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Do we need a self-promotion forum?
Thread poster: Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:58
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Oct 13, 2016

I'm beginning to see a number of threads across various subject areas that simply give a link to something the poster has written. This has always happened on LinkedIn but it's now arriving here. When I get a notification about a new thread, I expect to find a discussion on the subject, not a link to the poster's own material and nothing else. I thought we weren't supposed to use the site for our own publicity, though I can't find the rule that says so. I believe there's always the possibility o... See more
I'm beginning to see a number of threads across various subject areas that simply give a link to something the poster has written. This has always happened on LinkedIn but it's now arriving here. When I get a notification about a new thread, I expect to find a discussion on the subject, not a link to the poster's own material and nothing else. I thought we weren't supposed to use the site for our own publicity, though I can't find the rule that says so. I believe there's always the possibility of taking out advertising space to promote your blog or whatever?

What does anyone else think? Would it be better to restrict such threads to a new "Self-promotion" forum rather than having them spread across Business Issues, Translation Theory and Practice, Money Matters, etc?
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Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Nah Oct 13, 2016

I can't see much difference between airing your views in a blog and airing them in a forum post tbh.

Surely there is no real self-promotion on ProZ. I mean, who on Earth would read this stuff?


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:58
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Blank Oct 13, 2016

Chris S wrote:

I can't see much difference between airing your views in a blog and airing them in a forum post tbh.

Surely there is no real self-promotion on ProZ. I mean, who on Earth would read this stuff?


It would be great to have a way, within discussion threads, of blanking out posts by people of whom one doesn't want to be aware.


 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 15:58
Italian to English
Sharing is caring, or something... Oct 13, 2016

Sheila Wilson wrote:

When I get a notification about a new thread, I expect to find a discussion on the subject, not a link to the poster's own material and nothing else. I thought we weren't supposed to use the site for our own publicity


I do see your point, however I see a difference between someone spamming a product, and sharing a link to something they've written, a blog post that they've taken time to write and which benefits the community as a whole.


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Shake? Oct 13, 2016

Tom in London wrote:

It would be great to have a way, within discussion threads, of blanking out posts by people of whom one doesn't want to be aware.


You could just not read them.
Or you could re-read their previous posts with an open mind and find you've taken them the wrong way.
No offence intended. Life's too short to be taken too seriously.

[Edited at 2016-10-13 13:48 GMT]


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:58
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Agree, should be viewed on a case by case basis. Oct 13, 2016

Fiona Grace Peterson wrote:

Sheila Wilson wrote:

When I get a notification about a new thread, I expect to find a discussion on the subject, not a link to the poster's own material and nothing else. I thought we weren't supposed to use the site for our own publicity


I do see your point, however I see a difference between someone spamming a product, and sharing a link to something they've written, a blog post that they've taken time to write and which benefits the community as a whole.


Yes, if they have something useful to say, it may be beneficial. However, I will probably not take the time clicking that link and going elsewhere to check their content (1% probability I shall do that, unless they are offering a huge box of assorted chocolates with free shipping to my address).

When I did click the links, no offence, I never found anything particularly interesting, useful or beneficial. It was nothing that isn't already widely available on the net in some form or another. I am too busy for clicking all the links, plus as Sheila said, I think it's a bit sneaky thing to do as all we wanted is to see what the topic/thread/discussion is about, on its own.

[Edited at 2016-10-13 14:32 GMT]


 
Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Not only in forums Oct 13, 2016

Sheila Wilson wrote:

I'm beginning to see a number of threads across various subject areas that simply give a link to something the poster has written. This has always happened on LinkedIn but it's now arriving here. When I get a notification about a new thread, I expect to find a discussion on the subject, not a link to the poster's own material and nothing else. I thought we weren't supposed to use the site for our own publicity, though I can't find the rule that says so. I believe there's always the possibility of taking out advertising space to promote your blog or whatever?

What does anyone else think? Would it be better to restrict such threads to a new "Self-promotion" forum rather than having them spread across Business Issues, Translation Theory and Practice, Money Matters, etc?


At my university, and even during my MA, I have always hated with passion the well-established practice of professors suggesting us to read journal articles, and at times even books, authored by the very professor who was teaching us. It’s like saying, I’m an opera singer, but don’t listen to Pavarotti, Nucci, Quilico, Milnes, Obraztsova or Kaufmann, they have nothing interesting to say; listen to me!

In any case, the best way to ‘promote’ yourself is by helping others when your help is required and you can contribute with something useful. For example, some years ago I didn’t know how to cope with Studio showing negative percentages, even though the project was complete. I searched on forums and it turned out to be very simple: batch tasks – translation count. That was useful to me (even though it’s very simple/simplistic example). Extensive prose authored by a fellow translator on how useful it is to include hobbies in your CV isn’t interesting, by far not.


 
philgoddard
philgoddard
United States
German to English
+ ...
Good idea, Sheila Oct 13, 2016

There was a guy recently who started a thread about some software he'd written. It was advertising in all but name, and I asked ProZ staff why they were allowing it. They said "It's OK, he's probably not making much money out of it."

Another person posts links to bizarre, enormously long and repetitious blog posts about where he went on holiday, and videos of himself in his bedroom singing rap songs about translation.

If there were a separate self-promotion forum, we c
... See more
There was a guy recently who started a thread about some software he'd written. It was advertising in all but name, and I asked ProZ staff why they were allowing it. They said "It's OK, he's probably not making much money out of it."

Another person posts links to bizarre, enormously long and repetitious blog posts about where he went on holiday, and videos of himself in his bedroom singing rap songs about translation.

If there were a separate self-promotion forum, we could decide whether we wanted to read all this stuff. And I know what my decision would be.
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Roni_S
Roni_S  Identity Verified
Slovakia
Local time: 15:58
Slovak to English
Oh that's perfect Oct 13, 2016

philgoddard wrote:

...
Another person posts links to bizarre, enormously long and repetitious blog posts about where he went on holiday, and videos of himself in his bedroom singing rap songs about translation.
...


Maybe a little Tosh.0 treatment might make him rethink those videos
Roni


 
Andrea Garfield-Barkworth
Andrea Garfield-Barkworth  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:58
Member (2015)
German to English
No, I don't think so Oct 13, 2016

There are other sites where this goes on, I don't see the need to introduce it to ProZ just because a few do.

In essence, we are self-promoting simply by starting or replying to posts. Anybody who is interested is perfectly welcome to click on a person's profile to find out more information. People can add a link to their own website there.


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:58
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks, everyone Oct 15, 2016

Chris S wrote:
I can't see much difference between airing your views in a blog and airing them in a forum post tbh.

I can't either, Chris. What I'm getting fed up with is new forum topics where the first post doesn't say anything at all; just gives a link.

It's like when the doorbell rings, so you stop what you're doing (and lose the thread if you're working, of course), answer the door, and the person just hands you a leaflet and turns away. No chance I'm even going to glance at that leaflet! If they'd engaged me in conversation then there's a chance (albeit very slim) that I'd have been interested.

There clearly isn't great support for a separate forum so I'll just have to hope it doesn't get to the stage where every second new topic isn't a discussion at all. Or maybe I'll have to turn off notifications of new topics (in other words, stop answering the door). There's always more than one remedy.


 
writeaway
writeaway  Identity Verified
French to English
+ ...
There already is a self-promotion forum Oct 24, 2016

Have a look at the daily "poll". There are a number of regulars who are there 365 days a year. No matter how innocuous the poll "question", they manage to find a way to brag about their achievements/earnings/workload and to market their services.

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:58
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Sorry but... Oct 24, 2016

writeaway wrote:

.... they manage to find a way to brag about their achievements/earnings/workload and to market their services.


I don't like the word "brag" but isn't promoting our services the main reason why we have a presence on Proz?


 
Rachel Fell
Rachel Fell  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:58
French to English
+ ...
@Tom Oct 24, 2016

Tom in London wrote:

... isn't promoting our services the main reason why we have a presence on Proz?

There's a difference between having a presence and shouting about it.


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:58
French to English
unashamed plugging Oct 25, 2016

Merab Dekano wrote:

At my university, and even during my MA, I have always hated with passion the well-established practice of professors suggesting us to read journal articles, and at times even books, authored by the very professor who was teaching us. It’s like saying, I’m an opera singer, but don’t listen to Pavarotti, Nucci, Quilico, Milnes, Obraztsova or Kaufmann, they have nothing interesting to say; listen to me!


I had a teacher of translation for the pharmaceuticals industry who was plugging the latest vaccine to be marketed by the firm where she worked for her day job. I had heard a fair bit about the vaccine and knew that it was highly controversial, but I shut up, thinking the teacher wouldn't be above giving me a bad mark out of spite. Further controversy has since ensued and the vaccine is probably going to be withdrawn from the market soon. Even if the vaccine were completely above board, plugging it in class is not acceptable.


 
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