tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post3300572808816422211..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Spare the snark -- or else?Alan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-82259261630039271482009-09-13T17:58:51.520-04:002009-09-13T17:58:51.520-04:00Hmmmm. I was once interviewed by a Philly newspape...Hmmmm. I was once interviewed by a Philly newspaper about the 90210 Weekly Wrapup, and I said something along the lines of the distinction between those who claim to be "snarky" and those who advocate for a particular show is a minor one; but furthermore that the growing complicity between the two makes for a drab, boring, excercise in the treadmill that is the mediated spectacle today....how weird. How sad.Danielhttp://www.inquisitor.com/90210/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71162677866247671282007-06-01T21:33:00.000-04:002007-06-01T21:33:00.000-04:00Hey anony, there are pleanty of independant snark ...Hey anony, there are pleanty of independant snark sites to fill your needs. <BR/><BR/>Start with TVgasm or FlipitTypes<BR/><BR/>Weird how few good evil recaps there are around these days, especially since Bravo keeps pumpin' out such caca for us to trash.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00004187154915501034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56675934390379851442007-04-13T15:03:00.000-04:002007-04-13T15:03:00.000-04:00I'm not a fan of TWoP (or the whole concept of "sn...I'm not a fan of TWoP (or the whole concept of "snark"), but I think the hope of getting better recappers and mods because of better pay is already being exposed as unlikely. There's already a flap about the pay structure that Bravo is trying to lock the recappers into. I don't care one way or the other. Bravo has gone from being a quality network to being a network of cookie-cutter crap. As such, it's marriage with TWoP is a match made in heaven.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58412267955645294802007-03-19T10:11:00.000-04:002007-03-19T10:11:00.000-04:00Man, I would LOVE it if M. Giant took on The Wire ...Man, I would LOVE it if M. Giant took on The Wire - especially since Rome is almost over. I would also love to see Jessica take on Men In Trees. <BR/><BR/>I don't hang in the forums much, but I love some of the recappers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12745740781245864682007-03-15T22:44:00.000-04:002007-03-15T22:44:00.000-04:00The announcement on the site said they want to hir...The announcement on the site said they want to hire more moderators, and they're always saying they get sent more resumes than they have time to look at, so I also hope the Bravo money will allow them to hire some fresh blood.<BR/><BR/>But more than that, I hope it'll allow them to pay their recappers a decent wage, because they don't (or didn't - things may have changed in the last couple of years, but I doubt it). The writers are paid a pittance to recap and nothing to moderate; if you think the squeeing fangirls are annoying, just imagine having to read all of it and getting, yes, decent exposure to your writing, but also headaches, hate mail and no money for the privilege. <BR/><BR/>Despite the ethical conundrum involved (and is Bravo owning TWoP really any more of a problem in those terms than any other giant corporation owning media outlets?), TWoP may have better luck attracting good writers and/or moderators if this deal allows them to pay for quality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5059524251687214372007-03-15T17:43:00.000-04:002007-03-15T17:43:00.000-04:00I hope the additional Bravo money will solve the k...I hope the additional Bravo money will solve the key flaw I see in TWoP: money and staffing shortages lead to capricious mod behavior.<BR/><BR/>For example, the moderator for the Lost boards retired. Since then moderation has been done by various people, many of whom seem to have little time or patience for the task. Wing reacted to a problem involving two posts on on one of the most popular Lost threads by shutting down the entire thing.<BR/><BR/>In other incidents of mod overreaction I've heard about, it's often someone who is clearly stretched thin. I appreciate the stress issue, but after experiencing the wrath of an overworked mod you find yourself wishing for a bit more professional detachment. I hope the new revenue will provide that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-40770522301608165552007-03-15T04:05:00.000-04:002007-03-15T04:05:00.000-04:00Gee they are going to cover perhaps the greatest T...Gee they are going to cover perhaps the greatest TV show ever only for its last season? I guess it's better than nothing. <BR/><BR/>From what i understand is that they will be recaping every episode of the wire, starting with episode 1-season1, should be interestingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62953157925437933002007-03-14T20:33:00.000-04:002007-03-14T20:33:00.000-04:00Alan: "So I'm going to ask everybody to relax and ...Alan: "So I'm going to ask everybody to relax and either get more specifically on-topic or move on to discussing this someplace else."<BR/><BR/>Sorry Alan, I was typing mine as you were typing yours. As I said, I'm done on the topic, if I read your post first I would have not posted my last post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-51012133126487390582007-03-14T20:31:00.000-04:002007-03-14T20:31:00.000-04:00For those who characterize people with negative ex...For those who characterize people with negative experiences at twop as 'bitter' or intentional troublemakers, and that the number is only in the few dozens, I think some simple logic will dispel that notion. The number of similar complaints ( not just here, but easily found by google [google "miss alli survivor sucks thread" for just one example, a thread filled with over 100 pages]) of draconian censorship by their moderators is very large. It is highly unlikely that so many would express the same opinion just out of bitterness - surely there must be some validity to it if it brings such large and vocal agreement.<BR/><BR/>I don't mind enforcement of proper grammar and capitalization, or kicking out obviously flamers and trolls. But the majority of the complaints is that they go too far in their enforcement of this concept, and even abusing it to 'shape' the consensus of the board into groupthink. Who moderates the moderators? The result is that only complicit personalities stick around, and while their rules do keep out lazy or bitter posters, it also tends to keep out the most thoughtful and intelligent ones as well who do not think in a pack-mentality way, and keeps out real avenues of discussion other than the 'agreed upon' stances.<BR/><BR/>Also, if one gives merely a luke-warm response to certain cappers there, you can be sure that you will be warned in the future for some perceived infraction as retribution. And what is more harmful to a board, a few spelling mistakes or the 100th similar "squeeeeee"-ing post about Veronica and Logan that is harmless but also completely content-free? The new-concept-to-pages-read ratio for that site is atrocious, a direct result of outcasting opinions that do not match the group.<BR/><BR/>I was warned for suggesting that "Joan of Arcadia" was going down-hill because it was silly and insulting that God would concern himself about helping Joan and that stoner-boy on the show hook up, and that reducing God's roll to matchmaker and instead concentrating on teenage love-triangles was completely destroying the concept of the show. The backlash I received was incredible, being accuse of being a troll, godless, a hater, etc. And finally, a week later I might add, I found myself 60% warned even though I did not respond back to the criticism at all, and found it rather amusing. At no point did I address anyone personally, either. So to say that all who are complaining about unfair treatment are just bitter people is hard to believe given the number of complaints, the similar reasons, and personal experience.<BR/><BR/>OK, I'm done. I'll just trust capitalism to eventually determine the fate of twop.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75160014298570248412007-03-14T20:27:00.000-04:002007-03-14T20:27:00.000-04:00Okay, folks. We've had more than a full day of thi...Okay, folks. We've had more than a full day of this and the conversation has wandered pretty far afield of the implications of the Bravo deal and into more general venting about how the TWoP boards are run. So I'm going to ask everybody to relax and either get more specifically on-topic or move on to discussing this someplace else.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-40388908494910616462007-03-14T20:14:00.000-04:002007-03-14T20:14:00.000-04:00"They also say they have more posters than they do..."They also say they have more posters than they do. That's because they count banned posters, even though those people obviously can't be posting at the site anymore."<BR/><BR/>Myth. Those numbers don't mean anything except to bitter bannees and conspiracy theorists like yourself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-85494678708459793592007-03-14T20:06:00.000-04:002007-03-14T20:06:00.000-04:00"TWoP says they get a million uniques a month."The..."TWoP says they get a million uniques a month."<BR/><BR/>They also say they have more posters than they do. That's because they count banned posters, even though those people obviously can't be posting at the site anymore. I wouldn't trust their numbers unless they showed me the hard evidence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39554675347040353842007-03-14T18:52:00.000-04:002007-03-14T18:52:00.000-04:00thown=thrown. but i totally meant to do that. Um...thown=thrown. but i totally meant to do that. Um.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07278397835543484753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-20484893141422727612007-03-14T18:51:00.000-04:002007-03-14T18:51:00.000-04:00I've never looked at TVW/OP (That's right! I'm to...I've never looked at TVW/OP (That's right! I'm totally not using their board-approved style on their acronym! I'm a rebel!) but after seeing all the hubbub here, and after a few minutes (because I had to click back and forth, constantly) on their FAQ page(s), I can conclusively say that I'll never, ever go there again.<BR/><BR/>T-WOP's thin-skinn'd rulez seem like a totally awsum way to exclude folks from participating!!! "We apologize -- no, actually, we don't -- but our software isn't able to appropriately map the sentence structure of your last comment. Therefore, any ideas you must have had could not have been worth sharing."<BR/><BR/>First they came for those who don't capitalize the first words in their sentences...<BR/><BR/>Re: Lindy's "It's like going to a non-smoking restaurant filled with "No Smoking" signs and getting mad when they kick you out for lighting up."<BR/><BR/>Sounds a little more like getting thown out for using the wrong fork.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07278397835543484753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-90642381466994829862007-03-14T18:16:00.000-04:002007-03-14T18:16:00.000-04:00Yikes. Sorry that was so long.Yikes. Sorry that was so long.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-66748813194619910352007-03-14T18:14:00.000-04:002007-03-14T18:14:00.000-04:00I've also heard tell of capricious board moderator...I've also heard tell of capricious board moderators at TWoP. But, having said that, I've been moderating the boards at my blog for almost three years now. And I have the battle scars to prove it. It's really not easy to keep things on track. <BR/><BR/>I could talk about that whole 'what it's like to moderate message boards' issue all day long --there are a ton of things that come to mind when I think about commenters, on my site anyway. At the Trib, I have to read and approve every comment before it goes up. I don't pretend to be an expert in how to lead and inspire civil discourse on the web, but I have to say, I've ended up being in favor of a strong board-moderator presence, on my site anyway. People will quickly get out of hand on my site if they think they can just start opening flaming each other or ripping actors in completely gross ways or go way, way off topic. So lately I've just been closing down comments on certain items if people aren't listening to my warnings or paying attention to the rules. Our rules are, no profanity, commercial messages and no "irrelevancies and unfair attacks." <BR/><BR/>I guess I'm the one who has to decide what's an unfair attack. I have no idea if I'm doing an ideal job of it. I let 99 percent of comments go up. But there are times when I'm just like, 'No, that's really cruel, we're not going there.' <BR/><BR/>I've also started banning people. It's rare, and I don't like having to do it, but some people just make the discussion impossible to enjoy, or seem to have a real affinity for abusive language (often directed at me, which adds to the fun). I do let most comments go up, but when someone has received repeated warnings to chill out or be more civil, and they don't listen, they're done. Life is too short. I want my site to be a place that is, if not fun to read, at least not a painful festival of abusive meanness or irrelevant whatever. <BR/><BR/>My thing is, I guess in a certain way, I think of my site as "my house," and my mentality is, even if you are not using official swear words, you know, I'm the one who has to wade through these comments. I don't want to read post after post of ugliness. That's why I shut down a board on that Cameron Lost Tombs show. Fine, discuss the merits or lack of merits to the show, but it became "Christians are dumb" vs "God is great." I don't have time for that. End of story. <BR/><BR/>So anyway, I'm rambling here, but I guess I'm saying... don't blame TWoP for discussions sometimes descending into squeeing and groupthink. That happens so much -- it's the nature of the beast, imho. Some discussions on my site end up being "Such-and-so show is stupid," "No it's not," "Is too," etc. There was a great discussion recently on a recent Battlestar thread -- but I had to ban one guy who was being annoying. And several other folks tried to post spoilers -- after I told them no spoilers were allowed. <BR/><BR/>So anyway, that's my 2 cents. Probably more like 4 cents. But the bottom line is, online message boards are not always the Algonquin round table. This site excepted, of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26978979492586148122007-03-14T17:14:00.000-04:002007-03-14T17:14:00.000-04:00"As far as I’m concerned, insisting that posters u..."As far as I’m concerned, insisting that posters use standard spelling and capitalization is a fine thing. If your intent is to express and exchange opinions, why put up a barrier to others understanding you?"<BR/><BR/>I agree with you, Kate -- it's just so much more readable when people obey the basic rules of grammar! Besides, no one is forced to join or post at a place like TWoP. If you want to post there, you have to play by their rules, even the dumb ones. If you think their rules are stupid, it's easy to go somewhere else where people don't care about that stuff. It's like going to a non-smoking restaurant filled with "No Smoking" signs and getting mad when they kick you out for lighting up. (Capricious banning is another issue -- as a non-TWoP poster, I can't speak to those complaints. I just like the Veronica Mars recaps.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2970825342089949952007-03-14T16:55:00.000-04:002007-03-14T16:55:00.000-04:00I am SO far from being a TWoP fan, but "more detra...I am SO far from being a TWoP fan, but "more detractors than fans"? I kind of doubt it. TWoP says they get a million uniques a month. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that there aren't a million TWoP detractors out there. Maybe a few dozen, or even hundred... but equating noisy complaining on the Internet with some sort of majority view is the most typical delusion I see on TV boards on the Internet, and that's what this comment smacks of.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08038629195561926390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2111616872438700632007-03-14T15:54:00.000-04:002007-03-14T15:54:00.000-04:00I spend way too much time at TWoP, and I'm not at ...I spend way too much time at TWoP, and I'm not at all worried about this deal. In fact, if they now have the resources to add more lesser-known but high-quality shows like they did with FARSCAPE, it can only be a good thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-39669665225861696552007-03-14T14:18:00.000-04:002007-03-14T14:18:00.000-04:00TWoP is almost worthy of a sociological essay abou...<I>TWoP is almost worthy of a sociological essay about how anonymous and invisible people bond (or clash) over pop culture. I hope it doesn't change. </I><BR/><BR/>I think a (maybe former?) poster did do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-18223117938464453492007-03-14T14:02:00.000-04:002007-03-14T14:02:00.000-04:00While Berlanti has his fair share of adorers on TW...While Berlanti has his fair share of adorers on TWOP (myself among them)--he never generated much forum traffic outside of his Dawson's stint. "Jack and Bobby" got canned by TWOP after 4 episodes, and while "Everwood" had 3 of the 4 seasons recapped, it got canned at the start of season 4. It's the problem TWOP faces--it's hard to recap a show that's generally liked, but doesn't inspire freeze-framing, while easier to recap something where the characters behave like morons.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00295270766215749309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87046597528963569062007-03-14T12:59:00.000-04:002007-03-14T12:59:00.000-04:00I agree with Anna Laperle’s take on the forum mode...I agree with Anna Laperle’s take on the forum moderators. Frankly, I appreciate their dedication to civil discourse. My favorite of the forum rules is the ban on beginning a post with the nasty, dismissive “Um . . .” and “Sorry, but . . .” And maybe it’s my age (30s) and profession (copyeditor) talking, but as far as I’m concerned, insisting that posters use standard spelling and capitalization is a fine thing. If your intent is to express and exchange opinions, why put up a barrier to others understanding you? I guess there’s breaking rules for the sake of breaking rules, but anarchy on TV discussion boards seems pretty pointless. <BR/><BR/>For an interesting comparison, try taking a look at TWoP’s Deadwood forums (available in archived, read-only format) and then at HBO’s Deadwood boards. Both are, as you’d imagine, fabulously profane, but only one is good reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-34553840633490999232007-03-14T11:50:00.000-04:002007-03-14T11:50:00.000-04:00Cheesesteak, they have a long-standing policy agai...Cheesesteak, they have a long-standing policy against recapping comedies, with "Sex and the City" (only a quasi-comedy to begin with) the lone exception. Jacob did an awesome "Office" recap as part of a charity promotion, though.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72460104139711087272007-03-14T10:53:00.000-04:002007-03-14T10:53:00.000-04:00In response to the guy who was wondering why they ...In response to the guy who was wondering why they would only cover The Wire for its last season, as a long-time reader, I'd be surprised if they didn't do recaps for the first four seasons. It might take them a couple years to cover everything, but I'd be surprised if they only covered Season 5.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-13349859694630830282007-03-14T10:50:00.000-04:002007-03-14T10:50:00.000-04:00"Berlanti's had a bad time on TWOP."I'm curious as..."Berlanti's had a bad time on TWOP."<BR/><BR/>I'm curious as to why you think that is. I always loved AB Chao's recaps of Everwood and thought that the general consensus of the forums were positive ones of the show. <BR/><BR/>I miss AB Chao's recaps but as long as Couch Baron and Jacob stay aboard so will I.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com