Reviews not published for days

I submitted a review for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) after seeing the midnight showing. Now nearly 24 hours later it still has not posted. This seems to happen a lot and is so frustrating. The most engagement happens in the first few days of release. There are now 108 reviews posted but not mine.

Contribution #230405-093339-687004

Even worse, I just submitted a review for Air (2023) and it posted within minutes. Still no sign of Mario.

This happened last week as well with the movie Malum (2023). It took nearly 3 days to post. It's an indie flick playing in limited theaters and there were a total of 3 reviews at the time. It's not like they were flooded with submissions.

Why does this keep happening? It's taking the fun out of reviewing movies.

Responses

Bethanny

Employee

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5.3K Messages

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55.5K Points

1 year ago

Hi @FeastMode -

Your review is live here, approved and published the same day you submitted it.

Also, please note that reviews take between 4 and 7 business days to be approved, see more on our guidelines.

Cheers!

0

F

FeastMode

32 Messages

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506 Points

1 year ago

Hi Bethanny,

You are not addressing the issue. I may seem like an annoying complainer but please try to understand as I illustrate:

I submitted my review for John Wick Chapter 4 after watching it on opening night. It posted immediately and I have the top review for that movie.

I submitted my review for Cocaine Bear after watching it on opening night. It posted immediately and I have the top review for that movie.

I submitted my review for Inside (2023) after watching it on opening night. It posted immediately and I have the top review for that movie.

I submitted my review for The Super Mario Bros. Movie after watching it on opening night. It took more than a day to post and I have four total votes.

Being early isn't the only thing that matters. You need a good review and long history of reviews. But delaying my review for more than a day in the most important time of engagement ruins the chances of gaining traction.

Please escalate this issue, it happens all the time. I am not the only one who is annoyed by this. If it continues, I may consider making the switch to Letterboxd.

2

Michelle

Employee

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17.2K Messages

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310.2K Points

Hi @FeastMode -

I understand your frustration concerning the handling time of user review processing, there are many different reasons why a delay may occur. Occasionally there may be instances where there are processing delays (ie. due to staff shortages, holidays, high submission volume due to title popularity, etc.), you can monitor our schedule on our current Data Processing Times page.

Additionally to keep in mind, when unusual rating or review activity is detected (e.g. patterns consistent with an organized intent to manipulate perception of the title) our system employs additional methodologies, which can include temporarily pausing the display of new and existing reviews while we investigate. We continually update and strengthen our rating and reviews systems to ensure genuine customer sentiment is accurately represented.

1 year ago

F

FeastMode

32 Messages

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506 Points

Hi Michelle, thank you for the more in depth explanation.

In the case of Malum (2023), it's an indie horror flick released in limited theaters that almost no one saw. It's clearly not part of a review bombing campaign. And after the long delay, there were a total of 3 reviews posted. Now 9 days after release, there are 5 total reviews. It's not a case of overflow of submissions.

As for the efforts to prevent review bombing campaigns, I fully support that. But there is something simple that can make it better and less work for IMDb to do this. Users who have been with IMDb for years and have a long history of reviews should be exempt from this type of review freeze. I have been with IMDb for 4 years with 2k+ reviews. I am considered a "prolific reviewer" from the amount of upvotes I've received. I'm obviously not part of the campaign.

I know I'm not the only one alienated by these delays. Please suggest a better way.

1 year ago

F

FeastMode

32 Messages

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506 Points

1 year ago

Just an update, I saw an early screening for Mafia Mamma on Tuesday. Not only did IMDb not give me the option to review it until Wednesday night, my review took nearly a day to post. On Friday, I am still the ONLY review for that movie. So it's definitely not overflow of submissions and there clearly isn't a review bombing campaign.

I saw an early screening for Renfield on Wednesday, my review took nearly a day to post.

I saw Nefarious opening night on Thursday. My review is yet to post.

IMDb is supposed to be the biggest and best movie website. This is unacceptable. I am begging you to escalate this issue. Not only are you alienating your reviewers, think about how many people check your website for reviews in the first couple days of release and find none.

Keep in mind, in between the above examples, I have submitted numerous reviews that are posted within minutes (See How They Run, Nanny, Moloch, The Minute You Wake Up Dead, Hellraiser, A Lot of Nothing). So why does it take forever for some movies?

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Michelle

Employee

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17.2K Messages

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310.2K Points

1 year ago

Hi @FeastMode -

Thanks for the additional observations and User Review feedback. I have relayed your comments to the applicable team for visibility and consideration of future User Review feature improvements.

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FeastMode

Reviews not published for days

Bethanny

FeastMode

Michelle

FeastMode

FeastMode

Michelle

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