user708: I've been looking into ways to elevate this site as a proper LEGO community in addition to being the best site for finding answers to LEGO questions. After all, we can't be a great Q&A site without having a high-quality, knowledgeable community.
One thought that I have is to work towards getting this site recognized as an official online LEGO User Group (LUG). In addition to official recognition by TLG, this would provide our community with a LEGO Ambassador who would connect us to the LEGO Ambassador Network and Community Engagement team.
Personally, I think it would be great to eventually get to a point where we have more questions that have actually been answered by folks who are directly connected to TLG. I'm not thinking of the customer support type questions, but rather broader questions that would be more engaging to the community such as:

Why did Technic bricks have holes in the studs?
When did Lego decide that it was okay to put a stud into a technic hole?
Why aren't LEGO bricks cubic?

These are already popular questions, and have great answers, but it would be great to occasionally get direct authoritative answers to questions like these. Seeing more authoritative answers would both be fun for our community and add to the legitimacy of the site as a whole. Getting more connected officially with TLG could be a way to make that happen.
What do we think about attempting to be recognized as an official LUG? I'm willing to start the application process and to serve as the ambassador initially, but I didn't want to move in that direction without the support of our community. I was involved early on with Remake, but was not selected as one of the final fan designers, so I do already have a small amount of experience working with the Community Engagement team.
Edit:
I'm going to move forward with this. The application materials are mostly facts and stats, so they aren't worth posting here, but here's the email I'm planning to send on to the CE team if anyone has feedback or would like to make adjustments:

Please find attached our application for LEGO® Answers
  (http://bricks.stackexchange.com) to become a recognized online LUG.
We've been running since 2011, and have seen steady growth in users
  and page views over the last 5 years. As the top fan-driven LEGO Q&A
  site (that we're aware of), we'd love to get more connected
  with TLG in order to increase our own user engagement and potentially
  get more authoritative answers to questions. We do our best to answer
  questions as a community, but it would be neat to have
  someone inside LEGO officially provide insight on questions on occasion.
We would also value more interaction with the LEGO Ambassador Network.
  Our site has a laser-like focus on Q&A, and broadening our network of LEGO enthusiasts 
  would certainly help us to generate both more interesting questions
  and higher quality answers.
We'd also be supportive of any collaborative initiatives that would
  improve engagement and help our community know that it is valued by
  TLG. For example, we could hold an annual contest where the community
  votes on the best answer of the year, and the user who provided it could get a
  prize of some kind. It would of course be great if the CE team would be
  willing to provide the prizes for events like this. :)
Our community provides unique benefit to
  LEGO users. The folks answering questions are primarily AFOLs who have
  been involved with this hobby for some time, but the bulk of our
  readers (90%) find us through search engine queries and are often
  parents or children seeking help with common challenges. I expect that
  our readers are less experienced with LEGO than those from many of the
  other sites such as Eurobricks, Brickset, or New Elementary. This
  provides us, and hopefully the CE team if we pursue this type of
  partnership, with a unique opportunity for engaging another segment of
  the LEGO community.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions about our
  community or this application.
Thanks for your consideration,
Jon (and the LEGO® Answers community)

Update (January 23):
Application materials have been sent, and we are waiting for a decision. Applications will be reviewed at the end of January, so we'll hopefully hear back in early February.

user5853: Here are some of the Recognized LUG requirements I was told by LEGO Employees at BrickFair VA 2016, which may pose an issue:


Must have a website, not social media, with contact ability.
Must host 3 public events a year.


I'm not sure how this site ranks as "website" vs "social media" in the eyes of LEGO (yes, I know we don't consider SE is social media).
AFAIK, this SE site does not presently host any public events (I believe public events are in-person things like BrickFair, but I don't know for sure).

user6174: fabulous plan!
This is an excellent idea.  New users are often confused about our association with The LEGO Group.  Having official answers would provide a lot of insight into a variety of questions. 

"What kind of plastic are LEGO bricks made of?" is one example where the community has done an excellent job piecing things together and quoting official sources, but someone with insider knowledge could provide a more complete answer.
"Will The Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine come back in stock at retailers?" is also something that TLG could provide a timely answer to while the community would basically have to wait years to see how it goes before answering with finality.


user708: We are now Recognized LEGO Fan Media (RLFM)!

I am happy to announce that we’ve reviewed and approved your
  application.
Please read through the attached documents carefully and make sure you
  are familiarized with them as much as possible.
Also do not hesitate to either e-mail me with questions and/or put
  them forth in the LEGO Ambassador Network.
-- snip list of forms --
Best regards
Kim Ellekjær Thomsen
Community Manager
Operations & Community Engagament, LCE


708: <p>I've been looking into ways to elevate this site as a proper LEGO community in addition to being the best site for finding answers to LEGO questions. After all, we can't be a great Q&amp;A site without having a high-quality, knowledgeable community.</p>

<p>One thought that I have is to work towards getting this site recognized as an official online LEGO User Group (LUG). In addition to official recognition by TLG, this would provide our community with a LEGO Ambassador who would connect us to the LEGO Ambassador Network and Community Engagement team.</p>

<p>Personally, I think it would be great to eventually get to a point where we have more questions that have actually been answered by folks who are directly connected to TLG. I'm not thinking of the customer support type questions, but rather broader questions that would be more engaging to the community such as:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/196/why-did-technic-bricks-have-holes-in-the-studs">Why did Technic bricks have holes in the studs?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/203/when-did-lego-decide-that-it-was-okay-to-put-a-stud-into-a-technic-hole">When did Lego decide that it was okay to put a stud into a technic hole?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/565/why-arent-lego-bricks-cubic">Why aren&#39;t LEGO bricks cubic?</a></li>
</ul>

<p>These are already popular questions, and have great answers, but it would be great to occasionally get direct authoritative answers to questions like these. Seeing more authoritative answers would both be fun for our community and add to the legitimacy of the site as a whole. Getting more connected officially with TLG could be a way to make that happen.</p>

<p>What do we think about attempting to be recognized as an official LUG? I'm willing to start the application process and to serve as the ambassador initially, but I didn't want to move in that direction without the support of our community. I was involved early on with <a href="https://wwwsecure.lego.com/en-us/remake" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Remake</a>, but was not selected as one of the final fan designers, so I do already have a small amount of experience working with the Community Engagement team.</p>

<p>Edit:</p>

<p>I'm going to move forward with this. The application materials are mostly facts and stats, so they aren't worth posting here, but here's the email I'm planning to send on to the CE team if anyone has feedback or would like to make adjustments:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Please find attached our application for LEGO® Answers
  (<a href="http://bricks.stackexchange.com">http://bricks.stackexchange.com</a>) to become a recognized online LUG.</p>
  
  <p>We've been running since 2011, and have seen steady growth in users
  and page views over the last 5 years. As the top fan-driven LEGO Q&amp;A
  site (that we're aware of), we'd love to get more connected
  with TLG in order to increase our own user engagement and potentially
  get more authoritative answers to questions. We do our best to answer
  questions as a community, but it would be neat to have
  someone inside LEGO officially provide insight on questions on occasion.</p>
  
  <p>We would also value more interaction with the LEGO Ambassador Network.
  Our site has a laser-like focus on Q&amp;A, and broadening our network of LEGO enthusiasts 
  would certainly help us to generate both more interesting questions
  and higher quality answers.</p>
  
  <p>We'd also be supportive of any collaborative initiatives that would
  improve engagement and help our community know that it is valued by
  TLG. For example, we could hold an annual contest where the community
  votes on the best answer of the year, and the user who provided it could get a
  prize of some kind. It would of course be great if the CE team would be
  willing to provide the prizes for events like this. :)</p>
  
  <p>Our community provides unique benefit to
  LEGO users. The folks answering questions are primarily AFOLs who have
  been involved with this hobby for some time, but the bulk of our
  readers (90%) find us through search engine queries and are often
  parents or children seeking help with common challenges. I expect that
  our readers are less experienced with LEGO than those from many of the
  other sites such as Eurobricks, Brickset, or New Elementary. This
  provides us, and hopefully the CE team if we pursue this type of
  partnership, with a unique opportunity for engaging another segment of
  the LEGO community.</p>
  
  <p>Please let me know if you have any additional questions about our
  community or this application.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks for your consideration,</p>
  
  <p>Jon (and the LEGO® Answers community)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Update (January 23):</p>

<p>Application materials have been sent, and we are waiting for a decision. Applications will be reviewed at the end of January, so we'll hopefully hear back in early February.</p>
 5853: <p>Here are some of the Recognized LUG requirements I was told by LEGO Employees at BrickFair VA 2016, which may pose an issue:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
  <li>Must have a website, not social media, with contact ability.</li>
  <li>Must host 3 public events a year.</li>
  </ul>
</blockquote>

<p>I'm not sure how this site ranks as "website" vs "social media" in the eyes of LEGO (yes, I know <em>we</em> don't consider SE is social media).</p>

<p>AFAIK, this SE site does not presently host any public events (I believe public events are in-person things like BrickFair, but I don't know for sure).</p>
 6174: <h1>fabulous plan!</h1>

<p>This is an excellent idea.  New users are often confused about our association with The LEGO Group.  Having official answers would provide a lot of insight into a variety of questions. </p>

<ul>
<li>"<a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/191/what-kind-of-plastic-are-lego-bricks-made-of">What kind of plastic are LEGO bricks made of?</a>" is one example where the community has done an excellent job piecing things together and quoting official sources, but someone with insider knowledge could provide a more complete answer.</li>
<li>"<a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/8463/will-the-scooby-doo-mystery-machine-come-back-in-stock-at-retailers/8464#8464">Will The Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine come back in stock at retailers?</a>" is also something that TLG could provide a timely answer to while the community would basically have to wait years to see how it goes before answering with finality.</li>
</ul>
 708: <p>We are now Recognized LEGO Fan Media (RLFM)!</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I am happy to announce that we’ve reviewed and approved your
  application.</p>
  
  <p>Please read through the attached documents carefully and make sure you
  are familiarized with them as much as possible.</p>
  
  <p>Also do not hesitate to either e-mail me with questions and/or put
  them forth in the LEGO Ambassador Network.</p>
  
  <p>-- snip list of forms --</p>
  
  <p>Best regards</p>
  
  <p>Kim Ellekjær Thomsen</p>
  
  <p>Community Manager</p>
  
  <p>Operations &amp; Community Engagament, LCE</p>
</blockquote>
