To me, all the problems with linking etc have a simple, logical fix. Although considering the size of the Profiler database it means it would be painstaking to bring it all up to date.

Simply, the Invelos database should have things like cast, crew, studios, media, etc fully populated to the information available. Then in our copies of DVDProfiler when we create a new profile we select things from the master, complete and contribute the profile for checking like we do now. In instances where a case occurs for example, a completely new actor (not existing in the master database), then that can also be submitted but that part of the submission goes to a heavier screening. If it passes then that new actor makes it to the database (ie: proof can be supplied it's someone totally new).

In this way, anyone incorrect spellings, birth years etc etc are completely avoided because we select the item from a master database, rather then typing something in that could be incorrect.

This is not just for cast and crew, but other things like studios. I don't know how many times I get Sony Picture Home Entertainment when it should be Sony Pictures Home Entertainment etc. If it was harder to contribute these "new" entries things would be a lot better for everyone.

Would be pure hell fixing all the existing entries though.

Kathy,
you are not whining, with a collection your size I'd probably have given up too.

For my, much smaller collection, I'm doing my best to repair with one step at a time.
For 99% of the Cast/Crew there really is no problem because there are no, or only well known, variants
For the remaining 1% you have the very most with an obvious linking or unlinking (The young man in a 2012 movie is unlikely to have played a senior in the 1934 movie).
The remaining 0.1 % are the ones to cause trouble.

And for these 0.1% IMDb might give a good hint on how to handle them.

Quoting Parsec:

Quote:
Would be pure hell fixing all the existing entries though.

Fully agree.
It's just that I don't see in how far (as requested in the OP) importing IMDb data (which brought us this mess in the first place), is supposed to help us solving this problem.

And that's what I meant with: "Then do something about it and stop whining."
If we all sit down and cry because "the case is lost", nothing is going to change, we'll even go from bad to worse.
But if we all start fixing the problems with one profile at a time it can be achieved. It'll be hell though.

It took us ages to produce this mess, why does anyone believe that there could be an easy way out?

Quoting force:

Quote:
We are all allowed to speak our opinion in here. This is a discussion forum.

I didn't deny you the right to express your opinion (which BTW you said wasn't even yours but surfeurs). What I wrote was that sitting there and whining about the current state doesn't help.
And it wasn't some anonymous ghost that brought us this mess, it was us, either active or passive.


Funnily topics like this seem to be something like Christmas, they show up once a year (usually around Fall), all get very excited, you end up with a sour stomach, and nothing ever changes.

Quoting KinoNiki:

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The "mess" has come from people requesting more and more from the software that it was never designed to do in the first place. When I started using DVD Profiler it had exactly one fixed entry for crew and no linking, CLT or birthyear system. But it did what it was supposed to do, that is to keep a record of the DVD with relevant technical details. I used IMDb to look up crew and cast and I still do to this day. I don't see why every tool has to do all things. It only creates errors and bloat trying to implement too many functions, especially since some users are too lazy or ignorant to use them correctly anyway.

This...this...a thousand times this.

For the record Ken (Invelos) knows very well about the problem with the linking system. He even stated that he is working on a solution.

From This Thread:

Quote:
We will not be throwing the baby out with the bath water.  Any replacement system must support the base functionality of the current system, and must maintain the linking work that has already been put into our database.  Ideally any replacement system will also improve upon the current system:

- Eliminate the birth year in the online database
- Eliminate the CLT as a name determination tool
- Allow entry of properly accented and formatted names
- Require no changes to existing profiles when an actor changes names (e.g actress gets married)

So we know that Invelos is more then aware of the problem... and we know that they have started working on a solution for it. So what good does it do to keep on harping on it over and over and over and over again?

Edit: It isn't worth it.

@Lewis_Prothero

I know that there are some errors in IMDb, especially on unknown crew members. On page 1 I wrote:

Quoting surfeur51:

Quote:
Even if we can find some errors in IMDb, 99,9% of actors or crew members link correctly.

Now, do you want the list of 2000+  actors who have no variants in credits (I mean always the same given name/family name) and variants generated by Invelos rules in CLT ? (This list concerns my collection, which is rather small (1400 movies). I wonder how many errors are in CLT for people owning more than 5000 titles...)

I would be happy to have your opinion about what I also wrote on page 1:

Quoting surfeur51:

Quote:
I do not mix cause and effect. The problem is that Invelos rules generate incorrect variant names, as I explained recently in another thread. The CLT contains thousands of variants that exist nowhere except in Invelos database. As they do not exist in IMDb, I do not think cloning from IMDB can be the cause...

Quoting ateo357:

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Well I feel guilty now. I haven't contributed a profile today. To busy checking credits for common name threads.

Shame on you. 

Quoting TraunStaa:

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Important is, how the person really is spelled in his legitimate papers (for the IRS tax statement for example) or wants to be called in his alias. And in this matter, allow me to humbly trust the IMDb more, than some quickly fixed start and end credits (and therefore the Invelos cast & crew database).