DiventareTraduttori

Qabiria is launching a new site with the most frequently asked questions and answers about the world of translation.

We believe in sharing knowledge. If knowledge didn’t pass from one head to another, we’d still be pulling termites out of mounds with a twig.

That’s why Sergio and I, in collaboration with the STL Formazione school for translators and a handful of other collaborators, have created a new site with (almost) all the answers for those who want to work (or already work) as translators: DiventareTraduttori.com.

DiventareTraduttori.com, launched on October 13, 2017, is a resource for translators, linguists and enthusiasts, offering hundreds of questions (currently over 200) and related answers regarding the world of language services, mainly from the perspective of the service provider.

Questions range from technology to personal finance, from training to industry organizations, from marketing to tips for getting organized as a freelancer.

Organized into categories and tagged for maximum ease of search, the intention is to create a high-quality knowledge base of questions and answers, accessible to anyone interested in the language services industry.

Everyone can browse the site for free without needing to register, while those who register get the privilege of being able to vote on questions and answers. Questions, answers and comments are moderated by the site administrators, that is Sergio and I, who ensure that the quality of the contributions is in line with the project goals.

Why this initiative

When we give training, we are always being asked questions about the industry. Many of these questions have been asked over and over: they can be found scattered across Facebook, LinkedIn, ProZ and many other forums.

Sergio and I hate having to repeat ourselves. After having answered the same questions for the umpteenth time, we decided to create a place to gather all these doubts in one place to help both aspiring translators and those with less experience.

How does DiventareTraduttori work?

The site is public and free. Unregistered users have access to all the content. However, only registered members can ask questions and vote for existing questions and answers.

However, registered users (after being approved by us) can send questions for screening and moderation before they are published.

In order to avoid chaos and the “Yahoo! Answers” effect, we reserve the right to delete questions if we feel they are not useful or relevant. No tolerance, and no democracy. My house, my rules.

Once questions have been published, all users with “expert” profiles can respond to questions. You guessed it: we only give “expert” status to our most trusted collaborators.

However, all other registered users can vote for questions and answers.

Questions and answers will ascend or descend the scale using a similar mechanism to the one used on social networks like Reddit and Quora. This way, the most useful and pertinent contributors will rise to the top, and enjoy more visibility.

And finally, if we feel an answer is conclusive, we can choose it as the best and close the question.

The goal of DiventareTraduttori

Choosing experts, moderating content and evaluating answers by the community will help create a shared, high-quality knowledge-sharing space which is accessible to all and in line with our social vision.

To avoid any misunderstandings, we should clarify that the site features some affiliate links to selected products and services that are of interest to the community.

As is the case with many blogs, if a user clicks one of the affiliate links (e.g. the page of a book on Amazon) and ends up buying the product, DiventareTraduttori.com will see a small percentage. It’s a way to help lessen the financial burden of managing the site. If you’re wondering, we’re talking some €5 per month on a good month. Dom Pérignon for everyone.

Results

In its first 3 years, the number of questions on the site has almost doubled (now over 200), and with an average of about 4000 unique visitors per month. From October 2017 to October 2020, DiventareTraduttori was visited by over 130,000 visitors, 85% of whom were from Italy, but also from the US, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Brazil. We wish we had more time and more brain power to devote to the project, but we are very happy with it as it is.