Rule about correcting pages
 

Have we ever really settled on the rules for making a correction to a page? The reason I ask is that we don't seem to have much of a consensus on when it's appropriate and when it's not.

On the one hand, we have some people (usually anonymous users) who correct a page because they think they know they're right, even though they're actually wrong. I can't count the number of times, for example, that I've seen users who tried to change a page to say that a Glock seen in a movie has to be a Glock 22 or 23 because it's being carried by an FBI Agent. Or the people who keep changing the "Bourne Supremacy" page to say that the sniper rifle used by Matt Damon is a WA 2000 (which it's not). This is why I tend to recommend that people instead use the Talk page to discuss a correction first, before it's made.

The problem is that sometimes, discussing corrections doesn't lead to changes, because the person who made the page doesn't notice, or they're just too lazy to discuss it. Somebody else may suggest that a gun is different, and they might be right, but obviously, that's not going to matter if they get ignored by whoever started the page. In which case, my method is useless.

So how do we reconcile this problem? My suggestion is that people should generally not change a page without discussing it first, but if the person who started the page ignores them, then they have the right to change it after a certain period of time. But how long should they have to wait?

I think that should be stated in the rules. Just because they carry it in real life, doesn't mean they'll carry it in the movies. I'm not good at identifying whichever Glock anyways, but I always go with whatever 9mm model, 17, 19, etc.

It does say in the rules that the person making the correction should be sure they're right. But that's too subjective a criteria. The person making the correction is probably going to think they're right, even if they don't appreciate how movie gun vs. real gun reality differs.

What we need is a page explaining the behind-the-scenes information, and common mistakes made by IMFDB viewers. But that's a separate matter from "Rules". That's a matter of explaining the mindset that IMFDB viewers need to have.

Ok, so we should make a "Common Mistakes" page then, to point out the things people have done wrong and should look out for.

A perfect page for the "General Information section". I look forward to seeing it. :D

I think that pages once they are determined that they cannot be improved any further should be locked. That will prevent users messing around on pages.

I am already in the habit of protecting most of the pages I work on against Anonymous Users (or at least setting "Watch" alerts so that if someone makes a change, I'll see it instantly).

But I'm not sure we want to lock pages when judged complete, since that, too, can be subjective. You'd be surprised what I sometimes discover was missing when I get my hands on a Blu Ray version of a movie. Like when I re-did "The Siege" last week and noticed (for the first time) that there is an XM177/M203 in the movie, and a S&W auto at the end.

Then again, maybe we could lock the page itself, but leave the Talk Page open.

Yeah, I guess we should. Though it's hard to imagine it will be widely read.

As for the Glock problem, I did write a paragraph (which appears on both the Glock 22 and Glock 23 sections) explaining why users shouldn't assume FBI Agents in movies are carrying those guns. But even so, we still get noobs trying to change pages. In which case, I often have to do the same thing on particular movie pages. It's like, I have to anticipate what they'll do, and then preemptively correct them.

And also remember to protect pages from random people. I wish we can do that for the website. You have to register to post something

Hasn't that already happened with The Wild Geese page?