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19:02 Feb 28, 2011
English to German translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Games / Video Games / Gaming / Casino / MMORPG Game
English term or phrase:Open Format Event
Out of the participation rules of a MMORPG game event:
"Start and end times for Events are specified in the Events Calendar found in the Open Format Events Lobby.
Open Format Events are open to everyone except employees (including their immediate family members and persons living in the same household), officers, directors, and agents of Sponsor, and its respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, who are not eligible to participate."
I am not sure if "Open Format Event" simply means that everyone can take part (so for example regardless of their level, experience, etc.) or if there is more to it.
I have more sentences where the term "Open Format Event" comes up but no more explanatory context as to what exactly is meant by open - also can't find any reference that this is a commonly used term - so I am grateful for any help!
This is indeed a question suitable for kudoz, and if you don't know what it means, you can ask in the English-English pair (monolingual English). It's an event where the participants can come and go as they want. There is no set program that the participants need to follow.
Open is the opposite of set, fixed or determined on forehand.
Format doesn't refer to a data format like txt or html. If refers to how it's organized. In an open format, there is normally room for improvisation.
The term in question occurs in pay-for-content (i.e. non-subscription based) MMOs. In these games you can normally still opt to become a "member" by means of purchasing a membership (which has added benefits such as in-game currency, items etc.). Some events are then members-only events and some are open (format) events.
So you might go with "Offenes Event" but as I said earlier, the client will (hopefully) tell you, whether this encompasses the entire meaning of the phrase.
@Nils: appreciate your comments - I thought I try this forum first as I am not all knowing and thought maybe someone more game expert than me has come across this term before ... Should this not be the case, of course I will ask the client to be sure.
The description sounds like something I have frequently come across as just "Open event". Maybe the "format" bit is unnecessary but maybe the client does have something particular in mind...
There is no way to tell from the source, so asking the client is the right step.
This is not a common English term, this has been made up by the client. What it means exactly only the client CAN know.
So my educated guess/common sense below should be the best she can get :)
if someone KNEW exactly what it meant, as you evidently do not, then he could help izy easily.
As it happens a dozen times a day on every single language pair !
Open Format Events are open to everyone except employees (including their immediate family members and persons living in the same household), officers, directors, and agents of Sponsor, and its respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, who are not eligible to participate."
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Answers
2 hrs confidence:
open format event
Open Format Event
Explanation: Evidently, it IS a well known and defined term in the Gaming community, that is universally understood in its english original.
DERDOKTOR Local time: 03:15 Specializes in field Native speaker of: German PRO pts in category: 34
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The translation workplace 
