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Particularly on the first link, there seems to be some question if translation/subtitle locations are on topic. Disregarding legal implications, that is to say assuming we only are going to allow linking to sources of official or otherwise legal translations/subtitles, should these kinds of questions be on topic?

Examples of legal sources would be versions of shows/movies that have the desired subtitles but that were removed from or added to different physical mediums; or out-of-print copies of alternate language versions of books or author-sanctioned translations or possibly even academic translations.

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The first seems like a shopping question, which IIRC are considered off-topic SE-wide. If the question is "is there a version that has Spanish subtitles", rather than "where do I find ...", then it seems on-topic to me.

I think the second one is definitely on-topic (asking for "better" translations invites bad answers that have no reasoning, but there could also be good subjective answers).

It seems like a perfectly reasonable topic for our site, roughly coming under the "Behind-the-scenes and fandom information" on-topic list. (Assuming, as you have, that questions/answers about illegal material are unacceptable).

IMO they are similar to questions about different editions of books (e.g. this question), which do not seem to be controversial. In addition, questions like this may be particularly useful to those whose first language is not English, which would be a great addition to the site.

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  • I tend to agree. :) However, to be clear, it is not a shopping question. Tron: The Next Day, is a short film that was released online as a teaser for the 3rd movie.
    – DampeS8N
    Apr 25, 2011 at 12:03
  • @DampeS8N your edit makes the question much clearer and more clearly not a shopping question.
    – Tony Meyer
    Apr 25, 2011 at 13:14
  • Cool. :)
    – DampeS8N
    Apr 25, 2011 at 13:46
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I don't think this is a category that can be decided on- or off-topic as a whole.

Questions about the existence of published translations of written SF into English are often answered by a single link to ISFDB (so we might end up closing them as general reference). Other media or languages don't seem to have such a resource. For example, information about what DVD editions have subtitles in what languages is hard to find — but then we get into the different issue of shopping questions. I can't see a reason to reject questions about planned translations (as long as there's some substance, e.g. rumors to substantiate or disprove).

Fansubbing and fan translations are a difficult issue: these are generally unauthorized and therefore a breach of copyright. While I sympathize with the desire of people to have translations in their language, explicit references to illegal material (or to very-probably-illegal material) can't be left on the site. But this is something that needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis (there are authorized fansubs, there are works that are out of copyright in some locales…).

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