ProZ.com Translation Forums

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Thanks for the feedback, Pavel

Henry Dotterer — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 21:57:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer
Post title: Thanks for the feedback, Pavel

[quote]Pavel wrote:

Hi Henry,

Thank you for free access to BB.
I visited it and I think that information is very usefull.

I will visit regularly this section of your site in the future.

The only question I have - is there any section, where the customers and agencies could post their comments on the quality of translations and their ratings of freelance translators?

This could help to the customer and any agency to find skilled translator much faster and at reasonable price.

I think the system of Browniz and Kudoz does not really show if the translator is competent or not.

For example I am working with 4 agencies at the moment (Turkey, Canada, India, Estonia) and I have only 15 Kudoz points and 41 Browniz. I should say I don`t really have the time to answer questions or smth.

So, there is no real relation between these parameters and skills of translator.

If there were the system of such comments and rating I think I would do my best to gain such valuable capital to have more clients after all.[/quote]

Thanks for the feedback, Pavel. It is interesting to note that the greatest beneficiaries of the current Blue Board (a database of outsourcers) are the top outsourcers. I believe the same will be true of a properly designed database of translators with track records. There have been several discussions on this topic, and we intend to begin working with the community to produce something--hopefully you will participate again at that time.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | very innovative

Brandis (X) — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:34:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Brandis (X)
Post title: very innovative

Hi Henry,
I find the BB very innovative and has a very good overview. Couldnt be better.
Rgds,
Brandis

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Free access to the Blue Board

Pavel Buglak — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 18:25:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Pavel Buglak
Post title: Free access to the Blue Board

Hi Henry,

Thank you for free access to BB.
I visited it and I think that information is very usefull.

I will visit regularly this section of your site in the future.

The only question I have - is there any section, where the customers and agencies could post their comments on the quality of translations and their ratings of freelance translators?

This could help to the customer and any agency to find skilled translator much faster and at reasonable price.

I think the system of Browniz and Kudoz does not really show if the translator is competent or not.

For example I am working with 4 agencies at the moment (Turkey, Canada, India, Estonia) and I have only 15 Kudoz points and 41 Browniz. I should say I don`t really have the time to answer questions or smth.

So, there is no real relation between these parameters and skills of translator.

If there were the system of such comments and rating I think I would do my best to gain such valuable capital to have more clients after all.

Best Regards,

Pavel Buglak

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | That was part of the problem, Lucinda

Henry Dotterer — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 09:40:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer
Post title: That was part of the problem, Lucinda

[quote]Lucinda wrote:

... I would not even have to waste a look one a LWA of '1' and not even bother with applying to that job.[/quote]

Actually, that was part of the problem. A person could enter a "1" and effectively be "anonymous" to the portion of the community that would not click through. A few people (feuding companies in two cases, if I remember correctly) took advantage of the loophole. That is why showing numbers without the rest of the data is something we had to discontinue after about two days.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Blue Board

Lucinda Hollenberg — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 08:51:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Lucinda Hollenberg
Post title: Blue Board

Hi Henry,

Thanks for putting it aside for another look.

Hi Ralph,

YOu are right; the comments tell more than just a number. I do look at the comments. Having the LWA numbers available with the job would just help me to decide whether it is worth giving the comments a look or not.

Also, for a non-platinum member it would mean: Is it worth that I spend my brownieZ? I would not even have to waste a look one a LWA of '1' and not even bother with applying to that job.

Lucinda

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Maybe, reduce slightly the font size in "Past Job Posting" right rectangle?

ttagir — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 22:05:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: ttagir
Post title: Maybe, reduce slightly the font size in "Past Job Posting" right rectangle?

or slightly increase its width at the expense of the lefter column(s)?
Probably: the dates in bold and posting in Italic?
Possibly: 5 would be a good limit for last job postings by an outsourcer (however, this could be also stated in the header, thus giving a general idea on how frequently the outsourcer outsources:))? If somebody needs more info, simply clicks on "more info".
As for the new design and "physcal" view: yours are simply the great! Very usefull and very well done! Speed is improved visibly (although, I upgraded my PC this weekend, as well:)).
Yours,
Tagir.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Free access to BB

Isabelita Echevarria Prengel — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 15:06:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Isabelita Echevarria Prengel
Post title: Free access to BB

[quote]Hynek Palatin wrote:

Great, thank you, Henry.[/quote]

I already said thanks, but I cannot find my comment, so I do it one more time: Thanks Henry,

Isabelle

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Message to Henry

Isabelita Echevarria Prengel — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 15:04:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Isabelita Echevarria Prengel
Post title: Message to Henry

Thank you Henry,

I got my password to access the Blue Board, and it works very well.

Isabelle :O))

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | That's it

Hynek Palatin — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 14:33:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Hynek Palatin
Post title: That's it

Great, thank you, Henry.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | OK, got it now Hynek

Henry Dotterer — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:56:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer
Post title: OK, got it now Hynek

Sorry, I misunderstood. I have made the change now. Thanks!

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | No change

Hynek Palatin — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:31:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Hynek Palatin
Post title: No change

[quote]Henry wrote:

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

Hi Henry,

I probably wasn't clear enough. I mean the "simple" search using the Search field in the left column. Enter an agency name, check "Clients" and press "Go". In the search results, the searched term is bold, but only the small blue squares to the left from the agency names are clickable. I think the whole agency name should be a hyperlink. It still works the same way as yesterday.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Impressed!

Erik Hansson — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 10:51:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Erik Hansson
Post title: Impressed!

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 removed]
Internet [url removed]
Internet [url removed]
Internet [url removed]
ProZ profile [url removed]
***********************************

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Some reservations remain

Ralf Lemster — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 08:28:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Ralf Lemster
Post title: Some reservations remain

Hi Lucinda, hi Henry,
[quote]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.
[/quote]
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

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Showing average entries without entry data proved impractical

Henry Dotterer — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 05:23:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer
Post title: Showing average entries without entry data proved impractical

[quote]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.[/quote]

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.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | How is it now, Hynek?

Henry Dotterer — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 04:59:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer
Post title: How is it now, Hynek?

[quote]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.[/quote]

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

Thanks.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Suggestion: Make the agency name in search results clickable

Hynek Palatin — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 22:49:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Hynek Palatin
Post title: Suggestion: Make the agency name in search results clickable

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.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Great Improvement!

Lucinda Hollenberg — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 21:06:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Lucinda Hollenberg
Post title: Great Improvement!

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

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Thanks for noticing!

Henry Dotterer — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 19:38:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer
Post title: Thanks for noticing!

[quote]laural wrote:

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

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.

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Quick fix!

Laura Lucardini — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 19:18:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Laura Lucardini
Post title: Quick fix!

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

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | blue board interface

paolamonaco — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 18:58:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: paolamonaco
Post title: blue board interface

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

Thumbs up!
Paola

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Well done!

Laura Lucardini — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 17:04:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Laura Lucardini
Post title: Well done!

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!

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | ProZ.com Support Center

Ralf Lemster — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:53:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Ralf Lemster
Post title: ProZ.com Support Center

Hi again,
[quote]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! [/quote]
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:
[quote]
Please select a link below that best describes your support issue[/quote]
...and a bit further down...
[quote]
Jobs
Issues related to the ProZ.com job system
Examples: job posting, platinum-only jobs, blue board, etc. [/quote]
Click on [url= [url removed] ]Jobs[/url], 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

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Well...

Dinny — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:36:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Dinny
Post title: Well...

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!

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Support

Ralf Lemster — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 13:32:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Ralf Lemster
Post title: Support

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

Now, where do I ask to have access for the weekend?
[/quote]
As Henry said, please use the [url= [url removed] ]Support[/url] section (click on the link I provided, or go through Support on the main menu).

Best regards,
Ralf

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend | Great!

Dinny — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 13:20:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Dinny
Post title: Great!

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

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

Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend

Henry Dotterer — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 00:10:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com job systems
Topic: Blue board update and invitation to all members to try it free for the weekend
Poster: Henry Dotterer

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: [url removed]
FAQ: [url removed]

To get to the new Blue Board interface, go to [url removed] (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