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A typical day on Proz forums (many SDL posts)
Thread poster: José Henrique Lamensdorf
Andrea Muller (X)
Andrea Muller (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:18
English to German
+ ...
Settings for recent topics, not just for home page Dec 8, 2015

Philippe, does your method work for the 'recent topics' page, too? Or do you avoid going to 'recent topics' and display a very long list of threads on the home page instead?
I think what José meant (and what I would like to see) is a way of controlling the topics on the 'recent topics' page.


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Member
English to French
All roads lead to Rome Dec 8, 2015

Andrea Muller wrote:
Philippe, does your method work for the 'recent topics' page, too? Or do you avoid going to 'recent topics' and display a very long list of threads on the home page instead?
I think what José meant (and what I would like to see) is a way of controlling the topics on the 'recent topics' page.

If the recent topics page is http://www.proz.com/forum/categories/recent-recent.html , I never use it.

My home page displays 20 posts in my home page, sorted by topic creation time: http://www.proz.com/?sp=profile&eid_s=xxxxx&sp_mode=settings&sp_submode=general_settings (xxxxx your proz.com number)
All topics I am not interested in don't display (Interpreting, literature, subtitling, legal, studentZ, etc.), so the list spans several days.

I use the tick box "E-mail tracking" in each thread page I am interested in to receive a notification whenever a new post is published (like here). This way I don't miss the animated icons of the recent topics page. Even when the thread leaves the "20 latest posts" list, I still receive notifications when the thread is updated.

The list of threads I am tracking is here: http://www.proz.com/dashboard/forum/?sp_forum_mode=tracking_threads where I can easily review or untick a particular thread.

This setup works well for me, I don't seem to miss anything in the forum area and I am not swamped in "stuff".

Philippe

[Edited at 2015-12-08 17:59 GMT]


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Me too Dec 8, 2015

Jenny Forbes wrote:

Several years ago, I tried to filter out the "Trados Help!" messages from the "most recent forums" list without success. I even submitted a "support request" and received the blunt reply that it wasn't possible. If I wasn't already somewhat "CAT" averse, the frequency of the problems people report with Trados and other CATs would be enough to put me right off them.


Yes PLEASE if there's a way to do this please tell me. All of these discussion posts about problems with Trados simply tell me that I never want to touch any software that generates so many issues. Like the others posting here, I simply don't want to know about Trados.


 
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
Off topic Dec 8, 2015

Why are so many translation agencies so excited about Trados? Why is it that you absolutely MUST have Trados to work with some agencies?

I know it's off topic, but I would appreciate if someone could explain it to me.


 
Balasubramaniam L.
Balasubramaniam L.  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 02:48
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Another sufferer Dec 9, 2015

In fact, recently, I have begun to avoid proz.com because the chances of finding any interesting discussions are diminishing at an alarming rate and all that is discussed on proz.com seems to be Trados related issues. I have no aversion to Trados as such, but I don't come to proz.com to get an overdose of Trados, but to relate to translation-related discussions and to read about the experiences of other translators. Sadly, with proz.com having been largely hijacked by SDL Trados, such discussion... See more
In fact, recently, I have begun to avoid proz.com because the chances of finding any interesting discussions are diminishing at an alarming rate and all that is discussed on proz.com seems to be Trados related issues. I have no aversion to Trados as such, but I don't come to proz.com to get an overdose of Trados, but to relate to translation-related discussions and to read about the experiences of other translators. Sadly, with proz.com having been largely hijacked by SDL Trados, such discussions are getting rarer and rarer in proz.com. Proz.com seems to have turned into an adjunct of SDL Trados, which is indeed a major deterioration for this site.Collapse


 
Premium✍️
Premium✍️  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:18
Member (2006)
English to French
+ ...
Peter, you are not alone! Dec 9, 2015

I remember a few years back I was about to get tempted into trying TRADOS, when I saw the frequency of problems being reported on the front page here and the number of TRADOS help requests, I dropped my plan like a scalding pan... I am now a proud user and owner of memoQ (2012, 2013, 2014 & 2014 R2) and Fluency (2011, 2013 and Fluency NOW) since 2011. No regrets or panic... Translation is a very mentally-taxing profession already. ... See more
I remember a few years back I was about to get tempted into trying TRADOS, when I saw the frequency of problems being reported on the front page here and the number of TRADOS help requests, I dropped my plan like a scalding pan... I am now a proud user and owner of memoQ (2012, 2013, 2014 & 2014 R2) and Fluency (2011, 2013 and Fluency NOW) since 2011. No regrets or panic... Translation is a very mentally-taxing profession already. I certainly did not want more headaches and self-inflicted marketing wounds.
There is a systemic problem when users of a CAT tool cannot find help where they should and when paying members of a translation site are subjected daily to this sad and alarming spectacle. And when a "professional" site becomes the surrogate for corporate technical support, that is very concerning and disconcerting. From my perspective, this is an all-around blatant abuse and lack of respect/regard toward other site members.
Muito obrigada, José.

[Edited at 2015-12-09 11:04 GMT]
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José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:18
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
In memoriam
My case was easier, SDL said it! Dec 9, 2015

MultiPro wrote:

I remember a few years back I was about to get tempted into trying TRADOS...


Some translation agencies tried to convince me to buy Trados, otherwise their PMs wouldn't be allowed - by their internal policies - to give me the time of the day. Well, I don't have Trados, don't smoke Marlboros, don't drink root beer, don't drive a Ford any more... can't have it all.

But then SDL unintentionally - albeit very timely - justified my choice. Among the ads they sent me now and then by e-mail, one provided a link where, by answering a questionnaire, I'd learn how long it would take in my very specific case for Trados to pay for itself.

I went there, answered the many detailed questions about my work as thoughtfully and honestly as I could, and got the answer loud and clear: 13 years!!!. I think it is fair to assume that this figure does not take into account the expensive, yet mandatory (according to the aforementioned translation agencies) annual upgrades.


 
Premium✍️
Premium✍️  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:18
Member (2006)
English to French
+ ...
The Trap of the "Annual Upgrades"... Dec 9, 2015

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

[I think it is fair to assume that this figure does not take into account the expensive, yet mandatory (according to the aforementioned translation agencies) annual upgrades.


I fell in the trap of these annual upgrades 4 years in a row and during one of those years, I upgraded memoQ twice (meaning I paid US$1,200) just in upgrades... Last year I decided to stop with the madness. In fact, I personally need a CAT tool just for the basic process of and assistance in translating. I don't need any more bells and whistles that won't be any more useful to my craft but only profitable to those marketing gurus, overly ambitious developers and the industry supremacists.
In fact --like in most tech devices upgrades--... it is only a few minor details/features that are tweaked anyway. These small adjustments most of the time create or aggravate problems, are infested with new bugs and are bound to trigger more headaches.
I now FREELY and HAPPILY resist these enticing snares. https://ethicsalarms.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/freedom.gif

[Edited at 2015-12-09 13:35 GMT]


 
Giuseppina Gatta, MA (Hons)
Giuseppina Gatta, MA (Hons)
English to Italian
+ ...
Thank you Steve Dec 9, 2015

SDL_Steve wrote:

Hi Giuseppina,

You may remember that I was in contact with you a couple of months ago regarding this issue and that I explained to you the original license you purchased (amongst the three purchased in total had been upgraded to Studio 2014 (possibly without your consent) by one of the other people you purchased the software and shared the account access with.

Due to the fact that one of the other people accessed the account to perform the upgrade from 2009 to 2014- meant of course that your 2009 license (and their 2009 version) was no longer available as this version had now been UPGRADED.

if you are still in contact with those named on the account- and we can all get in contact with each other- we can split the account into individual ones
and start afresh with individual accounts and up to date licenses.

This way everyone has there own accounts and licenses and none can be tampered with.

SDL_Steve


For right now I don't need this program, but I'll keep this in mind.
Giuseppina
PS those whom I shared the account with, were colleagues and friends, so that wasn't the issue.


 
Gerard de Noord
Gerard de Noord  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:18
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Home page forum settings Dec 16, 2015

Thank you José Henrique,

For raising the question and thank you ProZ for listening to us. I've just taken 3 minutes to fine-tune the way I see the ProZ homepage. For me, visiting this website will be more enjoyable from now on.

Cheers,
Gerard


 
Andrew Alix
Andrew Alix  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:18
Norwegian to English
+ ...
Way to go! Feb 22, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

MultiPro wrote:

I remember a few years back I was about to get tempted into trying TRADOS...


Some translation agencies tried to convince me to buy Trados, otherwise their PMs wouldn't be allowed - by their internal policies - to give me the time of the day. Well, I don't have Trados, don't smoke Marlboros, don't drink root beer, don't drive a Ford any more... can't have it all.

But then SDL unintentionally - albeit very timely - justified my choice. Among the ads they sent me now and then by e-mail, one provided a link where, by answering a questionnaire, I'd learn how long it would take in my very specific case for Trados to pay for itself.

I went there, answered the many detailed questions about my work as thoughtfully and honestly as I could, and got the answer loud and clear: 13 years!!!. I think it is fair to assume that this figure does not take into account the expensive, yet mandatory (according to the aforementioned translation agencies) annual upgrades.


 
Andrew Alix
Andrew Alix  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:18
Norwegian to English
+ ...
My case was easier, SDL said it! Feb 22, 2016

This is a reply to José Henrique Lamensdorf and SDL, which I thought was great.

I've turned down several jobs that require SDL simply because the supplier couldn't offer enough work to justify the purchase price.

In addition. I created my own translator in Visual Basic for Application and it worked for a long time. It did everything SDL is supposed to do. The only reason I don't use it now is that I got sidetracked into using another translation aid and the VB program
... See more
This is a reply to José Henrique Lamensdorf and SDL, which I thought was great.

I've turned down several jobs that require SDL simply because the supplier couldn't offer enough work to justify the purchase price.

In addition. I created my own translator in Visual Basic for Application and it worked for a long time. It did everything SDL is supposed to do. The only reason I don't use it now is that I got sidetracked into using another translation aid and the VB program fell by the wayside. Although I've wished I could get back to it, I'm too lazy to update and start it up again just for myself.

Basically, my VB program sent what I wanted to translate to Microsoft translator and/or Google translator and got an answer back with a suggested translation. Then VB stored my source and target translation in an Excel file for that specific language, file which I loaded every time I translated that language. I could have also done this using a database.

Even considering that Trados (and others) may allow additional online TMs such as Microsoft, or Google, we as the translators, still do all the work. Commercial translation programs use us to build their translation memories. They don't help with translation until they have a pretty solid TM base, which we create.

Not that I object to build a good translation base for which everyone can benefit. But I resent that we do all the work for them, while they charge big bucks for their software, software that basically maintain a database of our translation memories and usually in a format no one else can access. So our translation becomes their proprietary TM.

They convince us that they're doing us a favor, when actually we're doing them a favor in allowing them access to all of our work at no charge, which they in turn store in a file (possibly online), so we (or others) can use it again later.

I realize they do some fancy things, but Microsoft Word can do al lot of that as well, including reading several different formats, such as pdf, rtf, xls, ppt, etc. And Office 365 is only $99 per year, compared to about $700-$800 for Trados, $400-$500 for Wordfast Pro, and $600 for MemoQ with a Proz.com discount.

I've probably started something and expect to get bashed for it, but such is life.
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Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 23:18
French to English
+ ...
CATs are not machine translation SW Feb 23, 2016

Andrew Alix wrote:
I've turned down several jobs that require SDL simply because the supplier couldn't offer enough work to justify the purchase price.

In addition. I created my own translator in Visual Basic for Application and it worked for a long time. It did everything SDL is supposed to do. ...

Basically, my VB program sent what I wanted to translate to Microsoft translator and/or Google translator and got an answer back with a suggested translation.


This was funny.

You seem to be clueless about what CATs do and their value.



 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Trados must be awful Feb 23, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

all that stuff at the beginning of the thread.


Try as I might, I still cannot exclude all those Trados/CAT tool forums from my preferred list. They give me the impression that Trados must be AWFUL because it is continuously generating all sorts of new problems. I'm glad I don't use it!

[Edited at 2016-02-23 10:05 GMT]


 
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