Drexl

I'm not sure if we need a name change. Look at Comic-Con, which now is pretty much an entertainment convention covering all sorts of media. Apple didn't rename iTunes when they started selling movies and TV shows. Microsoft still calls their OS Windows, even as they try to remove the windows and replace them with tiles and fullscreen apps. Granted, our brand is not as strong. But if it hasn't changed by now, maybe it should just be left alone.

If they do change, is "Video Talk" taken? It seems like that would adequately cover the media.

Or maybe it should be something with "Otter."

TGM

fix the search engine, or kill the thread nazi's.

Groucho

Both of these have already been suggested in other threads.

CRM114

Adam Tyner is spot on. The site hasn't changed really at all since I joined. It interesting that the owners need feedback on what to improve. Just look around the web. Are you waiting for Web 3.0?

The forum "HD Talk" should obviously be changed to Blu-ray Talk and possibly HDTV Talk although that seems to be redundant at this point.

CRM114

I'm not expert but you already own hdtalk.com which is pointing here. Call it HDTalk (formerly DVDTalk). HD isn't going anywhere. That's an awesome domain name to just be withering away.

Brent L

Yep, some things are no-brainers and it's pretty odd that they seemingly need to have their hand held with any positive changes at all. You don't want to so much copy other sites entirely, but just visit around and you'll see the areas where we are lacking in a big time way, and you should be able to piece together why activity has dropped here, although some don't even seem to realize it.

Things move a a snail's pace here compared to both other forums, and how it used to be here, especially in certain folders. This site is only surviving on the community of long time members in the folders like Other. The people who have had a rapport with one another for years, and don't want to lose that (even if they don't want to admit it). A lot of those people who used to post in the other folders here use other sites for that reason now. Then a lot of the people that only used this forum for the DVD, HD, Bargains, and all of those other folders have moved on entirely because of the various things lacking here. The actual folders that are the point of the site in the first place, and the folders that would ultimately attract more visitors and members who would end up posting, are dying off quickly - DVD, HD, Bargains, all of that.

Again, don't change the look of the logo (at least not drasticly), and just remove DVD and put in HD.

CRM114

So whats the difference between you and the mods/administrators of the site? They are here everyday and don't seem to give a shit about any of this.

Also, why is the content so old and stale as many have pointed out? Are there no more actual authors of the actual site or is it just a straight up forum site now with no features?

Brent L

I will say that I'm very glad that we still have consistent reviewers, and that doesn't seem to have dropped off. I still read the reviews and all of that, so I hope that never changes.

Mike86

While I maybe do agree a bit with this just because other forums are faster moving doesn't necessarily speak to their quality. Maybe I'm biased but the community here seems to have a lot better discussions than a good chunk of forums I visit from time to time. To me really the pace here is just about right, there's enough regular posting going on to keep me coming back to the site.

I do agree that there are some things that maybe could improve to attract some new posters and things that could be done better around here don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's quite as bad as some here are making it out to be.

The name thing I'm kind of up in the air about. While DVDtalk maybe does sound a bit dated it is recognizable. If a re-branding is done I think the site still needs to acknowledge the former name and keep the logo somewhat similar. HDtalk would be fine if you ask me. It's too bad there isn't something (that I can think of at least) that's a bit more all encompassing though.

Brent L

Regardless, to people who stumble across this forum it likely looks dead, or dying, to them and that isn't going to attract anyone to stick around...especially when they come to realize how much more this forum now lacks in terms of features compared to almost every other forum out there. That may be fine for people who have been here for a while, and are happy with sticking it out with who we already have here (and it is a great bunch of guys and gals) but if regulars keep straying off and then leaving entirely (and that is happening, more and more over the last few months especially) but we have fewer and fewer new member signing up and sticking around, then ultimately it will lead to the end of the community. I've seen it happen time and time again to forums and DVDTalk isn't immune to it. Things must be kept fresh, promoted, and more than anything just kept up to date. Other than the reviews continuing to be posted, the site and especially the forum has been in a state of stagnancy for years now. I certainly don't want things as a whole to change in any sort of drastic way but at least some sort of positive upkeep needs to take place, and it should have been taking place for the last six years.

A lot of great ideas have already been mentioned, and I'm sure there will be more to come. Now we need to see if any of them become a reality. Things have been promised to be coming and to change for the last six years but none of it, in any sort of positive way, has come to pass. I hope IBobi will forgive me for saying that it must be seen to be believed at this point.

Having the mobile option would be a fantastic start, but they can't simply stop there either.

Obi-Wanma

There is such a thing as too many users though. I like the pace of this fourm, and I've only been here since 2008. If there was so much activity that I couldn't keep up, I wouldn't have stuck around.

fumanstan

I don't think most of the forums look 'dead' to me at all. Sports, Video Game, Movie, and HD are all filled with plenty of discussion to me.

Ash Ketchum

I wish more people from the other forums here would participate in the monthly challenges on the DVD Talk forum. Right now we're in the last days of the Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery Challenge and about to begin (on April 1) the Drive-in/Exploitation/B-movie Challenge.

PhantomStranger

Some sub-forums seem relatively healthy and active, such as TV discussion and the DVD Bargains forums. Then there are areas like the anime section, which seem supported by a very small handful of regulars.

ibobi

The difference is, I have access to the admin functions of the site that moderators do not. They are here to see that the guidelines and rules are followed, and to help anyone who needs to know how things work here. They also very often point out administrative tasks to me that I may have missed. They're much more in touch with the day to day, as they are actually a part of this community. But the actual administration of the site rests with IB. I think the mods are some of those who care the *most* about these issues, since they have been here a very long time and are integral to the community.

For instance, if someone is running contests and needs more PMs to do so, I can go into that person's back-end profile and give them a bigger PM box. A mod can't do that.

As to rebranding, I think it's both unlikely and probably unwise. I really like the comparison to itunes, etc., above, because it will allow us to expand directly into things like video game reviews, right here on DVDTalk, without having to change the name/url to "DVD & video game Talk". We're probably looking at stuff more like a logo refresh, getting rid of the HD references, making sure the hot areas of the site are prominently linked on the home page, etc.

Forum Runner we'll do really soon. Avatars for all is a real possibility soon as well (provided we can get some clear guidelines that everyone can live with).

And incidentally, I agree with those who have applauded our review content. It's one of the unique features of this site that there are so many movies reviewed here that are just not covered elsewhere, and our reviewers are top-notch. The content here is far from stale, it's great. The more we can do to feature that content, the better off we'll all be. If we can successfully get video game distributors to send us review copies, I hope we can really get that new area of the site moving the same way too.

Paul

Draven

I agree with the general formatting and UI suggestions.

I turned avatars off long ago but if that floats people's boats, give them those.

And bring back Adult Talk. I know it will never happen, but it's ridiculous we can manage to have moderated and somewhat intelligent discussions about every issue EXCEPT sexuality. Makes me feel like we're a bunch of children.

Also, I'd love there to be a system where every movie review, disc or otherwise, needs to be read by at least one other person before posting. I catch typos in nearly every one. In fact, it makes me think the reviewers aren't double-checking their own copy. Makes things seem real amateur hour.

CRM114

Forum Runner must have been free at one point. I know I used to have it on my iPhone for some forum. When I go back to the app store, it's $1.99. If I purchased it before, it would usually just let me re-download it.

Adam Tyner

Hopefully not in mine! I'm an obsessive proofreader. Of course, sometimes when I'm rewriting a sentence for the eighteenth time, I'll introduce an error that wasn't there before.

CRM114

There are others labeled "Administrators" though. People asking for name changes or explanations of policies are often blown off rudely. Some of them have legitimate feedback or issues.

As for rebranding, I'm sure you know better than any of us being in the business. Do what you think best. It's strange though. You have HDTalk.com redirected here. If you had DVDTalk.com directed to the "new" hypothetical HDTalk.com, what difference does it make? Do you think DVDTalk.com has brand awareness outside of the regulars?

As for "stale" I was referring to the sections last updated (noted earlier) from 2011 and earlier.

fumanstan

I agree with this, or at least lift the restrictions on some of the threads in Other where people have been suspended or warned about pictures being posted that weren't THAT bad to me.

Hokeyboy

Bring back wm lopez

Chad

Bring back the $10 price point for premium membership. It really rubbed a lot of us the wrong way after we cancelled the reoccurring PayPal subscription, tried to resubscribe so we wouldn't be charged automatically on a yearly basis - only to discover there was no longer a $10 coupon being offered. We all know it's not worth $20.

Deftones

They aren't nearly as healthy as they used to be. Other used to get between fifty to a hundred new threads a day or so. Now, you are lucky if there are 15 new threads in a day.

PhantomStranger

Many of the DVD collectors that used to frequent this site have grown into becoming Blu-ray collectors. While this site was one of the prime DVD sites, most of the Blu-ray crowd has moved on to Blu-ray.com with its many, many features like tracking your collection.

b2net

As far as rebranding, maybe make hdtalk.com an alias instead of a redirect. This could be for any other multi-branding that may occur. This way it isnt so much a change as an appeal to those that may be put off by "DVD".