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As far as I can see there is currently only one problem with the Common Name:

If a user changes a common name in his local database,
and if he does this via "Edit Cast Member" in DVDProfiler,
and if this common name also represents "as credited" for some movies,
then the Credited As field for these movies is *not* updated with the previously used name for this cast member.

This is *not* a problem for changes made via the NameVariants plugin, because the plugin *does* update the Credited As field.

I already tried to address this issue in the Use of Credited As thread, but apparently the discussion of typos and Lon Chaney variants was more important.

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Think of it this way the common name field is the old credited as field from v2.5.  All Ken has basically done is added another tag called credited as which allows you to put in any name you wish.  This name is not added to your local cast DB it is just allows the profile to show the actor's credited as name if it differs from the one that was stored in the local DB.

If the name in the local DB matches the name in the credited as field for the DVD profile you are working with the credited as field is cleared out since they match.

This is why if you were to edit a cast members name in your DB it would effect all profiles that have that name associated with it.  Editing the "credited as" field has no effect on the local cast DB, it only effects the profile that has the credited as name.

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I think your missing my point, of course you can not edit an name that is in your actors DB to the same as a name that is already in your actors DB.  That has never been possible, try doing it in v2.5 you'll get the same results.

If you wanted to change a profile from 'Richard Dean Anderson' to 'Richard Anderson' you would have to use the replace feature since that name already existed in the actors DB. If you wanted to keep 'Richard Dean Anderson' as the "common name" but, change the way it is displayed on the screen credits you would use the credited as feature.

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I'm not sure totally how Ken plans on implementing the new web search feature. But, if it is anything close to Goodguys tool but, on a much larger scale.  It would show you the "Commonly credited as name" and the "Credited as name" for each particular DVD profile where the credited as feature is being used.

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Quoting Dan W:

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The thing that gets me is who chooses the "common name"

Ken is setting up a tool which will allow lookup of the "common name", so anyone trying to to do so will get the same result. No personal judgement involved.

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and what makes that particular "common name"  a better choice than any other?

Nothing.

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What if I prefer a different "common name" than is in the main DB?

Then you don't contribute changes to those profiles.

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The common name should be the most commonly used "credited as" name for the particular actor your trying to link, that is in the main DB.  That way only the profiles where they are credited differently would need to be changed to this commonly credited name "common name" then we would use the credited as field to make sure they still appear as credited for that profile.

The online DB should be what decides the common name, as long as the contributor uses the most commonly credited as name that is in our main DB.