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Merging series discussion and weekly anime review threads




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gsilver



Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 617
PostPosted: Wed Apr 21, 2021 8:32 pm Reply with quote
It seems a little redundant to have threads for the week to week episode reviews under Talkback, and then separate threads under series discussion. I know that the articles under Talkback could be used to discuss the reviews themselves, and then the series discussion thread could be used to talk about the show itself, but that's not what tends to happen, as the Talkback threads are usually more visited, and contain discussion of both the reviews and the show.

I'm not sure how technically challenging this would be, since two things would need to happen:
1. Linking articles to a particular existing thread
2. If no thread exists in series discussion, creating it there instead of Talkback


Has this been considered?
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:10 am Reply with quote
It certainly has been suggested before, by me among others. It so dilutes conversation where a series has two threads.
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ATastySub
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 19 Jan 2012
Posts: 647
PostPosted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:50 pm Reply with quote
The problem is that they are separate conversations. While recently more talkback threads have been spoiler filled messes about what upcoming LN chapters have, that stuff probably should be kept in series discussion threads. Talkback is more what it says on the tin, and is usually better when people do stay on track with the article so everyone is on the same page of conversation.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:43 pm Reply with quote
It has been suggested and considered before, and pretty much unanimously shut down. ATastySub touches on some of the main reasons for the separation.

The streaming/Talkback articles are really for more "now" discussion. This is what is happening now. This is what happened this week. Even if people bring up parts from earlier in the show to connect dots later it is still more focused on the "now". It's for those who watch the show week in and week out as it airs. Maybe they miss an episode here or there, but the general idea is this is for those who are watching the show as it is airing. The problem is as seasons wind down discussions get thrown to the curb. So they're really only relevant for a few months before the new shiny comes in and takes people's attention away. There's also the difference in spoilers. The idea is with the Reviews you obviously need to watch spoilers, mentioning source material, etc. that might spoil the viewing experience. With the Series Discussion threads the rules on spoiler tags are much more relaxed. The idea is the whole show is already out and aired so it's the entirety of the show, and related material, being discussed. Not just episodes one at a time.

The series discussion area is often more for those who are not watching a show currently, and definitely more for the all encompassing discussion. It's a better spot to debate the nitty gritty parts, or have a more all encompassing discussion on the series as a whole. The unique aspect it might bring, why did the director choose this or that, or other topics that are more on the periphery. It's MUCH better suited for discussion of a show after it is done airing. What are people supposed to do if they want to discuss a show after it's aired once everyone has moved on to the next slate of shows? Not everyone watches shows right as they air, so where should they discuss it once it's done airing? The currently streaming talkback review threads are not ideal for that at all. In fact we discourage it to be honest because there's already so many review threads each season as is without keeping threads from the past several seasons active.

One other reason for the separate threads is, to be blunt, the Review threads are much more contentious on average. They on average are the threads with more problematic posts, and many users simply don't want to have to wade through that to discuss the show. Often those 2 threads, the Talkback & Series Discussion, have quite different feels to the discussion. There are some users who only participate in one or the other discussion. It doesn't dilute it at all. If anything it provides an additional source for more in depth discussion, and again for those who are not watching a series as it streams each week.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:39 pm Reply with quote
Fun fact: discussions of series and general anime took place in the Anime (and eventual Series Discussion) sub-forums way before editorial Episode Reviews existed.

As was pointed out, Talkback has always been about impulse reactions and comments in the "now," and I think it perfectly represents the trend of today's social media landscape of instantaneous feedback on things.

(*in old man voice*) Back in my day, before social media was a thing, people posted in a thread, waited a little, and people would eventually reply! Now all these youngins with their Tweetters, Instergrams, Discerds, and Tik Taks wanna' say, show, and hear everything before I even finish typing this up!
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11354
PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 11:18 pm Reply with quote
As far as I can tell, Series Discussion is for talking about the series, while Talkback is for talking about how many chapters were adapted to the episode, how the series will divide up future chapters, what chapter the season will end with, and the differences between the adaptation and the source material.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4888
PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2021 10:05 am Reply with quote
Eh, in my experience the series discussion and talkback threads are more or less the same thing in practice. It's just that the talkback threads get more traffic and so if a show has weekly reviews then the series discussion thread becomes a graveyard. Series discussion threads become more useful for shows that don't have weekly reviews.

Gina Szanboti wrote:
As far as I can tell, Series Discussion is for talking about the series, while Talkback is for talking about how many chapters were adapted to the episode, how the series will divide up future chapters, what chapter the season will end with, and the differences between the adaptation and the source material.


This is mostly just a consequence of more traffic. The series discussion threads are actively only used by like a handful of users. I'm certain that if that subforum had more traffic we'd see just as much LN/manga discussion and wink wink nudge nudge type spoiling in those threads.
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