Rules and standards changelog

This is a changelog of ISFDB data entry rules and standards. It summarizes the outcomes of discussions on the Rules and standards discussions page as well as functional data entry changes prompted by software patches. It began logging changes on 2016-11-13. There is no changelog for rule changes before that date.

Note that this changelog is limited to changes to data entry standards. For a list of software changes see Recent Patches.

Date of change	Short description	New rule	Old rule	Affected Policy and/or Help pages	Discussion which led to the rule change (the link may not work for archived discussions)
After 2000 but not later than 2006	Self-published books and vanity publishers included	Self-published books and vanity publishers are included	Self-published books and vanity publishers were excluded	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Around 2006	Print on demand (POD) publishers included	Print on demand (POD) publishers are included	Print on demand (POD) publishers were not covered by Policy	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Mid-2006	Audio books included	Audio books -- readings but not dramatizations -- were included and the software was updated	Audio were not included and not supported by the software	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Mid-2006	E-books with ISBNs included	E-books with ISBNs included [e-books without ISBNs remained excluded until 2011-03 - see below]	E-books generally excluded and not supported by the software	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Early 2007	Paper-based fanzines included	Paper-based fanzines are included [webzine remained excluded until 2018 - see below]	All fanzines excluded	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
2011-03-27	Inclusion of e-books with unique identifiers	E-books with a unique identifier such as an ISBN, ASIN, EAN, or catalog number are included	E-books without an ISBN excluded	ISFDB:Policy#Included	Eliminate the requirement that ebooks have an ISBN?
2011-10-15	Exclusion of dissertations	Excluded as per Community Portal consensus	Inclusion/exclusion status not defined	ISFDB:Policy#Excluded	Community_Portal: Dissertations
2016-06-01	Data entry rules for "Russian Empire", "Russia" and "USSR"	"Russia" before 1721-11-02, between 1917-09-14 and 1922-12-29, and after 1991-12-26; "Russian Empire" between 1721-11-02 and 1917-09-13; "Russia, USSR" between 1922-12-30 and 1991-12-25	Not specified	Template:AuthorFields:BirthPlace	Community_Portal: Names of the country "Russia"
2016-11-13	Date of variant titles	Date must be the first occurrence of the variant title	Date to use was the first occurrence of the work	Template:TitleFields:Date	Improve "How to enter foreign language editions" page regarding the publication date of translations
2016-11-27	Eliminated 'sf' Story Length	'sf' is no longer entered in the Story Length field	'sf' was supposed to be entered in the Story Length field for short fiction titles of unknown length	Template:TitleFields:Length	Eliminating "sf"/"shortfiction" during editing and 2016-11-27 downtime
2016-11-27	Omnibus story length separators	Plus signs are to be used as omnibus story length separators	Slashed were to be used as omnibus story length separators	Template:TitleFields:Length	Composite "story length" values for OMNIBUSes
2017-01-16	Story length field split into 4	Omnibus length values as well as juvenile and novelization indicators have been moved from the "story length" field to separate fields. A leading slash is no longer required for omnibus length values.	The story length field was used to store all 4 types of information. Leading slashes were to be used for omnibus length values.	Template:TitleFields:Length, Template:TitleFields:Content, Template:TitleFields:Juvenile, Template:PublicationFields:Juvenile, Template:TitleFields:Novelization, Template:PublicationFields:Novelization	2017-01-16 downtime - 6:30pm
2017-03-12	Suffix handling in author LegalName field	Suffixes that are part of the author's legal name are recorded; format Lastname, Firstname Middlenames, Suffix	No suffixes were to be recorded	Template:AuthorFields:LegalName	Handling of suffixes on author names
2017-03-15	Redaction of detailed biographical data of living authors	Detailed biographical data of living authors can be deleted upon author request	Policy was not spelled out	ISFDB:Policy#Data_Deletion_Policy	Data deletion policy -- proposed language
2017-10-02	Psychic abilities	Explicitly state genre includes fictional psychic abilities	Not specifically in inclusion criteria	ISFDB:Policy	Psychic abilities: In or Out?
2017-12-22	Boxed sets	Boxed sets with additional data elements are included	Boxed sets were excluded	Template:PublicationFields:PubType	Boxed Sets
2017-12-25	Non-genre speculative fiction	Removed reference to "non-genre speculative fiction" as confusing. No real change in policy itself.	"non-genre speculative fiction" was listed in inclusion criteria.	ISFDB:Policy	"Non-genre speculative fiction" in ISFDB:Policy
2018-01-17	Special genre issues of non-genre magazines	For special genre issues of non-genre magazines, non-fiction may be entered as well	Non-fiction from non-genre magazines never entered	Help:Entering non-genre magazines	Special Genre Issues of Non-Genre Issues
2018-07-05	Webzines and one-time online anthologies included	Webzines published as distinct issues and one-time online anthologies are now included	Webzines and one-time online anthologies were not included except when allowed by other inclusion criteria	ISFDB:Policy	Inclusion of webzines and one-time anthologies
2018-07-26	Location of biographical data	Biographies are now entered in author records using Note fields	Biographies were entered in the ISFDB Wiki using "Bio" pages	ISFDB:Policy#Biography Policy, Help:Contents/Purpose#Biographies, ISFDB:FAQ#Can I enter author biographies in the ISFDB?	No recent discussion; Author records were updated to support a Note field a few years ago; the cleanup project to start moving biographies from Bio pages to author records was initiated shortly thereafter
2018-07-31	Inclusion of unpublished material	Unpublished books are now included if they have been announced (but never published), have been published in translation or are supposed to be published within the next 90 days	Unpublished books were listed as "Debatable" in the Rules of Acquisition	ISFDB:Policy#Rules_of_Acquisition	Rules of Acquisition -- unpublished books
2018-08-18	Author's canonical name	The canonical name is the most recognized name for that author within the genre	The canonical name is the most recognized name for that author	Help:Glossary	Canonical name for an author with lots of non-genre and a few genre works only
2018-10-01	Inclusion of newspapers	SF published in newspapers is included	SF published in newspapers is included was "debatable"	ISFDB:Policy#Rules_of_Acquisition	Newspapers
2018-11-11	Use of the SERIAL title type in webzines	The use of the SERIAL title type is the same for webzines as for other types of periodicals	Webzines did not use the SERIAL title type	Help:Use of the SERIAL type	SERIALs in webzines
2018-11-29	Use of the SERIAL title type in chapbooks	The SERIAL title type is to be used when a work is serialized across multiple chapbooks	The SERIAL title type was used for chapbook serializations, but it was not officially documented	Template:TitleFields:TitleType	SERIAL titles in CHAPBOOK publications
2019-04-26	Use of cropping when entering URLs of Amazon-hosted cover scans	The use of "CR" for cropped images is supported	The use of "CR" for cropped images was not supported	Template:Image Host Sites	Cropping Amazon images
2020-01-12	Moderator Note is sometimes required	Moderator Note is now required when editing publications which have been primarily-verified by other users; enforced by policy and by the software	Moderator Note was never required	Template:ModNote	Clarify how to deal with unverified data added after primary verification
2020-01-12	Entering unverified data after primary verification	When updating a primary verified publication with data from a secondary source, the editor must specify what information is from that secondary source in the "Pub Note" field	Entering unverified data after primary verification was not explicitly regulated	Help:How to update a publication	Clarify how to deal with unverified data added after primary verification
2020-04-18	Length values of VTs	For variant titles, including translations, use the length value of the parent title	Not explicitly stated	Template:TitleFields:Length	How to deal with parent/variant titles of different length
2020-05-05	How to separate sets of page numbers in the page count field	Use pluses for multiple sets in all pubs with multiple sets of page numbers	Use pluses for two sets in a dos-a-dos publication	Template:PublicationFields:Pages	Multi-Volume Page Counts
2020-05-05	How to enter the page count for multi-volume publications	Use commas to separate the page counts for each volume	Not specified	Template:PublicationFields:Pages	Multi-Volume Page Counts
2020-05-06	Inclusion of non-fiction works about speculative fiction	Only non-fiction works about speculative fiction which can be plausibly linked to published SF are included	Unspecified "Works about speculative fiction" are included	ISFDB:Policy#Included	Eligibility of NONFICTION about non-written SF
2020-05-09	CHAPBOOK publications with more than 1 fiction title	CHAPBOOK publications can include up to 1 bonus fiction title (only if the publication's title page lists only the main title and the main title's author(s)) and supporting/incidental fiction titles	CHAPBOOK publications can include only 1 fiction title	Template:PublicationFields:PubType	More precise definition of CHAPBOOK publications
2020-05-16	Inclusion of individual letters to the editor	Entries may be restricted to significant letters by well-known speculative fiction personalities. Editors have the option to include other letters.	Template:PubContents:Letters said that only "significant letters by well-known speculative fiction personalities" were included while Template:PublicationInfo:WhatToInclude let editors include other letters. The former wasn't updated when the rules were relaxed in 2014.	Template:PublicationInfo:WhatToInclude and Template:PubContents:Letters	Letters -- cleaning up the data entry rules
2020-09-17	Synopsis data from secondary sources	Synopsis data from secondary sources should be used verbatim with omissions and substitutions cleared shown	Rules governing the use of synopsis data derived from secondary sources were left ambiguous	Template:TitleFields:Synopsis	Clarifying Synopsis Help
2021-04-08	"Editors of PERIODICAL NAME" is now optional for non-genre periodicals	Credited editor name(s) are used for non-genre periodicals. "Editors of PERIODICAL NAME" may be used instead of some or all editor names if they are unknown or unclear or not of genre interest	"Editors of PERIODICAL NAME" was required; actual editor name(s) could be optionally entered as co-editors	Help:Entering non-genre periodicals	Non-genre magazines and editor names
2022-06-28	HTML disallowed outside of Notes/Synopsis fields	All HTML is now disallowed outside of Notes/Synopsis fields	Only fonts-related HTML was explicitly disallowed outside of Notes/Synopsis fields	Template:TitleFields:Title and Template:PublicationFields:Title	Strikethrough, superscript and other HTML outside of Notes
2022-06-28	How to designate the page number of art on the reverse side of the dust jacket	Use rj to designate the page number of art on the reverse side of the dust jacket	none	Template:PubContentFields:Page	Art on interior of dust jackets
2022-09-27	Date of Birth rule changed to use "Municipality" instead of "City"	Municipality	City	Template:AuthorFields:BirthPlace	Place of birth: Use of subdivisions for large cities
2022-10-11	Clarified Tokyo subdivisions	Explained subdivisions of Tokyo	Tokyo	Template:AuthorFields:BirthPlace	Place of birth: Use of subdivisions for large cities
2022-10-22	Expanded Rules of Acquisition to include all types of webzines	Include all webzines	Include only "speculative fiction webzines" and "special speculative fiction issues of non-genre webzines"	ISFDB:Policy#Included	Webzines_inclusion:_Proposed_extension_of_ROA
2022-11-23	Rules for entering artists and cover URLs for non-genre periodicals	Allowed entering artists and cover URLs for non-genre periodicals	Only cover art that illustrated the SF content or was by a well known SF artist was allowed	Help:Entering non-genre periodicals	The non-genre covers (Again)
2023-05-04	Defined what "Published" means for Policy purposes	Allowed inclusion of Patreon/Kickstarter edition as well as "ARCs" explicitly produced for sale	Patreon editions were not considered publications; the status of ARCs produced for sale was undefined	ISFDB:Policy#Definitions	Started in Proposed Policy language (Defining "Published"), finalized in Defining "Published" - Take Two