Am I right to be angry if an asker selects an answer without considering peer comments?
efreitag Germany Local time: 16:32 Member (2006) Dutch to German + ...
Helpful answers
Jun 9, 2011
Nicole Schnell wrote:
The asker is encouraged to choose the answer that was the most helpful one. If for example the literal translation or a mere explanation helped him to finally understand the term in question, then he should award the answerer who enlightened him, no matter how the translation ended up in his translation later on.
Should such a raw version end up in the glossaries, oh well, that's a different story...
A strong agree here! This is something not many Kudoz participants realize! Thanks for pointing this out, Nicole.
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BBan Croatia Local time: 16:32 English to Croatian + ...
This sums it up well.
Jun 9, 2011
Phil Hand wrote:
Obviously it's nice to answer a question well and be rewarded with Kudoz points, but the day you let Kudoz ruin your mood is the day you need to give up coffee!
Haha, absolutely!
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Yasutomo Kanazawa Japan Local time: 23:32 Member (2005) English to Japanese + ...
Agree, but the reality is...
Jun 9, 2011
efreitag wrote:
Nicole Schnell wrote:
The asker is encouraged to choose the answer that was the most helpful one. If for example the literal translation or a mere explanation helped him to finally understand the term in question, then he should award the answerer who enlightened him, no matter how the translation ended up in his translation later on.
Should such a raw version end up in the glossaries, oh well, that's a different story...
A strong agree here! This is something not many Kudoz participants realize! Thanks for pointing this out, Nicole.
When I first started participating at KudoZ, I was frustrated just like Ildiko and Imatahan mentioned where an asker choosing the wrong answer even though I suggested a correct answer with lots of net peer agrees. But as I started to participate more, I started to feel literally numb and indifferent towards those don't-know-the-subject-at-all askers who choose incorrect answers. Later, I found out that even if one suggests a correct answer, the MOST helpful answer to the asker would be chosen. Now I don't care even if incorrect answers are chosen, because even if they are incorrect, that chosen answer must have been the asker's first preference or an exact match of words or phrases which s/he was looking for.
But it seems that some people in my language pair, especially one person, cannot understand how this system works and trolls and even stalks at KudoZ about a question which was closed nearly two months ago claiming that I have provided a wrong answer (the asker chose mine) and that 'her' suggestion is correct by sending me private emails and even calling me on the phone just to tell me that her answer is correct. How pathetic!
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neilmac Spain Local time: 16:32 Member (2007) Spanish to English + ...
Entitled to be miffed
Jun 9, 2011
It really just depends on how seriously you take the kudoz thing.
At the end of the day, if the asker has really picked a worse answer, it's their loss, not yours. As someone else pointed out, we don't know the askers' criteria, or even their reasons for asking (go compare/brainstorming...) which may not be the same as ours or even what we expect them to be.
Even between US and UK English ther are many differences in usage, lexis and cultural conventions so we really need to keep an open mind at all times...
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Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 15:32 Member (2008) Italian to English
Yes
Jun 9, 2011
Rad Graban wrote:
Czech speaker translating into Slovak asks a question. Very similar languages but not exactly the same. S/he chooses someone else's answer despite my answer having three agrees from peers.
I'm really not the KudoZ 'point-grabber' but it has got me raging. Should I just get over it?
Yes, just get over it. In general terms anger is the expression of frustration at one's powerlessness in the face of events over which one has no control - as in this case. It is also a deleterious emotion liable to cause unnecessary suffering, high blood pressure, etc. to whoever is feeling it. I would therefore suggest you do move on, bearing in mind that in this world, many other things happen that might perhaps be more deserving of our anger.
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Radost_BG United States Local time: 10:32 Member (2010) English to Bulgarian + ...
We are only as good as we allow ourselves to be
Jun 9, 2011
Rad Graban wrote:
Czech speaker translating into Slovak asks a question. Very similar languages but not exactly the same. S/he chooses someone else's answer despite my answer having three agrees from peers.
I'm really not the KudoZ 'point-grabber' but it has got me raging. Should I just get over it?
It doesn't seem to me like you were upset, because you are a "point-grabber". Most colleagues who care about quality and precision would get upset. In a way, this is part of our everyday work - searching for the right and best matching term.
The first thought that crossed my mind when I read your post was, "May be she just got what she deserved" (as bad as this might sound). I've also had experiences when an asker would choose something completely inadequate and my experience and knowledge told me that their choice is absolutely unwise and inappropriate, and then I had experience with colleagues agreeing with some descriptive answer versus a very good match term. In this kind of work, not only providing answers, but also picking THE ANSWER come with one's accumulated knowledge and experience. But then again, I don't know what exactly your case was. If based on your knowledge and experience you were positive that your suggestion was a better match, then you are completely right to be upset and you should really discuss the case, because if you leave it as it is, the "term" will probably be entered in a glossary.
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Sergei Tumanov Estonia Local time: 17:32 English to Russian + ...
No,
Jun 9, 2011
you are not right.
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Kemal Mustajbegovic Australia Local time: 22:32 Member (2002) English to Croatian + ...
Pastime excersize
Jun 9, 2011
Rad Graban wrote:
Should I just get over it?
Yes, Rad, just get over it. Kudoz is a virtual game for translators (members/users) that helps them to stay fit during unproductive hours.
Cheers!
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Ildiko Santana United States Local time: 07:32 Member (2002) English to Hungarian + ...
most helpful vs. fastest
Jun 9, 2011
Yasutomo Kanazawa wrote:
Later, I found out that even if one suggests a correct answer, the MOST helpful answer to the asker would be chosen.
Hi Yasumoto,
While I share your feelings, I'd like to add that what you describe is the IDEAL scenario but not the reality of KudoZ. I've seen this happen numerous times in my 9 years on the site that askers chose the FASTEST answer and not the most helpful one. I get a little frustrated when I suggest a translation and include sufficient reference material to back up my suggestion (quotes, links, reference to printed dictionaries with publisher, year, even page number!) just to see someone else type in a few words, no backing of the suggestion, no reference, etc. but their answer gets selected because "they posted first". Just recently I was even sent private "thank you" messages, where askers apologized for selecting another's answer, with the explanation "sorry but so-and-so was quicker". I don't think it is clear to most askers that they should select the MOST HELPFUL answer. It has been suggested before that the time stamp should be eliminated altogether because that's one of the reasons why so many hasty guesses get stored as "best" instead of the proper translations (the latter obviously takes more time to type up and submit). Perhaps staff can make some changes to the FAQ section, I don't know. It doesn't matter that much, since the correct and helpful answers remain on the site visible to those in need of help at a later time. Occasionally, I receive "thank you" emails from colleagues when they find the help they were looking for in older questions, regardless of wrong answers having been selected. The most curious incident I've ever encountered was when, having read my answer, the asker sent me an email in private, attached two paragraphs from her project with her translation, and asked me to review it and make corrections. I gladly did. The next day I was surprised to see that she selected someone else's answer! An even bigger surprise followed: same asker entered a positive WWA on my profile...
All in all, I think KudoZ is a very useful system despite its shortcomings, benefitting many translators and students (as long as we don't take disagreements, points and trolls too seriously).
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Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 16:32 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ...
Very good point.
Jun 9, 2011
Radost_BG wrote:
Most colleagues who care about quality and precision would get upset.
And we are facing an absurd situation where caring for quality is a negative feature.
How can we know what answer exactly the asker is going to use, i.e. how do we know it will exactly be the answer to which they have assigned points? Is it because they tell us they will use it? I'm not convinced.
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Eileen Cartoon Italy Local time: 16:32 Italian to English
Glossaries
Jun 9, 2011
I, too, find that quite often, when searching for a term the one that best helps me was one of those not chosen. I always look at the other answers, the ones that didn't get the points because there is a lot of interesting and accurate stuff there.
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gad United States Local time: 10:32 Member French to English
Yes, just get over it
Jun 9, 2011
Rad Graban wrote:
Czech speaker translating into Slovak asks a question. Very similar languages but not exactly the same. S/he chooses someone else's answer despite my answer having three agrees from peers.
I'm really not the KudoZ 'point-grabber' but it has got me raging. Should I just get over it?
Sometimes the number of "agrees" also depends on when a certain answer was posted. For instance, once (years ago) I posted a question and got a couple decent responses though I had the feeling they weren't what I was looking for. The second answer got something like 9 "agrees". Well then about 18 hours later, someone else posted a brilliant answer. It fit perfectly in that context - and I should know, after all I was the one with the document. A couple days later I chose the answer that I actually used - politely thanking everyone, I might add, but the next thing you know, soon thereafter the answerer with the 9 "agrees" started a thread here...I found that a bit obnoxious and rather disrespectful of not only me and my judgment, but also of the other answerer - had they bothered to really take a look at that other answer, would it have really been too much to expect them to give another respected colleague credit where credit is due? JMO.
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Gerry Vickers United Kingdom Local time: 15:32 Member (2007) Czech to English + ...
Their problem, not yours
Jun 10, 2011
'and would never dare to translate INTO Czech.'
Yet you dare to translate INTO English ?
I also lived and studied in Brno (my favourite place in the world) for many years, and I speak fluent Czech. Also my wife is Slovak, my children speak Slovak, and I speak Slovak to my Slovak relatives, yet there is no way that I would ever translate into those languages (completely against the principles of good practice), nor would I correct native speakers of those languages.
I have long since given up worrying about non-native speakers of English choosing incorrect or inappropriate suggestions over those provided by native speakers, or challenging good answers provided by native speakers (Rad - I mean this in a totally friendly way, but you have been an offender in this respect as well, so it is slightly ironic that you have posted this thread )
If someone wishes to do so, that is their prerogative.
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betterlife China Local time: 22:32 English to Chinese
If an asker has chosen a wrong answer
Jul 20, 2011
Radost_BG wrote:... the "term" will probably be entered in a glossary.
I am afraid that non native speakers such as project managers will took the wrong answer as correct if it has been chosen and a "term" has been entered in a glossary.
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