Guides to Leechers and Fansubbers

[Mentar]

All too quickly pesky fansubbers forget what anime is all about: THE FANS! Therefore, here's a guide how to demonstrate your mastery of the anime universe's secrets, putting the fansubbers (and the other clueless n00bs which surround them) into place, getting them to refocus their efforts where they belong: ON YOU!

ANIME SELECTION

o Make sure that you are heard: While you're in a group channel, demand that the anime of your choice gets subbed. Don't be discouraged if group staff tells you "no". Even if they refused you 18 times, who says they won't agree on the 19th try?
o Weaken your opposition by criticizing other l33ches' recommendations. Just make sure not to debate the choice too long, or people will automatically learn about the alternative. "It's totally cliche!" or "no no no!" or more pointedly "This totally sucks!" are more efficient. Also see point "Anime Reviews" below.
o If your efforts were in vain, spread pain by dissing the choice for 3-4 weeks. That will teach the turds for ignoring your assistance!

ANIME ETHICS

o These are disgusting times with any decency going down the sheeter. Unless the L33Tches like you help revitalize old values, things will go nowhere fast. Make yourself heard!
o If you're in a channel of a group recognizing R1 licencing, scan fserves for any kind of licenced material. If you find some, tell the ops (those @ people) and demand a ban. Raise a tantrum in the channel if they don't respond right away.
o If you're in a channel of a group ignoring licences, let them hear the errors of their ways. Sermons about the dying anime business in America are good ways to start, but longer eulogies about stealing and moral depravity of piracy and especially the antisocial defects of the fansubbers are also welcome. Then, queue the downloads of their works to verify your claims.
o Run a download bot with "please please donate" nag screens in the non-licence-adhering channels, especially when their ops forbid those. You need funds for your crusade to rescue anime after all.

DOWNLOAD HELP

o So the episode is out and people want it. So do you. If your download request isn't immediately met with a 200+ k/s response, complain that the bot is down. If it is, taunt the slow-download users for their sucky link. Then, once your file is completed, run a fserv with this episode on a 12 k/s upload link and spam the channel about it every 30 seconds to help distro.
o If n00bs fail with the syntax, taunt and insult them. If they can't stand some heat, they won't last long in the anime world anyway. Don't give them the tip how it works, they need to figure it out themselves.
o Bittorrent sucks and is for idiots. It never works anyway, so make sure that noone with firewall troubles preventing DCC downloads waste their time trying it.
o If people ask what's the difference between the AVI and MKV version, or which version is better, tell them the truth. Real anime is AVI. Fact.

PLAYBACK HELP

o If some sucker wants to know how to play back the MKV version, recommend the AVI first. If that fails, tell him that MKV doesn't work, and he should see for himself using VLC, ACE MEGA PACK or KLite Full. His playback broken, it's time to go "Told you so! MKV doesn't work, idiot!" - his own fault not to listen to you after all.
o If some channel OP reprimands you for giving out bad advice, make a huffy exit fast. No use risking a ban or even a kline. He who pouts and runs away is there to fight another day!

ANIME REVIEWS

o In the days of forums and blogs, this is the perfect way to make yourself heard. The true eL33TCH is critical and dissy. After all, who is to seperate the good from the chaff, if not you?
o You are what you watch. People who watch crap are crap too. Save their souls by pointing out how crappy their shows are, and that only imbeciles and morons could enjoy this chaff.
o If you take flak for your criticism, it's time to point out how childish it is for them to demand from you to change your opinion. Dump on the show and their viewers some more to gain the moral high ground. Then leave the thread for a while. Once the show fully takes off, nobody will remember your initial dissing anyway, then you can return.
o Demand original brilliance! Mere mediocrity are "cliche", "a bad clone" and "disappointing". Romance anime is "harem" by default. "Pointless fanservice crap" is also always a winner. If the show only delivers what it intends without adding awesome new twists, it's "boring" anyway. Distinguish yourself from the n00bs by demanding MORE!
o Better make sure you drop these points early, for example in the character introduction phase of a 2-season anime. Later on it might be too late! (But even then - nobody will remember that you dumped on the show more than 3 eps away)
o Give feedback to the fansubbers to motivate them to do better work! If you think that something should have been expressed in a different way, let them have it! Timing and encoding issues should also be subject to your eL33TCH scrutiny. If the experts like you don't point out where to get better, how could they ever find that out by themselves?
o Gratefulness makes complacent. Let the n00bs thank the fansubbers for their work. YOUR task is to educate them.

INTER-GROUP COMPETITION

o Fansub groups tend to be in a serious competition. You should assist this mindset.
o If two groups are releasing the same show, go to the other group's channel and yell how much this version sucks and that the other one is 100 times better. Then, change your nick and do the same in the other channel. It will motivate them to work harder. For added fuel, indicate to be staff of the of the rival group.
o Ranking databases are perfect for this assistance too. Make sure to rank each group to the bottom, this way they will try even harder to get out of the hole.
o A more subtle form of competition assistance is to relay insider news of the rival group. Just make sure that every once in a while you're speaking the truth, to make sure that people can verify your veracity.

FINISHING TOUCHES

o The anime world is in decline no matter what. Make others realize that. By all means necessary.
o Tons of Mickey Mouse groups crawl out of the woodwork. If you publicly diss their first works, you can maybe discourage them to make even more sucky releases, and thus raise the overall quality level.
o Suppress new technology by all means. We don't NEED incompatible stuff. Besides, it might not play on your standalone player, and then you'd possibly have to BUY this shoddy anime. God forbid.
o Refer to your numerous personal contacts to other fansubbers. Even if they'd rather punch your lights out instead of giving you the time of day. You still know them, so n00bs should respect you. Respect is the key to everything.

So, to sum it up: eL33TCHdom is a constant struggle for improvement, against complacency and mindless fun. Always be on your guard! Always educate the n00bs and fansubbers to strive for perfection! They should. After all, you're living proof that it's possible!

[deathbygirl]

Er...

NO U

[Takemi_Ikazuchi]

"Criticize every anime adaptation of the galgame even though you have no actual experience playing the game. You've read the bits and pieces of information scattered across the internet on the game. You obviously can't be wrong with your superior knowledge"

PS: No, it's perfectly fine to criticize galgame animes, but do it fairly. It would be silly if I whined how the Lord of The Rings movie adaptation was horrible compared to the book, when in reality I haven't even read it, would it?

[xris]

Thanks for that sarcastic take on the fans. Closing thread now because I can be sure that we are going to get replies who will take it too seriously and start complaining, flaming or trolling.

Please read and chuckle

[gumbaloom]

In response to the thread just below let me say

There is the commonly touted idea that fansubbers should pander to the leechers every need and treat them as though they are a paying customer and so on and so on.

I put the case for the negative!

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FANSUB CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE.

1) Fansubbers are real people

2) We are not paid to pander to the every whim of the leechers

3) Most of us couldnt care less about how many torrent downloads we get

4) If we've had a bad day and someone acts dumb then we'll have a short fuse and kick you DEAL WITH IT.

If anyone does feel like volunteering to be a customer service representative for Live-eviL come and talk to me on IRC but the question is....is there anyone out there who could be nice to leechers 365x7x24x60 ?????

I rest my case.

DISCUSS"!!!!!


-gumbaloom

[Schneizel]

How about Customer Service Representative... FROM HELL?

[stfu]

It's not a commonly touted idea that fansubbers should pander to leechers. Some leecher will just make an ignorant request every now and then, and then a fansubber who takes themself too seriously will get worked up about it. Neither represent fansubbers or leechers as a whole. People who suck will continue to suck regardless of whether or not they are fansubbers or leechers.

[Rainy]

Originally Posted by gumbaloom

3) Most of us couldnt care less about how many torrent downloads we get
-gumbaloom

Oh really? Then why do you put out the torrents in the first place when IRC bots suffice?

[lavalyn]

Originally Posted by Rainy

Oh really? Then why do you put out the torrents in the first place when IRC bots suffice?

Cuz it's faster.

[asunder]

how much are you paying? for the CSR positions

[LytHka]

Originally Posted by Rainy

Oh really? Then why do you put out the torrents in the first place when IRC bots suffice?

Legal bots cost money, while BT doesn't.

[asunder]

I miss the days when we could just upload the releases to tenba and be done with it. No xdcc/no bt ...an occasional file server now and then in random channels.

Nowadays you need to orchestrate releases ... BT changed things a lot....

now i think we'll eventually start seeing fansub groups directly placing youtube releases >_<

[Kurz]

Lol, This reminds me of my ULF post.
Why oh why people take credit for my genius...

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...933#post545933

[Prons]

I listen to what my downloaders tell me, but so far 100% of any complaining have been generally constructive.

[DryFire]

If someone has a well thought out and specific complaint I'm happy to listen.

However, if someone comes in screaming "MKV sucks AVI4LIFE." I'll happily kick-ban them.

[deathbygirl]

I believe I've made a serious post about how one might consider running a fansub group (or general advice thereof) during the initial stages. I ask you, reader, to completely disregard that. Since Mentar has done the pleasure of creating a leeching guide, I thought I'd do the same for aspiring fansubbers. It's serious business, this Internet thing. So without further ado...

Initial Conscri... I mean, Recruitment

Welcome, young fansubber, to the world of subtitling Japanese animation. You encounter a big problem during the beginning phases of creating a group, and that is recruiting other members for your crusade. This could sound like a daunting task, but I'll give you protips that will lead you to success, for great justice.

First, it's always nice to have contacts in the field, so to speak. Go to every channel you can find, talk to their channel operators, and try to conveniently slip in a word about possibly joining a new group. Respect is of no concern here; remember, a respectful aspiring fansubber is one that is destined to fail. Another alternative would be to post recruitment posts all over the internet, namely on forums that have a large conglomeration of people. AnimeSuki would be one place you could consider! Just remember, since they do not openly condone subbing of licensed series, post your project as "secret" or "undisclosed" and they will seemingly ignore it! It's like magic, except better. As soon as you receive inquires, consider your choices and see what kind of people you've heard from. Whoever has the most years experience or sounds like the biggest jackass will be the people you want; they know what it takes to throw shit together, shut leechers up, and give your group that "edge" that separates you from the crowd.

Attitude

Attitude is everything! You are the best. All those people who flame you? lol, trolls. Question their sexuality, as it automatically becomes relevant at that exact moment. Everyone else's thoughts? Worthless! Who cares about leechers? Not you! Becoming a fansubber automatically differentiates you between the lower-mid caste and places you on top of the social order. Good job, a winner is you! Remind others of their lowly positions, because they're mere peasants! Slaves! Lower than low! Man, you're so cool.

Creating These Fanbus or Whatnot

Now that you've got a group together, you can start making some real, homemade fansubs. Generally, you want to create a quality piece of work. This may be unrealistic, but luckily enough, logic doesn't apply for the first couple of months (maybe never!). Since you're the founder, it's your duty to boss people around and make sure things are done your way. If anything appears different from how you imagined it (editing looks like Engrish, typesetters make you question what the hell they're doing, QC thinks they're Qute Chicks [NO GIRLS ON TEH INTARBUTT], general idiocy) you have to berate and belittle your staff. Do they think they're doing this for fun? The answer: NO U. The founder usually holds some kind of position, so for your convenience, try QC'ing or editing. Usually, if you're not very competent, you can blame it on other members at the same position and keep your reputation clean. Some time may occur between "wtf there's no subs" to "zomg magic, about damn time", in which you can pass in various ways, including (but surely not limited to) deciding between more shows to work on (More is better! TL's workload isn't a concern. This is key.) or flaming other groups on 4chan, AniDB, Anime-Planet, or forum/BBS of choice.

Choosing the Right Series

Choosing the right series for your group may be a tough decision. There are a myriad of options to choose: do you want to sub the popular shounen series, or do you want to sub the popular shounen series? These decisions can be tough; sometimes other genres have some decent shows with actual plot progression, but that's not important. What you want to look for is the following: fanservice, moe, pantsu, loli (Again, general rule of thumb: the more lolis, the greater the win), action, and possibly sexual situations (the more vivid, the better). Heck, just type that into Google and choose whatever series pops up. Odds are it'll be popular and you'll have raving fans who need (Emphatic need here, they're on life support and one anime show away from death! If you don't hurry it up, they might die! Doctor's orders!) to watch an episode every week. This means your download numbers will be off the charts and you'll be on cruise control for cool (which is the goal). Any show that does not allow you to obtain this state of cruise control is crap and should not even be considered.

DVD Rips and Licensed Series

In your time as a fansubber, there may be a point where you can choose to work with R2 raws of anime. Be careful, you're treading on thin ice here! Many who claim to be "strictly unlicensed" groups will work with DVD's, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. It's only wrong if you use DVD sources if the series is licensed; if it is not, you've got a green light, buddy! Remember to belittle groups who strictly use DVD's for their encodes (like Zhentarim, KAA, A-L, etc.), as they clearly hurt the industry when they use this practice; it's A-OK for you though, as long as it's unlicensed! Trust me, they're two different topics at hand. Seriously.

Ethics of Fansubbing

lolwut

Maintaining Your IRC Channel

In your IRC channel, you are God. This is truth. Do not like what someone is saying? b&. Do not like what someone is asking? b&. Do not like someone's handle? b&.Do not like what someone is going to say? (Remember, you are God in here, who says you're unable to foresee the future?) b&. The key is simple: If there is something you do not like about anything (it's essential to keep an open mind about everything), it is illegal and punishable by kickban. End of story.

Competition Between Groups

Other group? What other group? Who cares about the piece of shit they call a completed encode? You, fansubber, know that people shouldn't subject themselves to watching their cesspool-worthy encode, so it's time to let... NAY, warn everyone of the impending danger that is [Other Group]. Let them know they are inferior; down vote them on anime rating sites, flame them, do whatever you please. They're like a Hitler of the fansubbing community, out to berate and kill all viewers who don't like their version of the show. You, however, are the Allied Forces! You've come to save people from this inhumane practice, liberating all for the sake of justice! If you hear negative comments about your group concerning these practices, ignore them! They're obviously neo-Nazi's trying to spread propaganda to the public.

Release Time!

Let's say you do get lucky enough to compile an elite piece of animation majesty, exactly how the directors intended the show to be seen (because as a fansubber, you automatically get access to the vision the directors formulate in their minds). It's time to get some leechers on this torrent and get them raving about your subs everywhere on the planet. Get your distro. team together (Allow anyone with anything greater than a 10Mbit connection in, on the double!) and make sure important people have the file; the others can get it elsewhere, maybe, but who cares about them anyway. Announce your release through various torrent sites, like Tosho, and wait for the peers on the torrent rise. If you're on IRC, watch as hundreds of people rush into the channel screaming "WHERS TEH EPISOED I CANT REED LOL SOMEONE SEND ME" or "/msg BOT SEND ME THE FILE PLZ". Man, the things fansubbers have to deal with! Ostracize them as noobs and ban immediately. For fun, play the file they desperately want in your media player and use an IRC script to post it on the channel. It's fun to play with animals, isn't it?

Communication Between Other Individuals Who Fansub

stfu plz kthx lol

Helping People Troubleshoot Their Problems

Sometimes there will be people who do not know how to play back your encodes properly. You can refer to these people by the technical terminology used in the field (e.g. retards or morons). Make fun of them while they cry moar, because sadism is something a fansubber should be born with. If you can figure it out, so can they. Sometimes it's best to throw a child into a lion's den because it'll help them understand the reality of life (or to kill them, maybe); the same case certainly applies to leechers (If they die... One less person to deal with!).

Negative Feedback

The only kind of feedback a fansubber should know about is either in World of Warcraft or Warcraft 3 (or any other MMORPG/RPG/RTS with some kind of feedback).

Donations

Fansubbing is serious business. As the likes of Gates, Trump, and Eisner know, serious business takes some money to maintain. Emphasize the fact you need money, cause money certainy don't grow on trees. Put up a goal for every month and try to attain it, even if the goal is completely unrealistic (Throw logic out the door!). If you keep downshooting on the set goal, you might encourage others to donate more! I mean, even if your goal is around the hundreds (in US dollar amounts), servers aren't cheap and you need that server pretty bad. Once a considerable amount is collected, go buy yourself some leet computer parts or spend it on alcohol. It's for a worthwhile cause, and you're not lying to those who donate - it's very essential to you (RELEVANT TO MY INTERESTS KTHX).

That's all I could conjure up for the time being. By following this guide, you will at least be somewhat equipped to start a leet group and maintain it for its lifetime (however long that may be). Suggestions? Questions? PM them and perhaps I'll compile a version two to build upon the foundation established here.

[Nei]

I do believe there are groups which are interested in high number of leeches though...
My personal opinion is of course that the leechers can go to hell
Why we still publish the anime and don't keep it private for ourselves.. mmhm I'm not so sure, maybe because it doesn't (directly) hurt us to share what's been created.

[gumbaloom]

You win the IN-TA-WEB

-gumbaloom

[Schneizel]

stfu fagurt

I prefer groups reeking with realistic human-like qualities, albeit over drama, than the silence of stupidity.

[stfu]

Originally Posted by Kurz

Lol, This reminds me of my ULF post.
Why oh why people take credit for my genius...

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...933#post545933

Why would you want credit? These posts/threads about leechers vs. fansubbers have always been pointless.