http://www.imdb.com/board/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.

Instead of fixing the problem, simply shut it down and throw the baby out with the bathwater. They could revamp the software and enlist moderators to strictly enforce the rules, but that's not as easy as simply calling it quits and closing the door to everyone, including all of the movie lovers who are looking for good discussion.

I used to lurk around the IMDB boards throughout the years. The reason I never joined was simply the unpleasantness. Fights seemed to break out a lot and the moderators apparently let a lot slide. "No longer a positive experience" sounds about right. I wonder if they're going to delete all the posts. It is sad for the actual caring members though. Sitcoms Online is living proof that a message board can succeed and thrive if handled correctly. I guess IMDB just isn't interested in putting in that extra effort.

One good thing about this is we may get more new members here since IMDB was a competing site.

I'm looking through some of the most recent posts and I really feel bad for all the long-time posters on there... Some have been members since 1999.

Some are saying IMDB itself will collapse due to this move, if all the former users (thousands, maybe millions) boycott the site in protest.

I post there but not nearly as much as here! Not nearly as much fun as here ! But sorry to see it being shut down!:(

I'm looking through some of the most recent posts and I really feel bad for all the long-time posters on there... Some have been members since 1999.

Some are saying IMDB itself will collapse due to this move, if all the former users (thousands, maybe millions) boycott the site in protest.

I don't know how truly effective stuff like this can be but here are some petitions none the less:
https://www.change.org/p/save-imdb-message-boards-from-closure?recruiter=676337471&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive

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

I'm looking through some of the most recent posts and I really feel bad for all the long-time posters on there... Some have been members since 1999.

Some are saying IMDB itself will collapse due to this move, if all the former users (thousands, maybe millions) boycott the site in protest.

The beauty of IMDB's message boards is the ability of readers to narrow down their focus on a vast range of topics. To put things into proper perspective, where else can one go for a contemporary POV on an obscure, 50 year old movie?

While there are good blogs, like AV Club, which try to cover the same breadth of subject matter in a thoughtful manner, discussion is focused on whatever the paid staff wants to discuss.

Unbelievable. I don't post there but I do read them. I don't know how the website survives this.

I'll miss the discussing about obscure movies, and learning cool facts about movies in their individual boards.
But I won't miss the trolls, aholes, or the auto-moderating, not having human mods was part of the board's downfall.

if they didn't care about their boards why would they care about any petitions?

I've never been a fan of the site; the forums are a mess and they are not the best source of information out there

Sometimes it isn't really too nice on IMdB ! I was called a stupid idiot for posting that I get Chuckie and Benjie from Leave it to Beaver mixed up! :(

Sometimes it isn't really too nice on IMdB ! I was called a stupid idiot for posting that I get Chuckie and Benjie from Leave it to Beaver mixed up! :(
I have noticed they have quite a few deleted threads over there. I can imagine what they say.

Sometimes it isn't really too nice on IMdB ! I was called a stupid idiot for posting that I get Chuckie and Benjie from Leave it to Beaver mixed up! :(


I wouldn't take that personally. There are a lot of angry trolls that infest IMDb

I'll miss the discussing about obscure movies, and learning cool facts about movies in their individual boards.
But I won't miss the trolls, aholes, or the auto-moderating, not having human mods was part of the board's downfall.

With that being said, this is like the internet equivalent of saying "TV is canceled", IMDb has long been a go to, default place for discussion about literally anything, not just movies but also games, TV series, anime and so on, without this fallback, this old standby, what does the internet have left? And on the more niche pages you could have some good discussions and people would spend the time to make recommendations for similar films, and the like. I'll miss that.

In regards to trolls, by the same logic, the entire internet should be shut down because trolls. It's ridiculous and completely disregards all the good such a service does. IMDb was an amazing place for film lovers to find each other and discuss literally everything, even the most obscure of topics, related to movies you could often not discuss anywhere else.

if they didn't care about their boards why would they care about any petitions?

I've never been a fan of the site; the forums are a mess and they are not the best source of information out there

A L T E R N A T I V E F O R U MS (http://mashable.com/2009/07/18/movie-social-networks/#Nzv57b.69iqn) A L E R T

http://www.movieforums.com/community/

http://nytramsplace.activeboard.com/

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk-17/

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=366

http://www.chud.com/community/f/94/focused-film-discussion

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/rec.arts.movies.past-films

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/rec.arts.movies.current-films

http://forums.boxofficetheory.com/forum/3-movie-discussions-please-hide-spoilers/

http://www.killermovies.com/forums/f2/

http://www.joblo.com/forums/

http://forum.rottentomatoes.com/

http://forums.thedigitalfix.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=8

http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=classicmov&nav=start&prettyurl=%2Fclassicmov&gid=2017311200

http://forums.tcm.com/

http://www.filmcrave.com/movie_talk.php

http://www.cultmovieforums.com/forum/

http://movie-talk.net/forum/

https://www.amazon.com/forum/movie?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2E577OZX17PPI

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/58

http://bloody-disgusting.com/forums/

http://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-movies-books-tv-and-music.181/

http://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/forum43/

http://forum.sfreader.com/

http://www.fanforum.com/

I'll be sad to see it go. I've had some great discussions over there.

I liked it being a "free for all" where posters said whatever they wanted.

I wonder if they're going to delete all the posts.

They've told people to "archive" any content they wish to save, so it looks as though everything will be deleted in a few weeks.

A longer explanation at IMDb cites social media as a reason they've decided to take this course. They state that members have been interacting increasingly through the IMDb handles on twitter, etc., so they see all of that as a substitute of sorts.

Yes, I've read the forums where they made that announcement, and I've been a member since 1999..(as gcarras) It's a tewrrible blow..but there's this site..by the way, they revamped their logo..and I had to re-sign in, bu luckily I was able to do so under my same account.password, and I did!

I'm looking through some of the most recent posts and I really feel bad for all the long-time posters on there... Some have been members since 1999.Including me.

It's too bad that there tended to be a substantial number of hostile and frivolous posters, amid the many "good" ones -- and while a lot of objectionable stuff did get reported and deleted, some TV boards weren't for the faint of heart due to bullying tactics.

What about the long hours that people spent putting up their messages? Too bad there isn't a law that says you can't delete private messages without written consent from the author, even on a sight owned by someone else.


Too bad they don't say what they are really doing. Like, As a part of our ongoing effort to be greedy and pocket more money for ourselves, we are closing the message boards and don't care what you think about it and never will.

They've told people to "archive" any content they wish to save, so it looks as though everything will be deleted in a few weeks.

A longer explanation at IMDb cites social media as a reason they've decided to take this course. They state that members have been interacting increasingly through the IMDb handles on twitter, etc., so they see all of that as a substitute of sorts.

IMDb saying that all the discussion is done on its social media is not true: on Facebook, at least, the likes number in the hundreds and the comments in the dozens. The experience doesn't compare to going on an individual movie (or artist's) page and talking about all sorts of topics, or just having a good time with "Delete your post Pulp Fiction style" type threads (and sure, sometimes an actor would remind me of somebody else and I would look at its page to know if I wasn't the only one who thought so...spoiler alert: I usually wasn't) I wished there was a substitute for that experience, one that could be moderated, at least.

What about the long hours that people spent putting up their messages? Too bad there isn't a law that says you can't delete private messages without written consent from the author, even on a sight owned by someone else.


Too bad they don't say what they are really doing. Like, As a part of our ongoing effort to be greedy and pocket more money for ourselves, we are closing the message boards and don't care what you think about it and never will.

There's right now, an effort to save ALL of IMDb, including message boards/threads.

You can find more information as it becomes available at http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title=The_Internet_Movie_Database

I'll be sad to see it go. I've had some great discussions over there.

I liked it being a "free for all" where posters said whatever they wanted.

According to someone, who claims to be a former employee of IMDb, says the true reason for the shut down, is because IMDb can't monetize the message boards.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0804503/board/threads/265764337/

From a former IMDb employee

"This is no surprise whatsoever. I've worked at IMDb (the worst and most discouraging experience of my professional life ) and believe me, the company is a soulless, empty corporate shell that has one goal: to sell advertising. It's not about movies, TV, or being 'guardians of data' - everything is about making money. The entire site is setup to sell advertising, and movie data is simply a means to achieve that. End of story.

The reason IMDb is getting rid of the message boards is simple: they can't be monetised. If IMDb could make money out of the boards, they'd be staying, but there's no cash in it for them, so they're getting axed. The sell-outs who run IMDb will have looked at the 'metrics' (a risible corporate buzzword the Data Team loves so much) and decided that traffic is not high enough for them to make any real money.

It really is that simple. I've experienced first-hand the obsession with metrics, and making money (at the expense of customer satisfaction), and it really is pathetic to behold. No decision is made at IMDb without greed being factored into the equation, and believe me, they will also shut down certain data sections at some point if they get in the way of making money. Forget the fact that the site has compiled 20+ years worth of important data - if one of the sections can no longer be monetised effectively (Literature, for example), they'll just get rid of it.

In financial terms, keeping the message boards live costs IMDb basically nothing, bar the human cost of maintenance, which - when considered in the context of the site's huge annual profit margin - is less than miniscule.

There's no point complaining about it, making suggestions, or suggesting alternate, viable solutions - the hacks at IMDb don't give a toss. There's no money in it for them, so they're not interested. They'll fob you off with the usual hollow platitudes, but make no mistake, the IMDb that people love died years ago. Now, the site is just a shiny, corporate plaything, pimped out by Amazon for the purposes of making money, with greed - not customer focus - being its primary driving force.

One final note: it probably burns IMDb that the majority (over one third) of their users come from China, the audience for which is far less valuable to advertisers than, say, the USA and the UK. Only about 5% of IMDb's users come from the UK, which is ironic considering the site originated in England. But, I digress - this post will, of course, be deleted, but what the hell. I don't care!"

I'm not gonna lie; I'm still reeling over the fact that this is happening. I've been on IMDb since '04, and have been using it since 2002. It is the only place on the internet that offers an individual forum for every single subject—every film, every TV show, every actor. There is simply nothing else like it.

I came here last year for the lively and wonderful discussions on the Unsolved Mysteries board as I'm a product of the '90s and have been obsessed with UM since my childhood. This site is great for that and a few other things, but I'm not a huge television watcher so the things I'm interested in discussing on here with people are more limited.

That said, thank god this site exists. At least there's somewhere to engage with like-minded people about film and TV.

if you spend a few minutes browsing the Full House or Karate Kid III boards on imdb, you will understand exactly why they are being shut down.

Seriously, go look at them and tell me that's not some messed up stuff.

Thanks for the links TMC. I just joined the KMC boards and am liking it over there

I posted on there occasionally years ago until they made it too bothersome for me to continue. On rare occasions, I still read some of the posts. The important thing to me is the IMDB itself, not the message boards.

Thanks for the links TMC. I just joined the KMC boards and am liking it over there

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/5sd21z/the_movie_database_tmdb_welcomes_abandoned_imdb/

The Movie Database (https://www.themoviedb.org/) (TMDb) (About (https://www.themoviedb.org/about)) added yesterday (February 5th) Discussions functionality for each title (movie/TV show).

You will find it in top left of the page next to poster under Discussions button with Bubble icon, so feel free leave IMDb which abandoned users and plan to delete their content.
Sample of discussions:
The Shawshank Redemption main page (https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/278-the-shawshank-redemption)

The Shawshank Redemption discussions (https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/278-the-shawshank-redemption/discuss)

You can return back to movie page by clicking on name of movie. Discussions have two categories - General, for general topics regarding movie, Content issues is self explanatory regarding content on main page.

Link to discussions from mobile browsers (even if you request desktop website) is currently NOT available, should be rolled out on Monday 6th according to the admin's (Travis Bell) words (https://www.themoviedb.org/talk/5894e6e0c3a368089b000e1e?page=4). As temporary solution you can add "discuss" in the end of mobile URL.

I am not in any way affiliated with TMDb and registered there like 2 days ago when finding sad news that IMDb is going to delete my comments I wrote for 14 years and what's worse won't let me discuss movies with other movie fans in future, severly affecting my movie watching experience, when always after finishing movie I headed to IMDb boards to find things I haven't noticed and interpretations of other people.

After doing research of alternatives (Rotten Tomatoes, MetaCritic, Letterboxd, Trakt.tv and other) I consider TMDb the best alternative to move on with your ratings, watchlists and discussions, none of other sites mentioned earlier have proper discussions, only other alternative with threaded comments is Trakt.tv.

Of course currently because TMDb just rolled out this feature, the discussions are pretty dead and wait for you to transfer there your favorite threads and start discussing.

Thanks for the links TMC. I just joined the KMC boards and am liking it over there

How I built the IMDb message boards, in 2001 https://www.beatworm.co.uk/blog/internet/imdb-boards-no-more

if you spend a few minutes browsing the Full House or Karate Kid III boards on imdb, you will understand exactly why they are being shut down.

Seriously, go look at them and tell me that's not some messed up stuff.

And on a 2013 film that I really enjoyed called White House Down that had Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Joey King, some actually seemed to say that if you liked that film, something was wrong with you. That is their opinion of course, and they were welcome to have it, but I most assuredly did not agree-- I really enjoyed that film, far more than Olympus Has Fallen.

Amazon shut down my favorite book cataloging site last year, Shelfari. This year they are shutting down IMDB's message boards. I was a Shelfari member for 8 years and an IMDB member for 12 years. It's like losing a piece of your history. :(

I'm looking through some of the most recent posts and I really feel bad for all the long-time posters on there... Some have been members since 1999.

Some are saying IMDB itself will collapse due to this move, if all the former users (thousands, maybe millions) boycott the site in protest.

I joined in October 2006.

http://www.imdb.com/board/announcement



Instead of fixing the problem, simply shut it down and throw the baby out with the bathwater. They could revamp the software and enlist moderators to strictly enforce the rules, but that's not as easy as simply calling it quits and closing the door to everyone, including all of the movie lovers who are looking for good discussion.

I agree with your statement. I posted on a variety of subjects, and I also had another message board to post TV show quotes.

Just received this message in between trying to view a discussion on the message boards.
The IMDb message boards were disabled on February 20, 2017. This included the Private Message system. 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. For more information, see the FAQ here.

A lot of people have moved to http://imdb2.freeforums.net/. It's just a forum site though...

It also looks like http://www.moviechat.org/ has huge potential. The guy archived a LOT of IMDB Message Board posts and you can search for your TV shows and movies, there's a forum for each like IMDB had.

http://www.croovies.com has a sub-reddit type movie community, where each actor / director / movie page is like a sub-reddit, and the front page has the most recent / upvoted discussions.

There is also a group trying to start a separate platform.

They currently have a website: http://www.moviepanels.com/

If you're interested they're allowing people to sign up now and secure their SN. If you don't feel comfortable giving them your email address I'd just bookmark the website and wait to see what comes out of it.

Sometimes it isn't really too nice on IMdB ! I was called a stupid idiot for posting that I get Chuckie and Benjie from Leave it to Beaver mixed up! :(

I don't even know who they are so no doubt I'd get called names. I posted on IMDB semi regularly but yeah too many many trolls. True story, I know the daughter of a famous rock star (we attended college together) and I know she dated a famous newspaper writer (for obvious reasons I won't say what he writes about because it would reveal who he was). Anyway, I got called a liar and that I was jealous.

Some of the forums were creepy but some were fun. I normally stayed on forums like Dancing With The Stars and America's Got Talent along with the Grease boards and those were pretty fun. America's Got Talent was especially fun during the show when people would post like crazy and it was generally cool. There was a "troll" but he was just a funny guy.

ETA: I used to also hang out on the Cold Case forums there and the day it was cancelled brought out one of the cast members. That was cool.

man I forgot all about that - I was going to wait until the last day then sign up and make a post about being a new member and looking forward to meeting all the nice members and many years of happy posting there.

man I forgot all about that - I was going to wait until the last day then sign up and make a post about being a new member and looking forward to meeting all the nice members and many years of happy posting there.
That would have been funny! :rotflmao:
I wonder if there was anyone who actually did that for real.

IMDB users are going in on IMDB via Twitter and Facebook.

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IMDbMessageBoards&src=tyah

The Guardian also wrote an article about why IMDB should rethink things.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/17/why-imdb-should-rethink-the-decision-to-close-its-message-boards?

I miss the message boards already.

Just received this message in between trying to view a discussion on the message boards.


A lot of people have moved to http://imdb2.freeforums.net/. It's just a forum site though...

It also looks like http://www.moviechat.org/ has huge potential. The guy archived a LOT of IMDB Message Board posts and you can search for your TV shows and movies, there's a forum for each like IMDB had.

http://www.croovies.com has a sub-reddit type movie community, where each actor / director / movie page is like a sub-reddit, and the front page has the most recent / upvoted discussions.

Someone created a script (https://greasyfork.org/fr/scripts/27617-new-imdb-message-boards-moviechat) allowing us to access MovieChat boards from any IMDb page (http://i.imgur.com/U89Rn9Zh.jpg).