A fansub is a fan-produced translated, subtitled version of an anime program.
 Fansubs are a tradition that began with the first anime clubs in the 1980s,
 although with the advent of cheap computer software and subbing equipment, 
they really took off in the mid 1990s. Nearly all fansubs are produced by 
anime fans for fans, and are distributed free (or at the very most, for 
reimbursement of incidental costs such as blank tape for the particular copy, 
postage, etc.) Those who do charge money for fansubs are frowned upon as bootleggers. 
Fansubs are distributed through local anime clubs, trading through the mail or 
now through file-sharing services on the Internet. Although technically illegal 
-- Japanese copyrights are honored in the US and other Berne Convention countries 
and vice versa -- some anime licensors look the other way on fansubs as 
"free advertising" since people who see a fansub are likely to buy the release 
on DVD if they enjoy it. Fansubbers also follow a code of honor of sorts, and halt 
all work on a title once it has been licensed in the US.