Hello to all the CMs and OL Moderators out there,
I’m here this time as the moderator of the NSSA Subbing Division with a kind request for all of you to help us make Viki a much more qualitative place for contributing. What’s all about?
As you know, at this moment we have 8 language academies under the Subbing Division of NSSA: Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish. Unfortunately, Viki doesn’t have a clear way or a short guide program for all the new contributors, so it’s up to each newbie to start from somewhere. Some may start with their language academy, but some don’t even get to know about the academies for various reasons.
Thus, in the name of all hardworking contributors of the Subbing Division, I kindly ask all the CMs and OL Moderators to help us by redirecting all the newbies you get to their language academy. I know that some of you may be wondering why to do so since this is not mandatory or that as an OL moderator, you can also guide the newbies. But here are some reasons to take into consideration our request and become a part of those contributors who contributed to making Viki more qualitative in terms of subtitles (at least for the languages with an academy):
- The Subbing Academy can be considered an official program where the newbies can learn about the basics and tricks of being a volunteer on Viki. All the academies have guides to help them and all of them are tailored to the actual tools we have on Viki. Why not save some time by recruiting a volunteer who was already trained for the basics and they can be more focused on learning the way your team works? We can assure everyone that at the Subbing Academies, the students can learn a universal way of working that helps them to maintain a good quality level. From there on they can start adding more to the base they built within the academy.
- Think about your entire journey of starting on Viki and becoming the contributor that you are today, with solid and up-to-date knowledge about Viki, Asian culture, the English language, and your native language. Why not help the new contributors start their activity with some already known and validated knowledge? I’m sure some contributors are thinking about how great it would have been for them to have a guide when they started.
- Supposedly, we all want to provide the audience with quality subtitles tailored as best as possible to the context, language, and both Asian and native cultures. So, we can say that we all want the best for our audience, and by this alone, we are actually in the situation of doing everything possible under Viki regulations to help the community grow in the right direction. Since the NSSA is recognized and supported with working materials by Viki, it’s for sure a good point to start from as a new contributor.
- The Subbing program is not mandatory, so it can’t be said that by redirecting the newbies to their Subbing Academy they will lose any chance to contribute on Viki; there is life after even if they don’t pass the program.
- Some newbies may get intimated by everything that’s going on on Viki, so why not have them start in a friendly and supportive environment? Why not show them the fun and beauty of being part of this great Viki contributor community? Even though each of us is subbing in its own language, the basis of being a Viki contributor will always be the fact that we are all linked by some common principles. So we really encourage everyone to redirect the newbies to their Subbing Academy and let them know about all these common principles and that despite the differences that they will undoubtedly discover further in their activity, we can still maintain together the goal of better subtitles.
There are for sure many other reasons to be mentioned, but I believe that those who have the quality of the subtitles on their important things to have as a Viki contributor, will resonate with all the above and they will do a great favor to the NSSA, the OL audience, and Viki by redirecting the newbies to their Subbing Academy.
We have links to each Subbing Academy all around (NSSA channel on Viki, NSSA website) but I’ll post again here the links to each Subbing Academy presentation page. You can save and use them whenever you receive applications from newbies or even from contributors with just a few contributions (since some may not found out about us right from the first day and they got to contribute a little). As a CM, you can also add them to your channel team covers (we are officially recognized and supported by Viki, so don’t worry about adding the link there).
- Dutch Subbing Academy (DSA)
- French Subbing Academy (FSA)
- German Subbing Academy (GSA)
- Hindi Subbing Academy (HSA)
- Italian Subbing Academy (ISA)
- Portuguese Subbing Academy (PSA)
- Romanian Subbing Academy (RSA)
- Spanish Subbing Academy (SSA)
As I already mentioned in the beginning, this is just a kind request in the name of the Subbing Division of NSSA and not something imposed, so we truly hope for your understanding about the real aim of this request and for your actual support throughout your activity as CM (Channel Manager) or OL Moderator. At the end of the day, we are all different people with different purposes and visions, but at least the goal of having a better community should not disappear in any minute of our presence here as Viki contributors.
Thank you for your time and I count on you to show what a great community of volunteers we have at Viki! 
Please know that every question, big or small, is important, and we’re always excited to help!
