maurizio - Network

I posted something on Twitter for the first time in 13 years and WOW YOU WEREN'T KIDDING ABOUT THOSE TRANSLATION HATING TROLLS

I posted something on Twitter for the first time in 13 years and WOW YOU WEREN'T KIDDING ABOUT THOSE TRANSLATION HATING TROLLS

The lunacy of LinkedIn: I just saw this meme, found it hilarious, then realized it was posted absolutely unironically by a page about...

The lunacy of LinkedIn: I just saw this meme, found it hilarious, then realized it was posted absolutely unironically by a page about generative AI advertising some competition to "find the best AI tools on the Generative AI Leaderboard, based on real user votes".

I only just realized that today is a bank holiday here in Italy, and only because a PM from India told me when asking for help with an...

I only just realized that today is a bank holiday here in Italy, and only because a PM from India told me when asking for help with an urgent task.

I used to be proud of my work/life balance, now I don't even know what day it is!

That feeling when you're blissfully ignorant about "content creation" and anything YouTube related, but then you end up...

That feeling when you're blissfully ignorant about "content creation" and anything YouTube related, but then you end up translating hours of subtitles for YouTubers tutorials, forcing you to stare into the abyss for days.

Handling oneself as a product, how to artificially generate interest, tricks to keep people's eyes glued on the screen. All of it explained as if it was grandma's apple pie recipe, it's nauseating.

I wonder how I'll feel when I'm properly old, it doesn't look promising.

(I swear I do like my job, but definitely not as much as I like not having to work)

(I swear I do like my job, but definitely not as much as I like not having to work)

What are three betters words than "I love you"?

What are three betters words than "I love you"?

After spending way too much time complaining about how most contemporay UIs are a pain in the ass and do not allow me to do what I actually...

After spending way too much time complaining about how most contemporay UIs are a pain in the ass and do not allow me to do what I actually want/need without convoluted solutions, while before I could just go into the settings and customize what I needed, I realize that not only I have become the old man yelling at clouds meme, but I'M ACTUALLY RIGHT THOSE CLOUDS REALLY SUCK GIVE ME THE OLD CLOUDS BACK

BTW I just got 30k to review, so bye bye empty work backlog - it was nice knowing that you could exist, even if not today.

BTW I just got 30k to review, so bye bye empty work backlog - it was nice knowing that you could exist, even if not today.

For the first time in MONTHS, I have only one pending task. My work backlog could be empty if I just quickly take care of it. Peace of mind...

For the first time in MONTHS, I have only one pending task. My work backlog could be empty if I just quickly take care of it. Peace of mind is just one or two hours away.

Which means... IT'S TIME TO PROCRASTINATE BABYYYY

Lionbridge has gone fully on the offensive to replace all the translators that refused to accept their new, crappy fuzzy grid.Let's make...

Lionbridge has gone fully on the offensive to replace all the translators that refused to accept their new, crappy fuzzy grid.

Let's make sure that devs and publisher know that this supposedly reliable LSP will soon be working with underpaid translators, desperate enough to accept those conditions, instead of their long-term trusted collaborators.

https://www.eurogamer.net/why-are-localisation-workers-regularly-left-out-of-game-creditsFor those who missed it: a very nice, in-depth...

https://www.eurogamer.net/why-are-localisation-workers-regularly-left-out-of-game-credits

For those who missed it: a very nice, in-depth article on the current status of the crediting issue.

Big appreciation to all the people that spoke in here, anonymously or not.

https://www.eurogamer.net/baldurs-gate-3-translation-company-commits-to-change-after-leaving-staff-out-of-creditsEpisode 2 of the story, for...

https://www.eurogamer.net/baldurs-gate-3-translation-company-commits-to-change-after-leaving-staff-out-of-credits

Episode 2 of the story, for those who missed it.
Altagram is announcing that they will establish a dedicated committee to fix the fact that they haven't been capable of sending an Excel with the translators' names on it.

HOWDY PARTNER!(Needless to say, I have never spoken before with this person in my life, nor do I have any information about what project...

HOWDY PARTNER!

(Needless to say, I have never spoken before with this person in my life, nor do I have any information about what project they're talking about.)

Thank Dog it's #Thursdog

Thank Dog it's #Thursdog

2) My oldest client has crappy rates, but we have an amazing and friendly relationship, and they get me projects that they know I love....

2) My oldest client has crappy rates, but we have an amazing and friendly relationship, and they get me projects that they know I love. I'm fairly sure they really have such a small margin of profit that raising my rates would price me out of most projects, so I haven't asked to change them, but gosh does it feel bad when I'm busy with an amazing but cheap project with them and I get offered something by other clients that would pay nearly double, and I have to refuse or overwork myself.

1) Three months ago I was contacted by an agency that is always mentioned very positively by colleagues online, as they wanted to add me to...

1) Three months ago I was contacted by an agency that is always mentioned very positively by colleagues online, as they wanted to add me to their pool. I gave them my default rates (which I use for 90% of my clients) and they asked me to lower them a bit. I told them that I'd like to keep them as they are, but we can discuss discounts on specific projects. I really want to work with them, but I do wonder if it will ever happen. It felt like a lose-lose situation to me.
[continue]

So, a #RateRant: the struggle for fair rates is probably my least favorite part of freelancing, as it often result in unsatisfying...

So, a #RateRant: the struggle for fair rates is probably my least favorite part of freelancing, as it often result in unsatisfying resolutions for all parties involved. A couple of recent cases left a sour taste in my mouth and I'd love to hear other people opinions on how they'd handle them.
Relevant info: I've a decent idea of ongoing rates for Italian and I know that mine are quite average for an experienced translator.
[continues because I'm a really verbose writer outside of work]

This is also a reminder that the narrative of "the agencies want to hide translators' names!" is not always the answer: there...

This is also a reminder that the narrative of "the agencies want to hide translators' names!" is not always the answer: there are many actors involved and there isn't one universal reason why translators end up not credited. Big agencies, in particular, are often huge conglomerates born of acquisitions and MUCH can change depending on which office and which PM you are working with. Keep asking everybody involved to credit translators, and the rotten apples will slowly come out!

Before even replying to me, the PM promptly sent a mail to all freelancers involved asking for their names, so that he could send them to...

Before even replying to me, the PM promptly sent a mail to all freelancers involved asking for their names, so that he could send them to the devs for the credits. He later thanked me for sniping that tweet out of long conversation and sharing it with him. Will we get credited? We'll see, but making noise online gave us leverage, and in this case the agency immediately took action to make it happen and we now know that the ball should be in the devs' court.
[continue]

Got a satisfying #translatorsinthecredits moment: I'm working on a game with one of the huge agencies, for a small-ish but known studio...

Got a satisfying #translatorsinthecredits moment: I'm working on a game with one of the huge agencies, for a small-ish but known studio that a while ago was called out on Twitter for never crediting the loc team, to which the studio replied by apologizing and saying that translators would be credited in all future projects.
I wrote to the PM to discuss other stuff and linked the studio's tweet, writing "hey btw they said they want to credit translators, could you make it happen?"
[continue]