What does "xxx" mean mean before a person's name (ammended) Thread poster: Robert Forstag
|
|---|
Robert Forstag 
United States
Local time: 02:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not a matter of tremendous import, but a question I've been curious about for some time, mainly because it appears to be applied inconsistently to persons who no longer have profiles on the site.
Does it mean that the person whose name follows has had their profile removed (I know that this is true in some instances) or that they have voluntarily removed it? Does proz.com provide general information regarding numbers of members who have had their profiles removed involuntaril... See more Not a matter of tremendous import, but a question I've been curious about for some time, mainly because it appears to be applied inconsistently to persons who no longer have profiles on the site.
Does it mean that the person whose name follows has had their profile removed (I know that this is true in some instances) or that they have voluntarily removed it? Does proz.com provide general information regarding numbers of members who have had their profiles removed involuntarily, and/or regarding persons who have chosen to remove their profiles voluntarily (i.e., their reasons for doing so)?
It seems that, at the very least, transparency regarding general data as regards profiles removed from site and reasons for said action would be called for.
An additional reason I had for raising this question is the seemingly large proportion of articles within the proz.com database authored by persons whose names are preceded by "xxx." This seems problematic to me in two respects: 1.) there is no longer the possibility of interaction with persons who are no longer on the site; 2.) if such persons had their profiles removed because of some egregious ethical violation, then one wonders whether it makes sense for their articles to continue to be viewable on the site.
[Edited at 2009-09-23 17:03 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rick Henry
United States
Local time: 01:15
Italian to English
+ ...
| I think removal hapenns for a variety of reasons... | Sep 23, 2009 |
I know of at least a couple cases where the person has died. I also know of more than a few instances where people have just left, for various reasons, whether they got out of the field, or just got fed up with some of Proz.com's policies. Some just move on to other sites, etc.
R.
==
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 02:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Response to Rick | Sep 23, 2009 |
Right. But some who leave have the "xxx" before their names and some do not. I was wondering if there was a distinction of some sort....
| | | | | Reasons for profile removal | Sep 23, 2009 |
Hello Robert,
The "xxx" prefix is used when a profile is removed-- the system automatically applies this automatically to a profile's username, so when the username was the name chosen as the visible site name, you will see the "xxx" added to it.
The overwhelming majority of these cases you will see are profiles where the user has chosen to remove him/herself, or where staff has been asked by the profile owner to remove the account. While a profile may be removed by sta... See more Hello Robert,
The "xxx" prefix is used when a profile is removed-- the system automatically applies this automatically to a profile's username, so when the username was the name chosen as the visible site name, you will see the "xxx" added to it.
The overwhelming majority of these cases you will see are profiles where the user has chosen to remove him/herself, or where staff has been asked by the profile owner to remove the account. While a profile may be removed by staff as a results of serious (and usually repeated) rules violations, for example, this happens rarely. An exception to this are profiles created to spam in the forums or via profile email, where the profile is normally removed outright.
Regarding articles which may have been written by authors who have later removed their profile, unless the article itself violates site rules or the article submission guidelines (in which case they are not even vetted), I don't know if it's a good idea to just remove the article because the author has removed their profile. Authors may, of course, request an article they have written be removed, either with or without a profile, if they wish.
Best regards,
Jared ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 02:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you, Jared. | Sep 23, 2009 |
I appreciate the clarification, but I still think the fact that such a high proportion of articles are from persons who are no longer members is something that should give pause. This for two reasons: 1.) as I said in my original post, such a state of affairs renders impossible any interaction with the author (and such interactivity seems to be part of what this site is inherently about); 2.) I would submit that it gives an overall bad impression of the site itself (after all, I think it reason... See more I appreciate the clarification, but I still think the fact that such a high proportion of articles are from persons who are no longer members is something that should give pause. This for two reasons: 1.) as I said in my original post, such a state of affairs renders impossible any interaction with the author (and such interactivity seems to be part of what this site is inherently about); 2.) I would submit that it gives an overall bad impression of the site itself (after all, I think it reasonable for people to wonder--as I have--why so many of the people who at one point chose to write an article for the site subsequently chose to have their profile removed; a rather drastic step, when you think about it, on a site where one is able to maintain a profile free of charge). ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Just 1.65% of all article authors | Sep 23, 2009 |
Robert Forstag wrote:
An additional reason I had for raising this question is the seemingly large proportion of articles within the proz.com database authored by persons whose names are preceded by "xxx."
The "featured authors" page in the articles knowledge base shows 6 authors whose username is preceded by "xxx" out of a total of 363 authors. This is 1.65% of all article authors.
Regards,
Enrique
| | | | | Almost impossible to interact with them... | Sep 24, 2009 |
Robert Forstag wrote:
) as I said in my original post, such a state of affairs renders impossible any interaction with the author (and such interactivity seems to be part of what this site is inherently about); 2.) I would submit that it gives an overall bad impression of the site itself (after all, I think it reasonable for people to wonder--as I have--why so many of the people who at one point chose to write an article for the site subsequently chose to have their profile removed; a rather drastic step, when you think about it, on a site where one is able to maintain a profile free of charge).
[/quote]
... I would say, since in some cases one can always look up their names and possibly find them affiliated to professional translators/interpreters associations or entities (like ATA, for instance), or to other websites more or less similar to this one.
So many deleted profiles might give a bad impression of the site, but only to those who know the meaning of the XXX, or to those, like you, who reflect on why so many have left... They probably took a drastic step, but I would say as drastic as the changes that Proz.com has undergone in recent years. I am not at all surprised to see that many professionals who maintained a profile free of charge are gone because they no longer share the 'philosophy' of the site, an aspect probably more important to them than having a free (or even paid) profile.
In any case, I think it is good and useful that their contributions remain accessible in this site.
Just a couple of thoughts...
[Edited at 2009-09-24 01:28 GMT]
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 02:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks and sorry | Sep 24, 2009 |
A faulty impression, then, on my part. My apologies for creating such a stir...... 
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » What does "xxx" mean mean before a person's name (ammended) | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
