assimilate all the content.  More to follow...

Why is every time I hear the word "assimilate" all I can think of is the Borg from Star Trek?

(And I'm not a Trekkie.)

[Ed Mack]

 

[Ed Mack]

MAJOR CHANGE TO CONTEST!!!

 

Jeff and I have decided to separate the REVIEW & EC/BLOG ARTICLE CONTEST into TWO CONTESTS, one specifically for reviews and the other for Evaluation Corner and Brickvesting Blog articles.  

 

THE REVIEW CONTEST WILL OPERATE EXACTLY AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED:

• The Contest ends July 3rd, 2013.  The winners will be announced July 4th, 2014.  
• There will be 3 MAIN WINNERS...1st...2nd...3rd Place and an Honorable Mention prize(s)
• The prizes will be as previously mentioned(Haunted House, Palace Cinema, Jabba's Palace or their equivalents in LEGO gift cards).  The Honorable Mention prizes will vary according to the situation and quality of reviews
• Winners will be judged on quantity, quality and character count.  

As for the new contest for Evaluation Corner and Blog Article contest, let me explain what the situation is.  As you all have noticed, we have upgraded the forums.  Although there are still issues to iron out, it was a major upgrade over the previous forum template.  Along with the forum upgrade, there are other "modules" that go along with the Invision Power template...The Gallery is an example.  Another will be our new Brickvesting and Personal Blogs section.  Members will now have the ability to start their own blog on the site and submit content for publication to Jeff and I for approval.  The current Blog and EC article setup is much too labor intensive for Jeff and I.  Basically, we receive your content, then I go over it, add to it, modify it and add my notes...then Jeff has to take that and convert it to HTML code for the site.  While it ends up looking very polished and refined, it takes hours upon hours to do so.  Needless to say, Jeff's talents are best spent elsewhere...

 

That is where this new blog feature will come into play.  When we release it in the next week or so, members will have the ability to start and maintain their own blogs.  They will be rewarded with Brickpoints for doing so and other members will be able to comment on the content.  This is a win-win for the site.  Number one, it will give the site fresh and new LEGO based content on a daily basis which will be displayed on the homepage.  Things will get simplified.  All the older articles will be converted over into the new format and archived by date, but still readily accessible.  There will be one all inclusive blog, not an Evaluation Corner and Brickvesting Blog and Personal Blogs.  There will be sections to it like the forums, but overall, it will all fall under one main Blog.  There will be an "editor" similar to the forum editor and there will be a charts module added.  In short, YOU will use the editor to submit the blog article.  We will review it, tweak it if necessary, maybe add an editorial...but you are the one who will do most of the editing.  This will free Jeff up and make me the main editor.  We will also award Brickpoints for this content as well.  

 

Jeff has been messing around with this feature to a small degree and will put more attention to it this week.  We figure a week or two and it will be LIVE. Like I said, if used properly, this will enable members to see fresh content regularly and also enable the blog authors to gain Brickpoints and possible other LEGO rewards.  With regards to the Blog Article Contest, here is a basic breakdown:

• The contest is separate from the Review Contest.  Period.  The date this contest ends will be approximately 30 days after the new Blog feature is launched.  I'm figuring a rough estimate of August 1st, 2013.  This will give us time to make sure it works and that people know how to use it.  It will also give people time to resubmit articles in the new format.  
• The content submitted for the contest is the same which has already been submitted for the previous contest...basically any LEGO related information, stories, data, etc...pertaining to the buying, selling, collecting and investing of/in LEGO bricks.
• There will be identical prizes awarded to the Review Contest: 1st place-Haunted House or Gift Card equivalent...2nd place- Palace Cinema...3rd place-Jabba's Palace.  There will also be Honorary Mention(s) here as well, with some smaller sets/Gift Cards as prizes.  You can win a prize in both contests...even 1st place, so keep that in mind.  
• Winners will be based on quality, quantity and just an overall excellence that Jeff and I look for in content.  Sometimes, a very good short article will outweigh a larger article full of fluff.  So far, I have to say, the content and articles submitted have been excellent.  Keep up the fine work!
• IMPORTANT: As I stated earlier, any future blog content will be using the new blog editor.  Articles and blogs that were submitted to Jeff and I need to be resubmitted in the new manner(not the three that were made live).  I cannot tell you if everything will be able to be converted as written, but most will be simple copy and paste.  Images can be added and some charts will have to be redone with the new editor.  Because the site is evolving and improving as we speak, I apologize for any inconvenience this creates for people.  If you cannot resubmit an article in the new blog format, Jeff and I will try to do it for you.  For future articles, you can just let me know what you are working on and whether it is complete and I will enter it onto the contest list.  You can hold onto the content until the blog feature goes live, then you can resubmit or submit those articles for approval.  I know it is a pain in the butt, but at least this way you have more control of how your article is published and how it looks.  

 

I hope this answers a lot of questions and enables more members to win a prize.  We feel that this new method of posting blogs and their content will enable all members to share their thoughts and experiences.  Just be patient.  There will be growing pains, but we will try to address and issues quickly and fairly.  The contest is still wide open and people have plenty of time to submit content for either the Review or Blog contest.  Good luck.  Any questions, fire away...  

[Quacs]

Just let us know when we can start posting our blog entries!

[Quacs]

One thing, Ed - Will we be able to post the already published blog to our personal blog as well?

[Ed Mack]

Just let us know when we can start posting our blog entries!

As soon as we launch the new Blog feature.  We will make a major announcement on the homepage in a week or two.  Jeff will most likely change around the homepage to adjust to the new blog format.

[Fcbarcelona101]

We will have A LOT of good articles live as soon as this feature is live. We will probably have to spend several hours reading them all

[Ed Mack]

One thing, Ed - Will we be able to post the already published blog to our personal blog as well?

I don't see why not.  Your previous articles are YOUR creation for the most part and if you want to put it into YOUR Personal Blog for all to see, I don't have an issue with it.  Right now, Jeff is just going to convert existing LIVE articles to the new format so we can all be on one page.  New content will be written with the new Blog editor, so there will be little input from Jeff needed to make these blogs live.  Right now I depend on him to convert all the articles into HTML so it works for the site, but hopefully, the new process will cut out the extra work and time.