Hi! Here's a quick primer on the less intuitive stuff when updating the database.

Linking artists

In text boxes (e.g. commenting, posting news), you can make special artist links by enclosing the artist's name in slashes. To show a different artist name (e.g. artist's name before name change), enclose it in brackets and add it after the second slash:

• ⁄Dali⁄ → Dali
• ⁄Dali⁄[DARI (ダリ)] → DARI (ダリ).

(Note: after submitting the comment/post/whatever, vk.gy will automatically find the artist's ID number and insert it before the first slash, like this: (14)⁄Dali⁄. That ID number needs to stay in place for the link to work.)

Adding musicians

When adding musicians, link them to bands they were in, using the notation mentioned above. Each line in the “band history” box represents a different period. For example, vocalist Ren's history (SUGAR FORKFUL (シュガーフォークフル) → DARI → Dali) would be:

• ⁄SUGAR FORKFUL⁄
• ⁄Dali⁄[DARI]
• ⁄Dali⁄

To edit or delete a musician, go to the “edit artist” page of one of the bands they were in.

Linking artists to record labels

Find the label's ID number by going to its “edit label” page, enclose the number in parentheses, and past it into the “label history” section on an “edit artist” page. For example, {51} will link an artist to Matina.

Note: the old way of doing this required you to place the label ID in parenthesis ( () ). The system now expects them to be in curly braces ( {} ).

If a record label is a sub-label of another company, you can distinguish this by doing {id1} > {id2} in the same line. For example:

{51} > {94}

This will link the two labels together

A general rule of thumb is to only do this when it seems important. Big labels, like Sony or Warner, have literal dozens of smaller sub-labels (some of which even have sub-labels of their own). In this case, it isn't worth noting and may be near impossible to even parse through. However, sometimes smaller labels have a bit of a family-vibe associated with all of their acts, or is prone to using vanity labels for specific artists. In that case it is probably something you should mention.

This is on the list of things to improve in the future.

Other tips

• Check the “edit” page of an existing artist/label/release and see how someone else did it.
• The “edit artist” and “add musician” pages have documentation sections at the bottom with detailed explanations.
• Feel free to comment on this post or contact me directly if you have any questions or need help.

What bands are allowed at vk.gy?

Short answer: I want this site to be “vk,” not “jrock.” Complicated answer: “vk adjacent” is fine too. If the answer to any of these questions is yes, I would say they're ok to add:

1. Are they definitely a visual kei band?
2. Were they in the past? (SHAZNA, DEG, SID)
3. Are they technically non-visual but heavily active in vk circles? (ANTI-KRANKE)

.

If the answer is no, they might still be appropriate, but it would have to be based on an entirely arbitrary “degree of visual-ness,” or something like that. For instance, here are some bands that I think are ok for vk.gy, and the reason why:

• cious pi cious - not at all vk, but members who were in vk bands, and releases were through a vk label.
• ZI:KILL - probably not technically vk, but so influential to the scene, and members were in visual-ish bands D'ERLANGER and L'Arc.
• QP-CRAZY / Dokusatsu TERRORIST - maybe, because they're regularly involved with vk acts.

.

Bands I wouldn't include:

• Seikima-II - definitely look “visual,” but weren't nearly as influential on the vk scene, and no members went on to be involved in vk bands.
• THE WILLARD - had some hand in inspiring proto-visual guys, but probably too far removed to be relevant.
• Most of Satsugai Enka VINYL bands - not visual and not involved with vk acts.

.

I think for most bands it's obvious. For bands where it's less obvious (especially older ones), feel free to ask. I'm not trying to be super stingy, so if you can make a case for a band on the fringe, I probably won't mind.