Not a dumb question.
Explanation:
As checklists are added, the player's names are "looked up" in the database. When there is already a player with that name, the links happen automatically and whether that's the correct player or not, the link is made. We do have the ability to "turn it off" for players that are beyond their playing career when there is a new person wit hthe same name (so all the new checklists don't keep going to the old player).
Unfortunately, once these links have been made, there is no easy or automated way of finding them or fixing them, except in a one-by-one fashion. The best thing you can do, if you can't make the edits yourself due to permissions, is to report each card and indicate in the report which PID number should be linked to that player on that card. If a profile (PID) does not exist for a person, just put that in the report filed on that card's page that a new proifile/PID is needed.
Thanks.
-- Dan --
Note: Please see my profile for more info regarding trading (section updated 3/4/2024). I have added a large portion of my inventory to the site, and currently have trading turned on (details are in my profile).