Baka-Television

[Darklor]

You assume Baka would be a for-profit company.

Has nothing to do with that, there a methods to let one pay for publishing not licensed work...

[Beware the talking cat]

It wouldn't bother me. Who is going to send a C&D that hasn't already--pretty much everyone has given up licensing light novels because there isn't enough of a market.

As for legal action, even less likely. Too much negative publicity. If they haven't done it with fansubbers, they aren't going to do it with us.

So I don't think there would be any problem.

[b0mb3r]

It wouldn't bother me. Who is going to send a C&D that hasn't already--pretty much everyone has given up licensing light novels because there isn't enough of a market.

As for legal action, even less likely. Too much negative publicity. If they haven't done it with fansubbers, they aren't going to do it with us.

So I don't think there would be any problem.

beware what this cat talk of.

[Fushichou]

Well, FYI, big boss hasn't shown up since like the middle of May...

[blewin]

um.... I don't think it'd be that big of a loss if BT didn't take part in the interview. What I'm trying to say is, I doubt one program on air would attract heaps of people to click on the BT website and read light novels - not to mention sticking with reading all the volumes and waiting for untranslated chapters to come out. How many people here are pure light novel fans who don't watch anime and read manga?? Besides, BT is quite well-known in the anime fandom.

but talking about the slimmest chance of bringing light novel genre to the public and getting them interested... well, that's a very slim chance. Thing is, is it really possible to get people to read light novels without anime/manga attached? They kind of come in a package. Weighing all these options up against the illegal issue, I'd say it's a pretty big risk.

[eirini_kl]

I'm not too sure about this either...Publicity is a good thing, but this might not be a good time to draw attention to ourselves. There is this 'coalition' that Japanese and American manga editors are forming in order to take legal action against scanlation groups because they supposedly lose profits because of them. Personally I don't think it will do them any good, I mean the music industry which is a lot bigger tried to do the same with music on the Internet and failed miserably...Still, what we're doing here is pretty much the same as scanlating, and if we draw attention to B-T at a time like this, we could easily become a convenient scapegoat, even though light novels aren't as popular as manga. My opinion is that we should keep a low profile for the time being.

[ShadowZeroHeart]

Sorry for the late reply, computer had some problems...

Problem, if you are interested:

Spoiler! :

Father tried to test a friend's RAM on my com, and he forced it in, only to our horror later on, that the RAMs are different from those my motherboard uses, and thus my com crashed, for some reason, the power went out.... Changed to another power, but after much testing, finally realised that the power was insufficient... After getting a new power, problem is finally solved...

Okay, my opinion, publicity might be a good idea, but as you guys mentioned, we dont want to get into legal difficulties because of this... But yes, it is a rare opportunity, and it might be worth taking, so basically, i would suggest asking for their opinion to begin with... As I believe they have more sources and knowledge compared to us. I mean, if we are legally liable for these... I mean, we have had enough debates but we could never find out whether the translations, when there are no companies are translating it into english, is illegal actually, which is why we are always on the brink of these issues... And if it is legally okay, then why not, this might be a good start.

But if it is going to put B-T into a risk because of this, I am quite against it, I like B-T the way it is now, but its up to big boss to decide.

[Krikit]

I just wanted to see TGM up on TV...doesn't matter if many people see it or not. Some will see it, and maybe think, 'hey cool' and tell their friends at school "I saw some guy on TV talking about books...it was like Opera, but the books were interesting!"

or something. Honestly, I don't see B-T getting shut down...but this is just my prediction, same as everyone has been doing. Predictions can come true, and came come to haunt you. It's not the predictions, but the reality that counts. And for me, the reality I see is TGM on TV, and me with that video, lol.

I'd like us to at least try it, but I don't want B-T to get sued...though I don't see that happening for a number of reasons: 1, B-T isn't a company, and as such, can't be sued directly. You would go to the head of the site. However, in this sort of wiki site where information is editable by anybody, and anybody can put stuff up, those companies are going to find it hard to figure out just who to sue for the infringing material. Because technically the Big Boss can't be held responsible for the content on the site, as it is not a direct result of his 'approval' etc, on which book gets translated. And not one person translates usually, many do. So, with a good lawyer, you could get off on the anonimity. On the down side, if there is no lawyer, or worse yet, a bad lawyer, then we're in trouble...

but I dont think a TV special will get that far...?

[Darklor]

It could get to the big boss, with the result that baka-tsuki has to go offline...

[elkin]

In the light of the whole publishers VS scanlators thing going on, I think lying low is still probably the safest choice. Also, strictly speaking, every one of us can be sued for copyright infringement.

My two pence.

[Clead]

Well, let's do this, just go for the risk.

It's not big, it's just a potential risk; but let's do this just FOR THE LULZ!!!

[Fushichou]

BT is pretty stagnant as it is for the past year. We may as well do something worth talking about.

[thelastguardian]

I am having a cold, so my mind is a bit fuzzy.

Unlike most of the opinions here, I am actual a bit curious at the proposal. While it has its risks, I don't think the additional amount of risk would be substantially greater than what B-T is already bearing. Of course, if one of you is going on to a TV show, you can not be presented as an official representative of B-T- That's legal suicide for you

In any case,
1. Yes, B-T can be sued. You can sue almost anything in North America, even if it doesn't have a name.
2. The manga crackdown has been tight these days. But so far the actions have been confined to Asia (a 14 year old Jap boy just got arrested for uploading One Piece manga to youtube the other day), but there is no telling that the mess won't spread out.
3. I don't show up if there is no reason for me to . I personally hate being micromanaged, so I avoid doing that to others.

Let me muse about this some more first...

PS. This reminds me of the time when I attended an anime con's visual novel seminar. The seminar was about the time line and general attributes of VNs. The info and points are a bit too elementary for my taste, but surprisingly there were a few serious 'scholars' asking legitimate questions. That made an impression on me.
Also it turned out that the presenters are members of various VN translation groups...I found out when I chatted with them afterward.

[ainsoph9]

Just for kicks, it would be interesting to see BT go professional and be the next big thing like crunchyroll was for anime. Then, I would not have to wait for the stupid legal translation to come out. That is, if it ever came out. I realize that would be a huge legal bird's nest, but it would grin a little.

[onizuka-gto]

How interesting! You know, i'll actually pay to see TGM on Tv!

Only to see a pixel-scrambled face with a little monkey logo on the side, talking with his voice moderated!

heh.

Personally, I doubt the TV show will give us anymore exposure then what we already have, we on the interweb, you can't go anymore public then that.

As long as the TV isn't for a major network, with a insanely popular host....on prime time!

Then i think it's fine, like some said, at worse we might get a few more looks, but there really isn't anything use they can do, well besides being sued. Might be a interesting follow up, but if the show isn't popular, fat chance.


But yes, in the end it's up to the Big Boss, because it's his head on the line.

:/


...and our souls!

*cling desperately to Baka-Tsuki*