Col_Needham's profile
Employee

Employee

 • 

8.5K Messages

 • 

194.6K Points

Friday, February 3rd, 2017

Closed

IMDb message boards

Please see the text below from http://www.imdb.com/board/announcement

In addition, we have created a new Get Satisfaction categories for "I Need to Know" to replace the "I Need to Know" message board and "IMDb Poll" to replace the "IMDb Poll" message board. A post on the Contributors Help board explains the migration path from there to the newly renamed Get Satisfaction category "Data Issues & Policy Discussions"  (which is an already active community here). 

An FAQ on the closure is now available at http://www.imdb.com/help/show_leaf?boardsclosurefaq

IMDb Message Boards Announcement

IMDb is the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. As part of our ongoing effort to continually evaluate and enhance the customer experience on IMDb, we have decided to disable IMDb’s message boards on February 20, 2017. This includes the Private Message system. After in-depth discussion and examination, we have concluded that IMDb’s message boards are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide. The decision to retire a long-standing feature was made only after careful consideration and was based on data and traffic.

Increasingly, IMDb customers have migrated to IMDb’s social media accounts as the primary place they choose to post comments and communicate with IMDb’s editors and one another. IMDb’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/imdb) and official Twitter account (https://twitter.com/imdb) have an audience of more than 10 million engaged fans. IMDb also maintains official accounts on Snapchat (https://www.snapchat.com/add/imdblive), Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/imdbofficial/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/imdb), and Tumblr (http://imdb.tumblr.com/).

Because IMDb’s message boards continue to be utilized by a small but passionate community of IMDb users, we announced our decision to disable our message boards on February 3, 2017 but will leave them open for two additional weeks so that users will have ample time to archive any message board content they’d like to keep for personal use. During this two-week transition period, which concludes on February 19, 2017, IMDb message board users can exchange contact information with any other board users they would like to remain in communication with (since once we shut down the IMDb message boards, users will no longer be able to send personal messages to one another). We regret any disappointment or frustration IMDb message board users may experience as a result of this decision.

IMDb is passionately committed to providing innovative ways for our hundreds of millions of users to engage and communicate with one another. We will continue to enhance our current offerings and launch new features in 2017 and beyond that will help our customers communicate and express themselves in meaningful ways while leveraging emerging technologies and opportunities.


Oldest First
Selected Oldest First

20 Messages

 • 

1.5K Points

9 years ago

Please don't take away the messageboards... I made a petition 90 minutes ago and already 181 people have signed https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-to-keep-the-imdb-messageboards-going# please have a look at that and reconsider

20 Messages

 • 

1.5K Points

12 hours later 2300 more signatures

24 Messages

 • 

2.6K Points

Now almost 6,000 2 days later...obviously people want to use this service IMDB...wake up..

1 Message

 • 

326 Points

9 years ago

This is the stupidest idea . I HATE facebook, it makes people primitive. Twitter is limited to 160 (?) characters, the other options are worse.
The message boards were my main source of information about movies. If you delete the message boards, I will stop visiting ANY site connected to you, (amazon too).

54 Messages

 • 

2K Points

9 years ago

I've used IMDb on a regular basis but I only decided to register when I discovered the forums and message boards, talking about movies was just an "offer I couldn't refuse".

And ever since 2004, I spent most of my leisure time dedicated to movies, either by watching them or talking about them and five years later, making poll suggestions about them. 

I know even the best things have to come to an end and it's always "nice while it lasts" but seriously, I never thought, even in my wildest nightmares, that such a move would be made. For me, it's IMDb's reason to be, its essence to allow movie fans to express their thoughts and opinions about movies, without IMDb is just the explanation of its own acronym.

This disappoints me a lot, I won't get melodramatic but it's like a part of myself has suddenly been dropped and I can do nothing about it.

8 Messages

 • 

660 Points

"An offer you couldn't refuse" . . . I wonder how many corporate robots at IMDB wouldn't get that reference.

5 Messages

 • 

906 Points

9 years ago

Please do not eliminate the IMDb Messafe Board! There are so many of us who count on them and continue to use them frequently and passionately. As lovers and active participants of this site and company, understand that the message boards are the best way for us to ask questions about movies and shows, state our opinions, and communicate with other members. In other words, they are the most direct means of being part of the IMDb network.

I myself have begun posts or replied to another's posts over a hundred times and many others have done so thousands of times. The emergence of social media as another means of exchanging ideas and information is no reason to do away with a long-standing and much beloved part of the IMDb experience. I now use your app for iPhone to search movies and post messages and I love it. All of us do.

With respect, please reconsider your decision. This is a mistake that will alienate, infuriate and highly disappoint many, many of your longtime members including myself. It's also something that you do not even have to do. It's good to expand but there is no need to substitute. The message boards are still alive and used daily. They are far from dying.

As a lover of movies and shows, and an eight-year member who's written countless posts and reviews and uses your app every day, don't eliminate the message boards. They are an indispensable part of IMDb that cannot be compensated for with other technology.

Very, Very Sincerely,
David Bradford Butler

758 Messages

 • 

29.6K Points

9 years ago

1 Message

 • 

300 Points

9 years ago

I have seen a lot of online discussion forums come and go, but I have never seen a community more passionate than this.  The decision to shut these forums down is unforgivable.  Yes, I know we live in a time where hate speech is on the rise, and online hate speech is an even greater plague, but, for every racist, for every homophobe, for every bigot, this forum has at least 50 non bigots- and these good people, these passionate movie and tv watchers, don't deserve to be penalized for the bad apples.  If moderating responsibilities are becoming overwhelming, hire unpaid volunteers to help police the forums.

But, please, please, PLEASE don't kill off this treasured online community.

227 Messages

 • 

11.3K Points

9 years ago

I think IMDb forgot that being the Biggest movie DATABASE means a place where people can also discuss MOVIES, pathetic move really, the boards were the ONLY reason IMDb got 250million viewers per month, now expect that number to fall to less that 100million a month, Congrats, you just killed your own company... The DAY Amazon bought IMDb, we all knew it was DOOMED.

8 Messages

 • 

660 Points

Besides signing the petition, I just emailed Amazon to let them know I'll close my account there if this happens. They need us more than we need them.

9 Messages

 • 

950 Points

When was it that Amazon bought IMDb? I've known there was some sort of connection for a long time, but this really explains a lot. Amazon is 100% profit driven and could care less about humanity...they just want our money.

20 Messages

 • 

1.5K Points

9 years ago

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Petition to keep the IMDB messageboards.

As IMDB has chosen to delete all their messageboards and PM functions, this include smaller boards on tv series and films where people can share their fan theories of what a film is about etc. I have created a petition, I urge you to sign this if you want IMDB to remain the way it is with the ability to discuss movies and series and other things.

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-to-keep-the-imdb-messageboards-going

2 Messages

 • 

240 Points

9 years ago

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled message boards being disabled.

I CANNOT believe this. This is the one place were I can get most everything. Yes I may have to go through a lot of nonsence stuff (which if the rules were tighten, that could probably solve a lot of the problem.) The boards are very informative. I am not signed up with the other sites. This seems all a bad dream? I never saw anything that asked for feedback, so I don't know where IMDB got their info, and it seems the way it seems the thought about it, but did not try new things to help resolve what they were up happy about? If the MBs go away IMDB is of MUCH LESS valuable so I then I less need to log on.:( Hope something changes cuz I will now be less knowledgeable in TV/Theatrical without the MB of IMDB. It is like I a friend has died.

3 Messages

 • 

252 Points

9 years ago

Big mistake in my opinion. Although it has been turning worse and worse over the years, it still had its moments. There are NO other places like it! Facebook? Twitter? Snapchat??? Please don't joke about this.

Washing your hands of the trolls is a bad way to deal with this in my opinion, and that is what it looks like to me.

115 Messages

 • 

2.9K Points

9 years ago

I have made a very conscious decision in my life NOT to use any social media sites (I have no Facebook account, I have never tweeted in my life, etc.) and this decision by IMDb will not make me change that. As such, especially as a contributor who often looks to other contributors for advice/assistance, I will be losing a conduit into IMDb.

227 Messages

 • 

11.3K Points

9 years ago

IMDb can make a compromise, Keep the boards in the " Trivia! Trivia!" section as well as those in the "Awards Season" and Film and TV talk section, the IMDb Boards and the Around the World boards, get rid off all the rest, still keep all individual name/title boards but create a new user group and add "moderators", users with ability to clean up boards to get rid of spam which is getting out of control and random trolls who intentionally disrupt the boards, Guess what IMDb , these trolls win because of your move...I was really hoping for IMDb to update its Message boards one day, not get rid of it completely.


Already getting 503 errors on GetSatisfaction, this site has been crap since Day One and you expect 10+ million users to move in here?

58 Messages

 • 

4.3K Points

9 years ago

This is very disappointing. I don't understand how social media justifies the deletion of IMDb's message boards. Hopefully IMDb will reconsider their decision, because the message boards are an important of the site; however it sounds like they knew this would be badly received. I'm definitely not sure how this 'enhances the customer experience on IMDb' but there you go.

2 Messages

 • 

120 Points

9 years ago

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Is there an option to backup or download all of my message board posts in one go ....

Is there an option to backup or download all of my message board posts in one go, instead of copying each one (of a few thousand) manually ?

Employee

 • 

8.5K Messages

 • 

194.6K Points

No, sorry.  We do not have an export facility (another downside of software built 15 years ago). 

9 Messages

 • 

2.2K Points

Gets better....

3 Messages

 • 

252 Points

I think this should be possible with a script, I'm sure someone with more time and knowledge of the IMDB api/database structure/whatever than me could write it.

1 Message

 • 

220 Points

9 years ago

This is a totally ridiculous decision.  You can't have a discussion on twitter.  I've been on the message boards for 10 years and never had any kind of issue with them.  Yes there's some spam posted, but it's easy enough to ignore.  What were you all thinking?  Seriously reconsidering my love affair with Amazon right now.  There's nowhere else to talk about movies and TV on the web if you aren't on the devil that is facebook.  Please reconsider!!!!!!