tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37063619928037575332024-03-19T04:00:44.503+01:00Translation EthicsTranslation companies bad practices unveiled : free public blacklist of agencies, scammers, non payers, low payersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-88433117700177526182015-01-19T15:18:00.002+01:002015-01-19T15:18:57.732+01:00Travod and how to win your client's trust...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VXigXRNH5VkJbrPqZez4FTwsBZ7KIfg3PmlM1BnbtTnwwk3Ps8FabCOoj4qETQBVtx5Bcseo-9wnFGp6HiQ8ADJYwTMfjTgadjViM5Oj5Y6xB028FVbVW2jxHtOsYsGwdeugijKMyPs/s1600/skycraper.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VXigXRNH5VkJbrPqZez4FTwsBZ7KIfg3PmlM1BnbtTnwwk3Ps8FabCOoj4qETQBVtx5Bcseo-9wnFGp6HiQ8ADJYwTMfjTgadjViM5Oj5Y6xB028FVbVW2jxHtOsYsGwdeugijKMyPs/s1600/skycraper.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some readers </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">of <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html#.UpnNVeLW9qw" target="_blank">my blacklist </a></span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">have suggested that companies should be categorised better </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">rather than </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">be </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">simply listed alphabetically.</span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> M</span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">y criteria for now is just who I would not work for and why. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">They suggest I should classify them by country, and separate bad payers, from non-payers and low payers. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This
sounds like a great idea and I have studied that possibility but found
it is not very practical to start such categories, because some people
belong to all of them and there would be repeats. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Travod
is one of them. They have positive reviews as well a bad ones, but I
would personally not work for them because they offer low rates (<a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html#.UpnNVeLW9qw" target="_blank">under 2 eurocents</a>). And on these grounds alone they are damaging the industry <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/2013/09/todays-translation-market-for.html#.UpnXMuLW9qw" target="_blank">by lowering the standard</a><a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/2013/09/todays-translation-market-for.html#.UpnXMuLW9qw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #134f5c;">s (read article about the main factors threatening profession)</span></a>. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On top of that, their strategy to gain trust from clients is to pretend they are an international company based everywhere. </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There
is nothing illegal about that, and they are not the only ones to do it,
but it's definitely very embarrassing for them. And they go through a
lot of efforts to hide the following information. Here is the story:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I mentioned in the blacklist a report from a French translator arguing that their <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Travod-4161115.S.81532231?view=&gid=4161115&type=member&item=81532231#commentID_null" target="_blank">French address was a church</a> and that they did not even belong to the registry of the Chamber of Commerce in Paris:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="font-size: large;">I made a translation for Travod. It took 12 days before I received an
answer to my many reminders asking if the translation was fine and for a
PO# so that I could invoice them.
They replied that all needed info is published on their website www.travod.com
Checking the website it says that they have offices in Paris at 44
boulevard des batignolles. After checking at this adress there is only a
church!
<br />
Moreover, I checked the French chamber of commerce and <b>there no company called Travod registered in France</b>.
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So beware, personally I will never work with them again and I should feel lucky if I ever get paid for my translation"
</span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shortly after the publication of this info in my list, Travod <b>removed the "Paris office"</b> from their website and sent me 2 mails, arguing that none of this was true and that they should not be part of my blacklist.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here is our exchange:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Email received from Anny, pm@travod.com </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">22/11/2013</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Hello,
</span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />We would like to ask you to <span style="background-color: white;">remove us from your blacklist of translation
company.
The information given there is false and disrespectful!
</span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: white;">
</span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />We request it to be removed immediately!
</span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />TRAVOD Team </span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Email received a minute later: </span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In order for you to see that you post false information:
</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1) you can check our website, we don't pretend we have an office in
Paris, <u>http://travod.com/contactus/</u></span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b> (Well, not anymore anyway, oh those lying freelancers)</b></span></span></span><i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">2) Yes, we do have an office an operational office in Moldova which
helps to reduce costs, but we NEVER hide that.</span></span></i><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> (Why not say it's their main office, what's wrong with that?)</b></span></span></span><i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">3) We<span style="background-color: white;"> have registered offices in UK and US.
</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">4) FYI, you may check some more references:
</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.blogger.com/null">http://worldblu.com/awardee-profiles/2013.php#travod</a>
</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.blogger.com/null">http://www.atanet.org/onlinedirectories/tsd_corp_listings/tsd_corp_view.pl?id=1032</a></span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #45818e;"> (Irrelevant employee recommendation and a ranking in some obscure business list)</span></b></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So please remove our name from your list!</span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">TRAVOD Team"</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My reply:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />"Just like we don't add people without evidence, we don't remove them without evidence.</span></span></i><br />
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Please
forward the evidence from chambers of commerce that you have offices in
the UK and NY and we'll take off that information.</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kind regards,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">translationethics"</span></span></i></blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In
the meantime, I checked all this myself before they modify their page
again, intrigued by this new comment on LinkedIn, from another freelance
translator: </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">"I just wanted to confirm that Travod seems to be <b>pretending to operate
in the US while actually being in Moldova</b>. I live in New York City where
their offices are and thought I would drop by their office at 244 5th
Av., which is supposed to be their HQ (according to their contact page).
I have photos showing that no such office exists there. <b>244 5th Av. is
the location of a company that sells virtual offices (nymail.com)</b>, which
is basically a mailbox and forwarding service. It seems that many
fraudulent/scam companies work out of this address. <b>I called the office to
ask about this and the person on the line told me that she was in the
office right now, which was highly unlikely</b>. I did contact proz.com about
this and they told me that they would look into it, but it doesn't seem
to have changed anything. To be fair, my experience with the company has
not all been bad(...)" <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Travod-4161115.S.81532231?qid=9b1f5550-6ace-4a29-869c-8701626f7e72&trk=groups_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=.gmp_4161115%20%20%22" target="_blank">Read rest of thread</a></span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now,
even without saying the above is true, one has to admit it is very
believable given the previous comments in the thread. There seems to be
some pattern emerging here. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So what Travod really does is <b>rent virtual offices in major cities for about 20 dollars a month</b>. W</span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">hether
or not they have actual offices in these places does not really matter
anyway to me, they are still staying on my list on the sole grounds of
the rates they offer.</span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But
the question of where these companies are truly based remains
interesting because it's about deforming the truth playing on words and
constructing a business facade. And that deserves to be known more widely.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the facts now to backup those mean allegations. Travod's
homepage will leave you under the impression that it is situated in the
USA, New York more precisely. Skyscrapers, yellow cabs, ATA (America
translator's association)</span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> logo in a privileged spot</span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">, as well as a little boy playing with a dog on a beach (?) to give its viewers a cheap heart-warming feeling.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the contact page, their first address is NY, their last one, segregated by a blank, is Moldova. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBC454-NTNtZvMG6-SJA_iBqh50RomouI7c9u2XrDMzVWeznu8eNn7F0ovIdt14paGkFJ9bnHE3sO_WUVmC79irHC8AQrwjA5vDAazdwW3y58YpYD3tUyOUoAM_YrisrId2K2zEKgUJA/s1600/Travod+contact+page.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBC454-NTNtZvMG6-SJA_iBqh50RomouI7c9u2XrDMzVWeznu8eNn7F0ovIdt14paGkFJ9bnHE3sO_WUVmC79irHC8AQrwjA5vDAazdwW3y58YpYD3tUyOUoAM_YrisrId2K2zEKgUJA/s640/Travod+contact+page.jpg" height="379" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As
it turns out, they don't seem to directly employ anyone in NY, Hong Kong or
London. They pay, along with other companies, for a virtual office and mail
service, some private company to take care (pass on to them that is) of
anything landing there. Actually they probably never physically engaged
in any sort of activity in those places. And that is the beauty of these so-called "virtual offices".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Never
heard of them? Me neither until yesterday. I just think it's brilliant.
Borderline unethical, quite embarrassing, but allowed, definitely not illegal. And there is a need for it. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now
here is some information which confirms that these translators are
right. Here is what comes up when checking the addresses for New York,
followed, </span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">if
you still have doubts, by pic of the door with names of the companies
located at this address, proving that Travod isn't one of them:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLY0En4ZxnRRgqrBQ5cdDAZ3Kzu1laH8cQoYL28GPxfEAeU0n81SshZ_y0FlClO2i_8wkhKKK3owqRWkywyIijfe2Hd6hABvrAINbK1z6YOkaYEdrplguc2xiSgMDt42XJW_WNueHO-4k/s1600/Tarvod+Virtual+NY.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLY0En4ZxnRRgqrBQ5cdDAZ3Kzu1laH8cQoYL28GPxfEAeU0n81SshZ_y0FlClO2i_8wkhKKK3owqRWkywyIijfe2Hd6hABvrAINbK1z6YOkaYEdrplguc2xiSgMDt42XJW_WNueHO-4k/s640/Tarvod+Virtual+NY.jpg" height="577" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfi47ss4tqItdFLbJw6MQE6n5Ypd3JboAuLjjlH8UVkggKSIgui5fxM5USPzAL5PEKYw-Vy-b-1JUl8XZWZyHPUUPI5X7ubGwmYSEFl7xFiRiVrXu0ybipHEugZnK4F0F8ET_3w_sb25c/s1600/2445th.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfi47ss4tqItdFLbJw6MQE6n5Ypd3JboAuLjjlH8UVkggKSIgui5fxM5USPzAL5PEKYw-Vy-b-1JUl8XZWZyHPUUPI5X7ubGwmYSEFl7xFiRiVrXu0ybipHEugZnK4F0F8ET_3w_sb25c/s1600/2445th.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">... and London:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1_MO_oFP9jfwboBQP1Y8kMgz04ZWBys3xRcN0TsiAvHDDen32dq5GsrKgMk6mhXDdg1sReWz_qEiY1YQPMaBXVovTVGw71SvUJRAyWX6zl842r6WPGetTbN3aIrB15s9d1oCSdo02FU/s1600/Tarvod+Virtual+UK+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1_MO_oFP9jfwboBQP1Y8kMgz04ZWBys3xRcN0TsiAvHDDen32dq5GsrKgMk6mhXDdg1sReWz_qEiY1YQPMaBXVovTVGw71SvUJRAyWX6zl842r6WPGetTbN3aIrB15s9d1oCSdo02FU/s640/Tarvod+Virtual+UK+.jpg" height="398" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">BTW
I love this sales pitch, it's just brilliant: "The advantage of this is
that your clients and suppliers are given the impression that you have a
professionally run organisation." </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">...Because let's face it, if you need us, you must be a bit of a joke. Brits are so witty :)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">... and finally Hong Kong: </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIMxMEiqS5szG-PXnRFNRO_Txn4E6SkPND8fEP0D5e6jL6zpWdHN0ymZB7v353WfkqnOCJe8FxdNIi5NAAlZle7wGI50Tn2QU9GE61BsNbutvLdAMDzP3Z9NvaGq22NoH-pMkNCrYPYU/s1600/Tarvod+Virtual+HK.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIMxMEiqS5szG-PXnRFNRO_Txn4E6SkPND8fEP0D5e6jL6zpWdHN0ymZB7v353WfkqnOCJe8FxdNIi5NAAlZle7wGI50Tn2QU9GE61BsNbutvLdAMDzP3Z9NvaGq22NoH-pMkNCrYPYU/s640/Tarvod+Virtual+HK.jpg" height="430" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> As for Paris, it has disappeared from Travod's new homepage. </span></span></span>But their <a href="http://www.travod.com/html/contact.html" target="_blank">old contact page</a> (that they did not remove properly) and <a href="http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/agency8490.htm" target="_blank">Translator's Café profile</a>, the <a href="http://www.indianyellowpages.com/travod/contact.htm" target="_blank">yellow pages</a>, and Proz page all confirm that they were lying in the email they sent me</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- and here it is again:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"In order for you to see that you post false information:
</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1) you can check our website,<span style="background-color: yellow;"> we don't pretend we have an office in
Paris</span>, <u>http://travod.com/contactus/"</u></span></span></i> </blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The address 44 bvd des Batignolles is INDEED a church, or temple (called "<a href="http://temples.free.fr/paris/batignolles.htm" target="_blank">Temple des Batignolles", and it's been there since 1834</a>)...</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhzgiWUHf_QbuNnr_DSU0ixCJrCOobqSeMYGTFNuX0Q8rHT8ryCJDsEZiKTAga00H326wQMXlt70kZSUJPxWgsydVhHD7tRXgdlGkftEjGoeijapDapD4h2g7p9S1w61jNJe4y4VwynU/s1600/Travod+Paris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhzgiWUHf_QbuNnr_DSU0ixCJrCOobqSeMYGTFNuX0Q8rHT8ryCJDsEZiKTAga00H326wQMXlt70kZSUJPxWgsydVhHD7tRXgdlGkftEjGoeijapDapD4h2g7p9S1w61jNJe4y4VwynU/s640/Travod+Paris.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">So
the only office left is therefore Moldova, their only non-virtual
office. Something tells me that's where they truly dwell, so I did not
bother checking. There are limits to my awful, disrespectful nosiness
:) </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;">But
in any case, what is wrong with Moldova? This seems like a nice enough
country. Ok they don't have yellow cabs and skyscrapers but they do have
children-dogs friendships, and that is the main thing, innit?</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX4UG4Eg3qGzLqeEbBZgwpGzi_BFyWXuSxj6LthwMw2_CrEbFG-IxWpblKgw4PoFcq7LVKyJ9p6UviB7toN_7tqtXLwZDC8FxYEoFnnwlHVWbhLewaQxZE9etvtYPDS1oJ_K4LZag5sM/s1600/Travod.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX4UG4Eg3qGzLqeEbBZgwpGzi_BFyWXuSxj6LthwMw2_CrEbFG-IxWpblKgw4PoFcq7LVKyJ9p6UviB7toN_7tqtXLwZDC8FxYEoFnnwlHVWbhLewaQxZE9etvtYPDS1oJ_K4LZag5sM/s1600/Travod.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-52120804765598817072014-09-22T16:08:00.000+02:002014-11-19T14:17:18.313+01:00New survey by JR Dias on Translator scammers<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">November 2014</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joao Roque Dias' survey shows us there is a new trend of scams emerging, endangering further the translation industry. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">These people seem hard to pin down. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">However they MUST be reported to the <u>Translator Scammers
Directory</u> <a href="http://www.translator-scammers.com/" target="_blank">website</a> as well as to the authorities. <br /> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.translator-scammers.com/">http://www.translator-scammers.com/</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joao has communicated the results of his survey during the recent ATA Conference in Chicago and the conclusions are staggering.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is now available here:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br />
<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9q0pvttt36jfxg/JRD_The_Translator_Scammers_Plague_Survey_Report.pdf" moz-do-not-send="true" target="_blank">https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9q0pvttt36jfxg/JRD_The_Translator_Scammers_Plague_Survey_Report.pdf</a> </span></span><br />
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</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-25322557909217180062014-09-11T14:35:00.000+02:002014-09-11T14:35:02.129+02:00Anonymous: Conyac's test policy<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIHz50jMXmFmGZkxO4lyBpEICVx68B0s8FItz3vTNi04qe73Z_II6dLHN2X0-psAVz20zGsDc3-DlnVLuDAWdtcwNqahplG7XdEaFmOX_WdgVbdyPq96fRWIjj4PUH9ggXhvMC5LSw8c/s1600/hissing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIHz50jMXmFmGZkxO4lyBpEICVx68B0s8FItz3vTNi04qe73Z_II6dLHN2X0-psAVz20zGsDc3-DlnVLuDAWdtcwNqahplG7XdEaFmOX_WdgVbdyPq96fRWIjj4PUH9ggXhvMC5LSw8c/s1600/hissing.jpg" height="508" width="640" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>
</b></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
</div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Here is how Conyac makes even more profits on their innocent and oh so naïve "translators"</b>:</span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
</div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
"Dear Translation Ethics:</div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3037" style="color: #344853; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif;"><span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3035" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I read your article on Conyac with great interest.</span></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br class="" /></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I would like to remain anonymous, but</span><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">you will find below</span><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><span class="" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> the
description of what Coyac calls "level test." 6026 characters for free.</span></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_24" style="color: #344853; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif;"><span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_21" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3041" /></span></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_29" style="color: #344853; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif;"><span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_26" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">In addition to this, they have other features such as "contests," which pay little or nothing.</span></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_35" style="color: #344853; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif;"><span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_32" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3138" /></span></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: black; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">
<span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_40" style="color: #344853; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif;"><span class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_6_1409426212241_37" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">In a recent contest, the "winner" was awarded the privilege of translating 29701 characters for 400 US dollars.</span></span></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
<br class="" /></div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
-----</div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2915" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
The level test will now begin. Please make
sure to submit the results before the time limit expires.</div>
<br class="" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" />
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2914" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
【Test flow】</div>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2913" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
Begin the test → Submit a translation within the time limit → Conyac grading process and feedback → Results
notification</div>
<br class="" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" />
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2838" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
【Rules for taking the test】</div>
<ul class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3142" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 25px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px;">
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3141">The number of characters is <b class="">6026</b>.The time limit will be <b class="">15</b> hours.</li>
<li class="">Once you begin the test you cannot cancel it.</li>
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3143">There is a “save
as draft” button during the test. You may edit the contents as much as you like within the time limit.</li>
<li class="">If you do not submit a translation before the time limit, regardless of the amount completed, this will result in a fail.</li>
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3144">The result of the test will be sent within approximately one week to the email address you have registered on Conyac.</li>
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3145">There
is no limit to the amount of times you may take the test, however it is
necessary to wait one month from the day of your previous test results
in order to retest.</li>
</ul>
<div class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3146" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px;">
【Please take note】</div>
<ul class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2813" style="color: #344853; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 25px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px;">
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3147">If it has been determined that you have cheated during the test, there is a chance your account will be deleted.</li>
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3148">In accordance with NDA, test contents are strictly prohibited from leaking to the outside.</li>
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_3149">Submitted translation results may be reused by Conyac without notification.</li>
<li class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2811">Please understand we cannot reveal any details regarding the grading process or criteria for passing.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>I think this speaks for itself. Still fancy joining Conyac? </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>I </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>personally </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>call that a scam. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>It's true that once you let the cat in, there is no limits to the damage it can come up with. So how about shutting the door to this annoying cat?</b></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<br class="" id="yiv8093711878yui_3_16_0_1_1409426212241_2808" /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-15547666921937449512014-07-25T17:06:00.002+02:002014-07-30T15:16:25.693+02:00Step by step method to stop low rates and end the agency epidemy<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The solution is quite simple. The problem is that it's long term. And long term thinking is not so hot right now. Hence the mess we are in. But here is the solution anyway. It consists mainly of being an actor for change, by:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Refusing the offer in a logorrhea of insults.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Patiently reminding people that the appropriate rate is 3 times that.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Ratting on your incompetent 'monkey colleagues' who are stealing your jobs by accepting peanuts and who should have chosen another career path, and thereby getting them off the pro market where they obviously don't belong.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Speaking up about agencies who are parasiting the sector and making skilled and talented peeps an endangered species almost as cute as the panda;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Talking directly to the often stingy but always 'innocent' end client to let him know where his money goes. Not in the right pocket that is.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Group suing non paying agencies+blacklisting and trashing them. Go for it, don't be shy. They do really really deserve it after all.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Stop being selfish, individualistic and greedy if you can.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Stop using Proz and Tc. Don't give them your money, don't participate in demeaning downwards auctions. Don't use their crappy Blue board to find agencies.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Meet you local fellow translators in person, create regional local coops of freelancers where everyone's identity, diplomas and tax are verified and where local promotion is done collectively.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">- Ask your representing professional organization for stronger international legal regulations to finally protect this profession.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If everyone sets out to respect most of the above (number one mainly) translation as a skilled profession will survive and we'll all double our incomes within a couple of years. We will then be able to live half the year in Bora Bora, drink daiquiris under coconut trees while raising families of ten. It does not seem that impossible after all. See you there in 2 years.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-72995700124924321582014-07-22T18:27:00.000+02:002014-07-22T21:35:51.057+02:00Dangerously embarrassing liaisons<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Despite all the negative publicity, some of the worst companies featured on my Blacklist are still going. Why oh why?? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Because there are always big translation companies looking for subcontracting. When they are overwhelmed by projects, who are they gonna call? No not you, freelancer. Let me give you a few hints:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's a moldovan company, which has inspired a few of my posts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is known for being an unprofessional and
unscrupulous agency pretending to have offices all over the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It pays 2 cents a word, provides low quality translations and paying peanuts (more details in my previous
article). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Its managers and staff barely express themselves in the tongue of Shakespeare which makes it hard to believe they call themselves languages professionals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To remedy to the negative buzz it brought upon itself, this agency choses the cheapest option:
threatening translators and bloggers who talk about their dodgy ways (but for some
reason, these threats are not exactly taken seriously)...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">They don't have the excuse to be located in Chindia but would rather die than admit they are based in Moldova either. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In short, they could well be the worst translation agency ever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Haven't guessed yet? Ok I'll tell you then. It's Travod.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />Travod has some friends in the business, whom they can lean on : </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These friends are the same bunch of TRANSLATION SWEATSHOPS everyone is complaining about that is:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Big Word, Transperfect, Translate Plus</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Along with some agencies I've never heard about (maybe you have?): RWS, MCIS, Fox Service Czech, Bio Doc, Alpha Translations, CCJK, PTSGI... </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEnnEhB7AMYoLdaMaAYwQBQNF3lXqIG_T1lCJ4Eql2arB9EpoBPbjzduHVRPkIgfW-mjjSvCVjsdykXbo_xhsbEcdleEtfj6eoP2rmYCFjF-T9iGX10K7pelOup-nUNn1yyaTad3es0Y/s1600/BFF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEnnEhB7AMYoLdaMaAYwQBQNF3lXqIG_T1lCJ4Eql2arB9EpoBPbjzduHVRPkIgfW-mjjSvCVjsdykXbo_xhsbEcdleEtfj6eoP2rmYCFjF-T9iGX10K7pelOup-nUNn1yyaTad3es0Y/s1600/BFF.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So if you are a translation buyer paying let's say 15 cents to transperfect for what you expect to be a 'perfect' translation (15 cents a word is not enough for a 'perfect' translation, it's not bad but not great either). Well there is a pretty good chance the 'translator' they hire is in fact someone paid 2 cents a word, 4 to 10 times less than a pro. God knows who does the job, but expect it to be worst than what google translate gives you.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is how Travod approaches its clients, promising no more than bottom feeder quality and prices, and 40 percent discount for big projects. I let you do the maths.</span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br />
From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Rita Gould</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:rita.g@travod.com" target="_blank">rita.g@travod.com</a>></span><br />
Date: 16 July 2014 22:49<br />Subject: Translation rates and discounts - TRAVOD Int. UK</span></span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Dear Sir/Madame,</span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">I
am sending you an email with the details of our company to see if there
is any way we can become a strategic partner in translations. </span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">We
specialize in language translations for agencies, with experts for all
the industries and languages on the market. With 3 offices opened in the
US, Hong Kong and the UK we work for more than 400 agencies all over
the world - translating in all languages mostly. So, whenever you get
big and urgent projects hard to complete or you don't have a specialist
to translate for a specific industry or language, you could assign the
whole translation project to us (translation+editing+proofreading + DTP
if needed). </span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">I
can send you few names of some of our biggest customers that outsource
with us - The Big Word, Transperfect, Translate Plus, RWS, MCIS, Fox
Service Czech, Bio Doc, Alpha Translations, CCJK, PTSGI etc etc</span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Attached you can see our regular <span style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial;">rates</span>, for your consideration, but of course I am opened to give you <span style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial;">discounts</span> up to 40% for larger projects and long-term partnerships that definitely should make you happy working with us :)</span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Looking forward to hearing back from you!</span></i></span></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i><br />
<div style="color: #666666; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></i></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 100%px;">
<tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b>Rita Gould</b> | </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sales Manager</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">T: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://+13473541821/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+442071937121">+13473541821</a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">E: </span><a href="mailto:rita.g@travod.com" style="color: #0066cc; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">rita.g@travod.com</a></td>
</tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">W: </span><a href="http://www.travod.com/" style="color: #0066cc; font-size: 0.9em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">www.travod.com</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td><td align="right" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" valign="bottom"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/2425200?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tas%3Atravod%2Cidx%3A1-1-1" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><img src="http://static2.exclaimer.com/icon-linkedin_28x28.jpg" /></a><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px; vertical-align: bottom;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/Travod" style="color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="" src="http://static2.exclaimer.com/icon-twitter_28x28.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></td>
<td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px 0px 0px 4px; vertical-align: bottom;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/TravodInt" style="color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="" src="http://static2.exclaimer.com/icon-facebook_28x28.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 4px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 6px!important; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" valign="middle"><img alt="TRAVOD INTERNATIONAL" src="http://www.exclaimer.com/webservices/onlinesignaturecreator/service/Images/Get?id=0c6aa324-b2a6-4a90-83b5-a2d00091e258&ts=1392195353992" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" title="TRAVOD INTERNATIONAL" /></td>
<td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><img src="http://www.exclaimer.com/webservices/onlinesignaturecreator/service/Images/Get?id=5a131285-13ac-4b47-a4ad-a2d00092e3b2&ts=1392195460332" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
<tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; max-width: 350px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="display: block; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Note:
Certificates and reference letters proving the experience available
upon request. Translators ready to start immediately if necessary,
TRADOS or other related software available.</span></i></span><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And talking about maths if you wonder how much they charge to their client, here it is (way too low and that's suppose to feed everyone):</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Top pay: </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">French, Icelandic, Swedish, Irish, English, Japanese, Dutch, German: 0.10 USD (basic) 0.11 (medium), 0.12 (Hard). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The proofreading is extra : 0.05, 0.055, 0.06</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Small tasks : 7 USD (0-50 words), 14 USD (50 to 100 words)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All other languages: take off one cent </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Basically, when they pay you 0.02 USD, they keep 0,08 for themselves. Nice margin for doing nothing isn't it? Then Transperfect resells your translation and makes another 0.05 or more. That's quite probably what happens. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To view the price list contact Translation Ethics at translationethics@gmail.com</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-16543317856653656192014-07-22T17:17:00.002+02:002014-07-22T17:17:41.868+02:00Guest post : Low Paying Agencies by S. Caller<br />
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Guest post, July 22d, 2014 </span></span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Low Paying Agencies – bad for
translators, even worse for their clients</span></b></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">by Steven Caller </span></h3>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The website you are currently browsing,
aptly named Translation Ethics, promotes the fair pay of translators and other
ethical considerations in the translation industry. As an owner of a
translation company myself, I am only too aware of the stiff competition we
face on a daily basis from translation firms claiming to offer a similar
service to ours for a fraction of the price. If you thought this practice was
bad for low-paid translators then you'd be right; and it's no better for their
clients either. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">When I refer to low-paid translators, I am
of course talking about those that have the necessary qualifications but still
find themselves over-exploited by greedy firms seeking to push down prices. I
am fully aware that many firms, even ones you may have considered respectable,
like to select under-qualified translators and pay them low rates. A translator
must have a language degree as a minimum and be a proficient user of their
native language; a professional translator should only ever translate into
their native tongue. You should also have been asked to show a scan of your
degree certificate or had your qualifications verified by your awarding
institution. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Low pay, high output</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">So how can one firm undercut another by so
much and why should clients care about how much an agency pays its translators
when they're getting such a “good” deal? The truth of the matter is that even a
professional translator can be pushed into rushing or performing at less than
their best when asked to work for a low rate per word. The equation is
incredibly simple: lower price per word equals more words per hour in order to
maintain an acceptable hourly wage. This in turn equates to lower diligence and
poorer quality work. When working for various agencies, I have seen evidence of
machine translations being passed off as the work of a human, possibly by
translators that have been pushed into translating too many words for too low a
price. That brings me on to the second part of this equation: the words
translated per hour. In many instances, an agency sets a target or expectation
that they wish their translators to achieve on a daily basis which is, of
course, entirely unreasonable.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">I can imagine many translators reading this
post and nodding their head in agreement or shared experience, however I would
also like to leave an impression on those clients that pay for budget translations.
The quality produced under such circumstances is simply unacceptable. The
majority of professional translators will tell you that they have been asked to
perform a translation for a client who has already had the same document
translated, only to a very low standard. In essence, if you opt for a budget
translation, you are not only financing the poor treatment and low payment of
translators, but also wasting your money. I hasten to add that many translation
clients only realise that they have been separated from their money in exchange
for a poor service once they receive complaints from their own clients
struggling to understand the translation produced. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">What strikes me as simply absurd, is the
fact that many large firms happily spend many thousands of pounds on product
development and marketing materials yet seem to tighten the purse strings when
looking for translation services. The translation community can sincerely hope
that the new EU legislation on product documentation will sting a few of these
firms. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">How translation should be done</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">So what should you expect from a
translation agency in order to perform an acceptable translation and how much
should you expect to pay? Firstly, they will assign a project manager to each
client personally who is qualified in the languages involved and capable of
performing quality control. You should expect to pay at least £0.10 per source
word for translation and this price should include monolingual proofreading and
quality control. You should also expect to pay an additional 50% of this price
if you require the translation to be reviewed by a second qualified translator.
This price accurately represents all of the work an agency must carry out in
order to provide a professional translation and pay their translators
accordingly. If you are paying less than £0.08 per source word, the agency will
be working at a tight squeeze and may be skipping important tasks. Anything
less than this is likely to involve underpayment, or worse, non-payment. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Low prices, even lower quality</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">So there you have it. If you opt for a
budget translation option, you may be funding the underpayment of
highly-qualified professionals as well as sabotaging your public image. Either
way, low-cost translation simply isn't worth the pennies you pay for it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Moreover, the thought that large and
seemingly reputable companies are contributing to the unfair treatment and low
payment of highly-qualified professionals should be of deep concern to us all.
In this light, I commend the efforts made by the Translation Ethics website and
all those that have contributed to its blacklist. By bringing the issues
represented by this website to the attention of those large firms seeking to
cut costs regardless of the consequences, we can collectively ensure that their
reputation will be damaged by their involvement in such practices, and
rightfully so!</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">This post has been contributed by Steven
Caller who is Managing Director at <a href="http://vertolanguages.com/">Verto
Languages</a>. Our policy of treating our translators with respect and paying
them a reasonable rate is part of our promise to clients and is a contributing
factor in the quality of our work. </span></span></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">http://vertolanguages.com</span></span></span></h3>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-69541571531506093092014-05-08T10:48:00.001+02:002014-05-08T10:48:18.456+02:00Welcome to Translation Ethics!
<br />
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</span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlyK_OPfrRdaVXFf9pKOX-IQ0_2z1RoIlWzFbj8x-c_YrxiEvNuo4_2hCkqol2CaA-t_z5MdKVpBKtFeHsF2rzW5jstdvhBFIT-DLPDGdecmMUIlxNg9hx4C_XT7hWy_EqMUf2K7wKs/s1600/picture-blogpost-Kathryn-150x150.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlyK_OPfrRdaVXFf9pKOX-IQ0_2z1RoIlWzFbj8x-c_YrxiEvNuo4_2hCkqol2CaA-t_z5MdKVpBKtFeHsF2rzW5jstdvhBFIT-DLPDGdecmMUIlxNg9hx4C_XT7hWy_EqMUf2K7wKs/s1600/picture-blogpost-Kathryn-150x150.jpg" /> </a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">This
website is intended to keep track of the multiple online agencies and
identify quickly what to expect from some of them, regarding quality and
pay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">It
serves as a useful ressource for translators looking to hear more about
agencies before they sign anything or accept a contract as well as for
translation buyers who are not familiar with the industry and wish to
carefully select translators for their project.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">It is
difficult to get open information about translation agencies and this
blog aims at rectifying this, by naming and shaming companies which
engage in malpractice and business attitudes that are threatening to
become the norm in the translation industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Bad
practices may cover a broad range of actions, and whether buying cheap
intellectual labour qualifies as one or not is for you to decide.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">In the
meantime, all so called "brokers", "sweatshops" or "bottom feeders"
wishing to pay peanuts for intellectual work requiring several years of
study will also be included in this list under the <i>low pay</i>
criteria. Low pay includes any imaginable offer under 5 or 6 eurocent
per word, which is about twice as low as recommended european prices for
translation. (See associated article on "<a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/2013/09/todays-translation-market-for.html" target="_blank">Today's translation market</a>").</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">We provide here a collaborative and dynamic <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank"><b>blacklist </b></a>and
any contribution from dissatisfied translators or buyers is welcome. If
companies mentionned would like to add their comments, they are invited
to express them by <a href="mailto:translationethics@gmail.com" target="_blank">e-mail </a>and their comments will be published on this blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-50765190672942291142014-03-11T15:43:00.000+01:002014-09-11T14:52:20.900+02:00Business tips for translators #1: CV vs Service offer<br />
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Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
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<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><u><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">CV/MARKETING FOR FREELANCE TRANSLATORS</span></b></span></u></span></span></h2>
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</h2>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">This week, our guest <b>Alain Marsol</b> is giving a few tips on freelancing for translators, focusing on how to approach clients and collaborators in a professional manner,</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"> showcase your skills</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"> and protect your business and reputation (Part 1)</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVZgQB5nTUXJ20jX65MIfoa3VWTKzCoNxe6YfbbNosD1qMVy99LZyigh-7yUdfYpiQ01xQqVS9_wdSB6ndVUUMaBcpy0LE79kX6IEa32I_WQLWgRjHKdgoJSXa3wAHZ1htfjqV0C3HMM/s1600/portrait-AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVZgQB5nTUXJ20jX65MIfoa3VWTKzCoNxe6YfbbNosD1qMVy99LZyigh-7yUdfYpiQ01xQqVS9_wdSB6ndVUUMaBcpy0LE79kX6IEa32I_WQLWgRjHKdgoJSXa3wAHZ1htfjqV0C3HMM/s1600/portrait-AM.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">A native speaker
of French with a background in computer science, Alain Marsol has been
developing his skills according to his desires and goals by working and
providing services in computer programming, information systems design,
corporate communications, marketing, copywriting, and translation.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Besides his
activity as a translator, Alain has created the <i>Guerrilla Marketing for Translators</i> group on LinkedIn, where
language professionals can find ideas and advice to do better business, and ask
questions to solve specific marketing issues.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/alainmarsol"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.linkedin.com/in/alainmarsol</span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-US">TE: Many job offers ask for a CV. You defend the idea that sending a CV to clients is a wrong
business approach. Can you explain why and what do you suggest as an alternative?</span></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">AM: A classic CV (or
résumé) as we know it is a document used by job seekers all over the world, and
there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, when you are a freelance
translator, you are not looking for a job, but you offer solutions to the
translation needs of your clients in a business-to-business environment.
Because of this difference, even though you have a good CV, it is not the right
tool to use. Even more so on today’s translation market, where many so-called
‘agencies’ are in fact translation brokers who will use every trick to fleece
business-unaware translators. And when you are a freelancer, using your CV
alone sends a clear signal about your lack of business awareness.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">What you need is
another slightly different type of document that I call a ‘service offer’.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">As its name
tells, your service offer focuses on the services you offer to your clients and
present all the key information your client needs to know about what you can do
for them. No more, no less. Typically, your headline will tell what you do, you
will list your source and target languages, services, areas of expertise,
professional organizations and affiliations, and you will briefly address your
readers to explain them why they should chose you over your competitors. All
this in one single page.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Typically, your headline will tell what you do, you
will list your source and target languages, services, areas of expertise,
professional organizations and affiliations, and you will briefly address your
readers to explain them why they should chose you over your competitors. All
this in one single page.</span><br /><br />Have a look at what it could look like:<b> </b><b><a href="http://textworks.biz/files/service_offer/Service_Offer_SAMPLE.pdf" moz-do-not-send="true">http://textworks.biz/files/service_offer/Service_Offer_SAMPLE.pdf</a></b><br />
<br />
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Besides your
service offer, it is also essential to send a few other documents. I’m thinking
of your terms of service, your portfolio, and your fee schedule, the latter
being sent to agencies only.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-US">TE: What is the crucial info to feature in your terms of service and at which
stage do you give them to your clients? Some translators are afraid it might
scare off customers if it comes with the introduction package.</span></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">AM: According to the
normal rules of business, the provider sets the rules, not the client. A
translator’s ‘terms of service’ document is used for that purpose. Many people
will argue that the terms of service are a general document, but my view is a
bit different: on mine, I always make clear who is the translator, and who is the
client, then I set the rules under which I am happy to work. Within one page, I
address matters such as copyright, confidentiality, amendments made once the
work has begun, cancellation, translator’s liability, payment, and credit limit
granted to the client.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The terms of
service are best given at the very beginning of your business relationship,
along with your service offer and other documents.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">A terms of
service document will very likely scare off any potentially problematic client
or translation broker, especially the ones who have the intention to take
advantage of you from the very moment they meet you. Unfortunately, there are
lots of them on the market nowadays, so you may have the impression that the
‘terms of service’ document is pretty much counter-productive. This is not
true. I have clients (both end clients and agency clients) who have accepted my
terms, and with whom I have excellent business relationships. Typically, my
terms of service allow me to filter out nine potential bad payers before
meeting one such client.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">You can work
without terms of service, but you have to be prepared to the possibility of
losing your time and your nerves in hunting bad payers, sometimes end up
working for no money, and even worse, miss better opportunities.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-US">TE: What about the fee schedule? Why is it for agency clients only?</span></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">AM: Once you have
given your price to agency clients for a first assignment, and more often than
not under the pressure to give your ‘best price’, most of them apply it to
anything they will ask you to do in the future. Since different types of
documents require different types of skills and effort, and may need different
amounts of time to be handled, it is necessary to let your agency clients know
that every extra service you provide besides standard translation has a price,
and make it clear from the very beginning. In the ‘extra service’ category, I
include tricky formats, formats that require not so common technical knowledge,
as well as weekend and rush jobs.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Agencies are
clients who typically ask you to quote by a quantitative unit (word, character,
line, or page) and often in ‘blind mode’. In such a context, your fee schedule
helps you not to be tricked into doing difficult and time-consuming jobs for some
other service’s (low) price.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">With end clients,
it is better to quote by project (even if you may do your own word or character-based
math in the background), so you do not need a fee schedule, but you definitely
need a portfolio.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-US">TE: Do you judge useful to add credentials on your introduction (professional
organizations and affiliations, blogs, coops).</span></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">AM: Credentials are
always good, as long as they are related to your offer. If you are a member of
a national translators association, or a member of a professional organization
related to one of your fields of expertise, this is something worth mentioning.
If you are writing a blog about topics related to your fields of expertise, let
your prospects know. But if you have an activity or hobby in a field that is far
away from your offer, it is better to avoid advertising it, because it would
only weaken your message.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Always keep in
mind that a professional translator is always strongly focused on one specialty
field or a few of them. The more focused you are, the more prospects will trust
your expertise.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span lang="EN-US">TE: What memberships would you recommend to translators starting their career?</span></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">AM: Once you have some
experience as a professional translator (one year at least), it may be a good
thing to become a member of one of the national translators’ associations of
the country where your business is based (for example, the SFT in France, the ITI
or the CIOL in the UK), or if there is no such association, an international
association such as the IAPTI.</span><span lang="EN-US">
</span><span lang="EN-US">Being a member of
such an association will give more weight to your service offer, especially
when dealing with potential end clients.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">At the beginning
of one’s career, lack of experience is the (normal) issue. To start gaining
this necessary experience, you will typically do some voluntary (unpaid)
translation work, for non-profit organizations and/or for a cause close to your
heart, which is a good first step to start training your language skills in a
professional context, and you will also do paid work for translations agencies.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> Both types of
opportunities will be found on portals such as ProZ, TranslatorsCafé, or
TraduGuide.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">It is important
to keep in mind that bidding on these portals should remain a temporary
activity, because the process of bidding itself harms the whole profession in
the long run.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ideally, you
would bid a little at the beginning, see which of these portals works the best
for you, and possibly purchase a paid membership on this portal in order to
make it work for you later.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Let me explain
through my own experience: I found my first regular client after answering a
job post on TraduGuide, where I had a basic (free) membership, but this is the
only ‘catch’ I ever had there. My (free) profile on TC never yielded any
result, and I purchased a paying membership on ProZ after a few months of basic
membership. Seven years later, I rarely bid on jobs</span><span lang="EN-US">—</span><span lang="EN-US">never at a low
fee</span><span lang="EN-US">—</span><span lang="EN-US">and my profile
attracts a few new clients every year.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Your own
experience may be different. The important idea to remember is that translation
portals must only be a way to gain some experience at the beginning, and not a
system in which you remain trapped, because there is a lot of competition over
there, and most of the time, it’s not a fair one.</span></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-42839932911002540862014-03-07T13:17:00.001+01:002014-03-11T16:06:03.649+01:00Crowdsourcing makes a new adept: Lionbridge<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yep. $489 million of revenue a year just isn't enough, LIONBRIDGE is getting into <strike>amateurism </strike>"crowdsourcing" too... </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lionbridge is one of these translation mills which don't care much for quality (see this <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html#.Uxms64X4SoM" target="_blank">blacklist </a>for further info). This we have established already.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What is new is that they have started seeing opportunities in crowdsourcing (asking random people on the Internet to work for them, for about 10 times less than what a professional would charge). All translation mills have their special way to tell us professionals what they think our work is worth, by telling the crowd that they can be a translator too!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Because after all, we translation agency PMs and CEOs, manage to rule the industry despite the fact we don't speak any foreign languages and have never translated a word! How cool is that? If we can make it and get away with such blatant incompetence, why not you, stranger in the crowd? Together we can make so much cash (well, you'll make <i>some </i>cash, anyway, I'll keep the rest, ha;) </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKiq3qzmUfRZtYSIP1NVhe6BTeisKCrG85YUkDfdftgXjkaMsQIihDV-hZz_aAAngdPH9YiICQnv3zmdBbQUpW6HRkl6jFlKBhWx9hI0TOSy-ZOiEIxuQyC_pvfd_KXK8186xEPpcBe4/s1600/Nuka-the-lion-king-2-simbas-pride-4220889-1024-768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKiq3qzmUfRZtYSIP1NVhe6BTeisKCrG85YUkDfdftgXjkaMsQIihDV-hZz_aAAngdPH9YiICQnv3zmdBbQUpW6HRkl6jFlKBhWx9hI0TOSy-ZOiEIxuQyC_pvfd_KXK8186xEPpcBe4/s1600/Nuka-the-lion-king-2-simbas-pride-4220889-1024-768.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To learn more about who's behind this fantastic idea, read these informative posts on crowdsourcing all written by the vice-director of Lionbridge, Mrs Martha Crow, who's just OBSESSED by it : http://insights.wired.com/profile/MarthaCrow. That is literally all she's been writing about on her blog for several months, although she as of yet has no readers. Perhaps she should look into other aspects of the business, maybe more fundamental ones, like learning Mandarin.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So if you too think you can be a translator, please visit Lionbridge's website to see what's in store for you. Others, ie translators, don't bother...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">EXCERPTS: </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>WHo ARE WE?? </i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>"Using our innovative cloud technologies, global program management
expertise and our worldwide <span style="background-color: yellow;">crowd of more than 100,000 professional
cloud workers</span>, we provide integrated solutions that enable clients to
successfully market, sell and support their products and services in
global markets.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Our unique Global Customer Lifecycle<sup>SM</sup> Framework delivers tangible business benefits for our clients such as:</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>40% increase in top 10 search result listings</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>30% increase in global website traffic</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>35% reduction in global campaign cycle times</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>20% reduction in global marketing costs</i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>As a result, our clients are growing revenue, enhancing brand loyalty
and increasing efficiency across end markets and geographies.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>We are proud to work with hundreds of global market leaders including:</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 20px;">
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="background-color: yellow;">Adobe,
Canon, Caterpillar, CBS interactive, Cisco, Dell, Eli Lilly, EMC,
Expedia, Golden Living, Google, HP, LRN, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia,
Pearson, Pfizer, Philips, Porsche, PTC, RIM, Rolls Royce, Samsung,
Skillsoft, Studec, US Department of Justice</span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Fast Facts</i></span></span></h4>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Founded: 1996</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Headquarters: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Employees: 5,000</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Locations: Solution Centers in 26 countries</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="background-color: yellow;">Revenue: $489 million (2013)</span></i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>NASDAQ: LIOX</i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3 class="space-it" id="spy2">
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Why would I join the Smart Crowd?</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>We offer you the ability to earn money by completing
small tasks that you can fit in your schedule. You work for yourself, on
as many tasks as you choose, from your own device, wherever, and
whenever, you want. Plus you are connected to a<span style="background-color: yellow;"> global community of
workers just like yourself!</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Most people <span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: purple;">join us in the Smart Crowd
for the</span><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span>opportunity to supplement their income</span>. There is no long term
commitment, simply complete the tasks you signed up for. We have a
variety of tasks in data research, data entry, language, testing, and
more.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><br />
<h3 class="space-it" id="spy3">
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>What is the pay like?</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="background-color: yellow;">We offer a competitive rate per task based on the
expected productivity to complete a task</span>. Rates are set for each task,
and we pay once per month. We provide further details on this during the
sign up process.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><br />
<h3 class="space-it" id="spy4">
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Do I have to pay to join, or pay for any fees?</i></span></span></h3>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="background-color: yellow;">No. There is no sign-up fee, no membership fee, nothing.</span> We simply pay you to complete the tasks as specified.</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wow, that is so exciting. You don't need to pay anything to join the smart crowd. Just give us your time, skills, and energy and we'll give you 3 dollars an hour or something. Happy? Isn't it just awesome? And maybe <span style="background-color: white;">who knows, y</span>ou'll get to work for Microsoft or the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>US Department of Justice </b>(just don't mention it in your CV please).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So, smart kiddo, if you know a foreign language, just join our smart crowd, you'll meet plenty of smart people who know languages and stuff. How about that?</span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9LF4YsJlsnxYxP5xnJJnxUMb2e28cmljTVrvjnnKBY_901o9XAzAP1CUx31eDNj6NCZsU1jskSqMJGofs5q_WJxtbVsTpyVPGbDdEaptxalBsIbTvlTFhEWbFD9RVqlMNgCRCZX6vV8/s1600/Pumba-the-lion-king-2-simbas-pride-27411509-500-375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9LF4YsJlsnxYxP5xnJJnxUMb2e28cmljTVrvjnnKBY_901o9XAzAP1CUx31eDNj6NCZsU1jskSqMJGofs5q_WJxtbVsTpyVPGbDdEaptxalBsIbTvlTFhEWbFD9RVqlMNgCRCZX6vV8/s1600/Pumba-the-lion-king-2-simbas-pride-27411509-500-375.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Jokes aside, Lionbridge is now one of those cheap suppliers of translation who quite probably rely on the work of the unqualified/undeclared, which includes:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />http://mygengo.com/<span style="color: magenta;"> (pays 3 cts per word, charges...)</span><br />http://www.tolingo.com/ <span style="color: magenta;">(charges about 20 cts/w, pays...)</span><br />http://www.lingotek.com/ <span style="color: magenta;">(? late/non payer)</span><br />http://www.smartling.com/ </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">(no info yet)</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span>http://www.onehourtranslation.com/ <span style="color: magenta;">(pay 3 cents, plus 2 if client is satisfied, charge?)</span><br />http://strakertranslations.com/ </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">(no info yet)</span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://www.speaklike.com/ </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">(no info yet)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"></span></span>http://tran.sl (crowd sourced translation engine)<br />http://dixit.com/ <span style="color: magenta;">(charge 6cts, pay 5cts)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://conyac.com/ <span style="color: magenta;"> </span><span style="color: magenta;">(pay by points, about 10 Eur/DAY, charge?)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://lionbridge.com <span style="color: magenta;">(no info yet)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">They have a lot in common, besides being greedy bottom-feeders:
all charge about 5-10 cents a word for their "services" and pay the crowd, responsible
for 99% of the work, about 1 cent, sometimes up to 5cts a word. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>That is between 10
to 5 times less than what a professional translator charges</b>. The hourly wage is
below minimum wage and there is no guarantee</span> that the amateur is a
native speaker of the language he/she translate into. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Therefore there
is always the <b>strong possibility that a medical, official, highly
technical, confidential document is translated by a completely
incompetent passer-by :)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Amonsgt crowdsourcing platforms competing against professionals, by providing work to undeclared and unqualified wannabe translators:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container">http://elance.com/</span><br /><span class="qlink_container">http://freelancer.com/</span></span></span></span></span><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><br /><span class="qlink_container">http://odesk.com/</span><br /><span class="qlink_container">http://scriptlance.com/</span><br /><span class="qlink_container">http://vworker.com/</span><br /><span class="qlink_container">http://expertbids.com/</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container">http://biddyon.com.au/</span><br /><span class="qlink_container">http://www.voices.com/</span> voice over jobs<br /><span class="qlink_container">http://www.canyoucode.com<wbr></wbr><span id="goog_1132015171"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container">Rates there are even worse, being erratic and random. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container">A consciencious fraud inspector released in there could cause a stir...</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container">Anyway, welcome to the club Lionbridge!!!</span></span></span></span></span><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span href="http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-crowdsourcing-services-similar-to-Amazon-Mechanical-Turk#" id="__w2_Yg2zARm_toggle_link"><span id="ld_kbdveb_112064"><span id="ld_dhnruo_123255"><span class="inline_editor_value"><span class="qlink_container">To read all about how excited Lionbridge is about crowdsourcing, visit:</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">http://www.lionbridge.com/lionbridge-media-coverage/</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"> </span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><b> </b><i><br /></i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-58468715171916929652014-03-06T13:15:00.000+01:002014-03-12T16:03:14.203+01:00Censorship of job platforms: comparing Proz and Translator's Café<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">It's been a while since the last post, so I'll
try to make up for it by being quite informative on both these somehow highly popular platforms.
This is a critique of both in light of the recent complaints and desire for
change within the profession. I'm not gonna lie, I had hopes for both
platforms. High hopes. I even joined Proz for a year and paid a membership. In
retrospect, I have only found one job on Proz in my whole career, quite
ironically before I started being a paying member. Zero via TC. Sometimes I
wish I had a nice normal platform to find real jobs through. It would
definitely make my life easier. But I don't. BTW if someone knows one, I'd be
very grateful if they would let me know about it...</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Translator's Café</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Since I heard TC was a bit more ethical than
ProZ, I decided to give them a shot, hoping that who knows, someday, a
professional like me with degrees in the field would find one tiny decently
paid project. I have to say first of all that the fact it's free is a big plus.
Since you know there's a pretty good chance it's a waste of time to browse
through it, it's comforting to know that you are not wasting your money too.
But pretty soon you realise that there is a reason behind this apparent
bargain. </span></span>I learned recently that TC had listened to the
complaints and applied a new policy consisting of filtering out job offers
lower than 5 Eur cents; and that sounds like a big step towards change. So I
went on their forum and found a few jobs in my language pair. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GVpMto7ZwEFVIvrBzDvx6X0lO_CcjmTbjRUiMs6-crq10ai6fSHZ9icBREQFrZJCR6UIpKde-Bni9Cyi44ioPZlYwtgawZt9YQ4YH7wR51noaTTSRWqJE_EesZQpGac3jAm5CAkGago/s1600/syndrome-inde-voyagezen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GVpMto7ZwEFVIvrBzDvx6X0lO_CcjmTbjRUiMs6-crq10ai6fSHZ9icBREQFrZJCR6UIpKde-Bni9Cyi44ioPZlYwtgawZt9YQ4YH7wR51noaTTSRWqJE_EesZQpGac3jAm5CAkGago/s1600/syndrome-inde-voyagezen.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Today, it felt very
third-worldy on TC. Out of five jobs, one was from Morocco (no mention of the
rate), one from India (huge project apparently, no mention of the rate), one
was from Lebanon and sounded like a big mistake, but with a smiley at the end
:)</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">" This is not a translation job. I need
someone to download a large video file - 4 GB. Then I’’ll just need to ask you
a quick question about it. You need to have a superfast connection.<br />
If you’’re interested, please let me know 1) what kind of connection you have,
2) how long it would take you to download the file, 3) how much you would
charge.<br />
Thank you! ======<br />
Correction: 4 GB, not 4 MB :)" </span></i></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Hem. WTF?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The last offer of the day, from France, sounded
challenging (6000 w to split for tomorrow morning, but payment after 60 days,
despite the European directive 2011/7/EU, according to which payments
should be made within 30 days from the contract signing.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">No info on the
rates, and that's ok, cause we know it's higher that 5 cents right ;)</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Then comes offer number five,
a gem :</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">11000 Words in 3
days, and 3 euro cents per word. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">I therefore report this ad,
and it turns out someone else has already done so 4 hours earlier. Now it's
been there for 5 hours already and 18 "monkeys" have applied. No need
to stress that this Indian agency got what they wanted and got away with
more. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">I send a message to the
moderator to ask if anyone’s home and is going to do something about it. Ten
minutes later the ad is removed... and <b>my message too!</b></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">This filthy message was very
short and basically asked why they <b>did not filter out those ads before
publication rather than afterwards</b>, 4 hours later, when it's too late.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">If you too are curious about
this, contact Nikita Kobrin, TC Master, who seems like a nice bloke though too busy censoring stuff and chasing outlaws to reply to questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">I looked then at yesterday's
offers, though it's a tad too late to apply for any of them. One came from
India (Scope EKnowledge Center), paid 5USD cent a word. Which is in fact 3 EUR
cents. Which is very low too, basically, but I guess it looks almost like 5 EUR
so nobody complained. It goes on for the whole page. Best offer found over 3
days is 7 Euro cents and comes from Turkey. That is still very low, too low for
most qualified professionals.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">So thank you TC, but once
again, I will pass on the opportunities.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Let's have a look at their <i>Hall
of fame and Shame</i>, which I'd personally rename <i>Shameful hall of Fame.</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;"> Yes, N°1 is STILL Christian
Arno, with his company Lingo24, based in Romania, employing young romanian project
managers with sufficient English skills, and refusing to pay his
"linguists" over 6 cents per word. Number 4 is STILL Somya translations, who gets great ratings although the company pays 2 cents a word (read their</span><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html#.UxdpZ4X4SoM" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"> <span lang="EN-US">entry in the Blacklist</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">). And that sums it up I guess. I
don't know much about the other ones listed there but feel free to comment in the section below.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDOMN5L579tw-fo6cXgMs8yaFy72ISw7eIwoo3rg8DVo3H0J0bKZ0Th24G_VTwMIFlzRgnu4yf0o7XMoRoborFW8V0xcVP8ecKTkyszCpcP-i5A_0-61j70ejDkNSKcqCskikBl8SjBQ/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDOMN5L579tw-fo6cXgMs8yaFy72ISw7eIwoo3rg8DVo3H0J0bKZ0Th24G_VTwMIFlzRgnu4yf0o7XMoRoborFW8V0xcVP8ecKTkyszCpcP-i5A_0-61j70ejDkNSKcqCskikBl8SjBQ/s1600/images.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Peanut flavoured translator's café</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Proz</span></b></span></h2>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">ProZ has completely ditched
any sort of transparency.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;"> If you don't pay their 120 EUR
yearly fee, you don't know who you are wasting your time with. Let's just say
that the constant request of advertisers for "Best rates" is a good
indication of the kind of attitude one can expect from them. On ProZ, more than ever,
anyone can post anything for any price, as long as they are careful and keep
their intentions private, so that people don't complain on forums and embarrass
them for being greedy bottom feeders. Translators are not allowed to
comment on offers, in order to warn others about low prices, poor practices
history. You'll just have to find out the hard way.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Blue Board: there is no way
for a non-payer to read the comments, but from what I hear from others it is
not POSSIBLE to give a ZERO to an agency. You have to try, try and give up,
give a 1, maybe a 2. Hence the not-suspicious-at-all lack of Bad eggZ. Even the
worst companies, such as Transperfect or the BigTurd have 3 or 4, which doesn't
look too bad. Therefore, when venturing in this directory to find potential
clients (if you're unlucky enough to have to) the common recommendation now in
this business is to ONLY contact the ones with 5/5 stars.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Ex: <b>Transperfect has a
record of 4.1 out of 5</b>. It makes them look almost respectable. The latest
ratings it got were: 1, 2, 3, 5, 1, 5... No zero. Some brave souls out there
giving a 1 or a 2... fair play to you. However, if you look up their name on
the Internet, or on Glassdoor, you'll soon find reviews such as "Worst
company ever".</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://transperfect-translations-concerns.blogspot.ie/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;">Plenty of reports here :
http://transperfect-translations-concerns.blogspot.ie/ </span></a> </span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-TransPerfect-Translations-RVW3001557.htm" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;">Report
on Glassdoor:</span></a></b><b><span lang="EN-US"> "The WORST company in the world" </span></b></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">So much for the accuracy,
ProZ. </span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Discretion of Proz: they don't
have much notion of it, since they sell (or stupidly offer?) their repertoire
of Certified ProZ Members to brokers such as Dixit (France) who then claim
loudly on their website that their network of translators is from this
qualified and experienced crowd, implying that these professional don't mind
their crappy 5 cents a word. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">(Let's add that since this was
discovered, they have taken off the CPN logo, just advertising their bought
affiliation to the ProZ network, read this</span><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B01:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00%2B01:00&max-results=10#.Uxd4foX4SoM" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;">
previous article</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #444444;">CONCLUSION</span></b></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Between TC and ProZ the choice
is clear. I'd go for <b>neither of them</b>.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">Let us say that both Platforms
are useless to real professionals, degrading, fishy with unclear policies that
do not really take into account the suggestions of their users and censor them.
Let’s also mention that bidders are somehow (will we one day know why?) able to
publish their so-called "ridiculous" (more like insulting) offers and
are moderated hours later after a few complaints from users, when it's too
late. Then, they just do the same thing the next day (TC masters don't take
this literally, it's a metaphor). As for decent, normal offers, they are the
object of massive flows of applications as a direct consequence of this job drought.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444;">As for their rating systems I
would not say they are flawed: <i>corrupt </i>is more appropriate. They
reflect a mix of censorship on the moderators part, of self-censure, conflicts
of interest, or compromise on the translators' part (when they find themselves
forced to give 1 stars instead of zero as they intended to), of a blatant lack
of ethics from some companies who quite shamelessly ask for feedback from their
CURRENT <s>employees</s> freelancers (i.e. Lingo 24 and Somya).</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Communication-wise, TC performs much better than the other one. At least they make an effort. Here is the reply from TC. It is still a tad evasive, and did not allow me to reply, but it is a nice attempt to clarify things. Thank you:</span><br />
<div class="rTxt">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>"Dear ...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Thank you. It was night in Canada.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The
outsourcer did not use the Rate box to enter the rate. Therefore the
system could not filter this job and sent notification to you. Sorry
about that.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>If the outsourcer fills out the Rate box on the job
posting form during posting a job, it is possible to filter jobs by
their rates. However, sometimes outsourcers do not show rates or just
mention them in the job description. In this case filtering is
impossible. We tried to make the Rate field mandatory. It did not work.
Outsources simply selected 0.05 there and explained in the job
description that their rate is lower. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Best regards, X</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>TranslatorsCafe.com Support Team"</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Unfortunately our communication was interrupted there since I used up my quota of 3 questions, but if one of you TC insiders is reading these words, could you tell please me: why do you not simply ban outsourcers who break the rules, instead of allowing them to pull the same trick soon after. Wouldn't it teach them good manners? After all does this world not need better manners? And while you're here, could you also let us know why Somya Translators is still in your opinion the fourth best translation agency in the world although it's an Indian sweatshop paying its linguists 2 cents a word? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Many thanks,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Translation ethics</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-4418541834007267562014-01-14T15:04:00.003+01:002014-02-25T13:48:25.679+01:00<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Welcome to Translation Ethics</span></span></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlyK_OPfrRdaVXFf9pKOX-IQ0_2z1RoIlWzFbj8x-c_YrxiEvNuo4_2hCkqol2CaA-t_z5MdKVpBKtFeHsF2rzW5jstdvhBFIT-DLPDGdecmMUIlxNg9hx4C_XT7hWy_EqMUf2K7wKs/s1600/picture-blogpost-Kathryn-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlyK_OPfrRdaVXFf9pKOX-IQ0_2z1RoIlWzFbj8x-c_YrxiEvNuo4_2hCkqol2CaA-t_z5MdKVpBKtFeHsF2rzW5jstdvhBFIT-DLPDGdecmMUIlxNg9hx4C_XT7hWy_EqMUf2K7wKs/s1600/picture-blogpost-Kathryn-150x150.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This
website is intended to keep track of the multiple online agencies and
identify quickly what to expect from some of them, regarding quality and
pay.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
serves as a useful ressource for translators looking to hear more about
agencies before they sign anything or accept a contract as well as for
translation buyers who are not familiar with the industry and wish to
carefully select translators for their project.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is
difficult to get open information about translation agencies and this
blog aims at rectifying this, by naming and shaming companies which
engage in malpractice and business attitudes that are threatening to
become the norm in the translation industry.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Bad
practices may cover a broad range of actions, and whether buying cheap
intellectual labour qualifies as one or not is for you to decide.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the
meantime, all so called "brokers", "sweatshops" or "bottom feeders"
wishing to pay peanuts for intellectual work requiring several years of
study will also be included in this list under the <i>low pay</i>
criteria. Low pay includes any imaginable offer under 5 or 6 eurocent
per word, which is about twice as low as recommended european prices for
translation. (See associated article on "<a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/2013/09/todays-translation-market-for.html" target="_blank">Today's translation market</a>").</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We provide here a collaborative and dynamic <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">blacklist </a>and
any contribution from dissatisfied translators or buyers is welcome. If
companies mentionned would like to add their comments, they are invited
to express them by <a href="mailto:translationethics@gmail.com" target="_blank">e-mail </a>and their comments will be published on this blog.</span></span></b></span><br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-qulHTic_ufs%2FUjn1Xt5m8cI%2FAAAAAAAAABI%2FupZ7AmXwAwE%2Fs1600%2Fpicture-blogpost-Kathryn-150x150.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlyK_OPfrRdaVXFf9pKOX-IQ0_2z1RoIlWzFbj8x-c_YrxiEvNuo4_2hCkqol2CaA-t_z5MdKVpBKtFeHsF2rzW5jstdvhBFIT-DLPDGdecmMUIlxNg9hx4C_XT7hWy_EqMUf2K7wKs/s1600/picture-blogpost-Kathryn-150x150.jpg" -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-25408803893688445232014-01-07T18:24:00.004+01:002014-03-27T23:04:36.244+01:00Capita's new year resolutions<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: purple;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Following the article on Capita, written a few weeks ago, I would like to share a frightening report with you before it gets "blended" in this blog's blacklist. I thought it deserved a little bit more attention that the rest of the updates and hope it will be a wake up call for anyone still working with this agency. Such behaviour is absolutely disgraceful and should not be tolerated by the community of translators. It becomes apparent that this company is desperate and is trying to intimidate and shut down anyone rebelling against their dodgy ways. This is quite unbelievable. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Here is an email received yesterday, 6/1/14:</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">"Capita translation and interpreting UK</span></b><span lang="EN-US">. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I have been contacted by a lady working for this company asking me for
collaboration. I accepted. Then another lady from the same company
replied to my email and asked me to do a test first of 1035 words. I
said yes. Then I was contacted by a third lady who asked me to be added
to their database and I did. At that very moment, I had doubts about the
company so I checked many websites and found your blog with two other
negative feedbacks about this company. The following day one of the
ladies contacted me about the 1035 word-test i was supposed to
accomplish but I did not answer. Another lady called me on my mobile
late in the evening more than SEVEN times. I did not answer. One of them
sent me a BOSSY email asking me to submit the "translation" because due
time was exceeded. I did not answer. They sent me another email asking
me to send the TRANSLATION because it was urgent!!! In reality, what
they gave me to translate was a test and not a translation but since
they insisted on it I understood they divided a big project over many
translators and asked them to do it as a test while they had no
intention to pay them for it. It is not over, one of the ladies tried to
call me again and again but I ignored her. She sent me two or three
emails asking me to urgently provide the translation. At that moment, I
replied saying she had confirmed my doubts. Strangely enough, she told
me that the "translation" was assigned to another translator and that
she needs explanations about what I mean by "doubts". I understood I
was the one who is questioned not them!!! I sent them an email with
links to the negative feedback about their company but they did not
answer!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">after
more than three weeks, a fifth person from Capita sent me an email,
before that he tried to reach me by phone, asking to speak with me and
to make me speak with someone senior in the company who is going to make
things clearer about the "defamation" and "negative press" made about
their company. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">So, instead of paying their translators and interpreters, these people are harassing me with emails, phone calls, Skype calls!!!</span></div>
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Shame on Them! </div>
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SJ</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">Nota bene: the Test was 980 words long. A normal test should be 250 words max and you should be able to decide for yourself when you do it. They are not allowed to impose a deadline for a free test. 1000 words is the equivalent of 3 hours work and it should be paid. Asking for payment for a test is good business practice and if everybody respected this simple rule it should prevent this kind of abuse.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: purple;">Nevertheless, whether this was a test of not, this kind of behaviour from Capita is sickeningly out of line. </span></b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-57773397585874826292013-12-16T15:29:00.002+01:002014-09-19T14:48:34.248+02:00Online fishy businesses: Dixit (end of story... for now)<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEhZgF5QhDUVjqP_xnITBibWyoyXt-n3ugFYtWzfJMcC9ss3fqzpfDU-mr80EBWw9ufhnQnDU7hUF9J6WGUogMVzlJq5SbYu2dN8ZR9JVBHniS6uVCJmIJJ67poUVok_LkNMTxmPPQSM/s1600/Dixit+fishy+business.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEhZgF5QhDUVjqP_xnITBibWyoyXt-n3ugFYtWzfJMcC9ss3fqzpfDU-mr80EBWw9ufhnQnDU7hUF9J6WGUogMVzlJq5SbYu2dN8ZR9JVBHniS6uVCJmIJJ67poUVok_LkNMTxmPPQSM/s640/Dixit+fishy+business.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<h2>
</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Translation is the new lucrative industry to be in. As long as you're not a translator of course. That's why it attracts numerous leeches or "<b>brokers</b>" who don't contribute to society by adding value but instead figure they'll just get in there and take their piece of the cake, because what else are they going to do? Work? Haha. Develop "skills"? Nonsense.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sorry, I'm already digressing and I have not even started my post yet. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today I would like to advise translation buyers to be cautious when they recruit a new agency. One never really knows who they are dealing with. As I mentioned before, any rate under 10 cents is a good guarantee you will get unprofessional work and clumsy sounding translations. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Dixit </b>is a French company with no background in translation. It is basically <b>one guy </b>who sells bikinis on the side. Not really the kind of guy you should trust with your company's PR and image abroad though. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Dixit was created in January 2013. Translators are paid 5 cents a word, which is absolutely outrageous: that's twice as low as the minimum wage for a translator. On a pragmatic level, it's like throwing your money out of the window. The quality will be poor and your company's image abroad will suffer from it. You'll most likely have to pay again to retranslate it from scratch.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A brand new company, Dixit are a bit lost in the translation jungle but find convenient solutions to make up for their total lack of experience. <b>In fact they don't even bother recruiting</b>. They just help themselves to a public database (ProZ) of freelance translators. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Basically <u><b>you (the translation buyer) could do it yourself</b> </u>by going on Proz. With the advantage of being sure of the credentials of who you hire. By hiring DIXIT, you are <b>paying them to</b>:</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. find the cheapest (worst) freelancers on the market, </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">2. make this needlessly complicated and opaque (untraceable pros)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3. ruin your end product and the industry by lowering standards</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">While as I said you could select the best yourself via LinkedIn or ProZ.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Here is what their website advertises: </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.proz.com/cpn" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="ProZ" border="0" src="http://www.dixit.com/images/customer_proz_2.jpg" /></a><b><span style="color: blue;">"Human translation...</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">With Dixit your translation projects are carried out by professionals worldwide."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Very worring. This badge was bought from the website ProZ and I guess translators should know that it means absolutely nothing anymore. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">So my advice to translation buyers: if you hire the services of an agency, ask for the CV of the translator and get in touch with him or her directly. <u>Ask them how much they get paid, if they are a certified Proz member, check their Proz profile or LinkedIn profile.</u></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">
</span><br />
<a href="http://www.proz.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="ProZ" border="0" src="http://www.dixit.com/images/customer_proz_1.jpg" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">"...certified</span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">Dixit works with professionals in the ProZ.com Network. All our translators are certified, experimented and verified."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This implies that all ProZ certified translators accept to work for them and work for this rate.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> This is simply NOT the case. Dixit is basically <b>demeaning some industry it doesn't belong to</b> (Dixit belongs to the world of online discount sales, not translation). </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">These guys
have made an arrangement with the fishy website owners of ProZ to have
access to the database of pros. The reality is <b>they will spam these translators
all day long</b> until they find (or don't) someone desperate enough to accept really lousy rates. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3415770&type=member&item=5793415625099464708&qid=376ebb6b-19a8-42b4-a39a-a498bfe21373&trk=groups_items_see_more-0-b-ttl" target="_blank">Read this conversation </a><span style="color: black;">and you'll see that this arrangement was made <b>in the back of the translators community</b>.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">But let's go back to the website.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now quite interestingly here is <u>the only customer testimonial</u> they have on their website: </span></span><br />
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<div class="testimony">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Gian Marco G.<br />Manager of Brazilian Bikini Shop site</b></i></span></div>
<div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"J'utilise Dixit pour traduire mon site e-commerce et je suis
extrêmement satisfait du service. C'est simple d'utilisation grâce à
leur API et rapide, ce qui me permet de mettre en ligne mes produits
dans plusieurs langues en un temps record. La qualité du travail
effectué par leurs traducteurs natifs me donne un excellent
référencement naturel pour une meilleure visibilité. Rapport
qualité/prix imbattable!" </i></span></div>
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<div class="span4">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This person speaks like a real salesman (I wonder where that talent comes from?). It doesn't really matter what is being said here, you've guessed it's pretty positive stuff. What matters, though, is <b>who </b>is saying it. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'll tell you right now: it's <b>the owner of DIXIT himself</b><span style="color: blue;"><b> <span style="color: black;">:) </span></b><span style="color: black;">(BTW thanks for the translators who discovered this info and generously shared it in this </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3415770&type=member&item=5793415625099464708&qid=376ebb6b-19a8-42b4-a39a-a498bfe21373&trk=groups_items_see_more-0-b-ttl" target="_blank">Linkedin discussion forum</a></span></span></b>.)</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
</div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One may wonder how much credibility this Mister G. has in the translation world. Well the answer is zero ;). He is a complete newbie with no experience or background in languages. His main background is in real estate ventures and brazilian bikini sales, as indicated in this business directory.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SARL Brazilian Bikini Shop
</span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Gian Marco Guatteri
</b><br />
75 Chemin des collettes
<br />
Cagnes sur mer, 06800
France<br />
<i></i></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">More on the guy: <a href="http://dirigeant.societe.com/dirigeant/Gian_Marco.GUATTERI.40246240.html#!">http://dirigeant.societe.com/dirigeant/Gian_Marco.GUATTERI.40246240.html#!</a></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And yes, the owner of DIXIT <b>is the same person</b>, <a href="http://www.google.se/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodacc.fr%2Fannonce%2Ftelecharger%2FEBODACC-A_20130040_0001_p000.pdf&ei=CequUoPWI_LQ4QTC5oHIAw&usg=AFQjCNG1Ayu63X8mwSjH9Sp_OvjfK3cx6g&sig2=i__gkTFSVPtmYKVoMjm_RA&bvm=bv.57967247,d.bGE" target="_blank">according to the local business registry</a> (Entry 91)</span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span> </div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One can double-check here: <a href="http://www.verif.com/societe/DIXIT-GLOBAL-SOLUTIONS-790984603/#dirigeant">http://www.verif.com/societe/DIXIT-GLOBAL-SOLUTIONS-790984603/#dirigeant</a></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Nothing illegal in saying your company is amazing, but it's a bit like getting your mom to correct your school essay. We all know it's just too easy & definitely not appropriate in the world of grown-ups ;)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I don't mean to sadistically pick on Dixit but these elements show how ignorant and unprofessional the venture is.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">H</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">ere are some final concerns about Dixit and the kind of companies it represents:</span></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Dixit's portal is blacklisted</b> by some search engines: </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i><span class="text">
</span></i></b><i><span class="text"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eurlvoid%2Ecom%2Fscan%2Fdixit%2Ecom%2F&urlhash=t8YO&_t=tracking_disc" rel="nofollow" target="blank">http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/dixit.com/</a> </span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="text"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscanurl%2Enet%2F%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww%2Edixit%2Ecom%26uesb%3DCheck%2BThis%2BURL%23results&urlhash=bsv_&_t=tracking_disc" rel="nofollow" target="blank">http://scanurl.net/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dixit.com&uesb=Check+This+URL#results</a></span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Dixit's total lack of business ethics and casual attitude is very worrying. </b>T</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">he association of a very low and "universal" fee of €0.05 per word and the Certified Pro Network logo implies that such rate is perfectly normal. No it's not. This is a completely unacceptable rate.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">With their insulting and idiotic concept of <b>"unique price"</b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Dixit spreads their naive commercial views, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">showing a real </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">outsider's </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">perspective on translation</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">. It makes it sound so simple, and certainly is of great help to their accounts as well as compatible with their cognitive capacities but is as insulting as it is silly...</span></span></li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">...since it doesn't take a genius to figure that translation is not a simple job,
and that there are as many prices as there are translators and texts out there.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That's it for now but I'm sure there is plenty more to say. The idea of this post comes from a <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3415770&type=member&item=5793415625099464708&qid=376ebb6b-19a8-42b4-a39a-a498bfe21373&trk=groups_items_see_more-0-b-ttl" target="_blank">discussion on Linkedin</a> that I thought was really worth sharing with a broader audience. Thanks to all the detective translators with a taste for investigating fishy businesses and speaking out :)</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Update 06/01/14</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here is a response from the owner of Dixit, received yesterday by email:</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello,
<br />
<br />I'am contacting you about the post you did about Dixit.
<br />Thank you to have write an article about Dixt, but many thigs are not true.
<br />I can give you many informations that can help you to do a post closer to the truth than this one.
<br />
<br />I'am Guatteri Gian Marco, and yes as you wrote on the post I'am the owner of Brazilian Bikini Shop also.
<br />We never hidden this informations. This information is used as an asset.
<br />You can read an interview I did some times ago: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://hellobiz.fr/Interviews/quelques-mots-de-marco-guatteri-gian-cofondateur-de-dixit/
<br />
<br />I created Dixit with 4 co-founder that are working at full time on
dixit from 2 years. I'am not the majority shareholder. I own more or
less 20% of Dixit.
<br />The company was created in January, but we was working on it from 2 years ago.
<br />
<br />Off course, I'am not working at full time on dixit, I provide my
experience as online retailer who need translations, I help them with my
experience in international business.
<br />
<br />So please review your article:
<br />
<br />"Dixit is a French company with no background in translation. It is
basically one guy who sells bikinis on the side. Not really the kind of
guy you should trust with your company's PR and image abroad though. "
<br />
<br />That it is not true, we are 5 share olders, I can send you the proof if you need.
<br />
<br />About the quality and the pricing.
<br />Our idea is to pay the translator at the fair price. Our power is to
have the translators with us. Without translators dixit can't works...
<br />Before fixing the price of 5 cents of Euro we contacted many
translators on Proz, we tested the solution during 2 years with
Brazilian Bikini Shop and other small websites.
<br />
<br />The result of our study is that the most of professional translators
are payed 8 to 12 cents of Euro or more. But more than 30% of the work
is administration work.
<br />So the Idea was to reduce the administrations works of the
translators and also of the customers. Is what we did and many
translators wokring usually at 10 cents are now working on Dixit and
they are really happy with the service.
<br />If they are not happy. Dixit can works only if the translators are at our side.
<br />Another advantage for the translator is that there are no unpaid payments and the payments are very fast.
<br />
<br />
<br />You can see the feedback that the translators let on Proz about Dixit.
<br />
<br />But please let me know what it is better ? A translation agency that
take 100% of margin over the translator (they buy 5 or 6 and they sell
12 to 15) or Dixit that take only 1 cents ?
<br />Who is better for the translator ?
<br />
<br />At the moment no member of Dixit won money with Dixit. We want to
build a platform with the fair price for both translator and customer.
<br />
<br />
<br />In your post you don't say that the 5 cents are Euro = 0,69 USD today.
<br />
<br />"Basically you (the translation buyer) could do it yourself by
going on Proz. With the advantage of being sure of the credentials of
who you hire. By hiring DIXIT, you are paying "
<br />
<br />It is what I was doing for Brazilian Bikini Shop, but belive me, it
was a crazy works ! There are 33 languages on brazilian bikini shop,
for each translation order there was 33 invoices to pay.
<br />There was more than 100 emails exachanged for each translation projects (because of the 33 languages).
<br />Every months we had to find new translators because somes was
stopping (for many human reasons as family, baby, busy, new job,
etc...).
<br />
<br />
<br />I think if you review the article with the informations I give you, it will be really better for your visitors.
<br />
<br />I'am available for any question you have about Dixit.
<br />I will tell you the truth.
<br />
<br />
<br />Thank you
<br />
<br />Regards,
<br />Guatteri Gian Marco
<br />
<br />Note: This email was sent via the Contact Form gadget on <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://translationethics.blogspot.com.br/">http://translationethics.blogspot.com.br</a> </span></span><br />
<b><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b>
<b><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b>
<b><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for this information,</span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: purple;">Translation ethics</span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>14/01/2014 <span style="color: purple;">End of story (for now):</span></b></span></span></span></h2>
<br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Email from DIXIT:</b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Dear Translation Ethics, </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Regarding the use of the ProZ.com logos on our website, <span style="color: red;"><b>we have their permission to use the logos on our site. </b></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Our
goal in putting the two logos on our platform, was only to show that we
work with translators who are members of this network. <b><i><span style="color: purple;"> </span></i></b></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i><span style="color: purple;">Who then? Name them, privately if you want, so we can verify they exist...</span></i></b></span></span></div>
<b><i><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span></i></b><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I invite you to have a look at our ProZ Blueboard, where you will see many <b>positive comments left by Proz.com members and members of the Certified Pro Network</b>. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">To
avoid any further confusion about Dixit and the CPN logo, we will
remove it</span> </b>because once again, the translators are as important to us as
our clients and we take into account your concerns and comments. </span></span>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i><span style="color: purple;">Thank you that's a good start...</span></i></b></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The purpose of Dixit is not to hire full-time
translators, but to offer them the opportunity to earn extra income.
The projects on the platform are mainly E-commerce product
descriptions, relatively easy and fast to translate. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">On ProZ.com, translators are able to set their minimum rate on
their account if they do not wish to be contacted by agencies offering a
lower price. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Our pricing policy and <b>low margin</b> is aimed to
encourage e-commerce customers, usually using automatic translations,
to use translations made by professionals instead. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">According
to our market research and also to 8 years experience in e-commerce,
we came to the conclusions that having an e-commerce website translated
by professionals improved its image, referencing and increased sales. <b><span style="color: red;">
But unfortunately with a higher cost, the e-retailers could not afford
having their sites translated. </span></b></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i><span style="color: purple;">Yes I know, tell me about it... I go to three star restaurants but they have to charge me nothing because otherwise, I could not afford to eat. Ha. </span></i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hoping that these last details will help you change your mind about our company.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kind regards, </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Dixit team. </span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
</div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: purple;"><b>So it looks like Dixit is finally removing this controversial badge. This is a first step towards respect. Another would be to start paying half<span style="color: blue;"> </span>decent fees to their staff, but that's another story.</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: purple;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b> </b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I choose to trust Dixit regarding the authorisation by Proz to use the CPN logo. It does seem like a plausible thing, judging by ProZ's COMPLETE SILENCE since the beginning of this story 3 months ago. </b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>What I personally keep from all this is that Proz is definitely not a recommendable organisation, and I encourage the Members of the Certified ProZ Network to just drop the Z and become their own Certified Pro Network (or join a real association such as ATA, ITI, CiOL, SFT...) and stop fuelling the pockets of these Pro crooks. Yes it's a harsh word but I guess facts are proving more and more everyday that that's what they have become...</b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>UPDATE NINE MONTHS LATER: September 19th 2014</b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: purple;">M. Guatteri apparently realised that business didn't pick up without the CPN ProZ logo. So he sneakily put it back on his website!!! Hoping only clients would notice. Mister Guatteri: you are not ALLOWED to do that, just like you are not allowed to pretend on your own customer satisfaction reviews. I mean, who does that??? People are not complete fools. The community and ProZ told you to take it off months ago. Please go back to the BIKINI industry or go try and play businessman somewhere else. Thanks.</span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b> </b><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="testimony-translator">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<span style="color: blue;">
</span><span style="color: blue;"></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-31112082187716305932013-11-26T12:10:00.001+01:002013-12-17T19:46:01.528+01:00The End of Capita: greediness doesn't pay off after all<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0kkD1SnFkutwuHP-vh2LOiI4q3Cqw2iIrm6iuxqkU3iTuno98CtItU-QLaBGy5ZlhONiJZ2JKKBfaSwkuVeMr1qnkyGEPUBZqiPj-YJvkYbamVD3GHJonykUTi_80WkDvTPlMcvWm_k/s1600/capita+chute.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Capita" border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0kkD1SnFkutwuHP-vh2LOiI4q3Cqw2iIrm6iuxqkU3iTuno98CtItU-QLaBGy5ZlhONiJZ2JKKBfaSwkuVeMr1qnkyGEPUBZqiPj-YJvkYbamVD3GHJonykUTi_80WkDvTPlMcvWm_k/s640/capita+chute.JPG" title="http://www.levalet.org/la-chute" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0kkD1SnFkutwuHP-vh2LOiI4q3Cqw2iIrm6iuxqkU3iTuno98CtItU-QLaBGy5ZlhONiJZ2JKKBfaSwkuVeMr1qnkyGEPUBZqiPj-YJvkYbamVD3GHJonykUTi_80WkDvTPlMcvWm_k/s1600/capita+chute.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Artist : http://www.levalet.org/la-chute</a></td></tr>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>ome good news today: massive boycotting works wonders. <b>Capita</b>, major interpreting agency, featured in our list, is facing some serious difficulties, as a result of its poor decisions and lack of business ethics.</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">It looks like this company is finally getting the backlash it deserves for its greediness. The boycott started as a reaction to its decision to stop paying for transport costs. Interpreters have </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">also </span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">been fed up for too long with the <b>low rates</b> Capita offers (about 20 pounds an hour). The boycott has had a serious, immediate effect on their reputation and they are now on the verge of collapsing. Despite the absence of collective union for freelance interpreters, the mobilisation was unanimous and the sanction radical:</span></span> </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4963/capita-contract-for-court-interpreters-veers-towards-collapse" target="_blank">http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4963/capita-contract-for-court-interpreters-veers-towards-collapse </a></span></b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"> Their history so far: </span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Capita is
the company that acquired Applied Language Solutions in Dec
2011.They subsequently were granted the exclusive interpreting
contract for British criminal courts, and then bungled the job to a
fair-the-well through poor decisions (cut interpreter rates,
refusing to pay travel) and management, resulting in the current
mess in court interpreting in the UK. I refuse to work with them on
those grounds alone.They also have a poor payment record (to be
fair, some of which was inherited from ALS) but there have also been
several negative reports on Payment Practices and other forums since
the takeover." Subscribers can see details on:</span></span> </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.paymentpractices.net/Subscribers/Agency.aspx?id=6242.">http://www.paymentpractices.net/Subscribers/Agency.aspx?id=6242.</a></b></span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some further revelations from a former Capita employee can be found here: </span></span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://barnetalliance.org/2013/06/03/from-within-reveltions-from-a-former-capita-employee/" target="_blank">http://barnetalliance.org/2013/06/03/from-within-reveltions-from-a-former-capita-employee/</a></span></span></b></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">I personally read that as a great encouragement for translators to keep communicating and networking, in order to bring down such irresponsible and disrespectful companies. To view companies worth boycotting, please check our <b><a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">updated blacklist</a></b>. </span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">In your opinion, which are the translation companies damaging the profession most, and which one would you like to see professionals boycott?</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-5327062394088907212013-11-21T15:19:00.003+01:002015-08-20T16:08:49.782+02:00Crowdsourcing: Conyac pay their slaves 10 USD per day (2000 words)<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
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<h3 lang="zxx">
<span style="color: #45818e; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Conyac pay their slaves 10 USD per day (2000 words)</b></span></span></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">According to <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/27/conyac/" target="_blank">this online PR article</a>, Conyac, a Tokyo based company founded in 2009</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> by Naoki Yamada</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">, is a young booming company, with promising profits of 50.000 USD a month. It is a startup funded by <a href="http://thebridge.jp/en/2013/10/japanese-translation-startup-conyac-raises-600000" target="_blank">big japanese firms</a> and</span></span></span><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> its total number of corporate users "exceeds 1,000". It is providing crowdsourced translations online within unbeatable deadlines.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Since launching in 2009, Conyac’s base of translators has grown to
10,000 individuals around the world who work in 60 languages. Prices
range from $3 per translation to a $100 per month packages, and clients
usually get their completed projects back within an hour."</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Conyac (pronounced like cognac) is named
after the special konjac jelly in popular Japanese cartoon “Doraemon”
that gives characters the ability to speak and understand any languages
after they ingest it".</span></span></i><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/27/conyac/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: purple;"> Read rest here...</span></span></span></a><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></span></span></i>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Its <a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/company/conyac" target="_blank">Crunchbase profile</a> states that its goal is purely to <b>replace translation agencies</b>, and its representatives like to describe its activity as "<b>social translation</b>" (remember this expression, it's the next big thing). Here is another really positive article online:</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Founded in February 2009, Japan-based <a href="http://www.conyac.cc/">Conyac</a>
matches <b>skillful translators</b> with users who need help in translation.
In short, it is a social translation network matching translators and
users in one single platform.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To ensure high quality translation work, co-founder, Naoki Yamada
told us that Conyac has an evaluation system between translators to
maintain the quality. The evaluation work became more efficient after
Conyac launched a <a href="http://www.cony.ac/my">Facebook application</a> which helps translators to communicate with each other better.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Our translators are really open to communicate and share information
with other translators. We are trying to build up a <b>huge number of
translators on Conyac</b>,” said Yamada." (<a href="http://www.techinasia.com/conyac-social-translation-service/" target="_blank">Read rest of article</a>)</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">According to my own research though, Conyac is a scam agency <u><b>which does not hire </b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><b>"skillful translators", but </b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u><b>non-pros</b></u>. These so-called "translators" (Conyac uses that word a lot, quite inappropriately) are just random people found on Facebook (no degrees needed to work for Conyac).</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A quick search on the net will show you that, like the guys at Dixit who also warmly invite you to become a translator (<a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html#.Uo4UVOLW9qw" target="_blank">see blacklist on this blog</a>), the Conyac peeps have the power to turn <b>anyone </b>into a translator, by the magic of a mere click:</span></span></span><br />
<h3 class="r">
<a href="https://conyac.cc/"><i>Conyac</i> for Business - Translation Solutions</a></h3>
<div class="s">
<div>
<div class="f kv" style="white-space: nowrap;">
<cite class="vurls">https://<b>conyac</b>.cc/</cite><a class="fl" href="http://translate.google.se/translate?hl=fr&sl=en&u=https://conyac.cc/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dconyac%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DF1%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:fr:official%26channel%3Dfflb">Traduire cette page</a></div>
<span class="st"><i>Conyac</i> is the Simplest & the Fastest Human Powered Translation Service. You are about to experience a new way of translation.</span></div>
</div>
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<span class="tl"></span><br />
<h3 class="r">
<span class="tl">
<a class="l" href="https://conyac.cc/en/translators">Become a translator</a></span></h3>
<span class="tl">
</span>
<br />
<div class="s">
<div class="st" style="overflow: hidden; width: 220px;">
What do you do when you're on a train, or when your kids are <b>...</b></div>
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<h3 class="r">
<span class="tl">
<a class="l" href="https://biz.conyac.cc/plans">Monthly Plans</a></span></h3>
<span class="tl">
</span>
<br />
<div class="s">
<div class="st" style="overflow: hidden; width: 220px;">
Source Language, Target Language, Points(per character <b>...</b></div>
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<span class="tl"></span><br />
<h3 class="r">
<span class="tl">
<a class="l" href="https://conyac.cc/en/personal">Conyac for Personal</a></span></h3>
<span class="tl">
</span>
<br />
<div class="s">
<div class="st" style="overflow: hidden; width: 220px;">
( Receive 1 free credit! ) » Register as a Translator / » Conyac for <b>...</b></div>
</div>
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</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="padding-left: 6px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="mrf">
<a class="fl" href="https://www.google.se/search?client=firefox-a&hs=F1&rls=org.mozilla:fr:official&channel=fflb&q=+site:conyac.cc+conyac&sa=X&ei=SgeOUvLYN8jatAbuzIDgCA&ved=0CEQQrAM">Autres résultats sur conyac.cc »</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Unlike Dixit though, Conyac don't retribute their slaves with peanuts but with "points" (precisely 500 signs, 5 dollars) while promising to be the fastest
agency in the world. Incredible!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, just like I did it with One Hour, I checked the official website and discovered a few things: first, there <b>is no email or address</b> to contact them.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here is how these guys introduce themselves: </span></span></span> <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"What is Conyac? <span style="color: #344853;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(247, 248, 248);">> Conyac
is a human-powered translation service </span></span><span style="color: #344853;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(247, 248, 248);"><b>that
anyone can join</b>.</span></span> </span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Guess what, it's true! It is not selective, anyone can work at Conyac. So I signed in 2 seconds without showing proof of my degrees.</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #344853;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(247, 248, 248);">"Simple
and Fast Translation</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #344853;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(247, 248, 248);">: >Where
normal translation agency and online translation takes more than 3
hours to get your results back, "Conyac" can provide you
with your </span></span><span style="color: #344853;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(247, 248, 248);">results
15 minutes, the fastest.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> "</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #344853;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">" </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #344853;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(247, 248, 248);">There
are <b>thousands of translators from all over the world ready to process
your request."</b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mail received one week only after I signed in:</span></span></span><i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<pre wrap=""><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Hello,
Thank you for signing up with Conyac.
We've noticed that you haven't logged in for a while.
Have<b> a little spare time</b>?
Why not translate at Conyac and earn yourself some extra money.
Link: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://conyac.cc/translators">https://conyac.cc/translators</a>
Why translate at Conyac?
You can work as often as you want during your spare time.
If you have a <b>laptop, a tablet or a smartphone</b>, </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">you can work from virtually anywhere.
<b>Use your language skills </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>to earn a little extra money during your free time.</b>"</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></pre>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So this is what translation sounds like to Conyac: a little job on the side for
anyone with a tablet and vague notions of 2 languages. You have a
little spare time, why not earn some wee pocket money? Pretty
insulting... </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you are looking for "pocket money" here is what you'll get with them (I have received about twenty mails since last week and can't get rid of them, but that is another story). Blunt mails, without even a Hello message or goodbye, they like to get right to the core of things:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<pre wrap="">"you got a new translation request on Conyac.
From: English
To: French
<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Letters: 662
Reward: 66</span>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://conyac.cc/questions/158378/work?utm_medium=email&utm_source=conyac">https://conyac.cc/questions/158378/work?utm_medium=email&utm_source=conyac</a>
----------------------------------------------------
Many translators are waiting for your review. Review for them now
English => French
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://conyac.cc/translations/12215/reviews">https://conyac.cc/translations/12215/reviews</a>"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></pre>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finally some tangible info. Intrigued, I took out my calculator. Turns out my intuition was a good lead, and that it is indeed, objectively, a total ripoff:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">10 points for each 100 letters, that means you'll need to translate
5000 letters to get the 500 points which are worth 5 dollars. So 5000
signs = roughly 1000 words, that's about 5 dollars per 1000 words instead of 120 dollars (normal pro price). </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Looks like Conyac invented the first job ever to be less profitable than watching TV all day. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-54262838879873087262013-11-07T15:01:00.001+01:002013-11-07T15:04:58.619+01:00Submissions<span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Newsletter november 2013</span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for joining <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #45818e;">translationethics</span></b></a>! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This blog is now reaching translators all over the world and finding new audience each day. Our <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank"><b>blacklist </b></a>is growing with about 170 blacklisted companies now. Many thanks to the translators who publicly shared their bad experience and expressed their support.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you wish to suggest some ideas or publish articles on this platform I will gladly welcome and examine your submissions.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A page was created to publish petitions or open letters on this blog, so please contact me at <a href="mailto:translationethics@gmail.com">translationethics@gmail.com</a> to add yours!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kind regards,</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Translationethics</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">PETITIONS FOR TRANSLATORS:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<ul>
<li><h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Petition against crowdsourcing (to Facebook and Twitter)</span></span></h3>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/petitions/TEBP3/">http://www.petitiononline.com/petitions/TEBP3/</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Petition to reform/close down proz: </span></span></h3>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There is, as far as I know, no such thing at the moment. There has <a href="http://nopeanuts.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/proz-coms-policies-comments/" target="_blank">been in the past</a>, but if you wish to suggest one, feel free to do so here. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Alternatively, if you are not satisfied with Proz's services, <span style="color: #e06666;"><b>you can get a REFUND at any time during the first year</b></span>,
according to their customer satisfaction policy. They should be able to
afford it. Proz.com claims to have 300000 paying members and if each
one pays 166US$ a
year, it makes <b>49.800.000 US$ a year</b>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you don't regret your membership, you can still write to Henry Dotterer (<a href="http://www.proz.com/?sp=mailsend&eid_s=1" target="_blank">proz profile and email</a>)
to let him know you wish to see some of this income displayed on the
actual site. Because I don't know about you, but I find it looks like it
was designed 20 years ago by some trainee IT student and has not been modified since, unlike their code of ethics, quality standards, customer service, rules for posting (outsourcers), or Blueboard entry requirements and notation system. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-81499977897609979452013-10-15T14:55:00.000+02:002013-11-07T13:03:54.661+01:00Translators : 10 effective ways to stop the flow of spams, scams and nasty offers, and start over on clean grounds<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">PLAY HARD TO GET (& disappear from Translation Directory). Personally, I was fed up with these
agency emails and closed my account with TD. Since then I am receiving
way less crappy offers and <u><b>no more scammers</b></u>. TD is feeding
this by
making your CV available to absolutely anyone including crooks. Translators
have to be more selective with those websites and set their own limits.
Trust me, putting your CV all over the web is not going to provide you
with more work, but will rather cause a
lot of nuisance. </span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">STOP
GIVING YOUR MONEY TO PROZ : I only got one offer from Proz as a paying
member, but am still working on a project I found on it when I was a non
paying member. On top of lowering the rates and respect standards, this
company is oblivious to the interests of its paying members, serving
those of unscrupulous agencies. It refuses to <a href="http://translatorleaks.wordpress.com/tag/proz-com/" target="_blank">listen to translators</a> and their code of ethics is very <a href="http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/proz/proz-com-is-a-trap-to-be-avoided-20121012351244.html" target="_blank">suspicious, according to this insightful report</a>. No need to stress that <b>I deeply regret the 120 euros</b> membership which ended up in Henry Dotterer's fat pocket. I guess shutting
down websites like Proz and Translation Directory would be the best thing
that can ever happen to the translation industry. </span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">LOOK and be professional, show <b>that you are not a "sunday translator"</b> or looking for a new fun extra job. You have hard earned degrees and credentials, excellent language skills and are your own boss. Ideally, don't position yourself as a job seeker but as a service provider. Don't do anything for free, including tests, or only accept free tests (under 200 words to serious companies). Know the law, and have terms & conditions and a price list.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">SECURE YOUR CV: make a PDF, with watermark and copyright. Don't put it all over the web if you don't want it to be unknowingly used or if you don't want someone else to ruin your reputation. </span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">SET YOUR PRICE LIMITS ON PORTAL OFFERS : set yourself a <b>minimum price</b> and STICK to it. You won't receive anymore disappointing offers. </span></li>
</ul>
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</ol>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">START CHARGING REAL MONEY FOR YOUR SERVICES : that means always try to negociate higher rates. If you know you are valuable to a project and sense that it does not compute with what you are getting paid, RAISE your prices, <b>with the attitude that goes with it</b>. Instead of asking for a raise, state that your prices are increasing from next month on, and only accept compromise if it is substancial enough. This worked for me. I increased my rate by 50 percent over one year working on the same project, despite the allegedly "fixed budget" of the project. To help you negociate, make a list of arguments susceptible to make them think twice about it (they might not find someone as qualified for the same price, will have to interrupt the project for some time while looking for another translator, not providing the same quality, the client will leave and so on...) I personally could rely on the fact that another language team was fired from the project (book translated into 3 languages) by the end client, so my team was still holding it together.</span></li>
</ul>
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</ol>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">OBEY STRICT PROFESSIONAL RULES when answering offers: before accepting anything, one must have : a PO stating deadline and total price, number of words (Do your own word count :), <b>do not start anything without the PO</b>. If a NDA or agreement is given to you, make sure it does not work against you.</span></li>
</ul>
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</ol>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">CHECK the agencies (cf this blog "<a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page_13.html?goback=.gde_112247_member_5793058008506314752.gmp_112247.gde_112247_member_5793058008506314752" target="_blank">Looking up agencies</a>") and look for them in <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank">Black lists</a>, then <b>tell them why</b> you refuse to work for them (low rates, non payment or disgracious spelling or grammatical mistakes...).</span></li>
</ul>
<ol>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">COMMUNICATE, <b>explain </b>things to PM (that they should know, aka your performance is 2000 words a day), and ask questions so you are not held responsible for anything later on and so that your translation fits the needs of the client. If you have to go through an agency, remember that the PM does not know much because he doesn't know what questions to ask, but that you on the contrary need to know everything -or as much as possible.</span></li>
</ul>
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</ol>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">START A COOP with trusted fellow translators : If instead of spending our time and energy slaving
away for agencies, we were spending it getting rid of them and
promoting ourselves via cooperatives, we could get out of this situation and enable good translators to
stay in the business. I think this is possible via a lot of PR and
communication about our status. Letting end clients (when you know them)
know about the reality of this system is also important, but also writing blogs and informing companies and the media. We just have to think of new ways to save our profession and share our ideas through social networks. </span></li>
</ul>
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</ol>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">These are just a few basic ideas, but what would be your priorities and solutions to improve the future of translators?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-53330999979721794182013-10-10T17:58:00.000+02:002014-02-11T15:12:19.599+01:00Transperfect's redefinition of proofreading<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">SWEATSHOP alert.... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">T</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">here was so much to say about the translation agency Transperfect that I decided to create a special entry for them. The complaints from translators seem endless. As a matter of fact, this company has very unethical methods and its business model seems to revolve solely on the systematic exploitation of its translators, who get paid under 4 cents per word. Their greediness knows no bounds and they have made a huge fortune finding ingenuous new ways to pay their contractors less. Even ProZ Blue Board cannot manage to salvage TP's reputation as the "likelihood of working again" earned by </span>TransPerfect from its translators
between January 2009 and the present is barely 24%. They even sometimes go as far as <a href="http://www.gts-translation.com/gtsblog/2010/11/14/proz-com-bans-transperfect-from-posting-jobs/" target="_blank">banning them</a>. What on earth do they do to deserve such radical measures from such an unselective portal? It appears that in fact, they sometimes have trouble paying their translators.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Reading all these reports, one wonders who still wants to work for them and what benefit they get from it. And above all, who still hires this company but unaware clients who have been told translation is a cheap, quick and automated process? But even if they end up collapsing under the weight of their shame, Liz Elting and Phil Shawe wont die of starvation like their cheap labour, since their gross profits amounted to $221 millions just for 2009, and $300 millions in 2011.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">TP is actually the <b>4th biggest </b>language services company in the world, see this report on the profits made in 2011 : </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/Portals/0/downloads/120531_QT_Top_100_LSPs.pdf">http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/Portals/0/downloads/120531_QT_Top_100_LSPs.pdf</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">However, their generosity has limits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">A translator's comment : </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">"
The other day, a newbie PM called and said that another PM (one who
has been around for a while) had suggested me for a <i>"fun and
exciting"</i> job writing the narration (in English) for a 40-50
second advertisement ordered by a major U.S. retailer (not WalMart
or K-Mart, but not an upscale place). The offered price? $25. Yup,
US$25 for writing the script for a 40-50 second video.The PM told me
that writing advertising copy was a new field for Transperfect. This
was my reply: "Thank you for your inquiry, but $25 for
copywriting for a large company like X is ridiculous. They'd pay an
advertising agency much more. If TransPerfect is really accepting
$25 plus company's overhead plus profit margin (=$100 or less?),
then there is something seriously wrong with its account
executives. In any case, I'm very busy this weekend." Like many
of you, I received better rates from Transperfect in the 1990s.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">"
I just did some googling to find out what the going rate for
advertising copywriters is. For free-lancers, the average is about
$83 an hour. That's a useful bit of information to have."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Now one aspect of their recruitment really bugs me and it concerns the proofreading. For TP, proofreading is something else altogether. They just reinvented the concept.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">When I started as a translator I filled in an application with them. But then they realised that I only had one year experience in the business. Therefore they offered me another job : proofreader !!!!
(Yes, the one who corrects the 10 years of experienced expert
translator !) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">The test was incredibly long (but short in time),
incredibly impossible and seemed only to focuse on spotting formatting
problems. A real robot job. I failed by their standards.The pay was 15
euros per 1000 words but I had managed to obtain 20. But since, I have
heard such back feedback on this company that I am glad I never worked
for them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Big problem there: how do they expect a newby to correct the
translation of an expert? What is he gonna do but add problems to the text or check the formatting? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">So yes, Transperfect finds its own solutions to cut down on costs and time. They just reinvented the concept of proofreading: it no longer implies the verification by a translator of a source doc and its translation, the research and checking of certain tricky terms in dictionaries and glossaries, or the reworking of clumsily built sentences, as we fools may have believed. None of that nonsense. For TP, proofreading is a highly speedy reading operation, purely visual, consisting of a "spot the difference" fun little game. A space missing, a double dot, a line out of the box? TP hires you to solve that. It doesn't really matter if you don't speak the source language, you won't have the time to check the original text anyway ! Just take the 5 euros an hour and agree on the officious principle that the faster you go, the more money you make, just keep quiet about the quality, nobody needs to know;). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">The rate seems indeed to be approximately 5 euros per hour, provided you don't pay tax. Here is one of their offers (kindly forwarded to me by a fellow translator)</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">
</span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">"Diana Chemparathy (she can be found on LinkedIn) offered me bi-lingual proofreading for US$
0.01 per word, telling me that "2,000 words per hour is the norm in
this industry"! The proofing/editing/reviewing (she never really
clarified what she meant by "proofreading") was to be done over the
weekend and came with very detailed formatting instructions as well as
two separate style guides. The work was highly specialised and not to be
undertaken lightly, as it consisted of pages of faxed medical case
notes, pathology reports and culture results, some handwritten.Needless to say I turned the job down flat. The agency she works with/for is TransPerfect. I complained directly to their head office but never received a reply. Well done you for initiating this blog and list and thank you!"</span>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Now this is seriously taking the pxxx. This person needs to be educated about her own job. She is is
completely wrong and knows it. A translator can proofread maximum 1000 words per hour if the translation is top notch.
Then, it depends on the technicity of the text, the deadline, etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">In any case, a translator should not accept
less than 20 euros per 1000 words for proofreading, and should charge
according to the amount of errors and corrections they had to make. I
charge a minimum, plus a certain amount per correction made. That is the
only way to not undersell yourself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Another crucial point: poor quality translations
should not be proofread, they should be retranslated from scratch, and there is a big difference in price. You should check the text before they
send the PO, then make an offer (in hours) and if it took you longer,
complain about the quality and ask for compensation for extra time. I
always do this and it has always worked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Finally, I have no
problem saying to project managers that a job is shoddy since I don't
consider these people
as my "fellow translators" but as incompetent amateurs. This may sound
harsh but these people are damaging the profession and dragging it down.
They obviously should
be doing something else, which is anything but translation. I haven't
proofread in a while and am far from missing this ungrateful activity.
Someone is responsible for these nasty translations and it ends up being
your job to save the day (and rescue
the agency's reputation). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Don't let this happen. Ask yourself : does
this agency deserves to be saved or shall it pay for its avidity and
loose their client? If you
find a collaborator seriously incompetent, say it (and justify it!).
They are probably taking the place of someone who is actually qualified
but asking for a fair rate. There are always interesting returns after
these complaints, such as "you're not the first one to complain",
"that's a non professional's work", "one of the client's employee" and
so on...</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Very negative blogs solely focusing on them (lots to say):</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://transperfect-translations-concerns.blogspot.ie/">http://transperfect-translations-concerns.blogspot.ie/</a></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://robertdenoia-hr.blogspot.se/2010/03/transperfect-translations-3-park-avenue.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://robertdenoia-hr.blogspot.se/2010/03/transperfect-translations-3-park-avenue.html </span></span></a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3415770&type=member&item=114456335&trk=groups_search_item_list-0-b-ttl&goback=.gna_3415770">Read
more about Transperfect on LinkedIn </a></span>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Transperfect-Translations/New-York-New-York-10016/Transperfect-Translations-hires-people-on-false-pretenses-New-York-New-York-631842">Read
more on Transperfect on Ripoff report</a></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Interesting article about Transperfect :</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://segnodicaino.blogspot.se/2010/04/transperfect-translations-not-quite-so.html">http://segnodicaino.blogspot.se/2010/04/transperfect-translations-not-quite-so.html</a></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-45992188184446072292013-09-12T23:41:00.000+02:002014-05-08T10:44:38.432+02:00Welcome to Translation Ethics<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">This website is intended to keep track of the multiple online agencies and identify quickly what to expect from some of them, regarding quality and pay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">It serves as a useful ressource for translators looking to hear more about agencies before they sign anything or accept a contract as well as for translation buyers who are not familiar with the industry and wish to carefully select translators for their project.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">It is difficult to get open information about translation agencies and this blog aims at rectifying this, by naming and shaming companies which engage in malpractice and business attitudes that are threatening to become the norm in the translation industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Bad practices may cover a broad range of actions, and whether buying cheap intellectual labour qualifies as one or not is for you to decide.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">In the meantime, all so called "brokers", "sweatshops" or "bottom feeders" wishing to pay peanuts for intellectual work requiring several years of study will also be included in this list under the <i>low pay</i> criteria. Low pay includes any imaginable offer under 5 or 6 eurocent per word, which is about twice as low as recommended european prices for translation. (See associated article on "<a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/2013/09/todays-translation-market-for.html" target="_blank">Today's translation market</a>").</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">We provide here a collaborative and dynamic <a href="http://translationethics.blogspot.se/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank"><b>blacklist </b></a>and any contribution from dissatisfied translators or buyers is welcome. If companies mentionned would like to add their comments, they are invited to express them by <a href="mailto:translationethics@gmail.com" target="_blank">e-mail </a>and their comments will be published on this blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3706361992803757533.post-87131443855875109722013-09-12T21:43:00.002+02:002013-11-07T13:02:13.714+01:00Today's translation market (for translation buyers)<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>In 2013, translations are STILL HUMAN-MADE</b>. All true
professionals will tell you that despite the technological progress,
no program has successfully yet managed to produce a translation one
can pass for the product of human intelligence. This is simply
impossible. In the meantime I'm still waiting for someone (or rather something) to prove me wrong.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">This cliché is probably the result of poor communication by
translators about their activity, as we fail to convey the message
loud and clear. We are meticulous workers, we don't just come up with
those sentences as we type them down at a record pace. We research
extensively, hesitate, and choose. As humans we can indeed make
decisions computers cannot make. We feel the subtleties of language
and the complexity of each sentence. We try to convey metaphors and
figures of speech, or double meanings and irony, subtleties programs
will not even spot in the first place. Finally we read those
translations to ourselves and hear their melody. We are therefore
irreplacable.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloLUR2UEBatc3Qws8GVYbDlWFzjBAGrhOea4pJPpNpuHHr9LAZNfCq60KurbrdNNCSj-kQRNgU7P6_nleL4O0dfgBo1b7eEpa8K1WEi8TBn68qQpsnGFhZZIFGUjDwJ-jJhSvLQHmlk0/s1600/machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloLUR2UEBatc3Qws8GVYbDlWFzjBAGrhOea4pJPpNpuHHr9LAZNfCq60KurbrdNNCSj-kQRNgU7P6_nleL4O0dfgBo1b7eEpa8K1WEi8TBn68qQpsnGFhZZIFGUjDwJ-jJhSvLQHmlk0/s320/machine.jpg" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Agencies find us work sometimes, and keep a substantial
commission, with little or no transparency. Without information, we
are often incapable of negociating with them. We fight blindly and
the risk of loosing everything is generally pretty high. The problem is,
agencies often forget who's doing the bulk of the work. Finder's fee
is normal, as long as we can make a living. But nowadays, our share
of the cake is being drastically reduced by middlemen negotiating
unrealistic targets and budgets with their client, and in consequence
passing the burden to us and involving us in those risky schemes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">The rise of global competition has put our profession in peril, since we are not able to survive at the rates practised today in the
industry, imposed upon us by brokers
exploiting intellectual work that they trade as a random commodity.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Big work platforms like ProZ have promoted that downward spiral of
rates by letting anyone offer bottom rates and any so called
professional apply for those "jobs". Those websites are
ruining our business by acting against the profession. They are
getting paid by translators to represent them but instead treat them
like service providers rather than clients. They are not willing to
defend our interests, refusing to set a minimum rate under which a
recruiter is not allowed to advertise. Besides, there are serious
doubts about the transparency of their Blueboard, a rating system
which reflects in no way the reputation or good practises of
agencies. I paid the membership one year and this for me was a total
waste of money. I never get replies from any recruiter via Proz. The
only job I found on it was when I was not yet a paying member.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">According to SFT (<a href="http://www.sft.fr/clients/sft/telechargements/file_front/4c45ab788dee5.pdf" target="_blank">survey in French</a>) and the ATA, the average sustainable rate per
word for a professional living in the EU is 12 Euro cents. Most job offers
on ProZ target a budget comprised between 1 and 5 Eurocents. No
translator in Europe can survive with those rates. Their hourly
production is on average 250 words, so their rate per hour would be 5
euros, before tax. A professional working legally pays at least 25
percent tax. Therefore, if he or she accepts a 2 Eurocent offer, the
remaining hourly salary is 3.75 euros per hour. Exciting isn't it?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Other threats to the profession :</span></span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="yui_3_5_0_1_1379003165635_649507"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="yui_3_5_0_1_1379003165635_649498"></a>
The opening, via large unselective platforms, of the market to non
professionals looking for extra cash, creating unfair competition.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Poor selection by recruiters who
only seek profit, hiring non native "translators"
desperate for money. A translator normally translates into their
native language, and has one or two, three max language pairs. More
than that would be highly suspicious.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">CV and identity theft, by agencies
or scammers. They offer a job to the translators and ask for their
CV, which they forward to the client to win the contract. Then, they
hire someone much cheaper (and often incompetent).</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="yui_3_5_0_1_1379003165635_649497"></a>Non payers,
late payments (a lot of "reputable" agencies pay 45 to 60
days after reception of the translation), ignoring completely the
following directive :</span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="yui_3_5_0_1_1379003165635_649496"></a>DIRECTIVE
2011/7/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL<br />of 16
February 2011, according to which the minimum interest in case of
late payments (> 30 days) is EUR 40.00."</span></span></span>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">It is only with the cooperation of translation buyers willing to
ackowledge the importance and value of quality translations, and
ready to pay them for what they're worth that this beautiful
profession can be salvaged. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">The translation market, despite its
apparent health and growth, is actually collapsing, while with it,
language, intellectual rigor, and overall quality of communication
are endangered.</span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0