**Please help with my research on the fansubbing community!*

[uzumaki]

Hello fellow d-addicts! I am hoping that some of you might be so kind as to help me with a research paper I'm working on for a graduate course in mass comm. I'm a PhD student in Illinois, and I'm working on a paper about the fansubbing community here at d-addicts. There's currently very little academic research on fansubbing, with most of it related to Japanese animation and copyright issues. I'm more concerned with how members here interact with the dramas they download/watch and what they ultimately feel that they obtain from them. Entertainment? Cultural awareness? Identity formation? I can only speak for myself, and that doesn't make for a very interesting paper.

If anyone would be able to answer a few questions by PM, I would be extremely grateful! I can assure you will remain anonymous (i.e., I will not use your real D-Addicts username). The questions should take no more than 20 minutes to complete.

1. How long have you been a member?
2. How old are you, where are you from, and what is your native language?
3. Do you speak any other languages?
4. How did you first become interested in Asian dramas?
5. Have you ever been to any Asian countries?
6. What are your favorite dramas? (you can answer with specific titles, genres, or countries, such as "Japanese dramas")
7. How do you decide which dramas to download?
8. How many dramas do you typically download per month?
9. How often do you watch episodes of a particular drama? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
10. How do you watch dramas? On your computer? Do you burn them to DVD? Do you stream them on your TV using a video game console? Do you care about video and audio quality?
11. Do you prefer hard- or soft-subs?
12. Do you participate in timing, editing, or translating subs? Do you edit/correct subs for your own viewing experience?
13. How active are you in discussions?
14. Do you watch any other TV shows, like American sitcoms for example?
15. Lastly, in your own words, what do you get from D-Addicts? Why are you a member? Why do you take the time to download and watch dramas?

Again, thank you all for your time and consideration. Please take a few minutes to complete these questions and send me a PM, or you can also email me at uzumakiBR@hotmail.com.

Cheers!!

Uzumaki

[Keiko1981]

Can people who do not sub reply to or do you prefer only fansubbers? Looking at the topic I assume you mean the whole commmunity.

1. How long have you been a member?
Since 09 Apr 2006
2. How old are you, where are you from, and what is your native language?
I'm 29 years old, from Sweden and my native language is Swedish.
3. Do you speak any other languages?
Not speak in daily life, but I know English (part of the school education 12 years).
4. How did you first become interested in Asian dramas?
A online friend from Germany told me of Japanese dramas in the end of 2005, she suggested I'd watch the drama Summer Snow and since then the list of watched dramas has increased.
5. Have you ever been to any Asian countries?
No
6. What are your favorite dramas? (you can answer with specific titles, genres, or countries, such as "Japanese dramas")
Japanese drama: Human dramas/social issues/school dramas, dramas from 1990's, I also like taiga and jidaigeki dramas.
7. How do you decide which dramas to download?
By the plot of the drama, sometimes also by year, genre or actors/actress, but mostly by plot.
8. How many dramas do you typically download per month?
I would guess about 10. Maybe more, depends how much space I've got.
9. How often do you watch episodes of a particular drama? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
Almost every day.
10. How do you watch dramas? On your computer? Do you burn them to DVD? Do you stream them on your TV using a video game console? Do you care about video and audio quality?
The majority of the dramas do I watch on my computer. I save dramas on DVDs.
11. Do you prefer hard- or soft-subs?
I'd say softsubs, they are easier to increase to font size, subbers can correct mistakes after the subtitles have been released. But hardsubbed dramas are also nice.
12. Do you participate in timing, editing, or translating subs? Do you edit/correct subs for your own viewing experience?
No, none of it.
13. How active are you in discussions?
I post in discussion threads now and then.
14. Do you watch any other TV shows, like American sitcoms for example?
Now and then; Cold Case, House, NCIS; Special Victims Unit, Without a Trace, Dr. Phil and Swedish news.
15. Lastly, in your own words, what do you get from D-Addicts? Why are you a member? Why do you take the time to download and watch dramas?
At D-Addicts I find Asian dramas that doesn't seem to be brought in Western media that much. Here I find people with the same interest in Asian dramas and can discuss them.
The Japanese dramas since they are different compared to Western dramas. (you almost feel fed up with seeing the same crap; Top Model, Idol, Survival, Paradise Hotel etc - youths who only think of becoming famous)
I like watching the taiga dramas since I can learn some Japanese history from it, in my school much wasn't brought up about the Japanese history other than mentioning Pearl Harbor. However I'm aware of that dramas are partly fictional and are they are made for a Japanese audience in first hand. Adding the jidaigeki dramas it's nice to see how people lived back then and in general a way to learn more about Japanese language and customs.

[mikilove13]

1. How long have you been a member?
I signed up a while ago but I haven't been active until around October.
2. How old are you, where are you from, and what is your native language?
I'm 20, I'm from the US and my native language is English
3. Do you speak any other languages?
I'm learning French and I'm still learning Japanese
4. How did you first become interested in Asian dramas?
I had always been into anime and manga so when I say a drama version of "Hana Yori Dango" I decided to check it out. Since then, I've watched a lot.
5. Have you ever been to any Asian countries?
Not yet.
6. What are your favorite dramas? (you can answer with specific titles, genres, or countries, such as "Japanese dramas")
I like Hana Yori Dango, Hana Kimi, and a lot more Japanese and Korean dramas
7. How do you decide which dramas to download?
I decide by reading the synopsis. If it sounds interesting, I'll download it.
8. How many dramas do you typically download per month?
Depends on how interesting that seasons dramas are but typically more than 3.
9. How often do you watch episodes of a particular drama? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?
Weekly if it's a newer drama and daily if it's an older, completed drama.
10. How do you watch dramas? On your computer? Do you burn them to DVD? Do you stream them on your TV using a video game console? Do you care about video and audio quality?
I tend to watch my dramas on my computer. Yes, I do care about video and audio quality but as long as it's watchable it's fine. Bad quality may urk me, but I don't let it put me off something I really want to see.
11. Do you prefer hard- or soft-subs?
I prefer soft subs.
12. Do you participate in timing, editing, or translating subs? Do you edit/correct subs for your own viewing experience?
Yes, I'm currently translating and subbing dramas. And no, not unless it's really bad.
13. How active are you in discussions?
Not very active.
14. Do you watch any other TV shows, like American sitcoms for example?
Yes. I watch Criminal Minds, NCIS, Leverage, House, George Lopez, and Cold Case
15. Lastly, in your own words, what do you get from D-Addicts? Why are you a member? Why do you take the time to download and watch dramas?
I really like the community here. It's a lot of different people coming together to sub and talk about the things they like. To be honest, I take the time to download the dramas because I like them.

[uzumaki]

Wow, thank you both so much!! This is already a HUGE help! I look forward to more replies from others!

Can people who do not sub reply to or do you prefer only fansubbers? Looking at the topic I assume you mean the whole commmunity.

Absolutely! I apologize for not making that clear. By "fansubbing" community, I mean the whole range of individuals who do the work and those that participate in downloading/seeding.

[ap]

if you want to know about the fansubbing community, i think you need to redo your questions. only one question relates to fansubbers. looks like you want to know more about the general drama community.

ap

[uzumaki]

if you want to know about the fansubbing community, i think you need to redo your questions. only one question relates to fansubbers. looks like you want to know more about the general drama community.

ap

Thanks for your comments! No disrespect, but I think you're taking one half of "fansubbing community" perhaps a little too literally. As I said in the post above, and as Keiko1981 inferred, my research relates both to those that do the work (whether it's for distribution or corrections for personal use) and those that benefit from it. If I'm overgeneralizing a little, so be it, but a "fansubbing community" implies just that - a community. It is not a one-way process. It involves production, dissemination, and reception. As I also stated, within this community, I'm interested in users' interactions with this forum and these media texts first and foremost. If I was more interested in the general drama community, I would look elsewhere for information, such as asking the average person on the street. I would also ask questions that relate to television viewing habits as opposed to downloading. This type of community, however, is unique to the Internet. And so far, the 3 responses I've received (2 here, 1 via pm) have been tremendously helpful!

I hope this addresses your concerns.

Cheers!

[devils2l]

Good luck in your search for info. I was looking at the History of anime fansubbing and the info online is scarce. With the problems with copyright holders many of the old time subbers won't come forward to talk about things even in a general way. So now with even more threat of legal problems, the newer subbers will probably want to remain anonymous. As for the old subbers, you would have had to be there and a part of that community to really get any info. Sadly, that info is the most lacking online (some of it is just plain wrong).