Trailers, Articles, People, Episodes And Titles : 5 Ways To Help!

^{"My Life Through A Lens"@bamagal} 

I still haven't figured out what Karma is yet, so this article will talk about the things that affect "Total Edits" and other types of Submissions that may or may not affect "Karma".  If you do not know what I am talking about here is an image.

This is viewable on your profile page, in desktop view only as far as I can tell.  So, what exactly effects this and what can you do about it? [Staff Edit: Karma is a feature we are still working on. Currently, only VIPs can see it. We will let everyone know more about it in time.] 

If you find that the title you are looking for is not in the database (it is either new, very old or the country is new to MDL) you can go to the "Explore" drop down and select "Add New Title".

The following screen will pop up:

It is pretty self explanatory, but: 

• Mostly known As is the English title, if there is any.
• Native title is the title in its own alphabet.
• Country is where it was made (you have an editing option later where you can choose whether it is a co-op project).
• Also Known As is when the native title is translated to English, there are several different translations (example: 1 Litre No Namida is also known as Ichi Rittoru no Namida, One Litre of Tears, A Diary with Tears, 1 Litre of Tears) and any of these will bring up the specific title page as a search result.
• Synopsis - DO NOT CUT AND PASTE FROM OTHER DRAMA SITES - IMDb and Wikipedia are okay as long as you give credit.  If you are using a browser translator on a Wikipedia article to get an English summary, please say so in the source notation.
• Content Type - Movie, TV Show, or Drama.
• Status - Not released, released, cancelled.
• Duration in minutes (average per episode).

After this you add the cast, crew, release date and a picture. On average, a title will take me 20 minutes to make sure I have all the information. The sources I have been using for old Japanese movies are Movie Walker, Eiga.com, IMDb, and ja.wikipedia. If you would like researching tips for your country of choice, just ask in the comments section below. 

This is also how you edit existing titles, add new cast or crew or how to add a better summary. It takes you through the same form. 

For adding people you go to the "People" drop-down and pick "Add New Person" and you get this form:

It is relatively easy to figure out, so here are some tips:

• Make sure the name is in its native country format- Family name, then the Given name
• If a person has a married name add that in aka or alternate names.  Any nicknames go here as well, anything that someone would type in when they are searching for that person. Note, if a nickname is like MJ it is too broad so do not put it here. MatsuJun would be fine.
• DO NOT CUT AND PASTE BIOGRAPHY'S FROM ANOTHER SITE - same rules apply as in the previous section of this article.

When I search for a person, I usually open 11 tabs on my computer: IMBD, ja.wikipedia, English Wikipedia (if available), nautjillion, their own page and a few others that pop up in my search engine results. Then I put it together in my own words. 

To Add/Edit an episode, go to Episode Guide of a TV show or drama, and something like this will pop up:

Note that episode 95 has been done, but episode 96 has not.  I have not yet tried to add a new picture for an episode, so I do not know if it is possible. Click on the episode you want to edit and fill in the appropriate information. If you are doing a drama, DO NOT SPOIL the episode in the summary. When doing TV shows, add things like guests, games played, but not who won or lost if you are doing a game show.

If you have a show that has a special edition (VS Arashi has 2 specials every year), you must add this as a separate title, but relate it to the main title (the "Related Shows" option).

All of the above directly affect Total Edits and are tracked on the  TOP 100 Contributors List.

If you add 10 actors to the cast of a show, that will count as 10 'edits'. Or if you add 3 alternate titles to a show, that will count as 3 edits. Each individual contribution counts as an 'edit'.   - Skye-N-Rain 

These may or may not effect Karma but, there are other ways to make MDL amazing!

Adding Trailers is super easy to do and all I did was go through my Watchlist and check to see if MDL had a trailer. If not, I searched the internet for one that fit the criteria. Adding trailers to MDL is explained in the Community tasks section of the forums.

There you can: 

1. Provide links for trailers that are missing from MDL.
2. Report broken trailers.

Instructions:

• Preferably high quality videos (720p, 1080p etc);
• English-subtitled trailers have priority over non-subtitled trailers.
• Length: up to 2.5 minutes (long trailers that last over 4 minutes tend to spoil everything and let's face it, who watches them till the end?).

There are several types of article formats on MDL, but you are not confined by them, you just need to ask before writing if you are doing something different. The following is a compilation of Skye's article post and the community task forums.

• What is a CW article? A CW (Currently Watching) article is about a drama that is currently airing. 
• How many episodes should I cover? At least the first 2-3 episodes.
• How to claim one? State here in this thread which currently airing drama you want to write about and you can get started.

But please bear in mind that you should finish and submit the draft for approval within a week. If you don't, other users will be able to claim it. 

You can claim only one CW article per week and you can claim it only after the drama started airing.

What if the drama is finished and I haven't submitted my draft?

In that case you can turn your CW article into a review of the whole drama. Just contact an editor to give you the edit link. If you're not interested in turning your article into a review, then your draft will be removed.

Can two or more users claim the same CW topic?

No. However, there is an exception when it comes to long, 20+ episode dramas. If one user claims the first half or beginning of that drama, you can claim the middle or the second half.

Everyone  likes watching movies, especially on the weekend. Writers in this category provide readers an interesting list of movies worth their time during the weekend.

General expectations:     
     ◘ Provide a basic synopsis of the movies without spoilers    
     ◘ Appropriate content - nothing too lusty or excessively violent    
     ◘ Minimum of 3 movies    
     ◘ English language skills

 Previously published reviews:  Gooheajung's Weekend Movie Picks, Akai's Weekend Movies

There is no forum section for this type of article, so you can ask about it in the general article forum or for more info or to apply for the Weekend Movie position, please contact Kikimorka.

       
Writers discuss the overall career and life of an actor/actress. In a way, SG articles express one's obsessiveness and stalker-ish love for an actor/actress. ;)

General expectations:   
     ◘ Has seen enough of the actor's/actress' dramas    
     ◘ Discuss actor's/actress' roles in dramas/movies    
     ◘ English language skills

Previously published Stalker's Guides: Matsuda Shota, Hyun Bin, Kimura Takuya

You can ask about the topic in the general article forum.  

I would also make sure there is no previous Stalker's Guide about the same actor/actress in the last 5 years and if there is an existing one you, should link it to your updated version.

I hope this article helps you see all the ways you can make MDL better. 

If you have any questions or would like to add anything I missed, please comment in the section below.

In case you are new on MDL, please check out my other article:

  My Drama List: A Users Guide