Scans and pans
March 13th, 2009

Scans and pans

^ 16 Comments...

  1. Shana

    Found this webcomic through Scans_daily back before it died.

    Just thought I should point it out.

  2. MrGBH

    Still doesn’t stop it from being illegal.

  3. Shana

    I’m not arguing the legality. Honestly, I’m sick of the whole debate. I’m still a Peter David fan, and I don’t regret the many comics and webcomics the site got me hooked on. Well, I might regret them a little. Comics are freaking expensive. But I am sick of both the sides that say everyone who ever went to Scans_Daily is a thief and would never pay for a comic, and I’m sick of the people who say that Scans_Daily was an impeccably moral site with no illegalities at all.

    I’ve been trying to stay out of the debate. Internet arguing is not a worthwhile way to spend time. But I couldn’t let the mention in the comic go without saying something. I also doubt I’m the only reader who came here because someone loved this comic enough to post a strip and a link. The Halloween strip, If I recall correctly.

    So yes, I know it’s illegal. But I wouldn’t have found this webcomic without it. So I don’t regret the times I’ve gone there.

  4. MrGBH

    It doesn’t matter. Copyright law is just that, the Law. It exists to protect creators from people who would either A: Copy their work and fob it off as their own or B: Freely distribute said work. No matter what good a site like that may do, it’s will never balance out.
    I’m not saying everyone who went there is a thief, but the people who ran the site are.
    I’ve never heard of Scans_Daily, nor woud I ever use a site like it. I would much rather buy a comic/ Manga/ Anime/ Movie etc and know that my money was going to the right people and in some small way helping them continue to stay in buiness.

  5. Shana

    And the fact that you have never heard of it just goes to show what I’m saying. You never went there, and therefore you don’t know what went on there. It was not a site devoted to pirating comics. Was it possible to stay on top of comics continuity through only going to that site? Yes. But then again, you can do the same thing through Wikipedia. I too prefer buying comics and I had all but stopped going to the site except if I needed to show a friend a picture of a character or something, but when I was first getting into comics, it was hugely helpful.

    Also, it often had really old comics posted, comics that are impossible to find otherwise. I read so many strange Wonder Woman comics that I wouldn’t have read otherwise. And that’s the fault of the companies for not making those old issues more easily available. No one ever claimed they’d done the work (with the exception of those who actually were posting their own work, and yes, it happened), and no one posted more than half a comic, or the mods would get angry.

    You see, saying that the people who ran the site are thieves is basically saying everyone who went there was. It’s a *community.* Lots of people posted scans there. Were they thieves? People who wanted to share a comic they loved with other people?

    I can’t speak for everyone on the site and I’d be naive and foolish if I said that everyone there went out and bought the comics they saw there. Hell, I’d be lying if I said I did that every time. But I did do it. There are many comics that I buy on a consistent basis now because I saw it on Scans_Daily first. Again, I am not arguing the legality of the site. But I don’t think you have any place arguing against it when you hadn’t even heard about it until the drama started.

  6. MrGBH

    I haven’t heard about that particular site, but it’s not exactly an uconmmon practice, and one I have encountered before. I’m not saying everyone who visits sights such as Scans_Daily is a thief, although it’s a fine line. I’m saying anyone who posts large amounts of other peoples works, whether a Marvel Comic on Scans_Daily, someone else’s art on Deviantart or an anime on Youtube, they are thieves breaking the law, plain and simple.

    And as a response to you suggesting that it’s the comic companies fault for not making old issues available, would you print a twenty-year-old comic, making sure it’s always in stock, when only a handful of people will ever buy it? No, you wouldn’t, nobody would.

  7. Shana

    No, this site was different from the examples you list. And I really don’t feel like I can argue with you about it because you simply don’t know what you’re talking about. Frankly, this is a waste of my time, and yours too, I’d assume.

  8. Random encounter

    For what’s it’s worth, I second Shana. (And also found this webcomic via s_d.) The community was mainly for the discussion and comments, and having the scans there right in front of your eyes helped that. People also used it to pimp out the more obscure comics they liked. And scans_daily had its unique culture that was quite different from any other comic forum I’ve seen. I do download scans occasionally (and buy the ones I like; the other option would be not to follow American mainstream comics at all), and the places I go to have different agendas and aren’t like scans_daily at all.

    Incidentally, isn’t your icon breaking the copyright law, too?

  9. MrGBH

    Okay then, explain to me exactly how this site was different. Did it have the prior permission of Marvel? Well, obviously not because if it did it wouldn’t have been shut down. So how was it different?

  10. MrGBH

    @Random Enconter
    No, it isn’t. A year ago I wished to use a copyrighted image as my avatar on another website, but was uncertain as to the legality of it, so I checked. Using a single image as an avatar counts as private use, and therefore doesn’t break any laws.

  11. Shana

    The difference is that the community that sprung up in it’s place, noscans_daily, which is the same only minus the scans, is pretty much just as active. It was always more about discussing comics than pirating them. Hell, I rarely read the new comics posted there unless I’d already read them legally and in full.

  12. JYHASH

    Peter David SHOULD die in a fire.

    I’s jus’ sayin’… then he could have his will be his resurrection story!

    Anyway, never heard of scans_daily either. I’m a bit with and against the debate on here, as I’m poor and like my software/movies/comics/etc and can fins them for free on the net BUT also an artist in my own right and if I knew people were outright stealing the things that would allow me to buy more of the aforementioned items I like I’d be mad as hell.

    Ah, such a vicious circle I live in. Thank goodness for Demonoid and the fact that no one can resell a theatrical stage performance for cash!

    ~JYH

  13. Beacon

    Legally Marvel is in the right (even though the bit about full issues on SD is flat-out untrue)

    However PAD was still being a short-sighted jackass for helping to shut down a site that promoted his work when his own publisher wouldn’t (does Marvel even HAVE a marketing department anymore?)

  14. Gcat

    There is a new Scans_Daily (Not on LJ sadly), the rules for it are more clear cut and enforced. The old Scans_Daily didn’t have as clear as rules and they where getting lax about them, but posting an entire issue was still a big “No No”.
    BTW, it IS legal to post part of others works for review or critique, (Which what SD is doing) the amount of how much can be posted is debated in court a lot. Instead of shutting the old SD down, the rules should have been changed. Scans_Daily 2.0 now has a fixed rule of how much can be posted and ways publishers and creators can get things taken down if they want.

    Peter David you got SD taken off of LJ, I will not be buying anything you write. I have in the past enjoyed your work, but because of this I will not buy any more of it.

  15. Chris Thrailkill

    Anyone else love the irony here?

  16. chudleycannonfodder

    I can’t believe that people held grudges against Peter David months after it was over. Yes, he told Marvel about the scans of the comic he wrote (he only told them it existed, not to take it down), but photobucket took it down before Marvel could. Photobucket was unhappy with what scans_daily was doing. It didn’t matter if Marvel was willing to accept the site, photobucket didn’t.

    http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/2009/02/28/scans-daily/

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