When was the group started?

Before we became a group, Diane (Panda-CAT) was running a little page with summaries (and then scanlations) of Hikaru no Go for the too impatient fans. It can be tracked down to October 23rd, 2002.

Some big fans of Hikaru no Go decided to help the Panda-CAT and no longer it was a one-woman work. As a group, our first release was on February 19th, 2003. Our site was opened the day before so we chose February 18th as the official date for our group’s anniversary (if ink’s memory’s serves right… but ink is the one deciding now, anyway).

Although we started with Hikaru no Go, we felt we should bring out other great series. The same year, we started most of our big projects. It was also a wise decision as Hikaru no Go got licensed only a few months after our group debuted.

As years pass by, many staff left, joined, or even make a comeback. We had some slow periods (internet issues when not staff ones) but we’re still here. Yay! Panda got very busy with life and work and that’s how ink became the new leader. Manga can be a real addiction~

In 2006, ‘Hikaru no Go Translations’ changed its name to ‘ETC’ (as in ‘et cetera’ or ‘et caetera’, both spellings are OK). It was way time to change it as we were not working on HnG anymore; we just couldn’t find the right time (and the name!).
Tada!

How come I don’t see person X in the IRC channel?

For one thing, not everyone have the time to go on irc. In fact, most of our staff are very busy! We have to survive in the real world before we can bring you releases, right?

Manga X was SOooo GOOD! When is the next release?

Please refrain from asking this question. We try our best to bring you quality releases at the quickest pace possible. As stated above, we have a life in the real world, too.

Huh? I don’t understand phrase A on page B in chapter C in volume D! Can you explain it to me?

We go through a thorough proofreading process before each release. Additionally, even though our proofreaders are not Nobel Prize winners in Literature, if everyone in the group understands it, most people should, too. Of course, if you still can’t understand it after re-reading it a couple more times, just send us a message and we will try to explain it.

I LOVE manga X, can you guys do it?

Well, it depends. First, it has to interest one of us. Then we have limited human resources and money to buy raws. We will consider it but you will sound far more convincing if you can offer some sort of help along with your request.^^;;

I spotted a pixel missing on frame X on page Y! Can you guys redo it?

Wow, we are impressed if you can do that. Sure, we will try our best to fix the problem(s). Meanwhile though, please consider becoming a proofreader/editor for us. XD

I’d like to translate one of your projects into [insert your language]. Would you give me permission?

We’d most likely agree but please ask us first (this is the least curtesy expected from you) through the contact page or pm ink in our chan.

Can I link to your files?

The answer is flat NO! We don’t have the excess bandwidth for you to link to. You can direct people to our website. They should figure out pretty easily how to get files from here.

I want to help you guys host some files, who do I need to talk to?

While we are all for sharing love of manga, please note that we don’t allow re-distribution of our files anymore. What we do here is illegal and we don’t need more exposure than necessary. There’s plenty of ways to be notified of new releases out there and you can get most of our stuff pretty easily on our own site (direct links, too). If you want to share your love of the series we work(ed) on, please redirect people here. Thanks for your cooperation!