Uh, guys, I think we can change the name from ‘BREAKING NEWS’ to something else now. Everyone knows.
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Well, it is news and it is breaking the AFOL fandom.
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Indeed!
But I am open to suggestions for a modified name.
After listening to the latest Nak & Jay, I’m fully onboard the Bionicle support train.
The AFOLs can sustain us on their tears. Their time can come with any other anniversary (like the more important 100th). Bionicle deserves this.
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Most of us are AFOL’s too now. And there are plenty of AFOL’s who don’t have any issues with Bionicle. But there is also a significant-sized group who is pretty averse to it.
I get that this comes from the day when Bionicle fans were all kids and pretty much the whole adult Lego community did look down on it, but… those days are long gone. I just feel like a less generalizing term would be better on a number of levels, I guess.
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(saw you changed the name. 
)
Yes, by now (with some exceptions), most Bionicle fans are legally adults and thus stands to reason should be considered AFOLs. However, despite my age and love of Lego I would never consider myself as such. Because to me, and plenty of others, AFOL doesn’t just mean Adult Fan of Lego. It has gained additional colloquial definitions and not just in the Bionicle community.
Primarily in that AFOL more often means a person(s) who either group up with, only likes, everything Lego produced prior to the 2000s. They are only fans of the dozens of tiny subthemes throughout Castle, Space, Town, and the like. They might be okay with some of the modern set like City, but they dream of the day Lego fully returns to the Yellow Castle. And as with their hatred of Bionicle, they also hate or severely dislike other storied themes. Knights Kingdom II, 2007 Castle, Hero Factory, Ninjago, Nexo Knights, Legends of Chima, and so many more.
I’d say AFOL is similar to Geewuner from the Pokemon fandom. A group of old guard who holds a “golden age” of Lego above almost everything that has come since. And anything that doesn’t placate to them is actively an enemy. You’ll also often find they’ll accuse of the fans of themes from 2000s forward to be blinded by nostalgia or too young to understand what is good Lego.
While I cannot blame that group for wanting Lego to appeal to their wants, as don’t we all, but their vitriol against all other Lego fans (present and future) is highly disgusting.
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That toxic relationship works both ways though. YT comment sections weren’t fun to read lately.
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I find the Classic Space AFOLs to be a lot like fans of the original Star Wars trilogy. I’m inclined to intensely dislike them and their interests in retaliation for how they insult mine. As someone who genuinely enjoys the prequal films and either is willing to overlook it’s problems or doesn’t see what the problems are, the constant complaining and belittling of those films over the years and propping up of The Empire Strikes Back really gets on my nerves.
But on a more positive note, I’ve been thinking about the possibilities for if LEGO was to do another vote like this in the future for its themes beyond 2001. Leaving out themes that were already listed even when they lasted beyond 2001 and looking through Brickset, the list of themes to vote amongst could approximately include:
- Belville
- Life on Mars
- Racers
- Jack Stone
- World City
- Knights Kingdom
- Knights Kingdom 2
- Vikings
- Dino Attack/2010 (not sure how this split theme would work out)
- Tiny Turbos
- Exo-Force
- Castle 2007
- Mars Mission
- Aqua Raiders
- Agents
- Space Police 3
- Power Miners
- Hero Factory
- Kingdoms
- Atlantis
- World Racers
- Alien Conquest
- Pharaoh’s Quest
- Games
- Heroica
- Dino 2012
- Monster Fighters
- Chima
- Galaxy Squad
- Castle 2013
I’m just going to keep going. - Mixels
- Ultra Agents
- Elves
- Nexo Knights
Now this is really interesting. I’m very curious to see how this poll would go, now that the old guard AFOLs would have less investment in these themes than newer fans (especially since 2006 onwards is in my time). This would be a very tough choice for me, since I had an interest in nearly everything LEGO put out as I was growing up, though one of my votes would probably have to go to Chima.
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Now we’re talking!
Yeah perhaps a different, more specific term would be needed (uber-AFOL, purist-AFOL?)
How ironic that the “golden age” brought Lego to its knees, and it was saved by the thing they hate the most.
Anyway, I do not really care for all the “politics” surrounding all this - I just want Bionicle to win and get a 90th anniversary set. It is after all the reason we are having the 90th anniversary right now.
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Being an AFOL is like being a boomer - it’s not about your age, it’s about your mentality 
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There always has been and always will be a significantly greater number of AFOLs opposed to Bionicle than there are AFOLs in support of it. There’ve been Bionicle AFOLs since its inception, but I know enough of the greater LEGO community that in comparison it’s like the Bionicle AFOLs don’t even exist.
The term is still accurate.
Listen to this man.
I’ve been an AFOL for a good while now in technical terms, but I’m only somewhat an AFOL mentally. I build extremely atypically (author’s note: this is code for I can’t build for my life) and I waste my existence on a Bionicle forum instead of ranting on brickset articles (which is where a few high profile Bionicle AFOLs have migrated to).
Me when my cheating through the video game fails horribly
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In my experience, comment sections are rarely a fun place for reading material.
Though for clarification, I’m not condoning any toxicity, insults, and/or other bad behavior from the Bionicle community back at the AFOLs. We should, ultimately, be better than them. However, one does often reap what they sow and it is difficult for some to show love and kindness back at those who have only given them hate since inception.
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Difficult, but not impossible. Everyone is responsible for their actions, no matter who their parents were or how many 40 y/o white collar AFOLs are yelling at them.
If you want there to be a change, be the change.
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Imma steal this do you mind?
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Cite the source you plagiarist
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bold of you to assume I wouldn’t
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The main problem with theses themes is the dead molds. Classic space doesn’t need any special molds, even exploriens of any of the ranges they put in the list, whereas a LEGO range like Dino Attack needs dinosaurs-either that or you spend the part budget on a brick built Dino. I have the life on Mars base and uh yeah that range has lots of molds as well. I would have loved for these ranges to be revived with one tribute set but LEGO is marketing towards AFOLs not TFOLs or kids.
As a TFOL (yes that right I collect all da types of Lego, not just bionicle) I’m heartbroken that ranges from my childhood can’t be represented, a system like the canon contest polls would have been better starting with every range-but alas Lego doesn’t want to invest in molds.
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this guy gets it
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