22/02/17 - Why IMDb should rethink the decision to close its message boards

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

The article focuses on the announcement made by the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) that they would be shutting down their long running 16 year old messaging boards on the 20th of February 2017. The announcement comes at no shock as there had been a huge decrease in user activity on messaging boards with the introduction of social media platforms. The messaging boards provided by IMDB offered an accesible platform through which people could very easily talk about cinema and many other aspects of cinema. Another main reason behind the closure of the messaging boards was the fact that there had been an increase in trolling users that overall ruined the experience of the messaging boards. The article also talks about the fact that there was little to no user consultation prior to the decsion that led to the closure of the messaging boards.

• The IMDB message boards are shutting down this month, February
• They have offered an accessible platform through which to have fun talking about cinema.
• “I made friends on the message boards over my favorite film and actor at the time, Moulin Rouge and Ewan McGregor. "
• "Now that the message boards are ending, I don’t have an outlet to discuss film in-depth.”
• Some outlets claim that IMDb’s assertion that the site no longer provides a “positive, useful experience” refers to those trolling the boards.
• “IMDb say that the boards have been overtaken by trolls, but they could easily make it harder for people to troll, by hindering them creating multiple accounts.” 
• "If IMDb really had 250 million users how come the movie with the most ratings, Shawshank Redemption, only has 1.7m votes?"
• One of the more disappointing aspects of the boards’ closure is the lack of consultation of IMDb’s users, especially as the website relies so heavily on them providing the trivia and information.

Personally, I think it is interesting as the messaging boards were essentially a forum that many people used for almost two decades. However, it is crucial to remember that the websites used and the way the internet is used is constantly evolving, back in 2001, forums were all the rage that everyone went onto. However, in this day and age it's social media. I think the decision to close down these forum boards makes senses but what I don't agree with is the fact that it is limiting the option for their own users. Furthermore, if trolls were such a huge issue, rather than closing the boards entirely, they could easily control the amount of trolls. The lack of user consultation is something that is also a huge issue that I have as it shows that the company didn't really care about their loyal users that had been with them since 2001.