How to get started with creqing

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This guide is meant to get you started with creqing, it will explain how/where and what to creq, in different sections depending on what kind of object you want to change.

Most creqs are done to the files, as they are often entered wrong, and a lot of the time, things in AniDB change, and the file entries need to be updated because/in preparation of this.

Quick Jump: Files | Anime | Episodes | Groups

Files

These are usually the most easy creqs to make, as you generally do them if you have the file at hand, and notice that things are wrong/missing in the file entry. It should be enough to auto-creq files with Avdump3 in most cases. There are however some fields that is not handled when auto-creqing. These are specified below.

Warning

It is considered "bad manners" to creq fields that can be handled by Avdump3. You should have a very good reason for doing it.

If you do not know whether you have files like this or not, you should check your MyList reports. There are a number of reports made specifically for the purpose of finding missing information.

Files Quick Jump: Sources | Group | Released | Version | Official CRC | Source | Quality | Censored | Languages | Audio | Video | Subtitles | Comments

Sources

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Note	For every change you propose, you should specify your source.

Filenames

If your source is a filename, you should specify the filename, as well as account for where you got it.

Topics

If your source is an IRC topic, you should specify which channel and network (and password if needed) it is on, as well as the actual topic.

Forum posts

If your source is a forum post, you should give a link to the thread and/or specific post you refer to. Note that if the poster is not one of the group's actual members, the source will be regarded as invalid.

Websites

The main website of a group is not enough, unless the information is in a news item on the front-page, you should specify the exact page where your information was found.

A few different aspects of the files to take a look at are these:

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Group			This should be set to the group that released the file - the group name is usually supplied in the filename unless it has been renamed. Note that it should be the group of the ones who did most of the work on the file that should be entered, not someone who just redistributes the file, or (god forbid) re-encode the file by himself for whatever reason. A lot of RAW groups only redistribute files - they do not encode or capture the video themselves, they just download it from their favourite p2p network and redistribute it on another one. further information
Released			Here you should enter the date the group released the file - if the group does not specify the date on their own website but you know when it was made public, you should specify the date using GMT. A few resources you could check for file release dates if you cannot find the information on the group's website or IRC channel are the following: Envirosphere or Baka-Updates.
Version			If you the group has released more than one version of this episode, you should set which version it is here. This information can often be gleaned from the filename, it if contains a "v2" or similar. If there is no file already in the DB by this group for this episode, it will likely be a v1 (though there are exceptions). Some groups do not list which version a file is, and at such times, you should use your own judgement.
Official CRC			You should mark this if the CRC matches the official CRC for the file, as provided by the releasing group. As you noticed, there were a few caveats in that sentence: The file needs to be released by an actual group. The group that released it has to have listed the official CRC. This can either be in the group's IRC-channel topic, their website, their forum, or the filename as long as you got the file directly from the group. Additionally, an MD5 matching an officially released .md5, CRC matching an officially released .sfv, or some other AniDB recognized hash matching an officially listed hash or released hash file, is also acceptable for CRC status verification purposes. Note You need to provide source for this.
Source			When creqing this field you should provide some sort of proof unless the old value is obviously wrong or set to unknown. This means that you should be sure about the change and not just base it on assumptions. Warning Do not creq this field based on resolution/quality/filesize/etc. only.
Quality			Although there have never been any written rules; quality is usually bound to source. I.e. DVD -> very high, DTV -> high, VHS -> low, etc. It is generally OK to follow this scheme, but don't go about creqing just because of it. There are many good reasons for not following it. If you want to request a change, check the history of the file first. It might have some useful information (discussion) about why the current rating was selected and save you from a humiliating deny. Warning This field should not be used to rate releases from different groups. Use anime-group comments/votes to express opinions about such. Warning Feel free to discuss the quality system in our forum/channel, but never start a personal creqing spree to "reform" it.
Censored			If a file is censored, you should make sure this flag is set. Censored does not mean that there are bleeps instead of swear-words, it means that genitalia or extreme guro is mosaicked/blurred out.
Languages			Language information is often required to be set manually as not all file formats store that type of information. There is also no guaranty that such information is correct even when supplied. (This is the reason why it is not that uncommon to see file entries verified by Avdump3 that has wrong language information set.)
Video			The only parts that is not handled by Avdump3 are the flags clean video and wrong aspect ratio. Clean video means that the video is exactly in the shape it was broadcast / released in. That is; the encoder did not add any logos or text on top (including hard subs). Aspect ratio is a problematic area in general and has to be handled manually in some cases.
Audio			It is usually only the number of channels that has to be set manually/corrected, due shortcomings in Avdump3. Most commonly seen is fake 5.1 AAC audio that should be set to stereo. This is usually checked by listening to each channel one by one using an audio mixer.
Subtitles			When it comes to subtitles, there are two major things to take note of: if it is hard-subbed or if it is soft-subbed. If it is soft-subbed, there can easily be more than one subtitle-stream, however if it is hard-subbed, it is usually only one subtitle-stream. Flags you can set should include whether the subtitle stream is especially designed for the hearing impaired, or if it has director's comments in it.
Comments			File comments should only be made for important info, and always conforming to the standardized forms for file comments if applicable. Do not enter your personal opinions of the release or some other nonsense. Use the anime-group-comments for that.

Anime

The easiest things to creq changes to in an anime entry are probably the ANN/ANFO/allcinema URLs, pics and description - all you need for those are basically search-skills and/or writing skills. Also, you can add new titles, categories, companies, and relations without an actual creq; however if you want to change/delete one of those, you need to make a thread about it in the Change Requests forum.

Anime Quick Jump: Sources | Titles | Genres/Categories | Type | Episodes | Year | Companies | URL | ANN/AnimeNfo/allcinema | Relations | Description | Picture

Sources

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Note	For every change you propose, you should specify your source.

Websites

For most things, websites are the best source.

Note	They should generally be in Japanese!

Images

For a couple of things, you may need to specify an image as a source - if the image is not already on the web, you can use one of AniDB's Recommended image hosters to host your picture.

If you need to take a screenshot, here is a guide on how to do that.

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Titles			You can add titles yourself by clicking the titles link at the bottom of every anime entry. Take note that if the title is bogus you will likely be demoted to Level:Tard. Use Test Anime if you want to test this out. If you want to change or delete a title, you can do so by submitting change/delete requests.
Genres/Categories			You can add categories yourself, by just clicking the "[show]" link found by the categories, and there select either "Add Category" or "Mass Add Category". further information If you want to delete or change a category, if you added it yourself, you can just hit the "Del" link next to the category, and in order to change it, just add it again, with the correct value. However, you can't delete categories someone else added, so in that case you'd need to go to the Change Requests forum and request the category to be "[CATEGORY][DEL] Anime" and state which category that should be deleted.
Type			If you want to change an anime's type, you should provide a good and valid source for your information; type-changes are not very common at all - usually the person who added the entry knew what type of anime was coming (or else he wouldn't have been allowed to add it until there was more concrete information about the anime (AniDB is not a news-site!)). Provide links!
Episodes			The number of episodes for an anime can change at almost any time (even (though rarely) when it's already over; if the studio wants to continue with the same anime (rather than making a sequel)), and as such, AniDB requires the official word of the studio for this change - just because ANN and/or AnimeNfo have changed their entries does not mean AniDB will. Allcinema is a much better source, but you should still try to find the official studio's memo. Provide links!
Year			Sometimes the date when an anime aired/was released is wrong - if you see any inconsistencies when it comes to this, you should try to find 1: official mention, 2: 90% of the (Japanese) sites on the internet agree ... provide links! further information
Companies			Adding companies can be done directly, just click the "Add/Edit: Company" link at the bottom of the anime-entry. There you should specify what kind of connection the company has to the anime, and then the company name. A mod may at any time confront you with requiring confirmation on these matters - you should be able to provide a screenshot/photo (if you watched it on TV) of the credits, or a link to a good (Japanese) listing. Note Never add American (re)distribution companies here!
URL			If the official URL has changed, or is not entered, and you find the correct one, just enter it - these are generally Japanese. Generally, you don't need to provide source for these; the creq is its own source after all.
ANN/AnimeNfo/allcinema			If the anime doesn't have an ANN/AnimeNfo/allcinema link, search the respective website and provide the correct id/part of the link. Sometimes some of the sites (read: ANN) have more than one entry for the same anime - in this case, provide a link to the one that is most comprehensive. Note For this, you hardly need a source, unless there are more than one entry for the same anime - in which case you should state this and your reasoning for choosing the one you chose.
Relations			You can add relations yourself by just clicking on the "Add/Edit: Relations" link at the bottom of the anime entry. There you then specify what kind of relation the anime has, and what other anime it has the relation to. If you want to delete or change a relation, you have to use the Change Requests forum for that. Start a thread named something like "[RELATION][DEL] Anime" and state which relation to which anime should be deleted (or changed). Note The anime relations-graph is updated according to the Routine Maintenance.
Description			If you have seen the anime, and think the description that is currently provided sucks, you can write your own, search the internet for the anime's official description, or fix the description that is currently provided. If you get a description from somewhere besides your own mind, you should specify your source in the description, and make sure that the place you got it from doesn't mind having their descriptions used. If you write your own description after having seen the anime, you are welcome to put your own name/nick as a source in the description. Note however that just as you changed the description, so can anyone change your description after you, so you should be okay with this before submitting your "work". Note AnimeNfo descriptions are generally bad, so if you can remove/fix one of these, your creq will most likely be granted by default.
Picture			If you can find a better picture than the one currently used, you can upload it to AniDB using the Pic Upload function and then enter the image name you were provided. If your picture is clearly better than the current one, your creq will most likely be granted right away - however, if there is the slightest doubt, the picture change may be voted upon in #anidb, and the picture that gets the most votes stays. If your new picture doesn't follow the rules, you will be asked to revoke your creq. further information

Episodes

For episodes, the easiest thing to fix is probably the play length - it is not always an exact measure, as it only stores minutes, and people do not tend to round consistently, so if the info is 1 minute off, that is most likely the reason. You can easily get the play length from most files (unless they contain multiple episodes). When it comes to the different titles, you need a good source, and usually fansub-translations will not suffice!

Episodes Quick Jump: Sources | Titles | Play Length | Air/Release Date | Description

Sources

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Note	For every change you propose, you should specify your source.

Websites

For kanji titles, play lengths, and air/release dates, you should always try to find a Japanese website as the source.

For English title, if the anime has been licensed, provide an official English source.

Images

Screenshots of the titles as displayed on the screen, or pictures of the titles as written on DVD-covers or booklets are usually valid as kanji and English title sources.

If you need a free image host, take a look here: Recommended image hosters.

If you need to take a screenshot, here is a guide on how to do that.

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Titles			For title-creqs, you should generally find an official source.
	English		If the anime is licensed, you should try to find the official English title - if not, you can translate it yourself (or take it from a fansub), but this should only be done if it is not licensed and it has no official English title.
	Romaji		You should only give the romaji title for titles that already have kanji titles. If there is an official romaji title (I doubt it), that is what you should provide, otherwise you should take a look at the AniDB Romanisation Guideline, and try to follow that as closely as possible. Note Automatic romanisation engines usually give lots of wrong titles, so they should be avoided at all costs! DO NOT USE THEM!
	Kanji		For kanji-titles, you should always specify a source - especially for conflicting entries. This should definitely be a Japanese site. And preferably it should be the official site for the anime.
Play Length			If you have access to the episode, you can supply the length of the file for this field - if not, you can for example search for the correct length on Google and provide sources from there. Note The source should be Japanese, as too often the English version of the anime is cut. It is suggested that you search using the kanji name of the anime and episode in order to get the best results on Google. In order to help you find where the number of minutes for the episode is listed, try to find the kanji character "分", meaning minute.
Air/Release Date			If you cannot find a date for the episode on the official site, you can try one of the sites listed in the Where to find release dates for anime section of the wiki. If this does not help (often, they only display when the first episode of the anime aired/was released), you can try the same approach as for the play length: Google for the kanji titles of the anime and the episode. Hopefully you will find a site that lists all the episodes properly.
Description			Most people do not read the description as it is not readily available - but in this place, you should probably describe if it is a recap of a number of episodes, or any similar details. It is advised not to bother with actual descriptions of the episode in question - but I guess no one is stopping you.

Groups

When it comes to groups, things can change all the time, they can move their channel, they can get a new website, they can start focusing on other aspects of fan-subbing. Each of these changes should be provided with an actual source, be it in the form of a website, a forum post or an IRC chat log.

Groups Quick Jump: Sources | Name/ShortName | URL | EMAIL | IRC | Picture | Description | Parent/Child Groups | Group-anime-status

Sources

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Note	For every change you propose, you should specify your source.

Website

Mainly, the group's own website should be used a source for most/all of your group-creqs.

Forum

In some cases, the forum may suffice.

Channel

If the group doesn't have a website or forum, logs from their irc channel may be used - but you should make sure that what is said is not meant as a joke, and that it is said by a person who actually knows what they're talking about.

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Name/ShortName			If the wrong name/shortname is entered for a group, change it here - and provide corroborating evidence that it isn't just another group with a similar name. Note that for shortnames, sometimes the wrong name is entered because it clashes with another group's (short)name.
URL			Specify the official URL of the group if it has one. Do not link to a BitTorrent tracker page as a group's website, even if that's all they have.
EMAIL			If the group has an email they want to be contacted on, provide it here - it would be preferable to have a source for this.
IRC
	Server		Here you should provide which server the group's channel resides on - if you find old outdated (e.g. irc.mircx.com) servers listed here, try to find where the group moved on to, and list that.
	Channel		Here you should specify which channel the group has - you can usually find this info on their website or forums, or they might specify it in their released files.
	Password		If their channel has a password you need to know in order to join, you should specify it here (if you know it).
Picture			If the group has an official picture they want to use, use the Pic Upload Function to upload the picture to AniDB, and provide the resulting picture id in the creq. Note The recommended size for pictures is 400x500 or 500x200. Don't use animated pictures. There is no size limit, but the picture should stay under 100kb, if possible.
Description			Enter a description of the group - this could include what kind of releases they make and if they're still alive and such - but try to keep your personal opinions out of it. If you want to voice your opinions on their releases you should use the anime-group-comments function on the anime pages instead.
Parent/Child Groups			If a group is a parent or child group of another group, unless you added the actual entry yourself you cannot fix this outside of the Change Requests forum. You should start a thread named something like "[GROUP][PARENT] Groupname" and specify which group is parent to which group in the post.
Group-anime-status			You can request to set the status of an anime for a group to "dropped", but not any of the other states - they are all automatic. further information If you want to set a group's status to dropped, use the Change Requests forum.