| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] > | New golden stars to acknowledge long term membership ('Canceled') Thread poster: Enrique Cavalitto
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| My professionalism (or lack thereof...) | Mar 12, 2009 |
... lies elsewhere - or at least that's what I like to think.
I don't see how a star can detract from it, or add to it, or have any influence whatsoever on it.
To some, the picture I chose for my profile is unprofessional - but this has not stopped clients from finding me, and coming back, nor has it ever prevented me from finding work.
I am who I am and I happen to like stars
Mirella
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) 
Spain
Local time: 23:51
Spanish to English
+ ...
[quote]Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
Seeing the last few posts, I wondered if this isn't actually what is intended. I mean, once the cream of the crop leaves, everybody will be more than happy to have yellow stars, red Ps (and I am sure the red P crowd would become the majority), everybody will be willing to accept work at dime-a-dozen rates, and nobody will have any problems with Google ads advertizing Ukrainian women for sale.
Kinda twisted strategy, but stranger things have happened in a twisted society. But I must say I've never seen the Ukrainian women ads. Maybe it's because I had a yellow ribbon, or a blue star or an electric pink something or other to ward them off.
Mervyn
| | | | | Don't you think it's time to star(t) a new thread? | Mar 12, 2009 |
Just because the title is misleading
I guess we had a few interesting ideas in this thread that go beyond stars and ribbons. Opinions that show a certain discomfort and a call to action (sorry too many EU texts).
It'd be nice to have them nicely written in a separate thread, with its proper heading.
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| Aren't we exaggerating a tad here? | Mar 12, 2009 |
[quote]Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
Seeing the last few posts, I wondered if this isn't actually what is intended. I mean, once the cream of the crop leaves, everybody will be more than happy to have yellow stars, red Ps (and I am sure the red P crowd would become the majority), everybody will be willing to accept work at dime-a-dozen rates, and nobody will have any problems with Google ads advertizing Ukrainian women for sale.
That is what I call making a mountain out of a molehill!!!
All this palaver out of some stars! Come on folks, let's not make such a fuss over what I would simply define as window-dressing. Of course you are free to hate it with a passion but simply opting out of it would do the trick. No harm done. Making sweeping generalisations like the one above is counter-productive and only leads to unnecessary criticism of other site features which in my view shouldn't even be called into question here.
[Edited at 2009-03-12 16:01 GMT]
| | | | | Just an observation | Mar 12, 2009 |
Federica Masante wrote:
That is what I call making a mountain out of a molehill!!!
My previous post was just a reflection on the four posts preceding it. I don't see where I made a sweeping generalization - I simply exposed my view. It's my opinion - you are free not to agree.
You know, when you are used to seeing some forum regulars poke fun at everything and all of a sudden they take a serious tone, you can't help but wonder.
| | | | | Same here ... | Mar 12, 2009 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote: ...
I am calling it a day with ProZ.com when my membership expires in November.
Michele Johnson wrote: Welcome to the club. At least, I'm pretty sure on my part, and I only have a little over a week left. Imagine, my Certified Pro status will also expire - the horror
In two minds here too ...
We're not donkeys. We don't need a 'golden star' dangled in front of our noses like some juicy carrot we instinctively can't resist.
Who came up with this infantile idea for starters? Who felt it needed to be dealt with as a priority when some much other site-related stuff is going on? And what marketing wizard actually signed off on this as a great idea?
Well, and FWIW, I've had enough too. And no, I don't think it is necessarily a load of palaver out of some stars. For some, as is evident here, it's called the cherry on top.
| | | | | With Mervyn, Debs and co | Mar 12, 2009 |
Federica Masante wrote:
Come on folks, let's not make such a fuss over what I would simply define as window-dressing.
Lawyer-Linguist wrote: Mervyn Henderson wrote: ...
I am calling it a day with ProZ.com when my membership expires in November. Michele Johnson wrote: Welcome to the club. At least, I'm pretty sure on my part, and I only have a little over a week left. Imagine, my Certified Pro status will also expire - the horror In two minds here too ... We're not donkeys. We don't need a 'golden star' dangled in front of our noses like some juicy carrot we instinctively can't resist. Who came up with this infantile idea for starters? Who felt it needed to be dealt with as a priority when some much other site-related stuff is going on? And what marketing wizard actually signed off on this as a great idea? Well, and FWIW, I've had enough too. And no, I don't think it is necessarily a load of palaver out of some stars. For some, as is evident here, it's called the cherry on top.
In itself, it's just a daft but harmless idea. But in a time when the site has undergone a huge upheaval and a large number of longstanding, responsible members are openly questioning the direction being taken by the management, window dressing is exactly what we don't want or need.
I've been trying to keep an open mind about the recent changes and think positively, but I can't help but think that this gold star business demonstrates that the site has got its priorities totally wrong.
FWIW, I don't have any intention of leaving any time soon - but then if the likes of Debs and Mervyn are no longer here, I might change my mind sooner than I think.
[Edited at 2009-03-12 16:27 GMT]
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| Mountain view | Mar 12, 2009 |
Federica Masante wrote:
That is what I call making a mountain out of a molehill!!!
Ehm, are you sure you didn't miss the mountain somewhere?
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
Germany
Local time: 23:51
English to German
+ ...
| The tip of the iceberg | Mar 12, 2009 |
Lawyer-Linguist wrote:
Well, and FWIW, I've had enough too. And no, I don't think it is necessarily a load of palaver out of some stars. For some, as is evident here, it's called the cherry on top.
OR (please allow Lawyer-Linguist)
the "tip of the iceberg"= A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden: afraid that these few reported cases of the disease might only be the tip of the iceberg.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tip%20of%20the%20iceberg
@Federica M.: Every journey starts with a small star, sorry, step.
I strongly recommend to read the threads "hidden" in this thread to understand what most people in this thread want to say.
This is a unique chance - both for us translators and ProZ management!
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edited... I changed my mind...
[Edited at 2009-03-13 09:29 GMT]
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Hi folks. What a thread!
My quick response: the star will be done away with today.
Beyond that, in case you are interested, I'd like to give you a little insight into how development of this sort works at ProZ.com (for better or for worse).
We have an internal mechanism by which development tasks that are relatively minor can be requested from our development team. This system is integrated with our support system. Sometimes the source of a request is a sta... See more Hi folks. What a thread!
My quick response: the star will be done away with today.
Beyond that, in case you are interested, I'd like to give you a little insight into how development of this sort works at ProZ.com (for better or for worse).
We have an internal mechanism by which development tasks that are relatively minor can be requested from our development team. This system is integrated with our support system. Sometimes the source of a request is a staff member, sometimes the source of a request is a member (or non-member user of the site). Tickets entered by members can be converted by the support team into development requests.
In this case, the development request was made by a staff member. Whether or not it was triggered by a request from a member is not clear, I asked him and he doesn't remember, because it has been over a year since the request was entered. Tickets don't often take a year to get done, this one did because it had such a low priority.
Anyway, yesterday it came up in the queue and got done. Apparently the team thought it was a minor thing, not something so important that it was even worth discussing internally. Obviously they were wrong. I found out about the idea myself, for the first time, after it was released.
Frankly, I don't like it. What I don't like is that it adds clutter, and that it detracts from the P icon, which is a much more significant badge. I don't hate everything about the idea, though. Expressing appreciation for people who have supported the site for some time makes sense to me. So I have asked our folks to look for a way to do that without adding another image.
Hopefully that clarifies a bit. This is not really anything to read into too much. As for the theories that this is a brilliant distraction, or an attempt to drive out true professionals, frankly folks, you give us too much credit! ▲ Collapse
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| I've time till June to think about it | Mar 12, 2009 |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:
I'm thinking of not renewing...
Same here.
| | | | | More insight, please | Mar 12, 2009 |
Thanks, Henry, for telling us a bit about where that yellow star comes from. However, there are still missing pieces.
From what you wrote, what I understand is that anybody can suggest anything, and if the person on the receiving end thinks it is a good idea, it is implemented. This means that the idea of the yellow star may have come from a measly two people - the one who suggested it and the one who added the idea to the development queue. If I suggested that ProZ would look prett... See more Thanks, Henry, for telling us a bit about where that yellow star comes from. However, there are still missing pieces.
From what you wrote, what I understand is that anybody can suggest anything, and if the person on the receiving end thinks it is a good idea, it is implemented. This means that the idea of the yellow star may have come from a measly two people - the one who suggested it and the one who added the idea to the development queue. If I suggested that ProZ would look prettier in pink, and the person receiving my suggestion happened to be a woman who has a pink Blackberry and likes pink daiquiris, would the ProZ design all of a sudden turn pink, to everybody else's (including the site founder's) surprise?
I somehow feel that the processes need serious cleanup and updating. This is getting scary. What if someone presses the wrong button and all our profiles are erased? I can now imagine that happening, based on how suggestions to staff are handled. I don't want to generalize, but it is hard not to. After all, the important decisions here are taken by the same people who let this yellow star pass... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Giles Watson
Italy
Local time: 23:51
Italian to English
In memoriam | Stars and stampedes | Mar 12, 2009 |
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote:
I've been trying to keep an open mind about the recent changes and think positively, but I can't help but think that this gold star business demonstrates that the site has got its priorities totally wrong.
Hi M-H,
Perhaps "totally wrong" is a bit OTT.
Unless there has been some radical unannounced change, the Proz business model still involves matching mainly technical translator supply with predominantly high-volume LSP demand in the - it's a bit unfair but I am tempted to say "cheap 'n' cheerful" end of - the translation market while charging both a fee for the service.
For this model to work to best effect, it is necessary to provide the parties with some indication of the reliability of their potential partners and, over the years, Proz has embarked on various schemes to do so (BB, WWA, stars, certificates and green stamps - sorry, "Kudoz points"). I don't think Henry or the staff ever expected all of these initiatives to work but the ones that do provide pixels of information with which to build up a picture of a potential business partner.
While the stars may not lead us to the Promised Land, I see no reason to stampede in the opposite direction.
Giles
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