Quite a few users are likely to use Birth Year locally for the additional data it provides, but that means they cannot contribute any cast data ever again, even if they see an error.

I suggest a simple option in Tools called "Ignore birth year data for upload" that means any contribution will not contain birth year data. It would be even better if it could be made a 'tickbox' option for each cast member (with a 'clear all' button so to strip all quickly!).

This will also help anyone who has "inherited' a birth year and cannot 'justify' it during contribution beign rejected.

Just a tickbox in the browser upload evaluation screen will do.

Wouldn't it be easier/better just to change the rules to say 'everyone add birth years'?

Quoting ajm:

Quote:
Wouldn't it be easier/better just to change the rules to say 'everyone add birth years'?

It will look horrible 

Quoting FredLooks:

Quote:
What will look horrible? BY is only displayed in the edit screens, isn't it?

You're right. I didn't realise that. That's good then.

But what about all those less well known crew and cast that we can't determine birth years for? And what use are all these birth years to us anyway EXCEPT to discriminate between identical cast and crew members?

Problem is that adding birth years breaks links. If I have 10 profiles with Joe Bloggs and only 4 have been updated in the online database, I then have to go and edit the other 6 manually to get the links to work in my own local database. That's assuming that I even know to do that because I'd have to take an audit right at the start before I downloaded any new profiles with birth years in order to know that I do have 10 profiles with Joe Bloggs and then I'd have to keep checking the cast and crew lists of all of my profiles regularly. It would be impossible.