I dont think they are, he did say, and lets see if I can quote this exactly. “You will still be allowed to disscuss leaked images of Bionicle and LEGO related content on the message boards”. So I dont think you need to worry so much about that, yet.
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They got popular and actually started to get some profit of their youtube business because of the 2015 leaks. Its quite hipocritical of them to talk about leaks when the soul reason why they are so successful was because of leaks.
If they want to survive, they need to get even more professional, which means non of that goofy discussions, needless yelling, needless infighting, more consistency in the release of content, more LEGO content and Bionicle content released, more exclusive interviews with LEGO employees…You all need to basically grow up in terms of what kind of content you release, how you act in videos, and what your focused speciality is (because lets face it, the podcast wasnt the main thing, it was the constant leak or non leak related news updates).
Leaks, yes they are bad as you described it in your video about it, but it is also what best defined your channel and what made you popular in the first place. Now you need to ■■■■■ in a drastically different way or suffer the possibility of loosing popularity all together. Like it or not, you all shape the community, it all depends on what will you do with this change.
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Hahahaha! A good chunk of your subscribers gravitated to TTV for Biocraft, not leaks.
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Honestly? I’m glad. I got really tired of people saying “Look at this!” or “Report on this!” Especially with fake leaks and such.
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Well that’s great to hear.
I wonder how leaks be spread now? The typical picture leak usually is an image of the set or a link to where pictures are. If I remember correctly we are no longer allowed to do either of these. I imagine that people will try to avoid ban by creating a separate account. Then it’s typical PM share from there for the handful of people who saved the pictures.
The other leak method I could think of are description leaks. Describing the set is fishy as there is no way to verify. I’ve noticed EB has a few of these done by trustworthy members who have the catalogs. Another form of these leaks are sketches or drawings, which still have to verified. So I guess future leaks for the most part will be the little bits of info trustworthy members rarely give or brief flashes that they’re on other sites. I guess that’s bearable.
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At first this was a rather jarring decision to hear. But after listening to TTV talks on Vessel, you guys really made me think about leaks and what they really do.
Just from a personal standpoint, I think I’m done with leaks now. It was fun for a while, I had never participated in them before Bionicle 2015 was coming around. But now as time goes on I’m realizing there’s a lot of negative to participating in leak culture. And in the end, it’s hard to look at them in a way where the positives outweigh the negatives.
I wrote this to collect my thoughts on the situation if anyone is interested to hear a more in-depth version of my rational :P.
I remember, what I was like back in 2014 and before then. I never would even hear about leaks because I wanted to wait up until the reveal in the catalog. I loved that feeling of surprise and seeing what was new. Then Bionicle 2015 came around and I seem to have forgotten about that. Now I look at leaks as soon as they come out. It’s been fun and all, a lot of fun, but I’m starting to realize maybe I’m missing out on the benefits of that old mindset I have, and forgetting the reasons I kept it so long.
I would never be looking out leaks like this for Starwars, I was trying to avoid them. Why am I looking for them in something that I frankly care about even more? I’m realizing now I’m perhaps taking away from a different type of enjoyment of Bionicle.
Another rather important point is I’m realizing how much we’re feeding on these leaks for our discussions, which is actually destroying other (perhaps better) discussions. And sometimes become bored from lack of info. We shouldn’t have to feel bored because we don’t have a constant stream of new info, the community went 4 years with almost no new info, we need to get back into the mindset of being about to make conversation out of what we already have and what was put out legitimately.
I seem to have forgotten, especially on this 2016 wave, is those images were illegal. With 2015 I knew that, but I was so hyped I kind of made myself forget, and I guess I never remembered again. It’s not really right, it is illegal, and I don’t want to spread it around anymore.
The hype was fun, but I think it’s time to step back and take it a bit slower again. Learn to live without the constant hype and wait for those fewer, but sweeter moments. And take more time to enjoy what there is now. Because there is a lot of it I think I’m beginning to miss out on.
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Awesome to hear, especially when you are trying to build a relationship with the guys at lego. If you do lose any sub because of this, that just means they don’t care about any of the other content that you all produce, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
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Of course it will, we aren’t ignorant to the fact that there are people subscribed to us solely for leaks. Thing is, they only watch our leak related videos anyway- meaning their value as a subscriber isn’t much and they don’t contribute to our overall views.
In the grand scheme of things, losing that audience doesn’t actually hurt our channel, because they were never very active to begin with.
This would be a far more worthwhile trade off. Actual production level videos on early access sets seems more beneficial to the community then superfluous leaked images. Though obviously this is not guaranteed and approval of early set access is not included in our current plans moving forward. As of right now, we’ll just take the hit and continue rolling with the punches.
They likely will and we’re perfectly okay with that.
Leak related videos do absolutely nothing for our channel other than inflate our subscriber count. The majority of people subscribed for leaks don’t care about our channel, our videos, and are usually the ones with ad-block on. The only thing leaks have helped us with is get our name out there to the general populace; which was obviously successful, but now that role has been fulfilled and I fail to see leaks helping us reach a larger audience at this stage in time.
I didn’t realize that the 2016 topic was the only active topic on the boards 
It wont be virtually dead, the leaks will still be out there and people will still find them. We’re simply removing ourselves from the equation as we want no part in it. This decision won’t stop discussion of leaks, nor will it stop leaks from spreading. It’s purely a minor inconvenience for the people who want to see the leaks.
We aren’t really concerned with what happens to the leaks after the sets have been released so long as images with confidential markings are not directly embedded on our website or channel. So once the sets are released, discussing their evolution from initial images certainly has it’s merits.
They also have the lowest CPA based revenue earnings and hurt our relationship with Lego. TTV Talks earns more revenue than an average leak video does. Views don’t actually correlate to helping the channel; views are a superfluous metric and is purely to gauge popularity- but not true interest.
Not only does reporting on leaks not help our channel anymore, they’re actively hurting us.
Keep in mind we’re still reporting on information made public by refutable retailer websites. So set names, prices, release times, extra info such as the netflix show, promotional material, and high resolution renders will all still make news on the channel.
We are simply cutting out specific information that contains a confidential watermark, illegally redistributed imagery, or any documents deemed legally confidential (such as the Okoto\Turning Dark document released in 2015).
These type of leaks only make up a small portion of our actual news. The change is probably less severe then what many of you are assuming.
Unfortunately, this argument is simply not true. The only people who actively seak and care about leaks are the people who are already invested in the line and willing to buy their product. This “hype” is merely marketing towards an audience that is already consuming the product, and in the end doesn’t actually result in any sort of gain for Lego as a company. General consumers who make the bulk of Lego’s profits did not buy Bionicle sets because they saw leaks, nor do the majority them even realize leaks catalog images are even a thing.
Once again, subscribers are not a good metric to view how successful our channel is. If all 22,000 subscribers watched every video we made then keeping leaks as a mainstay of our channel would be far more viable; but unfortunately they don’t. As it stands, leaks are merely holding us back.
We are doing no such thing. You are free to continue discussing the leaks information to your hearts desire. You are simply not allowed to embed illegal images on our website; because we’re the ones who will get in trouble, not you.
For the record, this forum was never meant to compete with BZP or Eurobricks. This forum was meant to be a place where we could engage with our fans on a face-to-face bases without sifting through YouTube comments. If everyone leaves because they cant talk about leaks, that actually helps move the boards towards their intended role for our channel.
Obviously, at this stage that’s not what we want. We want you to continue to discuss and have fun on our forum. But if you as users truly feel that strongly about leaked images being directly embedded on topics, then so be it. But we’re sticking with this decision.
I mean, we were doing pretty well off before the 2015 craze judging by our statistics.
He means we’ve had increased contact with Lego on a personal level; not a professional one. We’ve received friendly emails and had conversations with various people working with Lego, and morally we feel it’s quite disrespectful to act buddy-buddy with these people then go around and stab then in the back by ruining their plans for their own products.
However, their communication via copyright strikes, cease and desist letters, or any other legal jargon is not something we’ve received and therefore not a reason why we’ve made this decision.
Does that make sense? We go further in depth about this specific issue on this weeks TTV Talks if you’d like more clarification on this distinction.
This is not true, and I honestly have no clue how you would be able to tell how much “profit” we make off leaked information. Because I can tell you straight up, leaked videos make up less than 10% of our revenue. To be honest, it’s kind of insulting to hear all the hard work and effort we put into our channel is reduced to nothing more than “they make money off reporting leaks”.
Without access to our analytics I fail to see how you’ve come to this conclusion.
Hopefully my responses to these points/questions has helped clear up this issue a little bit 
We understand that this is inconvenience for you as members who want to discuss leaked images; unfortunately this is going to be a necessary sacrifice for us as we continue to grow and build our brand.
For everyone worried about how this will effect our channel, trust me, we’ve gone through the numbers and debated this issue for over a year. We’ve went through the outcomes and understand what it means for us, and despite that we feel this is the best decision to make in the long run.
So please trust us to know what we’re doing with our channel and understand where we’re coming from. And if this decision really impacts your enjoyment and you feel the need to leave, then we understand and we’ll miss having you. But for the people who are willing to stick with us, we’re incredibly grateful of your support and it means the world to us.
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After reviewing the old speculation topics I’ve realized that honestly this change is for the better. It was filled with hype, spam, and pointless arguments. I hope that this change means more meanigful discussions. Good call TTV, good call.
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It applies to all topics that include leaks; Ninjago, Nexo Knights, Bionicle, Star Wars, DC, Marvel, City, etc…
Makes sense if that’s what you want to do, but feel you are over-estimating the age of most the TTV community. Using the Bionicle 2016 topic as an example, users were unable to realise the images were in the first post without being told by staff. Staff specifically had to post the images so that users could find them easily. Most the users of this site would be unable to find obscure websites with the leaks. (As per my comment at the bottom of this post)
Ok then, was just something i liked to hear you all talk about.
Makes sense to cut it out of your videos, also that’s your choice which I’ve said i support and understand. My main query is more to do with the discussion aspect (bottom of this post)
This is true. Though i find that those who see the leaks spread the news of Bionicle, the leaks themselves help the ‘invested fans’ give feedback to Lego giving them enough of a time frame to add minor altercations to story/sets based on feedback. MOC’s of the leaked sets spread hype amongst the active Bionicle community as to what the sets will look like and how they are made. Fan-art is also created earlier meaning that when newer fans log online searching for their new sets they find impressive creations from other fans.
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I suppose the main query i have is the following scenario;
What happens if one person is posting information about the leaks which according to the videos is currently allowed, yet is unable to specify which leak he is on about - given people cannot post links. It would be like a game of ‘guess who?’
Example;
Its early leak season. Person A finds what he believes is an official leak. Presumably they send it to TTV to be validated (as per the current leak policy) and TTV acknowledge it as presumably official, allowing discussion. At which point Person A begins to talk about the leaks on Vessel/TTV Boards.
How would Person A convince Person B that what they are discussing is official?
As far as i can tell unless Person B manages to locate the sets on their own or if they enquire and TTV relays them, then Person B is stuck desperately searching online for images that may have been removed by the time it takes for them to be verified. Though this still leaves the discussion a bit disjointed as some will have seen the leaks and others will be asking about the leaks without having seen them.
#EDIT;
Just read a comment from @Triple on another topic saying we are allowed to link to the site, just not the specific image? For example we could link to Brickshelf or an Imgur gallery but not to the specific image itself? Is that correct or not? :s
Personally took the video as meaning we couldn’t link to the images at all…
I think this could honestly be solved by moderating it more or could have made the leak section only available to ‘highly suspect’ members. These aspects alone i cannot view as a valid reason - given those aspects occur anywhere on the boards that is not moderated as much…
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Whoa whoa whoa. I said I think we might be able to point people to sites. Like saying “The leaks are on 4chan” or “They’re on (insert obscure shop site here)” rather than linking the page.
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We kind of address this on our TTV Talks episode, which will be on YouTube Friday. I’d definitely recommend checking that out as it will probably clear up a lot of our thought process behind this decision.
But in regards to your query, as far as we’re concerned, as long as you aren’t deeplinking or embedding images on our boards, discussion is completely allowed.
If Person B desperately wants to find these images, I have full faith he’ll find a way to get them. Keep in mind that there are plenty of other outlets for you to share information that we have no control over, such as Skype, Hangouts, or even aspects of the TTVMB 
Just keep in mind, if something is flagged, we’ll see it. That’s the risk you’ll be taking.
Does that make sense?
You are not allowed to link images, galleries, or anything with confidential markings on the public MB, including the site that contains these images.
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Quick question: can we say the name of the site but not link it?
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Good question, I’ll get back to you on that one.
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Does this include in PMs, or just on any public topic?
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Most important point is:
However,
If we catch you linking to leaks, you’ll be in trouble. I’ll leave it at that.
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Meh, I came here because of the return of Bionicle after watching TTV podcast 117 or some episode near then. (I don’t remember which episode was technically the first one I saw) I came here for community, not necessarily leaks. And while I did enjoy the leaks, the sensation of knowing what will happen before the general public does, they’re ultimately not what the Podcast or the Boards are for. Heck, when I heard that TTV had “bad news” I guessed I would either be this, or something worse. I’m altogether ambivalent about the change. Now let me take you all back to our childhood, and Bionicle G1:
I want everyone who reads this to think back to some time during Bionicle G1’s prime, back when you were younger and answer these questions, either to yourself, or here on the boards. When you were younger, how much did you partake in Leak Season? How savvy were you in finding leaks online? I know for me, I didn’t know bzpower existed until 2008, and I never made an account. The first leaks I saw were the Glatorian, everything else I saw for the first time either on store shelves or in the Lego Magazine. Now think about the Leak mentality, how did you feel if you had a situation similar to mine? On one hand, you wait for what seems like AGES to finally see the sets, but when you do finally see them you can purchase them almost immediately. On the other, (what I felt after the leak of the Skull Villains and this year’s sets) you know what the sets will look like, but you still have to wait for what seems like ages before you can get your hands on them. Which makes you happier? I’m still unsure as to what I’d prefer.
Now, I must take some time to play Devil’s Advocate.
As I take it, once 2016 comes to a close and leaks for the 2017 sets start creeping up, there will definitely be some board members starting PM’s that include links to leaks. Links that, unless flagged by someone already admitted into the PM, will go unnoticed. Really the “best” way for a board member to link to or see leaks would be “Hey, I’ll PM you my email/skype/whatever and then you send me the links or images.”
TL;DR I agree with the staff and admins, the boards and podcast are not for leaking, we may all be happier as a result, but people will find a way around this.
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So to be clear, here are the basic outlines the way I see it
Why
- Fear of being in legal trouble with Lego and/or simply do not want to have a fractured relationship with them and hurt their products
- Brings out the negative side of the community of sharing fake leaks, spam, etc
- Hurts the channel’s video revenue and holds their other content back
- Belief that people are better off not knowing what the sets look like before release as it potentially limits hype, purchase, and discussion towards new sets
Enforcement
- No longer making videos reporting on confidential images/info
- Tighter leak policies, banning direct linkage/embed of leaks
- Is an admin-based decision that the community has no choice but to abide to no matter the backlash
Impact
- Lose subscribers who are only there for the leaks (TTV doesn’t value them anyway; only value viewers who are truly loyal to other content)
- Makes it more difficult and confusing for people to find leaks
- Less spreading of leaks on the boards (possibly slightly minimizing leak spread as a whole)
Things unaffected
- Promotional/unmarked finalized images
- Leak discussion
- Directing people to leaks
- PM leaks (if TTV can’t find them, than Lego can’t either)
If there is anything incorrect or something I missed, please inform me
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While I was initially upset by this news, I’ve come to realize its for the best. I started watching ttv back in 2013, well before Bionicle was leaked. While the Lego news/discussion was always interesting, it was always the interactions between the cast members that drew me in. I think the fan base has seen a departure from that.
Here’s to a leakless ttv, and to a fresh new year!
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Interesting. Since you’re not going to be reporting on them, maybe now is a good time to do what Meso suggested in one Podcast episode and go a leak season without looking at anything, and then be surprised by what is officially revealed. Just seems like an interesting opportunity. It was an odd thing to see uploaded to the YouTube channel, but I’m honestly not phased by it as long as you guys continue to produce interesting content as you always do!
So here’s some questions, not sure if they have already been answered because I didn’t really read all the posts, but I watched the video:
- Will any TTV members still actively look for leaks, but then just not report on them?
- Would you still inform that there are leaks out there and just not show or distribute them?
- What will the effects on the Podcast be, considering many of the more exciting and eventful episodes are leak discussions?
- Does discussing leaks and giving thoughts on them without showing images or providing links constitute being a leak distributor? If not, would you still do it on the Podcast?
Good luck, you guys!
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