up vote 8 down vote favorite
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On this site, which term do we use (or prefer to use) in questions and in tags? I'm inclined to the former, but then I'm British so that's the only way it could possibly be said.

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Hmm, we could ask on English Stack Exchange about this ... actually, it was already asked. – Paŭlo Ebermann Oct 25 '11 at 20:32
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I personally hate it when people call LEGO "legos". Ugh. – JavaAndCSharp Oct 26 '11 at 0:11
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Well I personally hate it when people get upset about native speakers following normal language rules. – Joe Wreschnig Oct 27 '11 at 16:30
neither, the correct term is something of the form lego-brick. LEGO is the name of the company, and they're explicit about not referring to the toys as just lego, but instead as lego bricks. – antony.trupe Nov 2 '11 at 19:29
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...in an effort to enforce their trademark claims. Its silly, yes, but its the way it works, and if we want to exist, we need to make an effort to play by the rules. – antony.trupe Nov 3 '11 at 22:47

5 Answers

up vote 10 down vote accepted

This was discussed to some extent during the definition phase of the site:

It's going to come up eventually, so can we all agree…Lego bricks not Legos?

The general feeling seemed to be:

Where possible (tags, FAQ, etc.) we should use the approved form, but elsewhere, not sweat it too much.

Edit to add:

I believe the relevant section of the guidelines is:

The LEGO Trademarks may be used under certain Limited Circumstances on an Unofficial Web Site
The LEGO trademarks (but not the logo) may be used in a non-commercial manner to refer to LEGO products or elements which are shown or discussed on a web site, as long as the trademark is not unduly emphasized or used in a way that can lead an observer to mistakenly believe that the site is sponsored or authorized by the LEGO Group.

Proper Use of the LEGO Trademark on a Web Site
If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".Also, the trademark should appear in the same typeface as the surrounding text and should not be isolated or set apart from the surrounding text. In other words, the trademarks should not be emphasized or highlighted. Finally, the LEGO trademark should always appear with a ® symbol each time it is used.

I'm not a lawyer, so can't really summarise it, however in the previous discussion, it was pointed out that we can't really police the community in terms of "using the LEGO trademark as an adjective rather than a noun", however where it is used on core parts of the site (FAQ, tags, etc.) then it should be as an adjective, and include the ® symbol.

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I've got nothing to add to this :-) – Joubarc♦ Oct 26 '11 at 19:09
Can you include the approved form in your answer, instead of linking to a huge wall of text? – Keen Oct 27 '11 at 13:48
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On the other hand, TLG's demands go far beyond what's actually required by law. We're not making a competing product. We're open about not being an official resource. We don't have "lego" in our name. If I have to read "LEGOR" in every tag and title I'm going to cry. – Joe Wreschnig Oct 27 '11 at 16:33
I fully agree it's not going to look (or read) great with LEGO® everywhere - however even they don't seem to want that enforced really - look at their quotes, no ® in there, and while we might not have LEGO in our URL, the logo at the top just reads "LEGO®", and the title tag is <title>LEGO® - Stack Exchange</title> so we don't really have anything but LEGO in our name at the moment ;) – Zhaph - Ben Duguid♦ Oct 27 '11 at 23:36
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The "off-topic" close reason states "Questions on LEGO® - Stack Exchange are expected to generally relate to LEGOs". I'm trying to get used to seeing "LEGOs", and do I now have to put up with the company trademark with its ® symbol, and "LEGOs", in the same sentence?! – BoltClock Oct 28 '11 at 8:32
We shouldn't be using LEGOs at all - it should be "Questions on LEGO® - Stack Exchange are expected to generally relate to LEGO Bricks" – Zhaph - Ben Duguid♦ Oct 28 '11 at 9:01
@BoltClock I've raised this as a bug: meta.bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/53/… – Zhaph - Ben Duguid♦ Oct 28 '11 at 9:09
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The thing which LEGO considers the most important is the usage of all capitals. In the book 50 Years of the LEGO Brick, they use it that way consistently, most of the time without the trademark ®. Also, quite a few times "LEGO" is actually used as a noun, but it's always as a shorctut for "The LEGO Company", so I suppose that's acceptable. "LEGO" as a shortcut for "LEGO bricks" is not. – Joubarc♦ Nov 4 '11 at 8:28
Which is a bit of a pain with our all lower case tags :( – Zhaph - Ben Duguid♦ Nov 4 '11 at 9:09
up vote 7 down vote

I'm trying to use "LEGO" but as an American English speaker who spent ages 3-20ish calling them "legos", I'm sure I will slip up. I don't think it's a big problem.

I think the only place it really matters is in tags, where the exact name is critical to the usefulness. Otherwise, a search for "lego" will match "legos" just as well.

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up vote 3 down vote

I think LEGO is the brand and LEGO bricks are the bricks? Although many people call the bricks legos; I don't think that's a force that can be stopped.

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Indeed. As a Brit I would support "Lego"...which means this bites a bit. – tombull89 Oct 25 '11 at 21:13
As a kid who played with them from the time I was three, through the end of my life, and who will always be eight years old on my knees when confronted with a pile of bricks, they are called only "legos". Notice that I represent no entity other than myself when I say that. – jcolebrand Nov 2 '11 at 21:43
up vote 3 down vote

I believe LEGO is the plural form of LEGO.

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up vote 2 down vote

Years ago if you accidentally visited "legos.com" you'd be presented with this image:

Don't call it "Legos"

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And now you just get redirected. It doesn't matter how important your brand is - fight standard grammar and you're going to lose. – Joe Wreschnig Nov 2 '11 at 16:53

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