Random2

An active TL here, going under my own name to avoid any flack back to my group. The topic of Eustia is but the surface of a much larger issue. What we see here is an issue of the community. VN translations is a scattered, fragile, community; found at best in small, isolated pockets around the internet; plagued by inability, inaction, and inexperience. While diversity provides strength of insight, without a core commonality it quickly fades into miscommunication and clashing expectations. We find ourselves frustrated at the sheer inaccessibility of translations, the slow progress of such an enormous undertaking, and with dashed hopes as projects do not live up to the ivory towers we build them. But it does not have to be this way. Underlying all the posts in this thread is the desire for us to be better; that not only can we ensure a work is of good quality, but that we can ensure the people behind it are prepared and able. Fundamentally, this is about quality. We want it; from the translation, from the translator, and from ourselves, who support them. The question becomes, how can we encourage quality? What sorts of behaviors and practices can we follow in order to create such a community? Aaeru has taken the first step in creating fuwanovel, for a community exists only when it can cohere. A building does not stand without the foundation below it, and to build the largest buildings we need even larger foundations. To that end, we must seek to grow fuwa, to create a way for the community to come together and form a common culture. This has been the importance of VNTS for all these years, it has provided the small bed in which the fruits of VN translation can grow. But as many of you aware, that bed is a harsh one. It is rare to find praise for a single person, project, or idea there, let alone encouragement or help. While VNTS can serve as a great pruning factor, it needlessly alienates those who would otherwise be prolific contributors. So we must not be VNTS. But at the same time, we must not grow weeds in our flowerbed. To blindly encourage or support poor work only damages in the long run, much like abuse, extortion, and corruption only seek to undermine the societies they infect. So what we must do is seek to promote quality in a way that does not compromise interest from those without experience. Quality means more than criticism; it means support, growth, and betterment. Not only should we seek to help potential TLs recognize the gravity of the work before them, but we should help them improve themselves. We should recognize those who are skilled at what they do, and in doing so encourage them to continue their works. And for those who are not, we must endeavor to teach them, but kindly. The troll we must lambast (or ignore), but the fledgeling we should gracefully correct, the inexperienced we direct to learn form the experienced, and the leaders we promote. We implement policies and mannerisms that hold quality and education above all else, so that we may teach, grow, and produce works that we can be proud to put or names to. However, such a community will exist only if the majority of members ingrain it into their everyday actions. The culture of Japan does not come merely from literary works, it comes because the Japanese people live, breathe, and exemplify the culture we see. So upon aligning our ideals and expectations to produce quality, we must implement it. We must strive to bring those plans to fruition, and we must do the long, constant, and often thankless work to realize these ideals. Which brings us to the ultimate question: are we truly up to such a task? Can we, as individuals, align ourselves and create a community which produces quality? This problem is not an impossible one, consider the Open Source community. Despite thousands of individuals scattered across the world and with varying competency, they are able to centralize around a certain way, and highlight that which is good and works while diminishing that which is not. So I propose the challenge to you fuwa, to the readers of this post, and to all who make this site what it is: create a community of quality. Identify what you can do to evoke this ideal, and act upon it. In this way, we can solve the issues that plague us, like those discussed here.