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Why do people who have been on Proz for over 10 years continue to hide behind silly screen names?
Thread poster: Michael Beijer
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 16:54
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Yes, most likely. Mar 2, 2016

AndersonT wrote:

So yeah, I do agree with you for the most part. However, I prefer to reserve the "initial evaluation" for myself, rather than hoping that clients will be smart about it. Because lets be real for a moment, without meaning offense to anyone, most jobs posted around here are "acts of desperation" by project managers with a lack of available resources under tremendous deadline pressure. I doubt that many of them will be performing appropriate background checks, especially considering the barrage of quotes they are being subjected to on a regular basis.


Imagine you are a busy PM managing a project into 20 languages. You will be doing background checks on all prospects the way Dan describes? I doubt so.

And you put it nicely, after seen what I've seen, I prefer to keep the initial checks for myself, once I qualify a client reliable enough, then I send or reply to emails, of course my email contains all the info about me it needs to contain, and the info can be verified.


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
Misrepresentation and fraud are forbidden Mar 2, 2016

CafeTran Training wrote:

This issue is even more complicated: some members here use the account of others (relatives, colleagues etc.) to post with a false identity.

Is this allowed?


An answer to this, and to the general question of displaying your real name, can be found in the general rule #6:

Misrepresentation and fraud are forbidden. It is possible to use ProZ.com without disclosing your name. However, impersonating others, using assumed identities, or otherwise attempting to deceive others to any degree will not be tolerated.


If you are aware of misrepresentation instances, you should report them to staff by sending a support request.

Regards,
Enrique


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
Verified identity Mar 2, 2016

Michael J.W. Beijer wrote:

Ricki Farn wrote:

I thought the "verified identity" badge already existed (and I never managed to get one, as I always use a short form of my first name that isn't on my credit card or other official paperwork). Or was this abolished at some point while I wasn't paying attention?


Not sure. Just noticed that esperantisto has the "verified identity" ✓, and he/she isn't using his/her real name. You might want to check with support, as I suspect it would be possible to get the little tick too.


The verified identity tick means that the real name entered in the ProZ.com profile actually matches the name of the person handling that profile. This does not mean that the real name is displayed to all.

Regards,
Enrique


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
Risk management is an integral part of business Mar 2, 2016

Lingua 5B wrote:

AndersonT wrote:

So yeah, I do agree with you for the most part. However, I prefer to reserve the "initial evaluation" for myself, rather than hoping that clients will be smart about it. Because lets be real for a moment, without meaning offense to anyone, most jobs posted around here are "acts of desperation" by project managers with a lack of available resources under tremendous deadline pressure. I doubt that many of them will be performing appropriate background checks, especially considering the barrage of quotes they are being subjected to on a regular basis.


Imagine you are a busy PM managing a project into 20 languages. You will be doing background checks on all prospects the way Dan describes? I doubt so.


I respectfully disagree. If you are outsourcing a job into 20 languages, you are responsible for the management of the associated risk, including the identity verification of both the client and the translators you select for each task.

Common sense may help here, as you can do the verification only for the translators you have selected, not all the potential pool.

Also, if you are outsourcing work into 20 languages, you should have already in most of those languages a team of trusted and tested translators.

If they don't even provide risk management to the project, what value are these hypothetical outsourcers providing for the project?

Regards,
Enrique


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:54
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Google Mar 2, 2016

Every day I use a website with the strange name "Google". I have no idea who's behind it or who actually manages the site, but that doesn't make me not want to use it.

[Edited at 2016-03-02 16:36 GMT]


 
AndersonT (X)
AndersonT (X)  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:54
German to English
yes, but ... Mar 2, 2016

Enrique Cavalitto wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:

AndersonT wrote:

So yeah, I do agree with you for the most part. However, I prefer to reserve the "initial evaluation" for myself, rather than hoping that clients will be smart about it. Because lets be real for a moment, without meaning offense to anyone, most jobs posted around here are "acts of desperation" by project managers with a lack of available resources under tremendous deadline pressure. I doubt that many of them will be performing appropriate background checks, especially considering the barrage of quotes they are being subjected to on a regular basis.


Imagine you are a busy PM managing a project into 20 languages. You will be doing background checks on all prospects the way Dan describes? I doubt so.


I respectfully disagree. If you are outsourcing a job into 20 languages, you are responsible for the management of the associated risk, including the identity verification of both the client and the translators you select for each task.

Common sense may help here, as you can do the verification only for the translators you have selected, not all the potential pool....


You certainly make a good argument, Enrique. However, it seems to be based on a "best case scenario".

I can make the concession that my example may have been overly generalizing. It is indeed true that I have found new business relationships here via job posts that were handled properly from start to wrap-up, which even included contacting some of my references and giving me a quick phone call.

So yes, sometimes it does work out just fine. Alas, the world is not a perfect place and things don't always work out so well. In a simple case of corporate fraud/embezzlement the affected entity will usually be able to recover from it. As a freelance service provider, however, we often don't have that "airbag".

Thus, I maintain my initial assertion that it is probably safer and wiser to take risk evaluation in your own hands until you are convinced that the other party is trustworthy enough to store your personal information and documents just as safely as you would do yourself.


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
More risk management Mar 2, 2016

AndersonT wrote:

Enrique Cavalitto wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:

AndersonT wrote:

So yeah, I do agree with you for the most part. However, I prefer to reserve the "initial evaluation" for myself, rather than hoping that clients will be smart about it. Because lets be real for a moment, without meaning offense to anyone, most jobs posted around here are "acts of desperation" by project managers with a lack of available resources under tremendous deadline pressure. I doubt that many of them will be performing appropriate background checks, especially considering the barrage of quotes they are being subjected to on a regular basis.


Imagine you are a busy PM managing a project into 20 languages. You will be doing background checks on all prospects the way Dan describes? I doubt so.


I respectfully disagree. If you are outsourcing a job into 20 languages, you are responsible for the management of the associated risk, including the identity verification of both the client and the translators you select for each task.

Common sense may help here, as you can do the verification only for the translators you have selected, not all the potential pool....


You certainly make a good argument, Enrique. However, it seems to be based on a "best case scenario".

I can make the concession that my example may have been overly generalizing. It is indeed true that I have found new business relationships here via job posts that were handled properly from start to wrap-up, which even included contacting some of my references and giving me a quick phone call.

So yes, sometimes it does work out just fine. Alas, the world is not a perfect place and things don't always work out so well. In a simple case of corporate fraud/embezzlement the affected entity will usually be able to recover from it. As a freelance service provider, however, we often don't have that "airbag".

Thus, I maintain my initial assertion that it is probably safer and wiser to take risk evaluation in your own hands until you are convinced that the other party is trustworthy enough to store your personal information and documents just as safely as you would do yourself.


Of course you are responsible for your own risk management, just as an agency is responsible for theirs (and the same applies to the client that contacted the agency). Any party in that chain should verify the identity of those corresponding with them in a business transaction. And rush is a bad excuse for not doing your due diligence.

Displaying your real name does not look particularly risky to me, but each person should create and follow their own risk management policy based on their own perceptions and tolerance to risk.

Regards,
Enrique


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:54
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Then the client takes responsibility Mar 2, 2016

Lingua 5B wrote:
Imagine you are a busy PM managing a project into 20 languages. You will be doing background checks on all prospects the way Dan describes? I doubt so.

Whether the client chooses to perform due diligence is a separate issue. Personally I think that anybody who skimps on basic risk management just because they're busy deserves the problems they will inevitably encounter one day.

However, the point I am making is that, should the client make the verification attempt, they will be able to find me and contact me by email or phone in seconds.

I am making it easy for clients to make a few cross-checks to allow them to conclude with a reasonable degree of confidence that I am who I say I am. In doing so I make it easier for clients to pick up on identity theft.

As I said, this is my approach. It may not suit everybody.

Regards
Dan


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Requested information may result in violations of KudoZ rule 3.5, http://www.proz.com/siterules/kudoz_answ/3.5#3.5
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:54
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Dutch Circus Mar 2, 2016

Somebody wrote:

[…]



[Edited at 2016-03-02 16:55 GMT]


The Dutch-English KudoZ pair can be a bit of a circus at times, but it's a fun circus

Mr M.J.W Beijer

[Edited at 2016-03-02 21:45 GMT]


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:54
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
long gone Mar 2, 2016

[quote]Somebody wrote:

Somebody else wrote:

[…]


Most of the worst stuff has already been deleted by the mod (who is very friendly, btw).

[Edited at 2016-03-02 21:46 GMT]


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: http://www.proz.com/siterules/kudoz_answ/3.5#3.5
Roni_S
Roni_S  Identity Verified
Slovakia
Local time: 16:54
Slovak to English
dumbass Mar 2, 2016

Ha! My dad always said it was better to be a smartass than a dumbass. But not having read this entire thread, why do we care at all? Why? I'm pretty sure that the likes of Churchill would have been written off here, but I still don't understand why. I, for one (sorry Tom in London), do think we all need to get over ourselves. Back in the day, we totally knew the score - and it was no offence to anyone as far as I know.

 
Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Local time: 12:54
SITE STAFF
Keep it within site rules, folks Mar 2, 2016

Hi all,

Let's keep the discussion within site rules, please. Thanks.

Jared


 
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Why do people who have been on Proz for over 10 years continue to hide behind silly screen names?






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