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Encyclopaedia Metallum
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Last modified on September 18th, 2013
This page explains the purpose and function of the website. If, as a member, you are ever unsure about how to proceed, or if you have any question, please read this first. We also strongly suggest you browse the news archives in case the issue has already been addressed. If you have any further questions, then you can ask other users on the message board.
The purpose of this site is to grow the largest and most complete database regarding heavy metal bands as possible. Since we cannot possibly know all the bands ourselves, especially the really obscure ones, we figured we should let the visitors contribute.
Of course, letting users enter information involves taking a certain risk; anyone who has ever used a service such as a message board knows that there are often users that have nothing better to do than troll and/or spam. So because of this, we took certain precautions, limiting the access to the site's database to registered users only. And even those do not have the same access as the more advanced users.
So we built interfaces for the users to be able to enter the information we wanted to have on the database, while still having full control of the data. We realize that some parts of the interfaces may be more ambiguous, especially for non-experienced Web users, so we wrote this help file, hoping to clear some questions some of you might have.
Anyone can browse through the site's content as they please. You must be a registered member only if you wish to contribute to something. All contributions are totally optional if you do register.
You can browse the band database by alphabetical order (by choosing a letter), by country or by genre lists. You can also browse through labels alphabetically, and through reviews, grouped by month and sorted by date or grouped by ratings. You can also see the newest additions and newest updates on the main page. More options might be added later.
You can search for bands by keyword on the following fields: band name, genre, lyrical themes.
You can search for albums or songs by title.
You can also search for label pages, artist pages, user profiles.
Lastly, you can use Google to search across the entire site.
Unlike the first version of the site, the search engine supports many powerful (and standard, really) search features.
You can also perform an advanced search, by combining several available filters. For example, you can view a list of all the thrash metal bands from Norway, or all the pagan black metal bands in Germany formed before 1995, or all the disbanded satanic power metal bands from Gothenburg, Sweden ;). New in v2: you can search by year of formation/active, and specify a year range. To search for all bands formed exactly in 1980, put the year in both fields; to search for all bands formed before (and up to) 1980, leave the first year blank and enter 1980 in the second field, and so on.
You can also perform an advanced search on albums. You can specify date ranges (year and month); like for band years, you can leave blanks for looser ranges.
New in v2: you can perform an advanced search for songs, including in the lyrics.
If you stumble upon a page (band, album, artist or label) that contains mistakes, out-of-date information, or missing information, that you cannot correct yourself (either because
you are not a registered member, or because you don't have a high enough rank if you are), you can report the band/album/etc.
via the relevant link on the band's page. You do not have to be a registered member to report a band, however if
you are, you may get extra points if your report is considered helpful by the moderator.
You must enter the specific reasons for reporting the page (because if the moderator does not know the band/album/etc.,
s/he may not see what's wrong with the data).
You should also provide a source for your report, otherwise your report risks being closed immediately.
The band will then be flagged and reviewed by another user or a moderator as soon as possible, who may then perform the necessary updates. More than one user can report the same item, and
you can report the same item more than once so long as the reason is different each time.
When reporting, please choose the most fitting category for your report in the drop-down menu. This will make your report easier and faster to process.
Reports have different statuses:
If you ever stumble upon a persistent bug, by all means report it to us at moc/sevihcra-latem//retsambew or through the forum via this thread and we will do our best to fix it. PLEASE be specific; tell us where and how it happened (tell us anything that you might have done which could have triggered it); it'll help us greatly for fixing it, if possible.
To be able to access and manipulate the site's database in any way other than a reading/viewing mode, you must be a registered user. To register, click here.
If you decide to register as a member of Encyclopaedia Metallum, make sure you read the rules and guidelines at least once. As a member, you agree to follow the guidelines, or get your submissions rejected and possibly get banned from registering again if you choose to be a troll. You also agree to take responsibility for every submission under your name. If someone else uses your computer, it may not be a good idea to make the website remember your login information. Use your own judgment regarding your login preferences.
Except for your user name, you can change all the information in your profile whenever you wish. However, we will re-validate your email address every time you update your profile.
The personal information you submit to Encyclopaedia Metallum is kept safely in our database and is NOT given to any
other parties. You can choose to keep your email address private from the other users if you prefer. You can also
decide to receive (or not) any email whenever a moderator approves or rejects your submission.
However your email address must be valid, to prevent trolls from registering multiple accounts with false email addresses:
when you register, you will receive an automatic email that will allow you
to activate your account. You will not be able to use your privileges as a member if your account is not activated.
This confirmation email is the only email that you are forced to receive as a member. We are absolutely against
spamming and we will not send you any email you do not want in your mailbox. This email is also the only place your
password will be visible. It is also possible that a moderator contact you personally, but in this case, it will not be an automatic spam email but a genuine communication.
As you participate as a member by submitting or updating data, you can earn points. Similar to many message boards where the member changes his "rank" by posting a certain number of messages, a member of this website can eventually change ranking by reaching a certain number of points. Only certain ranks can really make a difference.
Here are the number of points earned for each kind of contribution (only applies if they are approved, if need be):
Be warned: a moderator may choose to make you LOSE points (an amount of his/her choosing) upon rejection of a submission.
Here is the current rank list (rank names, such as "mallcore kid" or "metal god", are just for amusement and should not be taken seriously):
Rank name | Minimum pts | Maximum pts |
Mallcore kid | 0 | 0 |
Metal newbie | 1 | 99 |
Metalhead | 100 | 999 |
Veteran | 1000 | 4999 |
Metal freak | 5000 | 14999 |
Metal demon | 15000 | - |
Metal knight | - | - |
Metal lord | - | - |
Metal Goddess | - | - |
Metal God | - | - |
Webmaster | - | - |
Here's a brief explanation of how ranks work:
To add a new band, login first, then look in the top left corner. A big shiny button should help. :)
To add new data (such as an album, link, etc), go to the band's page while being logged in and choose the relevant tab, then click the "add" button on the right.
For example, to add an album, select the discography tab, then click "Add".
All registered members can add a band to the database. However, all band entries are moderated. So unless the member has a rank of Metal lord or above, the newly entered band will not yet appear on the website.
Here is an explanation of band moderation statuses:
The required information is shown in italic, so make sure those fields have complete and exact data.
Please note that all information must be neutral. Any non-neutral data will be promptly removed.
If you are not sure as to what we mean for each field, here's a brief explanation (though most of them are self-explanatory, but this is just in case it may be ambiguous):
From [year of formation, YYYY format] to [year of disbanding, YYYY format] as ([optional band name]*, [optional band ID]**)
* if the band was known under a different name during that periodOnce you have entered a band, you don't necessarily have to wait until it is approved to add more data! You can still add as many releases, line-up members or links as necessary and/or as you want (if you choose to do that, make sure the band follows the guidelines or doesn't already exist, or else you will just have wasted your time!). Of course, you don't have to enter all the discography at once, since the band will probably release more albums eventually anyway. When you're done, please make sure you click the "Send to the moderation queue" link on the page. Once you do that, you will not be able to modify the information you entered until your submission is approved.
Be warned: the moderator may feel the need to change some of the data. It could be to simply fill in a blank, or to correct a mistake.
All registered members can add a release to an existing band. A release can, well, be any work the band has released:
demo, EP, single, full-length album, live album, DVD, VHS, compilation, boxed set or a split album with other band(s).
For the tracklisting (optional for DVDs/VHS), only the song title for each song is required, but if you know the song length, or if you can get the lyrics, then by all means add them
(after all, we strive to be as complete as possible).
For boxed sets, you will not have to enter the tracklisting, but rather, the name of each disc, and their total playing time (optional as always). In place of the lyrics field, you can add notes about each disc (including the tracklisting, if the disc has some special tracks).
Be warned: you will not be able to add tracks to an existing release: so please enter them all at once.
Here's a brief explanation for each field:
Adding a split album for more than one band is a little more complicated. When you choose "split album" or "split DVD/video" from the drop-down menu, additional options will appear, allowing you to include all the participating bands on the split (including bands not listed on the website!). Once you have all the participating bands, you must select which band performs on each song using the appropriate drop-down menus.
For all splits, there is a small caveat about release titles. If there is no official title for the split, please do not simply title it "Split". Rather title it by the order the bands appear on the split (eg. "Agathocles / Bad Acid Trip / Disgorge", with a space between the slashes). If each band has a separate title for their side of the split, use that instead. If the split as a whole has a single title, then use that. Priority always goes to choosing the most appropriate title.
This section should be self-explanatory. All registered members can add related links for each band, artist or label. Just enter the page's name, its URL and specify the type of site (fan site, official website, etc). You can enter as many links as you want, but don't spam with irrelevant links: make sure you follow the rules.
Examples of band external links: Darkthrone
Examples of label external links: Nuclear Blast
Examples of artist external links: Steve Harris
Use the {ID#} or {band ID#} syntax to add internal hyperlinks to band pages on this site. You can also add hyperlinks to label and artist pages. The syntax is as follows, where "xx" represents the ID:
It is also possible to specify an alternate text to be used for the link instead of the band/artist/label name. This is done by using the {band ID#|text} syntax (replacing "band" with "artist" or "label" as needed, of course). For instance, "the artist's {band 1|former band}" would render as: the artist's former band.
You can use the link syntax in the following fields:Each musician or artist has his/her own individual page, and can be added to the roster of a band and/or an album by user with the Veteran rank. Lower-ranked users can only edit the line-up of their draft bands.
To modify a band or an album line-up, click the "members" or "lineup" tab.
Here's a brief explanation for each artist field (fields in italics are required):
Each label has its own individual page, and can be selected when adding or editing a band or album.
Here's a brief explanation for each label field (fields in italics are required):
All registered members can write one review per release, provided they follow the rules for reviewing. You don't have to have contributed band data to be able to write a review, though. You can register only for writing reviews if you want.
To submit a review, go to the page of the album you wish to review, select the "Reviews" tab, then click "add" (you must be logged in). Alternatively, you can click on the
Tools/wrench icon on the album page and click "Write a review".
Just enter a title for your review (usually a very brief summary of your review), a rating on a 0-100 scale (no decimals, shouldn't be necessary with that
kind of scale), and the text for your review. All reviews are moderated, just like for adding a band.
Note that moderators can also delete reviews at their own discretion. In those cases, the review will not be returned to the submitter's drafts and no message will appear. Deletions only occur in extreme circumstances, however, such as spam, blatant trolling, or repeated rejections (when the user can't take the hint that his/her review is unacceptable...).
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify all the fields except the band's name and its genre.
You can change the pictures as well, but you cannot delete them.
Please don't be an asshole; don't delete or tear apart
huge chunks of texts (for example, band bios) for whatever reason.
Ignore this warning and you might very well get banned! Be reasonable in your editing - you CAN edit out useless information
IF (and only IF) you are sure that the text breaks the rules (self-promotion, just enumerates the discography, is just pasted
from the official website...). Thanks.
If your rank is lower than Veteran, you can only write in the optional missing fields. For example, if the band does not have a logo, you can upload it; if the lyrical theme is unspecified, you can add it; but you cannot change the actual logo or edit the lyrical themes if they have already been entered.
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify all the fields except the release's title. You can change the cover art but not delete it.
If your rank is lower than Veteran, the same restrictions for updating the bands apply: you can fill in missing data, but not change the current data.
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify or even delete any link. This is of course in case the link doesn't point to a page that's still active anymore; if the page's new URL cannot be found, you can simply delete it.
Members with a rank lower than Veteran cannot modify any link and can only add them.
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify the artist information (any field except the displayed name), as well as the line-up of a band or album. Next to the "members" or "lineup" tab, click "edit", then click "Add an artist" to search for an existing artist in the database (if not found, you can still add the artist name and the artist will be added automatically for the next time). Specify the role (instrument, or role such as producer, engineer, etc.). For band line-up, check the box if the artist is still a member (leave unchecked for past members), and you can also enter the years active.
For band line-ups, if the band member has left and returned multiple times, click the + to add more rows with each year range. If you do not see the + button, you lack the access to make the change; please use the Report button to submit the changes and a higher ranked user will change it.
If the artist used a special nickname or alias for the band or album (a different nickname than usual), enter this alias in the appropriate text field ("as ___"). For example, Bruce Dickinson was known as "Bruce Bruce" during his time with Samson.
Members with a rank lower than Veteran cannot modify any band or album line-up, except for their own draft bands. Like with bands and all the rest, they can only append missing information about the artists and cannot change the current data.
Found a duplicate artist? Don't spend so much time manually migrating the data from one artist to another! Moderators have access to merge tools for that. Just report the artist as a duplicate, and a moderator will merge them painlessly.
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify all the fields except the label name. You can change the logo but not delete it.
If your rank is lower than Veteran, the same restrictions for updating the bands apply: you can fill in missing data, but not change the current data.
Found a duplicate label? Don't spend so much time manually migrating the data from one label to another! Moderators have access to merge tools for that. Just report the label as a duplicate, and a moderator will merge them painlessly.
Regardless of rank, members can edit their own reviews whenever they want, through the "My reviews" link (left menu, when logged in). However, since the reviews are moderated,
updates to existing reviews must be approved before they appear. So if you change anything in your own review (other than the rating), it
will become temporarily invisible to the visitors until a moderator re-approves it, regardless of the nature of the change!
So it would be best if you proof-read your review before it is approved or else it will have to be re-approved again.
It may be irritating if you just want to correct a typo, but it's a precaution we have to take.
Members can also delete their own review as they see fit, but it shouldn't be necessary since you can always just modify
it.
Very simple: to add items to your collections, you just have to go to the band's page, find the release you want to add to your collection, and click the tool icon and click "add to your collection". If you don't have the album, you can add it to your wishlist by clicking the "add to your wanted list" link. You can add as many albums as you want.
You can further customize your collection by clicking the "My collection" link in the left menu (if you're
logged in). You can add special notes for each albums, or add them to your trade list by ticking the checkbox.
Notes can be anything regarding the album version or its condition (important if you want to trade), or something else
you wish to mention.
To move an album from your wanted list to your collection, use the checkbox and the drop-down, or just go to the album page and click the tool icon + "add to your collection".
The album will be moved from your wanted list to your collection.
If you want to trade with other users, please take note of the following:
You'll note that you can no longer use the search engine for collections. However, this has become superfluous since you can now see the list of users who own the album (or have it on their wanted / trade list). Click the same tool icon you used to add items to your collection, and go to "See who owns / wants this album". You can also reach this list from within your collection by clicking the person icon next to each album.
We hope this file was helpful. Enjoy Encyclopaedia Metallum! If you have questions or suggestions that were not covered in this page, you can post a query in the forum or ask us directly at moc/sevihcra-latem//retsambew.