Couch Potato Rage
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
Last week Netflix announced that come September they will eliminate the option of having multiple profiles on one account, the handy feature that allows roommates, spouses, or whole families to maintain independent queues and ratings. For years Netflix has boasted about this admittedly fine-working recommendation system of theirs, but the whole process will be meaningless if multiple people are forced to share accounts and rate movies as just one person. Nobody will know anything for sure anymore! About anything. (I somehow doubt, for example, that little doe-eyed what's-her-face and her hulky dad want to rank Hannah Montana the same.) Of course, Netflix hasn't given a real explanation for the change other than corpo-speak of "keeping our service as simple and as easy to use as possible." (Um, unless you're a crazed Luddite or a mouthbreather the site is pretty easy to use.) Theories abound as to why they're really doing it, and customers are none to pleased. There are two petitions online and over 1100 comments on an official Netflix post. Join the fray.