SNS Review #5: IMDb’s Unspeakable Manipulation of IMDb Rating against Film title #3: The Obugyosama!
Updated: Nov 5
The IMDb pages of the TV drama for NHK E-TV, The Obugyosama! Part 1 and 2 (Japanese title: 「お奉行さまッ！」メール編と合コン編; 2015) were unreasonably removed from IMDb by aggressors during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement in 2019).
IMDb Rating Manipulation: What happened to the IMDb page of Obugyosama! (Kyodo Television, NHK Educational TV, 2015)?
August 9, 2019
IMDb’s Unspeakable Manipulation of IMDb Rating against Film title #3: The Obugyosama! Part1 (2015)
IMDb.com, Inc.
535 Terry Avenue N.
Seattle, WA 98109, United States
Dear IMDb:
On August 9, 2019, I, Ryota Nakanishi who is a consumer of IMDb Pro service recently got informed by friendly netizens about your manipulation of IMDb rating against our films and others.
I myself checked the situation and deeply disappointed about some of your staff ‘s uncivilized, childish behavior like manipulation of rating of films. It is unfair and outrageous for small independent filmmakers.
All of your manipulation of scores will be recorded and piled for the future use and publication.
IMDb was great in the past but now they are aggressively oppressing some filmmakers. I believe that my case is just a tip of the iceberg of their aggressive manipulation.
IMDb actually violated my human rights, consumer rights and trust on their service. This time, you severely breached years of our mutual trust.
1. At 9:50 am (China), Aug.8 2019 685 IMDb users voted 8.3 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 7.3; US users voted 6.3; Non US users voted 7.6.
2. At 9:31 am (China), Aug.9 2019 685 IMDb users voted 8.2 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 7.3; US users voted 6.3; Non US users voted 7.3.
The score sheet has been manipulated without any change of votes since August 8, 2019 at least.
During this period, no user voted it negatively. Moreover no user voted or changed their votes during August 8, 2019 to 9:31 am (China), Aug.9 2019.
However some of your staff just manipulated the Non US users average votes from 7.6 to 7.3. As the result, some of your staff consciously manipulated total score 8.3 to 8.2.
10: 556 users voted
9: 50 users voted
8: 17 users voted
7: 14 users voted
6: 5 users voted
5: 3 users voted
4: 9 users voted
3: 6 users voted
2: 3 users voted
1: 22 users voted
(During Aug. 8 to 9, 2019; the votes above unchanged)
To resolve the problem, your management must investigate on which IMDb staff is manipulating scores undemocratically and spitefully. Maybe some member of management team is involved in this uncivilized manipulation. Strong proofs I already got from friendly netizens and by myself while I was busy for business. Enclosed are copies of proofs of your undeniable manipulation.
I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problems and will wait a while before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau.
Please contact me at the provided email address or phone.
Sincerely,
Ryota Nakanishi
UPDATE:
At 6:27pm (China) August 10, 2019, I received the email reply from the customer service of IMDb below. It is just a templated answer with no specific explanation. It is just a template not a customer service at all.
IMDb 's reply: Hi, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Please rest assured that our voting system has several safeguards in place and that this type of behavior is periodically detected and automatically defeated. We appreciate your help and will take the appropriate steps to investigate further. For further details, please see our Help page: https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/faq-for-imdb-ratings/G67Y87TF... Please let us know if we can offer further help.
Best regards,
Meredith
IMDb Customer Service ----------------------------------------------
However, IMDb lied to me that they restarted the same manipulation that I formerly complained. 1. At 7:47 am (China), Aug.13 2019. 688 IMDb users voted 8.0 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 7.3; US users voted 6.2; Non US users voted 7.1.
2. At 9:46 pm (China), Aug.15 2019. 688 IMDb users voted 7.5 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 7.3; US users voted 6.1; Non US users voted 6.3(?).
As the result, some IMDb staff manipulated the total scores from 8.0/10 to 7.5/10 without any votes.
10: 557 users voted +1
9: 51 users voted +2
8: 13 users voted
7: 14 users voted
6: 5 users voted
5: 3 users voted
4: 9 users voted
3: 6 users voted
2: 3 users voted
1: 22 users voted (During Aug. 10 to 13, 2019; three users voted 1 user for 10, 2 user for 9; there was no negative votes; votes however after that IMDb staffs further manipulated ratings during Aug. 13-15 with no user votes again.)
Manipulating film ratings and scores without any votes is true. This is an extreme example of this kind.
IMDb did not properly respond to the complaint, and no specific explanation of the specific case were provided.
The score sheet has been manipulated without any change of votes since August 8, 2019 at least. During this period, no user voted it negatively. Moreover only three users voted favourably and no one changed their votes during August 10, 2019 to 7:47 am (China), Aug.13 2019.
However some of your staff just manipulated the Non US users average votes from 7.3 to 7.1. As the result, some of your staff consciously manipulated total score 8.2 to 8.0.
Later they manipulated the Non US users average votes from 7.1 to 6.3. As the result, some of your staff consciously manipulated total score 8.0 to 7.5 without any actual votes.
Conclusion:
IMDb did not properly respond to the specific complaint and the specific issue. Furthermore, there is no specific explanation about the specific complaint was provided.
As a consumer, I must stop using IMDb service because its manipulation, unfairness and lack of quality customer service to care its actual customer.
Update 1:
Compliant at Better Business Bureau
On August 15, 2019, BBB sent that complaint to IMDb.
My Complaint:
''imdb rating manipulation'' is real. And it's backed by awful customer service which only sends templated replies mechanically without any specific explanations about particular cases. I have been paying for IMDb Pro service for promoting my film career since April 11, 2016 to this day. (Receipts can be provided anytime) However I found that some IMDb staff manipulated our films ratings even without votes from users. After formal complaints about several cases I found, they just sent me a templated email with no specific explanations. This kind of customer service is also not acceptable.
READ MORE:
Conclusion: IMDb did not properly respond to the specific complaint and the specific issue. Furthermore, there is no specific explanation about the specific complaint was provided. As a consumer, I must stop using IMDb service because its manipulation, unfairness and lack of quality customer service to care its actual customer.
After 13 days later, IMDb customer service responded:
Thank you for the feedback. IMDb ratings are based on user votes and are not changed by our staff in any way other than by applying the same calculations used for every title in the database. The rating on those titles is based on the votes received from IMDb users. For more information, please see: https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/ratings-faq/G67Y87TFYYP6TWAV?
Their response is contradicted from the first response on August 10, 2019. Moreover it completely ignored the details and problems I mentioned.
On September 2, 2019, I rejected the response as below:
This message originally read on 9/2/2019
Complaint: 13771126
I am rejecting this response because: It still did not get specific explanations on why the ratings have been declining without any votes during the period that I mentioned. And their customer service staffs just repetitively send me the same templated messages on the complaints. Thus, it is not acceptable. I demand logical and specific explanation, calculation of the strangely declining ratings in detail if they respect every compliant from consumers.
I attached the complaints in full texts, recent receipts and links. The complaints have been published in various major complaint sites against the business since the incidents happened.
Sincerely,
Ryota Nakanishi
MY COMPLAINT AMD DEMAND:
PLEASE PROVIDE LOGICAL, SPECIFIC, DETAILED EXPLATNATION AND CALCULATION OF THE STRANGELY DECLINING RATINGS DURING THE PERIOD I MENTIONED IN THE DOCUMENT. I STILL DID NOT GET IT FROM IMDb. I’LL KEEP CRITISIZING THEM AS LONG AS THEY DON’T PROVIDE THE CALCULATION, DETAILED AND SPECIFIC EXPLANATION ON THE COMPLAINTS.
Update2:
AGO Complaint
On Sep.2 2019, I submitted the next phase of complaint against IMDb’s rating manipulation and the worst kind of customer service.
Information Submitted: **********************************************************
Business Name: IMDb.com Inc P.O. Box 81226 Seattle, WA 98108
Bus Phone: Email: Website: www.imdb.com
Names and addresses of any other businesses involved in your complaint: Meredith IMDb Customer Service
Transaction date: 5/14/2019 Amount in dispute: 149.99
**********************************************************
Explanation of complaint: IMDb Rating Manipulation and The Worst Customer Service
''imdb rating manipulation'' is real. And it's backed by awful customer service which only sends templated replies mechanically without any specific explanations about particular cases.
I have strong evidences about how IMDb increases or decreases ratings of film titles secretly by its staffs even without any votes. General tendency is that it pumps up ratings of blockbusters or films of US allies, especially Taiwan stuff. And IMDb decreases scores of small independent films, specifically films made by critics of US foreign policies. This was not noticed during my use of IMDb since 2012 to 2019. When it targets you, you will only know that later. They tend to gradually and secretly manipulate ratings.
I can share one case here with others. It shows how they manipulate ratings even without any votes, and how they cover it later. August 9, 2019 IMDb’s Unspeakable Manipulation of IMDb Rating against Film title #1: Moxina (2012)
IMDb.com, Inc. 535 Terry Avenue N. Seattle, WA 98109, United States
Dear IMDb:
On August 9, 2019, I, Ryota Nakanishi who is a consumer of IMDb Pro service recently got informed by friendly netizens about your manipulation of IMDb rating against our films and others.
I myself checked the situation and deeply disappointed about some of your staff ‘s uncivilized, childish behavior like manipulation of rating of films. It is unfair and outrageous for small independent filmmakers.
All of your manipulation of scores will be recorded and piled for the future use and publication.
IMDb was great in the past but now you are aggressively oppressing some filmmakers. I believe my case is just a tip of iceberg of your aggressive manipulation.
1. At 10:27pm (China), Aug.7 2019 719 IMDb users voted 8.0 /10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 7.4.
2. At 12:58am (China), Aug.8 2019 720 IMDb users voted 8.0 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 7.4.
3. At 9:03am (China), Aug.8 2019 720 IMDb users voted 7.9 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 7.2.
4. At 12:05 am (China), Aug.9 2019 720 IMDb users voted 7.9 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 7.2.
5. At 9:30 am (China), Aug.9 2019 720 IMDb users voted 7.7 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 6.9.
The score sheet has been manipulated without any change of votes since August 8, 2019 at least. During this period, no user voted it negatively. Moreover no user voted or changed their votes during August 8, 2019 to 9:30 am (China), Aug.9 2019.
However some of your staff just manipulated the Non US users average votes from 7.4 to 6.9. As the result, some of your staff consciously manipulated total score 8.0 to 7.7.
10: 563 users voted
9: 56 users voted
8: 10 users voted
7: 12 users voted
6: 15 users voted
5: 7 users voted
4: 11 users voted
3: 9 users voted
2: 10 users voted
1: 27 users voted (During Aug. 8 to 9, 2019; the votes above unchanged)
To resolve the problem, your management must investigate on which IMDb staff is manipulating scores undemocratically and spitefully. Maybe some member of your management team is involved in this uncivilized manipulation. Strong proofs I already got from friendly netizens and by myself while I was busy for business. Enclosed are copies of proofs of your undeniable manipulation.
I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problems and will wait a while before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau. Please contact me at the provided email address or phone.
Sincerely,
Ryota Nakanishi
READ MORE:
UPDATE: At 6:27pm (China) August 10, 2019, I received the email reply from the customer service of IMDb below. It is just a templated answer with no specific explanation. It is just a template not a customer service at all.
IMDb 's reply:
Hi, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Please rest assured that our voting system has several safeguards in place and that this type of behavior is periodically detected and automatically defeated. We appreciate your help and will take the appropriate steps to investigate further. For further details, please see our Help page: https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/faq-for-imdb-ratings/G67Y87TF... Please let us know if we can offer further help.
Best regards,
Meredith
IMDb Customer Service ----------------------------------------------
However, IMDb lied to me that they restarted the same manipulation that I formerly complained.
1. At 7:47 am (China), Aug.13 2019. 723 IMDb users voted 7.5 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 6.7. 2. At 9:43 pm (China), Aug.15 2019. 723 IMDb users voted 7.5 / 10; Top 1000 users voted 5.1; US users voted 5.4; Non US users voted 6.0 (?).
As the result, IMDb staff manipulated the total scores from 7.5/10 to 7.2/10 without any votes.
10: 564 users voted +1
9: 57 users voted +1
8: 11 users voted +1
7: 13 users voted
6: 15 users voted
5: 7 users voted
4: 11 users voted
3: 9 users voted
2: 10 users voted
1: 27 users voted (During Aug. 10 to 13, 2019; three users voted, 1 user for 10, 1 user for 9; 1 user voted for 8; there was no negative votes however after that IMDb staffs further manipulated ratings during Aug. 13-15 with no user votes again. )
Manipulating film ratings and scores without any votes is true. This is an extreme example of this kind.
IMDb did not properly respond to the complaint, and no specific explanation of the specific case were provided.
The score sheet has been manipulated without any change of votes since August 8, 2019 at least. During this period, no user voted it negatively.
Moreover only three users voted favourably and no one changed their votes during August 10, 2019 to 7:47 am (China), Aug.13 2019. However some of your staff just manipulated the Non US users average votes from 6.9 to 6.7. As the result, some of your staff consciously manipulated total score 7.7 to 7.5.
Later they manipulated the Non US users average votes from 6.7 to 6.0. As the result, some of your staff consciously manipulated total score 7.5 to 7.2 without any actual votes. Other three cases I complained are also still not solved and responded properly by IMDb.
READ MORE
Conclusion:
IMDb did not properly respond to the specific complaint and the specific issue. Furthermore, there is no specific explanation about the specific complaint was provided. As a consumer, I must stop using IMDb service because its manipulation, unfairness and lack of quality customer service to care its actual customer.
Update:
Compliant at Better Business Bureau
On August 15, 2019, BBB sent that complaint to IMDb. My Complaint:
''imdb rating manipulation'' is real. And it's backed by awful customer service which only sends templated replies mechanically without any specific explanations about particular cases. I have been paying for IMDb Pro service for promoting my film career since April 11, 2016 to this day. (Receipts can be provided anytime) However I found that some IMDb staff manipulated our films ratings even without votes from users. After formal complaints about several cases I found, they just sent me a templated email with no specific explanations. This kind of customer service is also not acceptable.
READ MORE:
a. https://www.ryotanakanishi.com/post/sns-review-3- imdb-s-unspeakable-manipulation-of-imdb-rating-against-film-title-1-moxina-2012
b. https://www.ryotanakanishi.com/post/sns-review-4-imdb-s-unspeakable- manipulation-of-imdb-rating-against-film-title-2-the-rakugo-movie
c. https://www.ryotanakanishi.com/post/sns-review-5-imdb-s-unspeakable-manipulation-of-imdb- rating-against-film-title-3-the-obugyosama
d. https://www.ryotanakanishi.com/post/sns-review-6-imdb-s-unspeakable-manipulation-of-imdb-rating-against-film-title-4- the-obugyosama
Conclusion:
IMDb did not properly respond to the specific complaint and the specific issue. Furthermore, there is no specific explanation about the specific complaint was provided. As a consumer, I must stop using IMDb service because its manipulation, unfairness and lack of quality customer service to care its actual customer.
After 13 days later, IMDb customer service responded:
Thank you for the feedback. IMDb ratings are based on user votes and are not changed by our staff in any way other than by applying the same calculations used for every title in the database. The rating on those titles is based on the votes received from IMDb users. For more information, please see: https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/ratings-faq/G67Y87TFYYP6TWAV?
Their response is contradicted from the first response on August 10, 2019. Moreover it completely ignored the details and problems I mentioned.
On September 2, 2019, I rejected the response as below: This message originally read on 9/2/2019
Complaint: 13771126
I am rejecting this response because: It still did not get specific explanations on why the ratings have been declining without any votes during the period that I mentioned. And their customer service staffs just repetitively send me the same templated messages on the complaints. Thus, it is not acceptable. I demand logical and specific explanation, calculation of the strangely declining ratings in detail if they respect every compliant from consumers.
I attached the complaints in full texts, recent receipts and links. The complaints have been published in various major complaint sites against the business since the incidents happened.
Sincerely,
Ryota Nakanishi
MY COMPLAINT AMD DEMAND: PLEASE PROVIDE LOGICAL, SPECIFIC, DETAILED EXPLATNATION AND CALCULATION OF THE STRANGELY DECLINING RATINGS DURING THE PERIOD I MENTIONED IN THE DOCUMENT. I STILL DID NOT GET IT FROM IMDb. I’LL KEEP CRITISIZING THEM AS LONG AS THEY DON’T PROVIDE THE CALCULATION, DETAILED AND SPECIFIC EXPLANATION ON THE COMPLAINTS.
Complaint as Public Record: Yes Disclosure Notices: Yes
********************************************************** **********************************************************
If you have any questions about the complaint submittal process, you may contact our Consumer Resource Center at 1-800-551-4636 between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Sincerely,
Bob Ferguson and the AGO staff
Update3:
On Sep.6 2019, AGO replied.
Ryota,
Thank you for contacting the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office. The consumer complaint you submitted through our online form was received on 9/2/2019. Your complaint is very important to us and we have assigned it to a consumer resource center specialist for review. You will be provided with a complaint number and the status of your complaint within 5 business days. During times when we experience peak complaint volumes, it may take up to 7 business days for us to contact you with your complaint number and status. Thank you for your patience during this time.
Please do not respond to this email address. The mailbox is not monitored. If you have questions, please contact our Consumer Resource Center at 1-800-551-4636.
Update4:
RE: IMDB Inc File #: 553894
Dear Ryota Nakanishi:
Sep 7 at 3:47 AM
Thank you for contacting the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. Consumer complaints provide valuable information that our office uses to identify patterns of unfair or deceptive practices that may warrant enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act.
The complaint you submitted to our office regarding IMDB Inc was reviewed and determined to be appropriate for the informal complaint resolution services offered by our Consumer Resource Center. This is an informal, voluntary process. Our office acts as a neutral party to facilitate communication between consumers and businesses to assist in resolving the complaint. We are prohibited by Washington State law from providing legal advice or representing either party.
The following information describes our informal complaint resolution process:
Informal Complaint Resolution Process:
The process takes approximately four to six weeks to complete. A copy of your complaint was sent to the business with a request to provide our office with a response within 21 calendar days. If a response is received, you will be notified and a copy of the response will be provided to you. If our office has not received a response from the business within 14 calendar days, a courtesy reminder will be sent to the business reminding them that their response is due within the next 7 calendar days. If the business does not respond to our request, our office cannot compel the business to respond.
If the business does not respond or does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction:
If the business does not respond, or your complaint is not resolved through our informal complaint resolution service, your complaint will be closed. However, you will be notified of additional options and resources that may be available to assist you in the event you wish to pursue the matter further.
If you contact our office regarding your complaint, please reference the assigned complaint number referenced above. We hope this information is helpful. If you have questions or would like to submit additional information regarding this complaint, our email address is
CRCComplaints@ATG.WA.GOV.
Sincerely,
RUTH E. HOLBROOK Consumer Resource Center Unit Supervisor Consumer Protection Division 1-800-551-4636 for in-state callers 1-206-464-6684 for out-of-state callers
Update5: Surprising! IMDb Customer Service is Amazon Customer Service! Why Amazon responded? Illogical!
Dear Ruth E. Holbrook, I'm Meraj of Amazon.com. I'm responding to Ryota's subject matter complaint, and copying him for his reference.
Sep 15 at 11:49 AM
I've reviewed Ryota's complaint and I understand his concern relating to IMDb ratings. We already communicated and addressed this to this Ryota (he has written to our IMDb directly, and also to the Better Business Bureau). We requested him to check our on-site documentation about this (located at https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/ratings-faq/G67Y87TFYYP6TWAV ) which addresses all questions about why the rating may be different from what users expect (including an explanation of why the rating may change even when no new votes are cast). Other than that, we have no further possible response or action. IMDb publishes an aggregate rating on the main page of a film, derived from individual votes cast from users.
I hope this information is helpful. Please contact me directly by replying to this email if I can be of further assistance.
Meraj
Amazon.com Customer Service
Update6:
Bob Ferguson ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON Consumer Protection Division - Consumer Resource Center 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 464-6684
September 18, 2019
RE: IMDB Inc File #: 553894
Dear Ryota Nakanishi: Our office received the enclosed response to your complaint from IMDB Inc. This concludes our informal complaint resolution process. Your complaint is now closed.
We realize you may disagree with IMDB Inc’s position. The Consumer Resource Center cannot compel either party to participate in our informal complaint resolution process. This is a voluntary service and our office serves as a neutral third party. We regret that we are unable to provide further assistance to you in resolving this complaint. Our office monitors consumer complaints for possible indications of patterns of unfair or deceptive trade practices warranting further attention by our office.
Our office is prohibited from acting as an attorney for private individuals or as a judge or arbitrator in individual disputes.
We appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention. Your complaint will remain a part of our public record of this business’s practices. Please note that consumer complaints, including responses, are public records and are available to the public for copying or inspection in compliance with the Washington State Public Records Act, RCW 42.56.
We hope this information is helpful. If you have questions or would like to submit additional information regarding this complaint, our email address is CRCComplaints@ATG.WA.GOV. Please include the complaint number given above on any complaint correspondence.
Sincerely,
RUTH E. HOLBROOK Consumer Resource Center Unit Supervisor Consumer Protection Division 1-800-551-4636 for in-state callers 1-206-464-6684 for out-of-state callers
Update 7:
To Business Name: IMDb.com Inc
P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108
Website: www.imdb.com
IMDb and IMDb Customer Service
Date: November 16, 2019 Country: China
Purpose: Statement of IMDb Responsibility for its publicized, audited and owned page about Ryota Nakanishi (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5047343/).
This is to inform that, I Ryota Nakanishi who is a legal resident of China, here I submit this official statement to IMDb.
This is a formal declaration of preserving rights to sue IMDb after so called ‘audit’ (Nov 15 2019 at 9:47 PM informed by email address support-imdb@imdb.com; IMDb Customer Service) of IMDb-owned-page of Ryota Nakanishi (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5047343/) for any false information, misleading edits, damages or any future results caused by the IMDb page, IMDb staffs and editors.
I Ryota Nakanishi did not, I do not and I will not own IMDb and any of its pages. Owner(s) of IMDb and anonymous editors are all responsible for what they published, what they are publishing and what will they publish on the page they owned.
I distrust and will never use any services from IMDb for proven manipulation of ratings, pages and its biased attitude against me after my formal complaints at the United States, Better Business Bureau (Aug 15 at 2:52 PM; #13771126) and the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office (Sep 2 at 10:33 PM; File #: 553894).
Thus, I have no responsibility and no necessity to provide untrusted IMDb with any kinds of my materials. And I am an independent entity who is not afraid of any internet violence, violations of human norms and oppressions against different voices and me.
IMDb and Amazon do not have any rights to publish my related contents and private information without my authorisations since then.
In other words, I Ryota Nakanishi do not need to beg IMDb for anything. Furthermore IMDb and Amazon customer services are the worst ones as I complained at the United States, Better Business Bureau (Aug 15 at 2:52 PM; #13771126) and the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office (Sep 2 at 10:33 PM; File #: 553894).
You are Informed here via email address support-imdb@imdb.com.
Ryota Nakanishi
Signature: Ryota Nakanishi
Date: November 16, 2019
.................................................
Reference of emails below:
To the world's worst customer service that publicly recorded at your government,
It is a childish revenge? You are wrong that mutual trust and business between us were ended due to your manipulation of ratings.
I have no responsibility and necessity to provide this untrusted IMDb any materials I have. I have no time to do that for you.
There will be no deal between us. And I don't need you anymore.
Sincerely yours,
Ryota Nakanishi
On Friday, November 15, 2019, 9:47:56 PM GMT+8, IMDb.com <support-imdb@imdb.com> wrote:
IMDb
Help IMDb.com
Message from Customer Service
Hello there,
As part of a routine check, we have recently reviewed and removed a number of your credits and titles, as we have been unable to verify these were eligible for a title on IMDb, as there was no evidence that they were released to the public. Please see the following guide for title eligibility - https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/titles/title-eligibility/G9V8J6AXTQ29...
If you believe the information has been deleted incorrectly, you can provide evidence to confirm their existence and the public release and we can review these for you. Please note, additional information for your credits will need to be verifiable via a third party source or a screen grab of your credit in the end sequence.
You can upload these screengrabs or data somewhere on the Web where we can access it (we recommend a free image hosting service like imgur.com) and send us the links/URLs pointing to it via this thread. You will need to contact staff directly with any evidence using the https://help.imdb.com/contact form, all direct submissions will not be processed.
Please remember, all information submitted to IMDb is routinely checked and is always subject to change.
Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
IMDb Customer Service
Case Conclusion:
1. Change of Algorithm, change of ratings without effective votes generally mean ‘manipulation.’
Consumers are not stupid and not fooled by their ‘templated statements.’ IMDb admitted this fact by repeatedly and mechanically replying with this templated abstract message: ‘We requested him to check our on-site documentation about this (located at https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/ratings-faq/G67Y87TFYYP6TWAV ) which addresses all questions about why the rating may be different from what users expect (including an explanation of why the rating may change even when no new votes are cast).’ Thus, this is a sheer proof of their ‘manipulation’ of ratings. They publicly admitted.
2. The secrecy and rejection of providing specific calculation and logical explanation are another proofs of their ‘manipulation’ of ratings. Because they are manipulating ratings secretly, they cannot provide any calculation and logical explanation to its customers.
3. The proof of the worst customer service is its templated replies. It is not any kind of customer service. ‘Templates’ cannot justify ‘manipulation.’ Moreover, templates are not any kind of ‘specific’ explanation to the ‘specific’ issue. It’s a sheer proof of negligence and dishonesty to its customers.
4. This case proved that IMDb Customer Service is Amazon Customer Service.
5. IMDb staffs manage getsatisfaction.com’s IMDb Customer Community which is also used by Amazon. Where bunch of trolls and staffs are coordinated into aggressive forces against different voices. For example, vandalism of user pages, false flag ops. Etc. IMDb=Amazon created the bullying and lynching sites online. This is called ''cancel culture''. RT reported on July 7, 2020,
Now the famous open letter signed by 150 celebrities stated,
“While we have come to expect this on the radical right, censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty,” it reads.
......Despite the open letter including digs at both Donald Trump and conservatives, the president made cancel culture a central theme in his recent speech at Mt. Rushmore where he blasted the left for using the trend as a “political weapon” against “dissenters.”
“One of their political weapons is cancel culture, driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism,” he said.
READ MORE at RT
Thus internet mobs, online witch hunters are not just trolls in the past, those are phenomena of cancel culture of today.
6. For the numerous aggressive and unfair reprisals (unlawful deletion of paid images and proven credits, proven contributions, proven titles, hiding user lists, reviews and the account page etc.) by IMDb=Amazon, what they ultimately got was termination of paid subscription by customers, and more and more raged customers are placing their own complaints against them.
Many titles they unfairly deleted were once proven and published by IMDb staffs themselves with numerous links and even videos published via IMDb for years. Furthermore, the most of them were local language projects which limited in publication and unavailable in English search thus IMDb improved the language policy to include the display of foreign language titles as additional information after this incident at the cost of victims.
In conclusion, IMDb=Amazon are totally unacceptable and will be boycotted, permanently criticized by us! In fact, our aim has been achieved on this case!
Further Reading:
‘We are moving into a new, controlled society worse than old totalitarianism’ – Zizek on Google leak
Modern censorship is more dangerous than open totalitarianism, it being concealed and incorporated in our daily routine, says Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, commenting on the insider leak detailing Google’s news blacklist.
The intellectual told RT he’s not advocating for online anarchy, comparing it to snuff movies in hardcore pornography – some regulation should be in place to block harmful content on the internet, he says. But hiding political motives for suppressing voices online is what worries Zizek the most.
“We all know we have to censor things at some level, but the main rule for me is that the process should be transparent. Not in the way – I’m talking about the developed West – it is done now, when all of a sudden somebody is prohibited and you are not even allowed to debate it,” Zizek explains.
The “false choice” between politically correct censorship and radical liberalism is a trap, he believes. This week, conservative transparency group Project Veritas published documents it received from an ex-Google employee. The documents appeared to confirm that Google can boost or de-rank news sources based on a seemingly biased set of internal rules. Calling the practices “dark and nefarious” the whistle-blower, Zachary Vorhies, also leaked a doc detailing Google’s “blacklist” that lists nearly 500 websites, including both conservative and leftist media outlets.
Zizek believes the Big Tech's practice of blacklists and shadow bans could prove an opportunity for right-wing activists to show themselves as a group fighting establishment politics and targeted for their opposition. The philosopher thinks this tactic will actually backfire against liberals by giving “the new populist right a position where they can say: you see, we’re the true alternative, we’re the true oppressed.”
Google is likely not the only tech megacorporation with a tight grip on their users’ digital menu, Zizek argues – but “the process isn’t some kind of a dark plot,” rather an inconspicuous slide “into a new, controlled society.”
What’s terrifying about it is that we don’t even experience it as something controlled. We just use social media, buy things, go to a doctor – and all the data about us is out there. But those are the things that we perceive as our freedom. So what we perceive as freedom becomes the very way we are controlled.
One doesn’t know anymore “if there is secret police following you or somebody reading your letters,” and this in Zizek’s mind is what differentiates it from the totalitarianism of the past. Modern control is hidden and undeclared, Zizek says.
Cited from RT:
https://www.rt.com/news/466738-zizek-google-internet-censorship/
At present (2022), getsatisfaction.com the den of cancel trolls, a platform for unspeakable collusion between Amazon-IMDb and ‘cancel culture’ justice warriors went offline after numerous online disturbances to the world netizens.
This is the happy ending to the issue. Finally, I got satisfied XD
We won! https://getsatisfaction.com (dead)