631 Messages
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13.9K Points
Unrecorded deaths because obituaries do not give date
I submitted two dates of death a month or so ago which were rejected as "unable to verify" even though I gave URLs for obituaries. In the past, if an obituary or death announcement did not give a date of death, an approximate "2024" etc was accepted. I wonder if this policy has now changed.
I think it is important that the fact of a death is recorded in IMDB (where evidence can be cited) even if the date is not known. It is reasonable to assume, especially so late in the year, that a dated announcement or obituary relates to a death some time in the same year.
The two submissions were:
241107-195351-538000 Peter Coulson https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/nov/06/peter-coulson-obituary - no date, assume 2024
241107-194853-729000 2 Wolfgang Manthey https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/06/wolfgang-manthey-obituary - no date given, but assume 2024
If IMDB is going to start refusing to accept verified deaths because no precise date is given, it runs the risk of some deaths never being recorded because there is no evidence of a precise date to be found by Google search.
What is the opinion of contributors and users of IMDB about this? Is it better to imply that a person is still alive, or to record that they died some time in the current year although a precise date may never be known?
Peter_pbn
Champion
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14.5K Messages
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331.1K Points
22 days ago
Since IMDb says Coulson was born in 1942 and the obituary says he died "aged 82", that means he died in 2024. The same applies in the other case.
I don't understand why IMDb would not accept a year alone as a date of birth or death. The day and month can be added later if available.
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Maya
Employee
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1.7K Messages
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18.9K Points
22 days ago
Hi martin_695862-
Thank you for providing this information and the submission reference numbers!
First, I have reviewed the submissions along with the supporting evidence provided, I have resubmitted them on your behalf and they have now been approved. The changes will be live on the site shortly.
As per the rejections, these were processing errors which have been escalated.
The year alone is allowed with valid evidence, especially if the day and month are not known. And just as @Peter_pbn mentions, modifications can be added when available.
Cheers!
(edited)
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