| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Remove "Answer found elsewhere" option? Thread poster: Fiona Grace Peterson
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Forgive me if this has been discussed before, but...
Am I the only who finds the "This question was closed without grading. Reason: Answer found elsewhere" to be a little absurd?
Even if the answer was found elsewhere, if askers have taken the time and effort to answer then this should at least be recognised. After all, it costs askers nothing to award points. I suppose it may be an option selected by inexperienced translators who are unsure who to award points t... See more Forgive me if this has been discussed before, but...
Am I the only who finds the "This question was closed without grading. Reason: Answer found elsewhere" to be a little absurd?
Even if the answer was found elsewhere, if askers have taken the time and effort to answer then this should at least be recognised. After all, it costs askers nothing to award points. I suppose it may be an option selected by inexperienced translators who are unsure who to award points to, but in this case they could choose for grading by the community.
Thoughts? ▲ Collapse
| | | | DLyons 
Ireland
Local time: 03:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
| It can be irritating | Oct 25, 2013 |
I can see the logic when it's done very quickly with a view to not wasting time but, after more than 10-15 mins, when perhaps several answerers have put time and thought into trying to help it seems at best impolite. And I've seen askers who have been around quite a while doing it!
I suggest that Kudoz points be awarded automatically to any such answers in the same way as is done for community grading.
[Edited at 2013-10-25 16:56 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-10-25 16:57... See more I can see the logic when it's done very quickly with a view to not wasting time but, after more than 10-15 mins, when perhaps several answerers have put time and thought into trying to help it seems at best impolite. And I've seen askers who have been around quite a while doing it!
I suggest that Kudoz points be awarded automatically to any such answers in the same way as is done for community grading.
[Edited at 2013-10-25 16:56 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-10-25 16:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:15
Hebrew to English
| I don't mind the option so much.... | Oct 25, 2013 |
But I do think people should be prompted to enter the answer to their own question if they do find it elsewhere.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 03:15
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Ty Kendall wrote:
I do think people should be prompted to enter the answer to their own question if they do find it elsewhere.
That would complete the question/answer process and be useful for the future. If they said where they found it, that could be even more useful. But I don't think they should allocate points if the answer turns out to be substantially different from those suggested.
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| Completely agree | Oct 25, 2013 |
It is an absurd option, and it is a great suggestion the asker enters his/her own version if their answer is more accurate or has been really found elsewhere.
We have quite a few translators in my language pairs (English>Latvian and Latvian>English) who are asking a lot of questions. Some of them do not close their questions either until community grades these questions, or until they are forced to in order to be able to ask another question. I would imagine it is faster and easier to jus... See more It is an absurd option, and it is a great suggestion the asker enters his/her own version if their answer is more accurate or has been really found elsewhere.
We have quite a few translators in my language pairs (English>Latvian and Latvian>English) who are asking a lot of questions. Some of them do not close their questions either until community grades these questions, or until they are forced to in order to be able to ask another question. I would imagine it is faster and easier to just click on this option when the asker cannot even remember what exactly was that particular question. I have also noticed the same people are closing questions this way all the time. As a result, I stopped answering questions posted by these translators because it realistically takes some time to enter the suggestion. "Answer found elsewhere" looks strange when it's fairly clear the asker had no clue what the answer was. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Answer found elsewhere | Oct 25, 2013 |
I admit to having used this a few times. Usually it was because the answers offered by the answerers were inadequate or just not right, and I felt there wasn't a better option on how to close the question. In fact, I left a few questions open in the past because some of the answers were partially right but not what I ended up using. I believe the KudoZ system has plenty of faults and much of the time I don't know how to award points. Personally, I'm not into the points but I suppose they're impo... See more I admit to having used this a few times. Usually it was because the answers offered by the answerers were inadequate or just not right, and I felt there wasn't a better option on how to close the question. In fact, I left a few questions open in the past because some of the answers were partially right but not what I ended up using. I believe the KudoZ system has plenty of faults and much of the time I don't know how to award points. Personally, I'm not into the points but I suppose they're important to some and perhaps it would be good to have another option. Also, I have thought that leaving it up to the community could only be applied within the 24-hour period, and if that's true then it's a shame. I would very much like that option even after the 24-hour period. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It's not the only annoying thing | Oct 25, 2013 |
Inese Poga-Smith wrote:
Some of them do not close their questions either until community grades these questions, or until they are forced to in order to be able to ask another question.
I've only been a member for a couple of years but a number of questions I've answered are still open because they don't have two 'agrees'.
However, I often use the term search and I've come across questions that have been open for seven or eight years!
I don't know what's worse: 'Answer found elsewhere' or leaving a question open. As you all say, most of us make an effort to provide decent answers but I'm sure no one would do it if they knew it was going to be a complete waste of time.
[Edited at 2013-10-25 18:10 GMT]
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:15
Hebrew to English
| Or if no answers are suggested | Oct 25, 2013 |
Sheila Wilson wrote: Ty Kendall wrote:
I do think people should be prompted to enter the answer to their own question if they do find it elsewhere. That would complete the question/answer process and be useful for the future. If they said where they found it, that could be even more useful. But I don't think they should allocate points if the answer turns out to be substantially different from those suggested.
Then it becomes even more annoying when the asker seems to have found a translation and not shared it.
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Germaine
Canada
Local time: 22:15
English to French
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Sheila Wilson wrote: Ty Kendall wrote:
I do think people should be prompted to enter the answer to their own question if they do find it elsewhere. That would complete the question/answer process and be useful for the future. If they said where they found it, that could be even more useful. But I don't think they should allocate points if the answer turns out to be substantially different from those suggested.
I totally agree with Ty and I agree with Sheila what indicating the source would be a bonus, but there's no need for points there, whatever are the circumstances. In fact, there's no need for points at all, wherever and whatever for, but that's another subject!
| | | | Vanda Nissen
Australia
Local time: 12:15
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
| I have used it recently | Oct 25, 2013 |
Since I live in Australia, I am usually 5-8 hours ahead of the most parts of Russia and Europe (where I can expect the answers coming from - I do not expect any answers from my part of the world mostly because I am the top translator in the English-Russian pair in Australia), and last time I managed to find the answer before (long before) the first Kudoz participant came to help. The question was marked as closed exactly because "Answer found elsewhere" but the person has chosen to give their an... See more Since I live in Australia, I am usually 5-8 hours ahead of the most parts of Russia and Europe (where I can expect the answers coming from - I do not expect any answers from my part of the world mostly because I am the top translator in the English-Russian pair in Australia), and last time I managed to find the answer before (long before) the first Kudoz participant came to help. The question was marked as closed exactly because "Answer found elsewhere" but the person has chosen to give their answer anyway. I don't feel obliged to award the points in this particular situation. ▲ Collapse
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Having used the option myself in the past, and once quite recently, I would not want to see it taken away. I do try to use it very sparingly, but sadly there are times when a question garners nothing more than manifestly wrong or poorly thought through guesses, and in those situations, you simply have to come up with something else yourself. I'm all in favour of expressing gratitude and giving credit where it's due, and I have seen and received (and I hope, given ... See more Having used the option myself in the past, and once quite recently, I would not want to see it taken away. I do try to use it very sparingly, but sadly there are times when a question garners nothing more than manifestly wrong or poorly thought through guesses, and in those situations, you simply have to come up with something else yourself. I'm all in favour of expressing gratitude and giving credit where it's due, and I have seen and received (and I hope, given ) plenty of good answers which fully deserve points, but if you don't receive any to a question, what else can you do but admit that you didn't find the answers helpful? I always aim to be generous in crediting an answer that helped me in some way even if I didn't use the specific term suggested, but on one recent occasion, I couldn't find a reason to credit any of the answers as unfortunately they didn't help me even indirectly, so I closed the question without grading it and posted the solution that I found under my own steam after a lot more searching, together with an explanation and some references. In those circumstances, I think it was a perfectly reasonable option to choose and not absurd at all.
Another reason not to remove the option is that if you force askers to give points to an answer that didn't help them, that would make poor answers more likely to be rewarded, and it could encourage the kind of wild guesses that are complained about so vehemently in this very forum! ▲ Collapse
| | | | TargamaT team
France
Local time: 04:15
Member (2010)
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Kudoz as a "knowledge Share Platform" | Oct 26, 2013 |
INMHO, if the asker wants to select "Answer found elsewhere" he should at least give what he found and, if possible, where he found the answer.
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 04:15
French to English
Ty Kendall wrote:
But I do think people should be prompted to enter the answer to their own question if they do find it elsewhere.
(Great minds think a)like
[Edited at 2013-10-26 10:51 GMT]
| | | | | Clarification | Oct 26, 2013 |
Thanks to everyone for their replies.
I'm sure there are situations where none of the answers ARE suitable, and it's obvious that no points should be given if these are blatantly way off the mark.
I was referring more to situations in my own language pair, where suitable answers ARE given, yet the question is closed with a summary and unsatisfactory "Answer found elsewhere".
There may be occasions where the answers given perhaps do not fit the asker's text ... See more Thanks to everyone for their replies.
I'm sure there are situations where none of the answers ARE suitable, and it's obvious that no points should be given if these are blatantly way off the mark.
I was referring more to situations in my own language pair, where suitable answers ARE given, yet the question is closed with a summary and unsatisfactory "Answer found elsewhere".
There may be occasions where the answers given perhaps do not fit the asker's text exactly, but could in any case provide a suitable translation for the question asked, and I think points should be awarded in this situation. In other words, I think askers should be encouraged to think a little beyond their own text, and if the answer is a good linguistic solution then it should be accepted. I have seen cases where four or five experienced colleagues provide strong answers only for the question to be closed because the options provided obviously did not correspond exactly with what the answerer finally went with. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | That's what I do normally! | Oct 26, 2013 |
Ty Kendall wrote:
But I do think people should be prompted to enter the answer to their own question if they do find it elsewhere.
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