340 Messages
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6.8K Points
Feature Request: Smart "Report for Deletion" button for low-data/ghost titles
Hi,
I want to propose a more efficient way for the community to help clean up the database, specifically targeting "ghost" or "phantom" titles that lack any verifiable information.
■ The Problem:
Currently, when we find a page that is clearly a mistake (e.g., a title named just "." or a random string of characters with no cast, crew, or release date), the "Title Deletion" option is often missing from the "Edit Page" menu. This leaves contributors in a dead-end with no way to flag the page for removal.
■ The Solution:
I am proposing a "Smart Reporting" system.
I am NOT suggesting this for established films like Psycho or Citizen Kane. Instead, this feature should be triggered only for:
● Low-data pages: Titles with no credited cast, crew, or production companies.
● Placeholder titles: Titles consisting of symbols, dots, or "TBA".
● Abandoned test pages: Pages that have existed for months/years without a single update.
How it would work:
If a title meets certain "low-integrity" criteria (lack of metadata), a "Report as Non-Existent/Junk" button should appear. This would allow users to quickly alert staff to a page that shouldn't be in the database, without having to navigate the complex (and often missing) "Edit Page" deletion workflow.
Thanks
Col_Needham
Employee
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8.4K Messages
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194.1K Points
3 months ago
@plur62 Thanks for the suggestion, however, this is already how the existing title deletion option is supposed to work. It is not available on all titles to protect established titles (as you note) but it should be available on the types of titles to which you are referring here. A better approach would be for you to post a list of titles which lack the delete option and we can look at adjusting the criteria in the current system vs. building a duplicate system. We would need around 5-10 example titles which need to be deleted in order to build an understanding of where the current system is failing.
Aside from the above though, is the system for titles which do not have a delete option in the contribution interface really that difficult? As you can see in https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/titles/title-corrections/G7J57QHX9CAN989N?ref_=helpsrall#deleting all you need to do is follow the specific link which takes you directly to the appropriate contact form at https://help.imdb.com/contact?deepLink=delete_title&disableLoginPopup=true and provide the required information (which needs to be provided via the other route anyway). The only real difference is that in the contact from you have to include a link to the title page which you are trying to delete.
Hope this helps.
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