Parents Guide Help

Parents Guide is part of the new collaborative editing feature in IMDb. We've created the ability for contributors to directly add/update/edit/delete Parents Guide data entry for titles.

While IMDb already includes MPAA and Certification ratings from around the world, this new feature will give parents and movie viewers additional information about the title that cannot be fully conveyed using a rating system. Since the beliefs that parents want to instill in their children can vary greatly. we ask that instead of adding your personal opinions about what is right or wrong in a film, that you instead use this new feature to help parents make informed viewing decisions by describing the facts of relevant scenes in the title for each one of the different categories: "Sex and Nudity", "Violence and Gore", "Profanity", "Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking" and "Frightening/Intense Scenes".

Please note that we (and our contributors) are still adamant and passionate about ensuring that our data remains as structured as possible and properly categorized, so if you add data here that is irrelevant, it is highly likely that other users will remove or revert it.

Here's one example of a Parents Guide, created for the movie Scary Movie 3:

http://imdb.com/title/tt0306047/parentalguide

The Parents Guide is made up of five different categories: "Sex and Nudity", "Violence and Gore", "Profanity", "Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking" and "Frightening/Intense Scenes". You should first decide into which category you want to add the scene description.

Once you have selected the category, it's very easy to add new scenes to it: click on the "Edit" button in the line corresponding to the category you have selected. While you edit the content you can always press "Preview" to see how your edits will look live on site. Press "Save" when you are satisfied with your changes. Press "Cancel" if you want to cancel your changes.

Keep the Parents Guide policies in mind when editing:

If you include character names in your scene descriptions, please list the actor or actress name in parentheses after the first occurrence of their character's name. Example: Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)

Please remember that this feature should not be used to impose moral views or to argue about the suitability of the titles for children, but instead should serve as a place to let parents learn about a movie and make an informed decision based on the scene descriptions offered.

You must be a registered IMDb user and authenticate your account to start editing a Parents Guide page.

You must authenticate your account to start editing a Parents Guide page. Please click here to do so now.

This extra authentication is voluntary for most site features, but is required for gaining the ability to add/update/edit a Parents Guide page.

Authenticated accounts help us produce features to reduce the amount of spam, trolling and other malicious or disruptive activity on our site over time.

Here's a list of formatting features that we allow:

We support formatting using [Square Brackets].

Basic font modifications: i - italics [i]italic[/i]

b - bold [b]bold[/b]

Color coding:

Red - red [red]red[/red]

Green - green [green]green[/green]

Blue - blue [blue]blue[/blue]

purple - purple [purple]purple[/purple]

Orange - orange [orange]orange[/orange]

Yellow - yellow [yellow]yellow[/yellow]

Links to names: Cynthia Lea by using [link=nm2106835] (get the name number (also known as nconst) from the URL of the person's page)

Links to titles: Red's Dream by using [link=tt0093832](get the title number (also known as tconst) from the URL of the title's page)

Links to urls http://www.imdb.com [url]Full URL[/url]

Spoilers: here's a big secret! [spoiler]Spoiler text[/spoiler]

Paragraph break: [p]

We are working toward standardizing our markup across all our tools, so if there's a particular bit of markup that is egregiously bad, or so wonderfully good that we should incorporate it, please let us know in the message board only.

When you click on the "History" button next to a category, you see a pull down menu that has a list of the times and contributors that have edited this category. You can select one of these and view how the topic has changed over time. If there is a serious error in a current version of the topic, or it was damaged while saving, you can revert back to a previous version by making that the current selected version, then clicking the "Revert" button. You can also click the "View full history" link at the bottom of the page to view in one central place, all the changes the entire page has undergone.

Please note that "Reverting" a section of text simply because you don't like the content or disagree with a judgment call in that content is frowned upon. Our tools allow us to monitor topics that undergo reversion too often, and we may take action if we feel reversions are made inappropriately.

Every Parental Information page has a "Watch" button on it. By clicking the "Watch" button, you are adding the page to your "Watchlist". Your "Watchlist" will list all the pages that you are watching.

We suggest you bookmark your Watchlist and then check it periodically to see at a glance which Parents Guide pages have been updated.

You can also access your "Watchlist" by going to your account page and clicking on "View your Watchlist" (under the History bar).

Before editing a category, stop and think about why and how you want to edit the category. Simply not agreeing with someone is not a good reason to edit. Inappropriate use of editing is considered a violation of our Terms and Conditions by our administrators.

Use the "Discuss" page (click on the "discuss" button at the top right-hand corner of the page) to discuss with fellow IMDb users ways to improve the current postings.

One good reason to edit a category is if it violates the our Terms and Conditions then you can delete the question by pressing the "Edit" button and editing/deleting the relevant content.

Please remember: avoid using Revert unless you're reverting to correct/remove obvious vandalism. Simply not agreeing with someone is not a good reason to revert a section of text.. Use the "Discuss" page to discuss with fellow IMDb users ways to improve the topic posted.

If you do notice obvious vandalism, revert the changes by pressing the "History" button or "View full history" link, and choosing the version you want to revert to from the drop down menu. If, after carefully reviewing the version you select, you still think that there is still a reason to revert the page to this version, click on the "Revert" button.

To help you compare between versions, check the box next to the "show changes" option, which lets you compare between two versions of the topic. Text that was deleted between the two versions is marked with red and a strike line over it. Text that was added between the two versions is marked with green.

Admins have the ability to lock a Parents Guide page from editing. It is usually done (a) permanently for policy pages, such as this one, (b) temporarily, in the case of an edit war, and (c) temporarily, in the case of frequent vandalism.

The discussion page of the locked page will remain open for editing and is the best place to discuss ways to end an editing war.

Locking a page on any particular version is not meant to express support for that version and therefore requests should not be made that the protected version be reverted to a different one. As a general rule, unless in a case of obvious vandalism, the page will be locked in its last version.

Requests for unlocking a page should only be made when the risk of vandalism to a page has dissipated or the sides in an editing war have reached an agreement on the discussion page.

Please use the "Report a problem" link at the bottom of the page to request a lock/unlock.

Remember: It might take time for Admins to respond to requests, so please be patient and respectful.

The Parents Guide page itself is not a place for opinions or arguments. The purpose of the Discussion page is to give Parental Information editors a place to discuss issues and reach a consensus and by doing so, to avoid editing wars on the content page itself. The discussion page is also a place for suggestions for improvements for the Parental Information page.

Please keep in mind the Discussion page policies when posting in the discussion page.

First, read the entire discussion page. (Find it by clicking on the "Discuss" button at the right-hand corner of the webpage.) If other users are discussing the same issue you want to add, join their discussion instead of creating a new one. If, after reading the entire discussion page, you find that you do have a new issue to discuss, press the "add" button in the bottom of the page. Type the issue to discuss in the "subject" line and a short description or your point of view on the matter in the text box. To keep track of replies to your newly-posted issue, visit the page frequently and consider adding the page to your "Watchlist".

Click on the "+" button at the end of the comment you want to respond to and type in your answer/comment. Press the "Save" button to save your comment, or "Cancel" to discard it. Your answer/comment will automatically be placed in the correct place on the page.

Once you have pressed "Save" you cannot edit your posting.

Once you pressed "Save" you cannot edit your posting in the Discussion page.

Group responsibility is the key here; the entire IMDb community, including ourselves and users like you, will work together to prevent people from adding bad information.

If you notice bad data on the site, help us by editing the data and correcting it. But please remember, different people have different views: Respect other contributors and interact in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Treating others with respect is key to collaborating effectively. The best way to reach a consensus is discussing the issue with other contributors by using the "discuss" page.

We also choose to require Parental Information users to authenticate their account before being able to edit Parental Information. Users who violate the Parental Information policies will have their authentication removed and will not be able to edit a Parental Information page.

Please report this using the "Report a problem" link at the bottom of the page.

Remember: It might take time for Admins to respond to requests, so please be patient and respectful.

We understand that some titles are more prone to editing wars. If you notice such a case, please use the "Report a problem" link at the bottom of the page.

Please do not request a lock if:

1. You notice a single event of vandalism - instead simply revert the change.

2. There is a content dispute - instead peacefully discuss the issue in the relevant discussion page.

Remember: It might take time for Admins to respond to requests, so please be patient and respectful.

We're eager to hear what you think and how we can improve this feature. We'd also like to know where we can extend collaborative editing beyond Parents Guide. We have some good ideas, but more suggestions from you would be even better!

Please let us know at this message board.