User talk:Lem

Welcome!

Hello, Lem, 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! --MartyD 07:59, 9 May 2021 (EDT)

Islands in the Sky

Hi, and welcome. I accepted your change to record the artist on Islands in the Sky. When the artist is not explicitly credited, we record the source of the identification in the pub notes. So I took your note-to-the-moderator about the RAO signature and added it to the pub notes with a "Cover artist not credited" leader. Please review and make sure you agree.

Also, if you have a copy of the book, it would be very helpful if you made yourself a primary verifier. There are no onerous responsibilities that come with that, it just lets us know a human being looked at the actual book and also tells other editors to come to you if they have any questions that could be answered by having you take another look at your copy. To do a verification, follow the link I gave above and then click the Verify this Pub link at the bottom of the Editing Tools menu at the left. In the top section, make sure "Permanent Verification" is checked, and click Verify. That's all there is to it!

If you have any questions or need any help, just ask. You can reply to this by editing this section. Indent your response by adding a colon at the front of your new text to separate it visually from mine (each colon gets another level of indentation). Also see the links in the welcome message above for many other places to go for information and help. Thanks, and thank you for contributing. --MartyD 08:15, 9 May 2021 (EDT)

As one of those primary verifiers for the book, I'm one of those who missed seeing the initials on the cover. Looking at my copy, I still don't see it. My cover image is cropped in the lower left to actually touch the planet. Does yours extend further? Or is it hiding in plain sight? (I sucked at Myst - could never find anything). ../Doug H 13:55, 9 May 2021 (EDT)

I did find an example here and here (about 1/2 way down), which seem to be the same cover scan, judging from the corner defects. They seem to be showing something at the bottom left that might be "<garbled> A O". It clearly has more of the painting below the bottom edge of the planet. I also found this, which looks like it has an R there and that RAO sort of slopes from left to right, with R tallest, then A a little shorter, the O shortest. --MartyD 12:30, 10 May 2021 (EDT)

hi, and thanks for the User Talk and Editing info. The changes you made look fine and I did add myself as the primary verifier (why is the "transient" option there and when would it be used?). Regarding the RAO signature on the front cover - it is definitely in the bottom left hand corner below the planet....the last copy you showed is my copy used for this entry and currently on sale at ABE :)....thanks again, Lem 13:25, 11 May 2021 (EDT)

I use transient verification when I have the book but don't plan on keeping it. I volunteer with a charity that does book sales and process much of their SF. If I see something odd, I'll bring it home and enter/verify it. So Primary means you have/had the book and can vouch the data was correct - Permanent means you still have it if someone has questions and Transient means you don't. Which means that if someone subsequently modifies the entry, it can look like you agree with the information unless you check dates and history (a recent upgrade). As for this particular book - I keep scans of all my covers regardless of how or whether I verify it. ../Doug H 14:47, 11 May 2021 (EDT)

what would you do in my case with this book? maybe change my verification from permanent to transient in case I sell it? not likely that I would recall this entry to make the change a year or two down the road when the book may or may not sell.... Lem 21:17, 11 May 2021 (EDT)

I'd leave it Permanent. The point is not to say you remember the entry, it's to say you have access to the book to check something, if asked. Try to remember to change the verification when you get rid of the book, but don't sweat it. We probably lose access to more 'permanent' verifications by losing people than books. ../Doug H 08:04, 12 May 2021 (EDT)

That's funny....ok thanks for the help. Lem 18:45, 12 May 2021 (EDT)

A belated thought about this: You should update the cover scan with the one that is less cropped and shows the initials. To do that, go here and scroll down to where you find "Upload a new version of this file" and click on that. You can say in the summary that you're replacing it with a fuller image showing the artist's signature. Then also edit the page and changed Scanned by Bluesman to Scanned by yourself. --MartyD 08:30, 17 May 2021 (EDT)

Space, Space, Space

Regarding this submission:

• One of the pub notes added is "There is price on the inside front flap but rather the number: 125125". Did you mean there is NOT a price?
• You mentioned not be able to figure out how to add a dustjacket photo. To do that, go to the image page (Image:SPCSPCSPCH0000.jpg) and click the "Upload a new version of this file" near the bottom of the file. It may not look like the image was replaced when done, but it will have worked. If you see the same image, you will need to force your browse cache to refresh (usually Ctr-F5) due to a bug in the wiki software.

Thanks. -- JLaTondre (talk) 09:00, 16 May 2021 (EDT)

hi, and thanks. Yes, there is NO price, just that number, sorry. I did get to the image page but it says my file (one picture) is too large....I am not sure if/how I can downsize my image? Best, Lem 09:17, 17 May 2021 (EDT)

I added the missing "no" for the price. For the image, you would need image editing software (if you are on Windows you can use Paint though it is not the nicest) and re-size the image so that it is smaller. -- JLaTondre (talk) 11:02, 22 May 2021 (EDT)