Should we rename the Movies and TV network?

Question

Shouldn't the site have a more specific URL than movies.stackexchange.com, and a more specific name than Movies & TV?

It makes it look like it's everything about movies (and TV), which it's not.

Pros for keeping it:

• Increased traffic and posting in general (although if we keep the current one as a forwarding URL to the new one, I don't know that this is really a pro, since we would probably retain those benefits)
• The name is easy to remember, and even guess (ditto)
• It makes us feel in charge of movies, like we own them
• Site traffic is down (so, maybe we need to keep it for that reason)

Cons for keeping it:

• More off-topic, low quality posts
• The site purpose is not easy to remember with that name; I've probably forgotten it maybe three times
• More division over decisions on meta, since people will feel like things should encompass more than they do
• The name is kind of generic; it could mean anything about movies and TV

It's a great name, but does it over-all work for or against us? Do we need to hone the name in on the scope?

I was thinking something more along the lines of Movie Review or Movie Analysis, since most of the on-topic questions have to do with analyzing movies and TV (rather than doing other things with movies and TV, such as ask ID questions, which are off-topic here, and any trivia that might be off-topic at any particular time). I'm not suggesting those specific names, particularly, but I think they are examples of names that could make the site purpose clearer and more memorable. I didn't mention them initially, because I didn't want you to focus on the merits of a random name that was only meant for an example (rather than a suggestion).

Anyway, this isn't a proposal. I don't have a super strong opinion on it, despite having an opinion. I'm wanting to invite discussion, and see what you think.

About me: I browse the network maybe every other week, give or take several days. I vote on questions, answers, and probably moderators. I've been around for a fair while. I haven't done a lot of Q/A on this particular network, to date.

FYI: The confusion about the name isn't about the kinds of movie and TV that are on/off-topic. It's about the kinds of questions you can ask about all movies and TV.

Anyway, I don't think there's a need to give up the movies.stackexchange.com URL altogether. It could still forward to the right site, but users would immediately see the difference when the page loaded, and so would know there was a difference.

Answer 1

I think the site name “Movies & TV Stack Exchange” is fine as it is, and there is no need to change it. The old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies here.

The site name is simple and accurate, as it reflects the site’s purpose of asking and answering questions about movies and TV shows. The site tour and the help center article “What topics can I ask about here?” explain the scope and guidelines of the site, and what kinds of questions are off-topic.

Note that at the time of writing, both the site tour and the help center article still state that trivia questions are off-topic, which contradicts the community consensus reached in this meta post: “Which trivia questions are on-topic and which are off-topic?” I have already requested the moderators last year to update the site tour and the help center article to reflect the current policy on trivia questions, but they have not done so yet.

I am not sure what you mean by “More division over decisions on meta, since people will feel like things should encompass more than they do”. Could you please elaborate on that? I am quite active on meta, and I have not seen any disputes over the site’s name not being reflective of its scope.