Can I be both a Customer and a Translator? Using the same account balance? So, can I translate stuff and then use that to pay for having my own text translated? That would avoid going through PayPal and the fees involved.
Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#32Funny - why do you expose all emails on your site?
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#33Funny - why do you expose all emails on your site?
Yeah - seems like a great resource for spammers :(
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#34I like this idea, but the thing I would be most concerned about as a user is translation quality. You might look at these similar sites for ideas: https://www.onehourtranslation.com/ (they also offer an interesting free tweet translation service) http://trans-aid.jp/ (seems to be all volunteer, Japanese-oriented)
(full disclaimer - I work at myGengo)
myGengo (http://mygengo.com) tests translators and does quality-checking for multiple levels to ensure customers are happy with the output. We also allow customers to rate translators and - I'm trying to be honest here - we're almost embarrassed to show the feedback comments because they sound too good (http://mygengo.com/talk/customers/testimonials).
Customers also have the option to request changes / corrections, and even to reject if they are not fully satisfied.
Anyways, just an alternative solution. The online-translation market gets interesting by the day :)
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#35Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#36Nice job! I used to be in translating business for a short while.
I would suggest that freelance translators are asked to enter their profile information in all languages they translate to and from. Depending on initial language a site user has chosen, profile information can be updated to that language. That way a customer who speaks only one of the languages can understand too.
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#37That looks pretty good. You should however add categories for areas of expertise.
For example, technical and scientific translations usually fetch much higher prices. Thus, translators with technical expertise are unlikely to use your site and compete with the lower priced general purpose translators, unless their special skills can be easily differentiated.
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#38Thanks! I should look into this!
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#39I love your logo! a. “Orders” and “Jobs” both lead to only a sign-in form. I would expect some short information and more explicit motivation for signing up there. Does it make sense for the “Orders” item to even show up in the menu for unregistered users? b. I would expect the Gravatar hash images to be rather confusing for people who do not know what Gravatar is.
Me too! Who designed it for you? It's so awesome =)
Re: Tell HN: I made a freelance translation site in only 5 months
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Regarding translating both ways, I disagree. Myself, I am pretty decent at French --> English, but awful the other way around. Your other points I totally agree with. At this point, I'm in the midst of bootstrapping, so it'll be awhile before I can do some form of community moderation. This will of course present some new problems to solve, so much time will have to be spent thinking about the pros and cons :) Thanks…
I gotta agree with you on translation not being commutative. I'm at least competent German->English, but doing the reverse brings me the pain.
I've done professional translations, and in that environment, you only translate from the "other" language to your native language, unless you are well and truly bilingual, as in born, raised and educated in both languages.