http://www.jainsguide.com/history/1223352000utf-8The AFOL History Project @ Jain's Guide is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.Jason Whittenburgjason@jainsguide.comCopyright 2008 Jason Whittenburg, Some Rights ReservedZend Framework - Zend_Feed 1.5.1en http://www.techweb.com/showPressRelease.jhtml?articleID=X670091A LEGO brick-inspired 'Doodle' appears today on the Google homepage to the mark the 50th anniversary of the world-famous creative building brick.2008-01-28 http://personales.ya.com/hispabrickThe 1st AFOL event in Spain, it was held in December 8 and 9. 2007-12-08 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/LEGO announced final decision to end manufacture of the 9 volt train system with electrified rails.2007-10-01 http://www.next-gendesign.comA TFOL building site goes up.2007-08-22 http://www.brickshelf.comAfter a week of furious activity in the community, Brickshelf is officially resurrected.2007-07-20 http://www.brickshelf.comThe AFOL community was thrown into confusion when Brickshelf, the most prominent community site for displaying images of MOCs, seemed to die. Upon accessing the site, the following message appeared: "Brickshelf has discontinued operation. We apologize for any inconvenience."2007-07-14 http://www.brickworld.usThe first Brickworld event took place in Wheeling, Illinois June 21-24. The head event coordinators were Bryan Bonahoom and Adam Tucker. Richard Stollery was the keynote speaker.2007-06-21 http://news.lugnet.com/off-topic/debate/?n=28497JLUG.com, the adult oriented LEGO site, went down due to a database failure.2007-06-19 http://news.lugnet.com/off-topic/debate/?n=28507Stajinaria, an adult-oriented LEGO forum, goes online. It was created as a response to JLUG.net going down. 2007-06-20 http://www.ericbrok.com/legomind/index.htmEric Brok, a Dutch AFOL active in De Bouwsteen, succumbed to the effects of cancer. Eric was an early pioneer in the on-line community with his site LEGO on my Mind, one of the first LEGO Ambassadors, and designer of the set 10190, Market Street.2007-06-11 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2007 was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon from 03/30 to 04/01. This was originally slated as Brickfest PDX 2007, but re-labeled as simply Brickfest 2007 when the August convention was cancelled.2007-03-30 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2006 was held at the Sharaton Premiere at Tyson's Corner, Virginia. The lead organizer was Joe Meno. There were approximately 420 people in attendance. The public expo drew about 3500 people. This was the first Brickfest since the launching of LEGO Mindstorms NXT, and many of the MUP and MDP members were there to talk about it. Allan Bedford, author of The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide, was also there, signing copies of his book.2006-08-25 http://news.lugnet.com/build/mecha/?n=14520Bryce McGlone announces a new site dedicated to LEGO Mecha2006-06-14 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_SwanbergBill Swanberg was arrested after stealing more than $200,000 worth of LEGO from Target stores by replacing bar codes.2005-11-17 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pennlug/PennLUG is formed, first meeting in York, Pennsylvania2005-09-15 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2005 was held on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia from 08/12/04 to 08/14/004. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 330 people attended. The public expo drew about 3000 people. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen owner of the LEGO Group and grandson of the founder, attended. Jake McKee and Mark Hansen announced the release of LEGO Digital Designer. With LEGO Digital Designer, customers can design custom sets online, and LEGO will pack it up and send it them. 2005-08-12 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/LEGO announces its sale of majority ownership of the Legoland theme parks to the Blackstone group.2005-07-13 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2964Joe Meno releases the first ever BrickJournal issue in a free, downloadable format.2005-06-22 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/At Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis, Indiana, a team of 8 AFOL's and 2 kids win first place in a single elimination tournament. The objective is to build the 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer faster than the competing team. Eight teams start on April 22. The "Indy AFOL Knights" finish their 3rd ISD the next day to take first place.2005-04-23 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/?n=3116Jake Mckee heralds the creation of the LEGO Ambassadors, a group to help foster communication between the fan community and the LEGO company.2005-01-06 http://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=37547The Classic-Space Forum is launched, a site for discussing all things space.2004-12-19 http://www.doublebrick.ruThe first Russian AFOL community, DoubleBrick.ru, is launched. 2004-11-07 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2004 was held on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia from 08/12/04 to 08/14/004. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 250 people attended. The public expo drew about 2000 people.2004-08-13 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2606Tim Courtney, Contest Director of the L Prize, announced the "L PRIZE ": a new and exciting open competition that was to be officially launched at SIGGRAPH 2004, and concluded in February 2005. The L PRIZE was to foster advances in LEGO CAD technologies by stimulating competition and bringing the contestants and the user communities together.2004-06-28 http://www.malug.hu/tiwaka/tiki-index.php?page_ref_id=281First MALUG meeting with 4 attendees.2004-05-08 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=47149After much debate and many AFOL objections, the changing of LEGO's colors is announced as final by Jake McKee. The three main colors changed are light gray, dark gray and brown. Additional less mainstream colors such as purple are also confirmed changed, but are largely disregarded by AFOLs as unimportant. The term 'Bley' (from "blue" and "grey") becomes almost universally recognized among fans to indicate this changing of the greys.2004-05-05 http://www.malug.hu/forum/index.phpThe website for Hungarian AFOLs goes on line.2004-03-03 http://brickfest.comBrickfestPDX was held in February 2004 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. It was the first Brickfest to be held outside Virginia. Approximately 200 people attended. The public expo drew about 1200 people.2004-02-20 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=44534The hobbyist community is stunned with the loss of Travis Kunce, one of the best and brightest space-theme builders.2003-12-23 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/?n=533Jake McKee confirms the change in colors that LEGO enthusiasts had just begun reporting days earlier. He states that products from 2004 onward will use the new color palette, including new grays, as well as some other colors (the other major one not announced at this point being brown). LEGO hobbyists nearly unanimously argue against the decision, causing probably the largest outcry in the history of the community.2003-11-18 http://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=282013vil, a LEGO space building theme, is introduced by Mark Sandlin. The theme centers around evil-looking ships, almost always featuring prominent skulls.2003-09-21 http://news.lugnet.com/castle/?n=18015Classic-Castle, a LEGO Castle resource and fan site, goes online.2003-09-15 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2003 was held in August 2003 on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 220 people attended. The first public expo drew about 1000 people.2003-08-08 http://www.suave.net/~dave/pre_roadshow.cgiThe 2003 LEGO Road Show kicked off with a practice run in Enfield, CT, before touring North America. AFOL representatives from NELUG were present (rather last minute) to help demonstrate to the company what might be expected from participating enthusiasts.2003-06-20 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/brickmedia/?n=4Tim Courtney, posting on behalf of BrickMedia, LLC announced that there were delays in the production of the preview issue of Bricks Magazine, and that the first full issue was to have been available mid-summer 2003. Sadly, due to various difficulties, the magazine never made it to production.2003-05-20 http://www.jainsguide.com/report/report/id/95The Eastern Block sub theme is born when Chris Giddens creates the ZOG-312003-05-03 http://www.mocpages.comSean Kenney launches MOCpages, a site for LEGO Hobbyists to showcase their creations. Initially, this did not include image hosting, which was recommended through BrickShelf.2003-04-01 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/brickmedia/?n=3Bricks Magazine offers a charter subscription - $12 USD for 6 issues, announced by Matt Gerber as Editor-in-Chief. Many fans signed up, although it ultimately fell through.2003-03-17 http://www.iltco.orgA briefing is presented at BricksWest which outlines the charter of ILTCO. ILTCO is intended to be a central organizing and collaborative body for LEGO train enthusiasts. Additionally, LEGO is able to leverage ILTCO as a central point of communication for the myriad of disparate LEGO clubs.2003-02-17 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/A team of 13 AFOLs at BricksWest built the 10030 ISD in 103 minutes, starting a trend at LEGO events trying to break the existing record for fastest team build.2003-02-14 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/BricksWest 2003 is held in Carlsbad California, organized by Matthew Gerber.2003-02-14 http://www.coltc.orgThe Central Ohio LEGO Train Club was founded by Paul Janssen, John Bucy and others.2003-02-09 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=40446"Bricks" was to be the first LEGO fan magazine ever published, created by the LEGO fan community for the LEGO fan community. The announcement was made by Matt Gerber on behalf of BrickMedia, LLC.2003-01-04 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=5028&t=i&v=aTroy Cefaratti posted a fake LEGO set by Ken Koleda entitled Yoda Eyes and fooled quite a few people with this silly prank2002-08-08 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=1704Jon Palmer introduces the moonbase project: an easy to follow standard that would allow builders from around the world to build separate "modules" that could be connected seamlessly in a large Moonbase layout. The idea was an instant hit. Moonbase modules were being created within days and after only 2 months the first massive Moonbase layout was put together across the country at a LEGO fan convention in Seattle.2002-07-26 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2002 was held in August 2002 on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 180 people attended.2002-07-19 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/moc/?n=67Jon Palmer decides to create a starfighter model for every unused letter of the alphabet in the spirit of the Star Wars universe. Jon Palmer's Alphabet Project displays that small can also mean elegant, fighters can take the same design and planning as large capital ships.2002-02-08 http://www.bricklink.comBrickBay changes its name to BrickLink after receiving pressure from the online auction site eBay.2002-01-28 http://thebricktestament.comBrendan Powell Smith announces the start of his Brick Testament project. The BT has received extensive media attention beyond the AFOL community and has resulted in three published books.2001-10-03 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=1251The Fibblesnork domain, home to Todd Lehman's Fibblesnork guide and Cool LEGO Site of the Week, expires and is purchased by web squatters who link the URL to adult content.2001-08-26 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=3219As part of LEGO's Studios campaign, Brad Justus announces the professionally done animation of Monty Python's "Camelot" song.2001-08-22 http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2001 was held in August on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 150 people attended.2001-08-15 http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=9509A small group of Train AFOLs from around the United States were invited to meet with LEGO Direct (Brad Justus, Peter Andersen, Jorn Kristian Thomsen, Jake McKee and Steven Hawco) in New York city and talk about the future of LEGO trains. The AFOL attendees included John Neal (GMLTC), Steve Barile (PNLTC), Conan Collopy (GMLTC), John Gerlach (GMLTC), James Mathis (PNLTC), Dan Parker (PNLTC), Larry Pieniazek (poly-LTC), Mike Poindexter (BAYLTC), James Trobaugh (NGLTC) 2001-02-03 http://news.lugnet.com/people/?n=1461Mark Sandlin introduces the world to Fleebnorks, which would later become a staple of the LEGO space community.2001-01-10 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=880LEGO announces its nondescript plans for what would eventually become bulk ordering and LEGO Factory. Fans rejoice at the prospect.2000-12-06 http://shop.lego.comLEGO begins offering online purchasing through their website.2000-10-17 http://guide.lugnet.com/shop/Brickwise Shopping Report goes online @ LUGNET, intended to feature various sales and deals from around the internet.2000-09-04 http://zemi.net/shipyardJon Palmer launches the Galactic Shipyard for profiling extremely large ships.2000-08-05 http://www.bricklink.comDan Jezek unveils BrickBay, an online marketplace dealing exclusively in LEGO. Eventually, it would become BrickLink, the best known hobbyist source for buying LEGO.2000-06-19 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=623The first "BrickFest" event is held on June 9 to June 11 on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. It was the first major attempt at a purely LEGO hobbyist gathering. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 60 people attended.2000-06-09 http://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=2396Mark Sandlin gives us one more little update that becomes one of the most recognizable crafts in the history of .space, based on the classic Calvin and Hobbes' Spaceman Spiff's spaceship.2000-06-09 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=537The Guild of Bricksmiths is announced-- a select group of hobbyists designing custom LEGO model kits.2000-03-31 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/brickshelf/?n=44Kevin Loch announces that BrickShelf will host people's images for free. Prior to this, it was difficult to host LEGO images without various restrictions.2000-02-10 http://www.dixielug.orgDixieLUG is founded, first meeting in Macon, GA2000-01-22 http://news.lugnet.com/castle/?n=1670Pawel Nazarewicz posits the idea of having a large LEGO-castle themed site, which received its name some 3 days later on Jan 22nd by co-creator Craig Hamilton.2000-01-19 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=14LEGO Direct announces that bulk sales are available from LEGO. At this stage, these were accessory sets of many of an individual part, such as 50 2x4 bricks.2000-01-14 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=11596Brad Justus introduces himself and the newest venture from LEGO, LEGO Direct, to reach out to the LEGO community and open dialog between the company and its fans.1999-12-09 http://www.1000steine.deThe German LEGO fansite 1000steine.de goes online, although the domain name was registered some time later on January, 6th 2000.1999-11-28 http://www.fbtb.netTim Saupe launches his LEGO Star Wars fansite, From Bricks to Bothans. Initially the site was a blog for LEGO Star Wars information hosted on AOL.1999-10-27 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/One of the first national gatherings for AFOLs in the USA, the MIT MindFest was the inspiration for the first BrickFest event in 2000. The event was held at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA. MindFest's primary goal was to serve educators working with LEGO, but a high degree of AFOL participation gave the event an additional LEGO hobbyist focus.1999-10-22 http://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=55Tom McDonald discovers spamcake. Its importance was unrealized... until later.1999-09-24 http://news.lugnet.com/cad/dat/models/?n=268Following the desire for a community DAT project, John VanZwieten launches the Datsville project, first known as LCadville.1999-09-01 http://www.nelug.orgNELUG has its first meeting in Melrose, MA with 5 members attending.1999-08-10 http://www.ldraw.orgLDraw website goes online1999-07-07 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=5215Todd Lehman pitches the idea of a traveling box of LEGO where people can trade their less desirable pieces, resulting ultimately in the Jambalaya boxes.1999-07-05 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/The first Legoland outside of Europe opens in Carlsbad, California.1999-03-20 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/German LEGO Fan Forum goes online, founded by Michael Schian (became part of 1000steine.de in 2000)1999-02-05 http://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=1LUGNET, a LEGO community site is launched, featuring a hierarchy of newsgroups, and allowing email subscriptions and a web interface.1998-09-18 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/Kevin Loch opens his personal website up to hosting scans of LEGO instructions and catalogs from the past. Eventually, this would become known as the BrickShelf Library for instructions and catalogs. Many people contribute by submitting scans of their instructions and catalogs.1998-04-19 http://www.ldraw.org/Article222.htmlThe worldwide community of LEGO fans lost a bright light in the passing of James Jessiman, creator of the LDraw file format and original LDraw program1997-07-25 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/Before becoming an annual event, people are encouraged to bring their favorite minifigs to work (or school) all on the same day.1996-12-13 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/04c106513528bd1c?hl=en#e6eb68cc2f5c38eaMatthew Verdier first coins the acronym AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) based on a post by Jeff Thompson, noting that it sounds like "A FOOL".1995-06-14 http://www.faqs.org/ftp/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.toysIn October 1993, about 9 months after alt.toys.lego, a proposal was drafted to create a more widely propagated group for LEGO, rec.toys.lego. Voting concluded on December 21st, and results were announced on January 3rd, 1994.1993-12-21 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/Legoland Park in Billund is opened. 3,000 people visit on the opening day.1968-06-07 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Kirk_ChristiansenOle Kirk Christiansen dies, leaving his son Godtfred in charge of the LEGO company.1958-03-11 http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US3005282&F=0&QPN=US3005282The original LEGO brick with its stud-and-tube coupling system is born1958-01-28 http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllego.htmThe word LEGO was officially registered as a trademark in Denmark.1954-05-01 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is born in Billund, Denmark. His last name is incorrectly transcribed onto his birth certificate with a "K" rather than a "C".1947-12-27 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/When a factory fire destroyed the LEGO factory and its contents in 1942, Ole rebuilt all the production models himself to get the company back up and running.1942-04-03 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/Searching for a name for his company that started making toys in 1932, Ole Kirk Christiensen decides on "LEGO".1934-12-01 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/The LEGO company is founded by Ole Kirk Christiensen as a toy company, with the "LEGO" name coming two years later.1932-09-10 http://www.jainsguide.com/history/Godtfred Kirk Christiansen is born in Billund, Denmark.1920-07-06 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Kirk_ChristiansenOle Kirk Christiansen is born in Filskov, Denmark.1891-04-07 http://news.lugnet.com/technic/bionicle/?n=1149Michael Edwards and Christian Gemunden announce a new Bionicle fan site, Kanohi-Power.com.2001-08-10 http://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=415The Bionicle fan sites Kanohi-Power and BZ Community join forces to become BZPower.com.2002-07-20 A new forum for Bionicle fans is launched.2001-07-21 http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=5208One of the most successful April Fools hoaxes, Ben Beneke releases a fake 2001 train catalog with many enticing models that got fans drooling.2000-03-31 http://news.lugnet.com/publish/?n=3461Thanks to some inappropriate content being posted, BrickShelf starts requiring content to be moderated before becoming public.2002-06-25 http://www.lugnet.com/cool/site-001.htmlEd Boxer's LEGO Castle is awarded the first Cool LEGO Site of the Week.1996-06-02 http://www.brickfair.com/BrickFair 2008 begins, hosted at the Sharaton Premiere in Tysons Corner, VA.2008-08-29 http://www.brickcon.org/BrickCon is held at the Seattle Center in Seattle, WA.2008-10-02 http://www.brickworld.us/BrickWorld 2008 kicks off in Wheeling, IL.2008-06-19 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3251Administration of LUGNET formally passes from Todd Lehman to Rene Hoffmeister.2006-06-17 http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=pressdetail&contentid=12504&countrycode=2057LEGO announces that Kjeld Kristiansen is stepping down from his role in the management of the company, and Jorgen Vig Knudstorp is taking over as the new CEO.2004-10-21 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2005/07/The Brothers Brick, a new LEGO blog starts commenting on all things LEGO.2005-07-25 http://radio.laml.org/lamlradio-1-nottingbley-castle/LAML Radio publishes its first interview.2007-11-24 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/d9ff0e07f4c8732f/6f9f6fb0d489f6e7?hl=en&lnk=st&q=#6f9f6fb0d489f6e7Michael Lachmann releases a new LEGO CAD program, MLCAD, for creating and editing LEGO DAT models.1999-07-14 http://www.see-sciencecenter.org/visitors/millyard-project.aspxThe LEGO Millyard Project, a collaboration between AFOLs and LEGO, is officially completed and unveiled with sponsors Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Dean Kamen.2006-11-29 BayLTC is founded-- a club for LEGO train enthusiasts in the San Francisco Bay area.2000-03-12 http://news.lugnet.com/loc/us/ca/sf/?n=104AFOLs in the San Francisco Bay area agree on a new name for their club, and establish a website!1999-03-04 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3183LEGO Ambassador Eric Kingsley reveals to the community some of LEGO's plans for replacing 9v trains with battery-operated trains. Eric went on to start what would later be named the "Save 9V Trains" movement among fans, in an effort to convince LEGO to retain the 9v train system.2006-03-30 http://news.lugnet.com/mediawatch/?n=2164One of the few recalls in LEGO history, LEGO decides to recall the 3509 LEGO Explore Super Truck. The truck's wheels were found to detach more easily than expected, revealing a dangerous metal axle.2006-10-20 Jeff Byrd begins offering custom Star Wars guns through FBTB.net, beginning the Little Armory.2002-07-18 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=38Brad Justus announces the Legends line, a series of re-released classic sets. He also unveils the first LEGO Legend, set 10000 Guarded Inn.2001-06-08 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=3848LEGO formally announces a new line of sets designed by fans, starting with Daniel Siskind's Blacksmith Shop, #3739.2001-12-14 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=25465Jason Rowoldt announces a new site, BrickFilms, dedicated to keeping track of LEGO movies across the internet.2000-12-20 http://www.classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=223&highlight=colossalClassic-Castle announces the first Colossal Castle Contest, encouraging castle MOCs both small and large.20031119 http://www.eurobricks.com/EuroBricks, a popular hobbyist forum starts.20040128 http://www.legokidsfest.com/The first LEGO KidsFest showcases in Hartford, CT, with the intent of being a traveling expo focused on LEGO and kids.20091120 http://www.brickfest.com/BrickFest 2009 was again held in Portland, Oregon with about 240 registrants and approximately 4000 visitors on the public expo.20090327 http://brickworld.us/BrickWorld 2009 is held in Chicago, IL20090619 http://www.brickfair.com/BrickFair 2009 starts, held at the Sharaton Premiere in Tyson's Corner, VA20090821 http://www.brickcon.org/BrickCon 2009 is held in Seattle, WA.20091002 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/?n=3180The first cycle of 15 LEGO Ambassadors is announced by Jake McKee.20050201 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=92The second cycle of Ambassadors is announced by Jake McKee with 20 AFOLs chosen.20050901 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3167The third cycle of 22 LEGO Ambassadors is announced by Steve Witt, who takes over the program for Jake McKee.20060302 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3302The fourth cycle of Ambassadors is announced by Steve Witt, with 21 Ambassadors.20060901 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3455The fifth cycle of 30 LEGO Ambassadors is announced by Steve Witt.20070301 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3795The 6th cycle of LEGO Ambassadors is announced by Steve Witt, upping its ranks to 40 AFOLs.20080603 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2009/07/08/cycle-7-lego-ambassadors-announced/The 7th cycle of LEGO Ambassadors is announced, with 45 members.20090708 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2009/11/24/bionicle-discontinued-after-2010-news/LEGO announces the end of the Bionicle line for 2010, and its replacement with a similar constructable action figure product coming in the future.20091124 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/12/08/brickarms-in-recent-sun-edition/The UK-based SUN newspaper publishes a negative review of BrickArms' custom building elements, accusing them of being violent and discriminatory. The story spreads over the next week, and BrickArms becomes surrounded in publicity, but is forced to close down temporarily thanks to a huge inflow of new orders.20081204 http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Neiman-Marcus-Holiday-Gifts/ss/events/lf/101008neimanmarcus;_ylt=Ag7AdtXDwVNxzl3.zg5mhC9v24cANeiman Marcus's 2008 Christmas catalog features custom LEGO statues by Nathan Sawaya for $60,000.20081010 http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/james-may-legoBBC's Top Gear presenter James May completes a house made out of 3 million LEGO pieces for a TV show "Toy Stories".20090918 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/01/21/news-lego-appoints-tormod-askildsen-as-head-of-community-development/LEGO announces that Tormod Askildsen is the new lead for the LEGO Community Development, taking over for Richard Stollery, and working with Steve Witt and Jan Beyer.20080121 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3241Will Chapman starts BrickArms featuring his own custom molded accessories, making a lineup of military-themed elements.20060605 http://legoworld.nl/LEGO World 2008 starts20081016 http://legoworld.nl/LEGO World 2007 sells out admission with more than 50,000 attendees.20071018 http://legoworld.nl/LEGO World 2009 begins in the Netherlands20091022 http://news.lugnet.com/events/?n=1845LEGO World 2006 begins in Zwolle, NL20061019 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=51422LEGO World 2005 is held with over 48,000 visitors in Zwolle, NL. The show floor was more than 20,000 square meters.20051020 http://news.lugnet.com/events/legoworld/?n=61LEGO World 2004 is held with more than 18,000 square feet of space, more than 40,000 visitors overall, and more than 200 adult hobbyists attending.20041021 http://news.lugnet.com/events/?n=823LEGO World 2003 begins20031017 http://news.lugnet.com/loc/dk/?n=221LEGO World 2002 is held at The IJsselhallen in Zwolle, NL. The 5 day event had over 35,000 visitors.20021018 http://news.lugnet.com/loc/nl/?n=875The first LEGO World event is held in Zwolle, NL, with more than 27,500 visitors in 4 days. The event is a collaborative effort between the LEGO Company and 'De Bouwsteen', the hobbyist group in the area.20011020 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2010/01/28/lego-releases-its-internal-color-palette-news/LEGO provides the fan community with a list of colors used in its 2010 lineup, as well as the corresponding internal names and numbers.20100128 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2010/01/05/lugs-can-purchase-lego-bricks-in-bulk-through-the-lugbulk-program-news/LEGO's LUGBULK buying program for LEGO hobbyist groups extends to include clubs in the USA.20100105 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2207LEGO releases its official color palette to Peeron.com, with RGB, CMYK, and Pantone colors, and internal naming and numbering schemes.20030830 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2010/04/13/farewell-to-a-legend-mourning-the-passing-of-nate-nnenn-nielsen/AFOL Nate "nnenn" Nielson passes away as a result of an automobile accident.20100413 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39376LEGO.com launches its kid-friendly message boards. Due to various moderation issues, the hobbyist community doesn't make much use of them, but the boards provide a discussion ground for younger children that were previously unable to legally participate in hobbyist groups.20021112 http://www.brickworld.us/bw2010/BrickWorld 2010 is held in Wheeling, IL, with 800 participants and attracting about 10,000 visitors (est).20100617 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2010/02/10/lego-landmarks-taken-in-6500-vehicle-burglary-news/Mark Benz, president of BayLUG has many of his models stolen from his truck. Most were recovered more than two weeks later on the 16th.20100203 http://www.bricklink.com/danjezek/Dan Jezek, author and administrator of BrickLink dies at age 33.20100924 http://news.lugnet.com/lego/?n=820Brad Justus, VP of LEGO Direct announces that he is leaving the company.20040128 Steve Witt starts working for LEGO and begins communicating with hobbyists, initially through FBTB.net20050516 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=839Jake McKee, AFOL, announces his recent hiring by LEGO, eventually becoming the primary communicator for LEGO and the English-speaking online hobbyist community.20001011 http://news.lugnet.com/people/?n=4540After more than 5 years with LEGO working with the community, Jake McKee decides to move on.20060206 Community liaison Steve Witt announces that he is leaving the LEGO company after more than 5 years.20101027 http://news.lugnet.com/mediawatch/?n=2799Eric "LegoMaster" Sophie is arrested for alleged child molestation.20101103 http://news.lugnet.com/loc/uk/?n=2219Huw & Grahame's set database, which had been growing for about a year, is officially dubbed BrickSet, a new independently compiled LEGO set database in addition to the already existing LUGNET/Pause guide.19991204 KL.net, the site of Kevin Loch's instruction and catalog library, is renamed as BrickShelf.19990902 http://www.brothers-brick.com/2010/12/11/2011-lego-ambassadors-announced-news/LEGO releases the list of Cycle 8 (year 2011) LEGO Ambassadors, with 68 members.20101211 BrickFair 2010 is held at the Dulles Expo Center.20100805 BrickCon 2010 starts, hosted in the Exhibition Hall at the Seattle Center.20100930 http://news.lugnet.com/db/inv/?n=482Dan and Jennifer Boger start hosting cross-referenced inventories on their personal site, Peeron.com.20000922 http://news.lugnet.com/publish/?n=4773Hoping to ease bandwidth issues for BrickShelf, Peeron begins hosting of instruction and catalog scans.20050628 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=1120Following fraudulent postings by Matthew Moulton (previously banned from LUGNET months before), LUGNET implements e-mail post authentication to prevent further abuse.20010618 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=376LUGNET begins offering formal lifetime memberships for $10 USD.19991114 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2421Todd Lehman begins laying the groundwork to transition LUGNET ownership and administration to a group within the LEGO community, later named the LUGNET Transition Team.20040220 http://news.lugnet.com/admin/general/?n=12993Following some difficulties with the community and the transition process, the LUGNET transition team resigns.20050617 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2937ILTCO organizes the first LEGO display at the NMRA convention in Cincinnati. Previously, the NMRA preferred not to acknowledge LEGO trains as a legitimate hobby train scale, but instead just as a toy. At the 2005 show, 13 LEGO clubs contributed to the largest display at the entire event!20050707 http://news.lugnet.com/events/?n=1626LEGO hosts the first LEGO Inside Tour, allowing serious hobbyists a 3-day behind-the-scenes tour of LEGO in Billund.20050526 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/aa51dea325ac9b04/518a36159878dd11?hl=enMike Rayhawk posts his revised rules to Eric O'Dell and Robert Ogrin's Lego Wars game, calling it "BrikWars".19970201 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/3cb9420a4264974c/23dc956c7419727eLou Zucaro's LEGO Set Reference Guide moves to www.pause.com, the site of Pause Magazine.19960501 http://home.xnet.com/~countzi/brix/legofest.htmlMinx Kelly hosts one of the first LEGO events (possibly THE first) for adult enthusiasts.19950819 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/1f905927d37b02a/992fe892a88a7fe3Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games first starts discussing his Pirate Game.19980216 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/4a70e3471dec5626?hl=en#LEGO fans in the San Francisco Bay area hold a gathering at a pizza place with more than 20 attendees.19960720 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/453b2018f432217f/66ff16b0d8f0fb84?hl=enLou Zucaro begins the tradition of the RTL Roll Call, where fans introduced themselves with personal information as well as information about their LEGO habits.19950106 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/39709cee3375b16c/eabd90e5b2d40dc1?hl=enTodd Lehman announces his monstrous LEGO auction, called "AucZILLA", with more than 30,000 pieces from 500 new LEGO sets. Unlike all other LEGO auctions at the time, AucZILLA introduces automated bidding, and becomes known for its high quality pieces.19950226 http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/96ef9d10dd9da31b#Tom Pfeifer posts the first LEGO FAQ (also later referred to as the RTL FAQ).19930407 http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/0a462289030952b1#Robert Ogrin posts the rules for a LEGO miniatures game called Lego Wars, developed with Eric O'Dell. The game would later evolve into BrikWars.19930421 http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/97364ed7bc8efcc5#Peter Miller compiles a list of LEGO "Design IDs", which would later be used in systems like LDraw.19931111 http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/1e827795e6231a71/befe84c3ea16fae2?hl=enDik T. Winter posts the first attempt at a comprehensive LEGO set list, initially containing only sets from 1984-1993.19930507 The rec.toys.lego (RTL) newsgroup is created in the rec.* hierarchy of USENET. Charter: "To provide a forum for the discussion of all things and experiences relating to the LEGO(tm), Duplo(tm) and compatible construction toys. Including interesting models that one has built, experiences one has had using legos, or questions about how to build particular components."19940110 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/3a04eae2ac63d9fd?hl=en#Paul Gyugyi starts collecting memberships for LegoNet, envisioned as a hobby-oriented newsletter. Within a week, he receives nearly 100 signups.19940406 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/a3343df0f754847c/4d98307308d89559?hl=enPaul Gyugyi announces the closing of his FTP site, earthsea.stanford.edu, which had been the central repository for the community since as early as April 1993.19960619 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/57791c19e54856d0?hl=en#The quarterly Brick Kicks publication is replaced with Mania Magazine, which is longer and has 6 issues per year rather than the quarterly schedule of Brick Kicks.19941114 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godtfred_Kirk_ChristiansenAt age 75, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen dies, having retired from the LEGO company in 1992.19950713 http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3082Kelly McKiernan launches the International LEGO Enthusiast News Network (ILENN), to consolidate news stories from websites across the LEGO hobby.20051101 http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=40775Matt Chiles creates a new site dedicated to LEGO auctions.20030130 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/ae8a779c319b44e/58f4d21d79e874da?hl=enCalum Tsang proposes a meeting in Toronto that would ultimately lead to the rtlToronto group.19970725 http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=1893NOVALTC (Northern Virginia LEGO Train Club) is held at Union Station. Later, the club would come to be known as WAMALUG.19990815 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/3c1a3ce8d221f8a9?hl=en#Derek Schin posts version 1.0 of the LEGO Geek Code, a sort of shorthand for describing your LEGO self.19950918 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/ed2b907417d78ef7?hl=en#LEGO's legal team pressures the Lego Wars site to remove the word "Lego", because the company does not want to be closely associated with the violent terminology of "war". Steve Jackson (of Steve Jackson Games) contemplates boycotting the company.19951013 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/6fe0d5d372ae7763?hl=en#In an article of American Computerworld, LEGO expresses its concern regarding fan websites' use of the LEGO logo and appearing official, especially in the absence of an official site. Within the next month, AFOLs start discussing various preventative measures, and LEGO's legal team begins cracking down on various fan sites, mostly demanding the removal of their logo.19950911 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/9ed721d11cf07854?hl=en#Long awaited by hobbyists, LEGO creates an official website, www.lego.com. Fans are largely disappointed in the light content, but the site does provide a "Fair Play" document for fans to refer to when designing their own webpages, and even mentions RTL.19960322 http://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/2efbb73c65756363?hl=en#Todd Lehman posts a 147-question LEGO survey for hobbyists.19960414 Date FBTB forums started Date Tim Saupe announced his leaving FBTB Date when FBTB forums were attacked/crashed and history was lost (happened at least twice?) Attendance details for LEGO World events Attendance details for BrickFair events Attendance details for Brickworld events Attendance details for BrickCon events Date of Fibblesnork Guide Date of LDraw release Date of SimLego's first version Start date for Earthsea FTP Site (pre-ATL?) Start date of A.T.L. (early 1993)