How Editing Works

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Revision as of 07:25, 8 December 2009 by PavanChander (talk | contribs) (Reworded the "philosophy" section.)
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See also the EditingFAQ or the ClassicalMusicFAQ on our wiki.

Editing Philosophy

Maintaining a comprehensive database of all types of music is a large task, and MusicBrainz depends on its users to spot mistakes in the database and then to take the initiative to correct these errors. To help with that task the MusicBrainz editing and voting system was designed, it gives MusicBrainz users the ability to update and maintain the database effectively and easily.

Although in the past some new data was automatically imported from a number of sources (such as freedb.org, the EMusic collection, the CD Index database, and metadata submitted via FreeAmp) the quality was generally lacking and had to be manually fixed to conform to the MusicBrainz style guidelines. Thus the vast majority of new data that is now entered into the database is added by MusicBrainz users, like you!

MusicBrainz is an open community with the goal that the people who use MusicBrainz will take it upon themselves to correct any incorrect information they may come across and/or add information where it may be lacking.

Please also read how to vote for information on the review process each edit goes through before being accepted into the database.

Editing Guide

In order to maintain a consistent level of quality in the database, editors should familiarize themselves with the MusicBrainz style guidelines. Your changes will be judged against these guidelines when other users vote on your edits.

To edit (change) the database, follow these steps:

  1. Create a MusicBrainz account and log in. Anyone can create an account. We don't ask for any private information, so there is no chance for us to give this information to anyone! One thing we do ask that all users of MusicBrainz follow the CodeOfConduct.
  2. Search/browse for your favorite artist and view the releases by that artist.
  3. If you spot a mistake, a typo, or a mis-classification click on the Edit/Move/Add link next to the incorrect/missing data item. If you are not logged into MusicBrainz (see step #1) you will not see these edit links.
  4. The edit links will take you to pages where you can edit/add the information for that artist. On the edit pages you will find further instructions and links for StyleGuideline that will provide a guidance for this particular EditType. Please read and follow these guides - they are important in order for the entire database to be consistent. If the edit page has more than one field that can be edited, but not all fields need to be changed, just leave the correct fields like they were.
  5. Once you click on submit on the edit/add pages, you will be taken back to the release/artist page that you just came from. An edit will be entered into the database, and if you click on the View Edits button at the top of the page you will be taken to the artist or release edits search page for that release/artist. If you click on the left sidebar Vote on Edits you will be you will be able to view/vote on all open edits in the database.
  6. The default edits page lists all the edits that are currently pending. Please vote on other people's edits. This is as important as making changes to the existing incorrect data. Each row in the moderation table will contain information about the suggested change and what it will be changed to. Once you have made a vote your Voting page will show how many peope have voted yes and no to the suggestion. You may only vote once on a change and you may not vote for your own edits. Once you have voted you can still revise your vote to Yes, No or Abstain.
  7. For all of the edits that you have not voted on, you may select the Yes, No or Abs radiobutton for Yes, No or Abstain. You can go down the list of edits and vote for each by selecting the appropriate radio button and then clicking on submit at the top or bottom of the page. If you are not sure about an edit or you have no idea if the suggested edit is correct, then simply abstain from the vote.
  8. If 3 people unanimously vote for or against a suggested change, the change is immediately accepted or rejected, respectively. If the votes are not unanimous the system will wait for 1 week and then accept the suggested change into the database if the simple majority of editors voted yes. If the vote fails to achieve a simple majority it is dropped from the moderation table without being applied to the database. Some edits, such as the add release edits, will add data into the database at the time the edit is entered into the system. If such edits get voted down, the data that was entered for the edit will be removed from the database.
  9. The default edits page shows new edits, but you may also view your past votes or your past edits by selecting the Old Edits and My Edits links at the top of the edits table. The expiration times show on the edits page are in GMT.
  10. If you find yourself in a position where you have made a mistake, you can cancel your own edits by going to your open edits (a link can be found on your profile page). When you find a bad edit, click on its Cancel edit link to mark it as "To be canceled"; it will then be removed from the database within the hour. This is much better and less time-consuming than creating a new edit that corrects the bad edit (in which case both the correction and the original bad edit would have to be voted on, creating extra work for everyone).

AutoEditors

See AutoEditors.

Get Editing!

If you're ready, go to the pending edits to vote on edits. If you'd like to participate in the editing process, but don't know where to start, check out the editing suggestions page.