respecting the rules scanlation groups make

backdated by a week to avoid having this pop up on my entire flist, since they don't care. :)

copied and slightly edited from a comment in free_manga which i then deleted since i didn't want to inadvertantly set off a flamewar. but i stand behind this 100%, and am reproducing it so i can link to it.

the issue is whether free_manga mods should delete posts when requested to do so by a scanlation group that forbids distributing its releases except for their own channels. the mods seemed amenable to that. this is what i said:

it's of course up to you, i am not gonna argue that. i only know that if this comm starts requiring we all check long lists, it'll stop being fun and become a chore, and people won't quickly upload something for a request anymore because they first have to check, and where was that damn list again, and they don't want to make the effort. that happens to me on aarin frequently enough. i guess we'll see how it goes; i might just be worrying too soon about the slippery slope.

we have to follow their rules or else some of these groups may stop scanlating.

ok, so this one i will argue. :) that sort of threat has ticked me off for a while now, and i refuse to be held hostage this way, so i am gonna rant a bit about it here (please don't take it personally). really, honestly, if that's somebody's attitude, somebody who is doing something completely illegal themselves (in which we all are complicit), then let them. it is entirely their choice as to whether they want to insist on their odd rules to that extent. that threat is nonsensical and obnoxious -- what, some random people broke their rules, and their response is to punish everyone who respected their rules? because we all know that somebody always breaks them; i see IRC-only-or-we-hunt-you-down groups' stuff out on the web 2 hours after the IRC release. always, always, always. it's an entirely empty threat; shouted loudly at the choir who then dutifully flutters about and prostrates itself. don't any of those people ever study economics? it's a standard black market scenario; it's unavoidable.

i am grateful for scanlations, and will happily give credit, praise, shoutouts, write reviews, send donations, join forums to write thank-you comments, buy manga to scan, heck; i'll send cookies. but i'm tired of jumping through super-special distribution hoops. scanlation groups disband for all sorts of reasons; somebody else will pick up where the last one let off. if somebody doesn't want to share their work with the world, keep it off general internet distribution channels from the start; show it only to your closest friends. once you share it with random people on IRC whom you don't even know personally, the cat is out of the bag for good. i think we should all stop even giving lip service to respecting those sorts of rules; they are futile, and all the yaddaing about them in a thousand places only stirs hot air.

ah, there. i've wanted to say since eop had a major meltdown on their website and fushichou's yahoo group got another lecture about respecting their rules, but i bit my tongue then. it had to come out; sorry. :) and now i get back to my japanese studies so i can scanlate my own. if i ever make up dumb rules, somebody please throw this post at me, tied to a heavy brick. [end of original comment]
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