TM-Town and site rule #3? Thread poster: Erik Freitag
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Erik Freitag 
Germany
Local time: 13:47
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Dear colleagues and proz staff,
I'm wondering why TM-town is getting so much exposition in the fora, seeing that there is a site rule that says:
General site rules, #3:
(...) Discussion of sites offering competing services is also prohibited, due to past abuse.
Is TM-Town considered as non-competing? As far as I can see, proz is foremost a place to bring translators and translation buyers together, a description that seems to closely fit TM-Town as well.
Is TM-Town in any way affiliated with proz?
Please mind that I'm not per se against discussing TM-Town, I just can't see why discussing [ ... competitive site ... ] et al. should be forbidden at the same time.
Thanks for any input, especially from staff,
Erik
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I wrote a comment on today's thread regarding this scheme and the unprecedented exposure it's being given and it was initially shot down for a breach of Rule 2 (I'm not sure why, but I edited it as requested). I was questioning who exactly was behind the scheme. What is going on?
[Edited at 2016-01-24 10:39 GMT]
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Good question | Jan 24, 2016 |
Erik Freitag wrote: Dear colleagues and proz staff, I'm wondering why TM-town is getting so much exposition in the fora, seeing that there is a site rule that says: General site rules, #3:
(...) Discussion of sites offering competing services is also prohibited, due to past abuse.
Is TM-Town considered as non-competing? As far as I can see, proz is foremost a place to bring translators and translation buyers together, a description that seems to closely fit TM-Town as well. Is TM-Town in any way affiliated with proz? Please mind that I'm not per se against discussing TM-Town, I just can't see why discussing [ ... competitive site ... ] et al. should be forbidden at the same time. Thanks for any input, especially from staff, Erik
And one I was wondering about too recently.
Another one is The Open Mic (a new blogging platform for translators), created by Dmitry Kornyukhov (aka The ‘Best Russian Translator’). Not quite the same as Proz, but there is definitely some overlap. Are we allowed to discuss that?
| | | | | Discussions about advertisers are generally permitted | Jan 25, 2016 |
Hello all,
TM-Town is an advertiser; discussions about advertisers are generally permitted.
The "Discussion of sites offering competing services is also prohibited, due to past abuse" clause came about after the forums were abused as a platform for free advertising. Erik, can I ask you to edit your original post here to bring it in line with that rule? Thanks.
Jared
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Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 13:47
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks, but the issue is still unclear | Jan 25, 2016 |
Jared Tabor wrote:
Hello all,
TM-Town is an advertiser; discussions about advertisers are generally permitted.
The "Discussion of sites offering competing services is also prohibited, due to past abuse" clause came about after the forums were abused as a platform for free advertising. Erik, can I ask you to edit your original post here to bring it in line with that rule? Thanks.
Jared
Thanks Jared, but the issue is still unclear to me. Does this mean that we would be allowed to discuss any aspects concerning that other website (which is very similar to proz, but whose name - consisting of the name of our profession and a hot drink containing caffeine - I'm apparently not even allowed to mention), if it were placing ads on proz.com? Would it be allowed to place ads on proz? If not, why is XY-City?
I must say that this really smells fishy. Could we in due time get an answer to the question that has been raised by more than one paying proz members in another thread as well: Is proz in any way affiliated with or financially involved in XY-City (you know who), and if so, how? If my membership fee went into that business, I'd sure like to know.
PS: I've tried to edit my original post to delete the name of the site that can't be mentioned, but I can't, as I've posted it more than 24 hrs ago.
[Edited at 2016-01-25 14:58 GMT]
[Edited at 2016-01-25 15:18 GMT]
| | | | | Tricky rule to implement -- we will look at TM-Town threads | Jan 25, 2016 |
Erik Freitag wrote: Jared Tabor wrote:
TM-Town is an advertiser; discussions about advertisers are generally permitted. Thanks Jared, but the issue is still unclear to me. Does this mean that we would be allowed to discuss any aspects concerning that other website (which is very similar to proz, but whose name - consisting of the name of our profession and a hot drink containing caffeine - I'm apparently not even allowed to mention), if it were placing ads on proz.com? Would it be allowed to place ads on proz? If not, why is XY-City?
Hi Eric. Thanks for calling me in, Jared.
The "no advertising" rule has always been a little tricky to enforce. It came into being because it was needed, as certain sites (including, a long time ago, the caffeine one ), were to some degree systematically taking advantage of the forums, and creating a distraction along the way, to get free advertising. Thanks to moderators doing their best to exercise judgment and enforce the rule as consistently and fairly as possible, with the interests of users and the site in mind, the whole thing is a relatively minor issue now. (Thank you, moderators.) I imagine if we stopped enforcing the rule thoughtfully, though, it would again become a problem. So we do have to look at topics like these from time to time and make sure the rule is being enforced consistently and appropriately in all cases.
I must say that this really smells fishy. Could we in due time get an answer to the question that has been raised by more than one paying proz members in another thread as well: Is proz in any way affiliated with or financially involved in XY-City (you know who), and if so, how? If my membership fee went into that business, I'd sure like to know.
I have not yet read the other threads -- I will do that now. But to repeat what has already been posted elsewhere, technically, the relationship between TM-Town and ProZ.com is that TM-Town is an advertiser at ProZ.com. So strictly speaking, your membership fee has not gone into TM-Town. (The opposite.)
That said, I feel I should add, as I have elsewhere in the forums, that I have developed a personal relationship with Kevin Dias in the time since he came to us to advertise, and I am impressed by him and his co-worker Nate. I think that the "Nakodo" approach to matching, if done properly, with attendant concern for data confidentiality and so on, could be something quite nice for at least some translators, even in ways that go beyond what TM-Town has today. I therefore have taken a personal interest. But this should in no way affect the treatment of TM-Town as a topic in these forums. (And I do not imagine that moderators have been instructed by anyone to treat these topics any differently than any others due to my own personal relationship and interest in TM-Town. If for some reason some moderator is giving special treatment to TM-Town, please do not.)
By the way, I notice a forum discussion from Saturday in which a competitive service from another company (MemoQ) is discussed. (That is, I guess it is or will be a competitive service.) I imagine that thread was permitted by the moderators because MemoQ is an advertiser. (MemoQ has been a good advertising partner over the years, never abused the forums, and so on. I respect and admire what they have done.)
But I'll go look at the TM-Town thread(s) and discuss with Jared if appropriate.
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Nope. So much for being labeled a "worrier" and a meanie when I was getting suspicious. I even received an email about it, although I don't see how it fits on any of the notification categories I've allowed on my settings. Business has been getting less and less ethical over the last decades, and Proz.com is no exception at all.
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| 4x on 1 forum | Apr 15, 2016 |
Sorry, I don't want to get involved in this discussion, but I noticed that at this moment (April 15, 2016) there are 4 forums about TM-Town on Proz.com. I would say good marketing strategy, but 3 too many.
[Edited at 2016-04-15 20:11 GMT]
[Edited at 2016-04-15 20:12 GMT]
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