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A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

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Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#71

It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content rather than choosing what categories to display and show to you. It can get stuck thinking your really like a genre, and the recommendation engine can penalize you too much for too many likes or dislikes. Now that the website is a bit more focused towards streaming-on-computer it's somewhat harder to browse and prepare a queue. It feels that some content is…

> It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content ... It would be even better if they fixed recommendations. If you do not use a web browser - ie use Roku, Chromecast, Android etc - then you cannot mark something as "not interested". So it keeps showing you the same thing over and over again, that you do not want to watch. Makes the service seem dumb and hostile. Don't get me started on them showing you…

Absolutely. I keep getting amazed at how well designed their backend is (going by their OSS contribs and blogs at least), and their client app on the device absolutely sucks.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#72

Most of these categories aren't 'hidden'. If you select one of the main genres on Netflix, almost all of them will then have a "sub-genre" picker which, as far as I can tell, includes most if not all of these. Sure, this site lets you see them all at once without having to choose a parent genre first, but it doesn't seem like that big of deal.

It is easier to browse this list than it is to browse a Netflix genre...

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#73

It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content rather than choosing what categories to display and show to you. It can get stuck thinking your really like a genre, and the recommendation engine can penalize you too much for too many likes or dislikes. Now that the website is a bit more focused towards streaming-on-computer it's somewhat harder to browse and prepare a queue. It feels that some content is…

> It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content ... It would be even better if they fixed recommendations. If you do not use a web browser - ie use Roku, Chromecast, Android etc - then you cannot mark something as "not interested". So it keeps showing you the same thing over and over again, that you do not want to watch. Makes the service seem dumb and hostile. Don't get me started on them showing you…

I'm almost convinced that all their developers only use desktops and browsers, so they don't even realise what they do to those on other platforms.

Here I was thinking the opposite, because their web interface seems pretty lackluster too.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#74
post #37

It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content rather than choosing what categories to display and show to you. It can get stuck thinking your really like a genre, and the recommendation engine can penalize you too much for too many likes or dislikes. Now that the website is a bit more focused towards streaming-on-computer it's somewhat harder to browse and prepare a queue. It feels that some content is…

I have found the USPS to be extremely reliable. What issue have you had, and have you reported thos issues to your local post office?

Personally, my regular mail carrier is fine, but there's a different system for parcels (this is in Brooklyn, NY) where it's always someone different. The majority of the time, they don't even get off the truck and try to deliver the item, they either just leave a 'notice left' sheet, or none at all, and mark the item as 'unable to deliver, notice left' or 'undeliverable as addressed.' Or they mark it delivered, and don't deliver it.

Then, when you schedule a redelivery, they just don't redeliver it. If you call the post office, which I have to do at a secondary line I discovered (apparently for carriers), since their main line seems to be left off the hook or turned off, they will report that they have it there, and you can pick it up if you want.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#76
post #2

I don't understand Netflix's aversion to letting me find shows I'm interested in. It's so hard to just browse the full catalog, even by really general categories like "Action" or "Comedy". When I pull up the Netflix app on my console all I get are 20-25 movies in each category, plus my Queue and a few recommendations.

It seems that they're trying to prevent users from realizing how light their catalog really is.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but that is what I think it is as well. So, they "show" you only small snippets that they think is relevant to you, in order for you to not have to "need" a full view or search into their catalog. It's like expecting a TV channel to show you a full listing of all the things that they've ever played, or are currently playing. You'd then quickly realize how tiny of a selection it really is, with all the repeats and what not.

Netflix's movie selection is really abysmal. After finally cutting the cord, going full-legal and all that. And then: "Hmm, I'd really like to watch movie X", and then you search for it on Netflix, thinking oh it's some relatively-semi-popular movie from half a decade ago, it should be on Netflix. But nope, they recommend you sign up for a DVD plan instead where you can get that movie. Don't even expect one of the "new blockbuster" movies on Netflix, not going to happen. For that have to fork out a pay-per-view amount of $$ on Amazon Prime/Google Play/Itunes.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#77
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, thank you for that. Growing up in Michigan, we had a bit of Canadian cross-over stuff [1], and I saw quite a bit of that show back in the era before on-demand. We never really had cable. Definitely some good hacker-esque skits in there, though I never felt the shows as a whole quite gelled in their overarching plots. [1]: Double the Olympics coverage being the best. Curling is overmocked. It is mockable, yes, b…

In the... 2010, it was, Olympic games, NBC, the official broadcaster in the U.S., had so "sliced and diced" its presentation that I found its main coverage unwatchable. However, on one of its lesser affiliates, it was carrying... "second or third tier", per its judgement, sports coverage largely intact. One particular item on it, that I ran across just by chance channel-surfing, was coverage of the women's curling. C…

I started watching curling during the 2014 games and learned to love it. Haven't watched it since, but I'm definitely looking forward to 2018!

PS: Completely disagree with your assessment of the CBC and their operation under Harper's premiership, but such is life. Just wanted it noted.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#79

It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content rather than choosing what categories to display and show to you. It can get stuck thinking your really like a genre, and the recommendation engine can penalize you too much for too many likes or dislikes. Now that the website is a bit more focused towards streaming-on-computer it's somewhat harder to browse and prepare a queue. It feels that some content is…

> It would be nice if Netflix made it easier to browse content ... It would be even better if they fixed recommendations. If you do not use a web browser - ie use Roku, Chromecast, Android etc - then you cannot mark something as "not interested". So it keeps showing you the same thing over and over again, that you do not want to watch. Makes the service seem dumb and hostile. Don't get me started on them showing you…

> Even more bizarre is how they predict how many stars you'll give something, which seems fairly good. And then go ahead and recommend items with few predicted stars

To play the devils' advocate

* It's good for the user because their algorithm is not perfect and you might actually enjoy the 'few predicted stars' movie

* It's good for the algorithm because it allows fine-tuning in the cases of false-negatives and adds more data points

* having only high predicted stars in your list will probably move your Overton window on what's good/bad.

Re: A directory of Netflix's “secret” categories

#80
post #59
post #29

I got existed for: "Dark Comedies 869". Man its difficult to find these kinds of movies. Unfortunately there was not 869 of them but just 6. I have seen them all. One of them was amazing; "Sightseers" if anyone wants a movie tip.

I get 28 results for Dark Comedies. Do you want me to share the list with you?

yes, please.
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