Is new project template incorrectly assigning a Translator?

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TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

I am a relative new-comer to Librivox, and have used the new project template just three times, all within the last six weeks or so, and always on works written originally in English. In two of these three instances, the MC for the project has let me know that I have (incorrectly, of course) assigned myself as a Translator of the work concerned.

The first time this happened (it was on a project since abandoned), I thought "Oh well, I must have made a mistake when I filled out the template, and I'll be more careful next time".

The second time it happened, however, I am at least - well, 95% ?? - sure that I did not complete a Translator field, precisely because I'd hit this problem before. I can't be 100% sure that I didn't, but I think it's pretty unlikely, under the circumstances.

I am wondering if it possible that the templating process is not working quite as intended, and is incorrectly assigning the user as Translator in some, or maybe even all, cases? I don't want to make a mess in the system by creating my own experiments with this, but perhaps someone with a technical grasp of how all this works behind the scenes could look into the matter further.
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

If you have the time, feel free to mess with it. :) The unused project template code isn't a big deal.

As I just posted in your solo thread - but should have just left to post here - the template generator doesn't require someone to be logged into the workflow to use the template generator. (If that were the case, no one could become a brand new soloist or BC without first requesting an admin to make them one in the workflow.) So if one is not logged in, it has no way of knowing who you are.

If you fill in the personal info at the bottom of the template, where it asks for your forum name and how you'd like to be identified in the catalog, it wouldn't be able to separate first and last name such as it is presented when the translator shows up in the template. :hmm: And I haven't seen it happen only when people fill in this information (which shows up elsewhere on the template).

So I guess the test would be to determine if it happens when you're logged in versus not logged in to the workflow/uploader using your personal account login.

I don't often see people doing it. It's not a common occurrence.
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
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TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

Thanks for this detailed answer, Tricia.

I was relucant to "mess with it" because I thought maybe the templating process was populating a database behind the scenes as well as generating the template code to be pasted into a new topic, but I take it now that's not the case.

I've just played around with creating a new template and I can now see what's happening.

I'm using a Chrome browser on an iMac. As I fill in the template, from top to bottom, I leave the five fields in the "Information about the Translator(s)" group blank, and proceed further down the form. When I get to the "Additional Information About The Work" group, I complete the Copyright year and Brief Summary, and then when I get to the "Summary by" field - and this is the crucial part - what I have been doing is typing the letter "P" (first letter of my first name) and then, as Chrome immediately provides "Peter Dann" for me as a possible auto-completion, I have been selection that auto-completion from the dropdown. The moment I do that, Chrome populates the "Last name" and "First name(s)" fields in the "Information about the Translator(s)" group with my first and last names - quite unnoticed by me, until now.

So that's how the problem has arisen.
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

Huh! Interesting! I'll pass the information on. :)
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
TriciaG
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Joined: June 15th, 2008, 10:30 pm
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Post by TriciaG »

A couple thoughts on workarounds, as the tech gurus work through this:

1) For some reason, when I start a new project that doesn't have a translator, I remove the translator information by using the X icon. That whole portion disappears. Maybe if a Chrome user does this, the fields won't be auto-filled?

2) If you've already begun a solo, you don't have to fill in that bottom portion. All that info is already in the workflow system and isn't used anywhere else. So... don't fill it in, and it won't auto-populate the translator fields?

It's always second-rate to throw the onus on the user like this. The tech gurus are discussing and looking at it, but I thought I'd offer these possibilities in the meantime.

(And I'll also stop grumbling at "soloists who should know better" when I see the soloists' names in as translators.) :lol:
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
knotyouraveragejo
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Post by knotyouraveragejo »

I think you have to enter your name in the 'Summary by' field so it shows at the end of the summary, which if you pick it from a dropdown option offered by Chrome, it adds it to the translator as well. If you type it in manually, it's fine. (this is also true in collaborative template -I didn't try the plays or short works templates).
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TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

Oh, yes. I was picturing the wrong part. :oops:
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
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