AnimeSuki Forums

TheFluff · 2011-09-11, 21:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by GHDpro

Some people will undoubtedly argue we're quite late with this assessment, but it has become obvious that the relevancy of the torrent index (www) part of the site has diminished to a level where I am not certain it is worthwhile continuing.

I recognize a callout when I see it, brah. And yes, I Told You So.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GHDpro

So I ask, is it perhaps time to end it?

Late is the hour, etc. It's been time to end it for years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doll_licca

As a fansubber, I would say no to removing the torrent index.

As a fansubber who mostly works on older series and is willing to "follow the rules" to get things listed here, this site is a godsend. In fact, approximately 1/2 of the hits to our blog is referred from here.

Too bad you're completely irrelevant as a fansubber. Your subs get like 300 torrent downloads per episode. Even for something as incredibly niche as mediocre Japanese children's cartoons from the 90's, that's completely insignificant. Nobody cares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doll_licca

Also, a lot of the older series listed here are nowhere to be seen anywhere else (that doesn't require registration or a ratio).

But AnimeSuki isn't a torrent tracker. It's just an index, so if something's listed here it's gotta be listed somewhere else too (more specifically, on its respective tracker), so you can find it with Google if nothing else. Not that it really matters, since the kind of series you're talking about have like three seeds after a week and zero after two months, so AnimeSuki's usefulness as an archive for that kind of stuff is extremely limited.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doll_licca

Basically, this site is one of the last bastions on how fansubbing used to be (and should be).

Fansubbing is and has always been pretty terrible, but it is somewhat less terrible now than it was five years ago. However, fansubbing has always been at its terriblest on this very site's forums, and the philosophy that the torrent index was founded with has always been hypocritical bullshit. Please do not try to imply fansubbing has ever been good or that "how it used to be" was better than it is now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by victorpofa

I vote to keep the torrent tracker running. I visit at least twice daily and some groups are listed here and not on other trackers such as Nyaa. Live-eviL, for example. With the closing of scarywater it became hard to locate releases from some groups, and you provide a website for groups that you have releases from which is invaluable even if the links are sometimes out of date.

But it isn't a torrent tracker. Nyaa is, so it only lists torrents that are tracked there (edit: apparently it does list off-tracker torrents these days). Live-Evil doesn't really bother posting their torrents to TokyoTosho, so apparently they really want to play hard-to-get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by felix

promote anime to the west

please don't do this

If you actually want to do something useful with the site, convert it to an archive or whatever for old unlicensed series nobody cares about. Of course, there'd be like five visitors a week, but to them, it'd potentially be somewhat useful.

doll_licca · 2011-09-11, 21:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFluff

Too bad you're completely irrelevant as a fansubber. Your subs get like 300 torrent downloads per episode. Even for something as incredibly niche as mediocre Japanese children's cartoons from the 90's, that's completely insignificant. Nobody cares.

As a niche fansubber, the number of torrent downloads we get is to be expected. It's better than 0, right?

You are correct in that my group's download counts are lower than just about every fansubber out there. I would say there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the way things are.

Iriliane · 2011-09-11, 21:53

I would argue, somewhat self-servingly, that while there may be a much smaller audience for older anime subs, an audience still exists and having an index that lists them is a useful service to that community.

Does that index have to be AnimeSuki? Admittedly, no. People can search through AniDB for stuff that interests them and then dig through fansubber's sites or TokyoToshokan to try and get their hands on releases instead, I suppose.

What AnimeSuki does do is notify people of what has recently become available without them having to actively search for it or check dozens of different fansubber sites. For fans of older properties who aren't searching for something specific, it's a decent way to find new shows and keep up with the often slower than molasses fansub releases of them. I'd like to see it stick around.

MiyamotoMusashi · 2011-09-11, 22:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by doll_licca

As a niche fansubber, the number of torrent downloads we get is to be expected. It's better than 0, right?

You are correct in that my group's download counts are lower than just about every fansubber out there. I would say there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the way things are.

Niche fansubbing is the most relevant fansubbing out there. You can buy or stream the new stuff. Unlicensed anime and older niche anime is not available and goes hand in hand with the original spirit of fansubbing, getting anime to fans that can't get it anywhere else.

anyhow
I say keepa the torrent section up to date and running. This is the last bastion of clean torrenting small as it might be. as long as people are still using it there's reason to keep it around.
Also, if you wanted to go that way, a hub for older unlicensed and obscure stuff would be great.

Vexx · 2011-09-11, 22:48

As long as there's an audience of "more than fansubber themself", there's a valid purpose for subbing niche, obscure, hard-to-find stuff that "nobody cares about" (an interesting way to say the writer doesn't care about it

). I will say the last paragraph of Fluff's "bad hair day" rant was useful input. An archive for the series "left behind and abandoned" isn't a bad idea.

-|(aGe-BuNsHiN- · 2011-09-12, 02:23

"Welcome, -|(aGe-BuNsHiN-. You last visited: 2007-08-19 at 20:39"

Cannot believe my account still exists. Animesuki's bittorrent listing was by far the best but with the limitations the site faces, it seems like keeping the index portion running is a waste of manpower. Perhaps a newsletter form for the site is a new direction? Listing information about only NEW anime that is being released within a time frame of....say half a year?

This suggestion simply comes from the occasional visits I personally make in order to see if theres anything worthwhile. It is incredibly hard to find anything on other sites because the organizational level is on a whole different scale.

Ascaloth · 2011-09-12, 05:01

I personally have never used the main site for much of anything, but if this issue can drag this many lurkers and old-timers out to argue in favour of its retention, that's an argument in itself for keeping it around, I think.

Throwing an idea out there; how about hybridizing the main site? Strike a deal with Crunchyroll; get them to agree to let us post links to their streaming videos. We get to keep the main site relevant to its mission, and Crunchyroll gets more advertising and perhaps even more eyeballs. It's a win-win, I would say.

Liddo-kun · 2011-09-12, 07:30

Have to admit that I don't use the AS torrent section as much as before, mostly due to other places having a larger selection.
But I still do use the AS torrent page for some anime. AS style of grouping torrents is more convenient to use than other sites (in my opinion).

Closing down of the torrent section seems sad, feels like it's the end of an era or something.

Huntress778 · 2011-09-12, 10:47

another one here who registered for the forum just to contribute to this thread. also my first time visiting the forum in general...

I love the Animesuki torrent page. I visit it at least once a day since I first discovered it oh so many years ago... It's my go-to site for finding new releases and sometimes to discover older series as well. If it wasn't for Animesuki, I never would have found out about so many great series... It's also so awesomely easy to use.

Please please pleeeeeeaaaaaaase don't close it down...

Maiku_Ando · 2011-09-12, 11:53

I must join in and beg for you to keep the torrent listing going.

I may not visit the front page very often, but I use the XML constantly, I run a site which is like a DDL version of AnimeSuki, simply put, without your XML feed it wouldnt exist. I know of several other sites that use your feed as well, its not just about the front page and people who look at the torrent listing, its all the people you serve indirectly, the thousands who use DDLs which are made from your safe listing of unlicensed torrents, the people who put a listing of the latest torrents from their favourite anime on their blogs, the fansubers who use it to list their torrents. Nyaa Torrents and TT feeds can't be used, as their feeds are not 'safe' to use for DDLs.

If you close the unlicensed torrent listing (and the XML feed of it), you'd be taking those sites down with it, and affecting all those people too. I'm sure you could get help to keep it going, or if not maybe you'd consider letting someone else take it over? I think its a valuable service to the anime community and a useful site feature, please don't take it away.

hiroshi5 · 2011-09-12, 12:48

I see the problem.
I used to look at the Animesuki torrent list regularly, to find the latest releases of series I was following, and also to discover obscure releases.
Where a series was streamed in my country I'd watch the stream instead.
But with the latest season I find that the majority of titles aren't listed in Animesuki any more because they've been licensed for streaming in some country (not necessarily the one I reside in).
So now my first port of call is nyaatorrents.

So what's the answer?
I don't know.
But if the list is no longer much use for the current season, it's still useful for releases of obscure older series.
And if it's to highlight those, does it need to be updated daily? Maybe not.

***relentlessflame*** · 2011-09-12, 15:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

Throwing an idea out there; how about hybridizing the main site? Strike a deal with Crunchyroll; get them to agree to let us post links to their streaming videos. We get to keep the main site relevant to its mission, and Crunchyroll gets more advertising and perhaps even more eyeballs. It's a win-win, I would say.

I don't think it's a matter of being unable to do something with streams if the interest was there. As was stated in the OP, GHDpro (the webmaster/coder) just isn't that interested in streams for personal reasons, and doesn't really want to volunteer his time programming something he wouldn't actually use. And with the "usefulness" of the current site arguably dwindling (at least in terms of the numbers of visitors and the number of series to list), it's getting harder to find other volunteers willing to keep up with the still-tedious task of maintaining the torrent database every day, and the motivation to keep developing the current idea further.

As far as I can tell, the choices are basically to freeze the database and stop with regular updates (it stays only as an archive), or to develop some alternate way for the community to be somehow involved in the updating/maintenance process and thus take a bit more "ownership" for keeping this resource alive. There is also the possibility of spinning off certain aspects of the site into new resources that people are willing/able to maintain.

Lost Cause · 2011-09-12, 19:41

While I freely admit to not using the torrent section that much, except to "test drive" new series, I'm in favor of keeping it going as is.
That and if possible showing those old titles no longer being licensed! That would be fantastic for those if us who might want to see the older stuff!

therationalpi · 2011-09-12, 22:42

Rather than the time to end it, I think it's time to say "We won."

The goal of animesuki was to help those with a love for anime find subbed shows in a market that didn't cater to their needs. Legitimate sources didn't offer a timely way to get most anime, and only a select few "marketable" shows would make their way to other shores legally.

I always saw this site as an open protest, gallantly displaying those works deemed unfit for distribution outside of Japan with numbers displaying how many thousands in potential sales were simply being left on the table. It seems the point did not fall on deaf ears, and now almost every show is available each season from one of the streaming sites.

I, personally, have checked the torrent page daily for the last five years, and in the last year I've probably downloaded something from it once. That's a sign of success to me, and I think that's a good time to call it done.

On a side note: Sometimes the most difficult part of supporting a cause is seeing that victory is achieved. It's far too easy to keep pushing, and end up perverting the core values you represent. In this case, the cause is to represent an unsatisfied market of anime viewers, while avoiding the perversion of "Let us steal anime."

nanikore · 2011-09-13, 01:37

I very rarely post in the Animesuki forums. I use the torrent index quite a bit, just to check "what's new".

I admit I have been doing so less in the last year or so but since the torrent list is still the first place that I visited (instead of this forum here) I'm going to vote to keep it.

Besides Tokyotosho, Animesuki's index page is the only anime torret-related site that I even have in my internet bookmarks. KEEP IT, DARN IT.

EDIT:

Actually, scratch what I've just said. I think the admins are just asking what people think.

If the admins are sick of it then scrap it, please be my guest. Nobody is going to stop you... You run it for your own enjoyment, and when you've stopped enjoying it then why keep doing it at all.

From that perspective. I say kill it. Because the people running it are sick of it.

zach8012 · 2011-09-13, 06:06

I already posted once in this thread but I would just like to add that the first place I look for new releases (I already went through your archive a long time ago) is Animesuki. After I check Animesuki I will then go on to check other sources but I do check Animesuki daily and use your torrent links multiple times per week. It's much easier to find things here than anywhere else due to your high level of organization of your torrent links and user-friendly interface.

synaesthetic · 2011-09-13, 17:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

I personally have never used the main site for much of anything, but if this issue can drag this many lurkers and old-timers out to argue in favour of its retention, that's an argument in itself for keeping it around, I think.

Throwing an idea out there; how about hybridizing the main site? Strike a deal with Crunchyroll; get them to agree to let us post links to their streaming videos. We get to keep the main site relevant to its mission, and Crunchyroll gets more advertising and perhaps even more eyeballs. It's a win-win, I would say.

I don't know what kind of crazy legal nonsense would go into such a deal, but it sounds like a good idea.

With the sheer number of streaming options available these days, and the democratization of broadband internet connections (I can stream Crunchyroll on my phone for fuck's sake) I haven't downloaded much of anything these days. Pretty much the only things I still torrent/DDL are rare/obscure/old stuff that doesn't get brought over to this side of the Pacific.

Kusa-San · 2011-09-13, 18:20

By doing that, it means that there will be only CC and all the other fansub team will disappear no ?
Toorent is great because you share video or whatever you want between user which is not the case with streaming. Streaming is someone who share for other. It's not the same thing. What would happen if this someone stoped sharing ? And what would happen, if for example, there was a blackout ?

felix · 2011-09-14, 02:25

Here's another ugly side to streaming: a lot of people are blocked.

dariru-san · 2011-09-14, 07:23

I help run a small convention and use AnimeSuki torrent listing precisely because it list only unlicensed anime. Because those numbers have been dwindling and I have had to go elsewhere to find interesting unlicensed material I understand how much more work it is on other sites.
As a resource AnimeSuki is pretty much unsurpassed for ease of use and access, and would be sadly missed for these reasons. I'd rather not waste time investing in unnecessary communities, or cross-referencing multiple sites to discover if a series I've found is licensed.
As such it would be useful to me if you could at least keep a license database for multiple countries (I'm not American). In the last decade of using this site I have rarely used the forum and never before posted, I think you have two separate groups of users.

This topic was the most worrying thing I've seen on the front page.

2011-09-11, 22:48	Link #65
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	As long as there's an audience of "more than fansubber themself", there's a valid purpose for subbing niche, obscure, hard-to-find stuff that "nobody cares about" (an interesting way to say the writer doesn't care about it ). I will say the last paragraph of Fluff's "bad hair day" rant was useful input. An archive for the series "left behind and abandoned" isn't a bad idea. __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2011-09-12, 07:30	Link #68
Liddo-kun is this so? Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gradius Home World	Have to admit that I don't use the AS torrent section as much as before, mostly due to other places having a larger selection. But I still do use the AS torrent page for some anime. AS style of grouping torrents is more convenient to use than other sites (in my opinion). Closing down of the torrent section seems sad, feels like it's the end of an era or something. __________________ Clearing 4 domain with Qiqi / MTGNexus - Magic Art Gallery / AnimEVO 2020 - EFZ tournament / Cool Japan Festival 2015 Last edited by Liddo-kun; 2011-09-12 at 07:41.

2011-09-12, 12:48	Link #71
hiroshi5 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2011	Time to end it? I see the problem. I used to look at the Animesuki torrent list regularly, to find the latest releases of series I was following, and also to discover obscure releases. Where a series was streamed in my country I'd watch the stream instead. But with the latest season I find that the majority of titles aren't listed in Animesuki any more because they've been licensed for streaming in some country (not necessarily the one I reside in). So now my first port of call is nyaatorrents. So what's the answer? I don't know. But if the list is no longer much use for the current season, it's still useful for releases of obscure older series. And if it's to highlight those, does it need to be updated daily? Maybe not.

2011-09-12, 19:41	Link #73
Lost Cause Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Virginia Age: 46	While I freely admit to not using the torrent section that much, except to "test drive" new series, I'm in favor of keeping it going as is. That and if possible showing those old titles no longer being licensed! That would be fantastic for those if us who might want to see the older stuff! __________________ Ride, Boldly Ride!

2011-09-12, 22:42	Link #74
therationalpi Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: State College, PA, USA Age: 36	Rather than the time to end it, I think it's time to say "We won." The goal of animesuki was to help those with a love for anime find subbed shows in a market that didn't cater to their needs. Legitimate sources didn't offer a timely way to get most anime, and only a select few "marketable" shows would make their way to other shores legally. I always saw this site as an open protest, gallantly displaying those works deemed unfit for distribution outside of Japan with numbers displaying how many thousands in potential sales were simply being left on the table. It seems the point did not fall on deaf ears, and now almost every show is available each season from one of the streaming sites. I, personally, have checked the torrent page daily for the last five years, and in the last year I've probably downloaded something from it once. That's a sign of success to me, and I think that's a good time to call it done. On a side note: Sometimes the most difficult part of supporting a cause is seeing that victory is achieved. It's far too easy to keep pushing, and end up perverting the core values you represent. In this case, the cause is to represent an unsatisfied market of anime viewers, while avoiding the perversion of "Let us steal anime." __________________ You may say that pi is irrational. However, let me point out that 355/113 is close enough to pi for most purposes. And if that is not good enough for you, then who's being irrational?

2011-09-11, 21:53	Link #63
Iriliane Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada	I would argue, somewhat self-servingly, that while there may be a much smaller audience for older anime subs, an audience still exists and having an index that lists them is a useful service to that community. Does that index have to be AnimeSuki? Admittedly, no. People can search through AniDB for stuff that interests them and then dig through fansubber's sites or TokyoToshokan to try and get their hands on releases instead, I suppose. What AnimeSuki does do is notify people of what has recently become available without them having to actively search for it or check dozens of different fansubber sites. For fans of older properties who aren't searching for something specific, it's a decent way to find new shows and keep up with the often slower than molasses fansub releases of them. I'd like to see it stick around.

2011-09-12, 02:23	Link #66
-\|(aGe-BuNsHiN- Vandread Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: I LOVE NEW YORK cough* my ass cough* Age: 37	"Welcome, -\|(aGe-BuNsHiN-. You last visited: 2007-08-19 at 20:39" Cannot believe my account still exists. Animesuki's bittorrent listing was by far the best but with the limitations the site faces, it seems like keeping the index portion running is a waste of manpower. Perhaps a newsletter form for the site is a new direction? Listing information about only NEW anime that is being released within a time frame of....say half a year? This suggestion simply comes from the occasional visits I personally make in order to see if theres anything worthwhile. It is incredibly hard to find anything on other sites because the organizational level is on a whole different scale.

2011-09-12, 05:01	Link #67
Ascaloth I don't give a damn, dude Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In Despair Age: 37	I personally have never used the main site for much of anything, but if this issue can drag this many lurkers and old-timers out to argue in favour of its retention, that's an argument in itself for keeping it around, I think. Throwing an idea out there; how about hybridizing the main site? Strike a deal with Crunchyroll; get them to agree to let us post links to their streaming videos. We get to keep the main site relevant to its mission, and Crunchyroll gets more advertising and perhaps even more eyeballs. It's a win-win, I would say.

2011-09-12, 10:47	Link #69
Huntress778 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011	another one here who registered for the forum just to contribute to this thread. also my first time visiting the forum in general... I love the Animesuki torrent page. I visit it at least once a day since I first discovered it oh so many years ago... It's my go-to site for finding new releases and sometimes to discover older series as well. If it wasn't for Animesuki, I never would have found out about so many great series... It's also so awesomely easy to use. Please please pleeeeeeaaaaaaase don't close it down...

2011-09-12, 11:53	Link #70
Maiku_Ando Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2011	I must join in and beg for you to keep the torrent listing going. I may not visit the front page very often, but I use the XML constantly, I run a site which is like a DDL version of AnimeSuki, simply put, without your XML feed it wouldnt exist. I know of several other sites that use your feed as well, its not just about the front page and people who look at the torrent listing, its all the people you serve indirectly, the thousands who use DDLs which are made from your safe listing of unlicensed torrents, the people who put a listing of the latest torrents from their favourite anime on their blogs, the fansubers who use it to list their torrents. Nyaa Torrents and TT feeds can't be used, as their feeds are not 'safe' to use for DDLs. If you close the unlicensed torrent listing (and the XML feed of it), you'd be taking those sites down with it, and affecting all those people too. I'm sure you could get help to keep it going, or if not maybe you'd consider letting someone else take it over? I think its a valuable service to the anime community and a useful site feature, please don't take it away.

2011-09-13, 01:37	Link #75
nanikore What. Is THIS Join Date: Apr 2004	I very rarely post in the Animesuki forums. I use the torrent index quite a bit, just to check "what's new". I admit I have been doing so less in the last year or so but since the torrent list is still the first place that I visited (instead of this forum here) I'm going to vote to keep it. Besides Tokyotosho, Animesuki's index page is the only anime torret-related site that I even have in my internet bookmarks. KEEP IT, DARN IT. EDIT: Actually, scratch what I've just said. I think the admins are just asking what people think. If the admins are sick of it then scrap it, please be my guest. Nobody is going to stop you... You run it for your own enjoyment, and when you've stopped enjoying it then why keep doing it at all. From that perspective. I say kill it. Because the people running it are sick of it. Last edited by Daniel E.; 2011-09-13 at 10:00.

2011-09-13, 06:06	Link #76
zach8012 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Okinawa	I already posted once in this thread but I would just like to add that the first place I look for new releases (I already went through your archive a long time ago) is Animesuki. After I check Animesuki I will then go on to check other sources but I do check Animesuki daily and use your torrent links multiple times per week. It's much easier to find things here than anywhere else due to your high level of organization of your torrent links and user-friendly interface.

2011-09-13, 18:20	Link #78
Kusa-San I'll end it before April. Join Date: Jul 2008	By doing that, it means that there will be only CC and all the other fansub team will disappear no ? Toorent is great because you share video or whatever you want between user which is not the case with streaming. Streaming is someone who share for other. It's not the same thing. What would happen if this someone stoped sharing ? And what would happen, if for example, there was a blackout ? Last edited by Kusa-San; 2011-09-13 at 19:10.

2011-09-14, 02:25	Link #79
felix sleepyhead Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: event horizon	Here's another ugly side to streaming: a lot of people are blocked. __________________

2011-09-14, 07:23	Link #80
dariru-san Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011	I help run a small convention and use AnimeSuki torrent listing precisely because it list only unlicensed anime. Because those numbers have been dwindling and I have had to go elsewhere to find interesting unlicensed material I understand how much more work it is on other sites. As a resource AnimeSuki is pretty much unsurpassed for ease of use and access, and would be sadly missed for these reasons. I'd rather not waste time investing in unnecessary communities, or cross-referencing multiple sites to discover if a series I've found is licensed. As such it would be useful to me if you could at least keep a license database for multiple countries (I'm not American). In the last decade of using this site I have rarely used the forum and never before posted, I think you have two separate groups of users. This topic was the most worrying thing I've seen on the front page.