Reading Between the Panels: A Metadata Schema for Webcomics Erin Donohue Melanie Feinberg INF 384C: Organizing Information Spring 2014 Webcomics: A Descriptive Schema Purpose and Audience: This schema is designed to facilitate access to the oftentimes chaotic world of webcomics in a systematic and organized way. I have been reading webcomics for over a decade, and the only way I could find new comics was through word of mouth or by following links on the sites of comics I already read. While there have been a few attempts at creating a centralized listing of webcomics, these collections consist only of comic titles and artist names, devoid of information about the comics’ actual content. There is no way for users to figure out if they might like a comic or not, except by visiting the site of every comic and exploring its archive of posts. I wanted a more systematic, robust way to find comics I might enjoy, so I created a schema that could be used in a catalog of webcomics. This schema presents, at a glance, the most relevant information that webcomic fans might want to know when searching for new comics. In addition to basic information like the comic’s title and artist, this schema includes information about the comic’s content and style—to give readers an idea of what to expect from a comic without having to browse individual comic websites. The attributes are specifically designed to make browsing lots of comics quick and easy. This schema could eventually be utilized in a centralized comics database and could be used to generate recommendations using mood, art style, common themes, and other attributes. This schema is primarily intended for users who have some experience with webcomics and who are seeking new comics to read. However, the terminology in the schema is deliberately non­technical and accessible, so these entity descriptions can be used even by comic novices looking to explore the medium for the first time. Scope and Definitions: A webcomic is a comic published on a website. The term is used here to refer to both individual comic strips and the overall website upon which the comics are hosted. For the purposes of this metadata schema, to be considered a “webcomic,” a comic must consist of at least one comic posted on a website (or section of a website) specifically devoted to that comic. The comic should be created with the primary purpose of being put online (as opposed to in print media). What counts as a webcomic: * A website consisting of digitally­created drawings and text * A website consisting of handmade drawings scanned and uploaded to the web * A website devoted to a comic that was updated once and never again * A comic hosted on a distinct section of a larger website not devoted to comics * A comic that was first published online and later appeared in a newspaper or magazine in addition to continuous online postings What doesn’t count as a webcomic: * A comic originally created for a newspaper or magazine that has subsequently been put online (e.g., Calvin and Hobbes, Dilbert, The Far Side) * Blogs that predominantly feature non­comic content that publish occasional comics, not under a separate formal title or website section distinct from the text blog (e.g., A recipe blog with a single comic post about cooking) * Reblogs or shares of other comics (not the poster’s own work) on Tumblr, Facebook, or other social media Attribute Descriptions To apply this metadata schema to a webcomic, assign values to the attributes described on the following pages. Title and Artist are mandatory attributes and must have a value, even if that value is “[unknown].” All other attributes in this schema are optional. Title The proper name of the comic Mandatory: Yes Repeatable: Yes Refinements: Alternative Title: Any form of the title used as a substitute or alternative to the formal title of the comic Input Guidelines: ● The title can be found on the comic’s website, often prominently featured in the header image. ● Titles should be formatted as they are on the comic site (e.g., xkcd should remain all lowercase). Checking outside resources, such as Wikipedia or Google can be useful in clarifying the established capitalization convention. ● Do not omit leading articles (e.g., “A” or “The”) from the title. ● If the comic is popularly known by another title that differs from its formal title, use the Alternative Title attribute. This attribute should not be used for acronyms (e.g., for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, do not put SMBC as an alternative title). ● If the comic has no title, put [untitled] in the title field. Artist The creator(s) and/or current producers of the comic Mandatory: Yes Repeatable: Yes Refinements: Writer: The person responsible for the written content of the comic Illustrator: The person responsible for the visual art (drawings, photos) of the comic Input Guidelines: ● Artist names should be written in Last Name, First Name format. If the artist uses only one name, list that name. ● If the artist is an organization, company, or collective, list the organization’s name, omitting leading articles like “A” or “The.” ● If the artist uses an alias or pen name, list that name according to the format above. If the artist’s given name is known, put it in parentheses after the alias/pen name. ● If the comic is written and illustrated by different people and the roles are clearly delineated (e.g., specified on the comic’s “About” page), the two child attributes, Writer and Illustrator, should be used instead of the Artist attribute. ● For comics made by multiple people (without a clearly defined writer/illustrator role), separate the artists’ names with a semicolon or use multiple instances of the Artist attribute. ● If the artist is unknown or anonymous, put “[unknown]” in the Artist attribute. Description An overview of the content of the comic Mandatory: No Repeatable: Yes Input Guidelines: ● This attribute is intended to give a brief, general overview of the comic’s subject matter, ideally in the artist’s own words. It can be most commonly found in the “About” page or the header of a comic’s website. ● Because the value for this attribute comes directly from the artist’s website, it may be quirky or not particularly illuminating about the comic’s actual content. Though superficially uninformative, this text can still give potential readers an idea of the comic’s tone or mood, as well as the artist’s attitude. ● Cite the source URL for all material in brackets after the description. ● If the “About” page is not at all informative (e.g., It just says “Hi, this is a comic.”), if the “About” page consists only of information about the artist and not about the comic specifically, or if no clear “About” page exists, check outside resources such as Google or Wikipedia for a description. If these resources do not provide an abstract on the comic’s subject matter, click through the comic’s archive and try to synthesize the comic’s common topics, tone, and visual style into a brief description. URL The website address where the comic can be found Mandatory: No Repeatable: Yes Input guidelines: ● Format the URL in the following way: http://www.example.com ● If a comic has multiple URLs or is hosted in multiple places, list each site in a separate URL field. ● If the site upon which a comic was hosted is no longer available, put the last known URL and “[deprecated]” after it. ● Take pains to find the original source of the webcomic. For instance, if using material posted on social media (especially Tumblr), ensure that the site you list is the site hosted by the comic’s actual artist or organization, and the material is not merely being reposted/reblogged from an outside source. ● If a secondary source (e.g., a Tumblr page) is the only remaining source for the webcomic, and the original site has been taken down, note the original URL in the manner described above and use a second URL field to list the secondary source URL. Make a note that this is not the original source of the material. Date of creation The date the comic was first published online Mandatory: No Repeatable: No Input Guidelines: ● The date can be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY, MM/YYYY, or YYYY, depending upon the amount of information known ● This information can commonly be found in the “About” page or by navigating to the earliest post in the comic’s archive. Wikipedia is a good secondary source for more popular comics. ● If the creation date is unknown, indexers may put “[unknown]” as a value. Date of conclusion The publication date of the last comic Mandatory: No Repeatable: No Refinements: Last updated: In the case of a comic that has not formally concluded, the date of the last published comic Input Guidelines: ● The date can be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY, MM/YYYY, or YYYY, depending upon the amount of information known ● This information can commonly be found in the “About” page or by navigating to the latest post in the comic’s archive. Wikipedia is a good secondary source for more popular comics. ● If the comic is still being published, indexers may either exclude this attribute or put “N/A” as a value. ● Often comics will stop being published without a formal conclusion or message from the author. If the comic has not been updated for over a year from the date of the last comic post, use the refined attribute “Last updated” instead of “Date of conclusion.” Put the date of the last posted comic in this field.