IMDb message boards

I gotta agree with the other users, terrible idea. Instead of improving the message boards (by introducing moderators, up/downvote system, ...) you are going to delete a beloved feature and remove even more from the community feel. IMDB should be a social site, but after this, it really won't be anymore. The alternatives you listed (other social networks) can't be used for discussions about a specific movie.

250,000,000 users. Of which 10,000,000 use the social media sites. So thats 4%

Goodbye I guess then. When the boards are gone, so am I. I can look up info and trivia about shows and movies on multiple sites. This was the only one I could come to and be able to talk and read about discussions for all my favorite shows and movies easily and all on one site. When I can't do that anymore, I have no more use for your site. So goodbye.

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Boo to eliminating message boards!.

Why r u doing away with the Message Boards??????   Can't stand our conversation?

Hugely disappointed.  I've been coming to imdb for years after every movie I see to learn about and discuss the movie I've seen.  There must be an easy to ban trolls.  Someone will enter the space and put up movie and tv discussion boards, if not, I will!   Please reconsider your decision.  There is so much great insight and discussion these boards provide about the art of film and television.

IMDB has almost 3,000,000 followers on Twitter.

The most replies I can see to any tweet are 16, most likes 400 and retweets 300. 

Nobody cares about your twitter account.

"IMDb is the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. "'

Soon to be was.  Sad. :( Oh well, somebody will fill the gap.  Maybe I will.  Forum software is abundant, it's the categorization by title and actor that will be hard.

Somehow, and unbelievably, this has managed to be the dumbest decision I've see anyone make in recent memory.
Seriously, how is social media supposed to be a substitute for the platform of discussion that takes place in these message boards?  I'm incredulous at the suggestion that the boards are not heavily used; I frequent many different boards that are regularly engaged in user traffic and discussion.  One of them is for a show that hasn't produced a new episode since about 2004, but is still visited by fans on a daily basis, who are steeped in conversation about their favorite content.

I've been active on these boards for over 10 years; it's how I discovered IMDB; and I often read comments elsewhere online that relate back to those boards of specific shows.

It's been an open secret for years that IMDB has never cared much about their message boards; they're poorly moderated, the means to contact people involved with the site directly are cloaked through layer after layer of sub-pages you have to wade through, before getting to a page you can actually send a message from; and even then, the response you're likely to receive is a rote, catch-all response, that amounts to, "the message boards are not the primary purpose of this site, so we don't care what happens on them; you're on your own."

It may not have been the intention for the message boards to become an online community - one that, from my own personal experience revivals Facebook for my attention, as I probably spend about as much time, if not more, here as I do on other social media.  I have a button linked to my IMDB board profile set on my browser toolbar, right next to the Facebook button; and the same destination is the third web address that pops up in my mobile browser after my email and Facebook.  That may not have been what you wanted your site to achieve, but that's what you've got, and forsaking that and turning your back on the people who have helped build that community, is a profoundly stupid decision.  Who in their right mind decides they don't like a segment of traffic to their website??  Sure, not all of it is constructive or positive, but that's the area to address, rather than turning everyone away wholesale!
I echo the sentiments of some of the others; once the boards are gone, I won't be returning to IMDB for anything else.  There won't be anything else on this site that I can't find elsewhere online.  I sure as hell won't be continuing to follow IMDB on social media, let alone utilize that somehow to fulfill the purpose of the message boards.

Nothing much else to add. This is a terrible idea. I browse IMDB daily because of the message boards. If that disappears, then there's not much left for me.

I want to echo all the comments above.  The message boards have long been my favorite part of IMDb.  Getting to find real fans all over the world of odd little movies that I thought I was the only one to like, that has been wonderful.  I am on a FB page for another site, and communicating about other films is very hit or miss.  It's almost impossible to find old posts.  The great thing about IMDb is the ability to have conversation on the pages of each individual film.  No other site provides this in the same way.  If all I want is a cast list I can go to Wikipedia, for heavens sake. bam particularly saddened by the comments about "Small but passionate following".  I thought that was what IMDb was all about. Count me as one disappointed about to be former user. If all I want is a cast list I can use Wikipedia.  Please do not get rid of our message boards.

Biggest movie database, where are we supposed to discuss movies and films now?
I learned about huge amount of good films and shows on imdb message boards, moreover, on message boards, I always found answers to confusing parts about the films, etc. What good are you now if we can't find information we need on imdb anymore. Screw you. 

Message Boards R.I.P. A nail in the coffin of IMDb. A very big mistake and a very bad decision that needs to be reconsidered.

I hope someone picks up the same format and make millions doing it. You might as well shutdown the entire IMDB, since people are going off Rotten Tomatoes now

Don't do this!!  Huge mistake!  The message boards are such a big part of why people visit this site.  I've been using them for over 14 years and I always check out the boards after watching a movie - especially an older movie.  If trolls / spammers are the problem, you can higher mods to filter those out and a lot of times you can find volunteer mods.  Don't get rid of the message boards!

Taking away the message boards is a terrible idea. Please reconsider. Why is IMDB deciding that the site should be LESS interactive?