User talk:RSR

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Contents

Welcome!

Hello, RSR, 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:

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 20:45, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Thank you! RSR 20:57, 10 October 2014 (UTC)RSR

The Chronicles of Loquacious, Centaur, of Rhodes

I accepted the submission to accept this publication into the database, but made changes based in the ISFDB entry standards (they're linked in the welcome section above).

  • The link to a cover image on an unpermitted website was removed. We can only link to files on websites which have given us permission. I replaced it with a link to the image on Amazon.
  • I removed the review record, since I doubt that it's published in the book itself. If I'm wrong, please add it back.
  • The publisher was changed to "Esterhazy Press" to match that shown in the Amazon Look Inside.
  • The publication date was changed to the one given on the Amazon listing.
  • I'm assuming you duplicated the page count in the price field, so I changed it to the one given on Amazon.

Also, please try to rewrite the synopsis to be more objective. We try not to reprint book blurbs or publisher's descriptions, but give an accurate as possible synopsis of the book without spoilers. Thanks for contributing. Mhhutchins 22:36, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

I rejected what appeared to be a duplicate submission to add the same publication. Mhhutchins 22:38, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

I did try--I did NOT write the other entry for 'Archival: Most Secret' and followed what that person did. I have no complaints, merely explaining myself. The duplicate on Chronicles was me trying to make a minor correction. I will look over the changes and use them henceforth for templates. Thank you! RSR 05:58, 11 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
On the matter of the reviews, 'Chronicles' has one, here:
http://www.flayrah.com/4428/review-chronicles-loquacious-centaur-rhodes-rob-s-rice
and since the entry on 'Archival' alluded to an external review, I thought that was all right? But I found no way to add the other information there was on the 'Archival' entry. Thank you! RSR 02:44, 12 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
Reviews of spec-fic titles can only be in the database if a record for the publication in which they appear is eligible for the database. For example, a review of the novel Dune in TV Guide would not be in the database, because the publication in which it appears is not eligible for inclusion in the db. The review of Archival: Most Secret is in the database because someone created a record for the db-eligible publication in which it appears (I believe Fred Patten himself created that record since he is an editor here). The review of Chronicles is a web-based publication and is not eligible for the database, but you can link the review to the title record, and I've done that for you. Thanks.
BTW, when adding a comment to a wiki post, use a colon (:) to indent it from the previous comment. This makes it easier to follow the discussion. Add one colon to the number of colons in the comment before it. This comment has two colons, so if you choose to respond to it, start you message with three colons. This is standard wiki mark-up which is different from db entry. It will become more familiar the longer you hang around, and will help you on other wiki-based websites (like Wikipedia). Thanks. Mhhutchins 05:01, 12 October 2014 (UTC)
That was kind of you, and understanding. Working on it! I need to tweak what I have put up a bit, write a 'neutral' blurb for Darkness, at the least, and add tags. Then, to pull my weight around here I need to get out some of my very favorite nearly-lost books and edit 'em for the rest of the world. I am very grateful for the consideration and understanding.
Of course, I did the 'plus' thing (this time too) and that gave me NO IDEA of how many cola to add. BUT I'm TRYING! RSR 01:07, 15 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
Yes, I know. VERY trying! :) RSR 01:09, 15 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
Only do the "plus thing" when you're creating a new post. When responding to a post, just click on the "[edit]" link to the right of the post. The number of colons ("cola") can only be determined while you're in the edit mode. Again, click on the link and look at the raw data. You're see that this response has four colons at the beginner. If you choose to respond, you'll start your message with five colons. You'll have to add the same number of colons to each paragraph in your response. (Look at how I've repaired your latest responses.)
I look forward to your entering records for those "nearly-lost books". Every time I think we're closing in on completeness, I pull out my copy of Reginald and realize there are still hundreds, if not thousands, of titles not yet in the database. Thanks to people like you, we're slowly closing in. (Wonderful witticism at the end of your comment. I'm going to have to steal it from you and claim it as may own!) Mhhutchins 01:38, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
I figured out how to edit tags! And I re-wrote the 'blurb' for 'Darkness' into something much more neutral and content-informative. I have one surviving Tom Swift book and some other stuff that I'll feed in, after a thorough search to make sure it really ISN'T already in. Your kindness and understanding are truly appreciated.

RSR 01:56, 15 October 2014 (UTC)RSR

No problem at all. We know that new editors sometimes have to feel their way through the labyrinthine rules here. BTW, notice how your signature is displayed above. That's because you signed it on a separate line. It's better to sign it directly at the end of the last sentence of the post. Mhhutchins 02:05, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
I note! Is there a complete list of tags somewhere? I don't want to add new fields, I HAVE been using the 'Most Popular' ones that come up.RSR 02:07, 15 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
Er... On Different Dragons II, there were significantly more titles, among them mine... Were those lost? Can I/Should I add them back in? I suppose I'll find out for sure when it's up. I did hit the 'Add Titles' button... Strange, unsettling. RSR 21:20, 15 October 2014 (UTC)RSR

Different Dragons II

A few problems with this publication. I'll go over each change below. For a detailed field-by-field guide to entering a new publication record, please look over this help page.

  • Publication date field was changed from 2014 to 2014-09-14, based on the Amazon listing, and provided the source. If there is not a stated date in the publication itself, we have the option to use data from a reliable secondary source.
  • Pub binding/format field was changed from pb to tp. At 9 inches (according to the Amazon listing), this would be a trade paperback.
  • Price field changed from $13.19 to $14.95. We use the publisher's list price, not the Amazon sale price (nor any other retailer's sale price).
  • The cover image link was to the "Look Inside" image. Look below that on the Amazon listing and you'll find a cleaner, larger cover image file to link to. I've corrected the link.
  • In the Title Data field, I removed the link to the Amazon listing. The "Webpage" field of the title record is to link non-advertising pages dedicated to the work, not to the publication. (There's already a link to Amazon on the publication record page.)
  • In the Contents section, "G.L. Francis" was changed to "G. L. Francis". There should be a space after each period in an initialed name.
  • In the titles, I corrected a couple of titles based on the capitalization rules in the title section of the help page I linked above. "is" should be "Is".

You didn't include several stories in the contents. Also, the page numbers are visible in the Amazon "Look Inside". If you're not able to complete the contents, let me know and I'll do it. Thanks. Mhhutchins 21:42, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for being so patient with me. I DID include all the stories, kept clicking 'Add Title,' they just didn't come through when I clicked 'submit,' which puzzles me. I thought I'd tried to bring up the TOC on Amazon, I must have missed something but I'll add in the page numbers accordingly. I'll cheerily edit everything to the standards you kindly provided--I DID read the help file, just hard to remember everything. But, I'll get it right! RSR 22:10, 15 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
I can't say why the remaining stories didn't come through. When you get a chance, please add them to an update of the record. Ask if you need help. (Don't leave a space before the colon when adding a new comment. It throws the display off. Thanks.) Mhhutchins 23:15, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
Tried. Also found the cover artist. If this takes, I'll do the first book, even though <sniff!> my story didn't make it into that one. They already had a Chinese dragon! RSR 04:44, 16 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
Update accepted, but had to make two changes: I entered a space after the first period in "H. A. Titus" (a standard brought to your attention earlier), and removed the short story length designation of the poem. Only shortfiction-typed records are given a length designation (short story, novelette, or novella). Thanks. Mhhutchins 18:09, 16 October 2014 (UTC)
My bad. It was a copy from formatted text fail. Query: Is it possible to edit an entry without the shell, like we're doing now? Thank you! RSR 20:40, 16 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
I'm not certain what you mean by "shell". It's always possible to edit a publication record once it's in the database. You can't edit a submission sitting in the queue. A moderator can't do that either! We can only accept it, reject it, or hold it. If I find minor errors, I will accept the original submission, then make another submission to update the record, and let the editor know what I've done. If it's a major error, one that would cause much trouble accepting it, I will reject it and ask the editor to make a new submission. Mhhutchins 02:58, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Different Dragons

As I mention in an earlier post, we don't link a sales website in the "Web Page" field of a work's title record. So I removed the links to Amazon and Createspace in this record. The web page field should be used to add a non-advertising webpage dedicated (for the most part) to that single work. Thanks. Mhhutchins 03:07, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Oh, I'm sorry, I missed that. I'm rather pleased though that I got so many other things right! I suppose the kind of page you have in mind would be from Goodreads or the like? I thought perhaps there was a markup language for an entry, 'shortfiction' works for one field, for me in what I thought was the shell, I wanted to make my version of the entry for 'Different Dragons II' look like the section you added before the update, which had 'shortfiction' where my entries have 'shortstory'. Now to see what else I can add... RSR 03:44, 17 October 2014 (UTC)RSR
SHORTFICTION is the default designation. If you're not certain of a story's word count, leave the length field blank, and only SHORTFICTION will display. Any work less than 40K words is considered SHORTFICTION. Some publications (usually only magazines) will actually designate a story's length based on the field's standards. If these lengths aren't designated in the publication (like most books), an ISFDB editor can choose to add designations: short story (up to 7.5K), novelette (7.5 - 17.5K), or novella (17.5 - 40K). This would require doing an estimated word count. In most book publications, the average page is about 400 words. Of course, this can vary based on the size font and use of margins, but this is a good rule-of-thumb. So a work of less than 20 pages is usually a short story, 20-44 pages a novelette, and 45-100 pages a novella. If you have a Google account, you can use this word counter to get a more accurate count.
BTW, your response concerning my question about "shell" should have been entered into the previous topic. It's best to keep topics separate in discussions. Also, it's better not to use the "Edit this page" link to respond to messages. Click on the "[edit]" link to the right of the one topic to which you're responding. Sorry if this sounds too picky, but you'll learn how discussions in a Wiki environment can go crazy if certain protocols aren't met. Of course, we give new users plenty of slack in their early days. :-) Thanks. Mhhutchins 06:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
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