Kudoz: Let's keep all the suggestions!
Thread poster: Joakim Braun
Joakim Braun
Joakim Braun  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 22:28
German to Swedish
+ ...
Jul 29, 2020

A lot of Kudoz suggestions seem to contain the first search hit the poster came across. Sometimes it's quite out of context, or the reference link is machine-translated nonsense (immediately obvious after reading a few sentences, which the poster can't be bothered to do).

When this is noted in the comments, the Kudoz suggestion is quickly deleted.

I think it should not be possible to remove proposed translations from Kudoz. Let's leave all our contributions (good and ba
... See more
A lot of Kudoz suggestions seem to contain the first search hit the poster came across. Sometimes it's quite out of context, or the reference link is machine-translated nonsense (immediately obvious after reading a few sentences, which the poster can't be bothered to do).

When this is noted in the comments, the Kudoz suggestion is quickly deleted.

I think it should not be possible to remove proposed translations from Kudoz. Let's leave all our contributions (good and bad!) out there for all to see! It's actually an excellent quality indicator for translators.

Or perhaps deleting a proposed translation should result in negative Kudoz points, to encourage higher quality?

(Yes, it's perfectly possible, and respectable, to be wrong. But in that case, let's acknowledge it in the comments - or perhaps the poster could flag an erroneous entry in some way. BTW I find that the bad entries usually have a high conficence level, which is often not the case with serious suggestions.)
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Christopher Schröder
Cilian O'Tuama
ahartje
Philippe Etienne
neilmac
Josephine Cassar
P.L.F. Persio
 
Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 05:28
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
. Jul 29, 2020

Bathwater, meet baby.

Jessica Noyes
Yolanda Broad
Jean Dimitriadis
neilmac
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Agree Jul 29, 2020

I wouldn’t be averse to shining an eternal spotlight on those constantly firing out idiotic suggestions.

It’s misrepresenting their abilities and misleading clients if only their correct answers stay up.


Cilian O'Tuama
B D Finch
Yolanda Broad
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
neilmac
Karina Barbosa dos Santos
P.L.F. Persio
 
Cilian O'Tuama
Cilian O'Tuama  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:28
German to English
+ ...
This suggestion was made a mere 14 years ago... Jul 29, 2020

..., by me, as it happens, in the 'weeding out the rubbish' discussion.

The discussion (which was constructive IMO) got a wee bit heated at times, so Henry himself intervened, deleted some postings and locked the thread.

I
... See more
..., by me, as it happens, in the 'weeding out the rubbish' discussion.

The discussion (which was constructive IMO) got a wee bit heated at times, so Henry himself intervened, deleted some postings and locked the thread.

If anyone is interested, it's here:

https://www.proz.com/forum/kudoz/52678-the_disagree_drive_aka_weeding_out_the_rubbish-page5.html

(By the way, this discussion was inspired by another rather lengthy but entertaining thread, "should 'rubbish' help be appreciated", which can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/y2hdjy3p )
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Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Points per answer Jul 30, 2020

Cilian O'Tuama wrote:
The discussion (which was constructive IMO) got a wee bit heated at times, so Henry himself intervened, deleted some postings and locked the thread.

Ah, the days before FB took over. Thin skins around here in those days; they wouldn’t cope now

Not that keeping stupid answers in the public domain will necessarily help weed out the losers, because only peers (us) will actually see them, and let’s face it we already know who the jokers are.

In my pairs there is a translator who posts up the literal translation of every compound noun. Sometimes, by the law of averages, he is right and gets the points. Over the years, he has amassed a shedload of points this way and is high up the rankings in searches. That’s all clients will see, which isn’t right, is it?

Perhaps rankings should also be weighted by average points per answer?


neilmac
Christine Andersen
Karina Barbosa dos Santos
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 22:28
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
No Jul 30, 2020

Chris S wrote:

Cilian O'Tuama wrote:
The discussion (which was constructive IMO) got a wee bit heated at times, so Henry himself intervened, deleted some postings and locked the thread.

Ah, the days before FB took over. Thin skins around here in those days; they wouldn’t cope now

Not that keeping stupid answers in the public domain will necessarily help weed out the losers, because only peers (us) will actually see them, and let’s face it we already know who the jokers are.

In my pairs there is a translator who posts up the literal translation of every compound noun. Sometimes, by the law of averages, he is right and gets the points. Over the years, he has amassed a shedload of points this way and is high up the rankings in searches. That’s all clients will see, which isn’t right, is it?

Perhaps rankings should also be weighted by average points per answer?

But also the way people reason and interact even when posting an answer/Agree/Disagree/Neutral and reason supplied plus any research you've done and links to support your argument.

[Edited at 2020-07-30 09:50 GMT]


Christine Andersen
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:28
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Yes Jul 30, 2020

Yes- let's keep all the suggestions! They're good for a laugh especially when the asker chooses the wrong one and it ends up being used in the translation.

Christopher Schröder
Josephine Cassar
Jennifer Caisley
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Recep Kurt
Karina Barbosa dos Santos
Daryo
 
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 23:28
French to English
+ ...
No Jul 30, 2020

Chris S wrote:

... keeping stupid answers in the public domain...


Sometimes, people give a wrong answer or even post answers in the wrong language pair. So what?

Carving every mistake in stone, for ever and always, to the answerer's eternal shame is cruel and counterproductive. Who needs to wade through the wrong answers, anyway?

To say nothing of the fact that Kudoz answers should be fun and not a way to castigate the occasional blunder.

So, I did not read the context carefully and I gave a wrong answer. So what? Why can't I change my mind? Or hide the stupid answer from my peers?

Sandra


 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 22:28
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
Or Jul 30, 2020

Tom in London wrote:

Yes- let's keep all the suggestions! They're good for a laugh especially when the asker chooses the wrong one and it ends up being used in the translation.

Or it ends up in the glossary!


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
P.L.F. Persio
 
Joakim Braun
Joakim Braun  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 22:28
German to Swedish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
But Jul 30, 2020

Sandra & Kenneth Grossman wrote:

Sometimes, people give a wrong answer or even post answers in the wrong language pair. So what?


Exactly. No big deal leaving them up.

Sandra & Kenneth Grossman wrote:
Carving every mistake in stone, for ever and always, to the answerer's eternal shame is cruel and counterproductive.


Zero shame in an honest mistake. Especially if posted with a mid/low confidence level.
Random guesswork without knowledge or research belongs in the "Discussion" section of the query.

I've contributed and deleted a few stupid suggestions myself.
Would it embarrass me if they were left up? Sure...
...But as with the vast majority of posters, the ratio of the stupid to the defensible would still be OK.


Philippe Etienne
Daryo
P.L.F. Persio
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 21:28
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Jul 31, 2020

I’m sure I have given a few wrong answers over the years. I always try my best to give a good answer but we all know that translation is not an exact science and things happen. As far as I remember I’ve deleted my answer a few times, not because it was wrong, but because the asker was rude to me and I refuse to help rude people. My ‘disagrees’ usually go to those ‘comet translators’ (they tend to disappear from the ‘sky’ as fast as they appeared) who translate X² languages (I be... See more
I’m sure I have given a few wrong answers over the years. I always try my best to give a good answer but we all know that translation is not an exact science and things happen. As far as I remember I’ve deleted my answer a few times, not because it was wrong, but because the asker was rude to me and I refuse to help rude people. My ‘disagrees’ usually go to those ‘comet translators’ (they tend to disappear from the ‘sky’ as fast as they appeared) who translate X² languages (I believe the maximum amount I’ve seen is 2,200 language pairs) and answer by running the questions through GT.

Kudoz is also a pretty good reflection of who a person is and how she behaves…

[Edited at 2020-07-31 15:11 GMT]
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P.L.F. Persio
 
Daryo
Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:28
Serbian to English
+ ...
There is a real merit in that idea May 15, 2021

Joakim Braun wrote:

A lot of Kudoz suggestions seem to contain the first search hit the poster came across. Sometimes it's quite out of context, or the reference link is machine-translated nonsense (immediately obvious after reading a few sentences, which the poster can't be bothered to do).

When this is noted in the comments, the Kudoz suggestion is quickly deleted.

I think it should not be possible to remove proposed translations from Kudoz. Let's leave all our contributions (good and bad!) out there for all to see! It's actually an excellent quality indicator for translators.

Or perhaps deleting a proposed translation should result in negative Kudoz points, to encourage higher quality?

(Yes, it's perfectly possible, and respectable, to be wrong. But in that case, let's acknowledge it in the comments - or perhaps the poster could flag an erroneous entry in some way. BTW I find that the bad entries usually have a high conficence level, which is often not the case with serious suggestions.)


This is a seriously good idea!

Knowing that they can't delete their answers would

-- make Answerers think twice before posting - double check first; knowing that you can't just rush the first thing to cross your mind and later simply make it vanish would improve the quality of answers;

-- show to anyone interested the process by which the right answer was found a.k.a would contribute to "learning from mistakes" (a concept that seems as alien to some "pros" as is "context", but hey - no one is perfect...)

As a "collateral benefit" it would also stop dead in their tracks games played by some answerers who systematically delete practically all non-accepted answers, making them look as "infaillible" as the Pope.

The only potential problem I see is when your computer / mouse / keyboard starts having a mind of their own / misbehaving and posts an unfinished answer. THAT should be deleted, maybe by asking moderators.


P.L.F. Persio
 


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Kudoz: Let's keep all the suggestions!






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