Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Is it possible to edit quotes? For example, if the quote has an error or if it is attributed to the wrong book/author?

Yes it is, If you are a librarian you need to click on the number of people like this quote link and then at the top their is an edit button. Rule for quotes below:


quote guidelines

* Only enter quotes from notable people. Generally, a person is notable if they have been the subject of published secondary source material which is reliable, intellectually independent, and independent of the subject.
* Quotes can be from any source (books, spoken words, news articles, etc) as long as they pass the above criteria.
* Only enter the author's name in the author field (not their birthdate or which book the quote is from).
* When entering author names with initials (H.G. Wells, J.K. Rowling), don't put spaces between the initials.

Just curious. I see that there is no longer a link to "See all Quotes by ___" on the quotes that don't have an author linked (example). I really liked that option, because it meant I could go through all of them at once and fix them so that the author profile was linked them.

Was there a specific reason that option was removed?

That would be a Feedback Group question.

(Also, I merged that one into the correct version.)

Recently I added a quote, "The road to ruin is always kept in good repair," that I had read somewhere and thought humorous and jotted on an index card. There was no attribution, so I researched it on Google, which showed it to be anonymous. Logging onto Goodreads the next day, I was astonished to see not only that the quotation had disappeared from my profile but had been replaced by a biblical verse, apparently as a gentle reproof. I looked around among the groups to see if there was a roving morality squad, but never found one. Are anonymous quotations frowned on?

Yes, anonymous quotations ARE frowned upon, as by definition they have no "notable" author.

As far as having been replaced by a biblical quote, that was most likely accidental, not meant as a reproof.

Something sort of like this happened to me once before (link).

Is there something that could be added to the librarian manual to keep these accidental mergings from happening?

The merges are not precisely accidental. Biblical quotes are really listed under anonymous.

Stop adding quotes that don't meet the notability guidelines and you'll stop having this problem.

rivka wrote: "The merges are not precisely accidental. Biblical quotes are really listed under anonymous."

But quotes should never be merged together unless they're the same -- if librarians are deleting quotes by merging them into different quotes, that's not good!

I've only had it once.

But I wanted to rule out the possibility that it was some kind of librarian mistake before going to my next guess. It may not be a bug exactly (depends on your definition), but it is rather weird behavior to add a random quote (if that's what's happening).

Cait wrote: "if librarians are deleting quotes by merging them into different quotes, that's not good!"

Personally, I only do it when planning to delete the whole kit and caboodle, as an intermediate step. And I'm not in favor of it as an instead-of-deleting method at all. But I have a hard time getting worked up about it, when the quotes in question are flagrant violators of the notable author rule.

It seems awfully prone to accident, though, so it should probably be discouraged. Adding a quote to someone's profile that has nothing to do with the quote which they meant to add (even if they shouldn't have meant to add it) is not right.

I followed the link Nikki supplied (thanks). I sheepishly admit I hadn't read the rules carefully when I added the anonymous quotation. I promise to be less cavalier in the future. It isn't surprising that Goodreads catalogs biblical quotations as anonymous, since hardly anything in the Bible has been verifiably attributed by scholarship to actual persons. Yet the Bible is the most often quoted source other than Shakespeare. The preeminently quotable character of the Bible doesn't seem in the least diminished by the anonymity of its sources, any more than the splendor of the pyramids suffers from the anonymity of those who laid the stones. (It seems unlikely, I might add, that many notable American architects have designed buildings capable, stylistically or structurally, of standing such a test of time.) I agree that the notability rule should be followed simply because one agrees to it in posting quotations, though my impression is that more than a few members post quotations without going to the library and checking the indexes to satisfy the qualification regarding reliable secondary-source material. How many reviews of the Twilight series have likely been published in the Virginia Quarterly or by the Modern Language Association? According to Rivka, Goodreads categorizes biblical quotations as anonymous. Why aren't they struck in accordance with the rule? Shouldn't the rule prohibit quotations from from The Arabian Nights, The Song of Roland, Beowulf, The Bhagavad Gita? To accept the rule as a requisite for posting quotes is one thing, but to embrace the rule in principle seems to me a different matter, more along the lines of choosing camps between the aesthetic and the indifferent, to sanction the potential exclusion of quotations with merit yet without clear attribution while welcoming virtually unreservedly, because of the temptation to post, excerpts from the flood of literary Tupperware that basks in attribution and at any time constitutes most of what's popular. How is the average Goodreads librarian going to determine in an instant whether an author has been the subject of reputable secondary-source material--even know intellectually reputable material from that which isn't? That can't always be determined quickly even if you're a doctoral student who spends assistantship hours doing library research. A separate issue, which I think Cait has hinted at, is that to add a quotation to someone's profile, even if indirectly, is to violate whatever privacy pertains to the profile. It may be that no privacy is guaranteed.

I don't think this is a question of attributing it solely to authors, I think it has more to do with being attributed to a specific piece of literature. The bible/koran/bhagavad gita are pieces of literature. They don't have an "author", but they are attributable to something. There are also bible quotes under the author "Various".

Bunny has it right.

As for the Various ones, someone will clean those up. Eventually. ;)

I'm just wondering should we be deleting quotes who have zero people who like them? I have seen this every now and then and I was just wondering. Or should we leave them in case someone might want to like it?

If they are legitimate quotes from people who meet the notability criteria, I see no reason to delete them.

I can see the "edit" link next to a quote, but I cannot see where to merge it with another, which is an exact duplicate. If I delete one of the copies, I assume that I would also lose all of the people who have registered that they liked that one.

The quote in question is:

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult."
— Charlotte Whitton

Can anyone help me out here? If you go ahead and merge it yourself, could you please respond and let the rest of us know how you did it.

Thanks.

Click on the author's name to see all their quotes after a quote and then you will see the combine quotes link on the top right side of the page.

Melody wrote: "Click on the author's name to see all their quotes after a quote and then you will see the combine quotes link on the top right side of the page."

Thanks Melody. I don't see a combine quotes link anywhere on that page. Strange?!

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

This quote needs to be deleted please. It is a repeat of http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...
and says "ad" instead of "had".

Actually, it's better to merge quotes than to delete them (keeps users from losing them). I merged those two.

I'm a fairly new librarian, but for the last day or so I've been mostly editing quotes (I really enjoy reading them and not a lot of librarians seem to work on them so it seems like a good niche for me!). I've been mostly merging duplicates and fixing slight typos, but I do have a question that's come up.

In cases like this: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

The quote reads: "As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play the music in spite of that. [Pullman, Philip. "Philip Pullman's photograph of the decade." The Guardian . 13 November 2010. online.]"
— Philip Pullman

Should everything in brackets be removed so that it is only the quote? Since the source is not a book I don't think it's possible to credit it along with the author, but I also don't think sources are meant to be in the body of the actual quote. Please advise! Thanks.

Oh, another question while I'm at it. For books with multiple authors, such as Good Omens, quotes can apparently only be attributed to one of the authors. Is there a way around this? I keep seeing duplicates that are the same quote but each attributed to a different author, so there doesn't seem to be a way to combine them.

Re #23: Yes, please edit so only the quote remains.

Re #24:It is not possible to attribute a quote to more than one person. Go with the author listed first on the book for each example of the quote, and then you can combine them.

The tag on this quote makes me curious:
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

I don't suppose we change tags, but it makes me wonder where one could find humour in a depiction of cruelty?


And another question, do we change quotes attributed to fictional characters to the author?
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...

I added a quote this morning from Thomas Pynchon, and discovered that I had used the word "to" twice. I tried to correct it, and I was barred from doing so. I re-entered the quote, along with the book (Against the Day) it came from (the drop down menu of titles did not appear when I initially entered the quote).

The faulty quote:

“Remember, God didn't say, 'I'm gonna make light now,' he said, 'Let there be light.' His first act was to allow light in to what had been Nothing. Like God, you also have to to always work with the light, make it do only what you want it to do.”

--Thomas Pynchon

Corrected:

“Remember, God didn't say, 'I'm gonna make light now,' he said, 'Let there be light.' His first act was to allow light in to what had been Nothing. Like God, you also have to always work with the light, make it do only what you want it to do.”

--Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day

Let me know what I need to do. Thank you.

# 27 I corrected it.

#26. Yes, the quote should be attributed to the author. I changed it.

Is it possible to merge quotes without having people lose them from their 'liked quotes.'

there are quotes, two the same only one has the wrong spelling of the word 'unfortunately' and too many people have liked both of them to delete one, so is merging an option?

Correct quote:
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/80039...

Inncorrect quote:
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/79361...

Let me know if anything can be done, otherwise I guess it could just be deleted by a super librarian. Thanks.

Melody wrote: "# 27 I corrected it."

Thank you!

# 30 Merged and corrected.

Renée wrote: "Is it possible to merge quotes without having people lose them from their 'liked quotes.'"

Yes. That's why we merge instead of deleting.

Can anyone please remove the parts I am indicating in my quotes from my book.

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/78245...

Remove second someone

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/79223...

change come to comes

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/78670...

change toward to towards

Got #34

Thanks #35, but still the first one is not fixed, second and third is fixed.

The quotes is

“If you really love someone, you shouldn’t be scared of losing, since real love is not having but wanting someone happy.”

The second someone to be deleted as below:

“If you really love someone, you shouldn’t be scared of losing, since real love is not having but wanting happy.”

Fixed.

#36
Just for the record: the original quote said

'If you really love someone, you shouldn’t be scared of losing, since real love is not having someone but wanting someone happy.'

I removed the second someone as requested.

Koenraad wrote: "#36
Just for the record: the original quote said

'If you really love someone, you shouldn’t be scared of losing, since real love is not having someone but wanting someone happy.'

I removed the se..."

Thanks, Most appreciated...

First you have to be on the page specific to the quote. If you aren't here yet, you can get here by clicking on the link that says "xx people liked it."

Once there, at the very top there should be a line that looks like this:

Author Name > Quotes > Quotable Quote (edit)

Click on "edit" and you're good to go.

Could you please remove a quote from my author page? Here is the link. Thank you! -Leesa Abbott

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quot...

#41- There are two quotes on that link. Is one not yours?

got 43

Could a librarian please either remove or edit a quote attributed to me on my author page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quot...

The quote is from this comic:
http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1785...

It probably doesn't satisfy the criteria to be a suitable quote for Goodreads and so should be deleted, but if it stays I'd at least like it corrected (as follows):
Monty Jones: Dad, is there a word to describe answers that are completely correct but entirely useless under the circumstances?
Professor Jones: Yes, yes there is.

Thanks.

David wrote: "Could a librarian please either remove or edit a quote attributed to me on my author page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quot...
The quote is from this comic:
http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1785...

It probably doesn't satisfy the criteria to be a suitable quote for Goodreads and so should be deleted, but if it stays I'd at least like it corrected (as follows):
Monty Jones: Dad, is there a word to describe answers that are completely correct but entirely useless under the circumstances?
Professor Jones: Yes, yes there is."

Edited and formatted. You are wrong about not satisfying Goodreads criteria. It is perfect.

Banjomike wrote: "Edited and formatted. You are wrong about not satisfying Goodreads criteria. It is perfect."
Thank you!

Is there a length requirement for quotations?

I was looking up Jules Verne and I noticed that there were a number of one-word items, many with 0 likes.

See for example: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes...

I assume the one-word likes are some sort of vocabulary thing maybe? But I don't see how they qualify as quotations.

Can any of these be deleted?

Sylvie wrote: "Is there a length requirement for quotations?"

Not a length requirement exactly but a single word quotation would be difficult to justify unless it was atributed to the person that originally invented the word. A single world will always have been used before.

Single word quotations can be removed and I've removed the Verne ones.

Banjomike wrote: "Sylvie wrote: "Is there a length requirement for quotations?"

Not a length requirement exactly but a single word quotation would be difficult to justify unless it was atributed to the person that ..."

Thanks! I thought so but figured I should check.

Hi.
I added a quote and it was filled with typos, so here is the corrected one:

"لا أدعي أنني مملوء بالحب أو التعاطف، بل ربما كانت تلك أحاسيس بعيدة عني، لكن كل ما في الأمر أن البشر كائنات أتفه من أن نغضب منها أو نحقد عليها، إنهم ضعاف و تكوينهم هش للغاية، إنهم مثيرون للشفقة في أفضل الأحوال، إنهم كائنات عرجاء.. انزلي الى الشارع الليلة و تأملي، ستجدين نفسك في سيرك مليء بالمهرجين.. انظري كيف يسيرون؟ يرفعون رجلا و يهزون ردفا، ثم يخفضون الرجل و يهزون الردف، ثم يرفعون الرجل الثانية و يهزون الردف الثاني.. إنهم مضحكون و لطيفون كطيور البطريق.
انظري تلك القطعة البارزة من اللحم في منتصف الوجه، الزائدتان الغضروفيتان على الجانبين، الشعر الكثيف، التعبيرات الهزلية على الوجوه، كيف نغضب من تلك المخلوقات التافهة التي لا تخطو خطوة في حياتها أن تنتقص من احتمالية السعادة و لا تموت قبل أن تفسد كل شيء؟ كيف نكره أطفال متأخرين عقليا؟"

it's the same author and book and tags.
here is the link. Thanks.
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6533562