Gold Audited Profiles Project (Please do not quote this post)

Goal:
To create the most accurate set of DVD / BD profiles in the Universe. (To improve the quality of contributions to the database, the accuracy of the data, and the ability to protect a quality profile from damage.)

Objectives:

(1) Create a set of DVD / BD profiles whose metadata content has passed the scrutiny of the DVD Profiler Contributions Team, and have thereby earned the status of "Gold Audited."
(2) Maintain a repository of such profiles, locked and protected from changes made by unauthorized individuals
(3) Provide an open environment for improving the quality of such profiles
(4) Provide a mechanism to share the results with Invelos and invite their active participation in technology or procedures consistent with the goal

Project Tasks and Participants

Participation in this project is entirely voluntary, non-paid and while not an activity of Invelos, Inc., it is
expressly understood that no activities of this project will run counter to the interests of Invelos, whose
tacit support is expressed simply by allowing us to proceed. Don't bite the hand that feeds us.

Task1: Organize the project, get it started, lobby Invelos for Forum help (pinned threads, etc), maintain appropriate Forum thread(s), request "moderator" level access to specific threads to assist in shared management.
Leader: mediadogg (backup volumteers needed)

Task2: Obtain permission and resources for a web site host for the profile repository. Once this has been obtained, additional tasks will be defined for creating the technology for managing the updates and protecting the profiles from Invelos competitors. Dream of dreams - Invelos host, but we'll take what we can get.
Leader: (TBD)
Team: Parsec, others

Task3: Refine the existing set of Invelos rules to resolve the known issues - common names / BY, character set, more clear definition levels of profiles (e.g. Starter, Candidate, .... Gold Audited). Define some kind of process where a specific set of trusted contributers signs off on what is "Gold."
Leader: surfeur51
Team: eommen, Kathy (I am also getting ideas from folks via PM)

Task4: Design and develop technology solutions to support the project, including but not limited to:
(1) a plugin for allowing contributers to extract all the non-personal metadata from already audited local profiles to submit as Candidates to the Gold Audited Repository.
(2) Tools for uploading / downloading Gold profiles, in watered - down format to fit into an Invelos database
(3) Maybe an advanced plugin (ala CCV) that allows viewing the full Gold profile in a local database
(4) A data model enhancement to the Invelos data model that accomodates the changes required to support common name IDs, and editing tools based on CCE of DJ Doena
(5) Some way to link and take advantage of Headshot Master DB in the Gold repository
Leader: (TBD - but we know the people we want, right? )

Task5: Review and approve Candidate profiles and apply the "Gold Audited" designation. These profiles will then be protected from  the normal Invelos "anybody can change it" process, and be subject to a much more strict set of rules and restricted set of individuals allowed make the changes.
Team: All the big dog contributors - who are willing to submit their large inventories of already audited profiles to seed and jump start the project, and then to participate, as time permits, in certifying profiles to move to Gold status. We should be able to create an initial repository of thousands of Candidate profiles in a matter of a few days this way. (Volunteers so far: Lewis_Prothero, Danae Cassandra, Kathy, Pantheon, mreeder50  )

Well, that's a start on a project definition. If it sees the light of day, the result could be a set of super clean profiles that would provide a model for a new Invelos process and database upgrade in the future. This way, we can enjoy the results right away, yet give Invelos the flexibility of turning its attention to this when the business conditions allow it. They will ultimately get the benefit of an improved database that has competitive advantages.

I will start off as a poll. Based on the feedback, and perhaps any comments from Invelos, we will move forward (or not). If we move forward, I will be requesting the appropriate Forum to be created, with the necessary moderator privileges given to a limited set of team members.

Quoting surfeur51:

Quote:
I support this project (and I am ready to participate) as long as the result allows correct linking of actors. I see no interest if the result is one gold profile with Mélanie Laurent and another with Melanie Laurent.

This needs that Task 3 obtains great improvement in rules, and the past showed no results though this problem has been perfectly known since five years.

Are you volunteering to lead Task3? 

If so, hang tight. If we go forward, you will get a dedicated thread and moderator privileges to start getting the team involvement and support.

Quoting surfeur51:

Quote:
... And before doing anything, we have to get an approval from Ken to change rules as proposed by the group.

Well, not for this Repository, which by definition will be incompatible with and separate from the Invelos database. It is a way to move forward, with a gameplan to convert later, when Invelos provides the technology base - we have the data ready to go. Otherwise, we are right back at square one, business as usual. That might be a good way to go, but that is not what I am proposing. As long as Invelos doesn't object, we blast forward. Augment the rules for the new repository as necessary to achieve the goal. And, of course there is nothing to stop Ken from participating in defining the new rules, right? What we are trying to do is remove the pressure of making a massive technology change at the same time.

We can even make and recover from mistakes without impacting Ken's time or business.

Quoting StaNDarD:

Quote:
That's a really cool idea. But I have two notes:

1. What will happen on a db-update like we had with color field for 3.8? Will all profiles loose their gold status until they're updated?

2. When you're building up a functional linking system, the gold profiles will be "incompatible" to the standard data as you will need to break the rules. (Don't get me wrong, a working linking system would be my primary goal.)

(1) This will be an issue for the limited "Gold" team to figure out. And then the techies will provide tools to support the process (e.g. some kind of controlled automated update of the Repository).
(2) Correct. That's the reason for the proposed plugins - one to create a watered-down Invelos compatible version for those that want it (I don't know what watered-down means yet), and another that allows you to view the complete Gold profiles in some kind of Profiler window - again, I don't know how this would work - just an idea at this point.
(pretty soon I guess I need to request the ability to update my posts beyond the default time, so I can start compiling a list of these technical and process issues for the various teams to work on)

t

Sounds like a lot of wasted time and effort since we know Invelos already has in mind to completely change the entire linking system and all in a future update. I know we don't have any idea when it will come... but Ken has publicly stated he is working on a completely new linking system.

I personally wouldn't waste my time.

Quoting Addicted2DVD:

Quote:
since we know Invelos already has in mind to completely change the entire linking system and all in a future update.

We also know that there was a "DVD Profiler Online Plus" planned at some point in the past for some point in the future.

Obsolete post.