MangaDex Merchandise: Mouse Mats

[kevinmul]

Why not making a marketplace for scanlators?
MangaDex can live with commision and the objective to help scanlators will be achieved.

But... can Mangadex still use .org that way?

 

[kevinmul]

Okay... I have read the drama...
Shouldn't it be good if you are using NovelUpdates model?
Just give us the link to the respective chapters.
For sure, lately, I've been reading from respective scanlators just because 24h restriction.

P.S. cool mousepad tho..

 

[RonBWL]

@kevinmul Because this site is not created to be like NovelUpdates

 

[kn1000a]

@definitionofinsanity I gotta say, you got a way with words.

 

[Yuri]

@definitionofinsanity Sorry for triggering your pedantism. I'm sure Mangadex feels great knowing that an armchair lawyer like yourself says they are safe from any potential legal recourse.

 

[Plykiya]

>Sorry to say it, but none of the designs were appealing for me. I hope in the future there's more variety of them.
@darasu I'll try to do better next time qwq

>The designs were good enough imo.
>As someone who knows how to make and enjoy art, simplicity is better, like playing in one full color and focusing on a certain angle.
@goronyanpai Thanks, only had existing fanart to work with for the designs so had to try and think of a way to make them appealing as a mouse mat

 

[definitionofinsanity]

@Yuri

Sorry for triggering your pedantism. I'm sure Mangadex feels great knowing that an armchair lawyer like yourself

Sounds like butthurt from being called out on a shit position. You don't need to be practicing law to know the basics of how this works. Youtube content creators know the ins-and-outs of Fair Use extensively, too, but is it because they wish to play lawyer? No. It's because their livelihood rests on them not getting hit by DMCA claims or getting hit with claims of copyright infringement.

Also:

says they are safe from any potential legal recourse

Considering I never said that, I have to assume that you lack the wherewithal enough to comprehend basic legal definitions and demonstrate middle school level reading comprehension... Or you're just simply straw manning me because butthurt.

I'm unsure of which, but I generally attribute to incompetence before malfeasance.

 

[RhythmiC]

Uhm.. As far as the copyright question goes, the https://www.authorsalliance.org/2016/02/25/international-fair-use-developments-is-fair-use-going-global/ link explains it fairly well, and that it's not the same everywhere. Many people tend to use the US rulebook as a basis for any claims on the interweb, but things are sometimes very different where they actually live. (I blame television.)

Spoiler

Anyway, to profit by scanlating something without permission to do so is identical to black market-dealings in the world, morally speaking. Legally speaking it's self-explanatory, it's just that the copyright holders don't seek legal action sometimes, hence why there's a "legal risk" but not a lot of times that you see people actually being punished for it. (Although the new EU copyright law will undoubtedly shake things up a bit, with the only reprieve being the size of traffic to the site. Because if it passes a certain amount (I think it was 5-10 million monthly users or something like that) then it'll make the site liable to fines for any copyright infringement uploaded onto the site, instead of making the individual uploader responsible. One option is to geoblock EU nations in order to avoid it though. To clarify, laws aren't the same everywhere, not even copyright laws. What can be defined as a copyright infringement in one country may not be the same in a different country, and vice versa. Websites falls under the jurisdiction of every country where they can be accessed from, so while EU will start fining for this, it's only applicable to sites that can be accessed from the EU. Which is why geoblocking is an option in order to avoid it.)

Don't get me wrong, I love scanlators. But to act entitled like it deserves a paycheck is only to live as a parasite off of authors' works. What's better morally speaking, is when scanlators takes no profit whatsoever and only uses the funds to keep the creative train going. As soon as it turns into profit-seeking, that's when it crosses into parasitic in nature. You may argue translations are creative in nature too (which they are to a certain degree), but literally what is being done is taking the creation of words in one language, and then turning them into the same meaning (or as close to it) in another language (liberties for localization and such is often part of the process, no matter what languages) but that doesn't change the fundamental story itself, nor does it change the pictures themselves (since manga is drawn art too).

So the non-profit scanlators are morally similar to fan art and authors of fan fiction. They're wonderful people who are expressing their own appreciation for the stories they love, by sharing it with others without charging them for it, and claim no right to the original work itself. Profit-seekers however are morally similar to the black market, where things are taken, repackaged, without caring for the source of origin, and sold to others at a lower cost, while acting protective of what is being sold like it's their own creation. (I'm not saying scanlators literally sell the content, I'm saying that's how it goes in the black market. Which is however similar to profit-seeking schemes, even if it's not directly "sold".)

I'll gladly support the ones who doesn't seek profit and can assure me they don't profit anything from it and only reinvest it into the scanlation itself.

"These are just one man's thoughts and opinions" - YongYea @ YouTube. (I'm only quoting him. I just think the way he ends his videos carries a resonating effect. I'm not affiliated to him in any way whatsoever.)

(Wall of text behind the spoiler tag. Read at your own risk.)

Anyway, big fan of MangaDex and this is definitely a place that looks out for the consumers, which is always worthy of respect.

As for the mouse pads, I'm a gamer amongst other things, so I'm much more concerned over the feel instead of just the size and design. I'll however definitely order a shirt whenever that becomes an option! (I need new shirts anyway, so sometime soon would be perfect.)

 

[Zephyrus]

All,

I'm gonna have to be pretty firm on this. Please do not make any more off-topic posts that are unrelated to the mouse pads.

Thanks,

Zeph

 

[Plykiya]

@VawX
@RhythmiC

By the way, since you both are requesting shirts, if you have any examples of what kind of designs you would enjoy wearing it would help if we eventually approach the idea

Can either be the designs we published or any shirt picture from the internet to roughly emulate the design of it. I know lots of people say they don't want to blatantly wear something that says "Manga" on it with just a simple design

 

[RhythmiC]

@Plykiya
I don't really have any preference per se, I'm fine with most. I do like the cat though. As for the stigma of Manga, well, I'm proud of it so I'd prefer having it as an option.
Although, I would like it if there'd be an option between short sleeves and long sleeves, just for the record.

Those are my two cents. I hope it becomes reality! Good luck!

Oh right, just looked at the designs again and can't believe I missed it... But please don't include a banana in the design, if you do decide to sell shirts.

 

[VawX]

@Plykiya any of the design for the mouse mat are pretty good, just adjust that into shirt form mmm...

 

[dokkotak]

Questions:

[ol]Can MD staff provide some details on direct bank transfer? What's the process? Is it via electronic bill-pay from the buyer's bank acct?[/ol]
[ol]And how much of a fee is it going to be, PayPal vs. direct bank transfer?
If not an exact figure, then an example, so we have an idea.[/ol]

 

[Holo]

@dokkotak

The direct bank transfer option will probably differ depending on country, for but for UK you would send the money to a specified sort-code and account number via your online banking, for instance. There is no fee for a direct bank transfer in the UK.

Paypal will charge me a 2-3% fee. It doesn't matter which method you choose, you would pay the same amount - we take the hit on the fee on our end.

 

[dokkotak]

@Holo

There is no fee for a direct bank transfer in the UK.

I am in the US, and for me, there is no fee if the payee account is also in the US.
If your account is in the US, I wouldn't mind using bank transfer to save you from paying the fee.

 

[Holo]

@dokkotak

Yes, if you choose the direct bank transfer (US) option, I will provide you with our routing number and account number of our US bank account.

 

[Samhill]

@dokkotak Most banks charge fees for incoming wire transfers. Mine charges $10. So, you should check to see if 2% is less than the fee @Holo 's bank charges.

 

[seekermoc]

It's probably too late to ask for this order, but next time around would it be possible to order a desk-size or extra-wide version of the "simple logo" mousepad? For clarity, I'm talking about something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B41GX5M/

 

[Plykiya]

We are extending the time to accept orders until 1st July.

 

[ManAtLegs]

Ive double checked now and im still not getting an email with how to continue my order, nothing in spam or the main inbox. Is gmail not having this or is the problem on your end?