magnetic_rose June 3rd, 2008
first of all, i’m not belittling the efforts of scanlation groups as a whole and yaoi scanlation groups in particular. i am likewise a freelance scanner and translator for several yaoi scalantions, and have worked for one group and on three joint projects with friends. with what little experience i have i totally understand the amount of dedication it takes for circles to release chapters and/or one-shots on a regular basis.
i have nothing but respect for these circles and the people running them. what i do not agree with however are some re-distribution policies several groups (although i have one specific group in mind) impose on their scanlation releases.
as a reader and avid yaoi manga collector, i feel that these groups are overstepping their bounds by dictating policies on the re-distribution of their releases on venues other than their official websites (or IRC channels, as the case may be). despite the time, effort, and resources they poured into their releases, the material they are working with is essentially not their own. if anything, the sole party who can determine whether or not their works can be translated and distributed over the internet are the authors themselves.
notwithstanding the facts that: 1) authors very rarely assert their rights over the re-distribution of their works as scanlated material (via their publishers); and 2) scanlations may actually help sales by encouraging readers to purchase the originals, scanlation circles do not have the right to fill the authority void and demand re-distribution rights over something that is intrinsically not theirs.
what’s worse, some groups go as far as subject fellow yaoi fans to the virtual walk of shame for having “their releases” (and i use the term lightly) available for download on their personal journal pages or websites. this sort of attitude is completely uncalled for; the term nazi-fanbitches comes to mind.
this is the reason why i have nothing but love and respect for groups who do quality work just like the more popular circles, but have no qualms of releasing their work “back into the wilds” of the internet. they have no intentions of tracking down their releases and demanding take-downs on other sites that offer their work as downloadable material, simply because they feel that as scanlators they have fulfilled their duties and demand no further reparation. on the contrary, they even encourage folks to dump their releases and purchase the official imprints themselves. now that takes real love in my book.
on a more personal note, i do try as much as possible to follow the example of the more liberal scanlation circles. while i do watermark all scans i have personally made from tankoubon and doujinshi that i own, this is more of a fail-safe device to prevent other individuals from claiming the scans as theirs, or using it as bases for their own scanlation projects. after i’ve uploaded the material and made tehri existence public, i pretty much let it run its course over the intertubes.
if there’s anything i get out of this, it’s the joy and satisfaction that somehow, somewhere, i’ve made another person a fan of my favorite authors and circles. and i’m perfectly happy with that.
