66 replies to this topic

[Solerum]

-___- I Thought this was Batoto.com, so why are there watermarks, snif*

[Koro]

On batoto (and japanzai) the watermarks disappear 0.2 seconds after the page loads, whereas on sites like MF that convert to JPG the watermarks remain.

[KiZe-kun]

looks like there is a meaning into not using JPG... btw if the scanlator ever have time they shud do a low quality into high quality transition with gif... pretty much bit blurred to no blurred

[rudyart]

lol @ obama!

[Solerum]

Well Thanks ^^

[Solerum]

FUUUUUU Now it's Jesus who is laughing at me! -______-

[KiTA]

A quick fix is to download the images, rename them as .GIFs and then open them in an image editor such as Photoshop. The idiotic fullscreen watermark is a separate layer. Disable or delete that, and you can then save them as a real image.

I'd feel bad about giving that info out, except it's already been posted on MangaFox forums and it seems that Japanzai is less interested in translating manga and more interesting in letting people know that THEY are translating manga.

[Cheesus]

I'd feel bad about giving that info out, except it's already been posted on MangaFox forums and it seems that Japanzai is less interested in translating manga and more interesting in letting people know that THEY are translating manga.

They released 5 mangas today.

Also i would like to know why you think that.

Edited by Cheesus, 19 January 2012 - 01:20 AM.

[rudyart]

i used to read @ mangafox but after the fiasco with scanlators, i read everything either @ batoto or the scanlator site itself...

and we may see perm marks on pages soon if scanlators gets really pissed

[Solerum]

A quick fix is to download the images, rename them as .GIFs and then open them in an image editor such as Photoshop. The idiotic fullscreen watermark is a separate layer. Disable or delete that, and you can then save them as a real image.

I'd feel bad about giving that info out, except it's already been posted on MangaFox forums and it seems that Japanzai is less interested in translating manga and more interesting in letting people know that THEY are translating manga.

O'm not downloading the, i'm reading it on this site. Jesus disappears after a while.

[KiTA]

i used to read @ mangafox but after the fiasco with scanlators, i read everything either @ batoto or the scanlator site itself...

and we may see perm marks on pages soon if scanlators gets really pissed

They already put perm marks on the pages, their Japanzai logo everywhere.

They released 5 mangas today.

Also i would like to know why you think that.

Well, Good for them?

I keep writing a bigger post about this that diverts into the whole "profiting from scanlation" disaster that's sure to come up soon, lets see if I can prune it down to one or two paragraphs.

The way the Japanzai watermarks are done is very unprofessional. The logo on top of the art is a cardinal sin of scanlation -- outside of Japanzai, no one cares that it was Japanzai that brought it out in English, so the watermark has to be inserted to remind us all, or something. The phrasing of the "MangaFox are leeches" thing along with no concrete info on the situation out there alongside the freakouts the Japanzai guys had on the MF forums made it feel like *I* was being called a leech for reading on MF instead of MF directly, and the Buddy Christ thing is just absolutely asinine.

(Hint: www.stopmangafox.com wasn't registered the last time I looked, and would be a great place to forward people to for more info on this whole mess. Heck, I'll kick in a few bucks to register and host it if people think that's a good idea. I think there was something similar done for Tazmo back in the day?)

Even after reading the entire manga it was in and researching how the thing was inserted into the image file, I never read the text under Buddy Christ. Not once. I gritted my teeth, suffered going to Japanzai's website, and discovered that hey, Buddy Christ is still there, only he vanishes right after I can take a look at the smirking face -- a subliminal annoyance, but a constant and infuriating one.

If they wanted me to notice it, a solid, nearly full black background. White text. "Attention MangaFox reader: You are seeing this image because this image was harvested off the scanlation website's server using a leech bot which is constantly attacking our servers. Please read the actual comic at (URL) or (URL). Please read this URL for more information on how MangaFox is harming the Scanlation community for their own profit: (URL to a FAQ about MangaFox)."

I would read that, and it wouldn't drive me bananas when trying to read Japanzai releases off Batoto or Japanzai's reader. Seriously, that smirking face for 1-2 seconds each page... Arrgh.

(As an aside, why is it ok for people to steal the View Askew Production guy's Buddy Christ... to make a point about people using other's work without permission?)

Oh, and as of today the MangaFox bot detects and removes the Buddy Christ thing, so... Moot point. (But fortunately Batoto's search bookmarks are fixed, so I no longer have to bother with the leeches at MangaFox at all, so, yay.)

[Solerum]

"The way the Japanzai watermarks are done is very unprofessional. The logo on top of the art is a cardinal sin of scanlation -- outside of Japanzai, no one cares that it was Japanzai that brought it out in English, so the watermark has to be inserted to remind us all, or something."

Well It's good that we know who does the effort for us, so that I can enjoy Manga. I care ^^

[acolyte]

If you don't enjoy the GIF watermark, suck it up. You're the minority.
[And don't even try 'it's not only me' - there are tons of visitors enjoying the watermark that didn't post any complaints]
And they're the scanlators. Who are you to be so demanding anyway? :s If you're the translator, well then you got a right^^ But in that case youc ould just leave them.

I'm amused. 'Nuff said.

Edited by acolyte, 26 January 2012 - 04:26 AM.

[Asa-chan]

First of all, who the hell enjoys a watermark?
That's some of the silliest stuff I've ever heard anyone say....
Second; technically the scanlators don't have the right do anything seeing as they do illegal work...
Third, I don't really care about this kind of watermark, seeing as my connection is so damn fast I didn't even know of it, until I saw this thread.
Fourth, why scanlate if you don't want people reading your stuff? I get it's annoying people don't know you did it, but watermarks is the most fucking annoying stuff that they can do, and no it isn't mangafox, etc's fault that watermarks are there, it's the scanlators. They put it there, their fault....

[Kishuy]

This is one of the very few times I post anything, but I just couldn't let it go. A couple of things to start.

I am on batoto.net, reading steam manga. I will not use firefox or googlechome because i enjoy using safari, the default browser in my computer. I feel no obligation to do so.

Second thing, translators post manga for the community, so I as a community member have every right, moral or otherwise, to express my opinion on the subject, as long as I respect everyone. Moreover I will not be deem unworthy just because I cannot read japanese therefore translate manga. If the post they want us to read it so things like: "If you're the translator, well then you got a right" are very stupid to say because as long as I respect them I can demand some quality.

I do understand the reason for water marks, but I do not get the fact the were made so poorly. So I demand that they are taken down on batoto.net (since they clearly state you should read it in this website) and I also demand that things requisites like using only one browser and made for recommendation and not requirements.

As for support, I do support the fan sub teams on this matter, websites that abused their powers and the fan sub teams should rethink their action, but I do demand quality from the fan sub teams work, its their pride and statements that are in play.

Thank you for reading.

P.S: As for downloading, I would rather buy it. Read stream, if u like it buy it and support the author/artist that way.

[acolyte]

If they're made well, they won't be taken seriously~ Because they're not made well, it gets reader's attention quicker. All these methods are like last-resorts.. I'm sure they prefer not to put them on, if MF readers take them less lightly.
@magefeanor Actually you summed it well - But here's some clarification.
They do not do illegal work, if it's distributed for the country (i.e. language) it's not licensed it. While there are some English-licensed manga hosted on sites (e.g. Naruto, One Piece), a lot of small-name mangas are not copyrighted for use in the United States.
Now, raws may actually be more illegal than translated versions, because the translated versions are already 'altered'.
That said, copyrights are usually limited to 'not recognizing the author's work', which obviously manga reader sites does, putting the author's name, but also 'for profit'.
With that, you can argue these scanlator groups who are not making profits (I'm not one to judge which ones does and which one doesn't) are not doing illegal work, but MF and whichever tons of other reader sites who hosts these and are gearing the 'use' towards profit, deriving from the work of scanlation groups, are doing illegal activities.

But leechers don't care. You should submit some smart ideas if you got some, because these watermarks to me are smart ideas, before MF found a way to cut the watermarks off (most likely by chopping off the final frame of the GIF)
But, these fuss we're making are still better than SOPA/PIPA
Enjoy!

[MetalKing1417]

My problem is that they have decided that now, only certain browsers can veiw their product. With an additude like that I'm afraid, some people may just do the opposite of what they desire them to do just to spite them.

Edited by MetalKing1417, 29 January 2012 - 11:36 PM.

[KiTA]

Hilariously, the only way I can read this now is on MangaFox, as I'm not installing an unknown plugin for Chrome just to enable non-standard asinine DRM. Woo~.

[KiTA]

How to remove the crappy Japanzai (Stolen, I might point out) Buddy Christ image without having to install a bunch of spyware on your machine:

* Save the various images off Batoto into a folder, say C:\WorseThanNoez\
* Run xnViewer, which will display the images properly. They will animate as they should, displaying the final page for you.
** In xnViewer, go File, Save opened Image(s).
* Select the same folder.
* OK all warnings and all overwrite requests.

Ta-da, you now have a batch of standard PNGs for viewing without installing any malware. The APNG and PNG file formats are fairly easily understood, so I should be able to make a small tool to automate this once class calms down.

Edited by KiTA, 30 January 2012 - 04:31 AM.

[Kishuy]

And then just convert them to JPG, reduce file size and upload them to the web. Hehe just made MF XD

I do get the point but this isn't working all that well for the translators golds..

QuickEdit: "If they're made well, they won't be taken seriously~ Because they're not made well, it gets reader's attention quicker. All these methods are like last-resorts.. I'm sure they prefer not to put them on, if MF readers take them less lightly."

As you can see, fairy easy to by pass. Poorly made work takes you no where. Also, I won't take serious a clear rubbish something watermark on the pages, its as they are calling me stupid. I will feel offended. I will be more predispose to read full black pages with big white letters, various if need, with some ecchi scenes from DxD (XD) station their point(credit to KiTA) than these scans.

I bet you that most people went to MF to read it because even with the 5 or more minutes apart, they just upload a ripped no watermark version of it on their website.

Edited by Kishuy, 30 January 2012 - 05:00 AM.