Classic Castle dot Com



F.A.Q. about:

Terms of Service

Privacy Policy

General

Getting Started

CC Community

CC Forums

CC Chatroom


ArchivesCCCEventsSetsArticlesCreationsStoriesLinksContact
Classic-Castle.com Frequently Asked Questions
The CC Team - Updated 25 X 09
General information about Classic-Castle.com
      What is Classic-Castle.com?
      What are the Terms of Service? (Jump to a separate page.)
      What is the privacy policy? (Jump to a separate page.)
Getting started in LEGO Castle
      Okay, I like castle and I like LEGO. Now what?
      What sorts of things do people build?
      I don't have a lot of LEGO. Am I welcome here?
      Where can I get more LEGO?
      I'd like to show others pictures of my LEGO creations. How can I edit my photos?
      Can you give me any hints on improving my photography?
      Where can I host photos on-line?
      How can I show others the LEGO creations I've built in person?
      Could someone explain all of these odd acronyms you use? What about the word "Legos"?
      Hey, I found my old LEGO from when I was a kid, but the colors don't match new sets.
        What's going on there?
      How can I get more involved?
Questions about the Classic-Castle community
      Who runs this place?
      Who are the members?
      What sorts of resources are here?
      Are there contests?
      Are there any guidelines for conduct during a contest?
      Could I start a contest?
      What about other events?
Questions about the Classic-Castle forum
      How do I join the forum?
      Okay, I've joined, what next?
      What topics belong in the different sections of the forum?
      Why isn't there an off-topic forum? You should make one!
      How can I post links in the forum?
      How can I post my images to the forum? What are the rules on that?
      How do I get an avatar like the ones I see in the forum?
      What are these ranks under people's names? Why am I a gong farmer?
      What are the rules for signature lines?
      I found this great castle creation online! Can I post on it?
      What about digging up old threads?
      I found some leaked information about upcoming LEGO sets. Can I post it here?
      Is it okay for me to promote my political or religious views on the forum?
      Administration of this site is too strict! You should relax the rules.
Questions about the Classic-Castle chatroom
      What is a chatroom and how is it different from the forums?
      How do I join the chat?
      What topics are allowed in chat?
      What other rules are there in chat?

General information about Classic-Castle.com
What is Classic-Castle.com?

       As the banner reads, this is "The source for all your LEGO Castle needs." Classic-Castle (CC) is a fan-built community of LEGO builders who love the Castle theme. We host various resources, contests and other events, and interaction between fans both online and at in-person events. Read the sections below to learn more about each of these.

What are the Terms of Service?

       Jump to the TOS page.

What is the privacy policy?

       Jump to the privacy policy page.


Getting started in LEGO Castle
Okay, I like castle and I like LEGO. Now what?

       Do whatever you want! Buy a set, collect minifigs, build a MOC, write a story, join our discussion, stage a battle, attend a fest. The only rule is to "leg godt" - Play well!

What sorts of things do people build?

       Really anything. Some people build large castles, other make civilian structures like shops. Some build up armies of minifigs to stage battles. Others use their LEGO to illustrate a story, or make a stop-motion animated Brickfilm. Some people are into customizing figs to make characters from history or from a movie. Find your inspiration anywhere - from real medieval history to fantasy - from things you see in a museum to things from the latest castle-themed movie. Or just straight out of your head. The possibilities are indeed endless.

I don't have a lot of LEGO. Am I welcome here?

       Of course you are. Don't be intimidated by the fact that some people have large collections and can build huge castles. Remember, some of us have been collecting lego for over 30 years. If you've got a small collection, just don't set your sights on building a huge complete castle. Make a building, or a vignette, or something microscale. A creative small MOC is better than a boring huge MOC any day.

Where can I get more LEGO?

       Of course you can go into any store with a toy section, but if there is an official LEGO Store near you, you should really check it out. In addition to all of the normal sets you'll find various gear and also be able to buy loose bricks from a Pick-a-Brick wall. If you can't get to an official store, shop online from LEGO.com. BrickLink is an amazing resource - you can find any particular LEGO element ever made and buy from other LEGO fans. There are also a number of customs dealers who will sell modified LEGO or parts they've designed to fit in with LEGO. Last, but certainly not least, don't forget to check out our Buy/Sell/Trade forum, where you can work out a deal with another CC member or learn about sales at various stores.

I'd like to show others pictures of my LEGO creations. How can I edit my photos?

       You probably received some simple photo editing software if you purchased a digital camera, or you could get a commercial package like Photoshop. Gimp is a free program that has most of the features of Photoshop. Kevin wrote a great article on how to download and use Gimp. Picnik is a free on-line photo editing site. If you simply want to resize an image (and you should), you might use one of the following links: Create Avatars, Online Image Resizer (simple), Online Image Resizer (advanced)

Can you give me any hints on improving my photography?

       That's the perfect sort of question to ask in our publishing forum.

Where can I host photos on-line?

       Probably the main two sites people use are Brickshelf and Flickr, though there are many others.

Brickshelf - You can sign up for a free Brickshelf account. When you first post something to Brickshelf, it is not immediately visible to the public until Kevin (owner and moderator of Brickshelf) okays it. This is to prevent someone from posting inappropriate content. Usually it will become public within a few hours. In the meantime you could wait to post the link in our forums, or you could post a deeplink. To find the deeplink address, keep clicking on the image on Brickshelf until you see only the image, with no border of Brickshelf banner. The address should end in ".jpg" or ".gif" rather than "cgi=?i########".

For comparison, this is a deeplink:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bricktales/z-classic-castle/set6085.jpg
This is not:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=3210579

You might also want to post thumbnails in your post. Brickshelf automatically creates thumbnails when you upload images. When you are looking at the page of thumbnails, right-click (or control-click for you Mac users) on an image and either "copy image location" or view the "properties" to get the address of the thumbnail. It should end in "_thumb.jpg", like this:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bricktales/z-classic-castle/thumb/set6085.jpg_thumb.jpg

Flickr - You can sign up for a free Flickr account. You can also pay to get enhanced features on your account. Unlike Brickshelf, Flickr is not exclusively LEGO, but it does have a lot of additional features like the ability to comment on photos or create user groups. I'll leave any further comment on the relative merits of these two sites to others. One nice aspect of Flickr is that it automatically creates several different image sizes for you. When you upload an image to Flickr, such as this, you'll notice a little icon above the photo saying "all sizes". This takes you to a page that offers you different choices. This makes it easy to choose an image that is smaller than the 400 pixel limit for the forums. To get the address of the image, right click (or control-click) the picture and copy the image address. It should look something like this:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/453035945_bd40c82aee_m.jpg
When posting images to Flickr, it is helpful if you added a "LEGO" tag, as this will help other LEGO fans to find your images among the other Flickr content.

Other image hosting sites - In addition to these two sites, there are a number of other image hosting sites you can use. I won't go into any additional detail on these.
       Exclusively LEGO sites: MOCpages, YouBrick, MOCshow, Brickery, BrickImage, MyImages (this last for 1000Steine members)
General image hosting: Majhost, PhotoBucket, ImageShack

How can I show others the LEGO creations I've built in person?

       As much fun as it is to show others pictures of your LEGO on-line, it's even better to do it in person, either at a LUG meeting or at a fan convention. See our Castle Displays and Events section for more on these.

Could someone explain all of these odd acronyms you use? What about the word "Legos"?

       There are a lot of terms and abbreviations used in the LEGO fan community. Shiri Dori's LEGO Acronym FAQ is a good summary. Some of the ones you'll run across most frequently include:

- MOC - My Own Creation - essentially anything you build that is your own design
- AFOL - Adult Fan of LEGO (or ALE - Adult LEGO Enthusiast)
- TFOL - Teen Fan of LEGO
- KFOL - Kid Fan of LEGO (note, due to our age limit, KFOLs are not CC members)
- CC - Classic Castle
- CCC - either our annual Colossal Castle Contest or the Classic Castle City standard
- BURP - Big Ugly Rock Pile (this piece or this piece, though the second one is sometimes called a LURP, or Large Ugly Rock Pile)

Another term that you'll see is LEGO. This is a plural noun, so "my LEGO" could mean one piece or a whole bunch of pieces. Saying "LEGOS" or "Legos" is considered incorrect.

Hey, I found my old LEGO from when I was a kid, but the colors don't match new sets. What's going on there?

       Well, there definitely is an issue with older bricks becoming yellowed with age. For castle builders, this is probably most problematic with older light gray bricks, but happens with other colors as well, such as white and blue. There has been some discussion of how to restore old discolored bricks. However, you are probably noticing a major color change that happened in late 2003. At that time, LEGO changed their color palette, in particular affecting gray, dark gray, and brown. This caused a great controversy at the time, as people were upset that newer pieces would not match their existing collections. On the other side, some argued that mixing in new shades of gray in castles would mimic the color variations you see in natural stone. Some still refuse to use the newer shades, though with time it becomes harder to accumulate pieces in the older shades. LEGO gave a couple of reasons for the changes: the number of colors they were producing had grown to an unmanageable state and they were seeking to pare down and harmonize the total number of color offerings, and the new brighter color schemes were more appealing to children. There has since been some suggestion that the new dyes are more resistant to the aforementioned yellowing. In any case, new sets produced since late 2003 have included the new shades. These colors are reflected on BrickLink, a site for buying and selling LEGO parts, and Peeron, a site with inventories of LEGO sets, though they (and LEGO) use different terms for the varying colors. There's a great color chart on Peeron that catalogs all the different colors.
Pre-2003 colors:
      gray BrickLink calls this Light Gray, Peeron calls this OldGray,
        LEGO calls this Grey
      dark gray BrickLink calls this Dark Gray, Peeron calls this OldDkGray,
        LEGO calls this Dark grey
      brown BrickLink calls this Brown, Peeron calls this OldBrown,
        LEGO calls this Earth Orange
Post-2003 colors:
      gray BrickLink calls this Light Bluish Gray, Peeron calls this MdStone,
        LEGO calls this Medium stone grey
      dark gray BrickLink calls this Dark Bluish Gray, Peeron calls this DkStone,
        LEGO calls this Dark stone gray
      brown BrickLink calls this Reddish Brown, Peeron calls this RedBrown,
        LEGO calls this Reddish Brown
You can see in the names how the newer shades compare to the older - the newer grays have a blue tint, and the newer brown has a red tint. You will hear some people refer to the newer shades as 'bley' at times.

How can I get more involved?

       Well, you're here, so the first thing to do (assuming you are at least 13 years old) is to join the Classic-Castle forum. There are also lots of other LEGO sites out there (too many to list here) - some more general in scope, some devoted to specific themes, and some centered on a particular nation or language. You might also find a LUG, or LEGO Users Group, in your area. There are fan conventions held each year - some of the major ones include BrickCon, BrickWorld and BrickFair in the United States, LEGO World in the Netherlands and 1000SteineLand in Germany, though there are gatherings in most countries with significant numbers of LEGO fans. Check out our Castle Displays and Events section for more about these fan conventions.


Questions about the Classic-Castle community
Who runs this place?

       In a real sense, you do. This is a community of LEGO fans and we want everyone to be involved in making this a great experience for everybody. In another very real sense, Troy does. It's on his computer and he pays the bills, so he has an ultimate level of control. Between those extremes there are the admins and the mods. The admins are in charge of modifying the site, helping facilitate putting up new content, running our major contests, and setting site policy. The mods play a larger role in the day-to-day life of the forums and chatroom, assisting people in putting topics in the right place, getting rid of spam, stopping flame wars, etc. Mods should be treated with just as much respect as the admins. There are also the admin alumni - these are people who were once admins but, due to job, college, family obligations or other life changes, are now unable to continue in the active administration of this site.

The current admin team is:
      Troy - Forum ID: Troy - aka King Mnementh the Bronze
      Anthony - Forum ID: SavaTheAggie - aka Lord Sava of Aggie
      Ben - Forum ID: architect - aka Baron von Ellermann
      Bruce - Forum ID: Bruce N H - aka Precentor of the Scriptorium
      Josh - Forum ID: JoshWedin - aka Chevalier de Chèvre

The current mod team is:
      Rocco - Forum ID: rogue27
      Adam - Forum ID: ottoatm
      Michael - Forum ID: Formendacil
      Caylin - Forum ID: plums_deify
      Jonas - Forum ID: Maedhros
      Bluesecrets - Forum ID: Bluesecrets

The admin alumni are:
      Lenny - Forum ID: Glencaer - aka Marquis d'Krakhed
      Kevin - Forum ID: Bricksidge - aka Philosopher-King of the Gong Farmers
      Nathan - Forum ID: Lord_Of_The_LEGO - aka Earl of Wells

Who are the members?

       The members are any LEGO fans with an interest in the Castle theme. There is no cost to join or any requirements. The only restriction is that we do not allow any members under 13 years of age. This is because this site is based in the United States and is subject to US laws that place heavy restrictions on sites that allow young children as members. If you are under 13, sorry, but we will not change this rule. Wait a few years and then we'll be happy to have you.

Some members have added their locations to a Frappr map so you can see how Classic-Castle is spread around the world. Learn more about the Frappr map in this thread.

What sorts of resources are here?

       As you look around this site you'll see all kinds of information related to LEGO Castle. First up, watch the front page for the latest news on the theme and on our community. The set guide has extensive information about all official sets in the Castle theme, both past and present. The How-to section gives help on making your own MOCs. You can get inspired by great Creations by other people. The City section has help on setting up group displays. There is an extensive, but currently in great need of editing, listing of Links to other sites of interest to the Castle LEGO fan. The ultimate resource, perhaps, is found in the Forums, where you can interact with other LEGO fans and draw upon their expertise on any subject from how to build a MOC, to hints on taking photos, to a better historical understanding of feudal society.

Are there contests?

       Yes there are. Check out our Events page to see links contests we have had in the past. At least four or so times a year we will host contests - some initiated by the site admins and others by members of the community. Our signature event is the annual Colossal Castle Contest, which always has several categories ranging from very small creations to very large. This is generally announced around November 1 and runs through the end of the year, with winners announced some time in January. Watch the forums and the front page for news about this and other contests.

Are there any guidelines for conduct during a contest?

       Yes, as outlined in this thread:

1. Someone has taken the time to write the rules, so take the time to read them. In fact, read them several times. Your questions might be answered simply by reading the rules again. Normally the host doesn’t mind answering your questions, but it can be frustrating to continually answer questions that the rules already cover.

2. Running a contest is hard work. The person or persons running a contest aren’t getting anything out of it. They are volunteering their time, energy and/or Lego to the contest. Don’t give them a hard time or they may not wish to run it again.

3. Refrain from criticizing the rules, guidelines, categories, or prizes. If you don’t like how the contest is run, feel free to run your own. But do not put down those who are doing so already. There is no need to complain about the categories, as no one is forcing you to enter. Even if you don't like them, look at them as a challenge. You will be surprised at the creativity inspired by a restrictive category. As for prizes, remember that donors are giving away Lego they could have kept. Hearing people ridicule the prizes they donated may make them reconsider doing so in the future.

4. Follow the rules. Don’t try to find loopholes or wriggle out of them by some kind of technicality. You can figure out what was intended by the rules, follow them. Do not ask for exceptions to be made for you. Also, do not ask that deadlines be extended because you are running out of time. This is unfair to the other contestants.

5. Remember that you are not running this contest. If you feel that entries are not within the rules or that other contestants are cheating, do not correct them. Feel free to contact the host, but do not publicly critique the other contestants or their entries. The host will let you know if they are within the bounds of the rules.

6. Do not complain when highly skilled builders and/or people with large collections enter the contest. They have just as much right to enter as anyone else. They have spent the time it took to build up their collections and skills. They deserve to be recognized. They did not get where they are by luck. It takes time, practice, and patience. Complaining about them only shows off your unwillingness to put in the time it takes to succeed.

7. Do not complain that someone “stole” your idea. You do not own a patent on innovative ideas that you may have discovered. If you don’t want the idea used, then don’t post it. On the other hand, if you want to use someone else’s innovative technique, consider contacting them first. That way any hard feelings are nipped in the bud.

8. Congratulate the winners. When the winners are announced, don’t complain or whine because you didn’t win. They did not win because they were “popular”, had “bigger collections”, and any other reason. In fact, many builders have been virtually unknown before winning a contest. They didn't win a popularity contest, they won because they built what the judges felt was the best entry.

9. Lastly, always remember its supposed to be fun. Let's keep it that way for everyone and we will be doing this for a long time to come.

Could I start a contest?

       Sure. We do ask that you talk to an admin about it first, though. This is mainly so we can schedule things so that contests don't conflict with each other. We run a few contests throughout the year and we try to space them out. In addition, we prefer for new members to wait several months before contacting an admin to start a new contest.

What about other events?

       In addition to contests, members of the CC community are highly involved in the various fan conventions. Check out our Castle Displays and Events section to see planning for these. Our City section includes information about different building standards that are useful in setting up group displays.

Another activity of the community is our traveling minifig. First Henry traveled around the world visiting different CC members, and after his retirement, Harold took up this noble quest.


Questions about the Classic-Castle forums
How do I join the forum?

       Simply go to the registration page (also accessible via the main forum page). Read and agree to the Terms of Service, then fill out the information on the next page. The question "Why do you like LEGO Castle?" is simply to weed out spambots. Don't worry, we're not trying to judge who is and who is not worthy or anything--as long as you say something about LEGO and Castle you'll be fine. Once you submit your information an admin will have to okay it. This probably will take less than 24 hours. If for some reason you don't go through, please contact an admin.

Okay, I've joined, what next?

       Simply join in the conversation. We do suggest that new members post some sort of introduction in the announcements forum. This isn't a requirement, just a good way for us to get to know eachother.

What topics belong in the different sections of the forum?

       Try to post in the proper section of the forum. If you post in the wrong area, one of the mods or admins will probably shift your post to the proper section.

Administrative - This section is for discussion of the CC site and forum. Any problems with proper function of the site, or suggestions of things we should add should go here. The admins will periodically post announcements about the site in this section.

LEGO Castle Sets - This is for any discussion of actual official Castle sets. Things like news about new sets, discussion about the contents of sets, etc goes here. Each week a different set review topic is posted to discuss the pros and cons of a given set.

Castle MOCs - This is for any castle creation you create based on your own imagination and not following official instructions.

Castle Customs - If you use anything other than the pieces found in a LEGO box, your stuff goes here. This is the place for anything you paint, cut, add decals to, use clay or other material, or otherwise modify official elements. Discussion of custom accessories created by people to supplement LEGO goes here as well.

Stories - Are you interested in writing a castle story? Or using LEGO to illustrate a story? Check out this forum.

Gaming - What the title says. At times we have had an active role-playing game going on in here, or people will discuss the use of LEGO elements in gaming, or discussion of the LEGO video games, etc.

Castle Displays & Events - This section is all about gathering LEGO fans together to display creations. News about any major fan fest or convention ends up here.

Medieval Life - This is the place people discuss the actual medeival history that inspires us in our building. For instance, people might post pictures of real castles, or discuss how medieval armies were arranged, or the proper use of heraldry. Turn to this section for help in making your LEGO world more true to life.

General LEGO - Okay, we're not just about Castle. If you build in any other theme, or want to discuss sets in any other theme, that should go here.

Announcements - This section is for user announcments. Here you'll see people post introductions when they join the forum, or goodbyes if they're leaving for an extended time, or other major changes.

Dear LEGO - Have a great set idea? Or maybe a complaint about existing products? It should go here. We can't promise they'll reply, but they may read it here.

Buy, Sell, Trade - Two main things here - news about buying LEGO (e.g. the new sets are out in some stores, or a major store chain is holding a sale) and people setting up deals with eachother to buy/sell or trade LEGO. Please note, if you want to sell your old couch, don't post it here. This is not Craig's List - this is just for LEGO.

Publishing - This section is for discussion of how to get your creations known to the world--photography hints, how to make a website, the best sites for hosting your images, etc. You'll also see people post their LEGO-inspired drawings and other artwork here.

Why isn't there an off-topic forum? You should make one!

       No, we shouldn't. From the experience of other sites, when there is an off-topic forum it quickly grows and takes over much of the life of the community. There are some people who only post in the off-topic forum, and pretty much all of the flame wars and other problems start there. The admins and mods spend their whole time on these sections, and end up neglecting the topics that our site is here for - those coming from LEGO Castle and related areas. There are many more places online where you can discuss what you had for breakfast, but this is the only major site there is devoted to LEGO Castle, so let's respect our unique role. The admins have spoken on this one, repeatedly - there will be no off-topic forum. Do feel free to check out the chatroom, which has less strict rules on topicality.

How can I post links in the forum?

       The code to post a link is as follows:
[url=http://www.linkurl.com]link description[/url]
where you change the green part for each link.

To give a specific example, this code:
[url=http://www.classic-castle.com/sets/archives/6085.html]Black Monarch's Castle[/url]
gives this result:
Black Monarch's Castle

How can I post my images in the forum? What are the rules on that?

       Please don't post images larger than 400 pixels wide or high in the forums. It messes up the forum formatting and slows things down for people without high-speed connections. If you do post over-large images, an admin or mod will generally remove them from your post. Your image has to be posted on-line someplace already, such as discussed above.

Once you have your image hosted online, you use the following code to embed it in your forum post:
[img]http://www.hereistheurlforyourimage.com/imagename.jpg[/img]
This code:
[img]images/set6085.jpg_thumb.jpg[/img]
gives this result:


You can also make your image a link. The code to do so is:
[url=http://www.linkurl.com][img]http://www.hereistheurlforyourimage.com/imagename.jpg[/img][/url]
This code:
[url=http://www.classic-castle.com/sets/archives/6085.html][img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bricktales/z-classic-castle/thumb/set6085.jpg_thumb.jpg[/img][/url]
gives this result:

How do I get an avatar like the ones I see in the forum?

       Click the user control panel link in the upper left hand corner of the main forum page, and then go to profile and edit avatar. If you click "display gallery," you'll see a bunch of shields that you are free to use. You can also upload your own image. The limitations are that it must be 120x120 pixels or smaller and no larger than 19.5 kb. Be creative and come up with an avatar that shows off your personality.

What are these ranks under people's names? Why am I a gong farmer?

       When you first join the forum, you'll be listed as a gong farmer. In the medieval era this was the person that, well, shoveled the poop. Sorry, no nice way to put that. As you post more your rank will change to serf, then villein, then peasant, and so on. The listing of known ranks is discussed in this thread. Warning: do NOT simply post a million things just to increase your rank. That is sure to get the admins to knock you back down to gong farmer status. You'll also note that some people have special ranks. Maybe they have some particular role here, or won a contest. Or maybe they're being (lightly) punished or teased.

What are the rules for signature lines?

       Be considerate of transfer speeds. HTML is currently disabled, but if it is enabled at a later date, the use of embedded objects, java and javascript are not welcome. Also, do not use overly large signature images or post overly large images in your post. An ideal signature image is 100 pixels high and 400 pixels wide, or less.

Feel free to include a link to your personal site (especially if it is LEGO related), or to other sites related to LEGO and/or castles. Do NOT include links to non-LEGO commercial sites (linking to your own LEGO store is fine).

We've had some problems in the past with political and religious sentiments in signature lines. If you must include such things in a sig line, remember that you are sharing a forum with people from around the world and from many different philosophical, political and religious backgrounds. Be respectful of others.

I found this great castle creation online! Can I post on it?

       Of course. Be sure to give proper credit to the builder. First, though, you should see if there is already a thread on that creation, because there may well be one. The forum search function is your friend here. We try to avoid having multiple discussions going on the same exact topic. Of course, it may be that you find something that was discussed a long time ago, which leads to our next question.

What about digging up old threads?

       This is a tricky one. Digging up old threads refers to the practice of finding something that was discussed years ago and adding a new post to the thread, which bumps it back to the top of the forum. This is generally frowned upon. On the other hand, we do understand the excitement of someone new to the hobby that runs across, just to give an example, the work of Takeshi Itou, or some other great builder. You want to talk about these MOCs, but the rest of us have done so multiple times in the past. A general rule of thumb is to post to an old thread if you feel you have something new to add to the converstation (hint: "Cool MOC!!!!" is not sufficient to warrant thread resurrection). Another general rule is that if you are bringing back multiple threads, you're probably annoying other people. The problem is that when someone starts bringing up a lot of old threads, these move to the front of the line, and truly new topics get pushed aside.

By the way, do go check out Takeshi's work. Also any of the other things you'll find in our Creations or Links sections. It'll be a great introduction to the potential found in the Castle theme.

I found some leaked information about upcoming LEGO sets. Can I post it here?

       Modified from this thread:

Classic-Castle.com is revising its policy on leaked information about future LEGO sets. In the past it was the policy that no discussion of leaks was permitted. This is being changed to allow for the discussion of "legitimate" leaks. This means that set information that was come accross in a legitimate manner is open for discussion. Some examples:

       Information about sets posted to the public on commercial sites, like Harry Potter sets on the ToyWiz Website. As these are now publicly available, and ToyWiz is a legitimate LEGO retailer, such information is fair game for discussion.

Scans of officially released publications, such as LEGO Magazine, or catalogs in current sets.

Upcoming sets displayed by LEGO at an AFOL fest or a trade show, or information about upcoming sets distributed by LEGO through the Ambassadors or a particular fan site (e.g. if LEGO were to post information about an upcoming Star Wars set through FBTB).

Information on upcoming sets found at publicly available links at LEGO.com, even when those sets are not yet linked from the main shopping pages.

Photos of sets that have been made publicly available in stores, even if the store mistakenly put things on the shelf early.

Information that is obtained illegally is NOT open for discussion, even if you were not the person who did the original illegal act. Some examples:

       A retail employee looking through the stores computer system for upcoming set names. This is proprietary information that the employee has no business looking for, so it is NOT open for discussion.

Scans from a retailers / distributors catalog. These catalogs are for use by stores in ordering future sets and are not for public discussion. Scans stolen from one of them are NOT open for discussion.

Information obtained from someone who had signed an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). If they told you, it was a violation of their contract with LEGO. If you tell us, it is furthering the bad act, and we don't want to be part of it.

If you have a question about if something is appropriate, ask an admin BEFORE posting it and causing an uproar.

Is it okay for me to promote my political or religious views on the forum?

       As discussed in this thread, Classic-Castle.com is not your pulpit.

Do not preach your personal sentiments, be it religious or political. Keep your personal beliefs personal.

Do not preach that you've been offended, be it by religious or political sentiment. Keep your being personally offended personal.

If you have a problem with a member, contact a C-C Team member, either by email or PM. If you need to let out your frustrations, contact a C-C Team member, either by email or PM.

Administration of this site is too strict! You should relax the rules.

       As discussed in this thread:

We, the admins here at Classic-Castle, don't like enforcing rules. Now before you go off and think that you can go off and do and say whatever you'd like, think again. We do not like enforcing the rules, but we will do so without hesitation.

We do not like enforcing the rules because we want everyone to have fun here, and when we have to enforce the rules, it usually means someone isn't having fun.

We created Classic-Castle.com so that fans of LEGO Castle would have a place to gather information, and we created the C-C forums so that those fans could have a place to share information and MOCs, to further enjoy their stay at our website.

Have fun here at C-C, that is the purpose of this place, but don't prevent anyone else from having fun, either. That's just about the only cardinal rule we have. Posting in the right place, staying totally on topic, while important, are really only minor things in the long run, and we admins try to fix them as soon as possible. However, as soon as C-C stops being a fun place, we, the admins, have failed at our jobs.

Enjoy yourself, share your ideas and creations to your heart's content, we welcome you to do so with open arms. If you have a problem with another member, do your best to work it out offline. If you need the help of an admin, that is our job, and we'll be here to assist you. If rules need to be enforced, we will do so as quickly and as fairly as we can.

Do your best to follow the few rules we have, be courteous to your fellow LEGO fan, and most of all, have fun.


Questions about the Classic-Castle chatroom
What is a chatroom and how is it different from the forums?

       When you post to the forum, you can make long posts and include pictures, and those posts remain on the boards and can be read by anyone. In chat, you can only type a couple of lines at a time, and your posts are only read by those who are logged in at the time (though the admins can get into an archive to document any sort of problems that come up in chat). So the chat is much more like talking to the handful of people who are there at the time than writing essays for general consumption.

How do I join the chat?

       You do have to separately register for chat. It just takes a few seconds and the information will not be used by us for any reason or given out to others. Once you register, just log in and start chatting.

What topics are allowed in chat?

       The rules on off-topic discussion are greatly relaxed in the chatroom. Here people will talk about whatever is on their minds. Coarse language and flaming, though, are forbidden in chat just as they are in the forums. Open discussion of sexual or drug/alcohol topics is also forbidden, as we are subject to U.S. regulations for a forum that contains minors. Linking to outside sites that include this content is also forbidden, for the same reason.

What other rules are there in chat?

       The same level of conduct is expected in chat as in the forums. Impersonating others in chat is forbidden. Treat all mods and admins with respect - failing to do so may result in temporary banning from the chatroom.


 Home | Archives | City | Events | Sets | How-to | Creations | Stories | Links | Contact 

© 2003-2009 Classic-Castle.com. Site design © Anthony Sava and Benjamin Ellermann. All rights reserved. This is an unofficial fan created LEGO website, and is not sponsored, authorized or endorsed by The LEGO Group. Visit the official LEGO website: www.LEGO.com