Assistant writer - which department?

adrian's thread : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/weird-problem-adding-assistant-writer-credit/5f84ca50917fbb13d21bbf4f

@Peter_pbn 

Thanks. It was after 2 am and I didn't feel like searching for it.

That it is accepted by the form doesn't mean that it's accepted as policy.

I think Will's answer was pretty clear, again, 'any "assistant" writer role should be listed in the "other crew" bucket, not in the writer section.'

@Peter_pbn 

I think the problem is there is no clear answer as to why "assistant writer" isn't a writing position. In actuality, it almost definitely is. By title, it would seem that they assist in the writing. It seems like a titling problem. If they were listed as story editor, story consultant, etc. (which probably all have similar roles in development of the screenplay/teleplay) then they would be listed in the writing department.

Rules without an good explanation rarely sit well with me. This is one that really needs to be evaluated as to whether it is correct. (And, it most certainly isn't. I think the software is doing pattern matching and considers "assistant writer" and "writer assistant" to be equivalent. They aren't.)

The following statements of mine may be impertinent to the conversation at hand. I find it unfortunate that the industry and academia, or perhaps society more generally, cannot get away from using the word "writer" to refer to a storyteller/testifier. By how we understand it, technically somebody who purely verbally conveys something to a scrivener or a typist is just as much a writer as somebody who expresses themselves directly through text. As if to make things even more interesting, the meaning of the word "dictator" extends far beyond merely orator or speaker. I still have no idea what exactly an assistant writer does, but I get the feeling such a person isn't merely a scribe or typist, yet that is exactly the kind of thought that crosses my mind, given the IMDb data editors attitude on the matter. Maybe "assistant writer" can vary wildly in meaning, that it could merely be consultant who actively participates in brainstorming, or a "script doctor", or even a "grammarian" (with a red ink pen).

Hi, Grayson. That's fine and all, but this question will probably keep coming up over and over and over, until the IMDb site authorities provide an actual explanation.

@Grayson 

As Jeorj states, there needs to be a reasonable explanation as to why people, who almost definitely contribute to the writing process, are not credited as writers.

The fact that this question has been asked twice, recently, verifies his point that it will continue to be asked as it does not make a lot of sense to the people who actually contribute to IMDb.

6 months later, I am once again seeing "assistant story editor" credits which are almost certainly writing credits that we cannot move out of additional crew and still no explanation why "assistant story editor" is an additional crew credit but "junior story editor" is a writing credit as they probably describe the exact same job.