I've been noticing more and more frequently that some groups have been adding new mangas to the database and reserving them as their "future projects". Now, it's great that groups add new mangas to the database, but many of these have no more info than just the cover, title and mangaka. Here's an example.

EDIT: The example is no longer good, since Manick deleted the offending phrase, and I entered an actual description and all the missing info.

Now, in my experience, a manga isn't really your project until you release a chapter. Of course we could all just ignore them and pick it up anyway if we feel so inclined, but I like to think of the scanlation community as a bit more civilized than the anime community since we usually try not to pick up a manga if another group is doing it. Is reserving a manga really a good use for this site?

Feel free to disagree with me, but personally I feel like the only use of doing it is to scare away other groups that might pick it up, and if that's the case then a public site like this is not the place to be doing that.

[Also, I wasn't sure where the best place to post this was, but I felt it is sort of a suggestion to not let this sort of thing happen anymore, so I posted here. If a moderator feels this belongs somewhere else then feel free to move it.]

Series database is for series information, not reserving series. If you see a description like that, just edit it to remove it (like I just did with that one).

Titles getting added into the database even if there hasn't been releases for it is great for me because I use this site as a big manga database also. If a series info for a particular title says "reserved for (insert group name)," you can change that yourself to "(insert group name) plans to do this" instead. If all it says is someone is planning to do it and you or any other group is planning to do it, too, add your name into the foray.

Edit: Yeah... Manick posted exactly what I wanted to say in a much shorter post before I finished mine.

https://twitter.com/Hostile

First, I'm not a mod, so my opinion is probably useless and nobody really cares...
But since it's free, might as well give it right?

IMO, it really depends on the groups intention when "reserving" that project?
If it's to stop other groups from thinking about it... well that's pretty dumb.
From the community's point of view, it should be better to let anyone willing to work on something NOW do it, than someone that having it in mind and not wanting to work on it any soon.

But on the other hand if they use that to show their interest in that project, in the hopes maybe of attracting the attention of a possible translator they might need for the project or something like that. Well I think that's actually good.
But even in this possibility... is this site series infos page really the best place to advertise? I don't think so... But as I said earlier my opinion has no value. So it's up to those with moderating superpowers to decide about that.

EDIT: It looks like they spoke while I was typing my post...

Stealth: I agree with you. If a group is saying they want to do a manga and trying to attract a translator that's fine. But they should post in the manga's forum after it gets added or in the recruiting forum, not in the description (which you mentioned.)

Manick: Great, I'll delete the "future project of" statements from descriptions with prejudice when I run into them (and I've seen quite a few recently which is what led me to post.) Could you maybe post a message to site admins not to let these get through in the first place? I don't know if you can delete them but still add the manga, but if not you could add the manga and then delete them.

Haha, I've been deleting those kinds of messages when approving new series ever since I became an admin. I hate it when it says like "Future project for Nakama" or whatever (just to name one group).

And yes, admins have great power and can change any aspect of the series database that normal viewers can see.

A just ruler amongst tyrants

LOL reserving a manga, well, the Lemon inc, don't care, if you haven't released a manga in 3 month, we will consider it dropped and thus we will take over. Of course we'll have to have somesort of interest in the manga

Starter of Controversy.

Quote from Manick

Series database is for series information, not reserving series. If you see a description like that, just edit it to remove it (like I just did with that one).

just one question about that, not sure if it's the same but i'll ask anyway. If it says under description "future Project of So and So" remove it? or leave it there?

I've actually been finding the same thing, however some just have a saying under the description, and not the reserving thing. So i'm not sure in this case whether to leave it or edit it out.

reason i ask is because i got there too late so i didn't see what you meant by that, gomen.

dancing on angel wings~~

Yeah, that's what were talking about. If you see anything in the description field to the effect of "Future project of so-and-so" then delete it.

I’d like to ask something else regarding the descriptions: sometimes instead of providing a small plot summary they provide reviews and sometimes those reviews are full of spoilers and/or are not very objective (and quite often very very long). Personally I wouldn’t want any spoilers or personal opinions to give me first impression on a series, but I’m not sure how other feel about it?

There really shouldn't be a review in that little box... (I mean it's a tiny little section there...)

Yes that's what I thought..thanks for clearing it up 🙂

You know... this thread gave me an idea. I'm not really sure how good this is, but...

OK so let's see: Why not expand the manga list feature to the scanlation groups.
Why? what's the point? and how maybe?
well first it shouldn't be exactly the same as the current manga list feature, but it should be very similar. It will be divided into 4 lists but somehow different from the four the current manga lists have:

• Current projects: This one could be automatically updated as soon as a group release a new scan for a manga, and should work around the same way that the list of the series a group is scanlating is working now (in the groups info page) but with just one difference (explained later)
• The dropped projects: This one is also automatically updated and put any project without a release in 6 month in there (and that would make the difference for the first one)
• The completed projects: This one will have to be updated manually, because there is no easy way right now to tell if a group finished working on something or no (of course all the series in this list will not be sent to the dropped projects list, even after 6 months without a release)
• The future projects: (This is why this thread gave me this idea) It's basically the wishlist for the groups, and this one should also be manually updated.

Well I think there are still some issues in this idea, and I'm aware of that. And I also now that you are somewhat busy Manick, so even if you put it on your "to do", it will be some time before it goes out.
And the worst of all the issues with this idea: I have absolutely no idea what the scanlation groups will feel about it. And it is supposed to be an idea for them... if they don't care what's the point right?

I think it's a good idea, although some minor changes would be in order. The best part of it is the future projects aspect, so long as there was a space directly on a manga's page that listed groups that have it on their future projects wish list. That way a potential translator would know which group to contact if they were interested in translating it.

The dropped projects part is also a good idea, although I think 6 months might be a little quick to constitute a drop since I know of lots of groups that have stalled a project that long but still considered it theirs, and most of them went back to work on it when they were able. (Sasameke has been stalled that long for us, but I've got the next chapter 75% done so it's only a matter of time...)

Another thing to think about would be to add some way to link individual members to their respective groups so they can add or edit their group's list.

All in all a good idea. It would satisfy the groups that have been "reserving" mangas as well I think without allowing them to scare away other groups since multiple groups would be able to tag the same manga.

Glad you like it Druid, I wasn't very sure about how good it is... You know when you have in an idea in mind it ALWAYS sounds good. But you usually notice how dumb it might be after people start pointing it to you (or that you start working on it and start encountering one problem after an other).

And of course the 6 month delay was something I got as an example, I know perfectly that 6 month without a release doesn't necessarily mean a drop... I know a good number of situations where it isn't. It was more as an example. I have no idea on the other hand what kind of delay could be considered good.

On the last point... I thought about it. And it really depends on how Manick made the users group work... So it might be very easy to give to members of a group access to their list or might need a lot of work...
Anyway, for now, this is pure speculation, since Manick still hasn't given his approval. But maybe if you guys pressure him a bit 😀 ...