Rules and standards changelog

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

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

Date of change	Short description	New rule	Old rule	Help pages affected by this change	Discussion which led to the rule change (the link may not work for archived discussions)
After 2000 but not later than 2006	Self-published books and vanity publishers included	Self-published books and vanity publishers are included	Self-published books and vanity publishers were excluded	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Around 2006	Print on demand (POD) publishers included	Print on demand (POD) publishers are included	Print on demand (POD) publishers were not covered by Policy	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Mid-2006	Audio books included	Audio books -- readings but not dramatizations -- were included and the software was updated	Audio were not included and not supported by the software	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Mid-2006	E-books with ISBNs included	E-books with ISBNs included [e-books without ISBNs remained excluded until 2011-03 - see below]	E-books generally excluded and not supported by the software	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
Early 2007	Paper-based fanzines included	Paper-based fanzines are included [webzine remained excluded until 2018 - see below]	All fanzines excluded	ISFDB:Policy#Included	ISFDB_talk:Policy#Policy_page_updates
2011-03-27	Inclusion of e-books with unique identifiers	E-books with a unique identifier such as an ISBN, ASIN, EAN, or catalog number are included	E-books without an ISBN excluded	ISFDB:Policy#Included	Eliminate the requirement that ebooks have an ISBN?
2011-10-15	Exclusion of dissertations	Excluded as per Community Portal consensus	Inclusion/exclusion status not defined	ISFDB:Policy#Excluded	Dissertations
2016-11-13	Date of variant titles	Date must be the first occurrence of the variant title	Date to use was the first occurrence of the work	Template:TitleFields:Date	Improve "How to enter foreign language editions" page regarding the publication date of translations
2016-11-27	Eliminated 'sf' Story Length	'sf' is no longer entered in the Story Length field	'sf' was supposed to be entered in the Story Length field for short fiction titles of unknown length	Template:TitleFields:Length	Eliminating "sf"/"shortfiction" during editing and 2016-11-27 downtime
2016-11-27	Omnibus story length separators	Plus signs are to be used as omnibus story length separators	Slashed were to be used as omnibus story length separators	Template:TitleFields:Length	Composite "story length" values for OMNIBUSes
2017-01-16	Story length field split into 4	Omnibus length values as well as juvenile and novelization indicators have been moved from the "story length" field to separate fields. A leading slash is no longer required for omnibus length values.	The story length field was used to store all 4 types of information. Leading slashes were to be used for omnibus length values.	Template:TitleFields:Length, Template:TitleFields:Content, Template:TitleFields:Juvenile, Template:PublicationFields:Juvenile, Template:TitleFields:Novelization, Template:PublicationFields:Novelization	2017-01-16 downtime - 6:30pm
2017-03-12	Suffix handling in author LegalName field	Suffixes that are part of the author's legal name are recorded; format Lastname, Firstname Middlenames, Suffix	No suffixes were to be recorded	Template:AuthorFields:LegalName	Handling of suffixes on author names
2017-03-15	Redaction of detailed biographical data of living authors	Detailed biographical data of living authors can be deleted upon author request	Policy was not spelled out	ISFDB:Policy#Data_Deletion_Policy	Data deletion policy -- proposed language
2017-10-02	Psychic abilities	Explicitly state genre includes fictional psychic abilities	Not specifically in inclusion criteria	ISFDB:Policy	Psychic abilities: In or Out?
2017-12-22	Boxed sets	Boxed sets with additional data elements are included	Boxed sets were excluded	Template:PublicationFields:PubType	Boxed Sets
2017-12-25	Non-genre speculative fiction	Removed reference to "non-genre speculative fiction" as confusing. No real change in policy itself.	"non-genre speculative fiction" was listed in inclusion criteria.	ISFDB:Policy	"Non-genre speculative fiction" in ISFDB:Policy
2018-01-17	Special genre issues of non-genre magazines	For special genre issues of non-genre magazines, non-fiction may be entered as well	Non-fiction from non-genre magazines never entered	Help:Entering non-genre magazines	Special Genre Issues of Non-Genre Issues
2018-07-05	Webzines and one-time online anthologies included	Webzines published as distinct issues and one-time online anthologies are now included	Webzines and one-time online anthologies were not included except when allowed by other inclusion criteria	ISFDB:Policy	Inclusion of webzines and one-time anthologies
2018-07-26	Location of biographical data	Biographies are now entered in author records using Note fields	Biographies were entered in the ISFDB Wiki using "Bio" pages	ISFDB:Policy#Biography Policy, Help:Contents/Purpose#Biographies, ISFDB:FAQ#Can I enter author biographies in the ISFDB?	No recent discussion; Author records were updated to support a Note field a few years ago; the cleanup project to start moving biographies from Bio pages to author records was initiated shortly thereafter
2018-07-31	Inclusion of unpublished material	Unpublished books are now included if they have been announced (but never published), have been published in translation or are supposed to be published within the next 90 days	Unpublished books were listed as "Debatable" in the Rules of Acquisition	ISFDB:Policy#Rules_of_Acquisition	Rules of Acquisition -- unpublished books
2018-08-18	Author's canonical name	The canonical name is the most recognized name for that author within the genre	The canonical name is the most recognized name for that author	Help:Glossary	Canonical name for an author with lots of non-genre and a few genre works only
2018-10-01	Inclusion of newspapers	SF published in newspapers is included	SF published in newspapers is included was "debatable"	ISFDB:Policy#Rules_of_Acquisition	Newspapers
2018-11-11	Use of the SERIAL title type in webzines	The use of the SERIAL title type is the same for webzines as for other types of periodicals	Webzines did not use the SERIAL title type	Help:Use of the SERIAL type	SERIALs in webzines
2018-11-29	Use of the SERIAL title type in chapbooks	The SERIAL title type is to be used when a work is serialized across multiple chapbooks	The SERIAL title type was used for chapbook serializations, but it was not officially documented	Template:TitleFields:TitleType	SERIAL titles in CHAPBOOK publications
2019-04-26	Use of cropping when entering URLs of Amazon-hosted cover scans	The use of "CR" for cropped images is supported	The use of "CR" for cropped images was not supported	Template:Image Host Sites	Cropping Amazon images
2020-01-12	Moderator Note is sometimes required	Moderator Note is now required when editing publications which have been primarily-verified by other users; enforced by policy and by the software	Moderator Note was never required	Template:ModNote	Rules_and_standards_discussions#Clarify_how_to_deal_with_unverified_data_added_after_primary_verification
2020-01-12	Entering unverified data after primary verification	When updating a primary verified publication with data from a secondary source, the editor must specify what information is from that secondary source in the "Pub Note" field	Entering unverified data after primary verification was not explicitly regulated	Help:How to update a publication	Rules_and_standards_discussions#Clarify_how_to_deal_with_unverified_data_added_after_primary_verification