i agree with a lot of the criticisms here.
what are people's specific beefs with Sounds? you can think of me as the glenn macdonald of Sounds.. i can tell you what i know and find out if i don't know.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 14 February 2019 09:57 (five years ago) link
My technical beef with Sounds is that when I was trying to play The Ratline series it wouldn't play the episodes in sequential order, and when each 20 min ep finished I had to manually load the next ep. I can't remember if I had that problem before the revamp. i'm sure it didn't used to be in shuffle mode.
― calzino, Thursday, 14 February 2019 10:32 (five years ago) link
I don't get the point of Sounds. They have this huge archive of audio and it makes both recent radio and archive programmes much harder to find somehow. The search function is terrible and the front page is stacked with stuff nobody wants. It looks nicer but does a worse job than the radio iplayer app did.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 14 February 2019 10:36 (five years ago) link
yes, good point. the search function is completely dysfunctional.
― calzino, Thursday, 14 February 2019 10:38 (five years ago) link
like if you type the EXACT name of the program you are looking it returns all sorts of other unrelated shit that isn't helpful at all.
― calzino, Thursday, 14 February 2019 10:40 (five years ago) link
Beefs with sounds:
No descriptions of shows
No original broadcast dates on shows - I was recently listing to a good doco about northern soul in japan which talked about the Wigan casino opening 40 years ago this year; its a good job I know a bit of northern souls history so know that 1979 is too late but the original TX date is 2013 and is necessary for placing the narrative in context.
I want to know which station shows were comissioned for - a 3 drama sounds different from a 4 one, and a world service doco is different from a 4 one.
Searching/browsing is terrible. I want to be able to filter by network - witness is a good strand but it dominates the documentaries category
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Thursday, 14 February 2019 10:45 (five years ago) link
Ok, two of those things seem to have been fixed since I last used sounds.
when I was trying to play The Ratline series it wouldn't play the episodes in sequential order
this works on web, but not in the app. they are working on a fix.
The search function is terrible
yes :( this is in the hands of "the search team" in salford. the most important thing it to match the first few words of the title exactly. there are improvements coming to this but i have no idea when.
the front page is stacked with stuff nobody wants
the manual curation is geared towards under-35s. ;) but the front page is also filled with: algorithmic recommendations and "continue listening" which should be pretty specific to the sorts of things you listen to. the algorithm at the moment is fairly blunt - there is a lot of work being done to make this better. another big difference coming up is "segmentation" - where Sounds can serve up different curations to different audiences. currently everyone sees the same manual curations (similar to iPlayer). but fairly soon you will get a different mix of stuff on the front page if you're, say 60, than if you're 25. it can be tricky to get this stuff right because you don't want to immediately get served up The Archers and Gardener's Question Time the day you turn 35.
No original broadcast dates on shows
Ed if i find Shine Like Tokyo (the doc you mention) in the app it has a full description. at the bottom of that description it says "first broadcast in 2013". it is true that the latter depends on the producer being wise enough to include that in the description - it's not a field that automatically gets pulled in in a structured way (though it does on web). others have complained about this too. i'll see what the plans are on that.
weirdly (to me) the categories at the bottom are more popular than the lovingly curated collections above them. even though they're just a bone-simple reverse chronological firehose of stuff that's been tagged with a particular genre. it's weird. so there are plans afoot to make those categories better.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 14 February 2019 11:02 (five years ago) link
one thing that bugs the shit out of me is that upcoming episodes, that have not been broadcast yet, don't show you their descriptions - it's greyed out.
the people who designed it started from the principle that only playable audio should be accessible. if something wasn't playable it just wouldn't show up. including future episodes. at launch there weren't even schedules. they have backtracked on that a little but you can still see that principle at work.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 14 February 2019 11:05 (five years ago) link
I think I remember those shows from when they were broadcast.― Stephen Yakkety-Yaxley-Rosbif (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 20:58
― Stephen Yakkety-Yaxley-Rosbif (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 13 February 2019 20:58
the 80s one I assume and not the 70s?
Mark S (who also inspired my Oor Neechy d/n) told me that he had the book with the transcriptions of the series. So I got one cheap on ebay.
btw did you know Bryan Magee was still alive?
― Friedrich B. Neechy (Oor Neechy), Thursday, 14 February 2019 14:15 (five years ago) link
this statement seems... ill-advisedhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/14/bbc-attacked-for-failure-to-provide-abortion-advice
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 14 February 2019 22:43 (five years ago) link
All part of the pathological obsession with being 'fair and balanced'.
― large bananas pregnant (ledge), Friday, 15 February 2019 09:24 (five years ago) link
NHS comeback was measured and otm but could have done with more spittle-flecked invective about what gormless fuck decided that free access to legal abortions is the "controversial" side of this "argument"
seriously hope somebody loses their job over this
― Stephen Yakkety-Yaxley-Rosbif (Noodle Vague), Friday, 15 February 2019 09:27 (five years ago) link
Good evening!
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/15/bbc-this-week-to-end-after-16-years-as-andrew-neil-steps-down
― nashwan, Friday, 15 February 2019 13:19 (five years ago) link
https://www.clashmusic.com/sites/default/files/field/image/bobby-gillespie.jpg
― koogs, Friday, 15 February 2019 13:26 (five years ago) link
His little setpiece speech about Churchill at the start of last night's show was nauseating - he's such a boilerplate West of Scotland Unionist Orange cunt.
― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Friday, 15 February 2019 13:42 (five years ago) link
... and Andrew Neil's almost as bad.
I would keep the show but just change everything about it.
― nashwan, Friday, 15 February 2019 13:46 (five years ago) link
whoever thought it would be a good idea to inject some humour into the show, with the comedic talents of portillo/postman twat really deserve a good shoeing.
― calzino, Friday, 15 February 2019 13:46 (five years ago) link
Can someone turn that pic of Boaby into an animated gif where he's nodding and giving a thumbs up?
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 15 February 2019 13:47 (five years ago) link
(xp) That would be Andrew Neil.
― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Friday, 15 February 2019 13:48 (five years ago) link
is Fraser Nelson going to be his replacement? the BBC fucking loves him.
― calzino, Friday, 15 February 2019 13:53 (five years ago) link
Wallcome taw this weeg's odition of Thus Weeg, I'm Freezer Nolson.
― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Friday, 15 February 2019 13:58 (five years ago) link
Isn't he that shit comedian?
― CDU next Tuesday (Noodle Vague), Friday, 15 February 2019 14:08 (five years ago) link
he is about as funny as most comedians with the added bonus of having a mystery daft accent that is NOT scottish, not fucking anything tbf!
― calzino, Friday, 15 February 2019 14:14 (five years ago) link
Oti Mabuse, Gillian Smart, Mishal Husain, Kawser Quamer and Alina Jenkins are the only reasons I wouldn't say television should be abolished altogether.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 15 February 2019 17:28 (five years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Sunday, 17 February 2019 00:01 (five years ago) link
All Britain tensely awaits the verdict.
― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 17 February 2019 00:22 (five years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 18 February 2019 00:01 (five years ago) link
Cheers break out in certain pubs in W1.
― A is for (Aimless), Monday, 18 February 2019 02:08 (five years ago) link
pic.twitter.com/zcNZpxboiV— Peter Hampson (@IvansMeads) March 31, 2019
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 1 April 2019 13:27 (five years ago) link
Mentioning Orwell automatically means I'm sceptical of that post but there might be interesting bits of detail that explain, and it does name names.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 1 April 2019 13:28 (five years ago) link
shouting at the sky, Kuenssbergs gonna Kuenssberg etc, and also I'm 2 days late, but I am not liking the wording in the bottom section of this at allhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49972097
"a fair hearing from the EU ... just doesn't appear to have happened""Sources say the EU ought to listen 'to the people who won the referendum, not the people who lost'"
accurate, impartial, independent and fair ™
― a passing spacecadet, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:09 (four years ago) link
while I'm happy to be subsidising simpering CCHQ fanfic, maybe next time they ought to not make such a fuss when someone says the Klan man is possibly a bit racist.
― calzino, Thursday, 10 October 2019 11:20 (four years ago) link
So did they do good last night? Fiona Bruce also seemed ok? Wonder if there was more care or scrutiny with the QT special last night
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 23 November 2019 10:07 (four years ago) link
corbyn’s manifesto has radicalised them
― actor Robert de Niro disguised as an Uzbek homeopath (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 23 November 2019 10:08 (four years ago) link
QT was good last night entirely because it wasn't at all like QT, we will be back to the usual rigmarole next week.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 23 November 2019 10:14 (four years ago) link
Facebook Tories moaning like fuck about it, looking forward to being told in the pub
― FBPRieu (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 23 November 2019 12:34 (four years ago) link
Just watched it (skipped Sturgeon). Thought Fiona Bruce did a great job and I felt like everyone was properly held to account with an interesting range of policy questions.
(Lol at that fucking Morales melt tho')
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 23 November 2019 12:45 (four years ago) link
Think there will be a lot of complaints sent in to the been about it from Tories. Don't know what a Lib Dem will do beyond hide under the sofa
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 23 November 2019 12:46 (four years ago) link
they have been spoilt by years of a version of laughable public scrutiny in bbc studios that usually involves a back massage and a pre-broadcast agreement on what questions will be asked. They don't like it up 'em!
― calzino, Saturday, 23 November 2019 12:50 (four years ago) link
Emma Barnett is going to chair a 'young people's Question Time' on 9 December
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 23 November 2019 23:53 (four years ago) link
bbc do have a tradition of letting blond haired lunatics loose on young people tbf
― calzino, Saturday, 23 November 2019 23:58 (four years ago) link
Just watched it (skipped Sturgeon)
Worth watching Sturgeon to see someone actually tell Fiona Bruce she's misinterpreting. It's a very good demonstration of what it looks like when a party leader believes what they're saying rather than parroting rehearsed lines and panicking when challenged or asked to deviate.
Anyway, we seen this doing the rounds on Twitter?
https://t.co/PjhAQsWLoH
― ailsa, Sunday, 24 November 2019 10:03 (four years ago) link
new polls looking v good for tories and v bad for Labour in scotland and resolutely unshifting for the Labour-Tory gap. i don’t know where you all find your optimism from. there was at least some poll variance in 2017 but this seems resolutely unfavourable across the board including that MRP tracking done by Datapraxis. (i know it’s still only as good as the data that goes in but still).
― Fizzles, Sunday, 24 November 2019 11:08 (four years ago) link
wrong thread.
― Fizzles, Sunday, 24 November 2019 11:09 (four years ago) link
Wrong electorate
― stet, Sunday, 24 November 2019 11:32 (four years ago) link
Will try and watch Sturgeon later.
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 24 November 2019 11:36 (four years ago) link
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/nov/24/jack-whitehall-review-o2-arena-london
this guy sounds absolutely hellish from this review.
" he has always come across as the Conservative party in standup form"
I don't know how much they pay this cunt but he sounds bad. A search shows he is all over the bbc and according to them is: "one of Britain's favourite comedians". He's a posh Tory cunt who does a tv show with his dad .. no wonder the UK is so fucked.
― calzino, Monday, 25 November 2019 14:13 (four years ago) link
I have been out of the UK for ages and back a couple of years and one thing I can't figure out is Jack Whitehall, is he supposed to be unfunny? Is he doing a parody of a posh guy who isn't funny but gets by on confidence alone? I feel like it isn't a joke, he is just that terrible, but then why is he always on TV, sometimes with people who are actually good? Do some people actually like him? Why?― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, February 25, 2019 12:03 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglinkBantz, fella. The Archbishop of Bantlebury. Lord Bantlington. Etc.― Elitist cheese photos (aldo), Monday, February 25, 2019 12:06 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglinkDeath to bantz, double death to posh boy bantz.― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, February 25, 2019 12:16 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, February 25, 2019 12:03 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Bantz, fella. The Archbishop of Bantlebury. Lord Bantlington. Etc.
― Elitist cheese photos (aldo), Monday, February 25, 2019 12:06 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Death to bantz, double death to posh boy bantz.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, February 25, 2019 12:16 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 25 November 2019 14:43 (four years ago) link