Episode Guidelines

These guidelines apply to the submission and editing of episode titles, summaries, and cover images. All submitted information and images must be accurate, relevant to the corresponding episode, and supported by reliable sources.

Primary Details

Episode Titles

• Official English Titles: Always use the official English episode title when one is available. Official titles published by the production company, broadcaster, distributor, or authorized streaming platform take priority.

• Original-Language and Romanized Titles: If no official English episode title exists, use the official original-language title. For languages written in non-Latin scripts, use its romanized form, following MDL's established romanization and formatting conventions. Titles already written in the Latin alphabet should retain their official spelling, including any applicable diacritics.

• Unofficial Translations: Do not submit fan-translated, machine-translated, or independently translated English titles as official episode titles.

• Episodes Without Titles: If an episode has no individual title, leave the field empty. Do not invent titles or enter generic labels such as "Episode 1" or "Episode 2" when these are merely episode numbers rather than actual titles.

• Changes to Official Titles: If an episode title is officially changed or corrected after its initial release, the updated title may be submitted with a reliable source confirming the change.

Episode Summaries

General Requirements

• Episode summaries must provide a short, accurate overview of the episode's main events, conflicts, or developments. They should not serve as detailed recaps of everything that happens.

• Summaries must be written in English and should contain no more than three short paragraphs, depending on the episode's length and complexity. Shorter episodes may require only one or two sentences.

• Leave one blank line between paragraphs and one blank line between the final paragraph and the source attribution.

• Avoid unnecessary introductory labels, promotional slogans, personal opinions, cast credits, or unrelated production information.

• Summaries should use clear, neutral language and proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Official and User-Written Summaries

• Official episode summaries published by production companies, broadcasters, distributors, or authorized streaming platforms are accepted sources.

• Whenever possible, use episode summaries from the same source throughout a title or season to maintain consistency in writing style, length, and level of detail. Different sources may be used when summaries are unavailable, incomplete, or otherwise unsuitable.

• Official summaries may be translated, shortened, or rewritten for clarity, provided their original meaning and essential information are preserved.

• MDL users may write their own summaries based on the episodes they have watched. User-written summaries must be accurate and should not include personal interpretations, speculation, or information that cannot be established from the episode.

• Neither official nor user-written summaries automatically take priority. Submissions are evaluated based on accuracy, clarity, relevance, and compliance with these guidelines.

• Existing summaries should not be replaced merely because another version is available. Replacements should provide a meaningful improvement or correct inaccurate, misleading, or improperly formatted information.

Spoilers

• Episode summaries may contain spoilers when necessary to describe the episode's events, but major revelations should be kept to a minimum whenever possible.

• Avoid unnecessarily revealing major plot twists, character deaths, hidden identities, the resolution of central mysteries, or other significant developments.

• Official summaries are not exempt from this requirement. If an official description reveals unnecessary spoilers, it may be shortened or paraphrased while preserving its essential meaning.

Character Names

• Character names must follow the spelling, formatting, and romanization used in the approved MDL Cast list.

• If a character's name is incorrect or outdated in the Cast list, the discrepancy should be corrected through the appropriate submission process rather than introducing inconsistent spellings into episode summaries.

Sources and Attribution

• Every episode summary must include a source attribution at the bottom, separated from the summary by one blank line.

• For official summaries, use the format: (Source: Site Name).

• For independently written summaries, use the format: (Source: Username at kisskh).

• If a summary is substantially based on an official source, that source must still be credited, even when the wording has been translated, shortened, or rewritten.

• Always provide a direct source link in the submission notes whenever possible. If the source is inaccessible, region-restricted, or requires an account, provide supporting screenshots when available.

• Contributors submitting independently written summaries must indicate their authorship in the submission notes.

• AI-generated text is not considered a reliable source. Any AI-assisted summary must be verified against the episode or a reliable original source and must comply with all other requirements.

Episode Identification

• Summaries must correspond to the correct episode number and the episode structure used on MDL.

• Be particularly careful with titles whose episodes are divided, combined, or numbered differently across broadcasters and streaming platforms.

• When an official summary covers multiple episodes, contributors should ensure that the information assigned to each episode is accurate. Do not invent events or distinctions that cannot be verified.

Cover Images

Accepted Image Sources and Priority

Episode covers should use official, episode-specific imagery whenever possible. The following order of preference applies:

1. Official Episode Covers and Promotional Stills

Images officially released or designated for individual episodes by production companies, broadcasters, distributors, or the title's official promotional accounts have the highest priority.

2. Official Episode Thumbnails

Images used to represent individual episodes on official streaming platforms, broadcasters' websites, or official video playlists are accepted when suitable official episode covers or promotional stills are unavailable.

3. Screenshots from Episodes (Conditional Exception)

Screenshots taken directly from episodes may be accepted only when no suitable official episode-specific imagery can be found.
This exception is intended primarily for older, obscure, independent, or poorly documented productions, but may also apply to newer titles with limited official promotional materials.

Screenshots must:

• Be taken directly from the correct episode.

• Be clear, unaltered, and free of subtitles, playback controls, and other unnecessary overlays.

• Represent the episode appropriately without unnecessarily revealing major plot developments.

• Meet the image quality and content requirements outlined in these guidelines.

Screenshots should not be submitted simply because a contributor prefers them over available official imagery.

Sources and Episode Verification

• Every episode cover submission must include a reliable source link, preferably directing staff to the original official image or the page where it was published.

• Images must be verifiably associated with the specific episode for which they are submitted. An image being officially released for a drama does not automatically establish that it belongs to a particular episode.

• Official promotional stills may be accepted even when the original source does not identify their episode number, provided the contributor can verify their association with the correct episode.

• In such cases, explain in the submission notes how the episode association was established, such as by identifying the corresponding scene in the episode.

• When possible, provide supporting screenshots or additional references to assist staff with verification.

• Do not assign episode numbers to promotional images based solely on their publication order, filename, or placement in an image collection.

Consistency and Image Selection

Episode covers should maintain a consistent format, source type, and overall presentation style across the same season whenever possible.

• Avoid mixing official promotional stills, designed episode covers, streaming thumbnails, and screenshots when a consistent set of suitable images is available.

• When multiple official image sets exist, prioritize a set explicitly designated as episode covers by the official source.

• If no particular set is designated, preference should be given to the most complete and consistent official set, provided its images meet the other requirements.

• When equally suitable sets are available, consider image quality, orientation, layout, branding, and overall presentation before selecting one.

• Once a suitable set has been established, contributors should continue using it rather than switching between different sets without a valid reason.

• Consistency does not require identical compositions, characters, backgrounds, or color schemes. Different scenes and photographic styles are acceptable when the images belong to the same general presentation format.

• Different seasons may use different cover styles, particularly when their official promotional materials differ.

• Long-running variety shows and other productions whose visual presentation changes over time may use different consistent sets across seasons or identifiable production periods.

Multiple Official Images for the Same Episode

• When several official images are available for one episode, choose the image that best represents the episode while maintaining consistency with the rest of the collection.

• If the available images are equally suitable in quality, relevance, and presentation, the first approved official image should generally be retained.

• Do not replace existing covers merely because another official image is available or personally preferred.

Image Quality, Dimensions, and Formatting

• Episode covers must meet the minimum acceptable image dimensions of 300 × 300 pixels. Higher-resolution images are preferred whenever available.

• Images must be clear and of the highest reasonably available quality. Avoid blurry, pixelated, heavily compressed, distorted, or otherwise poor-quality images.

• Older productions may be granted reasonable exceptions when higher-quality materials are unavailable.

• Retain the original image dimensions and aspect ratio. Do not manually crop, stretch, distort, or otherwise modify images merely to fit MDL's square episode thumbnail display.

• Avoid images containing unnecessary borders, black bars, frames, or blank spaces, unless these are part of the original official image design.

• When choosing between equally suitable official images, preference may be given to those whose main subjects remain clearly visible in MDL's square thumbnail display.

• Do not add or remove text, logos, watermarks, graphics, or other elements from the original image.

• Official episode covers and thumbnails containing their original titles, episode numbers, logos, or branding are acceptable. However, promotional graphics dominated by advertisements, broadcast schedules, hashtags, or unrelated announcements should generally be avoided.

Spoilers, NSFW, and Sensitive Content

Spoilers

• Episode covers should avoid revealing major plot twists, character deaths, hidden identities, important revelations, or other significant developments whenever possible.

• When several suitable images exist, choose one that represents the episode without unnecessarily spoiling its events.

• An image's official origin does not automatically exempt it from these requirements.

NSFW and Sensitive Content

• Episode covers must not contain nudity, explicit sexual content, graphic violence, gore, or other highly disturbing imagery.

• Images depicting minor injuries, small amounts of blood, or other mild sensitive content should be avoided whenever a suitable alternative is available.

• Because episode covers are publicly displayed without content warnings or visual restrictions, an NSFW designation does not exempt images from these requirements.

• Images that violate MDL's content policies must not be submitted, regardless of their official source.

Contextual Exceptions

Official episode covers featuring swimwear, shirtless individuals, mild injuries, blood, or frightening imagery may be accepted when such content is appropriate to the production's setting, genre, or established visual presentation. These images must not be excessively revealing, sexually suggestive, graphic, or unnecessarily disturbing, and should remain consistent with the overall style of the episode cover collection.

Missing Covers and Repeated Images

• If no suitable episode-specific image is available, leave the episode cover unchanged. Uploading an image is not mandatory.

• MDL automatically displays a greyed-out version of the title's main cover as a placeholder for episodes without uploaded covers. This placeholder does not count as an official episode cover.

• Do not upload generic drama posters, unrelated promotional images, or other unsuitable material merely to replace the default placeholder.

• The same image should not be repeatedly submitted for multiple episodes unless an official source explicitly associates it with those episodes and no more suitable individual images are available.

• An official promotional image released for the entire series is not automatically an acceptable cover for every episode.

Replacing Existing Episode Covers

Existing episode covers should generally be retained when they meet the guidelines.

Replacements may be accepted when:

• The current image belongs to the wrong episode or cannot be reliably associated with the episode.

• The current image is of poor quality and a significantly better version is available.

• The current image violates MDL's image or content requirements.

• A more complete or consistent official cover set becomes available, allowing the episode collection to be standardized.

• The replacement provides a clear improvement in accuracy, quality, or compliance with these guidelines.

Do not replace existing episode covers solely because another image features a preferred character, scene, or composition.

MDL reserves the right to select, retain, replace, or remove episode covers based on image quality, accuracy, consistency, source reliability, and compliance with these guidelines.

Additional Considerations

• Episode covers are separate from images submitted to a title's regular Photo Gallery. Approval in one section does not automatically establish suitability for the other.

• Images must correspond to the episode structure and numbering used on MDL, particularly when episodes are divided or combined differently across platforms.

• When official images are available only for certain episodes, contributors should use the suitable images that exist rather than filling the remaining episodes with unrelated or unverified material.

• Exceptions may be considered for older productions, independent releases, long-running programs, and other titles with limited or inconsistent official materials. All exceptions remain subject to source verification, image quality, and content requirements.

General Submission Reminder

Always provide accurate information and reliable sources, and use the Additional Notes field to explain any unusual circumstances or information that may help staff verify your submission. Avoid unnecessary replacements of existing content that already meets these guidelines.