Where Did IMDB Message Boards Go? And Why...Why, Why, Why???

When I was a kid, I was pretty awkward and weird, and I immersed myself in the world of movies. They meant everything to me, and I was pretty convinced I'd be a big star and in movies of my own one day.

While that second part hasn't quite happened yet, it's still true that I LOVE movies. I'll watch just about anything once, and some movies are truly a part of my soul.

And, ever since my movie love developed, I've had glorious IMDB to rely on as well. For years and years, including back in high school, I would spend hours on message boards for movies and actors/actresses I loved, connecting with people who were, in some small way, a little more like me than the others I knew and who, along with the movies we discussed, helped me to feel less alone.

Now, though, I'm on a frantic mission to print out (ahh, the paper waste!) all of the conversations I've ever had on IMDB's boards. Why? Well, the iconic site has announced it's doing away with its even more (at least to me) iconic message boards.

The news hit me like a punch in a gut, and I'm still adjusting to it.

For years, my first instinct whenever I watch a movie has been to rush to the boards and see what others have to say, to see what I missed, etc.

I did it just this weekend when I watched The Dirties on Netflix and then again when I watched Saw III on DVD. Oh, and every episode of Teen Mom I watch is followed by a visit to the boards.

With them gone, I am going to feel so lost. Where will I talk about these things, especially the rarer movies that only me and a handful of people in internet world have seen?

I am feeling this like a real loss, and also a bit like an ending of an era. Not cool, IMDB, not cool.

^^^A low-key embarrassing exchange from my early IMDB message board days (2003!). We were talking about MTV's "Rich Girls" of all things :) ^^^