User talk:Blargg

Welcome!

Hello, Blargg, and welcome to the ISFDB Wiki! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• Help pages
• Field-by-field guide to entering new publications into the database
• Help:Getting Started
• What the ISFDB Wiki is for
• FAQ
• Wiki editing help - Tips on how to use the wiki-specific features when editing wiki pages.
• Wiki Conventions - How things are usually done on this wiki.
• Help:How to upload images to the ISFDB wiki

Note: Image uploading isn't entirely automated. You're uploading the files to the wiki which will then have to be linked to the database by editing the publication record.

Please be careful in editing publications that have been primary verified by other editors. See Help:How to verify data#Making changes to verified pubs. But if you have a copy of an unverified publication, verifying it can be quite helpful. See Help:How to verify data for detailed information.

I hope you enjoy editing here! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will insert your name and the date. If you need help, check out the community portal, or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! Mhhutchins|talk 22:06, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Thanks!

As this is all entirely new and different to me I hope that you will be understanding *when* I make a mistake. I do promise to learn from my mistakes. Blargg 22:48, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for choosing to contribute to the ISFDB as an editor. Adding and updating publication records in the ISFDB is not a simple process. We don't expect all editors to get it right the first time, and we know it may take some time to learn the ins and outs, and all of the tricks. Please be patient with us as we guide you through this process. We will try our best to also be patient, but being human, it may appear that a moderator can be nitpicking, or even overbearing at times. Please be assured that it isn't personal, and we're only trying our best to achieve the quality of data that our users have come to expect. Together we can build a better database. The best piece of advice I can offer is to take some time to read this help page. It has instructions on how to enter each field of a publication record. If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to inquire at the help desk. As a new editor, your first submission was A+. Again, thank you for becoming a vital part of the ISFDB. Mhhutchins|talk 22:54, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Date field

I had to reject your submission to update this record's date field to "1985-00-09". We enter dates in the format YYYY-MM-DD, so this is not a valid date. Is there a month of publication stated in the book itself? If September, it should be entered as "1985-09". Mhhutchins|talk 23:58, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Also, if a printing is stated, it should be given in the Note field. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 23:59, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Linking uploaded images to the database record

Thanks for uploading cover images to the ISFDB wiki. The next step is to link those images to the records of the books for which these are the covers. As the instructions (step 6) explain:

Once the file has been uploaded, the image's wiki page will appear. In order to get the URL (address) for the image you just uploaded, left click anywhere on the image and copy the URL from your browser's address window. (Or right click on the image and choose "Copy Image Location".) If you're adding a cover image to a pub record, this is the URL which you would enter into the pub record's "Image URL" field.

So once you have the image's URL, go back to the pub record (it's linked on the image's wiki page) and then click the "Edit This Pub" link under the Editing Tools menu. This opens up an edit page. Under the Publication Metadata section, there's a field labeled "Image URL:" Enter the URL of the image you uploaded into this field, and then click on the "Submit Data" button at the bottom of the page. Once the submission has been moderated the cover image will be linked to the publication record. Thanks for contributing. Mhhutchins|talk 01:00, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Date field

Thank you for correcting me about the date field. I wasn't sure what the formate was and I couldn't find the info. I figured that if I got it wrong you would tell me. LOL Now I know! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Blargg (talk • contribs) .

It's best to respond under the original post. Just click on the "[edit]" link to the right of the message to which you're responding, then enter your comments. And don't forget to add the four tildes at the end of your post (see the Welcome section above) which will sign your user name and date it.

Still wonder where "1985-00-09" came from. As I asked above, is there a publication date given on the book's copyright page and/or a statement of its printing number? Mhhutchins|talk 03:22, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Never mind. I see you've updated the record in a new submission. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 03:23, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

AH! Ok. I think I'm getting the hang of the messaging. I've never seen this format before. Blargg 03:41, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Adding a colon at the start of your response to the number in the previous response makes it easier to follow a discussion.

BTW, about the Date field format: as I mentioned above, this help page is a field-by-field guide to add or update publication records. If you have any questions about any particular field, that is the page that gives you the answer. If you can't find it, then ask at the help desk. Mhhutchins|talk 03:44, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Ok, so add +1 colons in my response. Got it. And I will book mark that link. Thank you for your help and patience. I will get better at this, I promise. I have about 400 books so I'm bound to have some more to add to this database.Blargg 04:14, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

That's great. Looking forward to working with you. Mhhutchins|talk 04:44, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Thank you! Thank you for all your help. Blargg 04:45, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Starship Troopers eleventh Berkley Medallion printing

I believe there is already a record for your printing of this title in the database. Berkley's copyright page gives the date of the first printing, but not later printings, only the printing number. I'm not sure what the source is for the date of this printing, but it is consistent with the other printings. If you agree that this is probably your copy, please consider canceling your submission and doing a primary verification of this one. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 05:32, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure what to think. At the bottom of the publishing page it gives the info: "Berkley Medallion Edition, May, 1968 Eleventh Printing". I'm certain that you've done more of this than I have, but I can only go by what I see in this book. Is it possible that the original editor misread, or misinterpreted their book. If it will help I can scan this page and email it to you.Blargg 05:45, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

No, that's not necessary. I've seen enough books published by Berkley to know their method of indicating a printing. If you look at the list of all publications of Starship Troopers, you'll see that the first edition from Berkley was printed in May 1968. So it's not likely that there were eleven printings in the same month. At that time, Berkley would note the date of the first printing, and then note the number of the current printing. But that's two different facts, and shouldn't be conflated. Occasionally they would indicate the date of intermediate printings, but rarely would they give you the date of the current printing, unless it was the first printing, or if there was a new edition. Mhhutchins|talk 06:25, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Ok, I will delete mine. I can still contribute by uploading the scan of the cover of my book as that is missing.Blargg 06:51, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Library of Congress Control Number

Re this record and others: If the Library of Congress Control Number (formerly Card Catalog Number) is given in a publication, it should be entered in the Note field in this format: "LCCN: 55-10142". You also have the option to link it to the record on the Library of Congress website using the following HTML:

LCCN: <a href="http://lccn.loc.gov/55010142">55-10142</a>

The format of the URL remains the same. Only change the control number after the last slash. It should be 8 digits for 2000 and earlier LCCNs and 10 digits for post-2000 LCCNs, adding zeros to fill in for the missing digits for control numbers that are less than six digits.

Here's further instructions on constructing a link. This is not required, but the format of "LCCN: 12-34567" should be used. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 01:22, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

Ok! Thanks for the correction. I'll go back through my previous verifications and correct them.Blargg 01:45, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

Cloning vs. Adding

It would have been better to clone a record for a previous printing of this work rather than using the "Add" function. Now you'll have to import the contents. When you're creating a record for a COLLECTION or ANTHOLOGY, and there's a record for another printing of the same work, use the "Clone" function which will copy the contents and you can avoid a second submission to add or import them. Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 17:04, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Will do! Would it be acceptable for me to delete my book and then clone? Blargg 17:12, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

No. You should import the contents from this record. Are you familiar with importing? Mhhutchins|talk 17:18, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

No, I've not imported anything. Can you help me or point me to the directions on how to do it? Blargg 17:24, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Go to the publication into which you want to import contents. Click on the link "Import Content" under the Editing Tools menu. On the next page, enter the record number of the record from which you want to import contents. (In this case: 172381) You have the option of keeping the page numbers with a check box. Then click the "Import Content" button. On the next page, you can change page numbers, and you can add new content records, but you can't change any of the metadata of the record. Then click the "Submit Data" button at the bottom. Mhhutchins|talk 18:50, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

Imprint / Publisher

Can you look at the title page of this book and see if both imprint and publisher is given. For most of its existence Signet was an imprint of New American Library. If that is stated in your copy (and other books in your collection), please update the record's publisher as "Signet / New American Library". Thanks. Mhhutchins|talk 17:17, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

On the back cover "NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY PUBLISHES SIGNET, MENTOR, CLASSIC, PLUME & MERIDIAN BOOKS". On the copy right page "Signet, Signet Classics, Mentor, Plume, Meridian and NAL Books are published by The New American Library, Inc., 1633 Broadway, New York, New York 10019". Signet is used alone everywhere else (front cover, spine, copy right page). I've seen similar on many other books but the second company name is almost never referred to. It's no issue at all to change this but why is Signet different?