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Poll: Would you be willing to act as mentor guiding new users in ProZ.com?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jun 21, 2006

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Would you be willing to act as mentor guiding new users in ProZ.com?".

This poll was originally submitted by Enrique

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For m
... See more
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Would you be willing to act as mentor guiding new users in ProZ.com?".

This poll was originally submitted by Enrique

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629
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Astrid Elke Witte
Astrid Elke Witte  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:33
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
I think most of us are willing to help newcomers... Jun 21, 2006

as long as they understand that we can only help them to help themselves. We can show them round the site, give them tips on compiling their profile and gaining experience, and inform them on the usual channels to find customers. However, they need to be clear about the point that we cannot do their marketing work for them.

Astrid


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 07:33
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
Mentoring Jun 22, 2006

I have in mind site members volunteering as site mentors, getting some coaching on the ways of the site and then guiding new users in the proper use of the site, to get most of it and to better understand the ways of our community.

They could be identified as mentors in the site (as moderators are identified) and obtain some extra exposure in consequence.

Just a preliminar idea...

Enrique


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:33
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Mentoring for KudoZ Jun 22, 2006

I would be happy to mentor new people in the use of KudoZ. From what I can tell, newcomers often don't know or understand: the rules or the reasons behind the rules, how to communicate with colleagues in a nonconfrontational manner, what constitutes a "useful" answer, what types of examples are meaningful--e.g., how to tell if an example is likely to already be a translation

 
Astrid Elke Witte
Astrid Elke Witte  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:33
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
In principle it is a good idea Jun 22, 2006

I like the idea in principle, Enrique, because the site is fairly complex these days and many newcomers feel quite daunted and do not know where to begin in order to get the most out of the site.

I hope such a scheme can be organised, as there seem to be sufficient people willing to be mentors, according to the statistics achieved by your poll.

Astrid


 
moken
moken  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
Let's learn some more about the idea Jun 22, 2006

Enrique wrote:
I have in mind site members volunteering as site mentors, getting some coaching on the ways of the site and then guiding new users in the proper use of the site, to get most of it and to better understand the ways of our community.

Enrique


Hi Enrique,

I'm amongst the majority who so far have voted "it depends", meaning "what exactly would it imply?". You have offered a brief outline and in principle it sounds like a good idea, but I'd like to have some more details.

The site feature I'm most familiar with is KudoZ, having learned how to make use of it through a combination of reading rules, making and learning from mistakes, observing peer reactions and of informal mentoring on behalf of other colleagues - occasional tips and remarks both on KudoZ and in Forums.

This is something a very large number of us already do informally, so I for one guess I could guide new users as to use of this particular site feature, not so other areas. Any help would of course have to be subject to my own commitments and availability. I can spend up to several months at a time "away from ProZ" and would be reluctant to commit a certain number of hours a day/week/month.

Further details on how ProZ would - if indeed it does intend to - implement mentoring would be very welcome.

Regards,

Álvaro ))


 
Robert Zawadzki (X)
Robert Zawadzki (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:33
English to Polish
+ ...
Other: I already do Jun 22, 2006

.

 
Niraja Nanjundan (X)
Niraja Nanjundan (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:03
German to English
ProZ.com User Manual Jun 22, 2006

I think the idea of site mentors is basically good, but there is also a user manual in the Articles Knowledgebase, covering the use of almost all site features. I suppose it would have to be updated now that there are new site features such as the rates calculator.

 
Henriette Iracabal
Henriette Iracabal  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
Sounds like a wonderful idea Jun 22, 2006

Hi all,

I am quite new in Proz, and honestly I think it would a great idea to have something like a mentor/guide. Obviously, many things are in the FAQ, but someone giving you tasteful tips, like what to say in a quote, would be extremely helpful. It may be frustrating at first when all your quotes are rejected, as you don't know whether you are doing something wrong, if it is something with your profile, fees, etc.

Having said that, not sure I would pay for that servic
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Hi all,

I am quite new in Proz, and honestly I think it would a great idea to have something like a mentor/guide. Obviously, many things are in the FAQ, but someone giving you tasteful tips, like what to say in a quote, would be extremely helpful. It may be frustrating at first when all your quotes are rejected, as you don't know whether you are doing something wrong, if it is something with your profile, fees, etc.

Having said that, not sure I would pay for that service, but obviously in the future I will happily help/mentor someone else. It is after all how communities work... dar para recibir, no?

Cheers,

Henriette
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Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:33
Member (2004)
English to Italian
silly idea... Jun 22, 2006

just visit the site for about a week and you'll learn all there is to learn. Also, read the FAQ.

Giovanni


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 07:33
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
We have a great community Jun 22, 2006

The mentors program could allow some of our members to volunteer a part of their time to guide newcomers along the paths of the site. Maybe some of these newcomers will one day act as mentors for others.

This site was created on the premise that there is a strong potential for solidarity among language service professionals.

Regards,
Enrique


 
HarryHedgehog
HarryHedgehog
Germany
Local time: 11:33
German to English
Misplaced volunteerism? Jun 22, 2006

Enrique wrote:

This site was created on the premise that there is a strong potential for solidarity among language service professionals.

Regards,
Enrique


Really? I was under the impression that this site was founded to make money for the founders and staff. The forum moderators and language-pair moderators already volunteer their time, and all the Kudoz contributors volunteer their expertise. Yet you also ask for volunteers to translate your site into other languages, and are now scoping for even more unpaid "mentors" to help guide new people through the site (and presumably encourage them to buy a paid membership).

I'm sorry, but I view this site as a commercial venture. You yourself say that this is a site for "professionals". Well, where I come from, professionals get paid. If you want your users to perform a service that will boost your visitor numbers (and ultimately your paid subscriptions), you should offer some sort of compensation.

Just my two cents...

HH


 
Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)
Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:33
I kind of agree with Giovanni and Henry's frankness Jun 22, 2006

Most of us have learned to make good use of Proz.com, and provide whatever little contributions we can without the help of a mentor. As Giovanni says, it takes reading the FAQs, and exploring the site regularly. I find it hard to believe that a professional translator would not grasp the basics after a few visits; and I would not like to become a mentor for "cowboys" who do not take the profession seriously, and think the site might help them make a few quick bucks. Mentoring professional transl... See more
Most of us have learned to make good use of Proz.com, and provide whatever little contributions we can without the help of a mentor. As Giovanni says, it takes reading the FAQs, and exploring the site regularly. I find it hard to believe that a professional translator would not grasp the basics after a few visits; and I would not like to become a mentor for "cowboys" who do not take the profession seriously, and think the site might help them make a few quick bucks. Mentoring professional translators fresh out of school is one thing that I would be willing to do; mentoring anyone to learn to use (or take advantage) of this site, I doubt it.

The main problem with Proz.com is that it portrays itself as a site for professionals but, at the same time, it lets everybody and anybody in for a ride. I understand this is how the owners want it to be, but it is ovbious that the professionals (I like to believe I am part of this group) are not so thrilled with the current situation.
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Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 07:33
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
Not all is money Jun 22, 2006

HarryHedgehog wrote:

Enrique wrote:

This site was created on the premise that there is a strong potential for solidarity among language service professionals.

Regards,
Enrique


Really? I was under the impression that this site was founded to make money for the founders and staff. The forum moderators and language-pair moderators already volunteer their time, and all the Kudoz contributors volunteer their expertise. Yet you also ask for volunteers to translate your site into other languages, and are now scoping for even more unpaid "mentors" to help guide new people through the site (and presumably encourage them to buy a paid membership).

I'm sorry, but I view this site as a commercial venture. You yourself say that this is a site for "professionals". Well, where I come from, professionals get paid. If you want your users to perform a service that will boost your visitor numbers (and ultimately your paid subscriptions), you should offer some sort of compensation.

HH


Dear Harry,

You are right in pointing to the fact that the site is a commercial venture and that some services should be compensated with money, but in my opinion you may be missing a couple of points:

a) There are people who are ready to volunteer time and effort to improve a site they consider their own and to help their community. Nobody forces a moderator to work for the site, and yet they freely provide huge contributions to the site and to its community. The same applies to the professionals who worked on site localization; the same could apply to our hypothetical site mentors.

b) If ProZ.com was concerned only with money, then it wouldn’t provide so many features to its non member users (i.e. those who don’t pay for such services). Don’t get me wrong, such users are heartily welcome; I mention this only to show that not all is weighted in money.

Regards,
Enrique


 
Claudia Iglesias
Claudia Iglesias  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 07:33
Member (2002)
Spanish to French
+ ...
I voted it depends Jun 22, 2006

although I already do that a lot. I wouldn't have said it as Giovanni, but there different levels of questions and help.
When the answer is in the FAQ, well, the best thing I can do is advising to read the FAQ.

There is unwritten information, like the KudoZ mentionned by Muriel, which is shared by all the users, like "be polite", "don't use capitals", "don't take it personal"... and would be very useful for newcomers, but I think that having a forum for newcomers would be bett
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although I already do that a lot. I wouldn't have said it as Giovanni, but there different levels of questions and help.
When the answer is in the FAQ, well, the best thing I can do is advising to read the FAQ.

There is unwritten information, like the KudoZ mentionned by Muriel, which is shared by all the users, like "be polite", "don't use capitals", "don't take it personal"... and would be very useful for newcomers, but I think that having a forum for newcomers would be better than having people "in charge". The workload can be shared by all those volunteers willing to help newcomers.

The forums "about ProZ.com" that we have, usually attract other kind of questions and having topics like "why do we always see the same questions in forums" don't invite to ask when you're a newcomer.

Claudia

[Edited at 2006-06-22 15:08]
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Poll: Would you be willing to act as mentor guiding new users in ProZ.com?






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