I'd recently downloaded fansubbed episodes of a new anime series called 'Samurai 7', based on Akira Kurosawa's classic movie 'The Seven Samurai', and decided the other day to pay a visit to the fansubbers' website; it's at
http://www.lunaranime.org/ if anyone's interested. The first thing I see is a news post asking for text editors since they'd lost at least one of theirs in the recent past, so I figured, 'What the hell. I like the job they did with these eps, so why not offer?' They wanted interested applicants to visit a specific IRC channel, which struck me as odd, but I played along. I posted about my visit in that news post's comments section, reprinted below:
104. I saw LunarAnime's efforts on Samurai 7, and both liked what I saw and appreciated the group's work on it. I edit on a semi-formal basis for Crusade Fine Arts Ltd. and BloodFire Studios*, and when I saw the news post here asking for editors, I thought I'd offer to help. I went to the IRC channel specified and found a handful of people; when nobody said anything after five minutes, I emoted peering around and wondering who to talk to. Someone by the nick of "Meatbun-man" responded, saying they didn't know if Lunar was still looking for editors and I should have read the topic first. Not much more was said, but this person assumed that, because I didn't automatically check the channel's triggers, I must be new to IRC and therefore stupid. While I'm not "new" per se to IRC, I don't know everything about it and had never before been in a channel that used triggers. I did end up reading the group policies, but by that point I was so annoyed with Meatbun-man's response to me that I simply left the channel altogether. I'm still peeved by this experience -- not every newb is a n00b, people -- but rather than indulge in a debate of dubious parentage or somesuch, I'll leave you with a question: do you always treat interested candidates this way?
Comment by Nishiko -- 8/28/2004 @ 9:49 pm
This was the reply (profanity warning in effect):
109. Note to all those applying. We don't accept people that aren't smart enough to read stuff. If your in a recruiting channel, and there are triggers there. That probably means you should type them. Frankly, we couldn't care if you were Albert Einstein. If you can't read a topic, or have the patience to actually wait. Then we don't need you. You thinking waiting 5 minutes was long? Your lucky you even got an answer, most people usually wait 1-3 hours before getting a reply. Though you may not have a life we do. We also don't really care about what you think of us. If you really want to continue complaining stop downloading our releases. simple as that. Go to someone else to watch your Girls Bravo or some shit. It's not like we're doing this just for you. Why do we have to care what you think? You all really think that we have to do things for you don't you. When something isn't coming out you complain. When something comes out you complain. All you do is complain complain and complain. You don't get something your way and then you pout. I mean WHAT THE FUCK! No one cares about it. If you can't accept the way one member acts to you, well all I can say is good fucking luck finding a place where everyone treats you nice. Goddamn idiots. How bout this. For you idiots that can't stand someone acting like this well you can go and rot in hell. There's always someone like this. And Nishiko, if you don't got patience to wait even 5 minutes. You should shut up. You had 5 minutes to read a topic and think. "Oh what the fuck is !triggers or !LunarPolicy?". Instead you don't read, and then you ask if we still are looking for editors. And when you get an answer you don't want, as well as a comment about you being a "n00b to irc" you come crying on the site. Boo fucking hoo. Just shut up and go away.
Comment by HikaShin -- 8/29/2004 @ 3:00 am
I showed this to a friend of mine. We both agreed the response was horrendously unprofessional and certainly uncalled-for. If I'd known more than passing familiarity with IRC was a requirement for their editors, I wouldn't even have tried for it. I also had to wonder why people
had to wait hours just to get a response; if they're so hard up for good editors, wouldn't they be all over visitors in that channel like white on rice?
I didn't bother posting a reply to HikaShin; I thought it better to put it here as an example of how to alienate would-be applicants and your audience in general. I certainly don't think I'm being over-sensitive -- but if I am, please say so.
(
* This is more or less true: I'm currently working with Dexter Odani of BFS on his scripts for
High Speed Angel, a new series aimed at the import car culture; and there's Billy's intent to send me the script for Ju-Nen #3 and make sure there's nothing structurally and substantively wrong with it. I'm not being paid for any of it (and I don't care because I'm happy just to help), but I wasn't sure what else to call this. My apologies if I've misinterpreted something.)
