All,

In order to quell some of the fury that occurred after our news statement about removing group links, I want to let everyone know that we are having internal discussions currently about whether there are more options available to us.

Due to imminent threats and action taken against our host and the suspension of our paypal account, we had to move quickly to ensure that MU stayed alive. While we do not believe we were contributing to infringement by providing informational and historical links to scanlator websites, we have limited recourse to strong-armed tactics used under DMCA. We are currently discussing code enhancements and policy changes to account for content owned by the organization involved as an alternative to complete removal of links from the website.

We hope to have this situation sorted out in time. Please remember that we still require active site/forum/etc in order to validate releases.

Thank you

As some eagle-eyed users have noticed, all website and forum links for all scanlation groups have disappeared. In addition to this, none of the IRC links are clickable anymore; they remain as plain text. We regret to inform all of you that we have received a DMCA takedown notice. Of course, we wish to keep MangaUpdates running, so we had to resort to these measures. The representative of the group that submitted the DMCA has so far said these actions are enough.

Despite these changes, our release and group submission policies remain the same. Releases must be from scanlation groups that exist according to MangaUpdates, meaning they must have a group entry. In order to have a group entry, the group still needs to submit one or more of the following: website, forum, Twitter, Facebook, and IRC channel. The website and forum will not be displayed anywhere on MangaUpdates though. These pieces of information will be for our own purposes in order to verify the existence of a release. We continue to strive to display accurate information for all series, groups, and releases, so we will check the validity of every submitted release. If you feel a release is fake, you can submit a Change Request, and we will double check your claim.

Thank you for continuing to use MangaUpdates.

• lambchopsil & Manick

I must apologize since I actually forgot to change the poll due to all the family stuff that was going on during the Thanksgiving holidays. It's the first time that I haven't done a weekly poll in time (since we started doing this all the way back in the beginning of 2008). Well, here you go. This week's poll comes from a suggestion from our member psycho-shocker. What level of sexuality do you prefer in your manga? I shouldn't really have to explain this one...

Apparently people are disagreeing over the definition of hentai and whether yaoi/yuri should be choices. For the purposes of this poll, hentai means any material that is 18+ (I live in the US) in a sexual manner, whether that be heterosexual or homosexual. Borderline H is basically almost there, but not quite. Ecchi is limited to maybe a boob flash or something like that.

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: Last gen console?
Choices:
Wii - votes: 2941 (23.1%)
PS3 - votes: 5996 (47%)
Xbox 360 - votes: 3814 (29.9%)
There were 12751 total votes.
The poll ended: December 3rd 2013

And PS3 wins this one! I actually bought a PS3 during Black Friday... I'm primarily a PC gamer, but I decided to get the PS3 since it was a good deal and I want to finally play some PS3 exclusives (like The Last of Us, Ni no Kuni, Uncharted, Beyond: Two Souls, Metal Gear Solid, some Final Fantasty, etc)

This exact poll was done over 5 years ago. With all the next-gen consoles released now, I felt it was time to bring this one back. Previously, PS3 won by a mere 4 votes (over the Wii). How will things fare this time? In the comments, feel free to list why you like each console and your favorite games for them. Me, I'm a PC gamer... My family's only owned Nintendo products, as I have many siblings (multiplayer components were huge factors in buying console games for the family). But man, I do want those other consoles for those juicy exclusives...

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: How many series do you estimate that you have finished? (Oneshots are fine, doujinshi don't count, and series must be completed)
Choices:
0-100 - votes: 4463 (33.5%)
100-300 - votes: 4355 (32.6%)
300-500 - votes: 1914 (14.3%)
500-700 - votes: 903 (6.8%)
700-1000 - votes: 525 (3.9%)
1000+ - votes: 1181 (8.9%)
There were 13341 total votes.
The poll ended: November 23rd 2013

Excluding the 1000+ option, it's a pretty nice curve! I'm somewhere in the 100-300 range probably.

This week's poll is the brainchild of our member kelly123456000. How many series do you think that you've completed in your entire life? For the purposes of our poll, let's say that the series itself must be completed (so no putting Kochikame on that list). Oneshots are fine, but doujinshi don't count. (Here at MangaUpdates, we consider any non-official work that is based on an official series as a doujinshi. If it's original, it's a oneshot). Well, I guess if you read a lot of oneshots, then your numbers will naturally be a lot higher. Just an estimate is fine!

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: Opinion of animals or small creatures that function as the pet of the manga's main character
Choices:
They're so cute! - votes: 2001 (18%)
Love them - votes: 781 (7%)
I'm okay with them - votes: 2345 (21.1%)
They're alright as long as they serve a functional purpose - votes: 3635 (32.7%)
Totally unnecessary to include them - votes: 877 (7.9%)
Could care less - votes: 1464 (13.2%)
There were 11103 total votes.
The poll ended: November 16th 2013

More or less don't care... Not too many haters or lovers

This week's poll about mascot characters comes from the mind of our member BlackOrion. Specifically, we're talking about mascot characters that happen to be small animals. Or I guess you could mean Haro from the Gundam series. Or like how some witches or sorcerers have familiars. Mahou Sensei Negima!'s Chamo? Kero from Card Captor Sakura? Could even simply be a pet cat or dog like in Pastel. Like them? Hate them? Your vote!

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: You are creating a manga with a female character, so her bust size is...
Choices:
Impossibly large - votes: 503 (3.3%)
Big - votes: 1130 (7.4%)
Above average - votes: 3518 (23%)
Average - votes: 6359 (41.6%)
Below average - votes: 1624 (10.6%)
Tiny - votes: 603 (3.9%)
Flat-chested - votes: 666 (4.4%)
He'll be a male with manboobs - votes: 869 (5.7%)
There were 15272 total votes.
The poll ended: November 9th 2013

Average is...average... This definitely was one of our most polarizing polls in a while.

This week's poll about bust size is by gosutoika. It's a pretty random one... And you can imagine whatever manga you want to create. With all other things being equal, which option would you choose?

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: If you somehow knew a huge anime/manga spoiler and no one else in the world knew yet, you would...
Choices:
Curse yourself because you hate spoilers, and now it's too late - votes: 2460 (24.2%)
Don't proactively do anything with the info. Doesn't matter if word gets out or stays a secret - votes: 1728 (17%)
Never tell anyone until it became public knowledge - votes: 731 (7.2%)
Tell people that you know something but withhold the details - votes: 818 (8%)
Only tell a couple of trusted friends - votes: 342 (3.4%)
Tell everyone you know! - votes: 116 (1.1%)
Post it all over the Internet - votes: 311 (3.1%)
Discretely tell a known loudmouth so that they spoil the world and can take the blame - votes: 225 (2.2%)
Only tell people who want to know and don't mind being spoiled - votes: 2409 (23.7%)
Sell the secret for a bunch of money - votes: 545 (5.4%)
Blackmail the creators of the anime/manga that you know their secrets - votes: 489 (4.8%)
There were 10174 total votes.
The poll ended: November 2nd 2013

Hmm, seems like many of you don't like spoilers and wouldn't want to subject someone else to spoilers unless they wanted. You're too nice~

This week's poll comes from nowyat. Let's pretend you somehow had knowledge of a spoiler for an anime or manga and no one else in the world knew about it. Assume that this spoiler is bigger than Harry Potter dying, or Snape kills Dumbledore, or "Luke, I am your father" (misquote on purpose), or the Red Wedding. (Side note, but if you don't know even one of the above references... Please, get out of the rock you're hiding under). Anyways, the poll is about what you would do with such knowledge. There's even a "Don't care" option that isn't worded as "Don't care"! Hopefully that appeases the lot of you...

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Question: Which pisses you off the most?
Choices:
When multiple groups scanlate the same series - votes: 446 (3.4%)
When a group has too many projects and releases are slow for the series you read - votes: 1261 (9.7%)
When a good series stops being scanlated because it's not popular - votes: 3387 (26%)
When a good series stops being scanlated because the group closed - votes: 784 (6%)
When you start a series and then find out: Last Release (1000d ago). Completely Scanlated: No - votes: 4769 (36.6%)
People who ask: "When will the next chapter be released?" - votes: 544 (4.2%)
Speed scanlations - votes: 146 (1.1%)
When scanlation stops due to a Cease & Desist - votes: 470 (3.6%)
People making money off scanlations - votes: 1233 (9.5%)
There were 13040 total votes.
The poll ended: October 26th 2013

This poll sure sparked a lot of debate and discussion. Do people even care about speed scanlations anymore? Doesn't seem like it...

This week's poll comes from our member ashi. Of the given choices of scanlation woes, which one angers you the most? Not an exhaustive list, but like I said, just choose from what's given. You're probably annoyed by at least one of them...

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: If you had an original idea for a story and weren't concerned about money, staff, or personal skill, which medium would be most suitable for your creation?
Choices:
Manga, manhwa, or manhua - votes: 2744 (28.3%)
Western graphic novel - votes: 232 (2.4%)
(Light) novel, book, or short story - votes: 2123 (21.9%)
Live-action movie - votes: 537 (5.5%)
Animated movie - votes: 673 (6.9%)
Live-action TV show - votes: 393 (4.1%)
Animated TV show - votes: 1251 (12.9%)
Game - votes: 1383 (14.3%)
Theatrical play or musical - votes: 74 (0.8%)
Radio show - votes: 20 (0.2%)
Drama cd - votes: 33 (0.3%)
Newspaper cartoon - votes: 32 (0.3%)
Song - votes: 151 (1.6%)
Dance - votes: 56 (0.6%)
There were 9702 total votes.
The poll ended: October 18th 2013

Considering what kind of site this is, no surprises on the winner. But the choice of games got more votes than I would've expected! (I personally chose games too, as I play more video games than I read manga, nowadays)

This week's poll is from the mind of our member whatnot, although some of the more outrageous choices are mine (for completeness, I guess). If you had an idea for something, what would be your ideal medium of entertainment for your creation? Let's assume that money is not an issue, that you can get all the necessary staff, and you do not personally need any skill in making music, acting, animating, etc (that's what your hirelings are for!)

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: Bullying in manga...
Choices:
Helps with character development, so let's have it - votes: 1243 (12%)
It's realistic and has a place in manga - votes: 2926 (28.4%)
Bullies are fine since they'll get what's coming to them - votes: 1154 (11.2%)
It's too unrealistic and cliche - votes: 1768 (17.1%)
It's unpleasant, so don't show bullying in manga - votes: 624 (6%)
Don't care - votes: 2602 (25.2%)
There were 10317 total votes.
The poll ended: October 12th 2013

Now how many of us have actually experienced bullying...