Thanks to those who have completed the survey - plus early results
Thread poster: Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 14:04
SITE FOUNDER
Apr 15, 2008

Hi all,

Thanks to all of those who have already completed the survey. We'll continue to accept feedback, but there are 243 respondents already, and as this can be considered a representative sample size, in the interest of moving forward, I'll share some of the results:

First of all, people overwhelmingly feel (in a ratio of 20 to 1) that the winners have been deserving:

* 60% say the winners have "almost always" or "usually" deserved to win
*
... See more
Hi all,

Thanks to all of those who have already completed the survey. We'll continue to accept feedback, but there are 243 respondents already, and as this can be considered a representative sample size, in the interest of moving forward, I'll share some of the results:

First of all, people overwhelmingly feel (in a ratio of 20 to 1) that the winners have been deserving:

* 60% say the winners have "almost always" or "usually" deserved to win
* 3% say the winners have "usually not" or "almost never" deserved to win
* (37% are uncertain)

Most feel that the process used for final round voting is sound.

* 55% said that finals round voting is working "very well" or "OK"
* 10% said it is working "not so well" or "not well at all"
* (35% said they are not sure)

Among those who had complaints, the number of entries that had to be evaluated was a primary concern. Also, several felt that the process could be improved technically.

Qualification round voting needs to be changed

As for qualification round voting, although more people said that is working than said it is not (40% vs. 21%), there was criticism. The criticism came primary in two forms: that there are too many entries to review (and too many making it to the finals), and that sometimes entries with "fatal flaws" qualify. Romina and I had identified this an area for improvement, and this feedback seals the matter: we will try something new for qualfication round voting next time. (Post to follow.)

General feedback

In general notes, there was plenty of enthusiasm expressed for the contests (ex: "the contests are a great learning experience", "exchanging views about the beauty of our language is really a good thing", etc.) There was criticism of the fact that deadlines had been moved.

Finally, there were many suggestions for improvements, and a great deal of encouragement. ("Congratulations to the whole ProZ for this initiative.", "Keep up the good work", etc.) Rest assured, as site staff members, we'll keep "working to make ProZ.com contests the best they can be."
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Vladimir Dubisskiy
Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 13:04
Member (2001)
English to Russian
+ ...
'community' or 'panel' Apr 16, 2008

Henry,
And what was the feedback on 'community' vs 'panel of expert' question?

Thank you,
Vladimir


 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 14:04
SITE FOUNDER
TOPIC STARTER
Good question. We were saving that for a post on our voting plan, but... Apr 16, 2008

Vladimir Dubisskiy wrote:

Henry,
And what was the feedback on 'community' vs 'panel of expert' question?

Thank you,
Vladimir

Hi Vladimir. I was going to share that result in a post on our voting plan, but basically, we have 3/4 of respondents favoring a mixed approach of community plus panel of experts (with the other 1/4 being 2-to-1 in favor of community-based approaches.)


 
Yuri Smirnov
Yuri Smirnov  Identity Verified
Local time: 21:04
English to Belarusian
+ ...
Really strange Apr 16, 2008

Henry D wrote:

...basically, we have 3/4 of respondents favoring a mixed approach of community plus panel of experts (with the other 1/4 being 2-to-1 in favor of community-based approaches.)


Anyone can check that the overwhelming majority of those who shared their preferences openly in another forum branch were for the panel. The secret vote is for community 2 to 1. Strange. Yes, I know there were way more secret voters than those who 'signed' their vote, but still, the tendency is strange.



[Edited at 2008-04-16 19:12]


 
Katia Gygax
Katia Gygax  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:04
French to Russian
+ ...
Community or panel choice Apr 16, 2008

I think it is easier to vote anonimously and avoid more severe selection. Thus the majority sticks to "community vote". Franckly speaking I find it really sad.

 
Marie-Hélène Hayles
Marie-Hélène Hayles  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:04
Italian to English
+ ...
I voted for community Apr 16, 2008

I don't think I voiced my opinion in the forums, simply because I have no problems with my language pair. But from my point of view the system works perfectly well as it is, I don't see any need for change, and I'm happy to say so in public.

The one comment I did make on the survey suggestions section was that perhaps the contests shouldn't be taken so seriously... they're only a bit of fun, after all! I find it difficult to believe that anyone would care so much about winning a con
... See more
I don't think I voiced my opinion in the forums, simply because I have no problems with my language pair. But from my point of view the system works perfectly well as it is, I don't see any need for change, and I'm happy to say so in public.

The one comment I did make on the survey suggestions section was that perhaps the contests shouldn't be taken so seriously... they're only a bit of fun, after all! I find it difficult to believe that anyone would care so much about winning a contest of this nature that they would cheat to do so.
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Larissa Boutrimova
Larissa Boutrimova  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 14:04
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
Correct me if I am wrong... Apr 16, 2008

Yuri Smirnov wrote:

The secret vote is for community 2 to 1. Strange.

Katia Gygax wrote:

Thus the majority sticks to "community vote". Franckly speaking I find it really sad.

...but looks like the survey results showed that the majority of voters are in favour of a mixed approach of community PLUS panel of experts:
Henry D wrote:

we have 3/4 of respondents favoring a mixed approach of community plus panel of experts


And never was a truer word spoken, Marie-Hélène:

Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote:

perhaps the contests shouldn't be taken so seriously... they're only a bit of fun, after all!


[Редактировалось 2008-04-17 00:33]


 


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Thanks to those who have completed the survey - plus early results






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