I just tried adding a rousing speech Robert Donat makes as Mr. Chipping in the original film production of "Goodbye Mr. Chips", but the interface rejected it because I supposedly hadn't attached it to a character. However, if you look at the screen capture I made it's quite clear I did attach it to a character ... so what gives?

Is the real problem here that the quote is too long? Here it is in its entirety:
Is the real problem here that the quote is too long? Here it is in its entirety:
I know the world's changing, Dr. Ralston. I've seen the old traditions die, one by one. Grace, dignity, feeling for the past -- all that matters here today is a fat banking account. You're trying to run the school like a factory, for turning out money-making machine-made snobs. You've raised the fees. And in the end, the boys who really belong at Brookfield will be frozen out, frozen out. Modern methods, intensive training -- poppycock! Give a boy a sense of humor and a sense of proportion and he'll stand up to anything. I'm not going to retire, you can do what you like about it.I'm damned if I can see what the problem is ... or how to solve it on my own.
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Posted 5 years ago
gromit82, Champion
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Richard: In the box immediately to the left of the quote, you have to click on the character name ("Mr. Chipping 'Mr. Chips' (Donat, Robe...)") to highlight and select the name. Otherwise, it won't work.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
I hope this helps. Good luck!
(Edited)
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Thanks, gromit82. That did the trick. I appreciate your assistance.
Now, am I the only person who thinks it's idiotic that I must select the only name that appears in the box or the form will reject my submission?
Or, more pointedly, that the explanation "Please choose the speaker of this line by clicking on the corresponding entry in the list of this quote's characters/actors to the left of the quote" should be amended slightly to read "Please choose the speaker of this line by clicking on the corresponding entry in the list of this quote's characters/actors to the left of the quote -- even if your list consists of only one character or actor"?
Or, better still, how about sidestepping this problem altogether by doing a little coding so the form recognizes when only one character or actor appears in the box and assumes it's the one to be attached to the quote -- no selecting required?
Can't help feeling the developers of this interface did virtually no UX testing.
Still, I do appreciate your putting me out of my misery! Thanks again.
Now, am I the only person who thinks it's idiotic that I must select the only name that appears in the box or the form will reject my submission?
Or, more pointedly, that the explanation "Please choose the speaker of this line by clicking on the corresponding entry in the list of this quote's characters/actors to the left of the quote" should be amended slightly to read "Please choose the speaker of this line by clicking on the corresponding entry in the list of this quote's characters/actors to the left of the quote -- even if your list consists of only one character or actor"?
Or, better still, how about sidestepping this problem altogether by doing a little coding so the form recognizes when only one character or actor appears in the box and assumes it's the one to be attached to the quote -- no selecting required?
Can't help feeling the developers of this interface did virtually no UX testing.
Still, I do appreciate your putting me out of my misery! Thanks again.
DavidAH_Ca, Champion
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Yes, it does seem a little strange at first; however, there is always the possibility that there will be a line with only a [stage direction] in it, in which case the speaker should not be selected. I think they prefer to leave it as an error in case it is actually a stage direction that is missing the brackets. It seems to me that the message implies that.
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DavidAH_Ca: you make a good point, though now that you bring up the possibility of entering a line that's only a stage direction I can't see how I could possibly have pulled that off. Say, for instance, that I wanted first to enter the line Responding to Dr. Ralston's request that he retire before adding Mr. Chipping's speech. How could I have done it? My only choice was to select Mr. Chipping. Had I done so when entering the stage direction would the stage direction have been displayed properly? Ultimately the problem here is that the interface isn't suited to neophytes. I'd never before added a quote to IMDB, and should years go by before I add another it's a matter of conjecture whether I'll remember the correct way to go about it. I didn't bother mentioning that my first attempt failed for an entirely different reason -- that the interface wanted to know how many lines I was adding. Since I'd jotted down the speech in pen on a sheet of scrap paper I had no idea how many lines it ran, so I counted my own lines and guessed 12. That was wrong, of course; a single speech, no matter how long, is considered 1 line. Right! Why didn't I think of that!
The whole thing feels like something concocted in the '90s, possibly before Amazon had even acquired IMDB, and never revisited. Which, for someone whose interest in movies greatly exceeds his interest in interfaces, is a pity.
The whole thing feels like something concocted in the '90s, possibly before Amazon had even acquired IMDB, and never revisited. Which, for someone whose interest in movies greatly exceeds his interest in interfaces, is a pity.
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I've been having the same problem. I followed the instructions given here to Richard Hartzell, but I can't make it work. Is this some stupid "we can't handle it if it's not coming from a Windows box BS? Or is IMDB so far behind the curve it can't deal with the latest Mac OS (or, god forbid, Linux?) Oh, and the quote I was trying to add, a line from the just broadcast Doctor Who Christmas special *is* only one line: it's when River Song says (regarding her diary), "One should always have something sensational to read on the starship." So, yeah. Just one line.... I think what you really need here is someone to rewrite the directions assuming that the contributor is NOT tech savvy. Yes, rewriting the directions and redoing the GUI will be a major PITA. Suck it up.
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Oh, and what is this BS about having to log into something COMPLETELY different to post to here? I had to log in through Facebook. I HATE AND DESPISE FACEBOOK
DavidAH_Ca, Champion
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To speak to the last complaint first: IMDb used to use the Message Board system for support, but it lacked a lot features that they really needed. Rather than spend a lot of time and energy writing a support system, they decided to use GetSatisfaction, whose whole purpose is to supply Support forums to other companies. This allows their developers to spend their time on items more central to the database, rather than re-inventing the wheel.
You did not need to log in using Facebook. Like IMDb, GetSatisfaction allows users to use Facebook and Google+ as login options (along with other options IMDb does not offer). However, also like IMDb, they allow users to set up a direct account. You could have clicked on the Get Satisfaction button rather than Facebook.
--------------------------
The operating system has very little to do with IMDb; it is your browser that primarily controls what you see.
If you want help, you will need to be more specific.
Did the form turn red or amber?
What exactly was the error/warning message?
A careful reading of the message can solve most problems. Also, if you want more general help, you can click on the blue circle with the question mark in it beside the item you are having problems with.
You did not need to log in using Facebook. Like IMDb, GetSatisfaction allows users to use Facebook and Google+ as login options (along with other options IMDb does not offer). However, also like IMDb, they allow users to set up a direct account. You could have clicked on the Get Satisfaction button rather than Facebook.
--------------------------
The operating system has very little to do with IMDb; it is your browser that primarily controls what you see.
If you want help, you will need to be more specific.
Did the form turn red or amber?
What exactly was the error/warning message?
A careful reading of the message can solve most problems. Also, if you want more general help, you can click on the blue circle with the question mark in it beside the item you are having problems with.
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[Richard wrote]Right.
... I counted my own lines and guessed 12. That was wrong, of course; a single speech, no matter how long, is considered 1 line.
Right! Why didn't I think of that!Before contributing any type of data to IMDb, it is surely advisable to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the relevant Submission Guide(s). The following note can be found near the end of the Quotes Submission Guide:
"... A 'line' for purposes of the entry form is any continuous speech by a single character, regardless of the number of sentences, including any embedded stage directions. Standalone stage directions or notes like 'first lines' count as a separate line."
(Edited)
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[Ruth wrote]Try this:
... The quote I was trying to add, a line from the just broadcast Doctor Who Christmas special *is* only one line: it's when River Song says (regarding her diary), "One should always have something sensational to read on the starship." So, yeah. Just one line.... I think what you really need here is someone to rewrite the directions assuming that the contributor is NOT tech savvy. ...
1:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5020304/quotes

2:

3:

4:

5:

6:

7:

8:

9:

10:

11:

12:

13:

(Edited)
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Thanks -- that seems to have done the trick. But it really is NOT intuitively obvious (I was clicking on the box under "how many lines" but not realizing that I actually had to click on the text IN the box). And this was *following* the directions Richard Hartnell had been given.... So I was getting the red box error code message saying I couldn't add the quote (don't remember the precise wording -- I'd been fighting with it for over an hour at that point.
As for the log in stuff for here -- I had *just* signed up for IMDB. I didn't want to have yet another password I was going to have to remember, so I did it through FB. And then found it really extremely irritating to get this "thanks for signing up for Get Satisfaction" email. Because I hadn't and I didn't. And trying to "unsubscribe" (when I hadn't subscribed in the first place, as far as I was concerned), *and* not having any sort of way to contact IMDB for any sort of technical support had already been aggravating enough. And when I looked on the Get Satisfaction website for assistance and saw the "cookie policy" link at the bottom of the page, well, I pretty much went ballistic after that. The link was to their legal department's email. And I basically said that they had damn well better not be collecting any cookies on me or I'd sue them.... By which point it was 12:30 at night, and I was completely agitated and keyed up to the point of basically being up all night.
What IMDB needs is a *complete* overhaul of their editing instructions. And a good tech writer.... Because not everyone is a computer whiz. And I say that being married to a software engineer. Who always hated writing GUIs.
As for the log in stuff for here -- I had *just* signed up for IMDB. I didn't want to have yet another password I was going to have to remember, so I did it through FB. And then found it really extremely irritating to get this "thanks for signing up for Get Satisfaction" email. Because I hadn't and I didn't. And trying to "unsubscribe" (when I hadn't subscribed in the first place, as far as I was concerned), *and* not having any sort of way to contact IMDB for any sort of technical support had already been aggravating enough. And when I looked on the Get Satisfaction website for assistance and saw the "cookie policy" link at the bottom of the page, well, I pretty much went ballistic after that. The link was to their legal department's email. And I basically said that they had damn well better not be collecting any cookies on me or I'd sue them.... By which point it was 12:30 at night, and I was completely agitated and keyed up to the point of basically being up all night.
What IMDB needs is a *complete* overhaul of their editing instructions. And a good tech writer.... Because not everyone is a computer whiz. And I say that being married to a software engineer. Who always hated writing GUIs.
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Ruth Morrisson: I feel your pain. As you've probably noticed by now, the people who lurk on IMDb's GetSatisfaction.com board are interface zen masters -- and like so many tech zen masters are unsympathetic to the plight of civilians. As the great George Bernard Shaw one said, "All professions are conspiracies against the laity." Including unpaid professions like IMDb quote interface zen master.
bluesmanSF, Champion
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Good Golly, Ruth. Life's just not working out for you, huh? Wow.
Better luck!
At Richard...you haven't seemed to have, yet, noticed that those that hang out on IMDb's GetSat form, master or not, frequently make requests/suggestions to make things more clear and easier. To say they're "unsymphathetic" to the plight of others, whom they're volunteering to assist through the mazes, is not exactly accurate or fair....in the least. Perhaps what you mean to say to those above who've helped here is..."thanks!"
Better luck!
At Richard...you haven't seemed to have, yet, noticed that those that hang out on IMDb's GetSat form, master or not, frequently make requests/suggestions to make things more clear and easier. To say they're "unsymphathetic" to the plight of others, whom they're volunteering to assist through the mazes, is not exactly accurate or fair....in the least. Perhaps what you mean to say to those above who've helped here is..."thanks!"
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