Sunday, April 16, 2006

TV.com vs. TVrage.com

Originally posted on tv.com, February 10, 2006 3:29pm:
I recently saw a thread where people were talking about how users have been steadily switching over to a site similar to this one called TVrage.com. I decided to take a look at what this site had to offer, and the following post are my impressions of the differences between the two sites.

Well I have had a TVrage account for a week now,
One difference between the two sites, is that the forums are not nearly as developed as they are on TV.com. As a matter of fact, just based on the forum traffic, it is my assumption that the population on TVrage is far fewer than TV.com. Once I came to that conclusion, is suddenly became clear to me why the site is, or atleast appeares to be so fast.

For the sake of comparison, lets say that the population of TVrage is roughly half of TV.com's, and that they have the same number of staff running the site. This alone would explain how the site is able to run so fast, how submissions are approved right away, and why user issues resolved so quickly. Basically, if there are half the number of users with the same amount of staff as TV.com, that translates to roughly half the number of submissions that need to be aprooved, half the number of users using up memory on their servers, half the amount of information on their servers, and half the amount of problems associated with running a site as complicated as TV.com.

Probably the first thing that made me apprehensive about TVrage, was the under population of the forums. One of the main reasons that I log on to TV.com is the interaction on the various forums. While looking around on TVrage, I was literally shoocked at how underpopulated the boards were. Hugely popular boards on TV.com like Lost, CSI, 24, OC, Smallville had maybe 10 active threads on them, some of them less.

Another difference between the two sites is how easily one can become an editor. As you recall, I stated before that I have been a member of TVrage for only a week, and I'm already an editor for two shows. Before I continue, let me officially say, that I am not condoning the use of this information as an exploit. I am only using this as an example of ways that the two sites are different. Use of the following information is a blatant exploit, and is a violation of the TOS of both sites.

I have found that the contribution system there is somewhat odd. Unlike here, where you become an editor by accumilating points for making submissions on a show or person. At TVrage, points are cumulative. Any points for individual shows are added to a total. The requirement there to become an editor is 40 points. Not 40 points in one show, but 40 points total. I had earned 26 points for submitting info to the show I wanted to become editor for, but because of submissions that I made to other shows, I had the pre-requisite 40 points. I filled out the online application to become editor, and it was approved with in a matter of hours.

Here on TV.com, you can becone the editor to as many shows that you are willing to work on as long as you have the required number of points from contributing to that show. Here is another difference between the two sites. On TVrage, to become a editor for a second show, you need a total of 80 points, 120 points for a third, etc. Again, all points don't necissarily have to be in the show that you wish to edit, as a matter of fact, you don't have to have any points in the show you wish to become editor for. I had earned 80 points for various contributions, and decided, as a goof, to apply to be the editor for a show that I had made zero submissions to. I filled out the application, and the next day, to my surprise, it was approved.

Although I used this loophole be become editor of another show, it's not like I did it for the sake of being editor. I was planning on applying to become editor for that show in the future. After becoming editor, I had begun contributing show information, so I am fulfilling my role as editor, and not just letting the guide sit vacant.

One thing that I did like about TVrage is the ability to search and track blogs. There is a "Recent Blogs" page that shows the 25 most recent blog entries by members of the community. it deffinitly made it it easier to surf through the site, and see what is on people's minds. However, while perusing the various blogs, I found that there is a large population there who hold a certain distain for TV.com, and a few notable users as well. I was confused as to what was it about this site that pissed so many people off. Then, as I continued to read through the numberous hate posts, I found that a majority of them were made by people banned from TV.com for various TOS infractions. It makes sence, the people who are banned from TV.com have to go somewhere. It's just too bad that they can't accept the fact that they were not arbitrarily banned for no reason, but that they were banned because of what was probably numberous violations. I'm sure that they all were given more than their fair share of warnings and second or even third chances.

Probably the biggest factor that TV.com has over TVrage is the internet search. If you do an internet search for a show, whether it be on Yahoo, Google, whatever, TV.com will always be one of the sites shown on the results page. I have been testing this for a few days now on different shows, and TVrage.com has yeat to show up on the results page.

To finish this post, I would like to say that after a week surfing around on TV.rage, I still prefer TV.com over TVrage. Yes TVrage is faster and less buggy, but TV.com is a much more developed site. It has more information, the forums are more extensive (Not to mention more populated), and it is more concious of content (both on the information boards and on the forums).

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The most part of this blog was strictly spoken as in favor to tv.com. this wasn't a clear analysis of both sites. and you didn't get the facts straight on both of them. you merely compared and contrasted the better abilities of tv.com and the worst ones of tvrage.

8:09 PM, May 19, 2006  
Blogger NctrnlBst said...

Yes I do prefer tv.com, but was I lying about any of the things that I said? Are not the forums on tvrage underpopulated? Does tv.com not have more developed guides and higher usasage? does tvrage not have fewer bugs than tv.com? Is it not a fair assumption that the reason why tv.com has more bugs is because more people access their server more than tvrage's? Nothing in this post was a lie or an exageration. I stand by this post.

10:40 PM, May 19, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tvrage has improved so much. This article was 100% bias.

12:53 PM, May 20, 2006  
Blogger NctrnlBst said...

I have no doubt that the site has changed and improved. It wouldn';t be a very good site if it didn't. However, you still didn't answer my question. Was anything that I mentioned in my article a lie? Mo matter what, whether or not this article is skewed is in the eye of the reader. If to the conclusion that tvrage was the better site, then I'm sure that I would be having the same conversation with someone who was pro tv.com. It's a moot point.

3:23 PM, May 20, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This was an excellent blog and provided many facts from both sites.

If users only knew how TVRage obtained their database, I know people would think twice about visiting TV.com Jr.

6:13 PM, May 27, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>If users only knew how TVRage obtained their database, I know people would think twice about visiting TV.com Jr.<

HA! Joke's on you, former TVRAGE editors can take their synopsises, summarys, and other notes WE created in the first place for TV.COM anywhere we choose after we are either taken off our guides or leave a site we have put our hard work into forging.

One typoical criticism from people who are deluded sheep, is that they think we steal all of Tv.com's content, we don't, if a guide does'nt belong to the former editor who is now working on a show he edited back on Tv.com, we DON'T take the synopsises and make up our own.

We don't do that when we take stuff WE put up there on Tv.com to use on TVRAGE because of that fact, WE made it, it's OUR synopsises, WE have the right to do with them as we see fit.

6:58 PM, May 30, 2006  
Blogger NctrnlBst said...

One thing that I will not tolerate on my blog is rude posts whose sole purpose is to be insulting. If you think that TVRage is better than TV.com, then I have no problem with that. I have no idea why you have such a problem with the fact that I like tv.com better. There is nothing stopping you from writing a "why I like TVRage better than TV.com" post on a blog of your own. As for the stealing of content, if you had bothered to read the TOS at tv.com, then you would have known that once you submit anything to their database, that it automatically becomes property of tv.com. Even if you wrote it, the use of that information anywhere else is concidered copyright infringement.

12:16 AM, May 31, 2006  

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