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Poll: Which method do you prefer to improve your directory ranking position in your language pair?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 19, 2021

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which method do you prefer to improve your directory ranking position in your language pair?".

This poll was originally submitted by tilak raj. View the poll results »



 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 00:20
Greek to English
Is there more than one way? Apr 20, 2021

I thought that accumulating KudoZ points for answering questions was the only way to improve one's ranking and that the other options mentioned had no effect on this.

Was I wrong?


Jorge Payan
Martina Della Rosa
P.L.F. Persio
expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Barbara Carrara
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
$$$ Apr 20, 2021

The best way to rise up the rankings is to pay for membership. That’ll put you above freeloaders like me however green and useless you are and however many people I’ve helped out of trouble on KudoZ over the years.

Presumably that kind of blackmail is the only way of getting people to pay for membership.

The current system is misrepresentative, unfair and wrong.


P.L.F. Persio
expressisverbis
Rachel Fell
Thomas T. Frost
Barbara Carrara
inkweaver
writeaway
 
Liena Vijupe
Liena Vijupe  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 00:20
Member (2014)
French to Latvian
+ ...
Other Apr 20, 2021

I would say participating in the forum, since I don't do any of the other, but I wasn't aware it improves my ranking (does it?). I mostly do it for fun and as a replacement of other social media which I am not using anymore.

I also don't mind paying for membership, it's just a business expense and does put me above the green and wannabes.


expressisverbis
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Barbara Carrara
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Abel Garcia
Nikolay Novitskiy
 
Agneta Pallinder
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:20
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
@Chris, mainly Apr 20, 2021

You are right about the importance of being a paying member if you want to benefit from your Kudoz points in the rankings.

But is this not quite a cost-effective alternative to having your own website as your marketing window? That's what I have found, anyway.


Liena Vijupe
Christine Andersen
Michele Fauble
Marie Auburtin
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:20
Spanish to English
+ ...
Kudoz Apr 20, 2021

However, I'm not really interested in improving my directory ranking position. I have enough work already, and if I had any more right now it would be too much, as I'm trying to get to grips with online billing platforms that are impenetrably (to me) clunky and buggy, which is taking up a lot of my time.

Elke Fehling
Christopher Schröder
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Roy Chacón
Noni Gilbert Riley
Alexandra Speirs
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 23:20
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
I don't really care about my ranking. Apr 20, 2021

Over the years I have managed to build up a more or less permanent client base that usually provides me with sufficient work. Of course, new customers are always welcome, but I certainly do not consider a high position in the ranking as a must. Why would you need to be 'found' if you can search for yourself?

Interesting though that some people consider the privileges of a paying membership as something unfair. What do
... See more
Over the years I have managed to build up a more or less permanent client base that usually provides me with sufficient work. Of course, new customers are always welcome, but I certainly do not consider a high position in the ranking as a must. Why would you need to be 'found' if you can search for yourself?

Interesting though that some people consider the privileges of a paying membership as something unfair. What do you think this platform is? A charity?
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Elke Fehling
Christopher Schröder
Stanislaw Czech, MCIL CL
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Philip Lees
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Ester Vidal
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:20
French to English
. Apr 20, 2021

I don't bother with Kudoz, the top translators in my saturated language pair have so many points I'd have to do it full time to get anywhere near the top in the near future. Plus which I've read many a thread here about the cut-throat competition for points, and that there are people who post simply to help their friends get points. I wouldn't ask that of a friend and none of my friends would ask that of me either.

I didn't know participating in the forums helped. I participate si
... See more
I don't bother with Kudoz, the top translators in my saturated language pair have so many points I'd have to do it full time to get anywhere near the top in the near future. Plus which I've read many a thread here about the cut-throat competition for points, and that there are people who post simply to help their friends get points. I wouldn't ask that of a friend and none of my friends would ask that of me either.

I didn't know participating in the forums helped. I participate simply for the pleasure of talking shop with other professional translators, and since I have something like 25 years' experience I do hope my posts will be useful to others.

Nor did I know that giving or receiving WWA feedback could help. I don't like to bother my clients by asking for feedback, and just asked a couple of friends I have done translations for so that the section had something, otherwise it looks bad on the profile. If someone were to ask me to give feedback I would gladly do it if I could say something positive.

[Edited at 2021-04-20 08:34 GMT]
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Christopher Schröder
expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
P.L.F. Persio
Ventnai
Peter Shortall
Victoria Britten
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Charity Apr 20, 2021

Lieven Malaise wrote:
Interesting though that some people consider the privileges of a paying membership as something unfair. What do you think this platform is? A charity?

Well, I donate a fair amount of time and expertise to the site, which benefits from these donations without giving me anything in return...

But my objection is that the site is not transparent about how it works. It should be clear to everyone searching for a translator that members have paid for a higher ranking, and that the highest ranked translators may well not be the best, given that the best ones don't need to pay for a higher ranking.


expressisverbis
Rachel Fell
Christine Andersen
P.L.F. Persio
writeaway
Mariana Borio
Zibow Retailleau
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 23:20
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Yes, but ... Apr 20, 2021

Chris S wrote:

Well, I donate a fair amount of time and expertise to the site, which benefits from these donations without giving me anything in return...


I understand that, but that's your choice. You don't have to do that. A bit odd to do something you don't have to do and then complain that you're not rewarded for it.


Chris S wrote:

But my objection is that the site is not transparent about how it works. It should be clear to everyone searching for a translator that members have paid for a higher ranking, and that the highest ranked translators may well not be the best, given that the best ones don't need to pay for a higher ranking.


It's definitely not the best system imaginable, but let's not forget that a bad translator, despite his ranking, will never be able to convince any clients for a long-term cooperation. The proof of the pudding is always in the eating.

[Edited at 2021-04-20 09:03 GMT]


Liena Vijupe
Christopher Schröder
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
P.L.F. Persio
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Muriel Vasconcellos
Monika Brzozowska
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
@Lieven Apr 20, 2021

Lieven Malaise wrote:
A bit odd to do something you don't have to do and then complain that you're not rewarded for it.

I'm not complaining. I just think it's wrong.

I did pay one year. People kept emailing me. It was hell.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:20
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Apr 20, 2021

I do all of the above, but not exactly to improve my directory ranking and like others I wasn’t aware that WWAs and participating in the Forum would improve my ranking (really?). I have been around for a good while and I’ve managed to build a stable clients base, so I’m much more interested these days in keeping that base of existing customers happy than in acquiring new ones, though these are most welcome.

Philip Lees
P.L.F. Persio
ahartje
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:20
Member (2004)
English to Italian
Other Apr 20, 2021

maybe this was important for me 30 years ago...

Christopher Schröder
P.L.F. Persio
 
Jessica Noyes
Jessica Noyes  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:20
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not for forum participation Apr 20, 2021

If forum participation helped people make their way to the top of the lists, we'd have so many meaningless and self-aggrandizing posts that the forums would be useless.

I learned a great deal from the forums in my early years of translating, and still count on them to answer the odd question I have. (Thanks, all!)

However, now I am seeing more posts in which the author is simply making an outrageous statement, hoping to get a rise out of people. Site users take the bai
... See more
If forum participation helped people make their way to the top of the lists, we'd have so many meaningless and self-aggrandizing posts that the forums would be useless.

I learned a great deal from the forums in my early years of translating, and still count on them to answer the odd question I have. (Thanks, all!)

However, now I am seeing more posts in which the author is simply making an outrageous statement, hoping to get a rise out of people. Site users take the bait and respond, and soon there's righteous indignation all over the place.

Then there are posts that are thinly disguised advertisements for the author's services---don't get me started!

If there were to be credit for forum participation, I can imagine a spate of countless entirely meaningless posts, designed only to be counted for directory ranking.
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P.L.F. Persio
Barbara Carrara
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Christopher Schröder
Michele Fauble
Ventnai
Peter Shortall
 
Jessica Noyes
Jessica Noyes  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:20
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
However, there are other more useful criteria Apr 20, 2021

First, I note that many established translators don't care about their ranking. I imagine, thought, that there are others who *do* care, especially those not yet comfortably settled into their careers.

Here are some more ideas for directory rankings: points for publishing articles and tutorials on the site, points for evaluating translations submitted by would-be certified PROs, and points for serving as a moderator. These, in a limited sort of way, are indicators of dedication to
... See more
First, I note that many established translators don't care about their ranking. I imagine, thought, that there are others who *do* care, especially those not yet comfortably settled into their careers.

Here are some more ideas for directory rankings: points for publishing articles and tutorials on the site, points for evaluating translations submitted by would-be certified PROs, and points for serving as a moderator. These, in a limited sort of way, are indicators of dedication to the profession.
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Christopher Schröder
Kay Denney
Christine Andersen
Josephine Cassar
 
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Poll: Which method do you prefer to improve your directory ranking position in your language pair?






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