[Viki Community] Announcing the new Project Finder

General Discussion
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Dear community,

We are really excited to share with you an updated version of the Project Finder. We’ve fixed long-standing bugs, given it a refreshed look, improved its functionality and added a highly-requested feature.

Your constant feedback and suggestions have been instrumental in this development.

We share the various updates below.

:hammer_and_wrench: FIXED

1. Project Finder “Preferences” settings

Your preferences used to never be saved! But you can now save your default subtitle language preferences and leaderboard opt-in status (“I want to subtitle into” and “I want to subtitle from”), so that Project Finder will display relevant channels in the Subtitler tab.

2. Channels looking for English language subtitlers will finally appear on Project Finder!

Previously, channels that were open for English language subtitlers were not appearing on Project Finder, making it challenging for contributors to find projects to work on.

:raised_hands: IMPROVED FUNCTIONS

1. Projects availability are no longer based on next-available episode

Before, when Project Finder listed available projects by episode, it caused huge frustration to both interested subtitlers and language moderators. This is because more often than not, language and segmenting teams are typically formed at the beginning and would contribute throughout all episodes of the show. The old set-up led interested subtitlers to misunderstand that only certain episodes needed their help.

We’ve now changed Project Finder to list projects at a channel level to accurately reflect how teams work.

Teasers, trailers and clips will also no longer be part of Project Finder’s projects availability.

2. Number of episodes are now included in project description

To ensure contributors only apply if they can commit to a project from start to end, we added the number of episodes of a channel in the project description. A 12-episode web drama definitely requires a different commitment than a 120-episode drama!

3. Improvements in the volunteers application form

The old version of the application form had a generic message by Viki that auto-populates the body of the message. This makes applications impersonal and also makes it tough for Channel Managers and language Moderators to understand the applicant’s experience and availability.

We’ve now made the application form more useful and effective by including mandatory fields where applicants share more about themselves, like experiences and skills. They can also indicate their availability and timezone to help Channel Managers and Moderators better determine suitability and/or manage the distribution of project parts.

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Application messages will also include other information: applicant’s profile link, QC status and contribution count, amongst others. This info will be auto-populated with the information available on our system.

4. Message subject titles will now be in English

We’ve changed the Inbox subject line for application messages to be entirely in English.

Previously, when a subtitler applies for a project, their application message would contain a subject line that lists the language pair in the native language (e.g., “Ελληνικά”; rather than “Greek”). Now, all subtitler application messages will have a fully English subject line. Since English is the language understood by most community members, this helps Channel Managers to better understand applications.

5. Project Finder now works on all screen sizes!

You can now find and apply to projects on your smartphone, tablet or desktop with ease.

:sparkles: NEW FEATURES

1. Quick and easy way to view channel synopsis

Now with just one click, you can view the synopsis of a show to help you decide if it’s a channel you’d like to work on. No more toggling back and forth between Project Finder and Viki to find out more about a channel.

2. Every contributor is limited to 3 applications within 24 hours

We all have limited time availability and we want to ensure we only apply for projects we can commit to!

3. Hide team from Project Finder

Previously, language or segmenting teams might continue to receive applications to join them even if they have been fully recruited. Now, Channel Managers and Language Moderators can hide a language or segmenting team from Project Finder when it is full. This new Team Settings tab can be found on the Manage Team page:

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The new version of Project Finder will be released on Aug 24, 23:00 PDT.

:rotating_light: Next steps for Channel Managers and language Moderators

The “Hide a team” feature will be released on Aug 17, 23:00 hrs PDT, a week before the official Project Finder release. This is a conscious decision as we want to give Channel Managers and language Moderators sufficient time to hide their teams that are already full and/or where language subtitles have already been completed. This is to avoid situations where Channel Managers and language Moderators receive huge volumes of requests once the fully functional Project Finder is released on Aug 24, 23:00 hrs PDT.

You can find this function in the “Manage Team” page, under the “Team Settings” tab. More information on how you can hide a team can be found here.

We advise all Channel Managers and language Moderators to hide teams only when appropriate. If this feature is found to be misused, it will be disabled and the team member will be accountable. Please, do not at any time, hide a team with sole intentions to hoard.

Thank you again for all your feedback and suggestions that helped guide these Project Finder updates! We welcome you to share your feedback on the new Project Finder by replying to this post. You may also do so via the feedback form linked on Project Finder.

NOTE: To help us keep discussions organized, we kindly ask that responses to this post remain on topic about Project Finder. For other topics not related to this announcement, we recommend browsing the forum for existing, relevant threads. Thank you for your understanding!

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Are these coming pre-subbed?

Awesome! Thanks!

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Wow! Can’t wait to try it out! :heart_eyes:
Questions: Can Editors search for projects here? Will projects show up if I enter English to English in the Subtitling page?

Will there be some sort of indication to show that a show is coming with pre-subs or not?

This is so cool!
Thank you, Viki Team! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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… kindly ask for some response by Viki staff, we are thankful for the information, but at some point would like someone who can merge doubled or tripled topics. Sorry for being off-topic, but it’s been for months now, we were directing topics and questions to Viki staff and almost nothing happened. We are aware of the situation (short-handed), but still if you can’t moderate at least the merging of topics think about giving some features here at Viki discussions back to the regular trust level. Thank you and sorry.

P.S. I kindly ask other volunteers not to engage on my comment, if you like it or share my opinion give it a heart, if not start a new topic, to discuss it. Thank you.

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Finally a well-thought and relevant update! I am very happy and thankful -even if it took forever.
We will see it when it’s released and comment on any minor bugs or lacking features, but for now, everything that I read here is useful and welcome.
Well done!

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Wooooow, it sounds really good, maybe now it finally will be a good way to find volunteers ^^

to hide their teams that are already full and/or where language subtitles have already been completed.

Do we also need to hide the projects that have been completed? Will the project finder not display only dramas that have some episodes without translation?

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Firstly, I am sooo happy about this small yet very big change! Everything seems very good. The only thing about the 3 applications in 24 hours is that it doesn’t really stop anyone from having more projects than they should. They can just apply again the next day and the next one after that. It’s a big step towards a better solution. Especially for moderators that have 25 projects (yes as moderators) and don’t manage them well. It’s frustrating because there are so many hardworking volunteers that want to take a project as mod’ but they can’t because it’s always thd same people. Enough talking, here’s a possible solution that could go hand in hand with your new hidden feature. There could be a way for the system to indicate that all the episodes are translated at least 95% and that’s when a show is considered « completed »(not edited yet), that way if let’s say the max is 5 for subtitler projects and 3-5 for moderator projects, it can say “Sorry, you have exceeded the limit for subtitling, please come back once one of your projects are completed” (Something like that). It may or may not be technically possible but that’s just an idea that you can use for a more realistic solution with your tech team. I’m not quite sure if that’s the case but I FIRMLY believe that is how moderators should apply for their position in Project Finder with that same limit.

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This update is for the Project Finder, not the Volunteer Finder (which is still more-less useless).

If I may chip in, most likely not. The issue was that a show was fully translated (all 73 episodes, for example), but the project would show up in the Project Finder because one of five trailers wasn’t translated to that particular language. It created a false image that the project needed help. Not to mention work for the CMs and Mods to explain this to every single applicant.

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Yes, I think the volunteer finder doesn’t even exist anymore XD
I meant that with the generic messages I get from the project finder it’s difficult to judge whether someone is qualified for translating etc and it’s kinda difficult to find translators that way. So if it gets a bit fixed, maybe I will get some new people for my projects :smiley: Who knows…

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Fingers crossed! :grin:

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highlight your main suggestion in bold so it’s easy for Viki people to see!

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As the original post says, we should keep this thread only for questions and feedback on the improved Project Finder.

Kassidy’s suggestion is outside the scope of Project Finder and hence deserves its own thread (topic: hoarding projects), particularly since hoarding happens mostly outside of Project Finder. There is plenty of discussion already out there and to be had on this topic. And who knows, maybe Viki has something planed for it, as well.

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I’m sorry to disagree. I may have written more things related to it but one problem leads to another one, so it can never really be separated. Nevertheless, the feedback/solution I am offering (in bold) is through the Project Finder. More specifically, when people apply through it. The main reason why PF was a problem before was because Moderators got so many applications from subtitlers that didn’t commit (hoarders I may say). If we can add that same restriction for moderators, it would reduce volunteers that hoard so many projects (I might delete this post once I confirm you’ve read my response :))

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Oh, you don’t need to delete your post. Let’s discuss!

So, the reason I said hoarding is a separate issue is because it spans much wider than the Project Finder.

The recent implementation was to limit newbies (people who mostly use the Project Finder) to send too many applications around all at once in their eagerness to contribute. They are inexperienced to how the application process works, as well as how much time needs to be allocated to a project.

The Issue with newbies to me is, however, just the tip of an iceberg. True hoarding, one that makes most problems, is on a Moderator level. I think (so, I’m not 100% sure) that Mods usually apply directly to the CMs, and especially the hoarders. For those a different set of measures should be put in place, and, of course, outside of the Project Finder.

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Are there any changes for Segmenters in this? Everything in your post is geared towards the subtitlers and managers. I have found Project Finder for segmenting to be next to worthless. Now, I am no longer getting the Announcement posts when teams are being formed for new shows that will need segmenters. It would be nice to know that it will improve finding shows that could use some help.

Also since A&C for shows is becoming more common for shows that come with English subtitles, will that be something that shows in our stats or something that we will need to mention in one of the fields that you showed?

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I agree with you, but I also think that the fact that moderators go directly to CMs without “control” is what makes the situation bad. Because 1. It’s (sometimes) on a personal level or 2. Even if it isn’t CMs are required to check the user’s contributions and have to figure out if the person doesn’t have already a ton of work. Let’s be a bit honest, CMs don’t, won’t and can’t figure that out by themselves unless they are very determined to check every single details.

From what I read, when a volunteer applies, it will automatically send their contributions and activity and it will also block them from applying more than 3 times. Now imagine this for moderators? It’s not the immaculate solution, but mods have greater responsibilities as they are team leaders, so I think they should go through that process and restriction too. Adding “I want to be a Moderator” to the Project Finder is a first baby step (Segmenter, CM, Subtitler are all there so why not Moderator?).

But yes like I said I completely agree with you. It goes BEYOND the Project Finder, but I think it’s better to start from somewhere familiar and create a better version of it. It has to start somewhere even if it’s not perfect.

Sorry if I don’t make sense, let me know and I’ll try my best to explain in proper english haha :grin:

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You made perfect sense to me :blush:

Moderators should have bigger restrictions to the number of projects they are applying. Three per day is way too much. Particularly considering a hoarder applying.

In order for the Project Finder (PF) to be used in the way you describe and for it to be truly effective, Viki would have to reroute all applications to the CM via the PF. I’m not sure that’s feasible at this point in time. Maybe one day :thinking:

With regards to CMs not checking applicant’s stats and having PF do that work automatically, the stats named, which were just introduced in the PF, don’t look promising either:

As a CM I would need many other more advanced stats: number of finished projects (as a Mod only), started but unfinished projects (of which current vs. non-current), projects which haven’t been started (non-current, current, future), projects where the applicant has a channel role, but the channel is unavailable for the applicant etc. I would also like an average number of contributions per project, since I simply don’t trust Mods with zero contributions to the project, even if the project is finished. Also I would like the “Give this Subtitler a chance” mark, if it’s a person who is applying for their first moderation. Ah, so many things…

I think what we will see is a set of statistics per applicant which are mostly relevant to appraise the beginner and perhaps even intermediate contributors.

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Agree. Why not? And along that vein, why not for these as well: “I want to be a Cover Designer” and/or “I want to be an Editor (language)”?

Remember this: There isn’t any “role” icon for Cover Designers, and hence the “role” assigned to one is that of a “Moderator.”

I echo these sentiments. Hope the implementation would be as described, or even better and more user/volunteer-friendly. :crossed_fingers:

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:100: :100:!!! Well said.

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I meant OL mods, of course. Which makes me think, if a Page Designer is to be implemented into the Project Finder, then I would like to see a proper new role for Page Designers in the Team tab.

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