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Subject Redacted
Jan. 18th, 2012 09:04 amDoing my small bit for SOPA Blackout Day. If you're a US citizen, please write your Congresspeople via the EFF; if not, please help spread the word!
(You've all seen this trick before; highlight to view the text.)
Hell, I'd say it's pretty timely as I'm here in the middle of an unauthorized translation project. Seriously, if you go over to that little LJ-comm you'll find the approximately four people there posting rips and scans and screenshots and unauthorized translations, and this Psychic Force thing brings it home for me that in fandom, we should be aware of the legal lines as best we can, but I don't think we can draw a bright clear line around "transformative = good fanning; piracy = bad fanning,"---especially in the non-Western fandoms where getting access to the material to begin with might require going outside the legal bounds, and in any language you can get into situations where the source is out of print (and the ancillary materials way out of print), approaching a choice between "pirated" or "dead." Which brings me to the point that they're talking of breaking the internet essentially just to shore up somebody's dinosaur business model. Yes, we should find a way to pay artists a decent living and see that the kinds of media we love remain viable, but "piracy" also reflects new opportunities, and impulses and values that are worthy of respect. See the above "out of print" issue; the old way was notably bad at making the widest range of material accessible to the widest range of people, and I think most of us can acknowledge access to works of the mind as an intrinsic moral good.
So yes, we should stand up to these proposed laws because they'll hurt more than just the intended "pirates," but we --- especially we as fans --- should also challenge the whole narrative of "piracy." I yield the soapbox.
On a happier note, today is Wendy!
Video on Nico Nico Douga (requires free registration)
( Wendy's Story, English and Japanese )
Next up is Wong's story---in which we find out what's wrong with that guy (and I get to deal with his penchant for Chinese proverbs; thank gods for Japanese Google...).
P.S: For cheap laughs, paste the transcriptions into Google Translate and see what it comes up with. Here’s its rendition of Wendy’s encounter with Genma:
Wendy: That's you? What is shaved and I saw on the sumo Katsuage. . . I'll not listen to rumors!
Until now the Nuuu, seeking eagle'll just fold Fuse! Lord also 有Ri金 your stingray at Yuke!
Wendy: If in a hurry. . . I need a little punishment?
(Game)
Wendy: The opponent has not shaved castor fishy smell.
P.P.S: In case anyone else wants to play along, this was my old-school low-tech redacting method (just replace square brackets with angle brackets): [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" color="#000000"]blackout text[/FONT]
(You've all seen this trick before; highlight to view the text.)
Hell, I'd say it's pretty timely as I'm here in the middle of an unauthorized translation project. Seriously, if you go over to that little LJ-comm you'll find the approximately four people there posting rips and scans and screenshots and unauthorized translations, and this Psychic Force thing brings it home for me that in fandom, we should be aware of the legal lines as best we can, but I don't think we can draw a bright clear line around "transformative = good fanning; piracy = bad fanning,"---especially in the non-Western fandoms where getting access to the material to begin with might require going outside the legal bounds, and in any language you can get into situations where the source is out of print (and the ancillary materials way out of print), approaching a choice between "pirated" or "dead." Which brings me to the point that they're talking of breaking the internet essentially just to shore up somebody's dinosaur business model. Yes, we should find a way to pay artists a decent living and see that the kinds of media we love remain viable, but "piracy" also reflects new opportunities, and impulses and values that are worthy of respect. See the above "out of print" issue; the old way was notably bad at making the widest range of material accessible to the widest range of people, and I think most of us can acknowledge access to works of the mind as an intrinsic moral good.
So yes, we should stand up to these proposed laws because they'll hurt more than just the intended "pirates," but we --- especially we as fans --- should also challenge the whole narrative of "piracy." I yield the soapbox.
On a happier note, today is Wendy!
Video on Nico Nico Douga (requires free registration)
( Wendy's Story, English and Japanese )
Next up is Wong's story---in which we find out what's wrong with that guy (and I get to deal with his penchant for Chinese proverbs; thank gods for Japanese Google...).
P.S: For cheap laughs, paste the transcriptions into Google Translate and see what it comes up with. Here’s its rendition of Wendy’s encounter with Genma:
Wendy: That's you? What is shaved and I saw on the sumo Katsuage. . . I'll not listen to rumors!
Until now the Nuuu, seeking eagle'll just fold Fuse! Lord also 有Ri金 your stingray at Yuke!
Wendy: If in a hurry. . . I need a little punishment?
(Game)
Wendy: The opponent has not shaved castor fishy smell.
P.P.S: In case anyone else wants to play along, this was my old-school low-tech redacting method (just replace square brackets with angle brackets): [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" color="#000000"]blackout text[/FONT]
