hmvh

Legacy moderator since 2007, "voter" since the ruckus that came with v4.
Here for the database, its use(r)s and their entertainment value. I fix things and remove shit. Selectively beliggerent and always out of gum.

Currently on hiatus and focussed elsewhere.



Bear with me if I do not reply to all messages as there are other responsibilities that pay the rent. Your messages will be read, mistakes will be fixed, issues will be addressed -- but there are no guarantees on their immediacy. Fan mail will get collected. Random MP3 requests will not be entertained.

Words of wisdom:

Good images are good, bad images are better than no images but, most importantly, no images are always better than incorrect ones.
Users sometimes forget that Discogs is primarily a database with a marketplace attached, not the other way around.

How and why things work around here the way they do:

• About Discogs' capitalisation standards: "Databases are done best not when they recreate information exactly, but when they translate information into usable data. This is done via Database Normalization. Start Case is simply one aspect of that Normalization of data. It isn't all about search optimization, trying to duplicate "on release" (or "source") information, or language localization - it's about presenting all data equally and with similar presentation."
• We strive to be neutral and respectful of artists: Discogs simply collates information found on published media. It's a database. It is not MySpaz nor is this Funnybook, or an extension of your social media accounts. No one person has sole dominion over it...
· ...unless you're a certified crackpot: Exhibit A | Exhibit B | Exhibit C | Exhibit D
• What is "Croatian Trance": The origins of the term that launched a thousand removals and a million laughs.
• History revisionism does not sit well here: Exhibit A | Exhibit B | Exhibit C
• Saved threads: A trove of interesting discussions and evidence.
• Don't shake the tree: Because pineapples.

Chronology of significant events:

• Labelcodes (LC, one word) introduced by GVL in 1976. Adopted by the IFPI in 1977. No longer mandatory as of 2017.
• One of the first CDs ever was Billy Joel's "52nd Street" released 1st October 1982 in Japan.
• ISRC standard published by ISO in 1986, recommended by the ISRC since 1988. Early codes issued may be questionable.
• SID codes introduced by Philips/IFPI in 1992, first implementations of mould SIDs seen 1993.
• MPEG-1 audio layer III (MP3) standard published in 1993 (in the wild since about 1995).
• FLAC audio file format ratified in January 2001.
• iTunes Store launched on 28. April 2003.
• Discogs: Infamous version 4 went live on 11. March 2008. Chaos erupted, displeasure ensued.
• Discogs: Highlighting of formatting errors in the submission form since May 2008.
• Discogs: Support of all musical genres since September 2008.
• Discogs: Master Release function and Shadow Catalog Number turned on in April 2009.
• Discogs: BAOI fields introduced in November 2009.

Useful resources:

• Media Packaging: Wiki
• The Style Guide: Wiki
• CD matrix vs. manufacturer identifiers: Forum thread and Wiki
• The Master List of runout information: Forum thread
• Printing companies: Forum thread
• Churches as recording locations: List
• Generic ethnic groups and tribes: current guidelines (archive of original discussion from 2007):
· African native peoples: List
· American native peoples: List
· Asian native native peoples: List
· European native peoples: List
· Oceanian native peoples: List
• The list of lists: Forum thread

Tools and utilities:

• Text manipulation
• Multilingual keyboard

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The very stuff I submitted recounts a chronology of years well wasted.