Senior Editor Votes

From GCD
Jump to navigation Jump to search

2008 February 12 - anthology genre

Should Anthology be included on the official list of genres?

1 Yes (Mark) 7 No (Jamal, Don, Ralf, Peter, Lou, Matthias, Ramon) 1 Abstain (Ray)

Result: Anthology should not be included as an addition to the genre list.


2008 February 19 - kung-fu genre

Should Kung-Fu be replaced with Martial Arts on the official list of genres as stated above?

7 Yes (Ramon, Peter, Lou, Ralf, Matthias, Jamal, Mark) 0 No 2 Abstain (Ray, Donald)

Result: Kung-Fu should be replaced with Martial Arts on the official list of genres.


2008 April 11 - sequence number format

Required

An integer, unique to every story/item in the issue. The cover is assigned a Sequence of "0" and each subsequent story or item is assigned the next number up in order. Multiple covers are not assigned multiple Sequence numbers of "0", but "1", "2" etc.

7 Yes (Peter, Lou, Ray, Don, Ramon, Ralf, Jamal) 0 No 1 Abstain (Matthias)

Result: Sequence_Number


2008 April 11 - published date format

Required

The date that appears on the book, generally in the indicia of a periodical or on the copyright page of a book. Spell out months or seasons in full, and use the full 4 digit year. If the indicia does not contain a publication date, the information can sometimes be obtained from the cover, distributor catalogs, publisher shipping lists or ads in other comics. If a published date is obtained from outside the comic itself, it should be reported in square brackets, (indicating indexer-added information that is not in the comic), and a note on the source of the data should be added to the cover Notes field. If the publication date is unknown, the copyright date should be reported instead, with a note in the cover Notes field.

For some books "Winter 1945" is the first issue of the year while for others it's the last issue (so it could be followed by either "Spring 1945" or "Spring 1946") so it should be indexed with both years to avoid ambiguity. Check carefully to determine whether "Winter 1945-1946" or "Winter 1944-1945" is appropriate. The same applies to books dated as "Holiday 1945".

If the publishing date in the indicia is obviously wrong (e.g. if a monthly publication has the same publishing date as the previous issue), the date in the indicia should still be indexed, with the correct date in square brackets and an explanatory note in the cover Notes field. Many publishers of serialized periodicals use publication dates that differ from copyright and/or shipping dates. In these cases, the "official" publication date from the indicia should be the date entered in the Published Date field.

Examples:

  • 1945
  • January 1945
  • January 7, 1945
  • 7 January 1945
  • Late January 1945
  • January-February 1945
  • December 1945-January 1946
  • Spring 1945
  • Winter 1945-1946
  • Holiday 1945-1946
  • [January 1945]
  • [1945]
  • [January] 1945
  • [circa 1910]
  • [circa 1950s]
7 Yes (Peter, Ramon, Mark, Ralf, Lou, Ray, Don) 0 No 2 Abstain (Jamal, Matthias)

Result: Publication Date


2008 April 17 - page count format

Required

For the cover sequence only, this is the total number of pages for the entire book, including both sides of both covers, story pages, pin-up pages, text pages, ad pages and blank pages. Every side of every bound or stapled page should be counted. Most current standard American comics are therefore 36 pages, most American Golden Age books are 68 pages, European albums don't tend to have a standard number of pages and trade paperbacks or Manga can run into the hundreds of pages.

Gatefold pages and covers should be counted based on the amount of content they add to the comic. Therefore if a front cover folds out to twice its normal size, it would count as 6 pages (inside and outside of rear cover, inside and outside of front cover, inside and outside of fold-out cover) rather than the standard 4 (inside and outside of rear cover, inside and outside of front cover). Details about this should be added in the Notes field for the Cover sequence.

Bound advertising or other matter stapled or glued into the center of a comic should be counted as if it is part of the total page count, even if the page size is different. Details about this should be added in the Notes field for the Cover sequence.

Inserts which aren't bound in, such as trading cards, 3-D glasses or separate comics, do not count towards the total page count of the comic. They should be noted in the Notes field for the Cover sequence and then added as their own sequence (with the "Insert" type)

For hardcover books with dust jackets, the dust jacket is not included as part of the count. Details about it should be added in the Notes field for the Cover sequence. If it contains artwork that is somehow unique, it can be indexed separately (using the "Insert" type).

For all other sequences besides the cover, this is the page count of the sequence being indexed. Partial page counts are allowed, and should be expressed as decimals.

Theoretically, if all contents of a comic are indexed, the page counts of the individual sequences (plus 1 for the cover) should add up to the total page count of the comic.

6 Yes (Peter, Lou, Ray, Don, Ramon, Ralf) 0 No 2 Abstain (Matthias, Jamal)

Result: Page_Count


2008 April 17 - job number format

Optional

Some comic stories have a small number or number/letter combination written on the first page of the story. It can also appear at the edge of a cover or a pin-up. This was a unique code number assigned to each art job by some publishers. It should be entered here, as closely to how it is written in the book as possible, including hyphens and spaces.

These numbers are often useful for tracking reprints, especially international reprints where the title of the story may be translated into a different language. A job number can also be sometimes referred to as an "inventory code".

Examples:

  • X-219
  • EA165
6 Yes (Peter, Don, Ramon, Ralf, Lou, Ray) 0 No 2 Abstain (Matthias, Jamal)

Result: Job_Number


2008 April 21 - bugzilla

To change the error reporting link on the live website from the errors address ([email protected]) to the bugzilla web page (http://maelstrom.walton.uark.edu/bugzilla/enter_bug.cgi).

7 Yes (Lou, Peter, Don, Ray, Ralf, Ramon, Matthias) 0 No 1 Abstain (Jamal)

Result: To adopt bugzilla as a replacement for the error mailing list.


2008 May 2 - keydate format

Required.

A 10 character code in the form YYYY.MM.DD, unique to every distinct issue in a series and used to represent the publication date of the comic for sorting purposes. This field is required for easy chronological sorting of issues, but is not shown in searches on the website.

The YYYY represents the four-digit year the issue was published. If the publication date spans two years (e.g. December 1968-January 1969), use the first year.

The MM represents the month. For bimonthly publications that list more than one month in their indicia (e.g. January-February 1955), the Keydate should be based on the first month. For quarterly publications, "Spring" issues should be indexed as "04", "Summer" issues should be indexed as "07", "Fall" issues should be indexed as "10", and "Winter" or "Holiday" issues should be indexed as "01" or "12", depending on whether they were published early or late in the year. If the month of publication is not known, either "00" or "13" may be used for MM. "00" is used for an issue published before issues for which a month is known, "13" is used for an issue published after issues for which a month is known.

The DD represents the day. If the exact day of publication is known, it should be included here. Otherwise, for a monthly series DD is represented as a standard value of "00". For comics with a frequency greater than monthly where the exact day of publication is unknown, "10" and "20" should be used on biweekly books, "10", "20", and "30" should be used on biweekly comics where the comic has three issues published during a month and "10", "20", "30", "40" and up to "50" should be used on weekly comics.

Some series such as Dell's Four Color have the keydates entered in by pattern, since the months of the individual issues are generally unknown. If the keydate for an issue is already filled in and doesn't match the published date for the comic, the indexer should contact an editor to investigate whether it is one of these special patterns.

Making sure that the issues in a series sort in the correct order is the most important thing in establishing the Keydates, but trying to get as close as possible to the actual publication date of a comic makes searching across series by date more likely to be correct

Examples:

  • 1980.02.00 (for February 1980)
  • 1945.01.00 (for January 1945)
  • 2002.06.09 (for June 9, 2002)
  • 1960.00.00 (for unknown date in 1960 or unknown date in the 1960s)
  • 1953.04.76 (for Four Color issue #476
7 Yes (Peter, Lou, Ray, Ralf, Ramon, Don, Matthias) 0 No 1 Abstain (Jamal)

Result: Keydate


2008 May 6 - title format

Required for Story, Text Story and Text Article type, Optional for all others

The name of the story, usually from the first page.

If the story is part of a longer story then that information is included after the chapter title. It is included in square brackets if it is not actually listed on the page but can be inferred from the previous or next issue or an outside source (which should be noted in the Notes field). It is included as it is written in the book if it is actually on the page.

Untitled stories can be handled in different ways depending on the situation. The preferred way is to use the first line of script (["First line of script..."]). They can also be listed as "[untitled]" or a title can be made up by the indexer ("[Made Up Title]").

Some Types (such as Cover and Pinup) normally don't have titles. This field can be left blank for those or the most prominent piece of text can be used.

The Title is helpful in identifying reprints or coverless comics, so using the first line of dialogue is preferred to making up a title.

Examples:

  • Clash of the Titans - Title is clearly written
  • [untitled] - No title given
  • [When Titans Clash] - Title made up by indexer based on content
  • ["It was a dark and stormy night..."] - First line of story used as title
  • Hercules Takes Revenge [When Titans Clash Part 47] - Story arc and title inferred
  • When Titans Doth Clash Chapter 4 - As written in the book
6 Yes (Peter, Lou, Ralf, Ramon, Don, Ray) 0 No 2 Abstain (Matthias, Jamal)

Result: Title


2008 June 14 - [nn] or nn

When a book or periodical doesn't have a number listed, should the issue number be [nn] or nn?

5 [nn] (Peter, Ralf, Lou, Ray, Don) 1 nn (Ramon) 2 Abstain (Jamal, Matthias)

Result: [nn] should be used.


2008 June 30 - volume number format

Optional

If there is no Volume Number listed in the issue, this field is left blank (or can be set to 0).

If there is a Volume Number or "Vol" listed in the indicia with an issue number, include it here.

If the Volume Number is the only indication of where the issue at hand lies in the series, the volume number is used as the issue number and in this field.

If the issue numbers are reset at the beginning of each volume number, the volume number is used as part of the issue number and is also listed in this field.

Note: Not shown in current web search interface, also defaults to 0 if it is left blank. Both 0 and blank are acceptable to show that there is no Volume Number.

Examples

  • 0 or (blank) [for no Volume number listed in the comic]
  • 1 [Bone (tradepaperback) Volume 1 -- Volume number used as issue number and volume number]
  • 2 [Supersnipe v2#1 -- Issue number reset at each volume number, volume number used as part of issue number]
  • 23 [Action Comics Volume 23 Issue 265 -- Volume number listed in indicia with an issue number]
5 Yes (Ray, Ralf, Mark, Don, Matthias) 2 No (Lou, Peter) 1 Abstain (Jamal) 1 No Vote (Ramon)

Result: Volume

2008 September 26 - cover price format

Required

This is the price printed plus the Currency Code for the currency of the country of publication. Common currency symbols (such as $) and abbreviations are not to be used. Additonal prices for other countries may be listed separated by a semi-colon. For all books the price is given in the major currency, not divisions of it (for example dollars, not cents).

For issues with no cover price, which were given away free, "0.00 FREE" is used. For issues with no cover price where the original price is not known, [none] is used. For issues with no cover price where the original price is known (from promotional material, for instance), the price in square braces is used, with a note in the notes field for the cover as to how the price was determined.

Comics with non-decimal cover prices (e.g. pre-1966 Australian and pre-1970 British comics) should be shown in this hyphenated format: "price as it appears on the cover [Pounds-Shillings-Pence GBP]".

Examples

  • 0.10 USD
  • 1.50 USD; 1.95 CAD
  • 0.00 FREE
  • 2/6 [0-2-6 GBP]
  • [2.50 CAD] (see notes)
8 Yes (Jamal, Peter, Don, Mark, Lou, Matthias, Ray, Ralf) 0 No 1 Abstain (Ramon)

Result: Cover_Price


2008 September 27 - public archives

To change the group settings so that the message archives are publicly viewable.

3 Yes (Ralf, Don, Lou) 7 No (Ramon, Jamal, Mark, Peter, Ray, Matthias) 0 Abstain

Result: To keep the message archives private.


2008 October 5 - foreign language articles in series title

Given the following example set of series titles:

  • The Photographer (us series)
  • Die Spinne (us series)
  • The Reporter (german series)
  • Das Telefon (german series)

The sorting should appear as:

1) sort them strictly alphabetically, including articles

    Das Telefon (ger)
    Die Spinne (us)
    The Photographer (us)
    The Reporter (ger)

2) sort them as if all articles didn't exist, regardless of series language

    The Photographer (us)
    The Reporter (ger)
    Die Spinne (us)
    Das Telefon (ger)

3) only ignore articles from the series language

    Die Spinne (us)
    The Photographer (us)
    Das Telefon (ger)
    The Reporter (ger)
0 strictly by alphabet 1 disregard all (Ramon) 5 ignore by series language (Lou, Peter, Mark, Ralf, Ray) 3 Abstain (Jamal, Don, Matthias)

Result: To only ignore articles from the series language.


2008 October 27 - single panel cartoon books

We, the Senior Editors, consider books or periodicals of single panel cartoons, comic panels, editorial cartoons and gag cartoons as comics that can be indexed in the GCD.

8 Yes (Ralf, Ray, Lou, Jamal, Don, Peter, Ramon, Matthias) 0 No 0 Abstain (Mark)

Result: Yes, single panel cartoon books can be indexed.


2008 October 27 - credits format

Required (specific exceptions noted in individual credit definitions)

The people who performed specific roles in the creation of a given sequence or story.

First and last names should be used, not initials or simply last names: "Joe Kubert", not "J. Kubert" or "Kubert"

Multiple creators should be separated by a semi-colon and space. If it is known which pages were done by specific creators, include those pages in parentheses after each name.

If the credited name differs from the real name, the pseudonym should be noted in brackets after the full name: "Mike Esposito [as Micky Demeo]".

If a creator is exclusively credited with the pseudonym, the real name does not need to be recorded: "Frank Quitely" and "Stan Lee" instead of "Vince Deighan [as Frank Quitely]" and "Stanley Lieber [as Stan Lee]"

Group names should be noted with the individuals listed in brackets after the group name.

If there is uncertainty about a credit, note it with a space and a question mark after the name.

If a credit is unknown, enter only a question mark: "?". Do not use "n/a" or leave the field blank.

If a credit is not relevant, such as the colorist on a black and white story, enter only "none". Do not use "n/a" or leave the field blank.

If a credit needs elaboration beyond the name of the field, include the job title or role after the name in parentheses.

Multiple initials should be separate by spaces.

If a creator's preferred name is known and it is not their full name or does not conform to standard grammatical naming conventions, then the preferred name should be used: "E. Nelson Bridwell", "KC Carlson", "cat yronwode", "Frank Quitely"

If you disagree with a printed credit index what you think is correct along with "(see notes)" and include the wrong credit and your justification for ignoring it in the notes field.

Examples

  • Joe Kubert
  • C. C. Beck
  • Joe Kubert ?
  • Gene Colan [as Adam Austin]
  • ? [as A. Nony Mouse]
  • Comicraft [Saida Temofonte; Richard Starkings]
  • Diverse Hands [Frank Giacoia; Mike Esposito; Alan Weiss]
  • Vince Colletta; Murphy Anderson (Superman heads)
  • Jack Kirby (1-5, 20-22); Alex Toth (6-19)
  • Julius Schwartz; E. Nelson Bridwell (assistant)
  • Wendy Pini; Richard Pini; Wolfgang Hohlbein (translator)
  • Stan Lee (plot); Dennis O'Neil [as Sergius O'Shaugnessy] (script)
  • William Shakespeare (original story); Fred Hembeck (adaptation)
  • Frank Giacoia (see notes)
8 Yes (Jamal, Ralf, Mark, Don, Peter, Ray, Ramon, Matthias) 1 No (Lou) 0 Abstain

Result: Credits


2008 November 2 - cover price format update - same currency listed twice

For issues with different prices using the same currency, list the country code after the currency code.

Example

  • 3.99 EUR DE; 3.50 EUR AT; 1.50 EUR FR
8 Yes (Mark, Ray, Ralf, Lou, Peter, Jamal, Don, Matthias) 0 No 1 Abstain (Ramon)

Result: Cover_Price


2008 November 3 - senior editor voting

1) Anyone brings up a topic for discussion with DISCUSS in the header.

2) The secretary edits the wiki to add the discussion topic.

3) After all opinions are heard and no more messages are forthcoming (at least three days), the member who brought up the issue creates a ballot and submits it with VOTE in the subject.

4) The ballot remains open for one week.

5) The member who brought up the issue tallies the votes and sends a result e-mail with RESULT in the subject.

6) The secretary posts the result to the wiki and sends a result e-mail to the editor, board, main, and tech lists.

8 Yes (Mark, Don, Jamal, Lou, Ralf, Peter, Matthias, Ray) 0 No 1 Abstain (Ramon)

Result: Voting and result distribution procedures as enumerated above.