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Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Thread poster: Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 05:48
SITE FOUNDER
Mar 12, 2005

Dear ProZ.com members,

First some news. Then an invitation.

An update has been made to the Blue Board database of outsourcers. Our primary objective in this update was to increase the speed at which Blue Board pages load.

Functionally, the changes are minor. The features that have always been in the Blue Board remain, and a bit of additional information is now available concerning outsourcers and members who have made entries.

The interface has
... See more
Dear ProZ.com members,

First some news. Then an invitation.

An update has been made to the Blue Board database of outsourcers. Our primary objective in this update was to increase the speed at which Blue Board pages load.

Functionally, the changes are minor. The features that have always been in the Blue Board remain, and a bit of additional information is now available concerning outsourcers and members who have made entries.

The interface has been changed somewhat to accommodate the additional data. Once you get used to the new look, we think you will like it.

.................

That was the news. Now for the invitation:

On the occasion of this update, we would like to to invite those members who do not yet know the Blue Board to familiarize themselves with this resource. The more people who are familiar with it, and use it, the more valuable it will become for everyone.

For those who do not yet know, the Blue Board is a member-created database of outsourcers, with translator entries concerning their likelihood of working again with those outsourcers.

A word about blue board access: regularly, any member--platinum or not--may make Blue Board entries for outsourcers he/she has worked for. Any member may also view Blue Board entries made by others (using browniz for each record viewed). Unlimited access, however, is restricted to platinum members (the people who make this site possible.)

But this weekend we have a special invitation: In order to allow more people to familiarize themselves with the Blue Board, we have decided to extend unlimited Blue Board access to non-platinum members for the weekend. All you have to do, if you are interested, is ask.

To be granted unlimited weekend access, simply request a passcode via the online support system. A short note is fine, just be sure to make this the summary of your support request: "Unlimited weekend access to Blue Board" (If you are a platinum member and would like to extend access to others, you may also request a passcode via the support system.)

Before you make the request, we would ask that you take a moment to read the brief Blue Board Howto and the Blue Board FAQ. They are available here:

Howto: http://proz.com/howto/284
FAQ: http://proz.com/faq/blue_board_agency

To get to the new Blue Board interface, go to http://proz.com/bb (Easy to remember)

Thanks to all members for helping to make the Blue Board one of the most useful resources at ProZ.com.

Regards,
Henry
ProZ.com Team
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Dinny
Dinny  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 11:48
Italian to Danish
+ ...
Great! Mar 12, 2005

Thanks Henry, I'd like to take a tour of the Blue Board.

Now, where do I ask to have access for the weekend?


 
Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:48
English to German
+ ...
Support Mar 12, 2005

Hi Dinny,
Thanks Henry, I'd like to take a tour of the Blue Board.

Now, where do I ask to have access for the weekend?

As Henry said, please use the Support section (click on the link I provided, or go through Support on the main menu).

Best regards,
Ralf


 
Dinny
Dinny  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 11:48
Italian to Danish
+ ...
Well... Mar 12, 2005

I don't want to be difficult... but clicking on Support doesn't get me anywhere... except for a list of FAQ ... maybe I'm just too tired this weekend to imagine where to go... now, please somebody tell me I'm blind and can't find the right link!

 
Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:48
English to German
+ ...
ProZ.com Support Center Mar 12, 2005

Hi again,
Dinny wrote:

I don't want to be difficult... but clicking on Support doesn't get me anywhere... except for a list of FAQ ... maybe I'm just too tired this weekend to imagine where to go... now, please somebody tell me I'm blind and can't find the right link!

The ProZ.com Support Center contains a link to the FAQ, but not the FAQ themselves.

In the top third of the page, you will find:

Please select a link below that best describes your support issue

...and a bit further down...

Jobs
Issues related to the ProZ.com job system
Examples: job posting, platinum-only jobs, blue board, etc.

Click on Jobs, and then on Submit a support request about ProZ.com jobs.

Please don't forget to look at Howto and FAQs before submitting the support request.

Best regards,
Ralf


 
Laura Lucardini
Laura Lucardini  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:48
English to Italian
Well done! Mar 12, 2005

I like the new look and features, everything looks more straightforward this way. The only improvement I would suggest is maybe the line separating each row (in the outsourcers lists) could be made somehow thicker and darker... maybe it's just me and my ageing problem... but I have difficulties understanding if a rating belongs to one line or another...
But apart from that.. well done everyone involved!


 
paolamonaco
paolamonaco  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 05:48
English to Italian
+ ...
blue board interface Mar 12, 2005

I like it. It's more user-friendly, and information is arranged in a clear way.

Thumbs up!
Paola


 
Laura Lucardini
Laura Lucardini  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:48
English to Italian
Quick fix! Mar 12, 2005

Wow! Thanks for fixing the line colour so quickly! It definitely is easier to read now.

 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 05:48
SITE FOUNDER
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for noticing! Mar 12, 2005

laural wrote:

Wow! Thanks for fixing the line colour so quickly! It definitely is easier to read now.


Thanks for noticing the change before I got a chance to post. It was a good suggestion, I am sure many people felt the same.


 
Lucinda Hollenberg
Lucinda Hollenberg  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:48
Dutch to English
+ ...
Great Improvement! Mar 12, 2005

Henry,
Great improvement; I like it a lot. I like it that I can see the jobs that the oursourcer has posted before.

There is a related suggestion that I would like to make, not to the Blue Board itself, but to the jobs area. When outsourcers post a job, it is visible if they have Blue Board entries and how many. It is important for me to see how many entries they have, but it would be even more to see the rating (1 to 5) right there and then.

Perhaps this is
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Henry,
Great improvement; I like it a lot. I like it that I can see the jobs that the oursourcer has posted before.

There is a related suggestion that I would like to make, not to the Blue Board itself, but to the jobs area. When outsourcers post a job, it is visible if they have Blue Board entries and how many. It is important for me to see how many entries they have, but it would be even more to see the rating (1 to 5) right there and then.

Perhaps this is more for non-platinum members than for folks like me. They have to spend BrownieZ to access the BB-site. If this were the case, they would immediately be able to see the rating without having to spend BrownieZ, again unless they want to.

For Platinum members it would mean not having to go into the actual Blue Board - unless they're interested to see what the actual entries are.

A suggestion, certainly not urgent on my part, but if you find a spare moment, it would be the icing on the cake.

As always, Henry, thanks for the great site. I'm glad to be a part of it.

Lucinda
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Hynek Palatin
Hynek Palatin  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 10:48
Member (2003)
English to Czech
+ ...
Suggestion: Make the agency name in search results clickable Mar 12, 2005

This is not related to the latest update, but since we are discussing improvements of the BlueBoard:

When searchin the BlueBoard for an agency using the Search field on the left menu, only the small blue square in the list of results is clickable. I think it would be convenient to include the agency name in the hyperlink too.


 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 05:48
SITE FOUNDER
TOPIC STARTER
How is it now, Hynek? Mar 13, 2005

Hynek Palatin wrote:

When searchin the BlueBoard for an agency using the Search field on the left menu, only the small blue square in the list of results is clickable. I think it would be convenient to include the agency name in the hyperlink too.


I clarified profile and blue board links. Do you find it to be convenient and intuitive now? Or not yet?

Thanks.


 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 05:48
SITE FOUNDER
TOPIC STARTER
Showing average entries without entry data proved impractical Mar 13, 2005

Lucinda Hollenberg wrote:

There is a related suggestion that I would like to make, not to the Blue Board itself, but to the jobs area. When outsourcers post a job, it is visible if they have Blue Board entries and how many. It is important for me to see how many entries they have, but it would be even more to see the rating (1 to 5) right there and then.

Perhaps this is more for non-platinum members than for folks like me. They have to spend BrownieZ to access the BB-site. If this were the case, they would immediately be able to see the rating without having to spend BrownieZ, again unless they want to.

For Platinum members it would mean not having to go into the actual Blue Board - unless they're interested to see what the actual entries are.


Thanks for the suggestion, Lucinda. When we first did something similar--we showed average LWA to everyone in the Blue Board lists--it did not work out well. Without getting into the exact nature of the problems, suffice it to say that showing only the number, without showing the people who made the entries and other data, was problematic. There was an opportunity for mischief.

That was a while back though, before we had tools like verified identities and some of our other moderator controls. You've got me thinking there might be a way to take another look at it... I'll add it to the list of things to consider for a future release.


 
Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:48
English to German
+ ...
Some reservations remain Mar 13, 2005

Hi Lucinda, hi Henry,
Without getting into the exact nature of the problems, suffice it to say that showing only the number, without showing the people who made the entries and other data, was problematic. There was an opportunity for mischief.

Without even going into that direction, I believe there is value in looking at detailed entries: an average doesn't tell you half as much as a look at the entries underlying that average.

In contrast to other lists, the BB goes beyond payment practice, encompassing all aspects of a business relationship. You may also want to look at who posted entries - just a number won't give you that information.

Best regards,
Ralf


 
Erik Hansson
Erik Hansson  Identity Verified
Germany
Swedish
+ ...
Impressed! Mar 13, 2005

Thanks a lot Henry for this new fresh design of the Blue Board. I quite often visit the BB before taking any jobs from new clients and have found it to be a very useful tool for avoiding black sheep in our business.
Thanks to this new design BB will be even easier to use.
Best regards
Erik

**********************************
Erik Hansson
Technical translator DE-SV
Hansson Übersetzungen GmbH
Am Birkenwäldchen 38
D-01900 Bretn
... See more
Thanks a lot Henry for this new fresh design of the Blue Board. I quite often visit the BB before taking any jobs from new clients and have found it to be a very useful tool for avoiding black sheep in our business.
Thanks to this new design BB will be even easier to use.
Best regards
Erik

**********************************
Erik Hansson
Technical translator DE-SV
Hansson Übersetzungen GmbH
Am Birkenwäldchen 38
D-01900 Bretnig-Hauswalde, Germany
Phone +49 - 3 59 52 - 321 07
Fax +49 - 3 59 52 - 322 02
E-Mail [email protected]
Internet www.hansson.de
Internet www.t-translators.net
Internet www.technical-translators.net
ProZ profile http://www.proz.com/pro/21654
***********************************
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Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend






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