sitaxi's profile

9 Messages

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294 Points

Friday, July 17th, 2026

Solved

The folly of demanding proof to delete an IMDb ghost credit

I recently deleted my very old IMDb account because dealing with your automated data validation system became a deeply frustrating chore. I have returned via this forum, from the account which I had also presumed had been deleted, to point out the sheer absurdity of your current data verification loops.

IMDb insists on maintaining a completely false credit claiming Meri Welles is in Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) as a character named "Ethel." She is 100% NOT in this movie. Yet, your data editors are demanding that I "upload evidence" to prove it.

I completely understand the reality of running a massive database. I know that anyone can abuse the system and try to demand random changes without any real proof. BUT in this specific case, we are dealing with an obscure actress—someone at least 99.99% of casual film fans have never even heard of—getting a totally bogus acting credit for a movie that I have personally verified 100% she is not in. Think about the sheer folly of that request. How does a contributor upload physical evidence to prove a person is absent from a 60-year-old film? Do your editors expect me to upload a 90-minute movie frame-by-frame to show she isn't on screen? Demanding proof of a negative is a logical fallacy. I assume this old ghost credit has simply been grandfathered into your database, and because your system won't drop it, copycat sites across the internet are spreading this error.

As an incentive to show you that actual film enthusiasts want to help you fix things right, I also just submitted a correction for Cauliflower Cupids (1970). A prominent image on that page completely misidentifies the blonde actress shown with Jake LaMotta as Meri Welles. It is 100% Lee Meredith. I provided an ironclad, 40-minute timestamp from the YouTube print of the film so hopefully your bots won't instantly reject it. Your rigid validation loops are actively driving away the exact historians and connoisseurs who built this database in the first place, replacing accurate film history with unverified ghost credits. Please have a human editor look at Reference #260716-231049-180000 for the Tarzan deletion and look at the image report for Cauliflower Cupids. Please fix the database, please drop the impossible demands for "absence proof," and please trust the people who actually know these films. Thank you kindly.

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9 Messages

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294 Points

15 hours ago

IMDb did quicky add Lee Meredith's name to that image from 'Cauliflower Cupids' after my correction notice BUT they kept Meri Welles' name too, instead of removing it! Now you have an image of two people (Meredith and Jake LaMotta), just those two, but IMDb is saying there are three!!! I wrote to them again about it. Let's see if they fix it. As for fixing the 1966 Tarzan phony Meri Welles credit, I'm not holding my breath. Thank you.

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4.3K Messages

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43.7K Points

Hello sitaxi

We do not remove live credits without a good evidence or supporting links verifying that the person was not involved in the Movie. This is the reason for your rejection. You can try and find supporting links for the deletion and re submit anytime you want. 

9 Messages

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294 Points

Hello Fran, thank you for your response, but (fran)kly, did you even read what I wrote?

You prioritize maintaining and protecting IMDb's wrong data over the carefully verified facts provided by researchers who actually watch these films. As I said earlier, demanding a link to "prove a negative" for a 60-year-old movie is a logical fallacy. I challenge you, or anyone else at IMDb, to watch this 'Tarzan and the Valley of Gold' 1966 film, and good luck finding Meri Welles in it. And if you take up the challenge, do brush up on who Meri Welles was, what she looked like, but I understand that may be a lot of work...

Thankfully, IMDb finally fixed the Cauliflower Cupids photo today and removed the incorrect tag. Goodbye.