About This Site (and others)
Feb 8, 2017 8:29:32 GMT
persistenceofvision, marth, and 2 more like this
Post by Admin on Feb 8, 2017 8:29:32 GMT
Hello everyone. With less than two weeks before the closure of IMDb's message boards, it may be time to start weighing some of the alternatives that are currently available. I'd like to address some of the concerns I've been reading about this site and offer some of my own personal thoughts regarding some of the others.
First and absolutely foremost, I will never voluntarily close this board. However, since it's technically owned by ProBoards, they have the right to delete it at any time without warning for any reason. Same goes for any site created on ProBoards. With this in mind, I think it's a good idea to either sign up at some of the others or at least bookmark them in case one or more of them closes for whatever reason. Speaking only for myself, I'd like to reiterate once again that my only concern is migration. I honestly have no interest in any kind of personal gain, nor am I going to partake in what appears to be some sort of cut-throat competition for membership. I have no squabbles with the other sites promoting here regardless of their reasons for doing so. I understand that some of them are being run by well-respected and/or well-known members of the IMDb message boards, and that many people may simply prefer the look and layout of one better than another. I believe each of them have their own respective pros and cons, some of which are obvious, and some not so much.
Regarding imdforums.com, I've already explained a few of the misunderstandings between Alex and myself, but in the interest of transparency, I feel compelled to refer everyone to this post on IMDb which explains better than I can the differences between the privacy issues of free forums and private servers:
About this site specifically, once I'm fairly confident that it will remain standing for a while, I'll put more effort into its appearance and functionality. I see all of your suggestions and complaints and I'm doing the best I can, so please bear with me until we get some per-board moderators elected to help out. I think that should be pushed up higher on the priority list, given that there are over 1,000 members here now. Maybe we can start with the hot topic boards such as politics and religion just to see how well it would work. Otherwise, I could always just promote a few of the members who have generously offered to help out. Thoughts?
On a final note, I'd just like to say that in the grand scheme of things, I think this is all rather silly. I just made a forum and so did some other people. I really don't quite understand why this is turning into anything more than that. Perhaps what it all boils down to is a simple matter of there being too many cooks in the kitchen.
-John
First and absolutely foremost, I will never voluntarily close this board. However, since it's technically owned by ProBoards, they have the right to delete it at any time without warning for any reason. Same goes for any site created on ProBoards. With this in mind, I think it's a good idea to either sign up at some of the others or at least bookmark them in case one or more of them closes for whatever reason. Speaking only for myself, I'd like to reiterate once again that my only concern is migration. I honestly have no interest in any kind of personal gain, nor am I going to partake in what appears to be some sort of cut-throat competition for membership. I have no squabbles with the other sites promoting here regardless of their reasons for doing so. I understand that some of them are being run by well-respected and/or well-known members of the IMDb message boards, and that many people may simply prefer the look and layout of one better than another. I believe each of them have their own respective pros and cons, some of which are obvious, and some not so much.
Regarding imdforums.com, I've already explained a few of the misunderstandings between Alex and myself, but in the interest of transparency, I feel compelled to refer everyone to this post on IMDb which explains better than I can the differences between the privacy issues of free forums and private servers:
Every site I've ever administrated has IP and sign-up email address info, at a minimum, for administrative purposes. I always found the email address a more useful tool for weeding out trolls than the IP address though. You can search an email address to see if it's connected to a real person through other social media and web accounts. Of course you can use this info to dox people but that's where the trust comes in.
On a side note, free boards like proboards etc limit what info administrators and mods can see. Message boards set up on a personal website gives the administrator access to every bit of info on the site, including personal messages, where people are clicking your link (facebook, other boards, search engines, etc.), what OS and current browser you are using, if mobile it will list your provider. The amount of info available from a privately owned website is considerable. Free boards are a lot safer if you are the paranoid type, but with free boards, you face what we have here- the fate of the board is determined by some faceless person who can shut the board down without reason or warning.
www.imdb.com/board/bd0000001/flat/265814885?d=265821315#265821315
On a side note, free boards like proboards etc limit what info administrators and mods can see. Message boards set up on a personal website gives the administrator access to every bit of info on the site, including personal messages, where people are clicking your link (facebook, other boards, search engines, etc.), what OS and current browser you are using, if mobile it will list your provider. The amount of info available from a privately owned website is considerable. Free boards are a lot safer if you are the paranoid type, but with free boards, you face what we have here- the fate of the board is determined by some faceless person who can shut the board down without reason or warning.
www.imdb.com/board/bd0000001/flat/265814885?d=265821315#265821315
About this site specifically, once I'm fairly confident that it will remain standing for a while, I'll put more effort into its appearance and functionality. I see all of your suggestions and complaints and I'm doing the best I can, so please bear with me until we get some per-board moderators elected to help out. I think that should be pushed up higher on the priority list, given that there are over 1,000 members here now. Maybe we can start with the hot topic boards such as politics and religion just to see how well it would work. Otherwise, I could always just promote a few of the members who have generously offered to help out. Thoughts?
On a final note, I'd just like to say that in the grand scheme of things, I think this is all rather silly. I just made a forum and so did some other people. I really don't quite understand why this is turning into anything more than that. Perhaps what it all boils down to is a simple matter of there being too many cooks in the kitchen.
-John
