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Akilovescookies

Akilovescookies

Member Since 09 Jul 2013
Offline Last Active Feb 01 2018 04:16 PM

In Topic: Batoto will be closing permanently

12 January 2018 - 03:43 PM

This is fair. Grumpy actually expected more angry posts like yours. To point out the unfair portions in your comment:
 

Passively hindered. At worst. 
 

Modus operandi means "method of operating" and refers to one's habits or a pattern. Since this is a one-time occurrence, it is by definition not Grumpy's M.O.  

 

The staff were informed about one week before the public announcement. In fact, one staff member (asdfblarg) was promoted mere days before the private announcement.

 

Also, you're acting like the staff somehow benefits from this. They do not.

Well, in this case I don't really see a difference between passive and active as the consequences are the same. Sure, one is worse than the other but dividing into worse and worser seems like a moot point at this time. Is it bad if you don't pull back a child that is walking into traffic when you could have saved it from getting overrun? Yes. Is it bad if you push that kid onto the street? Yes. The 2nd sure is worse but the end result, dead kid, is the same.

As to his own statement, this has been in the run for months, or rather years, for his part. So it is, in fact, modus operandi to keep it all in just to go out with a baaaaaaaaaam. There are so many people who would have loved to step up but didn't get the chance to do so because there was no communication. All that website gibberish could have been shared and, if some of those tech guys on /r/ are to be believed, possibly reduced drastically by changing some things in the configs. Now I'm not knowledgeable on that technological stuff but what I do know is that a solution by brain-storming with a lot of experts generally creates entirely new standpoints and options. That chance was forfeited by choice. And that's where my anger and disappointment stems from. I'm not angry that Grumpy wants to get a life. Heck, if it was only that, I'd be the first one to buy him a drink to slurp under some palm trees and congratulate him on his newfound freedom. I totally understand why he needs to distance himself from the chaos. I simply cannot help but feel resentful about the fact that chances were thrown away à la "devil-may-care".

 

And no, I don't think (and never meant to insinuate) that the staff were profiting from this. If I had to choose, I'd actually feel sorry for them (or at least for those who have already openly stated their sadness about batoto ending). It's the same as the scanlators/contributors/donors who helped make batoto what is is. They all invested emotions, time and sometimes money into this. While Grumpy certainly was a driving force for batoto, there is still a lot more to this community than that. And by going solo the way he is, it feels like Grumpy could have just as well said "Well, peepz, I'm sick of this and now who the heck cares what happens next? Not my problem anymore. I'm outta here, thanks for all the fish~". If this development had had recent origins, i.e. the death of a family member, unemployment or w/e, I wouldn't be as disappointed because "it couldn't be helped". But this was like staying in a relationship while knowing "Oh, I'll end it in 4 weeks but let's make the most of it before then." and the other partner is oblivious. That behavior is what's making me bitter - not Grumpy's need for a batoto-free life. :/


In Topic: Batoto will be closing permanently

11 January 2018 - 09:34 AM

While I certainly understand where this is coming from and can sympathize to a certain degree, I'm also angry at this development.

 

Why angry?

 

Because you did not give us an appropriate reaction time at all.

 

Let's take us small scanlators who only release here (and on relatively unknown forums).. Had we known about this, we would have, at the very least, written a message to our readers in our last release and brainstormed with them for new options. Now we're either forced to push out half finished chapters (if possible) to get such a message across or hope against all odds that people will find their way onto our respective forums, facebook, tumblr and whatnot sites or simply go down with the tide. And that is only for those groups that actually possess these sites. At the very least you should also create an option to export the scanlation groups catalogue, so that one may look up the links collected on there and check which manga was scanlated by what group. Mangaupdates does not have site links any longer if you remember.

 

As to your own words, this has been in the run for several months, yet you did not bother to inform the community. Had you not wanted to pass on the torch to someone else, people could have tried to realize an alternative by now. In this thread alone (I've read up until page 47 or something) and on /r/, there are a bunch of people offering help in either continuing batoto or creating something new. There were even those who claimed they were software/website developers and the like and had the money to finance such an endeavor. By keeping the information to yourself until the very last minute, you are, in fact, acting terribly selfish because you actively hindered people in stepping up before this goes down. I respect that you don't want to continue this site and am grateful for all the work you've put into it until now, but with your modus operandi you're throwing rocks into the path of those who do not want to see the scene go down. And that is so self-centered, I could scream. Up until page 47, not even ONE person was able to name a decent alternative or go-around because you've put us on the spot. Private trackers are not an option for everyone, the same goes for IRC, and let's forget about the chances of getting into a private community now, and you know it. You're sort of spitting on the efforts of the small scanlators with your refusal to share the info well in advance if you don't want to give some else the opportunity to continue batoto (And I'd like you to remember that the contributors also put in a lot of work over time uploading and managing the chapters). And that I cannot and don't want to forgive. I had been wondering for some time now why batoto seems to have become a lawless area and mods were not removing spam etc anymore. But it makes sense now. Y'all were tipped off in advance and the rest of us now takes the brunt.

 

Even if one of the locust sites would open up the submission of new chapters by hand, some of us would not post or read there due to our moral compass. For one, they actually enrich themselves upon the hard work of the mangakas and scanlators (on top of being ad and virus infected ...holes) and, two, they (with their scraper bots) are actually a big part of the reason you got so stressed and, in the end, decided to quit. So supporting the very sites who are to be blamed partly would be an affront.

 

For these reasons I find myself incapable of just sending you off with a smile and wishing you only the best. The bitter taste and the "what ifs" remain. But, for what it's worth, thank you for providing us with an option for some years and working so hard during that time.


In Topic: FAQ Cookie Revolution Scans (stamps etc.)

08 September 2017 - 08:24 AM

Firstly.. Thanks for the scanlation work. I also appreciate the watermark's existence, but I'd love to suggest maybe a lower opacity just for the text surrounding the cookie shape? So it would still be there, and the cookie would still remain in its size and opacity as its simple round shape doesn't quite affect legibility. The 'Cookie Revolution Scans' text has a pretty dark outline and 'wriggly?' shape, so toning down its opacity would ease up the reading flow a lot. 

 

Then again, it's just my cent. Please do as you seem fit. After all, we're the ones in benefit from your hard work. Thank you again!

Thank you for that suggestion. I'll forward it to Hisshou, who created our logo. I'll ask her if she can play around a bit with the settings and then we'll see if we can change it somehow. The difficulty always is that, if we lower the opacity too much, people will try to erase it entirely. Just take a look at social media pages.. People already do play around with levels, light and contrast in order to try and outdo the watermark. Obviously, we're not too thrilled about this because it's a direct effect of me actually lowering the opacity by a few percent before because I wanted to be nice. But instead of appreciating it, people are now actively kicking me in the shin for it with their attempts of making the watermark invisible or less visible. So yeah.. We'll have to see. Right now the lettering is the part they do have the most problems with trying to erase. But that's a plus from our standpoint...


In Topic: FAQ Cookie Revolution Scans (stamps etc.)

29 June 2017 - 08:59 PM

You're actually contradicting yourself, so the laugh's on you. This manga is far beyond the first volume (with the previous chapters done by non-watermarking groups), so your "I don't know if I like it" is nothing but a sorry excuse. Also, the fact that you even answered, shows that you're still following our release or you wouldn't have seen the post. A+ for effort on hypocrisy.

If you cannot see through the watermark (which you apparently can do nevertheless), I recommend visiting an optician because you must be visually impaired.

Our releases work fine enough for other readers. Strangely enough, we even get praise for a project that another group, who doesn't use watermarks, has also started working on. And we even inspired purchases of said manga like that. Strange, indeed.

Our staff members belong to different age groups; we have both students and employees among us. One of the "hobbies" that connects us all is scanlation, as is the case for all unpaid scanlators. Contrary to your beliefs, scanlation is also rewarding for us. We're especially happy whenever we can inspire someone to support the mangakas we love. And we actually have quite some fun with the dumb "mimimi watermark mimimi" whining. Thank you for your "last boss" remark. That one was actually new and made me snicker, because, yes, we transform hate into giggles quite often.
PS: Since you "own an apartment and a car", now might be the time to follow up on capital letters at the beginning of a sentence. Try it, it will enrich your life and is such a worthy investment!


In Topic: FAQ Cookie Revolution Scans (stamps etc.)

12 June 2017 - 09:22 PM

ye<insert stamp because that's my great work>ah, good job with the st<insert stamp because that's my great work>amp, way to spoil the re<insert stamp because that's my great work>ad. thank you so mu<insert stamp because that's my great work>ch for this, now I ca<insert stamp because that's my great work>n unfollow this.

 

(and just so you know, you actually saying you don't want to post this anymore would be a GOOD thing)

Well, can't say anyone would miss an ungrateful leech with zero constructive energy. If you really liked this manga, you could buy it and get the not-watermarked version. But then again, you either can't be bothered that much by the stamps, don't like the manga enough to actually support Shimotsuki-sensei, or you're too self-involved to do so. Either way this is good riddance. There are enough people who value our work and we will continue to release the way we want to. If all that b*tching, which people like you do, would have any effect towards your desired outcome, do you seriously believe it wouldn't have yielded results by now? In fact, all the elementary-school-level insults and whatnot have quite the opposite effect on us. They show us how self-indulgent and arrogant a lot of readers have become and how it's only right that they should, once again, buy mangas again to realize the value of scanlation. Be careful not to choke on your hateful words in the future.  :batoto_024: