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Cobalt001: Yes. I believe people should have the choice whether or not to pay. This is the main reason I rip and upload comics today. I want to give people the choice to read a webtoon for free or to pay for it the legal way. If they really liked the series, they would probably be willing to pay for it to begin with or willing to donate to the author. On the other hand, if they never intended to pay to begin with, then the site was never going to make money from them anyway, whether or not I upload their comics elsewhere. I rip and upload to share content with people who can’t afford it or don’t feel comfortable paying for it. In my opinion, Webtoons is the ideal way to share webtoons, giving it out for free and offering Patreon as an optional payment method to support the author. (Which is why I never rip their comics.) I just wish more sites would follow suit.
(excerpt from this interview: https://mangaplanet.jp/cobalt001-001_rips-speaks-intervie w/)
Would you say you agree with this ripper? Scanlations are one thing, but rips seem to be outright stealing.