[Locked] FAKKU State of the Union 2016

3
kinda sad that i couldn't get back the names of my lost favorite manga's
6
I find it more sad that lots of people dont actually respect the artists that gave them lots of things to fap about.

Is that really the weight of gratitude these days? I feel sorry for the artists. And the people who think hentai is free are just pitiable.

I find it pathetic that people claim they are part of how fakku grew when their basis for this camraderie is by ripping of the artists for a free fap. Its nothing to be proud pf at all, nor is it commendable as well.
3
I would like to see if there is a way to restore the comments of the deleted works, cause in a way they are what made fakku "fakku"
1
The are going to lose large number of their net traffic due to this. I am just stating a fact.
8
Yeah, I have no real issue with any of this. This is what it means to go legit, and this is what it takes to support an industry.

Jacob said it best: people only think porn is free because it's been done that way for a while. That line of thought devalues the hard work men and women around the world do--which is especially dangerous considering eromangaka don't make much to begin with. Combine that with sneaky scanlators that ask for "donations", and the whole thing gets really shady, really fast.

Sure, I can't read jack on this site. (Pun not intended.) But, hey--I don't need eromanga. It's a privilege, not a right. My desire to see some cute breasts doesn't override Homunculus' right to paying his expenses with his day-to-day job.

This is a non-issue, but I support Fakku's decision whole-heartedly. Jacob's a cool guy, and he's gonna do lots of sweet stuff for us.
5
Viral Mind wrote...
The are going to lose large number of their net traffic due to this. I am just stating a fact.


And its also fact that those traffic are basically leechers that just fap and not really part of the community. Heck they probably have never read a single post in the forums, nor read any of the announcement before.
-5
R.I.P fakku , sir that was the worst decision :( now youve lost a lot of ppl coming in this site
9
hgatedc wrote...
I find it more sad that lots of people dont actually respect the artists that gave them lots of things to fap about.

Is that really the weight of gratitude these days? I feel sorry for the artists. And the people who think hentai is free are just pitiable.


It's ridiculous because not only do they ignore the fact that a person put a lot of work into making a great piece of art, they assume the stuff that was uploaded was given to us as a gift. From the heavens or something. No, we were privileged and lucky that all of that happened. None of it was meant to be from the start.

Did it come at the artists' expense? We can argue that all day and never come to a conclusion. I think people really need to understand a few things.

1. Nothing is permanent. ESPECIALLY when you're dealing with stuff that's potentially illegal. You can't expect that to go on forever. That is completely unrealistic.

2. Whatever was lost from FAKKU is not lost from the internet. Someone still has what you were looking for. It's still out there, you just have to look for it. FAKKU is not your backup disk or something. Are we going to be adults who can take care of ourselves or are we going to sit here shouting and crying until our problems get magically fixed?

3. Save your judgment. Seriously. Most people haven't seen what FAKKU has accomplished. Or in some funny cases, they have read FAKKU's work and have no idea that they did. They don't know where this site is going, because they've already panicked. Are FAKKU's changes good or bad? Well sure they're bad in the short term but who really focuses on that? When you spill some milk you clean that shit up and buy some more. Again nothing is truly lost, you just have to look harder for the things you wanted. Big deal. Bottom line: Come back in a while and then decide. This whole mass panic serves nobody. FAKKU has made its decision. Just consider for a second that they might actually know what they're doing.

Anyway I thank you and others for your understanding. This is all really crazy and I hope people can stop losing their shit for a moment and really think about things. Some people will definitely decide that the new FAKKU is not for them. But I hope most people will be reasonable about this and at least accept the fact that FAKKU is damn good at what they're doing, even if it's not what they wanted.
4
For people who wonder why Fakku doesn't have Paypal payment method, please read PayPal Acceptable Use Policy
Prohibited Activities
You may not use the PayPal service for activities that
2. ... (i) certain sexually oriented materials or services

I don't know that Strip can be alternative to Paypal(actually, I don't know how you can put money to Paypal if you don't have credit card.)

For people who ask for the easy way to buy Hentai book from japan, dmm.co.jp has sold Hentai e-book and the price is equal to paperback, though browser reader and desktop reader is really suck. I've buy some book of my favorite artist but I read it from scanlation anyway. it can't be compared to Fakku but if you want to support your favorite artist, now you can :)

I don't use everything legal, I still download scanlation book, all of anime but I always support them as much as I can. Remember the favorite counting and your thanks to their work can't be used to buy anything.

sorry for my english.
1
I support your decision... But I can't afford any of this yet and I'm not so sure if I would make a transaction if I do have the money because I don't know if I'll like the plot.

I wish you could give us like short mangas that are free (with the authors' permission) so we get to see their works... It would promote or advertise them making more people buy and appreciate their works...

It would be like a peek or the prologue of the manga...
1
animefreak_usa Child of Samael
witoong623 wrote...
For people who wonder why Fakku doesn't have Paypal payment method, please read PayPal Acceptable Use Policy
Prohibited Activities
You may not use the PayPal service for activities that
2. ... (i) certain sexually oriented materials or services

I don't know that Strip can be alternative to Paypal(actually, I don't know how you can put money to Paypal if you don't have credit card.)

For people who ask for the easy way to buy Hentai book from japan, dmm.co.jp has sold Hentai e-book and the price is equal to paperback, though browser reader and desktop reader is really suck. I've buy some book of my favorite artist but I read it from scanlation anyway. it can't be compared to Fakku but if you want to support your favorite artist, now you can :)

I don't use everything legal, I still download scanlation book, all of anime but I always support them as much as I can. Remember the favorite counting and your thanks to their work can't be used to buy anything.

sorry for my english.

Or just go on amazon and search for the title and buy the book from japan/usa. Or even buy it off mandrake or amazon.jp with a proxy service for 400 yen plus shipping.

Peshies wrote...
Hello Jacob!

I have a question about the subscription pricing payment currency (I guess you would call it?)
Although I am posting this from Japan (using VPN), I live in Australia and was wondering if it would be possible to introduce an Australian (or not even Australian but a multitude of currencies) currency payment. The reason I was wondering IF this was possible is because currently I'm paying more than what the actual subscription costs. By that, some Australian banks have surcharges added onto them when paying in a different currency, paying in USD.

I just felt this is relevant as subscribing is what a large amount of people would have to do to be able to access the products that FAKKU! offer now due to legality issues etc... and it may potentially benefit more than just a few people. Again, I don't know how it works, just trying to suggest something that may be a benefit!

Happy New Year/Happy Holidays from Sydney Australia,
Matt!


Soooooooooooooo you want to pay less because the Aussie dollar is weaker then the us dollar? Even though your still paying what the conversion of what it really is? Bank fees aside you can't really think you can just pay 12.95 in Australia dollars if it worth less in America just like canadains/euro/yens/quids. It's not like a Mexican can send in 13 pesos and think they got 13 dollars.
2
Limerence wrote...
I support your decision... But I can't afford any of this yet and I'm not so sure if I would make a transaction if I do have the money because I don't know if I'll like the plot.

I wish you could give us like short mangas that are free (with the authors' permission) so we get to see their works... It would promote or advertise them making more people buy and appreciate their works...

It would be like a peek or the prologue of the manga...


I agree with this, something like a 3 to 5 page sample of whats in a chapter/book would certainly make it easier to slap some cash on it.
3
As long as that Loli tag is there, I will be a sub.
4
sadmir Moe Connoisseur
I appreciate the change and had been waiting for it for a long time. Thank you for keeping your promise Jacob. This likely wasn't an easy decision considering the loss in traffic and ad money but in my opinion it was a necessary one.
You can't go half way legit while keeping some gray area material(doujinshi), it really has to be full legit. I currently don't have a subscription but I plan on getting one later this year.

I would also like to ask other members who have chosen to support Fakku either by subscription or buying books to be more polite to those who are somehow taken by surprise by this news despite the announcements, I've seen a few members harassing people on the forums, in some cases both parties are being dicks to one another but there are also some unilateral harassment to members making suggestions.
This kind of behavior really doesn't make the site or the content any more appealing it makes it less so if you truly love Fakku and what they've been doing engaging people in that way can only possibly hurt Fakku.
Even when people are being completely obnoxious there is no reason to stoop down to their level.

Thank you Jacob and the whole Fakku team for providing great content for us and a way to support and encourage the artists. I hope Fakku keeps growing bigger and better. Not only you have made something that seemed impossible possible with the subscription but you have also set new standards for ALL the other localization companies.
Thank you.
2
OtakuSenpai The Overseer
I've been on the net a long time. I used to watch fansubbed anime, too,(and actually participated in such things) but then I started paying for it. Crunchyroll being one of the first subscription sites also moved away from piracy. When they censored an anime, they lost my subscription. If you don't alter my content, you'll get my money. I also subscribe to Funimation, Netflix, and have paid membership on sites like danbooru. Paying money to support content, whether it be to servers or actually licensing content so the authors can eat isn't something that's new to the internet. Only really old anime that is hard to find do I ever stream these days. I'm not upset, nor am I surprised by your decision. I wish you had more hentai merchandise, though. I suppose there is always j-list if I really want that kind of stuff.
2
ndyadgbc wrote...
R.I.P fakku , sir that was the worst decision :( now youve lost a lot of ppl coming in this site


People who just come, use bandwidth, fap and leave without actually contributing?


You really think thats a loss? Losing excessive baggage?
1
Jacob wrote...
Yesterday we removed all scanlations from FAKKU. This is something we announced over six months ago, but obviously it still came as a surprise to a lot of our users. Once we removed all unlicensed content the only material remaining was that which had been officially licensed, an overwhelming amount of which is for subscribers. The response has been divisive, with people coming out in support and people fueled with hatred of the decision.

As the person who created FAKKU nearly 10 years ago, I am here now to answer your questions and explain why I think this is the right thing to do.

[size=18]Why did you remove scanlations and unlicensed content?[/size]

A lot of people think hentai is free just because it's always been free. Given our history at FAKKU we've contributed to that misconception, and now it's time to fix it. Everything you've been reading on the Internet has been a scan of an actual book from Japan, something Japanese authorities are increasingly clamping down on. Piracy is not a sustainable business model, but more importantly, piracy has never been my goal with FAKKU.

Over the past year we have officially published over 200 individual artists. After going to Japan and meeting with artists whom we've published and have had their scanlations appear on FAKKU, I have made the decision to support them as much as I possibly can. It's heartbreaking to talk with an artist and have them explain that when they Google their name they don't see their website, or their Twitter, or any way to actually support them. All they see are pirated scans of their work that were uploaded somewhere without their permission.

This isn't a problem unique to hentai, it's an issue with the anime and manga industry at large and the reason why so many Japanese companies, publishers, and artists, blindly turn their back on their overseas fans thinking we're all pirates. Because for so many years that's all we've been to them, pirates. My goal with FAKKU is to change their perception of us and removing scanlations (and giving our users a way to support their favorite artists) is the next step.

As a result of this change you'll see more content coming to FAKKU from new artists and new publishers. We will be publishing all different kinds of genres, including things you don't normally see on FAKKU. I want to bring back all of the content that has been removed, but now legally and in collaboration with the artists that created it instead of via pirated scans. Right now we simulpublish two of the largest hentai magazines in Japan, Comic Kairakuten and Comic X-Eros, which together account for almost 1,000 pages of new content each month. The fact that we have been successfully doing this for six months is incredible, it's the equivalent of publishing two entire issues of Shonen Jump every single month.

We plan to add free content for users that cannot afford a subscription, but it's going to take some time. We are still legally figuring out how exactly to do this and how to do it in a way that's smart alongside our subscriptions. If you have ideas post them in this thread, I'll be reading every single reply.

[size=18]Final Thoughts[/size]

At this point whether we succeed or fail is entirely up to you, and we need your support now more than ever. If you can't afford a subscription, help spread our message and explain to people why we made this decision and why the artists deserve support. Get out there and tell people. Think of all the faps these artists have given us over the years, now we finally have the opportunity to give back to them in a meaningful way.

I hope you choose to stick around with FAKKU. If not, it's been an incredible 10 years and I want to thank all of you for being a part of it.


Hey Jacob, regarding legal hentai, i have an idea where you can support artists with their work and also share their work freely. I've been planning this idea for a while but it needs collaboration. Pm me or you know my email, email me.

It hasn't been implemented yet but may be we can both work on it together with Danny Choo . This is just a test version.
4
So in order words:

Forum Image: http://lastwritesdmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/th.jpg

Let's just take a chill pill, and bide our time till the Fakku library is rebuilt :D
-5
basically "fuck you users, fuck your favourites and more, xoxo bitches?" I'm out of this site, even with a subscription this was a fucking stupid move and you didn't even protect simple info as favourites. ばかですね。
1
Well, that was a poor decision overall. You could probably support the hybrid model with adds, but you just removed 90% of your library and then you ask for money?

You're basically asking people to pay to get less... doesn't make much sense. The worst part of it all is that your entire library will be ripped and reposted anyways!

Your reasoning is also blatantly wrong. I am not sure exactly how old you are, but I've had to deal with the Japanese industry in general, and the whole "The West are all pirates oh noes~" really doesn't hold water. The manga industry worked for a long time and still does, the problem is the availability is nigh impossible, and it comes into multi-tiered issues. First of all, no store wants to old dirty mangas. Second of all, the few that would and do, mostly sex shops, do not attract the customer that would purchase such books. This isn't just an issue with porn mangas, but with all porn magazines overall. Playboy had to redo their entire business model a few years back or fear going bankrupt. Ironically, Playboy currently has some of the best writers/actual journalists working for them!. Many other porn mags had to shut down or turn to the internet.

So you have an overall very toxic market, that is extremely unlikely to work, with a high cost of production for a small profit margin, OF COURSE THEY WOULD NEVER TAKE THAT CHANCE. Mangas are in the same boat as books, book stores are closing everywhere because of e-books and the ability to order your books online. Except availability only is hard to come by for mangas, especially older ones (DBZ full collections are going for 600$+), so people turned to the internet. Humans do as humans do, we created an entire community of people wanting the latest manga. You also have the issue of people not willing to wait a year to get the official translation, so they'll just get scanlated.

Movies are in the same boat, theater releases still worked, but renting movies was being more and more of a hassle, availability online became greater and the ease of access made sales of movies plummet. Blockbusters and what not all failed. What kind of saved the movie-release industry? Netflix/Hulu and the like. What saved(and revitalized) the PC gaming market? Steam. Did it all happen at once? No. Netflix was originally stupidly cheap, 9.99$ per year. Steam has ridiculous sales to offer product and it tooks years before Steam put a serious dent in the piracy numbers. Before Netflix there were tons of alternate TV networks for free. It always comes down to ease of use, we're a lazy creature.

So how to turn the entire hentai manga industry into a profitable business in the west? You don't start by cutting your entire library, asking for huge payments (12.95$/month? You're asking for more than Netflix VIP!).

You're basically doing everything wrong, the exact opposite of what would drive people to you. What made Steam/Spotify/Netflix/Kindle work was in order of importance:

1. Ease of access
2. Cheap prices
3. Actual content (accessing a large library)

#1 will drive people away from piracy, if its easier to use your website than to pirate, people will flock to your service. That's why Steam/Spotify/Netflix worked. But that only works if the prices are cheap! People will want an easier time accessing their content, but they won't pay a large sum for it! #3 is you pay for actual content. If netflix had like 12 movies and 20 Tv shows, nobody would sub to that.

You did the exact opposite, your website is as easy to navigate as a pirated website, you ask for ridiculous prices (12.95$, holy shit, I have to mention it again), and you just culled 90% of your library!

So how can you make a proper business model? First, you'd have to make your website an even easier experience than others. You already got some of that, there is a reason Fakku got so big. #2 needs to go down to like 2.99$/month or something of the like. At your current price point, you won't live to see the end of the year. Your ads views will plummet (I am assuming subscribers don't get ads), your number of subs will maybe stick in the 100, if that, and you won't be able to license anything.