Scans_Daily is dead. Fuck ‘em.

Point 1:
So, apparently if you run a LiveJournal community in which members post scans of big chunks of comic books that are on the stands right now and then whine about the spoilers those chunks contain, it’s not actually a marketing device, despite any remarkable powers of disillusionment you may have. Yes, a lot of vocal people have said that Scans_Daily helped sell them comics, but do you really think that the people who read the juicy bits to stay on top of things and ignore titles the rest of the time are really going to raise their hands to be counted?

Point 2:
No, the 5-page previews Marvel and DC send to Newsarama and CBR are not the same thing at all and everyone should know better than to even use that argument. Should the companies look at ways of marketing themselves to the LJ demographic? Perhaps. Should people feel it’s their right to post entire issues piecemeal to talk about how off-character some people from X-Factor were? No.

Point 3:
I can’t believe people are defending someone telling Peter David to die in a fire. Yes, it’s a too-common piece of internet hyperbole, but if a community is going to act like a group of internet brats, they’re going to be treated as such. Surprise, kids, welcome to the real world, where actions like being a complete dick to another human being have consequences.

Point 4:
“It’s just the internet” doesn’t cut it when it’s directly connected to copyright violation. If you’re going to act as a unauthorized, evangelical marketing device, you’ll also have to act like a responsible group of comics fans sharing some scans (we all do it, that’s fine) while respecting the creators and copyright holders. This is especially true when you are posting scans of comic books that are in stores and available to purchase.

Yes, I tried to be an active part of Scans_Daily for a while, because a few people in that community seemed to genuinely love comic books old and new and wanted to share that enthusiasm. I stopped when people told me I wrote the characters of my own webcomic incorrectly.

Edited To Add: Brigid Alverson did a good roundup of the Scans_Daily closure and made some points that I think are worth discussing. I also disagree with them, hence my comment there.