Dear Netflix

[originally posted at: https://getsatisfaction.com/netflix/topics/intat_queue.]

Dear Netflix,

I understand the thought process behind trying to find “new, innovative” ways of “enhancing” the customer’s experience; it’s a marketing thing… If you can create an easier experience that might engage more viewing, you have the potential of exposing more material to the customer base, which is an important part of bringing additional content in–I mean, it’s hard to negotiate deals with studios if you can’t show the companies data that will sell them on offering their catalogs at a decent price. Furthermore, it’s hard to expand your customer base if you can’t provide the right kind of eye-candy–be it the content or the presentation of how the content is delivered–to attract new customers. I get that.

Still, I’m rather upset with this change.

Two of the devices I use for your service–an HTPC running Windows Media Center, and a low-end streaming device–are designed to display the queue sorted in the order that you provide, which is–by default–chronological by date added (oldest queue addition at top/first, newest at bottom/last). This method of sorting–listing, really–makes things a bit of a hassle (something you’ve obviously noticed, thus the change); this kind of sorting also allows for the parking of Dora the Explorer right beside This Film is Not Yet Rated (something you’ve given thought to, but not quite addressed, honestly).

See, I could edit my queue and fix this problem; I could place all of my children’s cartoons and age appropriate videos at the beginning of the queue, then place a buffer–let’s say of religious and historical documentaries–between the kids’ stuff and my action/horror/and-anything-else-including-but-not-limited-to-Ally McBeal-and-South Park. Once the kids start arrowing/scrolling over through the covers and hit that image of Richard Nixon, they’d know to turn around run the other way, back to safer and happier images of T.U.F.F Puppy and Kick Buttowski.

Sure, your new approach works great for the browser, for (most of) the tablets and phones, but NOT for **ALL** of your “supported” devices.

Netflix, give us back the “Instant Queue” that we can sort on our own; you can do so without compromising the “Your List” feature you’ve enabled. The “Instant Queue” gave *us* the ability to control some of our experience, something that many of us need. Let us once more scare the kids away from our late-night movies with the image of Bio’s documentary of tricky Dick. Let us be able to scroll over to that adventure of Thomas & Friends without having to tell the kids that, “No, Drawn Together is not a cartoon for kids.”

…failing that, find a way of updating the plugins and software running on all of your “supported” devices so that they reflect the changes you’ve implemented. (Personally, I’d bring back the Instant Queue–I’m fairly certain it’d be easier…)

via Being Jeremiah Palmer https://kg4vma.duckdns.org/2013/03/20/dear-netflix/