Dattebayo Feedback Forum, Volume 5
2008/02/15
This edition is devoted to semi-frequently asked questions. These questions don’t get asked enough that they need to be on the FAQ, but they do get asked enough that I am tired of answering them individually.
Why have you stopped subbing Bleach and/or Naruto?
We haven’t. I realize that some people are confused by our constant threats to stop subbing, but it’s funny to see people asking this week after week even though we continue to release episodes.
Why don’t you release Bleach/Naruto in HD?/Can you release a higher quality/lower quality edition?
Bleach and Naruto don’t air in HD, therefore, we cannot release them in HD. We could scale up the video and crop off the top and bottom and SAY it’s HD, but I suspect this solution would satisfy no one.
We’re not going to release three different editions of the same episode just to try to please everyone. It’s just a waste of our time, especially since someone would surely still find a reason to complain.
Are you going to pick up any new shows anytime soon?
We don’t have any plans to pick up any new shows at this time. If we did, we wouldn’t tell you until we started releasing anyway.
On a related note, how do you pick the shows you sub?
There isn’t any strict formula. Having said that, let me break it down into a formula. 1) We have to either like the show, or think it will be amusing to sub for some other reason. 2) Either no other group is subbing it, or the groups that are subbing are doing what we deem to be an inadequate job. 3) There has to be enough staff interest and time to actually pull off the subbing.
What happened to Pokemon? Will you release the other episodes?
Why do so many of you care about Pokemon? Pokemon failed requirement #3 above. We are hoping to at least release the episodes 7 and 8 to fill in the gap, but there’s no promises.
What happened to Genshiken?
The season ended, meaning there are no more episodes for us to sub.
Why will I get banned for asking if/when you’re going to release the next Bleach/next Naruto movie? Isn’t it a reasonable question?
If we’ve released the previous movies, chances are we’re going to release the next one too. If we’ve subbed each of the previous movies following the Japanese DVD release, we’re probably going to do the same for the next one. Please don’t write to us asking when the Japanese DVD release will be, you can look it up as easily as I can. (Hint, chances are it’ll be around one year after the previous one.)
Can you make changes to the plot/pacing of Naruto or Bleach?
No, we don’t write or animate the show. We only add subtitles to the existing work. If you want to comment on the content of the show, you need to contact the creators.
Great, how do I do that?
I haven’t the faintest idea. Dattebayo has no affiliation with the creators of Naruto or Bleach. I would guess a good first step would be learning to read and write Japanese.
How do you make money doing this?/Why don’t you take donations?
We don’t make money. As you can see, there are no ads on our page and all downloads are free. We don’t take donations because we don’t need money to fansub (all equipment and connections used are either personal or donated) and we don’t feel that it’s right to make money off the hard work of the people who create the anime we sub.
Liars! What about Professional Services/the CafePress store/that one time you DID take donations?
I suspect most of the confusion here lies in the fact that people don’t understand the point of our Professional Services. Nobody is paying us to sub Naruto or Bleach. We don’t ever plan to start charging for downloads. Some people will argue that Dattebayo Fansubs is generating publicity for our Professional Services and so in some way we are profiting from fansubbing. Those people are being ridiculous.
All items in the CafePress store are sold at cost, meaning we don’t make a profit per item sold. We did receive a single check for $184.58 from CafePress because of the “volume bonus” (if you’re interested, read about it on cafepress.com, I don’t fully understand it myself), which I donated to a local animal shelter.
All excess funds from the single donation drive went to to Doctors Without Borders, meaning none of us made a single dime. Some people have expressed that being able to buy a server that is used solely for distribution of subs to fans is somehow “making a profit”. These people are also being ridiculous.
Why don’t you have a status indicator on your front page so we know when your next release will be? I’m sure if you did this people would stop bugging you about when the next release is!
No, they wouldn’t.
Where can I download/can you host (some random anime)?
DB isn’t privy to any secrets about the best places to download anime that Google can’t tell you. Also, we aren’t going to host any shows we didn’t sub.
Why don’t you have a forum?
This one is simple. We don’t want one.
Why do you bother banning people when most people have dynamic IPs, you should do something more drastic!/What’s with all the banning, why do something so drastic?
Since we receive these two questions about equally often, I conclude we have struck just the right balance between too drastic and not drastic enough.
Can I buy DVDs from you?
No, we don’t sell our subs on DVD. If you want to buy DVDs buy the official versions.
Can I use your videos to make my AMVs?
Honestly, shouldn’t you get a raw for that? Do you really want our subtitles in your AMV? (By the way, the answer is no.)
Can you guys start providing raws?
No, that’s not what we’re here for.
How about you guys release your subs as separate .srt files so my sub group can steal them...I mean, to save bandwidth?
Nope, we’re not doing that either.
You guys need to stop the trolling, nobody falls for it anyway./Why do you guys troll so much? It’s not funny./You need to clean up your attitude, it’s losing you fans!
Au contraire, mon petit chou, hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people fall for it each time. If you are asking this question, you are lucky enough to be among the more intelligent of our fans. Rather than getting angry at us, you should be thanking your parents for blessing you with a modicum of intelligence.
We troll because we find it funny. We don’t really care if you find it funny. Getting angry at us about it 1) is a waste of your time and energy and 2) only makes it more funny to us. Never stop.
Considering our attitude hasn’t changed in the 3+ years we’ve been doing this (and it seems to be going pretty well so far), we don’t plan on changing anytime soon.
Why are you all so angry?
We’re really not. We’re actually quite happy. You just don’t get our sense of humor.
LOL, DID YOU GUYS SEE THERE’S ANOTHER GROUP SUBBING NARUTO/BLEACH. HAHAHAHA! NOW WE DON’T HAVE TO WATCH YOUR SHITTY SUBS! OMGWTFBBQROFFLECOPTER!
Strictly speaking, you never have to watch our subs anyway. Nobody is making you. More to the point, generally we are aware of other groups who are subbing Naruto or Bleach, so there is no need to notify us. We don’t really care in any case. Alternative groups are good for everyone. The fans get a choice, which is great because a lot of people don’t seem to like us for some reason. And, we don’t have to deal with the people who don’t like us. It’s win-win. The real question is, why do people who submit comments like this always write in all caps?
That's it for this installment of the Feedback Forum. Hopefully you found it both informative and entertaining.