Why not just say "I personally hate cropping"? The Contribution Bible is very clear about which modifications (including cropping) are allowed, and which one aren't. You and TMDB have different priorities: preservation of the original images vs a consistent user experience.

Why not be civil to someone who is trying to help improve the database? I don't hate cropping, I just found that once I had done so, the image looked awkward. I asked a clear question: is there a better way to include an image that doesn't already suit TMDB's aspect ratio requirements without mangling the image by cropping it? I hope another mod will have an answer to that question.

No, those are your choices: crop it or don't upload it (if it truly looks awful cropped).

@thesarahshay said:

Why not be civil to someone who is trying to help improve the database? I don't hate cropping, I just found that once I had done so, the image looked awkward. I asked a clear question: is there a better way to include an image that doesn't already suit TMDB's aspect ratio requirements without mangling the image by cropping it? I hope another mod will have an answer to that question.

I believe this site also accepts posters with a 1.33 (3:4) ratio or 1.41 (100:141) ratio. 1.5 (2:3) ratio is ideal but if cropping to 1.5 destroys the poster (eg. chops into text/logos), then I believe its okay for you to crop to those two other ratios. https://www.themoviedb.org/bible/image/59f7582c9251416e7100005f#59f758309251416e71000060 (however you still have to make sure that cropping to these other ratios also doesnt destroy the poster.)

I also dont know if its written in the rules. But I believe it is common practice, and has been explicitly discussed prior (by mods) that if you have the photo editing skills then you can attempt expanding the backgrounds of some images to fit the ideal 1.5 ratio. So that's another option. However, I may not be able to explain what "expanding the bakcground" means exactly so if you are curious about how to do that/what that means you'll have to get someone else to explain it.

If cropping to all three of these ratios all destroy the poster, and expanding the backdrop is too difficult to achieve/not possible to do well, then the poster should not be uploaded at all.

Edit: actually here is a discussion about expanding backgrounds: https://www.themoviedb.org/talk/5c1451ac92514132c00a1b12

EDIT: Is there a reason why I dont think (unless I missed it) theres any info in the rules about expanding backgrounds as an option for achieving the ideal ratio for images?

Is there a reason why I dont think (unless I missed it) theres any info in the rules about expanding backgrounds as an option for achieving the ideal ratio for images?

It's not exactly recommended unless the background is solid/easy to replicate, and the user know what they're doing. Bad manipulations have to be deleted.