My team, on the other hand, is working on a drama we sadly neglected. The subathon came, this was the only unfinished Chinese project for me, we continued it and now we’re having fun.
I know some people who forget about real life problems through volunteering at Viki. I also know some viewers who forget about their problems while watching the dramas. If there weren’t any positivity involved in the process of volunteering at Viki, I would have never even become a volunteer.
Although the world is a bit off this year, we should all do what makes us happy and satisfied. Whether it be volunteering or not volunteering. We shouldn’t really stop with the things that are achievable during lockdowns and such. That’s when we’re really going to get into trouble. We should try to protect some resemblance of life how it was before this whole thing started.
From what I see here, the problem on your project existed before the subathon started. May I ask (and I don’t mean to pry, you don’t have to answer) did you report this to anyone? I’ve only worked on a few Chinese dramas and the episodes there would be released for OLs with maximum 2 weeks lag.
We’re talking about 2 types of reactions we can have and you’re defending the first type of reaction.
This is absurd to have this conversation in my opinion, because we can’t deny both of them exist.
If you wanted to talk about the first type of reaction, go on, but there’s nothing to put in contradiction with mine.
They both exist at the same time for different people, English editors or you.
We’re bound to see 2-3 types of reactions. I wanted to talk more about the 2nd type of reaction, than the 1st type for 1 reason: this is what I’m experiencing.
People don’t always think or feel the same way. I think differently about this matter. Can I as you can?
The problem on your unfinished drama started before the subathon, too?
Is it not the same situation? Neglected?
I already told about it. I barely have time to contribute every week, will I have more time to play the role of someone in charge?
To each his role.
If badges are enough and you’re happy with it, it’s fine, they can continue giving you badges then until the end. I can give you mine.
Can I say that again, there’s no contradiction, that both people exist and that doesn’t mean that we, other people, have to think the same way you think and different forms of positivity is not something forced upon someone?
I wanted to give my feedback about how this event turned out for me and you’re trying to tell “But no, look how it came positive for me… There is positivity. We should… You should… Look at myself and my team.”
But I want to say, fine for you, but it’s not my experience and I’m not going to force it upon someone else or showing it off because it is not flattering. I don’t want to put in contradiction my experience with yours, it’s absurd to have this conversation. Obviously, day and night exist.
The real matter is not that your day exists, it is: can they find or do something for “others”, people who experience night?
Criticism to make things better. It might show I might be more optimist than what I believed.
On the contrary, I state clearly that both reactions are fine:
Because I feel you completely misunderstood the meaning behind what I said, I will not delve into this discussion further. I am not forcing my opinions on anyone, merely stating them. I’m sorry you see it otherwise.
We really didn’t have a problem on our project with regards to the schedule or neglection from the English editing team. We were just too preoccupied with other projects and put this one on hold. It was our fault the project didn’t get finished. We are rectifying it now.
What I asked was, if during summer, when you had time but the editing and releasing of episodes to OLs was putting breaks on the project, did you complain to anyone, your CM or Viki? It is a matter completely separate from the subathon.
You are right in the sense that you should as a team be able to rely that the episodes are released for OL translation reasonably timely. If an English editor is holding the episodes hostage for over two weeks or even a month (as I’m deducting from what you’ve said), the project is taking a serious turn for the worse and the situation is actually urgent. Our time is precious and some have to organize their time more strictly than others. It’s a great shame when that time goes to waste.
As a Moderator I felt the pressure of finishing my translations within a couple of weeks of releasing the episodes to OLs. So, the same rule must be applied to the release itself. OL Mods have the right (and I would even dare to say the obligation) to complain if this occurs. And the CM must find a solution. Viki can also help there.
Some English editors will release episodes not 100% edited in order to avoid this problem. They appraise if the translation, as it stands now, is good enough for OL subbers to understand and begin translating. Afterwards, when the episode is 100% edited, they will give a list of what has been changed. So that OLs can correct what’s necessary. This is in my opinion crucial for the good global productivity of the entire team. And not to mention for the good team spirit.
“We should” 3x, “We should all do”, “We shouldn’t really stop”, “We should try”.
How do you consider it?
Do you feel entitled to be my psychologist?
Don’t “We should” 3x. I don’t give you lessons on how to live your life, don’t. We were not raised in the same house or been friends.
People can explain me why they need a subathon to rectify what they neglected, I will just laugh, because they could also just give the spot before this subathon to rectify it. No?
Can you foresee a subathon would come right now to rectify? No?
If the subathon was cancelled and delayed for next year, what would have happened? Nothing until next subathon?
Is the subathon an excuse for a few of us to complete things we neglect? Because we need a subathon to complete things we neglect?
Finally:
Do you think what you say is helpful in regards to the problem I have and stated?
Can you give me solution to it or think of a solution?
“We should live our life that way or it went well for us that’s why I like subathon” is not the type of solution that can help me.
I already told the CM.
I already asked to translate it before edition.
I already agreed to wait with a no from the CM, the CM knowing perfectly I will finish it alone, while I don’t have time right now. I think the people who neglect things on drama and then catch up during subathons shouldn’t (and here I will use the shouldn’t) earn a badge at all, except the badge of shameless, because they only care when a badge is at stake and they don’t care at all about others.
All this thing to come back to point 0.
Currently you as a volunteer can’t do nothing for me. So you don’t need to rub salt on me and show me how the neighbour house is better. I didn’t need that and tell me how it could have helped me?
You know it perfectly and that’s even bitter for someone like me to know you knew it while writing.
Would you stop with the personal attacks? Unlike you, I’m trying to focus on solving the problem at hand. If you’re not interested in hearing what other people think, just say so.
Since everyone is doing that within their free time nobody can be forced how much and how fast they’ll sub a long episode Chinese drama. I was part of OL teams that had to wait 6-12 months until all episodes got the GO from the English team. One episode was released every 1-2 month (the drama had more than 60 episodes). Another drama with around 50 episodes was fast released for OL but needs around a year too until it was fully subbed into German because the German team was really small.
I think we never got a list; it was just mentioned that ‘there have been some changes and we should check it’.
Anyway since it could always happen that something is not 100% correct I think it’s not such a big deal; sometimes it is only a different (English) word although the meaning itself is the same. When it is about lyrics it can be way more severe but that’s often the case because many of them are very metaphorical so they aren’t that easy to translate (and while some want to translate literally others prefer a meaning-wise translation so it could happen that a subber writes quite good English versions but the editor changes it in the way that it is more literally but without transferring the meaning because non native speakers who are not aware of certain metaphors can’t understand the true essence then).
So in the end it’s the best to accept that there are many different approaches and perspectives and although one can always try to improve the situation some things can’t be easily changed, e.g. when there are too less editors, subbers, native speakers etc. and too many shows in general.
(Eventually the situation for Chinese dramas might become better when the dramas have only 36-40 episodes or even just 10-20 and not 45-70; in case people like the storylines/genre/actor/settings too then. I don’t know how or if that will change people’s interest because it is also a question of personal taste and I’d also not work on dramas/genres I don’t like.)
Why answering with things that are not linked to solving my problem?
I have a problem, I made suggestions.
You told me about a Cdrama that you neglected and completed it… Okay?
Then “We should live… during this period” lesson and another course about OL and English editors and CM roles… Okay?
Then, what should I do? Tell me.
Do we feel that we go somewhere from what you suggested? Did you suggested something to me that I could do?
In that case maybe Viki could cut such a long series into two or more pieces and present each as a separate “season”, each with their own team working on it.
That might be a solution in regard of the volunteers and their time table. I’m just not sure if VIKI would even consider this because very often the Chinese dramas are also uploaded on the production studio’s page (with English subs) and often also on Youtube (with English subs and sometimes available option to add OL subtitles) so I could imagine that VIKI wants to avoid loss of viewers then.
(Probably that is not a problem for Korean or Japanese dramas that aren’t uploaded by the production studios to Youtube.)
I don’t know how it could get this far in Discussions, nobody is forcing anyone to volunteer and nobody should prevent anybody volunteering if they want to.
This topic here
was first, so you can assume that somebody was asking, if a subathon would be happening this year and you can read the answer of Viki noting that this topic was not that easy this year and not the top priority.
@adreamer
I have to say, I didn’t really follow this thread too much, because I only have one project at the moment (Korean) and do not have much time, so going to another project to help out is not really an option. I do have some badges but I don’t need the complete collection.
I tried to read it all, but I am asking myself is this subathon really your problem, or does it only add to your problem?
Just do it when you can.
There’s no solution to your problem.
As for the subathon, just forget about it. In one year, you would have completed this drama and the subathon would be forgotten. If this is delayed, then be it, it’s not your fault first.
On est souvent hors sujet, je comprends la frustration derrière quand on a besoin d’aide ou d’une réponse parce qu’on est dans le pétrin.
Après laisse de côté tout ça, ça n’en vaut pas la peine. De toute façon, ils mettront des traductions automatiques, on aura plus ce problème d’attendre, mais on aura celui de la qualité.
Est-ce ton problème ? Non, alors laisse-les se démerder.
Would you call that an average? My experience in translating Chinese drama is limited. All of them were released to OL quite quickly, but I could’ve been lucky. I’m assuming that the problem of too few Chin-Eng subbers kakashiandme mentioned has made the situation worse lately.
I also don’t really care for 100% edited material released to OLs. There should always be a flow of things/work within the team. When one wheel stops turning, that’s when things get ugly.
As we translate, real life happens, stops us from volunteering. And that is fine. We call a set of people working on a drama a team, because, when one team member can’t continue anymore, the rest are there to take over. Organization and good communication are the key to all of this. But, I know, I know, easier said than done.
When you started the conversation with me, the things you said were already centered on yourself and your experience. It was not to answer my problem. Can you read it again?
If you leave the conversation at this point and I will do the same, it’s because you wanted to speak about things you wanted to speak, not trying to find a solution to my problem.
We were discussing about different matters with me wanting a solution to my problem and you, wanting that I listen to your personal experience.
That’s why we can’t talk and that’s why I lost my patience. I never got this experience you’re telling me and I can’t identify myself to what you say and I can’t find a predicament to my problem.
If you have tried to suggest me something I could do or told me something about the suggestions I made (how it couldn’t work or how this could be another thing) or something I could identify myself to, I would have understood that you were trying to help me and I would have reacted differently.
But I felt I said nothing or wasn’t listened to because we talked about different things.
Then you told me I didn’t want your personal experience.
True, I didn’t, just as you didn’t.
I felt from the beginning you and I were talking alone though we hit the “Reply” button.
Forcing or preventing? If you read carefully, I don’t talk about that.
It might be the problem of someone else, but not mine.
The topic about the date of summer subathon: I try to see what you mean, but what do you mean?
I suggested they did it during big holidays so we can follow English editors and they motivate English editors differently.
This is for a typical year without a coronavirus going on.
For this year:
We had the virus.
I said this year was not the year for me to even think about a subathon and even so, there’s no motivation during this subathon on my side, that is why even if they make a subathon this year, they can’t expect from us (at least from my team mates and from me) that we put the same efforts with the same motivation while we’re still having a hard time and have our mind occupied.
People have different reactions, right. I’m telling about this one.
The answer is both if you read carefully.
This subathon added more problems, because the subathon motivated English editors to release a lot of episodes whereas from my side there is no motivation.
We lost it along the way while waiting before the subathon, we didn’t have it back during this subathon and we probably won’t have it back with more ep released (we’re more late).
The problem existed before the subathon.
The subathon could motivate people to solve that, but it didn’t on my side. It accentuated my problems.
They added French as one of the languages. I give my feedback about it.
I suppose I am not the only one to have this problem, but I didn’t hear about that.
Merci…
J’ai bien compris qu’il n’y avait pas de solution à mon problème !
C’est mon dernier projet parce que pas assez de monde et on finit par le faire seul ou à 2 alors qu’on n’a plus le temps maintenant.
For whatever reason the Chinese dramas I’m moderating or was moderating had most of the time really fast English teams but the Chinese dramas I was working just as a OL subber have been quite slow. Usually the dramas I’m moderating have more or less the same volunteers (CM, OL mods, subbers, segmenters, editors), the dramas I was just a subber (or just heard about the delay in the GO from other mods/viewers) had different teams/volunteers so probably it depends on the genre/topic/teams and approach and decision of ‘perfection’ that the English teams/editors try to achieve.
I think a too long waiting time for the OL teams because of the GO could cause a high scale of demotivation for the OL teams.
So I’d say when the German team is not too smal we’re able to finish the subbing within ~4 months (I think this is a good rate for long complicated dramas). Sometimes, when our team is smaller we might need 6 months until we are finished (not because of the English team but because of our small own team).
I think it’s okay that ~50 episodes long dramas needs couple of months to be finished. The end result is most important, that viewers finally are able to watch the whole drama in their own language (if you look at e.g. US shows viewers have to watch 1-2 years for the next season and one season has only 10-20 episodes so finishing ~50 episodes within ~6 months is a good deal).
(Sometimes English teams also collect couple of episodes for the GO, e.g. I had one drama that had no new episodes for a month and then 10 at once. They probably thought that is more efficient but it caused my team members to become frustrated and viewers to ask if the drama was abandoned by us because they saw that the English subs were almost done for the whole drama but the OL subs were frozen at episode 15 or so…)
So I’d prefer that there is some kind of info for OL viewers at the channel page that tells viewers that OL teams are waiting for the GO from English teams (some English teams put this info in their coverpages but not all viewers look at it).
Je suis loin de la retraite ou je n’ai pas encore une routine.
J’ai bien aimé viki un certain temps, mais comme on se lasse de beaucoup de choses ou on a envie de découvrir autre chose ou de se concentrer sur un projet important qui nous demande du temps…
Je pense aussi que tout ça passe avant tant qu’on est encore jeunes, qu’on construit sa vie, qu’on a des ambitions, qu’on est dans une relation ou qu’on y travaille. Le reste comme Viki, c’est du bonus. Ça t’apportera jamais quelque chose de plus important ou te permettra jamais de construire quelque chose de capital dans ta vie. Et moi, c’est ce que je pense.
Le plus important, c’est de vivre les choses en son temps, parce que rien n’est éternel. Tu pourras pas vivre ce que tu vis maintenant dans 5 ou 10 ans, t’auras pas le même cerveau non plus pour apprendre de nouvelles choses ou le même temps.
Alors faut bien réfléchir à comment tu veux utiliser ton temps parce que ça passe trop vite et on est pas éternels.
C’est beaucoup de temps à consacrer si on traduit seuls. A voir avec toi-même.
If that is so then you could do this:
(I chose could, after careful consideration, so please do not jump at it.)
With a problem you encounter it is better to either find an already existing topic, or start your own one. It can get really messy and it rarely ends happily for the involved, if too many issues come in the mix. As it is the Discussions page for sure we often try to exchange our viewpoints.
You might have not been in the mood to exchange viewpoints but were looking for a solution to your problem.
Keeping that in mind a separate topic would have done your aim more justice, it would have been clearer and you would have gotten a better chance to get only replies to your question without getting entangled with the other subject of the Subathon.
In the end it shows that this event only added to your distress, but is not the main reason, it probably was only “la goutte d’eau qui a fait déborder la vase” (My French isn’t the best anymore too little practice …) so your frustration “overflowed”.
These times are not easy, I am living in Germany and in my town we hit the red light this week - and are now called high risk area. Of course there are fears and all, I experience many cut backs the past month myself therefore I hope, you can still stay optimistic. (I won’t go deeper into this topic since Viki is not keen to see us talking about this.) May I ask from which region in France you are? I am living in the “Palatine”, we have some French left in our dialect.
If people want to talk about their own experience, they can exchange their viewpoints, but they don’t need to click on the reply button so I get a notification about something that doesn’t concern me and they don’t have to add how I should live my life as if it was the most natural thing to do in this world while telling me they’re trying to help me.
This is not what I expect when people share their viewpoints.
Probably it was not the main reason, but if you read carefully, I first suggested things concerning the subathon and badges so it could work better for French people. That’s the main concern I wanted to talk about. Could you read it again?
The other things I added are what I have been asked, because the question was asked, but my suggestions were about the subathon and badges and a better organization overall.
I do believe that if the subathon was not there, we wouldn’t have more ep released this week and I wouldn’t think about how to deal with them.
I suggested to do a subathon during a better time, so we had a better organization.
I believe I can create another topic about English edition, but there are already topics about that and I feel like repeating over what everyone has been saying.
No, I wanted to talk about the subathon. It was clear for me.
