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.

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.

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.

We recently closed access to the title FAQs, Parents Guides and Plot Synopsis sections and apologize for any inconvenience caused during this time.

We are reinstating editing access for contributors whose account is in good standing and have added sufficient quantities of good data to any section.

If you do not yet have editing abilities and would like to request them, please complete the form below.

http://www.imdb.com/helpdesk/swikieditapply

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)

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

Paragraph break: [p]

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).

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.

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.

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 relevant message board 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.

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 message boards.

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 message board.

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.