IMDB are selling out or selling up and the boards are seen as a surplus and unwanted add-on.
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Janine-The-Barefoot — 9 years ago(February 13, 2017 01:06 PM)
I did that JK and now I'm on report to determine if they want to throw me off the board completely in the 7 days we have left to talk to each other, make last comments on shows we've seen and share final memories about the times we have spent here and how much this loss hurts along with trying to find
someplace, anyplace
we can go to find each other when this place shuts it's doors to us forever.
As I see it, they're going to take this action one way or the other and I don't want to rock a boat that's going down anyway.
I've been reported only once before and then, I believe the person who did it asked to have it taken down both because it was not an issue I had created and because my comment was an attempt at keeping the peace and not actually even the comment in question.
So now, I'm afraid to say anything to anybody about how frustrated and sad I am because there are only 7 days left and my position here is so tenuous.
So I honestly wouldn't recommend to anyone that you complain to the site unless you don't care if they kick you off early. Me, I'm just even more sad and more frustrated then I've already been and now I'm afraid to talk about it.
*And this is clearly NOT an attempt to incite ANYTHING. In point of fact I'm trying to warn people that you don't want those kind of letters in your inbox and being on the site for whatever time we have left is more important to me than going to war with anyone.
"You told me I had nothing. But you were wrong. I have love, I have hope and I have faith." -
met1981 — 9 years ago(February 07, 2017 07:34 PM)
Never thought about that, it actually makes sense. However, my guess is that IMDb doesn't know how to or can't monetise the boards, as it's the only portion of the site that is going to be shut down. As we know, IMDb is nothing more than an advertising space for Amazon, and the message boards don't seem to help with that purpose, so it's getting shafted. Blaming the trolls looks nothing more than a scapegoat to me, as they'be been here for ages.
My other theory is that IMDb is interested in forcing the userbase migration to Facebook and other social networks, so they can better targets their ads for Amazon products, especially Prime Video subscription. And by moving the discussions to social media, they are also freeing themselves of the burden of having to moderate the discussions, delegating that task to Facebook, Twitter or any other useless social network.
In the end, it's all about the money. If maintaning discussion forums are not making Mr. Bezos and Amazon's shareholders money, or not enough, then it's going to be shut down without further considerations. -
DarrenDirt — 9 years ago(February 08, 2017 03:38 PM)
I submitted MY feedback, I hope THOUSANDS of others do the same.
THERE IS A REASON THEY ONLY GAVE US "2 WEEKS" TO RESPOND TO THIS SHUTDOWN. Because many will not even KNOW about it until it's too late!
(my submission)
Just like thousands of others I am very disappointed to hear of the closure of the IMDB Message Boards.
In addition we do not buy your reasons, but hey you are a business, you can decide to end something that costs more than it is worth to maintain.
But PLEASE we ask that you just ARCHIVE the Message Boards do not just NUKE IT. This content has been user contributed for > 10 years FOR FREE and having 2 weeks to be aware of its removal let alone deal with it is unheard of on the web!
Think of how/why IMDB started and GREW to the point of Amazon buying them out.
You are getting rid of a LOT of its value, and claiming Facebook Twitter etc. will replace it = a JOKE in comparison and you know it. The older conversations about older titles and individuals = will vanish into the #MemoryHole and will not continue on Facebook Twitter etc. Stop lying to people, just acknowledge as a business you can't keep up moderation or whatever!
But we ask that you please keep the forums available for at least another 12 months, even if in a read-only state (but preferably INDEFINTELY) so folks have a decent chance at keeping what they have contributed for a decade or more. Maybe even make available "Export All" feature (perhaps with usernames "anonymized" but still cross-linked among posts).
ANYWAY, you are likely ignoring this kind of feedback , but just in case you might consider that in 4 days there are more than 3000 people who took the time to sign this petition: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-to-keep-the-imdb-messageboards-going (and this is just ONE petition, which is not easy to hear about).
For this ANTI-community decision, you WILL lose customers, and possibly even Amazon shoppers. Reconsider! Or at the very least, give the community more time.
(/my submission)
Chipping away at a mountain of pop culture trivia,
Darren Dirt. -
moisan4 — 9 years ago(February 09, 2017 04:06 AM)
I agree. The real reason message boards are closing is because of advertising money, not the lack of money the boards generate. Look at the figures for movies with huge opening weekends, and massive drop offs after that. It's a trend that has become far more drastic over the years. One of the main reason is because word spreads quickly when even movies with massive marketing campaigns are bad movies. I suspect most of IMDB's revenue comes from the film and TV industry, so when people get wise to crap entertainment they wont pay to see it. So if IMDB is getting pressure from their advertisers that bad word of mouth is hurting their product then they'll attempt to stop bad word of month.
Just stop using IMDB altogether, and use an alternative. Then well find out if IMDB's priority will be to their advertisers, or their customers who see the advertisements. Because without site traffic, advertising is useless. -
DarrenDirt — 9 years ago(February 09, 2017 09:22 AM)
ArchiveTeam.org has a project going, but they need help!
See this thread:
http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000043/nest/265905912
https://archive.is/vnvFK
Chipping away at a mountain of pop culture trivia,
Darren Dirt. -
grumpy_otter — 9 years ago(February 09, 2017 06:43 PM)
I've been coming here for 12 yearsto discuss. I don't post a whole terribly lot, but when i do my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. As with anything on the internet, to avoid drama do not create nor respond to it. I've had wonderful substantive discussions with other users.
I am very sad the boards will be going. -
ImReallyANarc — 9 years ago(February 10, 2017 07:48 AM)
I have read several different theories and I think this is the most plausible. I don't buy for a minute their "official" reason; there are hundreds, if not thousands, of very active message boards with unpaid community moderators that don't cost a whole lot to maintain. Considering IMDB's traffic and all the photos and videos hosted on the site, they can't spare a little server room for these message boards for the slice of their daily visitors that use this feature?
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Film_o_philiac — 9 years ago(February 10, 2017 05:13 PM)
Something is amiss mate - I don't buy that they're buddying up with Facebook for one minute
I don't buy that it is to do with the "trolls", there have been kids on here for years and it has never bothered them
The proof is in the pudding - the ceo has said himself:
concluded that IMDbs message boards are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide
That sounds like a sales pitch to me - the usage of the word "positive" and "useful" is also interesting indeed.
Telling you, they don't want people calling foul on beep films (especially
their
beep films/shows). -
ImReallyANarc — 9 years ago(February 10, 2017 06:07 PM)
I don't buy that it is to do with the "trolls", there have been kids on here for years and it has never bothered them
Not to mention that, complaints about the lack of moderation aside, it's easy enough to just add somebody to the ignore list and report the really offensive stuff.
Yes, there are trolls and a-holes. And yes, there are people who learned how to exploit the reporting systems. But in all honesty, compared to Youtube and many other heavily-trafficked sites, the trolls really aren't too bad here. -
FriedEggMan — 9 years ago(February 13, 2017 01:43 PM)
The proof is in the pudding?
What does that mean? The proof of WHAT is in the pudding?
Dont you mean "The Proof of the pudding in is the eating"?
Puddings are not receptacles of proof.
It means you have to taste the pudding to know if it's any good. -
ptuk-1 — 9 years ago(February 13, 2017 02:15 PM)
As soon as these boards go down IMDB comes off my favourites list simple as that, i'll just switch to other sites until they decide to reopen them but whatever happens this move to close the boards stinks to high heaven.