How's this for an idea.  Invelos maintains the common name database and users link to that with "as credited" name. 

- User when making new profiles, enter only a single field "as credited" name and link it to a downloaded Invelos maintained master common name database. 
- User may request a name be added or changed to the Invelos master common name database much like how we contribute DVD profiles, but it would be up to the screeners to accept a new name or make changes.
- Users have the option of parsing the downloaded Invelos master name to whatever they like for their local name and display/sorting purpose but this would be kept strictly local.

Little additional work for the screeners, but once it's setup, there shouldn't be too much work.  We have our linking, "as credited" credits, and freedom to sort and parse our local names to whatever we like.

This certainly has some merit.

The biggest downside that I see is that each user still has to do all of the linking in their local database themselves.  In many cases, especially where the names are not even close to being the same, many if not most people will never link them since the knowledge that the names should be linked is not sharable.

If Invelos maintained a "table" of linked names that was part of the download file, this problem could be solved.

Quoting xradman:

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Quoting hal9g:

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This certainly has some merit.

If Invelos maintained a "table" of linked names that was part of the download file, this problem could be solved.

That's the core of this method.  Invelos master database is downloaded and that's what's linked to the credits "as they appear in the credits".  Local user has the option of displaying the master name with their own local name variant.  So if the master name has Andy Lau Tak-wah and the "as credited" name is Andy Lau, you could sort this actor as Tak-wah/Andy/Lau if you wanted in your own database.

I guess I'm being a little thick-headed tonight.

I don't see how a "master common-name" database that is downloaded to your local gets linked to the "variant" names in your local database without the user actually linking them. 

I download the master common name database and it contains "Robin//Wright Penn" as the common name selected by Invelos.

I have a bunch of profiles in my local db with "Robin//Wright" and "Robin//Wright-Penn" in them.

Explain how the profiles with "Robin//Wright" and "Robin//Wright-Penn"  get linked to the profiles with "Robin//Wright Penn" unless the user does it manually.

Quoting mediadogg:

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Quoting hal9g:

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Explain how the profiles with "Robin//Wright" and "Robin//Wright-Penn"  get linked to the profiles with "Robin//Wright Penn" unless the user does it manually.

Oh man, I'm way out on a limb here - this ain't my usual cup of tea, but whenever I smell automation, I get excited.

Of course a program could make linkages as simple as the one you described. But are there others more complicated that would make automating the linkages impossible? Sure would be a fun "plugin" type project, or maybe a relatively simple enhancement to the main program. Sorry if this idea is silly. I admit I'm not well versed in this aspect of Profiler. But I'm trying to learn more.

Down boy, down, I say. Do I have to turn the hose on you.

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Quoting marcelb7:

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Didn't we have name databases in versions 1.x and 2.x? There must have been a few reasons for IVS to abandon those.

We still have one in 3.5.1, but each user has a local version that they can change at any time. This is not the same as a 'maintained master database' that would require approval to add a new actor/crew person.

The main problem that I see with this idea is that it would slow down adding any DVD that has a new actor or crew person in its cast.

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Quoting pdf256:

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Quoting marcelb7:

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Didn't we have name databases in versions 1.x and 2.x? There must have been a few reasons for IVS to abandon those.

We still have one in 3.5.1, but each user has a local version that they can change at any time.

In the versions below 3.0 we had a file called Aliases.DAT which contained all the names users had submitted to the online and you could update that file with "Online->Update Tables from IVS". For some reason this has been removed.