[Locked] FAKKU State of the Union 2016

Jacob · 2016-01-03T07:26:30-01:00

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. Why did you remove scanlations and unlicensed content? 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. Final Thoughts 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.

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RsrX

7 years ago

YQII wrote...

That's the retail price for the

magazines without any shipping. If you pay considerably less, I doubt you're

buying these magazines. This month the subscription is $13 (or $10 if you took

advantage of the December discount) for $21 worth of content before any import fees or

localization. A one-month subscription to Brazzers is $30 from what I can tell, so I

don't really see your point. I also think the production of real life porn and hentai

publishing is far too different to make any worthwhile comparison.

Yes, I wasn't referring to that specific magazine, also thought you were talking about

a single issue, not a month, as that's only $10. I brought up Brazzers to make a point

of their tiered system. Yeah, if you that the WORST deal they have, you'd be paying

$30 a month, but if you take their best one, you will be paying $9.99, which is much

cheaper then Fakku. And yes, translation and the creation of real porn is vastly

different, the former being much less work. Why it would be more expensive and less

lenient, is what im trying to figure out.

We were a sponsor at Anime Expo 2016 along with companies such as Crunchyroll

and Square Enix, and we recently became a corporate member of the

CBLDF, so

pretending like Fakku is a small indie team is a bit silly...

While it is wonderful that Fakku is supporting the CBLDF, them being a corporate

member really doesn't say anything on a larger scale. You buy corporate membership,

they didn't give it to Fakku. Also, please stop ignoring chunks of what I say. When I

said "Not saying crowdfunding is the only method" and mentioned "Donations, premium

accounts, patreons, stores, etc." in my second post, does it look like im saying Fakku

should do exactly what Booru site does? Or does it look like im giving you the cue to

open your mind to alternatives. I don't understand why you want to think Fakku is

perfect.

That seems completely irrelevant to the topic at hand (us supporting content

creators), but very well. Yes, there are a lot of creators out there that aren't on

Fakku yet, and it's highly unlikely that one company can ever cover the localization

of the entire Japanese market. However, this is just the same flawed argument I've

seen countless times before: "I'm not interested in the content so the service is

bad." That simply means...

It's not? I thought Fakku was all about working with content creators to spread their

comics to the west, and make sure they get their fair share. But I guess not now?

Trying to simplify my argument as "I'm not interested in the content so the service is

bad." is a weak strawman, and you know it. You and others have said time and time

again, that Fakku is offering an official alternative to piracy. How? I am not telling

you to localize the entire Japanese hentai market. You'd need to be the size of DC to

do that. However, why I mentioned parody is because you do none of it, and it is by

far the largest form of h-comic. You cannot purport to be an "alternative to piracy"

when it is impossible to read anything by most artists unless you pirate it, or buy it

from Japan. Might as well call yourself "Wani: America" at this point, because what

you're doing now is false advertising.

Ps: I didn't read the rest of your post where you replied to other users.

Thanks, I don't feel like replying to the same thing multiple times.

ã‚¨ãƒã‚«ãƒ¯ wrote...

Given FAKKU's option to C&D or go legit, I see nothing wrong with them choosing a sub model. If they are to succeed with the Wani deal, they need a steady stream of revenue at the onset and the most reliable way to get that is subs. From what I can gather Jacob gave everyone a decent amount of time notice things were to change, but did not post a sticky to it on the main page or something. I can see how some may be upset over such a seemingly abrupt change, but then again, the site was not exactly all that legal to begin with, so it's kind of hard to feel any sympathy for people losing one of many pirate options out there.

I will try to make this as clear as possible to avoid having to restate myself over and over. A sub model is ok, however; overpricing it, giving you no differing sub options, making the entire site sub only (Reminder that Jacob has failed to change this for over a year: "We plan to add free content for users that cannot afford a subscription"), and ignoring all other methods of funding, really made this site a wreck. Going legal was good, the route they took was very bad.

As to it being excessive, I don't mind the current price point for what we get. I do wish Jacob will consider discounts for longer sub terms, like 5%, 10%, and 20% off for subbing 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months, respectively. As well as if he would consider a loyalty program for store discounts, with like fap points or something.

I very much agree with the latter. That's one of my main gripes. There is one sub method, with one payment method. No leniency, no flexibility, and no reward at all. And lol, "fap points". Sounds good enough to me.

I don't think FAKKU is saintly or righteous, far from it, but I do think it is our best bet to get a legal distribution channel open with content makers in Japan. This change is a first step in that direction, and there will always be growing pains with such a drastic change. One only need look at Crunchyroll to see how going from dark side to legit isn't easy but can work out well in the long run. CR is far from perfect, too, but it has amassed a steady increase in subscribers over the years, to the tune of 750,000 now as compared to only 250,000 just a few years ago. I think CR's success can be translated to FAKKU, just on a smaller scale because it is adult material and more niche than anime, which is already niche. The key with this model is showing their license partners in Japan it is a viable way of distributing their works. From what I can see thus far, FAKKU is having success in getting subs and selling books. Otherwise, they wouldn't continue to sign new artists month after month, as they would not want to do business with FAKKU if they were failing.

Thank you for bringing up Crunchyroll! They are a perfect example of exactly doing something right. They are exactly what I would have preferred Fakku to have done with a sub method. They offer a resonably priced subcription at $6.95/month, and a mixture of free and subscription content. Allowing you to upgrade all videos, free or not, to HD with a sub. Why Fakku does not follow their footsteps is beyond me.

HK isn't comparable with FAKKU for two reasons. 1. They don't legally pay a license fee from an actual license holder in Japan for content, they just fucking take it for free without consent. 2. FAKKU seems to actually be doing fine with the sub model based on a steady amount of partnerships with new artists.

I don't see any signs FAKKU is a sinking ship at this point, far from it.

This is getting off topic now, but I was under the impression the HK was a conglomeration of artists, such as Zone. Maybe Fakku isn't a sinking ship yet, but they sure aren't growing, and like I've said previously, they really aren't trying very hard to.

Again, it is meaningless whether FAKKU makes its own stuff or not. That $12.95 a month has to be split up between FAKKU (its employees, operating costs, licensing fees, overhead, etc...), the publishers they work with, and the content creators. If anything, FAKKU producing the content would save them money and lower costs, not raise them. Bear in mind, the audience for this type of content is limited due to its niche appeal. Unlike CR which has more mainstream stuff, i.e. not only adult content, FAKKU has to make up for that with a higher overall cost for subs per month, especially as it grows.

I'll agree to disagree. I would say unequivocally the opposite, but that is another debate in and of itself. As far as the pricing goes, I think you're looking at it from the wrong angle, as is Jacob, most likely. Fakku caters to a niche market, and they only started doing what they are doing, so you think that you'd have to jack prices up a bit to over costs, right? Wrong. Look back at the Alexa graph I first posted. Do you know why this is relevant? It shows how many people left, and exactly how many never returned. Now Fakku might have to keep their sub price at $12, but at the time of the change, when they were leagues larger? If they priced their sub at, lets say $5, how many more people do you think would have bought it and stayed? How many more people wandering into Fakku would have?

And yet, strangely enough, here you are...

Here because Fakku was once my favorite. I came here, because the last site I used decided to "revamp" itself, and completely screw up the entire website, rendering most of it broken, or very hard to use. Not too pleased that Fakku decided to nuke itself as well.

Posting the Alexa ranking and implying lower site traffic means anything in terms of FAKKU's strategy backfiring sure is a strange way to voice any valid concern, no?

If you just wanted to tell Jacob what he could do to improve things and get you to sign on board, then that was a pretty passive aggressive and poorly thought out way of conveying things. A constructive description of what FAKKU does wrong in your view followed by suggestions to improve would probably be a better way of going about it if your goal was to affect positive changes.

Oh, yes, I completely intended to come off as passive aggressive. :) I had to get his attention somehow right? Taking a jab at Fakku's crashing ratings was sure to rustle his jimmies. Now to see if he reads and replies to any of these suggestions!

You are comparing apples and oranges here. Porn sites with mainstream live actors and videos are quite the different animal than a niche thing like manga from Japan, and ero manga at that. The markets for each, while sharing some tiny overlap, are quite different. Porn sites like the ones you mention have much, much larger markets to draw subs from and can afford to charge less for subs, especially if they make their own content. You can maybe compare FAKKU with JAV HD, which licenses content from Japan, for a better analogy. Its prices are about the same, with the only difference really being discounts offered on the longer sub lengths, which is something I hope FAKKU can offer later, too. Again, though, that's live action porn and videos, so it is hard to even compare them from that standpoint.

No i'm not. That's why I put Filthy Figments at the end so I wouldn't have to deal with this argument. They are a site similar to Fakku, though they create OC, not translate. They host a slew of artists producing adult comics. They have a much smaller pool to draw from the Fakku, how would their cost explain this? Like i've already said, reasonability, leniency, and giving users a taste of what they will be getting are the ways to get people to use a site. Fakku would benefit from taking note of these traits.

Jacob

7 years ago

RsrX wrote...

snip

I have added a free 3 day subscription to your account. I believe, without a doubt, that it's worth $12 a month. With an active subscription you get over 1,500 pages of brand new content each month, which is less than a penny per page. That's brand new content that has never been translated into English before, it's all completely uncensored (which is something no one else in the world gets access to), and I think we do a pretty good consistent job with the translation and typesetting. Each month as we release more our library grows, and the value of having a subscription continues to get better and better.

I hope after trying it out first hand you'll see the value. If after browsing for a few days you don't think the FAKKU subscription is worth it, I'm sorry.

623 FAKKU QA

7 years ago

Jacob wrote...

RsrX wrote...

snip

That's a dangerous precedent you just set, Jacob. But kudos for trying.

RsrX

7 years ago

Jacob wrote...

I appreciate the gesture of good faith. However, I hope you do not misunderstand what I was criticizing. I am not demeaning your translation, typesetting, or any other aspect of the actual publication of the content that you do. I will agree, FAKKU does an excellent job with it. I have been only talking about the management of the site itself and the issues with the current subscription model. You added a 3 day sub to my account, this is a perfect step in the right direction. Trials are an excellent way to give people a taste of what the site is like. Why not add this as an option for new users? Many other sub sites do this, and it works greatly to their advantage. On the topic of sub options, ã‚¨ãƒã‚«ãƒ¯ brought up an extremely valid point. Tiers. You may believe the subscription to be worth $13 a month, I and many others do not, so why not add a solution to this? For example, 3 months could be $33, saving them $6. 6 months could be $64, saving them $14. A year could be $120, saving them $36. And so on. You would get the money far in advance, and users would feel like they got a deal. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. As a final note, what has become of the "plan to add free content for users that cannot afford a subscription"? This would also be a perfect alternative to, or a conjunction to, a trial system. Giving some reason for non-paying members to use the site is instrumental in ever getting them to pay for it, like I said. People are much less likely to pay for something if they are unfamiliar with it. I hope you take any of these suggestions into account, as would serve the site greatly.

P.S. To return the favor, I noticed some problems with the site:

The link at the bottom of the notifications page; "These notifications can be configured in your profile.", is a dead link leading to "Page not found".

The Mega Milk Shirt page has a typo and a dead link to the deleted manga.

The content reader, while excellent with all its options, has no back button, sans scrolling up. Unless im just missing something.

luinthoron High Priest of Loli

7 years ago

RsrX wrote...

The content reader, while excellent with all its options, has no back button, sans scrolling up. Unless im just missing something.

Back button meaning going to the previous page of the manga? In that case, you can also simply move between pages with the left and right keys on the keyboard.

RsrX

7 years ago

luinthoron wrote...

RsrX wrote...

The content reader, while excellent with all its options, has no back button, sans scrolling up. Unless im just missing something.

Back button meaning going to the previous page of the manga? In that case, you can also simply move between pages with the left and right keys on the keyboard.

Yeah, figured that out now after messing with the settings. Right clicking also moves back one page, so I guess there is really no need for a back arrow. This does not work on my laptop, however, so I don't know if it's a browser issue or something.

623 FAKKU QA

7 years ago

RsrX wrote...

You can also use w a s d keys.

Jacob

7 years ago

RsrX wrote...

Jacob wrote...

P.S. To return the favor, I noticed some problems with the site:

The link at the bottom of the notifications page; "These notifications can be configured in your profile.", is a dead link leading to "Page not found".

The Mega Milk Shirt page has a typo and a dead link to the deleted manga.

The content reader, while excellent with all its options, has no back button, sans scrolling up. Unless im just missing something.

Thanks! I'll get these fixed

-9

FriENDz4

7 years ago