I saw a contribution today that added an 'Edition' (Widescreen Special Edition) to a profile.  This appeared on the back cover of the DVD, but not on the front.

Are we taken 'Edition' information from anywhere on the DVD these days?

Does that mean that if we see "Widescreen" anywhere on the case (like in the video info box on the back), then "Widescreen" goes in the 'Edition' field.

IMHO, 'Edition' should be restricted to what appears on the front cover, just like Title.

It's like the Disney Treasures; I assume some still have the "Ltd. Series" suffix to the edition, which is nothing more than a random extraction from a bit of overview text on the obi.

The rules on editions say that the edition can come from anywhere on the DVD cover, it doesn't specify front, back or spine. Darxon's right, this is especially handy for rental versions that sometimes only mention it on the back.
However, I think that sometimes the edition field is over-used. Like people adding "Widescreen" when no pan & scan version has been released.
As for the "modified title" thing, I haven't seen any abuses of that rule myself, but you're right - it is a bit strangely written.

I don't think it should matter if it's on the front or the back. As was pointed out above, where it says it doesn't change the fact that it is an "Edition".

I also wouldn't mind seeing "Widescreen" used even if that is only seen based on the DVD specifications on the back, on the one condition that a Full Screen edition also exists with a different UPC.  If there was only a Widescreen release and that's it then it does seem a bit redudant.

And actually, the rules seem to support that because they only state to use the box (doesn't specify front or back) for non-standard editions.

The only thing I don't agree with Hal's original post is if the contributer did it like Hal posted with "(Widescreen Special Edition)".  The Profiler already separates the title and edition with a colon, so I don't see the purpose of using the parathesis and goes against how every other profile has been done.  I'd vote no on that just because it goes against the examples used in the rules.

I don't have a problem with "Widescreen Special Edition" (I actually prefer that over "Special Edition: Widescreen" but that may just be me).  It was "(Widescreen Special Edition)" I wasn't too thrilled about.  Just didn't see the purpose in using the ( ).  I wasn't sure if that was just how Hal presented it in his post or if that was how the contributer actually submitted it.

Quoting Vega:

Quote:
I don't think it should matter if it's on the front or the back. As was pointed out above, where it says it doesn't change the fact that it is an "Edition".

I also wouldn't mind seeing "Widescreen" used even if that is only seen based on the DVD specifications on the back, on the one condition that a Full Screen edition also exists with a different UPC.  If there was only a Widescreen release and that's it then it does seem a bit redudant.

And actually, the rules seem to support that because they only state to use the box (doesn't specify front or back) for non-standard editions.

The only thing I don't agree with Hal's original post is if the contributer did it like Hal posted with "(Widescreen Special Edition)".  The Profiler already separates the title and edition with a colon, so I don't see the purpose of using the parathesis and goes against how every other profile has been done.  I'd vote no on that just because it goes against the examples used in the rules.

Sorry if that was misleading.  There were no parentheses in the actual contribution.

I agree that the Rules only say "from the DVD box".  Taking it from other than the front seems to open up a pandora's box for people to put Widescreen or "other" stuff in the Edition field at will.

I think the Rule should be changed.

But what if they are not released at the same time?

There can always be an exception for a specific case such as Rental DVDs.

Quoting hal9g:

Quote:
I agree that the Rules only say "from the DVD box".  Taking it from other than the front seems to open up a pandora's box for people to put Widescreen or "other" stuff in the Edition field at will.

I think the Rule should be changed.

I can see where you're coming from, but as stated above I don't really see the harm in allowing simply "Widescreen" as the Edition if there truly is a Widescreen and a Full Screen version of the movie.

As in all cases, it comes down to the smarts of the voters and the screeners to weed out redundant or useless entries.  I can definitely understand where you think this could suddenly open a huge increase in contributions with people simply submitting 'Edition' changes with who knows what, but I have a little more confidence in the intelligence of the people submitting changes.  Of course, this could be because even though I'm a long time user, I am fairly new to the contribution/voting system and you may be more jaded after years of seeing submissions.. 

Give me a few more weeks and I'll probably see things you're way.