| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Translator rating on Lingorate without permission Thread poster: Irene Koukia
|
|---|
Iris Schmerda 
France
Local time: 18:46
Member (2016)
French to German
+ ...
| Hosting company couldn't care less | Aug 30, 2016 |
Hello,
about a week ago I got the same message and found "my" profile on their site.
I did not contact them, as I thought immediately that it would be useless.
According to Whois they are based on the Bahamas, far away from UE regulations etc.
On Whois I found also tldregistrarsolutions, a company in London, which I contacted.
However, they wrote me they are only the domain name registrar and "It is technically impossible for us to remove the co... See more Hello,
about a week ago I got the same message and found "my" profile on their site.
I did not contact them, as I thought immediately that it would be useless.
According to Whois they are based on the Bahamas, far away from UE regulations etc.
On Whois I found also tldregistrarsolutions, a company in London, which I contacted.
However, they wrote me they are only the domain name registrar and "It is technically impossible for us to remove the content from the website."
So I found the hosting company on Whois, a company in Reykjavik.
Their answer to my complaint is a gem:
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting abuse department. Unfortunately from what I can see nothing is illegal here. There is literally no information about you on this website
http://lingorate.com/users/iris-schmerda
A name "Iris Schmerda" without a DoB, Passport, Profile photo, anything of a sort is not illegal, you do not own this Name by default. There can be other Iris Schmerda in the world just like There can be other X. X. which is my initials.
At this time there is nothing to do here, you simply should refrain from using the site or be on it. No one will either way take a site seriously where there is simply no information on the translator or the person to contact.
If you feel this strongly about your existance in name only, you can contact and Icelandic law firm on how best to proceed but this would of course cost money to hire an attorney. Only then if we received a request from the attorney we could approach the client to give his or her real information for legal proceedings or remove the profile being complained about.
However without all of this there is nothing we can do here, this is to far from being illegal.
Best greetings,"
So there is nothing to do! (Except if you want to hire an Icelandic law firm)
I do not own my name by default, it is as if it were just initials! (he can't know that my name is extremely rare, but still!)
I should just "refrain from using the site"! (have never ever used it)
The only idea I have now: This hosting company should get many many complaints from translators ...
They are easy to find on Whois.
[Edited at 2016-08-30 08:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Initially annoyed, but then thought "Who cares?" | Aug 30, 2016 |
The following line from their e-mail is what bothered me:
"Your LingoRate profile was created for you automatically based on your contact details specified in public translators listing websites."
However, they did not create a profile, they just selected a very misleading and annoying way to invite me to create a profile. The site contains nothing but my name: no contact details, no trade name, no picture, etc. Now, I might feel differently if I had a very unusual name instea... See more The following line from their e-mail is what bothered me:
"Your LingoRate profile was created for you automatically based on your contact details specified in public translators listing websites."
However, they did not create a profile, they just selected a very misleading and annoying way to invite me to create a profile. The site contains nothing but my name: no contact details, no trade name, no picture, etc. Now, I might feel differently if I had a very unusual name instead of an extraordinarily common name, but even then, I can't see how posting the name of someone providing commercial services could be a violation of privacy laws anywhere in the world.
As far as I can see, they haven't done anything wrong at all (in contrast to the shady Canadian character a while back who was actually pirating profiles to help support his needy children, etc.). ▲ Collapse
| | | |
Irene Koukia wrote: John Fossey wrote:
I doubt you can prevent anyone from listing basic data they have found out about you on the internet. There are protections against slander, and copyright protects you from having your creations copied, but data itself, such as your name and other information that you have made publicly available on the internet, is not protected. You might be right but it does not seem legal to create websites and use names of professionals just like that, without their permission. I don't know this company, their Terms of Use are very suspicious and they use my name in order to create traffic to their website? From what I understood, the person who posted the message through TC calls himself a "Project Manager", so I think that the ultimate goal is to rank higher and attract customers to their translation company. Anyhow, I don't like being mentioned/featured, whatever, without my consent. Yes, I did contact them by email (info) and via their contact form - 3 times already. No response. [Edited at 2016-08-29 20:53 GMT] [Edited at 2016-08-29 20:53 GMT]
If I made a website and published it on the Internet using some celebrity's name, for example, Tom Cruise. com or something WITHOUT getting written permission from Tom Cruise himself (I doubt he would), I'm 120% sure that I will be sued by him and will be forced to delete the website or at least change the name to something else totally unrelated to him. Why doesn't the same apply to us translators?
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:46
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| I have a friend who is a doctor | Aug 30, 2016 |
and there are 100s (if not thousands) of doctor rating sites (seems like 10 new ones appear every day, so there must be money to be made) and there is nothing she can do about it.
| | |
|
|
|
Andrea Muller (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:46
English to German
+ ...
| I don't think there is much you can do... | Aug 30, 2016 |
...if it is just supposed to be a client review or ratings site.
These ratings sites exist in the UK, too. They are supposed to be a good thing for consumers. And presumably there is some money to be made out of them.
Normally, they are better designed and provide a lot more information about who is running the site and so on, which makes them appear more trustworthy than this Lingorate site.
I was not really aware of any of them covering translators, but t... See more ...if it is just supposed to be a client review or ratings site.
These ratings sites exist in the UK, too. They are supposed to be a good thing for consumers. And presumably there is some money to be made out of them.
Normally, they are better designed and provide a lot more information about who is running the site and so on, which makes them appear more trustworthy than this Lingorate site.
I was not really aware of any of them covering translators, but this one does, apparently (under other professionals):
http://www.checkaprofessional.com/
I have not looked at it properly, but there seem to be mainly agencies listed.
And lawyers have been getting a bad press for trying to stop unfavourable reviews:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lawyers-are-using-threats-to-stop-negative-client-reviews-10089324.html ▲ Collapse
| | | | | | | Personal data IS protected | Aug 31, 2016 |
John Fossey wrote:
... but data itself, such as your name and other information that you have made publicly available on the internet, is not protected.
Actually, I think e-mail addresses fall within the scope of personal data and as such, must be protected and may not be processed without consent. That's why e-mail addresses shouldn't be published so liberally...
| | | | | What's all the fuss about? | Aug 31, 2016 |
You're a business, and other people have every right to rate you.
If you open a hotel, you expect to appear on Tripadvisor sooner or later. If it's a good hotel, it's free advertising. If it's bad, you'll probably fail anyway, with or without Tripadvisor.
There's already a rating feature on ProZ, Willingness to Work Again, and I haven't seen anyone complaining about that.
| | |
|
|
|
| Some differences | Aug 31, 2016 |
philgoddard wrote:
You're a business, and other people have every right to rate you.
If you open a hotel, you expect to appear on Tripadvisor sooner or later. If it's a good hotel, it's free advertising. If it's bad, you'll probably fail anyway, with or without Tripadvisor.
There's already a rating feature on ProZ, Willingness to Work Again, and I haven't seen anyone complaining about that.
It's definitely not the same thing...
Firstly, I believe what Irene was originally objecting to was the creation of her profile on that website for apparently no good reason (it was the site staff who added her and "invited" her to claim "her profile", not a client who created her profile by posting a review, as it would happen here with BB entries).
Secondly, the WWA here can only be positive, and besides, it's you the one who decides to open an account on ProZ, not the site staff who "conscripts" you, so not much reason for translators to complain.
This rating system would theoretically be more similar to the LWA, only based on subjective evaluations of the quality of the services provided by a translator, which, in my opinion, opens a giant can of worms, in terms of trustworthiness/fairness of the people who run that website, their goals, the subjectivity of ratings, the ability to substantiate/disprove claims, etc. etc.
| | | |
Irene Koukia wrote:
- My email is not hard to find, since I also have a website and profiles on Social Media and translation-related sites of my choice ("choice" being the keyword).
- I am not afraid of ratings (that is not the point). I simply want to determine where my company or me are featured.
- I found out the other day that a Greek portal listed my company with wrong contact details and I asked to be removed. They called me and they agreed to delete the company profile immediately. What happened was, that I was registered on their website but they used my data for a sister-company of theirs. I never agreed to that and the removed the entry for the sister-company's website immediately.
I asked about the email address only because I thought that perhaps that's why you're on their website while others here apparently aren't (yet?). Or at least, I hope so, because if that's the discriminating factor, then they wouldn't add me as long as they don't have my email address... 
Additionally, I do understand your point about being able to control where you "appear", of course, and I also share it, but I fear the situation might be as John described it, in that probably neither privacy protection laws, nor the "right to be forgotten" ones are applicable to simple data that is already openly accessible on the Net.
That said, not knowing who runs that website, for what purpose, based on what principles, if the supposed "reviews" would be trustworthy and actually based on real work, etc. bugs me even more than just my name appearing there without any specific data, although the fact that they created themselves a "profile" with your name when there is no "review" to show and sent you an email to ask you to "claim" it, is not a good sign either, in my opinion...
| | | | Irene Koukia
Greece
Local time: 19:46
Member (2008)
German to Greek
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Mirko Mainardi wrote: philgoddard wrote:
You're a business, and other people have every right to rate you.
If you open a hotel, you expect to appear on Tripadvisor sooner or later. If it's a good hotel, it's free advertising. If it's bad, you'll probably fail anyway, with or without Tripadvisor.
There's already a rating feature on ProZ, Willingness to Work Again, and I haven't seen anyone complaining about that. It's definitely not the same thing... Firstly, I believe what Irene was originally objecting to was the creation of her profile on that website for apparently no good reason (it was the site staff who added her and "invited" her to claim "her profile", not a client who created her profile by posting a review, as it would happen here with BB entries). Secondly, the WWA here can only be positive, and besides, it's you the one who decides to open an account on ProZ, not the site staff who "conscripts" you, so not much reason for translators to complain. This rating system would theoretically be more similar to the LWA, only based on subjective evaluations of the quality of the services provided by a translator, which, in my opinion, opens a giant can of worms, in terms of trustworthiness/fairness of the people who run that website, their goals, the subjectivity of ratings, the ability to substantiate/disprove claims, etc. etc.
I couldn't agree more. That is exactly the point.
In addition to that, their scam (which is obvious now) has escalated. A colleague wrote an article about her (worse) experience: https://lingocode.com/lingorate-the-latest-identity-theft-scam-to-target-translators/
They seem to be asking for IDs and Certificates now, when their address and phone numbers are not even on their own website
I think they will be gone soon, so the problem will be solved shortly
| | | | John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 12:46
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
| Personal data, protected and unprotected | Aug 31, 2016 |
Annamaria Amik wrote: John Fossey wrote:
... but data itself, such as your name and other information that you have made publicly available on the internet, is not protected. Actually, I think e-mail addresses fall within the scope of personal data and as such, must be protected and may not be processed without consent. That's why e-mail addresses shouldn't be published so liberally...
I'm pretty sure that as soon as you voluntarily publish personal data such as your name and email address on the internet, it is no longer protected and can be republished by someone else. The act of publicizing it yourself is considered to make it public information. So the only way to keep your personal data protected is to never publish it yourself. This, by the way, is why a lot of companies have a "Contact Us" web form instead of an email address.
[Edited at 2016-08-31 13:53 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
John Fossey wrote: Annamaria Amik wrote: John Fossey wrote:
... but data itself, such as your name and other information that you have made publicly available on the internet, is not protected. Actually, I think e-mail addresses fall within the scope of personal data and as such, must be protected and may not be processed without consent. That's why e-mail addresses shouldn't be published so liberally... I'm pretty sure that as soon as you voluntarily publish personal data such as your name and email address on the internet, it is no longer protected and can be republished by someone else. The act of publicizing it yourself is considered to make it public information. So the only way to keep your personal data protected is to never publish it yourself. This, by the way, is why a lot of companies have a "Contact Us" web form instead of an email address.
Yes, of course. It wasn't clear whether she actually published her e-mail address or they retrieved it somehow, not quite legally.
For example, I never and I mean never publish my e-mail address anywhere, I never subscribe to any mailing list, I unclick every option on any site attempting to subscribe me automatically, etc., practically I never use my e-mail address for anything, and I still get unsolicited e-mails - I firmly believe some organizations sell their mailing lists illegally. But nobody bothers to ask them to produce my consent, the only remedy available is their deleting me (unless I engage into costly lawsuits).
| | | | | Private e-mail and work e-mail | Sep 1, 2016 |
Annamaria Amik wrote:
Yes, of course. It wasn't clear whether she actually published her e-mail address or they retrieved it somehow, not quite legally.
For example, I never and I mean never publish my e-mail address anywhere, I never subscribe to any mailing list, I unclick every option on any site attempting to subscribe me automatically, etc., practically I never use my e-mail address for anything, and I still get unsolicited e-mails - I firmly believe some organizations sell their mailing lists illegally. But nobody bothers to ask them to produce my consent, the only remedy available is their deleting me (unless I engage into costly lawsuits).
I completely understand your policy of not publishing your e-mail address, but do you mean your private one or your business one? I guess I don't understand how you draw in new business if you don't publish your e-mail address anywhere. I suppose a "Contact Me" webmail form that doesn't reveal your e-mail address would do it in some cases. I just know that when I'm looking for a service, I now almost always go online to do it, and if there's no easy way to contact the company/person, then I move on to the next one.
I agree with the others who have said that we run a business and there are sites online that allow private persons to evaluate businesses. I look at reviews of doctors when looking for a new one and hotel reviews before booking a vacation, so it would be rather hypocritical of me to get up in arms if a site starts to post reviews about translators and includes me. If I saw that I got a negative review, I might then start reaching out to my satisfied customers to ask that they post positive reviews if they feel they've had a good experience.
However, I definitely wouldn't send them any certificates or information to "verify" my profile.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 17:46
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| I don't think it's ever a good idea to let your email address, private or professional, appear in cl | Sep 1, 2016 |
Kelly Neudorfer wrote: Annamaria Amik wrote:
For example, I never and I mean never publish my e-mail address anywhere I completely understand your policy of not publishing your e-mail address, but do you mean your private one or your business one? I guess I don't understand how you draw in new business if you don't publish your e-mail address anywhere. I suppose a "Contact Me" webmail form that doesn't reveal your e-mail address would do it in some cases.
I don't think it's ever a good idea to let your email address, private or professional, appear in clear on the Internet. Surely that's why there's the option of having a "Contact me" form on your website. And why there are similar possibilities here on ProZ.com and elsewhere. I have a separate version of my CV for uploading to the Internet; one without my email address.
Once someone has contacted you through a website, you can decide whether or not to reply, at which point they will get access to your email address.
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Translator rating on Lingorate without permission | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | 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 » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
