That’s a bit harsh. The translators might have time issues, which is why a lot of translators split chapters, to spread out the work load. They’d post a part at a time, to their Patreons. By the time the embargo is over, and they’re willing to post it on the free section of their website, we get a triple release. It is always easier to complete shorter chapters. It is always easier to edit shorter chapters. It takes me one day (5 hours per day) to edit 3 pages, but 3 days to edit 5. I don’t know why, but it does.
The translator explicitly admitted that they try to game novelupdates statistics some time before: Why do I split them? The main reason, in 1 part it counts as 1 chapter in NU for release frequency, and in 2 parts it counts as two chapters, therefore bringing the rank up a bit since people click on two links. (sousaku.blog/2019/07/10/moto-sekai-ichi-chapter-41/) And it's a tool to get more site views, just how clicking "next" on the chapter part doesn't lead to the next part, but to the post about the part. It's funny how some sites get plenty of hate for using arguably less obnoxious techniques, but others, such as the one in question, get away with it.
Please do. Maybe a translator with better work and personal ethics will pick it up then. And even if not, at your release rate, there will be little difference.
TBH, it's mediocre, but for JP webnovels that's a decent grade. And if it has enough readers, it will be picked up eventually. The reality is that novelupdates protects the current translator's "rights" to the series (a ridiculous concept considering it's unlicensed translation) while the translator is unapologetic about cheating the novelupdates system. The statistics gathered by novelupdates exist for readers' benefit, in order for them to quickly grasp important points about the series and their translations. Intentionally misleading the readers by gaming the statistics is unethical. More so when the site has an early-access patreon, which is essentially a subscription system that allows translators to evade taxes and liabilities, whether legal (for selling access to pirated content), or incurred when failing to provide timely service to their subscribers. I'm aware that the patreon is for the other series, but it's clear how increasing the site visibility and fabricating the statistics to increase the rank and release frequency of all the series on that site can help with attracting patreons. And that other series uses the same tricks to inflate statistics anyway. I hope that my point is clear: you're free to agree or disagree, but I personally have no intention to support such translators in any shape or form, including simply visiting their website.
Disagree. Good translation, and free. I joined NU during the heydays of fan translators, and I like what I like. Would I drop fan translations if Zen, J Novels and 7 Seas provided good, quality translations on a paid model for all the novels I like? YES. I do in fact read them. Will I continue to read fan translations for smaller, obscure novels that the big boys won’t touch, because that’s the only source? YES. Cause this is the only source. if Kari drops this novel, is it likely to be picked up? NO. And odds are good that they’d be much worse. Agree to disagree.
Sure, but as the things stand, novelupdates protects someone who's defrauding them. Make the series from that site a fair game for all the honest translators, and it will be easy to see if there's anyone willing to pick those series up. P.S. The first translations of JP WN's that I've read were on baka-tsuki, was it F/Z or something? Anyway, I draw a clear line between translators who monetize their unauthorized work in any shape or form and old-school fan translators. The moment money start to change hands, it's an entirely different story from all perspectives, from legal to ethical.
Unfortunately, everyone is monetized. The old model is over. Translators cost money, And ad revenue is down. Patreon is the new model, and everyone uses an embargo on paid content. Baka is the exception.
To me monetizing purely to pay hosting fees for whatever method you use to post the translations are fine, however anything beyond that is not. If you (or the translator in cases where the site owner is contracting/paying one) are making money of the translations go all the way and get the license to do so.
I have nothing against people being payed for their work. But then treat it as work, with all that it entails: proper licensing, work ethics, taxes, etc. The last on the list is also important: people in the service industry have to report their tips, but translators seem to treat "donations" as gifts for tax purposes. As someone who reports every dollar I earn and pays tens of thousands in taxes, I find it very questionable. And we have examples like Crunchyroll for anime, WW for CN/KR webnovels, heck, even Fakku for hentai, where pirating websites turned into proper businesses. So, not impossible, but requires work ethics at the minimum. I would argue that as long as people start to get revenue, it should be treated as business. If they suffer losses, that's tax deductions. If they don't want to deal with all the legal and financial aspects, go to platforms like WW, where they take care of that. Everything else is just excuses by people who want some unreported income without accepting any responsibilities.
Just getting this out of the way, my country has a "digital platforms tax" that taxes anything that you get transferred digitally (I.E. Paypal), And I'm registered to the treasury department equal here, and I do pay taxes bi-monthly for this earnings, so get off my back. Ohh, and I did try to see if I could pass the donations as "tax excepted", not gonna lie, but I couldnt.
I agree completely. But as I said Zen, J Novels, and others won’t pick up all the novels I like. I have no problem paying for novels. My Amazon account mostly has books. So much I spent... I also buy Zen and others. But I won’t boycott novels that aren’t picked up by the big publishers. And a lot of what Kari offers are my favorites. Agree to disagree. I have bad morals. Bookworm, decades of addiction.
That's good to hear, and I mean that. I'm pretty sure that there are ways to classify donations as gifts, and many countries don't have an established system to track digital revenue, so it comes down to the person's honesty.
We're going on a tangent with this recent shift in the topic, but, as I said, there are fully digital platforms like WW that license webnovels. I'm not sure if there's anything like that for JP novels, and licensing there might a bit trickier with platforms like syosetsu being fully open, and traditional publishers of LN version being old-school, but it doesn't seem like most translators even contact original authors as a sign of courtesy if nothing else. Anyway, my original point was about the NU and its statistics, and that one requires little effort to address.