Applies to: A programme is difficult to find or compare after its title has been retyped.
The useful distinctions
- Programme names are linguistic text rather than unique identifiers by themselves.
- Different search implementations can treat spelling details differently.
- An exact supplied title and an edition identifier provide stronger evidence than a remembered approximation.
Preserve the label before simplifying it
A viewer may remove accents because a keyboard makes the original spelling inconvenient. That can be a reasonable search attempt, but the simplified query should not replace the source title in the support record. Keeping both lets another reader distinguish what the catalogue displayed from what the viewer typed. The same care applies to apostrophes, hyphens and punctuation. A remembered approximation can otherwise create an avoidable ambiguity about which work is being discussed.
Do not promise identical search behaviour
An exact title is useful evidence, but it does not guarantee a search result or prove a particular search fault. Systems can index aliases and spelling variants differently. Add the production year, episode or supplied identifier when available. If the exact title produces an unexpected result, record that observation separately. Support then has a reproducible query instead of an argument about whether the viewer’s approximation should have been considered equivalent.
Hypothetical worked example
An invented catalogue displays Échos du port for edition EP-4. A viewer searches Echos du port and cannot find the expected item. Their enquiry preserves the accented source title, the simplified query, the edition ID and the date checked. It does not claim that accent handling must be the cause. The accurate pair gives the catalogue owner enough context to investigate matching without confusing the attempted spelling with the actual listing.
A focused way to proceed
- Copy the displayed title where copying is possible.
- Keep the edition or programme identifier beside it.
- Record any simplified search spelling as a separate attempted query.
When to stop or ask for help
Provide the exact source title and the attempted query separately, adding a stable programme identifier when supplied.