In Protest Against IMDB user abuse

To begin, it should be noted that IMDB is user contributed. In other words, anyone with a free profile can update information on the site at anytime (technically). However, this information is filtered through a content evaluation and "verified" by a member of the IMDB staff before being published live on the site. At least that is how it is supposed to work.

I, myself, have been an avid and active user and contributor to the site since 2005. I also utilize the resume, photo, and Pro services as well as having credits listed on the live database. I do not wish ill against the site or its moderators, however, I and many thousands of users and contributors have been taken advantage of by the IMDB staff which cannot continue.

That being said, we, the undersigned, are frankly sick and tired of IMDB's constant discrimination and mishandling of it's users and content contributors. Although we understand rules must be in place to keep some titles and/or projects from being listed, the rules and verification process should apply to all titles and users and should not be allowed to be bent or broken to appease the view of the administrators, moderators, or help desk personnel. The staff of IMDB should not be allowed to bend and/break the rules and policies of the database for their own means.

Also, the very serious situation of discrimination must be addressed, especially that of age discrimination that occurs when an actor cannot keep their appropriate age on their name page or have it left off if need be.

The rules currently in place need to be re-evaluated and updated to ensure that all titles, names, and project submissions are regarded equally.

One of the most important things that must be stopped in the degradation of the message board users. Many times anyone who asks questions, especially on the contributor help boards, is ridiculed for asking something they "should already know." Even the administrators take part in this bullying. There is one particular user (that I won't name here...yet) who has continually barrated me for every comment or question I have ever posed on the database. Of course, I am not the only one. Although there is a flagging system available, it is very rarely headed to as the administrators only visit the boards once a week and do not take the time to control these situations. This must end.

Changes to the system currently that should be considered include but are not limited to:

1) Direct communication to site administrators should be made available to all users. This might also include a live chat function so that all users have access to instant help rather than going through the help desk or posting on the contributor help message boards.
2) The algorithm used to assign the point percentage for new titles should be made public and become a permanent fixture in the data submission guide and available through search of the help desk.
3) Titles should keep their original theatrical or TV title from the originating country regardless of forthcoming international titles or applying symbols.
4) The ability to retract a submission should be made available for all submissions information going live on the database will be kept correct and current.
5) A lock and key function for new titles should be made available so that, if requested, only certain members of a title's cast and/or crew will have the ability to update it or will have access to update it.
6) All who create a free profile should automatically be given one main photo once they acquire a live credit (ie This would not count any "uncredited" roles and would have to be on the actual database and not with the resume service).
7) The policy regarding "on-screen credit" should be reevaluated as many prominent roles, especially from older titles, are sometimes "uncredited." Extras are just as important to a production as anyone else involved. Background or not, they are essential to the look and feel of the film and should be counted, no matter who the actor is or what they have previously been involved with.

#IMDBfail

4/22/09 (morning)
As of this morning, after finding out about this petition, IMDB administrators removed all my photos, videos, and access to the message boards through the database. It appears they are on the warpath with me. Not only is this completely wrong on their part, but it's illegal as I have paid for the resume and photo services for a year (of which I have the receipts). I ask that you keep this kind of behavior in mind when considering signing this petition. This sort of nonsense has to be stopped. IMDB/Amazon must be held accountable and liable for these discriminatory actions.

4/22/09 (afternoon)
I found out that Col Needham, founder and managing director of IMDB, has removed his internet presence including his Twitter account, Facebook, Linkedin, and even his own IMDB user account. It seems he and the IMDB administrators are not happy with the movment of this petition and that Col is attempting hide from any media coverage that could come from the effect this petition and its message has on the database. There is even currently a thread on the contributors help message board on the database frantic with worry that something has happened to him because no news of this situation has been able to be posted there. Each time someone has posted the real news, it has been immediately removed by another administrator. (But of course, that same administrator has not taken a moment to speak the truth so as to quell the fears of some of the users worry.) All of these reasons make it quite obvious we are making headway.

4/24/09 (evening)
Partial victory has been achieved with as my photos and resume have been returned. This may have something to do with the fact that I contacted CNN, WENN, and many other news outlets about the situation. They're not out of the water yet, though, as they have not returned my videos, my message board posts, or my access to the message boards. Also, no mention of the real reason Col Needham removed his internet presence has been revealed nor have the administrators made any attempt to reform the database policies. It's all or nothing guys.

5/12/09
There continue to be more updates. Please follow my myspace blog for all the latest. http://www.myspace.com/unchartedcharisma (IMDB this means war)

So keep spreading the news! We can make a difference!

Thank you.

Erik A. Williams
Actor, producer, and frequent IMDB content contributor

To begin, it should be noted that IMDB is user contributed. In other words, anyone with a free profile can update information on the site at anytime (technically). However, this information is filtered through a content evaluation and "verified" by a member of the IMDB staff before being published live on the site. At least that is how it is supposed to work.

I, myself, have been an avid and active user and contributor to the site since 2005. I also utilize the resume, photo, and Pro services as well as having credits listed on the live database. I do not wish ill against the site or its moderators, however, I and many thousands of users and contributors have been taken advantage of by the IMDB staff which cannot continue.

That being said, we, the undersigned, are frankly sick and tired of IMDB's constant discrimination and mishandling of it's users and content contributors. Although we understand rules must be in place to keep some titles and/or projects from being listed, the rules and verification process should apply to all titles and users and should not be allowed to be bent or broken to appease the view of the administrators, moderators, or help desk personnel. The staff of IMDB should not be allowed to bend and/break the rules and policies of the database for their own means.

Also, the very serious situation of discrimination must be addressed, especially that of age discrimination that occurs when an actor cannot keep their appropriate age on their name page or have it left off if need be.

The rules currently in place need to be re-evaluated and updated to ensure that all titles, names, and project submissions are regarded equally.

One of the most important things that must be stopped in the degradation of the message board users. Many times anyone who asks questions, especially on the contributor help boards, is ridiculed for asking something they "should already know." Even the administrators take part in this bullying. There is one particular user (that I won't name here...yet) who has continually barrated me for every comment or question I have ever posed on the database. Of course, I am not the only one. Although there is a flagging system available, it is very rarely headed to as the administrators only visit the boards once a week and do not take the time to control these situations. This must end.

Changes to the system currently that should be considered include but are not limited to:

1) Direct communication to site administrators should be made available to all users. This might also include a live chat function so that all users have access to instant help rather than going through the help desk or posting on the contributor help message boards.
2) The algorithm used to assign the point percentage for new titles should be made public and become a permanent fixture in the data submission guide and available through search of the help desk.
3) Titles should keep their original theatrical or TV title from the originating country regardless of forthcoming international titles or applying symbols.
4) The ability to retract a submission should be made available for all submissions information going live on the database will be kept correct and current.
5) A lock and key function for new titles should be made available so that, if requested, only certain members of a title's cast and/or crew will have the ability to update it or will have access to update it.
6) All who create a free profile should automatically be given one main photo once they acquire a live credit (ie This would not count any "uncredited" roles and would have to be on the actual database and not with the resume service).
7) The policy regarding "on-screen credit" should be reevaluated as many prominent roles, especially from older titles, are sometimes "uncredited." Extras are just as important to a production as anyone else involved. Background or not, they are essential to the look and feel of the film and should be counted, no matter who the actor is or what they have previously been involved with.

#IMDBfail

4/22/09 (morning)
As of this morning, after finding out about this petition, IMDB administrators removed all my photos, videos, and access to the message boards through the database. It appears they are on the warpath with me. Not only is this completely wrong on their part, but it's illegal as I have paid for the resume and photo services for a year (of which I have the receipts). I ask that you keep this kind of behavior in mind when considering signing this petition. This sort of nonsense has to be stopped. IMDB/Amazon must be held accountable and liable for these discriminatory actions.

4/22/09 (afternoon)
I found out that Col Needham, founder and managing director of IMDB, has removed his internet presence including his Twitter account, Facebook, Linkedin, and even his own IMDB user account. It seems he and the IMDB administrators are not happy with the movment of this petition and that Col is attempting hide from any media coverage that could come from the effect this petition and its message has on the database. There is even currently a thread on the contributors help message board on the database frantic with worry that something has happened to him because no news of this situation has been able to be posted there. Each time someone has posted the real news, it has been immediately removed by another administrator. (But of course, that same administrator has not taken a moment to speak the truth so as to quell the fears of some of the users worry.) All of these reasons make it quite obvious we are making headway.

4/24/09 (evening)
Partial victory has been achieved with as my photos and resume have been returned. This may have something to do with the fact that I contacted CNN, WENN, and many other news outlets about the situation. They're not out of the water yet, though, as they have not returned my videos, my message board posts, or my access to the message boards. Also, no mention of the real reason Col Needham removed his internet presence has been revealed nor have the administrators made any attempt to reform the database policies. It's all or nothing guys.

5/12/09
There continue to be more updates. Please follow my myspace blog for all the latest. http://www.myspace.com/unchartedcharisma (IMDB this means war)

So keep spreading the news! We can make a difference!

Thank you.

Erik A. Williams
Actor, producer, and frequent IMDB content contributor

To begin, it should be noted that IMDB is user contributed. In other words, anyone with a free profile can update information on the site at anytime. This information is filtered through a content evaluation and "verified" by a member of the IMDB staff before being published live on the site.

That being said, we, the undersigned, are frankly sick and tired of IMDB's constant discrimination and mishandling of it's users and content contributors. Although we understand rules must be in place to keep some titles and/or projects from being listed, the rules should apply to all and should not be allowed to be bent or broken to appease the view of the administrators, moderators, or help desk personnel. The staff of IMDB should not be allowed to bend and/break the rules and policies of the database for their own means.

Also, rules currently in place need to be re-evaluated and updated to ensure that all titles, names, and project submissions are regarded equally.

Changes to the system currently that should be considered include but are not limited to:

1) Direct communication to site administrators should be made available to all users. This might also include a live chat function so that all users have access to instant help rather than going through the help desk or posting on the contributor help message boards.
2) The algorithm used to assign the point percentage for new titles should be made public and become a permanent fixture in the data submission guide and available through search of the help desk.
3) Titles should keep their original theatrical or TV title from the originating country regardless of forthcoming international titles or applying symbols.
4) The ability to retract a submission should be made available for all submissions information going live on the database will be kept correct and current.
5) A lock and key function for new titles should be made available so that, if requested, only certain members of a title's cast and/or crew will have the ability to update it or will have access to update it.
6) All who create a free profile should automatically be given one main photo once they acquire a live credit (ie This would not count any "uncredited" roles and would have to be on the actual database and not with the resume service).
7) The policy regarding "on-screen credit" should be reevaluated as many prominent roles, especially from older titles, are sometimes "uncredited." Extras are just as important to a production as anyone else involved. Background or not, they are essential to the look and feel of the film and should be counted, no matter who the actor is or what they have previously been involved with.

#IMDBfail

Thank you.

E. Williams
Actor, producer, and frequent IMDB content contributor