Titles that change mid-run and other minor questions

[IndieRockLance]

What do you do with that sort of thing? New X-Men: Academy X dropped the last part after House of M, Saga of the Swamp Thing became just Swamp Thing sometime during Alan Moore's run, I'm sure the billion Star Wars titles in the database have changes as well. So what do you do?

A.) Leave it at the old name and put a disclaimer in the notes.
B.) Change it to the new name and put a disclaimer in the notes.
C.) Add an entirely new title for the changed name.

I think C is too drastic a move and am personally leaning towards B, but it's good to consider all options.

Another quick question I have is what do you do about a title which has two publishers? The Superman/Madman Hullaballoo was easier to figure out because Dark Horse did the actual publishing despite DC's logo being on the covers as well but stuff like Marvel vs. DC where the publisher changes for each issue can be confusing (although, technically, it's two titles since the DC published issues are DC vs. Marvel and vice-versa for Marvel, but I digress and this isn't how it is in the database).

[Darth Kramer]

A.) Leave it at the old name and put a disclaimer in the notes.
B.) Change it to the new name and put a disclaimer in the notes.
C.) Add an entirely new title for the changed name.

Option A is the preferred method currently.

Another quick question I have is what do you do about a title which has two publishers? The Superman/Madman Hullaballoo was easier to figure out because Dark Horse did the actual publishing despite DC's logo being on the covers as well but stuff like Marvel vs. DC where the publisher changes for each issue can be confusing (although, technically, it's two titles since the DC published issues are DC vs. Marvel and vice-versa for Marvel, but I digress and this isn't how it is in the database).

Currently we can only add one publisher. In the future, we hope to add an option for multiple publishers. So for now, use whichever, but in the future titles like this will be noted and will be changed appropriately.

[WOLVERINE25TH]

I got one...what's the proper way you guys want TPBs and HCs and Annuals that don't have issue numbers to be added using the templates you got set up?

[Darth Kramer]

I got one...what's the proper way you guys want TPBs and HCs and Annuals that don't have issue numbers to be added using the templates you got set up?

Enter the "TPB 01" or "HC 01" or "Annual #15" in the text field to the right of the issue number, and then select the appropriate format from the "Type" issue (TPB, Graphic Novel, etc). If it's an annual, select "Annual" in the month, and if it's a TPB/HC and doesn't have a month, leave the month blank and just fill in the year.

[Chris]

Definitely make sure you have that leading 0 in there so that if it hits 10 volumes, things don't get out of whack in the ordering.

[IndieRockLance]

Enter the "TPB 01" or "HC 01" or "Annual #15" in the text field to the right of the issue number, and then select the appropriate format from the "Type" issue (TPB, Graphic Novel, etc). If it's an annual, select "Annual" in the month, and if it's a TPB/HC and doesn't have a month, leave the month blank and just fill in the year.

There really must be a better way of doing that so that it's standardized and people don't do whatever they feel like. But, I don't know what could facilitate that other that more fields and that can hardly help any of the incorrectly added books.

Another thing, is it just me or is the search cutting out stuff if you search through the entire site instead of just title or whatever? I think it's affecting other people too because Spider-Man: India got added by someone even though it already exists in the database (he got the date wrong so it let him add the title anyway). Same with US War Machine, which has a slightly different spelling but is still a duplicate.

[Darth Kramer]

There really must be a better way of doing that so that it's standardized and people don't do whatever they feel like. But, I don't know what could facilitate that other that more fields and that can hardly help any of the incorrectly added books.

Another thing, is it just me or is the search cutting out stuff if you search through the entire site instead of just title or whatever? I think it's affecting other people too because Spider-Man: India got added by someone even though it already exists in the database (he got the date wrong so it let him add the title anyway). Same with US War Machine, which has a slightly different spelling but is still a duplicate.

For now, we've just got these basic guidelines set up. I'm not sure if Chris can add any functionality to the site that would allow for a more standard thing. Once we get more FAQ things ironed out and other functionalities put in, this will probably be something we address.

And yeah, I think it will always be a problem with mis-spellings and wrong dates to put titles in. We have a disclaimer asking to check the archives and see if the title exists before adding it again. We try our best to stay on top of duplicate entries. As for the search functionality, I've noticed this as well. I'd suggest starting a thread with this topic so other people can chime in as well.

[Darth Kramer]

I think it's affecting other people too because Spider-Man: India got added by someone even though it already exists in the database (he got the date wrong so it let him add the title anyway).

After further review, Spider-man: India is correctly in the Database twice, as the 2004 series was originally printed in India, the 2005 series was a reprint of the 2004. I will edit the titles to reflect this.

[Chris]

The search has had some troubles but it should work better now. It should be improved now specifically in characters, titles, issue names, groups... maybe a couple of others that I can't remember.

[IndieRockLance]

After further review, Spider-man: India is correctly in the Database twice, as the 2004 series was originally printed in India, the 2005 series was a reprint of the 2004. I will edit the titles to reflect this.

Well, while you're at it, here's another duplicate to judge:

Gotham by Gaslight

I know that's a dupe since I added Gotham by Gaslight a while ago (and it's not technically an Elseworld. Nor is Elseworlds actually an imprint, but that's a whole nother matter).

Maybe there should be a main deletion review thread since there's not exactly a report button.

[Chris]

You can make this the delete thread or start a new one if you like. A problem reporting page is on the list of stuff to do - I've got a nice fat break coming up here at the end of December and I'm hoping to knock a number of things off of that list.

[Darth Kramer]

Well, while you're at it, here's another duplicate to judge:

Gotham by Gaslight

I know that's a dupe since I added Gotham by Gaslight a while ago (and it's not technically an Elseworld. Nor is Elseworlds actually an imprint, but that's a whole nother matter).

Maybe there should be a main deletion review thread since there's not exactly a report button.

I don't know if it's a later printing or not, but the issue I'm holding in my hands is entitled Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, not just "Gotham by Gaslight" and has the "Elseworlds" logo on it, so that's how I entered it.

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Alright, so then I semi-screwed up th' TPB/Annual entires fer the Ghostbusters series I added. So before I add it, lemme ask how should I enter in a 3-D Special?

Also, I caught wind of this on another thread so I may as well ask; if a comic has a varient cover that's priced differently or is a second print, those just counted as varients and noted or separate issues?

For the 3-D Special, just put "3-D Special" in the text field to the right of the issue number. A tutorial will be coming on this around the holidays.

As far as the different pricings, there should only be one issue added and the existance of a cheaper version should be noted, and thus, treated as a variant.

[johnmayo]

What do you do with that sort of thing? New X-Men: Academy X dropped the last part after House of M, Saga of the Swamp Thing became just Swamp Thing sometime during Alan Moore's run, I'm sure the billion Star Wars titles in the database have changes as well. So what do you do?

A.) Leave it at the old name and put a disclaimer in the notes.
B.) Change it to the new name and put a disclaimer in the notes.
C.) Add an entirely new title for the changed name.

I think C is too drastic a move and am personally leaning towards B, but it's good to consider all options.

Another quick question I have is what do you do about a title which has two publishers? The Superman/Madman Hullaballoo was easier to figure out because Dark Horse did the actual publishing despite DC's logo being on the covers as well but stuff like Marvel vs. DC where the publisher changes for each issue can be confusing (although, technically, it's two titles since the DC published issues are DC vs. Marvel and vice-versa for Marvel, but I digress and this isn't how it is in the database).

It would be nice if titles could be linked to each other. That way if a title changes names a new entry could be added and the previous one linked to it as the replacement/continuation title.

[IndieRockLance]

Is there an official stance on this yet? The One Year Later books for DC have a few name changes and I'd like for things to be standardized if possible. I know with X-Men/New X-Men there's a weird redirect thing but only an administrator can set those up.

I kind of like johnmayo's idea where maybe you can set what title comes before in a run (i.e. The Saga of the Swamp Thing v1 comes before Swamp Thing v2) and let the issues live in their correct titles rather than being in a crazy catch-all title.