Difference between revisions of "ISFDB:Help desk"

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[[Category:ISFDB Help]]
 
[[Category:ISFDB Help]]
  
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== Multilingual Publications ==
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== 'Pending edit', submitted more than 3 months ago ==
  
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What causes a multilingual publications to show up on the cleanup report? [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?859683 This one] for example.[[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 08:27, 1 October 2021 (EDT)
+
.
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<br>I'm responsible for a number of the publications showing up on [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/cleanup_report.cgi?193 this list], I would like to correct whatever is wrong and prevent them in the future.
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Good day Sir, Madam,
  
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: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/cleanup_report.cgi?193 The cleanup report] does exactly what its name suggests -- it looks for multi-lingual publications in the database. Some of them, e.g. books with parallel English and Spanish texts, are legitimate and will be marked as "ignored" by moderators. Others had the wrong title imported and need to be corrected. For example, consider [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?39095 this edition of ''The Elf Queen of Shannara''], which you verified in August 2020. It includes a Dutch INTERIORART title, which looks suspicious in a run of the mill 1992 Del Rey book. Chances are that it needs to have an English "Morrowindl" record added, the Dutch title removed and the resulting 2 INTERIORART titles varianted. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 12:06, 1 October 2021 (EDT)
+
I submitted an entry on 2025-01-27, submission # 6154317, an anthology (WEIRD WINDSOR Anthology).
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::Thanks for responding. I'll take care of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?39095 this edition of ''The Elf Queen of Shannara'']. The magazines, Samovar, Mithila Review, Eye to the Telescope, and Liminality, Strange Horizons all look correct.[[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:20, 1 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: Moderators can ignore the legitimate multi-language ones - the code does not know when it is a mistake and when it is supposed to be that way so it flags everything and we mark them as ok when they are. I’ll clear the report later today of the false positives. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:49, 1 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::: Thanks Annie. When I'm working on a multilingual publication, should I add a reminder to clear this flag in the notes to moderator?[[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 08:00, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::: No because we cannot do anything about it until the report is generated overnight and the publication pops up there. :) I used to check that one weekly (at least), I just need to get in the habit of that again. If they start piling up again, feel free to nudge me on my page or post on the moderator board and someone will assist. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 08:44, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Asimov's Annotated "Paradise Lost" ==
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Two things were flagged: on the price, I put: 'Pay what you want.' (PDF or EPUB)
  
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I had just submitted ''Asimov's Annotated "Paradise Lost"'' and got to wondering what the type should be. The primary content would be Milton's poem - hence POEM, but it's non-genre below the threshold so would not be in the '''Regular Titles''' . Asimov is above the threshold, so his annotations (NONFICTION? ESSAY?) would qualify and would appear in the '''Regular Titles''' (if they had a cohesive form). I don't plan on adding any titles in the '''Regular Titles''', so only the publication's title will exist as a TITLE - currently as non-genre NONFICTION. Should it be something else? ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 11:59, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
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And was told:  
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:Why would Milton's poem be considered non-genre?  [http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=milton_john Clute/Grant] lists it, stating about Milton: "His renown, in both English literature and genre fantasy, is based primarily on Paradise Lost..."  I've no idea why the excerpts from this poem have been marked non-genre.  I would list it as a CHAPBOOK with the poem. --Ron ~ [[User:Rtrace|Rtrace]]<sup>[[User talk:Rtrace|Talk]]</sup> 14:52, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::If the excerpts are non-genre, it implies the full poem is non-genre and treating it as anything else creates a conflict, one I don't intend to address. CHAPBOOK sounds right for the publication and ESSAY for the annotations. I figure I'll leave the poem out of the contents (being non-genre below-threshold) if I can, a CHAPBOOK with only an ESSAY may not compile. I'll stick it in if I must, but mark it non-genre. Once the dust settles on whether Paradise Lost is genre or not and belongs on ISFDB or not should be possible to address by simple insertions or edits. Thanks for helping me avoid sticking it in NONFICTION. ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 19:50, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== The Honorverse Disk CD-ROM omnibus problem ==
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More than one space character is not allowed in the price field
  
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Something odd has happened. I created a new omnibus named "The Honorverse Disk" and it created the correct title record [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2925798 here]. I checked the pub record created at the same time [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?860583 here] and everything looked OK. However, after doing the title merges, I checked the pub record again and and it now shows the Omnibus Title to be "The Prince" instead of "The Honorverse Disk". The problem may be that "The Prince" is itself an omnibus which is included in the "The Honorverse Disk". In order to get that title included, I had to initially enter it as a novel and then change the type when I did the title merge. Can someone fix this? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 15:31, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
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All right, we can put 'Free' for the price, instead.
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: When you have an omnibus inside of another, things like that happen - the server is a bit confused. Pull out the other omnibus and replace it with its contents only. That will fix it. Think of the omnibus and chapbook types as containers only - you never import them inside of something else, you import what is inside of them. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:41, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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: PS: You will have the Same Problem if you add two collections inside of a COLLECTION record or anything else like that.  :) The System does not know which one is supposed to be the reference title so it does weird things. Or any other type. We need a reference title matching the publication type. When you give the system 2 or more of these, it gets wonky. That’s why 2 novels never make a novel publication for example. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:47, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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: PS1: The fact that the system did not allow you to add a second omnibus should have given you a clue. Please don’t try to do clever workarounds via editing title types in such cases - if you do not understand why the system stops you from adding something somewhere, come and ask.  [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:49, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::I'm not sure how to do what you ask and be true to the contents on the CD. [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?23448 The Prince] currently only exists as an omnibus title. That's how it is delivered on the CD. It doesn't seem right to add the four individual component titles of "The Prince" to the "The Honorverse Disk" omnibus when they only exist as part of a single delivered title. If that is what has to be done, I'll do it but it feels inaccurate. I'm sure I'll have this same situation happen when I add other Baen CD-ROM Library titles so the resolution to this case will tell me what I have to do the next time. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 16:32, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: But that’s not how the DB works. You add the individual titles and add a a note explaining the situation. You cannot have an omnibus inside of an omnibus. Omnibus is a container containing other pieces of novel length usually (or collections or anthologies) - the other pieces do not need to have been published on their own. So for cases like this you either treat the thing as a single novel (if they are delivered always together, what makes them an omnibus - don’t think of what someone else’ may call them, think of how we define the term in the dB?)  or you add the pieces and write notes. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:38, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: And it is common certain titles to be only published inside of other titles. No reason not to list them or we will lose a lot of stories. :) If the disk calls that an omnibus, don’t try to emulate it - our omnibus is a very specific thing. I think that there is some of this going on and that’s understandable. People call their texts every which way. We record not based on how they are called but based on what they actually are. So look at it - is it consisting of novel sized texts? Add them as novels. Is it consisting of shorter ones? Then it is a collection/anthology. Is it a single text that calls itself an omnibus? That’s a novel. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:52, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::I'm not convinced that [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?23448 The Prince] is truly an omnibus since two of the four component novel titles are by more than one author. What if I change the type of "The Prince" to Anthology? Can an anthology be included in an Omnibus? Or am I just reaching to make my case? :) [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 17:31, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::: Being from more that one author is irrelevant here - omnibus contents can be by different authors. Omnibus can contain an anthology but it will be incorrect as an anthology cannot contain two novels. Just add the novels. That way they will even show up in the authors’ pages. If I understand what your are seeing, I’d add the 4 novels on their own and add them to their own series called The Prince. That gives you both the individual titles (if they ever get reprinted) and some organization of the 4 together.  [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:39, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::::The novels already exist and are part of an existing series so... I'll remove "The Prince" omnibus regular title and add the four novel titles plus add a note of explanation to the "The Honorverse Disk" title. I'll also add a note when I add the new pub records that match the date of the "The Honorverse Disk" to each of the individual novel titles. I think we're losing clarity for the title "The Prince" but I doubt the DB design ever conceived of one omnibus legitimately being included in a different omnibus. These CDs are a new edge-case paradigm and present a new challenge. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 18:07, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::::: Nope. You just keep insisting on conflating what we call omnibus with what the external world calls an omnibus. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:14, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::::: PS: And we had seen this before - box sets where one of the content volumes is an omnibus - both paper and e-ones. :) This may be a new media for it but the usecase had always been there. It comes down to how we define the type Omnibus and how we use it. :) As i said - Just As with chapbooks, it is there to be a container. So when you wants its contents, you get that - not the box itself. ISFDB’s terminology can be a bit removed fo how people see the terms in the real world. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:54, 2 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Yetenekliler Dünyası / The Father Thing ==
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But the second one is about the barcode on the paperbacks (15 paperback copies were printed for the collaborators.) It said that:
  
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[https://www.kitapyurdu.com/kitap/yetenekliler-dunyasi-toplu-oykuler-3-cilt/478661.html&manufacturer_id=3846 This book] seems to be a reprint of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?274739 this book], and using my translator function, I believe that the contents could be listed as translations of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?274739 this book’s] contents.  What does anybody think?  Translations are almost never perfect. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 01:54, 4 October 2021 (EDT)
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''ISBN-10s that starts with 2 and ISBN-13s that start with 9782 are typically in French (although exceptions exist), but the submitted language of this publication's main title is English
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: Seems to be but let me check a few other sources to make sure the stories match completely - dropping/adding a story happens a lot with translations. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:23, 4 October 2021 (EDT)
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''
 +
The copies were printed in the UK, so, yes, exceptions exist. The ISBN is 2370001956766.
 +
  I can send you a clear photo of the cover and the ISBN if needed.
  
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== Hexadecimal Kid ==
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But maybe the ISBN section could be left blank, since there are no more printed copies sold, and now that the anthology is available online. Here’s the link, by the way:
  
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Richard Sandes Forsyth wrote [http://www.richardsandesforsyth.net/kidding.html three Tron-like stories starring the Hexadecimal Kid] that appeared as serials (1978–1981) in ''Computer Weekly'' and ''Practical Computing'' originally, and one of them was also reprinted as a serial in ''Computerworld''. The exact page numbers appear to have been lost to time; the author has provided me via email with the dates in which each chapter appeared. For example, "ASCII Through the Logic Gate" appeared in 33 parts ("Block 0" through "Block 32") in ''Computer Weekly'' beginning on 1978-05-25 and continuing each week until 1979-01-04. (All the data I have is [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XOgIp5iYc9LavMS5iR0dtEXqIeYyear2pPDpqZ1ej8U/edit?usp=sharing here], if you want to see what I'm working with.)
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https://payhip.com/WeirdWindsor
  
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: Should I list the data source as "Other: Data provided in email by author" or just the author's website? (The names of the parts came from the author's website; the dates of publication came from the email.)
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So, I would appreciate help concerning these two little editing issues: changing the price for: 'Free'; and either removing the yellow notification about the ISBN (which is correct, photo proof upon request) or removing the ISBN altogether since now the anthology is available in electronic format (PDF or EPUB).
  
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:: There are two levels: the data on the magazine (date of publication, price, format, etc.), and the data on the known speculative content. It seems that only the latter was provided by Forsyth. Thus, this should go into the notes (something like 'Known speculative content provided in email by its author').
+
Thank you very much, and wishing you, Sir, Madam, a wonderful day!
  
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: Does the part's title need to have appeared in print to be listed as such? For example, could I list it as "Son of Hexadecimal Kid, Page 13: Page Boundary" even though the part title [https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Computing/80s/Practical-Computing-1981-09-S-OCR.pdf#page=161 doesn't appear in print] but [http://www.richardsandesforsyth.net/hex3/hexkid3_13.pdf does appear on the author's site]?
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Cordially,
  
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:: No, we go by the printed title.
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-Carl Lavoie  {{Unsigned2|17:28, April 2, 2025‎| Jahrel}}
  
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: Should I retain the author's whimsical jargon-naming of the parts (Bit 0–16, Block 0–32, Page 0–16) or should I list Page 13 instead as "Son of Hexadecimal Kid, '''Part''' 13: Page Boundary"?
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: It sat so long because it required a great deal of work. [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1049736 Here] is the verified ebook. If you need an explanation of the changes and additions, I will post on your talk page. 18:46, 2 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
::https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6214550; I made an edit that got a similar message about ISBN starting with 9782; Sarob is based in France as of a few years ago so that would explain it, right? --[[User:Username|Username]] ([[User talk:Username|talk]]) 19:52, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
  
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:: It seems the 'whimsical' titles are the ones that were printed, so we go with them.
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:::The actual ebook had no ISBN. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 20:39, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
  
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: And is there a better way to submit this stuff in bulk than simply clicking [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/newpub.cgi?Magazine Add New Magazine] for every single issue?
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== untitled stories ==
  
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:: Alas, no. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 10:50, 4 October 2021 (EDT)
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I want to enter the book "Try and Stop me" by Bennett Cerf because it has a chapter called "The Trail of the Tingling Spine" which is a collection of stories that he said were told to him. most of them are ghost stories but none of them are titled. how should they be titled and disambiguated. i thought about something like "untitled [1]" etc with "The Trail of the Tingling Spine" as the series. is numbering them like that valid. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 14:49, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
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:I tried to put a link in to the internet archive for these stories but it just showed up as ordinary text. [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 15:19, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
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::[https://archive.org/details/pg000196/pg000146.jpg Here you go]. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:49, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::cheers [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:16, 4 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::There is a [[Rules and standards discussions#Use of "Untitled", "untitled", and "(untitled)" in titles|recent R&S discussion]] on this topic that has not yet been resolved. The direction in which that was heading is to use "untitled [n] (pub title)" for this case.  It's an unfortunate amount of extra work, but if that scheme is used, I would encourage you to edit the title records once created and enter something in the notes to identify each story (like first line + last line or dramatis personae or whatever seems useful). --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 13:14, 7 April 2025 (EDT)
  
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Thanks [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 10:43, 4 October 2021 (EDT)
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:::::righto mate i'll do it like that - I dont mind sorting it out if it neds to be changed. cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:30, 7 April 2025 (EDT)
  
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It seems the publisher was inconsistent about publishing the titles of the parts of ''Son of Hexadecimal Kid'':
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== Directory Entry transliteration ==
  
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{|
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What, if any, effect does it have on the db if two authors with the same surname have their Directory entries transliterated differently? Some examples: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=B%E4ckstr%F6m&type=Name Bäckström], [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Bergstr%F6m&type=Name Bergström], [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Engstr%F6m&type=Name Engström], [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Myllyl%E4&type=Name Myllylä], [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Nystr%F6m&type=Name Nyström], [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Sj%F6berg&type=Name Sjöberg], and one that's half-and-half [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/editauth.cgi?338116 Källström]. Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 18:53, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
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! style="text-align:left;"| Part Number
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:The whole point of the transliterations is to make it easier to find an author (or title) because the search engine here treats accented/macroned letters (for example "ō" as opposed to "o") differently. Searching for "Engström" will not find "Engstrom" (and vice-versa). So, for accented characters, the non-accented version should be included as a transliteration, and any reasonable transliterations should be included (such as "Engstrom" and "Engstroem", in this case). I don't see any issues with any of the ones you linked. This also applies to Romanizations of non-Latin-based writing systems such as Japanese, Cyrillic, and so on. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 19:08, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
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! style="text-align:left;"| Part Title
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:: Directory Entry is a bit of a dealer's choice because we can only pick one - either value is correct when multiple transliterations are possible. I tend to prefer the "strip all special parts and use the straight letters" option except for German names where the standard is to have "e" added replacing the umlauts. But I do not change this one if another transliteration is chosen instead. So even if the directory name for the two Nyström is different, the search by name will find it for both spellings because they carry the transliterations (which is why I do not search by Directory name and only look at it when I look at [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?author the author directory] where only the first 2 letters matter anyway. The DB (and anything else on the site) really does not care - this field is only used if you do specific search for it and for that table. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 19:18, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
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! style="text-align:left;"| Title As Printed
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:::Thanks for those quick answers, now I know there's nothing to see here :) Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 19:40, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
−
|-
 
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|0
 
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|The Base Page
 
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|Page 0 — the base page
 
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|-
 
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|1
 
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|Front Page News
 
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|Page 1 — front page news
 
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|-
 
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|2
 
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|Virtual Paging
 
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|Page 2 — virtual paging
 
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|-
 
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|3
 
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|Page Boy
 
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|Page 3 — page boy
 
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|-
 
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|4
 
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|Turning the Page
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|5
 
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|Page Thrashing
 
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|Page 5 — page thrashing
 
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|-
 
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|6
 
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|Page Feed
 
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|Page 6 — page feed
 
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|-
 
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|7
 
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|Page Replacement
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|8
 
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|Radio Paging
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|9
 
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|Off the Page
 
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|[unknown]
 
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|-
 
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|10
 
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|Pageantry
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|11
 
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|Page by Page
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|12
 
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|Full Page Spread
 
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|[unknown]
 
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|-
 
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|13
 
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|Page Boundary
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|14
 
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|Page Proof
 
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|[unknown]
 
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|-
 
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|15
 
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|A Page and a Half
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|-
 
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|16
 
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|Torn Page
 
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|Son of Hexadecimal Kid
 
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|}
 
  
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Should I really enter those as printed, even though they're inconsistent with each other?
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== Adding a new German translation of an English Anthology  ==
  
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And how should I link them to each other as parts of the main serialized story? [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 13:33, 4 October 2021 (EDT)
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Hello, I am preparing to enter a German translation of an anthology. I already searched in the frequently asked questions, in help, but still have questions left and need the community.  
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: Yes, publication data beats consistency.
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The title: A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic (Editor Margaret Weis): https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?513
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: You add them as SERIAL in the magazine. Then once approved, you variant the SERIAL to the story/novel they serialized. See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2622385 this] for an example. The "(Part X of Y)" is only added IF the separate parts don't have unique names (See the parts [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2438048 here] for an example with unique names). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:54, 4 October 2021 (EDT)
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There are about 20 stories to enter. At the end of each story the original English title is given and also the name of the translator. The date of the German publication: 1995-05-00
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::Okay, so I think my titles for this series would be
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1) Date for the German translations: Is it 1995-05-00 or do I check if there is a German translation of a story already on the database and use this date?
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::* Page 0—The Base Page
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2) Translators: How can I enter the name of the translator of a story?  
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::* Page 1—Front Page News
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3) Varianting: Do I variant each story separately? Is there a way to variant all the stories in one submission? Thank you! [[User:SciFanta|SciFanta]] ([[User talk:SciFanta|talk]]) 18:01, 9 April 2025 (EDT)
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::* Page 2—Virtual Paging
 
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::* Page 3—Page Boy
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 4 of 16)
 
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::* Page 5—Page Thrashing
 
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::* Page 6—Page Feed
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 7 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 8 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 9 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 10 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 11 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 12 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 13 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 14 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 15 of 16)
 
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::* Son of Hexadecimal Kid (Part 16 of 16)
 
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::...is that reasonable enough to submit? [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 11:07, 8 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::: If that is how they are titled, it is reasonable enough. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:39, 8 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::: The titles of parts 9, 12, and 14 are my best guesses based on Parts 7–16; no copies of parts 9 and 14 are online but we know the issues they appeared in. And as far as the author and I can figure, the publisher simply forgot to publish Part 12, even though they intended to, and the piece is also available as a pdf on the author's website. What should I do with Part 12? [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 12:52, 8 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:::::: Technically a PDF is a an ebook so you can add it as a chapbook (and then inside of it you have that missing 12th piece and you can variant it to the complete text the same way you do the rest. Its date won't be in sequence. Alternatively, you can leave it out and just add a note about it in the complete title record. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:05, 8 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
Is it okay for the 1978 and 1979 serializations of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2929111 The Hexadecimal Kid and His Faithful Dog ASCII] to be variants of the same 1978 title, or should the 1979 reprint serials be variants of a different title, "The Hexadecimal Kid and His Faithful Dog ASCII (1979)"? The text of the pieces did not change, as far as I know. [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 10:46, 11 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Art credit for an entire magazine issue ==
+
Hello! I hope the following does help a bit.
  
−
As an example: ''Practical Computing'' (August 1980) has a [https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Computing/80s/Practical-Computing-1980-08-S-OCR.pdf#page=3 credits statement next to the table of contents] for the entire issue which says "Art[:] Margaret Smith". Is it reasonable to therefore credit the cover art and interior art, if not otherwise signed/attributed, to Margaret Smith? [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 12:22, 5 October 2021 (EDT)
+
Ad 1): Please do check if there's the same German translation (using the exact same title) already in the database: for example for [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?8730 Stepsons of Terra] there are two different German translations (both using the same title proper). If there does exist this exact title, there are two possible ways to proceed: a) enter the title (and merge with the existing one after the publication was moderated), or b) import the existing title (s) after the publication was moderated. The second way is preferable, because we won't have doublette titles at any given point in time.
  
−
:Unless the speculative content is not illustrated, I'm afraid the answer is no: we only record the artists whose work illustrates works of speculative fiction (see rule 4. [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Excluded here]). So, if Isaac Asimov would have had a robot story of his published in ''Practical Computing'' we would index this story and the artwork that illustrates it, but not the cover artist or other artwork (or content) unrelated to speculative fiction. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 12:35, 5 October 2021 (EDT)
+
Ad 2): The translator is to be added in editing the notes of a title when this does exist, like [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/edittitle.cgi?1385283 here]. Please use the {{Tr|translator name}} template.
−
:: Did you really mean to say "Unless the speculative content is ''not'' illustrated"? From context, it looks like you meant something else. [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 14:59, 5 October 2021 (EDT)
+
−
:: Let me rephrase my question: If interior art ''illustrating speculative fiction'' is not explicitly credited on that page or a nearby page, but the magazine lists a single name in the credits for "art", is it better to list the illustrator as "uncredited" or in the name of the person credited for that issue's art? See, for example, [https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Computing/80s/Practical-Computing-1980-08-S-OCR.pdf#page=77 this INTERIORART] illustrating the SF short story that begins on the previous page. (I am aware that since the cover in this case is illustrating a fantasy scene from [https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=334 a game], I should not enter it because [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Exclusions games are excluded from ISFDB's definition of speculative fiction].) [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 14:59, 5 October 2021 (EDT)
+
Ad 3): The individual titles have to be varianted separately: every one has to be varianted to a different title. If you can rely on already existing titles it's possible to import them in one submission step, though [see b) under Ad 1)]. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 02:48, 10 April 2025 (EDT)
−
::: Double negatives in languages can be fun when you go into a language which does not support them :) To clarify: If there is art connected to the genre piece you add, it gets added (and yes, you can use the artist credit from the complete issue - just make sure you document where the credit comes from). If the piece has its own title, you use that. If it does not, use the title of the story it illustrates. If there is more than one, use [2], [3] and so on after the title of the second, third and so on. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:06, 5 October 2021 (EDT)
+
: Thank you Christian, your information helps! As I found neither the German title "Drachen füttern verboten" nor the ISBN in the database I going to start the process Greetings! [[User:SciFanta|SciFanta]] ([[User talk:SciFanta|talk]]) 03:32, 10 April 2025 (EDT).
 +
 
 +
:: Great! Just be sure to also add the publication series. I also hope there are credits for the respective translators: this publisher sometimes (foremost in the 1980s and 1990s) was sloppy with regards to this point (and some others also). In those cases the only thing left was to add a note like to [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2252598 this title]. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 04:18, 10 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Collections with different contents ==
 +
 
 +
Theres a collection with 12 stories. A later collection (different publisher) has the same title but only has 5 stories (they are all in the earlier one). Seperate titles or varianting? cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:28, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:Gaz, I've come across this before and asked the same question. My post received one reply expressing an opinion but no definitive answer.
 +
:The thread is here: [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Help_desk/archives/archive_36#Collections_with_Abridged_or_Expanded_Contents Collections with Abridged or Expanded Contents].
 +
:As you can see from my examples, there does not appear to be a consistent policy for this situation.
 +
:This ought to be resolved. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 14:14, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::cheers mate do you know if they can be varianted if they have the same title and author? I think I'll do the 5er as a seperate title with notes and see what the reviewer says. - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 15:07, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::No, don't variant them. Variants are for same work with different title or author. I suggest you wait a bit to see if a moderator contributes to this thread. If not, go with your own proposal: "seperate title with notes". [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:29, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:In general terms, we treat collections like any other content type. If the differences are minor, we consider it the same work. If the differences are large, we consider it a new work. Same as with a story that has been edited, it becomes a judgement call when enough changes are enough to call it a new work. If it is just a single work difference, you will likely find the editions have been combined with a title note stating differences. If it is a larger difference, you will likely find the editions are separate with title notes on both stating the differences and not to merge. In this case, I would treat as different since it's such a large difference. They would be treated as separate works so not varianted to each other. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 08:05, 13 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::cheers i'll do that - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 09:29, 13 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::JLaTondre: Thanks for the clarification. Now that I know it's a judgement call, all is fine. I can work with that. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:31, 13 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?36238
 +
 
 +
this one sprang to mind that i pved a bit back. the Sphere edition is missing 4 stories, 4 poems and the afterword that are in the american books so not a minor difference but it wouldnt seem right to unvariant them. (anthology not a collection but similar problem) Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:15, 13 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:For that one, I would definitely split it into its own title, after verifying that the contents really aren't there in the American release. That's too much of a difference. They basically left out around 50 or so pages of content. That's too much of a difference to be a variant. Notes should be placed on both titles, though, pointing to the other and saying they shouldn't be merged. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 15:16, 14 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
::well i owned both books when i wrote that note, its the american one thats got the extra stuff which is why i bought it and then offloaded the uk version to the British Heart Foundation. Willem H and stonecreek are pvs for the 2 versions so you should give them a shout for extra confirmation. I'll let you sort it out as i'm happy the way it is. - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 17:07, 14 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::They've been split now: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?36238 ''Best SF: 1973''] and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?36243 ''The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 7'']. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:48, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::still needs to be varianted to the canonical author and put it in the series (No.7) - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:52, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::Done. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 20:01, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::::they show up nicely together when theyre in a numbered series like this one but if they're not in a series and have different names they could end up at opposite ends of a list of anthologies or collections and you wouldnt know theyre related just from the list. is threr any way of grouping them other than varianting or series so they show up together? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 20:22, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::::Not really. They each have links to the other, so that should be good enough. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 21:00, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Bulgakov's name ==
 +
 
 +
In all the editions of {{T|3387026|Cuore di cane}} published by De Donato (one already in the db, one just submitted) the author name is spelled Michaíl (accented "í"), but when I submitted the new book, or tried to correct the one already present, the system replaced it with a normal "i". Can somebody fix it? thanks! --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 18:45, 15 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:Fixed. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:51, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
::thanks Joe! --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 22:17, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Tonelli's name ==
 +
 
 +
The artist {{A|Etonelli}} (Elio Tonelli) is not actually credited with this name in the two publications he has in the DB. He is identified only by his signature, which is sometimes clearly "E.Tonelli", sometimes "ETonelli". I think that the canonical name should be changed to "E. Tonelli" or "Elio Tonelli". What do you think? --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 16:08, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:When there is no explicit credit, we generally credit using their canonical name since signatures can vary wildly (initials, abbreviated, symbols, etc.). ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:49, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::I know and agree. What I'm saying is that there is no reason to have a misleading "Etonelli" as canonical name, just because it was never explicitly credited. --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 22:08, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?128158 Updated]. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:58, 17 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Author: Kate Moretti ==
 +
 
 +
Kate Moretti is the author of the short story "Blink" in the first ''[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1995335 Brave New Girls]'' anthology. However, in [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?228781 Kate's author page], her surname is misspelled as Maretti. I have an e-book copy of the anthology, and the correct spelling their is MORETTI. Her biographical note their also confirms she is the same Kate Moretti that is listed at [https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kate-Moretti/author/B009EATP76?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=9033b564-5de2-4640-9342-8cbad984ff49 Amazon].
 +
 
 +
I don't have permission to change the spelling of her name on her author page. Would someone please help. Thanks! [[User:Main|Michael Main]] 14:50, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
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 +
:The way you can fix this is to go to the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1995335 "Blink" title page] and edit the title there, changing the author to "Kate Moretti".  That will create a new author page for that name, and the old one will be deleted (automatically, I think, although perhaps we'll have to go do that manually -- I forget).  This specific case is simple because it is used in only two versions of one publication, and we can easily confirm that the correct spelling is present in the sources for each.  And the author page itself does not have any info we want to preserve, so making a new page and deleting the old one is fine. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 17:15, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: That's right, "orphaned" author records are deleted automatically. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 17:30, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
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 +
:Many thanks for the instructions. I have submitted the change from Maretti to Moretti in the story's title page. Thanks again. --[[User:Main|Michael Main]] 20:27, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
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 +
:::reading this, I understand that I could have done the same for {{A|H. J. Edouard Evenpoel}}, but in the meanwhile I had already [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6236229 submitted] an AuthorUpdate request... should I cancel it? --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 19:40, 23 April 2025 (EDT)
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::::Nope. All fixed. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 21:38, 23 April 2025 (EDT)
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 +
:::::Thank you!! --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 14:53, 24 April 2025 (EDT)
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 +
== Organizing more Murderbot Diaries Collections ==
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 +
Hello! I am re-reviving [[ISFDB:Help_desk/archives/archive_35#Varianting.2Forganizing_translated_collections_of_The_Murderbot_Diaries_series|this 2022 discussion about organizing collections of the Murderbot Diaries series]]. To recap: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?76193 The Murderbot Diaries] as of 2025 contains roughly nine "main" titles: five novellas (1, 2, 3, 4, 6); two short stories (0, 4.1); and two novels (5, 7). Because the series is mostly short fiction, international publishers translating the series often choose to publish the novellas and short stories collected together in various combinations. Last time, we decided to make organizing easier by moving the Murderbot collections into the sub-series [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?76193 Murderbot Collections] and variant the collections to dummy parent titles depending on their short fiction contents: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2847037 The Murderbot Diaries 1-2] (1-2), [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3067105 The Murderbot Diaries 3-4] (3-4), and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2764245 The Murderbot Diaries] (1, 2, 3, 4). Now another collection title needs figuring out.
 +
 
 +
In 2024 the translated Chinese collection title  [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3451939 厭世機器人Ⅳ：系統崩潰風險評估] was published containing 6-7 (Fugitive Telemetry & System Collapse), which are respectively a novella and a novel. In 2025 Tor has published a new English collection, title [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3403074 The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 3], also containing 6-7. For extra confusion, the Chinese title has Roman numeral 4 in its name and the English title has number 3 in its name, but both books have the same contents. For MAXIMUM confusion, Tor published this English collection in a new group of 3 paperback collections (contents in parentheses), with the names [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3403022 The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1] (1-2), [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3403024 The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 2] (3-4), and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3403074 The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 3] (6-7)--omitting [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2717735 a novel (5 / Network Effect)] in the middle of the series. This is already proving confusing to new readers picking up the new paperback Murderbot books for the first time while not realizing that they're accidentally skipping an entire novel. I don't want to increase potential confusion by organizing the new 6-7 collections weirdly or against ISFDB policy.
 +
 
 +
So my questions about these books containing Murderbot 6-7 / Fugitive Telemetry & System Collapse: Since the title contains a novel and a novella, should it be a collection or an omnibus? Should 厭世機器人Ⅳ：系統崩潰風險評估 be the parent title because it was published first, or should The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 3 be the parent title because it was the first English publication? Or should both books be variants of a dummy parent title like The Murderbot Diaries 1-2 and The Murderbot Diaries 3-4? If we opt for a dummy parent title, what should the dummy title(s) be named or re-named to indicate the book contents while avoiding being confused with Tor's The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1-3 & beyond? Thanks.
 +
[[User:Morebooks|Morebooks]] ([[User talk:Morebooks|talk]]) 23:28, 29 April 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Clarification? ==
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 +
After posting a comment here [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Markwood#Orbit_1 Orbit 1], I realized I found the statement in the 3rd bullet slightly confusing; <i>Do not use brackets for unnumbered pages which fall within a range of numbered pages. (See the first bullet under this subsection.)</i>, leaving me wondering whether the page should be [7] or 7. Clarification please? Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 15:50, 1 May 2025 (EDT)
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:It would be helpful if I could see the publication in question {{P|269721|Orbit 1}} before supplying advice. At the beginning of the Orbit 1 [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Markwood#Orbit_1 thread] on Markwood's talk page, Username advised that he has added an archived link. However, this link is not yet on the pub record so I guess his edit is still awaiting processing. I will ask him for the archived link and then get back to you here. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 08:41, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::Thanks for picking up on this. Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 10:33, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
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 +
:::The edit has been approved, so the archived link is now on that page. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:14, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
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 +
::::Nihonjoe: Thanks.
 +
::::Kev: The Internet Archive copy has "Borrow Unavailable" status so is of limited use. The ToC is visible on the IA scan and it does list the Introduction on page vii.  Markwood's first sentence in [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Markwood#Orbit_1 this thread] is "No page has a Roman numeral page number.". This situation has been discussed before: [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Rules_and_standards_discussions/Archive/Archive21#Numbering_of_pages_numbered_in_the_ToC_but_not_numbered_themselves Numbering of pages numbered in the ToC but not numbered themselves]. The discussion is extremely long and petered out with no consensus reached by the community. As things currently stand, there is no clear rule on how to deal with the situation where no Roman numerals page numbers are explicitly printed on the pages themselves but the ToC references a Roman numeral page number. Currently, it is just left to the discretion of individual editors. So, as Markwood is the first PV, it's his call as to how the Pages and Contents Start Page fields are specified. So, from the information I can see, the pub record is acceptable as it currently stands. I would strongly recommend adding a pub note along these lines: "Although no Roman Numerals are printed on any pages, the Table of Contents page lists the Introduction beginning on page vii". [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 19:07, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::I second this advice, even though this situation was never settled.  The "Don't use the ToC" rule/guidance is mostly because the ToC's numbering may be incorrect (e.g., typos aside, a ToC reprinted from an edition with different pagination) or may not line up with the ISFDB's rules for which page is the beginning of the content.  Here, you have: no number printed on the page, a number in the ToC, and a number in the ToC consistent with the page count and quantitatively consistent with the first numbered page (it is the fourth page before the one numbered "11"). So I would treat it as numbered and "vii" and enter it that way.  In other words, I agree with the choices made in the current record.  This is my personal opinion, and other moderators may disagree. I think a strict constructionist interpretation of the current rules, however, supports using "7".  The actual numbering situation should be documented in the notes, though, regardless of which number is assigned. The page count "192" is unaffected since the vii/7 falls within the set of pages spanned by counting backward from numbered p. 11. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 08:23, 3 May 2025 (EDT)
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:::::As for your original request for clarification, this situation falls under the first bullet, not the third.  Because there is a numbered page 11, the preceding ten pages fall within a range of numbered pages (this is where a strict interpretation would yield "7").  If that eleventh page had been numbered "1", however, then the first ten pages would be a range of unnumbered pages, and the third bullet would apply (and you would use "[7]" and also add [10]+ or [7]+ to the page count). --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 08:35, 3 May 2025 (EDT)
  
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== Magazine format question. ==
+
::::::Thanks to you both for your clarification - I've amended my post on [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Markwood#Orbit_1 Markwood's page]. Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 01:04, 7 May 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Quick question on magazine formats. Yes, I have looked at [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:PublicationFields:Format the help page]. For magazines, 8.5" x 11" and perfect bound, just confirming that we use tp instead of quarto. Thanks [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 09:48, 6 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== Adding the Graphic Novel Hardcover Edition of Snowpiercer as a novel or collection or an omnibus ==
−
:  Well, we say usually, not always. :) Perfect bound is a lot more prevalent now because of how printers work so what would have been saddle-stapled a decade ago can go either way these days. And most new magazines are PODs. So either works really. If I am adding from secondary sources, I am more likely to go for tp; if I can see it, it depends on how it feels.[[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:24, 6 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:: I'm working on [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/seriesgrid.cgi?25515 Space and Time], adding missing issues, and reviewing existing issues. SFE3 says they went to perfect bound after issue 81. I'm going with tp unless anyone voices an objection. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:45, 6 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== William Hope Hodgson ==
+
Hello, I’m asking for advice how to enter a hardcover edition of the graphic novel series Snowpiercer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer_(graphic_novel_series). The publisher Egmont Comic Collection (www.egmont-comic-collection.de ) published the series in this German translation in two volumes: Snowpiercer: Snowpiercer (01) (2021) (ISBN 9783770401239, 280 pages), which includes the volumes 1 The Escape, 2 The Explorers, 3 The Crossing of the series. Snowpiercer: Terminus (02) (2022) (978-3-7704-0190-1, 232 pages) is the second book and includes volume 4 Terminus of the series. Thank you ([[User:SciFanta|SciFanta]] ([[User talk:SciFanta|talk]]) 17:31, 9 May 2025 (EDT))
 +
:Graphic novels and comics are outside the scope of ISFDB and not eligible for inclusion (see Exclusions under [[ISFDB:Policy#Contents.2FProject_Scope_Policy|Contents/Project Scope Policy]]). The only exception would be for prominent genre authors. That exception would not seem to apply here as based on Lob's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Lob Wikipedia article], he seems to be a notable comic creator and not a written speculative fiction author (as how ISFDB defines it). The ISFDB made the decision to exclude comics and graphic novels as there are other sites that deal with those and there is more then enough written speculative fiction to keep us busy. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:01, 9 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:: Thank you for your clarification. Actually, I got interested in this pub, as I have just seen the science fiction film Snowpiercer, directed by Bong Joon (he also directed Mickey 17, 2025). Learning, that the film is based on this pub,  I borrowed it from my library and finally decided to ask about a submission. Thanks again! ([[User:SciFanta|SciFanta]] ([[User talk:SciFanta|talk]]) 18:05, 12 May 2025 (EDT))
  
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I've been adding some Turkish editions of William Hope Hodgson's works, but I'm stumped by [https://www.kitapyurdu.com/kitap/firtinanin-ardindaki/577881.html&manufacturer_id=139820 this book].  Google translator states that this book is called <b>Out of the Storm</b> but the story described seems to be [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?58911 The Voice in the Night].  Does anybody have any ideas? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 23:04, 11 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== Dashes in titles ==
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: Matching by title is not always a good idea - publishers and translators get creative in weird ways and match the wrong books - so careful with that. Let me see if i can figure out what they translated with this one. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 00:29, 12 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::Thanks. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 03:42, 12 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Schwarze Messen: Dichtungen und Dokumente ==
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Got a story which has a short dash on here but a long dash in the book itself.  The long dash title is on here as a variant but with alternate author name so would need to make a new variant if it needs to be changed. thought i'd check before firing off to the umpteen pvers. cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 17:37, 13 May 2025 (EDT)
  
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Hello, something went wrong {{P|862221|Schwarze Messen: Dichtungen und Dokumente}}. The authors are not merged, so we have two Meyrinks: {{A|the original|5218}} and {{A|a new one|333652}}. When I am search "Meyrink" I find only the original. When I am search for duplicate for the new one I get no other title. I have no idea what to do. Help is very welcome. Thanks [[User:Henna|Henna]] 14:43, 12 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== unnumbered pages before page 1 (chorus of groans) ==
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: I will try to fix it.  If I am successful, I will tell you what I did. :-)  --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 14:52, 13 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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: Unsuccessful.  I have consulted the Oracle.  --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 14:59, 13 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:I fixed it by copying and pasting the correct name into the author field for the work. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 15:24, 13 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: It is an invisible/non-printable character picked up during the copy/paste. The server already have a map of these to clean on "save" but there is a new one here - which needs to be added to the map and then scrapped from the authors which got caught into it. It happens now and again... and more of weird characters keep popping up. The only solution is to retype/copy-paste the author again in the broken record - but it also needs a fix on the code side. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:49, 13 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::Yes, sorry about the obscure comment.  I pointed Ahasuerus at it so he could see what the offending character is.  I realize if we retype the name in the existing record it would cure this particular author's problem.  --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 16:29, 13 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::: (removing the templates from the title of the message so the pointers can work properly). Yes - understood - I sent him the report I stumbled upon as well - I was just explaining what caused it (for anyone who had not been fighting these before) and how they got into the records and that even if we fix all of them on the site, they will happen again - as there is a new non-printable involved. Browsers being helpful when copying and grabbing stuff you cannot see - one of the reasons I almost never copy/paste directly from sites I am not using often - I paste in notepad and copy out from there. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:38, 13 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::::Many thanks to all of you. Now everything is fine. [[User:Henna|Henna]] 04:38, 14 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== ISBN as printed, even if the check digit is wrong? ==
+
sorry but i'd like a bit of clarification on the unnumbered content 1st bullet point.
 +
My book has a total of ten unnmubered pages before page 1 with the recordable content starting on the fifth of these so i take it as [10]+whatever and the page number for the content [5]. the book has been pved and theyve put [6]+ in the pages field and the content on [1]. that's not right is it? its a bit ambiguous cos it says "There is no need to record these unnumbered pages if they contain no content that needs to be recorded." - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 18:08, 13 May 2025 (EDT)
  
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[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?37480 This publication] lists the ISBN slightly differently than [https://archive.org/details/conglomeroidcock00silv/ the printed copy, as scanned by the Internet Archive].
+
:Can you please provide a link to the publication. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 13:29, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
  
−
{| class="wikitable"
+
::https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?694490
−
|-
 
−
| Currently listed in ISFDB:
 
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| 0-87795-5<u>'''7'''</u>7-8
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|-
 
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| [https://archive.org/details/conglomeroidcock00silv/page/n1/mode/1up?q=557 Shown on inside front dust jacket]:
 
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| 0-87795-557-8
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
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|-
 
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| [https://archive.org/details/conglomeroidcock00silv/page/n7/mode/1up?q=557 Shown on copyright page]:
 
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| 0-87795-557-8
 
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|
 
−
|
 
−
|-
 
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| [https://archive.org/details/conglomeroidcock00silv/page/n295/mode/1up Shown on back cover]:
 
−
| 0-87795-557-8
 
−
|
 
−
|
 
−
|-
 
−
| Printed variant if it had a valid ISBN-10 check digit:
 
−
| 0-87795-557-<u>'''3'''</u>
 
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|
 
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|
 
−
|}
 
−
For what it's worth, the ISBN currently listed has a valid check digit—it just isn't what was printed.
 
  
−
What should be listed in the record?  [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 12:47, 15 October 2021 (EDT)
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::it looks like Markwood has intepreted the rule to include only the unnumbered pages as far back as the 1st recordable content - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:50, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
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: The correct one in the isbn field. The wrong one with no dashes in the catalog ID field if the field is not used for something else (helps with searches; only optional these days). And a complete explanation of the situation in the notes including what exactly is printed where. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:00, 15 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:: Although for that  specific book - make sure we do not have two versions with two ISBNs. The above was a general answer on how to handle incorrect ISBNs in books.  Especially when external sources like OCLC recognize the isbn that we have. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:02, 15 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Fantastic Story Magazine ==
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:::You are correct. The Pages field of {{P|694490|Voices}} should be [10]+364 and the three Content items before page 1 should have Start Pages of [5] and [7] and [9]. I agree that the Help wording is ambiguous. What the first bullet point under [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Screen:NewPub#Pages Unnumbered Content] should say is something like:
 +
:::"... There is no need to record these unnumbered pages if they contain no content that needs to be recorded but if they do contain recordable content then count all pages from the start of the book. ..."
 +
:::I agree with you that it looks as though Markwood has interpreted the rule to include only the unnumbered pages as far back as the start of the recordable content and I wouldn't blame him or anyone for this interpretation given the existing wording. However, what I have said is the accepted practice.
 +
:::As an aside, the Start Pages should also be piped (for example, [5]|0.5 and [7]|0.7 and [9]|0.9) so that they are correctly sorted before the novel on page 1.
 +
:::As another aside, there is a PV'd {{P|404403|second printing}} which has the Pages and Start Pages specified correctly (although it omits the poem and also needs the Start Pages piped). [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:39, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
  
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While looking up something else I [https://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Magazine-FUTURE-Luxury-Notebook/dp/B08QS54B4K/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Fantastic+Story+Magazine&qid=1634339300&s=books&sr=1-1 found this].  Is this eligible for the database?  If so, as what?  If not, why?  Just would like to know the rules. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 22:46, 15 October 2021 (EDT)
+
::::that ammendment you suggest does the trick for me. If it gets changed to that then i'll jump in and ask the pvers for cases like this if theyre happy to change it but for now i'll just let it lie. cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:38, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
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: (now in the actual Help Desk): Not eligible because it is not a book really, it is a blank notebook/notepad (with lined pages in this case) with a fancy cover and a stiff price. The only way to have somehow added it would be to pretend it is an art book (so non fiction) but a single cover does not make an artbook.  With illustrations out of copyright, there are a lot of these floating around (and some even in copyright - there are usually at least 20 new notebooks with Harry Potter covers every year and when the year journals start showing up you get everything from Moleskine's Le Petit Prince to Star Wars and beyond on covers and don't get me started on some of the other media franchises, especially the juvenile ones). Now - if there was a new illustration every few pages or there was actually a story, it would be eligible because of them. As it is now, it is on the same level as a keyring with a scene from LOTR or a piece of original art of one of our artists. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 01:30, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Titling essays in series ==
+
== Ellipsis followed by question mark ==
  
−
Hi, everyone. I was just combing the wiki for an answer to this question. If a magazine has a named regular column, and each individual column has its own title, how should they be titled here? Should each individual title be used, and the essays just put into a series named for the column's title?
+
i was just about to merge 2 titles when I noticed that one had a space between an ellipsis and a question mark and the other didnt. the rule says put a space between the ellipsis and the following word but does that apply to question marks as well? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:59, 23 May 2025 (EDT)
−
Thanks.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 02:36, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
+
:and while were at it the story has 3 variants with ellipsis and all of them have a space before the ellipsis. the book in hand does not have a space before the ellipsis. Nothing in the help page about this scenario either. New variant or not? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 21:12, 23 May 2025 (EDT)
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: You use the title as it is printed in the magazine (minus the column name) and then put them in a series using the column name. See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?10404 Analog's The Alternative View] for one of the more famous examples. Or the later entries into [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?10400 Asimov's Reflections]. The "Column name (issue)" is used only if that specific installment of the column has no individual title. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 02:59, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::Thanks, Annie. In the case of an interview in ''The Scream Factory'' #15, in the TOC an interview is called "TSF BiblioFile: Steve Rasnic Tem & Melanie Tem", but on the page of the interview, that title is on the right and "Scream Marriage" is above the text. TSF BiblioFile was the name of the interview series, apparently. Should I just call the interview "Scream Marriage"? And what should I call the interior art that goes with the series, not that specific interview?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 03:56, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::: For the interview, I'd call it just "Scream Marriage" - yes. Add a note in the publication notes explaining the TOC vs on the page naming.
 
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::: For the art... if this interview is the only thing in the column, I will just call it the same as the interview - the column in this issue is the interview. If the section has more than one interview, "TSF BiblioFile (The Scream Factory, #15) or whatever the issue is called is probably better. If the same art exactly appears in all the magazines, just "TSF BiblioFile" may also work (with a note once created that it is the same art in all issues. Or I will just call it decoration and add only a note that it is there and just ignore it when doing the listing. :) But then I am prone to do that for insignificant interior art pieces sometimes. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 04:07, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::Thanks, Annie!--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 04:13, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Titling interior art ==
+
:: Not a moderator, but I can add something to your first question. The Associated Press Stylebook says to treat an ellipsis as a word and put spaces before and after, for what that's worth. [[User:Sfmvnterry|Sfmvnterry]] ([[User talk:Sfmvnterry|talk]]) 22:56, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
  
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How should one title interior art that doesn't have anything to do with the text on the surrounding page? In issue #15 of ''The Scream Factory'', much of the interior art seems to be placed more or less randomly. For example, Greg Weber's two-headed doll sculpture appears on the same page as a bibliography of Peter Haining. Should I name the illo after the bibliography, since the illo has no title of its own, although it has nothing to with the bibliography?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 04:11, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
+
:::cheers mate but the title i was lookin at in my book had no spaces before or after the ellipsis and you have to enter them as they are in the book unless theres a rule here saying otherwise. I sent it in as it is in the book with a mod note and it was signed off. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 07:04, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
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: We do not name based on what it is printed next to, we name based on what it is illustrating and/or is associated with.
 
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: If it illustrates something else in the issue, use the name in whatever it illustrates even if it is not close to the actual text physically.
 
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: If it is just there and does not seem to connect to anything, use the name of the publication for the first one of these ("The Scream Factory, #15" for example, then "The Scream Factory, #15[2]" for the second one from the same artist and so on). The exact [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:TitleFields:Title help page] sentence for these is: "If it is independent of other content, and has no apparent title or caption, give it the title of the publication in which it appears, disambiguating if necessary.".
 
−
: So in your case, use the magazine's issue name as a title. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 04:17, 16 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Serialized Translations ==
+
== Penguin Classic? ==
  
−
Should the translator template be added to serial titles, or is it's inclusion in the parent tile sufficient? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:02, 18 October 2021 (EDT)
+
I'm not sure I have the correct publication series for {{P|1056803|this printing}}. The copyright page states this is the 16th printing of a 2011 Pocket Penguin Classic 2011, but this book doesn't seem to fit in with the publications [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pubseries.cgi?11201 here]. Advice please. Thanks, Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 16:50, 26 May 2025 (EDT)
−
: It needs to be added in each installment. As we do not have a variant of a variant and the serials are directly under the original, we treat them as we would treat any other variant. Plus keep in mind that unless the story/novel translation is also printed in its entirety somewhere else, there is np combined title in the correct language anyway. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:08, 18 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:: Thanks [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:23, 18 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Variant name help ==
+
: I don't have a definitive answer, but I think I may have found a clue. First, [https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141035870/isfdb-21 pull up your pub on Amazon UK] and click "Read sample". The second displayed page is a selection of 5 other covers in the series. One of them (left column, second row) is for ''Tarzan of the Apes''. Second, look at the covers of our publication series [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pubseries.cgi?11201+3 "Penguin Pocket Classics"]. See ''The Return of Tarzan'' at the bottom of the page? The art and the design are similar to the ''Tarzan of the Apes'' cover in your pub and is completely different from the other "Penguin Pocket Classics" covers on the same ISFDB page.
  
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Today I added a Michael Arnzen collection, {{P|864045|The Selected Works of Michael Arnzen: Needles and Sins}}, but Michael Arnzen is a variant name. Would someone change it, and the stories I haven't varianted, to Michael A. Arnzen, as by Michael Arnzen?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 01:24, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
+
: Based on the above, it would appear that there are two different Penguin publication series with similar titles. Either that or at some point the publisher decided to revamp the way covers were done for the series. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 14:44, 28 May 2025 (EDT)
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: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?864045 this book] (you have a title ID used in a publication template which does not work very well)? I am not sure what exactly you are asking. So let's start with the first question:
 
−
:* How is the author credited in the book? If they are credited as Michael Arnzen, that's the versions that need to be used and then they get varianted to the canonical.
 
−
: As the cover says Michael Arnzen, unless you know that he is credited otherwise inside of the book, these are correct and then the stories which has no parents need to be varianted up. Are you asking someone to finish the varianting?
 
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: If you are asking something else, can you please clarify? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 01:32, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::Sorry, I fixed the link. Yes, I want the book and the orphaned stories to be varianted up. Thanks!--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 01:56, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::Can someone finish the varianting?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 13:51, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::: I’ll finish it when I am back on a computer. If it is urgent, you can always just do it yourself - it involves the same number of steps regardless of who does it. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:26, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::How is it done?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 15:16, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::: Ah, you never needed to do variants that do not have an existing parent? Sorry, did not realize that.
 
−
::::: Let's work with "A Lust for Lungs". Go to the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2934599 title record]. Press on "Make This Title a Variant". You want Option 2. Change the author name to the canonical name (Michael A. Arnzen in our case) in there and press submit. Once approved, a new title will appear under the canonical name and the two will be automatically connected. Rinse and repeat for all the titles. Let me know if you want to try or if you want me to do them. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:53, 19 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::::Thanks, Annie. I've done them now. It's good to know I can do that.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 01:51, 20 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::::: And all approved and the book looks fine to me - but check it one more time just in case. Outside of a very few things which only moderators can do (change the name of an author for example), anyone can change/connect anything - so if you are not sure how, just ask. If you ever work translations, that's also how you make an original title we do not have a record for yet - you just change the title, language and date (and eventually the author if needed) and you have a parent for your translation. Or you can add the book in the other language and then variant but even I would not try that in some languages (I'd add a parent title in most language but whole books are complicated). Let me know if I can assist further! :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 02:11, 20 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
What about {{T|2942425|this}} interview? The interviewee has an alternate name.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 21:02, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
 
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:[http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:TitleFields:Interviewee Template:TitleFields:Interviewee] provides the answer. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 21:19, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::Thank you!--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 21:26, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Translation question ==
+
:: Thanks for your time looking into this! With more research I find that there were indeed two series with similar names. I'll be creating a new series "Pocket Penguin Classics"; this was started shortly after the "Penguin Red Classics" series (as shown in my printing linked at the top here), but before (our listed) existing "Penguin Pocket Classics" series, and providing what documentation I can to each of these. We probably have records which are incorrectly allocated to the 'catch-all' "Penguin Classics" series (also, the outlier "Tarzan of the Apes" is certainly incorrect as allocated to the "Penguin Pocket Classics" series. With Penguin's churning of these titles under many different series names, it feels like the door to another rabbit hole :). Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 15:29, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Have a situation with the following facts. A subsequent serialization of <i>Joseph Olenin's Coat</i>, 2016 which is a translation of <i>Le Manteau de Joseph Olenine</i>,1886. I see two possible treatments.
+
== publication edit in limbo? ==
−
# Variant the serial titles to the 2016 translation and add title notes showing the original French title and publication data. (Drawback - all English titles on a French author's bibliography page.)
 
−
# Variant the serial titles to the original French publication. --[[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 16:13, 21 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
Which is the correct treatment? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 16:13, 21 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
: Into the French. If the story was ever published as non-serialized English version, that one will become a translation of the French as well. See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?46412 The Italian Serialization] for an example. We do not support variant of a variant so everything always get varianted into the original/canonical title. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:30, 21 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: I'll try to find enough to also add the original non-serialized version published in <i>The Cossack Review</i>. Thanks for your help [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 16:41, 21 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: The more versions we have, the better. PS: If you want to indicate that a serialization is the same as a non-serialized version, you use the notes :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:52, 21 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::: Non-serialized version added as you suggested. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 23:57, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Mountain Magic (Wellman version) ==
+
I submitted publication edit https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6222325 (for Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver) on April 10th and have gotten no response.  During that period I've submitted a couple other edits and have had them accepted.  I'm wondering whether this one has found a crack to fall through, as a month and a half on the queue far exceeds anything I've previously encountered.
 +
[[User:Glenn.Skinner|Glenn.Skinner]] ([[User talk:Glenn.Skinner|talk]]) 15:52, 27 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:Approved. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 19:06, 27 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:: Thanks! [[User:Glenn.Skinner|Glenn.Skinner]] ([[User talk:Glenn.Skinner|talk]]) 23:10, 27 May 2025 (EDT)
  
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One of the titles I need to include in a new Baen CD-ROM Library publication is [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?280957 Mountain Magic (Wellman version)]. Looking at the notes for that pub record, there is an explicit statement that the publication is supposed to be an Anthology. It is currently an Omnibus but looking back at some of the edit history, it was obviously originally an Anthology. Even using Import for the titles themselves, including it in the new Baen CD-ROM Library publication's notes is massive since it's an Omnibus consisting of over 40 titles; including an Anthology would be much, much simpler. :) Can anyone comment on this? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 13:16, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== chapbook conversions of translations ==
−
: You are hitting again the industry vs ISFDB definitions. In ISFDB: a novel and two collections and other stuff make an omnibus. If you remove the two internal collections (not their contents, just the containers), you have one novel and a LOT of stories - which can be an anthology. So you have two choices:
 
−
:* Remove the collections, making it an anthology
 
−
:* Keep as is - so it is an omnibus. I'd do that because then you keep the relationship to the collections
 
−
: However... You WILL want to include the contents anyway. You do not need to do it one by one - look at the Import screen - option 1 allows you to import ALL titles from another book in 1 step - so it does not matter what type it is really - I'd be importing the contents into the Disks (and not just the containers) regardless of the container type. Then the Disk will show on the listing for a story - as opposed to just having the collection and needing to drill to see where the collection may be. Simpler is almost never better.  :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:25, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Eligibility of a graphic novel that includes a text story ==
+
I am doing one of Tove Janssons Moomin books which is down as a novel. i've got the English translation in hand and its obviously not novel length and kobo says 29k so i changed it to shortfiction prepping for chapbook conversions.  I asked kobo what the Finnish title is and it says 26k.  Should i assume that all the other translations into umpteen languages are all novellas as well and convert them? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:04, 29 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:We don't have the ability to variant by length. Therefore, translations always mirror the length of the canonical. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 08:20, 29 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
::cheers, have sent them all in now (step 2) - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 16:46, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
::: I approved all your publication conversions,  then merged the chapbook title records as appropriate while adding the correct language. You still need to add the translator template to the chapbook titles and variant to [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3466274 Trollkarlens hatt]. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 18:25, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::cheers mate, theres still 2 chapbook titles for "Il cappello del gran Bau". they've bothgot the same translators so should they have been merged as well? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:01, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::Clearly. I approved your variant submissions. Make sure everything looks correct while adding the translator templates. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 08:51, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::done the tr notes - it looked shipshape and Bristol fashion. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 12:15, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::::You need to update the note [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1223095 here]. The new note should  include the approximate word count and source (not everyone will look in the note to moderator). Thanks, [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 17:07, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::::Done! a bit more to it than i thought but what the hell - bring on the rest of the series I'm up for it!
  
−
Sanity check to avoid wasting the time of me and a mod on something that would be rejected: is [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untitled/dp/1785865889/ a graphic novel] that contains [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1631831 a text story] eligible for inclusion?  (Probably just adding that story to the contents, but skipping the comic story.) [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 17:02, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== How to add a review of two graphic novels ==
−
: The story is eligible. The Graphic story is not (unless we say that the author (Schwab) is above threshold which may well be the case). So two options:
 
−
:* Add as a non-genre collection with the prose story added and a note explaining the situation in the TITLE note. Do not click on "graphic" anywhere :)
 
−
:* Treat Schwab as above threshold - so a collection again but now genre and with both stories added.
 
−
:I'd do the first but you decide what you want to do. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:12, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
:: Thanks - the threshold policy is a bit too mysterious for me, so I'll be going with the first option. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 17:48, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
+
I've been adding reviews to the issues of ParSec magazine that don't have them. I'm not sure how to handle a review in the Spring 2023 issue. It's a review in one essay of two graphic novels based on stories by Cixin Liu. The magazine presents it as:
−
:::I'd consider V. E. Schwab definitely above the threshold, so I'd include the graphic story, too. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 18:55, 22 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:::: But will they be in 10 years? With SF getting more and more mainstream, determining treshold becomes a lot more complicated for living authors - some like Gaiman are obvious but some not that much. I see a lot mode YA authors publishing on both sides - and you never know where the majority will end up - it used to be so much easier. I tend to agree for Schwab, she seems to be safely over.  I’m fine either way - but we may need to rehash some of our definitions. Although based on our rules, if the graphic story is added, it will need not only be marked as graphic but as non-genre as well because it is not speculative fiction/not related to speculative fiction under our definition of the genre. No graphic novel can be considered genre under our definition due to the very clear exception kicking them out even if it is admitted as an above threshold author work. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 01:09, 23 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:::::I suspect she will be in ten years, too. And I agree we need to rehash some of the definitions. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 02:22, 25 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Pub verified by inactive editor with blatantly incorrect page count ==
+
"Cixin Liu’s | The Butterfly: A Graphic Novel | adapted and illustrated by Dan Panasian | The Devourer: A Graphic Novel | adapted by JD Morvan and illustrated by Weilin Yang | A double review by Nick Hubble"
  
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[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?623231 This pub] was verified as having a third of a million pages, but the editor who PVed is inactive.  There's [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?563027 a similar looking pub] with a more plausible page count that's a substring of the dubious page count.  Would it be reasonable to correct the erroneous pub to have the same page count, or would it be better to blank out the page count field, so as not to have apparently verified data that hasn't actually been verified?  (Possibly with a pub note tweak to state as such?) [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 17:57, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
+
The edit form lets me add extra authors and reviewers to a review, but not an extra title. Also, do I present all the names for a graphic novel, Liu and the adapter/illustrator, as the authors, or just Liu? [[User:Sfmvnterry|Sfmvnterry]] ([[User talk:Sfmvnterry|talk]]) 22:44, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
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: Fix and add a note saying "Page number corrected on DATE and after all the verifications based on OCLC/BNF/edition X whatever source gave you the number; original value was "XXXX" or words to that effect. Or remove the page number and leave a similar note. That way it is clear why it was changed, when and that the verifiers had not looked at the book again. That's the general way to correct any incorrect info in the physical fields/data in a PVd book where a PV cannot be raised to check for an error. No changes without notes even if they are that blatantly wrong unless they are just formatting/moving stuff in the correct fields.  [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:10, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: Thanks - [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5129867 edit submitted]. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 18:48, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: And rejected. You added the note. You missed to fix the actual field. Want to try again? Also - for this book you have better sources: [https://www.worldcat.org/title/louve-et-lenfant/oclc/469748364 OCLC says 441] and [https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39205473g BNF says 441]. Which explains the typo - someone was correcting from 350 to 442. So please be careful when correcting based on other editions especially when one is pb and the other tp (hint: tp have bigger pages, not necessarily bigger fonts in those days) or they are across unrelated publishers (different fonts used) - sorry, was explaining the principle above and missed to check if your similar editions are similar. For older books OCLC/BNF/other local library is almost sure to have some data. So add the two IDs, add the pages based on that and then add the note that the page number is updated on that date, post verification based on the OCLC/BNF numbers correcting the old value of 350442. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:22, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::: And [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?623231 fixed]. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:38, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:: BTW, I dunno if this is something that would be worth having a cleanup report for?  The very basic SQL query I've been using to pick out some of these dodgy pubs is:
 
  
−
    select * from (select pub_id, pub_title, pub_pages, CAST(pub_pages AS INT) num_pages from pubs where pub_ctype = 'NOVEL' ) foo order by num_pages desc limit 50;
+
:I think the best you can do is enter two reviews, one for each work.  I suppose you could treat it as a review "column" and enter both an ESSAY and then REVIEWs for each.  You can put them on the same page with a piped number to sort them in the order they're discussed.  E.g., "30|30.1" and "30|30.2" if the review is on p. 30.  Assuming the text is revised for the adaptation, we would treat Liu and the adapter as co-authors, and the illustrator as artist (an adapter who also did the illustrations would get two credits). --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 22:25, 5 June 2025 (EDT)
  
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:: This gets to novel pubs around 1450 pages, which I guess is the point at which the entered page counts are probably correct?  I'm sure something more intelligent could be put together, but perhaps that's a start? (NB: a couple of these are picked up by [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/cleanup_report.cgi?288 the existing report], but not most of them.)  [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 18:48, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
+
::I second this: I always enter a review of multiple works as individual reviews for each so they show up on each of the works being reviewed. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:42, 6 June 2025 (EDT)
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::: So submit a bug for the report - we have a report, it just needs a bit of fixing. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:59, 24 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Need help with basic uploading. ==
+
::Good advice. Thanks to you both. [[User:Sfmvnterry|Sfmvnterry]] ([[User talk:Sfmvnterry|talk]]) 00:06, 8 June 2025 (EDT)
  
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I uploaded [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Image:PLRSTRLGHT2021.jpg this cover], which is not the whole cover. (Had a moment). Tried the upload a new version link and pointed to the image of the whole cover. I kept the original file name. Got the warning that this is the same image, uploaded it anyway as the old image was replaced. The old image was uploaded again. Any suggestions?[[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 09:09, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== Account Corrections ==
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:Your browser may have cached the prior image.  Try doing a shift refresh and see if the latest appears.  Also, is it OK if I delete the earlier uploads?  Thanks. --Ron ~ [[User:Rtrace|Rtrace]]<sup>[[User talk:Rtrace|Talk]]</sup> 09:36, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: Thanks Ron, that was it. Yes get rid of the old versions. I have to do the same for the other two issues, you can get rid of those as soon as I do them. Give me 20 minutes. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 09:42, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Repeated title in the same publication ==
+
How would one go about making a correction to one's user name? {{unsigned|Molly.pinn}}
  
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I have found instances where the same title is repeated, by the author, within a given publication. However, separate title records were created when originlly entered into the database. Is the best fix, remove one title, merge, import the merged title back into the publication, put a note in the title record? Or is there a better way? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 17:41, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
+
: The ability to change an existing user name to something else was added to the standard Wiki software in [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Renaming_users MediaWiki version 1.40]. Unfortunately, we are running version 1.35, so our software doesn't support this functionality.
−
: Happens with poetry and very short shorts. There are two possible scenarios here with 3 possible ways to handle:
 
−
:* Same title, different text - one of them needs to be disambiguated and they are NOT connected after that; notes need to be added to explain what is going on (and which is which so they don't get merged again and so it is clear which one to use if they get reprinted (for poetry, I'd use the first line to disambiguate one of them or even both in this case - makes matching later easier bu the usual [2] also works, the first line goes into the notes in that case).
 
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:* Same title, same text - one of them get disambiguated and then varianted to the other one (due to a software limitation - you cannot have the same title record twice in the same publication). You won't be able to reimport it again after a merge as it is already there - thus the workaround here. Alternatively, list it only in the first appearance and add a note listing the rest of the pages it appears on.
 
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: Let me know if I can assist further. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:56, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: I'm glad I asked first. Disambiguate and variant was not intuitive, yet this is what needs to be done. Thanks [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 18:05, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: Yep - sometimes we need to do weird things because of how the software works. It can be changed but it will requite a lot of effort and cannot be done overnight - so we work inside of the framework of what we have. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:14, 28 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Merge Pyr publishers ==
+
: Since you haven't edited the Wiki or the database as "Molly.pinn", I would suggest simply creating another user name and taking it from there. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 16:14, 8 June 2025 (EDT)
  
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Seems that perhaps <b>Pyr</b> [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisher.cgi?4317] and <b>Pyr / Prometheus Books</b> [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisher.cgi?27864] publishers should be merged. The description of <b>Pyr</b> talks about Prometheus Books, and it seems likely to be just an old vs new recording style issue.  Thoughts? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 17:00, 29 October 2021 (EDT)
+
::For v1.35, you can install the [https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?oldid=6965059 RenameUser extension]. This was absorbed into the main wiki installation in version 1.40. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 16:10, 9 June 2025 (EDT)
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: Oh yes - they are the same publisher - we have a few pairs like that in the DB (I just posted about another one of these [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Community_Portal#Puffin_vs_Puffin_.2F_Penguin_Books_.28UK.29 here] earlier this week and : getting ready to go ping PVs about it)...
 
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: Generally agree that we should merge them (look at a random year for both of them - it seems like in the years when both are used, the ebooks went to Pyr, the paper books to the longer name - but even that is not consistent or make any sense to split them this way) but there are a lot of PVs on the publications of both so I'd leave this here for a few days to see if someone else will chime in with a disagreement and/or notes and if it gets ignored, I'd ping a few of the more active PVs with books caught into this. . [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:13, 29 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: I'm curious what you are proposing to do. Pyr is an imprint of Prometheus Books, are you proposing to eliminate the use of just the imprint? If so, I believe you need a standards change. Ultimately, we may get to a point where both the imprint and publisher are required, and I support that. P.S. I'm one of the PV's. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 17:59, 29 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::: Under the current rules both of these are valid names for the same publisher while Pyr was an imprint of Prometheus (using just the Imprint name when it does not cause confusion is allowed and we have other examples like that - and in cases like that we "standardize" into one of the two OR we find a separation line between the two forms if there is a clear one). The way these two publishers are used now splinters the Pyr record and gains us nothing. Pyr had always been an imprint - first of Prometheus Books and since 2018 of Start Publishing. So we have 2 choices here:
 
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:::* Split into two publishers based on this change of ownership - so all pre-2018 books go into Pyr / Prometheus Books and all later ones into Pyr / Start Publishing (or maybe just Pyr)
 
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:::* Combine all Pyr books together into Pyr and explain the corporate ownership in the notes
 
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::: I'd vote for the latter - Pyr is Pyr regardless of who happened to own it at a certain time. But I tend to prefer that to splintering records based on corporate decisions which barely register with a reader and making the DB all but unusable for Publishers' listings. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:14, 29 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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:::: I thought you were suggesting the opposite, hence my question. The publications I PV'd are all just Pyr. Since that is where you're going, I'm fine with it.  [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 18:37, 29 October 2021 (EDT)
 
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::::: If we merge everything into a single publisher, it cannot be "Pyr / Prometheus Books" due to the 2018 change. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:45, 29 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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(unindent) In the mean time, I'd like guidance on what I should do with some books that I've PVed with this issue. Two of the three U.S. paperback publications of the series [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?12247] are set to publisher <b>Pyr</b>, but all marked <b>Pyr | an Imprint of Prometheus Books</b>. Should I start to attempt an edit (after consulting active PVers) to the full <b>Pyr / Prometheus Books</b>? Or hope that it gets dealt somehow, sometime in the future with a more global publisher change? Thanks. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:30, 7 November 2021 (EST)
+
== A problem in cloning. ==
−
: As long as you discuss with the PVs, sure. There won’t be any major changes coming short term so we operate under the rules as they are now. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:40, 7 November 2021 (EST)
 
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::My thoughts are to use "Pyr" and note the change of ownership in publisher notes. Using this does not show where the split takes place in 2018, but if we split the publishers as described above we can use this info when publisher is upgraded to "Imprint" and "Publisher/Parent" field. The splitting is only useful for 2018, so Id still merge into "Pyr".[[User:Kraang|Kraang]] 20:41, 8 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
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== ARC edition clarification ==
+
I recently tried to add a clone of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1058821 this record] and I kept getting [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/File:Isfdb.jpg this]. What am I doing wrong?. [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 23:23, 8 June 2025 (EDT)
  
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Previous discussions about ARC editions and Patreon editions seem to indicate that we are not creating publication records for those items. If that's the policy, what should be done if there's a pub record already created for an ARC edition? I just discovered this record [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?299587 Storm from the Shadows ARC]. The associated title record [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?927592 here] needs to have its date adjusted to match the earliest pub date but what date should be used, the date from the hardcopy edition or the date from the ARC? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 08:37, 30 October 2021 (EDT)
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: My best guess is that you tried the cloning after [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title_history.cgi?3414665 one of this merges], where the title for the May issue likely was dropped. I tried to clone it, and there was no error message. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 05:29, 9 June 2025 (EDT)
−
: Your first assertion is correct, ARCs are generally not indexed but with a few exceptions. I don't recall it being discussed much in the last ten years, however I do recall past reference being made to a discussion circa 2011 where it was pretty much agreed that only ARCs with an allocated ISBN should be indexed, and even then when it is also being sold by the publisher to the public, and that the date should be entered as "8888-00-00" (ie. unpublished) with any actual ARC publication date included in the notes, with the publication of the proper first edition being the true "First Edition" date. I don't know if this ever became written policy, and this approach may indeed have been superceded in the intervening 10 years. I have a few ARCs for which collectors of them would love to see some bibliographic referencing for, yet I've never entered them here given the ISFDB's general antipathy towards them. Can any other seasoned editor point to something in black-and-white that can clarify? [[User:PeteYoung|PeteYoung]] 16:53, 30 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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:: I believe the last iteration of this discussion [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Rules_and_standards_discussions#Early_releases_from_Baen_and_Patreon was in February-July 2021]. I agree that it would be desirable to have whatever we can decide on formalized. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 17:11, 30 October 2021 (EDT)
+
== H. R. F. Keating / Harold F. Keating ==
  
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::: I just discovered that Baen included the eARC of <i>Mission of Honor</i> as part of Baen CD-ROM Library #22 <i>The Mission of Honor Disk</i> which I'm currently preparing to add to the DB. Until we have a decision, I'll just enter it as a note instead of a new title even though that title is the reason that the CD-ROM was created. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 18:39, 1 November 2021 (EDT)
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● According to his Wiki page Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating (1926-2011), otherwise known as [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?36356 H. R. F. Keating] had a nickname of “Harry”. I suspect he was also [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?313957 Harold F. Keating]. H. R. F. Keating turned to being a professional mystery writer during the sixties. His [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._R._F._Keating Wiki page] doesn’t mention if he was a soldier, although that would tally with the last letter by (Harold) Keating in 1941. I think they are the same, but … [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 20:57, 14 June 2025 (EDT)
 +
:{{A|H. R. F. Keating}} was an English author. From the IA scans of the magazines, all the {{A|Harold F. Keating}} letters state he is from Quincy, Massachusetts, USA (I added that info to the author record). That seems like they would not be the same person. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 08:35, 15 June 2025 (EDT)
 +
::Okay, thanks. [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 22:47, 23 June 2025 (EDT)
  
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== Need help with an author photo upload ==
+
== COBISS.SR & COBISS.BR templates ==
  
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Can't seem to load [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Image:Boles%C5%82aw_Le%C5%9Bmian.jpg this image] into [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?334716 Bolesław Leśmian]. Think I did tag and upload out of order. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 13:39, 30 October 2021 (EDT)
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My use of this template in [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6280612 this submission] is not successful in pointing to this [https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/si/sl/bib/120596224 COBISS page].
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:There is not an upload option for author photos that tags them. You have to manually apply one of the tags (see [[:Category:Image License Tags]] for available tags). You then click on the image, copy the URL, edit the author page, and paste the URL (similar as you do for cover images). Hope that makes sense. Let us know if you have further questions. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 13:52, 30 October 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== Binti trilogy unrelated titles across languages ==
+
Investigating, I couldn't find any links that do work in [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/adv_search_results.cgi?USE_1=pub_note&O_1=contains&TERM_1=COBISS&C=AND&USE_2=pub_title&O_2=exact&TERM_2=&USE_3=pub_title&O_3=exact&TERM_3=&USE_4=pub_title&O_4=exact&TERM_4=&USE_5=pub_title&O_5=exact&TERM_5=&USE_6=pub_title&O_6=exact&TERM_6=&USE_7=pub_title&O_7=exact&TERM_7=&USE_8=pub_title&O_8=exact&TERM_8=&USE_9=pub_title&O_9=exact&TERM_9=&USE_10=pub_title&O_10=exact&TERM_10=&ORDERBY=pub_title&ACTION=query&START=0&TYPE=Publication this search]. Looks like they've restructured. I'd appreciate any help, thanks. Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 07:13, 16 June 2025 (EDT)
  
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I just noticed there are 3 separate title entries for the collected Nnedi Okarafor's Binti trilogy across different languages:
+
: It looks like there are two separate issues here.
  
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* [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2485001 English language omnibus], which also has a German variant
+
: The first issue is that [https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/si/sl/bib/120596224 the COBISS page] that you linked is for COBISS.SI, the Slovenian version of the COBISS catalog. If you check the [https://www.cobiss.net/ main COBISS Web site], you'll see that the COBISS software is used by 8 different jurisdictions in the Balkans, but each jurisdiction has a separate catalog. We currently support External IDs and templates for the Bulgarian catalog (COBISS.BG) and the Serbian catalog (COBISS.SR), but the Slovenian catalog, COBISS.SI, is a separate database which we do not support at this time.
−
* [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2858517 French collection]
 
−
* [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2872323 Portuguese collection]
 
  
−
IIRC the omnibus vs collection disparity comes from the third in the trilogy being long enough to be considered a novel. (There may also be a consideration that there's also a fourth novelette in this series, which may or may not be present in the various omnibuses or collections. IIRC that's not usually something that impacts varianting though?)
+
: The second issue is that COBISS.SR and COBISS.BG have apparently changed their URL structures. For example, our template for COBISS.BG is configured as "https://plus.bg.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/[catalog ID]#full", but the current URL is "https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/bg/en/bib/[catalog ID]#full".
  
−
Should these be kept as-is, or should the title type be made consistent, and the French and Portuguese titles be made variants? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 09:28, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
+
: Let me see if I can update our COBISS templates and External ID definitions. Thanks for reporting the problem! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 11:39, 16 June 2025 (EDT)
  
−
: EDIT: On closer inspection, this is a bit messy, because this nominal "trilogy" has four stories, it looks like the French and Portuguese collections have 2 novellas and a novelette, whereas the German omnibus has the 2 novellas and the novel, and the English omnibus has all 4 stories.  My confusion is further compounded by only one of these 4 titles having the content field specified, and the one that does is arguably wrong - at [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2403662 title level] it has "1-3", whereas [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?675062 the pub details] show 1, 3 and 4 as the contents ... [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 09:45, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
+
:: The two templates and their matching External ID definitions have been updated. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 13:09, 16 June 2025 (EDT)
−
:: EDIT#2: Checking the Amazon BR preview of the Portuguese ebook, it turns out we have the contents wrong - it contains the 2 novellas and the concluding novel, and not the novelette.  (The French book does have the novellas and novelette though.)  I'll submit an edit to fix the Portuguese contents.
 
−
:: This confusion does make me think that this series should be renumbered though, as 1 (the opening Binti novella), 1.5 (the novelette), 2 (the Binti Home novella) and 3 (Binti: The Night Masquerade).  This would make the contents numbering on the German omnibus correct, and makes the Portuguese "Trilogia Completa" look (slightly) less inaccurate.  Any objections? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 11:22, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?4191908 This] the update that got our order all weird instead of inserting the novelette as 1.5 (and then noone thought to go clean the collections and omnibuses notes). But yes - Home Should be #2 and all should flow from there. See also [https://nnedi.com/books/binti.html the author site].
 
−
::: PS: Careful with international editions - make sure you really are sure who translated what :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:07, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:::: Thanks.  I've got edits accepted or pending to fix this up; although I'll hold off from removing the novelette for a few days in case the editor who originally added it think it genuinely does exist in Portuguese.  (The only Google hits I got for it were from ISFDB) [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 18:11, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::: Paulotecario‎ occasionally disappears so it is unclear when he will be back. Check with the moderator who approved as well - [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5009105 Rudam] may have some memories where he verified that it is indeed there as I do not see a note on sources in the submission. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:21, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::::I have all the English releases, if anyone needs me to look at them. I don't think I've verified the information here yet, though. They're good stories, though. :) ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 18:43, 2 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::::: Thanks - I think all the English details are OK, other than the meta issue of the series numbering, which is hopefully now fixed.
 
−
::::::: One related question: I just went to add the series and content numbers to the French collection, but I get a popup saying that only omnibuses can have content numbers.  This restriction isn't mentioned on [[Template:TitleFields:TitleType]] and whilst [[Template:TitleFields:Content]] only mentioned omnibuses, it doesn't explain why the content numbers can't be used on collections.  My understanding - primarily an earlier Wiki discussion about Binti the Night Masquerade and the knock-on effect on the English language compilation IIRC - was that that a collection becomes an omnibus if it contains a novel, but what happens if the numbered stories are novellas?  (Apologies if this has been discussed previously - a cursory wiki search didn't throw up anything that looked relevant.)
 
−
::::::: (Given that the Brazilian collection turns out to have 2 novellas and a novel, I assume that can be converted to an omnibus and then made a variant of the English language one.) [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 08:31, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:::::::: The Content field is indeed for omnibuses only. We Used to allow it before - that’s where jvn used to go before we had a checkbox fro example. But since it remained only for the content numbers, it had been omnibus restricted. You cannot have everything treated everywhere - it is on the page of the field and you are supposed to read those for fields you rarely use (or want to use in new circumstances). If you think the help page needs to be updated, make a proposal in R&S :) I’ve tried twice to get community support to allow its usage for collections/anthologies for exactly this kind of cases and people did not care much so that’s it :).
 
−
:::::::: For the Brazilian one - yes, it needs to match the type. In my book one novel does not make an omnibus but that’s fine as long as they match. But don’t connect them until we resolve the case of that fantom novelette - we only variant exact omnibuses IMO - extra titles make them different because of the Content field so they stay on their own. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 11:59, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::::::: Can you put [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5140635 the variant edit] on hold then please? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 13:15, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:::::::::: Yup. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:16, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
<<deindent>>
 
−
Thanks.  BTW, I just checked the Amazon preview of [https://www.amazon.de/Binti-Sammelband-Nnedi-Okorafor-ebook/dp/B079YX2ZKC/ the German ebook] (not currently in the database, but presumably the same contents as the physical edition that is) and it does appear to lack the novelette, as recorded in the database, so presumably should be unvarianted from the English language omnibus? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 13:31, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
: See that IMO up there in my statement? We have somewhat conflicting practices on that. If they are collections, we will usually variant translated collections with minor differences (missing story or 2 or added story or two - otherwise way too many collections will just never get connected anywhere and that serves no purpose) and just add a note). With omnibuses as we list contents on the field, it is trickier and never clear where to draw the line. I would not variant them. Some people do. If they are, the content field should show very clearly that they are different (Which in my book means they should not be varianted at all - so round and round we go). :) Comes down to our definition of variants and what minor is. Another thing we need to codify a bit better but all attempts had failed so far so we kinda play it by the ear. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:45, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== The 1635: The Eastern Front Disk ISO ==
+
::: All problems {{P|1005658|resolved}}. Thanks for your help! Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 04:15, 17 June 2025 (EDT)
  
−
While preparing the data for creating the new Baen CD-ROM Library title "The 1635: The Eastern Front Disk", I discovered that at least one of the component collections has a different title depending on which of the eight file formats is viewed. In this case, "Rx for Chaos" is the canonical title and is used in the .doc, .epub, and .rtf format files. On the other hand, "Prescription for Chaos" is used in the .htm and .mobi format files. (I don't know about the .lit, .lrf, and the .rb file types because I don't have any software that will open them to check.)
+
:::: Great! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 08:46, 17 June 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I think that I should handle this as follows:
+
== Candlin as canonical ==
−
* Include the canonical collection title with its component titles imported like normal with the page number set for example to |1.1
 
−
* Include the new "Prescription for Chaos" title with the page number set for example to |1.2 . Once the new title record is created, make it a variant of the canonical title. (I don't think there's a reason to import the component titles from the canonical title since they would be duplicates and not show anyway.)
 
−
* Create notes describing the two title/file format situation.
 
−
* Create duplicated title notes for all of the component titles in the new "Prescription for Chaos" title just like I do for all other duplicated titles in these CDs/ISO images.
 
  
−
Is this a good approach or is there a better way? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 13:29, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
I've edited this record {{A|398527}}, adding a note and making it an alternate name for {{A|402402}}. Now both names show up as being canonical: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/editauth.cgi?398527 here] [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/editauth.cgi?402402 and here]. What am I missing? Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 18:39, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
−
: Nope - don't add both of them in the same book - that implies they are BOTH in the same book at the same time - which they are not. You have two options:
+
:Look again. [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?398527 S. A. C. Candlin, R. A. F.]  is an alternate name for [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?402402 Candlin] as called for in the standards. Your edits are correct. The directory entries are the same so they are grouped together in the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/adv_search_results.cgi?START=1700&USE_1=author_lastname&ORDERBY=author_lastname&C=AND&TERM_1=ca&OPERATOR_1=starts_with&TYPE=Author Author Directory] [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 21:01, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
−
:* Create two separate high level books - one with the one name, one with the other.  
+
::Thanks for checking John, maybe I didn't make it clear what I was referring to: I don't understand why "S. A. C. Candlin, R. A. F." shows up in the Canonical Name field in the edit screen of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?398527 this record]. Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 21:17, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
−
:* Create a single one, use the one name and add a publication note explaining the difference in naming.
+
:::There is only one <b>edit/editauth.cgi?</b>. It doesn't matter whether the author record belongs to an alternate or a canonical name. You just never noticed. Check any alternate name in the database. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 21:24, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
−
: I'd go with the first option if I were you (different contents == different books) but... [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:48, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
::::Ahhh, light. Thanks very much!
−
:: So if I understand correctly, create two new stand-alone collection titles with names like "Rx for Chaos (Baen CD-ROM Library)" and "Prescription for Chaos (Baen CD-ROM Library)"? Then add notes and import content titles as required and include both of the new titles in the new CD-ROM omnibus? Wouldn't both of the new titles also be variants of the original [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?926034 Rx for Chaos] title? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 16:48, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
:::::lol, you're welcome. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 21:30, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
−
::: Nope. Create two collections - yes (just as titles unless they were published that way - so nothing to import). But also do two separate omnibus publications - one for the formats that use Rx and one for the ones that use Prescription. No omnibus should have both collections included at the same time UNLESS both are really included. If I am reading the contents list of a book, I should not need to read a note to understand that there is a fake title in there that may not be in my copy and that even if the omnibus record in ISFDB contains 2 collections, I am getting just 1 in my book. :)
+
(unindent) I have more questions... All of the above stems from the entry for " S. A. C. Candlin, R. A. F.", #7 in this [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/cleanup_report.cgi?302 report].
−
::: Or to say it a different way - build the omnibus with ONE of the titles and in the notes list the formats this publication is for. For the ones you do not know, chose where to list them and note that it is unclear if they are not actually part of the other publication (and link to it when you have both). When you are done, clone it for the second version. In that one remove the collection and replace it with the other collection title and adjust the note for the formats. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:06, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
* I've edited the names, #s 3 to 18 in the report, but they are still showing. I presume that when the report regenerates nightly it only adds new entries, and doesn't remove any processed entries (with other reports I've edited, the entries have disappeared immediately after the edits). Why are they still showing?
−
:::: Both titles ARE actually included in this one ISO image omnibus. There's literally only one source file containing all these items. This omnibus is a monster. There are 68 titles included in it including 4 other omnibuses. (The value in the content field will likely be 38N+10A+14C+4O+2S.) The same two titles split by file format situation also exists for the excerpt of "1635: The Eastern Front" included in it as well. Plus I may well find more cases like this as I go through each of the included titles. (And someone, somewhere has the actual CD-ROM the ISO image was created from as well so the decision for this will someday be repeated when that publication is added.) Is making clones actually the best thing to do? I really think this is just one very complex publication. :) [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 18:10, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
* An entry for "Cherokee Indians, North America" is at #2, the only "North America" suffix listed. However, in the two publications listed under this {{T|3475898|title}} record, there are other "[Indians' name, North America]" contents that don't appear in the Unrecognized Suffix report (above). Why not?
−
::::: Let's make sure we are talking about the same thing. If I download/get/open the ".htm" format of the ISO, do I get TWO separate collections or just the one called "Prescription for Chaos"? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:36, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 11:09, 22 June 2025 (EDT)
−
:::::: The file with the .htm suffix only contains the one collection called "Prescription for Chaos" on its title page. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 22:07, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::::::: OK. If you add the two collections to the Contents, the book will look as if BOTH are available at the same time in the same contents page. Which is never true. Which means that they should never appear in the same Contents/Regular Titles list inside of a book. So we can resolve that in two ways: have two separate records splitting the formats and using the notes to explain why we have two of them OR have a single record with ONE of the collection titles and keep the second title for the collection in the notes only (listing the formats for which it is different). Considering that all formats are in a single ISO, we may be better off with just a note.
 
−
::::::: The problem here is that you essentially have multiple books in the same container (the ISO is not really an omnubus of all those collections and novels and so on - it is an omnibus of the different formats which are the complete omnibuses themselves; the ISO is an external wrapper for that). Because we cannot have omni inside of an omni, we record them all as if they are a single one. Yes - the DB is not really built for that and frankly, I don't think it should be. Use the notes to explain the situation and we are all set. Add an extra note inside of the collection title notes explaining the same. That should be more than enough. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 22:22, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
  
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== The Dread Machine ==
+
== Bob Hoskins / Robert Hoskins ==
  
−
Before I do anymore work on [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?61447 The Dread Machine] I have to know something, why are the contents of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?808005 this issue] completely different than [https://www.thedreadmachine.com/issue-1/ this issue] on the publisher’s website.  I have no doubt the contents were copied by the original poster correctly, but this goes beyond a simple mistake.  So … ? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 21:18, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
+
Here’s another question about fifties letter writers. Does anyone other than me think that [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?100121 Bob Hoskins] is the same author as [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1248 Robert Hoskins]? They both started writing letters to the same magazines at the same time. [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 00:40, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
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: Because instead of adding the issues, someone had been working from [https://www.thedreadmachine.com/all-content/ The All Contents] page and just adding the stories - or so it looks. That's not a record for Issue 1.1 - that's just the stories that were on the site at the time they were added here. Go to the last few pages of All Contents and you will see the stories we have in the order we have them. The fact that without the issues this webzine is not really eligible to be in the DB under the current rules or that this is not how we add magazines (webzines or not) was kinda ignored by an impressive number of moderators. Ignore this record for now - I will sort it out later this week and see if it is salvageable and add the 3 issues that are actually eligible if you want. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 21:32, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
:: Oh dear: there is also [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?818258 the 2021] version. Let me try to untangle what we do have first, then we will add what is missing. Thanks for finding this one. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 21:39, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
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:: And there is another webzine in a similar shape: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?818259 Diabolical Plots - 2020]. Let me see if there will be others because I am starting to have a very bad feeling. Thanks for finding this mess - it needs solving! :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 21:49, 3 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::: Well, I ain't touching it until all the problems are worked out.  This is why I list two versions of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2839158 Beneath Ceaseless Skies], the Kindle version and the web version.  As I've been instructed to.  [[User:MLB|MLB]] 00:43, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Publication tag mismatch error ==
+
:Yes; I'd also think so! Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 01:25, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Created a small problem when uploading a cover. I attempted to use the automated upload and I hadn't logged into the wiki. After logging in, and uploading [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Image:2010-08-Birth_of_a_Planet_by_Bruce_Boston.jpg this picture], There was no tag (at that time). Instead of grabbing a blank template, I let the auto upload generate a tag and I slapped on the uploaded picture. That caused [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5141944 this warning]. How do I correct the error? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:59, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
+
::I found while researching some John Smiths that often the magazines include some sort of location (City, State/Country) with the attribution. If you can find scans or PVs with copies, you could check if that information is available for both forms of the name. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 08:19, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
−
: If you really want to, you need to re-upload the file with the "Upload cover" on the publication page and it will show up in the correct place and we can delete this one. Or you can leave it where it is and ignore the warning. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:22, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
+
:::Probably but there are other Bob Hoskins, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hoskins_(disambiguation). Unlikely based on birth dates that it could be the actor or the footballer but the missionary could have been a teenage SF fan although the SF guy Robert Hoskins was also old enough to write letters in the 50s so it could be him or both of them. While looking into this I made variants for W. B. (Wild Bill) Hoskins/W. B. Hoskins and Hoskins/Winfield Scott Hoskins (also updated the latter's record with birth/death dates and birth place). --[[User:Username|Username]] ([[User talk:Username|talk]]) 18:09, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
−
:: Since everything is correct except the expected location, I'll just leave it. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 13:32, 4 November 2021 (EDT)
+
::::Okay, I have nothing from Robert Hoskins (letterwise, that is), but from the April 1952 issue of <b>Startling Stories</b> "Bob Hoskins"'s address is <b>1 Thurlow Terrace/Albany 3/New York</b>. I hope that helps. [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 04:41, 25 June 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::Both are New Yorkers. [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 04:44, 25 June 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== Canonical name correction ==
+
== Why is this author "unknown"... ==
  
−
Hi.
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2280068
  
−
I just noticed that the author of "Silver Door Diner" (found in Fiyah, Autumn 2020Publication Record # 866330) is listed as "Bishop Garriso". This is the only publication listed for "Bishop Garriso".  
+
...when all the publications have the author as Robert Wallace? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:00, 1 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
:{{A|Robert Wallace}} is a house pseudonym that was used by multiple authors. For a house pseudonym, if there is a work where we don't know the actual author, it gets varianted to unknown. Now whether all the titles under this author record are from the house pseudonym is debatable. The house pseudonym seems to be for the {{S|Phantom Detective}} series, but not all titles with Robert Wallace as the author are part of that series (for example, the one you link to above is not). It's possible there needs to be some further disambiguation of this name. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 22:10, 1 July 2025 (EDT)
  
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The correct spelling of the author's name is "Bishop Garrison". I have confirmed this at Fiyah magazine and a number of other places. See https://www.fiyahlitmag.com/issues/issue-16-joy/
+
::cheers - Merril says he was a staff writer for Life magazine. This looks like him - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 22:34, 1 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
"Silver Door Diner" is the only work listed by "Bishop Garriso", and "Bishop Garrison" is not yet listed as an author.
+
::https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wallace-26591
  
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I am sure that the canonical name needs to be corrected, as this is a typo and not a variant that I have seen anywhere for this story or this author.
+
:::I changed {{T|43922|A Living Doll}} to be by {{A|Robert Wallace (II)|403241}}. I added the info from Merril to the author notes with a statement it might be the person in the WikiTree article. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 19:15, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
  
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Please advise me on how this can be dealt with. I have not yet figured that out.
+
::::https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6297522; There's a bio at the end of the story. --[[User:Username|Username]] ([[User talk:Username|talk]]) 19:27, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::Thanks. It matches the WikiTree article so I have updated our entry's biographical info. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 19:33, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::OK. Also, Google search for author and "Blue Groper" found 1 mention in PDF of an issue of Metaphysical Review which reviewed the anthology it appeared in; that Wallace is this guy, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4473118.Robert_Wallace, and it's a pseudonym in case you want to use that info to fix anything. --[[User:Username|Username]] ([[User talk:Username|talk]]) 20:00, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::::The poem "The Gottle" is by this Robert Wallace, https://clevelandartsprize.org/artists/robert-wallace/. --[[User:Username|Username]] ([[User talk:Username|talk]]) 11:55, 9 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
Thanks.
+
== How do I post a review of a book (multiple books) ==
−
[[User:Dave888|Dave888]] 16:25, 5 November 2021 (EDT)
 
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: Posting a link to the author page you are talking about is very helpful. :) [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?334795 Here]. Fixed. Sometimes typos like that happen - a missing last letter is an easy mistake to do when adding a lot of contents.
 
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: As there was no information to be lost on the author page and it was indeed a typo in our DB and not in the magazine, you could have done that in two ways:
 
−
:* Rename the author directly - a moderator action, you ask for it on the Moderator portal. I just fixed based on the request here.
 
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:* Just change it in the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2940234 title] record. This is a bad option if the author page already has data (web sites, images and so on) as they will be lost and you will need to add them again to the new name. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:45, 5 November 2021 (EDT)
 
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::Thanks. Yes, I meant to include a link to the author page. My bad. And thanks for the advice about the Moderator portal. Yeah, I don't like Option 2 - that sounds like it would be more problematic. Best wishes.[[User:Dave888|Dave888]] 18:00, 5 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::: In this case it would not have made any difference which way you go - the author did not even have a language set. But when changing author names, publishers and pub series from inside of titles/publications, this needs to be kept in mind - when the last reference is changed, they are deleted automatically and all data attached on them is lost. Series names as well to some extent but there we need to delete the old one manually so we can rescue the information before that. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:11, 5 November 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== It Came from the Multiplex ==
+
Hello,
  
−
I corrected the contents of the e-version of <i>It Came from the Multiplex</i> from my copy.  However, it would be easier to rebuild from scratch the trade paperback of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?822809 It Came from the Multiplex], so should I just delete the paperback version, or just delete the paperback's contents, then import the contents from the e-version? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 00:07, 6 November 2021 (EDT)
+
I have been through the Help and various instructions and, it's probably me, but I find no information on how to post a published review for several different titles - Fleet of Worlds by Niven, Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein, Settling Accounts: In At the Death by Turtledove, Space Cadet by Heinlein, Space Vulture by Wolf & Myers, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Sivell (asll published on the SFReader website a while ago.
−
: Use Remote Titles to remove the contents (with a moderator note explaining what you are doing) and then import from the ebook. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 04:45, 6 November 2021 (EDT)
 
−
::Importing contents does not import titles that are already present in the target publication, so you won't end up with duplicates.  However, if you want to pick up the page numbering for everything from the source publication, deleting all the contents first with the note that Annie suggests is a good way to go. --Ron ~ [[User:Rtrace|Rtrace]]<sup>[[User talk:Rtrace|Talk]]</sup> 07:54, 6 November 2021 (EDT)
 
  
−
== Format question ==
+
I see instructions on accessing the entry for the title, but once there, I see nothing regarding adding a review.
  
−
European description of a 2021 poetry collection "A5 booklet, printed on high quality paper, in colour 40 pages." Just confirming that we treat this as a tp. Thanks [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:05, 6 November 2021 (EDT)
+
Thanks for your help.
  
−
:Well, we do have the A5 format, especially introduced for European needs. If it's saddle-stapled, it'd not be filed as a tp, I think. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 12:34, 6 November 2021 (EDT)
+
(Yes, when logged in)
  
−
:: I thought A5 was for magazines. Here is a link to the publisher's page, note Jane Yolen's statement. [https://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/product/the-last-robot/ The Last Robot]. Thoughts? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:57, 6 November 2021 (EDT)
+
Steve {{Unsigned2|11:04, July 2, 2025‎|Steve davidson}}
−
::: Ph if stapled - that’s what the pamphlet format is. Tp otherwise. And yes - A5 is for magazines despite some people deciding to use them elsewhere against the written rules. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 02:13, 7 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
::::Maybe we can get a feature that prevents the wrong formats with the wrong types? Or at least flags them with yellow and puts them on a cleanup report? ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 15:05, 8 November 2021 (EST)
+
: Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>). You already asked this question on the moderator noticeboard. Try to keep threads together. Blog posts are not eligible for inclusion. Only reviews included in an eligible publication. The rules of acquisition  are [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Rules_of_Acquisition here]. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 11:25, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== The Books & Braun Dossier ==
+
== book with 2 "Authors" ==
  
−
There are a couple of problems related to this title.
+
The book i'm doing has 2 authors on the title page and everywhere else and nothing anywhere in the book that says they have different roles. Its an illustrated book so i thought one is the artist and sure enough amazon confirms it but if the book doesnt say that should they be both go down as the authors? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:32, 8 July 2025 (EDT)
−
*The TP edition [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?694889 here] and title [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2474001 here] (plus variants) are recorded as a Collection. I think it should be an Anthology since (using the ebook published about a month earlier) some of the component stories are attributed to Pip Ballantine alone, some to Tee Morris alone, and some to both in collaboration. Can I just submit changes for the title and pub records to switch them from Collection to Anthology or does this need to be done by a moderator?
 
  
−
*Several of the component titles are shown in the ebook to be authored just by Pip Ballantine or just by Tee Morris but the same titles are already in the DB with the author shown as by both Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. I'm confident these are the same titles because the blurb on the back cover of the TP edition states "First published in The Tales from the Archives and Ministry Protocol, these stories are now collected for the first time in one volume." Since I'll be adding them to the ebook pub, do I just enter them as new regular titles with just the single author and then make those new title records variants of the multi-author title?
+
: I'd say: Yes, both should be credited as authors, and likely the artist should also enjoy a credit for the additional illustrational work.  
 +
: When there's no other hard proof that the roles were strictly different (one only the author, the other only the artist; for example this could be stated in a note within the book) we go by that which is stated within the publication. It '''does''' happen from time to time that the story was done by both, though that's more common in the world of comic books. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 01:39, 9 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Thanks. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 13:09, 16 November 2021 (EST)
+
::cheers i think i'll do it the way you say - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 09:06, 9 July 2025 (EDT)
−
: That still makes it a collection by the two authors - you can have 2 authors collection and with collaborators like that, such collections happen often. :) Anyone can change the type but in this case, the type is correct.
 
−
: Correct. Record the stories as shown in the book. Then we will variant if needed. Again - not uncommon :) The only thing to keep in mind when you do the variants is that the title with both authors on it should be the parent so the story shows up on both authors' pages (we won't show it based on a variant only. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:19, 16 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
::Thanks for clarifying. I've submitted the ebook pub as a collection now that I know which type is correct. I'll create the variants as you specified once it's approved. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 15:43, 16 November 2021 (EST)
+
== Identifying Canadian publications ==
−
::: If my understanding turns out to be incorrect, we will convert all of them in bulk :) Approved so you can variant -- keep in mind what I said above about the parents (and that may mean date adjustment in the parent). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:53, 16 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::: And it took all of 3 minutes for that to happen. [[Template:PublicationFields:PubType]] says:
 
−
::::* ANTHOLOGY.  A publication containing fiction by more than one author, not written in collaboration, should be typed as an ANTHOLOGY.  For example, "Late Knight Edition" contains stories by both Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm, individually; this is an anthology, not a collection.  If a book of Conan stories contains stories which are all partly or wholly by Robert E. Howard, it is a collection; '''if one or more of the stories''' is by Lin Carter or L. Sprague de Camp, not in collaboration with Howard, then the book is an anthology.
 
−
:::: So yep - anthology. I will change them. Sorry about that. I was looking at the collections definitions and missed to look at the anthology one. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:04, 16 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::: So now I have a problem with the anthology records. I think the new title [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2947104 The Books and Braun Dossier] should be the canonical title since it's older than the existing canonical title [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2474001 The Books & Braun Dossier] by over a month. However, the old has a variant [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2473910 here] which only differs by using Philippa Ballantine instead of Pip Ballantine as an author. If I remember correctly, a variant can't have a variant, right? For that matter, I'm not even sure why the existing canonical record exists since the title "The Books & Braun Dossier" was only published as by Pip Ballantine, never by Philippa Ballantine. Is it so the title will show under the canonical author's name? Please help me unravel this! [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 08:18, 17 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::::: Yep, it needs to exist so that the book is visible on the canonical author's page. :) Even if the book is never published under the canonical name of the authors, if you want it to appear on the Author page of the said author, you need a parent to bring it there. That's why you need a Philippa Ballantine parent for every book she publishes under another name. So back to our set of titles here: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2947104 this] cannot be the parent because it has the wrong author :) So what you do in this cases is:
 
−
::::::* Update the existing parent to have the proper first date and whatever you want to be the canonical name. See what I did [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5152928 here].
 
−
::::::* Put the new title under it the usual way.
 
−
:::::: Problem solved. Now only one thing remains: all the stories [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?151403 here] need parents so they show on the Philippa Ballantine page. Let me know if you have any questions! :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:30, 17 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::::::So for these, do a make variant and use Option 2, changing the author name to Philippa Ballantine, correct? Which get added to the "Books & Braun" series: the variant, the new parent, or both? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 16:15, 17 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::::::: Yes on how you do the variant UNLESS there is already a title for that on Philippa Ballantine's page for the story - then you use that and option 1.
 
−
:::::::: Variants cannot be part of a series - the inherit it visually but their records are not part of the series officially :) So it will always be the parent. However, there are two ways to do it here:
 
−
::::::::* Set it on the variant before it is connected, make sure it is approved before the "Make Variant" and then do the parent creation: the system will move it to the parent for you.
 
−
::::::::* Make the parents, then add the series to them when they are approved. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:20, 17 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== «Commentaire pour servir à la construction pratique de la Machine à explorer le Temps» ==
+
I've moved this discussion to [[Rules and standards discussions#Ambiguous Currency and Place of Publication or Manufacture|Rules and standards discussions]] as it seems more appropriate.  --Ron ~ [[User:Rtrace|Rtrace]]<sup>[[User talk:Rtrace|Talk]]</sup> 16:17, 19 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
The short story "[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?98117 How to Construct a Time Machine]" by [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?7185 Alfred Jarry] first appeared as «Commentaire pour servir à la construction pratique de la Machine à explorer le Temps» in ''Mercure de France'', février 1899 and can be found [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044105315212&view=1up&seq=391&skin=2021 here, on HathiTrust]. Since I don't speak French, I don't trust myself to enter this correctly. Would someone who speaks French please do so? [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 13:39, 18 November 2021 (EST)
+
== Wrong title record listed as collection title for a publication ==
−
:That shows <s>Albert Fleury</s> Dr Faustroll as the author (see the table of contents on p.862). Is that another name for Jarry? I know he wrote ''Gestes et opinions du docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien'' in which Dr Faustroll is a character, but that's all I know. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 16:05, 18 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:: Great catch! It appears so; the Bibliothèque nationale de France [https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb11908634r.public lists "Faustroll, Docteur (1873-1907) ''pseudonyme''"] in their authority record. [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 22:09, 19 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::Okay, this has been updated. See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2950563 here]. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:33, 23 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Setting up a separate Talk page for PV change notifications ==
+
For the publication record [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?430280 Reisen von Zeit zu Zeit], a collection ''within'' the publication ([https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1648922 Die ersten Zeitreisen]) is listed as the collection title record instead of the actual record ([https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1650391 Reisen von Zeit zu Zeit ]). In fact, the actual record does not seem to be displayed anywhere on the publication page. Any ideas why this happening and how to fix it? Thanks! - [[User:Riselka|Riselka]] ([[User talk:Riselka|talk]]) 17:24, 15 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
:I think this is a bug.  If you go to [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/rmtitles.cgi?430280 Remove Titles] on it, that shows both the publication's (collection) title and the other collection title are present in the contents.  So the publication view seems to be confused by two container titles with the same author/editor credits. (Maybe it's picking the first such title in alphabetical order.) --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 20:40, 15 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I've seen some Talk pages where the user has setup a separate page for PV change notifications plus adding a banner section on their main talk page pointing out their PV change notification preferences. How do you setup a separate page so it can be linked to from your main Talk page? I think I can borrow the banner section coding from other users and adapt it (though I have only rudimentary HTML skills) but how to set up the target page eludes me. TIA [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 13:08, 21 November 2021 (EST)
+
:: I am afraid the ISFDB software doesn't support multiple container titles with the same title type within the same publication. For example, an OMNIBUS publication can include multiple ANTHOLOGY or COLLECTION titles, but it can't include multiple OMNIBUS titles. If the software finds multiple OMNIBUS titles in an OMNIBUS publication or multiple COLLECTION titles in a COLLECTION publication, its behavior becomes unpredictable, including displaying the wrong "reference" title at the top of the Contents section and/or removing some OMNIBUS titles' page numbers during editing.
−
: Just open the page as if it exists already and it will allow you to create it. If you would like me to, I can create it for you (just let me know how you want it to be called after your username)? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:14, 21 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:: Example: If you want it to be called "PV Notifications", open [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Philfreund/PV_Notifications http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Philfreund/PV_Notifications]. Click on "Edit" either at the top or in the middle of the page and when you save, you have a new page. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 20:26, 21 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::Thanks for offering. I was able to do it myself and it's ready for use. :) [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 11:20, 22 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Prince Caspian ==
+
:: I don't think we have a cleanup report for this scenario. In the short term, we could create one. Long term, it may be possible to add a way to tell the software which container title is the reference title within each publication, but I expect that it will require a fair amount of work. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 09:42, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
There are a lot of publications for <i>Prince Caspian</i> by C. S. Lewis. I was getting ready to clone to create a pub for the 42nd printing of the Collier/Macmillan paperback first published in 1970 when I noticed that the title page shows "Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia". I assume I should create a new novel with that title and then make it a variant. I'm just kind of bothered that there several other Collier/Macmillan paperback printings that are PV but simply show "Prince Caspian" as the title. Thoughts? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 11:30, 22 November 2021 (EST)
+
::: For these scenarios, does it make sense for a publication to contain multiple titles of the same type? I can see why someone might list a collection within another collection, but it's not clear to me that this should be allowed. If this shouldn't be supported, a cleanup report seems sufficient. This issue feels related to that of variant collections having different contents (e.g., [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Help_desk#Collections_with_different_contents Collections_with_different_contents]) since this work feels like an expansion of a previous collection. That said, I think this work should be its own independent work rather than a variant.
−
: Several of the other publications made note of the sub-title, and many of these have PV's that you could confirm with after you have created the new title and variant'd it back to [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1368 this title]. ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 16:36, 23 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:: If you look at the publications, there are a few with the subtitle mixed in the list. Some editors merge the subtitled variety of a title with the non-subtitled and that used to be a lot more prevalent in the past. I tend to keep them separate - if the subtitle is important enough to be recorded, it deserves its own variant. So yes - add your own book, variant it where it needs to go and then go talk to PVs where the subtitle is actually there. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:00, 23 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::I've added the new title and have a submission to make it a variant. However, when I got ready to contact the PVs of the other two pubs that are just different printings, I found that one has no PV and the PV for the other is no longer active. Leave it as a dead end unless someone does a PV at some later date? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 13:07, 24 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::: Pretty much. We can add a dated note about the different printing information (dated so it is clear it is post all verifications) but we are not changing verified books unless we actually KNOW that there is a mistake. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:08, 24 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
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== Dune reader's guides ==
+
::: For this particular case, does it make sense to (a) remove [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1648922 Die ersten Zeitreisen] from the publication's contents or (b) convert the publication (and title) record from a COLLECTION to an OMNIBUS? I'm leaning towards the former option, but could see a case for the latter. Thanks! - [[User:Riselka|Riselka]] ([[User talk:Riselka|talk]]) 11:01, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I have a question. Now that there is another version of <i>Dune</i> coming out, I’ve noticed that there are a number of reader guides out there to these series. Do <i>Cliff’s Notes</i>, and stuff like that belong on this site? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 01:43, 25 November 2021 (EST)
+
:::: It looks like option (a) should work. Since this publication has been primary-verified, I would suggest asking the primary verifier to review this discussion to make sure that we are all on the same page before we make any changes. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 12:20, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
−
: They are not forbidden. Abridgments and non fiction about speculative fiction are always allowed. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:25, 25 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Anthologies with Afterwords by each author ==
+
== Linking pen name to parent ==
  
−
I have found several Andre Norton Anthologies that have an Afterword for each of the stories included. Each Afterword is written by the author of the short fiction work that precedes it. The first one I entered is [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?14492 Four from the Witch World] and only has four stories. Did I do the Afterword titles in an acceptable way? If not, I'll change them if you'll let me know a better way. The anthology publications I'm about to work on have 18 or more titles in each one so if I need to change my method, now is the time. :) [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 15:59, 25 November 2021 (EST)
+
Hello, everyone. In a dictionary of pseudonyms I'm reading, [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?19548 Christine Dewees] is listed as a pseudonym of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?115 Lynn Abbey]. The compiler says this info was provided by the author. Should I make the former a variant of the latter? Thanks. --[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] ([[User talk:Rosab618|talk]]) 00:34, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
−
: They are not wrong/bad as they are but I’d reverse the story and book title on the title line of these afterwords or even skip the title of the book (unless the afterword is specifically written for this book and not just for the story - explaining why the story is in the book for example) - that way a reprint won’t require a new invented title. Plus we add the book name to differentiate and the story title is a differentiator enough (often anyway). See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?291245 this] for an example - these afterwords are strictly for the stories. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:34, 25 November 2021 (EST)
 
−
::Thanks! I went ahead and removed the book title. One of the other anthologies had been done that way so at least it's consistent for that series of anthologies. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 16:34, 26 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Cover tag question ==
+
: Which dictionary of pseudonyms is it, please? The reason I am asking is that, as per [[ISFDB:Policy]], we use "publicly available sources" to set up pseudonyms and alternate names. If the dictionary is publicly available, then we should be able to use it as long as we credit it as the source.
  
−
I uploaded a couple webzine covers and noticed that a different tag is applied if the source noted is the website vs. scanned by user. The fair use language is applied if it is scanned by user. Does it make a difference which one is used? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 11:26, 28 November 2021 (EST)
+
: Also, Robert Lynn Asprin's "The Making of the Thieves' World" talks about "Christine DeWees" in a way that hints that she may be a pseudonym:
  
−
Nevermind, fixed my mistake [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 13:01, 28 November 2021 (EST)
+
:* I point out that there are only two weeks remaining before the deadlin. [Ace editor Jim Baen] concedes that with such a limited time-frame, I probably won't be able to get a story from a "name" author. He'll let me work with an "unknown", but the story had better be good!
  
−
== Simplified titles for excerpts ==
+
:* Christine DeWees is a kindly, white-haired grandmother who rides a Harley and wants to be a writer. Lynn and I have been criticizing her efforts for some time and have repeatedly encouraged her to submit something to an editor. So far, she has resisted our proddings, insisting that she would be embarrassed to show her work to a professional editor. I decide to kill two birds with one stone.
  
−
Does the convention of removing (not including) the series name in a title apply with excerpts? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:41, 30 November 2021 (EST)
+
: Asprin's account is compatible with the notion that "Christine DeWees" was a Lynn Abbey pseudonym. Presumably Abbey and Asprin, the creators of the series, were running out of time and needed another story for the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?50997 first Thieves' World anthology]. Abbey wrote one ("Myrtis"), but, since she already had a story ("The Face of Chaos") in the book, she used a pseudonym for "Myrtis". [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 10:20, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
−
: Yep. We also include the excerpts in the series occasionally thus making clear where they belong. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:30, 30 November 2021 (EST)
+
::It is [https://archive.org/details/hawksauthorspseu0000path Hawk's Authors' Pseudonyms III: Comprehensive Reference of Modern Author's Pseudonyms]. Thanks for the backstory! —[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] ([[User talk:Rosab618|talk]]) 11:59, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== Andre Norton Sword Series Set ==
+
::: Looks legit. I'll notify Galactic Central and SFE. Thanks for finding the connection! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 12:27, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
In 1984, Unicorn Star Press published the Andre Norton Sword Series Set consisting of three trade paperback titles shrink-wrapped with a single front card. It has its own ISBN printed on the card. I believe this should be an omnibus but since the "binding" is shrink-wrap and it consists of three separate trade paperbacks, I wanted to check to see if there's anything else that needs to be done when creating this omnibus that is special other than good notes. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 18:30, 30 November 2021 (EST)
+
== Add alternate name ==
−
: Yep - that’s a boxset (minus box but with cover and ISBN so still the same idea) so it goes in as Omnibus. The format is the format of the books - so tp. And add a note explaining the shrink wrap and all that. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:39, 30 November 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Edgar Allen Poe's Snifter of Terror ==
+
Author "Ally Wilkes" https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?328455 has published at least one work under the name "A.V. Wilkes". She lists both names on her social media pages.
  
−
Hi, everyone. I was just wondering if I could add this anthology series of comic books. There are non-graphic stories and poems as well as the graphic stories. But could I add the (very altered) graphic Poe adaptations as well, or should I leave them out? Thanks.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 03:46, 2 December 2021 (EST)
+
I added her 2023 book "Jamie Hallow and the End of the World", now pending, under the A.V. name, as published, but could not see any way to link it to the Ally name.
−
: The altered graphic stories are not eligible in any way or form. Graphic contents (manga or comics) are only eligible when by an above treshold author as that essentially overrides everything else. Still - single comics issues are not eligible even by those per our practice (if they are graphic only - which is not the case here).
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6311441 & https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6311447
−
: The poems/stories if the are Poe's text exactly most likely are eligible. Single comics issues can be borderline but in this case because there are the text versions, they are in I think (if added - they go in as non-genre magazines with only the text versions added). However, the whole series is collected in [https://www.amazon.com/Edgar-Allan-Poes-Snifter-Terror/dp/0998044237 a paperback] (that's volume 1) and that paperback is also eligible (minus its graphic contents of it. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:57, 2 December 2021 (EST)
+
--[[User:AlanHK|AlanHK]] ([[User talk:AlanHK|talk]]) 22:24, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
−
::Thanks, Annie. I think I'll add the comic books since I don't have the paperback.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 13:51, 2 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Unverified OCLC ==
+
: Thanks for identifying the pseudonym and creating the two submissions! I have approved them and made the following changes:
 +
:* Changed the title and publication types from NOVEL to SHORTFICTION/novella because the word count is 34K, which is below the ISFDB's 40K threshold for novels.
 +
:* Changed the format of the paperback edition from "pb" to "tp" since the length is 9", which is below the 7.25" threshold for "pb" -- see [[Template:PublicationFields:Format]] for details.
 +
:* Changed the publication date of the paperback edition and the title date from 2023-07-11 to 2023-07-06 since it was published in the US first.
 +
:* Clarified that the submitted synopsis came from the publisher.
 +
:* Changed the prices from pounds to dollars since the publisher is based in the US; documented Amazon UK's prices in Notes.
 +
:* Merged the pairs of CHAPBOOK, SHORTFICTION and COVERART title records created by these submissions.
 +
:* Turned the merged CHAPBOOK and SHORTFICTION title records into variant titles with their parent titles using the name "Ally Wilkes". Moved their synopsis data, the series information and the 2 links to third-party sites to the new parent titles.
 +
:* Turned "A. V. Wilkes" into an alternate name  of "Ally Wilkes". Added a note to the "A. V. Wilkes" record explaining why we believe that they are the same person.
 +
: I think this covers everything. Thanks again and don't hesitate to ask for help -- there are a lot of rules (and exceptions)! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 18:38, 17 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Can someone tell me (roughly) how many OCLC external identifiers have been specified on publications that have no primary verifier? Thanks in advance. P.S. Please keep/post the query, there may be some refinements some day. ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 14:20, 2 December 2021 (EST)
+
::Thanks. Doubt if I could work that out myself. --[[User:AlanHK|AlanHK]] ([[User talk:AlanHK|talk]]) 05:28, 18 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
: At this time, we have 145,254 OCLC External IDs. 75,689 of them are for publications without a primary verification (either permanent or transient). The query is as follows:
+
== Queries (website publications etc.) ==
  
−
                select count(i.pub_id)  
+
I've been examining the official website for the Old Kingdom series (http://oldkingdom.com.au/; the series on ISFDB {{series|37593}}); the website has several short stories posted under the "Bonus Material" section. All of these, I believe, have print publication of some form (as extra material for one or more of the main books). I'm still inexperienced in adding info to the site so I have some queries:
−
                from pubs p, identifiers i, identifier_types it
+
* How does one record such a publication, if at all? The titles all have entries already except for one (see below) due to the aforementioned print publications, but I'm not sure if I'm reading the bits about web-based publication on [[ISFDB:Policy]] correctly.
−
                where p.pub_id = i.pub_id
+
* "An Extract of the Journal of Idrach the Lesser Necromancer" {{t|982081}} appears to have a variant title here ("[http://oldkingdom.com.au/extras_ninegates.html The Nine Gates of Death]", if I'm reading the rules on titles correctly), and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110411170852/http://www.oldkingdom.com.au/gates.html an older version of the website] had it under the heading "The gates and precincts of Death". Not sure how to handle this.
−
                and i.identifier_type_id = it.identifier_type_id
+
* "[http://oldkingdom.com.au/extras_doctorcrake.html Doctor Crake Crosses the Wall]" is also troublesome. Currently it doesn't have a title entry; according to Wikipedia the story was published in the Australian edition of Goldenhand, which does not have an entry on ISFDB (Worldcat says it was published by Allen & Unwin, 2016, ISBN 978-1-74175-863-4) and which I don't have access to at the moment. What do we do here?
−
                and it.identifier_type_name = 'OCLC/WorldCat'  
+
Any help would be appreciated. [[User:Arcorann|Arcorann]] ([[User talk:Arcorann|talk]]) 09:05, 17 July 2025 (EDT)
−
                and not exists
+
::I've added that edition of ''Goldenhand'' [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1064438 here], based on info from Abebooks. So, once the above gets sorted out, that story can be added to that publication. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:07, 17 July 2025 (EDT)
−
                (select 1 from primary_verifications pv
 
−
                where pv.pub_id = p.pub_id)
 
  
−
(Drop "and not exists" and everything that follows it to get the first number.) [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 20:56, 2 December 2021 (EST)
+
== Non Genre stories by under the threshold authors ==
−
::Thanks. Pandemic downtime has given me too much time to think up new projects (and no additional time to implement). The reason I asked about the unverified OCLC was to gauge the scope of a project. The OCLC provides a list of libraries purportedly carrying particular publications. I would be willing to provide primary (transient) verification against any copy held in my immediate locale. I expect there are others equally willing. I was just toying around with ideas on how to match the two up for myself or someone in general. Can't actually get into many of these libraries under pandemic conditions, but an interesting thought experiment. ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 12:17, 3 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::: Why just the ones with OCLC numbers? If you are hitting the stacks in a library, you may as well just go after everything in the SF section :) A few years ago I was considering doing just that in my local library but then things happened as usual and the plan fizzled out. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:05, 3 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::: Different problem. I did indeed go to all my local libraries verifying Jules Verne books. I thought about it for all SF books but figured a) my hit rate for unverified is likely low and b) my overhead in checking each book (entering, searching, checking copies) on a tiny interface (I no longer hate my phone, but we're not good friends) and then dealing with entering it makes this a particular problem that needs particular solutions. The OCLC situation is one where a book is important enough to enter and verify without seeing a copy. It makes possible a limited list of publications for any given location with particulars to check, with only minor edits likely. A different situation. Even with the many thousands of candidates, the number of ones likely to be addressed from my home town are pretty small. It would also give rise to small helpful projects that avid contributors can do in their neighbourhood that no one else can do (as well as getting them out of their cyber-dens). As I said, many projects, just needed data for the OCLC one. Here's one we can work on together - a local university library has a special Slavic section of somewhat older books. If I get you a list, and you mark which are candidates, WHEN they let me back in I could go collect the data, enter them and verify them with your editorial oversight. I don't know who I can get to do the same for the Icelandic ones though. :-(  ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 16:34, 4 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::: If anything, it is just a different side of the same problem. Using my library list I can easily add the books based on oclc and other sources and then request them out (thus turning my usecase into yours). Get that list of yeh Slavic ones or point to it and I can vet what we want from it. If you get me that Icelandic list I can see what I can do - not strictly my bailiwick but I can at least find the highly probables and I have someone I can ask for ideas. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:06, 4 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Kris Longknife Print-on-Demand PVs ==
+
Should they be removed from pubs, deleted and notes added if approrpiate? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 09:02, 23 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
:Please provide examples. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:09, 23 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::mate theres thousands of examples out there across the spectrum, i come across them every day so you must do as well - loads of stuff seems to get entered in anthologies and collections without the editor checking or caring if its genre and later somebody comes along and says that some are non-genre. do you as a mod ever dump these when you see them? maybe as a mod whos been here for donkeys years you could pop out a few general guidelines or parameters that might help for us medium pace pie throwers. maybe  hypothetical cases where you definitely would or wouldnt delete. the threshold concept is a thorny issue but assume that theres no doubt that theyre under it. as an example I did one a few days ago looking at an old collection which can be read online which had three stories all genre.2 of the stories when i looked at them them had to be labelled as non genre. in the past i would just have left it at that but i thought soddit i'll try and remove and delete them and let the reviewer decide and it was accepted but maybe another mod would have taken a different view, i don't know as there dont seem to be any guidelines. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 22:00, 23 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
: One general reminder - if they are in a GENRE magazine, they are eligible to be included regardless of who wrote them. The full contents of a genre magazine is always eligible. Thus the need for an example or 3 because not all of these need to be deleted even if it looks so at first glance. That does not make non-eligible books eligible just because the stories are already in but genre magazines are indexed in their entirety (that's the difference between how we handle genre and non-genre periodicals and why it is important to decide what you enter one as). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 11:38, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::cheers for the reminder about the genre mags i'd heard that before but forgot it. The one which prompted the question was this chappie. 3 stories all non genre in 3 anthologies. i'd be happy to put a few bob on saying that a fair number of the "genre" stories in 2 of those anthologies are non-genre as well although some of the authors are no doubt over the threshold. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 17:35, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?20134
 +
::: None of these are eligible under the current rules technically so removing them and adding a note in the pub notes that they are also there is the usual solution. We have a LOT of them - especially in older publications - sometimes added because someone was helpfully transcribing the contents table, sometimes added because noone realized they are not genre. And we have even more in those mixed anthologies which are not even marked.
 +
::: We may want to have another discussion over in R&S at some point about non-periodicals and contents. These days the line between a magazine and anthology is so blurred that having different contents rules make less and less sense. These records don't harm anyone and as long as the anthology is majorly ours, keeping them actually makes our records look better. But that would be a rule change (or rule alignment - most of us had been caught doing that for anthologies anyway - sometimes simply because we do not know if a story is genre or not and sometimes because most of the non-genre ones sneak in under the threshold rule anyway).
 +
::: So to make this short: under the current rules, they are not eligible. However, I have the feeling that under the current practice, they actually are part of the pattern of how we add these majorly genre anthologies... We cannot even look at the data properly because for every story marked as non-genre, there are at least 2 that are as non-genre as it but whoever added the contents and approved did not realize that (or it was before the flag existed). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 18:53, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::cheers annie i'll keep that "majourly ours" in mind.  The one that had the removal signed off was a collecction with 3 stories in totla all originally marked as genre but 2 of them weren't so those 2 were taken out and dumped. that's jogged the memory bank about a collection recently and it had (something like) 9 stories and the publisher flagged up on their site 5 that were supernatural and the other 4 were non genre. I didnt put those 4 in the contents and just said in the notes that there are another 4 stories not listed but if majourly ours means >50% then should all the stories have been put in the contents? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 21:04, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::: Nope. Even if the practice leans there occasionally, the rules still says no. A story (or 3 in bigger books) is usually what I'd add. Think more 90% than 50% :) That close to 50%? Nope. In such cases I'd usually mark the whole anthology/collection non-genre and add only the stories that in scope (and add the titles/authors of the other 4 in the notes). But the setting of the flag probably varies a bit between editors when the numbers are that close. What you did was the correct approach (only record the stories that are ours). :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 21:29, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::so in a nutshell if a anthology has 90% genre stories its labelled as "genre" and the non-genre stuff goes in the contents but if its 60% genre its labelled as "non-genre" and the non genre stuff isnt supposed to go in the contents and you remove them if already there (and put in the notes)? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 12:53, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::: If you will. Under the written rules, the non-genre stories in both cases are out. But in the 90% cases, it is a lot less likely for someone to make a problem of it and the practice seems to be to tolerate them. An R&S discussion may be in order. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 12:57, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::::it would be quicker to wait for the singularty and let the AIs sort it out. personally I'd like to get rid of all non genre even by the megastars (with the possible exception of Rev Lionel Fanthorpe). If we have to have over the threshold stuff then there should be a list of who they are. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:15, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I'm PVing my more recently purchased Kris Longknife books and they're POD. They have a recent manufacture dates (some as recently as a few weeks ago), and are marked <b>Rev 2.0</b> on  the copyright page. For example: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?753088].
+
== "The Publisher" ==
  
−
I could use guidance on how to deal with this issue.  
+
The author name <i>The Publisher</i> {{A|38731}} is attributed to 5 different publishers: {{T|2845669|T. Becket}}, {{T|1599969|Richard Bentley}}, {{T|1847376|Kassel Books (Kassel Classics)}}, {{T|539693|David Bell}}, and King-Size Publications, Inc. for {{T|197915}}, {{T|198023}}, {{T|197933}}, {{T|197955}}. I'm asking how should these be differentiated, if at all? Thanks, Kev. [[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 18:45, 23 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
: Well, there are two ways to handle that:
 +
::* Variants - make "The Publisher" a pseudonym to all of these authors and then variant as usual. Think of house names in the early days of pulps - same principle. Won't work very well for the King-Size case though as it really need to be on the publisher, not the writer
 +
::* Differentiate with the name of the author in brackets "The Publisher (Richard Bentley)" for example.
 +
: Or we can even mix and match... I lean towards differentiation quite honestly but either way works. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 11:43, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Should I:
+
::Thanks Annie. Yes, I'm currently working through house names, and I'm leaning with you… Differentiation is simpler and more straightforward in every way that I can think of so I'll implement this method. Kev. [[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 10:23, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
* Edit the base record, and record my rev and date, vaguely parallel to how SFBC editions are dealt with?
+
:::A benefit of the differentiation approach is that you can use it even when the actual writer's identity is unknown (as in the Kassel Books and King-Size Publications cases).  You can use the publisher's or publication's name instead. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 12:16, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
−
* Add a new publication record?
 
−
* Something I haven't thought of?
 
  
−
Thanks. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 18:05, 2 December 2021 (EST)
+
::::Thanks Marty, quite correct! Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 15:14, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:POD are difficult because of the varying dates, but I'd say if there's a "Rev 2.0", that's very similar to statements like "Second Edition" or "Second Printing", and it's a clear distinction between printed copies of that and earlier printed copies.  So I suggest you make another record for it, noting the "Rev 2.0".  It is easy to merge them later if we decide having two records is inappropriate. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 09:54, 3 December 2021 (EST)
+
== Double Novel ==
  
−
== Classifying a collection containing genre and non-genre titles ==
+
Not sure what publication type to enter this; ''[https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Choice-Literature-Wanted-Unwanted/dp/023121927X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ppx7cQWblcluOcSQOfKx2yJbreqXa7YXrMAXn2jIgz-6nU3aTSg3iUoiBi3J26IpaCltNYj35cTRdJ1R8YrBDeuRVo_arCht5_ivDxss_TE.a-Ao0dMxtT2uGu4aTgAMCh08G7K3wR-qzQyuii6hpxw&qid=1753411028&sr=1-1# People's Choice Literature: The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels]''<br>
 +
"The book comprises two novels, The Most Wanted Novel, which is a thriller designed to emulate the secret sauce of airport bestsellers and The Most Unwanted Novel, a wildly angular mashup of sci-fi, tennis, and Christmas." ― The Brooklyn Rail<br>
 +
two novels by the same guy, neither of which has been published before. (Only one appears to be SF.) Collection, although they're novels and not short fiction?<br>
 +
Thanks. --[[User:Gzuckier|gzuckier]] ([[User talk:Gzuckier|talk]]) 23:19, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
: Omnibus. If the author is above threshold, you add both novels inside. If not, just the one that is ours and add a publication note that only the speculative contents is added. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 00:15, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
 +
::OK, thanks [[User:Gzuckier|gzuckier]] ([[User talk:Gzuckier|talk]]) 17:46, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Assuming the following contents:
+
== Lists of characters in novels - Essay or Shortfiction? ==
−
<table><tr><td>non-genre novella</td><td>157pp</td><td>65%</td></tr>
 
−
<tr><td>genre novelette</td><td>67pp</td><td>28%</td></tr>
 
−
<tr><td>genre short story</td><td>16pp</td><td>7%</td></tr></table>
 
−
Is this a genre publication with one non-genre title or a non-genre publication listing only the two genre titles? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 10:34, 7 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:Is the author of the non-genre work above the threshold? ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:14, 7 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:: The author of this collection does not generally write within our genre. Just so happens that two of the three works are genre. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 18:01, 7 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::I'd list the collection as non-genre and put the non-genre work in the notes. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 14:34, 8 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::: Yep, I concur. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:43, 8 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::: Thanks for the help [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 14:52, 8 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== "A Logic Name (sic) Joe" ==
+
searched for "list of characters" and got 16 hits - 4 shortfictions and 12 essays. - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 18:30, 7 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
It hurts my heart to say that, on its first publication, [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?865228 the story] was called (in the voice of its narrator) "A Logic Name Joe". Not "Named"—but "Name".
+
:A character list would normally be fact, not fiction. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 22:26, 7 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
[https://archive.org/details/Astounding_v37n01_1946-03_cape1736/page/n138/mode/1up Here, see for yourself.]
+
::Yeah, lists of characters would be considered ESSAYs. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 11:35, 8 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Should we account for this in some way?
+
:::2-0 both gaffers thats good enough for me - cheers Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:21, 8 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Apologies if this is the bibliographic equivalent of [https://winchysteria.tumblr.com/post/168634371438/ossacordis-crockpotcauldron "WE! DO NOT! TALK ABOUT! THE ORANGUTAN!"].
+
::::BTW, that applies equally to titles containing "Dramatis Personae". :) [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] ([[User talk:Philfreund|talk]]) 22:08, 8 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
And apologies for forgetting to sign this earlier. [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 10:48, 13 December 2021 (EST)
+
== Number line confusion ==
−
:No worries. This is already shown [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?45659 here]. The incorrect title is varianted to the correct one. Thanks for watching for errors, though. There's always the possibility of typos like this. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:05, 13 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
:: It appears that this are only variant titles because of the alternate author names, not because of a variant title with only "Name", or am I missing something? Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 13:19, 13 December 2021 (EST)
+
https://www.ebay.com/itm/197129903196
−
:::It's a bit of both, since the typo was in the original that was credited to the pseudonym. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 20:22, 13 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::: I do not see the title "A Logic ''Name'' Joe" in [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?45659 the link you mentioned]. I only see the typical "A Logic ''Named'' Joe". [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 15:17, 14 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::::Weird. It was there before and now it's not. I can't see a record of it being changed, either. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 16:54, 14 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== The em-dash swamp ==
+
the copyright page scan on this listing says "First Printing" but the number line says otherwise. Publisher's cock up or is something else going off? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:00, 9 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I'm PVing [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?103361] and ran across the story <i>Golden the Ship Was — Oh! Oh! Oh!</i>. The title page for the story doesn't have spaces around the em-dash, which is in conflict with publication entry. Help for 'title' [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:PublicationFields:Title] indicates there shouldn't be surrounding spaces. Is this a rathole to avoid, or something I should attempt to submit an edit for?
+
:Its alright i've just seen the notes for our entry that mentions it. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:04, 9 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
: Has this query been lost, or is the lack of input a hint to let sleeping dogs lie. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:11, 14 December 2021 (EST)
+
== Pending edits, how long ==
  
−
When researching this, I attempted to run an advanced search for titles containing " — ", but the spaces seemed to be discarded from the search query. Is there a way to specify a literal space character? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 01:21, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
I submitted my best shot of Analog (July/august 2025) almost a month ago (6307235). I am sure there are things that need to be fixed, but wondered, how long will it take for someone to review it?
 +
I check my talk page, but nothing shows up.
 +
I need to do this more often, but I seldom get a copy of a magazine very early (this was an author's copy)
 +
Bob <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Wallet55|Wallet55]] ([[User talk:Wallet55|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Wallet55|contribs]]) .</small> 15:33, 9 August 2025‎ (EDT)
 +
:As all mods are volunteers, some edits can take a while to be approved. In this case, it looks like it was waiting because there were a number of things that would have required editing in order to fix the submission:
 +
:*The issue title for magazines should always have the issue number or date in it. In this case, it should have been entered as "Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July-August 2025".
 +
:*Always use the masthead title (usually on the copyright page or the page where they list all of the contents and/or staff. In this case, "Analog Science Fiction and Fact" instead of "Analog Science Fiction & Fact".
 +
:*The date for the issue should always be the month of issue on the cover (or the first month, in cases such as this where the issue covers multiple months). You entered this correctly for the issue date, but then you manually entered a generic "2025-00-00" for all the content. Always leave the content dates blank as they will be automatically filled in using the date of the issue.
 +
:*Generally don't include the source site for cover artist name. In this case, "GrandeDuc" instead of "GrandeDuc via shutterstock.com". We don't need the information on where they got the art.
 +
:*Don't enter generic/base website URLs in the Pub Web Page and Web Pages fields. The generic "https://analogsf.com" belongs only on the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?9094 series page].
  
−
: Spaces are recognized in advanced search without doing anything more than typing them. If typing [space] [Alt0151] [space] doesn't work, (I get 4176 hits at this time) try a force clear of your cache and run the search again. See if that helps. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 09:00, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
:All-in-all, you did a pretty good job for being new to the site. There's a steep learning curve here. The best suggestion I have is to carefully study how previous issues have been entered so you can learn how to enter them. You had a lot of correct information in your submission, but it looks like the issue [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1067816 was entered into the system] before your submission was approved, so I rejected it as a duplicate. Please let me know if you have any questions. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:26, 11 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:: It's not working for me. Even after clearing the cache I get get 7131 results, which include entries both with and without surrounding spaces. (I've also tried using a different browser).
+
== Different Artwork on Boards and Dust Jacket ==
−
::Advanced Search | Titles | Title, contains, ' — ', and | Get Count
 
−
::(The quotes around the space-emdash-space are just for clarity here, but not entered in the field). --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:21, 12 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
::: One of the check boxes in [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/mypreferences.cgi User Preferences] is "Keep leading and trailing spaces when searching". Perhaps the two of you have this option set up differently? [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 16:14, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
I am working on {{P|435108|Terry Pratchett / Raising Steam - Waterstones Edition}}. This version has the {{T|1668246|dust jacket artwork from the regular version}} printed on the boards and {{T|1671469|different dust jacket artwork}} by the same artist. This is explained in the pub notes but I feel it should also be reflected in the contents records. However, I'm not sure of the best way to proceed.
 +
<br>Option 1) Treat both of these artworks as cover art. I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this idea because the pub record would look odd. Both entries in the Cover field would appear identical.
 +
<br>Option 2) Make the artwork on the boards interior art (varianted to cover art). I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this idea because a book issued without dust jacket would have artwork on the boards designated as cover art.
 +
<br>Are there any other options? Advice appreciated please.
 +
<br>I asked the existing PV (who is also a moderator) about this issue [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:PeteYoung#Terry_Pratchett_.2F_Raising_Steam_-_Waterstones_Edition here] but have received no reply for three weeks, hence this post. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:40, 10 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:::: That did it. Thanks. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 16:58, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
:It would be a bit of abuse, but I suppose an approach you could take is to make the boards INTERIORART and give them page numbers of "fc" and "bc".  If that idea appeals, it might be (although I won't hold my breath) a quick R&S discussion to change the help wording for those two page designators to make this one of the official use cases for them (e.g., --> "... cover of a magazine or board of a dust-jacketed hardcover that isn't included in the pagination.") --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 14:30, 11 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
::::: Sure thing. I have also fixed list indentation in [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/mypreferences.cgi User Preferences] to make it clear which preferences are grouped together. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 19:06, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
== "Omnibus" containing only one novel ==
  
−
== Lost entries in Help Desk ==
+
Hello, all. On NooSFere, I came across [https://www.noosfere.org/livres/niourf.asp?numlivre=2146566005 Les Chroniques de Tornor - 2] by Elizabeth Lynn, which apparently contains only [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2025753 La fille du Nord], a translation of ''The Northern Girl'' (1980). The previous French omnibus, [https://www.noosfere.org/livres/niourf.asp?numlivre=2146563100 Le Chroniques de Tornor - 1], contained the first two novels of the series. How should I enter the second volume? Thanks! --[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] ([[User talk:Rosab618|talk]]) 13:22, 15 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
:If it's just the one novel in it, enter it as a novel. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:34, 15 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
::But the novel inside has a different title. Should I make ''Les Chroniques de Tornor - 2'' a variant of ''The Northern Girl'', but put ''La fille du Nord'' inside it? --[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] ([[User talk:Rosab618|talk]]) 14:01, 15 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::Even though it's listed there as an omnibus, don't enter it as one here. Do you have access to an actual copy so you can see the title page? If not, enter it as ''Les Chroniques de Tornor: Tome Deuxieme'' as a NOVEL and variant that to ''[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1456 The Northern Girl]''. Be sure to include a note explaining why it's entered this way. It may be good to include a note on [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2351242 ''Les chroniques de Tornor: Tome 1''], too, and change that title to "Les Chroniques de Tornor: Tome Premier" since that's what's on the cover (unless you can see something different on the title page, if you have access to it). ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 14:32, 15 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I had an question about editing titles with em-dashes in the help desk, but it seems to have disappeared. Was there a restoral from backup?
+
== Two issues I need help on ==
−
It also had question about advanced searches with leading and trailing space, which was answered. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 20:23, 12 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
: The question was asked and answered on [[ISFDB talk:Help desk]], i.e. the Talk page associated with this page. I have moved it here -- see the section immediately above. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 20:38, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
There are two issues I need help on.
 +
First, is there a way to edit/fix issues on an edit after you submit them. I am looking at a new magazine issue I submitted, and I forgot the $ in the price, and one author is appearing as new, even though it looks exactly the same as her entry for all her other works in ISFDB.
  
−
:: Thanks. I hadn't really internalized the difference between adding an entry to the help desk vs. one for a users talk page. Somehow the 'New Post' button was invisible. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 21:11, 12 December 2021 (EST)
+
The second is, how do you check to see if someone else has not already added a magazine and it is pending? <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Wallet55|Wallet55]] ([[User talk:Wallet55|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Wallet55|contribs]]) .</small>
 +
:Unfortunately, there is not a way to edit a submission. You have to wait for the submission to be approved and then edit the record once it is created. I also don't believe there is a way for non-moderators to view the submission queue. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 06:52, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== Conversion of chapbook/novella to novel - sanity check/experienced wisdom required ==
+
::If the submission has not been published, go to your "My pending edits" list and you can open it. You can't edit it, but you can copy the info to a new submission, correct it, submit the new one, then click "Cancel submission" for the first one on your pending list. If you realise immediately after submitting there is an error, you can go back a page in your history to pre-submission, correct it and submit again, then cancel the first one as above. [[User:AlanHK|AlanHK]] ([[User talk:AlanHK|talk]]) 23:51, 22 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Converting a novel to a chapbook is [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:How_to_convert_a_novel_to_a_chapbook thoroughly documented], but as far as I can tell, the reverse isn't - I guess it's a much less common action?
+
== Problem with The Dresden Files Collection 1-6 ==
  
−
Anyway, I tested doing a chapbook/novella to novel conversion on a local instance of the site/database over the weekend, and it seemed to go OK.  However, when I came to replicate that on the live site, I managed to fall at the first hurdle by not exactly repeating what I tested on my local instance.
+
When I used Add a New Omnibus to create a title record for The ''Dresden Files Collection 1-6'', something went wrong with the records for the novels contained in the omnibus.  I don’t know why it happened, nor do I know how to fix it.  I’m hoping somebody can explain how things went awry and how to fix the mess.
  
−
Specifically, on my local tests, I did the following 3 steps:
+
The problem is that the submission created references to new title records for the novels contained in the omnibus, rather than references to the existing title records.  E.g., the HTML link in the Contents section of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1067710 The Dresden Files Collection 1-6] for ''Storm Front'' leads to (newly created) title record 3497597 rather than to record 21523 as it should.
  
−
# Convert the SHORTFICTION/novella title record to NOVEL
+
When I filled in the title entries in the ''New Omnibus'' form, I cut and pasted the author and title information for each entry from the corresponding extant title record. Should I have done something else?  If so, what? And what needs to be done to correct the errant links in the publication record (1067710)?
−
# Remove the CHAPBOOK title contents record from all the relevant pubs
 
−
# Convert the relevant pubs from CHAPBOOK to NOVEL
 
  
−
Instead what I did for the first step was [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5171651 convert the CHAPBOOK (i.e. not SHORTFICTION record to NOVEL].  This means that when I try to remove one of the contents from one of the pubs, I get a warning box that states:
+
[[User:Glenn.Skinner|Glenn.Skinner]] ([[User talk:Glenn.Skinner|talk]]) 00:27, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
:When you type titles and authors into the contents section when creating or editing a pub record, the software will create new title records for each of the items you entered in the contents section. It will not automatically combine identical author/title records (as there many cases where authors reuse titles, etc.). If you are entering a collection or omnibus where the contents are already in the database, the best approach is to enter the publication without the already existing contents, and then when the publication has been created, use the "Import Content" option on the publication record to import the existing contents into the publication. To solve cases where duplicate records were created, you need to merge the duplicates. The easiest way to do that in this case, is to go to the {{P|1067710|publication record}} and use the "Check for Duplicate Titles" option. From there you can select the duplicates and merge them. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 06:46, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
    WARNING: Unable to locate the title reference for this publication.
+
::Thnks for the explanation.  I've submitted merge requests following the procedure you desccribed. After doing so, I went back to the help page for new publications and found the procedure described there in the Content Information subsection. I've probably read that section a dozen times, but it apparently flowed into one ear and out the other. I expect to do better next time... [[User:Glenn.Skinner|Glenn.Skinner]] ([[User talk:Glenn.Skinner|talk]]) 15:07, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
−
    Removing titles while in this state is dangerous. Check to make sure the publication type is correct (collection, novel, anthology, etc.). Then come back and remove the title in question.
 
  
−
which is worrying, so I've gone back to my local system (which was refreshed from the weekend's copy of the database, and had my prior test edits undone).  I *think* I have got things to the desired state by doing:
+
== Cover replacement failed (?) ==
  
−
# Update all relevant pubs from CHAPBOOK to NOVEL
+
Hello... I need assistance to understand what went bad. A few days ago I uploaded a new scan for the cover of {{P|384797|Prigione senza sbarre}} this way: 1. from the pub page, click "upload new cover scan"; 2. Select the file and click "upload file" 3. Select "Ignore warning and save file" on the following page, where there was the warning "A file with this name exists already". The image in the pub record did not change; if I go to [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/File:PRGNSNZSBR1977.jpg the cover page], the image is still the old one, although the thumbnails section below shows my scan as "current" and the resolution and file size reported under the image are those of the new scan. clcking on the thumbails only shows the old one. What should I have done instead (or in addition)? thank you! --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 13:43, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
−
# Merge the NOVEL and SHORTFICTION/novella title records.
+
:I looked at it and your update took effect. When you upload a new version of an existing file, you may have to clear your browser cookies to see it immediately. Otherwise it might be several days before the existing cached image and cookie is cleared. Hope this explains it sufficiently. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] ([[User talk:Philfreund|talk]]) 14:17, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
The latter step does prompt another warning box:
+
::Another method, if you don't want to clear your cache, is to perform a hard page refresh. This forces your browser to download everything on a web page from the server. Go to the {{P|384797|pub record}} and perform a hard page refresh. How you do that depends on your operating system and browser. For some browsers running on Windows, hold down the Ctrl key and press F5. If that doesn't work you will need to search on the internet to find how to do a hard page refresh for your configuration. Hope that works for you. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 16:55, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
    WARNING: records 2930366 and 2930367 both appear in the publication ReDawn
+
:::Thank you Teallach, I'll try to remember your advice for the next occurrence... I cannot try it on this one because today I see the right cover... guess the cache expired as Philfreund said. Thanks again to both! --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 07:55, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
−
    Merging titles causes the title names to be commonized, AND causes that new title to show up in the publications those titles point to. If you merge two
 
−
    titles that appear in the same publication, you will cause that title to show up twice in that pub. This is probably not what you want.
 
−
    .
 
−
    If you are trying to remove a duplicate title from a publication, edit that publication, and click on Remove Titles From This Pub. Then select the title you wish to remove.
 
  
−
Despite, this doing the merge does appear to have had the desired effect - everything is showing as a novel, there are no duplicate contents showing, SQL queries on the local database show what I'd expect.
+
::::Luca, When you wish to replace a previously uploaded image, don't use "upload new cover scan" in the publication record. Go to the wiki page, in this case, [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/File:PRGNSNZSBR1977.jpg here]. In the file history section you will find the link "Upload a new version of this file". This will avoid the duplicate warning message. When you are satisfied with the new image, post a request on the Moderator Noticeboard to delete the old image. I have taken care of this one. As previously noted, clearing the cache is necessary to see the change. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 16:38, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Is this (i.e. converting the pubs then merging the titles) a reasonable course of action, or would it maybe be better to revert the CHAPBOOK-to-NOVEL edit, and then follow my original course of action?  Thanks [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 14:36, 13 December 2021 (EST)
+
:::::Thank you John, I (hope that...) I will remember this process. Shouldn't it be explained in the Help page for uploading covers? I did what I did because I didn't find instructions to replace them. --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 20:09, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
: This process is not preferable: all reviews and other links (for example awards) usually are linked to the SHORTFICTION, and by deleting that all of these links are broken. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 13:11, 15 December 2021 (EST)
+
::::::That's the first time I have ever seen this process described or have it stated that it's how duplicates should be handled. There shouldn't be a button that allows us to go ahead and upload anyway if it's always the wrong thing to do and the correct process needs to be put into the Help documentation. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] ([[User talk:Philfreund|talk]]) 22:00, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:: Thanks for responding - unfortunately it's still not clear to me what the safest/best course of action is.  Is switching the pubs from CHAPBOOK to NOVEL and then merging the NOVEL and SHORTFICTION/novella title records OK?  Naively I'd assume that merge actions should not break anything, but I would prefer it if someone could explicitly reassure me that that is the case. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 14:01, 16 December 2021 (EST)
+
::::::: I haven't looked into the software behind the Wiki upload page (and the matching "Upload" link on Publication pages) in over 10 years. It's possible that the ability to "Upload a new version of this file" did not exist in the version of the MediaWiki software that we were using in the early 2010s when I added the current "Upload" link to Publication pages. Either way, if all moderators agree that what is described above is the preferred image replacement process, then we probably need to update our software to automate this functionality. A cursory review suggests that it shouldn't be too hard to do. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 13:47, 19 August 2025 (EDT)
  
−
::: In most cases this would not be okay (as explained above). It should be the conversion of the SHORTFICTION to NOVEL; this way the links that are connected to the fiction remain intact (CHAPBOOK is not a fiction title but rather a container title, like COLLECTION or ANTHOLOGY). [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 14:29, 16 December 2021 (EST)
+
== How to add Psychopomp short stories ==
  
−
:::: OK, I'll revert the edit I made and go back and do the steps I originally intended to do.  Thanks. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 16:10, 16 December 2021 (EST)
+
The website [https://psychopomp.com/ Psychopomp] has a bunch of short fiction under the "Psychopomp fiction" headline that's not part of any publication.
  
−
== Need misspelled alias corrected ==
+
Most of these stories are not on ISFDB. A few do:
 +
* [https://psychopomp.com/joannas-bodies/ Joanna's Bodies] is categorizes under a publication titled [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1054749 Psychopomp, July 1, 2024].
 +
* [https://psychopomp.com/what-any-dead-thing-wants/ What Any Dead Thing Wants] ([https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3486744 ISFDB]), was reprinted in an anthology, and doesn't have a "Psychopomp, DATE" publication.
  
−
Author alias Larry Schwinger [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?181355 here] is misspelled as Larry Shwinger. Can a mod please correct the spelling to Larry Schwinger? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 11:59, 15 December 2021 (EST)
+
The other stories on the website don't have a date associated with them, so I don't know how to add them:
−
:We need Chavey to chime in on this one since he's verified that publication. If it's misspelled in the book, we need to keep the misspelling. It's already varianted to the correct spelling. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:10, 15 December 2021 (EST)
+
* https://psychopomp.com/not-lost-never-lost/
−
::I posted a note on his page. I have the book in hand and it's spelled correctly on the copyright page, just not in the DB. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 14:25, 15 December 2021 (EST)
+
* https://psychopomp.com/we-who-will-not-die/
−
:::How is it spelled on the Title page? That's the one we use if we have access to the book. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 14:32, 15 December 2021 (EST)
+
* https://psychopomp.com/update-the-buildings-are-hungry/
−
::::He's the endpaper map artist and not on the title page. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 14:36, 15 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::: Larry Schwinger is the artist who did the endpaper maps, he is credited on the title page verso not the tile page. I have a first printing and the name is spelled as Phil is stating. I will be glad to provide a primary verification after I see what the final record looks like. Hope this helps,  [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 14:40, 15 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::::This has been corrected. Thanks for catching it! ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:47, 16 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Awaiting approval for new magazine ==
+
--[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 05:12, 21 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
: If stories aren't published in a proper publication (as defined [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Rules_of_Acquisition here], under Rules of Acquisition) they are unfortunately not eligible. Allowed electronic publications include webzines, ebooks, downloadable files, and others, but stories that are just put as a stand-alone into the web are not taken into consideration. Hope that helps. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 06:42, 21 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
::With the only exception to the above being "Online publications available exclusively as a Web page, but only if published by a market which makes the author eligible for SFWA membership (listed here), OR shortlisted for a major award". So if the magazine or the work meets either of the two exceptions, then they could be listed. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:14, 21 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: These [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3458172 Psychopomp] "issues" are most likely a made-up publications, that only contain one story each. So I shouldn't create similar ones for the other stories? --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 12:54, 22 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::: Those were made to handle stories posted on psychopomp.com that are eligible due to being "shortlisted for a major award".  You can see [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1059812 this one] has the note ''While not a true webzine by ISFDB standards, this "issue" is included as the story was nominated for a 2025 Ignyte Award.'' (in reference to {{T|3472735|We Who Will Not Die}}).  [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1054749 This one] unfortunately has no note (and probably should), but {{T|3458174|Joanna's Bodies}} was nominated for several awards.  So if there are more stories originally published on the site and eligible for inclusion under that awards exception, you could follow precedent and make more "issues" to represent the original publication. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 09:20, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Manufacturing Defects ==
 +
 
 +
This thread has been prompted by [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Mavmaramis#Isaac_Asimov_.28ed.29_.2F_Tomorrow.27s_Children this discussion: Isaac Asimov (ed) / Tomorrow's Children].
 +
<br>One copy of {{P|513158|a pub}} has been identified with a significant manufacturing defect. It has been bound with (at least) 23 pages missing at the end of the book. Is this worth mentioning in the pub notes? My slight inclination is "No". I suspect that these defects occur on too small a proportion of copies to be worth a mention. However, a counter argument is that if a significant minority of copies have this defect then a pub note could be useful as something to watch out for by someone intending to buy a copy.
 +
<br>Personally, I don't feel strongly about this. Does anyone know if there are any precedents or undocumented practices in the ISFDb for how to deal with this? If so then I'll go with the flow for sake of consistency. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:42, 28 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:The only way we would know if it was a problem affecting an entire batch would be if more copies turned up with the same defect.  If it did affect many copies, that would be of general interest.  So my recommendation is to note that your verifier's copy has the defect you describe. You can use the PV template to identify yourself as the verifier with the defective copy. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 08:35, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::Will do. Thanks for your input. Edit submitted. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:12, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== New author showing up without any titles ==
 +
 
 +
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6341713
 +
 
 +
I did this edit of this anthology. this story variant was only in this pub but the author had to be changed to a new alt name not used on any other titles so i changed it in the publication. when i click on the the story title it shows the new author name but when i click on the author it shows up without any titles. why isnt it showing the story on the author page? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 11:32, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
: I assume you are referring to {{A|Nikolai Poushkin}}, right? The reason that no titles are displayed on his Summary page is that the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/adv_search_results.cgi?START=0&TYPE=Title&USE_1=author_canonical&O_1=exact&TERM_1=Nikolai%20Poushkin&ORDERBY=title_title&C=AND only title associated with the name] is already set up as a variant. The reason the Summary page doesn't show that "Nikolai Poushkin" is an alternate name of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2023 Александр Пушкин] is that we haven't created an Alternate/Parent name association yet. It can be done by clicking "Make/Remove Alternate Name" on the alternate name's Summary page. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 13:22, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
::cheers mate i think i understand. that story had already been varianted under the old author name and thats still there with the new name but the new name doesnt keep the alt name status of the old name so has to be joined seperately? Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 15:12, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: Sorry about the delayed response -- I am currently very busy with the Fixer migration, which has to be completed by late October 2025.
 +
 
 +
::: To answer your question, the software has two separate -- but related -- ways to link ISFDB records:
 +
:::* The "Variant Title" mechanism links variant titles to their parent titles
 +
:::* "Alternate Names" link authors'/editors'/artists' alternate names to their "canonical" names
 +
 
 +
::: For everything to work properly, you have to make sure that we have a variant title relationship between two titles as well as the correct "alternate name" relationship between their authors (if there is one).
 +
 
 +
::: The reason these two mechanisms are separate is that there are many different "alternate name" scenarios:
 +
:::* Joint pseudonyms like {{A|Ilona Andrews}}
 +
:::* Ghostwriters -- see {{A|William Shatner}}'s Summary page, specifically "Man O'War", "Quest for Tomorrow" and "TekWar"
 +
:::* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_name#Collective_names house names]
 +
:::* Sometimes a personal pseudonym becomes a "house name", e.g. see {{A|Alexander Blade}}
 +
:::* Other times a joint pseudonym becomes a personal pseudonym, e.g. see {{A|Eando Binder}}
 +
:::* Odd scenarios like [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2873162 ''Empire''], which was originally written by John W. Campbell, Jr., then rewritten by Clifford D. Simak, then published as by Simak alone.
 +
 
 +
::: Each scenario has to be evaluated individually to determine whether we need an "alternate name" relationship.
 +
 
 +
::: Hope this makes sense! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 12:26, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::cheers mate just seen your reply - thanks for calrifying. this was the first time for me where the author name for the variant was wrong but it only showed up in 1 pub so could change the name in the contents and so varianting not needed unlike other cases where ive had to add the new variant and take out the old one and then varianting and alt authoring both to be done. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:54, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Missing Clarkesworld magazines - any automation available? ==
 +
 
 +
About 40 [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/seriesgrid.cgi?26273 Clarkesworld issues], both historical and recent, are missing from ISFDB.
 +
 
 +
Does ISFDB have an automated API that I can use to add them programmatically?
 +
 
 +
Alternatively, if I automate the regular submission form, where can I post the program, so others can use it in the future?
 +
--[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 06:13, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
: Yes, we do have an API, which lets you retrieve (certain types of) data and create automated submissions. The [[Main Page]] links to the [[Web API]] page, which has all of the gory details. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 12:08, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: Thanks! A few questions:
 +
::# The publication metadata has fields to enter a list of web links, but it's not documented in [[XML:NewPub]] - any chance it exists?
 +
::# I assume that if an item in the magazine is part of the series (like the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?54202 Editor's Desk]), it has to be added separately, with a TitleUpdate request - does that update have to wait for moderator approval of the publication?
 +
::# Is there a way to test things before making an actual submission? I guess I can submit something and immediately cancel the submission if there's a problem.
 +
::--[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 15:57, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: Let me try to answer the questions in the order they were asked:
 +
:::# As per [[Web API#submission.cgi]], "The format of the XML data is identical to that used for local submissions, with the exception that the user's license key must be inserted after the Submitter tag." Back when we added the ability to submit External IDs and Web pages, we updated [[Web API#Publication Lookups]], but [[XML:NewPub]] and related Wiki pages haven't been updated [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=XML:NewPub&action=history since 2014]. Thanks for identifying the problem -- I'll add it to my list of things to do. In the meantime, you can determine which XML tags take External ID and Web page values if you configure a local ISFDB database on your development server -- see [[ISFDB Downloads#Installation and Setup]] for details -- then create test submissions locally.
 +
:::# That's right, if you want to add Content-level titles, you will need to wait for your NewPub submission(s) to be approved, then edit them manually.
 +
:::# As mentioned above, you can set up a local copy of the ISFDB database and use it for testing submissions. Also, please note that, as per [[Web API#License Keys]], you will need to have your user name added to a special list of authorized users before you can create submissions via the API: "the submitting user's name must be added to the whitelist of authorized submitters maintained via a bureaucrat-only menu option. Post on the ISFDB Moderator Noticeboard to request access."
 +
::: HTH! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 18:26, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::: I'd strongly recommend to submit one issue only, see what changes are done during moderation and then submit the rest with the changes incorporated into the next submissions. There are some oddities in how we record magazines and submitting a lot of records with the same issues in them is going to delay their approval. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 18:58, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::: An excellent point! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 19:43, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
=== Problem with dates in submissions ===
 +
 
 +
[[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]], I've run into a problem with the API. [[XML:NewPub]] says "Year" is "The Year of publication. Uses the YYYY-MM-DD format.". When I pass "YYYY-MM-DD", I get a crash when approving it as a moderator in <code>pa_new</code>'s <code>UpdatePubColumn(merge, 'Year',    'pub_year',      Record)</code>, which expects just "YYYY". But when I send "YYYY-MM-DD", it crashes when viewing the pending edit, in <code>mod/viewers</code>'s <code>table.Add1MetadataRow('Pub Date', 'Year', 'pub_date')</code>, which expects "YYYY-MM-DD". --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 11:48, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
: Could you please clarify why you believe that <code>UpdatePubColumn(merge, 'Year',    'pub_year',      Record)</code>, expects "YYYY"? The field "pub_year" (table "pubs") is defined as a "date", so it should be expecting YYYY-MM-DD. Does "describe pubs" show a different field type for you? Our robot, Fixer, uses the Web API for automated submissions and it sends YYYY-MM-DD dates, e.g. see [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/dumpxml.cgi?6357157 the XML payload of this submission], so something is not right. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 13:28, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: This is my test submission (still needs some unrelated improvements): (taken from "view raw XML" in the pending edits page) https://pastebin.com/0MHLm0s6, and this is the error I get when approving it as a moderator: https://pastebin.com/7L9wve9p . I'm probably missing something if it's supposed to work missing something. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 13:35, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: Thanks for clarifying! It sounds like your MySQL server doesn't support "YYYY-MM-00" dates and, perhaps, "0000-00-00" dates. How they are handled is controlled by NO_ZERO_DATE and NO_ZERO_IN_DATE in your MySQL server configuration file; it's possible that the default settings of your version are different from what's expected by our Wiki-based installation instruction and they need to be updated.
 +
::: What do you see when you run:
 +
:::* SELECT @@GLOBAL.sql_mode global, @@SESSION.sql_mode session
 +
::: ? My development server shows STRICT_TRANS_TABLES,NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER,NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION for both values. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 17:02, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::: Yeah I have <code>NO_ZERO_IN_DATE,NO_ZERO_DATE</code>. I removed them and now it works. Thanks! :D --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 17:24, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::: Excellent! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 17:30, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::: P.S. I have updated [[ISFDB:MySQL Only Setup‎‎]] to clarify that NO_ZERO_DATE and NO_ZERO_IN_DATE should not be defined in the INI file. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 17:40, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
=== More-or-less working script ===
 +
The script seems to be working as intended now. Here's the [https://gist.github.com/salty-horse/d6447a3f9dc0b8b31d6cc1399204bbf5 Github Gist], but I can put it in a proper repository if people want to contribute or modify it, or maybe add support for new magazines.
 +
 
 +
As for my submissions, I just realized there's an alternative [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/seriesgrid.cgi?35233 Clarkesworld (print issue)] series, and together with the webzine one, they cover all issues. So there's no need to submit any new issues in bulk, just to duplicate existing print ones to become webzines and ebooks...?
 +
 
 +
Should I just automate a duplication, then? Or are there other tools to do that? --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 13:26, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: Have you had a chance to review [[Help:Screen:ClonePub]] and [[Help:Screen:ImportContent]]? Depending on what's already in the database, either one or the other may be the fastest way to add the data. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 16:45, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:Some of those print issues don't have any contents (e.g., {{P|785230|Clarkesworld, June 2020}}), so I'll check each one and submit a webzine with all the data. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 14:52, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Help merge author/stories - M. L. Clark ==
 +
 
 +
I submitted a novel and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?299763 short story collection] for [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?299763 M. L. Clark].
 +
 
 +
All of the stories in the collection were previously published (even though they have all been "refined" according to the author) and appear under an [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?152883 alternate name for the author].
 +
 
 +
How can the stories be linked to their old edition, so that when you click on a story, you can see both its original publication, and the short story collection? (I assumed that would be done automatically since the author name is the same) --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 03:41, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
: New titles are not automatically merged with their pre-existing versions because they do not always contain the same text. For example, {{A|Robert Silverberg}}'s 1966 collection ''Needle in a Timestack'' was significantly revised in 1979. Yet another version appeared as ''Needle in a Timestack and Other Stories'' in 2019 and was reprinted as ''Needle in a Timestack'' in 2021.  It's even worse with translations, e.g. we have 6 different translations (3 French and 3 Portuguese) of {{A|H. P. Lovecraft}}'s 1922 story "Azathoth", not to mention the eponymous English poem from 1931.
 +
 
 +
: Please see [[Help:How to record a variant title]] for a detailed description of how to merge titles and/or how to set up "variant title" relationships between newly entered title records and pre-existing records. You can also import existing title records into publications -- please see [[Help:Screen:ImportContent]] for details. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 11:09, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: The problem is, I don't know the extent of the changes for each story. Should I consider them all to be worthy of being a variant rather than a merge, and update their publication dates to the collection's publication date? And how do I decide which one is "canonical"? The newer ones are certainly the author's "preferred text", but might not be what most readers of the work are familiar with, since the collection is self-published. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 12:43, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: That's one of the trickier scenarios that we have to deal with. The best I have been able to find is the following [https://www.amazon.com/Tower-Coming-World-M-Clark-ebook/dp/B0C7WHNJLB statement on Amazon.com], presumably provided by the publisher/author:
 +
:::* Some of these pieces were first published in Analog, Clarkesworld, and F&SF, among other SF magazines. All have been refined
 +
::: Since it says "refined", I think it would be reasonable to assume that the changes were not fundamental in nature. I would merge the ones that use the same name, set up any new titles that use a different name as variants, then add a note to each title record explaining that, as per the author, the text was refined when the story was reprinted in 2023. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 15:47, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::: I'm sorry, I need more assistance. I managed to merge [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1247851 Saying the Names]. Then, it somehow moved to the top of the collection, so I updated the internal order. So far so good. Now, I want to merge the other titles, but they all appear as "variant titles" (not of the original stories - they are still linked to the collection, and I'm not sure why that's happening - did I accidentally cause those variants to be created? What should I merge exactly? (Example: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/adv_search_results.cgi?USE_1=title_title&O_1=exact&TERM_1=Hydroponics+101&C=AND&USE_2=title_title&O_2=exact&TERM_2=&USE_3=title_title&O_3=exact&TERM_3=&USE_4=title_title&O_4=exact&TERM_4=&USE_5=title_title&O_5=exact&TERM_5=&USE_6=title_title&O_6=exact&TERM_6=&USE_7=title_title&O_7=exact&TERM_7=&USE_8=title_title&O_8=exact&TERM_8=&USE_9=title_title&O_9=exact&TERM_9=&USE_10=title_title&O_10=exact&TERM_10=&ORDERBY=title_title&ACTION=query&START=0&TYPE=Title Advanced Search for Hydroponics 101]) --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 13:19, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::: No worries, that's what this Wiki page is for -- figuring things out!
 +
 
 +
::::: Looking at submission history, I think the issue was that you used "Option 2" (as opposed to "option 1") on the "Make Variant Title" Web page. "Option 1" lets you turn the currently selected title record into a variant of another (existing) title record. If you had used it, it would have linked the new "M. L. Clark" titles into variants of existing "Maggie Clark" titles. Since you used "Option 2", new title records were created for "Maggie Clark".
 +
 
 +
::::: I believe I was able to fix everything by merging the new "Maggie Clark" records with the pre-existing ones. Please take a look at the {{A|Maggie Clark}} page to make sure that everything is OK. Once the Summary page looks right, we can post on the Community Portal and propose that the "canonical name - alternate name" relationship be reversed since "M. L. Clark" is the better known name now. Thanks! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 13:53, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::::: I never visited a "Make variant title" page, which is why I'm confused.
 +
 
 +
::::::: Re-checking submissions in Edit History -- like [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6352416 this one] -- I see that the varianting was done by [[User:BanjoKev]], who may have found them on one of our cleanup reports. Sorry about the confusion! [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 18:09, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::::: When I click on title on the collection, I still don't see most of them as merged - I guess it's pending moderation? I'll wait for tomorrow. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 16:00, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::::::: Let me make sure that we are on the same page. When you say "When I click on title on the collection", which Web page are you referring to? Is it the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1070461 Publication page of the collection]? All of the stories appear "as by M. L. Clark". Isn't it the expected outcome? [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 18:09, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:::::::: OK I think I understand now. When I go to [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1247851 Saying the Names], which I merged myself, I see the Lightspeed publications, and the A Tower for the Coming World collection - this I think is the desired outcome. But [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3506196 A Plague of Zhe (3506196)] is listed differently, as a "variant title of" [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1449201 A Plague of Zhe (1449201)], which does list all publications. Would the next step of asking for an author rename fix that distinction? It's not really a "variant title". {{unsigned|Salty-horse}}
 +
 
 +
::::::::: A "variant title record" differs from its parent (or "canonical") title record in at least one of the following ways:
 +
:::::::::* A different title, e.g. "1984" vs. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" vs. "Vuonna 1984"
 +
:::::::::* A different author credit, e.g. "George Orwell" vs. "Džorž Orvel" or "Megan Lindholm" vs. "Robin Hobb"
 +
:::::::::* A different text, e.g. a German translation of "1984" vs. a French translation of "1984" or two different German translations of "1984" (this includes different translations of "1984" done by the same translator)
 +
::::::::: In the case of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3506196 A Plague of Zhe (3506196)] the author credit is "M. L. Clark" while the author credit of its [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1449201 parent record] is "Maggie Clark". It can get even more complicated when joint pseudonyms, ghostwrites, etc are involved, e.g note the number of variants listed under "Other Titles" on [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?44695 this Web page]. That's why all variant title pages have "[may list more publications, awards, reviews, votes and covers]" displayed next to the link to the parent/canonical line.
 +
::::::::: Does this make sense? [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 10:21, 6 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::::::: The explanation makes sense, thanks. I don't agree with the how the canonical entry is hard to find in the UI when I want to navigate from the collection TOC to where a story was published. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 18:45, 6 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::::::::: An interesting point. If memory serves, we changed the UI not to display identical canonical titles on Publication pages around 2010. The underlying idea was that displaying something like:
 +
:::::::::::* Leave-Taking • (2020) • novelette by M. L. Clark [variant of ''Leave-Taking'' by Maggie Clark]
 +
::::::::::: would mean duplicating the displayed data for no good reason. However, as you point out, it made getting to the canonical title record more difficult. Food for thought... 21:14, 6 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: As far as the canonical name goes, it looks like this author has been using "M. L. Clark" consistently since 2019, with older stories getting reprinted as by "M. L. Clark". I would suggest proposing a canonical name change on the Community Portal. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 15:47, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
Also, maybe the author's main entry should list the current name they use for their publications? Most of the items there are credited with "only as by M. L. Clark"
 +
--[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 03:41, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
: To quote [[Template:AuthorFields:CanonicalName]]:
 +
:* ''Canonical Name'' - The canonical name is the name under which a particular author's bibliography is organized. For authors who publish under multiple names, the canonical name is the most recognized name for that author within the genre. The canonical name may be a pseudonym, for instance Cordwainer Smith (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Cordwainer_Smith).
 +
: It's entirely possible for "the most recognized name for that author within the genre" to change over time. [[Template:AuthorFields:CanonicalName]] gives an example: "{{A|Megan Lindholm}} has had a successful career writing under her own name, and an even more successful career writing as "{{A|Robin Hobb}}". Originally we had "Megan Lindholm" set up as the canonical name, but we changed it to "Robin Hobb" once she became much better known as Hobb.
 +
 
 +
: Once the titles that you submitted are merged/linked as per above, we can review the Summary page and see if we need to reverse the "canonical name -- alternate name" relationship. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 11:19, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
==  Charnel House ==
 +
 
 +
Please split this title into 2 with a note that these are different publishers.
 +
 
 +
The first is represented by the interval 1984-1988 is a fan booklets with different addresses.
 +
*North Caroline, Mount Olive ([https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/VISIONS-YADDITH-Limited-Edition-Chapbook-Lin/32116510780/bd])
 +
*Montclair, New Jersey ([https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Verses-Dedicatory-Previously-Unpublished-Poems-1985/20416241002/bd])
 +
*Lenox Hill Station, N.Y. ([https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?ds=20&kn=History%20%26%20Chronology%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Eibon&ref_=ds_ac_d_41&sts=t])
 +
 
 +
the second is a more or less standard publishing house, created in 1989 ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_House_(publisher)]) <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Satampra Zeiros|Satampra Zeiros]] ([[User talk:Satampra Zeiros|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Satampra Zeiros|contribs]]) .</small> 13:35, 4 September 2025‎ (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:Okay, this has been split into [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisher.cgi?87520 Charnel House (Lin Carter)] and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisher.cgi?722 Charnel House]. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 20:11, 4 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== How to submit Clarkesworld magazine entries ==
 +
 
 +
I'm looking at current ISFDB entries for Clarkesworld, and I'm not sure if and how to mimic them with a new submission.
 +
 
 +
For example, let's look at [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1027196 issue 209 from February 2024]:
 +
# If I click "edit", under "Regular Titles" I see a title with type "EDITOR". Is that something that ISFDB adds automatically? It doesn't appear in the edit history, even when I view the raw XML.
 +
# Covers art in Clarkesworld usually has a name (for issue 209 it's "Harvesters", but in ISFDB they are always listed with the name of the issue. Why? Should this trend continue?
 +
# Sometimes dates are recorded with a day value of "YYYY-MM-00" and sometimes it's "YYYY-MM-01" - which should be used?
 +
# Some titles have translators credited - I couldn't find anything in the API about them - I assume it has to be entered separately, and not part of a "new publication" submission?
 +
# Should audio versions of stories be recorded? Nowadays, Clarkesworld usually offers audio for all stories during the month.
 +
 +
Thanks! --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 11:54, 7 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:Some short answers:
 +
: 1) Yep, you're right: it's entered automatically.
 +
: 2) These are also automatically assigned; titles can be named in the artwork's title note section.
 +
: 3) Usually it's the first; we assign the value of the month an issue was considered to have been published in: that is, the (first) month stated on the cover, the masthead or the copyright section.
 +
: 4) Yes, translators should be named in a title's note section, please use the translator template {{Tr|TRANSLATOR NAME}}, described [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:How_to_enter_translations in this help section].
 +
: 5) I don't think so: they are considered as separate publications (and could be entered separately, if they are donwloadable or otherwise available.
 +
: Hope that helps, Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 04:39, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:: Just to add a few notes:
 +
::* For monthly magazines such as this one, the date is always YYYY-MM-00. The ones with -01 needs fixing... :)
 +
::* One note - magazines tend to have a few post-approval steps such as putting the records into the yearly EDITOR for example (the Magazine - YYYY naming). Ignore that part, it cannot be done with the "New Magazine" submission and is always a later step - just submit the magazine with its proper title ("Magazine Name, January 2022" for example). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 10:35, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:: [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 10:35, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]], using the API in a test on my own instance of ISFDB, I managed to submit and approve a custom cover art name, and it was not replaced with the magazine name. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 17:28, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::: Here's my pending submission with the cover art title: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6358766 --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 02:39, 10 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Two Possible Alternate Names ==
 +
 
 +
Hello, Moderators!
 +
 
 +
I just submitted the artists for the anthology [[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1004980 Tales of Girls Who Tech and Tinker]], and I am unclear whether I handled those credits correctly:
 +
 
 +
# The artist T. A. Hernandez (three times): Based on this website [[https://www.tahernandez.com/]], I believe that should be Hernandez's canonical name, and that is the name I used in the submission. However, in the anthology, they are credited as TA Hernandez. Should TA Hernandez be used as an alternate name in this case?
 +
 
 +
# The artist Sean Eddingfield (six times): Based on this website [[https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sean-eddingfield]], I believe that should be Eddingfield's canonical name, and that is the name I used in the submission. However, in the anthology, they are credited as Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield (including the quotation marks and capital W). Should Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield be used as an alternate name in this case?
 +
 
 +
If either of these credits need to be changed to the alternate name, how can I go about making that change?
 +
 
 +
Many thanks,
 +
 
 +
[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 10:47, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:ISFDB policy used to be to always use periods when an author's name had initials. It was changed to allow not using periods when it's clear that it's the author's choice to not use periods (instead of a publisher's stylistic decision). This means that not all of our records are consistent. In this case, since Hernandez's website uses periods, I would agree with you to use them.
 +
:In Eddingfield's case, however, our standard is to credit as per the publication. So his name should be entered as Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield and that made an alternate. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 19:33, 10 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::And in the case of double (or triple) initials, if the canonical ISFDB name uses them, it's a good idea to put the name without them in a transliteration field. That way, people can more easily find them when searching for an author. For example, the canonical name {{A|T. A. Hernandez}} should have "TA Hernandez" and "T A Hernandez" in the transliteration fields (they will show up when you hover over the "?" at the end of their name on that page). ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 19:38, 10 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
Thanks, 日本穣, for adding the transliteration field to TA Hernandez's record. And thanks to JLaTondre, too. I will submit one of the credit changes for Eddingfield now, in order to get the pseudonym into the database. Once that is completed, I will submit the same change for the artist's other six pieces in this same publication. --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 10:50, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey, 1988 ==
  
 
Hello,
 
Hello,
  
−
On 12/6/21 I submitted a new magazine, "Vastarien: A Literary Journal vol. 4, issue 2," for verification. It has remained under pending edits since then. I have watched the backlog go up&down from 100+ to 400+ several times. The question is, has this pending edit gone astray, or is someone holding it while they are simply too busy with life as Christmas/Covid looms?
+
Recently came across this website, and find it helpful for research.
 +
 
 +
I have a Russian edition of this book.  I picked it up through an Amazon Seller
 +
in 2011.
 +
 
 +
I noticed on your page for this title- this edition is not included.
 +
 
 +
I would like to add it, as I intend to send it to another soon.
 +
 
 +
2005 edition.
 +
ISBN 5-699-09175-0
 +
 
 +
The cover is dark, with a portion of Michael Whelan's coverart.
 +
 
 +
Description note from the Seller- limited to 5100 copies.
 +
 
 +
Seller-
 +
Old Book and Coin
 +
Palm Harbor, Florida {{unsigned|Robert4}}
 +
: Welcome to ISFDB! [https://fantlab.ru/edition4280 Is this your book]? If so - you can try to add it on your own (start with "New Novel") or if you are not comfortable with Russian, I can add it as well. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:46, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== vs. ==
 +
 
 +
Just checking - do we regularise this to Vs. ? Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 15:06, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
: We do not have it on the list and we do not have a known exception for it so... yes. How often it slips through the cracks is a different story... [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 15:16, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
:: Thanks Annie for the confirmation! Kev. --[[User:BanjoKev|BanjoKev]] ([[User talk:BanjoKev|talk]]) 21:49, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Pendulum Press ==
 +
 
 +
Hello!
 +
 
 +
Please split Pendulum Press into 2 publishers
 +
 
 +
Please split this topic into 2 publishers: the early one from London and the later one from West Haven, Connecticut
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendulum_Press]]
 +
 
 +
Thank you in advance! {{unsigned|Satampra Zeiros}}
 +
: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Pendulum+Press+&type=Publisher Done]. I will take a look at the rest of the Pendulums as well because there more issues around these... Thanks for pointing this one out! [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 12:54, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== "Retold by" or "Rewritten by" ==
 +
 
 +
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1064963
 +
 
 +
I'm having second thoughts about this one and some others that are books of Aesop's Fables where they are not translations as such but are said to be "Retold by...". for this book "Retold by Fiona Waters" i made Waters the author for each story and then varianted them to the parent title by Aesop.  i now think i should unvariant them and just put them in the "Aesop's Fables" series with the same series number as the parent title with a title note saying its a retelling by the listed author. Is that right? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 14:57, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
: Don't put them in the same series please - start a new series for the retellings and put them in there and make the new series a child of the main series. And yes - if they are retold as opposed to "translated", then they are separate stories. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 15:04, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
::righto i'll do that - cheers Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 15:14, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
 
 +
== Work Published as Single and Multiple Volumes ==
 +
 
 +
How do we treat a work that is published as both a single volume (usually a fat hardcover) and also as multiple volumes (usually later split into two paperbacks)?
 +
<br>This question is prompted because I have started to work on Harlan Ellison (ED) / Again, Dangerous Visions.
 +
<br>The Pan pb's are linked to variant titles whereas the Signet pb's are not.
 +
<br>Examples:
 +
<br>Method 1): {{P|1762|Pan pb: Again, Dangerous Visions, Book 1}} has {{T|3481970|title: Again, Dangerous Visions, Book 1}} which is a variant of {{T|33484|title: Again, Dangerous Visions}}
 +
<br>Method 2): {{P|113661|Signet pb: Again, Dangerous Visions I}} has {{T|33484|title: Again, Dangerous Visions}}
 +
<br>Which method is correct? Or are both acceptable? [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:33, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:We have been doing Method 1 in various places where this occurs.  The pubs have the specific book-portion/volume titles, and those titles are then made variants of the original, full/single-volume title. We typically see this with certain language translations, but we apply it in non-translation cases as well.  [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1770406 Here] is a clean-looking example.  --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 09:50, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I ask, because I have never waited more than 5 days for this process to play out before, and we're into the 9th day.
+
::You have confirmed my suspicion. However, what caused me uncertainty is that, if Method 1 is correct, why does "Again, Dangerous Visions I" not appear in the cleanup report: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/cleanup_report.cgi?93 Publication Title-Reference Title Mismatches]? I realise this report only lists 1000 records but it seems to be sorted alphabetically. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 19:06, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Thanks.
+
:::I don't know. It looks like a bug in the report.  You'd have to ask Ahasuerus about it. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 08:37, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::The report is limited to 1000 records. Selection is not alphabetical, but by record number. "Again, Dangerous Visions I" is #113661, not in the first 1000. --[[User:Willem H.|Willem]] ([[User talk:Willem H.|talk]]) 08:58, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Distanceswimmer <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Distanceswimmer|Distanceswimmer]] ([[User talk:Distanceswimmer|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Distanceswimmer|contribs]]) .</small> 15:02, 15 December 2021
+
:::::MartyD and Willem: thank you for your replies. I have some of the Signet pb's of Again, Dangerous Visions I & II and will be editing / PVing them in the near future. While doing so, I will clean up all the Signet pb pub records so that they conform to Method 1. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:44, 17 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:I see one on the 9th, but nothing before that. All of the moderators are volunteers, and (especially during the holiday season and summer) sometimes it takes a while to get to everything. We all have real life things that get in the way of participation here. A few things:
+
== Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield ==
−
:#I notice that you added it to both a title series and a publication series with the same title. Generally, magazines are included in a title series, but not in any publication series. I've removed the publication series.
 
−
:#The web page for publications is for pages specifically about that publication or issue. The generic URL should go on the title series page. I've done this for you.
 
−
:#There's no need to include an Amazon web page if the item has an ISBN or an ASIN. We automatically link those. I've removed this URL.
 
−
:#When including the artist, it's always good to include in the publication note where that information was obtained. Something like "Cover artist per copyright page" or "Cover artist per back cover and copyright page", for example.
 
−
:#When you post to a discussion page or a user's talk page, you can sign your posts by using four tildes at the end, like this: '''<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>'''
 
−
:Please let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks for contributing to the site! ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:45, 16 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Edgar Allen Poe's Snifter of Death, #1 ==
+
Hello, again. I am trying to add a new pseudonym for the artist Sean Eddingfield, who uses the pseudonym for seven pieces of art in the same publication. The pseudonym includes quotation marks and an odd capital W in the middle of a nickname, like this:
  
−
Hi. I'm now the proud owner of a physical copy of this comic. It measures 10" x 6.75". What should I list as the format? Pulp?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 18:22, 18 December 2021 (EST)
+
* Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield
−
:How many pages? What kind of binding does it have? ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 11:25, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::Hi, Nihonjoe. Thanks for responding. It has 32 pages and it's saddle-stapled.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 14:32, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::Probably pulp, then. That's the closest we have. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 15:16, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Adding Infinite Matrix stories? ==
+
However, when I type this into the Author 1 field of the interior art, the submission process changes the double quote marks to single quote marks, so this is what appears on the submission page:
  
−
I would like to add some stories that were published in ''[http://www.infinitematrix.net/archive/archive.html Infinite Matrix]'', especially the [http://www.infinitematrix.net/stories/shortshorts/riohondo/index.html Rio Hondo stories]. But given the different publication dates, I’m not sure how best to do that. Should I “Add a new magazine” for each story? --[[User:Elysdir|Elysdir]] 14:27, 20 December 2021 (EST)
+
* Sean 'MunkyWrench' Eddingfield
  
−
:Yes, that it what you would have to do.  You would add the issue in which the story appeared. A few issues have been entered already. See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?55882 here]. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 16:36, 21 December 2021 (EST)
+
Is there something that I can type into the Author 1 field of the edit screen for the INTERIORART title that will remain as "MunkyWrench" rather than changing to 'MunkyWrench'? I noticed that I may type the HTML character entity string for a double quote (i.e., &amp;quot;) into the Author 1 field, like this:
  
−
== Merging reprinted reviews ==
+
* Sean &amp;quot;MunkyWrench&amp;quot; Eddingfield.
  
−
Do I have to change all the dates of the reprints to when they were originally published?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 14:55, 20 December 2021 (EST)
+
This then shows up as an ASCII double quote on the submission page. Is that the correct approach, or will that adversely affect name searches or some other aspect of the ISFDB?
−
:Do you have a link (or links) to what you're talking about? That will help us better understand your question. Thanks! ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 16:03, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?111531 Right here]. These reviews were all published elsewhere, Interzone mostly.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 16:17, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::That link doesn't work. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 16:21, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::Sorry, fixed it.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 16:23, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::::Thanks! What's with the weird page numbering? ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:50, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::::I messed up. Instead of typing (for example) 62|62.1 for the pages with more than one item, I thought 62|1 would work just as well. It didn't. I fixed it and re-submitted, but there's quite a backlog.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 17:59, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::::::Okay, I approved the page numbering corrections. Please review it and make sure everything looks correct. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 20:23, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::::::Thanks, it looks right. But what about merging the reviews? Oh, I know. I'll go to "Show All Titles" and merge them that way.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 23:13, 20 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Author name clash -- Christopher Smith vs. Christopher L. Smith ==
+
Many thanks -- [[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 11:33, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
: This is done on purpose as part of our semi-regularization of author names (and because most books use the two kinds of quotes interchangeably and keeping track of what one used is mostly a losing game). So just add a publication note explaining the exact credit (that it uses double quotes) and let the software use the single note.[[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 13:06, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:: Many thanks, Annie, for this and your other recent help. I have submitted a change of the credit in the publication (including a note as you suggested). When that is approved, I will submit a request to connect the pseudonym to the canonical name.  --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 14:03, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
::: As there are no other credits remaining anywhere, this IS his canonical name for now. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 15:45, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::: Ah, thanks, Annie! I will have a look around cyberspace to see whether I can find any other genre work under his legal name, and if I find something, I'll add it and set up the canonical/alternate relationship between the two names. Many thanks again! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 16:53, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::: We will go by the numbers then - it is not a problem for this to be the canonical - see [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?205699 this one] for example. Advocating that the actual name is better than the one with the quotes will be silly, right? So don't worry about it - the point of the canonical name is not "this is his real name" - that's what Legal name is for. This is the "that's the name he had used in our field the most, usually in the author's working language alphabet" field. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 17:59, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::::: Thanks again, Annie! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 18:14, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I recently submitted an edit to variant a story [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2002510] credited as <i>Christopher Smith</i> to a new parent <i>Christopher L. Smith</i>. I had evidence that 'L' had written it (his biography on the Simon & Shuster web site [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Christopher-L-Smith/166193361]). However, when I look at the main page for 'L' [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?228318], when I click the link for 'only as by Christopher Smith', it takes me to the author page of the non-author [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?112527].
+
== Is the abridger a co-author ==
  
−
Is there a step I missed, or is this expected? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:24, 21 December 2021 (EST)
+
Ive got an edition of Conan Doyle's The Lost World and on the title page it says "A shortened version, edited...by Kenneth Pinnock, B.A.". Does this get a new title with the scholarly and learned Mr Pinnock as co-author? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 14:00, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
: It gets a new title in every case (abridged versions ALWAYS get new title records and never get varianted up to the originals). As for the co-author... dealer's choice. Go by the title page - with "edited by" I usually won't make him a coauthor (and just add him in the notes) but an argument may be made that this editing is indeed a co-authoring. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:07, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:If there is more than one Christopher Smith (e.g., here, a Christopher Smith who is Christopher L. Smith and a Christopher Smith who is not Christopher L. Smith), then the bibliographies need to be separated by creating two different "Christopher Smith" records.  We do this by adding a disambiguator to one or more of the names. [[Help:How_to_separate_two_authors_with_the_same_name]] explains how to do that. Please take a look and see if you can figure out what to do. Ask if you get stuck, but you'll be a nice test case for that help text, so I don't want to prejudice anything. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 16:32, 21 December 2021 (EST)
+
:: In my experience, if the abridgement is so significant that it clearly creates a separate work, then the abridger is usually credited as a co-author. For example, consider [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?76246 ''Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare''], a series of stories based on {{A|William Shakespeare}}'s plays turned into children's stories by {{A|E. Nesbit}}.
  
−
:: Would <b>Christopher Smith (L.)</b> be a reasonable way to disambiguate? None of the examples given in the instructions seem to apply very well. Other than rule that the disambiguator must be added to the right, I'd prefer <b>Christopher (L.) Smith</b> for aesthetic reasons. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 17:02, 21 December 2021 (EST)
+
:: On the other hand, less drastic abridgements typically credit the abridger in Notes, e.g. see the Notes field of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?251723 the Popular Library edition of ''Two Planets'']. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 14:18, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
−
:::I'm not sure I understand the issue. We have two Christopher Smith's:
 
−
:::#{{A|Christopher Smith}} as an alternate name to {{A|Christopher L. Smith}} with a {{T|2002510|single work}}.
 
−
:::#{{A|Christopher Smith (I)|337282}} with three works.
 
−
:::It looks like they are properly separated already based on what you are describing. Did something change since you posted this or am I misunderstanding? --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 17:42, 21 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::I sorted them out since it looked (based on everything I could find) like there were two different Christopher Smiths. Then I noticed your comment here. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:49, 21 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::And to answer Glenn's question, "Christopher L. Smith" is always the way the name would be entered unless (for some bizarre reason) a publisher entered his name with parentheses around the middle initial. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 17:51, 21 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::::: The publisher used the name without any middle initial. That's what started me down this road. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 17:56, 21 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
:: And I can't comment on whether the instructions for this issue are sufficient. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 17:59, 21 December 2021 (EST)
+
:::Its been done for youngsters in the publishers series "The School Library of Famous Books". in the forewrod Ken says "In preparing this shortened edition of The Lost World, the aim has been to present an unbroken story using throughout the text of the original book. Apart from the deletions, therefore, the only changes that have been made are very occasisional alterations of wording or tense to secure continuity". not a scooby how big the deletions are not having read this or the original. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 14:36, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
−
::: However, I seem to have been heading the wrong way in attacking the problem after reading the instructions. I didn't pick up on the difference between two authors whose canonic names clash vs. a 1 canonic/1 variant clash. The instructions didn't help as much for the later case, as was I thinking that I could disambiguate the variant. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 21:08, 22 December 2021 (EST)
+
:::: So dealer's choice :) If I were adding the book, I'd probably add him as a second author (if not for other reason then to make sure the title stays separate and is easy to recognize and do not require an (abridged) or something else as a differentiator. But up to you. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 16:05, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== Unpaginated illustrations ==
+
:::::Yeah, I like to think of it in terms of who created the content in the work.  Simply removing parts of it produces a new work, but the work's contents are still the original author's (just like cropped artwork). I would not include the abridger as co-author for that case.  Replacing many of the words with other words to make it shorter or suitable for a different audience means contributing content not created by the original author.  I would include the abridger as co-author in that case.  Your case falls in the gray area where some words are changed, but the changes are relatively minor (such as the wording/tense tweaks for continuity of the retained pieces) or few.  There, as Annie says, it's up to your judgement, much like the problem we have with whether a work with minor revisions of a previous work is another appearance of the same work or is an appearance of a new work. Is the scope of the content not present in the original work large enough to warrant co-authorship credit? --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 17:27, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
In [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?360275 The Chronicles of Harris Burdick], each illustration is right before the story it illustrates, on a plate with no page number. How do I add them in the right order, before each story, with no page numbers?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 00:01, 22 December 2021 (EST)
+
::::::Yes, there is a difference between creating a non-continuous extract and editing the work which results in a change in the text. But in either case, I would base it on the title page. For abridgements that change the text, if the title page only lists the author and the abridger is credited on the copyright page, etc., then the content record should be the author only and then varianted to a parent record that is author and abridger. If the title page credits both, then the content record should have both. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 17:34, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
:[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?602902 Here] is an example of how it's done (please concentrate on the Giger plates, not the Schoenherr & Schiemann illustrations that are part of the regular page count). If you call up the edit screen for the publication, you'll also see how those pages for the plates were entered. Hope that helps, Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 01:44, 22 December 2021 (EST)
+
:::::::cheers for the replies but i think you deserve a 24h sin bin for asking me to use my "judgement". I'm going to give old Kenny a author credit and put that quote in the notes. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 18:00, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
−
::I'm sorry, I don't understand how to do it.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 21:21, 24 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:::You would enter "|SORTPAGE" for them. For example, if the plate appeared between pages 142 and 143, you would enter the page number as "|142.5" (without the quotes, but including the pipe before the "142.5") This will sort the page as if it was numbered "142.5", but will display no page number. Be sure to make a note in the publication that the illustration pages are not numbered. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 18:16, 30 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Dead links in publication record (any record?) ==
+
== Should I Fix This Title to Match the Title Page? ==
  
−
While PVing [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?53670 Wall of Years] I noticed that [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/9/95/WLLFYRS1980B.jpg proof cover] is a dead link. Is there something I could/should do about it? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 17:11, 25 December 2021 (EST)
+
Hello. I am indexing a story, with a current canonical title of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3123551 "Future Scouts: Lost Time"]. Its only publications are in the paperback and ebook editions of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2577586 Adventures of Gals and Gizmos]. In both these publications, the story is listed in the table of contents using that canonical title. The canonical title is also used in a note that follows the story. However, the title page (which is a full page drawing) gives the shorter title of "Future Scouts".
−
:It was deleted many years ago without a reason supplied. I restored it and added a license template. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 22:41, 25 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Law of Survival / Kristine Smith ==
+
Does this title need to be fixed in the ISFDB? Thanks!
  
−
While PVing [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?20021 Law of Survival] I discovered that the 'excerpt' for <i>Year's Best Fantasy</i> really isn't an excerpt, but an blurb/description of the then upcoming anthology. And it's not really written by Hartwell, unless he refers to himself in the third person. Is there a better way to mark this up? Should it even be included? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 00:37, 26 December 2021 (EST)
+
--&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 23:34, 19 September 2025 (EDT)
−
: My 2 cents: I'd skip it as advertisement - unless it is from the actual book, it is not an excerpt and we do not index advertisements... If it stays, it will be an essay with the name of the book and uncredited author I would think... [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 23:28, 30 December 2021 (EST)
+
: Yes. Title page ALWAYS wins. Add a note in the publication note for both books on the discrepancy. I use something like "The contents page uses the title "XXX", the story's title page shows "YYY"" [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 23:54, 19 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:: Thanks, Annie! I'll do that! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 10:54, 20 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== The Beast-King Murders ==
+
== Dates for Jane S. Fancher Publications ==
  
−
[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?347790 This book], part of the Phantom Detective series, is attributed to George A. MacDonald (under the pseudonym Robert Wallace). But the Greenleaf Classics website attributes it to D.L. Champion. Which is right?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 02:10, 26 December 2021 (EST)
+
Closed Circle Publications offers versions of most of Jane S. Fancher’s titles. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide publication dates for its editions, which presents a problem for constructing Publication entries for them.
−
: Ask the editor who made the variant? [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title_history.cgi?1262846 Here is the history] - Rtrace may still remember his reasoning. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 23:25, 30 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== How to Build a Better Robot by James Rollins/Clemens - merge question ==
+
For example, the current Publication record for the Closed Circle edition of ''Ring of Lightning'' lists  2013-11-20 as its publication date.  However, this date is wrong, as I have an email purchase receipt from the publisher dated 2010-02-06 for that publication.  But there’s no reason to believe that this date is correct; it’s merely an upper bound for the proper value (as publication must have occurred no later than the date on which I bought my copy). It’s also possible to establish a lower bound, as one can infer that the publication date must be later than that of the edition from its previous publisher.
  
−
It looks like the contents of the hc and tp of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2546979 Crucible] have been been entered separately, and so there are duplicates of the essay "How to Build a Better Robot".  More accurately, there are [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/adv_search_results.cgi?USE_1=title_title&O_1=exact&TERM_1=how+to+build+a+better+robot&C=AND&USE_2=title_title&O_2=exact&TERM_2=&USE_3=title_title&O_3=exact&TERM_3=&USE_4=title_title&O_4=exact&TERM_4=&USE_5=title_title&O_5=exact&TERM_5=&USE_6=title_title&O_6=exact&TERM_6=&USE_7=title_title&O_7=exact&TERM_7=&USE_8=title_title&O_8=exact&TERM_8=&USE_9=title_title&O_9=exact&TERM_9=&USE_10=title_title&O_10=exact&TERM_10=&ORDERBY=title_title&ACTION=query&START=0&TYPE=Title quadruplicates], due to the book being attributed to a variant author name.
+
But the resulting span pf possible publication dates covers several years, so there’s no accurate value possible to list as the publication date other than the vacuous 0000-00-00.
  
−
Rather than make a mess of this, could I query the correct way to merge these?  My guess is that the two titles for the James Rollins should be merged first, ensuring that the correct parent ID reference is kept - 2679173 I think - and then merge the two titles for the James Clemens parent author. (Doing the titles for Clemens first would seem to have the risk of leaving one of the Rollins titles with an orphaned parent ID reference, albeit temporarily.)
+
How should this sort of situation be handled?  I propose listing the publication date as the upper bound (in this case 2010-02-06), accompanying it with a note stating that the actual date is unknown, but can be no later than the date stated.  Provenance for the stated date should also be be part  of the note. [[User:Glenn.Skinner|Glenn.Skinner]] ([[User talk:Glenn.Skinner|talk]]) 19:59, 20 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:IMO it should be listed as 0000-00-00 and the lower and upper bounds discussed in the notes. 0000-00-00 means the date is unknown which is what is the case baring further more definitive data. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 12:22, 21 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
However, one thing that concerns me is that the title merge page (tv_merge.cgi) doesn't give any explicit indication about which of the two IDs would be kept - I'm assuming it's the lowest and/or the one associated with the most "winning" fields when resolving the conflict, in which case 2671973 would indeed be correct (vs 2900726), but this all seems nebulous enough that it seemed safer to pose this question rather than stumble in blindly... [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 17:09, 30 December 2021 (EST)
+
== Need verification removed ==
−
:As you noted, the two duplicates by Clemens should be merged as duplicates. Do this by clicking the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/find_dups.cgi?3919 Check for duplicates link] while on [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?3919 his author page]. There will be a few other possible duplicates listed, too, but ignore those for now. Check the boxes next to the two entries for "How to Build a Better Robot" and click the '''Merge Selected Records" button.
 
−
:Once that's done, you can [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/find_dups.cgi?7151 do the same] for Rollins name. Once those are all merged and approved, you then variant the merged Rollins title to the merged Clemens title, leaving the Clemens title as the only one left, with the Rollins publications varianted to it. Please let me know if you have any questions. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 18:11, 30 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
:: The question is of the order here, not of how to do it :) It ultimately does not matter. The merge will preserve the lower ID -- so you can use that when selecting a parent for the merge of the variants (OR add a moderator note to ask the moderators to first approve the variants merge (submit it first, then use its ID in the notes for the second one in case someone works out of order - that's what I used to do when I could not approve my edits). Worst case scenario, the order gets messed up and something is force rejected - you can then resubmit later :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 23:22, 30 December 2021 (EST)
 
−
::: Thanks both - a couple of edits are in the queue for this. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 16:24, 31 December 2021 (EST)
 
  
−
== Tags, duplicate and mispellings ==
+
Two dos-a-dos publications by Ursula K. Le Guin each has two entries, one more expensive than the other. These are the two Capra Press editions of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?593305 The Visionary/Wonders Hidden] issued at $7.50/$25.00 and [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?228731 King Dog/Dostoevsky] issued at $9.50/$25.00. I do not have all four copies, but comparing my two I can see that the more expensive versions had four sheets bound at the centre of the book between the two texts; these are signed and numbered by the respective authors. Reviewing examples of these on Abebooks shows that the $25.00 special editions still have $7.50/$9.50 printed on the covers, and there is no new ISBN. The help I need is to remove my verification for [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?101081 this record] because the copy I have is the special version with the inserted pages. Can someone remove my verification for me or tell me how I can do it myself (if that is possible)? [[User:Evertype|Evertype]] ([[User talk:Evertype|talk]]) 08:52, 23 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:Use the "Verify This Pub" option like you would to verify it. For verified pubs, there will be a "No verification" option that you can use to unverify it. You can also switch verification type (permanent to transient and vice versa) that way. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 09:09, 23 September 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I was looking through a database dump of the tags and noticed that there tags with mispellings like "Detectve" (id 11064) and near duplicates like "into movie" and "into-movie".  Is there a standard for tag names and a process to report and or fix them? --[[User:Colink|Colink]] 22:20, 2 January 2022 (EST)
+
== Underlined ==
  
−
: There is {{FR|911}}, "Allow moderators to edit and merge tags"; its comment section discusses some of the functional and technical issues involved. Also, this whole area can be tricky because one person's "obvious duplicate" can be another person's "subtle but important distinction" -- it was one the reasons why we originally made tags user-definable and not subject to the submission creation/approval process.
+
https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/extr.1971.13.1.48
  
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: For now, moderators have the ability to remove clearly incorrect tags. If you notice any, please post on the Moderator Noticeboard and they will be removed. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 22:33, 2 January 2022 (EST)
+
I have just come across a couple of titles in magazines that have some underlined words (example above) - is that how they should be entered here cos at the moment they aren't? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:24, 23 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
: Use publication notes to specify special formatting - bolding, underlying, special fonts and so on. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:44, 23 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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== C. H. Hung & Bruce Mcallister ==
+
== Τέρατα και Μηχανές ==
  
−
I have a question.  I have just finished reading the November-December 2021 issue of <i><b>Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine</b></i> and it contains two stories of interest.  One is by [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?270672 C. H. Hung] and the other is by [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1424 Bruce McAllister].  Neither are genre, but should they be listed because of the authors?  Lemme know. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 01:53, 3 January 2022 (EST)
+
Hoo boy, do I know I missed some vital information when I added [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1074149 Τέρατα και Μηχανές]. The cover image clearly shows Justin Richards name in Greek and that needs to be corrected. Does anybody know Greek, and could they look at this entry? [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 22:25, 25 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
: Knowing Greek is a stretch but I can read/write the script and understand enough to parse a page about a book so I guess I will do for now. :) Author name and publisher name updated and I also added transliterations on the titles. And looking at the publisher, I need to fix a few more books there... [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 11:00, 26 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
::Thank you. [[User:MLB|MLB]] ([[User talk:MLB|talk]]) 17:17, 1 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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:IMO, the answer is no, unless the issue of the magazine is being included for some other reason.  I don't know if others will disagree.  #4 [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Included here] says ''Works (both fiction and non-fiction) which are not related to speculative fiction, but were produced by authors who have otherwise published works either of or about speculative fiction over a ''certain threshold'' (see below). This includes any non-genre works published as standalone books as well as non-genre short fiction, but excludes non-fiction which was not published as a standalone book. ...''.  Assuming for the sake of argument that those authors are both above the "certain threshold", we would allow inclusion of the pieces.  But #4 [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Excluded here] says ''Works unrelated to speculative fiction that are found in primarily non-genre publication that will be cataloged based on other criteria, e.g. a Norton anthology of 19 century literature or a Playboy issue that include a single speculative story. This is done to avoid having to catalog huge amounts of non-SF data.''  It's not quite the same, but I think the "Norton anthology" example is relevant.  Basically, non-genre anthologies are not "in" just because of an association with a genre author; by extension, that same treatment would apply to magazines.  So if that issue of ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' were "in" because it contained an SF story or an article/interview related to SF, then it would be acceptable to include those particular non-genre stories.  But because the magazine is non-genre and the stories are non-genre, the presence of those stories is not sufficient for that issue to be "in".  --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 07:02, 3 January 2022 (EST)
+
== Belgravia - 1871 ==
−
::Well, okay then, on to something else. Now I know. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 22:39, 3 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== re Cover Image Data ==
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?26622
  
−
Hello to all,
+
I cant suss out whats happened here. We've got the 1871 editor title by Mary Elizabeth Braddon  [only as by M. E. Braddon} which is right but the variant is also showing up as a seperate title underneath it. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 09:37, 27 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:The variant had the series name entered also. The software doesn't allow adding series to a variant and will remove it when a variant is created, but there are still some cases (I think depending on order of edits) where series can end up on a variant. I edited and removed it. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 11:09, 27 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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I just can't remember : is it possible for a non-moderator to upgrade the Cover Image Data Web page (viz., to replace the previous scanner's name by his, and suppress the older versions) ? I thought I'd better check before telling off a contributor who never does, he might not be able to… TIA (and a Happy New Year to all, while I'm at it), [[User:Linguist|Linguist]] 08:14, 3 January 2022 (EST).
+
::cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 12:50, 27 September 2025 (EDT)
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:A non-moderator can upload a new image & edit the page to replace the previous scanner's name. It depends by what you mean "suppress the older versions". If you upload a new version, that becomes the new version and the prior one is "hidden". If you mean delete the prior one, then, no, deletion of wiki pages is a moderator only function. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:31, 3 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
::Thanks a lot ! That's all I needed to know (and what I thought as well) ! [[User:Linguist|Linguist]] 04:40, 4 January 2022 (EST).
 
  
−
== Adding a new collection ==
+
== pseudonyms and doubles ==
  
−
Very basic question. Been all through the Help areas without finding an answer, but maybe I missed something obvious.
+
Hello!
  
−
If I'm adding an author's new collection, when do I add the existing stories that are already in ISFDB? Do I create the new collection without any stories and later get the opportunity to import the stories after the new title is approved by a moderator? I don't see any "import" possibility on the New Collection page.
+
I have accumulated a small pile of cancelled submissions due to the specific character of the admin who carries out my requests.
  
−
'''Color me easily confused.''' I'm returning here after nearly a year away (because life happens) that was preceded by only a month or so that contained mistakes. [[User:Sfmvnterry|Sfmvnterry]] 01:55, 4 January 2022 (EST) (Interested to see what happens with a "Watch this page" selection.)
 
−
: Welcome back! :)
 
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: Yep, after the adding of the collection is approved, you can use our Import functionality to import the stories we have using their IDs. You cannot import during a creation (or an edit) - it is a separate page which requires the collection to be already in place. You can either add it as an empty one or you can add the stories/essays we do not have (if there are any).
 
−
: The menu is called "Import Content" and here is the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Screen:ImportContent help page] for it once you get to that point. Let me know if I can assist with anything else. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 11:02, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
::Thank you. Allow me to point out that as far as I can tell, nowhere in the help is this two-step process made clear. I did find the "Import Content" page in the process of trying to answer my question myself. Thanks again. [[User:Sfmvnterry|Sfmvnterry]] 18:02, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::: Some of the help pages are old and there is always the "we know that" bias when help pages are written. Looking for the most logical place for this: Will it help if we include a note/subsection about the Import option [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Screen:NewPub#Content_Information here]? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:06, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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:::: Good point. I have updated that Help section -- could you please take a look to see if it makes sense? [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 21:58, 4 January 2022 (EST)
+
Please take them into consideration.
  
−
::::: I think that it is clear enough. We probably need something similar for the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Screen:EditPub#Content_Information  Edit page help] as well but that’s a good start. We may want to template part of these two pages - too much repetition so a chance to easily get out of sync. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 22:07, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
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:::::: Done. Unfortunately, the EditPub scenario was so different that the same language could not be shared by the two Help pages. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 12:47, 5 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::::::: Yep - that is why I said similar and did not just copy it over :) Looks good to me - we can always adjust if needed. Thanks for taking care of it. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:53, 5 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::::: Here's a vote from a newbie agreeing that the update looks helpful. [[User:Sfmvnterry|Sfmvnterry]] 22:58, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
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:::::: Awesome. :) Thanks for pointing the problem out! [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 10:39, 5 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== The em-dash swamp (redux) ==
+
1)  
  
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I'm PVing [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?103361] and ran across the story <i>Golden the Ship Was — Oh! Oh! Oh!</i>. The title page for the story doesn't have spaces around the em-dash, which is in conflict with publication entry. Help for 'title' [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:PublicationFields:Title] indicates there shouldn't be surrounding spaces. Is this a rathole to avoid, or something I should attempt to submit an edit for?
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?146308
  
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: Has this query been lost, or is the lack of input a hint to let sleeping dogs lie. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:11, 14 December 2021 (EST)
+
She was born as Violet Ann Dodge
 +
https://spectrelibrary.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/violet-van-der-elst-and-her-8-horror-booklets-from-hell/
  
−
:: Perhaps it's more like Fight Club. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:34, 4 January 2022 (EST)
+
: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6380741 Here is the submission] in question. It would have changed {{A|Violet Van Der Elst}}'s legal name from "Van Der Elst, Violet" to "Violet Ann Dodge". As per [[Help:Screen:AuthorData]]:
−
::: Just holidays. :) Technically m-dash's punctuation is well defined in the rules so if you submit a change, it will be approved. Now - do you want to go down that rabbit hole - have fun. That may be something we may want to do a report on actually and clean up a bit more systematically (or discuss a change in the rules). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:08, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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:::: Checking the database, I see that we have 7156 titles with an em-dash. Of that number, 4316, or 60%, have at least one adjacent space. For Publication records, the numbers are 548 and 329, i.e. also 60%.
+
:* Legal Name - This field should contain the most recent legal name for the author.
  
−
:::: Given the discrepancy between [[Template:PublicationFields:Title]], which says:
+
: [https://www.harlaxtonhistory.co.uk/violet-van-der-elst This biography says] that she was born "Violet Anne Dodge", married Henry Arthur Nathan (d. 1927) in 1903, then married Jean Julien Romain Van der Elst. "Violet Van Der Elst" was her "most recent legal name", so that's what the Legal Name should contain. We can add "Born Violet Anne Dodge, changed the last name to Van der Elst after marrying Jean Julien Romain Van der Elst, her second husband." to the Notes field.
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::::* Em-dashes should be entered directly adjacent to the words on both sides
 
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:::: and the predominant practice, we may want to have a Rules and Standards discussion to determine which way we want to take it. Once we have consensus, we can update Help and create two cleanup reports, one for Title records and one for Publication records. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 16:51, 4 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== As Tomorrow Becomes Today / Sullivan ==
+
: Also, please note that the linked Help page says:
 +
:* Use the format "Lastname, Firstname Middlenames", with all names being given in full. The reason for this format are names like "Patrick Nielsen Hayden" where you can't readily tell whether the last name is "Hayden" or "Nielsen Hayden."
 +
: [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 13:43, 29 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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I'm trying to fix/complete the edits I made on the anthology [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?35007 As Tomorrow Becomes Today]. The publication uses the author spelling of 'Charles Wm. Sullivan III' everywhere in/on the book. I normalize this to 'Charles Wm. Sullivan, III' as per rules. The section essays in the book are titled, but not given a separate author attribution.
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2)
  
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Should I be attacking this from the title record, or the publication? I believe that I'll need to create variant titles pointing at the canonic author 'C. W. Sullivan, III', but I need some guidance on what order to proceed in. Thanks. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 15:44, 7 January 2022 (EST)
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We need to combine the author into one
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:Title record. The essays only appear in the tp and hc editions of this book. It is likely the hc used the same credits as the tp. The current essays are credited to {{A|Charles W. Sullivan}}. You can just edit the title records to change to {{A|Charles Wm. Sullivan, III}}. This will change them in both publications. They are already varianted to the canonical name so you don't need to variant. Hope I explained that clearly enough... --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:17, 7 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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:: Edits are in. Now all that's left is whether the section essays should be copied to the hc pub. The clone (from tp, I believe) was done before they were added to the tp. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 00:54, 8 January 2022 (EST)
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?163770
  
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== Help with Cover Art automatically misattributed to an author ==
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?17043
  
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Hello, I entered the Cover Art data with the name "Laura Fernandez" in my two pubs: {{P|366702|Firewing}} and {{P|874755|Sunwing}}, without an accent, and both entries added the accent and attributed it to {{A|272892|Laura Fernández}}. Could someone help replacing these links to the correct artist: {{A|272875|Laura Fernandez}} please? Or let me know how I can do it, thank you. -[[User:Kapotun|Kapotun]] 00:29, 9 January 2022 (EST)
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https://tellersofweirdtales.blogspot.com/2013/11/stafford-aylmer-1907-1965.html
  
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:To differentiate the two, we have the artist entered as 'Laura Fernandez (artist)'. We do this to avoid listings of titles in the entry for an author or artist that don't belong there (for example, we have four different David Williams). So, you just need to enter 'Laura Fernandez (artist)' in the publication entries and the system will list it in the correct author summary. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 07:52, 9 January 2022 (EST)
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:I have created an alternate name relationship. You can do this yourself when needed by going to the alternate name and selecting "Make/Remove Alternate Name" and then in the "Parent Name" field, enter the name of the canonical record. You would then also variant the title records to the canonical name. We do not place biographical data on the alternate name record, it only goes on the canonical name. Also, please do not enter instructions for changes in the notes field that will be displayed in the database (which is why your submission was rejected). If you need help with doing something, please post questions here, not in the submissions. Thanks. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 17:35, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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::Got it, thanks. I'll submit the edits for approval then. -[[User:Kapotun|Kapotun]] 14:41, 9 January 2022 (EST)
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3)
  
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== Previously published version not in database ==
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French title is " La Népenthe "
 +
translated in The Sovereign Magazine December 1925 as "Suzanne".
  
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In [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?875056 Three-Fisted Tales of "Bob"], the foreword "Behind-ForeEverAfterword: Sects and Death", by William S. Burroughs, was first published in 1979 as just "Sects and Death" in Burroughs' collection ''Roosevelt After Inauguration and Other Atrocities'', not in the db. Do I date the version in ''Three-Fisted Tales of "Bob"'' to 1979, or not, because it's not the original title?--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 03:00, 11 January 2022 (EST)
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1739491
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: Nope. But you can add the missing book and the missing title - that will have the original date and become a parent for the story we have now. Stories are dated based on when they are first published under that title and author form :) Unless that falls under the “better known as” rule and the story we have become the parent - then it will get dated based on first occurrence under any title. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 03:27, 11 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::Okay, I did.--[[User:Rosab618|Rosab618]] 03:43, 14 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Box set of the Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit) ==
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http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/e00/e00595.htm#A16
 +
:I have made "Suzanne" a variant of a new {{T|3520547|La Népenthe}} record. Do you have any information on the original French publication? If so, please update the record. Thanks. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 17:39, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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Trying to figure out the best way to add this publication. It has a separate ISBN (inferred from 23523-1) 0-345-23523-1. There's no separate title on the box, so I assume that I should give the main title as the individual titles separated by ' / '.
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4)
  
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Should I add the titles during the 'add omnibus', or import them later?  
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?19630
  
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The artwork on the box is various labeled illustration elements (heraldry?) from JRRT. For example, Elwe, Luthen Tinvviel, Finwe. Add as cover art?
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used pseudonyms Earl Kennedy & Cord Silverbird
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:What is the source for this? --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 17:40, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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::There's [http://www.philsp.com/homeville/sfi/n00368.htm#A31 this]. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 18:24, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::Thanks. Alternate names have been created. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:32, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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Is the format of the omnibus the format of the books within?
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5)
  
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--[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 21:48, 11 January 2022 (EST)
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Author
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: Yes for the title - use the "/" separator if the box does not have its own title.  
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?18237
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: Import the novels later (add in the moderator note of the new Omnibus that you are going to do that). Although you may want to check the existing omnibuses - if there is one with the title as you need it, clone from it thus eliminating the need to variant/merge and import later :)
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and his pseudonym
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: Yes for the box art (that's the cover of the omnibus) and the format (the books format inside of it determine the overall format). Add in the notes that it is a boxset. Did I get everything? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 21:59, 11 January 2022 (EST)
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?185606
  
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:: Hmmmm. All the boxed sets are titled 'The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings', except for one titled [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?490347 Tolkien], which happens to be a latter printing of mine. (Same box). Thoughts? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 02:12, 12 January 2022 (EST)
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https://vaultofevil.proboards.com/thread/8123/oscar-cook-beautiful-hands-mains?page=4
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::: Up to you. :) You can also call it Tolkien if you want (based on the cover image) or go for the / standard - these kinds of boxes are a bit ambiguous. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 10:45, 14 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Help page for novel->novella conversion incorrect or outdated? ==
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:I have created an alternate name relationship. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:13, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race is a novella per [https://twitter.com/aptshadow/status/1481335257664270348 Twitter]; confirmed by Kobo reporting 40k words for the ebook (which presumably includes copyright page text, etc).  As this title has 2 pubs (ebook and tp), I followed the instructions at [[Help:How_to_convert_a_novel_to_a_chapbook#Special_Instructions_.28Titles_with_more_than_one_publication_record.29]].
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6)
  
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I have submitted [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5195349 an] edit to convert the title from NOVEL to SHORTFICTION/novella per items #2 & 3.  Item #4 says I can proceed to edit the pub records from NOVEL to CHAPBOOK as "You do not have to wait for moderation before proceeding to the next step."
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Please make it in series instead of notes
  
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The next step appears to be editing the pub records as per [[Help:How_to_convert_a_novel_to_a_chapbook#Special_Instructions_.28Titles_with_more_than_one_publication_record.29]], but skipping item #3.  However, after adding a new CHAPBOOK record to the contents (per item #4), and hitting submit, I get a Javascript alert popup stating "ANTHOLOGY, COLLECTION, NONFICTION, NOVEL, and OMNIBUS titles are not allowed within CHAPBOOK publications."
 
  
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I'm sure I'd be able to progress once my first edit to the title record is accepted by a mod, but unless I'm missing something or have made an error, the sentence about not having to wait for moderation should be removed or altered? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 16:45, 12 January 2022 (EST)
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?55760
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: The software got updated, the help page was forgotten. Back in the days, you could indeed add pretty much any type to any record - thus allowing easier conversions. The result was exactly what you would expect. So a few years ago, a few cleanup reports were created so we can clean all publications with weird types in them and the software was updated not to allow weird combinations.
 
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: Your edit is approved so you can go and fix these - apparently my hunch on the length being iffy was correct on this one. :) I will fix the help page. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:15, 12 January 2022 (EST)
 
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:: [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:How_to_convert_a_novel_to_a_chapbook#Special_Instructions_.28Titles_with_more_than_one_publication_record.29 Done]. Let me know if that reads ok. Thanks for finding the issue! :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:19, 12 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::: Thanks - I think your edit covers what I reported, but I think there's another issue with that page...
 
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::: In [[Help:How_to_convert_a_novel_to_a_chapbook#Publication_Record_Edit_Only_.28Titles_with_a_single_publication.29]], having the note about changing the title subtype to novella/novelette/short story at #9 strongly implies that this should be done for the CHAPBOOK contents, given that is what had been referred to in the preceding steps #4-8. Surely this should be done for the existing contents record that was converted from NOVEL to SHORTFICTION in step #3? As such, it might be better to move the current #9 item up to be #4, and/or explicitly state that the subtype is for that record, not the CHAPBOOK one?  (And update the subsequent section for cases where there are multiple pubs accordingly.)  I'll happily edit the page if someone can sanity check my thinking. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 17:27, 12 January 2022 (EST)
 
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:::: Let me finish an anthology I am trying not to lose track of and I will look at that order in there :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:32, 12 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::::: I think I got it. Moved to Step 4. And added down in the special instruction as well (and then you will skip steps 3 and 4). Let me know if I missed something. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:58, 12 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Variant interviews ==
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https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?15648
  
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I have two interview records with alternate-name authors as interviewee (like [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?155601 here]). How do I variant these records, so that they show up under the author's canonical name? [[User:MagicUnk|MagicUnk]] 11:17, 14 January 2022 (EST)
 
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: You don't - you use the canonical name AND add a note on what names is used - it is a software limitation. See [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Template:TitleFields:Interviewee the help page]: "Interviewee - The canonical name of the person being interviewed, whether or not it matches the form(s) of the name used in the interview." :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 11:21, 14 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Duplicate ISBN numbers ==
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I believe that John Taggart can be rightfully sent to the Fiction Series.
  
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Hi Annie. As you moderate a lot of my edits, I'll let you know. I just submitted a cloned version of the ebook "The Very Best of Barry N. Malzberg". I was very surprised to see the "Duplicate ISBN" message. I checked, and there is a duplicate ISBN for both the current ebook version (just submitted) and Silverberg's "Lord of Darkness" (2012), which are both on Nonstop Press. I assume one is a typo, and I just sent an email to Nonstop to see if I can find out what the actual story is. I'll update if I can find out which one is incorrect, assuming that is what is going on. At worst, if this is a fatal problem, I can resubmit the clone request after I know what the correct ISBNs are here. Thanks.[[User:Dave888|Dave888]] 13:33, 17 January 2022 (EST)
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Thank you in advance, I believe in you.
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: Might be a typo, might also be Nonstop Press being weird and actually printing/using the same one (won't be for the first time - even the major publishers had done it now and again). Document where the source of the ISBN is and we are all set. No need to cancel it - it will get handned and note written if needed. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:48, 19 January 2022 (EST)
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Alex
 +
{{unsigned|Satampra Zeiros}}
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:I added {{T|70176|The Last Decision}} to the {{S|55760|John Taggart }} series. You can add a title to a series yourself by going to the title, editing it, and putting the series name in the series field.
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:For "Let There Be Darkness", I cannot find a record with that name? Is that the right name or are we missing a pub?
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:For {{T|1239281|The Drums of Chaos}}, that is already part of the {{S|26626|Simon of Gitta}} series and, unfortunately, the ISFDB can place a title in only one series. Since Simon of Gitta is the main character of that novel, that series is the better one as its primary. I added a title note to The Drums of Chaos explaining the relationship to the John Taggart series.
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:I created a {{S|78259|Captain McTeague}} series.
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:I am not sure what you meant in your statement "I believe that John Taggart can be rightfully sent to the Fiction Series".  
 +
:Thanks. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:27, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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== Sequence for editing a magazine issue with no content ==
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== Image variant or not ==
  
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This is my first attempt at this sort of thing, so I apologize for my ignorance.
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When is an image (title) a variant of another image (title) and when is it listed as a "publication" below an image (title).
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I know how to do this image https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3520219 a variant of this image https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?998462, but what I think I want to do is to make it just another publication. Is there a tool for that? or please inform me why making it a variant would be better.
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<p>
 +
Thank you, and sorry if this has been asked before. --[[User:Spacecow|Spacecow]] ([[User talk:Spacecow|talk]]) 13:27, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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<p>
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Here is the image btw, if that would help -> [https://isfdb.org/wiki/images/e/ee/TRZNFTHPSB1995.jpg Tarzan]
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: If they are the same image but a different title (or author form or language), they will become a variant, yes. When you variant these, the publication will show up under the original parent COVERART title.
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: Publications listed under titles are showing up when the title is inside of the publication. As you already have the publication in the DB, there is no other publications to add anywhere. And you don't just import the cover that is with the wrong title (this is what variants are for exactly in this case). Hope this helps! [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:15, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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:: PS: I just did the variant so you can visually see what happens. Here is the parent [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?998462 now]. See how the publication is now on the list under the parent? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:17, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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::: Ok, so because the title was different in this case, making it a variant was the better option - got it. <br> What if the title would have been the same? What would you have done then? --[[User:Spacecow|Spacecow]] ([[User talk:Spacecow|talk]]) 14:54, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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:::: Merge the two title records. You can do it via duplicate search or via Advanced search:) Same title, author name, language and image means they are the same TITLE record here so you merge them. Same logic as with stories which are the same content - if they are exactly the same, we merge them; if they differ in title, author, language, we variant.
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:::: If you look at [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?998462+2 this] (the parent title with "Do not show variants and translations clicked), you see the publications that have the same title, author and language. They share the same COVERART record (and if you have more that are the same, you can import it). If you click only on one of the variants, such as [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3520219 this one], you see just the ones that contain that variant. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 15:00, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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::::: Hmm. I do that merge thingy so seldom I keep forgetting about it. Thanks for the help Annie <3 --[[User:Spacecow|Spacecow]] ([[User talk:Spacecow|talk]]) 15:11, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
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:::::: Ah, that explains the confusion then. And anytime:) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 15:43, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
  
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I subscribe to [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?36993 Galaxy's Edge] and noticed that issues of the magazine have been neglected at isfbd since the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?761622 January 2020 issue].  So I thought I would update/add issues to get them current.  The first one (the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?761622 January 2020 issue]) has an entry but no content.  The process for updating this seems somewhat convoluted, but perhaps that is unavoidable (I lack the knowledge to judge).
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== Rick Raphael - shortfiction ==
  
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My main question is, what is the best/correct sequence for doing all the necessary steps?
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(I'm probably doing this all wrong and in the wrong place!)
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Is the Short Fiction 'A Felnotas' actually a misplaced Hungarian translation of 'A Filbert is a Nut'?
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I understand the Hungarian means "the halfnote" - colloquialism for "dimwit".
 +
Which would match it up to 'A Filbert..'? {{unsigned|Xipetotec}}
  
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I assume that the first step is to either edit the entry to add missing content, OR import content that already exists (using Option 2). The magazine has both new and reprint short fiction. I get the impression that it is better to import the reprints rather than merge them after the fact, but I could have that wrong. If this is true, then I should do both (add & import) in two seperate actions.  Another question relating to this is, should I wait for one action (adding content OR importing content) to get approved by a moderator before proceeding to the other?  Or is it safe to have both the Edits and Imports in queue for the same entry at the same time?  And does it matter which one I do first?
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: There's some higher likelihood in your point. But, alas, we don't know the original title of this piece yet. It was added by a Hungarian editor, who doesn't seem to be active right now - last heard of in May. You may like to place a question about it at the [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Gabcisoft editor's talk page]. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 08:44, 3 October 2025 (EDT)
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:: Confirmed [https://www.galaktika.hu/bibliography/R.html#raphael here]. I've connected them. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 11:58, 3 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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In addition to the Edit and Import actions, I also have to do several things (I assume these all come after the above edit action has been moderator approved):
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== Smart Apostrophes and Quote Marks ==
  
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- Apparently I need to enter this [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?104853 poem] as if it is a new entry during the above edit process, because in this case the author, [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?48 Mike Resnick], used a facetious pseudonym (Mike Wadsworth Resnick) which has not been used before (at least in the isfbd records). Then I turn that new entry into a variation of the original poem. And perhaps I also connect the pseudonym to the canonical author?  I am not clear on this process yet.  The rules here are a bit too voluminous to digest in one go.
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Hello, everyone! When I notice a that a title is already entered into our database is using smart [“curly”] apostrophes or quote marks (using Unicode), should I submit a change to straight ASCII characters? Many thanks! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 12:14, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
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: Depends. Can you post an example? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 12:54, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
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:: Thanks, Annie. The example is [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/edittitle.cgi?2431930 The Alchemist's Daughter by Selenia Paz]. It does display correctly (with an ASCII apostrophe), but if you go to edit the page, you'll see that our database has stored it as a curly apostrophe. Thanks again! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 13:09, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
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::: As long as search finds it with a straight quote, it is fine. The software does some magic for quotes so I tend to let it do its magic as long as I can type the title in the search box and the title I expect is found. Especially because for the external world, it is shown properly. Hope this make sense.
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::: If you really want to, submit a change (if the software even recognizes it as a change - in some of those places where we clean it up, it’s not always recognized as a change). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 13:42, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
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:::: Thanks, Annie. I need to submit a change to that title anyway (to mark it as juvenile), so I think I'll change it to a straight quote then. (It could be that the newest version of the submission software might make that change even if I don't.) --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 12:14, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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- I also need to turn an English translation of a Romanian [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2688510 story] into a variant after first creating it as a new entry during the above edit, and then add the translators into the notes on the variant after the variant has been moderator approved.
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== Internal Capitals in Titles ==
  
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- And I need to connect book reviews in the magazine to the entries of the books being reviewed.
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A title appears in the actual publication as ShockWired with an internal capital W, but it is listed as Shockwired in our database. Should I submit a title change to include the peculiar capital letter? Thanks again! [[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 12:35, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
: If that is intentional on the author side, then yes. We have a few titles with internal capitals in the DB. If we change it, there should be a note in both the publication and the title that the capitalization is intentional. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 12:57, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::Thanks, again, Annie! In looking at this particular example more closely, there is another peculiarity that I should ask about: The story appears in only one anthology, which has a paperback and ebook edition. The title is ShockWired almost everywhere:
 +
::* On the copyright page.
 +
::* In the table of contents.
 +
::* In the large text on the Kindle title page. However, this text does not appear on the paperback title page, which has only an illustrated title that I'll describe below.
 +
::* In the running header on odd-numbered pages of the paperback.
 +
::* In the illustrator's credit at the end of the story.
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::However, as I mentioned above, the paperback title page has only an illustration with an incorporated title of SHOCK WIRED: two words on separate lines, in all caps with lines emanating from some letters. The Kindle edition has this same illustration, but it also has the text title ShockWired beside it.
  
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- And I need to connect essays that are part of a series to the existing series.
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::What is your inclination for this example? I have in mind what you told me earlier ("Title page always wins!"), but I am unsure how to apply that to the short story, its ebook publication (Kindle edition), and its paperback edition. I know it's a small concern, but I enjoy getting things consistent within the ISFDB, so I appreciate the time you devote to me. --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 13:51, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::: That boils down to “does the picture on the title page of the paper copy count as an actual title and if so, does the line split actually indicate a separate word or just a visual decision”. If you think that the answer is yes to these, then we are talking about variants (2 words for the paperback, one word on the kindle version with a parent of whichever is earlier or the 1 word one if they are from the same date (plus notes all over the place explaining the credits). If not, go for single word with a capital in the middle everywhere and just add notes explaining exact credits for the paperback. Words inside of pictures can be weird (artists getting creative and/or the space constraints make them a bit hard to decipher sometimes) and I would be inclined to go for option 2 here to be honest (aka keep it simple and use the single title everywhere) but it is a bit subjective so your choice. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:46, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::That's a great explanation, Annie! And it caused me to double-check the paperback: Turns out that the paperback does have a text title, but it's on the page after the illustration where the story text begins. At that spot, it is a single word in a unicase font (as are all the title-page titles in this paperback). So I will go with a single word written as ShockWired, with the capital W embedded since that seems to be the author's preference. I will add a note that the illustrator chose to split it into two words. Many, many thanks again! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 15:25, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
It seems that none of these steps are automated.  The only automated part I noticed is the connecting of new stories to the existing author record if one exists.
+
== How to remove accent from author name in publication while leaving main entry alone ==
  
−
One other thing I am a little vague on is how I indicate that all this data comes from a Primary Source (printed copy in my possession). Do I just put something to that effect in the publication notes, or is there something of a standard of how I should indicate this. I see no box on the edit page for the magazine issue to check regarding the nature of my source.
+
I have a copy of the publication {{P|642664}} which includes an map {{T|3072715}} drawn by artist Isidre Monés {{A|26564}}. This is the only publication where this content is listed as appearing. I would like to provide a primary verification of this publication. However, in the publication itself, the artist's name is only ever spelled as Isidre Mones, without the accent. As per [[Help:How_to_verify_data]] and [[Template:TitleFields:Author]], in order for the record to be considered correct, it should match entirely, including the accents. However, when I attempted to edit the record to remove the accent in submission [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6387578 6387578], it automatically added the accent in the submission summary, though the XML data looks correct.
  
−
My apologies for being both long winded and ignorant, but please correct me where I am wrong.  In time I will get past the initial learning curve.
+
My understanding for the how the database entries should correctly be is as such:
 +
* the map in this publication should be listed as having author ''Isidre Mones'', without the accent, creating a separate author record
 +
* ''Isidre Mones'' without the accent should be marked as a variant/alternate name for author ''Isidre Monés'', with the accent
 +
* ''Isidre Monés'', with the accent, would continue to be the parent record listed with all the other works by this author
  
−
[[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 17:31, 19 January 2022 (EST)
+
Is my understanding here correct? If yes, how can I submit the changes to implement this? If no, what would constitute the correct state of the database instead?
  
−
: Welcome to ISFDB!
+
(As per [[Template:TitleFields:Author#Non-English characters]], accents are definitely distinguished, but it also links to [[ISFDB:FAQ#How_does_the_ISFDB_deal_with_Unicode_and_accented_characters?]], which is unclear but seems to imply that ''é'' and ''e'' are generally autocorrected to one another, which makes me think they are not distinguished(?). I am more confused after reading the FAQ which seems counter to its purposes, so perhaps it could use some clarification or perhaps it is just me having this confusion.
−
: Yep, you got the steps correctly. :) First add the stories - either via import (existing) or Edit Publication (new ones). Then once it is approved:
 
−
:* Do all needed variants - for translations, other names being used, other titles being used and so on
 
−
:* Add the series to all essays that need them
 
−
:* Connect the reviews which did not auto-connect.If the title and author of the review matches a title we have, it WILL autoconnect. If it does not, it needs to be done manually
 
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: You indicate that you have the book/magazine by either doing a primary verification (open the magazine and look in the left menu for the verification option) or if you would rather not do it until the magazine is complete, add a note in the moderator's note to tell us so we know when processing.
 
−
: You can have import and edit submitted at the same time if you want to (or multiple imports). But you cannot have two edits as they will step on each other toe's.
 
−
: Magazines tend to be the hardest thing to work on in this DB so... yeah, it can be a bit convoluted. Once you do a couple, it makes a lot more sense. So just try it - and if something goes wrong, all is fixable. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:45, 19 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Best Cover Scan Attributes? ==
+
I also referred to the Help Desk archives, and this question is similar to [[#Bulgakov's name]] on this page, but the response there did not actually indicate what I should do, just that the issue had been resolved. Also, it appears that for that instance, the whole author record was changed, not creating a new separate author record with different accented characters than the original author record. Same for [[ISFDB:Help_desk/archives/archive_35#Aimee_Thurlo]], where the original author record was renamed rather than creating a second separate record.) [[User:IndigoPari|IndigoPari]] ([[User talk:IndigoPari|talk]]) 8:59, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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I want to upload a new cover scan http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?222057
+
: Your understanding is technically correct. The problem is that we have a software limitation in this case (that’s what that page about accents is talking about) - we cannot have separate records for an author when the only difference is an accent. So for the time being, the best we can do is to add a publication note in the publications where the name does not match what we have as a name and one day, if/when the DB switches to Unicode, we can use these notes to fix the names for these titles. Hope that helps and welcome to ISFDB! [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 12:02, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
−
Is there a desirable resolution, color depth setting that works well for the purpose, or a target file size that works well?  I looked around the FAQs and other places, did a search, but nothing really bubbled up. {{unsigned|Bccrowe }}
 
−
: Personally, I scan at 300 dpi and keep the image, but upload a reduction to 600 pixels in the longest dimension. I've not really fussed about details like color matching (beyond it appearing roughly correct) since I was doing older books (50's-80's) and I've no guarantee that they even are their original colour, given aging and exposure to sunlight, chemicals and such. ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 12:29, 20 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
:: The ISFDB Wiki software prevents editors from uploading files which are too large. In addition, [[Help:How to upload images to the ISFDB wiki]] says:
+
:: Cool, thank you so much for clarifying. I will add a note to the publication/title record about the lack of accent. Also, is there a place where I should suggest that the FAQ or the Template:TitleFields:Author page be updated to clarify this a little better, or should I just make the edits myself or something else? [[User:IndigoPari|IndigoPari]] ([[User talk:IndigoPari|talk]]) 21:41, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
−
::* Please be sure that the image is no larger than required, and in any case is less than 600 pixels along its largest dimension, if at all possible. You may wish to crop or rescale the image.
+
::: You are in the right place for that  - but it is Sunday. Give it a few days. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 23:35, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
−
:: Also, unless the image is in public domain, we have to comply with the copyright laws of the country where the ISFDB servers are located (USA at the moment.) To quote [[Template:Cover Image Data]]:
 
−
::* This resolution is significantly reduced, and could not plausibly be used to make publishable copies of the original.
 
−
:: In many cases the Wiki-imposed limitation on file size takes care of this issue automatically -- you'd need to upload a really big file to get to the "publishable copy" level of fidelity. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 13:14, 20 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Oops! ==
+
:::: Thanks for identifying the ambiguity in Help! I have posted a proposal to expand/clarify the affected template on [[Rules_and_standards_discussions#Clarifying_Template:AllFields:AccentedCharacters|the Rules and Standards page]]. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 12:04, 6 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
I accidently listed the animal fantasy <i>The Gentlest Purr</i> as [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?876885 The Deepest Growl].  Is there any way I can change the title, or do I have to do this listing all over again? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 10:15, 22 January 2022 (EST)
+
== [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?349900 Hellebore & Rue] ==
−
:You can edit the pub to change the pub title. To change the content title, go to the title record and unmerge it from the others. Then there will be a single record that you can edit to change its title. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 10:22, 22 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Disambiguated Author ==
+
Hi! While I can't find any trace of this specific publication (as published by Flyleaf Press), there is one (also as of 2011) as published by Lethe Press. I would tend towards transforming the entry into a publication by the latter. (There's also no source given within the entry). Are there any objections, and can anybody find a trace of the Flyleaf Press edition? Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 14:00, 6 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
: A first ebook edition by Flyleaf Press, a subsidiary of Drollerie Press is noted [https://sentenceandparagraph.com/designs/hellebore-rue/ here] and GoodReads have it [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10047411-hellebore-and-rue here] (under the parent Publisher). So feel free to add a Lethe Press one but the one we have appears to exist (albeit it needs some updates). [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:35, 6 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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I entered the contents of the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?36993 May 2020 issue of Galaxy's Edge] magazine, and one of the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2975629 stories] entered displayed the warning "Disambiguated Author" because there are two isfdb entries under the name Eric Miller.  So I confirmed that the entry ended up under the correct author [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?158963 Eric Miller] by finding proof on the [http://www.ericmillerwrites.com/ author's website].  Now that I know that the story is correctly connected to its author, do I do anything with that knowledge by noting this somewhere or just leave it as is?
+
== Possible Problems with an Alternate Name ==
−
[[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 15:18, 22 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
: You can certainly edit the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2975629 title record] and add that the attribution to the correct "Eric Miller" was confirmed by consulting the author's Web site. Notes and references to external sources are always good :-) [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 16:16, 22 January 2022 (EST)
+
Hello, everyone. I'm not sure whether my latest submission caused this problem or not: The issue is with Brandon H. Bell. He has an alternate name of Brandon Bell with three possible problems:
  
−
== William Llewellyn ==
+
# Here is a [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/se.cgi?arg=Brandon&type=Name search for the name Brandon]. As you can see, the alternate name Brandon Bell is listed, but in the [Alternate Name?] column it says "Has pseudo. titles" instead of "Alternate Name". What does that mean?
 +
# If you click through to the alternate name [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?120337 Brandon Bell], you'll see that this alternate name has two items of interior art. These two are actually the same piece of artwork with identical records that I added to the trade paperback and ebook versions of the publications this week.
 +
# If you then click through to the canonical name [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?149552 Brandon H. Bell], neither of those two new pieces of interior art are listed. Also, you'll also see quite a few additional items that are [as by Brandon Bell] or [only as by Brandon Bell], but none of those additional items were listed back on the Brandon Bell alternate name page.
  
−
I have noticed the name [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?97285 Llew] appearing as illustrator, 1956-58, for the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company.  At the same time [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?96921 Llewellyn] was a prolific artist for the same company. Could they be the same person? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 21:10, 23 January 2022 (EST)
+
Thanks for any help you can provide. My apologies if I messed things up somehow. Perhaps it will be fixed if I merge the two pieces of interior art, but I haven't done so because I wanted to learn how to avoid this problem in the future. Thanks! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 23:42, 8 October 2025 (EDT)
−
: I have since found out that they are the same. Well, another project to keep me busy in the future. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 22:07, 30 January 2022 (EST)
+
: You did nothing wrong and there is nothing wrong with these records. You just need to finish the edits. When a title is added to an alternate name (aka any form of an author name that is different from the canonical name), you need to submit a Make Variant submission after that to create a parent record which will show the title on the canonical author page. If these two that you have under the alternate author record are the same piece of art, the first step is to merge them and once approved, you can submit the variant. Let me know if you prefer someone to just do it for you or if you want to try. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 00:14, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::Thanks, Annie. I'd like to give this a try myself so that I can learn how to do it in the future. I'll submit the Merge now (via the Check for Duplicate Titles action), and tomorrow I'll do the second step. Thanks again! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 00:50, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::: The merge is approved. It is possible that you may find the variant done tomorrow - we have a cleanup report for these and some people monitor all edits for sequences that need finishing (or so it feels some days). I’ll leave it alone for you to try it but please post back if you have questions or concerns. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 01:01, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::: Thanks! I'm still awake, so I submitted that Make Variant request now. --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]])
 +
::::: Approved. That’s what needs to be done every time an author uses a different name. :)[[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 01:06, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
== Learning the Ropes ==
+
== Adding Magazine Issues ==
  
−
Hi, folks. I'm very new here. I submitted info about a short story of mine that was published in a magazine called Harpur Palate. JLaTondre wrote back and welcomed me, and said they'd list the US price in a  different way because it's a British publication. But it's not -- it was a student magazine published by the English Department of Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. I didn't see a way to hit "reply" and say that to JLaTondre, or a way to contact that person by clicking on the name and going to the home page. Is there a way to respond directly to a message, or send someone a new message here? Also, I'm looking at the HelpGettingStarted info, or whatever it is called ... and it tells one how to enter info about a book. I do not see a way to enter info about a magazine -- info dumbed down for a new user like me in the same way. I also had a story in a small British magazine (that one really is from the UK!) called Auslander. It was a horror/SF magazine, but I do not see copies for sale on Amazon. I'm wondering how to submit a picture of the cover art -- do I need to find a color scanner and create a jpg? Should I scan the whole magazine and send it as a pdf, so other writers in it can be included in ISFDB?
+
Hi. I have recently added a [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?35015 couple of SFX magazines] to the database. But I notice magazines are normally grouped under [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2016707 one title for the year]. In order to add September to the list with august, is it as straightforward as editing the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3530378 title] to that of the SFX - 2025 title details? Or is there an easier way I don't know of? I tried looking under these pages for the relevant help page but couldn't find it. If someone can provide a link to a step by step guide that would be great or let me know how I should fix this. Many thanks. [[User:ReadingMovies|ReadingMovies]] ([[User talk:ReadingMovies|talk]]) 09:36, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
:There are several ways to do it. In this case, I would go to {{A|Darren Scott}}, use the "Show All Titles" option, select the "SFX - 2025" and "SFX, September 2025" records, and use the "Merge Selected Records" button. On the merge window, make sure you keep the "SFX - 2025" title and the 2025-00-00 date. I find this the easiest approach when an editor does not have a lot of other titles that will show up in the "Show All Titles" option. If it is an editor with a lot of titles, then using an advanced title search where "title starts with SFX" and "title ends with 2025" will also work to find the titles that need to be merged. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 11:56, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::Merge made and submitted, I hope this checks out ok. Many thanks for taking the time to answer my basic query. I have another issue to add to the same title, is there a direct way of adding a new issue without the two-stage edit of merging? Or is this the best method? Many thanks for your help with this. |[[User:ReadingMovies|ReadingMovies]] ([[User talk:ReadingMovies|talk]]) 13:22, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::: It is always a 2 step process. So add the magazine as usual, once approved merge (or edit if it is the first for this year) the EDITOR record. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 13:33, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::Thanks for letting me know. Will add the next November Issue soon. |[[User:ReadingMovies|ReadingMovies]] ([[User talk:ReadingMovies|talk]]) 13:39, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
Thanks --
+
== Chapbook to Novel conversion ==
−
Judy
 
  
−
:I've added some info to your record recently; a photo of you, your birthplace, the cover of the Harpur Palate issue you were in (I also added the artist who did the creepy cover and added the $8.83 price), the cover of the 1996 Keen! Science Fiction issue you were in, and a German cover for the 1989 Star Trek novel you wrote. Hope all this helps flesh out your record a bit more. If you could enter the month and day of your birthdate that would be good. Also, don't forget to sign your notes here at the end by clicking the icon above ("Your signature with timestamp"). --[[User:Username|Username]] 10:41, 25 January 2022 (EST)
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2933278
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::::I had to reject [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5206524 your Harpur Palate, Summer 2003 edit]. We do not add covers or cover artists for non-genre magazines. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 19:57, 25 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
:: To begin entering a magazine you only have to click 'Add New Magazine' in the left tool bar (under 'Add New Data'). However, your edit will benefit from reading the help screen on [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Screen:NewPub New Pubs] first (and maybe looking into indexed magazines also). Anyway, you'll have to add a not-yet-existing magazine or fanzine first, before it's possible to upload a cover image. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 13:02, 25 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
:D'oh! Sorry about that. Somehow, I read that as Birmingham and not Binghamton. I have fixed the {{P|876903|publication record}}. Thank you for letting us know. To respond to a message on your talk page, you can click the "edit" on the far right of the message title on [[User_talk:JudyKlass|your talk page]]. To post a new message to a specific user, you can click on their name in the signature line of the message which will take you to their user page. You then click the "discussion" link at the top of that page to get to the talk page and then click the "+" link at the top of the talk page to start a new discussion. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 19:51, 25 January 2022 (EST)
+
got this book in hand kobo says 49k but my estimate is 42k so should it be converted and if so whats the protocol? Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:27, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
:By either count it is over 40k so a novel by our standards. To make the change, you would edit the shortfiction record and change it to a novel (updating the notes as well). Than make separate edits to each publication to 1) remove the CHAPBOOK record from the contents; and 2) change the publication type to NOVEL. Once that is all done, the CHAPBOOK record would be deleted. So two submissions per pub and then the final delete submission. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 12:24, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::have i got to wait for the first bit to be signed off before the doing the rest - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 16:29, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
:::Yes. The other edits you can do in parallel, but the shortfiction record would need to be changed to a novel before anything else. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:47, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
::::cheers i'll do it - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 20:42, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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::::: I figured the cover would have to go; I thought maybe it would slip by, being disturbing and all. The artist, who has no credits on ISFDB, is an interesting guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hovancsek. I suppose the only way the cover would be acceptable is if it illustrated Klass' story, so if she responds here, maybe she'll let us know her story involves CREEPY MANNIKINS. --[[User:Username|Username]] 20:07, 25 January 2022 (EST)
+
== How to add a new publication for an anthology, with a new title ==
  
−
== Entering the parts of an incomplete serialization ==
+
{{T|828943|name=The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy}} has a new edition by Open Road Media, called [https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/the-big-book-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/9798337202907 The Big Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy].
  
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The weekly newspaper ''[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85040613/ Vilas County News]'' began serializing ''[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?913982 Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet]'' when their issues were 8 pages long, but they only managed to get 7 parts of it printed (ending [https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85040613/1897-05-31/ed-1/seq-8/ somewhere after the beginning of Chapter XI]).
+
I'm not sure how to add it. "Add Publication to This Title" doesn't let me change the title, and "Add a Variant to This Title" doesn't let me change the publisher.
−
* Should I enter these 7 parts as SERIALs anyway, or should I just add a note to the title page?
 
−
* If I should enter the parts, should they be called "Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet (Part 1 of ?)" with a question mark, or just "Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet (Part 1)"?
 
−
* And as an aside, what about the subtitle—should these be called "Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet; or, A Voyage to the Planet Mars (Part...)" instead?
 
−
Thanks! [[User:Sylvar|Sylvar]] 10:20, 25 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
:Yes, they should be entered as serials. If you know how many were planned (for example, it was advertised as a specific number), I would use "(Part 1 of #)". If you do not, then use "(Part 1 of ?)". Either way, I would add notes to the serial title records and the novel title record explaining it was not completed. As for the title, it should be entered as per the magazine. If they used the subtitle, it should be included. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 20:15, 25 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Connecting a new magazine issue & essay series inconsistencies ==
+
Thanks for any assistance. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 02:52, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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I created an entry for [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?877461 an issue of Galaxy's Edge magazine] that was not in isfdb (until now I only added content to preexisting issues that had no content listed). I don't know how the new issue gets attached to the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?36993 series].
+
:You first need to add it as a completely new anthology. Once it exists, then make the new title a variant of the original title. To lessen the number of merges required, if the content is the same, import the content from one of the existing publications, otherwise just import the content titles. Hope this is clear. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] ([[User talk:Philfreund|talk]]) 08:01, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
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What did I do wrong during the initial "Add New Magazine" step, or is this something that is done in a multistep process. Also, when I get to 2022 issues, what do I do to create a [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2729511 year sub-list] for the magazine?
 
  
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Also, I am not sure what to do with the name of an essay series that has become inconsistent regarding the use of the articles "A" and "The."  [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?10419 A Scientist's Notebook] written by Gregory Benford spent over a decade as an essay series at F&SF, and from what I can tell from the issues I have, was consistently published as "A Scientist's Notebook."  The series resurfaced at Galaxy's Edge and continued to be published as "A Scientist's Notebook."  Use of the "A" in the series title has become unstable in the past couple of years.  Here is a list of the recent inconsistencies in issues of Galaxy's Edge:
+
== Interiorart for a Story with a Variant Title ==
  
−
2020 September has "The" on essay page & the Table of Contents (TOC).
+
Hello, everyone! I'm in the process of adding interiorart to an anthology, and I've hit a sticky situation. Please help me!
 +
<P>
 +
The story that causes the problem is ZIKES, which first appears in the paperback edition of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1005026 Chronicles of Misses and Machines]. Throughout the anthology, ZIKES is consistently formatted in either all-caps or a unicase font that does not distinguish between upper- and lowercase. Even the illustration itself includes the word ZIKES in all-caps, and there is definite other evidence that the author intended this title to be all-caps. So, I formatted the story's title in all-caps, and I intend to format the interiorart's title in all-caps, too. No problem there.
 +
<P>
 +
The problem occurs in the ebook edition of the anthology, where the heading on the title page of the story reads as: Zikes by Mackenzie Reide. So I have created a variant story title for the ebook edition that is formatted as Zikes. Should I also create a variant interiorart title that is formatted as Zikes? This would seem to follow the rule that the title of interior art should match the title of its associated story.
 +
<P>
 +
But I'm feeling conflicted because of the variant situation. Should the title of the interiorart match that of the parent story or the variant story? Does the situation change if the interiorart itself contains the uppercase title ZIKES? Does the situation change if I believe that the lowercase story title in the ebook edition was inadvertent?  I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't have created that variant story title in the first place, given that I think it's inadvertent.
 +
<P>
 +
Many thanks! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 12:27, 23 October 2025 (EDT)
 +
:Unless you can determine it's an acronym or something similar, you should normalize the case to "Zikes" for both the story and the INTERIORART since it is showing up multiple ways across multiple publications. See [[Help:Screen:NewPub#Case]] for more details. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:42, 23 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
2020 November goes back to "A" in both places
+
:: Thanks, 投稿. Here are my thoughts: The ISFDB help screen indicates that a title's case should be regularized "unless there is some specific evidence that the author intended certain letters to be in a specific case." For ZIKES, there is evidence that the author intended for the title to be ZIKES.  Let's see if I can organize my thoughts on that evidence. It's almost as if we are in a legal thriller!
  
−
2021 January has "The" in the TOC and no reference to the series on the essay page, but it is a reprint from F&SF, so I plan to import it in my next step in creating the issue entry.
+
:::1. ZIKES is part of a series called ZOWS, which consists of six stories by Mackenzie Reide. Those stories' titles are almost always formatted as all-caps in both the paperback and ebook editions of: the author's web site, title page headings, title page illustrations, tables of contents, running headers, copyright pages, and credits for illustrators. One exception occurs the paperback title page headings, which are in a unicase font that does not distinguish between lower- and uppercase. And the second exception is the ebook formatting of Zikes in its title page heading and table of contents. To me, this suggests that the use of Zikes in the ebook was inadvertent.
  
−
2021 March & May both use "A" on the essay pages and TOCs.
+
:::2. ZIKES is the only story in the paperback anthology that appears in uppercase in its running headers, copyright, and illustrators. (The table of contents provides us with no specific information because it is in all-caps for everything. The title pages also provide us with no information since they are all in a unicase font.) To me, this suggests that the capitalization of ZIKES in the paperback anthology was intentional.
  
−
2021 July has "The" in the TOC but "A" on the essay page
+
:::3. Admittedly, in the six ZOWS stories, only two of the titles seem to be acronyms, and ZIKES is not one of those.
  
−
2021 September has "The" in the TOC but "A" on the essay page
+
:: I apologize for not mentioning all this initially. Given this specific evidence, would you still suggest that I regularize both the titles to Zikes? Or would it be preferable to leave the parent title as ZIKES with Zikes as a variant? Another possiblitity is to leave them separate for now, but also to contact Mackenzie to see whether she had a particular intention. I'm happy to do that if you think it would be best.
  
−
2021 November has "The" on both TOC and essay page.
+
:: --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 17:21, 23 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
2022 January has "The" on both TOC and essay page.
+
:: P.S. Because of my feeling that the uppercase was intended by Mackenzie Reide, I'll go ahead and reach out to her this morning. I'll report back here when she replies. Thanks. --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 11:38, 24 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
So it looks like the editor after Mike Resnick was inconsistent from Sept 2020 to Sept 2021, and is perhaps settling into using "The," although that is uncertain given it has only been 2 consecutive issues using "The."  While I can add notes to point out some of the recent inconsistencies, what should be done if the editor sticks with "The" when the series has years and years under the series name "A Scientist's Notebook?"  And if I am making a change that affects the whole series, when should I decide that the change to "The" is permanent?
+
:: Michael here, reporting back with a response from the author, Mackenzie Reide. She says that she thinks of the titles being in all-caps, and she thought that they were always that way. I will go ahead and keep the parent titles in all caps in the ISFDB. I'll include a note about the reasoning, and I'll add a variant for the one ebook that has an inadvertent mixed-case title heading. As for the illustration that accompanies the inadvertent title heading, I shall list it as a lowercase variant, too, because that was done in the similar examples that I eventually found. Thanks for the help today and every day! --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 15:48, 24 October 2025 (EDT)
  
−
A third question was just answered by the previous inquiry.  I will use (part 1 of ?) because the serial is in progress and I don't know how many parts there will be.
+
== How to edit a pending submission? ==
  
−
[[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 14:52, 26 January 2022 (EST)
+
After submitting a new item, I sometimes notice errors that I want to fix (usually due to the Warnings column), but in "Pending submissions" I can only cancel it.
−
: Document in notes in the issues where it is different and stick all of them in the "A ..." series. Problem solved. Add a note in the series notes as well about the change. :)
 
−
: PS: By the way: the two essays with common name in that issue NEED disambiguation ("Fantasy & Technology"  should be "Fantasy & Technology (Galaxy's Edge, January 2021)" and the same for Recommended Books :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:16, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
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:: The other two questions: it should be "(Part 1 of ?)" - see the capitalization.
 
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:: For the year entry - edit the EDITOR record - [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2977402 this one] to change its title and date (to be 2022-00-00) and to add the series. That's it. Any additional questions - post back please :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:19, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
::: PS: And you need to connect the two reviews that did not connect. That happens when the review title is different from the actual title. Open the review and look at the left menu. There is a "Link Review" menu item. Use the ID of the title it reviews. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:20, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Order of contents appearance ==
+
Is there a way to just edit a submission, instead of having to fill the form again from scratch? --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 08:40, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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The last review in a review column and the beginning of an essay are both on the same page (78), so when I visit the [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?877461 page where the contents are displayed] SOMETIMES the last review is listed after the essay even though the review appears first on the page.  Though I don't suppose it is much of a problem, it looks awkward due to the leading space before "Review."  Is there a way to force this to display in the correct order?  Note (in case either of these is a factor) that I imported the essay after the reviews were in place and I have Concise Listing as my default. [[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 18:10, 26 January 2022 (EST)
+
::I would also like to know the best way to do this! I've noticed that immediately after submission, when the confimation page appears ("Submitting the following changes"), I can usually click the back button to get the browser back to the filled-in submission form. This allows me to fix any yellow warnings that I've seen, resubmit, and then cancel the original submission. But I'd still like to know if there is a better approach and whether there is a way to get the filled-in submission form from the pending submissions page. --&nbsp;[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]]) 11:25, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
−
:Yes, you can use piping to do that. See "Sorting" at [[:Template:PubContentFields:Page]] for how it works. Let us know if you have any questions after reading that (as well as answering them, it will help to know if we need to improve the documentation). --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:23, 26 January 2022 (EST)
+
:::This is the best way at the moment. There is currently no better other than what you suggested. I usually open the editing on a separate tab then when submitting I can then check the warnings, and then click 'back' to amend. It is very annoying but it works.|[[User:ReadingMovies|ReadingMovies]] ([[User talk:ReadingMovies|talk]]) 12:12, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
−
::Thanks, it was reasonably clear.  I just got too lazy to try to find the answer before asking here. I have found it difficult at times to find answers to questions I have had, resulting in lengthy searches. And often I know I have read something about a topic before but I can't remember where I read it and it can take some time to find it again.  It has occurred to me that something like an index similar to what one might find in the back of a book might be useful here.  I realize there is a search function, but the results can be frustratingly unhelpful.  I'm not sure if such an index is feasible, or if it would be as helpful as I imagine.  But it is a thought (by someone who has admittedly no experience in the topic). [[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 19:21, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::: We kinda have [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Contents a main help page] which is linked from the main [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page wiki page] - usually one of the linked pages will get you to what you are looking for unless you are deep in the weeds somewhere on an interesting problem.
 
−
::: A little tip - look at the question marks next to each field on the EditPub/AddPub and other pages. Hover over them for a quick tip. If you click on them, they will get you to the help page for that specific field in more details - and 90% of the help pages you need will be the ones linked that way :) For the contents section (where this thing was located), the question marks are on the first row of them - there is one on the page number, there is one on the title, one on the author and so on. There is also always a full page help linked at the top of any edit page. Hope that makes sense. Not that we cannot do better of course - and if you think we need to add something to that main page, please share. Also - the links the welcoming moderator posted on your own Talk page in the very first message are curated to give you quick access to the main pages for a lot of help areas.  [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:30, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
:::: If you want to know areas where I found the help pages in need of improvement, here are two things that I remember spending too much time trying to find/figure out:
 
−
::::* How to add a new issue of a magazine (see my help desk post just before this one).  I clicked on the http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:ScreenList and then on the "New Magazine" link.  Nowhere did I find anything about having to edit the Editor Title, as a second step or otherwise.  Additionally, even if I had stumbled my way to that page, the help templates linked through the question marks are so generic as to be of no help in this case.  For instance, Template:TitleFields:Title does not mention that I should use a “Magazine Name - Year” format.  Template:TitleFields:Date mentions nothing about using a ####-00-00 date.  And Template:TitleFields:Series does not even have the word magazine in it.  So eventually I posted my question here and you (Annie) were very helpful.  I suppose I might have eventually figured things out after study of existing entries, but the help system was decidedly unhelpful in this case.  Maybe there are explanations for these somewhere but I was not able to find them.
 
−
::::* Checking with other primary verifiers before changing data for a publication that they verified.  I had read something about this while researching how to do my first edit (Galaxy's Edge, January 2020), but it did not apply to anything I was doing at the time.  Then when I got to the July 2020 issue, I noticed that the ebook had been primary verified, but I could not remember what I had read about editing things that alter other primary verified publications.  I checked in Help:Screen:Verify & Help:Screen:EditPub & Help:Getting_Started but could find no mention of this.  Eventually I found discussions regarding this in archived Help Desk entries.  For all I know, this is something that does not apply any more, but my impression is that I am supposed to check with other primary verifiers before changing data and notify other verifiers when adding data.  Am I wrong?  If not, maybe something about this needs to be added to the Help:Screen:EditPub, or maybe it is already there but I just could not find it.
 
−
:::: In a related question, what is the proper procedure or proper etiquette regarding checking with the primary verifier?  If, for instance, I post a message on their talk page and I know they are still active (and even notice that they have been active in the days since my post), how long to I wait for a response?  And when said waiting period has elapsed, how do I proceed?  Try to "email this user" or just make the changes or something else?  I certainly don't want to step on toes, particularly as a newbie.
 
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:::: [[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 21:44, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::::: Will look at the rest in the morning (done for the day - unless someone else posts) but for PVs and waiting time - depends on the change - for changes which remove/change major information - a week and if they do not respond, post on the Moderator board so we can assist. See the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:FAQ#What_if_I_want_to_make_a_change_in_a_verified_publication_record.3F FAQ page] on that (and other things). For adding information - notify and submit is the usual policy - no need to wait. For typos and housekeeping changes - just the moderator note may be enough but notifying is never a mistake. Email can work but we have issues with some mail servers so some members may not receive them (and mail is not mandatory and you can opt out so if you want to try that as well, do that but don’t rely on it).
 
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::::: PS: Part of your difficulty is because you just started walking and are now competing in a marathon at the Olympics. The magazines can be entertaining (or brutal) - they make a lot more sense in comparison to the rest of the DB and not as a starting point but we will get there - just be patient and don’t hesitate to ask. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 22:18, 26 January 2022 (EST)
 
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:::::: I probably ran into the PV notification stuff on the FAQ page and also in JLaTondre's welcome message on my talk page, but as mentioned, I could not remember where I read it when I wanted to read it again.  Now it seems obvious after you pointed me to both locations.  I just looked in the wrong places, which is why I mentioned the index idea in response to JLaTondre.  I hope I have not come across as complaining about how things work around here.  I have tremendous gratitude for all the work people have put into isfdb and I have no right to complain.  Its just that JLaTondre asked about how documentation could be improved, and I thought I could offer the viewpoint of the ignorant.  And that I most certainly am.  And I feel even more obtuse now, because I just discovered the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:How_to_add_a_magazine_issue_to_the_magazine%27s_issue_grid How to add a magazine issue to the magazine's issue grid]and [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:How_to_link_a_magazine_to_its_wiki_page_and_add_it_to_a_magazine_series How to link a magazine to its wiki page and add it to a magazine series] pages. I suppose I would have found them sooner if they had been linked to the places I did look.  Maybe that is the only useful input I really have on this topic. [[User:Daffodil11|Daffodil11]] 00:59, 27 January 2022 (EST)
 
−
::::::: That last page is a bit out of date actually - we are migrating stuff out from the wiki and into the DB proper. :) I’ll see what I can do about it later this week. Happens now and again with older projects that get out of sync with current practices. And no worries - it is a big project and getting lost happens even when you had been here for a long time. All feedback is valuable - especially from new editors. Can we make it easier? Probably not - but we may be able to add some links here and there to assist. :) You are more likely to get in trouble for not asking a question than for asking why so don’t sweat it. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 01:12, 27 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Number line question ==
+
:::: Indeed, there is no way to edit a pending submission at this time. We have {{FR|21}}, "Ability to 'Edit' Proposed submission", but implementing it would require a lot of work.
  
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Hi. I have a publication with 'D 0 9 8' as printer's key [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?877773 here]. I'm assuming this is the eighth printing, but anyone knows what that 'D' means? Thanks! [[User:MagicUnk|MagicUnk]] 09:19, 27 January 2022 (EST)
+
:::: Also, keep in mind that the "Back" button may function differently in different browsers. Some only support the "Back" functionality for a few minutes after the submissions. Others may not recreate the data entry page exactly after you click "Back". It's all browser-dependent and there isn't anything we can do on the ISFDB side. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 19:51, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
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:Many times, I've seen that refer to the printer who printed that particular run. It's possible that refers to RR Donnelley, though I often see that one as RRD. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:06, 27 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== "C.S. Friedman" author record ==
+
::::: Another idea that should be easier to implement: Have a button that checks a submission without submitting it, so the user can fix any warnings. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 09:11, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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Spotted [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?338207 this author record] with an empty bibliography just now - shouldn't it be either varianted to [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?493 the "proper" C. S. Friedman entry] or deleted?  Or is it serving some arcane purpose beyond my understanding? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 18:33, 27 January 2022 (EST)
+
:::::: I am afraid it would be difficult to implement. The current "yellow warning" system is an integral part of submission review pages and decoupling them would not be easy to do. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 12:34, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
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: The record that created it needs to be fixed. When it looks like that, there is a review somewhere with the Reviewed author using that form so you need to find it via search and fix the record. [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2968119 Fixed] now.  :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:41, 27 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Title record edit not propagating to publications within ==
+
== Log-in issues ==
  
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I submitted edit [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5208384] to remove the series from a its title. It was approved. However, the publications within have not had their titles updated, even though the tool tip for 'title' indicates that they should. Thoughts? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 20:09, 27 January 2022 (EST)
+
Whatever saved log-in info I had in my browser no longer works. How do I reset my password? {{unsigned|Niteowljr1}}
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: Glenn, The tool tip is telling you that any publication which contains this title will be affected. What kind of publication might contain this title? Omnibus and collection immediatedly come to mind. If this novel was in either, you would see the change. Clearly, you were hoping this change would propagate to the underlying publications contained in this title. Sadly, You will have to submit an edit for each publication. [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 21:48, 27 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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:: There may be a terminological issue here. When this submission was approved, the title of the '''title record''' was changed from "The Great War: American Front" to "American Front". If you check any of the publication records which contain this title records, e.g. [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?41038 the first edition], you will note that the Contents section now says "3 • American Front • [The Great War] • novel by Harry Turtledove". However, if you examine the first line of the same Web page, you will see that it still says "Publication: The Great War: American Front". So the change did affect every publication which has this '''title record''' in it, but it didn't change the titles of the '''publication records'''. Hope this makes sense. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 21:59, 27 January 2022 (EST)
+
: Are you referring to the "Niteowljr1" account, which you used to post this query, or to a different user account? If it's "Niteowljr1", then you are already logged in on the Wiki side. You'll just need to log in on the database side using the same password -- see [[ISFDB:FAQ#Logging_In]] for details. You should be able to get your browser to display your current ISFDB password under browser "Settings", although the details may be browser-specific, e.g. Firefox may have a slightly different way of showing your passwords than Google Chrome.
  
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::: Perhaps if it stated what was going to change in the publication record, it would have been clearer. I reread the tool tip, and thought I could read the linked article for more information about what changed in the publication record, but I couldn't find anything. My guess is the referral is for earlier in the tool tip. --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 23:51, 27 January 2022 (EST)
+
: On the other hand, if you need to regain access to a different user account, log out of the "Niteowljr1" account, go to the login page, click "Forgot your password?" and follow the instructions. If you provided an email address when you created the account, an email will be sent to you automatically. If, after an hour or so, you don't receive the email and it's not in your spam folder, please post here. Thanks. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 07:34, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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::: Can I assume that it works the same way for interior art and covers? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 01:41, 28 January 2022 (EST)
+
== Collection duplicated as a Novel ==
  
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:::: What's still is to do, is to change the titles of the single publications: the container title of the novel was changed (you'll see that when you edit one of the publications), but the title of the respective publication the container title appears in wasn't. John's example for a possible OMNIBUS publication is well chosen: if the change of a novel's title ''would'' propagate to the OMNIBUS that one's title would be changed, but is most likely quite different. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 02:30, 28 January 2022 (EST)
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?175477
−
:::: Re: your question 'Can I assume that it works the same way for interior art and covers?'; well, no: you usually need edit those titles only once, because they should ''only'' appear inside of publications, not as stand-alone publications / container titles. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 02:33, 28 January 2022 (EST)
 
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::::: The basic rule is that once created, each element is on its own - cover, title record and a publication record. If you need to change all of them, they need to be updated separately (sometimes possible via a single PubEdit (if used in only one publication), sometimes requiring PubEdit and a few TitleEdits - and that list of updates will need to include any title where the old title was used as part of the name (introductions, interior art and so on). During the AddPub phase, you enter one title and we reuse it for the 2 (or 3 if you have a cover) elements but that is just a behind-the-scenes reusing - we create 2 (or 3) separate elements). Changing one of them later on does not change any of the others. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 10:37, 28 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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:::: What criteria is used to have more than one publication use the same cover title record? Is it a side effect of cloning a different publication? Or a merge? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 18:41, 28 January 2022 (EST)
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2298687+0
−
::::: Clone, import of the cover or a merge after a separate record was created. There are two different things to account for when you have a cover:
 
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:::::* The link to the image - that one will be different for each printing/edition (or can be anyway - usually a good idea to be in case there are slight variations and for ISFDB hosted images to ensure that one update does not wipe out the cover on all editions.
 
−
:::::* The COVERART record - this one will be the same for all books that have the same image on the cover and the same language, title and author - if one of these three is different, it will be a variant instead. So if Book A and Book B have the same image on their cover, there will be two different COVERART entries (due to the different title) and we will variant the later to the earlier one. But if the 1998 edition of Book A and the 2020 Edition of the same book uses the same image (regardless if the colors are changed or what kind of writing is there on the cover or if the image is inverted and so on), we merge the COVERART records. See [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2184624 this record] for an example - same image across languages and titles so we varianted it. At the same time all versions of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?650665 this one] stay as one entry despite the change in the cover because the image is the same (even if one of them are inverted and one of them is just part of the image -- ignore the ones that show the Apple+ thingie here - these are using /P/ Amazon images which are ISBN-based and need fixing - they are the same cover as the others - we just have a bad link now).
 
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::::: Let me know if I can assist further. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 19:00, 28 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
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== Gerin the Fox series ==
+
i just wanted to know how to fix this which has duplicate titles as collection and novel. if you look it up its described as a collection of linked stories so i thought the novel should be cancelled.  should the novel title just be changed to collection and then varianted to the original collection with the story titles imported into the variant collections? will that be all thats needed? Gaz[[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 09:03, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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The [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?12381 Gerin the Fox series] is numbered with a mixture of the original first two novels in separate and revised combined form. Is there a convention on how this should be recorded? There's also a problem with the later ebook versions that indicate 'Werenight', when almost certainly they should link to 'Werenight (revised)' title record.
+
: As the second title has no primary verifications, I think it's best to transform or merge it (and possibly import the shortfiction titles, provided they're all included). Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 11:25, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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My suggestion would be to number the first versions 1.1 and 1.2, and the revised 1, and renumber from that point.  Or is there a better approach? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 19:41, 28 January 2022 (EST)
+
::when you say transform does that mean title type from novel to collection? also how do you merge when theyve got different names? cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 19:25, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
  
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== Recording translator(s) for translated collections ==
+
== 2 Qs: Convoluted variant titling and dating scenario ==
  
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I see that [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2913292 a collection I added a few months ago] is showing up in [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/edit/cleanup_report.cgi?239 the "Translations without the Tr Template in Notes" cleanup report].  Naively I'd have thought that for translated collections (or anthologies), the translator notes would only really need to go with the records for the individual shortfiction/essay/etc contents [*] - especially in cases like this one where multiple translators are involved? If the translator(s) have to go in the collection/anthology note, then you'd have to leave it undefined about which contents were translated by which translators (which seems a bit unhelpful), or explicitly match them up - which could make the note overly complicated, and only duplicates stuff which is (or should be) recorded in the shortfiction/essay records?
+
I figured these questions, and their answers, might be generally useful, so I thought I'd pose them here. We have the following scenario:
  
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I did have a look to see how this was handled in [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2012886 the only other translated collection I could think of off the top of my head], but that doesn't have a title note, and looks in any case like it would get cropped off the report due to not being in the first 500 records alphabetically.
+
* Title Variation 1a: Published uncredited, serialized in many parts, in 1802.
 +
* Title Variation 2: Published uncredited, in 1837
 +
* Title Variation 1b: Published credited in 1971.
  
−
[* - This particular example is somewhat moot, as it doesn't currently have the contents added.  I actually have the UK ebook of this pub, but I've avoided submitting the details as yet, because it looks a bit messy and requiring a fair bit of research e.g. the essays don't have a translator credited, but it's unclear at first glance if these are original to the English publications, or they were translated by the original author (which seems possible as I think he grew up in the US).  I'll get round to doing all that if/when this book escapes from my TBR pile...] [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 09:27, 29 January 2022 (EST)
+
These were originally configured to make Title Variation 2 (as by uncredited) canonical and both Title Variation 1s variants.  The problem with that is Title Variation 1b did not appear in the author's bibliography due to the "uncredited" parent.  The recommended solution is to make a credited canonical title that is the parent and adjust the variants accordingly.
  
−
: It's best I think to put something like Template(diverse hands) or Template(various hands) into the notes, at least that's how I do handle those cases. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 09:51, 29 January 2022 (EST)
+
'''Q1:''' Given the very first appearance of this title, albeit NOT in whole form, was in the Title Variation 1 form, I am inclined to make Title Variation 1b (the #1 form, plus author credit) the canonical title.  This even though Title Variation 2 was used on the first whole-form publication.  Does that seem appropriate and acceptable? 
  
−
:: Thanks - that seems a decent way of addressing the issue. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 11:32, 29 January 2022 (EST)
+
'''Q2:''' If the proposed treatment in Q1 should be used, then what date should be assigned to the now-canonical Title Variation 1b? Should it stay 1971, with the 1802 and 1837 appearances as variants, or should it be back-dated to either the original 1802 serialization or the 1837 first whole-form appearance (even though neither the #1b wording nor #1b credit was used in 1837)?
  
−
== Amanda Luzzader / A. M. Luzzader ==
+
If the Q1 approach is not appropriate, I would make a credited form of Title Variation 2, dated 1837, have that be the parent, make all three actually-used forms be variants of that. But it seems doubly bad (i) to create a new title record never used in any publication and (ii) to have the canonical title wording be something other than the most commonly-used wording.
  
−
I’ve entered the fiction of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?250765 Amanda Luzzader] onto this site, but I’ve just found out that she has written a whole score of children’s books as [https://www.amazon.com/A-M-Luzzader/e/B0892V1QXR/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1 A. M. Luzzader].  These are not picture books, but text books for 3-8 year-old girls.  Are they eligible for this site? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 23:13, 29 January 2022 (EST)
+
Any thoughts or suggestions/recommendations appreciated. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 12:11, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
−
:Yes. The only age related restriction we have is that we exclude "Animal books for very young children, i.e. books for preschoolers which depict simple scenes from animal life featuring anthropomorphized animals". Those don't fall into that category so they are eligible. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 09:20, 30 January 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Potter's Field Anthologies ==
+
: Hi Marty. Could you provide a link to the titles for 1a, 2, and 1b? Thanks. --[[User:Main|Michael Main]] ([[User talk:Main|talk]])
  
−
Should [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/adv_search_results.cgi?USE_1=title_ttype&O_1=exact&TERM_1=ANTHOLOGY&C=AND&USE_2=title_title&O_2=contains&TERM_2=Potter%27s+field&USE_3=title_title&O_3=exact&TERM_3=&USE_4=title_title&O_4=exact&TERM_4=&USE_5=title_title&O_5=exact&TERM_5=&USE_6=title_title&O_6=exact&TERM_6=&USE_7=title_title&O_7=exact&TERM_7=&USE_8=title_title&O_8=exact&TERM_8=&USE_9=title_title&O_9=exact&TERM_9=&USE_10=title_title&O_10=exact&TERM_10=&ORDERBY=title_title&ACTION=query&START=0&TYPE=Title these three] be in a title series? (different editors, different publishers, so surely no pub series, right?) [[User:MagicUnk|MagicUnk]] 11:09, 31 January 2022 (EST)
+
::Sorry, RL distractions... I don't know that the actual titles matter, but here they are:
 +
::* 1a) The original serialization in 1802: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1702152 Equality: A Political Romance] as by uncredited
 +
::* 2) The first whole-form publication in 1837: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?685873 Equality] as by uncredited
 +
::* 1b) The first credited whole-form publication in 1971: [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1702149 Equality: A Political Romance] as by James Reynolds.
 +
::I have made the last one the canonical parent (the whole goal is to have a credited title as the canonical parent), and I back-dated it to 1802 since that was the first appearance of that title text.  I'm not entirely thrilled with that, so my request here for suggestions. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] ([[User talk:MartyD|talk]]) 18:16, 4 November 2025 (EST)
 +
::: I agree with your choice here though - even if you are not thrilled. We cannot have the uncredited as an author on the parent and the title matches the serialization title anyway. And we date that way when the parent is a later occurrence in the same language as the first anyway. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 19:37, 5 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
: They all have the same subtitle, so I assume that they are in a series. It would be nice to add volumes 1, 2, 3 and 6 as well. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 15:49, 31 January 2022 (EST)
+
::::I agree completely. An uncredited parent is highly undesirable considering that it results in a credited variant not appearing in the author's bibliography. Furthermore, as we are talking about a SHORTFICTION title, then yes, the parent title record should be dated as the first appearance of the serial. If it were a NOVEL then it would be dated as the first appearance in book form.
 +
::::I don't like the idea of creating a title record that is never used in a publication at all. Very artificial.
 +
::::I have no problem with a canonical title that is not the first appearance. It is allowed as per the [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Help:Glossary Glossary]:
 +
::::*'''Canonical title'''.  The canonical title is the title under which all publications of a particular work are listed.  For stories or novels that appeared under more than one title, the canonical title is usually the first title for that work, but may be a later title if that title is much better known.
 +
::::There is precedent as per this famous novel: {{T|186583|Hothouse}}. [[User:Teallach|Teallach]] ([[User talk:Teallach|talk]]) 18:35, 12 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
:: Any suggestion on what the series title should be. 'Potter's Field', or, 'Tales from Unmarked Graves' (I've selected Potter's Field for now)? [[User:MagicUnk|MagicUnk]] 13:50, 1 February 2022 (EST)
+
== Editorial essay incorrectly added to two magazine issues - how to delete? ==
  
−
== Mike Sirota ==
+
{{T|3463124|name=From Unusual Places}} is listed as being in both the Clarkesworld May 2025 and June 2025 issues, but it's only in the May one. The [https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/clarke_06_25 June issue editorial] is called "Editor's Desk: Wrapping Back Around to Marketing".
  
−
I was wondering if [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1573 Mike Sirota] is an over-the-threshold author, as he has written [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PE34BO4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9 Stone Woman: Winema and the Modocs], his lone historical.  Should I list it?  Or just move on? [[User:MLB|MLB]] 22:54, 2 February 2022 (EST)
+
When I try to edit the issue, that item is in an uneditable box - how can this be fixed? --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 14:06, 2 November 2025 (EST)
−
: My recommendation: don't waste your time entering non-spec fic - at all :) [[User:MagicUnk|MagicUnk]] 08:37, 3 February 2022 (EST)
+
:As the June issue is verified by an active verifier, please notify the verifier first by posting on their talk page. To fix it, you would:
−
:: Well, as you know, that's why the "over-the-threshold" rule was invented. That's why we list the non-spec fiction of authors like Fredric Brown, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, and others. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 11:32, 3 February 2022 (EST)
+
:#Edit the {{P|1058858|Clarkesworld, June 2025}} issue and add the correct essay title; and
−
: If you add it, it won't be against the rules. I would not add it - simply because I do not see a value in having these in the DB at all (yes, even for our authors) but the consensus and the rule is that we allow them so if you add it, just make sure you mark it as a "non-genre". On the other hand, having complete bibliographies of "our" authors is a good thing (we may be the only ones having them considering how many things we list). So go ahead and add it if you want. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 14:10, 3 February 2022 (EST)
+
:#Use the "Remove Titles From This Pub" option on the left menu to remove the incorrect essay title.
 +
:The two edits can be made in parallel. Let us know if that explanation is not clear enough. Thanks. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 06:25, 3 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
:: As far as I know, Mike Sirota is primarily a genre author, so there should be no issue with adding his one non-SF novel to the database.
+
== “As by” incorrect for at least one instance but unsure about others? ==
  
−
:: Personally, I find these kinds of non-genre additions useful. If we don't include them, then our users won't know whether the "missed" novel(s) is missing because we were not aware of it or because it was non-genre. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 17:14, 3 February 2022 (EST)
+
Hi, folks—I’m looking at the entry for the [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?260381 1960 Doubleday/SFBC edition of Pohl’s anthology Star of Stars]. It says:
−
::: An argument may be made that we would want all borderline novels/stories and non-genre horror as well then for the same reason - so it is clear that we have looked at them and determined they are not ours as opposed to never having seen them. But that opens a rather big conversation.
 
−
::: We really need the ability to indicate on a profile if an author is genre/above threshold or not - it is confusing now for almost anyone finding the DB why we would allow some non-genre books but not others. No need for a default value - sometimes we may not know - but when we do, we should be able to set that somewhere (and I know we can use the notes but... we need a template then and having a better indication that a note buried among other notes makes more sense to me. That may also reopen the question on what we consider genre authors, who needs to be above threshold and get these squared away in a better way. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 18:16, 3 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
:::: Well, we do have {{FR|860}}, "Add a 'non-genre' field to Author records", which would address this issue. If there is support for making it higher priority, it could be pushed closer to the top of the list. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 19:02, 3 February 2022 (EST)
+
:67 • Twin's Wail • (1959) • novelette by Elizabeth Mann Borgese [as by Elizabeth M. Borgese]
  
−
::::: Talking of priorities made me look for the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/What%27s_New#Roadmap_2017 current plan] from 2017. Any plans on issuing an update? ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] 19:35, 3 February 2022 (EST)
+
But in the book itself (which I own, and have in front of me), Borgese’s middle name is given as “Mann” (not just “M.”) in all four places where her name appears. (TOC, first page of story (twice), back cover of book.)
  
−
:::::: We briefly talked about creating a new "road map" last year, but then I got sidetracked with the HTTP/HTTPS migration, which put everything else on hold. At this point our software is HTTPS-ready, but I still need to migrate links to third party sites. Once that's taken care of, we can work on creating a new road map. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] 10:09, 4 February 2022 (EST)
+
So I followed the link to the entry for [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?190382 the story], and it shows five instances of the story being published under the “M.” version of her name. But that’s listed as a variant of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?57163 the story as published under the “Mann” version of her name].
  
−
== Possible to move a pub from a parent title record to the child? ==
+
I know that at least one of those five is incorrect (the SFBC one), but I don’t know whether the other ones are.
  
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I noticed last night that I'd made an error a few months ago when adding [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?866058 the ebook pub] of [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2932298 Swarm Rising] - like the hc pubs, it should be attributed to [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?36481 Steve Cole], rather than the parent author record [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?31120 Stephen Cole].
+
And I’m not clear on what to edit in order to change the SFBC one to list the full “Elizabeth Mann Borgese” name.
  
−
My initial thought was to merge the two title records, but this seemed a bit sub-optimal, as I'd then have to manually recreate the one that got dropped so that this title shows up on the Stephen Cole bibliography page, but is attributed to Steve Cole.  However, I couldn't see any way to move a pub from the parent title to the child title (and keeping the now pub-less title record around).  Is there a way to do this, or is doing a title merge and then creating a "stub" parent title the only way to go? [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 11:56, 8 February 2022 (EST)
+
Thoughts?
−
: Remove Title to remove the wrong novel record and Import title to get the correct one in is generally a better idea, plus an edit the publication to fix the author name there. Merge will always work BUT if there was a valid title which belonged to the parent, it will mess it up. Plus any notes, links and so on will need to be transferred up (if they exist) and so on. So instead, work with the records we do have. Not to mention the (admittedly rare) case where this is the only title for the parent and the merge will delete the author record (with all details and all pseudonym connections in it - so you will need to recover those as well)[[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:04, 8 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
:: Thanks - just submitted edits for removing the title and importing the Steve Cole one.  Will edit the pub for the author name once those are in place. [[User:ErsatzCulture|ErsatzCulture]] 12:13, 8 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
::: Approved. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:16, 8 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Ken Kelly versus K. W. Kelly ==
+
--[[User:Elysdir|Elysdir]] ([[User talk:Elysdir|talk]]) 14:20, 2 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:As the SFBC is verified by an active verifier, please notify the verifier first by posting on their talk page. To fix the issue:
 +
:#Use the "Import Content" option in the left menu. Use Option 1 and enter the title number (57163) for the correct version. You will be able to specify the page number on the next screen.
 +
:#Use the "Remove Titles From This Pub" option in the left menu. Select the incorrect title to remove.
 +
:The two edits can be made in parallel. As for the other editions, some have active verifiers so I would recommend posting on their talk pages asking them to double check. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 06:31, 3 November 2025 (EST)
  
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I'm working through the Robert Adams Horseclans Signet titles using my owned copies and have found that the cover art in many of the existing records are credited to "Ken Kelly" even when the only credit is from the "K. W. Kelly" signature on the covers. Shouldn't these be changed to match what's actually there? "K. W. Kelly" is already an alias for "Ken Kelly". Thanks! [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 09:36, 10 February 2022 (EST)
+
== How to get a magazine issue posted if the editor won't do it? ==
  
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:We record artists as stated in publications. If there's no credit in the book, and we identify the artist from other sources (websites, other books with the same illustration, signature etc), we use the canonical name of the artist, so in this case "Ken Kelly" is correct. --[[User:Willem H.|Willem]] 14:01, 10 February 2022 (EST)
+
Hello.  I am a retired astronomer and relatively new author: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?91057
  
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::Thanks for clarifying. I'll redo my pending submissions but make sure there is an appropriate note as well. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 14:27, 10 February 2022 (EST)
+
I was thrilled to get a story published in one of the printed science-fiction magazines, Journ-E, in their Vernal Equinox 2025 issue.  
  
−
== The War of the Ring ==
+
But no matter what I have tried, I can't get that story to appear in my listing in ISFDB, because that issue has not been indexed in ISFDB.  I have asked the editor to help, but he seems not to know what to do either.
  
−
(moved from Bob's discussion page)
+
s there anyone who can help?
  
−
I'm attempting to PV my copy and came across the pub record you added [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?609680] that has the same ISBN and cover (with more intense color values). The pub date on my copy is 2000-09-00, but the record has 2003-09-01 which you added on 2017-03-19. It seems a bit odd to be adding a record for 6 years in the future. Another complication is that my copy is Houghton Mifflin, while the record has Mariner.  
+
I am happy to mail a physical copy of the magazine to anyone who can help get it on ISFDB.
  
−
I trying to figure out if I should just add a new record from scratch, or take this one over with much of the data replaced. Thoughts? --[[User:GlennMcG|GlennMcG]] 00:36, 14 February 2022 (EST)
+
Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journ-Vernal-Equinox-2025-Whole/dp/B0F96ZMJ7L
  
−
:Apparently this was a pub automatically added from Amazon back in the days before Annie decided to input all such records. So the information for this pub was from Amazon in 2017, and I really have no idea how your copy could have the same ISBN.  I don't understand your comment about adding a record for 6 years in the future.  I wonder if your copy isn't the same as the first version of the pub based on the date you quote. I suggest you post your question on the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Community_Portal Community Portal].  Maybe one of the other moderators can provide some guidance. [[User:Biomassbob|Bob]] 09:07, 14 February 2022 (EST)
+
Thank You.
−
:: As a start, 2017 is 14 years after 2003, not 6 years before it - so it was not added 6 years before it existed. :)
 
−
:: Onto the book itself: Chances are that the Amazon.com date was for a reprint/later printing which they later corrected (the current version of it is for a 2000 book). Mariner was an imprint of Houghton Mifflin at the time so it is possible that Amazon did use that on the record at the time. The ISBN now says "William Morrow Paperbacks" in Amazon (which is even more bizarre). But then data for 2000/2003 books in Amazon was loaded later and is known to have major issues. [https://www.worldcat.org/title/treason-of-isengard/oclc/65200870 OCLC] and [https://www.worldcat.org/title/war-of-the-ring/oclc/768196320 OCLC again] agrees with you on Houghton Mifflin pbk. ed. 2000 for the ISBN so edit the record and fix it. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:09, 14 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
: I apparently had 20 year math rollover. Thanks. --[[User:GlennMcG|Glenn]] 17:17, 14 February 2022 (EST)
+
Andrew Fraknoi (fraknoi@fhda.edu) {{unsigned|Fraknoi}}
−
:: Happens. I still refuse to believe that we are in the 2020s ;) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:23, 14 February 2022 (EST)
+
: Hello Andrew,
 +
: Anyone can submit the magazine - so the easiest way is to click on "New Magazine" and just submit it to be added to the DB. If you do not have the complete contents or rather not add them, you can use the incomplete template to indicate that there are missing stories. Let me know if you need more assistance or if you need any more details. If you rather not try on your own, can you post here the contents of the magazine (as much or as little of it as you have/want to share and I can add it for you? [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] ([[User talk:Anniemod|talk]]) 14:47, 3 November 2025 (EST)
 +
::I've created the issue [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1079567 here], but I can't find a table of contents anywhere. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 15:37, 3 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
== Aimee Thurlo ==
+
== Uncredited author? ==
  
−
How do I change Aimee Thurlo’s canonical name to Aimée Thurlo?  This is the name in which that she signs all of her work as. I would go back and then change her works on this site. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 22:23, 16 February 2022 (EST)
+
If a writer is only mentioned on the copyright page does it go down as uncredited with a varianting to the author? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 13:07, 6 November 2025 (EST)
−
:All fixed since all of the works use the accented letter. I changed the name to "Aimeee Thurlo" and then to "[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?31003 Aimée Thurlo]". ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:27, 21 February 2022 (EST)
+
:We prefer to go with what is on the title page, then the cover. However, if no author is credited on the title page or cover, but they are credited on the copyright page, go ahead and enter the author and add a note to the publication explaining where the author credit came from. "Uncredited" should be reserved for instances where no one is credited anywhere in or on the publication. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:49, 6 November 2025 (EST)
−
::Thanks. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 02:31, 25 February 2022 (EST)
+
::got it cheers - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 15:52, 6 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:::Joe, please have a look at {{T|2924772|Jenny}}. I submitted my edition few days ago, and I did it the same way I found those already in the db: the title record is credited, but all the publications are not. Author name on copyright page is already in the Notes. Should that be changed? --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 19:03, 7 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
== Digital Audio Downloads ==
+
== Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends ==
  
−
In <b>post 2007</b> digital audio downloads with no ISBN recorded and an Audible-ASIN which is an ISBN10:
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2618361
−
* The preferred entry in the ISBN can should be?
 
−
# ISBN10 (ignore the warning)
 
−
# Convert to ISBN13 and then enter
 
−
Thanks, [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 11:59, 17 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
: Convert to 13 - or someone else will need to edit after you to fix that :) Our field will show both of them anyway - so we show the proper format for the time. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:02, 17 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Brian W. Aldiss, the short fiction "Hothouse" and the novel Hothouse ==
+
Can some kind person(s) who can get their head round stuff better than me help with this one. I've got a later printing of the hardback and i'm going to clone it and pv it. The title page has Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens as the "authors". The intro calls Wilhelm the "editor" and that Martens translated them into English. a bit of googling indicates that Wilhelm originally translated them into german and then Martens translated the german into english versions. all the story parent titles are in german and are by Wilhelm currently with no german books containing these titles. The english variants are all by "uncredited" with no translator notes. So given that the book says that Martens was the translator should the collection title be just by Wilhelm with a translator note for Martens? aand should all of the english variants of the stories be changed from "uncredited" to "Wilhelm" with tr notes by Martens? Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:15, 7 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
The 1962 Hugo for Short Fiction went to "Hothouse" by Brian W. Aldiss (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?41305). That story was later incorporated into his novel, Hothouse (or The Long Afternoon of Earth), which is where the current iSFdb Hugo award is being pointed (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?186583). Can someone correct that?  [[User:Gengelcox|Gengelcox]] 13:42, 17 February 2022 (EST)
+
== Print Publications with No Explicit Price on Cover or Elsewhere in the Book ==
−
:I think that may not be correct. According to [http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1962-hugo-awards/ theugoawards.org], that award was for the whole series, not just the one story.  And if I understand correctly, the ''Hothouse'' "novel" of 1962 is the collection of the five stories in the series.  So I think having the award record linked to the novel is the best representation of what the award was granted for.  I don't believe there is a way to link it to the series record.  --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 08:41, 19 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
::There should be a note on the award record explaining that though. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 14:48, 19 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
:::I think an explanatory note would be helpful, otherwise it seems strange that a "Short Fiction" award went to a novel. [[User:Gengelcox|Gengelcox]] 12:56, 22 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Same author/artist? ==
+
Hi. This trade paperback ([https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?567390 Tales of Girls and Gadgets]) has no printed price on the cover, inside cover, or elsewhere in the publication, but our record lists a price field of $14.99 from a specific date on Amazon. Should I delete the price field and add a note of some sort? I can see from [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?567390 camelcamelcamel.com] that the Amazon price has varied from $9.99 to $15.99 over the years, and I believe that Amazon is the only seller (through their print-on-demand program).
  
−
I stumbled across this. Are [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?245340 Jan S. Gephardt] and [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?195707 Jan Sherrell Gephardt] the same person? If they are, I'm not sure which should be the cannonical name but they should be linked. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 09:01, 21 February 2022 (EST)
+
Also, how should I handle the price of the Kindle ebook. The indexer listed a price field of $4.99 on a specific date, and that price is still valid, but the price appears nowhere in the ebook and might have changed from time to time.  
−
:They may very well be. The content for both overlap in the right years. Jan Sherrell Gephardt has more content, so I'd go with that as the canonical name. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:22, 21 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
::Alias creation submitted. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 15:09, 21 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Space Relations title problem ==
+
Thanks. --[[User:Main|Michael Main]] 17:42, 8 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:If a book does not have a printed price, but we have a price from a secondary source, we record the price, but add a publication note stating that there is no price on the book along with the source of the price. If the price has varied over time, I would also include that in the pub notes and leave the original price. But I don't think we have a standard on that. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 18:19, 8 November 2025 (EST)
 +
::Many thanks, JLaTondre! --[[User:Main|Michael Main]] 20:53, 8 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
Based on a title note in [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?23107 here], my copy of the Fawcett Crest pb edition [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?31444 here] and a WorldCat search, I think the cannonical title needs to be changed to "Space Relations: A Slightly Gothic Interplanetary Tale" as well as at least that of the non-PVd Charterhouse edition (and possibly all of the pubs). I hesitate to create a potentially false variant when I change the Fawcett Crest edition record and the Charterhouse edition record. Since the Charterhouse edition is the oldest pub, the variant would be for the short form "Space Relations". Suggestions? [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 09:20, 22 February 2022 (EST)
+
== Can a fictional wolf be a canonical author? ==
  
−
== Watts duplicates ==
+
I recently added a new kiddies book in the minecraft universe. the book has no author credit in it anywhere. the publisher , amazon and other places give the author as "Winston Wolf" which is the books lupine protagonist. i've not seen anywhere that gives the real author, so does the title by "uncredited" get varianted to "Winston Wolf"? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 18:53, 11 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:I would enter the author as it is on the title page of the book. If we don't know who the pseudonym is used by, we can leave it at that and put a note on the author page about who the character is. Once we figure out who the real author is, we can variant it to them. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 21:20, 11 November 2025 (EST)
 +
::mate i said the book has no author credit in it and has been entered as such. there's no name anywhere  - zilch on the title page, cover, copyright page, spine, introduction by Harold bloom. maybe i should variant it to Harvey Keitel. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 21:33, 11 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:::Leave it as uncredited without a variant. If we don't know who to variant it to, there is no variant to create. We have many uncredited pubs without variants. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 08:06, 12 November 2025 (EST)
 +
::::cheers will do - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:45, 12 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
We have both George Frederick Watts (1817-1904) [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?180196] and George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?337301]. Can someone merge? <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Gengelcox|Gengelcox]] ([[User talk:Gengelcox|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Gengelcox|contribs]]) .</small> 10:37, 23 February 2022 (EST)
+
== Missing Cover Artists ==
−
:I'll take care of it. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 12:44, 23 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
::All fixed and at [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?337301 this entry]. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:15, 23 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== About The Authors ==
+
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisheryear.cgi?447+1967; I just made an edit adding cover image and cover artist Michel Gourdon to "La maison de l'esclave" which is the only 1967 book without an artist; a quick search of a few other 1960s years suggests there are none missing. Since Fleuve Noir has hundreds (thousands?) of books here is there a way to do an advanced search for those with missing artists from a major publisher like this without having to do a manual search year-by-year? --[[User:Username|Username]] ([[User talk:Username|talk]]) 09:51, 15 November 2025 (EST)
 +
: Does the presence of a Cover Artist mean there is necessarily a cover image? ../[[User:Holmesd|Doug H]] ([[User talk:Holmesd|talk]]) 08:25, 17 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
Hello! New here. If there is an About The Authors section in the back of a given anthology, listing the bios of the included contributors, do I need to record this?  Thank you. [[User:Canuckscribe|Canuckscribe]] 16:35, 24 February 2022 (EST)
+
:: No! If we know about the artist, but don't have an image at hand, there'll be none displayed. Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 09:11, 18 November 2025 (EST)
  
−
: Depends on how long the item is. If it is a substantial essay (a page or 3 per author), you can record is an essay. But if it is the usual 1-2 paragraphs per author, just add a note in the publication notes. See the [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/ISFDB:Policy#Contents_included_with_exceptions "About the Author" and other biographical sketches] bullet point here. For an example on how to add to the notes only, see [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?875336 this book] for an example. You can use your own wording of course. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:49, 24 February 2022 (EST)
+
== Display all the cover art from an artist. ==
  
−
Hi there. I went and edited a Pub Note, but now it appears that my new note is there in addition to the original Pub Note, which was not my intention. My note appears as a duplication with some edits. Is there a way to prevent this duplication? Many thanks. [[User:Canuckscribe|Canuckscribe]] 16:46, 24 February 2022 (EST)
+
Is there some way I can see all the cover art an artist has done in a similar way that you can "view covers for this year" from a publisher?
−
: It is a single field. When editing it, you need to add/remove whatever pieces you need added/removed (just adding the new contents WILL replace the whole note, not just append to it for example). If you share which publication that happened in, someone can check and see what happened exactly there. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:49, 24 February 2022 (EST)
+
 
−
+
like this: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisheryear.cgi?34+1973+1 <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:BookWolfen|BookWolfen]] ([[User talk:BookWolfen|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/BookWolfen|contribs]]) .</small>
−
: PS: A housekeeping item: when adding a new question, instead of pressing "Edit", press the plus sign next to the edit link. That will allow you to add a title and will separate the question :) And then when you are answering to an existing topic, use the edit link next to it, not the overall one at the top. That way the History will show which thread you are responding to so we do not need to hunt down where the latest update is :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:49, 24 February 2022 (EST)
+
 
 +
: I think it's not possible, but there is a workaround:
 +
:# go to isfdb.stoecker.eu that is a mirror of ISFDB whose developer created some additional functionalities;
 +
:# search for the author name the usual way, and open their page;
 +
:# in the section "editing tools" of the left menubar select "Search for duplicate titles";
 +
:# at the top of the page, select "Cover mode normal" to see ALL the covers, or (I like this better) "Cover mode single" to see all the different covers (without variants).
 +
: and it's done! --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 11:47, 17 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
I cant login to the isfdb.stoecker.eu. I even created a new login but I get the same message: "Login failed: User name not recognized" [[User:BookWolfen|BookWolfen]] ([[User talk:BookWolfen|talk]]) 04:16, 18 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
: Since he also is active here, you might want to ask him about that problem on [https://isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Stoecker his talk page]; (but maybe you haven't to login for this at all). Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 09:00, 18 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
::I too don't think that logging in is necessary; in anycase in [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Stoecker#Own_ISFDB_instance a discussion] on his talk page Stoecker describes his patches, and says: "You can login to this instance with your normal username and "test" as password". Just remember not to try to edit anything on that site. --[[User:Fantagufo|Fantagufo]] ([[User talk:Fantagufo|talk]]) 10:43, 18 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Yup, tried all that with test as password. get  User name not recognized allt the time. [[User:BookWolfen|BookWolfen]] ([[User talk:BookWolfen|talk]]) 03:01, 20 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
== Should short "Author's Notes" be listed in collections? ==
 +
 
 +
I'm creating entries for a few self-published Angela Slatter ebook collections.
 +
 
 +
They open or close with very short Author's Notes of a few sentences or paragraphs. Should they be listed in the contents?
 +
 
 +
Examples:
 +
* https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S76NJDY
 +
* https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S9ITA88
 +
* https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T256BXY
 +
* https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WWG5VZS - author's note and universe chronology is at the end, so not in the preview.
 +
 
 +
--[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 08:58, 19 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
: [[ISFDB:Policy#Contents_always_included]] says:
 +
:* ''Essays'': Shorter works of nonfiction (other than reviews and interviews; see below) contained in a larger work, i.e. book or magazine, are entered as ESSAY type in the "Regular Titles" section of the data entry form. These include, but are not limited to:
 +
:** ''Forewords, introductions, prefaces, afterwords, endnotes, etc.'': These should all be included.
 +
: Conversely, [[ISFDB:Policy#Contents_included_with_exceptions]] says:
 +
:* ''Story introductions/afterwords'': In some cases, anthologies or collections include introductions (or, less often, afterwords) to individual works. If these are short and amount to blurbs, they should not be indexed separately. When they amount to critical essays or otherwise have significant content, they should be included. This is always a judgment call. In borderline cases, signed introductions are more worthy of inclusion than ones which would need to be attributed to "uncredited".
 +
: Since the "Author Notes" in question apply to ''collections'' as opposed to ''individual stories'', I think the first rule should be applied and the "Author Notes" should be included. Even if we were to apply the second rule, I think we could still include them because they contain just enough non-trivial content. [[User:Ahasuerus|Ahasuerus]] ([[User talk:Ahasuerus|talk]]) 11:34, 19 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:: How do you decide what's trivial or not? I think this note (quoted in full) is trivial: "These stories have been published previously in one form or another. I've wanted for some time to put together a few mini-collections to give new readers a taste of my work. Four Dark Tales is the first of these." --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 11:37, 19 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:::In a case like that, you could go either way. If it was me, I would mention that note in the Notes for the publication, but not include it as content. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:11, 19 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
== Adding my latest novels ==
 +
 
 +
It's been a while since I've been here, but you've always been patient. My latest novels, Well Met by Water and Velvet of Swords, are on Amazon. <small>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:Joy V. Smith|Joy V. Smith]] ([[User talk:Joy V. Smith|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Joy V. Smith|contribs]]) .</small> 01:06, 24 November 2025‎ (EST)
 +
:You can see how to enter a new novel [[Help:Getting_Started:Enter_a_Novel|here]]. If you have any questions, please let us know. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 13:50, 24 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
== I cloned this book and... ==
 +
 
 +
...then uploaded my cover scan and it says "A file with this name exists already...". what should I do next?
 +
it says "modify the file description" but which bit and to what? or theres the option to ignore and upload anyway.
 +
 
 +
[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1082611]
 +
 
 +
this is the cover it shows which is the wrong one anyway [https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/File:MSTLHRMLSC0000.jpg]  - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 20:30, 26 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:Looks like it's because there is more than one "Mostly Harmless" with a date unknown and that publisher. Ahasuerus may have to answer this one since those filenames are automatically created. ···[[User:Nihonjoe|<font color="darkgreen">日本穣</font>]] · <small>[[Special:Contributions/Nihonjoe|<font color="blue">投稿</font>]] · [[User talk:Nihonjoe|Talk to Nihonjoe]]</small> 20:51, 26 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:The existing image is used by {{P|918930|this pub}}. When I click the "Upload new cover scan" link on that pub, it gives the new file name as MSTLHRMLSK0000.jpg and not the MSTLHRMLSC0000.jpg your publication produces. I don't know why the existing image ended up at your location, but I have moved it over to the "correct" location. You can now upload your image. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 08:48, 27 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
::cheers done it - Gaz[[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 08:58, 27 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
== Translator given as author ==
 +
 
 +
The "mag" i'm doing has a story which is a translation and gives "A. H. Wratislaw" as the author. wikisource states the author is "Ján Francisci" and gives Wratislaw as the translator. is this one of those where you use the (in error) after the name and then variant it to the real author? - Gaz[[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 21:59, 27 November 2025 (EST)
 +
:have just found the story on here under another author name with a variant of that name on the story title page so i think I've got this one sussed. Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 12:39, 28 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
== Oral Folk stories ==
 +
 
 +
I am trying to get my head round some of these in the Folklore journal. the latest one says this before the story which is in english.
 +
 
 +
"The following story was narrated by John Williams ... to Mr. Llyrarch Reynolds ... Mr. David Lewis ... and myself (E. Sidney Hartland). It was told in Welsh, and copious notes were taken on the spot by Mr. Lewis, who afterwards read them over again to me. Mr. Lewis has also kindly compared the following (which was written the next morning from memory), with the notes in question, and corrected it by them."
 +
 
 +
So is this a story with John Williams as the author in welsh with the englsh version a variant with Hartland (and Lewis?) as the translators? - Gaz [[User:Faustus|Faustus]] ([[User talk:Faustus|talk]]) 14:13, 30 November 2025 (EST)
 +
 
 +
== Sorta kinda cloning a publication ==
  
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== I have a question. ==
+
I published a new version of [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?887828 The Collected Feghoot]. It has all of the content of the 1992 version, but adds a new foreword by Dean Smith and some new illustrations to supplement the ones Tim Kirk did. So I'd like to clone it and add the new stuff. Problem is that the title is different: The new version is called [https://frombeyondpress.com/books/through-time-and-space-with-ferdinand-feghoot/ Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot]. If I choose to clone the Pulphouse version, I can't edit the title. Is there any way to partially clone the old version, or do I have to enter everything manually? --[[User:Mphillips|Mphillips]] ([[User talk:Mphillips|talk]]) 22:02, 2 December 2025 (EST)
  
−
I have a question that I’ve been meaning to ask for a while.  What do you do when a book has multiple covers but the same publishing date?  For example, there’s [https://www.amazon.com/Traitors-Code-Freelancer-Obsidian-Rim/dp/1908340274/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1645766890&sr=1-1 this book] and [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45878500-traitor-s-code?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=qm3KNsu7bg&rank=1 this book]. Now I think that [https://www.amazon.com/Traitors-Code-Freelancer-Obsidian-Rim/dp/1908340274/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1645766890&sr=1-1 this one] is the later edition, as the mega-series is not listed on the cover, but, suspicions are not facts.  Do I list them both? I've seen this a lot. [[User:MLB|MLB]] 02:30, 25 February 2022 (EST)
+
: In this case it's best to add a new publication record of type COLLECTION (with the new title), already entering the new stuff (i.e. titles), and after that's approved to import the titles already in the database. Hope that helps, Christian [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 01:25, 3 December 2025 (EST)
  
−
: [[ISFDB:Help_desk/archives/archive_18#Same_printing.2C_different_cover|Past advice]] (and precedent) has been to make different records if the artwork differs, with the exception being for those differing only in color. I recommend a cross-reference note about it in each set of pub notes.  If the artist is known and the same, then I also recommend cross-reference notes in the title notes for each COVERART record, once created. --[[User:MartyD|MartyD]] 07:32, 28 February 2022 (EST)
+
:: OK, thanks for the advice. I'll do that. --[[User:Mphillips|Mphillips]] ([[User talk:Mphillips|talk]]) 09:29, 3 December 2025 (EST)
−
:: I agree with the separate record. One more note though: if there is a suspicion, especially around ebooks but also on reprints, that the sources are showing the date of a first/earlier edition and the cover cannot belong to it - the new Foundation series  being advertised on a 2003 ebook cover for example - (Amazon often shows the first ebook date even when they change the covers; Goodreads is usually good for untangling those for the last 10 years or so if they have both covers), I'd set the date as 0000-00-00 to the suspicious book, document the source date in the notes, explain the issue and leave it at that). No point adding incorrect data which is physically impossible just because another site says so. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:47, 28 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Burly Tales ==
+
::: Thanks for publishing this new edition of The Collected Feghoot! I received my copy yesterday. Unfortunately the contents need to be entered as new titles and varianted to the existing parent, because the previous editions were as by Grendel Briarton. I'll start with this now, and maybe finish tomorrow. --[[User:Willem H.|Willem]] ([[User talk:Willem H.|talk]]) 16:21, 7 December 2025 (EST)
−
Hi there. There are two entry for Burly Tales: Fairy Tales for the Hirsute and Hefty Gay Man, Publication Record # 882461, which I recently updated, but as they said in Highlander, there should be only one.  
 
−
The other is Title Record # 2964877, which is for the ebook.
 
−
How do we make it one entry for this title? Many thanks! [[User:Canuckscribe|Canuckscribe]] 13:53, 27 February 2022 (EST)
 
−
:Thanks for finding this doublette: I'll merge the two title records (2964877 & 2988934). [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] 14:57, 27 February 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Uploading an author picture ==
+
:::: I should have kept it as Grendel Briarton! Sorry to make the extra work. --[[User:Mphillips|Mphillips]] ([[User talk:Mphillips|talk]]) 21:24, 8 December 2025 (EST)
  
−
Anyone knows what I'm doing wrong [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?5248407 here]? (I'm getting a Yellow warning)... [[User:MagicUnk|MagicUnk]] 04:46, 3 March 2022 (EST)
+
::::: No problem, just takes some more time. Any plans to publish more Reginald Bretnor books? They are very hard to find (and expensive). --[[User:Willem H.|Willem]] ([[User talk:Willem H.|talk]]) 04:22, 9 December 2025 (EST)
−
: Known issue -as we are using the same code for authors and pubs. Ignore that specific one for authors. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:44, 3 March 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Translation question and magazines ==
+
:::::: John Betancourt at Wildside Press owns Bretnor's stuff. He says he's planning to release some Bretnor books, but it wasn't a priority. --[[User:Mphillips|Mphillips]] ([[User talk:Mphillips|talk]]) 10:41, 9 December 2025 (EST)
  
−
I'm a techno-dummy and have a bad history when it comes to entering data into other folks databases. Is there a way for me to submit information on a translation of one of my published works, or should I bite the bullet and make the addition myself?
+
::::::: I see. So there's hope. The Collected Feghoot should be complete now, please check and, if necessary, correct things. Thanks! --[[User:Willem H.|Willem]] ([[User talk:Willem H.|talk]]) 10:48, 9 December 2025 (EST)
−
For the record, the original work is "The Wrong Refrigerator," published in Asimov's, September/October 2018. The Chinese translation was published in the 2020/09 issue of Science Fiction World.
 
−
Also, do you track SFF adjacent publications? I recently became the staff interviewer for Galaxy's Edge magazine. To date, they have published my interviews with Seanan McGuire (July/August 2021), Jonathan Maberry (September/October 2021), Charlaine Harris (November/December 2021), and John Scalzi (in two parts: January/February 2022 and March/April 2022). My interview with Martha Wells will appear in the May/June 2022 issue. Thanks! {{unsigned|Jmward14}}
 
−
: Galaxy's Edge is indeed in the DB ([http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?36993 here]) and when we add our genre magazines, we index everything inside. But we are a bit (a lot really) behind on this one so if you want to learn how to add/update magazines and would like to update all our records while adding your interviews, that will be a great way to learn how the DB works. If not, someone will need to get around to it at some point - it is on one of my lists to do but... there are a lot of things there. If you decide to try, do let me know and I will get you some initial steps and some reading to do -- and we can work on that.
 
−
: About the translation - you can try if your Chinese is good enough or you feel comfortable enough to add books and magazines in it. We don't have a Chinese editor who shows up regularly enough but if you have some sources about the magazine where it got published and what title it went under (and how your name looked in Chinese), I can try to assist. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 20:07, 5 March 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Fixing cover art title problem ==
+
== Incorrect publications listed under Year's Best SF: 22nd Annual Collection ==
  
−
After the pub record for [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?297675] was fixed by Dirk, I noticed that the cover title needed to be fixed as well. When I pulled up [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1851761] to change the title to match the pub, I found that there are five additional non-related pubs showing for this title. I have no clue as to how to fix this mess. Can someone help? Thanks! [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 12:59, 6 March 2022 (EST)
+
I'm reporting this but can't really fix this myself, so I thank any kind souls who wish to do the work.
−
:There is only one pub under this title. The rest are all under variants. There is a "Do not display variants or translations" above the publication list that you can click so that it shows only the pubs containing the parent title record. --&nbsp;[[User:JLaTondre|JLaTondre]] ([[User talk:JLaTondre#top|talk]]) 13:42, 6 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
::OK. I'll fix the title. [[User:Philfreund|Phil]] 13:52, 6 March 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Award issue: Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples" ==
+
The title {{T|170216|name=The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Second Annual Collection}} includes several entries, some of them of the actual collection, and the other is several entries of "The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: 18th Annual Collection", "The Year's Best Science Fiction (vol. IV)", and "The Year's Best Science Fiction (vol. III)"
  
−
The entry for the original short story published in 1995 is here http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?40561.  This story was converted into a graphic novel, which won the 2019 Stoker. To me, the short story is a different beast than the graphic novel (as in the Chaykin graphic adaptation of The Stars My Destination), but perhaps this choice was made here because most of the text exists in the graphic novel version, rather than just being an adaptation?  -[[User:Gengelcox|Gengelcox]] 12:05, 8 March 2022 (EST)
+
The Mammoth book are listed as having the same contents as the Year's Best, but this is probably wrong. The cover of the Mammoth book mentions authors that are not in the TOC. (I have no access to the book itself so couldn't verify).
−
: The root of the problem is that the graphic version and the text version were merged at some point - which should not have happened because the text is different as far as I remember. Let me look into this and see what we need to split and move around. We are not well set for GN awards but the GN text is usually different from the pure story so they usually will have two separate titles (and a ton of notes explaining why). If they were exactly the same text, then we will keep them together with a note on the award on what exactly won the award. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 12:10, 8 March 2022 (EST)
 
  
−
== Magazine or Anthology? ==
+
The two volumes of "The Year's Best Science Fiction" are completely different in contents.
  
−
I have been working on the magazine [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/seriesgrid.cgi?33216 Not One of Us]. In addition to their regular issues, they produced a 'special publication'. It was intermittent at first, but yearly from 2002 - 2020. The regular issues were 52-page octavos (occasionally up to 56) priced at $4.50. [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?603712 Example]. The specials were titled, 32-page octavos, priced at $3.50. [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?603902 Example]. Four issues were entered as magazines and four as anthologies. I have added seven issues as magazines and converted the four anthologies to magazines. One anthology title had a Locus magazine review, so I scanned the Locus Index. There is no listing for any of the 12 specials between 1987 and 2004. However, the three issues between 2005 and 2007 are indexed. Before I add any more, I would like a second opinion. Magazine or anthology? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 12:01, 9 March 2022 (EST)
+
They should all be separated, and the Mammoth book should be corrected with the actual contents. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 03:12, 10 December 2025 (EST)
−
: I have a few of those (cannot get to them now as they are in Europe) - I would call them magazines but it can go either way (although if they are anthologies, they will be ph and not octavo as format (as they are stapled and octavo is not a book format) and if they are magazines, they need a big of renaming). As long as we are consistent and the single entries follow the rules of the chosen format, either way works for these.  [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 13:44, 9 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
:: Annie, thanks for the quick response. Are you referring to the "title", "date" format required for magazine titles? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 14:54, 9 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
::: Yes and how we count pages technically (covers included for magazines even if we don't always do that for modern/POD magazines...) and so on. As these are stories only in these (no columns and letters and so on), it can go either way technically - as long as we are consistent and apply the correct rules. But they got distributed as magazines, not as books so there is that. :) [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 15:30, 9 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
:::: I'll stick with magazines. I will have to change the one review to an essay since the title record is rolled up into the year. Hopefully none of the three PV's will object. Is this considered housekeeping? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 16:24, 9 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
::::: Mostly yes but I'd still drop a note on their pages though and not rely on just the "changed PV notifications" for active PVs - just because it does change the contents of their verified. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 16:33, 9 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
::::: PS: "Care, January 2017" is not the correct title here though - in any way or for -- because the magazine is not called "Care". It will need to either be "Not One of Us, January 2017" or "Not One of Us, January 2017: Care" (if there is another January 2017 one and to differentiate it and show that it is different) or something else like that (showing that it is a special edition - although even that is irregular but we need to differentiate). Look at the rules for the magazines naming -- you always need the MAGAZINE name as part of the title even of the issue has its own name. That's partially why some of them were anthologies IMO -- under our rules, the naming will be weird. May be a good reason to actually make them anthologies so their titles show up accordingly. [[User:Anniemod|Annie]] 17:03, 9 March 2022 (EST)
 
−
:::::: While 'January 2017: Care' is tolerable, 'January 2011: Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" is just ugly. I still think they are magazines, but agree the best solution is to make them anthologies. Should the anthology series have its own name? [[User:Scifibones|<b>John</b> <small>Scifibones</small>]] 17:25, 9 March 2022 (EST) P.S. One issue did have a couple book reviews. Is that a problem?
 
  
−
== Search for List of Genre Authors ==
+
:Maybe the Mammoth book has the same contents, and just one of the covers is incorrect (probably copying the author list from an earlier edition). {{P|276212}}'s cover mentions Greg Egan, but {{P|904299}}'s does not.
 +
:Based on [https://www.bobshop.co.za/the-mammoth-book-of-best-new-sf-18-gardner-dozois/p/633658205 images here] of the first few pages (no TOC) I think it has the same contents. --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 04:56, 10 December 2025 (EST)
  
−
How do I search for a list of authors who have written Fantasy?
+
:: Things like that do happen. The book edition of 'Mammoth' ain't primary verified, so it's possible the actual cover does differ; the ebook edition is primary verified, so it'd be best to pose questions as to the contents on the PV's talk page.
 +
:: For the 'The Year's Best Science Fiction (vol. ?)' note that these are Romanian ''translations'' (and if there are problems, it's best to ask the user who added them). Hope that helps a bit. [[User:Stonecreek|Stonecreek]] ([[User talk:Stonecreek|talk]]) 07:51, 10 December 2025 (EST)
 +
:::Ah, I see. The translated edition was split into two volumes, and the TOC appeared different at first glance, but I see the same stories. For the bad cover, I imagine the publisher did put it out with the incorrect text on the cover. Not worth digging into, IMO. Thanks for the clarification! --[[User:Salty-horse|Salty-horse]] ([[User talk:Salty-horse|talk]]) 10:00, 10 December 2025 (EST)

Latest revision as of 10:00, 10 December 2025


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Expanded archive listing

'Pending edit', submitted more than 3 months ago

. Good day Sir, Madam,

I submitted an entry on 2025-01-27, submission # 6154317, an anthology (WEIRD WINDSOR Anthology).

Two things were flagged: on the price, I put: 'Pay what you want.' (PDF or EPUB)

And was told:

More than one space character is not allowed in the price field

All right, we can put 'Free' for the price, instead.

But the second one is about the barcode on the paperbacks (15 paperback copies were printed for the collaborators.) It said that:

ISBN-10s that starts with 2 and ISBN-13s that start with 9782 are typically in French (although exceptions exist), but the submitted language of this publication's main title is English The copies were printed in the UK, so, yes, exceptions exist. The ISBN is 2370001956766. 

 I can send you a clear photo of the cover and the ISBN if needed.

But maybe the ISBN section could be left blank, since there are no more printed copies sold, and now that the anthology is available online. Here’s the link, by the way:

https://payhip.com/WeirdWindsor

So, I would appreciate help concerning these two little editing issues: changing the price for: 'Free'; and either removing the yellow notification about the ISBN (which is correct, photo proof upon request) or removing the ISBN altogether since now the anthology is available in electronic format (PDF or EPUB).

Thank you very much, and wishing you, Sir, Madam, a wonderful day!

Cordially,

-Carl Lavoie —The preceding unsigned comment added by Jahrel (talk • contribs) 17:28, April 2, 2025‎

It sat so long because it required a great deal of work. Here is the verified ebook. If you need an explanation of the changes and additions, I will post on your talk page. 18:46, 2 April 2025 (EDT)
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6214550; I made an edit that got a similar message about ISBN starting with 9782; Sarob is based in France as of a few years ago so that would explain it, right? --Username (talk) 19:52, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
The actual ebook had no ISBN. John Scifibones 20:39, 3 April 2025 (EDT)

untitled stories

I want to enter the book "Try and Stop me" by Bennett Cerf because it has a chapter called "The Trail of the Tingling Spine" which is a collection of stories that he said were told to him. most of them are ghost stories but none of them are titled. how should they be titled and disambiguated. i thought about something like "untitled [1]" etc with "The Trail of the Tingling Spine" as the series. is numbering them like that valid. Gaz Faustus (talk) 14:49, 3 April 2025 (EDT)

I tried to put a link in to the internet archive for these stories but it just showed up as ordinary text. Faustus (talk) 15:19, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
Here you go. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 17:49, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
cheers Faustus (talk) 13:16, 4 April 2025 (EDT)
There is a recent R&S discussion on this topic that has not yet been resolved. The direction in which that was heading is to use "untitled [n] (pub title)" for this case. It's an unfortunate amount of extra work, but if that scheme is used, I would encourage you to edit the title records once created and enter something in the notes to identify each story (like first line + last line or dramatis personae or whatever seems useful). --MartyD (talk) 13:14, 7 April 2025 (EDT)
righto mate i'll do it like that - I dont mind sorting it out if it neds to be changed. cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:30, 7 April 2025 (EDT)

Directory Entry transliteration

What, if any, effect does it have on the db if two authors with the same surname have their Directory entries transliterated differently? Some examples: Bäckström, Bergström, Engström, Myllylä, Nyström, Sjöberg, and one that's half-and-half Källström. Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 18:53, 3 April 2025 (EDT)

The whole point of the transliterations is to make it easier to find an author (or title) because the search engine here treats accented/macroned letters (for example "ō" as opposed to "o") differently. Searching for "Engström" will not find "Engstrom" (and vice-versa). So, for accented characters, the non-accented version should be included as a transliteration, and any reasonable transliterations should be included (such as "Engstrom" and "Engstroem", in this case). I don't see any issues with any of the ones you linked. This also applies to Romanizations of non-Latin-based writing systems such as Japanese, Cyrillic, and so on. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 19:08, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
Directory Entry is a bit of a dealer's choice because we can only pick one - either value is correct when multiple transliterations are possible. I tend to prefer the "strip all special parts and use the straight letters" option except for German names where the standard is to have "e" added replacing the umlauts. But I do not change this one if another transliteration is chosen instead. So even if the directory name for the two Nyström is different, the search by name will find it for both spellings because they carry the transliterations (which is why I do not search by Directory name and only look at it when I look at the author directory where only the first 2 letters matter anyway. The DB (and anything else on the site) really does not care - this field is only used if you do specific search for it and for that table. Annie (talk) 19:18, 3 April 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for those quick answers, now I know there's nothing to see here :) Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 19:40, 3 April 2025 (EDT)

Adding a new German translation of an English Anthology

Hello, I am preparing to enter a German translation of an anthology. I already searched in the frequently asked questions, in help, but still have questions left and need the community. The title: A Dragon-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic (Editor Margaret Weis): https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?513 There are about 20 stories to enter. At the end of each story the original English title is given and also the name of the translator. The date of the German publication: 1995-05-00 1) Date for the German translations: Is it 1995-05-00 or do I check if there is a German translation of a story already on the database and use this date? 2) Translators: How can I enter the name of the translator of a story? 3) Varianting: Do I variant each story separately? Is there a way to variant all the stories in one submission? Thank you! SciFanta (talk) 18:01, 9 April 2025 (EDT)

Hello! I hope the following does help a bit.

Ad 1): Please do check if there's the same German translation (using the exact same title) already in the database: for example for Stepsons of Terra there are two different German translations (both using the same title proper). If there does exist this exact title, there are two possible ways to proceed: a) enter the title (and merge with the existing one after the publication was moderated), or b) import the existing title (s) after the publication was moderated. The second way is preferable, because we won't have doublette titles at any given point in time.

Ad 2): The translator is to be added in editing the notes of a title when this does exist, like here. Please use the Template:Tr template.

Ad 3): The individual titles have to be varianted separately: every one has to be varianted to a different title. If you can rely on already existing titles it's possible to import them in one submission step, though [see b) under Ad 1)]. Christian Stonecreek (talk) 02:48, 10 April 2025 (EDT)

Thank you Christian, your information helps! As I found neither the German title "Drachen füttern verboten" nor the ISBN in the database I going to start the process Greetings! SciFanta (talk) 03:32, 10 April 2025 (EDT).
Great! Just be sure to also add the publication series. I also hope there are credits for the respective translators: this publisher sometimes (foremost in the 1980s and 1990s) was sloppy with regards to this point (and some others also). In those cases the only thing left was to add a note like to this title. Christian Stonecreek (talk) 04:18, 10 April 2025 (EDT)

Collections with different contents

Theres a collection with 12 stories. A later collection (different publisher) has the same title but only has 5 stories (they are all in the earlier one). Seperate titles or varianting? cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:28, 12 April 2025 (EDT)

Gaz, I've come across this before and asked the same question. My post received one reply expressing an opinion but no definitive answer.
The thread is here: Collections with Abridged or Expanded Contents.
As you can see from my examples, there does not appear to be a consistent policy for this situation.
This ought to be resolved. Teallach (talk) 14:14, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
cheers mate do you know if they can be varianted if they have the same title and author? I think I'll do the 5er as a seperate title with notes and see what the reviewer says. - Gaz Faustus (talk) 15:07, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
No, don't variant them. Variants are for same work with different title or author. I suggest you wait a bit to see if a moderator contributes to this thread. If not, go with your own proposal: "seperate title with notes". Teallach (talk) 18:29, 12 April 2025 (EDT)
In general terms, we treat collections like any other content type. If the differences are minor, we consider it the same work. If the differences are large, we consider it a new work. Same as with a story that has been edited, it becomes a judgement call when enough changes are enough to call it a new work. If it is just a single work difference, you will likely find the editions have been combined with a title note stating differences. If it is a larger difference, you will likely find the editions are separate with title notes on both stating the differences and not to merge. In this case, I would treat as different since it's such a large difference. They would be treated as separate works so not varianted to each other. -- JLaTondre (talk) 08:05, 13 April 2025 (EDT)
cheers i'll do that - Gaz Faustus (talk) 09:29, 13 April 2025 (EDT)
JLaTondre: Thanks for the clarification. Now that I know it's a judgement call, all is fine. I can work with that. Teallach (talk) 18:31, 13 April 2025 (EDT)

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?36238

this one sprang to mind that i pved a bit back. the Sphere edition is missing 4 stories, 4 poems and the afterword that are in the american books so not a minor difference but it wouldnt seem right to unvariant them. (anthology not a collection but similar problem) Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:15, 13 April 2025 (EDT)

For that one, I would definitely split it into its own title, after verifying that the contents really aren't there in the American release. That's too much of a difference. They basically left out around 50 or so pages of content. That's too much of a difference to be a variant. Notes should be placed on both titles, though, pointing to the other and saying they shouldn't be merged. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 15:16, 14 April 2025 (EDT)
well i owned both books when i wrote that note, its the american one thats got the extra stuff which is why i bought it and then offloaded the uk version to the British Heart Foundation. Willem H and stonecreek are pvs for the 2 versions so you should give them a shout for extra confirmation. I'll let you sort it out as i'm happy the way it is. - Gaz Faustus (talk) 17:07, 14 April 2025 (EDT)
They've been split now: Best SF: 1973 and The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 7. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 17:48, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
still needs to be varianted to the canonical author and put it in the series (No.7) - Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:52, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
Done. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 20:01, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
they show up nicely together when theyre in a numbered series like this one but if they're not in a series and have different names they could end up at opposite ends of a list of anthologies or collections and you wouldnt know theyre related just from the list. is threr any way of grouping them other than varianting or series so they show up together? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 20:22, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
Not really. They each have links to the other, so that should be good enough. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 21:00, 16 April 2025 (EDT)

Bulgakov's name

In all the editions of Cuore di cane published by De Donato (one already in the db, one just submitted) the author name is spelled Michaíl (accented "í"), but when I submitted the new book, or tried to correct the one already present, the system replaced it with a normal "i". Can somebody fix it? thanks! --Fantagufo (talk) 18:45, 15 April 2025 (EDT)

Fixed. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 17:51, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
thanks Joe! --Fantagufo (talk) 22:17, 16 April 2025 (EDT)

Tonelli's name

The artist Etonelli (Elio Tonelli) is not actually credited with this name in the two publications he has in the DB. He is identified only by his signature, which is sometimes clearly "E.Tonelli", sometimes "ETonelli". I think that the canonical name should be changed to "E. Tonelli" or "Elio Tonelli". What do you think? --Fantagufo (talk) 16:08, 16 April 2025 (EDT)

When there is no explicit credit, we generally credit using their canonical name since signatures can vary wildly (initials, abbreviated, symbols, etc.). ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 17:49, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
I know and agree. What I'm saying is that there is no reason to have a misleading "Etonelli" as canonical name, just because it was never explicitly credited. --Fantagufo (talk) 22:08, 16 April 2025 (EDT)
Updated. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 12:58, 17 April 2025 (EDT)

Author: Kate Moretti

Kate Moretti is the author of the short story "Blink" in the first Brave New Girls anthology. However, in Kate's author page, her surname is misspelled as Maretti. I have an e-book copy of the anthology, and the correct spelling their is MORETTI. Her biographical note their also confirms she is the same Kate Moretti that is listed at Amazon.

I don't have permission to change the spelling of her name on her author page. Would someone please help. Thanks! Michael Main 14:50, 22 April 2025 (EDT)

The way you can fix this is to go to the "Blink" title page and edit the title there, changing the author to "Kate Moretti". That will create a new author page for that name, and the old one will be deleted (automatically, I think, although perhaps we'll have to go do that manually -- I forget). This specific case is simple because it is used in only two versions of one publication, and we can easily confirm that the correct spelling is present in the sources for each. And the author page itself does not have any info we want to preserve, so making a new page and deleting the old one is fine. --MartyD (talk) 17:15, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
That's right, "orphaned" author records are deleted automatically. Ahasuerus (talk) 17:30, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
Many thanks for the instructions. I have submitted the change from Maretti to Moretti in the story's title page. Thanks again. --Michael Main 20:27, 22 April 2025 (EDT)
reading this, I understand that I could have done the same for H. J. Edouard Evenpoel, but in the meanwhile I had already submitted an AuthorUpdate request... should I cancel it? --Fantagufo (talk) 19:40, 23 April 2025 (EDT)
Nope. All fixed. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 21:38, 23 April 2025 (EDT)
Thank you!! --Fantagufo (talk) 14:53, 24 April 2025 (EDT)

Organizing more Murderbot Diaries Collections

Hello! I am re-reviving this 2022 discussion about organizing collections of the Murderbot Diaries series. To recap: The Murderbot Diaries as of 2025 contains roughly nine "main" titles: five novellas (1, 2, 3, 4, 6); two short stories (0, 4.1); and two novels (5, 7). Because the series is mostly short fiction, international publishers translating the series often choose to publish the novellas and short stories collected together in various combinations. Last time, we decided to make organizing easier by moving the Murderbot collections into the sub-series Murderbot Collections and variant the collections to dummy parent titles depending on their short fiction contents: The Murderbot Diaries 1-2 (1-2), The Murderbot Diaries 3-4 (3-4), and The Murderbot Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4). Now another collection title needs figuring out.

In 2024 the translated Chinese collection title 厭世機器人Ⅳ：系統崩潰風險評估 was published containing 6-7 (Fugitive Telemetry & System Collapse), which are respectively a novella and a novel. In 2025 Tor has published a new English collection, title The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 3, also containing 6-7. For extra confusion, the Chinese title has Roman numeral 4 in its name and the English title has number 3 in its name, but both books have the same contents. For MAXIMUM confusion, Tor published this English collection in a new group of 3 paperback collections (contents in parentheses), with the names The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1 (1-2), The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 2 (3-4), and The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 3 (6-7)--omitting a novel (5 / Network Effect) in the middle of the series. This is already proving confusing to new readers picking up the new paperback Murderbot books for the first time while not realizing that they're accidentally skipping an entire novel. I don't want to increase potential confusion by organizing the new 6-7 collections weirdly or against ISFDB policy.

So my questions about these books containing Murderbot 6-7 / Fugitive Telemetry & System Collapse: Since the title contains a novel and a novella, should it be a collection or an omnibus? Should 厭世機器人Ⅳ：系統崩潰風險評估 be the parent title because it was published first, or should The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 3 be the parent title because it was the first English publication? Or should both books be variants of a dummy parent title like The Murderbot Diaries 1-2 and The Murderbot Diaries 3-4? If we opt for a dummy parent title, what should the dummy title(s) be named or re-named to indicate the book contents while avoiding being confused with Tor's The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1-3 & beyond? Thanks. Morebooks (talk) 23:28, 29 April 2025 (EDT)

Clarification?

After posting a comment here Orbit 1, I realized I found the statement in the 3rd bullet slightly confusing; Do not use brackets for unnumbered pages which fall within a range of numbered pages. (See the first bullet under this subsection.), leaving me wondering whether the page should be [7] or 7. Clarification please? Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 15:50, 1 May 2025 (EDT)

It would be helpful if I could see the publication in question Orbit 1 before supplying advice. At the beginning of the Orbit 1 thread on Markwood's talk page, Username advised that he has added an archived link. However, this link is not yet on the pub record so I guess his edit is still awaiting processing. I will ask him for the archived link and then get back to you here. Teallach (talk) 08:41, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for picking up on this. Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 10:33, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
The edit has been approved, so the archived link is now on that page. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:14, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
Nihonjoe: Thanks.
Kev: The Internet Archive copy has "Borrow Unavailable" status so is of limited use. The ToC is visible on the IA scan and it does list the Introduction on page vii. Markwood's first sentence in this thread is "No page has a Roman numeral page number.". This situation has been discussed before: Numbering of pages numbered in the ToC but not numbered themselves. The discussion is extremely long and petered out with no consensus reached by the community. As things currently stand, there is no clear rule on how to deal with the situation where no Roman numerals page numbers are explicitly printed on the pages themselves but the ToC references a Roman numeral page number. Currently, it is just left to the discretion of individual editors. So, as Markwood is the first PV, it's his call as to how the Pages and Contents Start Page fields are specified. So, from the information I can see, the pub record is acceptable as it currently stands. I would strongly recommend adding a pub note along these lines: "Although no Roman Numerals are printed on any pages, the Table of Contents page lists the Introduction beginning on page vii". Teallach (talk) 19:07, 2 May 2025 (EDT)
I second this advice, even though this situation was never settled. The "Don't use the ToC" rule/guidance is mostly because the ToC's numbering may be incorrect (e.g., typos aside, a ToC reprinted from an edition with different pagination) or may not line up with the ISFDB's rules for which page is the beginning of the content. Here, you have: no number printed on the page, a number in the ToC, and a number in the ToC consistent with the page count and quantitatively consistent with the first numbered page (it is the fourth page before the one numbered "11"). So I would treat it as numbered and "vii" and enter it that way. In other words, I agree with the choices made in the current record. This is my personal opinion, and other moderators may disagree. I think a strict constructionist interpretation of the current rules, however, supports using "7". The actual numbering situation should be documented in the notes, though, regardless of which number is assigned. The page count "192" is unaffected since the vii/7 falls within the set of pages spanned by counting backward from numbered p. 11. --MartyD (talk) 08:23, 3 May 2025 (EDT)
As for your original request for clarification, this situation falls under the first bullet, not the third. Because there is a numbered page 11, the preceding ten pages fall within a range of numbered pages (this is where a strict interpretation would yield "7"). If that eleventh page had been numbered "1", however, then the first ten pages would be a range of unnumbered pages, and the third bullet would apply (and you would use "[7]" and also add [10]+ or [7]+ to the page count). --MartyD (talk) 08:35, 3 May 2025 (EDT)
Thanks to you both for your clarification - I've amended my post on Markwood's page. Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 01:04, 7 May 2025 (EDT)

Adding the Graphic Novel Hardcover Edition of Snowpiercer as a novel or collection or an omnibus

Hello, I’m asking for advice how to enter a hardcover edition of the graphic novel series Snowpiercer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer_(graphic_novel_series). The publisher Egmont Comic Collection (www.egmont-comic-collection.de ) published the series in this German translation in two volumes: Snowpiercer: Snowpiercer (01) (2021) (ISBN 9783770401239, 280 pages), which includes the volumes 1 The Escape, 2 The Explorers, 3 The Crossing of the series. Snowpiercer: Terminus (02) (2022) (978-3-7704-0190-1, 232 pages) is the second book and includes volume 4 Terminus of the series. Thank you (SciFanta (talk) 17:31, 9 May 2025 (EDT))

Graphic novels and comics are outside the scope of ISFDB and not eligible for inclusion (see Exclusions under Contents/Project Scope Policy). The only exception would be for prominent genre authors. That exception would not seem to apply here as based on Lob's Wikipedia article, he seems to be a notable comic creator and not a written speculative fiction author (as how ISFDB defines it). The ISFDB made the decision to exclude comics and graphic novels as there are other sites that deal with those and there is more then enough written speculative fiction to keep us busy. -- JLaTondre (talk) 18:01, 9 May 2025 (EDT)
Thank you for your clarification. Actually, I got interested in this pub, as I have just seen the science fiction film Snowpiercer, directed by Bong Joon (he also directed Mickey 17, 2025). Learning, that the film is based on this pub, I borrowed it from my library and finally decided to ask about a submission. Thanks again! (SciFanta (talk) 18:05, 12 May 2025 (EDT))

Dashes in titles

Got a story which has a short dash on here but a long dash in the book itself. The long dash title is on here as a variant but with alternate author name so would need to make a new variant if it needs to be changed. thought i'd check before firing off to the umpteen pvers. cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 17:37, 13 May 2025 (EDT)

unnumbered pages before page 1 (chorus of groans)

sorry but i'd like a bit of clarification on the unnumbered content 1st bullet point. My book has a total of ten unnmubered pages before page 1 with the recordable content starting on the fifth of these so i take it as [10]+whatever and the page number for the content [5]. the book has been pved and theyve put [6]+ in the pages field and the content on [1]. that's not right is it? its a bit ambiguous cos it says "There is no need to record these unnumbered pages if they contain no content that needs to be recorded." - Gaz Faustus (talk) 18:08, 13 May 2025 (EDT)

Can you please provide a link to the publication. Teallach (talk) 13:29, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?694490
it looks like Markwood has intepreted the rule to include only the unnumbered pages as far back as the 1st recordable content - Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:50, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
You are correct. The Pages field of Voices should be [10]+364 and the three Content items before page 1 should have Start Pages of [5] and [7] and [9]. I agree that the Help wording is ambiguous. What the first bullet point under Unnumbered Content should say is something like:
"... There is no need to record these unnumbered pages if they contain no content that needs to be recorded but if they do contain recordable content then count all pages from the start of the book. ..."
I agree with you that it looks as though Markwood has interpreted the rule to include only the unnumbered pages as far back as the start of the recordable content and I wouldn't blame him or anyone for this interpretation given the existing wording. However, what I have said is the accepted practice.
As an aside, the Start Pages should also be piped (for example, [5]|0.5 and [7]|0.7 and [9]|0.9) so that they are correctly sorted before the novel on page 1.
As another aside, there is a PV'd second printing which has the Pages and Start Pages specified correctly (although it omits the poem and also needs the Start Pages piped). Teallach (talk) 18:39, 17 May 2025 (EDT)
that ammendment you suggest does the trick for me. If it gets changed to that then i'll jump in and ask the pvers for cases like this if theyre happy to change it but for now i'll just let it lie. cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:38, 17 May 2025 (EDT)

Ellipsis followed by question mark

i was just about to merge 2 titles when I noticed that one had a space between an ellipsis and a question mark and the other didnt. the rule says put a space between the ellipsis and the following word but does that apply to question marks as well? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:59, 23 May 2025 (EDT)

and while were at it the story has 3 variants with ellipsis and all of them have a space before the ellipsis. the book in hand does not have a space before the ellipsis. Nothing in the help page about this scenario either. New variant or not? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 21:12, 23 May 2025 (EDT)
Not a moderator, but I can add something to your first question. The Associated Press Stylebook says to treat an ellipsis as a word and put spaces before and after, for what that's worth. Sfmvnterry (talk) 22:56, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
cheers mate but the title i was lookin at in my book had no spaces before or after the ellipsis and you have to enter them as they are in the book unless theres a rule here saying otherwise. I sent it in as it is in the book with a mod note and it was signed off. Gaz Faustus (talk) 07:04, 31 May 2025 (EDT)

Penguin Classic?

I'm not sure I have the correct publication series for this printing. The copyright page states this is the 16th printing of a 2011 Pocket Penguin Classic 2011, but this book doesn't seem to fit in with the publications here. Advice please. Thanks, Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 16:50, 26 May 2025 (EDT)

I don't have a definitive answer, but I think I may have found a clue. First, pull up your pub on Amazon UK and click "Read sample". The second displayed page is a selection of 5 other covers in the series. One of them (left column, second row) is for Tarzan of the Apes. Second, look at the covers of our publication series "Penguin Pocket Classics". See The Return of Tarzan at the bottom of the page? The art and the design are similar to the Tarzan of the Apes cover in your pub and is completely different from the other "Penguin Pocket Classics" covers on the same ISFDB page.
Based on the above, it would appear that there are two different Penguin publication series with similar titles. Either that or at some point the publisher decided to revamp the way covers were done for the series. Ahasuerus (talk) 14:44, 28 May 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for your time looking into this! With more research I find that there were indeed two series with similar names. I'll be creating a new series "Pocket Penguin Classics"; this was started shortly after the "Penguin Red Classics" series (as shown in my printing linked at the top here), but before (our listed) existing "Penguin Pocket Classics" series, and providing what documentation I can to each of these. We probably have records which are incorrectly allocated to the 'catch-all' "Penguin Classics" series (also, the outlier "Tarzan of the Apes" is certainly incorrect as allocated to the "Penguin Pocket Classics" series. With Penguin's churning of these titles under many different series names, it feels like the door to another rabbit hole :). Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 15:29, 30 May 2025 (EDT)

publication edit in limbo?

I submitted publication edit https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6222325 (for Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver) on April 10th and have gotten no response. During that period I've submitted a couple other edits and have had them accepted. I'm wondering whether this one has found a crack to fall through, as a month and a half on the queue far exceeds anything I've previously encountered. Glenn.Skinner (talk) 15:52, 27 May 2025 (EDT)

Approved. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 19:06, 27 May 2025 (EDT)
Thanks! Glenn.Skinner (talk) 23:10, 27 May 2025 (EDT)

chapbook conversions of translations

I am doing one of Tove Janssons Moomin books which is down as a novel. i've got the English translation in hand and its obviously not novel length and kobo says 29k so i changed it to shortfiction prepping for chapbook conversions. I asked kobo what the Finnish title is and it says 26k. Should i assume that all the other translations into umpteen languages are all novellas as well and convert them? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 08:04, 29 May 2025 (EDT)

We don't have the ability to variant by length. Therefore, translations always mirror the length of the canonical. John Scifibones 08:20, 29 May 2025 (EDT)
cheers, have sent them all in now (step 2) - Gaz Faustus (talk) 16:46, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
I approved all your publication conversions, then merged the chapbook title records as appropriate while adding the correct language. You still need to add the translator template to the chapbook titles and variant to Trollkarlens hatt. John Scifibones 18:25, 30 May 2025 (EDT)
cheers mate, theres still 2 chapbook titles for "Il cappello del gran Bau". they've bothgot the same translators so should they have been merged as well? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 08:01, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
Clearly. I approved your variant submissions. Make sure everything looks correct while adding the translator templates. John Scifibones 08:51, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
done the tr notes - it looked shipshape and Bristol fashion. Gaz Faustus (talk) 12:15, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
You need to update the note here. The new note should include the approximate word count and source (not everyone will look in the note to moderator). Thanks, John Scifibones 17:07, 31 May 2025 (EDT)
Done! a bit more to it than i thought but what the hell - bring on the rest of the series I'm up for it!

How to add a review of two graphic novels

I've been adding reviews to the issues of ParSec magazine that don't have them. I'm not sure how to handle a review in the Spring 2023 issue. It's a review in one essay of two graphic novels based on stories by Cixin Liu. The magazine presents it as:

"Cixin Liu’s | The Butterfly: A Graphic Novel | adapted and illustrated by Dan Panasian | The Devourer: A Graphic Novel | adapted by JD Morvan and illustrated by Weilin Yang | A double review by Nick Hubble"

The edit form lets me add extra authors and reviewers to a review, but not an extra title. Also, do I present all the names for a graphic novel, Liu and the adapter/illustrator, as the authors, or just Liu? Sfmvnterry (talk) 22:44, 30 May 2025 (EDT)

I think the best you can do is enter two reviews, one for each work. I suppose you could treat it as a review "column" and enter both an ESSAY and then REVIEWs for each. You can put them on the same page with a piped number to sort them in the order they're discussed. E.g., "30|30.1" and "30|30.2" if the review is on p. 30. Assuming the text is revised for the adaptation, we would treat Liu and the adapter as co-authors, and the illustrator as artist (an adapter who also did the illustrations would get two credits). --MartyD (talk) 22:25, 5 June 2025 (EDT)
I second this: I always enter a review of multiple works as individual reviews for each so they show up on each of the works being reviewed. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:42, 6 June 2025 (EDT)
Good advice. Thanks to you both. Sfmvnterry (talk) 00:06, 8 June 2025 (EDT)

Account Corrections

How would one go about making a correction to one's user name? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Molly.pinn (talk • contribs) .

The ability to change an existing user name to something else was added to the standard Wiki software in MediaWiki version 1.40. Unfortunately, we are running version 1.35, so our software doesn't support this functionality.
Since you haven't edited the Wiki or the database as "Molly.pinn", I would suggest simply creating another user name and taking it from there. Ahasuerus (talk) 16:14, 8 June 2025 (EDT)
For v1.35, you can install the RenameUser extension. This was absorbed into the main wiki installation in version 1.40. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 16:10, 9 June 2025 (EDT)

A problem in cloning.

I recently tried to add a clone of this record and I kept getting this. What am I doing wrong?. MLB (talk) 23:23, 8 June 2025 (EDT)

My best guess is that you tried the cloning after one of this merges, where the title for the May issue likely was dropped. I tried to clone it, and there was no error message. Christian Stonecreek (talk) 05:29, 9 June 2025 (EDT)

H. R. F. Keating / Harold F. Keating

● According to his Wiki page Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating (1926-2011), otherwise known as H. R. F. Keating had a nickname of “Harry”. I suspect he was also Harold F. Keating. H. R. F. Keating turned to being a professional mystery writer during the sixties. His Wiki page doesn’t mention if he was a soldier, although that would tally with the last letter by (Harold) Keating in 1941. I think they are the same, but … MLB (talk) 20:57, 14 June 2025 (EDT)

H. R. F. Keating was an English author. From the IA scans of the magazines, all the Harold F. Keating letters state he is from Quincy, Massachusetts, USA (I added that info to the author record). That seems like they would not be the same person. -- JLaTondre (talk) 08:35, 15 June 2025 (EDT)
Okay, thanks. MLB (talk) 22:47, 23 June 2025 (EDT)

COBISS.SR & COBISS.BR templates

My use of this template in this submission is not successful in pointing to this COBISS page.

Investigating, I couldn't find any links that do work in this search. Looks like they've restructured. I'd appreciate any help, thanks. Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 07:13, 16 June 2025 (EDT)

It looks like there are two separate issues here.
The first issue is that the COBISS page that you linked is for COBISS.SI, the Slovenian version of the COBISS catalog. If you check the main COBISS Web site, you'll see that the COBISS software is used by 8 different jurisdictions in the Balkans, but each jurisdiction has a separate catalog. We currently support External IDs and templates for the Bulgarian catalog (COBISS.BG) and the Serbian catalog (COBISS.SR), but the Slovenian catalog, COBISS.SI, is a separate database which we do not support at this time.
The second issue is that COBISS.SR and COBISS.BG have apparently changed their URL structures. For example, our template for COBISS.BG is configured as "https://plus.bg.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/[catalog ID]#full", but the current URL is "https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/bg/en/bib/[catalog ID]#full".
Let me see if I can update our COBISS templates and External ID definitions. Thanks for reporting the problem! Ahasuerus (talk) 11:39, 16 June 2025 (EDT)
The two templates and their matching External ID definitions have been updated. Ahasuerus (talk) 13:09, 16 June 2025 (EDT)
All problems resolved. Thanks for your help! Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 04:15, 17 June 2025 (EDT)
Great! Ahasuerus (talk) 08:46, 17 June 2025 (EDT)

Candlin as canonical

I've edited this record 398527, adding a note and making it an alternate name for 402402. Now both names show up as being canonical: here and here. What am I missing? Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 18:39, 21 June 2025 (EDT)

Look again. S. A. C. Candlin, R. A. F. is an alternate name for Candlin as called for in the standards. Your edits are correct. The directory entries are the same so they are grouped together in the Author Directory John Scifibones 21:01, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for checking John, maybe I didn't make it clear what I was referring to: I don't understand why "S. A. C. Candlin, R. A. F." shows up in the Canonical Name field in the edit screen of this record. Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 21:17, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
There is only one edit/editauth.cgi?. It doesn't matter whether the author record belongs to an alternate or a canonical name. You just never noticed. Check any alternate name in the database. John Scifibones 21:24, 21 June 2025 (EDT)
Ahhh, light. Thanks very much!
lol, you're welcome. John Scifibones 21:30, 21 June 2025 (EDT)

(unindent) I have more questions... All of the above stems from the entry for " S. A. C. Candlin, R. A. F.", #7 in this report.

  • I've edited the names, #s 3 to 18 in the report, but they are still showing. I presume that when the report regenerates nightly it only adds new entries, and doesn't remove any processed entries (with other reports I've edited, the entries have disappeared immediately after the edits). Why are they still showing?
  • An entry for "Cherokee Indians, North America" is at #2, the only "North America" suffix listed. However, in the two publications listed under this title record, there are other "[Indians' name, North America]" contents that don't appear in the Unrecognized Suffix report (above). Why not?

Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 11:09, 22 June 2025 (EDT)

Bob Hoskins / Robert Hoskins

Here’s another question about fifties letter writers. Does anyone other than me think that Bob Hoskins is the same author as Robert Hoskins? They both started writing letters to the same magazines at the same time. MLB (talk) 00:40, 24 June 2025 (EDT)

Yes; I'd also think so! Christian Stonecreek (talk) 01:25, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
I found while researching some John Smiths that often the magazines include some sort of location (City, State/Country) with the attribution. If you can find scans or PVs with copies, you could check if that information is available for both forms of the name. --MartyD (talk) 08:19, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
Probably but there are other Bob Hoskins, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hoskins_(disambiguation). Unlikely based on birth dates that it could be the actor or the footballer but the missionary could have been a teenage SF fan although the SF guy Robert Hoskins was also old enough to write letters in the 50s so it could be him or both of them. While looking into this I made variants for W. B. (Wild Bill) Hoskins/W. B. Hoskins and Hoskins/Winfield Scott Hoskins (also updated the latter's record with birth/death dates and birth place). --Username (talk) 18:09, 24 June 2025 (EDT)
Okay, I have nothing from Robert Hoskins (letterwise, that is), but from the April 1952 issue of Startling Stories "Bob Hoskins"'s address is 1 Thurlow Terrace/Albany 3/New York. I hope that helps. MLB (talk) 04:41, 25 June 2025 (EDT)
Both are New Yorkers. MLB (talk) 04:44, 25 June 2025 (EDT)

Why is this author "unknown"...

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2280068

...when all the publications have the author as Robert Wallace? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:00, 1 July 2025 (EDT)

Robert Wallace is a house pseudonym that was used by multiple authors. For a house pseudonym, if there is a work where we don't know the actual author, it gets varianted to unknown. Now whether all the titles under this author record are from the house pseudonym is debatable. The house pseudonym seems to be for the Phantom Detective series, but not all titles with Robert Wallace as the author are part of that series (for example, the one you link to above is not). It's possible there needs to be some further disambiguation of this name. -- JLaTondre (talk) 22:10, 1 July 2025 (EDT)
cheers - Merril says he was a staff writer for Life magazine. This looks like him - Gaz Faustus (talk) 22:34, 1 July 2025 (EDT)
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wallace-26591
I changed A Living Doll to be by Robert Wallace (II). I added the info from Merril to the author notes with a statement it might be the person in the WikiTree article. -- JLaTondre (talk) 19:15, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6297522; There's a bio at the end of the story. --Username (talk) 19:27, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
Thanks. It matches the WikiTree article so I have updated our entry's biographical info. -- JLaTondre (talk) 19:33, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
OK. Also, Google search for author and "Blue Groper" found 1 mention in PDF of an issue of Metaphysical Review which reviewed the anthology it appeared in; that Wallace is this guy, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4473118.Robert_Wallace, and it's a pseudonym in case you want to use that info to fix anything. --Username (talk) 20:00, 2 July 2025 (EDT)
The poem "The Gottle" is by this Robert Wallace, https://clevelandartsprize.org/artists/robert-wallace/. --Username (talk) 11:55, 9 November 2025 (EST)

How do I post a review of a book (multiple books)

Hello,

I have been through the Help and various instructions and, it's probably me, but I find no information on how to post a published review for several different titles - Fleet of Worlds by Niven, Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein, Settling Accounts: In At the Death by Turtledove, Space Cadet by Heinlein, Space Vulture by Wolf & Myers, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Sivell (asll published on the SFReader website a while ago.

I see instructions on accessing the entry for the title, but once there, I see nothing regarding adding a review.

Thanks for your help.

(Yes, when logged in)

Steve —The preceding unsigned comment added by Steve davidson (talk • contribs) 11:04, July 2, 2025‎

Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~). You already asked this question on the moderator noticeboard. Try to keep threads together. Blog posts are not eligible for inclusion. Only reviews included in an eligible publication. The rules of acquisition are here. John Scifibones 11:25, 2 July 2025 (EDT)

book with 2 "Authors"

The book i'm doing has 2 authors on the title page and everywhere else and nothing anywhere in the book that says they have different roles. Its an illustrated book so i thought one is the artist and sure enough amazon confirms it but if the book doesnt say that should they be both go down as the authors? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:32, 8 July 2025 (EDT)

I'd say: Yes, both should be credited as authors, and likely the artist should also enjoy a credit for the additional illustrational work.
When there's no other hard proof that the roles were strictly different (one only the author, the other only the artist; for example this could be stated in a note within the book) we go by that which is stated within the publication. It does happen from time to time that the story was done by both, though that's more common in the world of comic books. Christian Stonecreek (talk) 01:39, 9 July 2025 (EDT)
cheers i think i'll do it the way you say - Gaz Faustus (talk) 09:06, 9 July 2025 (EDT)

Identifying Canadian publications

I've moved this discussion to Rules and standards discussions as it seems more appropriate. --Ron ~ RtraceTalk 16:17, 19 July 2025 (EDT)

Wrong title record listed as collection title for a publication

For the publication record Reisen von Zeit zu Zeit, a collection within the publication (Die ersten Zeitreisen) is listed as the collection title record instead of the actual record (Reisen von Zeit zu Zeit ). In fact, the actual record does not seem to be displayed anywhere on the publication page. Any ideas why this happening and how to fix it? Thanks! - Riselka (talk) 17:24, 15 July 2025 (EDT)

I think this is a bug. If you go to Remove Titles on it, that shows both the publication's (collection) title and the other collection title are present in the contents. So the publication view seems to be confused by two container titles with the same author/editor credits. (Maybe it's picking the first such title in alphabetical order.) --MartyD (talk) 20:40, 15 July 2025 (EDT)
I am afraid the ISFDB software doesn't support multiple container titles with the same title type within the same publication. For example, an OMNIBUS publication can include multiple ANTHOLOGY or COLLECTION titles, but it can't include multiple OMNIBUS titles. If the software finds multiple OMNIBUS titles in an OMNIBUS publication or multiple COLLECTION titles in a COLLECTION publication, its behavior becomes unpredictable, including displaying the wrong "reference" title at the top of the Contents section and/or removing some OMNIBUS titles' page numbers during editing.
I don't think we have a cleanup report for this scenario. In the short term, we could create one. Long term, it may be possible to add a way to tell the software which container title is the reference title within each publication, but I expect that it will require a fair amount of work. Ahasuerus (talk) 09:42, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
For these scenarios, does it make sense for a publication to contain multiple titles of the same type? I can see why someone might list a collection within another collection, but it's not clear to me that this should be allowed. If this shouldn't be supported, a cleanup report seems sufficient. This issue feels related to that of variant collections having different contents (e.g., Collections_with_different_contents) since this work feels like an expansion of a previous collection. That said, I think this work should be its own independent work rather than a variant.
For this particular case, does it make sense to (a) remove Die ersten Zeitreisen from the publication's contents or (b) convert the publication (and title) record from a COLLECTION to an OMNIBUS? I'm leaning towards the former option, but could see a case for the latter. Thanks! - Riselka (talk) 11:01, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
It looks like option (a) should work. Since this publication has been primary-verified, I would suggest asking the primary verifier to review this discussion to make sure that we are all on the same page before we make any changes. Ahasuerus (talk) 12:20, 16 July 2025 (EDT)

Linking pen name to parent

Hello, everyone. In a dictionary of pseudonyms I'm reading, Christine Dewees is listed as a pseudonym of Lynn Abbey. The compiler says this info was provided by the author. Should I make the former a variant of the latter? Thanks. --Rosab618 (talk) 00:34, 16 July 2025 (EDT)

Which dictionary of pseudonyms is it, please? The reason I am asking is that, as per ISFDB:Policy, we use "publicly available sources" to set up pseudonyms and alternate names. If the dictionary is publicly available, then we should be able to use it as long as we credit it as the source.
Also, Robert Lynn Asprin's "The Making of the Thieves' World" talks about "Christine DeWees" in a way that hints that she may be a pseudonym:
  • I point out that there are only two weeks remaining before the deadlin. [Ace editor Jim Baen] concedes that with such a limited time-frame, I probably won't be able to get a story from a "name" author. He'll let me work with an "unknown", but the story had better be good!
  • Christine DeWees is a kindly, white-haired grandmother who rides a Harley and wants to be a writer. Lynn and I have been criticizing her efforts for some time and have repeatedly encouraged her to submit something to an editor. So far, she has resisted our proddings, insisting that she would be embarrassed to show her work to a professional editor. I decide to kill two birds with one stone.
Asprin's account is compatible with the notion that "Christine DeWees" was a Lynn Abbey pseudonym. Presumably Abbey and Asprin, the creators of the series, were running out of time and needed another story for the first Thieves' World anthology. Abbey wrote one ("Myrtis"), but, since she already had a story ("The Face of Chaos") in the book, she used a pseudonym for "Myrtis". Ahasuerus (talk) 10:20, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
It is Hawk's Authors' Pseudonyms III: Comprehensive Reference of Modern Author's Pseudonyms. Thanks for the backstory! —Rosab618 (talk) 11:59, 16 July 2025 (EDT)
Looks legit. I'll notify Galactic Central and SFE. Thanks for finding the connection! Ahasuerus (talk) 12:27, 16 July 2025 (EDT)

Add alternate name

Author "Ally Wilkes" https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?328455 has published at least one work under the name "A.V. Wilkes". She lists both names on her social media pages.

I added her 2023 book "Jamie Hallow and the End of the World", now pending, under the A.V. name, as published, but could not see any way to link it to the Ally name. 

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6311441 & https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6311447

--AlanHK (talk) 22:24, 16 July 2025 (EDT)

Thanks for identifying the pseudonym and creating the two submissions! I have approved them and made the following changes:
  • Changed the title and publication types from NOVEL to SHORTFICTION/novella because the word count is 34K, which is below the ISFDB's 40K threshold for novels.
  • Changed the format of the paperback edition from "pb" to "tp" since the length is 9", which is below the 7.25" threshold for "pb" -- see Template:PublicationFields:Format for details.
  • Changed the publication date of the paperback edition and the title date from 2023-07-11 to 2023-07-06 since it was published in the US first.
  • Clarified that the submitted synopsis came from the publisher.
  • Changed the prices from pounds to dollars since the publisher is based in the US; documented Amazon UK's prices in Notes.
  • Merged the pairs of CHAPBOOK, SHORTFICTION and COVERART title records created by these submissions.
  • Turned the merged CHAPBOOK and SHORTFICTION title records into variant titles with their parent titles using the name "Ally Wilkes". Moved their synopsis data, the series information and the 2 links to third-party sites to the new parent titles.
  • Turned "A. V. Wilkes" into an alternate name of "Ally Wilkes". Added a note to the "A. V. Wilkes" record explaining why we believe that they are the same person.
I think this covers everything. Thanks again and don't hesitate to ask for help -- there are a lot of rules (and exceptions)! Ahasuerus (talk) 18:38, 17 July 2025 (EDT)
Thanks. Doubt if I could work that out myself. --AlanHK (talk) 05:28, 18 July 2025 (EDT)

Queries (website publications etc.)

I've been examining the official website for the Old Kingdom series (http://oldkingdom.com.au/; the series on ISFDB 37593); the website has several short stories posted under the "Bonus Material" section. All of these, I believe, have print publication of some form (as extra material for one or more of the main books). I'm still inexperienced in adding info to the site so I have some queries:

  • How does one record such a publication, if at all? The titles all have entries already except for one (see below) due to the aforementioned print publications, but I'm not sure if I'm reading the bits about web-based publication on ISFDB:Policy correctly.
  • "An Extract of the Journal of Idrach the Lesser Necromancer" 982081 appears to have a variant title here ("The Nine Gates of Death", if I'm reading the rules on titles correctly), and an older version of the website had it under the heading "The gates and precincts of Death". Not sure how to handle this.
  • "Doctor Crake Crosses the Wall" is also troublesome. Currently it doesn't have a title entry; according to Wikipedia the story was published in the Australian edition of Goldenhand, which does not have an entry on ISFDB (Worldcat says it was published by Allen & Unwin, 2016, ISBN 978-1-74175-863-4) and which I don't have access to at the moment. What do we do here?

Any help would be appreciated. Arcorann (talk) 09:05, 17 July 2025 (EDT)

I've added that edition of Goldenhand here, based on info from Abebooks. So, once the above gets sorted out, that story can be added to that publication. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:07, 17 July 2025 (EDT)

Non Genre stories by under the threshold authors

Should they be removed from pubs, deleted and notes added if approrpiate? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 09:02, 23 July 2025 (EDT)

Please provide examples. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:09, 23 July 2025 (EDT)
mate theres thousands of examples out there across the spectrum, i come across them every day so you must do as well - loads of stuff seems to get entered in anthologies and collections without the editor checking or caring if its genre and later somebody comes along and says that some are non-genre. do you as a mod ever dump these when you see them? maybe as a mod whos been here for donkeys years you could pop out a few general guidelines or parameters that might help for us medium pace pie throwers. maybe hypothetical cases where you definitely would or wouldnt delete. the threshold concept is a thorny issue but assume that theres no doubt that theyre under it. as an example I did one a few days ago looking at an old collection which can be read online which had three stories all genre.2 of the stories when i looked at them them had to be labelled as non genre. in the past i would just have left it at that but i thought soddit i'll try and remove and delete them and let the reviewer decide and it was accepted but maybe another mod would have taken a different view, i don't know as there dont seem to be any guidelines. Gaz Faustus (talk) 22:00, 23 July 2025 (EDT)
One general reminder - if they are in a GENRE magazine, they are eligible to be included regardless of who wrote them. The full contents of a genre magazine is always eligible. Thus the need for an example or 3 because not all of these need to be deleted even if it looks so at first glance. That does not make non-eligible books eligible just because the stories are already in but genre magazines are indexed in their entirety (that's the difference between how we handle genre and non-genre periodicals and why it is important to decide what you enter one as). Annie (talk) 11:38, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
cheers for the reminder about the genre mags i'd heard that before but forgot it. The one which prompted the question was this chappie. 3 stories all non genre in 3 anthologies. i'd be happy to put a few bob on saying that a fair number of the "genre" stories in 2 of those anthologies are non-genre as well although some of the authors are no doubt over the threshold. Gaz Faustus (talk) 17:35, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?20134
None of these are eligible under the current rules technically so removing them and adding a note in the pub notes that they are also there is the usual solution. We have a LOT of them - especially in older publications - sometimes added because someone was helpfully transcribing the contents table, sometimes added because noone realized they are not genre. And we have even more in those mixed anthologies which are not even marked.
We may want to have another discussion over in R&S at some point about non-periodicals and contents. These days the line between a magazine and anthology is so blurred that having different contents rules make less and less sense. These records don't harm anyone and as long as the anthology is majorly ours, keeping them actually makes our records look better. But that would be a rule change (or rule alignment - most of us had been caught doing that for anthologies anyway - sometimes simply because we do not know if a story is genre or not and sometimes because most of the non-genre ones sneak in under the threshold rule anyway).
So to make this short: under the current rules, they are not eligible. However, I have the feeling that under the current practice, they actually are part of the pattern of how we add these majorly genre anthologies... We cannot even look at the data properly because for every story marked as non-genre, there are at least 2 that are as non-genre as it but whoever added the contents and approved did not realize that (or it was before the flag existed). Annie (talk) 18:53, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
cheers annie i'll keep that "majourly ours" in mind. The one that had the removal signed off was a collecction with 3 stories in totla all originally marked as genre but 2 of them weren't so those 2 were taken out and dumped. that's jogged the memory bank about a collection recently and it had (something like) 9 stories and the publisher flagged up on their site 5 that were supernatural and the other 4 were non genre. I didnt put those 4 in the contents and just said in the notes that there are another 4 stories not listed but if majourly ours means >50% then should all the stories have been put in the contents? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 21:04, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
Nope. Even if the practice leans there occasionally, the rules still says no. A story (or 3 in bigger books) is usually what I'd add. Think more 90% than 50% :) That close to 50%? Nope. In such cases I'd usually mark the whole anthology/collection non-genre and add only the stories that in scope (and add the titles/authors of the other 4 in the notes). But the setting of the flag probably varies a bit between editors when the numbers are that close. What you did was the correct approach (only record the stories that are ours). :) Annie (talk) 21:29, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
so in a nutshell if a anthology has 90% genre stories its labelled as "genre" and the non-genre stuff goes in the contents but if its 60% genre its labelled as "non-genre" and the non genre stuff isnt supposed to go in the contents and you remove them if already there (and put in the notes)? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 12:53, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
If you will. Under the written rules, the non-genre stories in both cases are out. But in the 90% cases, it is a lot less likely for someone to make a problem of it and the practice seems to be to tolerate them. An R&S discussion may be in order. Annie (talk) 12:57, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
it would be quicker to wait for the singularty and let the AIs sort it out. personally I'd like to get rid of all non genre even by the megastars (with the possible exception of Rev Lionel Fanthorpe). If we have to have over the threshold stuff then there should be a list of who they are. Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:15, 25 July 2025 (EDT)

"The Publisher"

The author name The Publisher 38731 is attributed to 5 different publishers: T. Becket, Richard Bentley, Kassel Books (Kassel Classics), David Bell, and King-Size Publications, Inc. for 197915, 198023, 197933, 197955. I'm asking how should these be differentiated, if at all? Thanks, Kev. BanjoKev (talk) 18:45, 23 July 2025 (EDT)

Well, there are two ways to handle that:
  • Variants - make "The Publisher" a pseudonym to all of these authors and then variant as usual. Think of house names in the early days of pulps - same principle. Won't work very well for the King-Size case though as it really need to be on the publisher, not the writer
  • Differentiate with the name of the author in brackets "The Publisher (Richard Bentley)" for example.
Or we can even mix and match... I lean towards differentiation quite honestly but either way works. Annie (talk) 11:43, 24 July 2025 (EDT)
Thanks Annie. Yes, I'm currently working through house names, and I'm leaning with you… Differentiation is simpler and more straightforward in every way that I can think of so I'll implement this method. Kev. BanjoKev (talk) 10:23, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
A benefit of the differentiation approach is that you can use it even when the actual writer's identity is unknown (as in the Kassel Books and King-Size Publications cases). You can use the publisher's or publication's name instead. --MartyD (talk) 12:16, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
Thanks Marty, quite correct! Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 15:14, 25 July 2025 (EDT)

Double Novel

Not sure what publication type to enter this; People's Choice Literature: The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels
"The book comprises two novels, The Most Wanted Novel, which is a thriller designed to emulate the secret sauce of airport bestsellers and The Most Unwanted Novel, a wildly angular mashup of sci-fi, tennis, and Christmas." ― The Brooklyn Rail
two novels by the same guy, neither of which has been published before. (Only one appears to be SF.) Collection, although they're novels and not short fiction?
Thanks. --gzuckier (talk) 23:19, 24 July 2025 (EDT)

Omnibus. If the author is above threshold, you add both novels inside. If not, just the one that is ours and add a publication note that only the speculative contents is added. :) Annie (talk) 00:15, 25 July 2025 (EDT)
OK, thanks gzuckier (talk) 17:46, 25 July 2025 (EDT)

Lists of characters in novels - Essay or Shortfiction?

searched for "list of characters" and got 16 hits - 4 shortfictions and 12 essays. - Gaz Faustus (talk) 18:30, 7 August 2025 (EDT)

A character list would normally be fact, not fiction. --MartyD (talk) 22:26, 7 August 2025 (EDT)
Yeah, lists of characters would be considered ESSAYs. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 11:35, 8 August 2025 (EDT)
2-0 both gaffers thats good enough for me - cheers Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:21, 8 August 2025 (EDT)
BTW, that applies equally to titles containing "Dramatis Personae". :) Phil (talk) 22:08, 8 August 2025 (EDT)

Number line confusion

https://www.ebay.com/itm/197129903196

the copyright page scan on this listing says "First Printing" but the number line says otherwise. Publisher's cock up or is something else going off? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 08:00, 9 August 2025 (EDT)

Its alright i've just seen the notes for our entry that mentions it. Gaz Faustus (talk) 08:04, 9 August 2025 (EDT)

Pending edits, how long

I submitted my best shot of Analog (July/august 2025) almost a month ago (6307235). I am sure there are things that need to be fixed, but wondered, how long will it take for someone to review it? I check my talk page, but nothing shows up. I need to do this more often, but I seldom get a copy of a magazine very early (this was an author's copy) Bob —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wallet55 (talk • contribs) . 15:33, 9 August 2025‎ (EDT)

As all mods are volunteers, some edits can take a while to be approved. In this case, it looks like it was waiting because there were a number of things that would have required editing in order to fix the submission:
  • The issue title for magazines should always have the issue number or date in it. In this case, it should have been entered as "Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July-August 2025".
  • Always use the masthead title (usually on the copyright page or the page where they list all of the contents and/or staff. In this case, "Analog Science Fiction and Fact" instead of "Analog Science Fiction & Fact".
  • The date for the issue should always be the month of issue on the cover (or the first month, in cases such as this where the issue covers multiple months). You entered this correctly for the issue date, but then you manually entered a generic "2025-00-00" for all the content. Always leave the content dates blank as they will be automatically filled in using the date of the issue.
  • Generally don't include the source site for cover artist name. In this case, "GrandeDuc" instead of "GrandeDuc via shutterstock.com". We don't need the information on where they got the art.
  • Don't enter generic/base website URLs in the Pub Web Page and Web Pages fields. The generic "https://analogsf.com" belongs only on the series page.
All-in-all, you did a pretty good job for being new to the site. There's a steep learning curve here. The best suggestion I have is to carefully study how previous issues have been entered so you can learn how to enter them. You had a lot of correct information in your submission, but it looks like the issue was entered into the system before your submission was approved, so I rejected it as a duplicate. Please let me know if you have any questions. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 12:26, 11 August 2025 (EDT)

Different Artwork on Boards and Dust Jacket

I am working on Terry Pratchett / Raising Steam - Waterstones Edition. This version has the dust jacket artwork from the regular version printed on the boards and different dust jacket artwork by the same artist. This is explained in the pub notes but I feel it should also be reflected in the contents records. However, I'm not sure of the best way to proceed.
Option 1) Treat both of these artworks as cover art. I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this idea because the pub record would look odd. Both entries in the Cover field would appear identical.
Option 2) Make the artwork on the boards interior art (varianted to cover art). I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this idea because a book issued without dust jacket would have artwork on the boards designated as cover art.
Are there any other options? Advice appreciated please.
I asked the existing PV (who is also a moderator) about this issue here but have received no reply for three weeks, hence this post. Teallach (talk) 18:40, 10 August 2025 (EDT)

It would be a bit of abuse, but I suppose an approach you could take is to make the boards INTERIORART and give them page numbers of "fc" and "bc". If that idea appeals, it might be (although I won't hold my breath) a quick R&S discussion to change the help wording for those two page designators to make this one of the official use cases for them (e.g., --> "... cover of a magazine or board of a dust-jacketed hardcover that isn't included in the pagination.") --MartyD (talk) 14:30, 11 August 2025 (EDT)

"Omnibus" containing only one novel

Hello, all. On NooSFere, I came across Les Chroniques de Tornor - 2 by Elizabeth Lynn, which apparently contains only La fille du Nord, a translation of The Northern Girl (1980). The previous French omnibus, Le Chroniques de Tornor - 1, contained the first two novels of the series. How should I enter the second volume? Thanks! --Rosab618 (talk) 13:22, 15 August 2025 (EDT)

If it's just the one novel in it, enter it as a novel. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:34, 15 August 2025 (EDT)
But the novel inside has a different title. Should I make Les Chroniques de Tornor - 2 a variant of The Northern Girl, but put La fille du Nord inside it? --Rosab618 (talk) 14:01, 15 August 2025 (EDT)
Even though it's listed there as an omnibus, don't enter it as one here. Do you have access to an actual copy so you can see the title page? If not, enter it as Les Chroniques de Tornor: Tome Deuxieme as a NOVEL and variant that to The Northern Girl. Be sure to include a note explaining why it's entered this way. It may be good to include a note on Les chroniques de Tornor: Tome 1, too, and change that title to "Les Chroniques de Tornor: Tome Premier" since that's what's on the cover (unless you can see something different on the title page, if you have access to it). ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 14:32, 15 August 2025 (EDT)

Two issues I need help on

There are two issues I need help on. First, is there a way to edit/fix issues on an edit after you submit them. I am looking at a new magazine issue I submitted, and I forgot the $ in the price, and one author is appearing as new, even though it looks exactly the same as her entry for all her other works in ISFDB.

The second is, how do you check to see if someone else has not already added a magazine and it is pending? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wallet55 (talk • contribs) .

Unfortunately, there is not a way to edit a submission. You have to wait for the submission to be approved and then edit the record once it is created. I also don't believe there is a way for non-moderators to view the submission queue. -- JLaTondre (talk) 06:52, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
If the submission has not been published, go to your "My pending edits" list and you can open it. You can't edit it, but you can copy the info to a new submission, correct it, submit the new one, then click "Cancel submission" for the first one on your pending list. If you realise immediately after submitting there is an error, you can go back a page in your history to pre-submission, correct it and submit again, then cancel the first one as above. AlanHK (talk) 23:51, 22 August 2025 (EDT)

Problem with The Dresden Files Collection 1-6

When I used Add a New Omnibus to create a title record for The Dresden Files Collection 1-6, something went wrong with the records for the novels contained in the omnibus. I don’t know why it happened, nor do I know how to fix it. I’m hoping somebody can explain how things went awry and how to fix the mess.

The problem is that the submission created references to new title records for the novels contained in the omnibus, rather than references to the existing title records. E.g., the HTML link in the Contents section of The Dresden Files Collection 1-6 for Storm Front leads to (newly created) title record 3497597 rather than to record 21523 as it should.

When I filled in the title entries in the New Omnibus form, I cut and pasted the author and title information for each entry from the corresponding extant title record. Should I have done something else? If so, what? And what needs to be done to correct the errant links in the publication record (1067710)?

Glenn.Skinner (talk) 00:27, 17 August 2025 (EDT)

When you type titles and authors into the contents section when creating or editing a pub record, the software will create new title records for each of the items you entered in the contents section. It will not automatically combine identical author/title records (as there many cases where authors reuse titles, etc.). If you are entering a collection or omnibus where the contents are already in the database, the best approach is to enter the publication without the already existing contents, and then when the publication has been created, use the "Import Content" option on the publication record to import the existing contents into the publication. To solve cases where duplicate records were created, you need to merge the duplicates. The easiest way to do that in this case, is to go to the publication record and use the "Check for Duplicate Titles" option. From there you can select the duplicates and merge them. -- JLaTondre (talk) 06:46, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
Thnks for the explanation. I've submitted merge requests following the procedure you desccribed. After doing so, I went back to the help page for new publications and found the procedure described there in the Content Information subsection. I've probably read that section a dozen times, but it apparently flowed into one ear and out the other. I expect to do better next time... Glenn.Skinner (talk) 15:07, 17 August 2025 (EDT)

Cover replacement failed (?)

Hello... I need assistance to understand what went bad. A few days ago I uploaded a new scan for the cover of Prigione senza sbarre this way: 1. from the pub page, click "upload new cover scan"; 2. Select the file and click "upload file" 3. Select "Ignore warning and save file" on the following page, where there was the warning "A file with this name exists already". The image in the pub record did not change; if I go to the cover page, the image is still the old one, although the thumbnails section below shows my scan as "current" and the resolution and file size reported under the image are those of the new scan. clcking on the thumbails only shows the old one. What should I have done instead (or in addition)? thank you! --Fantagufo (talk) 13:43, 17 August 2025 (EDT)

I looked at it and your update took effect. When you upload a new version of an existing file, you may have to clear your browser cookies to see it immediately. Otherwise it might be several days before the existing cached image and cookie is cleared. Hope this explains it sufficiently. Phil (talk) 14:17, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
Another method, if you don't want to clear your cache, is to perform a hard page refresh. This forces your browser to download everything on a web page from the server. Go to the pub record and perform a hard page refresh. How you do that depends on your operating system and browser. For some browsers running on Windows, hold down the Ctrl key and press F5. If that doesn't work you will need to search on the internet to find how to do a hard page refresh for your configuration. Hope that works for you. Teallach (talk) 16:55, 17 August 2025 (EDT)
Thank you Teallach, I'll try to remember your advice for the next occurrence... I cannot try it on this one because today I see the right cover... guess the cache expired as Philfreund said. Thanks again to both! --Fantagufo (talk) 07:55, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
Luca, When you wish to replace a previously uploaded image, don't use "upload new cover scan" in the publication record. Go to the wiki page, in this case, here. In the file history section you will find the link "Upload a new version of this file". This will avoid the duplicate warning message. When you are satisfied with the new image, post a request on the Moderator Noticeboard to delete the old image. I have taken care of this one. As previously noted, clearing the cache is necessary to see the change. John Scifibones 16:38, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
Thank you John, I (hope that...) I will remember this process. Shouldn't it be explained in the Help page for uploading covers? I did what I did because I didn't find instructions to replace them. --Fantagufo (talk) 20:09, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
That's the first time I have ever seen this process described or have it stated that it's how duplicates should be handled. There shouldn't be a button that allows us to go ahead and upload anyway if it's always the wrong thing to do and the correct process needs to be put into the Help documentation. Phil (talk) 22:00, 18 August 2025 (EDT)
I haven't looked into the software behind the Wiki upload page (and the matching "Upload" link on Publication pages) in over 10 years. It's possible that the ability to "Upload a new version of this file" did not exist in the version of the MediaWiki software that we were using in the early 2010s when I added the current "Upload" link to Publication pages. Either way, if all moderators agree that what is described above is the preferred image replacement process, then we probably need to update our software to automate this functionality. A cursory review suggests that it shouldn't be too hard to do. Ahasuerus (talk) 13:47, 19 August 2025 (EDT)

How to add Psychopomp short stories

The website Psychopomp has a bunch of short fiction under the "Psychopomp fiction" headline that's not part of any publication.

Most of these stories are not on ISFDB. A few do:

The other stories on the website don't have a date associated with them, so I don't know how to add them:

--Salty-horse (talk) 05:12, 21 August 2025 (EDT)

If stories aren't published in a proper publication (as defined here, under Rules of Acquisition) they are unfortunately not eligible. Allowed electronic publications include webzines, ebooks, downloadable files, and others, but stories that are just put as a stand-alone into the web are not taken into consideration. Hope that helps. Stonecreek (talk) 06:42, 21 August 2025 (EDT)
With the only exception to the above being "Online publications available exclusively as a Web page, but only if published by a market which makes the author eligible for SFWA membership (listed here), OR shortlisted for a major award". So if the magazine or the work meets either of the two exceptions, then they could be listed. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:14, 21 August 2025 (EDT)
These Psychopomp "issues" are most likely a made-up publications, that only contain one story each. So I shouldn't create similar ones for the other stories? --Salty-horse (talk) 12:54, 22 August 2025 (EDT)
Those were made to handle stories posted on psychopomp.com that are eligible due to being "shortlisted for a major award". You can see this one has the note While not a true webzine by ISFDB standards, this "issue" is included as the story was nominated for a 2025 Ignyte Award. (in reference to We Who Will Not Die). This one unfortunately has no note (and probably should), but Joanna's Bodies was nominated for several awards. So if there are more stories originally published on the site and eligible for inclusion under that awards exception, you could follow precedent and make more "issues" to represent the original publication. --MartyD (talk) 09:20, 30 August 2025 (EDT)

Manufacturing Defects

This thread has been prompted by this discussion: Isaac Asimov (ed) / Tomorrow's Children.
One copy of a pub has been identified with a significant manufacturing defect. It has been bound with (at least) 23 pages missing at the end of the book. Is this worth mentioning in the pub notes? My slight inclination is "No". I suspect that these defects occur on too small a proportion of copies to be worth a mention. However, a counter argument is that if a significant minority of copies have this defect then a pub note could be useful as something to watch out for by someone intending to buy a copy.
Personally, I don't feel strongly about this. Does anyone know if there are any precedents or undocumented practices in the ISFDb for how to deal with this? If so then I'll go with the flow for sake of consistency. Teallach (talk) 18:42, 28 August 2025 (EDT)

The only way we would know if it was a problem affecting an entire batch would be if more copies turned up with the same defect. If it did affect many copies, that would be of general interest. So my recommendation is to note that your verifier's copy has the defect you describe. You can use the PV template to identify yourself as the verifier with the defective copy. --MartyD (talk) 08:35, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
Will do. Thanks for your input. Edit submitted. Teallach (talk) 18:12, 30 August 2025 (EDT)

New author showing up without any titles

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6341713

I did this edit of this anthology. this story variant was only in this pub but the author had to be changed to a new alt name not used on any other titles so i changed it in the publication. when i click on the the story title it shows the new author name but when i click on the author it shows up without any titles. why isnt it showing the story on the author page? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 11:32, 30 August 2025 (EDT)

I assume you are referring to Nikolai Poushkin, right? The reason that no titles are displayed on his Summary page is that the only title associated with the name is already set up as a variant. The reason the Summary page doesn't show that "Nikolai Poushkin" is an alternate name of Александр Пушкин is that we haven't created an Alternate/Parent name association yet. It can be done by clicking "Make/Remove Alternate Name" on the alternate name's Summary page. Ahasuerus (talk) 13:22, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
cheers mate i think i understand. that story had already been varianted under the old author name and thats still there with the new name but the new name doesnt keep the alt name status of the old name so has to be joined seperately? Gaz Faustus (talk) 15:12, 30 August 2025 (EDT)
Sorry about the delayed response -- I am currently very busy with the Fixer migration, which has to be completed by late October 2025.
To answer your question, the software has two separate -- but related -- ways to link ISFDB records:
  • The "Variant Title" mechanism links variant titles to their parent titles
  • "Alternate Names" link authors'/editors'/artists' alternate names to their "canonical" names
For everything to work properly, you have to make sure that we have a variant title relationship between two titles as well as the correct "alternate name" relationship between their authors (if there is one).
The reason these two mechanisms are separate is that there are many different "alternate name" scenarios:
  • Joint pseudonyms like Ilona Andrews
  • Ghostwriters -- see William Shatner's Summary page, specifically "Man O'War", "Quest for Tomorrow" and "TekWar"
  • house names
  • Sometimes a personal pseudonym becomes a "house name", e.g. see Alexander Blade
  • Other times a joint pseudonym becomes a personal pseudonym, e.g. see Eando Binder
  • Odd scenarios like Empire, which was originally written by John W. Campbell, Jr., then rewritten by Clifford D. Simak, then published as by Simak alone.
Each scenario has to be evaluated individually to determine whether we need an "alternate name" relationship.
Hope this makes sense! Ahasuerus (talk) 12:26, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
cheers mate just seen your reply - thanks for calrifying. this was the first time for me where the author name for the variant was wrong but it only showed up in 1 pub so could change the name in the contents and so varianting not needed unlike other cases where ive had to add the new variant and take out the old one and then varianting and alt authoring both to be done. Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:54, 8 September 2025 (EDT)

Missing Clarkesworld magazines - any automation available?

About 40 Clarkesworld issues, both historical and recent, are missing from ISFDB.

Does ISFDB have an automated API that I can use to add them programmatically?

Alternatively, if I automate the regular submission form, where can I post the program, so others can use it in the future? --Salty-horse (talk) 06:13, 2 September 2025 (EDT)

Yes, we do have an API, which lets you retrieve (certain types of) data and create automated submissions. The Main Page links to the Web API page, which has all of the gory details. Ahasuerus (talk) 12:08, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
Thanks! A few questions:
  1. The publication metadata has fields to enter a list of web links, but it's not documented in XML:NewPub - any chance it exists?
  2. I assume that if an item in the magazine is part of the series (like the Editor's Desk), it has to be added separately, with a TitleUpdate request - does that update have to wait for moderator approval of the publication?
  3. Is there a way to test things before making an actual submission? I guess I can submit something and immediately cancel the submission if there's a problem.
--Salty-horse (talk) 15:57, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
Let me try to answer the questions in the order they were asked:
  1. As per Web API#submission.cgi, "The format of the XML data is identical to that used for local submissions, with the exception that the user's license key must be inserted after the Submitter tag." Back when we added the ability to submit External IDs and Web pages, we updated Web API#Publication Lookups, but XML:NewPub and related Wiki pages haven't been updated since 2014. Thanks for identifying the problem -- I'll add it to my list of things to do. In the meantime, you can determine which XML tags take External ID and Web page values if you configure a local ISFDB database on your development server -- see ISFDB Downloads#Installation and Setup for details -- then create test submissions locally.
  2. That's right, if you want to add Content-level titles, you will need to wait for your NewPub submission(s) to be approved, then edit them manually.
  3. As mentioned above, you can set up a local copy of the ISFDB database and use it for testing submissions. Also, please note that, as per Web API#License Keys, you will need to have your user name added to a special list of authorized users before you can create submissions via the API: "the submitting user's name must be added to the whitelist of authorized submitters maintained via a bureaucrat-only menu option. Post on the ISFDB Moderator Noticeboard to request access."
HTH! Ahasuerus (talk) 18:26, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
I'd strongly recommend to submit one issue only, see what changes are done during moderation and then submit the rest with the changes incorporated into the next submissions. There are some oddities in how we record magazines and submitting a lot of records with the same issues in them is going to delay their approval. Annie (talk) 18:58, 2 September 2025 (EDT)
An excellent point! Ahasuerus (talk) 19:43, 2 September 2025 (EDT)

Problem with dates in submissions

Ahasuerus, I've run into a problem with the API. XML:NewPub says "Year" is "The Year of publication. Uses the YYYY-MM-DD format.". When I pass "YYYY-MM-DD", I get a crash when approving it as a moderator in pa_new's UpdatePubColumn(merge, 'Year', 'pub_year', Record), which expects just "YYYY". But when I send "YYYY-MM-DD", it crashes when viewing the pending edit, in mod/viewers's table.Add1MetadataRow('Pub Date', 'Year', 'pub_date'), which expects "YYYY-MM-DD". --Salty-horse (talk) 11:48, 9 September 2025 (EDT)

Could you please clarify why you believe that UpdatePubColumn(merge, 'Year', 'pub_year', Record), expects "YYYY"? The field "pub_year" (table "pubs") is defined as a "date", so it should be expecting YYYY-MM-DD. Does "describe pubs" show a different field type for you? Our robot, Fixer, uses the Web API for automated submissions and it sends YYYY-MM-DD dates, e.g. see the XML payload of this submission, so something is not right. Ahasuerus (talk) 13:28, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
This is my test submission (still needs some unrelated improvements): (taken from "view raw XML" in the pending edits page) https://pastebin.com/0MHLm0s6, and this is the error I get when approving it as a moderator: https://pastebin.com/7L9wve9p . I'm probably missing something if it's supposed to work missing something. --Salty-horse (talk) 13:35, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for clarifying! It sounds like your MySQL server doesn't support "YYYY-MM-00" dates and, perhaps, "0000-00-00" dates. How they are handled is controlled by NO_ZERO_DATE and NO_ZERO_IN_DATE in your MySQL server configuration file; it's possible that the default settings of your version are different from what's expected by our Wiki-based installation instruction and they need to be updated.
What do you see when you run:
  • SELECT @@GLOBAL.sql_mode global, @@SESSION.sql_mode session
? My development server shows STRICT_TRANS_TABLES,NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER,NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION for both values. Ahasuerus (talk) 17:02, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
Yeah I have NO_ZERO_IN_DATE,NO_ZERO_DATE. I removed them and now it works. Thanks! :D --Salty-horse (talk) 17:24, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
Excellent! Ahasuerus (talk) 17:30, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
P.S. I have updated ISFDB:MySQL Only Setup‎‎ to clarify that NO_ZERO_DATE and NO_ZERO_IN_DATE should not be defined in the INI file. Ahasuerus (talk) 17:40, 9 September 2025 (EDT)

More-or-less working script

The script seems to be working as intended now. Here's the Github Gist, but I can put it in a proper repository if people want to contribute or modify it, or maybe add support for new magazines.

As for my submissions, I just realized there's an alternative Clarkesworld (print issue) series, and together with the webzine one, they cover all issues. So there's no need to submit any new issues in bulk, just to duplicate existing print ones to become webzines and ebooks...?

Should I just automate a duplication, then? Or are there other tools to do that? --Salty-horse (talk) 13:26, 15 September 2025 (EDT)

Have you had a chance to review Help:Screen:ClonePub and Help:Screen:ImportContent? Depending on what's already in the database, either one or the other may be the fastest way to add the data. Ahasuerus (talk) 16:45, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
Some of those print issues don't have any contents (e.g., Clarkesworld, June 2020), so I'll check each one and submit a webzine with all the data. --Salty-horse (talk) 14:52, 15 September 2025 (EDT)

Help merge author/stories - M. L. Clark

I submitted a novel and short story collection for M. L. Clark.

All of the stories in the collection were previously published (even though they have all been "refined" according to the author) and appear under an alternate name for the author.

How can the stories be linked to their old edition, so that when you click on a story, you can see both its original publication, and the short story collection? (I assumed that would be done automatically since the author name is the same) --Salty-horse (talk) 03:41, 3 September 2025 (EDT)

New titles are not automatically merged with their pre-existing versions because they do not always contain the same text. For example, Robert Silverberg's 1966 collection Needle in a Timestack was significantly revised in 1979. Yet another version appeared as Needle in a Timestack and Other Stories in 2019 and was reprinted as Needle in a Timestack in 2021. It's even worse with translations, e.g. we have 6 different translations (3 French and 3 Portuguese) of H. P. Lovecraft's 1922 story "Azathoth", not to mention the eponymous English poem from 1931.
Please see Help:How to record a variant title for a detailed description of how to merge titles and/or how to set up "variant title" relationships between newly entered title records and pre-existing records. You can also import existing title records into publications -- please see Help:Screen:ImportContent for details. Ahasuerus (talk) 11:09, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
The problem is, I don't know the extent of the changes for each story. Should I consider them all to be worthy of being a variant rather than a merge, and update their publication dates to the collection's publication date? And how do I decide which one is "canonical"? The newer ones are certainly the author's "preferred text", but might not be what most readers of the work are familiar with, since the collection is self-published. --Salty-horse (talk) 12:43, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
That's one of the trickier scenarios that we have to deal with. The best I have been able to find is the following statement on Amazon.com, presumably provided by the publisher/author:
  • Some of these pieces were first published in Analog, Clarkesworld, and F&SF, among other SF magazines. All have been refined
Since it says "refined", I think it would be reasonable to assume that the changes were not fundamental in nature. I would merge the ones that use the same name, set up any new titles that use a different name as variants, then add a note to each title record explaining that, as per the author, the text was refined when the story was reprinted in 2023. Ahasuerus (talk) 15:47, 3 September 2025 (EDT)
I'm sorry, I need more assistance. I managed to merge Saying the Names. Then, it somehow moved to the top of the collection, so I updated the internal order. So far so good. Now, I want to merge the other titles, but they all appear as "variant titles" (not of the original stories - they are still linked to the collection, and I'm not sure why that's happening - did I accidentally cause those variants to be created? What should I merge exactly? (Example: Advanced Search for Hydroponics 101) --Salty-horse (talk) 13:19, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
No worries, that's what this Wiki page is for -- figuring things out!
Looking at submission history, I think the issue was that you used "Option 2" (as opposed to "option 1") on the "Make Variant Title" Web page. "Option 1" lets you turn the currently selected title record into a variant of another (existing) title record. If you had used it, it would have linked the new "M. L. Clark" titles into variants of existing "Maggie Clark" titles. Since you used "Option 2", new title records were created for "Maggie Clark".
I believe I was able to fix everything by merging the new "Maggie Clark" records with the pre-existing ones. Please take a look at the Maggie Clark page to make sure that everything is OK. Once the Summary page looks right, we can post on the Community Portal and propose that the "canonical name - alternate name" relationship be reversed since "M. L. Clark" is the better known name now. Thanks! Ahasuerus (talk) 13:53, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
I never visited a "Make variant title" page, which is why I'm confused.
Re-checking submissions in Edit History -- like this one -- I see that the varianting was done by User:BanjoKev, who may have found them on one of our cleanup reports. Sorry about the confusion! Ahasuerus (talk) 18:09, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
When I click on title on the collection, I still don't see most of them as merged - I guess it's pending moderation? I'll wait for tomorrow. --Salty-horse (talk) 16:00, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
Let me make sure that we are on the same page. When you say "When I click on title on the collection", which Web page are you referring to? Is it the Publication page of the collection? All of the stories appear "as by M. L. Clark". Isn't it the expected outcome? Ahasuerus (talk) 18:09, 5 September 2025 (EDT)
OK I think I understand now. When I go to Saying the Names, which I merged myself, I see the Lightspeed publications, and the A Tower for the Coming World collection - this I think is the desired outcome. But A Plague of Zhe (3506196) is listed differently, as a "variant title of" A Plague of Zhe (1449201), which does list all publications. Would the next step of asking for an author rename fix that distinction? It's not really a "variant title". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Salty-horse (talk • contribs) .
A "variant title record" differs from its parent (or "canonical") title record in at least one of the following ways:
  • A different title, e.g. "1984" vs. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" vs. "Vuonna 1984"
  • A different author credit, e.g. "George Orwell" vs. "Džorž Orvel" or "Megan Lindholm" vs. "Robin Hobb"
  • A different text, e.g. a German translation of "1984" vs. a French translation of "1984" or two different German translations of "1984" (this includes different translations of "1984" done by the same translator)
In the case of A Plague of Zhe (3506196) the author credit is "M. L. Clark" while the author credit of its parent record is "Maggie Clark". It can get even more complicated when joint pseudonyms, ghostwrites, etc are involved, e.g note the number of variants listed under "Other Titles" on this Web page. That's why all variant title pages have "[may list more publications, awards, reviews, votes and covers]" displayed next to the link to the parent/canonical line.
Does this make sense? Ahasuerus (talk) 10:21, 6 September 2025 (EDT)
The explanation makes sense, thanks. I don't agree with the how the canonical entry is hard to find in the UI when I want to navigate from the collection TOC to where a story was published. --Salty-horse (talk) 18:45, 6 September 2025 (EDT)
An interesting point. If memory serves, we changed the UI not to display identical canonical titles on Publication pages around 2010. The underlying idea was that displaying something like:
  • Leave-Taking • (2020) • novelette by M. L. Clark [variant of Leave-Taking by Maggie Clark]
would mean duplicating the displayed data for no good reason. However, as you point out, it made getting to the canonical title record more difficult. Food for thought... 21:14, 6 September 2025 (EDT)
As far as the canonical name goes, it looks like this author has been using "M. L. Clark" consistently since 2019, with older stories getting reprinted as by "M. L. Clark". I would suggest proposing a canonical name change on the Community Portal. Ahasuerus (talk) 15:47, 3 September 2025 (EDT)

Also, maybe the author's main entry should list the current name they use for their publications? Most of the items there are credited with "only as by M. L. Clark" --Salty-horse (talk) 03:41, 3 September 2025 (EDT)

To quote Template:AuthorFields:CanonicalName:
  • Canonical Name - The canonical name is the name under which a particular author's bibliography is organized. For authors who publish under multiple names, the canonical name is the most recognized name for that author within the genre. The canonical name may be a pseudonym, for instance Cordwainer Smith (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Cordwainer_Smith).
It's entirely possible for "the most recognized name for that author within the genre" to change over time. Template:AuthorFields:CanonicalName gives an example: "Megan Lindholm has had a successful career writing under her own name, and an even more successful career writing as "Robin Hobb". Originally we had "Megan Lindholm" set up as the canonical name, but we changed it to "Robin Hobb" once she became much better known as Hobb.
Once the titles that you submitted are merged/linked as per above, we can review the Summary page and see if we need to reverse the "canonical name -- alternate name" relationship. Ahasuerus (talk) 11:19, 3 September 2025 (EDT)

Charnel House

Please split this title into 2 with a note that these are different publishers.

The first is represented by the interval 1984-1988 is a fan booklets with different addresses.

  • North Caroline, Mount Olive ([1])
  • Montclair, New Jersey ([2])
  • Lenox Hill Station, N.Y. ([3])

the second is a more or less standard publishing house, created in 1989 ([4]) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Satampra Zeiros (talk • contribs) . 13:35, 4 September 2025‎ (EDT)

Okay, this has been split into Charnel House (Lin Carter) and Charnel House. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 20:11, 4 September 2025 (EDT)

How to submit Clarkesworld magazine entries

I'm looking at current ISFDB entries for Clarkesworld, and I'm not sure if and how to mimic them with a new submission.

For example, let's look at issue 209 from February 2024:

  1. If I click "edit", under "Regular Titles" I see a title with type "EDITOR". Is that something that ISFDB adds automatically? It doesn't appear in the edit history, even when I view the raw XML.
  2. Covers art in Clarkesworld usually has a name (for issue 209 it's "Harvesters", but in ISFDB they are always listed with the name of the issue. Why? Should this trend continue?
  3. Sometimes dates are recorded with a day value of "YYYY-MM-00" and sometimes it's "YYYY-MM-01" - which should be used?
  4. Some titles have translators credited - I couldn't find anything in the API about them - I assume it has to be entered separately, and not part of a "new publication" submission?
  5. Should audio versions of stories be recorded? Nowadays, Clarkesworld usually offers audio for all stories during the month.

Thanks! --Salty-horse (talk) 11:54, 7 September 2025 (EDT)

Some short answers:
1) Yep, you're right: it's entered automatically.
2) These are also automatically assigned; titles can be named in the artwork's title note section.
3) Usually it's the first; we assign the value of the month an issue was considered to have been published in: that is, the (first) month stated on the cover, the masthead or the copyright section.
4) Yes, translators should be named in a title's note section, please use the translator template Template:Tr, described in this help section.
5) I don't think so: they are considered as separate publications (and could be entered separately, if they are donwloadable or otherwise available.
Hope that helps, Christian Stonecreek (talk) 04:39, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
Just to add a few notes:
  • For monthly magazines such as this one, the date is always YYYY-MM-00. The ones with -01 needs fixing... :)
  • One note - magazines tend to have a few post-approval steps such as putting the records into the yearly EDITOR for example (the Magazine - YYYY naming). Ignore that part, it cannot be done with the "New Magazine" submission and is always a later step - just submit the magazine with its proper title ("Magazine Name, January 2022" for example). Annie (talk) 10:35, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
Annie (talk) 10:35, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
Stonecreek, using the API in a test on my own instance of ISFDB, I managed to submit and approve a custom cover art name, and it was not replaced with the magazine name. --Salty-horse (talk) 17:28, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
Here's my pending submission with the cover art title: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/view_submission.cgi?6358766 --Salty-horse (talk) 02:39, 10 September 2025 (EDT)

Two Possible Alternate Names

Hello, Moderators!

I just submitted the artists for the anthology [Tales of Girls Who Tech and Tinker], and I am unclear whether I handled those credits correctly:

  1. The artist T. A. Hernandez (three times): Based on this website [[5]], I believe that should be Hernandez's canonical name, and that is the name I used in the submission. However, in the anthology, they are credited as TA Hernandez. Should TA Hernandez be used as an alternate name in this case?
  1. The artist Sean Eddingfield (six times): Based on this website [[6]], I believe that should be Eddingfield's canonical name, and that is the name I used in the submission. However, in the anthology, they are credited as Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield (including the quotation marks and capital W). Should Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield be used as an alternate name in this case?

If either of these credits need to be changed to the alternate name, how can I go about making that change?

Many thanks,

Michael Main (talk) 10:47, 8 September 2025 (EDT)

ISFDB policy used to be to always use periods when an author's name had initials. It was changed to allow not using periods when it's clear that it's the author's choice to not use periods (instead of a publisher's stylistic decision). This means that not all of our records are consistent. In this case, since Hernandez's website uses periods, I would agree with you to use them.
In Eddingfield's case, however, our standard is to credit as per the publication. So his name should be entered as Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield and that made an alternate. -- JLaTondre (talk) 19:33, 10 September 2025 (EDT)
And in the case of double (or triple) initials, if the canonical ISFDB name uses them, it's a good idea to put the name without them in a transliteration field. That way, people can more easily find them when searching for an author. For example, the canonical name T. A. Hernandez should have "TA Hernandez" and "T A Hernandez" in the transliteration fields (they will show up when you hover over the "?" at the end of their name on that page). ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 19:38, 10 September 2025 (EDT)

Thanks, 日本穣, for adding the transliteration field to TA Hernandez's record. And thanks to JLaTondre, too. I will submit one of the credit changes for Eddingfield now, in order to get the pseudonym into the database. Once that is completed, I will submit the same change for the artist's other six pieces in this same publication. -- Michael Main (talk) 10:50, 11 September 2025 (EDT)

Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey, 1988

Hello,

Recently came across this website, and find it helpful for research.

I have a Russian edition of this book. I picked it up through an Amazon Seller in 2011.

I noticed on your page for this title- this edition is not included.

I would like to add it, as I intend to send it to another soon.

2005 edition. ISBN 5-699-09175-0

The cover is dark, with a portion of Michael Whelan's coverart.

Description note from the Seller- limited to 5100 copies.

Seller- Old Book and Coin Palm Harbor, Florida —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Robert4 (talk • contribs) .

Welcome to ISFDB! Is this your book? If so - you can try to add it on your own (start with "New Novel") or if you are not comfortable with Russian, I can add it as well. Annie (talk) 14:46, 8 September 2025 (EDT)

vs.

Just checking - do we regularise this to Vs. ? Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 15:06, 8 September 2025 (EDT)

We do not have it on the list and we do not have a known exception for it so... yes. How often it slips through the cracks is a different story... Annie (talk) 15:16, 8 September 2025 (EDT)
Thanks Annie for the confirmation! Kev. --BanjoKev (talk) 21:49, 8 September 2025 (EDT)

Pendulum Press

Hello!

Please split Pendulum Press into 2 publishers

Please split this topic into 2 publishers: the early one from London and the later one from West Haven, Connecticut


[[7]]

Thank you in advance! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Satampra Zeiros (talk • contribs) .

Done. I will take a look at the rest of the Pendulums as well because there more issues around these... Thanks for pointing this one out! Annie (talk) 12:54, 9 September 2025 (EDT)

"Retold by" or "Rewritten by"

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1064963

I'm having second thoughts about this one and some others that are books of Aesop's Fables where they are not translations as such but are said to be "Retold by...". for this book "Retold by Fiona Waters" i made Waters the author for each story and then varianted them to the parent title by Aesop. i now think i should unvariant them and just put them in the "Aesop's Fables" series with the same series number as the parent title with a title note saying its a retelling by the listed author. Is that right? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 14:57, 9 September 2025 (EDT)

Don't put them in the same series please - start a new series for the retellings and put them in there and make the new series a child of the main series. And yes - if they are retold as opposed to "translated", then they are separate stories. Annie (talk) 15:04, 9 September 2025 (EDT)
righto i'll do that - cheers Gaz Faustus (talk) 15:14, 9 September 2025 (EDT)

Work Published as Single and Multiple Volumes

How do we treat a work that is published as both a single volume (usually a fat hardcover) and also as multiple volumes (usually later split into two paperbacks)?
This question is prompted because I have started to work on Harlan Ellison (ED) / Again, Dangerous Visions.
The Pan pb's are linked to variant titles whereas the Signet pb's are not.
Examples:
Method 1): Pan pb: Again, Dangerous Visions, Book 1 has title: Again, Dangerous Visions, Book 1 which is a variant of title: Again, Dangerous Visions
Method 2): Signet pb: Again, Dangerous Visions I has title: Again, Dangerous Visions
Which method is correct? Or are both acceptable? Teallach (talk) 18:33, 9 September 2025 (EDT)

We have been doing Method 1 in various places where this occurs. The pubs have the specific book-portion/volume titles, and those titles are then made variants of the original, full/single-volume title. We typically see this with certain language translations, but we apply it in non-translation cases as well. Here is a clean-looking example. --MartyD (talk) 09:50, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
You have confirmed my suspicion. However, what caused me uncertainty is that, if Method 1 is correct, why does "Again, Dangerous Visions I" not appear in the cleanup report: Publication Title-Reference Title Mismatches? I realise this report only lists 1000 records but it seems to be sorted alphabetically. Teallach (talk) 19:06, 15 September 2025 (EDT)
I don't know. It looks like a bug in the report. You'd have to ask Ahasuerus about it. --MartyD (talk) 08:37, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
The report is limited to 1000 records. Selection is not alphabetical, but by record number. "Again, Dangerous Visions I" is #113661, not in the first 1000. --Willem (talk) 08:58, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
MartyD and Willem: thank you for your replies. I have some of the Signet pb's of Again, Dangerous Visions I & II and will be editing / PVing them in the near future. While doing so, I will clean up all the Signet pb pub records so that they conform to Method 1. Teallach (talk) 18:44, 17 September 2025 (EDT)

Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield

Hello, again. I am trying to add a new pseudonym for the artist Sean Eddingfield, who uses the pseudonym for seven pieces of art in the same publication. The pseudonym includes quotation marks and an odd capital W in the middle of a nickname, like this:

  • Sean "MunkyWrench" Eddingfield

However, when I type this into the Author 1 field of the interior art, the submission process changes the double quote marks to single quote marks, so this is what appears on the submission page:

  • Sean 'MunkyWrench' Eddingfield

Is there something that I can type into the Author 1 field of the edit screen for the INTERIORART title that will remain as "MunkyWrench" rather than changing to 'MunkyWrench'? I noticed that I may type the HTML character entity string for a double quote (i.e., &quot;) into the Author 1 field, like this:

  • Sean &quot;MunkyWrench&quot; Eddingfield.

This then shows up as an ASCII double quote on the submission page. Is that the correct approach, or will that adversely affect name searches or some other aspect of the ISFDB?

Many thanks -- Michael Main (talk) 11:33, 11 September 2025 (EDT)

This is done on purpose as part of our semi-regularization of author names (and because most books use the two kinds of quotes interchangeably and keeping track of what one used is mostly a losing game). So just add a publication note explaining the exact credit (that it uses double quotes) and let the software use the single note.Annie (talk) 13:06, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
Many thanks, Annie, for this and your other recent help. I have submitted a change of the credit in the publication (including a note as you suggested). When that is approved, I will submit a request to connect the pseudonym to the canonical name. -- Michael Main (talk) 14:03, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
As there are no other credits remaining anywhere, this IS his canonical name for now. :) Annie (talk) 15:45, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
Ah, thanks, Annie! I will have a look around cyberspace to see whether I can find any other genre work under his legal name, and if I find something, I'll add it and set up the canonical/alternate relationship between the two names. Many thanks again! -- Michael Main (talk) 16:53, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
We will go by the numbers then - it is not a problem for this to be the canonical - see this one for example. Advocating that the actual name is better than the one with the quotes will be silly, right? So don't worry about it - the point of the canonical name is not "this is his real name" - that's what Legal name is for. This is the "that's the name he had used in our field the most, usually in the author's working language alphabet" field. :) Annie (talk) 17:59, 11 September 2025 (EDT)
Thanks again, Annie! -- Michael Main (talk) 18:14, 11 September 2025 (EDT)

Is the abridger a co-author

Ive got an edition of Conan Doyle's The Lost World and on the title page it says "A shortened version, edited...by Kenneth Pinnock, B.A.". Does this get a new title with the scholarly and learned Mr Pinnock as co-author? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 14:00, 16 September 2025 (EDT)

It gets a new title in every case (abridged versions ALWAYS get new title records and never get varianted up to the originals). As for the co-author... dealer's choice. Go by the title page - with "edited by" I usually won't make him a coauthor (and just add him in the notes) but an argument may be made that this editing is indeed a co-authoring. Annie (talk) 14:07, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
In my experience, if the abridgement is so significant that it clearly creates a separate work, then the abridger is usually credited as a co-author. For example, consider Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, a series of stories based on William Shakespeare's plays turned into children's stories by E. Nesbit.
On the other hand, less drastic abridgements typically credit the abridger in Notes, e.g. see the Notes field of the Popular Library edition of Two Planets. Ahasuerus (talk) 14:18, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
Its been done for youngsters in the publishers series "The School Library of Famous Books". in the forewrod Ken says "In preparing this shortened edition of The Lost World, the aim has been to present an unbroken story using throughout the text of the original book. Apart from the deletions, therefore, the only changes that have been made are very occasisional alterations of wording or tense to secure continuity". not a scooby how big the deletions are not having read this or the original. Gaz Faustus (talk) 14:36, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
So dealer's choice :) If I were adding the book, I'd probably add him as a second author (if not for other reason then to make sure the title stays separate and is easy to recognize and do not require an (abridged) or something else as a differentiator. But up to you. Annie (talk) 16:05, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
Yeah, I like to think of it in terms of who created the content in the work. Simply removing parts of it produces a new work, but the work's contents are still the original author's (just like cropped artwork). I would not include the abridger as co-author for that case. Replacing many of the words with other words to make it shorter or suitable for a different audience means contributing content not created by the original author. I would include the abridger as co-author in that case. Your case falls in the gray area where some words are changed, but the changes are relatively minor (such as the wording/tense tweaks for continuity of the retained pieces) or few. There, as Annie says, it's up to your judgement, much like the problem we have with whether a work with minor revisions of a previous work is another appearance of the same work or is an appearance of a new work. Is the scope of the content not present in the original work large enough to warrant co-authorship credit? --MartyD (talk) 17:27, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
Yes, there is a difference between creating a non-continuous extract and editing the work which results in a change in the text. But in either case, I would base it on the title page. For abridgements that change the text, if the title page only lists the author and the abridger is credited on the copyright page, etc., then the content record should be the author only and then varianted to a parent record that is author and abridger. If the title page credits both, then the content record should have both. -- JLaTondre (talk) 17:34, 16 September 2025 (EDT)
cheers for the replies but i think you deserve a 24h sin bin for asking me to use my "judgement". I'm going to give old Kenny a author credit and put that quote in the notes. Gaz Faustus (talk) 18:00, 16 September 2025 (EDT)

Should I Fix This Title to Match the Title Page?

Hello. I am indexing a story, with a current canonical title of "Future Scouts: Lost Time". Its only publications are in the paperback and ebook editions of Adventures of Gals and Gizmos. In both these publications, the story is listed in the table of contents using that canonical title. The canonical title is also used in a note that follows the story. However, the title page (which is a full page drawing) gives the shorter title of "Future Scouts".

Does this title need to be fixed in the ISFDB? Thanks!

-- Michael Main (talk) 23:34, 19 September 2025 (EDT)

Yes. Title page ALWAYS wins. Add a note in the publication note for both books on the discrepancy. I use something like "The contents page uses the title "XXX", the story's title page shows "YYY"" Annie (talk) 23:54, 19 September 2025 (EDT)
Thanks, Annie! I'll do that! -- Michael Main (talk) 10:54, 20 September 2025 (EDT)

Dates for Jane S. Fancher Publications

Closed Circle Publications offers versions of most of Jane S. Fancher’s titles. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide publication dates for its editions, which presents a problem for constructing Publication entries for them.

For example, the current Publication record for the Closed Circle edition of Ring of Lightning lists 2013-11-20 as its publication date. However, this date is wrong, as I have an email purchase receipt from the publisher dated 2010-02-06 for that publication. But there’s no reason to believe that this date is correct; it’s merely an upper bound for the proper value (as publication must have occurred no later than the date on which I bought my copy). It’s also possible to establish a lower bound, as one can infer that the publication date must be later than that of the edition from its previous publisher.

But the resulting span pf possible publication dates covers several years, so there’s no accurate value possible to list as the publication date other than the vacuous 0000-00-00.

How should this sort of situation be handled? I propose listing the publication date as the upper bound (in this case 2010-02-06), accompanying it with a note stating that the actual date is unknown, but can be no later than the date stated. Provenance for the stated date should also be be part of the note. Glenn.Skinner (talk) 19:59, 20 September 2025 (EDT)

IMO it should be listed as 0000-00-00 and the lower and upper bounds discussed in the notes. 0000-00-00 means the date is unknown which is what is the case baring further more definitive data. -- JLaTondre (talk) 12:22, 21 September 2025 (EDT)

Need verification removed

Two dos-a-dos publications by Ursula K. Le Guin each has two entries, one more expensive than the other. These are the two Capra Press editions of The Visionary/Wonders Hidden issued at $7.50/$25.00 and King Dog/Dostoevsky issued at $9.50/$25.00. I do not have all four copies, but comparing my two I can see that the more expensive versions had four sheets bound at the centre of the book between the two texts; these are signed and numbered by the respective authors. Reviewing examples of these on Abebooks shows that the $25.00 special editions still have $7.50/$9.50 printed on the covers, and there is no new ISBN. The help I need is to remove my verification for this record because the copy I have is the special version with the inserted pages. Can someone remove my verification for me or tell me how I can do it myself (if that is possible)? Evertype (talk) 08:52, 23 September 2025 (EDT)

Use the "Verify This Pub" option like you would to verify it. For verified pubs, there will be a "No verification" option that you can use to unverify it. You can also switch verification type (permanent to transient and vice versa) that way. -- JLaTondre (talk) 09:09, 23 September 2025 (EDT)

Underlined

https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/extr.1971.13.1.48

I have just come across a couple of titles in magazines that have some underlined words (example above) - is that how they should be entered here cos at the moment they aren't? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:24, 23 September 2025 (EDT)

Use publication notes to specify special formatting - bolding, underlying, special fonts and so on. Annie (talk) 14:44, 23 September 2025 (EDT)

Τέρατα και Μηχανές

Hoo boy, do I know I missed some vital information when I added Τέρατα και Μηχανές. The cover image clearly shows Justin Richards name in Greek and that needs to be corrected. Does anybody know Greek, and could they look at this entry? MLB (talk) 22:25, 25 September 2025 (EDT)

Knowing Greek is a stretch but I can read/write the script and understand enough to parse a page about a book so I guess I will do for now. :) Author name and publisher name updated and I also added transliterations on the titles. And looking at the publisher, I need to fix a few more books there... Annie (talk) 11:00, 26 September 2025 (EDT)
Thank you. MLB (talk) 17:17, 1 October 2025 (EDT)

Belgravia - 1871

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?26622

I cant suss out whats happened here. We've got the 1871 editor title by Mary Elizabeth Braddon [only as by M. E. Braddon} which is right but the variant is also showing up as a seperate title underneath it. Gaz Faustus (talk) 09:37, 27 September 2025 (EDT)

The variant had the series name entered also. The software doesn't allow adding series to a variant and will remove it when a variant is created, but there are still some cases (I think depending on order of edits) where series can end up on a variant. I edited and removed it. -- JLaTondre (talk) 11:09, 27 September 2025 (EDT)
cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 12:50, 27 September 2025 (EDT)

pseudonyms and doubles

Hello!

I have accumulated a small pile of cancelled submissions due to the specific character of the admin who carries out my requests.


Please take them into consideration.


1) 

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?146308

She was born as Violet Ann Dodge https://spectrelibrary.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/violet-van-der-elst-and-her-8-horror-booklets-from-hell/

Here is the submission in question. It would have changed Violet Van Der Elst's legal name from "Van Der Elst, Violet" to "Violet Ann Dodge". As per Help:Screen:AuthorData:
  • Legal Name - This field should contain the most recent legal name for the author.
This biography says that she was born "Violet Anne Dodge", married Henry Arthur Nathan (d. 1927) in 1903, then married Jean Julien Romain Van der Elst. "Violet Van Der Elst" was her "most recent legal name", so that's what the Legal Name should contain. We can add "Born Violet Anne Dodge, changed the last name to Van der Elst after marrying Jean Julien Romain Van der Elst, her second husband." to the Notes field.
Also, please note that the linked Help page says:
  • Use the format "Lastname, Firstname Middlenames", with all names being given in full. The reason for this format are names like "Patrick Nielsen Hayden" where you can't readily tell whether the last name is "Hayden" or "Nielsen Hayden."
Ahasuerus (talk) 13:43, 29 September 2025 (EDT)

2)

We need to combine the author into one

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?163770

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?17043

https://tellersofweirdtales.blogspot.com/2013/11/stafford-aylmer-1907-1965.html

I have created an alternate name relationship. You can do this yourself when needed by going to the alternate name and selecting "Make/Remove Alternate Name" and then in the "Parent Name" field, enter the name of the canonical record. You would then also variant the title records to the canonical name. We do not place biographical data on the alternate name record, it only goes on the canonical name. Also, please do not enter instructions for changes in the notes field that will be displayed in the database (which is why your submission was rejected). If you need help with doing something, please post questions here, not in the submissions. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 17:35, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

3)

French title is " La Népenthe " translated in The Sovereign Magazine December 1925 as "Suzanne".

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1739491

http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/e00/e00595.htm#A16

I have made "Suzanne" a variant of a new La Népenthe record. Do you have any information on the original French publication? If so, please update the record. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 17:39, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

4)

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?19630

used pseudonyms Earl Kennedy & Cord Silverbird

What is the source for this? -- JLaTondre (talk) 17:40, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
There's this. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 18:24, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
Thanks. Alternate names have been created. -- JLaTondre (talk) 18:32, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

5)

Author https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?18237 and his pseudonym https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?185606

https://vaultofevil.proboards.com/thread/8123/oscar-cook-beautiful-hands-mains?page=4

I have created an alternate name relationship. -- JLaTondre (talk) 18:13, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

6)

Please make it in series instead of notes


https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?55760

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?15648


I believe that John Taggart can be rightfully sent to the Fiction Series.

Thank you in advance, I believe in you. Alex —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Satampra Zeiros (talk • contribs) .

I added The Last Decision to the John Taggart series. You can add a title to a series yourself by going to the title, editing it, and putting the series name in the series field.
For "Let There Be Darkness", I cannot find a record with that name? Is that the right name or are we missing a pub?
For The Drums of Chaos, that is already part of the Simon of Gitta series and, unfortunately, the ISFDB can place a title in only one series. Since Simon of Gitta is the main character of that novel, that series is the better one as its primary. I added a title note to The Drums of Chaos explaining the relationship to the John Taggart series.
I created a Captain McTeague series.
I am not sure what you meant in your statement "I believe that John Taggart can be rightfully sent to the Fiction Series".
Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 18:27, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

Image variant or not

When is an image (title) a variant of another image (title) and when is it listed as a "publication" below an image (title). I know how to do this image https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3520219 a variant of this image https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?998462, but what I think I want to do is to make it just another publication. Is there a tool for that? or please inform me why making it a variant would be better.

Thank you, and sorry if this has been asked before. --Spacecow (talk) 13:27, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

Here is the image btw, if that would help -> Tarzan

If they are the same image but a different title (or author form or language), they will become a variant, yes. When you variant these, the publication will show up under the original parent COVERART title.
Publications listed under titles are showing up when the title is inside of the publication. As you already have the publication in the DB, there is no other publications to add anywhere. And you don't just import the cover that is with the wrong title (this is what variants are for exactly in this case). Hope this helps! Annie (talk) 14:15, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
PS: I just did the variant so you can visually see what happens. Here is the parent now. See how the publication is now on the list under the parent? Annie (talk) 14:17, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
Ok, so because the title was different in this case, making it a variant was the better option - got it.
What if the title would have been the same? What would you have done then? --Spacecow (talk) 14:54, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
Merge the two title records. You can do it via duplicate search or via Advanced search:) Same title, author name, language and image means they are the same TITLE record here so you merge them. Same logic as with stories which are the same content - if they are exactly the same, we merge them; if they differ in title, author, language, we variant.
If you look at this (the parent title with "Do not show variants and translations clicked), you see the publications that have the same title, author and language. They share the same COVERART record (and if you have more that are the same, you can import it). If you click only on one of the variants, such as this one, you see just the ones that contain that variant. Annie (talk) 15:00, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
Hmm. I do that merge thingy so seldom I keep forgetting about it. Thanks for the help Annie <3 --Spacecow (talk) 15:11, 30 September 2025 (EDT)
Ah, that explains the confusion then. And anytime:) Annie (talk) 15:43, 30 September 2025 (EDT)

Rick Raphael - shortfiction

(I'm probably doing this all wrong and in the wrong place!) Is the Short Fiction 'A Felnotas' actually a misplaced Hungarian translation of 'A Filbert is a Nut'? I understand the Hungarian means "the halfnote" - colloquialism for "dimwit". Which would match it up to 'A Filbert..'? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Xipetotec (talk • contribs) .

There's some higher likelihood in your point. But, alas, we don't know the original title of this piece yet. It was added by a Hungarian editor, who doesn't seem to be active right now - last heard of in May. You may like to place a question about it at the editor's talk page. Stonecreek (talk) 08:44, 3 October 2025 (EDT)
Confirmed here. I've connected them. Annie (talk) 11:58, 3 October 2025 (EDT)

Smart Apostrophes and Quote Marks

Hello, everyone! When I notice a that a title is already entered into our database is using smart [“curly”] apostrophes or quote marks (using Unicode), should I submit a change to straight ASCII characters? Many thanks! -- Michael Main (talk) 12:14, 4 October 2025 (EDT)

Depends. Can you post an example? Annie (talk) 12:54, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks, Annie. The example is The Alchemist's Daughter by Selenia Paz. It does display correctly (with an ASCII apostrophe), but if you go to edit the page, you'll see that our database has stored it as a curly apostrophe. Thanks again! -- Michael Main (talk) 13:09, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
As long as search finds it with a straight quote, it is fine. The software does some magic for quotes so I tend to let it do its magic as long as I can type the title in the search box and the title I expect is found. Especially because for the external world, it is shown properly. Hope this make sense.
If you really want to, submit a change (if the software even recognizes it as a change - in some of those places where we clean it up, it’s not always recognized as a change). Annie (talk) 13:42, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks, Annie. I need to submit a change to that title anyway (to mark it as juvenile), so I think I'll change it to a straight quote then. (It could be that the newest version of the submission software might make that change even if I don't.) -- Michael Main (talk) 12:14, 4 October 2025 (EDT)

Internal Capitals in Titles

A title appears in the actual publication as ShockWired with an internal capital W, but it is listed as Shockwired in our database. Should I submit a title change to include the peculiar capital letter? Thanks again! Michael Main (talk) 12:35, 4 October 2025 (EDT)

If that is intentional on the author side, then yes. We have a few titles with internal capitals in the DB. If we change it, there should be a note in both the publication and the title that the capitalization is intentional. Annie (talk) 12:57, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks, again, Annie! In looking at this particular example more closely, there is another peculiarity that I should ask about: The story appears in only one anthology, which has a paperback and ebook edition. The title is ShockWired almost everywhere:
  • On the copyright page.
  • In the table of contents.
  • In the large text on the Kindle title page. However, this text does not appear on the paperback title page, which has only an illustrated title that I'll describe below.
  • In the running header on odd-numbered pages of the paperback.
  • In the illustrator's credit at the end of the story.
However, as I mentioned above, the paperback title page has only an illustration with an incorporated title of SHOCK WIRED: two words on separate lines, in all caps with lines emanating from some letters. The Kindle edition has this same illustration, but it also has the text title ShockWired beside it.
What is your inclination for this example? I have in mind what you told me earlier ("Title page always wins!"), but I am unsure how to apply that to the short story, its ebook publication (Kindle edition), and its paperback edition. I know it's a small concern, but I enjoy getting things consistent within the ISFDB, so I appreciate the time you devote to me. -- Michael Main (talk) 13:51, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
That boils down to “does the picture on the title page of the paper copy count as an actual title and if so, does the line split actually indicate a separate word or just a visual decision”. If you think that the answer is yes to these, then we are talking about variants (2 words for the paperback, one word on the kindle version with a parent of whichever is earlier or the 1 word one if they are from the same date (plus notes all over the place explaining the credits). If not, go for single word with a capital in the middle everywhere and just add notes explaining exact credits for the paperback. Words inside of pictures can be weird (artists getting creative and/or the space constraints make them a bit hard to decipher sometimes) and I would be inclined to go for option 2 here to be honest (aka keep it simple and use the single title everywhere) but it is a bit subjective so your choice. Annie (talk) 14:46, 4 October 2025 (EDT)
That's a great explanation, Annie! And it caused me to double-check the paperback: Turns out that the paperback does have a text title, but it's on the page after the illustration where the story text begins. At that spot, it is a single word in a unicase font (as are all the title-page titles in this paperback). So I will go with a single word written as ShockWired, with the capital W embedded since that seems to be the author's preference. I will add a note that the illustrator chose to split it into two words. Many, many thanks again! -- Michael Main (talk) 15:25, 4 October 2025 (EDT)

How to remove accent from author name in publication while leaving main entry alone

I have a copy of the publication 642664 which includes an map 3072715 drawn by artist Isidre Monés 26564. This is the only publication where this content is listed as appearing. I would like to provide a primary verification of this publication. However, in the publication itself, the artist's name is only ever spelled as Isidre Mones, without the accent. As per Help:How_to_verify_data and Template:TitleFields:Author, in order for the record to be considered correct, it should match entirely, including the accents. However, when I attempted to edit the record to remove the accent in submission 6387578, it automatically added the accent in the submission summary, though the XML data looks correct.

My understanding for the how the database entries should correctly be is as such:

  • the map in this publication should be listed as having author Isidre Mones, without the accent, creating a separate author record
  • Isidre Mones without the accent should be marked as a variant/alternate name for author Isidre Monés, with the accent
  • Isidre Monés, with the accent, would continue to be the parent record listed with all the other works by this author

Is my understanding here correct? If yes, how can I submit the changes to implement this? If no, what would constitute the correct state of the database instead?

(As per Template:TitleFields:Author#Non-English characters, accents are definitely distinguished, but it also links to ISFDB:FAQ#How_does_the_ISFDB_deal_with_Unicode_and_accented_characters?, which is unclear but seems to imply that é and e are generally autocorrected to one another, which makes me think they are not distinguished(?). I am more confused after reading the FAQ which seems counter to its purposes, so perhaps it could use some clarification or perhaps it is just me having this confusion.

I also referred to the Help Desk archives, and this question is similar to #Bulgakov's name on this page, but the response there did not actually indicate what I should do, just that the issue had been resolved. Also, it appears that for that instance, the whole author record was changed, not creating a new separate author record with different accented characters than the original author record. Same for ISFDB:Help_desk/archives/archive_35#Aimee_Thurlo, where the original author record was renamed rather than creating a second separate record.) IndigoPari (talk) 8:59, 5 October 2025 (EDT)

Your understanding is technically correct. The problem is that we have a software limitation in this case (that’s what that page about accents is talking about) - we cannot have separate records for an author when the only difference is an accent. So for the time being, the best we can do is to add a publication note in the publications where the name does not match what we have as a name and one day, if/when the DB switches to Unicode, we can use these notes to fix the names for these titles. Hope that helps and welcome to ISFDB! Annie (talk) 12:02, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
Cool, thank you so much for clarifying. I will add a note to the publication/title record about the lack of accent. Also, is there a place where I should suggest that the FAQ or the Template:TitleFields:Author page be updated to clarify this a little better, or should I just make the edits myself or something else? IndigoPari (talk) 21:41, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
You are in the right place for that - but it is Sunday. Give it a few days. :) Annie (talk) 23:35, 5 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for identifying the ambiguity in Help! I have posted a proposal to expand/clarify the affected template on the Rules and Standards page. Ahasuerus (talk) 12:04, 6 October 2025 (EDT)

Hellebore & Rue

Hi! While I can't find any trace of this specific publication (as published by Flyleaf Press), there is one (also as of 2011) as published by Lethe Press. I would tend towards transforming the entry into a publication by the latter. (There's also no source given within the entry). Are there any objections, and can anybody find a trace of the Flyleaf Press edition? Christian Stonecreek (talk) 14:00, 6 October 2025 (EDT)

A first ebook edition by Flyleaf Press, a subsidiary of Drollerie Press is noted here and GoodReads have it here (under the parent Publisher). So feel free to add a Lethe Press one but the one we have appears to exist (albeit it needs some updates). Annie (talk) 14:35, 6 October 2025 (EDT)

Possible Problems with an Alternate Name

Hello, everyone. I'm not sure whether my latest submission caused this problem or not: The issue is with Brandon H. Bell. He has an alternate name of Brandon Bell with three possible problems:

  1. Here is a search for the name Brandon. As you can see, the alternate name Brandon Bell is listed, but in the [Alternate Name?] column it says "Has pseudo. titles" instead of "Alternate Name". What does that mean?
  2. If you click through to the alternate name Brandon Bell, you'll see that this alternate name has two items of interior art. These two are actually the same piece of artwork with identical records that I added to the trade paperback and ebook versions of the publications this week.
  3. If you then click through to the canonical name Brandon H. Bell, neither of those two new pieces of interior art are listed. Also, you'll also see quite a few additional items that are [as by Brandon Bell] or [only as by Brandon Bell], but none of those additional items were listed back on the Brandon Bell alternate name page.

Thanks for any help you can provide. My apologies if I messed things up somehow. Perhaps it will be fixed if I merge the two pieces of interior art, but I haven't done so because I wanted to learn how to avoid this problem in the future. Thanks! -- Michael Main (talk) 23:42, 8 October 2025 (EDT)

You did nothing wrong and there is nothing wrong with these records. You just need to finish the edits. When a title is added to an alternate name (aka any form of an author name that is different from the canonical name), you need to submit a Make Variant submission after that to create a parent record which will show the title on the canonical author page. If these two that you have under the alternate author record are the same piece of art, the first step is to merge them and once approved, you can submit the variant. Let me know if you prefer someone to just do it for you or if you want to try. Annie (talk) 00:14, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks, Annie. I'd like to give this a try myself so that I can learn how to do it in the future. I'll submit the Merge now (via the Check for Duplicate Titles action), and tomorrow I'll do the second step. Thanks again! -- Michael Main (talk) 00:50, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
The merge is approved. It is possible that you may find the variant done tomorrow - we have a cleanup report for these and some people monitor all edits for sequences that need finishing (or so it feels some days). I’ll leave it alone for you to try it but please post back if you have questions or concerns. :) Annie (talk) 01:01, 9 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks! I'm still awake, so I submitted that Make Variant request now. -- Michael Main (talk)
Approved. That’s what needs to be done every time an author uses a different name. :)Annie (talk) 01:06, 9 October 2025 (EDT)

Adding Magazine Issues

Hi. I have recently added a couple of SFX magazines to the database. But I notice magazines are normally grouped under one title for the year. In order to add September to the list with august, is it as straightforward as editing the title to that of the SFX - 2025 title details? Or is there an easier way I don't know of? I tried looking under these pages for the relevant help page but couldn't find it. If someone can provide a link to a step by step guide that would be great or let me know how I should fix this. Many thanks. ReadingMovies (talk) 09:36, 19 October 2025 (EDT)

There are several ways to do it. In this case, I would go to Darren Scott, use the "Show All Titles" option, select the "SFX - 2025" and "SFX, September 2025" records, and use the "Merge Selected Records" button. On the merge window, make sure you keep the "SFX - 2025" title and the 2025-00-00 date. I find this the easiest approach when an editor does not have a lot of other titles that will show up in the "Show All Titles" option. If it is an editor with a lot of titles, then using an advanced title search where "title starts with SFX" and "title ends with 2025" will also work to find the titles that need to be merged. -- JLaTondre (talk) 11:56, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
Merge made and submitted, I hope this checks out ok. Many thanks for taking the time to answer my basic query. I have another issue to add to the same title, is there a direct way of adding a new issue without the two-stage edit of merging? Or is this the best method? Many thanks for your help with this. |ReadingMovies (talk) 13:22, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
It is always a 2 step process. So add the magazine as usual, once approved merge (or edit if it is the first for this year) the EDITOR record. Annie (talk) 13:33, 19 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks for letting me know. Will add the next November Issue soon. |ReadingMovies (talk) 13:39, 19 October 2025 (EDT)

Chapbook to Novel conversion

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2933278

got this book in hand kobo says 49k but my estimate is 42k so should it be converted and if so whats the protocol? Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:27, 19 October 2025 (EDT)

By either count it is over 40k so a novel by our standards. To make the change, you would edit the shortfiction record and change it to a novel (updating the notes as well). Than make separate edits to each publication to 1) remove the CHAPBOOK record from the contents; and 2) change the publication type to NOVEL. Once that is all done, the CHAPBOOK record would be deleted. So two submissions per pub and then the final delete submission. -- JLaTondre (talk) 12:24, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
have i got to wait for the first bit to be signed off before the doing the rest - Gaz Faustus (talk) 16:29, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
Yes. The other edits you can do in parallel, but the shortfiction record would need to be changed to a novel before anything else. -- JLaTondre (talk) 18:47, 20 October 2025 (EDT)
cheers i'll do it - Gaz Faustus (talk) 20:42, 20 October 2025 (EDT)

How to add a new publication for an anthology, with a new title

The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy has a new edition by Open Road Media, called The Big Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

I'm not sure how to add it. "Add Publication to This Title" doesn't let me change the title, and "Add a Variant to This Title" doesn't let me change the publisher.

Thanks for any assistance. --Salty-horse (talk) 02:52, 20 October 2025 (EDT)

You first need to add it as a completely new anthology. Once it exists, then make the new title a variant of the original title. To lessen the number of merges required, if the content is the same, import the content from one of the existing publications, otherwise just import the content titles. Hope this is clear. Phil (talk) 08:01, 20 October 2025 (EDT)

Interiorart for a Story with a Variant Title

Hello, everyone! I'm in the process of adding interiorart to an anthology, and I've hit a sticky situation. Please help me!

The story that causes the problem is ZIKES, which first appears in the paperback edition of Chronicles of Misses and Machines. Throughout the anthology, ZIKES is consistently formatted in either all-caps or a unicase font that does not distinguish between upper- and lowercase. Even the illustration itself includes the word ZIKES in all-caps, and there is definite other evidence that the author intended this title to be all-caps. So, I formatted the story's title in all-caps, and I intend to format the interiorart's title in all-caps, too. No problem there.

The problem occurs in the ebook edition of the anthology, where the heading on the title page of the story reads as: Zikes by Mackenzie Reide. So I have created a variant story title for the ebook edition that is formatted as Zikes. Should I also create a variant interiorart title that is formatted as Zikes? This would seem to follow the rule that the title of interior art should match the title of its associated story.

But I'm feeling conflicted because of the variant situation. Should the title of the interiorart match that of the parent story or the variant story? Does the situation change if the interiorart itself contains the uppercase title ZIKES? Does the situation change if I believe that the lowercase story title in the ebook edition was inadvertent? I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't have created that variant story title in the first place, given that I think it's inadvertent.

Many thanks! -- Michael Main (talk) 12:27, 23 October 2025 (EDT)

Unless you can determine it's an acronym or something similar, you should normalize the case to "Zikes" for both the story and the INTERIORART since it is showing up multiple ways across multiple publications. See Help:Screen:NewPub#Case for more details. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 12:42, 23 October 2025 (EDT)
Thanks, 投稿. Here are my thoughts: The ISFDB help screen indicates that a title's case should be regularized "unless there is some specific evidence that the author intended certain letters to be in a specific case." For ZIKES, there is evidence that the author intended for the title to be ZIKES. Let's see if I can organize my thoughts on that evidence. It's almost as if we are in a legal thriller!
1. ZIKES is part of a series called ZOWS, which consists of six stories by Mackenzie Reide. Those stories' titles are almost always formatted as all-caps in both the paperback and ebook editions of: the author's web site, title page headings, title page illustrations, tables of contents, running headers, copyright pages, and credits for illustrators. One exception occurs the paperback title page headings, which are in a unicase font that does not distinguish between lower- and uppercase. And the second exception is the ebook formatting of Zikes in its title page heading and table of contents. To me, this suggests that the use of Zikes in the ebook was inadvertent.
2. ZIKES is the only story in the paperback anthology that appears in uppercase in its running headers, copyright, and illustrators. (The table of contents provides us with no specific information because it is in all-caps for everything. The title pages also provide us with no information since they are all in a unicase font.) To me, this suggests that the capitalization of ZIKES in the paperback anthology was intentional.
3. Admittedly, in the six ZOWS stories, only two of the titles seem to be acronyms, and ZIKES is not one of those.
I apologize for not mentioning all this initially. Given this specific evidence, would you still suggest that I regularize both the titles to Zikes? Or would it be preferable to leave the parent title as ZIKES with Zikes as a variant? Another possiblitity is to leave them separate for now, but also to contact Mackenzie to see whether she had a particular intention. I'm happy to do that if you think it would be best.
-- Michael Main (talk) 17:21, 23 October 2025 (EDT)
P.S. Because of my feeling that the uppercase was intended by Mackenzie Reide, I'll go ahead and reach out to her this morning. I'll report back here when she replies. Thanks. -- Michael Main (talk) 11:38, 24 October 2025 (EDT)
Michael here, reporting back with a response from the author, Mackenzie Reide. She says that she thinks of the titles being in all-caps, and she thought that they were always that way. I will go ahead and keep the parent titles in all caps in the ISFDB. I'll include a note about the reasoning, and I'll add a variant for the one ebook that has an inadvertent mixed-case title heading. As for the illustration that accompanies the inadvertent title heading, I shall list it as a lowercase variant, too, because that was done in the similar examples that I eventually found. Thanks for the help today and every day! -- Michael Main (talk) 15:48, 24 October 2025 (EDT)

How to edit a pending submission?

After submitting a new item, I sometimes notice errors that I want to fix (usually due to the Warnings column), but in "Pending submissions" I can only cancel it.

Is there a way to just edit a submission, instead of having to fill the form again from scratch? --Salty-horse (talk) 08:40, 25 October 2025 (EDT)

I would also like to know the best way to do this! I've noticed that immediately after submission, when the confimation page appears ("Submitting the following changes"), I can usually click the back button to get the browser back to the filled-in submission form. This allows me to fix any yellow warnings that I've seen, resubmit, and then cancel the original submission. But I'd still like to know if there is a better approach and whether there is a way to get the filled-in submission form from the pending submissions page. -- Michael Main (talk) 11:25, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
This is the best way at the moment. There is currently no better other than what you suggested. I usually open the editing on a separate tab then when submitting I can then check the warnings, and then click 'back' to amend. It is very annoying but it works.|ReadingMovies (talk) 12:12, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
Indeed, there is no way to edit a pending submission at this time. We have FR 21, "Ability to 'Edit' Proposed submission", but implementing it would require a lot of work.
Also, keep in mind that the "Back" button may function differently in different browsers. Some only support the "Back" functionality for a few minutes after the submissions. Others may not recreate the data entry page exactly after you click "Back". It's all browser-dependent and there isn't anything we can do on the ISFDB side. Ahasuerus (talk) 19:51, 25 October 2025 (EDT)
Another idea that should be easier to implement: Have a button that checks a submission without submitting it, so the user can fix any warnings. --Salty-horse (talk) 09:11, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
I am afraid it would be difficult to implement. The current "yellow warning" system is an integral part of submission review pages and decoupling them would not be easy to do. Ahasuerus (talk) 12:34, 26 October 2025 (EDT)

Log-in issues

Whatever saved log-in info I had in my browser no longer works. How do I reset my password? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Niteowljr1 (talk • contribs) .

Are you referring to the "Niteowljr1" account, which you used to post this query, or to a different user account? If it's "Niteowljr1", then you are already logged in on the Wiki side. You'll just need to log in on the database side using the same password -- see ISFDB:FAQ#Logging_In for details. You should be able to get your browser to display your current ISFDB password under browser "Settings", although the details may be browser-specific, e.g. Firefox may have a slightly different way of showing your passwords than Google Chrome.
On the other hand, if you need to regain access to a different user account, log out of the "Niteowljr1" account, go to the login page, click "Forgot your password?" and follow the instructions. If you provided an email address when you created the account, an email will be sent to you automatically. If, after an hour or so, you don't receive the email and it's not in your spam folder, please post here. Thanks. Ahasuerus (talk) 07:34, 26 October 2025 (EDT)

Collection duplicated as a Novel

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?175477

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2298687+0

i just wanted to know how to fix this which has duplicate titles as collection and novel. if you look it up its described as a collection of linked stories so i thought the novel should be cancelled. should the novel title just be changed to collection and then varianted to the original collection with the story titles imported into the variant collections? will that be all thats needed? GazFaustus (talk) 09:03, 26 October 2025 (EDT)

As the second title has no primary verifications, I think it's best to transform or merge it (and possibly import the shortfiction titles, provided they're all included). Christian Stonecreek (talk) 11:25, 26 October 2025 (EDT)
when you say transform does that mean title type from novel to collection? also how do you merge when theyve got different names? cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 19:25, 26 October 2025 (EDT)

2 Qs: Convoluted variant titling and dating scenario

I figured these questions, and their answers, might be generally useful, so I thought I'd pose them here. We have the following scenario:

  • Title Variation 1a: Published uncredited, serialized in many parts, in 1802.
  • Title Variation 2: Published uncredited, in 1837
  • Title Variation 1b: Published credited in 1971.

These were originally configured to make Title Variation 2 (as by uncredited) canonical and both Title Variation 1s variants. The problem with that is Title Variation 1b did not appear in the author's bibliography due to the "uncredited" parent. The recommended solution is to make a credited canonical title that is the parent and adjust the variants accordingly.

Q1: Given the very first appearance of this title, albeit NOT in whole form, was in the Title Variation 1 form, I am inclined to make Title Variation 1b (the #1 form, plus author credit) the canonical title. This even though Title Variation 2 was used on the first whole-form publication. Does that seem appropriate and acceptable?

Q2: If the proposed treatment in Q1 should be used, then what date should be assigned to the now-canonical Title Variation 1b? Should it stay 1971, with the 1802 and 1837 appearances as variants, or should it be back-dated to either the original 1802 serialization or the 1837 first whole-form appearance (even though neither the #1b wording nor #1b credit was used in 1837)?

If the Q1 approach is not appropriate, I would make a credited form of Title Variation 2, dated 1837, have that be the parent, make all three actually-used forms be variants of that. But it seems doubly bad (i) to create a new title record never used in any publication and (ii) to have the canonical title wording be something other than the most commonly-used wording.

Any thoughts or suggestions/recommendations appreciated. --MartyD (talk) 12:11, 26 October 2025 (EDT)

Hi Marty. Could you provide a link to the titles for 1a, 2, and 1b? Thanks. --Michael Main (talk)
Sorry, RL distractions... I don't know that the actual titles matter, but here they are:
I have made the last one the canonical parent (the whole goal is to have a credited title as the canonical parent), and I back-dated it to 1802 since that was the first appearance of that title text. I'm not entirely thrilled with that, so my request here for suggestions. --MartyD (talk) 18:16, 4 November 2025 (EST)
I agree with your choice here though - even if you are not thrilled. We cannot have the uncredited as an author on the parent and the title matches the serialization title anyway. And we date that way when the parent is a later occurrence in the same language as the first anyway. Annie (talk) 19:37, 5 November 2025 (EST)
I agree completely. An uncredited parent is highly undesirable considering that it results in a credited variant not appearing in the author's bibliography. Furthermore, as we are talking about a SHORTFICTION title, then yes, the parent title record should be dated as the first appearance of the serial. If it were a NOVEL then it would be dated as the first appearance in book form.
I don't like the idea of creating a title record that is never used in a publication at all. Very artificial.
I have no problem with a canonical title that is not the first appearance. It is allowed as per the Glossary:
  • Canonical title. The canonical title is the title under which all publications of a particular work are listed. For stories or novels that appeared under more than one title, the canonical title is usually the first title for that work, but may be a later title if that title is much better known.
There is precedent as per this famous novel: Hothouse. Teallach (talk) 18:35, 12 November 2025 (EST)

Editorial essay incorrectly added to two magazine issues - how to delete?

From Unusual Places is listed as being in both the Clarkesworld May 2025 and June 2025 issues, but it's only in the May one. The June issue editorial is called "Editor's Desk: Wrapping Back Around to Marketing".

When I try to edit the issue, that item is in an uneditable box - how can this be fixed? --Salty-horse (talk) 14:06, 2 November 2025 (EST)

As the June issue is verified by an active verifier, please notify the verifier first by posting on their talk page. To fix it, you would:
  1. Edit the Clarkesworld, June 2025 issue and add the correct essay title; and
  2. Use the "Remove Titles From This Pub" option on the left menu to remove the incorrect essay title.
The two edits can be made in parallel. Let us know if that explanation is not clear enough. Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 06:25, 3 November 2025 (EST)

“As by” incorrect for at least one instance but unsure about others?

Hi, folks—I’m looking at the entry for the 1960 Doubleday/SFBC edition of Pohl’s anthology Star of Stars. It says:

67 • Twin's Wail • (1959) • novelette by Elizabeth Mann Borgese [as by Elizabeth M. Borgese]

But in the book itself (which I own, and have in front of me), Borgese’s middle name is given as “Mann” (not just “M.”) in all four places where her name appears. (TOC, first page of story (twice), back cover of book.)

So I followed the link to the entry for the story, and it shows five instances of the story being published under the “M.” version of her name. But that’s listed as a variant of the story as published under the “Mann” version of her name.

I know that at least one of those five is incorrect (the SFBC one), but I don’t know whether the other ones are.

And I’m not clear on what to edit in order to change the SFBC one to list the full “Elizabeth Mann Borgese” name.

Thoughts?

--Elysdir (talk) 14:20, 2 November 2025 (EST)

As the SFBC is verified by an active verifier, please notify the verifier first by posting on their talk page. To fix the issue:
  1. Use the "Import Content" option in the left menu. Use Option 1 and enter the title number (57163) for the correct version. You will be able to specify the page number on the next screen.
  2. Use the "Remove Titles From This Pub" option in the left menu. Select the incorrect title to remove.
The two edits can be made in parallel. As for the other editions, some have active verifiers so I would recommend posting on their talk pages asking them to double check. -- JLaTondre (talk) 06:31, 3 November 2025 (EST)

How to get a magazine issue posted if the editor won't do it?

Hello. I am a retired astronomer and relatively new author: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?91057

I was thrilled to get a story published in one of the printed science-fiction magazines, Journ-E, in their Vernal Equinox 2025 issue.

But no matter what I have tried, I can't get that story to appear in my listing in ISFDB, because that issue has not been indexed in ISFDB. I have asked the editor to help, but he seems not to know what to do either.

s there anyone who can help?

I am happy to mail a physical copy of the magazine to anyone who can help get it on ISFDB.

Here it is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journ-Vernal-Equinox-2025-Whole/dp/B0F96ZMJ7L

Thank You.

Andrew Fraknoi (fraknoi@fhda.edu) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Fraknoi (talk • contribs) .

Hello Andrew,
Anyone can submit the magazine - so the easiest way is to click on "New Magazine" and just submit it to be added to the DB. If you do not have the complete contents or rather not add them, you can use the incomplete template to indicate that there are missing stories. Let me know if you need more assistance or if you need any more details. If you rather not try on your own, can you post here the contents of the magazine (as much or as little of it as you have/want to share and I can add it for you? Annie (talk) 14:47, 3 November 2025 (EST)
I've created the issue here, but I can't find a table of contents anywhere. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 15:37, 3 November 2025 (EST)

Uncredited author?

If a writer is only mentioned on the copyright page does it go down as uncredited with a varianting to the author? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 13:07, 6 November 2025 (EST)

We prefer to go with what is on the title page, then the cover. However, if no author is credited on the title page or cover, but they are credited on the copyright page, go ahead and enter the author and add a note to the publication explaining where the author credit came from. "Uncredited" should be reserved for instances where no one is credited anywhere in or on the publication. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:49, 6 November 2025 (EST)
got it cheers - Gaz Faustus (talk) 15:52, 6 November 2025 (EST)
Joe, please have a look at Jenny. I submitted my edition few days ago, and I did it the same way I found those already in the db: the title record is credited, but all the publications are not. Author name on copyright page is already in the Notes. Should that be changed? --Fantagufo (talk) 19:03, 7 November 2025 (EST)

Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?2618361

Can some kind person(s) who can get their head round stuff better than me help with this one. I've got a later printing of the hardback and i'm going to clone it and pv it. The title page has Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens as the "authors". The intro calls Wilhelm the "editor" and that Martens translated them into English. a bit of googling indicates that Wilhelm originally translated them into german and then Martens translated the german into english versions. all the story parent titles are in german and are by Wilhelm currently with no german books containing these titles. The english variants are all by "uncredited" with no translator notes. So given that the book says that Martens was the translator should the collection title be just by Wilhelm with a translator note for Martens? aand should all of the english variants of the stories be changed from "uncredited" to "Wilhelm" with tr notes by Martens? Gaz Faustus (talk) 08:15, 7 November 2025 (EST)

Print Publications with No Explicit Price on Cover or Elsewhere in the Book

Hi. This trade paperback (Tales of Girls and Gadgets) has no printed price on the cover, inside cover, or elsewhere in the publication, but our record lists a price field of $14.99 from a specific date on Amazon. Should I delete the price field and add a note of some sort? I can see from camelcamelcamel.com that the Amazon price has varied from $9.99 to $15.99 over the years, and I believe that Amazon is the only seller (through their print-on-demand program).

Also, how should I handle the price of the Kindle ebook. The indexer listed a price field of $4.99 on a specific date, and that price is still valid, but the price appears nowhere in the ebook and might have changed from time to time.

Thanks. --Michael Main 17:42, 8 November 2025 (EST)

If a book does not have a printed price, but we have a price from a secondary source, we record the price, but add a publication note stating that there is no price on the book along with the source of the price. If the price has varied over time, I would also include that in the pub notes and leave the original price. But I don't think we have a standard on that. -- JLaTondre (talk) 18:19, 8 November 2025 (EST)
Many thanks, JLaTondre! --Michael Main 20:53, 8 November 2025 (EST)

Can a fictional wolf be a canonical author?

I recently added a new kiddies book in the minecraft universe. the book has no author credit in it anywhere. the publisher , amazon and other places give the author as "Winston Wolf" which is the books lupine protagonist. i've not seen anywhere that gives the real author, so does the title by "uncredited" get varianted to "Winston Wolf"? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 18:53, 11 November 2025 (EST)

I would enter the author as it is on the title page of the book. If we don't know who the pseudonym is used by, we can leave it at that and put a note on the author page about who the character is. Once we figure out who the real author is, we can variant it to them. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 21:20, 11 November 2025 (EST)
mate i said the book has no author credit in it and has been entered as such. there's no name anywhere - zilch on the title page, cover, copyright page, spine, introduction by Harold bloom. maybe i should variant it to Harvey Keitel. Gaz Faustus (talk) 21:33, 11 November 2025 (EST)
Leave it as uncredited without a variant. If we don't know who to variant it to, there is no variant to create. We have many uncredited pubs without variants. -- JLaTondre (talk) 08:06, 12 November 2025 (EST)
cheers will do - Gaz Faustus (talk) 08:45, 12 November 2025 (EST)

Missing Cover Artists

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisheryear.cgi?447+1967; I just made an edit adding cover image and cover artist Michel Gourdon to "La maison de l'esclave" which is the only 1967 book without an artist; a quick search of a few other 1960s years suggests there are none missing. Since Fleuve Noir has hundreds (thousands?) of books here is there a way to do an advanced search for those with missing artists from a major publisher like this without having to do a manual search year-by-year? --Username (talk) 09:51, 15 November 2025 (EST)

Does the presence of a Cover Artist mean there is necessarily a cover image? ../Doug H (talk) 08:25, 17 November 2025 (EST)
No! If we know about the artist, but don't have an image at hand, there'll be none displayed. Christian Stonecreek (talk) 09:11, 18 November 2025 (EST)

Display all the cover art from an artist.

Is there some way I can see all the cover art an artist has done in a similar way that you can "view covers for this year" from a publisher?

like this: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/publisheryear.cgi?34+1973+1 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BookWolfen (talk • contribs) .

I think it's not possible, but there is a workaround:
  1. go to isfdb.stoecker.eu that is a mirror of ISFDB whose developer created some additional functionalities;
  2. search for the author name the usual way, and open their page;
  3. in the section "editing tools" of the left menubar select "Search for duplicate titles";
  4. at the top of the page, select "Cover mode normal" to see ALL the covers, or (I like this better) "Cover mode single" to see all the different covers (without variants).
and it's done! --Fantagufo (talk) 11:47, 17 November 2025 (EST)

I cant login to the isfdb.stoecker.eu. I even created a new login but I get the same message: "Login failed: User name not recognized" BookWolfen (talk) 04:16, 18 November 2025 (EST)

Since he also is active here, you might want to ask him about that problem on his talk page; (but maybe you haven't to login for this at all). Christian Stonecreek (talk) 09:00, 18 November 2025 (EST)
I too don't think that logging in is necessary; in anycase in a discussion on his talk page Stoecker describes his patches, and says: "You can login to this instance with your normal username and "test" as password". Just remember not to try to edit anything on that site. --Fantagufo (talk) 10:43, 18 November 2025 (EST)


Yup, tried all that with test as password. get User name not recognized allt the time. BookWolfen (talk) 03:01, 20 November 2025 (EST)

Should short "Author's Notes" be listed in collections?

I'm creating entries for a few self-published Angela Slatter ebook collections.

They open or close with very short Author's Notes of a few sentences or paragraphs. Should they be listed in the contents?

Examples:

--Salty-horse (talk) 08:58, 19 November 2025 (EST)

ISFDB:Policy#Contents_always_included says:
  • Essays: Shorter works of nonfiction (other than reviews and interviews; see below) contained in a larger work, i.e. book or magazine, are entered as ESSAY type in the "Regular Titles" section of the data entry form. These include, but are not limited to:
    • Forewords, introductions, prefaces, afterwords, endnotes, etc.: These should all be included.
Conversely, ISFDB:Policy#Contents_included_with_exceptions says:
  • Story introductions/afterwords: In some cases, anthologies or collections include introductions (or, less often, afterwords) to individual works. If these are short and amount to blurbs, they should not be indexed separately. When they amount to critical essays or otherwise have significant content, they should be included. This is always a judgment call. In borderline cases, signed introductions are more worthy of inclusion than ones which would need to be attributed to "uncredited".
Since the "Author Notes" in question apply to collections as opposed to individual stories, I think the first rule should be applied and the "Author Notes" should be included. Even if we were to apply the second rule, I think we could still include them because they contain just enough non-trivial content. Ahasuerus (talk) 11:34, 19 November 2025 (EST)
How do you decide what's trivial or not? I think this note (quoted in full) is trivial: "These stories have been published previously in one form or another. I've wanted for some time to put together a few mini-collections to give new readers a taste of my work. Four Dark Tales is the first of these." --Salty-horse (talk) 11:37, 19 November 2025 (EST)
In a case like that, you could go either way. If it was me, I would mention that note in the Notes for the publication, but not include it as content. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:11, 19 November 2025 (EST)

Adding my latest novels

It's been a while since I've been here, but you've always been patient. My latest novels, Well Met by Water and Velvet of Swords, are on Amazon. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Joy V. Smith (talk • contribs) . 01:06, 24 November 2025‎ (EST)

You can see how to enter a new novel here. If you have any questions, please let us know. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 13:50, 24 November 2025 (EST)

I cloned this book and...

...then uploaded my cover scan and it says "A file with this name exists already...". what should I do next? it says "modify the file description" but which bit and to what? or theres the option to ignore and upload anyway.

[8]

this is the cover it shows which is the wrong one anyway [9] - Gaz Faustus (talk) 20:30, 26 November 2025 (EST)

Looks like it's because there is more than one "Mostly Harmless" with a date unknown and that publisher. Ahasuerus may have to answer this one since those filenames are automatically created. ···日本穣 · 投稿 · Talk to Nihonjoe 20:51, 26 November 2025 (EST)
The existing image is used by this pub. When I click the "Upload new cover scan" link on that pub, it gives the new file name as MSTLHRMLSK0000.jpg and not the MSTLHRMLSC0000.jpg your publication produces. I don't know why the existing image ended up at your location, but I have moved it over to the "correct" location. You can now upload your image. -- JLaTondre (talk) 08:48, 27 November 2025 (EST)
cheers done it - GazFaustus (talk) 08:58, 27 November 2025 (EST)

Translator given as author

The "mag" i'm doing has a story which is a translation and gives "A. H. Wratislaw" as the author. wikisource states the author is "Ján Francisci" and gives Wratislaw as the translator. is this one of those where you use the (in error) after the name and then variant it to the real author? - GazFaustus (talk) 21:59, 27 November 2025 (EST)

have just found the story on here under another author name with a variant of that name on the story title page so i think I've got this one sussed. Gaz Faustus (talk) 12:39, 28 November 2025 (EST)

Oral Folk stories

I am trying to get my head round some of these in the Folklore journal. the latest one says this before the story which is in english.

"The following story was narrated by John Williams ... to Mr. Llyrarch Reynolds ... Mr. David Lewis ... and myself (E. Sidney Hartland). It was told in Welsh, and copious notes were taken on the spot by Mr. Lewis, who afterwards read them over again to me. Mr. Lewis has also kindly compared the following (which was written the next morning from memory), with the notes in question, and corrected it by them."

So is this a story with John Williams as the author in welsh with the englsh version a variant with Hartland (and Lewis?) as the translators? - Gaz Faustus (talk) 14:13, 30 November 2025 (EST)

Sorta kinda cloning a publication

I published a new version of The Collected Feghoot. It has all of the content of the 1992 version, but adds a new foreword by Dean Smith and some new illustrations to supplement the ones Tim Kirk did. So I'd like to clone it and add the new stuff. Problem is that the title is different: The new version is called Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot. If I choose to clone the Pulphouse version, I can't edit the title. Is there any way to partially clone the old version, or do I have to enter everything manually? --Mphillips (talk) 22:02, 2 December 2025 (EST)

In this case it's best to add a new publication record of type COLLECTION (with the new title), already entering the new stuff (i.e. titles), and after that's approved to import the titles already in the database. Hope that helps, Christian Stonecreek (talk) 01:25, 3 December 2025 (EST)
OK, thanks for the advice. I'll do that. --Mphillips (talk) 09:29, 3 December 2025 (EST)
Thanks for publishing this new edition of The Collected Feghoot! I received my copy yesterday. Unfortunately the contents need to be entered as new titles and varianted to the existing parent, because the previous editions were as by Grendel Briarton. I'll start with this now, and maybe finish tomorrow. --Willem (talk) 16:21, 7 December 2025 (EST)
I should have kept it as Grendel Briarton! Sorry to make the extra work. --Mphillips (talk) 21:24, 8 December 2025 (EST)
No problem, just takes some more time. Any plans to publish more Reginald Bretnor books? They are very hard to find (and expensive). --Willem (talk) 04:22, 9 December 2025 (EST)
John Betancourt at Wildside Press owns Bretnor's stuff. He says he's planning to release some Bretnor books, but it wasn't a priority. --Mphillips (talk) 10:41, 9 December 2025 (EST)
I see. So there's hope. The Collected Feghoot should be complete now, please check and, if necessary, correct things. Thanks! --Willem (talk) 10:48, 9 December 2025 (EST)

Incorrect publications listed under Year's Best SF: 22nd Annual Collection

I'm reporting this but can't really fix this myself, so I thank any kind souls who wish to do the work.

The title The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Second Annual Collection includes several entries, some of them of the actual collection, and the other is several entries of "The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: 18th Annual Collection", "The Year's Best Science Fiction (vol. IV)", and "The Year's Best Science Fiction (vol. III)"

The Mammoth book are listed as having the same contents as the Year's Best, but this is probably wrong. The cover of the Mammoth book mentions authors that are not in the TOC. (I have no access to the book itself so couldn't verify).

The two volumes of "The Year's Best Science Fiction" are completely different in contents.

They should all be separated, and the Mammoth book should be corrected with the actual contents. --Salty-horse (talk) 03:12, 10 December 2025 (EST)

Maybe the Mammoth book has the same contents, and just one of the covers is incorrect (probably copying the author list from an earlier edition). 276212's cover mentions Greg Egan, but 904299's does not.
Based on images here of the first few pages (no TOC) I think it has the same contents. --Salty-horse (talk) 04:56, 10 December 2025 (EST)
Things like that do happen. The book edition of 'Mammoth' ain't primary verified, so it's possible the actual cover does differ; the ebook edition is primary verified, so it'd be best to pose questions as to the contents on the PV's talk page.
For the 'The Year's Best Science Fiction (vol. ?)' note that these are Romanian translations (and if there are problems, it's best to ask the user who added them). Hope that helps a bit. Stonecreek (talk) 07:51, 10 December 2025 (EST)
Ah, I see. The translated edition was split into two volumes, and the TOC appeared different at first glance, but I see the same stories. For the bad cover, I imagine the publisher did put it out with the incorrect text on the cover. Not worth digging into, IMO. Thanks for the clarification! --Salty-horse (talk) 10:00, 10 December 2025 (EST)
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