I recently updated my reviews of IMDb message board replacements. They can be found at:
Reviews of IMDb Message Board Replacements
See how Movie Chat stacks up! I have tried to be as objective and honest as possible. Discussion is encouraged.
MovieTVForums
Nice writeup. I've been following your site for quite a while now and applaud all the work you put into it. The section on legal research is well done. One thing I noticed you didn't mention is MovieChat has actors/celebrities as well (even a page for Donald Trump!). I've looked at a few of the other sites and none of the others seemed to have them.
Oh and MovieChat does list the top cast members for movies/tv shows, as well as a list of similar movies/shows. Just noticed this earlier today, so probably a very new feature. It looks like we're getting new features basically everyday here, so be sure to check back often and update your review 😊
Thanks, batman89. Hmmm . . . actors and celebrities. I guess I've been so focused on individual movie titles, that I have overlooked actors and celebrities. I promise it will be in the next update, which will be soon at this rate. Thanks for bringing that up!
Top cast members must be new, because it wasn't there last night. It's really hard to keep up with all the changes, because they happen every day. It does look like I'll have to update things regularly. Thank you for mentioning that.
Wow, I now have a clearer vision of Col Needham's reasons for closing the board. How did you communicate with him?
This man is smarter than I thought! I thought he was insulated to how hated he was, but he seems acutely aware of everything including the movement to boycott IMDB, Amazon and Amazon video.
I was 100% sure that the boards were being closed down to keep the subscribers and studio bosses happy, but it seems that there were genuine financial and logistical constraints with the boards that he just did not want to deal with.
You know, I would have been more understanding of this situation if he was upfront about these reasons from the start. The imdb boards were closed in a very dictatorial fashion. We were just given a 10 day notice, and without any prior discussion or feedback. The reasons given for the board closure were sketchy and we were not even given enough time to vent our feelings. He should have ideally informed us well in advance with his detailed, genuine reasons so we could actually come to terms with it. The way the boards were closed reeked of "We are closing the board anyway, and couldn't care less of what you think". It was very, very disrespectful to us and Col did not even bother to post a detailed FAQ page linked on the top of every page in which he apologized to us but given the genuine reasons he did not want to continue with the boards. Anyway, I at least know now. Maybe I will be able to forgive him some day.
I agree with you completely. I believe, as you do, there were genuine financial and logistical constraints, but it was the way he announced the closing: so dismissive of the "small" but passionate community. "Small" is so demeaning. In other words, we don't matter. Like you say, if he had explained the genuine reasons, instead of giving us some vague explanation that really didn't make much sense, I would be a lot more forgiving.
I think part of the reason he didn't give us much notice about the closing was to discourage hackers from having enough time to download everything. So much for that idea.
Most of Col Needham's responses that I have published on my site were archived from a very long thread (over 25 pages) in IMDb's Contributor's Help forum before it closed. They are published legally under the Fair Use Doctrine.
<< The imdb boards were closed in a very dictatorial fashion. We were just given a 10 day notice >>
We were made little Orphans of the Storm....alone and homeless!
(sob)
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Also, where can I see the forum statistics for movie chat on your site?
shareCouldn't find forum statistics for Movie Chat. "Many" is a subjective word!
Some forums list stats; others don't. Some sites are on Alexa; others aren't (the free boards aren't). I initially wanted to list stats, but I couldn't find a good way to compare apples to apples, so I left it off. I'd still like to find a way to do it, though.