Suspicious BlueBoard entries Thread poster: Ingo Dierkschnieder
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Does anyone know by any chance how there suddenly can be such a lot of activity on the BlueBoard for one particular agency?
There were something like 6 entries over the last 2 years, but there now have been 28 new entries over the last two days, all 5 stars.
Seems a bit suspicious to me; can anyone report if there has been some kind of incentive by them to get all those new entries?
[Bearbeitet am 2020-07-09 15:00 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 01:56
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Ingo Dierkschnieder wrote:
Does anyone know by any chance why there is such a lot of activity on the BlueBoard entry of [a certain agency]? There were something like 6 entries over the last 2 years, but there now have been 28 new entries over the last two days, all 5 stars. Seems a bit suspicious to me; can anyone report if there has been some kind of incentive by them to get all those new entries?
You need to remove the name of the agency from the forum post, I'm afraid.
Most likely they posted a request to all their freelancers to give them a Blue Board rating. If you suspect foul play (e.g. they promised their translators something in return for a good rating), submit a support query. Go to https://go.proz.com/help and scroll to the middle of the screen, and click the button "SUBMIT A SUPPORT REQUEST".
This sort of shenanigans do not go unnoticed. Blue Board visitors will see that the dates are all the same and that the submitters all have mostly 0 KudoZ scores.
| | | | Ingo Dierkschnieder
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:56
Member (2004)
English to German
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you Samuel | Jul 9, 2020 |
As the post doesn't make any sense without the name of the agency, I'll delete it.
Well, I would if I could.
[Bearbeitet am 2020-07-09 14:59 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:56
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| No - it makes sense | Jul 9, 2020 |
Ingo Dierkschnieder wrote:
As the post doesn't make any sense without the name of the agency, I'll delete it.
Well, I would if I could.
[Bearbeitet am 2020-07-09 14:59 GMT]
No - it makes sense
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| There are more. | Jul 9, 2020 |
Ingo Dierkschnieder wrote:
As the post doesn't make any sense without the name of the agency, I'll delete it.
Well, I would if I could.
[Bearbeitet am 2020-07-09 14:59 GMT]
It is not only one particular agency, there are many more, so your thread makes perfect sense.
| | | | Ingo Dierkschnieder
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:56
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks Tom and Robert | Jul 9, 2020 |
It would indeed be interesting to hear if anyone can report about any incentives from translation agencies to increase their BlueBoard rating.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 00:56
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Maybe not suspicious | Jul 9, 2020 |
Ingo Dierkschnieder wrote:
Does anyone know by any chance how there suddenly can be such a lot of activity on the BlueBoard for one particular agency?
I noted the name before it was removed  . I discovered that there had been no takeover of the business, which had been my first thought. One of the behemoths of the industry might well have "encouraged" past suppliers to give good feedback in exchange for future work, which would probably then be subject to lower rates and worse payment terms. (As you may have guessed, I don't have a high opinion of them.)
So the most obvious reason is that it simply occurred to the owners to request feedback from all their suppliers. All of those latest entries are glowing, with many posters saying things like "I've been working with Xxxx for several years". I'd say the company just hit the jackpot with their latest marketing ploy. And if the initial post with the name was seen by many then it will have served as a great advert. I might actually apply to them myself .
| | | | Ingo Dierkschnieder
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:56
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | There goes another once reliable source of information | Jul 9, 2020 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
Ingo Dierkschnieder wrote:
Does anyone know by any chance how there suddenly can be such a lot of activity on the BlueBoard for one particular agency?
I noted the name before it was removed . I discovered that there had been no takeover of the business, which had been my first thought. One of the behemoths of the industry might well have "encouraged" past suppliers to give good feedback in exchange for future work, which would probably then be subject to lower rates and worse payment terms. (As you may have guessed, I don't have a high opinion of them.)
So the most obvious reason is that it simply occurred to the owners to request feedback from all their suppliers. All of those latest entries are glowing, with many posters saying things like "I've been working with Xxxx for several years". I'd say the company just hit the jackpot with their latest marketing ploy. And if the initial post with the name was seen by many then it will have served as a great advert. I might actually apply to them myself .
It's a shame as I saw the BlueBoard as a reliable source of information a few years down the line, but I now tend to think what a lot of people think: that BlueBoard records are unreliable as manipulation is just far too easy.
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Thomas Pfann
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:56
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
| Not suspicious | Jul 9, 2020 |
I don't find this suspicious at all. Once in a while, the company sends out a request to their translators to ask for a review and some translators oblige and submit a rating. Of course, this will cause clusters. Some reply immediately, others two or three days later, and after four days the request will have been forgotten and no new reviews will be submitted until the next request.
As a translator, I don't usually even think of writing a BlueBoard entry for any of my clients. But ... See more I don't find this suspicious at all. Once in a while, the company sends out a request to their translators to ask for a review and some translators oblige and submit a rating. Of course, this will cause clusters. Some reply immediately, others two or three days later, and after four days the request will have been forgotten and no new reviews will be submitted until the next request.
As a translator, I don't usually even think of writing a BlueBoard entry for any of my clients. But if a client approaches me asking if I could post a review for them I might actually bother to do so. And I am sure the same is true for many colleagues.
For me, the BlueBoard is still a very useful source of information. However, I am not interested in the overall rating but I look at the comments left by my colleagues (and I look at who these colleagues are). A company with a rating of 3.1 might even sound more promising than a company with a 5.0 rating – if the comments are meaningful and allow me to sift the wheat from the chaff. ▲ Collapse
| | | | finnword1
United States
Local time: 19:56
English to Finnish
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| I have been suspicious | Jul 10, 2020 |
Last year I received an job inquiry from an agency that had a total of 316 entries on the Blue Board and had 16 "fives" on the same day. Somehow, I found it a bit fishy. I did point it out to them, and never heard from them again.
| | | | Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 01:56
German to English
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| Actually, I would be extremely skeptical, too | Jul 10, 2020 |
It may not be the case here, but it is possible to hire people to write online reviews for you anywhere you want, just like paying to get thousands of followers on social media. If the pattern is that unusual/atypical, it's absolutely reasonable to be suspicious. Everything is for sale these days. Just use a search engine to find "paid reviews" or "fake positive reviews" (or any variation thereof) and learn the pathetic truth... And yes, questioning something that strikes you as odd is perfectly... See more It may not be the case here, but it is possible to hire people to write online reviews for you anywhere you want, just like paying to get thousands of followers on social media. If the pattern is that unusual/atypical, it's absolutely reasonable to be suspicious. Everything is for sale these days. Just use a search engine to find "paid reviews" or "fake positive reviews" (or any variation thereof) and learn the pathetic truth... And yes, questioning something that strikes you as odd is perfectly reasonable. There's nothing wrong with that at all. You are only looking out for your interests - in this case not becoming the victim of a possible fraud.
Edited a typo
[Edited at 2020-07-10 10:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 00:56
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Not in this case | Jul 10, 2020 |
Woodstock wrote:
It may not be the case here, but it is possible to hire people to write online reviews for you anywhere you want, just like paying to get thousands of followers on social media. If the pattern is that unusual/atypical, it's absolutely reasonable to be suspicious. Everything is for sale this days.
I'm not aure it would be worth the bother here on ProZ.com, as each reviewer would first have to have a profile, which would have to come from a different IP address. And in this particular case, there are several reviewers with high KudoZ totals etc.
So I think we can discount that here, although I agree that it is always something to watch out for.
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Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 01:56
German to English
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| @Sheila Wilson | Jul 10, 2020 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
So I think we can discount that here, although I agree that it is always something to watch out for.
Perhaps I'm too cynical, and/or you are too naive, but healthy skepticism is required for self-preservation these days. I personally would rather miss out on the occasional job offer to err on the side of caution. The result is that I've never been scammed, though admittedly, it may have been at the cost of a few assignments. I'm fine with that.
| | | | Eva Stoppa
Germany
Local time: 01:56
English to German
+ ...
| But some comments are in themselves suspicious | Jul 10, 2020 |
For me, the BlueBoard is still a very useful source of information. However, I am not interested in the overall rating but I look at the comments left by my
colleagues
But I have also come across comments like: "Payment was slowly, but came prompt". The Rating was a 5, but the comment is for everyone to judge by yourselves.
| | | | Eva Stoppa
Germany
Local time: 01:56
English to German
+ ...
| Healthy scepticism is always in place | Jul 10, 2020 |
Who says that translators with many Kudoz Points don't agree to give such fake Reviews when being offered extra Money? Personal situations tend to Change and who can really check if a given translator has really worked with the stated agency they Claim to be such wonderful, well-communicating, etc. Clients?
Some time ago, I really noticed such a suspicious Rating. The Rating was 5 and the Profile had been created the very day the Rating had been given without any further descriptio... See more Who says that translators with many Kudoz Points don't agree to give such fake Reviews when being offered extra Money? Personal situations tend to Change and who can really check if a given translator has really worked with the stated agency they Claim to be such wonderful, well-communicating, etc. Clients?
Some time ago, I really noticed such a suspicious Rating. The Rating was 5 and the Profile had been created the very day the Rating had been given without any further description of Services offered, etc. ▲ Collapse
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