Allow VIP members to submit titles to the database without having to go through approval staff

"And if I were allowed a moment of frankness, I do not understand the reasoning for such an extremely rigid process."

The process is not rigid; the users simply do not know how to follow the guidelines. I also do not understand what's so hard about submitting the changes along with a source link and/or an explanation, a timestamp, a screenshot, so that the changes can be verified by the approval staff.

"And even when it is allowed through, it tends to take a long time for the title to actually be up.  "

This happens because there is a big volume of submissions because of certain users... However, we have brought new staff on board to speed up the approval process. The new staff are currently being properly trained.

"Mydramalist is an entertainment site. It is not a bank, governmental or essential systems database where you get a ton of people or criminals attempting to target the system."

You will be surprised by the number of spammers/trolls/people targeting the site, either by submitting wrong changes or attempting to scrape the information that we and other users/contributors have been working hard on translating/adding/updating/etc. So, while yes, we are not one of those institutions, data is still bringing in money. To you, it might be just "an entertainment site", but to the rest of us and for various reasons, MDL is an important place and must be protected.

"I hope MDL seriously reconsiders its submissions process."

At the moment, we will not reconsider this process, mostly because of what Kate said. Just because someone pays to contribute to the servers' expenses doesn't mean they are capable of submitting/approving properly in accordance with the guidelines. 

However, the admins do plan on improving and speeding up the approval process by changing how it works (first step, being history logs) and bringing on more users to help. I cannot say more at the moment, but my advice to anyone who wants to help in the future is to focus on following the current guidelines when submitting and raising their contribution points and ratio. Because no matter the process, guidelines will still be in place, and approval staff will still be around. 

 Elisheva:

Given that the site includes things like Vote or Add Tags, but the proper way to add tags isn't through the link which literally says Add Tags, or even Edit this page > Tags, but through Edit > Genres, it's a bit much to say that users simply do not know how to follow guidelines.

I completely get where you’re coming from — the current system for adding tags and genres isn’t as intuitive as it could be, and it’s something that’s frustrated both users and staff alike. Unfortunately, the approval staff wasn’t involved in how the system was originally designed, and we’ve raised similar concerns to the admins and devs over time.

The good news is that staff have recently been more involved in discussions about the future panel, so we’re hoping some of these long-standing issues — like streamlining submissions and improving the clarity of guidelines — will finally be addressed. In the meantime, we’re doing the best we can with the tools we’ve got, but your feedback is 100% valid and appreciated.

 Elisheva:

The process is very frustrating for many of us who are trying to help. And crap like "the users simply do not know how to follow the guidelines" feels like a slap in the face. 

To clarify — my earlier comment was directed specifically at the OP’s post (and similar or worse users),  and at the recurring issues we encounter with submissions that ignore the guidelines, contain made-up info, or are submitted without proper sources or context. It wasn’t aimed at users like you who, even if frustrated, generally make an effort to get things right.

That being said, while I understand that parts of the system aren’t perfect (and trust me, staff have raised those concerns many times, too), it doesn’t change the fact that guidelines exist for a reason and need to be followed. There are users who consistently choose not to, and unfortunately, that’s where a large portion of the approval delays and headaches come from.

I do stand by what I said in that context — but I appreciate that phrasing in threads like this can sometimes be taken more broadly than intended. I’ll make a point of being clearer about who and what I’m referring to in the future.

At the end of the day, staff and users both want the same thing: a smoother, clearer process. And while changes are on the way, until then, we’re all working within the same system — and that means we all have to work with the guidelines currently in place.