How Can We improve?

Rodney 50 Comments

Hey there folks. John here.

Just a heads up… pre-existing technical issues that have been causing occasional site down time, as well as a sudden new surge in Audio Edition popularity (I can’t imagine why) has forced us to yet again pack our bags and changes servers and Hosting companies. Onward and upward! This means very little (if any) posting over the next 24-48 hours and perhaps a little bit of downtime (Don’t worry you crack junkies, your “fix” will only be down for a matter of hours).

But I thought this would also be a good opportunity to ask all of our International Friends what YOU would do to improve The Movie Blog. Over the last couple of years, some of the best changes around here have happened as a result of reader suggestions. So now is your time to be heard!

Your suggestions can be about ANYTHING Movie Blog related. Technical, style, Audio Editions, Video… you name it! Your help is appreciated!

So leave your thoughts in the comments section, and make sure to read over other peoples thoughts as well to see if their ideas spark new ones for yourself too!

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50 thoughts on “How Can We improve?”

  4. It would be nice to have your search facility better defined.. To perhaps have it equipped to search not only terms and phrases, but even by identity name..

    For instance all posts by John Campea throughout the website, or in a particular discussion etc.. Or all blogs or discussions on a Harry Potter related topic, whichever date and month it may be under..

  5. Hi there,

    Please can you not do those ads which paint the news webpage and then go onto a add. They’re horrible. Reuters do it too!

    Can’t just complain cos it would be unfair.

    Your site is the key resource for a sad man who wants to know everything about movies. Dark Horizons is runner up. I would suggest, you take the top ten movies and allow readers comments. Interaction will allow you to see if you are off the mark completely.

    Top ten movies for me today cos it changes is

    Snatch
    Good Will Hunting
    Falling Down
    Pulp Fiction
    Bourne Identity
    Mr And Mrs Smith
    Harry Met Sally
    Ripleys Game
    Once upon a time In America
    Star Trek II

    Cos you are great people and I want to give something back.

    Watch “Still Game”, made by the BBC. It’s great and probably unknown to people outside of Scotland.

    Cheers
    Iain
    New Zealand

  8. I made a really good comment to this post the other day, but it was right in the middle of your switch. It was eaten and I didn’t have the heart to write all of that shit again.

    A couple of the comments here make sense, but I completely disagree with everything this “I am John’s arrogant ass” person says.

    John has been excited about the success of the podcast. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m proud of you guys.

    The “International Friends” bit has become Doug’s trademark.

    Darren is a decent enough guy who knows something about movies, but it’s obviously the “John and Doug Show.” Darren is a good once-a-week sidekick. It works like it is.

    The 30-minute thing doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I fucking hate long podcasts. I’d rather have more 20-30 minute episodes than one or two hour-long shows.

    Forums have been done to death. The podcast is the star of the show here. The posts are nice, but really just a place to gather thoughts for the show and draw people to the podcast.

    I’m glad the old music has made a return. Keep it.

    The only real complaint I have about the show is that several actors’ and directors’ names are mispronounced. (It’s JOSS Whedon and KIRSTEN Dunst, not Josh and Kristen.) It’s kind of endearing sometimes, but it’s a little annoying too. No biggie.

    One of the earlier comments mentioned John’s ranting. Calling a self-righteous asshole a pig isn’t so bad, but harping on it for several minutes gets a bit old. State your case, let Doug say something funny, then move on. Remember that John is the “knowledge” and Doug is the “entertainment.”

    (I guess that makes Darren the guy who gets killed when they travel to an alien planet.) :)

    All and all, I love this podcast. I don’t just like it a little. I fucking love it.

    Please don’t lose any spontaneity by becoming too professional. Better equipment, bigger servers, those things are nice. But don’t let anyone tell you you can’t make fun of people or tell dick jokes.

    Life’s too short to become one of those people. You guys didn’t do all this work to bow down to The Man did you?

  9. I love the site, and I LOVE the audio editions. Keep them coming. Try to include some more movie reviews into your audio editions. They’re great. I’ll never forget that Dark Water review. Christ….

  10. (Note: Complaints are made because you asked. I like john most of the time but as a listener from the start then his head has swelled to the point where is almost unlistenable.)

    Podcast:
    – I love doug but his “welcome international friends” ramble has been played out
    -Horrible mic technique. There’s nothing worse than when someone makes a joke and laughter blows your speakers or headphones
    – More darren since he seems to be the only one that actually knows about movies. Plus he’s capable of respecting others opinions
    – Time limit. Why the heck does the show need to be abruptly cut short mid sentence when you hit a certain time. Alot of good conversations are killed because John can’t last 30 minutes without a potty break.

    John:
    – You don’t have to force out all the air in your lungs before answering a question. Doug: “Is halle barry hot” John: “ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh(30 seconds)hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”. Its like he springs a leak when his brain is asked to work
    – Stop being so insecure. I’ve never seen someone so scared of differing opinions. Someone says John is wrong about comics and he responds with a long and rambling article reinforcing his point of view. Darren (as always) says something true like “They released a DVD features set for King Kong already” and John tells him “no they didnt” even though he isn’t sure. Someone posts Johns opinion is wrong and he needs to go on the “How dare you” tour.

    Website:
    – Popup ads in firefox make the site unreadable and outdated. And it makes the site look cheap and tacky. Thank god for RSS
    – FORUMS!!!! Its useless to post on things many times because nobody will read it. Forums give you more focused discussions. (but its also going to bring out the a-holes so maybe you shouldnt.)

    Okay, hopefully John doesnt take offense. Ive been a listener for a while and i’m listening “smarter” now because i just skip episodes that dont interest me or fast-forward through anything where John rambles. So obviously its your show, its free to us and you dont have to do a thing.

  11. Get rid of the pop under ads when you go to read or post comments.
    You have enough ads already on the site. Pop unders make it annoying.

    And yeah, in Firefox, you can hi-lite and copy anything.
    Get better browsers people. ;)

  14. Thanks above to BILLY HOLIDAY for the link to the trailer.
    Unfortunately I can’t copy and paste things fromt he movie blog so I actually have type it into the browser.

    So I’m a lazy-ass. But still….

    -Drewbacca
    MoviePatron.com

  15. Oh yeah, I can’t believe I forgot this in my above comment:

    I’ve said it many times, but I can’t understand why you feel it is so important to end your podcasts at 30 minutes. Every damn podcast you say, “well, we’re over 31 minutes now, so I think we have to wrap it up.” Why? If you’ve still got movie related, interesting things to discuss, why not discuss them? I’m sure I’m not alone on this.

    -Drewbacca
    MoviePatron.com

    P.S. – glad to hear the regular bumper music back on the audio editions

  16. I would have to agree with some of the above, specifically covering a few film related topics that you did not cover in posts earlier that day. Sometimes folks like myself will reply; only to feel to respond again to the Audio Edition. One or the other will be shortchanged.

    In fact, after the Oscars, there was NO comments regarding Jenny McCarthy’s sweep of the Rasberrys. What was all that about?

    I suggest looking up the IMDB as far as the WENN briefing goes on celebs and filmmakers. You know for a fact I do, and occasionally drop you e-mails in regards to them.

    I disagree with forums; the blogs take care of that format; users have thier real names or an alias. Not to mention that some people visit other places that have forums. Why make this place a clone? Silly stuff.

    You have stated before that podcasts are usually done ‘cold’- you, Doug Nagy or Darren Connelly sometimes make errors or “a name or movie escapes you”. This is so to keep it from sounding scripted. While that’s one of the best things about the podcast, it is also one of the worst: much time is blown racking the brain over an actor’s name…nothing hurts to jot down a few nots or even a bare bones outline of what you wish to discuss.

    In fact, the last AE, when you had trouble naming successful, recast films based off TV shows, I think I was repeating “Fugitive” for a minute and a half until you recalled it. Which reminds me…stop contradicting yourself, which you do in fact do from time to time, and sometimes get called on the carpet for it. For example, you dismissed “The Addams Family” saying it ‘stunk’. But that film, and the sequel were box office hits. I felt “Charlie’s Angels” the movie was trash, but that was a hit for some reason.

    I…agree with the English 101 teacher above. It is bad enough some commenters have a typo in thier blubs; it is another matter when you do it. It is noticed.

    Brad shows up now and then; Richard is gone (and the Movie Blog awards are moot by now (unless there is a conspiracy and “Brokeback Mountian” placed…okay nevermind…) in any case, besides myself, there are a few others here contributes or have contributed to Movie-related websites past and/or present. Any one of us, if asked, might do a “guest post” on the Movie Blog–that is, if you trust us and if we were interested.

    I do agree movie reviews need to come back instead of the usual Monday table where a film opens less than stellar and you proclaim it is a bad film without seeing it.

    -Darren J Seeley aka The Sealer

  18. I don’t care about snazzy websites, I don’t get that advert thing the guy above me hates so much and I certainly don’t give a shit that you don’t talk about the fucking French New Wave (seriously, who wants to hear it?), so I’m a happy camper. Great show, guys. If only it were longer! Maybe everybody else just has more stuff to be doing than me.

    And the forum idea is a bit daft. Every movie site under the sun has a forum. Does anyone really need another one?

    Keep up the good work – Martin, UK.

  19. I don’t care about snazzy websites, I don’t get that advert thing the guy above me hates so much and I certainly don’t give a shit that you don’t talk about the fucking French New Wave (seriously, who wants to hear it?), so I’m a happy camper. Great show, guys. If only it were longer! Maybe everybody else just has more stuff to be doing than me.

    And the forum idea is a bit daft. Every movie site under the sun has a forum. Does anyone really need another one?

    Keep up the good work – Martin, UK.

  21. Great site, I would leave the layout as it is, I like the boldness of the colours, the changing title image and generally the way that it’s run. The Audio Blogs are amazing.

    I only have one problem with the site and that is the winfixer advertisement in the comments section. It is ridiculously intrusive and I can’t understand why you would allow an advert of this type. It puts me off reading the comments as you have to basically say no 3 times and it still says it’s going to scan your computer.

    Get rid of this advert and I bet a lot more people would leave comments.

  23. I have to agree with one of the previous commenters, cool down a bit John, we need you to be the sort-of sane guy in the bunch. :)

    Shouting matches are fun occasionally when you’re making a point, but just don’t do it all of the time.

    Also, pls try to vary the content a little more; more movie reviews and less repeats from the same day’s topics already covered on the blog (unless of course there’s mud to sling and otherwise extended fun to be had ;).

    Other than that, I can’t get enough of you guys! Never compromise and let your personalities shine!

  26. I visit you site everyday I find myself agreeing with most of what you say John, I guess thats why I come back. I only have 2 things to comment about.

    1.maybee snazz up the web site
    2.a forums section would be cool.

    keepup the good work.

  27. One thing I would like to request is to introduce Bit-Torrent versions of your Audio Blog. Since everyone downloading it, they would be in part sharing their downloaded audio blog, you guys might save some money..

    Maybe the whole process of Bittorent is wrong.

    Cheers

    Baseer
    (Listner/viewer from Pakistan… WOhOO!!?)

  28. One thing I would like to request is to introduce Bit-Torrent versions of your Audio Blog. Since everyone downloading it, they would be in part sharing their downloaded audio blog, you guys might save some money..

    Maybe the whole process of Bittorent is wrong.

    Cheers

    Baseer
    (Listner/viewer from Pakistan… WOhOO!!?)

  29. One thing I would like to request is to introduce Bit-Torrent versions of your Audio Blog. Since everyone downloading it, they would be in part sharing their downloaded audio blog, you guys might save some money..

    Maybe the whole process of Bittorent is wrong.

    Cheers

    Baseer
    (Listner/viewer from Pakistan… WOhOO!!?)

  30. One thing I would like to request is to introduce Bit-Torrent versions of your Audio Blog. Since everyone downloading it, they would be in part sharing their downloaded audio blog, you guys might save some money..

    Maybe the whole process of Bittorent is wrong.

    Cheers

    Baseer
    (Listner/viewer from Pakistan… WOhOO!!?)

  31. I would like to see a forum also. It would be nice to have a place to discuss things that aren’t post specific like “Where did the old theme music go?” or discuss other news that isn’t posted. Maybe it could be done like the Woot! blog, where at the end of each blog post there is a link into the forum to discuss it.

  32. I would like to see a forum also. It would be nice to have a place to discuss things that aren’t post specific like “Where did the old theme music go?” or discuss other news that isn’t posted. Maybe it could be done like the Woot! blog, where at the end of each blog post there is a link into the forum to discuss it.

  34. 1) I’ve said this before, but I don’t know why you can’t hi-lite text to copy and paste to someone or whatever. It drives me nuts.

    2) On the podcasts (which I listen to religiously) it would be nice once in a while if you discussed topics that are not on the main page. Talk about stuff that I haven’t already read your opinion and talked about it the comment section. Maybe review a movie that you saw over the weekend or something.

    3) Be excellent to each other…and party on dudes!

    -Drewbacca
    moviepatron.com

  35. Kinda agree with some of the guys that presentation of the site could maybe be better. It’s not bad, but it ain’t that great either. About forum, I have to disagree because I think that conversation in there would eventually take it away from the comments -section.

    But there’s one thing I’d like to you guys to improve. Or not improve, get it back; moviereviews to your audio editions. Those has been missing quite a while. It’s true that first months of the year ain’t exactly best time at US / Canada for movies (here in Finland, we get all these Oscar-nominated movies in january-march) but you guys must have seen something.

  36. I love this site. I would like the Audio Edition to be longer, I could sit here all day and listen to you guys talk about movies, it’s very intresting. The only problem with this site is the text seems to dissapear from time to time.

  37. Hey John,

    Hope I’m not being too revolutionary here but how about making TMB even more of a two way community, not that it isn’t already.

    Just an idea but how about periodical “readers article” on the front page? Maybe a weekly feature of an article/rant/review mailed to you kind of like readers lives but a bit more in-depth and open to comments.

    Nothing as mundane as “Why X3 ruled!” but rather commentary on the industry from a fan’s point of view. I can offer up my support and am quite sure that many people would be interested in a fresh voice thrown into the mix of the already great team you guys have. A on off-beat change of rhythm maybe?

    Ambitions aside, I’d sure like to read a different writers article every week. Ammo for discussion on the Audio Edition too.

    -Darren

  38. Hi, John. Love the site, but loving something means recognizing its faults while not letting annoyance with those faults blind one to the overall quality of the (in this case) blog. But there are some things that bug me…

    1) Get some more movie knowledge! I know this is a bit of a dumb-ass comment, since you clearly watch movies as much as I do (if not more), but sometimes you make comments about a film maker or genre that act as though no movie was ever made before the 1970s or so. Go out and read a book about, say, the French New Wave, or silent movies, or Akira Kurosawa or SOMETHING. I know your tastes run towards mainstream popcorn movies, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t you kind of owe it to yourself to get a wider perspective? Especially if this movie blog thing really takes off and you end up doing this for a living?

    2) I know you rant. That’s part of your charm. But remember that the Audio Edition works because, in a sense, you’re straight man to Doug. Let Doug say the outrageous things. You can get all hot under the collar about complete trivialities like Spielberg not wanting to do DVD commentaries (‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic,’ after all, something I know very well), but there are times when you need to back off a little and calm down. I mean, calling the writer of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ a ‘pig’ because she whines in print is just obnoxious and, dare I say it, a little offensive. With Doug making wrong-but-hilarious jokes about killing hookers, someone needs to take a step back and keep things from degenerating too far. It really should be you.

    3) In the Audio Editions, give that Connely guy a little more respect. I actually find myself agreeing with him when he disagrees with you and Doug, and the way you two keep shouting him down makes me wish *I* were there to back him up. I know he’s your friend, but why have him on if you’re not going to take his opinions seriously?

    4) Finally, learn the difference between ‘it’s’ and ‘its’! I know I’m being nit-picky (I’m actually an English teacher, so go figure), but this is a pet peeve of mine.

    – ‘It’s’ is short for ‘it is’. (‘It’s sunny today.’)

    – ‘Its’ is possessive. (‘Hollywood should shut its collective mouth.’)

    You make this mistake in nearly every single post, and it’s driving me nuts!

    Anyway, I love the blog and hope you continued success.

  40. Don’t worry about the presentation of the site! keep it simple and easy… I like the idea of a forum section, but we can all go on IMDB and an spout our nerd propaganda there, so no biggy… just keep it simple and fun to read/ listen to!

    Post Script: Brokeback mountain was overrated and severely boring…the bear should have raped them both and they fell end up falling in love with the bear and some god damn sheep lovin’ would have been nice!…multi species love feuds baby! who’s coming with me? what? it’s cold up on the mountain at night…

  41. Site is fine to me, everything loads up fine, and is easily laid out and not too cluttered (AICN anyone? :p). New server will be good, if ad revenue is high enough i suggest a full dedicated server rather than a hosting plan, but that’s something for you to talk over with your hosting people.

    Forums would be a nice edition to the site as Jack Burton mentioned, it gives everyone an opportunity to bitch about smaller films and news without cluttering up the main site.

    Apart from those and obviously a nude gallery preferably with lots of pictures of Doug with his ukulele everything is great :)

    -Sam

  42. love the site! keep up the good work guys!

    Byt yeah…the one thing that could use some work is the overall look of the site.

    like the poster above said…it’s not bad…but it could be alot better.

    other than that just keep on truckin!

  43. You completely cut me off from commenting from a marketing standpoint on Brokeback Mountain. Let’s see if you cut me off again. Maybe it was technical. Or you just don’t want any new ideas from an actual moviemaker, which I am.

  44. Discussion-wise your podcast and websites just faberlaws. But, you know, there’s something that could be said about the presentation. Not that its not good, no far away from it. Just maybe since you’re getting pretty big praise, you should really be looking to have a really snazzy looking website, and at least have some artwork for the podcast. Other than that, it’s all good. I’d have a few more digs at Annie Proulx (pronounced proo apparently, and everybody knows how you can change that). Bye bye now. Revolution.

    Welsh Boy.

  45. Once in a while, I suppose your server that gets overwhelmed with hits hence, I can’t access The movie blog. Other than that, I can’t think of anything else.

  46. Hey Jambi,

    Thanks for the comments… but I think you’re comfusing a “Blog” for a news site. A blog is a place for a writer to express his/her thought and opinions.

    If you look at the top of the site, the name of this site is “The Movie Blog – Official home of correct Movie Opinions”. I always have, and I always will be giving my thoughts and opinions on the stories… because.. well… that’s what this site is all about.

    There are much better news sites out there than The Movie Blog. I like to give my own thoughts… that’s why I started this site. I like to think it’s a good way to get conversation going too.

    Thanks again for your comments.

    Cheers!

    ~John

  47. hey. great site!

    one problem i usually face, is that when opening the page for the first time each day, most of the content (including text) doesnt load up. it usually happens on the first and sometimes second new articles. im not sure what causes this. i usually have to reload the page a few times and try highlighting the text to see what it says. and speaking of highlighting. anytime i try to highlight stuff (i like to do this while i read), it knocks the page back to the top of the screen. does this make sense?

  48. First off I really enjoy the website. I’m spreading the word in Alabama. The one thing I would enjoy would be a forum. The comment section for each post is great but I would enjoy being able to start a thread about anything on my mind movie related and roll with it. Just an idea.

  49. I love the site, and I especially love when news is presented positively, even when the idea sucks. The one thing I liked most about this site is that, unlike other sites, it woulde present news topics without a lot of unnecessary comment or biased opinion. That seems to have changed a little lately. I hate sites that will crap all over a news story or rumor. I just want to know the rumor, not hear the opinions about the rumor. That’s what the comments section is for.

  50. Just keep it real brutha.

    I don’t always agree, but I really enjoy being able to come here to read and debate about things that are of interest to me.

    Between here and Twitch my work day just flies by!!

    Nord

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