"Already translated"

Sometimes, another group or individual will release something that I'm currently working on. Since there's always someone who'll comment on this in some way, I've decided to make a standard post which I'll refer to when/if it happens in the future, so I don't have to repeat myself every time, and to give a comprehensive answer.

When I decide to work on a certain manga/doujin, I:

• make a comment in the gallery that contains the raw version on exhentai.
  
  
  
  • Unless you have your personal scanner (in which case working on the same thing shouldn't even be an issue), I'm sure this is where most groups get their raws. Therefore, I think it's the most reasonable place to use when "calling dibs " on a certain project. I usually wait ~12 hours after I've left my comment before I start working on something, so that people can contact me if they want to do it, or have already started.
  
  
  
  


• make a card on LWB trello board.
  
  
  
  • If you're an h-manga group, I'd suggest you get in touch with someone from LWB to get access to their forum/trello. Outside of e-hentai, it's probably the best way to contact other translators.
  
  
  
  


• announce it on my blog: here, here, in the sidebar, or in a post.
  
  
  
  • This is the least public announcement, and I don't expect groups to keep track of other translators' sites (I don't), but perhaps a visitor who frequent both sites could serve as a mediator.
  
  
  
  

I believe I do my utmost to inform others of my intentions. Unfortunately, I can't do anything if other groups ignore or miss this information, or work on something without announcing it anywhere for others to see.

Believe me, unless the other version is crappy in some way (bad translation, sloppy editing, magazine version, etc.), I see no point in doing two versions. "Two is better than one" might be true on a smaller scale, but at the end of the day, two groups have released two versions of the same thing--time and effort which could've been better spent working on two different projects.

PS: This post is first and foremost aimed towards people who make comments like "why did you translate something that has already been translated?"