as attribute for cast name of 'Beth' no longer accepted

Hi @ron3 -

Thanks for your report, I believe this issue is isolated this this specific name page only (for "Beth Poll").  I have filed a ticket for the appropriate tech team to review and fix.  As soon as I have an update I will let you know here.

Note: An error is causing Peter's reply to be displayed instead of ron3's.

It should be because the alternate name has been hidden by the person via IMDb Pro, as mentioned in

• Manage the display of your alternate name(s)

However, in order for IMDb to display "as a different name" for the relevant credits it should be possible to add "as Beth", so I think there is something wrong with IMDb's implementation.

I was unaware of this "as a different name" policy.  I pulled up the data on a couple of other people that are using that "feature" and tried to add and correct (without submitting) their "as" attributes, and found no issues.  However, I may not have been trying the correct hidden name. https://www.google.com/search?q="as+a+different+name"+site%3Aimdb.com

Bottom line (IMO) is that in order for the IMDb to be "complete" we need to be able to submit factual data.  That data also needs to be editable.  If for display purposes, someone chooses to have that data "hidden", then the IMDb should make it clear to people viewing that data, that it has been hidden on purpose by that person or someone acting on their behalf.  Right now, I don't feel that the text, "as a different name", makes that clear.

Thanks.

Hi @ron3 & all -

I'm circling back to confirm that, as discussed in this thread, the contribution form is working as designed, when this error displays it means that the claimed page owner has chosen to suppress their alternative name.

Concerning the comments here, I have relayed the feedback to the appropriate teams regarding this display and contribution experience.

Col: ron3 raised an interesting point above:

Your policy reply addresses the concerns about displaying information, but DOES NOT address the fact that IMDb no longer allows the submission of complete and accurate information.  We (the contributors) should be allowed to submit and edit accurate data, regardless of how it eventually gets displayed.

Suppose actress "Jane Smith" (fictional example person) currently has her alternative name "Jane L. Smith" suppressed. That means that if a contributor sees a movie -- let's call it The Gromit82 Story -- where she was credited as Jane L. Smith, it's not possible to submit the attribute to the cast list for her -- not even to be submitted but replaced by (as a different name) upon display.

Now suppose that Jane Smith realizes that suppressing the alternative name "Jane L. Smith" was a mistake and changes her "Performer profiles & credentials" to allow that name to be displayed again. That would not cause the attribute (as Jane L. Smith) to now be displayed by her credit in The Gromit82 Story, since IMDb would never have collected that information in the first place.

How does "as a different name" attribute affect cast verification flags?

It would seem that if the "as a different name" attribute appears anywhere in the cast list, that the cast cannot be verified. Neither as a new verification, or if the attribute is added after verification, the verification is removed.