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Sorting conundrum
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorAce_of_Sevens
Registered: December 10, 2007
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I'm about to re-inventory and shelve everything I purchased in the last eight month. I've rejected organizing paradigms like TV vs. movies, mainly because a bunch of stuff like Buffy, M*A*S*H and the X-Files would have to be split up or I'd have to be kind of arbitrary. Blu-ray and DVD would break up series and not solve sub-organizational issues. So I went alphabetical, unfortunately, that's a bit of a mess, too.

I made modifications for sanity's sake. For instance, the numbers are in numerical order, so the 400 Blow comes before 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Roman numeral are treated as if they were Arabic and so on.

This doesn't solve all problems. For instance, should it make a difference how acronyms are written? Should ER be before Easy Rider or before Eraser? Would "E.R." be different?

The big problem that's getting me is I have a lot of box-sets based on a particular person, and stand-up and music concert discs. Do I put Chris Rock: Bring the Pain under B, C or R? Even worse are sets like The Very Best of Sheryl Crow: The Videos or possibly The Videos: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. (The spine and front disagree.) I don't know where to start with that. V seems like the beginning of the title, but I don't think that's where I'd check. Also, Wrong Men and Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers. I could put under A with Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece collection, but there's no actual support for this in the title.
DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantgardibolt
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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Quoting Ace_of_Sevens:
Quote:
I'm about to re-inventory and shelve everything I purchased in the last eight month. I've rejected organizing paradigms like TV vs. movies, mainly because a bunch of stuff like Buffy, M*A*S*H and the X-Files would have to be split up or I'd have to be kind of arbitrary. Blu-ray and DVD would break up series and not solve sub-organizational issues. So I went alphabetical, unfortunately, that's a bit of a mess, too.

I made modifications for sanity's sake. For instance, the numbers are in numerical order, so the 400 Blow comes before 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Roman numeral are treated as if they were Arabic and so on.

This doesn't solve all problems. For instance, should it make a difference how acronyms are written? Should ER be before Easy Rider or before Eraser? Would "E.R." be different?

The big problem that's getting me is I have a lot of box-sets based on a particular person, and stand-up and music concert discs. Do I put Chris Rock: Bring the Pain under B, C or R? Even worse are sets like The Very Best of Sheryl Crow: The Videos or possibly The Videos: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. (The spine and front disagree.) I don't know where to start with that. V seems like the beginning of the title, but I don't think that's where I'd check. Also, Wrong Men and Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers. I could put under A with Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece collection, but there's no actual support for this in the title.


The alphabetizing rule I learned years ago working in a library was to take the name and ignore punctuation and spaces in sorting.  So ER and E.R. would be treated the same and would go before Eraser.

With classical music I sort by composer's last name (unless it's a compilation of different composers, in which case I just use the title as usual), and with popular music concerts by a single artist/band I sort by the artist (again, using the title if it's a compilation like Woodstock). 

The Hitchcock one I'd stick under H for Hitchcock Thrillers, myself.
"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributorscotthm
Registered: March 20, 2007
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Quoting Ace_of_Sevens:
Quote:
The big problem that's getting me is I have a lot of box-sets based on a particular person, and stand-up and music concert discs. Do I put Chris Rock: Bring the Pain under B, C or R? Even worse are sets like The Very Best of Sheryl Crow: The Videos or possibly The Videos: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. (The spine and front disagree.) I don't know where to start with that. V seems like the beginning of the title, but I don't think that's where I'd check. Also, Wrong Men and Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers. I could put under A with Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece collection, but there's no actual support for this in the title.

I keep my movies in alphabetical order, with numerical titles coming first.  For double features I alphabetize by the title that comes first alphabetically.  For boxed sets that I can't break apart (such as digipaks) I put them all at the end, alphabetized by the last name of the subject (e.g. Capra, Hitchcock, Sturges, etc.).  I then place my TV series in alphabetical order after all theatrical movies.

An exception to the above is that I keep movies that are part of a series together (e.g. BOND, or CHAN, or THIN MAN, etc.)

The only problem with doing it this way is that I have to move a lot of movies when I get new DVDs in, so most of my new DVDs are put off to the side until I have a dozen or so to file away, then I do a whole batch at once.

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 Last edited: by scotthm
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributordee1959jay
Registered: March 19, 2007
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@Ace_of_Sevens:
If I were to go completely alphabetical, I would treat numbers the same way you do.
I would put all abbreviations up front, so both E.R. and ER before Easy Rider (makes life simpler).
Music: I would put all Sheryl Crow stuff under C (again: makes life simpler).
And I would put a Hitchcock box set under H.

All of this because of where my own personal logic would tell me to look. Of course, your mileage may vary...
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorAce_of_Sevens
Registered: December 10, 2007
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This starts getting dicey with stuff like Elton John: Red Piano, where it's the Elton emphasizes in cover artwork. I've never heard anyone call him Mr. John (or Sir John, for that matter.) He's mucking everyhting up.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributordee1959jay
Registered: March 19, 2007
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Well, you'll just have to make a choice - and then apply it consistently.
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