artemis_9's profile

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2.7K Points

Wednesday, August 9th, 2023 9:21 AM

In Progress

Keywords lists are a mess, and there are technical errors as well

As a long time IMDb user, I have used and contributed to the keywords with not much problems, except two:

a) KEYWORDS POLICIES and how they are not implemented

Keywords available from the alphabetical menus are huge, and show all - and I mean ALL - types of infringement of IMDb rules listed here: https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/titles/keywords/GXQ22G5Y72TH8MJ5?ref_=helpsrall#duplicate

What riles me is that after a century of existence (IMDb started in the 20th century LOL) you have not devised ways to prevent and correct this, besides underlining in red words that are or look as spelling mistakes. I's suggest blocking entries that look similar to one in existence; blocking entries that blatantly look like a plural word, or a foreign word... and by creating an internal application for IMDb staff use, to force mergers of keywords such as:

884 erotic-vignette
4 erotic-voices
4 erotic-comedy
32 erotic-photo-shoot
3 erotic-photoshoot
3 erotic-photography
3 erotic-horror
3 erotic-fantasy
3 erotic-drama
23 erotic-asphyxiation
2 erotic-scene
2 erotic-70s
2 erotic day-dream
14 erotic-thriller
12 erotic-torture
12 erotic
1 erotic-video
1 erotic-talk-show
1 erotic-soap-opera
1 erotic-massage-parlor
1 erotic-magazine
1 erotic-dream
1 erotic-drawing

I had no idea there were so many people (884) interested in thumbnails in a movie, I am usually paying more attention to the actors and the cinematography; may be in the USA the word is current as a synonym for image or picture? In which case the more common substantive should be used.

The use of the adjective «erotic» in these composite keywords betrays what is really important about the movies in which all of them appear: «erotica» - which is not a Plot Keyword, but an Other, or Subgenre, depending on your rules eventually being revised...

2831 erotica
9 eroticism
2 erotism 
1 erotophonophilia

I'm writing this and still laughing about how a crazy psychiatrist IMDb user entered the keyword «erotophonophilia» to describe a meaningful event in the plot.  I presume to be an expert on the subject of sexual fetishes and deviations (I read a book in the 1970s) but I had not come across this, so I looked up the dictionaries to be sure the word exists. Not only does It exists, it is one of the most common sexual interests in movies and TV series that I fed every single night on global TV networks. Obviously, not even experts (doctors or crime squad agents) will look for this keyword in IMDb, even though I suspect they would look for «lust-murder». (Which is under another menu, that I did not look up now.)

Wouldn't «erotica» sum it all nicely, as an Other Keyword, better than all the above?

b) KEYWORDS BUGS IN THE MENUS

Yesterday I tried to add the plot keyword «lift-and-carry» to the movie Female Mercenaries on Zombie Island (1995) (V). IMDb rejected the keyword, stating 'lift-and-carry' is not one word in the list. So I checked the list, and there were 10 there! It was eventually accepted as «lift-and-carrying» in my IMDb update receipt #230808-134613-847000

I do not know what causes the rejection, and I am guessing it's a technical problem of some sort. I have come across this sort of bug (?) before, but it's the first time I complain. 

Champion

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1 year ago

Yesterday I tried to add the plot keyword «lift-and-carry» to the movie Female Mercenaries on Zombie Island (1995) (V). IMDb rejected the keyword, stating 'lift-and-carry' is not one word in the list. So I checked the list, and there were 10 there!

I think the keyword isn't recognized by the form if it has only been used on adult titles.

But it is only a warning, so why couldn't you add it?

Champion

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In real life, the expression lift-and-carry has nothing sexual about it.

I googled it and some sexual explanations came up. But in general I think it is an unclear expression. I don't know what you were using it about.

(edited)

90 Messages

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2.7K Points

In this video, there are several people knocked out or killed and carried away to another place by the perpetrators.  I used the expression in its dictionary meaning, to describe the action of lifting up and carrying, an action that is of interest to many, though not me.  Yet, I try to be objective when picking up keywords for the data-base. 

Employee

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17.2K Messages

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310K Points

1 year ago

Hi @artemis_9 -

My apologies for the delayed staff response. As I understand the Keyword concerns you raised:

1) You have seen inconsistent keywords listed that violate our policies, with the example being specific "erotic-" keywords as opposed to just being listed as "erotica", is that correct?

2) Observed keyword bugs wherein upon submitting a keyword the form provides a Warning indicating "xxx is not one of the existing keywords we have in this section." and instructs you to add the keyword as new, despite the keyword already being listed on the site. 

For the second issue, I was able to replicate this in  the system with the example you provided and have filed a ticket for the applicable tech team to investigate.

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2.7K Points

@Michelle​ 

1) That was not my point. My point is that an expression that has nothing sexual or erotic about it, unless your mind is so much into it - "lift-and-carry" listed 10 times in IMDb, was rejected when I tried to use it because "it is not one of the existing keywords in this section". I considered, and still do, that is nonsense, and keywords should not be departmentalized at all.

Peter_bpn gave me a possible explanation that I accepted as a fact, though I still oppose the IMDb policy that conduces to such a result.

2) That is a general problem I observed many times in the past, and I thank you for trying to address the problem.

Employee

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17.2K Messages

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310K Points

Hi @artemis_9​ -

Thanks for the additional comments and clarification of departmentalized keywords.  I have passed along your feedback to our policy team for visibility.