Why do you combine things? Tags, works, authors

Why do you combine anything? Why are you doing this task (these tasks) at all?

So I can sleep at night.

When I can’t sleep.

Apparently I have some OCD.

I think I have a mild Asperger syndrome, and whenever I find something not quite right I have to fix it.

1 - 5: :-)

I do it whenever some of my own books don't combine automatically. I.e. one of my recent reads had a "wrong" main author in the Danish version, so I had to use the Workbench to fix it. I mostly do it to get access to other reviews of the books.

Works - to repairs mistakes made (separating of items that shouldn't be, like zero copy works and different isbn's)
Authors - to make combining works easier when it is obviously just an entry mistake

It started when I was new on LT (over a decade ago), with needing to clean up my own entries. I read in several languages, and works and (even) authors wouldn't always show as being the same. It became something of an addiction. Also, I enjoy helping when I can

You need to combine works and authors for more lightly read books so that there are enough members on a book page to rate them adequately, if you are seeking to obtain a copy for your own library. This is the good effect of crowdsourcing.

I do some hours on the access services desk at the library where I work and need something to do in between patrons (it's not a super busy desk). I can't get real work done on the desk or concentrate to read books because I get regularly interrupted, and one can only read so many news articles or do so many online crosswords.

Also, I find it kind of soothing.

Because it's needed and I like to do my bit for a site I enjoy and find incredibly useful. I mostly stick to works/authors I catalogue or investigate. Ditto for tags, CK, etc

I do it mostly to make LT work better for myself and my books, but once I get going on something I want to keep going until it's all fixed.

Because databases get out of hand if they aren't controlled or tidied once in a while. It helps keep things easier to navigate, which is all important when search features are involved.

I'm a retired cataloguer. Spent a good chunk of my career tidying up the library database in my spare moments, fixing subject headings, authority control on authors, etc., and I just can't help myself now.

>14 tardis: Ah, thanks for the warning :-)

I just like things to be neat and accurate, I guess. Next you'll be asking why I move incorrectly shelved books in charity shops...

I'm very competitive so I like to win.. hence I'm in the top 40 for nearly al the categories I work on

>14 tardis: I've been thinking about getting *into* cataloguing. I'm told I'd be good at it. That, or law libraries.

Combining and such here sort of serves as maintaining what I learned in school.

although I don't combine as frequently as I used to "help fix LT data", I still do a little bit.

I like to have my data as accurate as possible (not that anyone can see my books except me) so I do it for myself and to help LT be as accurate as possible.

It is also strangely soothing and calming... and addictive.

Soothing in these horribly trying times

For me it's because I'm a 'data person'. I've just spent the weekend cataloguing 321 media titles (DVDs and 7" singles) and done a fair amount of combining along the way (box sets of TV series do my head in what with individual seasons, omnibuses of seasons and complete series).

I also did a little combining with my singles although there you've got to keep an eye on the B side as often it's different for UK and US release, or between the original release and a reissue. So not much there, but I will have to really watch out when I start logging albums (complete ballets vs suites, multiple versions of Schubert symphonies, my Dad's direct to disc jazz recordings...) I'll also have to check work-to-work relationships.

But that's for another weekend.

I did my first combining because I was filling out a Series and every, yes every, work held by more than two LTers was split into multiple works. Most of these were capitalization and abbreviation variants, although some works had multiple editions with different titles. I just did titles and did not mess with the authors. In a huge data base like this the range of errors in data entry is many times the number of participants.

I mostly tidy up series, authors or works that I have a particular interest in, or which leap out as bothersome in my data.

>16 konallis:

This is the kind of post that demands the "like" function Tim doesn't want.

>23 gabriel: I don't want the Like function. It encourages harmful competition for popularity. I see that on too many sites already. The focus increasingly comes on garnering likes at the detriment of making room for a variety of perspectives and sharing information.

>1 karenb: Combining makes finding works easier when making lists, recommendations, and series additions. I've noticed that's frequently when I combine works-- when a bunch of search results look the same. They often are the same.

>25 aspirit:

Don't worry, I don't seriously want a like function, I just wanted to cheer konallis' post about tidying up charity store shelves.