I'm sorry to bother the community with yet another poll, but currently some important rules are being revised in the contributions rules committee, and I have got the opinion that it's always best to obtain the vote of the users before decisions are made (of course Ken always has the final say).

So, here is the problem:

The current rule for the production year of a film states "Enter the year of the original theatrical release. For films that have been updated (e.g., a Special Edition or Directors Cut) use the year of the original release, not the year that the re-release was “made” or released."

The current rule proposal for the production year of a TV series looks like this: "Use the year of the earliest aired episode in the set / on the disc."

I've always had a problem with the first rule and even more so with the new rule proposal for TV series. Why ? Because the contributor needs to get information from a third party site when this is absolutely not necessary. Every movie and every TV episode I have ever seen has a copyright notice with a production year at the end. I haven't got the slightest clue why this shouldn't be used for the profiles. It's indisputable and easy to find.

Why should we have to look up the first air date for a TV episode on the internet ? Besides, what does "first air date" mean ? The first broadcast in the country of origin ? The country of origin for "Battlestar Galactica" is the United States but still the first season aired months earlier in the UK.

So, I suggest changes to "Enter the year of the copyright date from the film credits" and "Enter the year of the earliest copyright date from the episode credits in the set / on the disc."

What is your opinion about that ?

Completely agree.  In order to prevent inconsistency and to use the only true source material to populate this field and remove all ambiguity, using the copyright date directly from the DVD itself is the most practical solution!

I'm for going from the copyright.  I don't like any of the sections where you have to use third-party sites or speculation.  I've encountered conflicting data on release dates from different sites.  Also, many "cult" movies have a long run at film festivals before being picked up for release, complicating matters.

I agree with taking the copyright date, it more consitent, easier to find and comes from the DVD (if available) and not some third party.

But don't forget to include later editions, recuts, etc. in the rules as well to avoid more endless discussions on interpretation, please...

Copyright date sounds good (long as it can be found on some world cinema flicks...)

PS.  Can we please discount Harry Knowles' Austin Film thing as a production year?

Quoting hal9g:

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Quoting Ralliart:

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Keep "theatrical release" and "first air date" as methods for determining the production year

This I like so it easy to search (to knows if one movie was realese before a other movie)

I think a Feature Request should be submitted in the correct forum for a field called "Theatrical Release" and "Aired Date" if people actually want to capture that information.

The current title of the field is "Production Year" and the copyright in the film's credits is the only authoritative source for that information.

I see your point of view and I like it. So added more feild will be great 

They are very good at that, john.

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hydrox:

The copyright date of a film may have absolutely nothing to do with the release date. It is not unusual for some films to sit on a shelf for years after filming in search of a distributor. I such cases the copyright date and theatrical have little or nothing in common and I would say the theatrical release(problematic, to be sure) would be the more useful.

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