IMDb isn't the only one shutting down their message boards

I've seen people blaming trolls or money. Some claim the trolls are doing a lot of adult bullying but you see that all over social media and trolls are nothing new. I don't see Facebook or Twitter shutting down. So I'm guessing it's money.

~ Whoever said diamonds were a girls best friend never owned a dog ~

Your reply makes sense, 100%. Money motivates everything. That said, what economic loss could the boards incur? Or, what economic gain could result from reducing communication among imdb users?

All insights welcome. (I'm 100% opposed to closing the boards; INTK is a great help, as is being able to share ideas with like-minded fans AND gain other perspectives from people who dislike stuff I like. Oh UGH.) Thanks.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

But fewer users means less money. I still don't get it.

I agree (fewer users = less revenue); without the boards, I'll actively boycott imdb (whose usually crappy, user-written synopses stink) and now I'll always use moviefone and wikipedia (which I already do to some degree). So that's my user-generated ad revenue gone, and I'm sure that many others feel the same way.

Two thoughts, tho neither of these seems to be such a revenue-buster:

1. Negative ratings/comments could prompt people to not buy/stream certain movies and shows, and Amazon -- which owns imdb -- is a huge purveyor of DVDs and streaming content. (That said, I think most people take reviews -- pro and amateur -- with a grain of salt and are seldom dissuaded from seeing something of interest.)
2. On boards and in pms, people have shared alternate (= free) methods for finding content. (But I think most Internet-users already know about such sources, so I doubt that sharing such info via imdb is really costing Amazon all that much.)

As noted, I can't see that either of these things is costing Amazon all that much. So there must be something huge, money-wise, that we (mere users) can't see or understand re: shunting people away from the boards. I wonder whether we'll find out down the line, if some actual reporter writes an article.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

I think the IMDB has become a powerful information tool for people who wants to see movies.

If they drop here and see that in the boards a lot of people are thrashing a movie who supposedly has stellar reviews they don't go to watch it because they'll understand the reviews are fake.

Juliet Parrish: You can't win a war if you're extinct!

Of course the reverse works too, a movie with terrible reviews and a bad reputation might get viewed thanks to more objective comments on the message board.

But more importantly, a movie that is promoted in a way that doesn't appeal to you might suddenly seem interesting once you have discussed it with people. IMDB are taking away this opportunity and so you are less likely to watch it.

I don't think its ever happened to me that I discussed something then went to see it on Amazon Video, as I despise Amazon Video, but I can see how this must happen to some people.

Either way, you are spending more time on the site and thus more likely to see adverts. If they got more content for streaming and then made a clear "watch this" link on that movie/shows pages, its likely it WOULD get used.

Basically, Amazon are vastly underutilising this resource.

http://csdprojects.co.uk

Yes that's the point: the way the Force awakens was "deconstructed" on the boards was merciless and showed up all the flaws of the movie a viewer couldn't see in the "official" reviews on this website as well in the others.

I think this is the main reason they shut down the boards: some Majors must have realised it and they don't negative publicity, if people can't read the boards it's done, every new blockbuster will be hailed as a masterpiece.

Juliet Parrish: You can't win a war if you're extinct!

If that is the case its nonsense, as PLENTY of YouTube videos and other forums cover the same material.

The only thing shutting this forum will do it prevent people from getting feedback from a varied audience, from a fairly central place. It just increases the chance of ONLY seeing the negative reviews.

They should be promoting the IMDB forums not deleting them. Get more people discussing in the one central place, then a get a more representative, mixed opinion. Get people who bought the movies from Amazon back here to discuss it, maybe cross-post Amazon reviews.

Anyone with more than half a braincell knows to judge a movie on their own experience. Even movies that were universally panned (Suicide Squad) still gets views even despite the bad reviews, as there will always be those who enjoy a movie regardless of how bad it is. Plus as I said above, shutting down the forums won't stop that negative press, it will just skew it.

http://csdprojects.co.uk