Bringing Life Back

[-Windrider-]

Dear Media-goers and all BZPers,As you can see, Media Discussion's activity is waning; the active topics list seems to get shorter each day; and, the forum goes for days without seeing a new post. There is hardly a reason for my pinning this topic when there is a fraction of a single page for it to compete with.One might say that this is to be expected: with the Bionicle line's having ended, new LEGO media is scarce, and all existing Bionicle books, movies, and comics have been discussed to the point of exhaustion. Even when our favorite line was active, well, the old Movies & Books forum wasn't very heavily populated. Media Discussion is that forum's equivalent, and so, the state of things is not surprising.But, as the leader of this forum, I don't want to sit back and watch it shrivel up. I want to try to bring some life back into this forum, if only a little, and I come asking for your ideas. Can anything be done? If so, what? How can we help Media Discussion to see some renewed activity? For instance, I notice that there are no topics discussing the Ninjago TV series when this would, naturally, be home to such discussion. Is it because of the Ninjago general thread in LEGO Discussion?I welcome any and all thoughts on the matter.Thank you,-Windrider-

Edited February 26, 2012 by -Windrider-

[Dralcax]

Yes, that one general topic sucks up all things Ninjago, especially TV episodes, due to the topic mostly being one for the story, which is primarily TV-based. However, I think we should merge Media and Digital discussion, as the majority of Lego media is digital, for example, videos and character bios on Lego.com. With Bionicle gone, and Lego Club Magazine discussion is shoved into talkback topics, only Ninjago has media that could go here, and we already have a topic elsewhere for that.

[Zarohum]

Merge with Music and Movies, maybe?

[Dralcax]

Merge with Music and Movies, maybe?

But M&M (NOT the candy) is for fan work, not discussion of canon, official media.

[fishers64]

I thought about posting some analysis of Cyroshell Bionicle songs awhile back, but that's not going to get you too far. I could post a bunch of analysis of old books and stuff, but that's not going to get you too far. I remember that my analysis of the Bionicle Movies got a bunch of acclaim and stuff and re-enlivened said forum, but it is not like there is an instant equivalent to that I can magically pull out of my hat.

[Aanchir]

Part of the problem is that discussion is currently spread out sort of awkwardly. The reason there hasn't been discussion of the Ninjago TV series is that discussion of that has mostly been confined to the LEGO Discussion forum, since many people apparently don't see the point of separating discussion of the TV series and books from discussion of the overall story (the same way a lot of discussion of The Legend Reborn would fall under BIONICLE Storyline and Theories). Meanwhile, story discussion for all themes (besides BIONICLE, which is more well-moderated) occasionally spills over into the set discussion forums, making things even more confusing.I have no idea what the solution to this is-- whether it will sort itself out automatically, whether it needs moderators to step in more promptly when discussion is in the wrong section of the forums, or whether moderators could take a more proactive stance by creating "official" topics and laying out in the first post what types of discussion are covered by them. Administration is not one of my strong suits. :PHope you can arrive at a solution. If Ninjago TV series discussion were to migrate here I'd be happy to use this forum, although I worry that things might become disjointed if TV series discussion was segregated from book discussion, website discussion, etc. But then again, things worked out all right back when this was just a BIONICLE site and all the discussion was divided up between sets, story, etc, so how much harm could it do to try that again?

[Rarity]

It might also be that no one here really watches it.Or, people still think it's a Bionicle only sub-forum. It'll get active as time goes by, just might take awhile.

[Sumiki]

I'm in favor of combining this forum with Digital Discussion, if all else fails. They're similar enough to work together as one.

[SonicBOOM XS]

I think that, with the disappearance of so many media aspects of LEGO with the demise of BIONICLE, it'd be best to merge this with DD.But I'd wait and give it some more time. Maybe start up a few threads based on games (like HF:Breakout) and such.

[Aanchir]

I think that, with the disappearance of so many media aspects of LEGO with the demise of BIONICLE, it'd be best to merge this with DD.But I'd wait and give it some more time. Maybe start up a few threads based on games (like HF:Breakout) and such.

Most of the media aspects of LEGO continued just fine in BIONICLE's absence. The LEGO Club Magazine still frequently includes comics. The Ninjago theme still has books (in fact, more of them than in the latter years of BIONICLE) and a TV show (something BIONICLE never had). The Hero Factory theme has TV specials, as do other themes like LEGO Star Wars and (eventually) LEGO Friends. A feature-length LEGO movie is in the works.Overall, there's no shortage of LEGO media these days, so that's certainly not the reason this forum is doing poorly. A straight BIONICLE Media subforum would have done no better in 2009/2010, most likely, except that there were simply more BZPower users buying/consuming that media when it was BIONICLE-related.

[-Windrider-]

Thank you all for the replies so far!

Most of the media aspects of LEGO continued just fine in BIONICLE's absence. The LEGO Club Magazine still frequently includes comics. The Ninjago theme still has books (in fact, more of them than in the latter years of BIONICLE) and a TV show (something BIONICLE never had). The Hero Factory theme has TV specials, as do other themes like LEGO Star Wars and (eventually) LEGO Friends. A feature-length LEGO movie is in the works.Overall, there's no shortage of LEGO media these days, so that's certainly not the reason this forum is doing poorly. A straight BIONICLE Media subforum would have done no better in 2009/2010, most likely, except that there were simply more BZPower users buying/consuming that media when it was BIONICLE-related.

This is true. I was wrong to say that new LEGO media is necessarily scarce these days in the opening post. The truth in your final statement, that there was simply more excitement over Bionicle media, has only made it seem to be this way.

I thought about posting some analysis of Cyroshell Bionicle songs awhile back, but that's not going to get you too far. I could post a bunch of analysis of old books and stuff, but that's not going to get you too far. I remember that my analysis of the Bionicle Movies got a bunch of acclaim and stuff and re-enlivened said forum, but it is not like there is an instant equivalent to that I can magically pull out of my hat.

Your Hero Factory topic has gotten a bit of attention so far, so I must thank you for that. I recall your wanting to post that song analysis, and was wondering what happened to the idea. Well, this forum would certainly welcome it, even if it wouldn't be the needed panaceum.

Yes, that one general topic sucks up all things Ninjago, especially TV episodes, due to the topic mostly being one for the story, which is primarily TV-based. However, I think we should merge Media and Digital discussion, as the majority of Lego media is digital, for example, videos and character bios on Lego.com. With Bionicle gone, and Lego Club Magazine discussion is shoved into talkback topics, only Ninjago has media that could go here, and we already have a topic elsewhere for that.

I'm in favor of combining this forum with Digital Discussion, if all else fails. They're similar enough to work together as one.

I support merging Media and Digital, given the nearly universal digitization of media these days. The line separating "media" and "digital" discussion is, at this point, arbitrary - see, especially, the issue of discussing LEGO music outlined in this forum's rules. Of course, merging two forums presents some logistical problems, but I have ideas about how it could be done. In any case, even if I wrote up the shiniest and simplest proposal ever written, it might not fly with Black Six no matter what. And, this wouldn't engender a spring of new "Media"-related topics; it would simply mean that there would be one fewer empty forum in the index.

Part of the problem is that discussion is currently spread out sort of awkwardly...I have no idea what the solution to this is-- whether it will sort itself out automatically, whether it needs moderators to step in more promptly when discussion is in the wrong section of the forums, or whether moderators could take a more proactive stance by creating "official" topics and laying out in the first post what types of discussion are covered by them. Administration is not one of my strong suits.

I agree, and LEGO Discussion serves its purpose as a general sort of forum, but the themed threads in there, being general threads, encompass all discussion. There is no easy solution to this, and is one that cannot be solved in this topic. Therefore, I will probably PM bonesiii about working out a way to get the Ninjago TV series discussion into this forum, at least. Of course, the addition of one active thread isn't going to save this forum, at the end of the day. The problem seems to be, inherently, one of getting people excited about more LEGO media so that they want to discuss it. News stories serve this purpose, but then discussion is funneled into Talkback topics, and then you're back facing the issue of a barren Media Discussion.EDIT: I talked to bonesiii, and if someone wishes to create a thread for the Ninjago TV series, then by all means, go ahead. It may not do much, but it's a start. Such a topic will be perfectly legal and not considered a dupe of the Ninjago General in LD. Edited February 29, 2012 by -Windrider-

[Rani]

What about some kind of movie/music/art contest? (Sorry if that is already done but im quite new here)

[fishers64]

What about some kind of movie/music/art contest? (Sorry if that is already done but im quite new here)

Those contests would be down in the Creative Outlet forum sections. The General Art forum has art contests, but there are no music or movies contests currently. However, if those contests were to occur, they would occur in the Music and Movies forum, not here. The purpose of this forum is to discuss official Lego media, not media made by the members of BZPower - that's what the Creative Outlet sections are for. :)Hope that helps.

[Nuparu1995]

I totally sympathize with you. Makes me super sad. :(Mmkay, so just an idea. To revive interest (in all forums, even), forum leaders could begin starting a myriad topics just for the sake of it on old topics not brought up for a while, and then let the members run free to discuss it. Could be a sort of forum revival project.

[Meiko]

I think combining this forum with Digital Discussion would be a good idea, since digital media is still media.Recently, I've been wondering why this forum is so inactive. There's a ton of new media in new themes—much more than was around in BIONICLE's time. There are two TV series; full seasons planned out, and another with less frequent episodes. Ninjago has a ton of books related to the theme, and Hero Factory is starting to get some too. I'd expect that there'd be a lot more activity here, but I guess I'm wrong for some reason.

[-Windrider-]

I talked with Black Six and there aren't any plans for a Media/Digital merger at this time. However, it is quite clear that Media is in a better place now than it was back at the end of February. There's always room for further activity, but at least we are off of life support.

Edited July 12, 2012 by -Windrider-

[~Shockwave~]

i posted something here yesterday i think. and have yet to get a decent answer.maybe make some sort of contest? say maybe take a random line from a movie or something and make a contest of figuring out the response.if you can get people in the forum, that should liven it a bit.

[bonesiii]

As you know from our PM convo, Wind, I do not consider that one Ninjago topic to be the be all and end all and a Media topic for the TV series would be very welcome to me. After all, that topic is not an official topic; I have not enforced a no-dupe rule on it but many members have seemed to sort of assume all Ninjago discussion goes there. It's a good general topic but more specific discussions can and should go elsewhere as far as I'm concerned. :)As for merging Media with Digital, I'm all for it, if those in charge of both and the admins agree.

Edited July 12, 2012 by bonesiii

[LordofBionicles]

how about if each week we pick some Bionicle´s loose ends and we try to discuss them, coming up with story reasons and stuff like who´s the GB, how are Matoran created, did Mata Nui felt something for Kiina (we all now answers no to that one) ... if that helps

[fishers64]

how about if each week we pick some Bionicle´s loose ends and we try to discuss them, coming up with story reasons and stuff like who´s the GB, how are Matoran created, did Mata Nui felt something for Kiina (we all now answers no to that one) ... if that helps

Let me direct you to the Bionicle Storyline & Theories forum, where such discussion is already taking place (and is the proper place for such discussion) .

[Sir Kohran]

Recently, I've been wondering why this forum is so inactive. There's a ton of new media in new themes—much more than was around in BIONICLE's time. There are two TV series; full seasons planned out, and another with less frequent episodes. Ninjago has a ton of books related to the theme, and Hero Factory is starting to get some too. I'd expect that there'd be a lot more activity here, but I guess I'm wrong for some reason.

That might just be due to most members not liking the new lines enough to discuss their shows and other such content. For all the site's coverage of other Lego themes, I think the majority of the members are still here for Bionicle. Edited July 14, 2012 by Sir Kohran

[Aanchir]

Recently, I've been wondering why this forum is so inactive. There's a ton of new media in new themes—much more than was around in BIONICLE's time. There are two TV series; full seasons planned out, and another with less frequent episodes. Ninjago has a ton of books related to the theme, and Hero Factory is starting to get some too. I'd expect that there'd be a lot more activity here, but I guess I'm wrong for some reason.

That might just be due to most members not liking the new lines enough to discuss their shows and other such content. For all the site's coverage of other Lego themes, I think the majority of the members are still here for Bionicle.

I don't think it's a matter of "most members" not liking stuff as much as a matter of fans being a bit more divided about things that aren't BIONICLE. Even if 50% of BIONICLE fans here on BZPower went on to be Hero Factory fans (just pulling that number out of my head; not basing it on any real statistics), that's 50% fewer people to discuss the Hero Factory TV episodes with. Others will have moved on to different LEGO themes, or to different interests altogether.There's also the fact that even among members who have become fans of Hero Factory, Ninjago, and other themes, the media isn't necessarily as accessible to everyone as the sets. For instance, new episodes of the Ninjago and Hero Factory TV series air on different dates and networks depending on what country you're in, most of the Ninjago books aren't published globally, and magazine comics will require a subscription to read unless somebody provides scans. It's a lot different than the toys, which you can judge pretty effectively using pics and reviews even before you find them in stores, and which can be found pretty consistently in any toy store you walk into. Until you've watched a TV episode or read a book for yourself, it's hard to really discuss it.Overall though this subforum has had a decent amount of activity lately, and I'm sure it will have even more activity once Ninjago episodes begin airing again next Wednesday (at least in the U.S.). Edited July 14, 2012 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Enzee]

I think another problem is that when it comes to Bionicle, I'd just discuss it in the Bionicle Storyline & Theories forum. There isn't really a whole lot of topics that I'd want to discuss that would fall outside of the storyline, so I've never really ventured into this forum at all.The only time that I would post a topic here would probably be due to questions about Kathy Hapka or something.

Enzee

[Zestanor]

I think there should be some renaming of the forum sections. What we have now is:1. Set Discussion2. Media Discussion3. Digital Discussion4. Storyline & Theories5. [bionicle Reference Center]6. LEGO DiscussionI think this would do better:1. LEGO General Discussion -Same as 'LEGO Discussion'2. BIONICLE Meta Discussion -This would be a merge of 'Media' and 'Digital,' which have pretty similar premises, and are both losing popularity.3. BIONICLE Storyline & Theories -Same as 'Storyline and Theories.'4. Set Discussion5. [bionicle Reference Center]And if it helps, I may end up posting that big thing in my sig here for review (once I finish it, that is), but y'all have to promise you'll read it!

Edited July 28, 2012 by Zestanor

[Shadow Kurahk]

It seems like administrators are pretty adamant about the current forum structure--I don't anticipate them wanting to change it.But as for reviving this forum: maybe an intricate scavenger hunt across the internet about BIONICLE books and movies? Just throwing it out there. Maybe even some kind of contest...I'm at a loss there, though. =/-SK

[Aanchir]

I think there should be some renaming of the forum sections. What we have now is:1. Set Discussion2. Media Discussion3. Digital Discussion4. Storyline & Theories5. [bionicle Reference Center]6. LEGO DiscussionI think this would do better:1. LEGO General Discussion -Same as 'LEGO Discussion'2. BIONICLE Meta Discussion -This would be a merge of 'Media' and 'Digital,' which have pretty similar premises, and are both losing popularity.3. BIONICLE Storyline & Theories -Same as 'Storyline and Theories.'4. Set Discussion5. [bionicle Reference Center]And if it helps, I may end up posting that big thing in my sig here for review (once I finish it, that is), but y'all have to promise you'll read it!

So if "BIONICLE Meta Discussion" would be a merge of Digital Discussion and Media Discussion, then what would end up happening to media and digital discussion for other LEGO themes? Lumping those in with LEGO General Discussion would take activity away from the media section of the forums, I would think, not bring activity back.Personally, I think it's good having the LEGO and BIONICLE media discussion sections of the forums together because it allows them to be discussed on similar terms or even compared against one another. If they were segregated then discussions of how the BIONICLE movies compare to the HF episodes or how the Ninjago TV show compares to the BIONICLE movies) could easily get off-topic by veering too far into either BIONICLE media or LEGO media discussion for their respective subforums.

[Zestanor]

So if "BIONICLE Meta Discussion" would be a merge of Digital Discussion and Media Discussion, then what would end up happening to media and digital discussion for other LEGO themes? Lumping those in with LEGO General Discussion would take activity away from the media section of the forums, I would think, not bring activity back.Personally, I think it's good having the LEGO and BIONICLE media discussion sections of the forums together because it allows them to be discussed on similar terms or even compared against one another. If they were segregated then discussions of how the BIONICLE movies compare to the HF episodes or how the Ninjago TV show compares to the BIONICLE movies) could easily get off-topic by veering too far into either BIONICLE media or LEGO media discussion for their respective subforums.

Oops! Yeah, 'LEGO Meta' would make more sense. 'LEGO General Discussion' would would be the same as our 'LEGO Discussion' except that the name sounds more descriptive to me.

[Makuta of Time]

I agree with merging this with M&M; what other choice do we have.

[-Windrider-]

I agree with merging this with M&M; what other choice do we have.

------------

 

M&M is for fan-created music and movies; this forum is for official LEGO media. What has been suggested, however, is a merger with Digital Discussion.

I talked to Black Six about it a while back, though, and there are no plans for merging any forums at the moment. Besides, Media's been getting more attention lately. I'm not sure why I still have this pinned. : P