Hi guys, do you prefer Scanlators group's main active site to be blog or forum?

For myself, I preferred it to be in website style especially in blog style. I do noticed that many groups have both website and forums, whereby release are often posted on website while discussions & recruitment happens more on forums. But I believe scanlator groups should mainly actively focus on website, in blog style as to convenience the readers to follow up your release and work and it require less efforts to maintain for your own group benefits.

Blog are more direct and upfront where u can post any work progress or recruitment application on main page and in this way get more exposé to the readers and in return get more reaction from the readers.

As for forum, it has more depth and bigger circle, u can create lots of specific topic groups and sub topic to your likings and needs. But it's like a maze and more hidden, only those who venture around will stumble into some topics.

IMHO, here is my pros and cons conclusion.

The pros of Blog Style:

for the readers:-
-U only need to mantain one profile. Just sign in to blogspot or wordpress one time and and comment on as many blog as u want.

for the scanlators:-
-No operating cost if u are using free blog website tools like blogspot and wordpress.
-Easy to operate, almost no require any IT knowledge, just login and post, easy as writing an email.

The cons of Forum style:

for the readers:-
-u only need to mantain many profile. U have to create new account on each forums and only login once per release which can varies between days or weeks or even months. Imagine if u are following many manga/manwha, I personally are reading up to over 100 titles. Can u imagine how it's like to login after a few weeks or months to found out your account expired and u have to register again? on 100 forums?

for the scanlators:-
-Some of the news on work and recruitment are not getting much exposure, thus getting less and less people working on the project.
-Operating cost from yearly renew domain name and webhosting.
-Required more efforts to admins and mods the forums, thus less time to work on release.

While we are at it, I'm wondering how about facebook? I wonder how many groups out there have facebook page? Facebook are the most powerful and popular online tools of this age. How about utilize it to get more interaction from your readers? As now is the golden age of internet, scanlators group should also step up their effort to change to newer popular online style in order to grow. From IRC to website+forums to blogs to facebook.

Hope scanlators and readers can voice their opinion about this.

p/s
However, I don't think blog can ever replace forum's vast functionality. Therefore, if possible, I would prefer download link and online website page to be posted always on the main website/blog whereby I can quickly access to and posted a short comment to on that chapter and also give thanks to show my appreciation. Should I want more interaction, I will sign into the forums and mingle around with scanlators and other readers.

Last edited by azoburn at 8:44 am, Jan 15 2012

Wait, do all blogs from all over the world have the same account database?
Because I seriously doubt that is the case...

edit: I think you are mixing up "having a blog" with "having a blog on blogspot or wordpress".
Anyways, as for me, I'd prefer a blog simply because you do not need an account to post anything,
just email should suffice.

For me it's blogs as long as I can post using just an email and a username. I like forums for discussions, but not when downloads are restricted to forum members only. I understand why they do it, but if I am only downloading something, I don't want to create an account just for that....too many accounts to remember and i'm not into password management software (keypass, roboform, etc...). Now, blogs and (some) forums do have a solution for not having to remember all that, that is facebook/google+/open id integration, but well, i've never been one to have one identity online associated with everything, too intrusive for my liking.
So for me it's blogs and irc.

I am a scanlator have a blog but I think on moving to forums
why?
it helps us notice the progress
register?
we can just release on portals which makes it upto reader to comment or not .

JustPassingBy
It depends on the comment plug-in that u are using in your blog. U can set it as easy as just click "Anonymous" option where u don't have to provide any information at all to comment. It can also be as strict whereby u need to have valid online account such as OpenID,Wordpress, Blogspot, Typepad, AIM, Google, etc to comment. So in simple word, blogspot user can comment on wordpress blog using their blogspot identity. Try play around with a few blog's comment and u will get what i mean.

makoz
My sentiment actually! I really don't like when the downloads in the forum are only visible to the forum members. And u have to create an account whereby u are not going to be active is a waste of digital space. Even after u registered, u have to click through a few threads and topic until u found what u look for. Some even require certain number of post counting before u can download. Sometimes I just give up and end up going to, ahem, mangafox for a read. but only it's too much efforts. OpenID is ok for me, as it validate authentication of your nickname. I won't touch the facebook/google+ integration though because i use true identity for that. It looks like a cans of worm waiting to be opened. he he..

aayush251
forums are great for coordination between active members of the groups but might not be so great for reader who just wanna read without been active. My emphasize on the blog style is because all the posting are always available even if it's been a few years. As I have seen a few portal style website, only a few numbers of latest release are viewable, so if u wanna search for older release, u have to search deep into the forums. As each forums differs from one another, readers have to put extra efforts & time to find it. Thats why so many reader flocks to Tazmo & Mangafox so as not to deal with all these.

IRC.

Filters out the majority of the dipshits.

________________
-GGpX

I run Illuminati-Manga. You're welcome.

I personally like IRC the best. lol (since I'm on there 24/7 and can just pop into a channel and type the trigger and it automatically goes to my manga folder. Also, I can easily say my thanks and appreciation that way.)

________________
♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

Used to love irc but hates the typing and slow downloads..