Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Why?

Because it is there.

Seriously, why?

Part personal interest, part professional curiosity, and part dare.

I've had an interest in player numbers and the reasons players had for picking their numbers for quite awhile. I like to look for patterns in the numbers they wear to see if there's some number they've selected as "theirs" or if they just wear what's assigned to them. Leading up to the 2008 NHL trade deadline, Chris Creamer was harassing me about building a site like this, trying to goad me into doing it. Eventually, professional curiosity got the best of me and I started thinking of ways that such a massive data set could be kept up-to-date, which led to the wiki-style editing options.

Other sites with this information exist, the sorting abilities and the editing abilities are what make this one unique.

If this is wiki-style, why do updates have to be reviewed?

Most wikis have the distinction and/or benefit of not being entirely reliable resources. The goal for this project is to be reliable. As such, no one can immediately post updates to the site.

Each user's updating history is tracked and when s/he reaches a certain set of criteria, the system will realize that the user is trustworthy and grant him/her "trusted user" status. At that point any change the user makes will go live automatically.

Other users' proposed changes are subject to administrator review and/or user vote before being pushed live. This allows them to build their reputation within the system to one day become trusted users.

Who owns this information?

Everyone owns this information. Data can't be copyrighted, only the formatting of the data.

The data from this site comes from all over and will probably be shared to other places. The information is freely-available. Only the site design is copyrighted.

Editing the Site

How do I edit the information on this site?

We're going to have to get a bit more specific, here. First off, though, you need to have an account for the site.

How do I edit or remove a number already in the system?

Browse the site to any page that shows you the number you want to edit. Click the "Edit a Number on this Page" link and you'll be taken to a version of that page where there are editing options for each number.

How do I add a new number to the system?

Browse the site to a page where that number should appear. Click the "Add a Number to this Page" link and you'll be taken to a form which allows you to add the new information.

How do I vote on other users' proposed changes to the system?

Each editable page on the site includes a "View This Page's Pending Edits" link. Click that link to see the list of proposed changes and cast your vote on them.

How do I add a new player to the system?

Our database is tied in to the Internet Hockey Database. This is to prevent users from adding themselves or their beer-league buddies to the site. To add a player, they must be listed in the IHDB. Click the "Add a New Player" link on any editable page and you'll be taken to a form for adding a player.

How do I add a new league or team to the system?

Just as we don't want to allow beer-league players to be added to the system, we don't want to allow beer-league teams to be added either. As such, only site administrators can add new leagues and teams. Additions may be requested by posting in the forums.