- MyAnimeList
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MyAnimeList 
URL www.myanimelist.net Slogan Organize, Discuss, Discover; How Much Anime Have You Seen? Commercial? Yes Type of site Social Networking Registration Free Available language(s) English Owner CraveOnlineMedia, a division of Evolve Media Corp. Created by Garrett Gyssler Launched April 6, 2006 Alexa rank 4,091 (as of July 13, 2011) Revenue Advertising Current status Active MyAnimeList, often abbreviated as MAL, is a social networking website. The site provides its users with a list-like system to organize anime and manga. It facilitates finding users who share similar tastes and provides a large database on anime and manga. Recently[when?] it suffers from database issues, slow loading times, and other various website related issues, however the creator "Xinil" and the team behind the website are constantly resolving issues.
The website was created and is actively maintained by Garrett Gyssler, who goes by the alias of "Xinil". Currently, there are forty staff members who update the anime and manga databases, moderate the community, and post news stories.[1] As of July 14, 2009, MyAnimeList claims to have registered over 200,000 users, of whom over 40,000 sign in every day.[2][3]
Contents
History
According to Gyssler, the site was launched in November 2004 and originally hosted on his personal website, before it was moved to the domain myanimelist.net, during April 2006, in an attempt to increase the user base. He further states that, since then, the site has "had a huge influx of new users".[4]
On August 4, 2008, CraveOnline, a men's entertainment and lifestyle site owned by AtomicOnline, purchased MyAnimeList for an undisclosed sum of money.[5][6][7] However, according to Mike Dodge, SVP and general manager of AtomicOnline, the sum was on the lower end of their typical acquisitions, which he said range from $400,000 to $2,000,000.[7]
Features
Features history
MyAnimeList originally consisted solely of a no-frills anime list. Databases were absent and the site had no other significant features. On June 29, 2005, the anime database was created to standardize anime series' names on every user's list. Prior to the launch of the first generation forums in 2006, the website utilized the "Panel" system for user communication. This system was similar to the "Profile Comments" feature on MAL today, which is the ability for users to place text messages on another user's profile page. The Panel system was mostly created to allow users to communicate with the administrator, but could also be used for discussions among themselves. Communication between members was improved when on April 6, 2006 a forum system which utilized the Simple Machines Forum script was added to the site. On December 11, the forum was replaced by a new system, custom written from scratch by Gyssler.
Current features
MyAnimeList lists anime, Korean animation, and Chinese animation. Similarly, MyAnimeList has information on manga (Japanese comics), manwha (South Korean comics), manhua (Chinese comics), as well as dōjinshi (fan comics) and light novels. The users' anime or manga lists can be personalized in terms of content and visual style by either utilizing the site's native modification tools or by writing one's own CSS code to control what information is displayed and how it is presented. Users can also customize signatures that show what they have recently watched and/or read, their favorites, and other things.
The site also features a searchable person database that provides various information, such as people's names in their native writing system or their date of birth, of Japanese, English, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Brazilian, and Italian voice actors. The person database also lists other people in the anime or manga industry, including anime or manga staff members whose entries are cross-linked with their respective media entries. Another database provides information on fictional characters, listing the media in which they appear as well as their respective voice actors. A third searchable database contains fansubbing groups which lists what these groups have subbed and provides users with the ability to rate the quality of the fansubs.
Users can submit reviews, write recommendations, blogs, post in the site's forum, create clubs to unite with people of similar interests, and subscribe to the RSS news feed of anime and manga related news. Another feature is discussions about episodes and chapters in the forums. Users are asked if they would like to discuss an episode or chapter after updating an entry on their list, however this feature can be disabled.
Reception
Japanzine mentioned the site in the "Otaku" category of its "Best of the Web" feature in 2008, calling the site the "nerdiest thing ever conceived", and comparing its way of displaying user profiles as a list of statistics to "some sort of freakish anime fantasy football."[8]
Recent Site Issues
As of early 2010, MyAnimeList has gone through various points in time when the forums and other active parts of the site are rendered inaccessible due to ongoing database problems. According to Gyssler, he has been trying to fix these problems but to what seems to be no avail. Site issues occurring range from long load times, half of pages loading, avatars not uploading, and post not appearing in the forum. As of July 2010, Gyssler has tried to alleviate problems in many ways, one of them by working on database errors individually.[9]
References
- ^ Gyssler, Garrett. "About MyAnimelist.net - Team". MyAnimeList. http://myanimelist.net/about.php?go=team. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
- ^ "200,000 Registered Users and API Released!". MyAnimeList. http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=99302. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
- ^ Gyssler, Garrett. "About MyAnimeList.net". MyAnimeList. http://myanimelist.net/about.php. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Gyssler, Garrett. "History of MyAnimeList.net". MyAnimeList. http://myanimelist.net/profile/Xinil. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
- ^ Kaplan, David (August 4, 2008). "CraveOnline Buys Manga Social Net MyAnimeList". CBS Interactive. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/04/paidcontent/main4318311.shtml. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
- ^ "CraveOnline Buys Anime/Manga Site". SocalTech.com. August 4, 2008. http://www.socaltech.com/craveonline_buys_anime_manga_site/s-0016715.html. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
- ^ a b O'Malley, Gavin (August 5, 2008). "CraveOnline Acquires MyAnimeList Social Network". MediaPost Communications. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=87905. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
- ^ Wilks, Jon; Oakland, Mike. "Best of the Web '08". SeekJapan. http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/jz/1525/Best+of+the+Web+'08. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
- ^ Gyssler, Garrett. "Site-wide Issues". MyAnimeList. http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=246624. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
Categories:- Anime and manga websites
- Entertainment websites
- Community websites
- Social cataloging applications
- Virtual communities
- Web 2.0
- Internet properties established in 2004
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