Archive for June, 2010
Actor Names in Plot Summaries
Posted by tim in Policy Changes: Cast on June 25th, 2010
For a very long time we’ve kept actors’ names out of plot summaries, preferring to refer only to the characters they play. We asked around and found that many people would actually prefer that we allowed them – it makes it easier to figure out who’s who – so from now on:
- if you wish to you can include actors’ names in plot summaries (eg,” The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), as he and his newly met allies…”) but only for completed titles
- they should be linked in the usual way using the (qv) notation – eg ‘Mark Hamill (I)’ (qv) – see the guide for more information
- unfinished titles, animated titles, video games, and (uncredited)/(credit only)/cameo roles are all still excluded
- we’re limiting the name links to principal cast members
- this change applies to plot summaries only – plot outlines (the short version) should still just refer to characters
- it’s completely at your discretion – if you don’t want to include names, then please write your summaries as you always have
- this new policy applies only to summaries you have written yourself – please do not edit other contributors’ plot summaries to include this newly-allowed information
If you want to discuss this policy with us and with other contributors, please feel free to join in with this Message Board thread.
You Are Watching Big Brother
Posted by tim in Uncategorized on June 25th, 2010
With the new season of Big Brother well under way in the UK (BB11) we need your help adding release dates, cast, nominations for evictions… all the usual stuff to this iconic series. Don’t be afraid, just click the Update button and tell us what you know.
Talk Shows, Chat Shows and Guests (oh my)
Posted by tim in Uncategorized on June 22nd, 2010
For a very long while we’ve been distinguishing the episodes of chat shows by their broadcast date or episode number but it occurred to us (as it had to a great many of you) that a far better way would be to list the main guests in the title. So, from now on, that’s what we’ll be doing.
This means that the episode of the Letterman Show which would previously just have been known as “you know, that one they showed on the 17th of March” is now known as
“Late Show with David Letterman” Gerard Butler/Mindy Kaling/Free Energy (2010)
Note that we list the main guests and the musical guests.
Update forms updated
Posted by tim in Uncategorized on June 4th, 2010
We’ve made some minor changes to the Update forms, to make them a little bit less daunting for new users. The bulk of the form is exactly as before – we’ve only changed the explanatory text at the top of the page and the buttons at the bottom of the form.
One important thing for regular contributors to be aware of:
- We’ve removed the confirmation page that you used to see when you clicked Finish (before you clicked Submit). The Submit button has been moved directly onto the top of the form, and clicking that button really does send us the data. There’s no more “are you sure you want to submit” stage.
A couple of other changes:
- The “Continue” button is now labelled “Check these updates” or “Re-check these updates” (but the functionality is the same)
- The “Cancel” button has gone – there’s a “Save for later” button on the form instead, and a “back” link underneath.
Please let us know here if you experience any problems.