Our response to your survey comments
Posted by Huw,
CapnRex101 and I have been reading your survey comments, all 2000 of them! Over the next week or so we will be posting articles dealing with one particular aspect of the feedback which will detail our responses to the points raised.
I will start off with comments concerning the content of the database: set information, inventories, images and so on, as opposed to actually using it.
Your comments
This is what you said about the database:
Set images
- I want more images.
- I want higher resolution images.
- Some images are poor quality, particularly for older sets.
- I want box photos.
- I want product photos.
- I want to contribute my own images.
- A lot of sets don't have images.
- The alternative images are too small.
Images of sets are the heart of the database and we take great care to select the best images available for each set, using official images where available and instruction/polybag scans where they are not.
LEGO does not make images of its sets available other than at shop.LEGO.com, therefore if products are not sold there we can't get official images. Furthermore, it did not start using hi-res images there until 2008, so in many cases they are simply not available for older sets.
So, for sets older than that we rely on user-contributed images. I have scanned all my instruction covers, as have many other people, and at the moment around 40% of all sets in the database have a high-resolution image available.
Often images of a high enough standard are just not available. People suggested using those at BrickLink but usually if we are missing an image they only have a poor quality, low resolution scan from a catalogue or something, and in any case it is not good form to simply steal images wholesale from other sites.
We are always happy to replace images with better ones so if you find some, please send them to us.
Some of you prefer box images as the main image, others want the out-of-box product photo. We use the latter where it's available except for polybags where we like to show that it is actually a polybag. We can't please everyone so we will stick to what we are doing now.
A few of you want to contribute your own images of sets and that is something I have been planning on adding for some time. The technical implementation is the easy part: checking and moderating of submissions is likely to be an ongoing burden which is why I haven't done so yet.
The alternative images of most regular retail sets are small, I agree. The reason is that at the moment I'm on a slow ADSL link with a very slow upload speed so it hasn't been practical to upload larger ones. In a few weeks my line is being upgraded to 70Mbps so hopefully I will be able to add them more easily afterwards.
Instructions
- Instructions are missing.
- Instructions are poor quality.
- They don't print well.
- They are not optimised for use on tablets.
- Can't you host those that LEGO remove from their servers?
Many commenters seem to think that we produce and host the instructions. This is not the case. We just list those that are published by LEGO Customer Services. There is therefore nothing we can do to improve them. Also, we can't host them ourselves because LEGO does not allow it, although I appreciate that many sites do.
So, just about the only thing we can do is make it clearer where the instructions come from and that complaints should be addressed to LEGO.
Inventories
- The inventories you display are incomplete.
- They are inaccurate.
- They contain duplicate parts.
- Why can't you use Peeron's inventories? Or Rebrickable's? Or BrickLink's?
- Parts do not have familiar colour/category names.
We probably received more comments about this single aspect of the site than any other. I agree it is a nuisance and disappointing that the data is not as good as we would like but I can't justify expending the effort that would be required to get it into shape. It's a massive job, a full-time job for someone, and that's not an option at the moment.
We would like to display inventories from other sites, and indeed we do show Rebrickable's, but look at it from BrickLink's and Peeron's point of view: they've spent years gathering their data, why would they just give it away to a rival site?
The only short-term solution I can see at the moment to stop complaints is to remove the inventories altogether but that is likely to generate a load more.
Scans of sticker sheets
A few people asked for us to maintain a repository of sticker sheet scans. It's a great idea but not something we can do because LEGO does not permit it for copyright reasons.
Items of 'gear' are missing
Brickset is a database of brick sets, not towels, lunchboxes, plastic swords and so on. Although we have listed many items of gear in the past, nowadays we only do so when LEGO sells them from shop.LEGO.com. We put no priority on adding items made by licensees, there's too many of them, no way to keep track of it all and most is of limited interest. Sorry!
Add sets earlier than 1965 to the database
I was surprised how many people mentioned this. So much so that I will be enlisting their help to get them added in the near future.
You have sets missing
I will be surprised if there are many brick sets missing but if you know of some that we don't have listed, don't just complain about it, let us know so we can add them!
You have data missing: piece counts, prices etc.
Quite possibly, if you notice anything like that please let us know so we can add it.
Add month of release
Someone made a good point that years down the line it's not always clear the order in which sets were released in a given year, particularly for the likes of Technic which usually has two batches per year.
Data related to this is in the database, we get it from the LEGO product feed, so it's something that can probably be made more readily available. Leave it with me...
Can you add expected release date of forthcoming sets?
We would love to but LEGO doesn't always publicise them and in any case they are often different in different regions of the world.
Have a section for books, add more of them
That's actually something we are working on right now. We will be adding all NoStarch books fairly soon, then will move on to DK and other publishers.
Action plan
This is what we will do to address these issues:
- Add higher resolution versions of alternative images where available.
- Aim to have sets earlier than 1965 added within the next 6 months.
- Publish the month of release more prominently.
- Aim to fill in the gaps for piece counts and other readily available data.
- Add more books to the database.
This is what you can do to help:
- If you have sets that we don't have good images of, send us an instruction cover scan and we will add it.
- If you notice data or sets missing, let us know and we will add it.
We will respond to another topic tomorrow.
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30 comments on this article
On the point about...
"A few of you want to contribute your own images of sets and that is something I've been planning on adding for some time. The technical implementation is the easy part: checking and moderating of submissions is likely to be an ongoing burden which is why I haven't done so yet."
I would love to be involved as a moderator. I am not a Lego expert and I think by reviewing and moderating images I would learn so much at the same time giving something back to you the makers of the site and sites community! Obviously happy to do this daily.
Cheers,
Rick
Thanks guys for the hard job you are doing for us.
I am unquestionably grateful for all of the work that you guys put into this site. Unfortunately, I missed out on giving my feedback in this year's survey.
As I am mainly a Star Wars fan I always look forward to Capn Rex's reviews. I can tell Chris is also a fan and I really appreciate the effort that goes in to avoiding spoilers over the last few weeks or so.
Keep up the great work. Thank you.
My only complaint with images is that some of the instructions images for two similar sets aren't correct for one of them. I know the 2005 Turbo Tank has the picture of the 2006 one. I found another one yesterday but can't find it now.
Another uncontrollable problem with images is that over the last few years LEGO have oddly cut back on the number of HQ product shots they make available for a product. Many products just feature a box shot and built shot and that's it.
Thanks @Huw looking forward to reading all of these, I think its great you deal with them one at a time like this then people can comment. Looking forward to books being added as a I have a large number of mainly DK books.
I don't mind if box images or the main image are used but it does look nice when they are all the same, for "10237 Tower of Orthanc" and "10193 Medieval Market Village" the box image is used can this be changed? Also if you look at Games or Advent Calendars there is a inconsistency as to which is used. But on the whole about 95% of the sets I on my list have the same consistency of image used which is great.
Thanks again for all the hard work.
Often the inconsistency is because LEGO hasn't published the alternative one although in those cases it looks as if it has.
An example is the smallest Scooby Doo set: LEGO.com has a box image but not a product image.
^^^ We don't differentiate between different boxes if the contents are the same, as a rule.
@apostie, thank you for your offer of help. If and when the feature is up and running I'll be in touch!
Awesome work guys, keep it up!
Thanks for mantaining this site and for your hard work.
Would it be possible to post a checklist of sets that need better-quality images, or images at all? I think the main reason users aren't contributing many of these is that they don't know which sets need them.
^I know whenever I logged into my account and go into my sets, there used to be a headline that said I own x number of sets that need better images. Please contribute...or something like that. I haven't looked lately to see if it is still there.
I'm very willing to become an admin for Brickset if you need anyone, Huw. I could focus on the parts lists, prices, and give a bit of attention to Constraction themes. :)
The pre-1965 database entries might be a good idea. I don't know much about the older sets that were released before the minifigs appeared, so I'll brush up on those.
It's so great that you guys are going through all our comments like this. It really makes me feel appreciated as a visitor.
If you need any help, I'm also more than willing to lend you a hand!
Thanks for having the most professional LEGO fan website.
I use the parts database extensively when writing reviews and understand that the data is taken automatically from LEGO. I find the ability to sort parts by piece count, date introduced and colour really helpful.
It would be good if these data bases were more accurate but having a calculation specifying any discrepancy is also a useful guide as well.
Thanks for all the work that is done behind the scenes that makes this website function seamlessly.
There are several pre-defined queries you can run against your collection to show which require better images or more info - scroll down through the following page to find them: http://brickset.com/queries/featured
Like apostie, I'd certainly be willing to help. 2 people are better than one! I should note that I won't be able to help during the day because of school, so a lot of my help (if I was to be a moderator) would be on the weekends.
Other than that, it really feels great that you guys actually go through our comments to see how to improve. It's a rarity.
Thank you for the replies to the comments.
It reinforces the importance of admin to user feedback and shows how much you care.
Cue: awwwwwwwwwww :)
Inventories: "We probably received more comments about this single aspect of the site than any other. I agree it is a nuisance and disappointing that the data is not as good as we would like but I can't justify expending the effort that would be required to get it into shape. It's a massive job, a full-time job for someone, and that's not an option at the moment."
It is the source data from LEGO that is inaccurate. Do you have any influence in asking LEGO to update their inventories? As part of their "only the best" motto, wouldn't LEGO want accuracy?
Thanks for the continued good work Huw + Team.
You continue to be a shining example of a "niche online community" which actively solicits feedback from your users, internalizes the feedback and makes smart changes that benefit the entire community. Closing with a detailed action plan, with a timeframe is amazingly transparent and awesome.
Personally, I 'm excited to see higher-resolution images and database enhancements, along with a personal enthusiasm for the inclusion of No Starch Press books soon :-)
Sincerely,
---Tom
(What's a niche online community? http://tomalphin.com/2013/02/niche-online-communities.html )
> The only short-term solution I can see at the moment to stop complaints is to remove the inventories altogether but that is likely to generate a load more.
Please don't. I added all my sets to Peeron and Brickset and the inventory of Brickset is much better. Peeron is very slow to add recent sets. Peeron can find only 30% of my sets.
Thanks!
It's amazing that you go through the effort of fielding a survey, inevitably dealing with a ton of abuse from people using a free website, and then turn that into an actionable list of improvements with a deadline. I came out of my "dark ages" last summer and have benefited tremendously from the hard work you and your team put into maintaining Brickset. Thank you so much for creating the most professional, simplest, and most comprehensive LEGO site out there. Keep up the great work!
As you stated updating the parts list(s) is a HUGE undertaking. You should allow users to do changes to parts lists and have admins approve changes to parts list, like a wikipedia edit. I would gladly update any parts list I am going thru against another websites that had a more complete version.
@Huw I would be happy to help too. I could go though all sets from 2009 onward and make a complete list of all sets that use box images but have main images and also look at things like games where mostly box images are used and making a list of games that could be changed to box images. Someone would still have the make the changes but a lot of the leg work would be done.
OK, time to stop this voyeurism and shameless freeloading. Let's get contributing.
Up to a few years ago it was quite easy to download images from the Lego site. I have most of the official images from about 2005 - 2011. More than 4500 images at mostly 96 DPI and also some product video's, spins and theme thumbnails.
Not sure what the position is in terms of copyright but happy to share and make this site even more betterer!
(Cue a knock on the door from Lego lawyers)
This is so awesome that you guys take the time with the site and avidly allow fans to inform and suggest the pros and cons with the site.
Huw please don't remove the element inventories, they come in very useful for ordering parts on Bricklink and seeing what parts are available in each set.
@smc, that would be very helpful, thank you. If you need a data export or something to make it easier let me know.
@Atbricks, it sounds as if you can help! There are no copyright issues as we use the material under LEGO's fair play guidelines. I'll be in touch by email.
@Adzbadboy, don't worry it was an idle threat. They are still useful even if not complete.
Just wanted to reiterate that you guys do a great job, your attention to detail and care for the site is very apparent, and I thank you for all you hard work!! Keep up the great work!
I love the site, and really love that you ran a survey. I was happy to participate, and I look forward to any upcoming changes.
Keep up the great work.