Good morning, I don’t know if there’s already a similar topic, but I’ll open one if there isn’t. So, my request is this: I have repeatedly received requests for the translation into minor languages of dramas of which I am CM, from people without subs under their belt. One of Viki’s rules is not to include subtitlers without a language moderator or experience… So, how should we behave in these situations? Do we just reject them or do we risk accepting them to bring dramas to smaller countries as well? Also, often, (too often, honestly) i received requests from subbers for english subs… but the first language viki upload dramas is English!!! And i can’t hide english as language in the channel page… So, how can i solve this?
In such cases, you can always recommend them to contact already existing moderators in those languages, if you know any.
If the language is as small as, maybe, Igbo or Kazakh or Khmer, then I don’t think there’s a way out.
I think you can recommend them to find a show where there’s a moderator already, maybe inactive, in shows from 2009-2015ish. Maybe they can start there? But even then, who’ll vouch that the quality is good?
That’s exactly what worries me…
To not allow subbing in a less common language, if we don’t have a moderator in the language, is sort of like locking the barn door after the cows have escaped! There’s no vetting of the paid subbers who do the pre-subs and those of us who edit in any languages can affirm that we find mistakes. What I am saying is that having a moderator in a language on the team is no guarantee that the subs are accurate and complete.
Everytime a CM accepts a moderator in a language which is unfamiliar to the CM, the CM is accepting on faith that the mod is capable in whatever language they want to moderate. Viki says they adopted this policy to make sure subs were accurate but if it is a less common language, then there is no one to check the competency of the subbers. So then viewers who use the less common language lose out on the possibility of viewing with the subs in their own language.
I am thinking this rigid policy should be relaxed. At least with the availability of so many machine translation programs now, we can put the newbie’s subs into one of the programs and back translate to English to see if the subs are correct. We can also put the English sub into several of the machine translation programs and make sure the newbie isn’t using one of the programs to sub with. Of course, when checking whether or not a program is being used, you need to sample more complex subs as the machine translators may generate the same result for stuff like greetings, or who?, “I love you” and the like. If we give the volunteer in the less common language an opportunity, we are providing a benefit to the viewers in that language. If we say no to all such volunteers because there is no mod (nor has there ever been) then it dooms the viewer into never having anything to view in their own language.
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You’re right too… I’m always available to give newbies an opportunity but often they contact me and then they vanished… this made me think they are not really reliable…
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“Beeing in between a rock and a hard place.”
There will be newbies:
- who will sit through it from start to finish, even if the other team members left.
- who sub about 5 minutes and vanish into thin air, because they thought it would be easier.
And everything in between, in the old days we could peek on a list, or the staff members, where you could find someone profound and active in the language, to let them test and being evaluated.
And then accepted in the team or not.
Rules are good, but if there is no way to keep that process easier or less time consuming for a volunteer, it is a loss for Viki not getting those niche languages others don’t have.
If you dwell to long on this question, it’s your valuable time.
Why not contact the helpcenter? Ask Viki!
But that is my opinion, you do whatever feels right for you. Rules will only get adjusted over time, when you speak up
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Brand new subbers should at least have the example video (what’s that thing called?) subbed to their language. Checking it with GT would at least give you an idea if they are really trying to write in the rare language or if they are trying to abuse the system (by writing fe. Spanish subs in Armenian language). But if there is no moderator present for that language, the quality can’t be verified (asides from GT comparison) and you would have to trust them.
Czech language was one of those last time I heard of this problem. Because all the older volunteers stopped contributing.
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Using machine translation is the last thing we should do for several reasons and there is no point either way. Just ask Viki for permission to let people sub in unavailable languages. If the subber is bad, viewers might complain. If the language is so small that there are no viewers, then the subs won’t bother anyone.
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