FuwaHistory Series: Recounting the birth and tribulations of a Fuwa nation

[sanahtlig]

Episode 1:

An epic confrontation between the site's founder and some random n00b.  The birth of the anti-hero known as sanahtlig.  The prelude to the fall of the Empire of Aaeru.

 

Welcome to Episode 1 in FuwaHistory, where new user sanahtlig brazenly ventures into the Buccaneer's Den to recommend that Goddess Aaeru cease her fan translation of Da capo 3, culminating in a momentous clash over copyright and intellectual property.  Little did Aaeru know that a mere 1.5 months later sanahtlig's warnings would come to fruition and her project would be C&D'd, ending her ambitions and beginning a downward spiral that would eventually lead to the great calamity known as the Fuwapocalypse.

 

FuwaHistory Episode 1: The birth of sanahtlig

FuwaHistory Episode 2: Mangagamer Strikes Back (synopsis and context)

FuwaHistory Episode 3: The Blood War - A tale of the eternal struggle between Law and Chaos

FuwaHistory Episode 4: On the Shepherds that tend the Flock - A register of Fuwa Nobility

FuwaHistory Episode 5: FuwaCapsule - Musings of the Fuwan Proletariat

FuwaHistory Episode 6: The Fuwan Civil War - The Buccaneers' Last Stand at Grisaia

FuwaHistory Episode 7: The Fuwan Civil War - The Surrender of the Pirate Lord

FuwaHistory Episode 8: Lolitopia Lost

[Guest]

Ok

You should also retitle the thread "sanahtlig history ..." , it's misleading.

[nohman]

Aaeru's and his arguments are fuwahistory.

If you reminiscence about what "old" Fuwa was like, it's one of the things that comes to (my) mind.

[Eclipsed]

nohman's old.

~~

Hoh~ ty for this interesting piece of Fuwahistory sanah . 

[Nosebleed]

But it was all okay because we still had torr- oh wait

[sanahtlig]

Aaeru's Fuwanovel was intricately entwined with anti-copyright advocacy.  It shaped the site, its community, and how Fuwanovel was viewed by the visual novel community at large.  The linked thread was one of many skirmishes between Aaeru and her supporters against what they saw as external aggression--the demand for respect of intellectual property.  I think this thread was notable in that it's the first time (I'm aware of) that such arguments succeeded in achieving a level of respect and recognition within Aaeru's own community, or that a person publicly argued toe-to-toe with Aaeru on her own level without simply dismissing or demonizing her.  I noticed that Aaeru's stance against copyright subtly softened over the course of our arguments, showing that Aaeru wasn't as rigid and unthinking as many of her opponents made her out to be--it was just that no one bothered to actually challenge her views in an effective manner that she could relate to.

[hsmsful]

I didn't know such things existed. Read all of the old thread. I always wanted to know more of the history of fuwa before I joined. Keep up at it! (Y)

Hope to see more.

[Guest]

That sounds so pretentious.

I'm expecting a jump to july 2014 for the rest of fuwa's adventures.

[sanahtlig]

Episode 2 would be the discussion following the actual C&D.  Tay and Steve the loli-worshipper have leading roles in this one. 

FuwaHistory Episode 2: Mangagamer Strikes Back

(Actually it was Circus, but it sounds cooler framing Mangagamer as the villain.)

Web Archive mirror of Aaeru's response on Visual Novel Aer (note that incorrect images are displayed)

The links to the blog post in the forum thread are broken due to the crash that vaporized Visual Novel Aer (which later became Fuwazette).

[babiker]

[Zalor]

Did the conversation we have about the History of the western VN industry inspire this thread in anyway? Regardless, I'm glad you posted this because I feel it's important to show how far Fuwanovel has changed since the old days ('the old days' being when Aaeru reigned). 

 

Episode 2 would be the discussion following the actual C&D. 

 

/topic/887-mangagamer-cease-desist-da-capo-iii-fan-translation/">FuwaHistory Episode 2: Mangagamer Strikes Back

[sanahtlig]

Your PM planted the idea in my head of recollecting past history, and your recent Fuwa Emblem thread, along with newer users wondering about Fuwanovel's former history, caused the idea to resurface.  I'd previously thought the threads were gone, since they don't show up in my post history (my earliest posts display as being from 2014).

 

Well, the concept of this thread is hardly the grand idea you had in mind, I think.  It's just necro'ing a couple of threads for reminiscence sake.  Of course, others are welcome to add to it, but these two episodes will probably be my sole contribution.

 

Aaeru misunderstood the source of conflict, seeing as she was already pretty divorced from reality at that point, living in her own ideological bubble.  As I recall, Mangagamer simply communicated the C&D to her; the authority behind it came from Circus, and it was Circus's decision to serve it.

[Zalor]

What you said in the second thread you linked, this quote:

Aaeru is putting her ideals before the good of the community.

Is the key reason that I think Tay is much better as the leader of this community. I think I've said this before, but while Aaeru is one of the few people who could create a site like this, Tay is one of the few people who can actually run and lead it. Aaeru did a good job for creating this site which resulted in this community, but Aaeru's anti-copyright dogma was limiting how much this community could grow. Whereas Tay understands that the most important function of Fuwanovel is fostering and expanding the VN community, even if it meant getting rid of torrents.

 

Both Tay and Aaeru have my deepest respect, but for different reasons.

[sanahtlig]

Aaeru had two goals: making visual novels popular in the West and advocating against copyright.  She thought they were one and the same, but at one point she acknowledged that if she were forced to choose, fighting copyright was more important--even if doing so caused short-term harm to the visual novel fandom.  She reasoned that the visual novel business would adapt to the changing market (she was facilitating through copyright subversion), or it would shrivel up and die--just like all commercial enterprises that fail to meet the expectations of their customers.

[Guest]

@Zalor Maybe because she had other goals than creating a simple community ?

 

The objectives are just different, and one isn't better than the other.

 

How good do you do to your ideals if you don't even try to defend them and bend to what the community wants.

You are simply glad things turned out that way, but it certainly doesn't mean it's the best outcome.

 

And as far as I know, Tay doesn't lead the Visual Novel community, simply this website.

 

And why would she stop defending something she beleives ? Adapting to the masses is what a politician would do, and joining the masses is what a sheep does. Why would you adapt to something you are trying to change. That would be the stupidest thing ever.

[Nosebleed]

 Adapting to the masses is what a politician would do, and joining the masses is what a sheep does. 

So edgy.

 

I don't think at any point Aaeru bent to the community, and neither did Tay if you're aware of all the legal reasons behind the changes on Fuwanovel. Different directions were chosen, all of which have pros and cons, and this one was one we had to chose if we wanted to keep existing as is.

 

Fuwanovel didn't adapt to the community's will, Fuwanovel adapted to survive, because in the course we used to be at, we would likely run the site into the ground eventually.

 

And with that adaptation came a new direction we believe is the best to make do with what we have and expand. 

[Getsuya]

I used to be around (under a different name) back when this place was first getting started. I don't remember these parts of the history of the site, though, since I left pretty much instantly when Aaeru refused to take down the Umineko torrents. The guys who translated that series were great people and all they wanted was for R07 to get the proper payout he deserved for his work. Spitting in the faces of awesome people like them did not sit well with me at all. I basically only returned here recently because this site finally became more about VNs and less about soapboxing and pro-piracy retoric.

[Zalor]

@Zalor Maybe because she had other goals than creating a simple community ?

 

The objectives are just different, and one isn't better than the other.

 

How good do you do to your ideals if you don't even try to defend them and bend to what the community wants.

You are simply glad things turned out that way, but it certainly doesn't mean it's the best outcome.

 

And as far as I know, Tay doesn't lead the Visual Novel community, simply this website.

 

I didn't mean, nor did I say that Tay leads the entire Visual Novel community. Rather what I meant was that Fuwanovel (at least in my humble view) is one of the better VN communities out there, because it is quite active and friendly. Making it a great site to get more people into VNs. Fuwanovel is helping expand the entire VN community, but I am not saying that it is the entire VN community (I don't know how you came to the conclusion that I was saying that).

 

Also, I said that I respect both Aaeru and Tay for different reasons. I wasn't saying one was better than the other. Infact, I was saying that Fuwanovel couldn't have survived without either of them. Fuwanovel wouldn't have been here to begin with, without Aaeru. But it probably would have died without Tay. 

[Darklord Rooke]

Tay, Nay, a couple of others have definitely done their best to make sure Fuwa survived. But under Aaeru and then later under Steve, Fuwa was hopping from one calamity to the next, under Tay Fuwa's now stable and there's probably a 5 year (at least) plan being formed to drive Fuwa forward. The changes that have happened and the new site being constructed are only just the beginning.

 

... Maybe. Perhaps... depending on what the oracles and haruspices say of course. 

 

Exciting times, and Tay is definitely the best man for leading this community. 

[12kami]

Tay, Nay, a couple of others have definitely done their best to make sure Fuwa survived. But under Aaeru and then later under Steve, Fuwa was hopping from one calamity to the next, under Tay Fuwa's now stable and there's probably a 5 year (at least) plan being formed to drive Fuwa forward. The changes that have happened and the new site being constructed are only just the beginning.

what kind of calamity you guys had before ?

[Darklord Rooke]

what kind of calamity you guys had before ?

 

Site almost getting totalled a number of times, for various reasons.

[12kami]

Site almost getting totalled a number of times, for various reasons.

i really like to listen to the stories

[Eclipsed]

Exciting times, and Tay is definitely the best man for leading this community. 

Tay's overrated. I think someone like... Okami would be better suited

[Down]

 

But under Aaeru and then later under Steve, Fuwa was hopping from one calamity to the next,

[Darklord Rooke]

I don't recall any sort of fuwapocalypse when Steve was running the ship. You may have a poor opinion of him but if he was good at something, it was making sure things would stay as they were...