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Interview: Razmig Hovaghimian, Co-founder and CEO of Viki.com

Chagen46 wrote:

As interesting and awesome this site sounds....fansubs are not reliable when it comes to quality at all. I have large amounts of skepticism for the overall quality of the subtitles for the shows.

The problem here is that everyone has their own way of defining what is 'quality'. Basic issues like spelling and grammar aside, the community has always been at odds regarding issues like Literal versus Liberal translations, accuracy, cultural flavor, language nuance, naturalness, honorifics, etc... Something that you might consider to be of 'good quality' might not be 'good' for others and vice versa.

There's another problem, too. How can we be sure that we'll get actual translations and not "gag subs"? What's to stop fansubbing groups from constantly submitting subtitles that don't actually translate the show at all? I want to watch subtitles that actually translate the show and not simply be a parody and/or commentary of either the series, anime in general, or other off-topic subjects, also, what's to stop fansubbing groups from constantly submitting translations that (actual translations or not) are riddled with swearing throughout (e.g., f-bombs every other word/sentence), especially on shows that are meant to be family-friendly? Not everybody wants to see stuff like that (I know I don't; just saying), and don't get me started on translations that inconstantly switch between one or more translation "styles".

There's another problem, too. How can we be sure that we'll get actual translations and not "gag subs"? What's to stop fansubbing groups from constantly submitting subtitles that don't actually translate the show at all? I want to watch subtitles that actually translate the show and not simply be a parody and/or commentary of either the series, anime in general, or other off-topic subjects, also, what's to stop fansubbing groups from constantly submitting translations that (actual translations or not) are riddled with swearing throughout (e.g., f-bombs every other word/sentence), especially on shows that are meant to be family-friendly? Not everybody wants to see stuff like that (I know I don't; just saying), and don't get me started on translations that inconstantly switch between one or more translation "styles".

There has to be some way that both the site and the community (meaning us) can keep out most if not all of the translations that are annoying, and/or otherwise inappropriate, as well as those that don't actually translate the show at all. Having said all this, I still plan to support the site, especially if it's actually possible to have "legal fansubs" (by which I mean, legal to publicly distribute; fansubs themselves aren't illegal). (sigh) I just wish I was more proficient as Japanese (I'm fairly good at understanding some of it without a translation, but not good enough to actually translate an entire show).

(sigh) I just wish I was more proficient as Japanese (I'm fairly good at understanding some of it without a translation, but not good enough to actually translate an entire show).

TheHTRO wrote:

There's another problem, too. How can we be sure that we'll get actual translations and not "gag subs"? What's to stop fansubbing groups from constantly submitting subtitles that don't actually translate the show at all? I want to watch subtitles that actually translate the show and not simply be a parody and/or commentary of either the series, anime in general, or other off-topic subjects, also, what's to stop fansubbing groups from constantly submitting translations that (actual translations or not) are riddled with swearing throughout (e.g., f-bombs every other word/sentence), especially on shows that are meant to be family-friendly? Not everybody wants to see stuff like that (I know I don't; just saying), and don't get me started on translations that inconstantly switch between one or more translation "styles". There has to be some way that both the site and the community (meaning us) can keep out most if not all of the translations that are annoying, and/or otherwise inappropriate, as well as those that don't actually translate the show at all. Having said all this, I still plan to support the site, especially if it's actually possible to have "legal fansubs" (by which I mean, legal to publicly distribute; fansubs themselves aren't illegal). (sigh) I just wish I was more proficient as Japanese (I'm fairly good at understanding some of it without a translation, but not good enough to actually translate an entire show).

Because unless the entire group on a show is in on the joke, that won't fly. And not everyone will.

this is like user-generated site and a video site then add subtitles together.
After seeing enough about DMCA, Chiller Effects, Copyright infringement, fair use and © "insert year" on every show, movie, site including freedom of speech, I wouldn't expect another cease & desist to third parties, monetary and non-profit site instead of viral sites until now

So what's stopping the site from simply ripping subs from other fansub groups and not crediting them? Wouldn't someone be able to simply provide fansubs verbatim and just see which lines get approved and modified and just label themselves as a different person/group and no one would be the wiser?

I understand that this is all a "for the community" and an effort to learn new languages and everything is supposed to be FUBU, but didn't crunchyroll have this issue? And as long as this is a for profit organization, won't this always be the issue that stands in regards to community based projects?


Also, how are issues in regard to a community split handled? To be more clear, certain shows have extreme peculiar and/or non-existent mannerisms. Shows like Ika Musume would be an example. There are those who would prefer puns and those who would like something else, and as far as I know, many translators (fansub or commercial) are also split in this way. How is a manager supposed to handle this sort of situation? A mix would generally be disastrous as the lack of consistency wouldn't help one "learn" a new language at all. I know for a fact certain historical korean dramas use a modified speech pattern that retains a bit of the way the language was spoken back then but with a slightly revised vocabulary to avoid words which were too archaic (think shakespeare but every so often replacing "wherefore" with "why").

Fansubs are obviously targeted to an audience that is already familiar with simple Japanese honorifics and grammatical structure. Professional subs are targeted towards a more normal English speaking audience.

This is why I cannot take fansubbers seriously. They've managed to delude themselves in a ridiculous pseudo-hipster way that their badly done translations are "better" than professional ones through this "purism" BS.