FAQ Help

FAQ is part of the new collaborative editing feature in IMDb. We've created the ability for contributors to directly add/update/edit/delete an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) entry for titles. This is the spot to put all that great information that does not fit into one of our other categories. Note that we are still adamant and passionate about ensuring that our data remains as structured as possible and properly categorized (as are our contributors) so if you add data here that is irrelevant, it is highly likely that other users will remove or revert it.

IMDb users are constantly adding new and interesting FAQs; however, some movies do not have an FAQ yet. Users are welcomed to create one as long as they are registered users in IMDb and have authenticated their account.

Sure you can; however, you will have to be a registered user in IMDb and to authenticate your account to start editing an FAQ.

Once you registered and authenticated your account you will be offered the option to create the FAQ - simply click the "yes" button, and the FAQ will be created.

An FAQ page is made up of a series of one or more topics. A topic is one "question/answer" pair. The "statement" or "question" part of a topic goes in the question field, and the "answer" goes in the "answer" field.

It's very easy to add new topics. Scroll down to the bottom of the FAQ page and select "Add".

You're required to add both a "question" and an "answer" to form a complete FAQ topic - both fields must be filled in.

Keep the FAQ policies in mind when adding a new question. Especially remember: Do not add content that obviously fits other sections of IMDb. We do not want to replicate information that can easily fit in one of our pre-existing categories. "Hard" data like cast/crew information, release dates or boxoffice numbers are still going to be edited and managed via the regular submission process (click here if you want to learn how to contribute to non-FAQ categories).

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

The FAQ is not the page to suggest questions or discuss them. You should use the "Discussion" page instead to discuss potential questions. The message boards are the appropriate place for general purpose discussions. You can access the "Discussion" page by clicking on the "Discuss" button at the top right-hand corner of the FAQ page.

The message board is accessible from the title and name board using the message board link on the left hand sidebar.

You have to be a registered user in IMDb and to authenticate your account to start editing an FAQ.

You have to authenticate your account to start editing an FAQ.

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

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

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 (nconst) from the URL of the person's page)

links to titles: Red's Dream by using [link=tt0093832](get the title number (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]

[quote]Quotation[/quote]

---

Quotation

---

[pre] [/pre]

preserve
line
breaks

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, let us know - in the discussion board only!

When you click history below a topic you see a pull down menu that has a list of the times and contributors that have edited this topic. 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 revert.

Reverting simply because you don't like the content or disagree with a judgement call in that content is poor sportsmanship. Our tools allow us to monitor topics that undergo reversion too often, and we may take action if we feel reversions are done inappropriately.

We are glad that you are on board!

The Blade Runner FAQ is a good example for an FAQ page.

If you want edit the content of a topic, than by simply clicking the "Edit" button you can start editing the topic. 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 FAQ policies in mind, before editing or reverting other people's edits. Stop, think and assume the other side point of view - understand that the other side thinks that he was right in editing the FAQ. Therefore if you find a mistake correct it, but if you simply do not agree with the other side consider using the discussion page.

Every FAQ page has a "Watch" button on it. By clicking the "Watch", 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 check it periodically to tell at a glance which FAQs 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 deleting a queston stop and think why you want to delete the question. Simply not agreeing with someone is not a good reason to delete. Inappropriate use of delete is considered a violation of our terms and conditions by our administrators.

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 question or answer posted.

A good reason to delete a question is if it is a duplicate, or the topic is subsumed entirely within another FAQ entry.

If there is consensus that a question should be deleted or if a topic was posted as an act of vandalism, or it violates the service's Terms and Conditions, you can delete the question by pressing the "Delete" button.

Remember: avoid using Revert unless you're reverting obvious vandalism. Simply not agreeing with someone is not a good reason to do that. 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, and choosing the version you want to revert to from the drop down menu. If after carefully reviewing the version you choose to view, 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 choose 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 an FAQ page from editing. It is usually done (a) permanently for policy pages, such as this one, (b) temporarily in a case of an edit war, and (c) temporarily in a 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.

Request for unlocking a page should be done in case that the risk of vandalism to a page was removed or the sides in the editing war reached an agreement by means of a discussion 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 FAQ page itself is not a place for opinions or arguments. The purpose of the Discussion page is to give FAQ editors a place to discuss issues and reach a consensus and by that avoiding editing wars on the content page itself. The discussion page is also a place for suggestions for improvements for the FAQ page itself, such as suggesting to reorder the questions or suggesting a new question.

Keep in mind the Discussion page policies when posting in the discussion page.

First read the 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 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 discription or your point of view on the matter in the text box. To follow up on replays to your 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 currect place on the page.

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

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

You, me and the rest of the IMDb community 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 FAQ users to authenticate their account before being able to edit FAQ. Users who violate the FAQ policies will have their authentication removed and will not be able to edit an FAQ.

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 FAQs. We have some good ideas, but more is better!

Please let us know at this message board.