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For the predecessor of this website (before June 13, 2005), see TV Tome.
TV.com is a website belonging to the CNET Games & Entertainment family of websites, which also includes GameSpot, GameFAQs and MP3.com. The service replaced the popular TV Tome website.
The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, in that order. In addition to episode guides, it includes US-oriented news, reviews, photos, trailers, TV listings and more. The site has an archive of information on thousands of shows from the early days of television until today. When someone searches for a television title, he or she can view the trivia, cast/crew, ratings, reviews, and a full episode guide. Each show has its own board dedicated to it. It shares many features from CNET sites like GameSpot such as the blog, personal profile page and tracked shows (similar to tracked games in GameSpot). Being a member means you can contribute to the site by adding the latest episode details and cast members, however, you need to be a certain "rank" to contribute. Some need not register if they already have an account with any other site on the CNET Games & Entertainment range.
Interface
TV.com implements a hierarchical tab-driven interface. At each level from the home page to individual episode pages, a set of tabs appears that permits the browser to select information of interest. At the level of the home page, these tabs relate to the general content of the entire site. At the show level, they relate specifically to that show, and at the episode and performer levels, they relate to the facts about those show elements. Tabs not backed by content are disabled and appear in a lighter color to signify this.
The main page permits visitors to search for any show in the database, and to obtain a customized listing of the shows airing in their local area (this depends on local persistent storage, e.g. cookies, and requires the visitor to identify himself regionally, and then select the content providers that operate in his region). There are also news articles (some external to TV.com), features and media, and a general message board. This toolbar is available at all times.
A show page contains a summary of the show, recently aired and soon to air episodes, and information about the regular stars. These are generally hyperlinked to subpages that offer more detail.
Within each show there is usually a page for each episode. This page contains a synopsis and often a detailed recap. Because the recap may contain spoilers, the visitor must click an additional button to see it. There are allusions to other shows or media, production notes, trivia (including errors) and notable quotes. Visitors who establish accounts may also rate the show and may write reviews of specific episodes.
Content
Most content is provided by the registered users of the site. Registered users may not submit content until they accumulate enough points to reach level 2. TV.com staff have stated that this restriction is intended to promote learning about the site before attempting to change it, and to discourage vandalism.
Registered users may contribute episode synopses, recaps (longer, more detailed summaries), allusions (references to other media), production notes, trivia, quotes, and cast members. These enter a moderation queue. The show's editor examines submissions and accepts or rejects them according to site standards and his own preferences. Site standards cover such matters as spelling, relevance, duplication of material and similar qualifications. Editor preferences may go beyond this to the style of a particular entry.
The contributor with the greatest number of points on a particular show (subject to certain additional rules) becomes the show's editor. In addition to moderating submissions, the editor can add episodes, reorder episodes, and perform other maintenance tasks. The editor may appoint trusted users. A trusted user may moderate his own entries (but not those of others); editors commonly award this status to those who make many contributions that consistently meet standards.
More detailed information is maintained in the general and show specific message fora.
Heavy Criticism
Like most corporate-run websites, many opponents of TV.com say that upon registering, the site demands too much personal information (which could easily be falsified anyway). For this reason, several former TV Tomers have chosen alternatives for TV.com such as EpGuides, IMDb, TVRage, EPisodeWorld, or TV IV. Others have criticised the graphics and flash heavy layout, preferring the simplistic layout of TV Tome, which has led to the creation of a petition requesting that CNET provide registered users with the option of choosing an alternate 'Classic' layout, similar to the layout TV Tome used. The site TvRage.com, which many think will surpass tv.com, has a layout similar to the classic TV Tome one. Many users in the forum have been banned for speaking out against the site.
Another criticism lies with the points system making any user who submits more information than the present editor become the actual editor themselves. Because of a safety measure, if the editor cannot approve of information after a certain date, the information is moderated without the editor's say in the matter. This has led to some editors requesting that people actually stop contributing to their guides altogether, or reject any that come their way to maintain the work that they believe they can do better than anybody else can.Some tv.com users have reported bugs on tv.com,such as the site crashing.
One of the biggest complaints several former members have is the loss of information. When CNET formally aquired TvTome, the plan was to transfer all information from the old site directly to the new one on June 1st, 2005. But instead, engineers from CNET deleted the final two months worth of information and did not include it in the final product. On top of that, CNET officials told their staff to not include information from certain sources and people upon transfer. Because of this, Tv.com currently only has about 1/2 of the original information TvTome once did, causing much outrage in its opening months from users. Over the months, Tv.com staff members slowly edited out info they deemed as "useless", causing even more outrage among it's members.