Hey there,

Is anybody else intimidated by the "WHAT HORROR/SCI FI FILMS HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING" thread? 969 replies? Good Lord! I'm sure there's some great stuff in there, but I don't have the time/patience/wherewithal to parse through it/keep up with the comments. I'd much prefer individual threads about specific movies/topics, and though of course I understand that's what happens everywhere else on the forum, I just feel like I'm missing out.

Oh, I disagree. I feel it's a neat invitation to just add a short comment or write a whole essay if you want to, without taking the chance of what may end up being an orphan (i.e., one-post) thread.

I think Marty's got a good point there - they probably have reached a point now where people may just be skipping past a lot of them so although I like the threads for the same reasons Bob lists here, perhaps a whole bunch of orphan posts (as a lot of mine probably would be!) would be better than a thread raging out of control and people giving up on what has at times been a goldmine of info, certainly for me at least. I think I could almost start a thread on "movies I only watched after reading about them here".

And yes, I am going to totally gloss over the fact that the one on the Eurocult board was started by me. (In true British tabloid fashion, I'm going to claim that McKee is the true evil, and I'm just an impressionable young innoncent who's been corrupted and lead astray)

I'm with Bob on this one. Personally, I love it when there are a few more posts in the thread. It's the first thread I check when I come here.

Well I'm casting a vote to keep them.

Orphan threads quickly disappear forever. These "WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING" threads are the equivalent of "stickys" on other boards. I don't know if everyone's computer behaves the same way but they bounce up to the top of the page each time someone updates it so I only ever need to click on the last page to read from where I left off, safe in the knowledge that I can trawl back if I need to.

Additionally, they are less intimidating for those that want to quickly comment on something they just saw and didn't feel like composing a formal review.

Furthermore, by their very nature, sometimes the thread evolves along themes because a viewing of one film leads to discussion and/or viewing of similar or connected movies.

Victor

Of course, anyone who wishes to post can either contribute to the "what have you been watching" thread or feel free to start a new one. I don't want the impression given that one can not start his or her own thread on any particular film if he or she wants to.

Victor's right in that the thread serves as a "sticky" of sorts. I'm not sure how everyone reads Mobius. What I do is, every time I visit, I go directly to new posts, so that a long thread isn't a chore, because I'm only reading the last, oh, 3 or 4 posts or so. However, I check the boards several times a day, and if you're only visiting once a week or so, it could be a lot to read. That said, the amount of material to read will be the same, whether most of it is in one long thread or a bunch of little ones.

The chief disadvantage of the long "what have you been watching" threads is that it's hell to find a particular post, given that we don't have a proper search engine. For the moment, there isn't much we can do about that.

BUT YOU'RE A ROCK STAR, MARTY!

I dig those threads (he said, sounding like a beatnik fashion consultant) even if I don't contribute to them that often. Threads with far more specific topics grab my attention more. When you have people talking about different movies on top of each other (and some of you Mobiacs are really guilty of straying quickly and completely off-topic in your comments) then things get rather confusing.

How about this compromise: We keep the "What Have You Been Watching" threads, but future posts could be divided into sub categories. Maybe we could categorize chronologically (30s horror/sci-fi, current fantasy, etc), geographically, by genre (hey! you got your fantasy epic in my slasher movie!) or... suggestions?

The Mobius WHYBW threads are popular because people are actually taking time to write something, to educate, to entertain. Not just listing off this month's Netflix list for everyone. With so many damn movies out there, I think we've created a valuable resource. And with a bit of extra organization, it could be even more accessible.

Oh, that's just because they don't let armadillos on wooden rollercoasters. Anymore.

I like 'em -- a lot of what I post is short enough that doing it's own thread makes it look kind of silly and awkward, like a kid trick-or-treating who forgot his costume.

Interesting that there isn't one in the "Arthouse/Hollywood" section, actually.

doug

Aarrgh!