Website to Die Soon
I recently got a nice email from my hosting company which informed me that I would be billed ~250USD for the next three years of hosting. No one probably reads my personal blog, but I've been fighting against my personal debt for the better part of four years now and am very close to succeeding in being out of credit card debt. I don't really see the point in keeping the website around at such a cost considering the group will be well and truly dead after Symphonia is done.
If you still want to talk to us, hop on the Rizon IRC network and join #formulasub. If not, just watch Tokyotosho and search for Formula. Thanks for your support all these years.
Why Fansubbing Became Un-fun (yet we still do it)
I was reading something somewhere on the internet about happiness when it hit me.
The point that did it make was this: having purpose brings happiness.
This is why a lot of fansubbers are younger folks, and why many are nerds/otaku/probably don't feel accepted at school. It's a time in life when you're not in control of a whole lot. School is planned out and scheduled for you. You get told how much you're supposed to be studying. You probably have to work a shitty part-time job where someone tells you what to do and how to act at all times. Some people exercise, some people overeat, some people drink, and some people fansub.
Fansubbing not only lets you get that sense of control, in the sense that lots of groups don't have backups these days in addition to the whole "I'm the provider" sensation, but you also feel like you have purpose. You do your part so your fellows can do theirs, and you all sub to produce a product for consumption by the downloader. Plus it's not particularly difficult to pick up (excepting translation).
Suddenly you feel elevated above the downloader. If you deny your purpose and don't sub, your group and the downloader suffers. That's the sense of control that those of us with a low sense of self-esteem enjoy. You also feel good when you do sub because you get thanked by strangers--there's that feeling that you had a part in the creation of something of worth.
Naturally, as we grow older, we find other things to fill the void of purpose. Usually this is a job, but there's also significant others and family. Growing up also rids the loss of control, in that we move out on our own and have to control our whole lives.
Not saying that there aren't older subbers--I'm 27. Yes, I feel old in this game. Like anything that induces a feelgood sensation, it dulls after a while. That's why we're slow. There's no reason to sub besides completing Tales. We derive little enjoyment from the process or the results. But we're going to finish because of the time we've invested into a show that would've been ignored otherwise.
Random Post
I almost put random update, but there's nothing new going on...
Still waiting on translations for the bonus and soundtrack listing. xlr8 swears he'll have tons of free time in May. I will hunt him down if June comes and he's not done~
United World 2 is finally up for pre-order, BUT I'm not going to pre-order it this time, and I'll tell you (hwhat) why. Without shipping, it's 102USD. The exchange rate is awful. I remember getting the first ones at under 70 bucks. Plus last time, both the episode itself and the bonus DVDISOs shows up on Perfect Dark before I even had the physical discs. So, unless weeks go by without the next episode(s) showing up there, I'm going to save my money. Don't worry about the collector's edition not being available because there's still plenty of CE's from UW1 still available even now.
herp de derp
If anyone is interested in purchasing the Tales of Symphonia United World episode 1 limited edition from me, please leave a comment with your email. Amurikkans only, please, I can't be assed to go to the post office and figure out how to ship stuff international.
I generally ask for around half of what it is new, so ~$50.
United World Episode 3 Green-lit
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-02-27/tales-of-symphonia/united-world-anime-gets-new-volume
As reported by cybeast777 and confirmed by ANN, the United World arc has been extended from two to three episodes. This is good because the ending won't be totally compressed but bad because it will take even longer to be completed!
There is still no release date available for UW Episode 2. This leads me to believe it will be late summer or possibly even into fall. This, then, means that UW3 will come out probably spring of 2013, bringing our time on this project to almost six years...
We are still working on the bonus episode from UW1. xlr8 has said he is working on it in his spare time, but that's all I've heard. We'll also have the OST from UW1 out whenever he gets around to translating the track titles...
SOPA/PIPA
While what we as fansubbers do is illegal, as is downloading fansubs (in the U.S.A., anyway), internet access is a human right. I don't know how to "black out" the website, but if you're from the U.S., please look into contacting your local congressperson and state senators. Or at least learn about these proposals and teach others about their insanity in hopes that they might do the same.
SOPA's/PIPA's insanity, not others'. Although they are more than likely crazy as well. But how crazy would they be if there was no interwebs?