Ozgur Demirel Turkey Local time: 17:45 Member (2011) English to Turkish + ...
Sep 15, 2011
I wouldn't really waste time telling you about KudoZ being a probable factor into an employer's choice of a translator. However during this recent time I've been actively around, I've seen a downside into KudoZ's carrot-stick-tied-to-the-back-of-the-rabbit function, if I'm not missing something else.
There are fellows who "contribute" (badum-) "translations" (-tish !) unparalleled compared to a heartbroken Babylon-loving Google Translate which wasted itself to coma after finding out that Babylon is a bimbo Charlie Sheen mentions in his tweets with pictures together attached.
And it's all because of trying to top "KudoZ answered" statistics that shows up in one's profile, administering quantity over quality.
I'd humbly suggest "questions answered" statistics replaced with something along the lines of "last time a suggestion was agreed " and "-deemed the answer" to pinpoint the actual contribution of a translator.
Ideas can be improved, debunked, loathed, casted curses of death upon -whatever you see fit. This was just a starting point.
And finally, I may have to underline my benevolent intentions in bringing up such a topic and suggestion. Seeing such suggestions bothers me personally, not the statistics.
Trying to be helpful within KudoZ concept should surely be rewarded, not left open for exploiting. Well, if you say "hey, we're all adults here, who is to forbid and to try dictating others some manners", that's a conclusive way of looking at it too. After all, I may be talking utter rubbish.
Regards.
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Katalin Horvath McClure United States Local time: 10:45 Member (2002) English to Hungarian + ...
Discussed multiple times already
Sep 15, 2011
If I understand you correctly, you are talking about answerers who try to answer as many questions as possible without providing quality answers, just to get points.
This topic had been discussed in the past, with various ideas for solutions.
You may want to search the forums for keywords such as "acceptance rate", "reliability ratio", etc.
Here are a few examples of past discussions that you may find interesting:
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Ozgur Demirel Turkey Local time: 17:45 Member (2011) English to Turkish + ...
TOPIC STARTER
Kristof Kudozdo
Sep 15, 2011
So I have re-discovered the continent of America.
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Neil Coffey United Kingdom Local time: 15:45 Member (2009) French to English + ...
Not sure it makes that much difference
Sep 15, 2011
Ozgur Demirel wrote:
And it's all because of trying to top "KudoZ answered" statistics that shows up in one's profile, administering quantity over quality.
So you're saying there's a big issue whereby lots of quality, well-paying jobs are going to people precisely because they have dedicated hours and hours of their time to faking the "KudoZ answered" statistic, and that that is the predominant factor taken into account when outsourcers are deciding on who to award those quality, well-paying jobs to?
I'm not sure I perceive such an issue really.
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neilmac Spain Local time: 16:45 Member (2007) Spanish to English + ...
Kudoz
Sep 15, 2011
... is really just a swap shop or brainstorming parlour, which can be very helpful to the lone freelancer like me who doesn't usually need any help or feedback... except on rare occasions.
Otherwise, I don't think it should be taken too seriously and I certainly wouldn't count on it as a criterion for choosing an employee or team member. I have other fish to fry
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Ozgur Demirel Turkey Local time: 17:45 Member (2011) English to Turkish + ...
TOPIC STARTER
Mmm-kay
Sep 15, 2011
Neil Coffey wrote:
Ozgur Demirel wrote:
And it's all because of trying to top "KudoZ answered" statistics that shows up in one's profile, administering quantity over quality.
So you're saying there's a big issue whereby lots of quality, well-paying jobs are going to people precisely because they have dedicated hours and hours of their time to faking the "KudoZ answered" statistic, and that that is the predominant factor taken into account when outsourcers are deciding on who to award those quality, well-paying jobs to?
I'm not sure I perceive such an issue really.
I'm not saying that, hence the indifference to your statement. Sorry to give you a blankface smiley.
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Giles Watson Italy Local time: 16:45 Member Italian to English
Quantity and quality
Sep 15, 2011
Ozgur Demirel wrote:
And it's all because of trying to top "KudoZ answered" statistics that shows up in one's profile, administering quantity over quality.
It's quantity and quality, really.
I get quite a lot of contacts through Proz for wine or journalism-related jobs because those are the areas I try to concentrate on with Kudoz answers. I haven't actually taken on very many of the jobs but if my regular customers ever dried up, at least I have a substantial list of promising clients to write to.
FWIW
G.
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rich. Mexico Local time: 09:45 Member (2011) Spanish to English
kudoz points
Sep 16, 2011
Hi.
I participate quite a lot (probably too much) in answering kudoz questions and it's not all about the directory listing, as I basically work for the same agency every day so I have only ever applied for 3 or 4 jobs through proz, one of which I did, but I may apply for more jobs in the future. Anyway, apart from moving up the list in the directory I find it useful in varios ways, like seeing how terms are used in different Spanish speaking countries for example, and simply by doing some "research" (googling) in my working fields and toping up my termbases. It is quite competitive and not all comments are friendly but I seem to be developing a thicker skin, and focus on the positive side.
As far as I can gather the placement of translators in the directory listing depends on points alone. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when I see myself in the listing there's a note that says "How to improve your listing", and even after following the advice to improve my profile rating/listing, it makes no difference. i.e. the order I which everyone appears is solely based on the number of points they have earned through answering questions, regardless of whether they have complete profile, positive feedback, all required fields, or even whether or not a translator is Proz.com Certified. Am I missing something, or is this how it works?
Cheers!
Rich
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