The Internet Movie Database
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Type of site
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Online database for movies, television, and video games |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | IMDb.com, Inc. |
| Created by | Col Needham (CEO) |
| Website | www |
| Alexa rank |
 42 (February 2017[update]) |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Registration is optional for members to participate in discussions, comments, ratings, and voting |
| Launched | October 17, 1990 |
| Current status | Active |
The Internet Movie Database (abbreviated IMDb) is an online database of information related to films, television programs and video games, including cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, trivia and reviews, operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.com.
Actors and crew can post their own résumé and upload photos of themselves for a yearly fee. U.S. users can view over 6,000 movies and television shows from CBS, Sony, and various independent filmmakers.
Launched in 1990 by computer programmer Col Needham, the company was incorporated in the UK as Internet Movie Database Ltd in 1996 with revenue generated through advertising, licensing and partnerships. In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon.com, who were then able to use it as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes.
As of January 2017[update], IMDb has approximately 4.1 million titles (including episodes) and 7.7 million personalities in its database, as well as 70 million registered users.
The site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Although all data is checked before going live, the system has been open to abuse and occasional errors are acknowledged. Users are also invited to rate any film on a scale of 1 to 10, and the totals are converted into a weighted mean-rating that is displayed beside each title, with online filters employed to deter ballot-stuffing. The site also features message boards which stimulate regular debates among authenticated users. IMDb announced they are shutting down the message boards permanently on February 20, 2017.
IMDb originated with a Usenet posting by British film fan and computer programmer Col Needham entitled "Those Eyes", about actresses with beautiful eyes. Others with similar interests soon responded with additions or different lists of their own. Needham subsequently started a (male) "Actors List", while Dave Knight began a "Directors List", and Andy Krieg took over "THE LIST" from Hank Driskill, which would later be renamed the "Actress List". Both lists had been restricted to people who were alive and working, but soon retired people were added, so Needham started what was then (but did not remain) a separate "Dead Actors/Actresses List". The goal of the participants now was to make the lists as inclusive as possible.
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