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I wouldn't say that having more translators automatically means a "perfect community." I liken a fansub translator to a chef of a restaurant. If there's nobody creating dishes in the kitchen, of course the place is shutting down. That aside, there are other factors. You have QCs, typesetters, timers and encoders much like how you have waitresses, cashiers, janitors, and so on. Then you have to consider the translator's ability. How good is their food? Would you come back for more? Does the place look well kept? Do you receive food within reasonable time? Are the tables big enough to serve tons of leechers? Are the waitresses hot? etc. These are all areas various leechers consider and place different value in.
Like anything in fansubbing, each position is a different kind of resource. That said, more translators means more groups can potentially exist, the same way more chefs allow more restaurants to run. Likewise, shortages have the same effect. In the past, we had shortages in distro (which BT addressed), and now we may see shortages in raws. You can imagine how a raw shortage affects translators too. Even if they can cook, there's no place to find groceries or livestock.
So, one way of defining a perfect community is that there's no shortage of any one thing. Either there are enough subbers in each area, or current subbers learn different tasks. Some like a.f.k. do everything solo, meaning it's a one-man operation handling all aspects of the group.
Now, before you take this word for word, two caveats to the readers:
1) a restaurant involves real money and other complicated legal/business procedures. Fansub groups are hobbyists who do everything for free. While I would never condone and caution against anyone viewing fansubbing as a place for free lunch, it's easier through a real-life metaphor to understand how things are interrelated.
2) Perfection is definitely a subjective thing. For one person, a perfect community could be one that is free of drama, like script stealing and e-penis. Another might be one that sees nothing but softsubs. Others may believe in a place devoid of DVD ripping, or one that embraces an Adobe After Effects movement. Then you have those who talk about the "good old days" and desire communion/agreement between subbing groups, and those who want everything released in high-definition. The list goes on.
Aside from that, the concept of "no shortages in any area" would probably suffice. If translators are the shortage at the time, then yes. If it's raws, then it's raw cappers. The view would change based on what is most at need. But I would agree personally that the translation and the raw has more weight than the rest of us; it is possible to translate a raw, post the script on a forum, and let people read or download the text file attached on the forum.
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