Perhaps this has been dealt with before.

It happens somewhat regularly that you spend time adding a band only to found that a (specific (though used to be two if i recall correctly)) mod added it during that time in seconds but with no info whatsoever (logo, release, line-up, anything that takes time) and then goes on adding empty pages for others to fill in. So then a regular user will have their submission rejected and time wasted despite being like a minute later but with complete info instead of zero info.

And if mods are to add bands the Bandcamp-new-releases way, knowing that others will simultaneously submit them the regular, time-demanding way, and will prioritize their own empty submission over other's complete ones, then why not either write on the main page that such band research will be handled by mods all together, or to allow for regular users to make empty submissions (other than name, country and a link to the release) with no negative consequence? Or the third possibility: replace the empty ones with complete ones if applicable, despite the later being one or a few minutes later.

1. Nothing kills motivation more than regularly having the info you added and spent time on deleted. And in these cases, it's done with no benefit to the site. Unless an empty entry added a minute earlier is somehow more valuable than a complete entry from a minute later.

2. It also give people a reason to be incomplete with their submissions in order to risk a lesser amount of wasted time in the long run. This is already commonly demonstrated by some users who won't even bother adding easily available logos/photos, lyrics or links from the Bandcamp page their info is from.

Now that this happens, it has the effect of users having valid bands in front of them, but not wanting to waste more time adding all the info knowing that the mod may just dump an empty band page on the site any given five second period.

But it also has the effect of not knowing whether that will be done. So you have valid bands in front of you, but refrain from submitting them because of the reason above, but for how long? If the mod decides to quit half-way through the valid bands or missed some among the latest Bandcamp releases, the bands may not get added at all, or much later (days, months, years). Or if some time has passed, how will regular users know whether the mod quit his session at Bandcamp or will add the rest of the newest valid bands later (when again any given five second period may result in an empty band page on the site).

A different but somewhat related issue to the possibility of going past the queue is the amount of dubious bands being added that way. Bands that may or may not pass a queue where several mods tend to look into borderline cases are all of a sudden added based on the opinion of one single mod rather than at least two.

Looked into it, and it seems in this case you might be referring to Vlas and Taurus Inferno? At least as recent examples? I'm not really sure what to say other than to point out that you were just unlucky. You may have had drafts ready, but Helvede just happened to get to the bands before you. He didn't steal submissions. He didn't make a mistake here. He was just faster than you in submitting those bands off of whatever source you both were using. I know it sucks, but he did nothing wrong.

That said, yes, mods do have the ability to bypass the queue, but we do trust that what they submit is acceptable. But like any other band, it's open to reassessment if what they submitted might be considered dubious; the likelihood of that is low, however, because while mods make mistakes, we go to great lengths to select mods who understand well our definition of what is and isn't metal.

We also don't require users to fill their drafts with content; so long as there's links proving that an album is metal and is a valid release, that's all that matters. Some mods groan at "empty" submissions, but practically all we care about for assessing a band is whether it's metal and the release is acceptable. Beyond that, everything else is extra. We still strongly recommend users fill out their submissions ahead of time, because it helps the site be more comprehensive, but it is by no means a requirement at submission. It's worth noting in both the cases I mentioned - Vlas and Taurus Inferno - that the mod who submitted the bands quickly added content within minutes of acceptance. So, yes, the bands were 'empty' but they didn't remain empty for long.

I can understand how this all might seem demoralizing sometimes, especially when you're not quick enough to the draw... but remember why we're here. As contributors to MA, collectively we're trying to catalog every valid metal release out there. It shouldn't matter who gets their name tagged as the submitter of a band, or how many points a user has, or who gets credit for a band's approval, so long as the band is accepted, and the site is fleshed out a bit more, that's what should matter.

Those cases were the recent ones, correct.

I know the mods aren't breaking any rule by doing so. However, this cannot be explained by luck or being faster. That would be the case if another regular user was faster, which happens regularly and is fine. But in the case of mods being able to add bands in a few seconds with just a name and country, it doesn't apply. It's like a race where the runners start at the same line but one of them has the possibility to teleport himself to the finish line as soon as it starts, thus "winning" without doing any actual running.

Notice that I'm not talking about any method of research. I'm only referring to the method of going to Bandcamp at the time of them updating their new release feed, knowing that others are there at the time for the same purpose (at the starting line) and will be busy adding info for several bands while you just add them in very incomplete ways in a few seconds and "winning the race" by not bothering to run.

Also, looking at the Vlas and Taurus Inferno cases, the only info added later on by him was their respective releases. All other info was filled in by others. So Vlas reached it's level of completeness 12 hours after submission, despite my submission from one minute after his included all that info and was rejected by that same mod, knowing the difference in completeness and knowing he wouldn't be filling it out himself.

With the Taurus Inferno album he didn't even bother with track lengths. With Vlas, he didn't even bother including the cover art... This and all other easily available info such as logo, photo, line-up for main page and album page, was added by others, mostly by Mister. So if that user hadn't been around that time, chances are the info would still be less complete than in my submission from a minute after the mod's. And this method goes a long way back, giving priority to his own submissions spent a few seconds on, and then leaving it for others to maybe add the rest later (hours, days, years or remaining incomplete?).

I also dread the day it becomes habit for people to just submit bands with minimum info, since that would undoubtedly lead to many pages remaining incomplete, thus very much lowering the quality of the archive.

Maybe stop comparing this to a "race", because it's not a race whatsoever? Yes, if a mod happens to spot a new Bandcamp release at the same time as a normal user, they can bypass the queue. Big whoop. It's not a problem unless all you care about is having some points or your name tag on the submission instead of having the site be more complete, which, frankly, is a you problem.

Also, your "dread" scenario concern is completely unfounded. Minimal submissions happen routinely, and those always get filled up eventually (if they don't, it's because the additional information just isn't available out there).

But seriously, a race? Honestly: lol, lmao

- Talked about through pm.