Merging entries
What is it used for
Duplicates often appear on VocaDB. Whenever a duplicate is detected it needs to be deleted or merged in most cases. Merging copies all properties from the source entry to the destination, and the source entry is deleted.
This includes the following:
- Artist references (if merging an artist)
- Followed artists
- Song votes (favorites and likes)
- Tag votes
The process cannot be reversed automatically - to undo a merge you’ll have to restore the old source entry and edit all references manually. Some properties such as song and tag votes cannot be restored. Therefore you need to be especially careful before proceeding with the merge: make sure that the entries really need to be merged.
Because undoing a merge can be a great deal of work, it is restricted to Trusted Users and above. If you notice a duplicate entry but can’t perform the merge yourself, leave an entry report (including the other duplicate).
When not to merge
Do not merge if you’re not sure that the entries are really duplicates. Ask for other opinions.
If the source entry has no useful information and no song/tag votes, merging is redundant: the source entry can simply be deleted.
How to merge
Assuming you have the necessary permissions, the merge option appears on the entry edit page. In general, merge should be performed from the newer entry to the older one, because the source entry will be deleted, and it’s more likely that there are external references to the older entry.
Splitting Artist Entries
The general principle in VocaDB is to merge artist entries belonging to the same person, therefore centralizing information and enhancing user features like following artists. However, there are situations where a different approach is necessary, particularly when artists have multiple distinct personas or wish to separate their work.
When creating new entries, VocaDB checks against existing links and names to prevent duplicates, sometimes revealing previously unknown connections between artist profiles. The more distinct the artist profiles or personas are, the more justifiable it becomes to maintain separate entries. In such cases, these entries can be linked through their descriptions, as in the case of LamazeP and GojimajiP (https://vocadb.net/Ar/304).
Artists can request to split their entry if they have multiple distinct artistic personas with different names. This may be due to various reasons, for example, a desire to start fresh or separate older works from newer ones, etc.. To request a split, contact a moderator with the relevant artist names, and give information to help determine which song entries belong to which persona. Include clarifications for unclear cases, specify publish date cutoffs if applicable, and ideally, provide a pre-organized list of song entries under each artist name.
The split entries can optionally be connected with description links like “Also known as [artist x].” This linking can be omitted at the artist’s request, provided the information isn’t easily and publicly available. Note that VocaDB’s revision history maintains a record of entry information changes, and comments from unrelated users pointing out connections between entries will not be removed. While we would like to accommodate artists’ preferences, we are not obligated to remove factual information or comments that are already public knowledge.