* Why aren't full issues of comics and the like available for fans to look at?
While I sympathize with fans' desire to look at various print matter for ThunderCats in full, I also don't feel like being told to shut my site down and/or being sued for violating copyright laws. If you really want to see this stuff, then you'll have to do what I myself have done - pony up the dough to buy these things yourself. And don't give me the 'it's not available in my area' sob story - if you can get online and email me whining about it, then you can also log onto ebay, comic merchant's sites, etc and buy yourself copies. I offer reviews, synopsis, select images and other things as a service to aid you in possibly deciding what is worth buying but I won't post whole issues of any newer or still-circualting publication.
Recently, I've gotten brave enough to offer some things like the Marvel annuals that are pretty old and out of print, and I hope it's worth it. There's a lot of individual issues - that'd be a lot of scanning, folks! - but if the annuals seem to fly okay, then I might eventually offer more older works of that vein in full now that I have lots of space and bandwidth to kill.
By the way, for those who argue the site itself is a copyright infringement, I suppose the owners of Tcats could demand I shut this place down. But I'm not necessarily hurting their enterprises (if anything, fan sites help keep interest in a property) and I'm not cutting into sales of items like Wildstorm comics or DVDs by virtue of the fact that I
don't scan and display full issues or host episodes. Finally, I make no money from this place. I suppose they could take issue with posting images of the characters and whatnot, but most copyright holders are ok with fan sites as long as they're not hurting or hindering things. Since the DVDs came out, WB is aware of this place and I've yet to get a C&D order, so I guess I must be okay so far ;)
On the other hand, I know of a few sites that got a 'friendly' notice to cease and desist the posting of Wildstorm comics in full. So I suppose you can see where the line seems to be drawn in regards to ThunderCats. I don't intend on crossing that line, myself.
* Why don't you have more info on items released in the UK?
Because this site is based in the USA, as am I, so I have more knowledge and access to items related to my own country. This is why it's so slow in going for me to get all the UK star comics up - the dollar/pound ratio is not kind on this side of the pond so it's not like I can afford to get my hands on much of that stuff at once.
However, anyone who does have these items and would like to donate scans and info to the site, I won't argue with that. Feel free to send it my way - and I will give you credit on the site, of course!
* You say this site is contributor friendly, but when I offered up some files you didn't want to host them. Why?
I think I touched on this a bit in the fan fic and art FAQs, but since not everyone comes here for that, I suppose it warrants repeating somewhat here.
I've been approached by well-meaning folks who have collected some great art, themes, wallpapers, media files and other stuff off the net, only to turn it all down. This is usually because the presenter of the files is not their creator.
I actually have several CDs full of stuff I've grabbed off the internet over the years...all kinds of digital pics, art, media files - you name it. However, I keep this stuff for my private collection, to enjoy offline.
Why? Because almost without exception, I don't put anything on this site I didn't make myself and/or get permission from the original creator to display. Of course, I made exceptions in a few cases (the VA outtakes, for one, seems how nobody seems to know who the heck made them). But overall, if I can't contact the owner and get their okay, I won't put it up on this site. And there have been times where I have contacted the creator of an item and either didn't get a reply or even a "sorry, but no". Imagine if I just assumed they'd be okay with it and posted the item! Not very polite, eh?
Many other sites don't seem to care about this standard of ethics and that's fine for them. But I do, and rarely make an exception to it. It might be because I find it annoying myself to run across a site that has snagged my work or files and displayed them w/o asking or credit (although with me, if I'm credited and/or linked back to, I'm pretty satisfied. However, I understand when others may appreciate the courtesy of asking first in addition to all that. These images, pages and files take much time and effort to create, so as a fellow site master and creative force, I sympathize with that. Because sometimes people want to know where their work is ending up and what sites it is being associated with...and may object to certain pages hosting their work for whatever personal reasons they may have. And that's within their rights to feel that way. Hence, this policy I have is an extra show of respect for people and what they create). So I'm going by the golden rule here, I suppose!
Besides this site, even as it grows ever-larger, isn't really supposed to be the home for *every* Thundercats file ever made. Ultimately, it's my site and I put up what I think needs to be here. If you want to take on the task of attemtping the "Thundercats site that has *everything*" more power to ya! And good luck.
That said, if you've made something or can point me to the person who created something you think is outstanding and would be a great addition to the site, let me know. I don't mind contributions as long as they're filtered through the proper channels. On the other hand, if you've come here and find something hosted here that you made and did not give your permission to have me host, simply contact me and I'll take it down. I trust that when people send me files as donated material to host, they either made the files or came about them via legitimate means. There's not a lot I can sometimes do to verify their honesty, unless of course I am already familiar with the work from other sources in which case I'd reject the donation. So please, give me the benefit of the doubt and simply ask that the item be removed and it'll get done. I don't mean to harm or insult anyone by the existance of this site, I'm just a fan trying to share things with other fans! But I do my best to make sure it's done with some common courtesy observed :)
* I have some stuff you might be interested in adding, but it's too valuable to simply donate. Would you compensate me for it?
I can certainly understand that - even simply the desire not to want to part with your original collectibles. Though I'm usually perfectly happy with donated scans...it's not often I actually *need* the real thing in my possession.
However, some things are so rare or unique, a note of thanks and a link just won't do it. So in cases like that, feel free to contact me and we can work out a barter or trade for the information. This also works well if you're interested in copies of something I have but don't want to buy them (although it's worth noting that I rarely part with an item myself, so you'd be getting copies as well). Though I usually won't pay cash unless I'm getting an original copy or at least physical copies of say, character sheets. The kind of thing I've been doing lately is trading copies or scans for equal copies or scans. For instance, you might be interested in entire copies of the scripts I have, and have more character sheets or comics I'm missing to offer in return for those - something like that.
Do note, that when I gain items by these means, I usually DO NOT give you a credit or link when I post the item gained on the site. And most likely, unless agreed upon otherwise, what I get from you will be posted in part at least, on the site - I am collecting things to share with other fans after all. Your reward is whatever you agreed was fair compensation from me when the deal was made be it money, scans, or copies of my stuff. I give donors that courtesy because they've given to the site w/o asking for much in return, so I figure it's the least I can do. If you'd also like that included on an item when it's posted on the net, you'll have to say something up front and make it part of the deal. Otherwise, it's my general policy to consider those items gained as mine fair and square and I treat them no different than if I'd bought the item off ebay or something.
It might seem obvious, but I recently went through some undue drama thanks to a similar misunderstanding, so it's worth spelling out at this point.
* How come you don't have information on (blank) or more on (blank) item?
Basically, I'm just one person who started a humble web page to host my own fan fic, started collecting certain items of interest from the franchise, and decided to post them up for other fans to enjoy as much as I could.
That said, I'm both limited in time and money to have it all and post it all. I don't collect cels, for example, because they're just too pricey. I'm a stay-at-home mom whose hubby makes a modest income so I have to watch what I spend and keep the splurging on pricey items to a minimum. This is why contributions from other collectors is really helpful and handy. It saves me both time and money, and other fans benefit by being able to view/get info on things we can't all be lucky enough to have or afford. Plus, like most anyone, I tend to focus on what interests me first and I'm more interested in the printed memorabilia right now than say, toy collecting.
As usual, if you have cels or more info on items already hosted and so on, feel free to offer them. I do have lots and lots of space and bandwidth on the site to work with so that's rarely a concern any longer. Of course, I try to keep things on the up and up legally but otherwise I'm game to host just about anything you can offer.
Otherwise, there are lots of other fan sites out there that do a brilliant job showcasing things not found here or not gone into in depth here, so be sure to make good use of the site's
links page. I try to cooperate with many of the other fan sites in sharing files and information as much as I can, and if all else fails, I'm pretty familiar with what other sites host so also feel free to ask me if I know of a place that might have what you're looking for.
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