What is one of the best ways of gauging the reaction of the public? Visit internet forums.

Does anyone think that any of the crew, Moffat, producers, writers etc or cast, regularly visit (and post on) forums - posing as fans?

Eg: Poor/negative fan reaction to NuDaleks - Daleks are retired.

I disagree, i think forums are a poor way of reading the views of a wider audience because they tend to be contributed on by a very narrow segment of the viewing audience. Fandoms views for the most part are best ignored, imho, and i believe they pretty much are.

Interesting that you say that Mutley as I would have thought that by reading what fans of the show are thinkiing and saying, would give a good indication to the producers as to how the series was being received. Yes I know there are "fanatical" fans who go over the top sometimes, but reading the posts on here for example, most posters are positive about the show. It has been noticed that SM is definately aware of the adverse reaction to the new design Daleks and appears to have done a bit of a u turn when he announced that far from the old new Daleks be wiped out, they would in fact appear alongside the new new Daleks.

that became a much bigger issue than just fandom on internet forums. I don't think people on line can claim to be the ones who got him to change his mind, i really don't.

The problem with paying too much attention to what fandom thinks is that quite often what fandom wants is quite far removed from what the wider audience want.

I certainly don't think they make decisions on the direction of the show based on threads people start on internet forums.

No one who works on the show should even read a forum let alone post on one. Especially Moffat. They are an appalling way to gage opinion and the day Moffat starts making creative decisions based on what's written in places like this is the day its time he stepped down.

Agreed. Forums are a hotbed of conflicting ideas - it's the most contradictory opinions that get the most discussion.

Pretty much every opinion, bad or otherwise, that is expressed here will bubble up to the surface through some other methods of communication.

I hope not. If I made the show and looked on here I'd feel suicidal with the amount of dross that gets posted

SM said something in one of the series 5 blu ray commentaries about reading some of the forums

If Moffat and Co let forums influence them, we'd have the Ganger Rose show with Tom Baker and David Tennant as co-stars and they'd fight Omega every week.

The people that matter most to Moffat and the BBC are the millions who watch every new episode and - hopefully - buy the merchandising. That's around 8,000,000 people in the UK taking all airings and downloads into account.

If we were generous and said that there are 8,000 DW fans in the UK posting on forums, that only comes to 0.1% of the audience. Go completely overboard and raise the number of fans posting on DW forums to 80,000 and it's still only 1% of the audience.

The guy who played Mickey used to go on a Nintendo forum i used to go on, that obviously had nothing to do with Doctor Who though

Moffat actually used to post on GB.

Used to being the operative word. He stopped as soon as he was made show runner.

I'm aware of that - hence my use of the the word used to.

Personally, I think he still reads the forums but just doesn't post. A bit like RTD used to do.

Fixed

Much appreciated

Muttley answered this one for me.

I think some people on forums like to dream that the people making the show actually read forums as it makes them feel that what they're posting might be more inportant than it really is. As MinktheDog ably put it up thread fact is these sorts of thing are a massive niche minority area of practically zero interest to those in control. You think Moffat gives a flying fudge about your little pet theories or projected outline for what should happen in S7? Think again!

I do not have any "pet theories" so do not have to think again. I have not claimed that he bases any story on what he's read on a forum but I do think he still reads the forums. Anyhoo, it hardly matters in the grand scheme of things whether he does or he doesn't. It's all just supposition and opinion at the end of the day.

Sorry. I shouldve edited my post as I didn't intend the bolder bit above to be directly aimed at you though I see that's how it reads. I meant a more general 'you' meaning anyone posting here or similar places.

If the cast/crew ever start making the show to please the posters on this or any other forum then the show really will be in trouble.

I'm sure that if they do its just for a laugh at some of the stranger comments and theories.

I like the idea of cast/crew perusing dedicated forums for a lazy hour or so after an episode's been broadcast - but I'd hate to think they took any notice.

I seem to recall Terry Pratchett abandoning some newsgroups partly because he didn't want people to say he'd nicked their ideas if he wrote something which had similarities to things discussed in the groups. I suspect SM could run analogous risks and may take a similar line.

I'd have thought it not a good way to gauge reaction. Too much dribble to wade through. I'd be more interested in the overall reaction of the millions, not the detailed nit picking of the sort of people who spend their time chatting incessently about it. I don't know about anyone else, but as I sit here with pencils up my nostrils and underpants on my head, I'd always rather thought people posting on forums are a little odd. wibble.