| 话题中的页数: [1 2] > | These new agency portals (= online translation management systems) 论题张贴者: NancyLynn
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NancyLynn
加拿大
Local time: 00:11
正式会员 (自2002)
French法语译成English英语
+ ...
版主
Am I the only translator out there who feels as though she's changed careers, without being consulted?
Evening folks,
I would love to start a whinging exchange on these new portals each and every agency seems to need, and they're all different, all so difficult to navigate, all so time-consuming - what happened to getting a Word (or even Excel is starting to look good!) document by email, translating it, returning it by email?
I'm a translator, not a bleepi... See more Am I the only translator out there who feels as though she's changed careers, without being consulted?
Evening folks,
I would love to start a whinging exchange on these new portals each and every agency seems to need, and they're all different, all so difficult to navigate, all so time-consuming - what happened to getting a Word (or even Excel is starting to look good!) document by email, translating it, returning it by email?
I'm a translator, not a bleeping computer programmer.
I want to take a French document, render it in native, idiomatic, mellifluous and harmonious English, and return it to the satisfied end client.
However in the real world, end clients use translation agencies. And translation agencies, in their dedication to their precious bottom line, have decided to go the portal route to "streamline their processes."
Well, I don't feel too damned streamlined when I "donate" several man-hours each week trying to assimilate yet another new portal. You know, the iTracs, Plunets, Alfrescos of our "new and improved" translation universe.
I tell you, some days I just want to throw in the towel and do something else for a living. And that would be a damn shame, wouldn't it, depriving the world of my excellent translation skills.
How do you all cope with this? Or am I simply revealing inflexible old age here? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom Ellett (X) 
英国
Local time: 05:11
Norwegian挪威语译成English英语
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| I hate those portals too! | Dec 3, 2012 |
An agency I have never had any actual work from recently invited me to check and, where necessary, update my information on their new portal. Interestingly, the only piece of information that couldn't be changed was my rates – which, needless to say, were about three years out of date.
| | | | The Misha
Local time: 00:11
Russian俄语译成English英语
+ ...
| I cope the old-fashioned way | Dec 3, 2012 |
I just say no. That's it.
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Portals can be OK if only a few customers use them, but what is worse is when some customer who trusted your services and was entirely happy with them decides that they will switch on a feature in their portal to make competitive assignment of jobs, i.e. the first one in their translator database who accepts a job proposal gets it. The end result is that they save nothing and only jeopardise the translation memory --and eventually the customer account-- with clumsy work the usual translators hav... See more Portals can be OK if only a few customers use them, but what is worse is when some customer who trusted your services and was entirely happy with them decides that they will switch on a feature in their portal to make competitive assignment of jobs, i.e. the first one in their translator database who accepts a job proposal gets it. The end result is that they save nothing and only jeopardise the translation memory --and eventually the customer account-- with clumsy work the usual translators have to fix later on. ▲ Collapse
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neilmac
西班牙
Local time: 06:11
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
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My advice is to try to find direct translation clients of your own. Otherwise, you could ask the agencies if they are still willing to accept translations the "old-fashioned" way - i.e. in workable formats sent and received via email.
My take on this kind of thing is that if you're going to be obliged to jump through whichever new techno-hoop agencies decide to dangle in front of you, rather than freelancing you might as well be working in a regular 9-5 job with bosses who shove thi... See more My advice is to try to find direct translation clients of your own. Otherwise, you could ask the agencies if they are still willing to accept translations the "old-fashioned" way - i.e. in workable formats sent and received via email.
My take on this kind of thing is that if you're going to be obliged to jump through whichever new techno-hoop agencies decide to dangle in front of you, rather than freelancing you might as well be working in a regular 9-5 job with bosses who shove things like this down your throat, like it or lump it. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
荷兰
Local time: 06:11
正式会员 (自2006)
English英语译成Afrikaans南非语
+ ...
Tom Ellett wrote:
An agency I have never had any actual work from recently invited me to check and, where necessary, update my information on their new portal.
Actually, those types of portals I don't mind, because it basically allows me to ensure that the details the client have about me are up to date. I got a shock recently when a new PM from a regular translation client contacted me for proofreading, pleading to accept the "low" rate (which was higher than my usual proofreading rate), and when I told her what my usual rate was, she told me that the rate they had for me on their system was three times that much! This means that someone fouled up when they captured my rate into their system, and consequently I was never chosen for such jobs. I'd much rather have the opportunity to ensure that the information a client has is accurate.
| | | | Samuel Murray
荷兰
Local time: 06:11
正式会员 (自2006)
English英语译成Afrikaans南非语
+ ...
| Getting more common | Dec 3, 2012 |
NancyLynn wrote:
I would love to start a whinging exchange on these new portals each and every agency seems to need, and they're all different, all so difficult to navigate, all so time-consuming...
This complaint is getting more frequent on the forums, yes. The problem is that these systems are often not designed to be quick to navigate. And many of them are not user-friendly in the sense that you can figure out how it works without reading a guide or a manual.
It's okay if the client is a regular client, because then you can learn how his system works and not forget it, but if it is a less than regular client, you have to relearn how to use the system every time you use it. And that is frustrating.
My approach is that I spend very little time on such portals. If I can't figure out how it works, I e-mail the client and tell him that I can't figure out how his system works, and that he's welcome to send me the job by e-mail. There is no shame in saying that you can't figure out how something works. If enough translators tell the client this, perhaps he'll schedule another meeting with the idiots who designed the portal in the first place.
| | | | | Good point, Samuel | Dec 3, 2012 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Actually, those types of portals I don't mind, because it basically allows me to ensure that the details the client have about me are up to date. [ … ]
True, and also you can immediately change method-of-payment details on these portals, too. But I do share the initial posterʼs frustration at the amount of time spent navigating them!
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Maros Podstupka
斯洛伐克
Local time: 06:11
正式会员 (自2015)
English英语译成Slovak斯洛伐克语
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portals and online boards are very useful for me because jobs I'm getting through them are notable part of my income. For a customer is much more convenient to contact an agency than seeking a freelancer. The reasons are also practical, because agency is usually local and has a feel of actual responsibility and legal background, which may or may not be the case with an unknown vendor.
Certainly, if customers sought linguists directly, we would have better rates = our work would be ... See more portals and online boards are very useful for me because jobs I'm getting through them are notable part of my income. For a customer is much more convenient to contact an agency than seeking a freelancer. The reasons are also practical, because agency is usually local and has a feel of actual responsibility and legal background, which may or may not be the case with an unknown vendor.
Certainly, if customers sought linguists directly, we would have better rates = our work would be of higher added value. I have very good experiences with agencies, sites and portals though.
There are some issues that concern me as well. I wish the translating environment would be more independent from software platforms. It's impossible to own a license for all those CAT platforms and even have advanced skills in all of them to make sure we can provide our work effectively and meet the needs of individual customers regardless of what's their CAT software choice. But it's the same with every profession and industry, it's a battlefield and eventually we have to adapt. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
荷兰
Local time: 06:11
正式会员 (自2006)
English英语译成Afrikaans南非语
+ ...
| @Maros -- are we talking about the same type of "portal"? | Dec 3, 2012 |
Maros Podstupka wrote:
Portals and online boards are very useful for me because jobs I'm getting through them are notable part of my income.
Yes, but is that what this thread is about?
What the original poster meant by portal is not something like ProZ.com, where a client can contact you for translation services, but something that requires the translator to select jobs, download files, download resources, upload files, and change the status of various aspects of a single job, all via a web-based management system. In such systems, practically no communication is done by e-mail.
| | | | Rachel Fell
英国
Local time: 05:11
French法语译成English英语
+ ...
| I do so agree! | Dec 3, 2012 |
NancyLynn wrote:
Am I the only translator out there who feels as though she's changed careers, without being consulted?
Evening folks,
I would love to start a whinging exchange on these new portals each and every agency seems to need, and they're all different, all so difficult to navigate, all so time-consuming - what happened to getting a Word (or even Excel is starting to look good!) document by email, translating it, returning it by email?
I'm a translator, not a bleeping computer programmer.
I want to take a French document, render it in native, idiomatic, mellifluous and harmonious English, and return it to the satisfied end client.
However in the real world, end clients use translation agencies. And translation agencies, in their dedication to their precious bottom line, have decided to go the portal route to "streamline their processes."
Well, I don't feel too damned streamlined when I "donate" several man-hours each week trying to assimilate yet another new portal. You know, the iTracs, Plunets, Alfrescos of our "new and improved" translation universe.
I tell you, some days I just want to throw in the towel and do something else for a living. And that would be a damn shame, wouldn't it, depriving the world of my excellent translation skills.
How do you all cope with this? Or am I simply revealing inflexible old age here?
| | | | | TMS is the proper term | Dec 3, 2012 |
I believe the proper term for these is TMS: Translation Management Systems.
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wotswot
法国
Local time: 06:11
正式会员 (自2011)
French法语译成English英语
| @Nancy and others | Dec 3, 2012 |
How do I cope? Ageing though I am? Being a lifelong programmer ("bleeping" as you so "melliflously" put it), I take the bull by the horns. So far, I've only come across a TMS called TPBox (I'm based in France, and the publishers appear to be too). The starting point is the client's automatically generated e-mail containing a drect link to their job offer. I've developed a program that automatically follows this direct link, logs in (username + password then click OK), lets me view the job offer ... See more How do I cope? Ageing though I am? Being a lifelong programmer ("bleeping" as you so "melliflously" put it), I take the bull by the horns. So far, I've only come across a TMS called TPBox (I'm based in France, and the publishers appear to be too). The starting point is the client's automatically generated e-mail containing a drect link to their job offer. I've developed a program that automatically follows this direct link, logs in (username + password then click OK), lets me view the job offer in MY FORMAT (my back office programmed in VBA for Excel/Outlook/Word), optionally accepts it, downloads the files and the PO to a predefined folder and automatically e-mails the client to say I've accepted the job (even though their TMS already knows this, just to clutter up their inbox a bit more), with a little PS entitled "I hate TPBox" followed by "Aphorism of the day", which simply "bounces back" the randomly selected aphorism TPBox displays bottom left (so cute, NOOOOO!) when I log on.
The problem with this approach is that I'll have to develop a different program for each new TMS I encounter, because the html formats are obviously different and I have to parse them manually first ('View' then 'Source' in IE9, probably the same in Firefox) to identify the relevant html fields and clickable objects then write my program to respond accordingly. But once it's done, it's done!
In French they'd qualify this approach as a "détour productif". It's worth it for me (2 days' development, subsequently offset by significant time-savings for me whenever the said clients e-mail me a job offer with a direct link to it on their TMS), if only to hammer home the point that my time is just as precious as theirs and that their TMS/portal, which most of the PMs/airhead secretaries who are forced to use it by their management don't really master, is a real time-waster for both them and us! ▲ Collapse
| | | | OG Pete
美国
Russian俄语译成English英语
+ ...
| Wotswot, that's awesome. | Dec 3, 2012 |
+1
| | | | Simon Cole
英国
Local time: 05:11
正式会员 (自2008)
French法语译成English英语
Wotswot
Enjoyed your post – awesome, as the man said.
I get to use this portal too.
I like the bit about cluttering up their inbox and returning their quote to them.
Can you embellish the program by having it create the e-mail containing a hidden message with a ‘tick’ to be clicked on to reveal it. like their job acceptance routine.
Something else to irritate them! I am sure you could think of other things, like including important information in a box surroun... See more Wotswot
Enjoyed your post – awesome, as the man said.
I get to use this portal too.
I like the bit about cluttering up their inbox and returning their quote to them.
Can you embellish the program by having it create the e-mail containing a hidden message with a ‘tick’ to be clicked on to reveal it. like their job acceptance routine.
Something else to irritate them! I am sure you could think of other things, like including important information in a box surrounded by other boxes containing randomly filled text characters, or clicking on a link to download your reply e-mail, which contains some inane response like "Job received". ▲ Collapse
| | | | | 话题中的页数: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » These new agency portals (= online translation management systems) | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
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