Comments on The Official Netflix Blog: This Weekend's Release

"Spoiler Alerts. We've been tracking the flagging,...

2007-12-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

"Spoiler Alerts. We've been tracking the flagging, and effective this release, there will be a graphic that goes along with reviews that have been so flagged. Like other flags, it takes a handful of "votes" from different members in order to trigger this event."

Hi Michael,

some reviewers are nice enough to point out the review as a spoiler at the beginning of the review.

What do you think about letting the reviewer himself or herself flag the review as a spoiler?

Of course, you would want to keep the option for other users to flag the review in case the reviewer did not.

I want to echo Billie's comment from a couple of d...

2007-10-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

I want to echo Billie's comment from a couple of days ago. I'd love the ability to rate the usefulness of lists, or at least be able to flag certain ones so that they don't keep showing up in the Members' Top 10 Lists box. That box is clearly tailored to my tastes, so the contents of the lists I see are probably movies that I'll like. But that doesn't mean that the lists that show up there are in any way useful to me. It seems like every time I log in I see a new list of Stanley Kubrick's movies, and while I am a big Kubrick fan, a simple listing of his movies doesn't tell me anything I don't already know.

Expanding on Anon's request for searchable lists.T...

2007-10-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Expanding on Anon's request for searchable lists.

The ability to tag your own lists with a few (max of 3?) keywords could be very useful. Even if the keywords we could choose from were just a list of all the sub-genres, though it would be nice if a handful of other things were added like: Fine Acting, Fine Cinematography, Fine Writing, etc.

Then someone could make a list and tag it with Cult Comedies, Western, Fine Directing.

Then somewhere on the page for each sub-genre there could be a link to "Top 10 Lists tagged with Cult Comedies" or whatever.

Any chance you could make list titles searchable? ...

2007-10-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Any chance you could make list titles searchable? I would love to search for lists which don't appear in my regularly displayed community section.

From eleni "Also would appreciate the ability to t...

2007-10-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

From eleni
"Also would appreciate the ability to tag movies with some kind of note system, similar to what others have suggested about keeping brief notes on why the movie was added to queue (e.g., read a review, friend recommend, director or actor that I liked in another movie, etc).

Yes!! This would be so helpful. I'd like to have the same kind of comment area for faves also so I could quickly find the one with the incredible horror film list and the one that has reviews of b-movies - notes like that. I'd love to be able to credit faves with the films I found on their lists. I've seen several that were excellent but I have no idea where I found them.

The "faves" reviews looks great. I like this featu...

2007-10-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

The "faves" reviews looks great. I like this feature because I watch many more movies than my friends and they never write reviews. I think reviews from my faves will lead me to new movies-- that is, if I didn't have 500 in the queue already.

I'm still having a problem with my so-called favorite genres on my outward facing profile page. It lists 3 very specific genres which I have never rated/viewed.

I second the notion for sorting queue (by year, genre, alphabetically, rating). This would help me prioritize since my queue has gotten so out of hand. Also would appreciate the ability to tag movies with some kind of note system, similar to what others have suggested about keeping brief notes on why the movie was added to queue (e.g., read a review, friend recommend, director or actor that I liked in another movie, etc). Thanks!!!

I agree with Becky on getting rid of the favorites...

2007-10-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

I agree with Becky on getting rid of the favorites list. For those who have rated a lot of movies, and/or who may be more liberal with the 5 stars it creates a long load time.

Lists should be something created by the user without any external input (like a forced favorites list).

JMHO

Second, Chawk 1:08.I would love to sort my own lis...

2007-10-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Second, Chawk 1:08.

I would love to sort my own lists, I would love to see the forced and phony “favorites” list vanish completely. I just don’t see the point of them anymore. Short of that… something… anything… to keep that list from auto-loading would be pure bliss. I hate long load times but especially for that that pointless list. It’s a problem on the newer machine, but it’s a huge problem on the older machine. I can’t imagine what it would be like on dial-up as well.

Becky Glass

PS for Decker Moss: its come up, you’re right, and you’re not alone in that wish. I can’t recall if it’s on the table, but on it or not my guess is it’s going to be a long time coming. The complicating factors for auto-sorting are pretty significant. Maybe Netflix could add some of the more complicated features at some point as an advanced mode for advanced users. We could set which version of Netflix we want to use from our profile or somewhere… Two Netflixs... Netflix Basic (for ‘Mom’) or Netflix Advanced (for Us).

Excuse me, if this has come up before, but can a w...

2007-10-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Excuse me, if this has come up before, but can a way be devised so we could sort our queue by different headings. I try to keep my queu ordered by ratings, but they change often and it can become a pain to rearrange them. Any plans? Some people might want to sort by release date, director, maybe even alphabetically.

"Doesn't this annoy anyone else?"My computer often...

2007-10-28T02:10:00.000-07:00

"Doesn't this annoy anyone else?"

My computer often doesn't like such things, but for whatever reason it has no problem loading the 356 posters on my own page in about 3 seconds.

I wouldn't object to it not loading any lists by default though if its causing problems for people.

Suggestion:I'd like to suggest that the Favorite ...

2007-10-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

Suggestion:

I'd like to suggest that the Favorite List which includes all 5 star movies either be changed to show only a list of names rather than the poster if it's over 50 films or move it to the end of the list so when someone clicks on a member's list page we don't have to wait for it to load. I rarely look at that list. I'm interested in one of the real lists made by the member. If I want to see the 5 star movies I can see them easier under ratings and compare my ratings to theirs. That monster list has caused me to just not look at some members lists because it is so annoying to wait for it to load, I'll click off.

If you change the order of the lists so our more recent are at the top and put that one on the bottom it would be much nicer. Or give us the option to sort lists in the order we want them and the option to delete that monster list altogether.

It has caused me to rethink my ratings. I went back and changed many from 5 to 4 and I usually don't rate them 5 now because I think the list is too long on mine.

What exactly is the point of it since you have the same list without the posters under ratings?

If you want to keep it in poster form please don't force those of us who don't want to see it that way to do so. Let us have the enjoyment of clicking on someone's list page without fear of being bombarded with their 100's of posters we aren't interest in.

Doesn't this annoy anyone else?

Baff, I think that theory might work, but only if ...

2007-10-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

Baff, I think that theory might work, but only if each and every genre, sub-genre, and sub-sub-genre were equal.

(Romance = Steamy Polish Romance)

And only if one were to watch and rate equal numbers of items from each and every one of those genres.

Now you aren't fooling me, you just made that up.
What's really going on, Baff?

Actually, the formula doesn't seem to be quite as ...

2007-10-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

Actually, the formula doesn't seem to be quite as simple as that. Guess I should have tested it a bit more.

The Sim% for non-friends is based on favorite genr...

2007-10-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

The Sim% for non-friends is based on favorite genres.

Look at someone's profile page. Count the number of favorite genres you have in common (highlighted in yellow), then divide by their total number of favorite genres to get the Sim% they see for you. If you divide by your total number of favorite genres you will get the Sim% you see for them.

quote from Baff"One of my fans I see at 49%, but h...

2007-10-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

quote from Baff
"One of my fans I see at 49%, but he sees me as 89%."

That statement confuses me. How can you look at yourself from a fans point of view?

On my screen the % sim is the same if I look at a member as my fan or my fave.

I thought Netflix calculated a % sim and posted it. Where are you looking to see that 40% difference and what would account for that?

Baff, you mean if someone shows as 80% sym to me, ...

2007-10-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Baff, you mean if someone shows as 80% sym to me, I might show as only 59% to them?
What? what gives?

And how are YOU able to see it?
Gimme summa THAT.

What would really help is to be able to arrange an...

2007-10-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

What would really help is to be able to arrange and categorize my own que, and make personal notations for myself on individual films.
What IS this movie, who'd I get it from, and why?

My que is almost at 300 items now, and I can't keep track of it all!
I now have the ability to fiddle and play with my freinds ques, to some degree, and I like that a LOT, but I'd really enjoy playing with my own!

e.

e,It’s funny, I thought I’d care more about rankin...

2007-10-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

e,

It’s funny, I thought I’d care more about ranking too but I find that I really don’t. I haven’t had the urge to write even one extra review because of it… (of course it doesn’t help that I haven seen anything that really worked me up in awhile) I’m still thinking about my next list and don’t feel the least rushed… I do glance at my ranking number and wonder vaguely for a moment why it might have changed, but that’s it.

Without a top list I wouldn’t know if anyone is really -trying- to game anything. I think it would be sad if anyone were altering what they do in hopes of improving their rank, it’s so unimportant. I know they wouldn’t be likely to get any help from me if they did. I’m looking for people who express themselves fully, uniquely and with strength. (And people who are helpful, like giving a warning that the trailers cut from the two Grindhouse movies are also NOT included in the bonus discs. Thanks guys, saved me a couple rentals there…) I don’t think that would come through if someone were purposefully gaming, going for mass appeal over all or conforming to group-think within genres. I suspect they would be watering down their usefulness and that it would show.

In looking at other people, rank doesn’t matter at all to me. I look at the movies they rate, glance at their profile, but 95% is all about their reviews. How well they express themselves… what they have to say… (It’s very important that they actually have something interesting to say) It’s all about their reasoning, insight and perspective, and how relevant they are to me of course. That is to say for example, that someone who’s focused on what movies are ok for kids may be highly relevant to someone, just not me. They don’t have to be in total sympathy with me in every review I look at either. I know I’m not always consistent in the approach I take so I’m not overly picky about style. And allowances for individual taste have to be made sometimes, but over all if they offer something of value more often than not, they get faved.

Anyone trying to suck me in to helping them with their game is going to have to work very hard for such a small pay-off. And I don’t think my standards are unusually high. Regardless, they will be turning what should be an entertaining exercise and fun leisure activity into a chore. My sympathies go out to them.

Becky Glass

"How does collecting faves benefit the collector a...

2007-10-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

"How does collecting faves benefit the collector as far as ranking?"

It doesn't benefit them directly, but when they fave someone, that person might check out their new fan and add movies from their reviews, lists, 5-stars.

I glance at the profiles of my fans to see why they faved me. Some of them faved me because I post here. Some of them faved me because I have a high Sim% to them. Some faved me because I have a custom icon or some other random reason.

The people that have 100s of faves I tend to ignore.

The people that fave me because they see me with a high Sim% are of definite interest to me. One of my fans I see at 49%, but he sees me as 89%. I like almost all of his favorite genres, but he doesn't share my interest in tv shows and some other genres. Since I like nearly everything he likes I was very interested to see his 5-stars. Too bad there is no easy way to find people who see us with a high Sim%.

What I would love to see is a list ordered by my Sim% + their Sim%. That could well generate the people that are actually the closest in movie tastes.

This is off topic, but since all my other dreams h...

2007-10-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

This is off topic, but since all my other dreams have now come true, I'll bring this up here, now.

Will we ever be able to rate lists? Because I've found some lists very helpful in locating a certain type of movie--but so often the list listing is cluttered with a dozen different Criterion Collection lists. It would be great to acknowledge those lists that are actually helpful, rather than unnecessary repeats.

[i]And what with all this mad scrambling to become...

2007-10-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

[i]And what with all this mad scrambling to become ever more influential, ( Michael, I see you're up to #7931 - been writing some good reviews? heh..) it is possible that some of these collectors of massive hoards of faves see it as a means to increase rank.
But what the hay, if it's set up like a game, then game it![/]

How does collecting faves benefit the collector as far as ranking?

OK,OK, I spoke in the heat of passion. I retract m...

2007-10-27T02:36:00.000-07:00

OK,OK, I spoke in the heat of passion. I retract my request for a fan removal button.

Becky (the awesome ,wonderful voice of reason) and her sensible sidekick, Baff, have shown me the error of my ways. Bring em on.

I do like {secretly love) fans, I just don't want to look at some of those pictures. eewwwwwyuk.

And what with all this mad scrambling to become ever more influential, ( Michael, I see you're up to #7931 - been writing some good reviews? heh..) it is possible that some of these collectors of massive hoards of faves see it as a means to increase rank.
But what the hay, if it's set up like a game, then game it!

I am kind of paranoid, but I do admit, it's deliciously evil fun, watching the movement of the rankings.

The privacy thing isn't an issue with me, and some of those looong page loads, whew!

e.

"[To have faved you] They must have found somethin...

2007-10-27T00:31:00.000-07:00

"[To have faved you] They must have found something about what you are doing to be interesting"

He may be talking about the person that has faved everyone they found that has a personalized icon. They have faved me too. Seems slightly odd, but if it amuses them, no skin off my back.

I'm not sure why it bothers him either though. Fans have no more access to info than non-Fans do. Its basically the same as bookmarking someone's profile page, except that other people can see that you have done so (sort of).

"Some sites have systems where you can earn and lo...

2007-10-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

"Some sites have systems where you can earn and loose trust (rep) within the community, which seems to have a nice moderating effect."

One of the first MMOs had a system like that. It works fairly good for marking the most obnoxious people. Thats great when it comes to people who are swearing and such. The problem is that it very often gets used to ostracize those that don't agree with the popular opinion. Say something negative about Star Trek, Jane Austen, or whatever and boom 100 people give you a negative mark. Also anyone with a negative mark (justified or not) is far more likely to get more negative marks.

I wish it were possible to do it too. I don't know, maybe it is. I certainly haven't seen every method of self-moderation, but the ones I have seen have definite flaws.

Michael & Crew,The most watched is much better now...

2007-10-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

Michael & Crew,

The most watched is much better now. Thank you all very much. :)

PS: I have that LoTR problem too come to think of it. (see Anon 7:07) I wish it were easier to find more movies I can rate, that might help too, but the more I rate the more difficult they are to find. I know I’ve seen many more films than I’m finding. And I also agree that for those of us who have the motivation it might be nice to add to, or even ‘overwrite,’ most watched with a favorites list that we put together ourselves. I thought that was a good idea.

Danny,

Netflix is in no danger of revealing who we really are. My favorite actress is still Katherine Hepburn, even though I’ve rated far more movies staring Julia Roberts or Cate Blanchett. Besides, ‘revealing our vanity’ could tell us quite a lot though I woudn't put it that way. Not everyone would fall into that trap by a long shot, and those who do would be telling us something very valuable anyway.

Baff regarding policing of movie forums,

I don’t know how/if Netflix would do this, assuming they are even interested. All I know is that some sites handle it better than others and it doesn’t always have much to do with who has the most moderators, paid or volunteer. Some sites have systems where you can earn and loose trust (rep) within the community, which seems to have a nice moderating effect. Forums that have a strong clear policy and repercussions, like loss of privileges, seem to enjoy more civility as well. Then there are setup restrictions… If for example I can not change my username to cover past misdeeds then I’m more likely to behave myself. Netflix will always know who people really are so with high standards for civility, and appropriate repercussions it’s much less likely people will routinely get out of hand. Whether that is enough to make the effort worth the trouble… *shrug*

But I wish it were.

Anon 6:23 regarding fan reject button,

First, why do you object to people collecting a large number of faves?

(Though I can see why you might not want to wait for that page to load if you accidently clicked on it)

They must have found something about what you are doing to be interesting, plus you would not only be rejecting them, you’d be rejecting anyone who might find you through them. Maybe they are saving high sims when they catch them on the community page to check out later. Or maybe they just really, really want to hide their friends. ;)

Personally, I’ve found myself collecting more faves than I thought I would, though not nearly that many. I use it as a bookmark for people who write interesting reviews, specialize in a genre I’m interested in, or are so similar in tastes and perspective to me that it’s almost scary. I’ve even faved a couple of people who have written only a couple of reviews, but I thought they had nailed them so well I wanted to both recognize them and possibly catch anything new should they start writing more. Having a fan might even encourage them. Also, when I get a yen to hunt down a particular type of move I can find the person again that is more likely to know what’s been up with that type, and see what they’ve been recommending lately. I can also keep an eye on review writing activity very easily in the main recent activity box so I might catch something I would otherwise miss there as well. For the people who are very similar to my tastes I can use them to gauge how likely I am to like a particular new find, especially if I’m uncertain about the choice. If all of them like it then it’s probably a good bet that I will too.

Becky Glass