Before sending me an email, I'd appreciate it if you'd scan the FAQ and see if your question or comment is included herein. I'm a very bad correspondent as it is, and if your question is already answered in the FAQ, it's even more unlikely that I will reply to you.
My email address is at the bottom of this page.
Can I use your images on my website?
Can I archive your stories on my website?
I can help translate the doujinshi in your gallery.
Will you put my pictures/fanart up on your site?
Will you read my story?
I have a story idea. Will you write it for me?
Will you host my story on your site?
Will you be my friend?
Will you help my build a site?
You haven't written back to me! Do you hate me?
You haven't posted the picture/story/wallpaper I sent you! Do you hate me?
I disagree with your portrayal of Yue/Clow/Touya etc. in your stories.
I loved your story! BTW, I'm 16 years old.
Can I link to you?
Will you link to me?
Will you be my sister/partner/affiliate site?
Can I use your images on my website?
I receive about ten times as much email concerning this question than I do for everything else about my site (including my stories) combined. It's also one of the most difficult questions for me to answer, because I'm very much of two minds about it.
One the one hand, I would really like to be one of those generous people that says, "help yourself". Michelle Bacon at the terrific Sailor Moon site Manga Style! has set a fine example by making her pictures freely available, provided you link back to her.
On the other hand, I have the liveliest annoyance at the idea of someone duplicating my site in toto as it were. Even if the theme of your site is different, if you duplicate my galleries on your site, what reason would people have to come to mine? Even more than that, if you want to put up a page on the WWW, I really feel that you should try to provide something new and unique, otherwise, what's the point? If all you do is duplicate content, be it pictures or stories, that can be found elsewhere, what have you really contributed? Don't get me wrong, a well-run archive can be a valuable resource, but there are precious few well-run pages of any kind out there.
Lest you think me inconsistent, I apply these same standards to myself. I own all the artbooks (legitimate Japanese versions, not bootleg copies) and scanned every picture in my galleries myself, unless specifically otherwise noted. I also wrote every word and did all the html coding on my site by hand, teaching myself how mostly by using tutorials available on the web. I'm not trying to sound self-righteous; I just want those that come to my site to understand that I've spend hours and hours building it and hundreds of dollars on the resources for it, all so that it can be a useful site that provides something valuable and unique to the WWW. That's why I resent it when people write to me and say "Can I use your pics on my site? I'd like to use all of them. Thanx!"
That being said, I know perfectly well that I can't stop you from stealing everything on my site, if you choose to. Oh, I could use Java to prevent people from right-clicking, but I always find that a bit annoying, and it won't stop anyone that knows anything about html for very long. Plus, I don't mind helping people out, or sharing what I have to an extent. Thus, I've come up with what I think is a pretty fair compromise.
If you want to use my scans on your site: You may take any three (3) pictures from each of my three (3) main galleries (Anime, Manga, and Doujinshi) for use on your site, provided you have a link back to me stating where the pictures came from. This only applies to material that's actually used on the web, you can take any pictures you want to use on your own computer (just don't put them on your site a year from now saying, "Oops, I forgot where I got these from!) Also, please do not, under any circumstances, link directly to the images on my site. Upload them to your own site if you wish to host them, but don't steal my bandwidth!
If you want to use edited pictures on your site (ie thumbnails, pictures used decoratively throughout CYCM): I would prefer that you not take my thumbnails. Edited pictures used decoratively throughout the rest of the site, especially the oval one of Yue looking into the water on the front page, are off-limits even for personal use. I spent a lot of time on that front-page picture, and even if it's amaturishly done, it's the symbol of my site, and I'm going to be mad and hurt if I see it on someone else's.
If you want to use the fanart found on my site: Obviously, you'll need to apply to the person that drew the art, not me. :) You can find their emails next to their drawings.
If you want to take pictures from the Anime, Manga, or Doujinshi galleries and edit them to turn them into Winamp skins, wallpaper, etc, then help yourself. I'd just really, really appreciate if you'd send me a copy of the final product, especially if you give me permission to host a copy of the finished product in the Omake section of my site. At the very least, I'd appreciate a link back to my site as the place where you obtained the images.
If you want to take AIM Icons, Wallpaper, or whatever else may be available for use in the Omake section of the site: Help yourself. Things like AIM icons and wallpaper are meant to be taken, used, enjoyed, and distributed.
Basically, if you are willing to help contribute content to my site, I'm going to be far more flexible about contributing content to yours. If you're going to edit the pictures and turn them into something unique and useful, or unique and beautiful, I'm happy to share. I just don't like mooches.
Can I archive your stories on my website?
I'd really rather you didn't. I like having creative control over the way my stories are presented, and it's important to me to have the "gateway" page so that people are fully informed about what they'll be reading. If you're starting a big archive and really want my stories included, write to me with a link to your archive so I can check it out. If I like it, I may give you permission to link directly to the stories hosted on my site. This would be the only case where I would sanction direct linking. I would rather host the stories myself, so that I can update them, edit them, and correct mistakes in them as I choose. Please do not upload any of my stories directly to your site unless you have my express permission to do so.
I can help translate the doujinshi in your gallery.
Great! Thanks so much! Any assistance with translation would be tremendously appreciated. I will, of course, give you full credit for the translations, and any kind of link that you desire from my site. You can find my email at the bottom of this page; feel free to send me translations in txt, doc, or html format, with txt being preferred. Thanks again for your kindly offer!
Will you put my pictures/fanart up on your site?
Of course I'd like to be able to host everything that everyone sends me, but I honestly don't have the space for it. I also don't have the time to update nearly as often as I'd like. So, feel free to send me anything you like (keeping in mind that I'd prefer a link to a lot of large files clogging up my mailbox) and I might put it up on my site...or I might not. I'm more inclined to put up original works than collages, but don't let that stop you from sending me anything at all. I'll assume that you want me to put any fanart you send on my site, and I'll try to email you if I decide to use it. Donations of Winamp skins, wallpapers, icons, etc. are always welcome. :)
Will you read my story?
Most likely. I love stories about Yue, and read as many of them as I can find. However, I am a busy person and a terrible correspondent, so don't expect a reply from me. While I wish that I could offer to proofread and give advice on your story, I can't promise to do any such thing. You see, I already have many obligations of that type to fulfill, and I barely keep up with them, so adding more stories onto the pile would be very difficult. If your story shows a great deal of potential, and I happen to have some time on my hands, I may send you some suggestions, but don't expect it.
I have a story idea. Will you write it for me?
No, absolutely not. I'm always amazed by people who want to make "suggestions" as to what I should write. If you want to see a Terada/Rika story, write it yourself or look elsewhere. If you have a brilliant story idea, then that is *your* story, not mine, and no one can do it justice but you. You can do it...my first story was terrible, but I've kept at it, and improved, and you can too. I'll certainly look at any ideas that you send to me, but that I'll use any of them is unlikely in the extreme.
Will you host my story on your site?
Honesty impels me to say, "Probably not." If you send me a copy of your story or a link to your story, I'll be happy to read it, but I only put up a few specific authors on my site whose styles I particularly like. If I haven't included your story it may be because I haven't had time yet, or possibly because I feel it doesn't fit the style of the archive. Just because your story isn't to my taste doesn't mean it's a bad story, so please don't be offended if I don't include your work. If there is something that you're hoping I'll include, please make sure it's in htm or html format. I'll read stories in doc or txt formats, but I won't convert them to html...I spend enough time doing that with my own works.
Will you be my friend?
This is the second most common question I've received from this site. I'm sure you are a very nice person, and you may certainly think of me as a friend and look for me at cons (you'll find me on the Fanfic and Yaoi/Yuri panel at Anime Expo 2002 I believe). However, I reiterate that I'm a bad correspondent. It's a major character flaw of mine. I hate writing letters, and I rarely talk to people on ICQ or AIM. My life is about to become even busier when the next nine months are over. So, please understand, I don't have time to be everyone's friend. I don't mean to discourage you from writing to me; I like receiving mail. I'm just terrible at responding to it in a timely fashion (or sometimes at all!). Feel free to write to me any time at all, just know that whether or not you'll get a reply is something of a gamble, with the odds being primarily based on what I'm doing that week. If you're an intelligent person with something interesting to say, I may be more inclined to respond to you, but even then I would not recommend any breath-holding on your part. :)
Will you help my build a site?
That would be a bit redundant, considering that I learned everything I ever needed to know about building a site online. Here are two excellent pages that may help you: HTML Goodies and the Coffee Cup HTML FAQ. There are many other resources out there if you look for them. CoffeeCup is a great little HTML editing program that I build most of my sites with. Most of my editing is done by hand, but CoffeeCup offers some useful things, like the ability to upload pages immediately or to preview them in a little preview window, that speed up my webpage creation considerably. Their help files are extremely useful. You can download a shareware version of the CoffeeCup HTML Editor at www.coffeecup.com. I wish you the best of luck on your pages, and can only offer a few specific pieces of advice: 1. Don't make it too busy or put too many annoying frills on it, especially if they're Flash, Java, or background midi frills. 2. Test it in as many web browsers and screen sizes as you can, and make it as widely accessible as possible. 3. Make the text big enough to read. Use a 10 point font at minimum, and preferably a 12 point font for most text.
You haven't written back to me! Do you hate me?
Um, no, how could I hate you? I don't even know you! If you look through the rest of the FAQ you'll find that I'm a lazy correspondent and a busy person. I either never received your email, haven't had time to write back yet, or decided not to reply. It's nothing personal, I just have a lot going on in my life, and this site generates lots of email.
You haven't posted the picture/story/wallpaper I sent you! Do you hate me?
No, of course not. Perhaps I haven't had the time, or perhaps I don't have room on my site right now. Maybe your fanart or fanfiction doesn't fit in with the style of the gallery or the archive. There are lots of reasons why it might not be up yet, or may not get posted at all. None of them are "I hate you." :)
I disagree with your portrayal of Yue/Clow/Touya etc. in your stories.
Um, ok. I haven't gotten this comment very often, but I'm always surprised when I do get it. One girl wrote to me of "Vertigo", saying, "I don't think Yue would do that!" I didn't bother to reply, but the response that came to me immediately was "Obviously I do." If you don't agree with me, you're welcome to tell me, but it's not like I can really be expected to care, now, can I? It's not as though I know you. And if you're not going to offer me any useful suggestions or constructive criticism, both of which are welcomed even more than unmitigated praise (though I love that, don't get me wrong ;) then don't expect me to be particularly interested in the fact that your opinions differ from mine, no matter how cordially they are expressed.
I loved your story! BTW, I'm 16 years old.
I'll be frank, I couldn't personally care less if you're a minor and reading my lemony, NC-17 stories. I was reading trashy romance novels at age 15, and they're really much the same thing. *However*, for heaven's sake, don't write to me and *tell* me that you're underage and you're reading my fics. I didn't put in a gateway page for my own amusement, I did it for my piece of mind. I won't condemn you for reading anything I write, but, if you're underage in your area, I can't condone it, either.
Can I link to you?
But of course! Are you sure you want to after reading my FAQ? I must come off as an incredibly bitchy person. :) Here is a logo you may use that the ever-kind Emeline made for me:
And if anyone else happens to feel like sending me buttons or banners, I can't tell you how happy I'd be, since I'm really bad at editing little pictures like that. ^_^;;;
Will you link to me?
Er, maybe, if I have time to add you to my links page. Just send me the URL of your site and I'll check it out. :)
Will you be my sister/partner/affiliate site?
I'd love to see your site, so please do send me the URL. Right now the only affiliate sites I have are ones that I'm in some way involved in. They're all listed on my homepage at the bottom. I also know all the people responsible for these sites in person, and they're good friends of mine. In general, I guess you could say that my policy is not to affiliate with someone unless I know then personally.
Still have questions?
Then catchme@catchyue.net.
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