Ruins

Despite losing the intimacy of my two famed friends- wit and intelligence, I am still able to express what I desire to say.
Thus ends my unusual way of writing, for the following post is of the modern world.
To be more specific, it's concerning manga.
(Again, those who know manga as an equivalent of the mango fruit will be seen as a blundering ignoramus in my eyes.)

This is in regards to the end note that I gave in this post: Back.
For those of you who are in a state of blur for you have either been living under the rock for the past few months or that you've just been rescued off a deserted and unmapped island, please direct your attention to the following links: Prelude to Disaster, Justifications of Self-Righteousness and Further Reports.
For those who are well-informed about the whole uproar, please direct your attention here: Note of Worth.

I fancy to think myself as a veteran reader, but I pale in comparison to other veterans for this is only my 4th year while they've been in this for almost a decade.
If put to the hierarchy of high school, I'm only but a sophomore.
As for the scanslating community, I only joined recently.
Disregarding my two-year hiatus, I'm in my 3rd year as a translator and first year as a proofreader.
New I am to the community, but the sense of comradeship I have to all my fellow scanslators could stand rival to a friendship of ten years.
And now, the community is in danger of annihilation.

The said annihilation comes in form of a group of people who were once part of the community but has now submitted to the condemned preachings of the Green Book of Greed.
They think themselves influential and now regard themselves as the 'Representatives' of the community.
They speak of change for the better, hold negotiations and make decisions in the name of the community.
Mind you, this community is as vast as the galaxy, just as it is diverse.
Though vast, we never needed a monarch, least said about representatives.

The above are just the prologue of this ramble of mine.
My opinion starts below.
I have formed my judgment based on evidence.

Scanslators are the grey people of the manga industry, also the Underground.
We translate manga, manwha and manhua into other languages than the media's native language, just like publishing companies like Viz, Tokyopop, CMX and etc.
The only thing that differs between us is we don't get paid for it nor expect any payment, that and we do it as a hobby instead of a profession.
Scanslators don't get paid with any form of money, but in form of gratitude and thanks.
Getting paid is blasphemy of the highest degree. Those who do so are considered the lowest of all life forms.
Fueled by passion and the desire to share joy, we spend precious time doing what we do, expecting nothing in return.
Such is the Universal Code of the Scanslators.

These representatives have no idea what they are dealing with, nor are they conscience of the magnitude of repercussion that will soon follow if their plan is set into motion.
The scanslation community will come to the end as we know it.
And the genocide will thus stain their hands with blood of former comrades while they delude themselves with the thought of creating a 'win-win-win' situation.

(Directed to the 'Representatives')
First, who are you to declare yourself our representatives?
It's not universally agreed, literally.

I am also insulted when you referred to us as an 'untapped source'.
I see that you aren't in any way involved with the scanslating process, hence the birth of your stupid proposal.

Money and power have clouded your judgment.
You don't have as much power and influence as you delude yourself into having.
To the corporates, you are nothing but a pawn to destroy the very community you think you're doing good to.
Your proposal will blast open the pathway that was impenetrable for so very long, leading to unneeded bloodshed (figuratively speaking) and finally your own ruin.
Heed the warnings of your friends and comrades; cease the idea of the situation that will only materialize in the perfect world or you will be ostracized by us all.
Your name shall be sullied and be remembered as heretics for the rest of eternity.

(Directed to Imitorar on subject: Comment)
As you said, you have no emotional attachments to the scanslating community, you therefore have no rights to say:

But why is that a bad thing?

I shall put a bullet through your heart, mutilate your corpse to pieces and later curse your soul to the darkest region of hell if I ever chance an encounter of you.

The purpose of scanlation is ultimately to allow people to read manga that they wouldn't get to otherwise, isn't it? If that is the goal of scanlation, then this move would be nothing but a good thing, because it would allow fans to read the manga that they want to read in a timely manner, in good quality AND LEGALLY, which is something that they cannot do as things are now.

This move would fulfill the goals of the scanlation community, something that should be met with praise, not rebuke. What value is the scanlation community in and of itself, and why should its continued existence be prized above fulfilling the goal of allowing fans to read well-produced manga quickly and legally?

Yes, that is the sole purpose of our existence. However, I disagree most vehemently with your views.
FYI: I do buy manga. My dad frowns upon my purchases and excludes it from my reading reimbursements.
When you use the words "timely manner" and "quickly", it made me laugh at your ignorance.
The publishing houses can never compete with the speed of scanslators, that is a known fact.
The time for the scanslators to churn out a complete volume is only a fraction of how long the publishing houses take.
Being amateurs and doing it at our free time, we surpass the 'Professionals' who do it as a job by a long shot in regards to speed of release.
Common knowledge of the language and Photoshop on an outdated computer for the former whilst a degree in linguistics and the most current of hardware and software for the latter, publishing houses still shrivels in comparison with scanslators.

As for quality, I'd vouch for the scanslators.
Even when the publishing houses boasted on their ability of keep to the original, they are still far from it.
For example, Viz excludes all forms of honorifics, replacing them with Miss, and Mister.
And you can bet on the destruction of earth that ALL publishing houses switches the order of names, with given name preceding family or surnames.
As an Asian, this is the biggest insult!
How could they boast on their originality when they go about Westernizing the script?
I can say that I am original when I translate scripts!
I never ignore the honorifics nor do I change the names!
They are the very beauty of Eastern culture, which I'm very sure YOU wouldn't understand!

That said, I think that you are judging the staff of MangaHelpers far too harshly. I don't think that they're as greedy as you make them out to be. I think that they really do want to help the community. If you read through the entire plan, you'll notice that MangaHelpers doesn't really stand to make any money from this. Any money made would be made by Viz and any scanlators that agreed to work for them. I don't think that any comparisons to Tazmo are valid. Tazmo does what he does out of greed. MangaHelpers planned this out of a desire to give the community what it wants.

I believe my judgment to be fair.
I've read the proposal and their justifications on the matter.
Their hidden objectives are unseen to you, but transparent to others, including me.
I advise you to read between the lines, and discard your naive views on the world.

I wholly agree with Edward and Protected, and many others who can foresee the apocalypse that will soon befall the community that I've taken much pleasure in the company of.
Even if it does strike, the scanslation community will rise and flourish as an underground movement again.
There are just too many of us for the publishing companies to deal with.

All hail to the hundreds, nay, thousands of scanslating teams- my comrades in leisure, passion and battle!
May the fire of Scanslators burn vigorously till the ends of time and engulf those who dare do harm to us!