Do You Think It's Okay to Read Free Online Manga Scanlations?

not all manga you can buy in america and it get expensive >~<

Some manga you can't buy in your country >.<

yes, its like music.

Shot I think its ok... If its free on the web why buy it ...I read about and over 500 mangas online already ..if i bought all that it'll cost me a fortune.. I mean i admit sometimes it's good to buy it to treasure your favorite and to support the manga groups but still...you know

Well, it's there. Manga can get expensive. And if the author of whatever manga really didn't want any of it online, I'm sure they would take extra measures to get it off.

Nevertheless I try to buy my manga when I can, so I can support to author. I find that the best thing to do.. but can still understand when others don't.

However, I think that as soon as the manga is officially announced to be released locally that the scanlation should be taken down.

I can't read Japanese.

Depends on the manga. Most manga out there is unavailable to us because it's not being sold here or not translated.

For manga that's already here, though, it's probably better to read some to see if you like it, then buy it. I don't though, because I have no income. I'd like to when I become an independent and can afford it.

Of course, i see nothing wrong with it.
I like to read the manga online first and then, for some reason, after im done reading it and know its worth the money, i buy all the volumes that have came out in my country.
This also gives us access to manga that will never be released into out country.
A lot of manga reading sites have stopped posting manga, due to copy right laws, such as OneManga. (rip o-great manga site..)
Most, im pretty sure all, manga's are protected by copy right laws, but a lot of times there are ways to get around those laws, like sometimes, simple credit can get around it, or just distributing it, non-profit can get around it.
Really, reading scanlations in not illegal for you, but the distributor.

If you dont have money to buy the actual book then reading it online is the next best thing.

The original purpose of scanlations was to provide translated copies of manga for readers who can't read Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or whichever language it happens to be written in. I buy the translated versions when they're made available, but often the scanlations are available online long before that.

Now, reading them online when they are available in English already could possibly be considered the same thing as pirating, but I don't quite agree. It's really not all that different than reading it in a library. You're still reading it for free.

It's expensive. Plus, my Borders was closed.

There's also some manga that will most likely never be brought to your country, so fan-subs are the only option sometimes.

If this gets you in jail, see you there :P