The International MAL Organization

Hello everyone and welcome to The International MAL Organization. Please remember to read all of the main page before voting or posting comments. This will decrease confusion and mislead ideas. The IMALO: Principle Idea: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> Would you be interested in MAL having multiple languages? Like Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, German, French, Italian, Czech, Russian, tagalong, Japanese, Chinese, Korean... Think about how popular Urusei Yatsura was in the 80's in Japan.... That is a huge number of older and younger Urusei Yatsura fans, who aren't using MAL. Has it crossed your mind that if 98% of all Anime is made in Japan then there must be millions of people in Japan who love anime, who watch anime more than the rest of the people in the world, but how few Japanese are on MAL? There is a whole and huge population of people in Japan who love to watch anime but aren't on MAL. Let's consider the facts. Where is 95% of am anime and manga produced? Japan. Considering that anime and manga is a stable diet in japan for people of all ages, how many people in Japan do you supoose watch anime and read daly, weekly, monthly, yearly??? 100,000? 1,000,000? 10,000,000? Now consider how many japanese people are on MAL? How many have you seen? I have notied that less than 10%, maybe even less than 5% of MALs poulation are people currently living in Japan. Now, if just half of these people joined MAL what would happen to our users base and the amount of money coming in from advertising....well you do the math. Could you image how the polls would change if even half of the anime viewers in Japan suddenly logged onto MAL and started using it regularly? This lack of Japanese people on MAL doesn't just affect the ranking of Urusei Yatsura but other series' as well. The major problem is that MAL in only in English. It isn't that people in Japan don't know English, they do, it’s simply that MAL isn't in their language and it isn't advertised on their networks. Likely most anime viewers in Japan don't even know about MAL. I'd be willing to bet there would be a lot more people from Japan on MAL if they did. <!--spoiler--></span></div> Premise: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> #1 Anyone who has on anime sites outside of their own country and language barrier knows that anime is not just something enjoyed by English speaking people. Anime is also very big in South America, Europe, North Asia, Middle Asia, and other places where MAL isn't available in those languages. Right here in MAL, there are several different clubs that feature a place for MAL members who don't have English as a first language. #2 In today's economy the company that the MAL's creator sold MAL to would probably love to see the site triple or quadruple in user count and so would the advertisers who use this site to make sales. Ads for sales equal =$$$. #3 There would be a lot more people willing to help out after the fact, because now there is a whole new populace of people who are able to use the site. Also if there wasn't enough additional new help, the sites owners and creator could hire help with the new revenue the ads would bring in. <!--spoiler--></span></div> Philosophy: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> We are all human. WE all put our own intentions first...so therefore we all are egocentric. But I ask of all of us to let go of our egocentrisms and not let it predetermine our decisions. Let us all share more of MAL with others who don't speak English. <!--spoiler--></span></div> Mission Statement: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> To help uplift MAL in a direction that is more international, as Anime and Manga are international pastimes. <!--spoiler--></span></div> Objectives: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> This is why I created this club and began polling the idea: To raises awareness of the idea therefore raising the level of demand for the idea. To get a consensus of the users on MAL and see if enough international people would be interested in the idea so that the owners and creator of MAL would feel justified in making this change. <!--spoiler--></span></div> General Misconceptions: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> This section covers the misconceptions about the idea of MAL being in multiple languages, how it would affect the users, what the owner & creator would have to do in order to achieve this change, and what would have to happen for the owner & creator to make this change. A: Fallacy: Multiple languages will put MAL servers under huge stress, having to choose the content to load from a few databases Knowledge: Wikipedia is a perfect example of a free site upgraded its servers. They overcame their server problems. Server problems aren't a universal blockade to web business, if they were there would be no large web companies because they all start out small. More servers would be obtained and setup...funds will come from advertisers if more users join. This is how all web companies grow...they obtain more users, they obtain more funding from advertisers and then they get more servers and then they get more users...and on and on. The usual Users-funding-server Growth Cycle is how all Internet companies become large. That is how MSN, Yahoo, Google and al other grew. In fact Google started out in a rented garage with two used PCs...So if two college kids can make it happen...MAL can too. B: Fallacy: How do you even imagine translating all the info form MAL into a few languages? That's just impossible - it would take years. Not to mention, that someone would have to supervise it, which meant that the administration would have to grow Knowledge: Have you ever wondered how sites like Google, Yahoo, and Wikipedia (with its huge database) got translated into multiple languages??? There is this thing called Translation Software that Internet companies purchase to translate the entire sites into other languages. The databases on such sites like Google, Yahoo, and Wikipedia don't get translated by large rooms full of people but rather a small room with two or three servers constantly updating the site. Now I am not stating that Google, Yahoo, and Wikipedia used translation software (because I wasn't there) but I certainly can't imagine them have a large room of laborers doing it, the cost would simply outweigh the benefits, after all that is why Translation Software was invented. Cost. C: Fallacy: It takes lots of money to buy translation software! Knowledge: Most translation software packages are not so expensive that small web businesses such as MAL can't afford them. Wikipedia is a perfect example of a free site that has no advertising or other external income that has had multiple languages, even back when it was a small hardly notice site. They overcame their translation problems without large amounts of money. "Web companies don't become successful by having resources to start with, they become successful by being resourceful. It's a difference in attitude and mentality. Most web companies are "startup companies" that 'start out' without any major sources of funding or loans because they don't have millions of dollars like MSN did." D: Fallacy: If this idea was denied before(which I cannot confirm if it was); it wasn't for the above reasons I just covered. Knowledge: The reason they might have denied the idea is simple economics. This is ultimately the only reason any Web-company denies any change: Supply and demand. (Because everything else that needs to happen can be bought and paid for with advertising.) Supply and demand: When demand rises, supply rises. When demand falls, supply falls. There hasn't been enough demand for the Creator and Crave Media(the owner) to feel justified in making this change. We the users on this site have to raise the demand for the change before it will happen. Again, this is why I created this club and began polling the idea: To raises awareness of the idea therefore raising the level of demand for the idea. To get a consensus of the users on MAL. E: Fallacy: IF MAL did become Multilanguage it would affect a lot of the current users in a negative manner. Knowledge: If you have ever been on a site that is in multiple languages like Google or Yahoo the first time you log a few things come into play. Two of them are things called IP and DNS which work together to figure out where you are connecting from and then provide you with the matching language of your established national boarders. At that point if you wish to see the site in other languages, you go to where that option is available and make the changes. On Wikipedia (with its huge database) the HTML code that runs the site asks its users from the start what language they use and language has its own index page to provide users with start page that is customized for each language. F: Fallacy: It defeats the purpose of this website of gathering the masses and anime and put them together Knowledge: How would increasing the number of potential users defeat the purpose of gathering the masses? By doing this wouldn't you gain more of the masses? <!--spoiler--></span></div> Petition: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> I have done some preliminary poll-research in two different forums (MAL's main suggestions forum and the Brazil Club's forum) to see if there is any real interest in the idea and there is. Now I will be conducting a voting booth in the IMALO Club Forum. <!--spoiler--></span></div> Whether you are for or against the idea; Vote and give us your answer. Here is a website that discusses the "Internationalization" of the entire WWW: <a href="http://24ways.org/2005/putting-the-world-into-world-wide-web" target="_blank">http://24ways.org/2005/putting-the-world-into-world-wide-web</a> Here are several web-sources with people from other companies discussing their own victories over the scary translation boundary: <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> <a href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/8205.htm" target="_blank">http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/8205.htm</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters/thread?tid=636788d78f15f329&hl=en" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters/thread?tid=636788d78f15f329&hl=en</a> <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/954160/php-how-to-interprete-a-website-into-multiple-languages" target="_blank">http://stackoverflow.com/questions/954160/php-how-to-interprete-a-website-into-multiple-languages</a> <a href="http://www.bigresource.com/ASP-ASP-Unicode-and-multiple-language-support-WGjb6K0C.html" target="_blank">http://www.bigresource.com/ASP-ASP-Unicode-and-multiple-language-support-WGjb6K0C.html</a> <a href="http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/sdl-tridion-integrates-natural-language-search-engine-into-web-cms-004843.php" target="_blank">http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/sdl-tridion-integrates-natural-language-search-engine-into-web-cms-004843.php</a> <a href="http://www.devshed.com/c/a/PHP/Generating-Web-Pages-in-Multiple-Languages-with-a-PHP-IPtoCountry-Mapping-Application/" target="_blank">http://www.devshed.com/c/a/PHP/Generating-Web-Pages-in-Multiple-Languages-with-a-PHP-IPtoCountry-Mapping-Application/</a> <!--spoiler--></span></div> "Web companies don't become successful by having resources to start with, they become successful by being resourceful. It's a difference in attitude and mentality. Most web companies are "startup companies" that 'start out' without any major sources of funding or loans because they don't have millions of dollars like MSN did." Website translation??? That's a piece of cake in today’s world.