imdb.com--farewell to the message boards

I've been asked a few times whether I am so-and-so on other forums. Perhaps I share a similar handle, attitude, or manner of expression with other forum users throughout the web.

In truth, I am only a poster on 2 forums--ATS and imdb.com

Although I am much more of a lurker on the other site, I was a member for many, many, many years.

Apparently that's all coming to an end now.

Although the site itself will remain, the message boards (the main reason for visiting imdb.com at all!) will be thrown out.

Very sad to see it go!

The Internet Movie Database is an indispensable resource if you have any interest whatsoever in films. Want to try and figure out where you’ve seen that character actor before? Do you need to know ratings, runtime, or quotes? But if you want to discuss movies, you’ll now have to go elsewhere: the site is shutting down its message boards system.

According to a statement on IMDB, the site’s message forums and the private messaging system will be disabled on February 20th, because they “are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide.”

www.theverge.com...

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

I too have been a member of IMDB for many years. I rarely commented in the boards but I did lurk quite a bit. I feel that has been coming for a while as there isn't really any policing of the message boards. Too many trolls and horrible name calling. People suck.

*sigh* We can't have nice things.

Thanks, trolls.

It's a shame they can't just police it better instead of just shutting it down.

They should have just improved the system. If I want to know who was in what, I usually go to Wikipedia. IMDb was mostly useful for clicking on those boards to see if anyone else had the same question or noticed the same weird detail, and usually finding a whole thread of people discussing it.

a reply to: MoreInterior

Exactly!

The message boards were really the meat of it. The site is just going to be an encyclopedia with ads now.

I use my imdb page as my resume for gigs. I didn't even know they had a message board.

I don't know why I would want to post on any other board...I get my fair share of abuse here at ATS.

a reply to: olaru12

Well if you have a page because you work in cinema in some way, you probably had a message board where people discussed your work...for better or worse

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha
a reply to: olaru12

Well if you have a page because you work in cinema in some way, you probably had a message board where people discussed your work...for better or worse

You're right every ones a critic. I guess I'll check it out now...thanks!

originally posted by: MoreInterior
They should have just improved the system. If I want to know who was in what, I usually go to Wikipedia. IMDb was mostly useful for clicking on those boards to see if anyone else had the same question or noticed the same weird detail, and usually finding a whole thread of people discussing it.

It's unfortunate, but at least there's Reddit, which is practically the Swiss Army knife of forums now; I use Reddit for most online posting these days because you can discuss anything from a single account.

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

does mirc still exist? That was always fun!

Having owned, admin'd and modded a network of online gaming forums I can sympathise with the imdb staff. Trolls, script kiddies and just general meat helmets that forums attract tend to make the initial fun of ownership pale very quickly. It becomes a battle to find good mods with thick skins and soon you spend more time mucking out the stalls than riding the horse. Then, adding cool features takes a backseat to constantly having to patch server files from vulnerabilities or weeding out virri tainted uploaded content and adverts.

The Internet Movie Database message boards are an invaluable resource of information and opinion built up over nearly 30 years which, if allowed to close, can never be fully replaced. To rebuild to the point they are now would take many years.

The truth is that Internet Movie Database, founded in 1990. was acquired in 1998 by Amazon.com, one of the richest companies in the world, which could well afford to hire moderators the way any reputable message board forum does. The spamming, bot-bombing, and trolling occur mainly on the site's main boards and not the many individual program and actor boards, and a system is in place for users to report objectionable posts. Another issue is that the boards' software needs updating and the company is too damn cheap to pay to have it done and would rather destroy this wonderful resource. Speculation is that those in power object to political opinions expressed in recent posts, and Amazon wants to shoo users/customers over to Facebook to even more closely scrutinize everyone's activities and move society even further under Big Brother's constant gaze. Suspicion has also fallen on powerful forces in the motion picture industry. It is believed they want to be the only source of PR (BS) regarding new films, as negative ratings and comments, including possibly by shills out to damage a competitor, can kill box office. What's more, they are frustrated at being unable to make a dime from users posting comments on anything released before the current year. The site would also have to invest in some form of lawsuit insurance in case a user spouts off a bad rumor or opinion about some celebrity damaging to their image.

If Internet Movie Database proceeds with this cultural destruction, they will find the negative backlash in loss of revenue to far outweigh any investments they may have to make to maintain the site. Already people are unliking their Facebook page, deleting their accounts on the site, and deleting the IMDb app off their devices.

Petitions are circulating to stop this awful destruction of noble human endeavor.

www.change.org... t_ctrl

www.ipetitions.com...

How can we complain directly to the owners of Internet Movie Database, namely Amazon.com? Their Facebook page is pretty lame though I posted there. I searched the site's message boards for quite some time and found them totally confusing.

--No complete list of all boards from which to choose, only most popular appear.

--No way of searching keywords in messages to see whether Internet Movie Database has been mentioned and find any threads about it.

If contact options on Amazon's website are no good, is there some corporate site address to use? Thanks!

If this unreasonable and outrageous threat by Internet Movie Database of removing all message boards from the site does not immediately cease and desist, all concerned must BOYCOTT THE HELL out of owner company Amazon.com and its CEO Jeff Bezos! Here are instructions on three methods by which to contact them, and any others are welcome. www.wikihow.com...

There has been enough outcry to induce the owner to answer questions even if he is covering up and lying about the details. See this thread while it still exists. www.imdb.com...

Since the IMDb owners persist in being short-sighted, stupid, stubborn pigs intent on committing website-icide, users are starting to export their contributions in the form of reviews and other content, delete them from IMDb, and save them for alternate sites. Two sites said to have duplicated and saved all the IMDb content can be found here:

www.moviechat.org...

and here:

imdb2.freeforums.net...

Of a staggering array of choices, as of now these seem to be the best bets.

www.imdforums.com...

imdb2.freeforums.net...

www.moviechat.org...

www.themoviedb.org...

I'm sad. Imdb was my place to go if I had confusions of a films ending or other aspects; or wanted to see other folks interpretations.

they will lose a lot of traffic choosing this.
rip imdb.

Skepticism engendered over the demise of the Internet Movie Database Message Boards has given rise to entertaining conspiracy theories. No one bought the lame and bogus excuse that troll posts were to blame. Sure, let the situation run rampant for years and then decide to pull the plug on practically no notice a week before the Academy Awards? The dimmest among observers could sense something extremely rotten in Denmark. Many said, Follow the Money, which proves true in 99% of all cases of just about everything. Theories were bandied about that actors, film studios, or powerful corporations were unhappy that unfavorable talk and ratings dimmed the luster of expensive and glitzy PR campaigns. Others went further afield, suggesting terrorists or other criminal gangs were somehow using the boards to communicate by code. Best is that Jeff Bezos, Col Needham, or both, were themselves involved in criminal activity (child sex trafficking was suggested, with or without pizza parlor involvement) and some of the movie boards (no one knows which, or exactly what was said) were being used by whistleblowers exposing their wicked, depraved, and vile corruption. Word has it that such activities on the part of Bezos were seriously harmed by Trump's travel restrictions cutting the supply of sweet innocent young refugee flesh, and the boards fell victim, sacrificed ere they expose his excesses. I offer no suggestions, only a sampling of the suppositions.