Hello again, and welcome to the answer portion of the 'ask allkpop' mailbag feature! Right off the bat, we'd like to thank you guys for all your help, as the response to this new feature has been overwhelming thus far.  Initially, we weren't sure how often we would do this, but you guys are making us feel like this is a worthwhile endeavor, so we'll try to update as much as possible. For the first mailbag, we tried to select questions that were primarily general-issue type of inquires, though we did throw in some unique questions as well.  A lot of the more technical questions regarding the site will be included in the second mailbag, so those answers are coming eventually. The questions presented below are not word-for-word as they appeared in the e-mails, mainly because they have been edited for spelling, grammar, and for brevity's sake, but the general tone of the questions have been maintained. So without further ado, onto the questions! ---- "Why are you biased?" Asked by: What seems like the entire population of the world. Answered by: CM I believe that this is by far the most frequently asked question out there.  We always encounter it in our tips, in this mailbox, and even in the comments. At first, I was going to give you guys a general reply, but I realized it'd be better if I could provide a clear example of what's really going on in our inbox. For example, we've received questions about how we're biased for SHINee, how we're biased against SHINee, why do we hate SNSD, why do we love SNSD, why there is so much 2NE1, why there isn't enough 2NE1, why do JYP artists get so much love, why don't JYP artists get enough love, why do we hate SM artists, why do we love SM artists, has YG bought our site, how come YG artists get so much negativity, and it goes on forever and ever and ever. The overall point is that I think fans see what they want to see.  The alleged bias allkpop has is likely a reflection of what you are feeling, rather than what we are actually doing.  After all, as a fan, whenever you see a negative article about your favorite idol, you're more likely to register it heavily than an impartial observer.  As such, over time, allkpop becomes a much more biased site for you than it would to an impartial observer. Now if there is any bias at all, then it's a bias towards popularity, obviously.  If your favorite celebrity is popular, then they are more likely to get coverage on allkpop, for better or for worse.  You can see how that makes sense, right? If a celebrity only has one fan, but we post about that celebrity every day all day, then the other three million people who read the site are flooded by news of a celebrity they don't care about.  Sure, we make an effort to cover less popular celebrities, but to expect them to get as much coverage as hugely popular celebrities is just not a realistic expectation from any source. Going on a bit of a tangent here, I think the word "bias" is thrown around in the comments far too liberally.  People seem to claim the site is biased every time there's an article that they don't like, but bias is not about simply disliking what you're reading at the moment.  To throw around the accusation of favoritism is rather serious, as it hits at both the integrity of the writer, the editor, and the site, so I wish people would stop flippantly throwing the bombastic word around every time there's an article posted which they aren't overjoyed with. Anyway, everybody is biased to a certain degree, whether they want to be or not.  Obviously, as human beings, we have our own personal likes and dislikes, but realize that we are a collection of humans, and not just one entity called allkpop.  I know it's an extremely popular activity to spread around the Internet that allkpop hates so and so, or allkpop is owned by so and so company, or allkpop is an evil corporation hell-bent on the imprisonment of innocent celebrities, but the honest truth is that we consciously attempt to be as objective as possible, and we certainly are not owned or even paid by any company. So please, stop with the conspiracy theories, bias, and tin foil hats, because while we realize it's the most interesting angle to take, the truth is far less entertaining. ---- "I dislike your inclusion of netizen comments in the articles." Asked by: Katherine and Christian Answered by: CM Just to clarify, the writers themselves are not the ones who put the netizen comments in the articles.  Netizen comments are frequently taken from the original source articles and then translated into English. Anyway, I am interested in whether or not you guys like to see the netizen comments in the articles.  I doubt they will ever completely stop being included, but I am certainly open to the idea of not including them as often. What say you? ---- "Why do you just translate articles and not give your opinion?" Asked by: Chanel Answered by: CM This is a tricky question, because as you can see by the line of questioning above, there are hoards of people who already claim we are biased. This pervading opinion would only get worse if personal opinions were included with the articles.  We have learned over time that if any of our writers say anything remotely opinionated about celebrities, people will get upset with the writers, and it gets to the point at times where they e-mail tons of tips calling for them to be fired. As it currently stands, even if the news is nothing more than a direct translation of the Korean article, we are accused of bias, so you can see our reluctance in actually letting writers publish whether they love or hate something, as it frequently ends up reflecting on all of us. I will say that we are trying to incorporate more opinion pieces and enthusiasm in the articles though. This mailbag itself is opinionated, and there should be more editorial-type features down the road. Hopefully the reaction is rational, as you would think a gossip and news blog site would have the right to post opinions if the most respected news publications in the world are allowed to post theirs. "The articles are unprofessional because the author adds short comments about the news.  This is obviously biased, as the comment affects the reader psychologically and at a subconscious level, and I think you need to be professional.  Stick to stating only the facts." Asked by: Renata Answered by: asphodel I would like to clarify, here and now, that allkpop is a K-pop gossip and news blog site.  We do deliver the news, but we also like to have fun with it.  So naturally, we're quite critical about what we allow to be published, but we see no harm in a general off-hand remark. Regarding the concerns about personal inflection in the article, and how it could "affect the reader psychologically" and "at a subconscious level", well...this isn't 'The Manchurian Candidate' here, and we're not using MKULTRA on you. In other words, we're not here to brainwash you. We don't try to sway your opinions in news articles, subliminally or otherwise.  You're free to disagree with what we post, but we're also free to give our thoughts. The solution here is to use your critical reading skills and discern for yourself what your opinion of the news is. ---- "How do you guys pick newsworthy pieces?" Asked by: dora Answered by: asphodel When we aren't creating our own news at events, we generally rely on tips and news sources for our articles, so if you would like to see more posts on your favourite artists, please drop a tip in and we'll do the best we can. ---- "Can you guys not post drama spoilers in the images and titles?" Asked by: lucka Answered by: CM Yes!  We are sorry that this has been happening, and we've been trying to cut down on it.  Recently, we've been posting [Spoiler] or [Spoiler Alert] in the titles, but you brought up a good point that the images from the episodes themselves can be spoilers, so we'll do our best to rectify that situation as well. Again, we apologize, and we realize spoilers can be frustrating, but it's all in the attempt to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the drama.  Thanks for the help. ---- "Which celebrity would you save first in a zombie invasion?" Asked by: Rich Answered by: asphodel and CM asphodel says:

So Ji Sub.  Twinkies first though. CM says: Easy. Lee Min Jung.

Cause dat mah wife. ---- We're loving this project, and we're looking forward to answering more of your questions, so please keep sending them in! The place where you should send your questions, concerns, and compliments is // .