Foreign countdown's done: what's next?

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What should our next countdown be?
76.09%
35 votes
2000s
8.70%
4 votes
2010s
15.22%
7 votes
Something else (specify in thread)
46 votes. You may not vote on this poll




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I get what you're saying, but I don't think delaying the start time for voting will help with participation. I set a delay for partial ballots in the animation countdown in order to encourage people to explore and I still think that's a reasonable requirement. However, I think doing that for everyone might actually decrease the number of voters because life gets in the way and people forget. So if someone has a well-established list of 25 favorite musicals (or whatever the subject of the next countdown ends up being) then I don't think there's much point in them exploring more, unless they genuinely want to.

I think the problem is that people are in such a rush to submit their list that they don't take the time to watch any movies for these countdowns, or even take the time to make sure that they're not forgetting movies that they haven't seen in a while.

How many times have we heard someone say that they forgot a movie after they submitted their list, and there's still plenty of time before the deadline? I never understood why some people are in such a rush to submit their list.

If someone is actively watching movies for the countdown, they are less likely to miss the deadline. Nobody would want to put all that time into watching these movies and preparing their list, only to miss the deadline because they weren't paying attention. (Trust me. I know. I watch the deadline very carefully while preparing for these countdowns, and I have never missed a deadline.)

Plus, it's very hard to miss the deadline when there are reminders on the site for the last few days before the deadline. PMs are sent out in advance of the deadline as well. Anyone who is fairly active on the site shouldn't have a reason to miss the deadline.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
...we consistently read comments from people during the reveal of the countdown that they haven't seen these movies?
Why is this a bad thing? Genuine question. I mean, exploration is certainly part of the reason for making these lists, but so is using the final product to find previously unseen films to check out.

It's only a bad thing because if people explored the genre (or decade) before submitting their list, they might find some of these movies and include them on their lists, and that could affect the rankings on the countdown.

Wouldn't it be better for people to be able to include these movies on their lists so their new favorites would place higher, rather than people being upset that a movie would have made their list if they had only seen it before submitting their list?

There are always going to be movies that people haven't seen, but it's always better if people at least make an effort to submit a more accurate list, rather than a list that is missing a bunch of movies that could have been new favorites.

Think of it this way. (This is just an example.) If we do a Musicals Countdown, wouldn't you want Hedwig to have a chance to place high on the countdown if people watched it, rather than have a bunch of people watching it after the countdown and saying that they would have voted for it, if they had seen it before submitting their list?



How many times have we heard someone say that they forgot a movie after they submitted their list, and there's still plenty of time before the deadline? I never understood why some people are in such a rush to submit their list.
But there are also plenty of cases of people submitting towards the deadline and still forgetting favorites. Delaying it isn't necessarily going to fix anything.

If someone is actively watching movies for the countdown, they are less likely to miss the deadline. Nobody would want to put all that time into watching these movies and preparing their list, only to miss the deadline because they weren't paying attention. (Trust me. I know. I watch the deadline very carefully while preparing for these countdowns, and I have never missed a deadline.)
While it's great that you watch the deadlines carefully, not everyone has the time or motivation to dedicate themselves for several months to preparing for an internet forum countdown. I excitedly went into the 2000s countdown prep period with the intention of watching a ton of movies, including a huge number of rewatches (I started the prep period with a "shortlist" that was well over 100 films). I even started a thread to dedicate to it. But then work and issues with both my physical and mental health got in the way and I managed to rewatch a dozen or so movies and never got to anything new. When we do countdowns like this, I like to make a "predicted ballot" - or a list of what I think I will end up voting for. Despite waiting quite awhile to submit my final ballot, what I ended up submitting looked nearly identical to what I predicted.

As to your insistence that "it's hard to miss the deadline" if you're a "fairly active user," how exactly do you define fairly active? There are some people who've been here longer than I have that check in maybe once a week. Sure they might get those PMs in advance - assuming the host sends such PMs, which has not always been the case - and think to themselves "Oh yeah, I need to finalize my ballot and send it in" and then get distracted, lose track of time, and forget again. And if those site reminders a few days in advance happen in that gap when they don't have the time to stop by, they won't see them and may still miss it.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
But there are also plenty of cases of people submitting towards the deadline and still forgetting favorites. Delaying it isn't necessarily going to fix anything.
I'm sure that there will always be cases of people forgetting movies that they wanted to include, but it's less likely to happen if they don't rush to submit their list.


While it's great that you watch the deadlines carefully, not everyone has the time or motivation to dedicate themselves for several months to preparing for an internet forum countdown. I excitedly went into the 2000s countdown prep period with the intention of watching a ton of movies, including a huge number of rewatches (I started the prep period with a "shortlist" that was well over 100 films). I even started a thread to dedicate to it. But then work and issues with both my physical and mental health got in the way and I managed to rewatch a dozen or so movies and never got to anything new. When we do countdowns like this, I like to make a "predicted ballot" - or a list of what I think I will end up voting for. Despite waiting quite awhile to submit my final ballot, what I ended up submitting looked nearly identical to what I predicted.
I don't expect everyone to watch as many movies for the countdown as I do, but I just think it would be nice if people at least tried to watch some movies before rushing to submit their list, especially if it's a genre that they're not familiar with already.

I would expect that most people who make a "predicted ballot" would end up with a lot of those movies on their final ballot as well because those would be some of their favorite movies, but shouldn't some previously unseen movies at least have a chance to make their final ballot as well?


As to your insistence that "it's hard to miss the deadline" if you're a "fairly active user," how exactly do you define fairly active? There are some people who've been here longer than I have that check in maybe once a week. Sure they might get those PMs in advance - assuming the host sends such PMs, which has not always been the case - and think to themselves "Oh yeah, I need to finalize my ballot and send it in" and then get distracted, lose track of time, and forget again. And if those site reminders a few days in advance happen in that gap when they don't have the time to stop by, they won't see them and may still miss it.
I consider someone a "fairly active user" if they log into the site every few days. Obviously that won't apply to everyone, but if someone really wants to participate and submit a list, there are plenty of apps out there that will have an option to put a note (or notes) on their calendar so they won't miss the deadline. (Those apps are for more than just doctor's appointments.)



It's only a bad thing because if people explored the genre (or decade) before submitting their list, they might find some of these movies and include them on their lists, and that could affect the rankings on the countdown.
Okay, but how much exploration is enough exploration? The 2000s is my absolute favorite decade for movies. Seven of my all time top ten movies are from that decade. I've since deleted my starting "shorlist" for it, but it was something like 130 movies - and that's from someone who people like to jokingly accuse of not even liking movies at all. We're currently 78 movies into the final reveal. I've seen 46 of those. Barely more than half.

Think of it this way. (This is just an example.) If we do a Musicals Countdown, wouldn't you want Hedwig to have a chance to place high on the countdown if people watched it, rather than have a bunch of people watching it after the countdown and saying that they would have voted for it, if they had seen it before submitting their list?
Okay.. sure, but I've literally spent years trying to get people to watch that movie with only moderate success, and still plenty of people here say they've never even heard of it. Just read the comments that follow its placement on the 2000s countdown. If we do a musicals countdown, I sincerely hope it makes the cut and - if I submit a ballot - Hedwig will undoubtedly be my #1, but I don't think delaying the start of the voting period will have any significant effect on its ranking.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Okay, but how much exploration is enough exploration? The 2000s is my absolute favorite decade for movies. Seven of my all time top ten movies are from that decade. I've since deleted my starting "shortlist" for it, but it was something like 130 movies - and that's from someone who people like to jokingly accuse of not even liking movies at all. We're currently 78 movies into the final reveal. I've seen 46 of those. Barely more than half.
Each person has to decide for themselves how much is enough. It's not a cut and dry rule.

I understand what you're saying, and basically, you're right. If someone really doesn't want to watch movies for the countdown, then delaying the date to allow ballots won't stop them from making their list immediately, and just waiting to submit it. But maybe it will give them a little bit of incentive to watch some movies before just immediately submitting their list without watching anything first.


Okay.. sure, but I've literally spent years trying to get people to watch that movie with only moderate success, and still plenty of people here say they've never even heard of it. Just read the comments that follow its placement on the 2000s countdown. If we do a musicals countdown, I sincerely hope it makes the cut and - if I submit a ballot - Hedwig will undoubtedly be my #1, but I don't think delaying the start of the voting period will have any significant effect on its ranking.
I've read your comments about Hedwig for years, and I finally watched it for the 2000s countdown. We seem to have very different taste in movies, so I didn't have high hopes for it. It didn't make my list, but it turned out to be a pretty good movie.

It's not likely to make my list if we do a musicals countdown, but maybe if some people who aren't fans of the old classic musicals watch it, maybe it could get their votes. Wouldn't you want those people to give it a chance?



It's not likely to make my list if we do a musicals countdown, but maybe if some people who aren't fans of the old classic musicals watch it, maybe it could get their votes. Wouldn't you want those people to give it a chance?
I do want those people to give it a chance, but if they like 10 or more qualifying musicals (assuming partial ballots are accepted) and they're not interested in exploring more of the genre before voting, I don't see how making them wait to vote is going to change that. Meanwhile, others who are busy/forgetful/whatever and have seen Hedwig already and intend to submit a ballot that includes it might end up missing the deadline because they were forced to wait.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I do want those people to give it a chance, but if they like 10 or more qualifying musicals (assuming partial ballots are accepted) and they're not interested in exploring more of the genre before voting, I don't see how making them wait to vote is going to change that. Meanwhile, others who are busy/forgetful/whatever and have seen Hedwig already and intend to submit a ballot that includes it might end up missing the deadline because they were forced to wait.

I'm not saying that everybody should have to wait the full three months before submitting their list, but if there was a one month delay before ballots were accepted, maybe people would use that month to watch some movies, and they would still have two additional months to submit their ballot, (if they choose not to use those months for more movie watching).

It might also help get less partial ballots, or maybe partial ballots with 15 or 20 movies, rather than only 10 movies.


My point is that people should watch movies they haven't seen before submitting their ballots, rather than just submitting a list of old favorites. I look at these countdowns as a way to explore these lesser seen genres, rather than just blowing them off as movies that I don't really like or want to watch, and I'd like to see more people do the same.

And on that note, I'm signing off and going to sleep. (It's 3AM here in NY.)



Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought one of the reasons for these countdowns is to broaden our horizons and watch movies that we might not watch on our own....

... I would expect that most people who make a "predicted ballot" would end up with a lot of those movies on their final ballot as well because those would be some of their favorite movies, but shouldn't some previously unseen movies at least have a chance to make their final ballot as well?
You're right. You are wrong. For me, at least. I could, pretty much, give you my list for any countdown the moment it's annouced and one on the last day and, with some placement differences or maybe a remembered film, it'd be the same. The thought that I'd include something I'd just seen for the first time over something I've seen time after time is an anathema to me, regardless of how much I instantly 'loved it'. Unless it was a partial list, of course. Then it'd probably happen, but I don't think I'd feel good about it.

I do understand I'm no longer the target audience for these things, but I'm still here so I count.

I would agree that Who Framed Roger Rabbit is more of a live-action film with animated elements than vice versa.
Quoted for truth.

I'm imagining you sitting on six laughs at the end and chuckling a little and going "hmmm, no, barely a chortle, nevermind a full-throated guffaw. INELIGIBLE!"
The film critic and reviewer Mark Kermode has a six laugh test for comedies. I don't know if he'd say a comedy isn't a comedy if it didn't pass, but I'm pretty sure that, in all but the most extreme/unusual circumstances, he wouldn't recommend it as a comedy.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
You're right. You are wrong. For me, at least. I could, pretty much, give you my list for any countdown the moment it's announced and one on the last day and, with some placement differences or maybe a remembered film, it'd be the same. The thought that I'd include something I'd just seen for the first time over something I've seen time after time is an anathema to me, regardless of how much I instantly 'loved it'. Unless it was a partial list, of course. Then it'd probably happen, but I don't think I'd feel good about it.

I do understand I'm no longer the target audience for these things, but I'm still here so I count.

I may not agree with the way you create your list, but that doesn't mean either way is right or wrong. Everybody counts equally here, regardless of how they choose to compile their list.



I would agree that Who Framed Roger Rabbit is more of a live-action film with animated elements than vice versa.
Quoted for truth.
Also, if people had really wanted to get around the no hybrids rule for Roger Rabbit, they could've voted for Somethin's Cookin'. I would've accepted it.




I don't recall offhand, since I'm kinda swamped I'd lean towards putting a poll up shortly after, though.

Do we think there's at least a strong consensus on what the several options should be, even if not on what those terms mean or which we should pick?



If you guys don't agree on something, it defaults to porn.



I don't recall offhand, since I'm kinda swamped I'd lean towards putting a poll up shortly after, though.

Do we think there's at least a strong consensus on what the several options should be, even if not on what those terms mean or which we should pick?
I think the poll options should be:
musical
comedy
noir
action
war



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I think the problem is that people are in such a rush to submit their list that they don't take the time to watch any movies for these countdowns, or even take the time to make sure that they're not forgetting movies that they haven't seen in a while.
Jumping in here, but in my experience hosting a countdown, that really wasn't the problem at all. Not that many people handed their lists in straight away, and those that did were more likely to be the sorts of people who have a whole database of all their film rankings ever and were pretty confident those wouldn't change. The problem is much more likely to be people who think they will watch a whole lot of films before handing in a list... then watch absolutely nothing and still nearly forget the deadline

I think different people have different approaches to whether or how much they watch or rewatch before submitting a ballot, just like people have different approaches to how they choose the films they put on there. I agree its important that people have time to watch and discuss possible films before the countdown starts if that's what they want to do. For a lot of us, that is a big part of the fun.



I don't recall offhand, since I'm kinda swamped I'd lean towards putting a poll up shortly after, though.
Yeah, it makes sense to wait until after the current countdown is done, also that way Thief gets to have the limelight at the end of his countdown host journey.

Do we think there's at least a strong consensus on what the several options should be, even if not on what those terms mean or which we should pick?
I'd say yes, though there were other ideas floated that had merit, I just don't remember them right now. Question: will the poll be one vote per person? Or can we vote for all the choices if we want?



We'll need to have a poll on what the poll should include.
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