[mb-users] periods at the end of artist names and sortnames (filesystem behavior issue)

[Lukáš Lalinský]

Sean Goller wrote:
> I have noticed an inconsistency in Artist naming, with respect to
> periods at the end of either the name or the sortname:
> 
> N.W.A:
> 
> http://musicbrainz.org/artist/3a54bffa-2314-44a2-927b-60144119c780.html
> 
> vs. Run-D.M.C.:
> 
> http://musicbrainz.org/artist/5ecc3f72-20a6-47a0-8dc5-fb0b3dadeea0.html
> 
> Under win32, if a directory is created with a terminating period, it is
> silently removed. Needless to say, that is not the case under linux. So
> two questions:

If some an application creates directories with a trailing period, then the
application should be fixed.

> A) Should we be consistent? For instance, technically "N.W.A" should be
> "N.W.A." , if the CD is to be believed. :)

No, we should respect artist names. Most of their CDs have written "N.W.A" on
it, so it's "N.W.A". Though in case of Run-D.M.C. I'd say it should be "Run DMC".

> B) Which way should we go? I didn't find anything in the wiki regarding
> this.

Always use the correct data. Fixing technical issues in one application is
easier than correcting of lots of data.

-Lukáš