I hear the ticking of the clock
I'm lying here, the room's pitch dark...

We've all heard from many of our friends complaints and grumblings.

Some of our friends have already left.

Many feel disenfranchised and even more are considering whether to stay or not.

Then it occurred to me that to simply leave the site is the playground equivalent to taking your ball and going home.

If you don't like the way the game is being played, then make your opinion known.

A site like TV.com is dependent upon users.

That user base and support is what makes the site possible. From the user base comes the data that is fed to advertisers ("We can help you reach XX of people by buying ad space on our site...").

CBS has rolled out a new version of TV.com that it seems not many of us are fond of. Blinding white background, small grey text, difficulty posting blogs and comments, the list goes on (and on, and on).

Meanwhile we bleed out users. Some of them have been around (like me) since before this site was even tv.com.

Should we complain about it? Hundreds have, it hasn't really made an impact.

Should we leave? Maybe, but I think we should at least let our voices be heard first.

So, I suggest:

For 24 hours, don't log into the site, don't contribute, don't edit, don't post, don't show up at all.

Let those that run the site see just how many of us are not happy with the way things are going and more importantly show those at CBS just how many of us are feeling this way.

The reason? It makes perfect sense that if they see a potential to lose a vast number of users (thus spoiling their ad rates, since who wants to pay a lot of money to reach a small number of people) that they may take our dissatisfaction more seriously and actually do something about it in a more timely fashion.

Of course if general apathy ensues and/or if people don't see the value of a blackout day, then CBS and TV.com can merrily continue on their present course safe in the knowledge that eventually we'll all just resign ourselves to the futility of having an opinion.

So... if you agree to participate in a 24 boycott of logging into TV.com on Tuesday September 30, 2008

I urge you to re-post this blog and invite all your friends to do the same.

I am not some rebel out to cause trouble for trouble's sake. I am a user who feels let down by the way things have gone around here recently and if all the hype about "we listen to you" is true, then by our collectively going silent for 24 hours and showing them in real terms just how many people are dissatisfied I hope that TV.com will find a way to really solicit our feedback about what we want to see improved.

The first step is to agree to participate. If that is well received, then I suggest on Wednesday October 1, 2008 when we return, we post a blog with our top 5 things (more if we have them, less if that's the case) of things we want to see changed.

My feeling is that this might get their attention and actually get something done.

Are you on board with the idea? If so, please re-post this and tell your friends.

This is how I've decided to deal with my frustration as opposed to just "taking my ball and going home."

Tuesday September 30, 2008 - I won't be here for 24 hours! Re-post if you won't be either.

'Cos everyone's singing we just want to be heard