Currently within our contribution interfaces we support two types of linking. They are:-
- [link=nm1234567] for names and [link=tt1234567] for titles. This is our modern linking method, which utilizes the unique identifier for each name or title in the database (which can be harvested from our URLs).
- 'Tomoyuki Tanaka (I)'(qv) for names and _"Buffythe Vampire Slayer" (2001) {Once More, with Feeling (#6.7)}_ (qv) for titles. This is our legacy format which requires in-depth knowledge of our legacy name or title text format and is error prone.
As part of this work, the existing ability within the legacy format to perform name matching will be removed. An example of this feature is below:-

From today all contribution interfaces will begin being updated to support only the [link=nm1234567] for name and [link=tt1234567]. This change will not impact how the data is displayed on IMDb, it is purely a change to the contribution interfaces. This change affects 23 different data types:-
- Plot Outline
- Plot Summary
- Crazy Credits
- Alternate Versions
- Connections
- Articles
- Books About This Person
- Biographical Movies
- Biography
- Real Life Quotes
- Name Trivia
- Trivia
- Nickname
- Other Works
- Portrayed in Other Movies
- Salary
- Spouse
- Trademarks
- Goofs
- Quotes
- Awards
- Soundtracks
- Literature
These changes will be rolling out over the next 24 hours during which time we will be monitoring the launch. We are in the process of ensuring that all submission guides are updated to reflect this change.
If you do spot any issues or have questions/feedback, please respond to this thread.
Thanks,
Rachel
Rachel, Employee
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Posted 2 years ago
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For titles, though, there aren't so many titles that are similar, so I'm not sure if using this method would help with titles. I hope that makes sense.
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Rachel, Employee
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This issue has now been fixed and the change is fully launched.
Cheers,
Rachel
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Wait. Are we to understand correctly that the internal data is still stored in the "qv" syntax but in order to make changes a given piece of database information, a contributor has to manually convert all the existing references in the "qv" syntax to the key-link markup syntax?
That's just silly. It has the effect of making it much harder to submit corrections. I'm afraid that this is yet another example of a transition implementation approach from an old system to a new one that was not thought out by the IMDb software developers. I don't understand why the IMDb decision-making staff members do not realize these things beforehand. Or do they? So, are the contributors just guineapigs? Why do you treat us like this?
If it is not too much trouble, please fix this.
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There are some things that I think need fixing and which I believe should not be too difficult. These do not preserve the old text qv format, on the contrary, my preference would be to eliminate it completely.
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Col Needham, Official Rep
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Rachel, Employee
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Cheers,
Rachel
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It would be even better if 'Keep' items used a hyperlinked display form and the conversion to [link=...] markup was only in the editable text box. Showing both the hyperlinked display form and the editable markup for 'Correct' items would be even better (showing the effect of edits of course). I think that would deal with at least some of the issues of selecting the wrong name/title.
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Today we will begin the roll-out of changes
to the types of linking formats
supported within our contribution interfaces.
by Rachel, Official Rep
Joined on September 25, 2013
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/people/rachel_mactaggart
- - -
You could should would
put Today's date in your Announcements messages for history :
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
add Today's date & links to
on the entry page
Rachel, Employee
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Thanks for the feedback. I've updated this post to include the date we made the change.
I wasn't sure what you meant by the entry page and the help guide, could you clarify?
Cheers,
Rachel
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Thursday, November 16, 2017
I wasn't sure what you meant by the entry page and the help guide, could you clarify?
by Rachel
- - -
I do not do many contributions here
the "entry page" would be the one displayed in your message:
An example of this feature is below:
New#1 Peter Pan (qv)
This change affects 23 different data types:
•Plot Outline
•Plot Summary
•Crazy Credits
add links there so contributors do not have to search
help.imdb.com or getsatisfaction.com
for your latest information ??
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Date for history examples
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/upcoming-changes-to-several-imdb-features-du6man1opd5q0
Upcoming changes to several IMDb features
Posted 2 weeks ago (Nov 4, 2017 ??)
by Col Needham, Official Rep
- - -
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/imdb_x_ray_now_has_more_features-wykf3
IMDb X-Ray now has more features!
Along with the today’s announcement of the new Kindle HDX
Posted 4 years ago (Sep 26 2013 ??)
Rachel, Official Rep
- - -
IMDb Boards added the Time & Date to each message
for all the world to see
I write the date on batteries so I know how long they have been in use
Peter, Champion
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As I pointed out in my first reply, there is already a link to the help page in the update form when a contributor tries to use the old format.
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Here at GS, post dates can be seen by hovering over days ago/hours ago tags
(on a PC, at least):
As I pointed out in my first reply,
there is already a link to the help page in the update form
when a contributor tries to use the old format.
by Peter, Champion
- - -
I know about the post dates
I would rather see the date than have to hover
( It is diffycult to copy the date into another message )
It is also a link to the message
Is there a link to This thread in the update form for helpful chat ??
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On that note, I have something for you and everybody, a bookmarklet:
javascript:If you know what a bookmarklet is, then you already know what to do, otherwise to "install" the tool, you would highlight aforementioned source code (a JavaScript URI), copy it (to the clipboard) and paste it into URL field of a browser bookmark, whether already existing or newly created.
(
function()
{
var l=document.links,i;
for(i=0;i<l.length;i++)
if
(
Array.apply(void(0),l[i].parentNode.classList)
.indexOf("timestamp")>=0
)
l[i].innerHTML+=" ("+l[i].title+")"
}
)
()
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You can scrape the page and still acquire such information, ACT_1. The information is stored in the "title" attribute of the "ago" hyperlinks.
On that note, I have something for you and everybody, a bookmarklet:
by Jeorj Euler
- - -
Thank you
I did not know what bookmarklet is
javascripts are a little bit above my paygrade
and for those 30 years younger than me
You can post that somewhere that all can read ??
I will just have to read and type the hidden date not C&P if I want to use it
- - -
I just have a problem with IMDb and their date formats
I am the only one that does
Jeorj Euler
IMDb member since November 2000
IMDb Member 17 years
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur0932020/
ACT_l
IMDb member since April 2000
IMDb Member 17 years
"Registered: Sun Apr 30 2000"
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur0706096/
fckdsystem
IMDb member since November 2017
IMDb Member New user! (Fri Nov 17 2017)
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur82400500/
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To use a bookmarklet, you "visit" it while having the particular webpage
We should check with David-CG. I wonder if he is on IMDb GS.
by Jeorj Euler
8 hours ago (Nov 18 2017)
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You could save your javascript on your GS Profile page
OOOOOPpppppssss - no you can't !
No room for fun stuff on that page
like WE could on IMDb
(See above list - My page!)
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Chicago_gangster
to David_CG Tue Apr 30 2013
IMDb member since December 2006 (Thu Dec 7 2006)
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur13279695/
He had a collection of scripts for the Old IMDb Boards:
http://userscripts.org/users/67626/scripts?sort=installs (authored)
http://userstyles.org/users/14195 (authored)
http://userscripts.org/users/67626/favorites?sort=posts (recommendations)
Must-have IMDb add-ons:
http://addons.mozilla.org/collection/imdb
- - -
David CG
Joined March 15, 2017
https://getsatisfaction.com/people/David_CG
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/people/David_CG : Not on GS IMDb
maybe a different name here ??
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https://www.google.com/search?q=site:getsatisfaction.com+David_CG
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/list_keywords_in_alphabetical_order?topic-reply-list%5Bsetti...
List keywords in alphabetical order
by ljdoncel, Champion
3 years ago (Sep 27 2014)
Hey, David:
Sorry for the delay in replying
(I hadn't seen this thread until today that it's been bumped by Peter's response).
You can get all the scripts made by David-CG,
including IMDb Contributor, IMDb Message Boards plus or IMDb Plot Keywords alphabetizer,
from this mirror site:
http://userscripts-mirror.org/users/67626
David-CG
Member since September 24, 2008
http://userscripts-mirror.org/users/67626/scripts
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https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/-search-for-users
by ACT_1
Posted 2 months ago (Sep 7 2017)
- - -
Perhaps beyond IMDb's staff's control but Get Satisfaction's search algorithm is mediocre
by Jeorj Euler
Posted 3 days ago (Nov 15 2017)
- 7290 Posts
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Rachel, Employee
- 88 Posts
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There were some instances in the past 24 hours where our contributors were unable to make corrections to existing links. This was due to the challenges in rolling all the code changes out in sequence across all 23 types. Apologies to you if you were impacted by this.
Any issues discovered from this point onward, please respond to this thread and we will investigate.
Thanks,
Rachel
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Rachel, Employee
- 88 Posts
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Thanks,
Rachel
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And to be honest, I do not understand how the [link=reference] works out, how the system convert it to a html link. But since I never needs it, It is OK and I did not search a lot.
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While I was posting a Trivia Piece on the IMDB App, I came across this, only today it came through:
Please correct errors:
Old-style (qv) linking is no longer supported. Please use [link=const] format instead
How exactly would that work?
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Rachel, Employee
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Thanks,
Rachel
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So unless a different way of adding/correcting links is implemented (for example, like adding cast members: you add a name and a list of possible matches appears), I will submit less data/corrections.
Rachel, Employee
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Your description of typing a name and a list of possible matches being displayed is an example of a future enhancement we can now consider if there is significant interest.
Thanks,
Rachel
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Your description of typing a name and a list of possible matches being displayed is an example of a future enhancement we can now consider if there is significant interest.I would be very interested in that.
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Col Needham, Official Rep
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The changes to the qv format will improve processing times over the long term. Unfortunately there was an unrelated technical issue which was causing a delay across all sections earlier in the week and we are catching-up now. You can always monitor specific processing times via https://contribute.imdb.com/times
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All those Names now list [link=Number] in their place, appearing like how you'd see them when editing a Trivia Item on the App Version.
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Now that the new format of linking names and titles is fully implemented, some tools that would be nice might be (they probably would have been nice in the past, but, better now than never):
1. Add a button on all name and title pages to write the appropriate format link to the clipboard (or similar location) that could then be pasted into an appropriate place in a submission.
2. Add a button to all appropriate submission pages that pops up a search box over the page so a submitter can search for the name or title they want. Once the name or title is found, a button in the pop-up box would write the link in the correct format to the clipboard (or similar location) so all the submitter need do is paste the link in at the desired point in the submission.
My point is that, by providing simple tools that take a lot of the manual work out of building the link (and hiding the actual mechanics of the link itself), I think many of the complaints I see above would fade away. Also, by having the tools create the link in the appropriate format, any time links are changed/enhanced in the future, changing the tools would automatically provide the new format without changing the way a submitter creates the link.
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Complaint: Readability has been eliminated during editing.
Previously:
Written by 'Justin Timberlake' (qv), 'Tim Mosley (I)' (qv) and 'Scott Storch' (qv)
Performed by 'Justin Timberlake' (qv)
Produced by 'Tim Mosley (I)' (qv)
Currently:
Written by [link=nm0005493], [link=nm0608856] and [link=nm1395028]
Performed by [link=nm0005493]
Produced by [link=nm0608856]
The enhancements Owen suggests would greatly improve this, and should be the highest priority fix.
Suggestion: Putting in something like this should be allowed:
Performed by [link=Justin Timberlake]
and the system would make the conversion automagically.
Putting in something liks this, would bring up the name picker, where we select the correct name (roman numeral), and the system auto-converts it to the name const.
Produced by [link=Tim Mosley]
To-Do item: The back-end needs to update links when name merges happen. Example from soundtracks:
Music by [link=nm2228215]
Name/page doesn't exist under that const anymore.
To-Do item: Links to companies need to be disallowed at submission, and lists scrubbed for them. Example from soundtracks:
Courtesy [link=co0508645]
Typing the new syntax on a virtual keyboard (phone/tablet, etc...) is very time comsuming because the square brackets are not part of the standard virtual keyboard layout. The old (qv) system was much easier to type because single ticks and parens were easy to get to from a virtual keyboard.
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As things stand now, I’ll be passing on anything that involves this tedious procedure - too much work for me, sorry. I’ll gladly reconsider this decision if and when the system is improved.
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bderoes, Champion
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Also, we need a preview function to make sure we've put in the correct links. You don't want to process a bunch of corrections because we can't see what we did. My item has 8 names in it.
It's a BIG shame that you won't let us put in the whole URL instead of just nmXXX or ttXXXX. It takes a lot more effort to extract the code from the url. (To get URL: right click on name and Copy. To get code, either Paste that and remove the excess, or instead Open the link and extract the code. So either it's time to copy/paste/extract or time to open page/extract. Much better to copy alone.)
So the new process is very tedious, especially compared with the old way, and doing it blind is downright exhausting. Fortunately I'm working on a laptop, and opened a list of mine, and set up the links in the comments section of an item, and verified it there before putting it in the Contribution. But please make it friendlier!
bderoes, Champion
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I'm adding to a Soundtrack listing today, and when I clicked on the little blue ? to the right of the item, the help text that comes up still talks about qv's, not about [link=...].Nor do I see any feedback on the suggestions above:
Also, we need a preview function to make sure we've put in the correct links. You don't want to process a bunch of corrections because we can't see what we did. My item has 8 names in it.
It's a BIG shame that you won't let us put in the whole URL instead of just nmXXX or ttXXXX. It takes a lot more effort to extract the code from the url. (To get URL: right click on name and Copy. To get code, either Paste that and remove the excess, or instead Open the link and extract the code. So either it's time to copy/paste/extract or time to open page/extract. Much better to copy alone.)I tried looking at the official responses to others on this thread, so if I missed feedback that would have applied to these, my apologies and please point me there.
But why has the BUG not been fixed? (I'm calling a bad help screen a bug, but others are reporting a huge mess among Soundtrack submissions, and a proper help screen might, well, help.)
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gromit82, Champion
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[link=nm1876497] cites [link=tt0047478] as an influence on the film.I don't know what can be done to make the display of trivia items in edit mode more user-friendly, but I think that something needs to be done about it.
[link=nm0000255] and [link=nm0001354] appeared in [link=tt0164184].
The second time [link=nm3009232] and [link=nm0001082] have worked together. The first was [link=tt0420293].
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It certainly would seem easier to simply type in the names than searching for weblinks.
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But sure, Gromit has a good point also. Updating (existing) names (well, numbers now) can take some time since you have to double check what number belongs to what person etc.
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