Every month, new channels will be pre-created by Viki before shows are slated to air, so users will no longer need to submit channels.
I still don’t fully understand the new CM system. Does this mean that as a community, we will no longer have a voice as to which drama we would like Viki’s legal team to fight for to get copyrights?
Because, if Viki creates the channel maximum a month ahead of the showing, the viewers don’t have enough info directly on Viki to decide if they want to send a title request. And in the beginning there is no CM to urge the viewers to do so and to pay more attention to the upcoming drama.
It’s going to be a mess specially now they seem to refuse or deny the pending channels so if A and B have a pending channel for C it can still end up in the hands of D. How unfair.
And yes I wonder that too. I see a lot of Kdrama news lately and I’m in debate if I shall submit it all but due the new system I didn’t yet. But I wonder when does Viki add a channel? When there is news or when they feel like it?
They can’t even keep up with approving or denying channels for more then a year (and for some channels they just refuse to pick one for an unknown reason), how will they keep up with the drama news?
Suppose a drama has been asked by someone and I know it.
Would it be considered rude of me to ask for it now that we are all equal and all start from zero?
What if that person has promised moderation to some moderator who grabbed the post months ago (you know, those super-quick ones who gobble all dramas)? Because in some cases I would ask to become CM only because I want a chance to become moderator myself.
Would it be considered bad behaviour?
You’re so right! Especially for those channels, which have been submitted a year ago or longer.
It will be a mess, not only for channel managers, but for moderators, too. You must follow the channel and refresh any time after the two weeks of application are over, in order to learn, who will be the channel manager.
No, I don’t think, this is a bad behaviour. If you don’t step forwards, others will do for sure. And if you know (and like) the person, who has submitted this channel long ago, you have the option to ask, if this CM will join your team.
No this is not bad behaviour of the volunteers who filled in the form but bad behaviour of Viki tossing all the pending channels into the garbage bin instead of dealing with it properly. So don’t feel bad about filling in the forum to request being a CM for a channel of which you know some other people have a pending channel for it. If you don’t others will.
And yeah I have a list of people who want to join various channels I have pending but I always add them when the channel is approved.
From what I understood, “Every month… before shows are slated to air…” means that at the beginning of each month, they will create new channels that can go on air 2, 3 or 4… months later.
I also think the Title Request Form will still be useful to tell Viki about what drama we would like to see licensed. There are also the Discussions or the Help Center where we can voice our interest.
With this new system, I expect Viki to be very reactive.They will have to keep up with the news and choose a channel manager by checking every time if he/she respects all the conditions. I would tend to trust them for Korean dramas. I think they will create all the channels that we want. I’m more worried for Chinese dramas and the other ones.
Is anyone else confused by how co-CMing would work? It says that the limit will be 2 on-airs at a time every 3 months and 10 each year but having 2 on-airs every 3 months gives you 8 not 10.
My question is if someone is a co-CM, that will count just as much as CMing solo, right? No where in the FAQs is there any clarification as to how that would work. The point is that co-CMing doesn’t allow you to have more than if you were CMing solo.
Oh, I see. That makes more sense than what I interpreted this as. I thought they meant the channel would be created maximum 1 month before the show starts airing. Which would be a disaster!
Hopefully it will be way in advance so that they have time to choose a CM (2 weeks) and then the CM has time to advertise the channel and make a proper team.
Most moderators will not know in advance who applied to become a CM, so they will not have the luxury to secure moderator position before the official CM selection. Therefore, starting from the channel creation, this whole process must start minimum 2 months ahead.
Which is why I think that this new system can only become a disaster when it comes to Chinese channels. Since all Chinese dramas are preproduced, a broadcaster can decide just a few weeks or even a few days before when to release a drama. But then, first a channel will have to be created and two more weeks are needed only for choosing a CM. By then the drama might already be on air.
Like mas4 already said, I think this system might work well with Korean channels, but I’m very worried about Chinese channels due to this reason. The only way that I can imagine for it to work out is if staff creates all Chinese channels immediately upon first news about a drama (might it be a certain drama is in planning or just started filming etc.) and not only when a broadcaster and release date etc. is known. But then they would have to follow Chinese news really closely.
But… the main manager now becomes a co-manager too. When they become two, it’s not as if one is main manager and the other is deputy manager: they are equal.
In that case, adding a co-manager means that you can add to your allowed number of on-air shows. I imagine that many people could and will use this as a trick to be able to manage more projects than normally allowed.
What is confusing is that in the case of the first manager, they count projects from January onwards, but in the case of the co-manager they count current projects.
(It would have been easier for everyone if they took into account airing dates, but unfortunately it wouldn’t work because often shows get delayed. See what happened to Jade Lover - postponed for more than one year, and Bring it On Ghost, where the license was obtained months after it finished airing.)
1. How channels are created
We don’t have to hunt for info and submit a channel request. (That’s a relief!)
Here: https://subber.viki.com/project_finder.
There is even a handy “country” filter, so that we can immediately see our preferred country.
From there, we can go to the Channel’s main page to see information about it.
This is a very good way to do things, because it makes it easier to find available shows. No endless searching. Thank you viki!
I assume that, the moment a CM is selected, the show’s title will disappear from Project Finder.
I also assume that you can apply for as many shows as you want.
QUESTIONS:
This “every month” has confused people a bit. I understand this to mean that channels are created every month, but the show might be slated for airing in many months’ time. But… Does it mean that viki does not create new channels continuously, at the moment a new show is announced, but they all appear simultaneously at a certain date every month?
The fact that viki creates a channel does not necessarily mean it will get licensed. I get that. BUT does it mean that viki is at least interested in requesting a license? That it is considering it? Or does it include, blindly, all shows being announced, and then waits to see the public’s interest or lack thereof? What I mean is, is there a point in submitting license requests for those shows?
SUGGESTION: I would like new channels to be created and added at a certain date (for instance, each 1st of the month), so that we wouldn’t have to visit Project Finder every day.
SUGGESTION: Also the date when the channel was uploaded so that we can know how much is left from the two weeks for application.
SUGGESTION:
Sometimes we may apply for many shows which are slotted for a similar time period. We should be able to indicate preferences between two of them.
It would be enough to include a field for personal notes on the application form. For instance:
“I applied for Show A and Show B, which both air around the same time, so if you have to give me one of them, my first choice would be this one”.
2. How to apply:
[QUOTE]The form to apply to be a Channel Manager will only be available for titles that do not have a Channel Manager assigned. This form will be linked (“Apply to be a Channel Manager”) in the top header of the main channel page, underneath the show’s title.
There will be a two (2) week window to apply to be a Channel Manager, after which a user will be selected. Only QCs and Gold QCs can apply to be a Channel Manager.[/QUOTE]
QUESTION:
If two wannabe CMs have more or less equal qualifications, does priority count? Who submitted first during the two-week window?
Or do you just gather all submissions and, when the two weeks are over, review all of them regardless of priority?
SUGGESTION: I would like it to be that way, no preference given to who asked first, because of time zone problems. Otherwise all of us who don’t live in the U.S. would have to set an alarm clock in the middle of the night in order to apply in a timely manner. Again, whether new channels appear at a set day every month or continuously is important here.
QUESTION: After the 2-week window for applying, after how much time are the CMs selected? I mean, how much do they have to wait?
3. Existing submissions?
[QUOTE] If the channel was not yet created:
all users will need to apply to the newly created channels, including users who may have submitted channels previously. If the channel was already created:
All current Fan Channels, including any current channel team members, will remain on Viki.[/QUOTE]
QUESTIONS: No questions, it’s perfectly clear.
4. Prerequisites to select CMs
QUESTIONS:
This is where most of us have lots of questions. And this because it’s not clearly worded.
The two last points are taken together or separately? You count past shows AND upcoming together? I think it would make sense to count them together.
The limit of 2 shows for each 3 months means the projects should be evenly spaced. You cannot take 10 projects in one month and then 0 for the rest of the year. Which is sensible. But… as many people have pointed out, 2 channels in 3 months mean 2X4 = 8 channels in a year, not 10. Which one will be valid?
Please review this help page and make it clearer, more detailed and comprehensive, so that people who read it will go away with all their questions answered.
SUGGESTION: I believe that the number of episodes should be taken into account. If a show lasts 16-20 episodes, which is 8 to 10 weeks with 2 episodes per week, you are finished in 2 months or so. But if it is a 50-episode drama it will last for half a year. And if it’s one of those interminable Chinese dramas, then one show will keep you occupied for much longer.
And what about those 6-episode web dramas, which only last for 12 or 20 minutes? Is it fair to count them equally with the others?
My point is that if it’s few episodes, one should be able to take more channels than if it’s a drama with 50, 80 or 100 episodes.
Otherwise, nobody will want to take on web dramas - not a big loss, they usually suck anyway. But just sayin’.
SUGGESTION. Why are library titles not counted at all? I understand that they are done in a leisurely way, but still, there are people who hoard dozens of them. I suggest that there should be a limit for library titles too. Do make that limit independent from the on-air limit, otherwise nobody will tackle old titles. What I mean, make a rule that having library titles does not affect your eligibility for on-air dramas, but when you have 5 library dramas, you should have to show a minimum level of completion (say, English and two other languages) before you are given new ones. This will be an incentive to concentrate on finishing (finishing as I defined it) the ones you already have instead of hoarding and keeping them in limbo forever.
BIG QUESTION: What happens when you are assigned some projects but then they don’t get licensed? Do they still count? Suppose you apply for 5, you are given 2, and all two of them don’t get a license. Then what? You submit other shows, and wait until they are aired.
So they give you two new ones. And what if the old ones suddenly get a license?
Or… They do get a license but the airing is postponed by months.
5. Co-managers
This “at least” is confusing. It should be worded differently. For instance “five or more”
QUESTION:
“on-air and/or in-progress shows”? What are in-progress shows? What’s the difference from on-air? Does it mean “programmed, upcoming”?
So for a solo manager it’s two shows in a 3-month period, but if s/he is added as co-manager, it becomes 5 on air/in progress. Counting from when?
It is confusing, I would like it to be worded in a plainer, clearer manner.
Does this mean that a solo manager can augment his allowed number if s/he asks for a co-manager? If yes, it is an open window to abuse (asking for a fake co-manager just to be able to get more titles)
AND WHAT ABOUT MODERATORS?
The big question is now, what shall moderators do?
1. Where can they find “Recently assigned channels”?
SUGGESTION:
Another tab in project finder, so that we can find Recently Assigned Channels all in one place. Where “recently” can mean “the last two weeks” or “the last batch”.
2. Why no limits for them?
There is at least as much abuse in moderator positions as in CM positions.
SUGGESTION:
A limit in on-air shows similar to the one for CMs. With attention being given to the number of episodes.
A limit on library shows (no more than 5, and before being assigned another show, they should first finish their language in an existing one.
By channel request, do you mean creating a new channel, or do you mean further supporting a channel to get a licence?
If it’s the first one, Is the newly created channel already licensed?
If it’s the second one, I think Viki would in this way effectively remove the community from any decision-making process (not that we have all that much influence to begin with). So, the community will no longer be asked what they would like to watch and work on on Viki.
I find the whole idea of doubling the channels that already exists revolting. Firstly because there are people who actually created those channels because they found the topic interesting enough for them to care about it and work on it (even if it forever remained the fan channel), secondly because there is no possibility to apply for the CM position. This happened with The Lover’s Lies that I have created ( which was evantually granted to us as the sequel of the drama we are currently working on) and now to Nirvana in Fire 2 that was also created by me. Now Viki created a new channel for NiF2 and I will probably not have the right to govern it because Gone with the Shirt team is already working on some pretty long licensed dramas and I do not pass the muster for the CM although we probably have the highest ratio of finished subs in Chinese dramas managed by one team.
I do understand that we wanted to cut down the number of channels owned by the same teams of people or managers but there are some dramas that no one even cared about before and now we are to compete for them. I can understand NIF2 being the next flag project of Viki but come on. this is getting more ridiculous as the days go by.
I am still mourning the upcoming anihilation of all fan channels and now I am also deprived the right to continue the channel I created because of the “fresh start”.
it is no wonder we are losing so many subbers and segmenters lately…
It seems like Nirvana In Fire 2 is not the only duplicate, there’s also a new channel for Princess Agents which will start airing in two weeks already btw. This indeed is ridiculous.
Also, while all upcoming Korean dramas seem to be covered, besides Master of Reunions, I don’t see channels for Chinese dramas that are expected to come out soon (like this summer or even before, Little Valentine or Liang Sheng Can We Not Be Sad for example) among the new ones, most of the new channels seem to be web dramas and even there some that are expected to come out soon are not there (Burning Ice, LET’s Shake It, A Love So Beautiful etc.). That’s exactly what I feared, that this new system won’t work well with Chinese dramas.
Actually, Viki should create channels for ALL Chinese dramas that finished filming since they could go on air anytime soon.
no, it is their new policy for all “new” or “newly licensed” shows. the fan channel rules apply only for the shows that are not currently aired or were aired in the past - they will now become the “library” projects - but there is no information on which dramas exactly have the chance for the license.
