I would like the added option to vote on multiple versions of a title. Some benefits this could have are:
- I can rate which versions I've seen
- Help users to choose which version to watch
- Alternate version rating data could be included in a list like the Top 250- means different cuts would appear at different places.
Posted 5 years ago
Dan Dassow, Champion
Travis
Thanks for all the info. Exactly, only the more significant alternates like director's and extended cuts should be options, not just censored/TV versions. Usually a viewer can tell which version of the movie they saw based on whether it was in theaters, or a director's cut DVD etc. Obviously not everyone would be interested in using the feature.
It would be unfortunate if the titles had to be separate entries. It should work as a kind of "sub"-rating system, where if you've seen any cut of Star Wars - A New Hope, then the rating carries over to the main page. And if you've seen more than one version, it could automatically use the highest rating or leave it up to the user.
So I think the bulk of work that needs to be done is to tidy up the Alternate Versions pages. There needs to be just one entry for each cut of the film, with descriptions included. Unstandardized entries on those pages would need fixing.
Dan Dassow, Champion
If only one alternate version of a film would be available for rating, adding an optional rating for the alternate version would probably be less challenging. However, selecting the preferred alternate version may not always be clear.
To validate and refine your idea, it may still be fruitful for you to test it out on friends, family and associates. If you receive an enthusiastic response, you will establish a probable desire to implement your idea. In contrast, if people are puzzled why you think your idea is beneficial, then it will also be difficult to convince IMDb to implement it.
Good luck in your research. Post again in this thread when you have some tangible results.
Jesús Jesh
Travis
Thanks for liking my topic. You can use the following submission link if it's a valid title (completed, available to public, in a festival, etc.).
http://www.imdb.com/updates?update=title
Jesús Jesh
DavidAH_Ca, Champion
I think a large number of the Users would just rate the main title, no matter which version they watched. How would IMDb know whether a vote was for the base version, or just for Title (any version)?
How would IMDb display the primary rating? Should it be just the rating for the base version, or for the base version + all alternates?
How much value would there be to having at least 3 ratings pages for a film : the basic version, the alternate version and a combined version? Would there be enough difference to be statistically significant. Would enough votes be given to the alternate version to give any reasonable statistics?
Remember that this will require an expense in creating the software to handle and display these pages, in running the updates for them all, and in the extra pages required. Will the results be significant enough to justify the costs (including staff cost)?
Travis
It would build a community on message boards, etc. and help viewers make decisions on what to watch. It could be cited by outside articles and increase the relevance of the site in those cases.
I suppose it'd have to be put through a beta test first to prove favorable, so yes it is up to IMDb if they want to make that focus.
Another thought- maybe a survey would be better suited to the task, and easier to implement. This isn't as robust but might be easier all around. Just build in a poll system which allows users to vote on their preferred version of a movie.