MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Welcome to MovieChat.org

Welcome to MovieChat.org

posted 8 years ago by jim (137)
157 replies | jump to latest

Hey guys,

Jim (founder) here. I thought I'd start a post where everyone can let me know their thoughts/suggestions publicly (I've been getting tons of emails, but decided to create a post so everyone can see and follow the discussion). For now, here's a mini-FAQ that addresses some of the more common questions I've received via email since we launched earlier today. Please continue to ask away!

1. How many movies/posts does the site have? Is it a full or partial backup/archive of IMDB?
We currently have a message board for every single movie and TV show on IMDB (that's over 4 million!). To access the message board for a particular movie/show, simply search for it in the search bar at the top of the site. Alternatively, you can go to moviechat.org/movies/IMDB_ID, where IMDB_ID is the IMDB id of the movie/show (e.g., tt0903747). I am also currently working very hard to back up as many posts on IMDB as I can - we currently have 3 million posts backed up so far, all accessible here on MovieChat.org, and I'm continuing to add more and more.

2. Are there legal concerns about archiving IMDB's posts?
No. Before I became a software engineer, I was a lawyer for 4 years practicing in the IP and copyright space, and thus I have a deep understanding of the current situation, which is partly why I decided to start this site. Furthermore, I have spoke with several individuals at AMZN/IMDB, all of whom state that the message boards are of absolute minimum value/concern to the company, and it is highly unlikely that the company would pursue any legal action should someone attempt to archive the boards. In fact, IMDB was actually considering creating an API / data extraction tool to allow users to retrieve whatever they wanted before the boards shut down, but they decided it just wasn't enough of a priority for them (it wouldn't bring in any revenue, so why should they do it?). The (much) more likely scenario is that a few individual users may directly request to have their posts removed (much like you can request Google to remove personal information about you from its search results). Such an action would have a very minimal effect on the overall content of our site.

3. Will you be adding pages for actors and other information/metadata?
If there is enough demand from the community, then absolutely. My current focus is on archiving as much information as possible from the IMDB message boards before they shut down, but once I complete that, I will begin working on the most popular requests from the community.

4. Will you require donations to keep the site running?
Donations are nice, but I am fully financially committed to this site, regardless of donations. After the terrible experience we all went through with IMDB, I pledge to keep this site up come hell or high water.

[–] jl-riley (22) 8 years ago

Big respect for investing your own time getting this site up, Jim!!

[–] silver_snail14 (4) 8 years ago

Thanks for starting this place up, Jim. Your efforts are much appreciated.

[–] olioz (3707) 8 years ago

Thank you for starting this site Jim! I used IMDB message boards for over 13 years and it's sad to see them gone. This seems like a good alternative. Your work is much appreciated.

[–] NotoriousGIB (105) 8 years ago

You Sir are a God amongst men. (I don't think that's OTT at all)
Thank you.

[–] NotoriousRio (12927) 2 years ago

I like the cut of your jib Gib!

[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 8 years ago

Thanks for all of your hard work, Jim. I don't even understand the technical explanation of how the migration is done (the only "scripting" I know is related to screenplays). But I'm glad someone does, and has devoted so much of their time to save IMDB's threads. What a great feeling to enter something like "Gone with the Wind" or "Intolerance" and see all of those threads still there.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this website grows.

[–] emvan (12) 8 years ago

Jim, you're a hero.

I wish I'd know about the site before tonight*, so I urge everyone to continually talk it up on IMDB's Facebook page. When I went there to complain that the boards had been shut down early (at midnight Greenwich mean time? Seriously? That was the plan and you didn't mention it?), I saw a mention of this site.

*I would have just archived my lists of posts and gone to the Boston Film Critics Society Awards presentation with some friends! Instead I stayed home, cutting and pasting.

[–] Glock22 (5) 8 years ago

Good luck man. My first suggestion is to redesign your banner and favicon so thewy don't bear resemblance to imdb's, not fearing legalities but rather to not appear like a cheap knock-off. Have your own character, and I hope this works.

[–] swanstep (2724) 8 years ago

Jim, could you (a) let us know how far moviechat.org's own archiving-of-IMDb went? and (b) let us know when and how those of us who individually archived as many boards as we could (I personally have about 40 boards covered - lots of Hitchcock boards + lots of boards of interest to Hitchcockians, e.g., Chinatown, The Sopranos, Mad Men) can start pooling/uploading those efforts here?

Thanks - s.