Groups Leaving, Manga Removed

[Jet]

3 grand manga community collapses during the decade:
Mangafox boycott
Batoto death
Mangadex boycott

 

[Holo]

@Jet

Visitors numbers are still increasing, it's hardly a collapse lol

 

[0alpha]

> We will be making some changes soon to address this issue, don't worry.

Would this happen to include links to off-site chapters? This would also be useful for tracking official licensed translations: i.e. stuff on Shueisha's MangaPlus. Another option would be just allowing groups to add links to their site/patreon/etc, though this would obviously need vetting.

 

[goronyanpai]

> Visitors numbers are still increasing, it's hardly a collapse lol
In the future a good series will also increase.
I guess it's not a big problem if people prefer a site with comfortable interface, useful features.

 

[Holo]

We're still debating how to go about it. Linking to official stuff is definitely being considered.

There are issues with linking to group sites:
1. Group sites may die
2. Group site chapter url may change
3. If there are malicious things on the group site (eg rogue malware ads, bitcoin miners), we are inadvertently exposing our readers to this risk.
4. After how these groups have treated us despite our goodwill, further advertising them and giving them traffic doesn't really sit well with staff.

However we realise that readers do want a central hub for chapter notifications, preferably built into their follows, so to benefit the readers, we will probably do it despite the above misgivings.

 

[Archiver]

1 & 2: You could add a 'Report Dead Links" button to report those kind of things and have someone check it out and if it is really a dead link then they can mark it, you don't have to delete it. Staff members don't have to actively search for new links but you can add another button 'Report New Links' so end users can help finding those new links and have a staff member check it and if it's right then they add it back. It's more work but it is a compromise.

3. Add a warning when leaving the website, kinda like how Steam does it. "Warning you are leaving MangaDex," kind of warning. Also you might want to add that you guys are not responsible if a computer gets infected with malware when leaving MangaDex. Maybe something like this:

Spoiler

Warning, you are leaving MangaDex.
It does not represent that we agree or do not disagree with the contents of any such external sites. We will not have or accept any liability, obligation or responsibility whatsoever for the content of such external websites and will not accept any responsibility and shall not be held responsible for any loss or damage arising from or in respect of any use or misuse or reliance on the contents of any such external websites. We reserve our right to delete or edit any information on this site at any time at our absolute discretion without giving any prior notice.

4. I kind you agree with you on this. Those groups could have easily left without kicking up a fuss but they decided to kick up a fuss. It's not fair for you or the staff to still cater to them. I would be fine If you do not add links to scanlator's sites but I'm probably a minority.

 

[Phaestos]

I find this situation funnily stupid, at worse it’s only annoying. This fiasco sure is stupid though, a whole controversy over a pipe dream that may or may never come, evidence from a meme (more of a inside joke meme), over exaggerated information, heavy narcissism on both sides (but at least MD has a good reason for it), loss of exposure and traffic over the possibility of greater views or even profit, and also literally giving us the short end of the stick. If you think about it the loss of the chapters is easily bandaged via usage of multiple sites, I personally use this site for daily reads and mangarock for series unavailable, or removed from here. And MD nevertheless didn’t lose as much as people think

 

[chillock117]

@Holo Post the instore prices and the horror will end

 

[Samhill]

@Serelanordir The articles are alphabetized?

 

[knightdtd]

As a reader right now to keep up with my follows I have to:
- look for names of the groups that left
- look for the manga series they worked/are working on on bakaupdates
- pick out which series I'm currently following <- most tedious part, as there are series that are completed long ago, series which the groups (who left) only worked on a few chapter, series that are already picked up by other groups, etc...
- go to a secondary (aggregator) site and follow the series again.
Personally I just want to be notified when a manga I'm following has its (most recent?) chapters removed from MD (preferably built into my follows as Holo stated). That would help shorten this tedious process greatly.

 

[shouldsleep]

@knightdtd There's already an option in the settings to see chapters that were removed. It keeps your seen chapters intact for the purpose of archiving.

As for the series affected https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XqnN06TNvRzDGPxsddv7eUYWsG8GFmxcJKe4aw-mPvA/preview

 

[knightdtd]

@shouldsleep thanks I didn't know about that setting.
I follow too many manga and usually just check the latest update in my follows so series that got pulled out from MD just silently disappear without me noticing. With this option turned on I can actually know when recently released chapters get removed, that's exactly what I'm looking for 😃

 

[Jpwong]

I don't think they need to link to offsite chapters, but it would be nice to have a tab where people can submit if groups are scanlating a series but don't want their chapters on MD. There's a lot of older series out there that predate all the current drama who simply have always had a "no rehosting anywhere" policy, and it would be nice to be able to link their MD group profiles just as an indicator that they're either doing the series, or they did some of the series rather than having to trawl the comments section to find out that you can read the series on group X's reader.

 

[Holo]

We're working on this.

 

[jestervae]

Scanlators...getting swollen egos since scanlation began. The funny thing to me, as a manga-reading criminal of nearly 20 years, is that it's always the scanlators who lose in the end. They fizzle out because they make a big mess (like those who've made a mess here at MD), and they just get replaced by some other group hungry to make a name for themselves. Even funnier is how often members of the rabble-rousing scanlators jump ship and join other teams and end up scanlating back on the very same aggregate websites they shunned before.

Keep your follows, because another scanlation group will pick them up in due time. There's plenty else to read.