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XTM "propagates" translations into random other segments
Thread poster: Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 19:34
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Aug 3, 2023

Hello everyone

Sometimes, when I'm angry and upset, I feel like saying that any agency that convinces their end-clients to use XTM does them a disservice. I apologise for my opinion.

A client gave me DOCX files with tracked changes and asked me to apply those edits into existing translations in XTM. At the end, I filtered segments by modification date so that I could re-check my edits. I then discovered that XTM had "propagated" the segments that I edited into the ta... See more
Hello everyone

Sometimes, when I'm angry and upset, I feel like saying that any agency that convinces their end-clients to use XTM does them a disservice. I apologise for my opinion.

A client gave me DOCX files with tracked changes and asked me to apply those edits into existing translations in XTM. At the end, I filtered segments by modification date so that I could re-check my edits. I then discovered that XTM had "propagated" the segments that I edited into the target fields of random other segments. Don't believe me? Have a look:

example1

I remember editing target text similar to this target text, but I did not select the cell and then copy it to this other segment's target field. Why would I do that? XTM shows that I (the "corrector") made this edit. In other words, as far as the client is concerned (when they discover this SNAFU and try to track down who's responsible), it was me who copied this target text into this segment. But XTM did it. I didn't do it. Why would I do it? It's possible that I had momentarily clicked in the target field of this segment, but I did not press Ctrl+A and Ctrl+V (nor did I use Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C on the other target text to begin with).

Here's another example:

example2

I remember editing each of these target texts. I did not copy them into these segments (overwriting their existing target texts). XTM did it.

Here's an even sillier example:

example3

The target text currently in the first segment is actually the target text for the second segment (and the current target text in the second segment comes from somewhere else). I remember editing a segment that contained the first target text ("Aangesien...") but I don't remember editing a segment that contained the second target text.

I have said it many times: when translators use XTM and weird things happen, don't blame the translator. It's not the translator's fault. In fact, the translator may not even be aware of it. Unedited fuzzy matches? Likely not the translator's fault. Weird propagations? Very likely not the translator's fault. Target texts that have completely nothing to do with the source text? Probably just some joke played on the translator by XTM.

[Edited at 2023-08-03 15:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse


Michael Beijer
 


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XTM "propagates" translations into random other segments






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