VerseDB is on Reddit in two ways: the r/VerseDB community, and VerseDB Comic Lookup, an app that lets any subreddit look up comics without leaving Reddit. Both sit under Reddit on My Apps. The r/VerseDB button opens the community and Community Integration opens the app.
Neither needs a VerseDB account, and using them never connects your Reddit account to VerseDB.
r/VerseDB#
r/VerseDB is VerseDB's own subreddit. Join it to talk with other members and the VerseDB team, ask questions about the site, and report problems with the Reddit app.
The app is installed there, so r/VerseDB is a good place to try a !versedb lookup before adding the app to your own community. You can also message its moderators or email [email protected].
Look up a comic on Reddit#
In any subreddit that has the app, start the first line of a comment or post with !versedb, then the series and issue number, for example !versedb Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 300. The app replies with the issue's story title, publisher, cover and on-sale dates, writer and artist, variant count, key-issue reasons such as first appearances, an estimated value and the VerseDB community rating.
Add the series' start year in parentheses to pick the right volume when a title has several. A UPC or ISBN number works too. If more than one comic matches, the reply lists up to five so you can try again with a more specific title. The estimated value covers the issue as a whole, not a particular grade.
There are two other ways to look something up:
- Post menu. Choose Look up this comic on VerseDB from a post's menu, type the comic, and confirm it may be sent to VerseDB. The app replies to that post. It never reads the post's own title or text.
- Lookup post. Open a VerseDB lookup post and tap Search comics. Type a comic or paste a barcode, then pick the issue. The details show inside the post without adding a comment.
The app answers each post or comment once, and each person can run one command every 30 seconds.
Add the app to your subreddit#
Moderators install VerseDB Comic Lookup from its page in Reddit's app directory. Once it's installed, three options appear in your community's menu. Only moderators see them.
- New VerseDB lookup post creates a post anyone can search from. Pin it if you like.
- New VerseDB community pull-list board creates a board of the series your community follows, showing which have a new issue out that week. Search for a series and add or remove it right on the board. A community can follow up to 100 series.
- Post this week's VerseDB release digest posts a browsable list of the week's new comics, grouped by publisher. A week with more than 60 comics shows the first 60 and a link to the full week on VerseDB.
The app's settings for your community have two options:
The pull-list board has its own Weekly new-comic-day auto-post switch, also off by default. It posts on Wednesdays at 15:05 UTC, and only when a followed series has a new issue that week. Both schedules run on UTC all year. A week is never posted twice, and a week with nothing new produces no post.
What the app sends to VerseDB#
The app sends VerseDB only what it needs to find a comic: the title, issue number or barcode that was typed. For a command, that is only the text after !versedb on the first line. For the pull-list board, it is a moderator's series search or the IDs of the series you follow. It never sends Reddit usernames, the subreddit's name, or the rest of a post or comment, and VerseDB doesn't store these searches.
Because the command text leaves Reddit, let your members know not to put personal information in it. The full details are in the privacy policy, under "VerseDB Comic Lookup on Reddit".