MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > PSA: You can access MovieChat boards fro...

PSA: You can access MovieChat boards from any IMDb page [NEW UPDATE]


All you need is a couple of scripts. Once installed, you'll be able to find message boards right where they used to be.

Desktop scripts (you need both of them):
Main script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/29472
Companion script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/29496

Mobile scripts (you need both of them):
Main script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/28263
Companion script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/29391

How does it look?
Desktop: https://i.imgur.com/7fepxDh.png
Mobile: https://i.imgur.com/LviryWr.png

Wait, what is a 'script' anyway?
Think of it as a (usually) tiny browser extension, compatible with every browsers as long as you have a Script Manager.
I advice you to use Tampermonkey (https://tampermonkey.net/). If you're using anything else, like Greasemonkey (an infamous update broke every scripts installed a few months back), I can't help you.

Warning
If you're a desktop user who installed a script from this thread before the 05/05/17, I advice you to uninstall it/them and install the two first scripts I linked above! Thank you :-)

_____________________________

Known bugs:
1. Users can't stay logged in when they browse from IMDb.
Fix: You must allow MovieChat to use cookies in your browser settings.

2. The navbar (notification bell, etc.) doesn't appear within a thread.

_____________________________

If you have any question feel free to ask here. And if you want to thank the original creator of the main script, drhouse, you can do so here (https://redd.it/5w1uft) on Reddit!
For what it's worth, our codes look nothing alike now.

Enjoy guys ;-)


(Last edit: 02/05/18)
PS: So the bold tag is still broken, heh?

reply

-

reply

Sweet! Here's the chrome extension:
//
Just drag and drop the folder into chrome://extensions/

reply

It's nice! It might help some people but I think it's easier to just use the script for now. Drhouse is really active and always updating his work.

In the last 24h we already had 5ish updates. An extension might be a good idea once the script will be finalised, though :-)

Edit: Have to admit I don't know how Chrome extensions work. Will it update itself now that you compiled it?

reply

Wait so,is that better then this one?im a tad confused

reply

Currently same thing, only the format is different.

My only fear is that this extension won't be updated and knowing that the script is updated frequently, I think it's best to use the latter.

reply

>Will it update itself

Look inside script.js

reply

Well, maybe you could see that with him over Greasyfork or Reddit, then?

reply

Where did the extension go?

reply

[deleted]

I am torn! I do not want to ever visit that tyrannical site again because I have nothing but spite for it. But this feature not only makes things super convenient (the board it seems appears exactly where it used to before : at the bottom of every page) and will also make this more board more popular.

Ack, I don't know what to do! What are you guys planning on?

reply

Nor I Moviefan, I am through with IMDb!

reply

I'm done with IMDb. Obnoxious and stupid people don't deserve success.

reply

You said it Jack! 👍👍

reply

IMDb burned a permanent bridge with us all with the closure of their message boards. If that's not bad enough, they closed it on the EVENING of FEBRUARY 19TH (a day earlier than what they originally said). To add insult to injury, they also offered no alternative replacement.

I can see if they were phasing something out, but usually when that happens, common sense would dictate to offer an immediate alternative to what has been lost. In IMDb's case, however, they basically told us "too bad" and hung us out to dry, which is disgusting and shameful. With that being said, I can guarantee you that I won't be back! This is why Moviechat.org is now my new permanent home!

On a personal note, I am also delighted at the fact that many of my IMDb friends have re-joined me here as well! :)

reply

Honestly, I don't blame them, despite having similar feelings to what you are feeling. The boards were toxic and had a generally negative feeling the last few years. I'm surprised they didn't close them down earlier.

reply

Good point...although I would've preferred a little more notice myself....and they actually ended up closing them down a day earlier than expected (the evening of February 19th) when I was preparing to say farewell to those that I talked to there for years. Didn't get the chance to do that, but glad that I now have the honor and privilege to continue the conversation with you all here (including some of those, like myself, that have migrated from IMDb).

reply

All they had to do was update their message board system and hire moderators to patrol the boards. Having human moderators on each board not only would have deterred trolling, spamming and flamming or other types of abuse, it would have established more order and high standards of behavior for the users to comply with. But Amazon was too cheap to do that. So now they are left with a site that takes advantage of its users contributing to it for free.
The author of the book I'm reading about screenwriting sites IMDb as a source for learning about the profession. That's a high compliment. This book's copy write date is 2004 and the author is an Emmy winning screenwriter.
IMDb could have continue its excellence had it invested in moderators. How the mighty have fallen! And all that bullshit excuses Col Needham made about the investor's decision to disable the message boards were a cop out.

reply

This looks like an awesome idea, but what happens when IMDb finds out about this?

reply

Quite simple: nothing.

This script is doing nothing but bringing back visitors. They didn't want to deal with message boards anymore and now someone else is doing it for them? Good, let it be.

Everybody wins here.

(Also it's just a script, it isn't illegal.)

reply

Okay, thanks for the answer. I was a bit worried that this isn't 100% legal.

reply

Me too. But I think over time, the face of this site will change and it will be distinctively its own. Maybe a colour scheme change and a slight design tweak.

reply

IMDb knows about this board. And they cannot prevent third parties from making scripts like these. This is very common practice. In fact, IMDb will want people to adopt this feature. So people who want to see the message boards will install the extension and see them and keep visiting their site and the naive user will not see the boards (which will keep their subscribers happy). Works perfectly for them. I just don't know whether I should give that selfish management (IMDb) my time.

reply

That's my concern also... well, I will continue to use this site only, but if someone more pragmatic wants to use IMDb to get here, they are free to do so.

reply

Wow, this is truly amazing.

I know Jakue, a member here, also had something similar. I was going to dig into his project when I had a moment, but looks like we've already got a working version! Props and major thanks to both drhouse and Jakue, and to Traveler for making the PSA.

I know a lot of people don't want to visit IMDB anymore, and that's totally understandable. But for the people who do, or the people who don't know about this place yet (or don't want to visit a 3rd party website), this script/extension could be a great resource.

On a related note - Jakue previously made a gif demo'ing his work here: http://imgur.com/M8O4UGg. I think something like this could do wonders for spreading the word.

reply

I think a collaboration between the three of you would be great.

You could create an alternate view as we can see on Jakue's gif (more power to the user) and maybe you could also find a way to display MovieChat boards directly from the "Add new post" balise? (in fact, as we can see on Jakue's gif too)

And then create extensions (Firefox/Chrome) for the less tech savvy among us.

I don't know if all of this is doable (my coding skills are limited), but hey :-)

reply

Traveler, I really don't want to use IMDb anymore but, if I DO decide to suck it up and use this script, which Chrome extension is better...TamperMonkey or ViolentMonkey? I know nothing about scripts or how to use them so I'm new to this and thought I'd better ask first.

reply

Well, my main brower is Firefox but when I use Chrome, TamperMonkey is my script manager.
Scripts are basically tiny extensions, except that they work in any browser!

So you just have to install TamperMonkey, then go to the script page and hit the friendly green "Install this script" button.

TamperMonkey will open a new page, just click "install".

And voilà, done!

reply

Thanks Traveler! Yes, I went ahead and installed the TamperMonkey extension yesterday but not the script yet..although I DID check out the link to the script and saw the "install" button for it. Wanted to wait for your reply first though. I didn't realize it was so easy! I just love learning new stuff on computers, it's so much fun! 😄 Thanks again. 😊

reply

You're very welcome ;-)

reply

" I just love learning new stuff on computers, it's so much fun!"

Ditto!

reply

😊

reply

Traveler, side note: do you have a problem with 'Mozilla Not Responding'? I prefer Firefox, yet still on some sites the message will constantly freeze everything. I haven't found a satisfactory solution anywhere.

reply

Well, Firefox is working smoothly here...
Maybe you have an extension fucking with the software stability?

In doubt, just try reinstalling Firefox, that's a start. If you still have issues try deactivating some extensions and see if things are improving.

reply

Short of letting my son take it for a few I've done all except reinstalling. It was fine until 3 security updates back. Thank you, Traveler!

reply

I don't know if you succeeded, but if you're still having problems you can try to boot in safe mode and "refresh Firefox".

Mozilla made this guide, I find it to be pretty clear.
To sum up, it will "restore Firefox to its factory default state". You will lose your extensions though, make sure to make a list!

Let's hope it fixes your problem :-)

reply

Thank you.

reply

Will this make the movie chat boards appear on the IMDb app? Or only the full site? Thanks!

reply

Yep! Just like before the boards closed on IMDb. The message board will look exactly like it does here though, but it'll be there on IMDb's website if you use this script. Hope this helps clarify for you. 😊

reply

I must be doing something wrong then cause it didn't work for me when I tried using my phone. I can be computer illiterate though!

reply

Oh gosh, I wonder if it works on phones. what OS is your phone?? If it's android, they DO have a version TamperMonkey for android. But if you're running windows, and using Chrome browser, then it's really very easy. I don't know how to do it for any other system or browser but I'm sure, Traveler (84), can help you with that.

I know what you mean about being "computer illiterate" too, I'm not always too savvy on them either. 😉

reply

Yep, I have an android phone. I'll keep trying to figure it out. Thanks!

reply

Ok Blahblah, best of luck to ya! 😊

I'll look at the TamperMonkey extensions and see which one is for android, then I'll give you the link.

reply

Thanks!

reply

You're very welcome Blahblah! Just remember to install TamperMonkey first and then go to the script page and install the script and, hopefully, it will go straight to TamperMonkey and to IMDb without any extra steps.

Oh and, by the way, love your username. 😃

reply

Blahblah, the guy who started this thread told me awhile ago that this will not work on IMDb's mobile site: (m.imdb.com). It will only work on the full desktop mode: (imdb.com). So if you didn't succeed, that may be the reason why.

Just thought I'd let you know.

reply

Weeeeell... I kind of gave it a shot and uploaded a mobile version of this script. I told Blah about it already.

I only tested it through my desktop browser since my phone is not modern enough to run Firefox or Chrome. I need some feedback before adding the link to the OP though.

reply

Thank you again Traveler! I've been trying to get this to work but, no success yet. Maybe will try again tomorrow, I'm overtired right now and, either I'm not thinking clearly, or have run out of patience...or probably both...lol. But I'll let you know if I get it ironed out and working tomorrow afternoon. I'm at PST time. 😊😊

reply

I found a spare phone on which I managed to install Dolphin with TamperMonkey.
Well, it's working!

( Oh it's the middle of the night for you. Sleep tight ;-) )

reply

Awesome Traveler! I used Chrome, desktop mode, on my phone with the Google Play store TamperMonkey. I rarely use mobile version for anything, I don't like it. So, I got the script installed on TM but for some reason, it wasn't connecting with IMDb.

Well, glad you got it to work on your phone, at least we now know that it works! 😃 I may fidget with it later today just to see what I did wrong last night. I'll uninstall it all once I found out how it works though...don't need all that on my phone.

reply

It's probably because you're using the desktop mode, meaning you're using www.imdb.com instead of m.imdb.com.

On desktop mode drhouse's script should work fine :-)

reply

I had it on mobile mode yesterday but it still wouldn't come through. I figured since I was awake nearly 24 hours at the time, that maybe I just did something wrong since I couldn't focus.

We'll see what happens later today. 😊

reply

Ok, found it! It's in the Google Playstore and here's the link. I hope it works as simple as the windows version.

TamperMonkey for Android

reply

You rock! I'll give it a try!

reply

Thank you Blahblah! 😃 Oh, in case you need the link to the script page again, it's here. Script PTage

Whoops! That was TamperMonkey again...lol. Let me try again, brb.

reply

Ok, here's the script page: Script Page

Just click on the big, green install button on the top left side and it should do it's thing. Make sure you open TamperMonkey to see that it went there too. That's all I had to do for windows. It took less than a minute too!

reply

I'm sorry to say this script won't work with the mobile version of IMDb (m.imdb.com).
I'll look into it when my javascript skills will be good enough, until then I don't think Drhouse will do something about it.

Sorry :-/

reply

Thank you for that info Traveler. 😊 I'll let other's know if they ask...if you don't mind that is. Hope you didn't mind me helping them this time either. They asked, so I was there to answer and help them.

By the way, I finally decided to install the script myself, and it went right to TamperMonkey and onto IMDb...less than 1 minute...it was a cinch! It looks great on IMDb too! A little smaller than I'd like it but it's still great! Thanks again, for helping me figure out how to do it. 😃👍👍

reply

Oh no problem at all! They asked you for help after all ;-)

And yeah "script" might be a big word for some, but in the end it's as easy as installing an extension.

I can tell you how to make the MovieChat window bigger, by the way.
I made a little guide for you :-)

reply

Oh good, thank you for not being upset with that. Some people can be very touchy about things like that...like you're trespassing in their territory or something. Glad you're not like that. 😊

Oh my goodness! Thank you for the guide, that was so sweet of you! I'll check it out right now and tweak those boards! I love tweaking things, it's fun. I'm kind of a "natural" with a computer so I generally don't have any trouble following directions on how to do things on them. I guess I'm what they call, "computer savvy", which is a good thing considering I'm self taught. Wish we had them when I went to school but they were waaaay unheard or back then.

Anyways, thanks again Traveler, you're awesome!! 😄😄😄👍👍👍👍👍👍

reply

Just did it and it's bigger! Now I can see it much better! Thanks again...soooo much! 😄😄😄

reply

You're very welcome Styx :-)

reply

Yeah, didn't work, but thanks for the help!

reply

Hey Blah, could you try this script for me?

I did my best, it should work on mobile. Tell me what you think about it.

reply

Keep up the great work, Jim! Your website continues to impress me by the day!

As for IMDb, I haven't been there since they closed the boards on Feb. 20th (technically, on the evening of Feb. 19th) and do not intend to go back. They burned us badly and I will likely never forgive them for that.

reply

OK. I have decided to go the Col Needham way.... I will compromise my integrity and side with the devil (for now). I will use and promote this extension. It's not a question of convenience for me. But this extension will help the individual boards tremendously.

I don't want to be making a post on an individual board and waiting for years for people to reply. I want people to be actively using the individual boards.

What could we do to popularize this??

reply

Well, I don't really know.

Maybe talk about it on Twitter/Facebook. I'm not encouraging anyone to spam, just post once and you're done. Classy.

If we see someone still mad/sad because IMDb shut down the message boards, just redirect them here.

And, obviously, tell your friends ;-)

reply

-

reply

Well, I have not been able to get this script to work.
System: MacBook Pro, OS 10.8.5
Browser: Firefox v48.0.2 (last version for OS)
Script Manager: Greasemonkey

I installed the script manager and the moviechat script, have restarted the browser a few times, but when I load an IMDb page for a movie (such as "In & Out", 1997) or an actor (such as Debbie Reynolds) there is no link or integration of its message board at moviechat.org. And I've checked that moviechat.org has boards for the IMDb pages I'm visiting.

I have checked that both Greasemonkey and the script itself are enabled.

Any ideas? Are my versions of Mac OS and Firefox supported? (I cannot upgrade either).

reply

Well, that's weird.
So you don't see this at the bottom of the page..?

If you don't, open a ticket here on Greasyfork, drhouse will do his best to fix this (he's a really reactive man).

EDIT: Just so you know, it doesn't work natively with http://akas.imdb.com or if you're using the combined view.

reply

Traveler, I didn't understand the references within the 'edit' at bottom or your post (combined view??) but it got me thinking about something. I use the reference view (old title/name page layout), which is set in my account preferences. When I turned that off, then I could see the link to moviechat.org at bottom successfully. I loaded several movies and they all had the link at bottom, such as in the screen cap you posted above, but none of them listed the individual discussions as in this cap:

https://greasyfork.org/system/screenshots/screenshots/000/006/635/original/moviechat-board-script-new.png?1488003996

Anyway, since I prefer to use reference view at IMDb, I won't be able to make use of this script. But thank you for helping me to figure out why it did not work. Cheers.

reply

The combined and reference views are basically the same thing (with the former you see the full cast, not the latter). If you look at an URL on IMDB (in your case), it will end with "/combined" or "/reference".

The script doesn't work yet with this specific view.

Still! You really should create an account on Greasyfork and add your voice to this discussion. Because drhouse will only make his script compatible with the combined view if he gets "multiple requests" for it.

There are already two people asking for it. Be the third!

And let the script running, we never know, maybe he will make it compatible in a few days :-)

reply

Traveler,

"The "reference view" is the "combined view". If you look at an URL on IMDB (in your case), it will end with "/combined"."

Actually no, not in my case. The URL ends in '/reference', such as this one for "Veep":

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1759761/reference

I've tried manually loading the page with '/combined' at the end instead. It worked, but is a different view containing much more information:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1759761/combined

Again, thank you. Yes, I'll leave the script enabled in case it's updated at some point for compatibility with these other views. :o)

reply

Haaa, I was editing my previous post but you answered quickly!

So yeah like I said basically the same thing, there isn't the "contribute" section where his iframe is attached (the MovieChat board).

That's why it isn't working.

But really you should ask on Greasyfork :-)

reply

Okay, I registered and posted:

https://greasyfork.org/en/forum/discussion/18052/

We'll see what happens. :o)

reply

drhouse updated the script! It works in reference view now! Hooray !! :o)

reply

I saw that too!

I'm glad everything is working fine for you now ;-)

reply