User talk:Jdthaler

Welcome!
Hello,, 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
 * Help:Getting Started
 * What the ISFDB Wiki is for
 * ISFDB FAQ
 * Help:Screen:EditPub - Warning and a note on how to update a publication's contents
 * Wiki editing help - Tips on how to use the wiki-specific features when editing wiki pages.

I hope you enjoy editing here! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~&#126;); 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 20:24, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Zig Zag
I've accepted your submission of this title, making your pub the original Spanish edition, and created another record for the English translation. Please check to see if the information that I added to the pub matches any copy you may have. Thanks and welcome to the ISFDB. MHHutchins 20:38, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Epoch (and more)
I accepted your submission, but had to remove the link to the cover image (because we need explicit allowance to deep-link to some other page) and one passage of the synopsis that featured an endorsement for title and author. But thank you very much for adding this item! Stonecreek 04:22, 16 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Also, thanks for the other additions! (to which I added some information for Kill Decision and from which I also removed the image links). Thanks again, Stonecreek 04:37, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

Held submissions
I'm holding your latest set of submissions for various reasons.


 * All of them are sourced from Goodreads. I personally don't feel that Goodreads is a reliable secondary source for data. There are other more reliable sources, most notably OCLC.


 * You have given the ISBN-10 in all of the submissions, many of which were published after the ISBN-13 was implemented. OCLC will let you know which ISBN is stated in the publication (the one listed first in its records.)


 * You've also asked a number of questions in the "Note to Moderator" field as well as given the source for your data in that field. It's important to know that this field should not be used to provide your sources. Those should be given in the "Note" field. All data in the "Note to Moderator" field disappears the moment the submission is accepted. If a record isn't created from the primary source (the publication itself), database users should be given the secondary source. It is also better to ask questions before making a submission which will save you and the moderator much time and effort. There is no easy way for the moderator to answer questions directly, and you increase the possibility of the question being overlooked. The best place to go for answers is the ISFDB:Help desk, where you increase the chances of getting a faster response (only one person looks at a submission in the queue, while a dozen or more could answer your question on the Help Desk.)


 * Many of the submissions give the listing as "pb" when they are actually trade paperbacks, which is designated in the ISFDB as "tp". A good place to get the size of a paperback is Amazon, which gives the dimensions in inches (Amazon.co.uk gives it in centimeters). Any softcover book more than 7 inches or 18 centimeters should be entered as "tp".


 * Are you certain that The Panopticon is speculative fiction? None of the reviews on Goodreads makes that clear.

I'm going to accept the other submissions and make the necessary changes for them to comply. Please look them over to get an idea about future entries. It would also be a good idea to look over this help page, which gives field-by-field instructions on how to create a new publication record.

To respond to this message, click on the "[edit]" link to the right. Enter your response in the dialogue box which opens. Start your message with a colon which separates and indents it from the previous message making it easier to follow the discussion. In successive messages, add another colon to the number in the previous message. End your entry with four tildes ( ~ ), which will automatically "sign" and date your message. Then click the "Save page" button. When someone has left a message on your talk page, you will be notified by a highlighted "My Messages" link when you log into the ISFDB. I have placed a "Watch" on this page so that I will be notified when you respond. Keep all discussions on the same talk page on which it begins. Do not respond on the other person's talk page.

Thanks for contributing. Mhhutchins 01:08, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
 * I checked into the award for which The Panopticon was a finalist, and it seems the judges must have found something speculative about it. So I've accepted the submission, changing the ISBN to the proper one and providing the exact publication. Mhhutchins 07:09, 29 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Thank-you for all the tips. I am sorry for any mistakes I made.  I will source from OCLC in the future (I was unaware of this resource) and use ISBN-13 where applicable.  When I have more time I will take a look at the help page and in the future I will ask questions at the Help Desk instead of the moderator field.  Thanks again for helping a newcomer! Jdthaler 07:36, 29 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Thank you for joining the ISFDB and contributing 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.  Again, thank you for becoming a vital part of the ISFDB. Mhhutchins 18:02, 29 January 2014 (UTC)