The Philosophy Behind Viewings

Traditional rating systems force users into philosophical dilemmas that have no good answers:

I read this when I was 14 and it was a 10/10. Then I re-read it at 24 and it's a 6/10. What's my rating now? Should it be a 10? A 6? An average of 8? Should I rate it 'for kids'?

When I first saw this crazy twist it was a 9/10 movie. But on a rewatch when I knew what was coming, it completely fell apart...

Viewings eliminate these questions entirely. Instead of wrestling with abstract concepts, you simply record what actually happened.

How It Works

Each time you watch something, you create a viewing. Add rewatches by clicking the + button to create another viewing for the same title.

This approach mirrors reality: you watched Dune Part One in the cinema when it released in 2021, then again at home in 2024. These were genuinely different experiences—different dates, different contexts, potentially different ratings.

The Bigger Picture

With sufficient viewing data, Medialib can identify patterns and insights that single-rating systems miss entirely. Movies can be flagged as "great on rewatch" or "doesn't hold up," providing valuable context for future viewers.

To track multiple watches, reads, or playthroughs, you can add multiple viewings. This guide will refer to all media consumption as "viewings" and focuses on show-level behavior (ignoring season-level viewings).

TV Viewings

New episode viewings, whether created through scrobbling or manually, are always added to your active viewing. Your active viewing is your most recently created show-level viewing. (Manual active viewing selection may be added later)

Medialib automatically creates your first show-level viewing when you start tracking a new TV show.

Medialib will not automatically create additional show-level viewings unless it's absolutely certain you're starting a rewatch.

When does automatic rewatch detection trigger?

Consider a completed show like Rome, which has 2 seasons with 22 episodes overall.

Automatic rewatch detection only triggers when your current show-level viewing contains every aired episode watched exactly once, and then you watch the first episode (S01E01) again. Only then will Medialib create a new show-level viewing automatically.

In all other scenarios, new episode viewings are added to your existing active show-level viewing.

Examples

• Automatic rewatch created: You complete all 62 episodes of Breaking Bad exactly once, then watch S01E01 again. A new show-level viewing is automatically created.
• No automatic rewatch: You've watched 4 out of 5 Breaking Bad seasons, then watch S01E01 again. The episode is added to your existing viewing.
• No automatic rewatch: You've watched all episodes, but rewatched some favorites multiple times. Since not all episodes were watched exactly once, S01E01 goes into your existing viewing.

Why this approach?

Viewing patterns for TV shows are incredibly diverse, making it nearly impossible to accurately predict user intent for rewatches.

Anything that automatically changes your watch status or adds new viewings is just very intrusive. Especially if its "wrong" and you cant stop it. That's why Medialib airs on the side of caution.

• Sitcom viewers often rewatch favorite seasons or episodes repeatedly. Should each episode create a new viewing? Should we wait until every episode is watched once? What happens when new seasons are added years later to shows you've already rewatched multiple times?
• Episodic shows like Star Trek are often watched out of order. Creating new viewings for every random episode would be counterproductive.

Impact on different user types

Heavy rewatchers using automation

If you want to start a new viewing before completing all episodes, you must manually create a new show-level viewing through the app. Once created, all subsequently scrobbled episodes will be added to this new viewing.