Do not allow banned companies to delete their Blue Board record (Staff: we don't)
Thread poster: Jeffrey Slenker
Jeffrey Slenker
Jeffrey Slenker  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
Japanese to English
Nov 16, 2022

I just received a job offer from an agency. I looked them up via the Proz.com Blue Board. There was no record, although I thought there should be, since I vaguely remembered the name. I then went back through past communications with the company and found that I had declined a previous offer since they had been banned on the Blue Board. So, somehow this firm was able to remove their record from the Blue Board after being banned. The main reason I renew my membership each year is the Blue Board. ... See more
I just received a job offer from an agency. I looked them up via the Proz.com Blue Board. There was no record, although I thought there should be, since I vaguely remembered the name. I then went back through past communications with the company and found that I had declined a previous offer since they had been banned on the Blue Board. So, somehow this firm was able to remove their record from the Blue Board after being banned. The main reason I renew my membership each year is the Blue Board. If companies have the ability to erase their bad record from Blue Board, it takes away a valuable service that makes Proz.com membership worthwhile. Your policy should be that once a Blue Board record is established it can not be removed. This will give agencies the motivation to clean up their record in order to be allowed to post jobs on Proz.com again. As this functionality stands now, some translator might take a chance on an agency without any Blue Board record and get burned, despite being a Proz member who should have access to the valuable information that the agency was banned.Collapse


Jessica Noyes
Angus Stewart
Tina Vonhof (X)
Thomas T. Frost
ahartje
Stepan Konev
Matthias Brombach
 
Thomas Pfann
Thomas Pfann  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:22
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
Ask if the BB record has been deleted (and why) Nov 16, 2022

I suggest you ask proZ.com (via a support ticket) if the Blue Board record for that company has indeed been deleted (and if so, why).

As a rule, BB records are never deleted (see Blue Board FAQs: "Requests for complete removal of a Blue Board record may also be considered, but will gen
... See more
I suggest you ask proZ.com (via a support ticket) if the Blue Board record for that company has indeed been deleted (and if so, why).

As a rule, BB records are never deleted (see Blue Board FAQs: "Requests for complete removal of a Blue Board record may also be considered, but will generally not be granted." - https://www.proz.com/faq/blue_board_outsourcer_database_/for_outsourcers.html#can_i_remove_my_blue_board_record_ )
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Thomas T. Frost
Walter Landesman
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 03:22
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Rebranding and renaming Nov 16, 2022

Agencies are also allowed to post jobs under new names, while their previous (bad) record is not deleted, however it is stashed away/hidden and not immediately visible. ProZ shows it in a small window notice that not everyone sees or reacts to, and this can create misinformation and confusion as well.

I think this should not be allowed either. They should stick to one same unified BB record that reflects their entire BB history, even in case of rebranding.


Daryo
 
Jeffrey Slenker
Jeffrey Slenker  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER
To Thomas... Nov 16, 2022

For clarification, by reviewing a previous email I had sent this particular agency, it was obvious that I had looked them up using the Blue Board in the past, and that at that time they had been banned from posting jobs.

 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 03:22
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
@Jeffrey Nov 16, 2022

Have they changed their name or ProZ profile in the meantime? It is allowed for them to simply open a brand new profile and post from there. They can also open a new profile for each new location/division. At least that’s what I saw happening.

 
Jeffrey Slenker
Jeffrey Slenker  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER
@Lingua 5B Nov 16, 2022

I think Proz.com tries to link old profiles to new ones. Since this agency did not come back to me after I declined their job today, I am guessing they don't have a new profile with new good feedback to share...

Michael Newton
 
Lucia Leszinsky
Lucia Leszinsky
SITE STAFF
Blue Board records stay in place Nov 16, 2022

Hello everyone,

Most of the concerns expressed here are addressed by site rules, https://www.proz.com/rules , and, as Thomas correctly points out, the FAQs, https://www.proz.com/faq . But just to be clear: Blue Board records stay in place once created. Contact information may be updated, affiliated profiles, even
... See more
Hello everyone,

Most of the concerns expressed here are addressed by site rules, https://www.proz.com/rules , and, as Thomas correctly points out, the FAQs, https://www.proz.com/faq . But just to be clear: Blue Board records stay in place once created. Contact information may be updated, affiliated profiles, even the name (older company names are kept though for search purposes), but the record stays in place. If you would like me to take a look at the outsourcer in question, please submit a support request with relevant details and I'll personally take a look, Jeffrey, http://proz.me/help

Lingua 5B wrote:

Agencies are also allowed to post jobs under new names, while their previous (bad) record is not deleted, however it is stashed away/hidden and not immediately visible.


No. Outsourcers who have been banned from posting jobs at ProZ.com continue to be banned. Even when new profiles are found these are affiliated with the corresponding Blue Board record and blocked from posting jobs. If they change their name, there are other means to confirm relationships. Moderators and site staff do all we can to keep records updated and banned outsourcers blocked until issues are resolved or permanently, depending on the case. If you come across any profile that you believe may belong to a banned outsourcer, you are invited to report it to site staff for investigation and appropriate action.

Also, there are other strategies and tools you can use to assess risk when meeting clients. Some of these are explained here: https://go.proz.com/guidance/risk-management

Thanks!

Lucia
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Walter Landesman
 
Jeffrey Slenker
Jeffrey Slenker  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER
@Lucia Nov 16, 2022

OK. I will send you the agency name and the section of the previous email in which I told the agency I would not take their project because of their ban from posting.

Srini Venkataraman
 
Jeffrey Slenker
Jeffrey Slenker  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER
@Lucia Nov 16, 2022

I just sent you the name of the agency and the previous email string via the Help link

 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 03:22
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
@Lucia Nov 16, 2022

I didn’t necessarily mean banned agencies, but agencies with bad scores. I saw them rebranded with new BB pages. Yes, you always provide a small notice about their previous BB pages, but I personally believe their entire history should be in one place, it’s much more transparent that way.

Daryo
 


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Do not allow banned companies to delete their Blue Board record (Staff: we don't)






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