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Proposed new KudoZ-X service - feedback requested
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Victoria Britten
Victoria Britten  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 09:21
French to English
+ ...
Browniz Jul 17, 2018

Teresa Borges wrote:

4. If I were to answer a question on KudoZ-X how could I receive Browniz points in return if they have been of no use until now? Is this the new use that was spoken about two years ago?



This suggestion intrigued me, too: if I understand the FAQ correctly, the only current use for them is being higher in the directory rankings than someone with exactly the same number of KudoZ points. That might be an advantage in rarer language pairs, but in FR-EN it's not going to bring the clients a-flocking.


 
Erik Freitag
Erik Freitag  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:21
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Video or voice calls? Never. Jul 17, 2018

Under no circumstances would I want to use video or voice calls for this purpose. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Tom in London
Michele Fauble
Jennifer Levey
Angus Stewart
ipv
Germaine
 
Matthias Brombach
Matthias Brombach  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:21
Member (2007)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Yes, I had ... Jul 17, 2018

ProZ.com Staff wrote:

Have you ever had a case where you knew all of the words in a segment, and you knew or could find the translation of each term; however, you didn't have confidence in your translation? Although you knew the individual terms, you weren't sure on the meaning of the source segment? Or you needed to consult someone knowledgable in the subject matter for advice in order to determine if your translation was accurate?

... and in those cases I dare(d) to pose a question to the writer of the source text via my trusted agencies or I made a note to the end client, that something could be weird with the source text, i.e. when written by a non-native speaker of English. In all the other cases, where it could occur that I weren´t sure on the meaning on the source segment, I simply try to avoid them by taking only those jobs with subjects I am confident with.

[Bearbeitet am 2018-07-17 14:34 GMT]


P.L.F. Persio
Michele Fauble
 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 02:21
Dutch to English
+ ...
No video or voice calls Jul 17, 2018

I would only accept such requests by email from translators I know and trust, and I hope they would not hesitate to contact me directly.

I think this is a bad idea and could lead to blatant misuse of the responding translator's time and generosity and potentially the use of their contact information in scams.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
P.L.F. Persio
Tom in London
Josephine Cassar
Michele Fauble
Jennifer Levey
Angus Stewart
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 09:21
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
Opt out Jul 17, 2018

I just hope there will be an opt-out option if this is implemented. I do not like to be disturbed either when working on a translation or I am with family or just relaxing. I find such a voice/video call invasive. I do not mind an email though which I consider is sufficient for this purpose even if it might take longer or people might not respond. I find no difficulty in helping someone or saying 'sorry, I do not know' if that is the case but a voice/video call, well, that, no. Kindly think well... See more
I just hope there will be an opt-out option if this is implemented. I do not like to be disturbed either when working on a translation or I am with family or just relaxing. I find such a voice/video call invasive. I do not mind an email though which I consider is sufficient for this purpose even if it might take longer or people might not respond. I find no difficulty in helping someone or saying 'sorry, I do not know' if that is the case but a voice/video call, well, that, no. Kindly think well about risks and annoyance before you implement this!Collapse


Tom in London
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Michele Fauble
Angus Stewart
ipv
Christel Zipfel
Alison Jenner
 
Robert Forstag
Robert Forstag  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:21
Spanish to English
+ ...
Also against Jul 17, 2018

Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:

Engaging in a video call to help a clueless competitor to deliver a better job and stealing your clients with a much lower rate? Don't see it happening...


I agree with Giovanni and others who are skeptical or downright dismissive of the idea, and for the following reasons:
1.
If I am busy with a translation, I do not want to be bothered.
2.
Even if I am not busy, I really would not want to have a Skype chat or equivalent with a fellow translator whom I do not know.
3.
I would not want to shoulder the burden of having to be absolutely right in responding to a particular query. In the best of circumstances, there is usually some degree of uncertainty. And in the worst of circumstances....
4.
What is being asked for is a significant commitment of time and energy. All in exchange for...browniz. I don't think so.
5.
I think that, because of the time and energy involved, this is something best arranged privately between colleagues, either for an agreed fee or as part of informal arrangements to mutually help one another on an ongoing basis.


[Edited at 2018-07-18 12:58 GMT]


Tom in London
flora35
Michele Fauble
Angus Stewart
ipv
Ester Vidal
Alison Jenner
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Member (2008)
Italian to English
I can only think Jul 17, 2018

I can only think that whoever excogitated this crazy idea of taking an international phone or skype call, in the middle of a translation job, simply to discuss the possible meaning of one word, with ONE PERSON does not know how a translator works.

It's much more useful to do a search in the Proz glossaries and dictionaries for the term, and get the opinions of a large number of different people. Just getting a call from one person would be useless and very, very annoying in the midd
... See more
I can only think that whoever excogitated this crazy idea of taking an international phone or skype call, in the middle of a translation job, simply to discuss the possible meaning of one word, with ONE PERSON does not know how a translator works.

It's much more useful to do a search in the Proz glossaries and dictionaries for the term, and get the opinions of a large number of different people. Just getting a call from one person would be useless and very, very annoying in the middle of a job.

[Edited at 2018-07-18 13:19 GMT]
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Michele Fauble
Angus Stewart
ipv
Cetacea
neilmac
 
Jennifer Levey
Jennifer Levey  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 05:21
Spanish to English
+ ...
Bad solution ... for a non-existent problem Jul 17, 2018

Non-existent problem
The existing Kudoz system can be used for questions of the kind described in the OP (and survey) – without breaking any Kudoz rules. It requires the Asker to be a trifle creative in formulating the question (which must be limited to a single term). Is creativity too much to ask for in a translator?

How? One way is to pick any one of the terms (even one the Asker can in fact translate without any problem) as the question term – and give all th
... See more
Non-existent problem
The existing Kudoz system can be used for questions of the kind described in the OP (and survey) – without breaking any Kudoz rules. It requires the Asker to be a trifle creative in formulating the question (which must be limited to a single term). Is creativity too much to ask for in a translator?

How? One way is to pick any one of the terms (even one the Asker can in fact translate without any problem) as the question term – and give all the rest of sentence as the all-important “context”. Also, to show potential Answerers where the Asker might be misunderstanding something in the sentence as a whole, he can usefully post his own attempt at a translation of the entire sentence/context. Answerers keen to display their expertise will be all too happy to point out where the Asker is going wrong!

Bad solution
Many colleagues have already mentioned several of the most important failings of Kudoz X.

Another is that the standard Kudoz system gives the asker rapid access to many (self-proclaimed) experts, gets answers from some of them, and can (to a certain degree) identify who the most expert Answerers are from their respective answers (and peer agrees/disagrees plus the associated discussion). It’s a one-to-many scheme, and best answers are often the fruit of collaborative consensus, not any one expert’s self-proclaimed "expertise".

One-on-one Kudoz X, in contrast, requires the Asker to preselect an “expert” without prior sight of any of that person’s output in the context of the question. That puts a blindfold on the Asker – and gives free reign to ill-intentioned or non-expert Answerers. All scope for discussion and peer support is lost.

RL
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Michele Fauble
Katalin Horváth McClure
Mirko Mainardi
Jean Dimitriadis
Angus Stewart
Tom in London
Alison Jenner
 
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 09:21
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Question Jul 17, 2018

Rather than fiddling around with gimmicks that range from just fancy to plain useless, why don't you people start tackling real issues?

Need a couple of suggestions? Here:

1) Quality control.

2) Payment control.

Either that or change the name to AmateurZ or SemiproZ.


 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 09:21
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
+ Jul 17, 2018

Daniel Frisano wrote:

Rather than fiddling around with gimmicks that range from just fancy to plain useless, why don't you people start tackling real issues?

Need a couple of suggestions? Here:

1) Quality control.

2) Payment control.

Either that or change the name to AmateurZ or SemiproZ.


Those blessed futile tests where the agency mysteriously disappears after even though it send back to encourage us to do them. Make it obligatory that agencies asking for tests must provide some feedback. This would be great unlike this proposal.


Angus Stewart
 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:21
German to English
Well-intentioned idea, nightmare in practice Jul 18, 2018

Given the number of translators here with 10-1 ratios of questions asked to queries answered, this would alienate professionals who would otherwise be willing to provide assistance through the current Kudoz system. In fact, this would severely impact members with high point accumulations, since doubtless they would receive the most contacts, thus discouraging their continued participation in Kudoz.

neilmac
 
Anthony Teixeira
Anthony Teixeira
Japan
Local time: 17:21
Member (2011)
English to French
+ ...
No Jul 18, 2018

I already avoid voice/video calls with clients when I can, so from other translators contacting me out of the blue? No way.

And I doubt it would be very efficient on the translator side either. The good thing with KudoZ is that you can ask a lot of translators for help at once, and translators who do have time to answer can do so at a convenient time. I can only see frustration on both sides with the proposed idea.

[Edited at 2018-07-18 06:01 GMT]


Tom in London
Erik Freitag
Michele Fauble
neilmac
 
Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 16:21
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
Done deal Jul 18, 2018

Based on ProZ's modus operandi in recent months, I suspect that this is already a done deal and they will push it through regardless of opposition, and that this thread is merely intended to give the illusion of having asked for feedback.

As such, my suggestions are:

1. Have high school students design it, without guidance or oversight
2. Release the initial build directly into production without testing
3. Identify some basic rules of user experience and en
... See more
Based on ProZ's modus operandi in recent months, I suspect that this is already a done deal and they will push it through regardless of opposition, and that this thread is merely intended to give the illusion of having asked for feedback.

As such, my suggestions are:

1. Have high school students design it, without guidance or oversight
2. Release the initial build directly into production without testing
3. Identify some basic rules of user experience and ensure that they are not followed
4. Once released, either force visitors to the site to use it before continuing their browsing, or make no announcement whatsoever and hide it in a place where no one will ever find it
5. Once released, move on to the next feature that nobody asked for and nobody wants; do not waste valuable time fixing bugs or making improvements
Collapse


Mirko Mainardi
Jennifer Levey
Jean Dimitriadis
Robert Forstag
Michal Fabian
Tom in London
Terry Richards
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 08:21
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
A good laugh doesn't hurt! Jul 18, 2018

Lincoln Hui wrote:

Based on ProZ's modus operandi in recent months, I suspect that this is already a done deal and they will push it through regardless of opposition, and that this thread is merely intended to give the illusion of having asked for feedback.

As such, my suggestions are:

1. Have high school students design it, without guidance or oversight
2. Release the initial build directly into production without testing
3. Identify some basic rules of user experience and ensure that they are not followed
4. Once released, either force visitors to the site to use it before continuing their browsing, or make no announcement whatsoever and hide it in a place where no one will ever find it
5. Once released, move on to the next feature that nobody asked for and nobody wants; do not waste valuable time fixing bugs or making improvements


Tom in London
 
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