Forums > Bugs > Are things disappearing from WIP or am I crazy?
Shoddyan (15004) on 8/7/2007 9:46 PM · Permalink · Report
I think I might be losing my mind. Maybe all the different approvals and looking at japanese websites for release dates has gotten to me. The symptoms here are that there's several items (usually new game entries) that I swear I've started... but which I can't find in WIP or my own approval history. I know what you're thinking, I probably left an item too long and it's been rejected. Well that's fine too... but then I should have received an email saying so much and I can't always find those either (gmail is great for searching through mail though!)
Basically I've come across at least 6 submissions in the past month that I've thought I started a submission for. This includes titles like Treasure Hunter G (I approved this from someone else, but I still remember writing an earlier description), G.I. Joe Atlantis Factor and Dominions 2... where I vaguely remember putting together a description. Now bear in mind I do have lots of items that have expired... but like I said, I've received emails for these and I use these emails to keep track of what I was doing and when (my Mobygames folder on gmail contains 2800+ messages)
Anyway, like I mentioned, this could just be me. I could be crazy and am remembering things that haven't actually happened (Do approvers dream of electric sheep?), but I'm noting it here just in case anyone else has had some kind of sneaky suspicion that they've started work on a contribution and have no record of it.
Corn Popper (69027) on 8/7/2007 11:39 PM · Permalink · Report
once an item is rejected you'll have about a week until it is totally deleted from the system... this also includes any status in your approval history
as for email, not sure what your settings are
Shoddyan (15004) on 8/8/2007 12:57 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Corn Popper wrote--]once an item is rejected you'll have about a week until it is totally deleted from the system... this also includes any status in your approval history
as for email, not sure what your settings are [/Q --end Corn Popper wrote--] Ah, I wasn't aware that the "totally deleted" time was down to a week... I assumed because the Approvals Status page says "Items recently rejected (last 1 month):" that it would actually be 1 month.
Email settings are "receive approval notifications via email.". In the past I've gotten warnings about items about to expire due to time, so I assume these settings still apply. The latest one of these was from July 26th, which sounds about right...
We want to inform you that there are 1 items that you created on MobyGames that need to be submitted for approval. If these items are not submitted they will be automatically abandoned sometime during the next 48 hours, and your work will be lost.
.
.
.
What will be abandon: Revision of the game description for Grandia II.
Created on: 2007-07-23 01:01:59.005814-05 (never submitted)
Will be abandon at: 2007-07-26 01:01:59.005814-05
So I am getting these... or am getting these SOMETIMES anyway.
Brian Hirt (10409) on 8/8/2007 4:22 PM · Permalink · Report
It's not really consistent across the different types of things being submitted. Some actually stay around longer and some send a warning email and some never get deleted. Part of the problem is that the approval system has gone through some major overhauls over the last 8 years, but some of the older things that were working never got updated. I'm trying to get everything updated so you get notifications on everything before they are deleted. I'm also fine with things sticking around for a month if that seems like a good amount of time.
The one exception might be game platforms. The way the database is currently structured, a platform cannot be added while there is a rejected platform is the system. Already this prevents games getting documented. Apart form completely rewriting the way game platforms are stored, I don't see any easy solution for this one.
Should rejection notifications be updaded to include a clause saying that the thing will be deleted from the database in x number of days?
Any other places where it might make sense to communicate this stuff better?
Игги Друге (46653) on 8/8/2007 5:40 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Brian Hirt wrote--]It's not really consistent across the different types of things being submitted. Some actually stay around longer and some send a warning email and some never get deleted. Part of the problem is that the approval system has gone through some major overhauls over the last 8 years, but some of the older things that were working never got updated. I'm trying to get everything updated so you get notifications on everything before they are deleted. I'm also fine with things sticking around for a month if that seems like a good amount of time.
[/Q --end Brian Hirt wrote--]
I'm fine with a year of respite, myself.
[Q --start Brian Hirt wrote--]
The one exception might be game platforms. The way the database is currently structured, a platform cannot be added while there is a rejected platform is the system. Already this prevents games getting documented. Apart form completely rewriting the way game platforms are stored, I don't see any easy solution for this one.
[/Q --end Brian Hirt wrote--]
I don't know how easy the implementation would be, but why not just open up the additional platform slot if a submission takes too long? If someone else then submits the additional platform while the one who's had his submission rejected or WIPed (and after waiting a few days or weeks, like it is now), bad luck, but at least this means that a platform will be added as fast as possible, both when there are two persons competing and when there is one person doing what no-one else has cared about.
IOW: Clear the slot, but not the item. [Q --start Brian Hirt wrote--] Should rejection notifications be updaded to include a clause saying that the thing will be deleted from the database in x number of days?
Any other places where it might make sense to communicate this stuff better? [/Q --end Brian Hirt wrote--] On the front page, and on the personal submission status page.
Shoddyan (15004) on 8/9/2007 1:11 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Brian Hirt wrote--]Should rejection notifications be updaded to include a clause saying that the thing will be deleted from the database in x number of days?
Any other places where it might make sense to communicate this stuff better? [/Q --end Brian Hirt wrote--]
fine by me for the email.
As for communication... well if the approval status' what's actually going on matches what it says is going on I'll be happy (hmm, that sounded like really bad english). There's a whole other issue regarding textual information being duplicated in various places on MG and not always getting all updated (did I mention I've been planning to rewrite/merge/structure the FAQ for uh... 2 years now. Oh well, the Standards page is a big help :).
Shoddyan (15004) on 8/9/2007 9:09 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Okay I'm not completely crazy. I can now confirm that at least sometimes, new game entries are expiring without sending the "warning emails" that I depend on to let me know.
NES Game entry for "Super Chinese 3" is now in rejection limbo. Alternate Titles have previously been approved attached to this entry... so I don't know what that does to Their status.