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[Yukimura]

Once again someone has requested that Mangatraders implement site wide genre filtering due to a fear of the inherent horror that is the yaoi genre.  As much as I dislike the idea of universal genre filters I am tired of hearing this request and so I am willing to seriously consider the idea if there is more than token support from a few scared prepubescents who think reading the titles of yaoi will somehow turn them gay.

The basic idea of the filter is that if you opted into it it would be impossible for you to find links to series that contain any of the filtered genres, assuming they were marked as such, when using the site.  This would include the daily uploads page, the Latest Uploads and 'Newest Series' sidebar items, the series search system, the series list and extended series list pages, and the series relations lists on series pages.  File search and One Shot page filtering are NOT up for consideration at this time but may be in the future. 

I am posting this poll because I want to get an idea of how specific I can get away with making the system without having to deal with too much more complaining.  Adding an option to specifically filter out certain predefined genres would be easier and cause less strain on the site than giving everyone the option to choose what to filter amongst all the genres.   My hypothesis is that the majority of people who would use a genre filtering system would choose to filter yaoi and shounen ai anyway so this poll is structured the way it is to confirm or deny that idea.  If there is enough support for a more generic system I will consider it but I don't want to hear complaining about site performance from anyone who chooses to opt into such a system.

If you are reading this on the front page click "Read Full Article" to vote in the poll.  Please vote even if you don't care one way or another since I really want an excuse not to do this and if enough of you don't care I can spend my time on more useful things.

EDIT #2
Thanks everyone who voted and/or posted their thoughts on this issue.  I got some good ideas from reading the responses.  Here's what I worked on most of yesterday working on instead of sleeping b/c I just love you all so much (once again praise and adulate me to your hearts content).

It turns out excluding series based on genre is a lot less work for the server than I thought it would be thanks to something I did for the series relations system so I will be adding an exclusion capability to the Extended Series List sometime in the next few days.  You'll be able to exclude genres just like you can require them when browsing for series.  As an added, unrelated treat I am adding support to sort the ext series list based on the newness of files in the series so you'll be able to see what series have had new files added recently.  I'm not sure if this is particularly useful but it's already done so there. 

I will also be adding 'tool tips' to the Newest Series and Popular Series side bar links and the Series Links on the Latest Uploads page.  These will display all the genres of a series when you hover over the link for it.  IE users, your browser is being lame as usual and the tool tips appear to the right of the link text instead of under it like they do in Firefox despite everything I've tried so far.  If anyone has a solution to that particular problem I'm all ears.  This is about as far as I'm willing to go in facilitating the 'I don't want to have to see 'those' series on the whatever list at this time.

My next (front side) priority will be the advanced search system which will essentially be the 'Extended Series List' with a text search option and including files instead of just series.

EDIT #1
I've read through all the responses to the thread so far and I appreciate all the feedback given.  From the poll it's obvious the majority of you who care enough to read my posts and act on my requests don't care about this 'issue'.  That said those of you who do care matter too and there have been some good alternative ideas suggested so far.  I've also noticed a lot of snark in the comments and while I agree with much of the snark I want to set the record straight on something.  The type of feature requests that prompted me to make this appeal to the community have been less related to downloading and more to browsing.  The crux of the issue, as far as I understand it, is that browsing for new series is 'too hard' for some people when the list of series to browse includes series with genres one does not wish to read ever.  I've noticed a lot of people saying "don't like it, don't download it" and while I agree with that statement I don't think that is the issue the people complaining/making the suggestions are bringing up and it shouldn't be brought up in this particular discussion either.

I understand that looking for new manga to read is a difficult issue and that understanding is the only reason I was willing to entertain this filter notion at all.  My ultimate goal is balancing ease of use and functionality for you users, the allocation of the site's resources, and the allocation of my own time and energy.  I originally made the Extended Series List to address the sort of issue we're talking about here and from the comments I've read so far one of my priorities will be looking at adding a genre exclusion list to that page in addition to the genre inclusion list already provided. 

Another pretty good idea I have seen is making all the genres of a series visible from the newest series and search results links so people can save the two precious mouse clicks it would take to discover a series is not one they want to learn anything more about.  I don't exactly like the idea of having to send even more information to everyone's browser on every page but showing more information to everyone would ultimately take less of a toll on Mangatraders' resources than the site trying to hide different information from different people.

A third idea which is already in the pipeline for whenever I get the time and motivation to do it is a more advanced search system.  I have always thought it was unfortunate that you can't search for a title AND an author AND and a set of genres all at the same time with our search system and I plan to rectify this eventually.  Unfortunately the time requirement for creating (and testing) such a system is not trivial and I am only one person.

Finally, in the interest of a more informed userbase I have added a list to the Forum version of this post.  This list shows a count of all the series that include each genre recognized by Mangatraders.



EDIT
Just FYI as of Nov 2nd 2009 these are the counts of series identified with each genre recognized by Mangatraders. 

Romance	2137
Shoujo	1800
Comedy	1641
Drama	1383
Yaoi	1318
Action	925
Fantasy	871
Shounen	762
Slice of Life	740
Supernatural	699
Seinen	626
School Life	547
Adventure	532
Ecchi	436
Shounen Ai	428
Sci-fi	349
Mystery	264
Historical	254
Horror	235
Josei	196
Gender Bender	192
Psychological	189
Sports	174
Martial Arts	155
Tragedy	143
Harem	93
Yuri	82
Mecha	78
Shoujo Ai	73
Reverse Harem	70
Suspense	35

[OtakuMan]

While I dont care if there is yaoi in the site or front page, it would made finding new series less of a problem due to the fact that I dont read yaoi and the incredible amount of yaoi manga in the site.

[jtbatahk]

Frequent user, first time poster.

Have used this site in tandem with Japanese or Chinese version purchases of the mangas I read.

First, I want to say big thanks for the service you and all the scantalators provide.

Second, IMHO this is a plain display of bigotry and a ridiculous filter. If you don't like it, don't read it. No one is forcing you to download yaoi manga.

[yumikichi]

Filters? Sorry guys you made me laugh. You have absollutely right jtbatahk and Yukimura I hope you will be OK with this problem and not freeze your nerves

Dont like, dont read or download. Are you people so stupid that you cant understand this simple equation?

[forgottenme]

the option is a good idea in my opinion as long as it filters whatever is selected by the user i dislike yaoi and would filter it for the sake of simplicity.
if yaoi is filtered i don't have to consider whether that girly title is yaoi or just shoujo romance(being a guy i read suprisingly quite a lot of it) so it makes my life that little bit easier thanks for all the hardwork and dedication

[liviamr]

I think it's a big waist of time, space, and effort. If you don't like it DON"T DOWNLOAD IT. Maybe just a small icon next to the yaoi & yuri just to give a heads up at best. Also THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND FOR THIS AWESOME SITE!!!!!!

[ezone2ki]

I'm always looking for new mangas to read from the new uploads list and always gets annoyed when yet another yaoi manga comes up..there's just more of them than the usual here so a filter would be appreciated ^^

[purpledina4]

I  agree: if you don't like yaoi then don't read or download it.  This site is quite specific to which genre the manga belongs.  Doing a filtering like this is really just wasting time on your part.  BTW, I am a yaoi/shounen ai fan.  Keep up the good work. 

[Moonwaters]

Um, for those (like me) who dont read yaoi, maybe we can just implement a search system where you can select which genres you're looking for when you search for a title (instead doing a site wide filter, which seems awfully time consuming and pointless to me....).
 
Personally, I really don't understand why people are complaining so much about yaoi. If you don't want to read it, just don't download it!! And its not as if you can't tell if this manga is yaoi or not without downloading it.....its pretty obvious from the manga's cover picture. Plus, the manga's genre should already indicate if its a yaoi or not. As an user who never reads yaoi (and who has read over hundreds of mangas), I have never read a yaoi manga by accident.

All in all, it would be much appreciated if MangaTraders could simply have a search filter. However, if it comes with a complete filter system, please dont bother wasting your time for this pointless task.
Thanks very much for creating and maintaining this site!! ^^

[Hampst]

I would like the ability to filter for only the genres that I am interested in.  Anything that clears up clutter for me is a good thing as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.  Equating personal choice in genre selection with bigotry is either fuzzy-headed thinking or disingenuous.  Of course we can already choose to download only those titles that appeal to us, but we are talking about streamlining the selection process for ourselves.  Nobody is suggesting that our personal choices should affect anyone else on the site.  

[onepiec3]

i kind of think this would be a waste of time. really. read what you want and dont read what you dont.  

[IrisErato]

'Ello!  First time responding in the forum, but I use the site all the time.  I'm a happy little parasite.  

Anyways, I think having a filter is fine. 

I wouldn't use it myself - I *love* yaoi (read it all the time) - but for people who don't, I think it's a good idea.  I'm not going to go into judging what people should view depending on whether they like or dislike particular genres, the point here is whether it's worth it to you, the administrator.

It really depends on whether you think the bother of making the filter is worth not receiving any more compliants from mono-genre folks.  If it's too much trouble don't bother with it.  People will find something to complain about whether you do it or not.

But if you think it will cut down on complaints and will help you maintain the site then go ahead.  All I ask is that you leave an option where people (like myself) can turn off all filters so we can access everything.

I personally love reading different genres; I love a well-written story period, no matter what genre its in.  Ultimately, a filter option may make mono-genre people more happy as they access only what they want, while an option to turn off all filters lets people view everything.  Maybe put a note by the 'turn off all filters' option that reads: "Checking this option means you take responsibility for what you download and read.  Complaints about undesirable genres will not be listened to."  Then you can ignore all genre-related complaints afterwards in good conscience. 

Hmm... if you do impliment a filter, you'll probibly have to have a notice explaining the different genres to people immediately above the filter option. 

Hope this helps, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Angie27]

I think the idea of this filter is useless. I agree with those who said that if you don't like yaoi then you shouldn't read it or download it.
Really, spend your time in whatever else you like

[bookwyrm]

I don't have a horror of yaoi, but it would make the latest downloads easier to navigate for me to have that filter...I end up wasting a lot of time clicking through to series that turn out to be ones I'm not interested in, and it would cut down on that a lot to cut out yaoi. On the other hand, even though that filter would be convenient, I wouldn't call it crucial or anything--it's my own choice to hunt around for new mangas, so my own choice to waste my time like that

[layt]

I agree with the others, if you don't like yaoi then don't download it or read it. A lot of people like yaoi and well, a lot doesn't like it too. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, just leave it. It's fine the way things are now.