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Is there a demand for a translation memory exchange?
Thread poster: sdvplatt
sdvplatt
sdvplatt
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46
Member (2003)
German to English
+ ...
Mar 7, 2018

It would allow translators to upload and download memories or parts of memories for a fee (per memory and or subscription based).
Qualities of memories would be open to inspection before purchase.
Memories categories intro language pairs and subject area.

One way would be to grant uploaders access to 2x other uploaded materials.


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:46
Danish to English
+ ...
Confidentiality problem Mar 7, 2018

How would you expect to do this without breaching a zillion non-disclosure agreements and general privacy laws?

 
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 12:46
Member
English to Italian
Confidentiality Mar 7, 2018

Would you, as a client, trust a translator who basically sold the same work they did for you to an unspecified number of other people?

This, without considering the more strictly legal implications of what you're suggesting...


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
it's been tried several times already Mar 7, 2018

See e.g.:

http://www.ttmem.com/)
https://www.tausdata.org/
• Wordfast's "VLTM" (Very Large TM
... See more
See e.g.:

http://www.ttmem.com/)
https://www.tausdata.org/
• Wordfast's "VLTM" (Very Large TM); see: http://www.fit-europe.org/vault/barcelone/Champollion.pdf
https://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_translator_coop/110929-clients_large_translation_companies_now_talking_about_pooling_linguistic_data_should_we_be_there.html (very relevant thread)

and something similar: http://opus.nlpl.eu/

Michael

[Edited at 2018-03-07 19:50 GMT]



[Edited at 2018-03-07 20:00 GMT]
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sdvplatt
sdvplatt
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46
Member (2003)
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Yes that legal argument Mar 7, 2018

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

How would you expect to do this without breaching a zillion non-disclosure agreements and general privacy laws?


Indeed that would have to be considered but its not impossible.
Wondering whether people would like to see it especially for specialist terminology.


 
sdvplatt
sdvplatt
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46
Member (2003)
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks Mar 7, 2018

Michael Joseph Wdowiak Beijer wrote:

See e.g.:

http://www.ttmem.com/
https://www.tausdata.org/

and something similar: http://opus.nlpl.eu/

Michael

[Edited at 2018-03-07 19:31 GMT]


thanks! Must be a good idea then.
Will check them out.
My suspicion is that the last remaining obstacle would be legal.


 
sdvplatt
sdvplatt
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46
Member (2003)
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
That is but one way of looking at it Mar 7, 2018

Mirko Mainardi wrote:

Would you, as a client, trust a translator who basically sold the same work they did for you to an unspecified number of other people?

This, without considering the more strictly legal implications of what you're suggesting...


Thank you for the client's perspective


 
The Misha
The Misha
Local time: 07:46
Russian to English
+ ...
Ahem... this would be like bringing in from the street a couch someone threw out Mar 7, 2018

that may or may not contain bed bugs.

But doesn't this place already have a subsidiary that seems to be doing just that, sharing and swapping TMs? Town something?


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:46
Danish to English
+ ...
Terminology Mar 7, 2018

deutschenglisch wrote:

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

How would you expect to do this without breaching a zillion non-disclosure agreements and general privacy laws?


Indeed that would have to be considered but its not impossible.
Wondering whether people would like to see it especially for specialist terminology.


Terminology is something else. That would be a term base or glossary, not a translation memory.

Then it would be a question of how reliable term bases from sources of unknown quality would be. I'm not sure I'd be interested.

As for the translation memories, as Mirko said, I would not want to be seen to be selling my clients' confidential documents or even suspected of doing it, which is one reason I am not to be found at TM Town (despite their term extraction algorithm). Would you want to consult a doctor or lawyer who was selling your personal files in one way or another? The problem is not just legal, but also ethical.


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
waving a dead chicken Mar 7, 2018

As far as all so-called "translation tools and know-how's" are but prompting--be it glossaries, TM's, auto-suggestions, MT and so on--it's up to the translator to choose and decide.

NDA? Just remove names and numbers, clean the timestamps up, and reset the author/remarks. That's it.


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:46
Danish to English
+ ...
No that's not it Mar 7, 2018

DZiW wrote:

NDA? Just remove names and numbers, clean the timestamps up, and reset the author/remarks. That's it.


That's not enough. You would still be publishing texts that belong to someone else, most likely committing copyright infringement and you would most likely still be violating privacy laws and NDAs.

I don't understand such an urge to sell other people's property. Would you also sell your neighbour's furniture if he asked you to water his plants for a week?


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
define:text Mar 7, 2018

Thomas, you're taking things far too over-seriously.

First of all, the key word is TEXT (e.g. a coherent sequence of statements and ideas with different logical, grammatical, stylistic, lexical and other connections and references--with a certain purpose and the main idea), while segments in TM's are but separate words, phrases, sentences, or rarely paragraphs--much lower level, NOT text.

Ok, are you really pretty sure that you could re-create the T
... See more
Thomas, you're taking things far too over-seriously.

First of all, the key word is TEXT (e.g. a coherent sequence of statements and ideas with different logical, grammatical, stylistic, lexical and other connections and references--with a certain purpose and the main idea), while segments in TM's are but separate words, phrases, sentences, or rarely paragraphs--much lower level, NOT text.

Ok, are you really pretty sure that you could re-create the TEXT from a TM of several 5K+ texts, with names/dates/numbers/timestamps removed and TU's re-arranged or NOT? Self-obvious.
That's why it's extremely unlikely to prove the NDA breaching and I also see no wrongdoing here.

A grand says you are mistaken, how about a bet? I accept bitcoins too
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Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:46
Danish to English
+ ...
Text or sentence Mar 8, 2018

Have you heard about the new General Data Protection Regulation for the EU? It concerns you too if you are handling personal data belonging to EU residents, and it is accompanied with fines for failure to apply it.

You may say an individual translator is unlikely to be fined, but this is not a question of how likely one is to be caught out, but about respecti
... See more
Have you heard about the new General Data Protection Regulation for the EU? It concerns you too if you are handling personal data belonging to EU residents, and it is accompanied with fines for failure to apply it.

You may say an individual translator is unlikely to be fined, but this is not a question of how likely one is to be caught out, but about respecting the rights and property of your clients.

It is also not a question of how likely an NDA breach (through selling a TM) can be proved, but of principles. Would you also shoplift if the likelihood of being caught is low? Selling data that is subject to copyright is theft. The data may be immaterial, but it is still theft.

A TM contains complete sentences. Every NDA I have seen prohibits divulging anything from the clients’ files (except for public domain information, etc.).

You would have to break up the sentences so much that no sentence is recognisable any more, and be sure to remove all traces of personal and confidential information to make this work. Is it really worth the trouble? What do you think you can get for a TM of unknown quality?

Again, I don't understand the urge to make a few bucks if it means violating NDAs, other agreements and laws.
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Andy Watkinson
Andy Watkinson
Spain
Local time: 12:46
Member
Catalan to English
+ ...
Why? Mar 8, 2018

NDAs, TMs, MT, TUs, Data Protection laws.... Nobody here is talking about what to me is the most important thing.

Why on earth would I, or anyone else, want to sell, for a relative pittance, something which has taken us decades to acquire?

You are free to come and take from my cold, almost dead, hands the sum total of my accumulated knowledge and "whathaveyou", provided you pay me and mine enough to live comfortably for the next couple of decades....

Any ta
... See more
NDAs, TMs, MT, TUs, Data Protection laws.... Nobody here is talking about what to me is the most important thing.

Why on earth would I, or anyone else, want to sell, for a relative pittance, something which has taken us decades to acquire?

You are free to come and take from my cold, almost dead, hands the sum total of my accumulated knowledge and "whathaveyou", provided you pay me and mine enough to live comfortably for the next couple of decades....

Any takers?
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
logic bomb fallacy Mar 8, 2018

Thomas, no furniture, laws or shoplifting rumbles: you--as a language specialist--did admit that you cannot recreate clients' texts from translators' TMs and NDA is just irrelevant therefore.
One should tell parts and elements from the whole. When did the letters and punctuation become someone's property and how many 'fuzzy' matches are there in 'private' texts, I wonder?
Without specific data (names/dates/numbers/sequence) all the words and sentences become depersonalized--just common information.
It's too generalized to dis/prove anything, let alone my TMs is still my work.

So far, what really concerns me is the quality, specifics and re-usability of others' TMs.
Frankly, I wouldn't buy it, yet I might consider acquiring one if it's really worthy or in a new field for me.

P.S. So, you spared $1000, yes?)

Andy, usually a decent TM is far more expensive than 'just a few bucks' and usually involves cooperation (or implies rivals).

[Edited at 2018-03-08 02:09 GMT]


 
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Is there a demand for a translation memory exchange?







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