Pages in topic:   [1 2 3] >
Site modernization: Blue Board
Thread poster: ..... (X)
..... (X)
..... (X)
Local time: 21:27
Sep 19, 2017

blue_board_logo

Hello everyone,

The ProZ.com Blue Board has been modernized. The update includes the following:
• A new design.
• The calculation of an outsourcer's Overall LWA average has been updated to be a rolling 5-year average.
• A campaign to encourage more Blue Board entries is being launched. Any service provider who makes (or has already made) at least 5 entries between January 1, 2017 and December 31st, 2017 will automatically be entered into a drawing for continuing professional development (CPD) credits to use on ProZ.com trainings.
- Grand Prize: $150
- 2nd place: $100
- 3rd place: $75
• New Blue Board entries will be encouraged in appropriate places throughout the ProZ.com ecosystem (examples include: after submitting a WIWO if the text mentions "finished", after creating an invoice using the ProZ.com invoicing tool, etc.).
• Comment search (ProZ.com members only).
• View edit history of a comment (ProZ.com members only).
• View/search all prior job postings of an outsourcer (ProZ.com members only).
• View/search WWAs made by an outsourcer (ProZ.com members only).
• View the average rating and number of entries of a poster (ProZ.com members only).
• View 100 most recent entries (ProZ.com members only).
• Additional graphs, visualizations, and detailed statistics (ProZ.com members only).
• View 'Trending up' and 'Watch list' outsourcers (ProZ.com members only).
Blue Board website widget (ProZ.com Business members only).
• Ability to pin an entry to the top of your Blue Board record (ProZ.com Business members only).
• Blue Board Ranking on home page updated to be exclusive to ProZ.com Business members.
• Ability to enter the type of work you did for the client (e.g. subtitling, interpreting, etc.) when making an entry.
• Search the Blue Board by outsourcer name, country and/or ProZ.com primary profile name with immediate results highlighted as you type.
• Policies more clearly stated on the Blue Board entry form.
• Comment sentiment analysis.

FAQs

What is 'Comment search'?
Comment search allows you to search a Blue Board record's comments by keyword. The comments will automatically filter to show you only comments that include that keyword, with the keyword highlighted. For example, you might try searching "payment" or "PM".

When making an entry, do I need to leave a comment?
No, the comment is optional.

What is compact mode?
Compact mode allows you to view the entries of a Blue Board record in a more compact way (fitting more entries in the vertical space of your browser).

How can I turn on/off compact mode?
Click "View in compact mode" or "Viw in full display mode" at the bottom of a Blue Board record's entry table to change modes. This will also save your setting for future pages you load.

Why is the outsourcer's company information box in the top right purple for some Blue Board records?
ProZ.com Business member's are displayed with their ProZ.com membership ribbon and a purple box to indicate their membership status.

Can we still view entries older than 5 years?
While the "Overall" LWA average for an outsourcer has been updated to be a rolling 5-year average, ProZ.com members can still view all historical entries. Additionally, ProZ.com members now have access to a graph showing all LWA scores plotted over time.

Can I make a Blue Board entry even if I have never worked for the outsourcer?
No. Blue Board entries may be made only for clients with whom you have worked on a project, and to whom you have delivered work on time and without timely complaints related to quality. Entries may not be made solely on the basis of negotiations, test translations, or other preliminary interactions.

How can I search by the country of an outsourcer?
The Blue Board search allows you to search by outsourcer name, country and/or ProZ.com primary profile name. So, for example, you can search "ABC Company France" to search for any outsourcers in France with the name ABC Company. ProZ.com members can also sort columns by clicking on the header of the column.

Can I search by date of latest entry?
Yes, although it is not highlighted in the search, you can also search by the date of latest entry. For example, "translation 2016" would search any agencies with the word "translation" in their name whose latest entry was in 2016. "translation 2016-06-13" would search any agencies with the word "translation" in their name whose latest entry was on June 13, 2016.

Can I sort my search by multiple columns (i.e. Avg. LWA and Entries)?
Yes, by holding the "shift" key. For example, first click the "Avg. LWA" column header, then click the "Entries"
colum header. The table is now sorted by avg. LWA with a secondary sort by number of entries.

What is the Sentiment Score?
The Sentiment Score uses Google's Cloud Natural Language API (https://cloud.google.com/natural-language/) to analyze the sentiment of a comment. The Sentiment Score for an individual comment ranges from -1.0 (very negative) to 1.0 (very positive).

What is the Sentiment Magnitude?
Sentiment Magnitude is the strength of the sentiment, regardless of score, and ranges from 0 to infinity. ProZ.com categorizes average Sentiment Magnitude for an outsourcer into four ranges: "Feelings are low-key", Feelings are moderate", Feelings are strong", "Feelings are very strong".

What are some examples of Sentiment Scores?
Example Sentiment Scores from the Blue Board:
"Worst agency I've ever worked with. Emails remain unanswered and payment was very late. Did not make a professional impression on me. I will definitely not work with them again."
 Sentiment Score: -0.90 | Sentiment Magnitude: 3.60
"One of the worst agencies I have worked for. Unprofessional and slow payment."
 Sentiment Score: -0.90 | Sentiment Magnitude: 1.80
"Very slow to pay - I had to use a collection agency in the end."
 Sentiment Score: -0.80 | Sentiment Magnitude: 0.80
"Paid as agreed"
 Sentiment Score: 0.00 | Sentiment Magnitude: 0.00
"Paid on time"
 Sentiment Score: 0.00 | Sentiment Magnitude: 0.00
"They are OK"
 Sentiment Score: 0.00 | Sentiment Magnitude: 0.00
"Nice people. Understand and accept exceptional circumstances and adjust the deadlines accordingly. Payment terms are barely acceptable-60 days! However, they do pay and take over all banking fees."
 Sentiment Score: 0.00 | Sentiment Magnitude: 2.80
"Well organized, hard working support, gives 110% in all aspects"
 Sentiment Score: 0.80 | Sentiment Magnitude: 0.80
"10/10, great communication, Kerstin was a pleasure to work with"
 Sentiment Score: 0.90 | Sentiment Magnitude: 0.90
"Very professional and reliable. Excellent cooperation. Very friendly and helpful team. Interesting projects. Always a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended!!!!"
 Sentiment Score: 0.90 | Sentiment Magnitude: 5.50

Is it possible to view the sentiment score and magnitude of an entry's comment?
An entry's comment will be shaded to reflect the sentiment score; however ProZ.com will not be publishing precise sentiment scores and magnitudes of entry comments.

The sentiment score seems wrong. The background of the comment is colored red but it is actually a positive comment. What should I do?
Please submit a support request with a link to the entry and ProZ.com site staff will look into the entry.

Given the high probability that any entry accompanied by substantive negative comments will be deleted, isn't the most practical workaround to submit a negative entry without a comment?
Negative comments are not deleted. Only comments that violate the rules or policy are deleted. Examples of negative (and positive) comments that do not violate ProZ.com rules or policy have been added to the page where an entry comment is entered to help guide you.

I'm worried that the Blue Board average LWA score is "mostly influenced by translators at the beginning of their career, working for undercut rates, who are glad to be paid at all, even after 8 or 12 weeks, and who will honour this behaviour with LWA score of 5" - is that the case?
Every Blue Board record now includes various detailed statistics (such as LWA average by age of account) to help inform your due diligence process. You can use this data to help determine if this is the case or not for an individual Blue Board record.

There is no way of knowing whether a translator’s stated experience is truthful or not. Why are you showing statistics by years of experience?
LWA averages based on a translator's stated years of experience may be of interest to some ProZ.com members, as such we are providing that data. LWA averages based on the age of the ProZ.com account are also shown. You can use all of the new different data points available to you to help you better analyze the demographic of the rater.

Why is a comment simply saying "contact me privately for further details" not allowed?
This comment does not provide any helpful information to other translators and undermines the point of the Blue Board. Translators are busy, if they went to a Blue Board record and every comment merely said "Contact me privately for further details." there would be no point in having the comment section at all. If you wish, you may contact the translator who gave the entry for more details by clicking the "Email translator" icon.

Can I purchase access to Blue Board records using browniz points or cash?
No, this option was discontinued as of Nov. 15, 2016. [1]


 
Stuart Hoskins
Stuart Hoskins
Local time: 13:27
Czech to English
+ ...
A Sheldon Cooper makeover (in the kindest possible sense) Sep 19, 2017

It looks like a statistician's wet dream. I'm sure it will prove useful to translators, too, once we get the hang of it. Incidentally (of little relevance now), I could use browniz points up until yesterday.

 
Jennifer White
Jennifer White  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
French to English
+ ...
Browniz Sep 19, 2017

I could use browniz too. What happens to them now? Are they useless?

 
..... (X)
..... (X)
Local time: 21:27
TOPIC STARTER
browniz Sep 19, 2017

Hi Jennifer,

Please see this posting from Jared re: browniz.

Kevin


 
Jennifer White
Jennifer White  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
French to English
+ ...
Thank you Kevin Sep 19, 2017

This tells me that brownies are now useless unless I pay for membership. I assume there is no other use for them.

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Well done Sep 19, 2017

Kevin Dias wrote:

The ProZ.com Blue Board has been modernized.


Good work Kevin, and I know you've been taking on board our suggestions (including mine).

I share the concerns about Browniz. There should either be a use for them, or they should be discontinued.


 
writeaway
writeaway  Identity Verified
French to English
+ ...
How are browniz useful if you do pay to become a member? Sep 19, 2017

Jennifer White wrote:

This tells me that brownies are now useless unless I pay for membership. I assume there is no other use for them.


Browniz were a sort of thank you to those who contributed their thoughts and/or translation skills on Proz. However Proz is clearly becoming a site for those who pay to use it with an air of 'good riddance' to those who don't. So much for that 'community feel'. The term member is now used exclusively to refer to payers. The rest of us are non-entities who are apparently starting to count less and less. The cancellation of browniz discounts and BB access bought with browniz are clear indications of this imo.
The site I joined in 2002 and of which I became a platinum member in 2003 (back then everyone was a member, some paying, others not) isn't the site Proz is today. I realise that time marches on and all that, but I am disappointed and a bit dismayed to see the direction Proz appears to be taking.
My membership ran out 3 weeks ago but I am now hesitant to renew. If non-payers are being looked down on and blocked from what used to be accessible site features, then I wonder where the next level of marketing strategy will go.


 
Jennifer White
Jennifer White  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
French to English
+ ...
Agree with Writeaway Sep 19, 2017

It seems that Brownies now have no value unless you use them to pay for membership. Far cry from when I joined when Proz was first set up in 2000. Obviously with rapid expansion it has had to change but it seems to have become a vast money-making enterprise which the expert translators of old have rejected and left. Now we have something called "sentiment magnitude". Well, really - whatever next?!

 
writeaway
writeaway  Identity Verified
French to English
+ ...
You can't use browniz to pay for membership! Sep 19, 2017

Jennifer White wrote:

It seems that Brownies now have no value unless you use them to pay for membership. Far cry from when I joined when Proz was first set up in 2000. Obviously with rapid expansion it has had to change but it seems to have become a vast money-making enterprise which the expert translators of old have rejected and left. Now we have something called "sentiment magnitude". Well, really - whatever next?!


That vanished the second the new membership options were announced. There are no discounts for membership at all now.


 
Jennifer White
Jennifer White  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
French to English
+ ...
@Writeaway Sep 19, 2017

Oh I see. They are quite useless then. But no-one has actually said so.........

 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 08:27
SITE FOUNDER
Uses of browniz Sep 19, 2017

Hi folks,

Browniz, being indicative of site activity, will positively affect positioning in ProZ.com Pools, when the new sorting algorithm is released. (Browniz already affect position in the traditional directory.) In addition, we will continue to have periodic sales in which Browniz can be used for a discount.

Membership is important. The acceleration in work around here lately is made possible by the ongoing su
... See more
Hi folks,

Browniz, being indicative of site activity, will positively affect positioning in ProZ.com Pools, when the new sorting algorithm is released. (Browniz already affect position in the traditional directory.) In addition, we will continue to have periodic sales in which Browniz can be used for a discount.

Membership is important. The acceleration in work around here lately is made possible by the ongoing support of members and the popularity of the Plus package released later last year. In addition to the merger with TM Town, through which Kevin and Nate came over, we have been able to add two new developers in recent months. You'll see more new services and ongoing modernization in the weeks and months ahead.
Collapse


 
Alistair Gainey
Alistair Gainey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
Russian to English
Save settings? Sep 20, 2017

Can you save the settings with the new version? When I search using specified criteria (country, LWA), then click on a company, then go back, I get the original unfiltered, unsorted results.

 
..... (X)
..... (X)
Local time: 21:27
TOPIC STARTER
Search Sep 20, 2017

Alistair Gainey wrote:

Can you save the settings with the new version? When I search using specified criteria (country, LWA), then click on a company, then go back, I get the original unfiltered, unsorted results.


Hi Alistair,

You can not save the search settings, but I have now just updated the page so that when you click on a link to an outsourcer's Blue Board record it will open that outsourcer's Blue Board record in a new tab in your browser - this way your search criteria and ordering will be preserved in the other tab which you can go back to at any time.

Kevin


 
Alistair Gainey
Alistair Gainey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
Russian to English
Thanks! Sep 20, 2017

Thanks, Kevin! That was quick.

 
Axelle H.
Axelle H.  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:27
English to French
Good! Sep 20, 2017

Kevin Dias wrote:

Alistair Gainey wrote:

Can you save the settings with the new version? When I search using specified criteria (country, LWA), then click on a company, then go back, I get the original unfiltered, unsorted results.


Hi Alistair,

You can not save the search settings, but I have now just updated the page so that when you click on a link to an outsourcer's Blue Board record it will open that outsourcer's Blue Board record in a new tab in your browser - this way your search criteria and ordering will be preserved in the other tab which you can go back to at any time.

Kevin


That is good! It will save me a lot of time than with the oldest version ! Thanks !


 
Pages in topic:   [1 2 3] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Site modernization: Blue Board






Protemos translation business management system
Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!

The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »