Provide a meaningful distinction between Blue Board ratings Thread poster: Susan Welsh
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Susan Welsh 
United States
Local time: 07:28
Russian to English
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The Blue Board has become less sensitive than it should be. Ratings are either 5 or 1-2, with almost nothing in between. A "4" is universally considered to be a "bad" review, since it is not a 5. I suggest that the description pertaining to a "5" should be revised along the following lines: "I have done at least three jobs for this client and..." (the rest as it is now), and that a "4" should be "I have done one or two jobs for this client and..." (the rest as it is now).
This would... See more The Blue Board has become less sensitive than it should be. Ratings are either 5 or 1-2, with almost nothing in between. A "4" is universally considered to be a "bad" review, since it is not a 5. I suggest that the description pertaining to a "5" should be revised along the following lines: "I have done at least three jobs for this client and..." (the rest as it is now), and that a "4" should be "I have done one or two jobs for this client and..." (the rest as it is now).
This would institute an actual, meaningful distinction between 4 and 5. ▲ Collapse
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Given the fact that many entries on the Blue Board are now from years back, and thus useless today, it would be great to have some kind of time stamp for each entry. These entries would be deleted automatically after two or three years.
Morever is the evaluation from 1 to 5 far too simple. It only reflects if a translator would be willing to work with a certain agency again - it say nothing about their rates. Any agency which offers bottomfeeding rates, and with freelance translators who ... See more Given the fact that many entries on the Blue Board are now from years back, and thus useless today, it would be great to have some kind of time stamp for each entry. These entries would be deleted automatically after two or three years.
Morever is the evaluation from 1 to 5 far too simple. It only reflects if a translator would be willing to work with a certain agency again - it say nothing about their rates. Any agency which offers bottomfeeding rates, and with freelance translators who are clueless enough to accept these rates, will certainly get a high BB evaluation. But of course this doesn't mean I would tend to work for them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 19:28
Member
Chinese to English
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I'm not at all concerned about 4s. I always read the comments on low-rating reviews to see what the problem is and I have from time to time dismissed certain low reviews as frivolous. I look for patterns and I'm less concerned about isolated low reviews than I am about multiple translators noting the same issues.
On principle I only give positive reviews if I've worked with the agency for a number of months, or on a fairly significant project. I'm not in a position to recommend an a... See more I'm not at all concerned about 4s. I always read the comments on low-rating reviews to see what the problem is and I have from time to time dismissed certain low reviews as frivolous. I look for patterns and I'm less concerned about isolated low reviews than I am about multiple translators noting the same issues.
On principle I only give positive reviews if I've worked with the agency for a number of months, or on a fairly significant project. I'm not in a position to recommend an agency that I only did one 300 word project with. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 05:28
Dutch to English
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| Both good suggestions | Aug 1, 2017 |
Indeed, the current numbers don't mean much if you don't know what was considered to arrive at that number. I believe it has been suggested before that there should be a checklist to fill out, for example with five things to rate. The points given for each item are then added up.
But basically I approach the numbers the same way as Lincoln: it is the poor ratings I tend to read and I consider whether the agency responded and solved the problem if the problem was real.
<... See more Indeed, the current numbers don't mean much if you don't know what was considered to arrive at that number. I believe it has been suggested before that there should be a checklist to fill out, for example with five things to rate. The points given for each item are then added up.
But basically I approach the numbers the same way as Lincoln: it is the poor ratings I tend to read and I consider whether the agency responded and solved the problem if the problem was real.
[Edited at 2017-08-01 15:24 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| A more detailed level of Blue Board feedback was implemented recently | Aug 1, 2017 |
Hello,
Thank you for your suggestions. I just wanted to point out that a new, more detailed, level of Blue Board feedback was implemented recently, as part of the Plus package. You can read more about it at http://www.proz.com/topic/310154
Please let me know if you have any question.
Best regards,
Alejandro
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Erik Hansson wrote:
These entries would be deleted automatically after two or three years.
I disagree. I like to know how many translators did not enjoy a company's performance in the past. For a glimpse about how they are performing now, I have the score for the last 12 months.
Erik Hansson wrote:
Morever is the evaluation from 1 to 5 far too simple. It only reflects if a translator would be willing to work with a certain agency again - it say nothing about their rates.
But rates is something you can simply ask... If you do not like the rates offered, there is really no need to complain. Just imagine I went to the Maserati dealer and asked about the price of a car: would I be entitled to complain because it is much more expensive than I can pay?
The Blueboard is all about getting an idea of someone's reliability, and that is something you cannot find out by asking (obviously, everybody will report that they are 100% reliable and nice).
| | | | | One or two jobs are pointless! | Aug 1, 2017 |
Susan Welsh wrote:
... should be revised along the following lines: "I have done at least three jobs for this client and..." (the rest as it is now), and that a "4" should be "I have done one or two jobs for this client and..." (the rest as it is now).
This would institute an actual, meaningful distinction between 4 and 5.
Users should not be allowed to leave entries after having done only one job or even two (often also small ones), unless they refer to negative experiences. Otherwise, they are nearly pointless. The outsourcer could have paid the first one or two 200 word jobs correctly but problems could arise with the first "bigger" job one month later. Unfortunately, however, translators are entitled only to ONE entry per year... Therefore after their first positive entry, they have to wait several months before they can leave a negative one. For these two reasons, it’s not a good idea at all that translators leave an entry as soon as they have completed their first job for an outsourcer.
| | | | Susan Welsh
United States
Local time: 07:28
Russian to English
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TOPIC STARTER | To Christel - One or two jobs are pointless! | Aug 6, 2017 |
I get your point. I only gave that as an example, but a different number could be used.
(For some reason I have not been receiving posts on this thread, even though I began it and have the relevant box checked about receiving notifications. Strange.)
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Susan Welsh
United States
Local time: 07:28
Russian to English
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TOPIC STARTER | to Alejandro - Plus membership | Aug 6, 2017 |
If you made changes to improve the Blue Board, they should be available to all paying members. I really dislike this new distinction between "members" and "super members," and have no intention of paying for a Plus membership. But I guess that's another thread.
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