How can one help improve game input "accuracy"?

[Jakobud]

When I look at some games, I see the controls listed in the Input Assignments as seemingly inaccurate. Some basic examples looking through listxml:

<machine name="elvactr" sourcefile="taito/taito_f3.cpp">
		<description>Elevator Action Returns (Ver 2.2O 1995/02/20)</description>
		<year>1994</year>
		...
		<input players="4" coins="4" service="yes" tilt="yes">
			<control type="joy" player="1" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
			<control type="dial" player="1" minimum="0" maximum="4095" sensitivity="25" keydelta="25"/>
			<control type="joy" player="2" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
			<control type="dial" player="2" minimum="0" maximum="4095" sensitivity="25" keydelta="25"/>
			<control type="joy" player="3" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
			<control type="joy" player="4" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
		</input>
...

This game definitely does not have 4 players or 4 buttons and does not use any dial inputs.

Another very similar example:

<machine name="bubblem" sourcefile="taito/taito_f3.cpp">
		<description>Bubble Memories: The Story Of Bubble Bobble III (Ver 2.4O 1996/02/15)</description>
		<year>1995</year>
		...
		<input players="4" coins="4" service="yes" tilt="yes">
			<control type="joy" player="1" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
			<control type="dial" player="1" minimum="0" maximum="4095" sensitivity="25" keydelta="25"/>
			<control type="joy" player="2" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
			<control type="dial" player="2" minimum="0" maximum="4095" sensitivity="25" keydelta="25"/>
			<control type="joy" player="3" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
			<control type="joy" player="4" buttons="4" ways="8"/>
		</input>
...

Bubble Bobble III again, it's just a 2 player simultaneous game and each player uses 8-way joy + 2 buttons. Definitely not 4 players, not 4 buttons and no dial involved.

Anyways, my point, how can one contribute to MAME by submitting corrections for things like this? Or is there something more accurate about these controls than I realize? Is it something to do with the original game board being generic and supporting that many controls but the game itself doesn't support it?

[y-ack]

the board recognizes those inputs. taito f3 is a cartridge system, a base machine with interchangeable software, so while not all of the games "use" all of the inputs they can read them, in theory. some of the games even have input test menus or hidden debug features that do, in fact, read them.

input list is not such a simple thing; there are many perspectives of inputs

• the player's interface presented by a typical cabinet
• the input pins actually hooked up to anything on a given board (a reasonable definition, and one that would give (only) single-board F3 a 5th button)
• the inputs possibly exposed by a chip's pinout (which may be entirely generic and reconfigurable in some cases, and doesn't encode uses like F3's P1/P2 kick harness using P3/P4 inputs)
• the input registers as interpreted by the software

i've found that generally the existing mame policy around exposing all inputs is fine (better than nonworking test menus, and convenient for romhacks.)