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    Invelos Forums->DVD Profiler: Contribution Discussion Page: 1 2  Previous   Next
Universal Television?
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTheMadMartian
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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Quoting GSyren:
Quote:
The way I read the rule, it's an example that means "If it says Universal Pictures, don't abbreviate it to Universal". It doesn't, in my opinion, mean that if Universal decides to call itself just "Universal" we cannot use that.

That may be how you read it, but that isn't what it says so I will agree to disagree.
Quote:

So it's a logo? Do the rules say not to use the logo, if that's all there is? No. In fact:
Quote:
Some companies (using similar but different names) may serve more than one function. List such companies only once, using the name from the logo.

That may, or may not, refer to Media Companies, the context doesn't make it entirely clear, but it shows that Ken is not against the use of logos for information.

And I never said otherwise.  What I was pointing out is that the logo uses the abbreviation for the studio name, rather than the actual studio name which, in my opinion, the rules tell us to use.
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorKathy
Registered: May 29, 2007
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Does it say "Universal Television" anywhere in the credits?

If so, then that data would be entered.

If not, then "Universal", which is listed, should be used.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorT!M
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Mmm. Both this poll and the studio data that's being contributed show wildly different opinions on the matter, with, as always, each party completely convinced that they're right. What the rules themselves actually say doesn't even seem to matter much - it seems everything can be "interpreted" to death nowadays...

Personally I certainly don't subscribe to the "just enter what it says on the screen, no matter what" line of reasoning. The rules *really* don't say that. Instead, the rules not only speak of not abbrevating studio names, but they also use the term "correct listings of studios" and even refer to the forums "to ask questions" about that - which is what I was doing with this thread. None of that would have been part of the contribution rules if we were simply to enter what we see, no questions asked. So that's clearly not what we're supposed to do.

Doesn't the fact that so many people look at this in different ways mean that this particular section of the rules needs a change, or at least a thorough rewrite?
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorAiAustria
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The rules have to provide a way everyone can follow. With this in mind I can very well understand the party saying: On screnn -> DVD Profiler
... deciding between the logo and the copyright line is another really hard question to answer (I assume there are examples for both of this options failing blatantly)...

But, as long as people around here, people who know how to insist on their opinion, throw in sentences like:
Quote:
A very little research reveals that it is, indeed, Universal Television.
I can't see any wording or rule change which can bring us onward.

On the content: It might be right, that the studio was named Universal Television. But there is no way, this expert knowledge could manage it to a rules, which are meant to be followable by idiots like me...
Complete list of Common Names  •  A good point for starting with Headshots (and v11.1)
 Last edited: by AiAustria
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorGSyren
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Quoting TheMadMartian:
Quote:
That may be how you read it, but that isn't what it says

Well, it doesn't say "Do not use an abbreviation". It says "Do not abbreviate". If the onscreen name shows "Universal" and I enter "Universal" then I am most definitely not abbreviating. That is what it says. What it means will always be an interpretation, one way or the other. Only Ken can tell for sure.

Quoting the rules:
Quote:
There is further information about correct listings of studios and media companies ... in the Contributions forum.

I would expect this to mean that there is a sticky post about this, but there is none. So Ken seems to have given up on "correct listings". And asking questions? Yes, that's what leads to discussions like these.

I don't see anything in the rules that says that we have to research studio names. And even if we do, we would need to research what the studio name was when the title was produced, not what the studio name is today. And that surely takes more than "a little research".

By the way, if you are taking the Universal example in the rules literally
Quote:
use Universal Pictures not just Universal

then surely the credit here should be "Universal Pictures", not "Universal Television"? 
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 Last edited: by GSyren
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorT!M
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Quoting AiAustria:
Quote:
I can very well understand the party saying: On screen -> DVD Profiler

I can understand that some users want that, yes. I'm just pointing out that it's not what the current rules say (again: there's no mention of merely entering what we see, and instead the rules talk about "correct listings" and point to the forums). Let's not mistake this for "an interpretation", as it isn't: it's asking for a rules change. If that's needed, so be it, but let's be clear about it. If the majority wants the rules changed, then let's try to achieve that.

Again, the wildly varying ways of how various users look at this, means that the current rule doesn't work. Case in point: "if unsure", the rules tell me "to ask questions in the Contributions forum." I've done exactly that, and I'm not getting a consensus. Conclusion: what we have now doesn't work. If we don't want "correct listings of studios and media companies", then let's remove that line from the rules. And if opinions in the forum don't matter, then let's remove that line as well. Or at the very least add a heartfelt "Good luck with that!" to it.

As always, I'm willing to go pretty much any way on this, as long as we end up with a consistent approach. Depending on the outcome, I may make a different decision for my local database, or maybe I won't, but for contribution purposes, I'll always stick to what the rules tell me. So let's make them tell us something we can work with.
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