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Hey, Answerman! [2007-05-04]

By "welcome to the club," are you saying that most anime/manga fans have some sort of mental health issue?

Really, though...when I am looking over multiple copies of the same title and volume number, I hope that no one around me is noticing and thinking, What on Earth is that woman doing?!

I do that will everything I buy, from manga to mangos.

i have no idea why somebody would want to be witha two-dimensional partner

The point of a bookstore is to sell you a book so that you may read it. Period. If you read a book without buying it, you are, in essence, stealing it. No, you aren't stealing the physical book, but as was pointed out by someone else, you internalized the story from the book without paying for it. The only thing not taking the actual book prevents is re-reading it, assuming you don't go back to the bookstore to reread it.

I don't know the the economics of paying translators, but I could easily see if the more popular the translation of a property is, the more a translator of that property is apt to get. In that case, even things like translation would be a variable costs. And even if it were, and you were "only" stealing the variable costs, it's still stealing.

In any case, if you don't pay, you don't pay for the translation services of the publisher, so you're still not paying for it. This is why your argument doesn't make any sense. What does it matter if it's a "fixed" cost or a "variable" cost. You're still not paying for it. If ultimately no one buys the book, then the publisher isn't going to care very much whether they're losing "fixed" costs or losing "only" variable costs. They're still losing.

I don't even see the point of your arguing that it's up to Borders if they want to allow people reading books in the store, and if makes them more money to have "manga cows." How can it even theoretically get them more money to have a "manga cow" if by definition they are people who read the manga but not pay for them? I think you can rest assured that Borders - or any bookstore for that matter - would prefer that such actions not take place.

And then you finish up with the kicker - "If it's the reading that's the point of benefit, shouldn't we have to pay every time we read our manga?" You better watch out for what you wish for, because the direction digital intellectual property management is headed, that may be exactly what happens.

ikillchicken wrote:

Also Im getting a little sick of some of these kinda obnoxious responses. So yeah, Im done.

I really really liked the rant and I find this comment a little funny considering you must have read it. I don't think anyone was rude or obnoxious. I think they just didn't agree with you. There's a big difference. And this is coming from someone who sort of did agree with you. People always think everyones out to get them.

This is not related, sorry.

Is the Hey, Answerman! banner for May 4 2007, an actual anime? If so, can someone tell me the title?

It looks cool, thanks

Why are you so caught up on the concept of respect? Respect is something that's earned; you're not owed it simply for existing and having opinions.

I don't disrespect people based on their opinions, but if someone is a douchebag who never pays for anything and freeloads off of everyone all the time, no, they don't have my respect. I don't really care what their excuse is. And that's my choice.

I

On the rant: I don't want the mainstream to accept anime fans or desist from making fun of them. I want the mainstream to fear us. I want them to consider anime fans as they do college professors or scientists or high-culture mavens. I want them to defer to our opinions when their own are inadequate. I want the non-fan to feel humble in the presence of the fan.

my question is why do they need an excuse
i mean you don't sound like a very good friend considering you'd call someone a douchebag without even hearing them out

plus who cares if its used i mean has that ever stopped someone from sleeping in a hotel room which probably has substances that will never ever be found in a bookstore

Calculusman wrote:

The point of a bookstore is to sell you a book so that you may read it. Period. If you read a book without buying it, you are, in essence, stealing it. No, you aren't stealing the physical book, but as was pointed out by someone else, you internalized the story from the book without paying for it. The only thing not taking the actual book prevents is re-reading it, assuming you don't go back to the bookstore to reread it.

That's your point of a bookstore. Others might not be so limited.

As to the rest, and I think it speaks to la_contessa's point as well, I don't get why any attained utility must be accompanied by an offsetting payment. Most of the time, the technology requires it. Sometimes, though, it doesn't. The idea that we have to build an ethical code around never getting something for nothing, instead of trying to work the science to make it possible, that idea I don't get.

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I don't know the the economics of paying translators, but I could easily see if the more popular the translation of a property is, the more a translator of that property is apt to get. In that case, even things like translation would be a variable costs. And even if it were, and you were "only" stealing the variable costs, it's still stealing.

Actually, what I'm saying is that I'm only taking the fixed costs. Which I would be willing to pay a fixed price for. And I'm not sure why a popular product would warrant paying more for translation. I would think it would be a lot easier to hire a translator for, say, Naruto, than for some obscure manga. The prestige alone should lower that rate.

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In any case, if you don't pay, you don't pay for the translation services of the publisher, so you're still not paying for it. This is why your argument doesn't make any sense. What does it matter if it's a "fixed" cost or a "variable" cost. You're still not paying for it. If ultimately no one buys the book, then the publisher isn't going to care very much whether they're losing "fixed" costs or losing "only" variable costs. They're still losing.

Not losing. Just not gaining. "He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me." -Thomas Jefferson

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I don't even see the point of your arguing that it's up to Borders if they want to allow people reading books in the store, and if makes them more money to have "manga cows." How can it even theoretically get them more money to have a "manga cow" if by definition they are people who read the manga but not pay for them? I think you can rest assured that Borders - or any bookstore for that matter - would prefer that such actions not take place.

I'll throw out some ideas: manga cows will go to the competitor if we stop them. Manga cows will take the manga to the cafe and buy coffee and biscotti. Letting them graze while their parents shop will keep them from annoying other customers. Manga cows will pass by word-of-mouth how nice the shop is to non-cows.

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And then you finish up with the kicker - "If it's the reading that's the point of benefit, shouldn't we have to pay every time we read our manga?" You better watch out for what you wish for, because the direction digital intellectual property management is headed, that may be exactly what happens.

But I don't wish for it. But if some manga producer says so, I'm gonna throw it in their faces, "See this manga? I own it! I'm going to read it a hundred times and every time I'm going to laugh at how I'm not paying, and revel in your suffering."

To settle this whole debate about manga cows that shouldn't be an issue in the first place: Would you go to Walmart, pick up a DVD from the shelf, unwrap the plastic wrapping, pop the DVD into a DVD player, and just sit there in the middle of the aisle watching DVDs in the middle of a Walmart store all day long without paying for a single one, then put it back on the shelf unwrapped and with scratches all over the disc? I would certainly hope not so what makes you think that the same should apply to manga?

I don't know if you're the same person I talked to before when you mentioned writing this rant and if you are good job.

zetsuie wrote:

my question is why do they need an excuse i mean you don't sound like a very good friend considering you'd call someone a douchebag without even hearing them out plus who cares if its used i mean has that ever stopped someone from sleeping in a hotel room which probably has substances that will never ever be found in a bookstore

Welp thanks for judging me and making assumptions about me as a person based on one comment on the internet.