The Silver Screen Oasis

Posting on the TCM Boards is very, very aggravating.

I think I can post, but I wonder why I bother. I know some members here hold out hope for those forums, and I used to, but as time goes by I have just about given up. Not only is the conversation juvenile and annoying for the most part, but the lack of any real moderation drives me nuts.

I think the old trolls are still hanging around under still another new set of names, TCM still refuses to address the problem other than showing up every couple of days to delete a bunch of posts, and the whole thing really grates on my nerves.

Not to mention the annoying software. The ignore poster button is stupid -- if they bothered to run the thing there would be no need for that. I take that back -- it does have its uses when someone posts a hugely long URL or a giant picture that means I can't read the thread without scrolling horizontally.

TCM City has the potential to be such a valuable resource, but they show almost no interest in it. It's depressing. I really used to love those boards.

Well, I just posted for the first time using TCM's new, "upgraded" format. I like the Ignore Poster button since there are a few folks whose words generate, uh, um, how shall I put this...more heat than enlightenment? How long have we been begging for this one? Two years?


The above UFO spotted flying over TCM Message Board this morning. Careful, friends.

I don't spend alot of time on the TCM board for several reasons, some of which have to do with the quality of the posts, but if anyone who frequents TCM regularly could please correct my assumptions about the board, I'd appreciate it. Apparently, the features that were undone by this computer upgrade, (and anyone who's ever been through one of these IT specials at work knows what a monkey wrench these alleged improvements can be), are:

~No more Private Messages or PMs. Guess there really were too many clowns abusing this feature by harassing posters. C'est la vie. If you want someone to be able to communicate with you, I think you need to "unhide" your email address or choose to include a homepage as a point of contact via your Profile's edit feature.

~Category Order Alteration? Could it be that the order of the categories such as Hot Topics, General Discussions, etc., is now based on the frequency of the postings made to that area rather than the accustomed setup of General Discussion, Hot Topics, Information Please, etc.?

~Bold, Italics, and Underline Features is now non-functioning? Edit before posting allowing a preview of your post is now non-existent. Gad, now I have to try to get it right the first time!

Order of Messages is persistently going back to the first page! Oy, and good luck trying to check what you've just written, 'cause it's difficult to access it. Don't try doing a search for any items that are older than yesterday. Unless you leaf through pages, you won't find the Search feature much help.

Posting Pictures on the site no longer requires one to use the [nobr] and [/nobr] around paragraphs and photos to separate images from text. Now, if they could automatically make all large posted pictures fit the screen so that they didn't screw up the margins wildly...

While I probably will keep trying to post on occasion over there, this site seems alot more "user friendly" in most ways, technically and socially. I think I'll probably continue trying to share what relevant thoughts occur to me with some lingering, stubbornly civilized posters over on TCM. Hey, at least they're trying to respond a tiny bit to their visitors' needs, though I sense that their heart (and wallet) aren't really in it completely.

I visited the new TCM Boards yesterday and I felt depressed. Definitely this Site, in all aspects, has nothing to do with the Site I knew back in 2003.

Besides I can sense the bad "vibes" running through there. I won't be going back on a regular basis.

I want again to thank Jon, Moira, Liz et al for keeping this wonderful Site as a haven for all of us.

Hi,

Yea, thank Heaven for this Haven!!!

About December of last year, things over there turned into a mini garbage dump and continued multiplying to a major cesspool.
Then, around April this year, it all began to stink.

And I know for sure that one of the multi Hyrda'ed heads of "she who cannot be named" is still posting on TCM.
Just look at the number of postings for the number of months on board and you'll figure it out!!

Best we all stay here where it's safe and sound....

Larry

moirafinnie wrote:The above UFO spotted flying over TCM Message Board this morning. Careful, friends

Don't be alarmed. We still see them periodically in Cincinnati.

Moira, there is still a private message function on the TCM boards. The words Private Message have been replaced by a little envelope symbol.

The annoying part is that you have to go to your inbox area and type in the poster's name that you wish to PM (or save them into your address book). There is no longer an option to PM if you click on the poster's name.

Sandy K

Moira, there is still a private message function on the TCM boards. The words Private Message have been replaced by a little envelope symbol.

The annoying part is that you have to go to your inbox area and type in the poster's name that you wish to PM (or save them into your address book). There is no longer an option to PM if you click on the poster's name.

Thanks for the alert that the envelope=private messages now, Sandy!
Do you like any of the other new aspects of the TCM board?
Moira

Good Sunday morning,

Say what you will with respect to the TCM boards, and how much they've deteriorated, but there's one irrefutable fact - It's what brought all of us together in the first place and to that end, I'll always be grateful. Thanks to the initiative of those that put this site together, we can continue our discussions in the same vein that we once did at TCM. I think it was Jon or Larry that said they find little reason to post over there. I couldn't agree more. The same childish prattle that drove us away seems to be SOP and it appears that TCM couldn't care any less as to what direction the boards are headed in. As far as I'm concerned, TCM's loss is our gain!

As always,

Hollis

I still post once in a while and enjoy creating something funny for the photo caption thread.

But I miss the edit function. I can't highlight or italicize or boldface, so I feel that my rights to edit have been completely usurped.

Gad, now I have to try to get it right the first time!...I feel your pain, Moira!

But I also mirror Hollis' feelings. Our lemonade from that mess of citrus juice has led us to the land of milk and honey here. The wonderful atmosphere and the intelligent conversation and free flow of ideas is such a refreshing think tank.

Thanks to all who made this place possible. I still feel that I learn more here
than anywhere else on the web....

But I miss the edit function. I can't highlight or italicize or boldface, so I feel that my rights to edit have been completely usurped.~Sue Sue Applegate (Christy)

Actually, Christy, I've discovered that you can use Bold, Italicize and Underline still within a TCM entry. The tags that appear above a reply field that are supposed to help you do this as easily as we do here are non-operational since the upgrade on their boards, though this flaw has been brought to the TCMWebAdmin's attention by more patient frequenters of the boards than I.

I discovered that manually placing these functions in brackets around the word being bolded, italicized or underlined will make it appear as one would wish. I've separated the brackets from below to allow them to show up here:
To incorporate the features into text, one would place a bracket [] before a word or phrase and a bracket after the word or phrase, (without any gaps between the bracket as shown below), as in:
1.) bold is made by enclosing a portion of text this way:
word or phrase[/ b ]
W/out gaps, this would appear as word or phrase

2.) italicize is made by enclosing a portion of text this way:
[ i]word or phrase[/ i ]
W/out gaps, this would appear as word or phrase

3.)underline is made by enclosing a portion of text this way:
[ u]word or phrase[/ u ]
W/out gaps, this would appear as word or phrase

Who knows, maybe they'll fix this and any other problems by the end of Labor Day.

Thanks for the well-informed explanation, Moira.
As usual, you're in the know and on the go!

thanks, Moira! I was getting very frustrated that the bold symbol wasn't working over there.

Of course, it would still be great if they could fix it.

I haven't put anyone on ignore--I really must read everything. I don't know why I need to keep an eye on the troublemakers, but I do.

Sandy K

HI Sandy and Christy,
Glad I could be somewhat helpful. Do you folks know if the Hot Topics section is now going to be left atop General Discussion, followed by Trivia, Films and Filmmakers, Information Please and Your Favorites all the time?? I thought perhaps this might be shifting from time to time based on poster activity.
I'm confused but willing to bend with the TCM wind, when necessary,
Moira

Just a little note of surprise about the board at TCM.

I've had little to complain about on how they run the board there, after all it is their board. But today I'm surprised to find a post I made defending Kyle, Mongo and Lynn against someone named Lawson was removed. Not that I didn't expect it but the offending comment by Lawson is still there. I thought at best they would remove both of them.

I think most of you know by now that I try to be tactful and remain above the name calling that sometimes goes on. All I did was tell him a little about who he was going after. They are some of the most respected people on that board. I said he was out of line. I thought I was direct without being rude. He also made some juvenile comment about CineSage being ugly. I told him that if he was going to get into it with him he better be on the ball. Calling him stuff like that just wasn't going to cut it.

Sorry, but I felt like I had to get that one off of my chest.

Feeling better.