Did anybody else get this offer from "Big Brother" agency?
Thread poster: Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:48
Member (2008)
English to German
+ ...
Nov 11, 2022

Dear colleagues,

I was speechless to read the latest job offer that reached my inbox:

"[The job] is in a tool where it records how long the linguist is working on a project for and issues a PO based on that. So you cannot report time spent, the PO will be issued on exactly what is reported in the tool for translation and revision and just to note the tool does not allow you to paste in large sentences or segments and can lock you out after clicking off of the tab for to
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Dear colleagues,

I was speechless to read the latest job offer that reached my inbox:

"[The job] is in a tool where it records how long the linguist is working on a project for and issues a PO based on that. So you cannot report time spent, the PO will be issued on exactly what is reported in the tool for translation and revision and just to note the tool does not allow you to paste in large sentences or segments and can lock you out after clicking off of the tab for too long."

Did anybody else get this and wondered what else they are going to invent to enslave translators?
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philgoddard
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:48
Member (2008)
Italian to English
No but... Nov 11, 2022

No - but whoever wrote it doesn't know how to use commas correctly. I would never work for someone who doesn't even know how to punctuate - apart from the other horrible grammatical mistakes/infelicities they've also committed here.



[Edited at 2022-11-11 10:03 GMT]


Philip Lees
philgoddard
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:48
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Ines Nov 11, 2022

OMG! So, they are removing the “free” from freelancer. This is treating us like a child or even worse like a jail-based program…

Tom in London
Robert Rietvelt
Florence Risser
Tina Vonhof (X)
Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
Philip Lees
philgoddard
 
Denis Fesik
Denis Fesik
Local time: 11:48
English to Russian
+ ...
They tried to make me use a lighter version Nov 11, 2022

My former employer would send me jobs that were supposed to be done in an online tool, and I guess it had some time tracking feature for the management. I hated that tool because of its limited functionality and some other things, so what I'd do was download the .xliff file, work on it in a normal CAT tool, and then upload it back. Who cares how I do the job if I do it well and on time.

That Big Brother thing is disturbing. I once had to translate a website for a company that made s
... See more
My former employer would send me jobs that were supposed to be done in an online tool, and I guess it had some time tracking feature for the management. I hated that tool because of its limited functionality and some other things, so what I'd do was download the .xliff file, work on it in a normal CAT tool, and then upload it back. Who cares how I do the job if I do it well and on time.

That Big Brother thing is disturbing. I once had to translate a website for a company that made solutions for monitoring the performance of office employees, and those things would be installed everywhere and track your every move and every moment of your idleness. Sounds even worse than what people say is going on in China, except that a lot of the things they say about China are either wrong or exaggerated according to some other sources.

Anyway, I wouldn't accept such an offer and I'm happy that I can afford some lazy hours when I'm supposed to be working and then wake up a bit earlier the next day to clear the backlog, or that I can work faster than expected and then do whatever I want until the deadline hits (I hope none of my managers will read this though)

[Edited at 2022-11-11 11:00 GMT]
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philgoddard
William Tierney
Michael Newton
 
Matthias Brombach
Matthias Brombach  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:48
Member (2007)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Why bad at all? Nov 11, 2022

I understand that they pay for the time needed (and recorded) for the job, even when you go and get a coffee or have to perform heavy research on the internet or elsewhere (e.g. in libraries) to complete the job. This is something I have been waiting for since I joined this industry: e.g. 50 words = two hours of work = two hours paid (full hours, of course)!

[Bearbeitet am 2022-11-11 11:08 GMT]


Andriy Yasharov
 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 04:48
Romanian to English
+ ...
This tool has been used for ages to count Nov 12, 2022

the "billable hours" for attorneys.

Nothing new. I don't think it can be applied to freelance translators, as Maria Teresa pointed out.

Don't worry,
Lee


 
Cilian O'Tuama
Cilian O'Tuama  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:48
German to English
+ ...
OK Nov 23, 2022

Tom in London wrote:

No - but whoever wrote it doesn't know how to use commas correctly. I would never work for someone who doesn't even know how to punctuate - apart from the other horrible grammatical mistakes/infelicities they've also committed here.


But maybe it's a project manager who's been communicating with you, someone who does so in several other languages too. A few errors can be perfectly acceptable. But feel free not to want to work with them.


 


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Did anybody else get this offer from "Big Brother" agency?







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