Do people want/need/appreciate our subtitles?

[unsend]

As for the question, Yes, I'm really grateful you guys are doing this and, on top of it, sacrifice your free time for it. My japanese is good enough to get what's happening in a show, even understand a few details, but is still so far away from a level where I can enjoy it as much as I do with your subs. Without them I would have missed so many awesome moments, and know much less about the girls. Again, thanks a lot guys.
Regarding the release format, I actually prefer soft subs over hardsubs or streams. I usually download and watch a show when it's available on H!O or elsewhere, so when subs are released, it's actually pretty convenient for me, since I already have the video file. gx240 mentioned some people might not know how to play .srt or .ass files with a video, but posting a short "how-to" tutorial could easily get rid of that problem (if you haven't done so already). Getting the raw video file could pose a bigger problem, since there are legal issues you probably have to deal with, but maybe just a little "google the name of the sub" posted somewhere might help.
Anyway, I think the biggest problem is, people take subs for granted. They don't know/care how many hours it takes to finally release a high quality subtitle and just demand more. As fast as possible.

Well, all I said isn't really that helpful, but I just wanted to add my two cents, and tell you guys that I really appreciate what you are doing for the fandom.

[GenkiKoala]

First off I want to say that I appreciate the subs and i download almost every .ass file that comes out. For example at first I passed over Geinin, but downloading the subs forced me to watch it and now I love it especially since now i love NMB.

From my understanding some people in S48 were the first subbers and then Nihongogo became the first real regular subbers. Now it's basically Sub48, Aidol, and Guild48. I came from anime to AKB and the lack of sub groups and people leaving comments on any translation efforts even on articles in forums mystified me. There is no question that many fans need/enjoy the subs, but I don't know the solution. Speed subbing would definitely help which can be seen in anime trackers which groups get the most downloads, but the reputation of the group also matters which speed sub to get. However this is not possible currently so i don't know.

I would also have to agree that for various reasons the AKB fandom is splintered and don't like mentioning each other which already cuts down on fandom communication. I have been drifting away from AKB so I don't know the current state of the english fans, but I think there might be less hot blooded new members.

[grobvater]

i love u r subs...not only AKBingo, but the other show like SKE no magical Radio, Shunkan, Majisuka Gakuen etc..
u r subs is high quality... so i hope u r team will still do this amazing work..
thank you so much for all u r effort
i'm sure there still so many people appriciate it

[nokame]

Firsty I would apology for my bad english, i'm just started learning english! ^^

I think you guy are really a good person, doing subs for free, you really have a good heart. Thanks so much for your hard works.
Sometimes it late to release, but it worth for waiting.
For Geinin and Magical Radio, i would like you to continue subbing it, i really enjoy watching the show, and off course for AKBIngo! and SUKAN...

Thank you so much for the subs, and I hope you will subbing forever! >_< just like i will love AKB48 forever!

[eNdstar]

First of all, thank u very much for subbing 48 shows, because the subs are really hard to be looked for,
I'm a bit dissapointed for magical radio subs, because I think that u already dropped them, due to a few weeks gap and u already released another sub,
but it's fine, because all of the shows that u subbed are worth watched,
For my opinion, how about subbing the show regularly, because u always released random episodes~

[salm0sa]

1st of all i want to thank you for u guys to subbing 48show related stuff...

I think all of us will need your sub...

As for me, i really need it for Magical Radio n Geinin...

For AKBINGO ... hmm because i watch the 2010, 2011 episode over n over again without subs...

Maybe when your sub is released im not that interested anymore hahaha

But it's a different story when u released the latest episode

My suggestion is PJS to subbed the show that really need subs to understand it, like Shoujiki Shougi in AKBINGO...
it's hard to understand what members are talking about

Cheers for all d good work

Sorry for my bad english though, not my native language

[sulies]

i dunno uh, about which shows that boring or not..
but really i do love that you (or your teams) workin on completing magical radio.. to be honest i patiently wait your progress there (which is completed now).

so lemme say that me here really appreciate your works, i don't care even if it slow or too late.. i don't see any disadvantage waitin for a good quality subs
thanks to you (or your teams)!
you guys rocks !

[krank]

I agree with the opinion that some people might not understand how torrents and .srt:s work. That may be part of the problem. I constantly see people on other forums asking things like "how the heck do I play a .rar-file, what player should I use?". So lack of technical knowledge is not to be underestimated. Maybe a "how-to" next to the download link? Also, maybe some people can't use torrents at all due to bandwidth problems or crazy ISP:s.

Regarding the "lateness" of subs, I agree with everyone who has said that they'd rather wait for quality subs. Your subs ARE worth waiting for. To me, it doesn't matter if your subs come out the day after a show has aired, or two weeks later. If at any point in time you feel you can't keep up with new shows, maybe you could focus on subbing old, previously unsubbed episodes of AKBINGO and Shukan instead? That way, no-one can complain about the release time, and there's less "pressure" on you. You could then also cherry-pick the best episodes, making it feel more worthwhile.

Again, love your work, it is absolutely crucial to 48 fandom!

[derawandenny]

i don't chose any one of those option..
i really really apreciated all of your hard work. all of them.
i don't really think to much! about how much time i need to wait for those sub.
couse i know how hard to subbing those video !
if u'r thinking about all of the hard work they had(subber.type setting, timing , admin and any of them) to spread ABK48 and the other 48family wing with subbing all kind video about them !
i think they must got all kind of good word.! if u'r just say "thank you so much for subbing" or "thankz alot for subbing this video" that's not enough..!
if u had social net work acount or u had you'r own blog u must try to promoted they hard work.!
and try to make other people to visit this sub forum and not to upload their hardwork to you'r own blog,forum,or etc.
laslty i want to say thank you very very much to all of your hard work from the bottom of my heart!
because your hard work i know all about AKB48 and the other 48Family to..
i really really apreciated your hard work..
from now on i'll try to promoted and suporting your hard work as hard as i can..

[Bidouleroux]

and maybe someone else saying "Oh, yeah, they got some typo at xx:xx, overall the subtitle was (fine/bad)", etc.

How can they find typos, when our QA is so good?

But really, even as one of the first volunteers for this project, I don't mind the lack of feedback as much as some others do. I also understand that not everyone can express themselves in perfect English and so might come off as rude when they simply wanted to inquire about a sub that has been a long time coming. Still, it's good to know that what we do is appreciated.

P.S. I see some people like Muse no Kagami and are actually looking forward to it. I'll try to get around to finish translating (not necessarily releasing) the series before 2013. Don't hold me on that though!