In these discussion rules, there is this rule:
"All GrabCAD Group discussions must be in English.
We want posted content to be useful to all members of a Group, no matter where they are from, so choosing a common language is the best way to do that. All discussions started in another language may be reported by the Group Administrator, and removed by the GrabCAD Support Team."
If we - users - are supposed to report discussions that are in other languages, then 99.99% of groups called "GrabCAD (country name)" will have to have ALL their discussions reported...
A small example: GrabCAD Ukraine
These are ALL its 7 discussions:
Even the discussion with the English name is completely in Ukrainian...
What are we supposed to do? Should we report them all?
I intended to post this comment in as many discussions - in languages other than English - as possible, but I realized that posting such comments requires being a member of that group.
I think it makes sense for some groups to use what ever language is the most common for them. But it is up to the staff to enforce a rule, or change the rules.
I mentioned it a few months ago, not as a complaint, just that there were "English only" rules as you also noticed.
I'm sure the resulting quality would be questionable, but it would be cool to have a "translate" button. Why let language barriers divide us into groups?
I'll often copy/paste into Google Translate when answering a foreign language question. I doubt the results are perfect, but it usually results in being able to understand what the question/answer is.
I don't mind if users wrote in their own language, I'm just talking about laws and enforcement.
BTW, that "translate" button seems to be a GREAT suggestion.
I use the Translate button all the time you normally get a better understanding of what is being asked.
But ok its about enforcing the rule ?
Maybe GrabCad could use some the space on the main page to remind members about certain rules. Like all models are free to all members etc etc.
I do not understand this.
Rules are not being followed.
The barriers are being created by people who are writing in a language other than English.
If you wan't to have " no " language-bariers use English.
Why : because every member can follow every conversation.
It you can't understand English, than just use google/translate.
https://translate.google.com/?hl=nl
I do not think it is very wise to let groups discuss in other languages than English.
Why :because you create a possibility for communication that is not allowed on GrabCad. ( just think of extremism )
If you want to controle what is written on this site, you should have people who controle every discussion wrote in an other language then English.
That is a huge job and you wil need many people for it.
This is something that can't be done.
When everybody use English, then is this kind of control automatically don by every member of GrabCad.
If someone realy want to start GrabCad in an other language, he or she just do it.
But I think this is not the place.
When you want to have " no barriers " use the same language that every member of this GrabCad can understand.
The same with the " GrabCad/ country name " groups.
This is the first way to divide GrabCad.
For these reasons, there are discussions that should not happen.
It is so simple, follow the rules.
I did understand what is being asked...
Fred's suggestion was about a "translate" button in GrabCAD, instead of copying, then pasting into Google Translate.
The rules should be enforced, OR the rules should be changed.
A great posting method is demonstrated by megumi hattori. Megumi's post shows how a non-English post can/should be done. Post in the native language, along with the same message in English. Having both languages allows for the best communication (images and CAD data also help a lot).
I initially thought it was odd to have country groups on GrabCAD. But country Groups allow people to communicating clearly in a common language. The country groups also allow people to discuss specific local topics, or make plans to meet for a party.
Google Translate is not perfect. A lot can go wrong. There are worse examples for sure, but this post is recent (i.e. easy to find). Was it written in English? Was it translated online?
I give credit for posting in English, but it is hard to understand. If it were posted in the native language, in the India Group, it might be easier to understand. Maybe.
Remain calm. Extremists are not using GrabCAD Groups to communicate.
When members are not following the rules, there should be a reaction from staff.
Just to inform them that the rules must being followed.
Breaking the same rule the second time should lead to :
making it clear that your membership can be compromised.
Changing rules is something that always is a possibility,
but it has to be a real improvement.
You are wright about " google translate ", however it is a good tool to learn the language better. Even when the post is not in perfect English, like mine, most of the time, it's understandable.( i like to think so )
The translate button in GrabCAD will obvious translate perfect or ... ?
(otherwise I can't see what is the improvement )
So , if you want more contact with people who are interested in the same thing,
like for example : moddeling in Inventor, you have to make a choise.
How will you do that.
Looking for solutions on the net in your mother tongue and/or in some other language.
Thus, when you want to be a member of a group who is communicating in English, it's normal that you try to communicate in English.
This is an advantage, because communicating in a second language, even if it is not really fluent, is always an extra asset to find work.
When you try to embed other languages, think about how many there are.
I am very shure it will not make things more clear.
Suppose a post in two languages. Dutchs and English.
All the members who doesn’t speak Dutch, are going to read the English version.
So wat is the benefit ?
Just to make things clear, We don't use English because we are from English-speaking countries (I'm from Egypt, so I speak Arabic), but because it is widely used all over the world.
In 2016, 400 million people spoke English as their first language, and 1.1 billion spoke it as a secondary language. (from Wikipedia)
Back to our point,
The "translate" button will simply translate...
The fluency of translated text isn't what we are talking about, but the presence of such option here in GrabCAD.
Fred's suggestion about posting in 2 languages at the same time is a simple solution. Now the ones who understand English (probably all of us) will read the English text, while those from his country will read the other text.
"Looking for solutions on the net in your mother tongue and/or in some other language" isn't a solution; we want to improve GrabCAD, not make users leave it.
A GrabCAD translate button would work no better than Google Translate. I imagine a site offering a translate option will incorporate Google's work instead of developing a new solution.
A translate button in GrabCAD makes it easier to post in English. People are lazy. Copying/pasting text between sites is a step which can be prevented. Website owners typically want to retain people on their own site instead of sending them off. What if they get distracted and don't come back?
I've never tried one, but I bet there are translation plugins/add-ons for web browsers. Loading one of those might be a great option. If someone posted a tutorial on an easy to use, in browser add-on, it might prove to be popular.
The advantage of posting in two languages is that the original content is preserved. If Google botches the translation, nobody can understand the message. If the native text is available, it can be read by another who knows that language, or it can be put through a different translation tool for (hopefully) better results. Plus, Japanese looks really nice. This is a worldwide site, I like seeing evidence of that.
It is like uploading native SOLIDWORKS files along with a Step file. Everyone can read the Step file. Why include a SW model? The SOLIDWORKS file contains more information before it has been "translated" to a Step file. If the Step file imports poorly we can go back to the SW model and try exporting an Iges, Acis, STL, or Parasolid.
I think that everyone can and should write in his own language.
Why should that be criticized? Rules can be adjusted. A "view this page in English" button is easier for many than writing in English, because then the detour via Google would not have to be made.
This text was written and translated in German by Google Translate.
Citing a user is not exactly sensible or practical on Google Translate.
The fact that I first wrote the text on GT, copied it and then put it on GrabCAD was a bit tedious. And if one considers that 1.1 billion earth-dwellers should do this in this way ...
My voice also goes to the translation button.
That's why I made this tutorial...
Hope you find it useful.
After making a tutorial on translating in GrabCAD, a couple of users asked for my opinion.
So I just wanted to show how Google Translate can make translations understandable.
The first part was written in English, while the second part was written in Portuguese.
Link to original...
So after all this time, could a GC staff member tell us whether current discussions in languages other than English should be reported or not?
Ok so going over with the team we found out that when we first rolled out Groups we wanted to have an easy launch, thus we made most groups and their discussions be in english. Now that we have more groups and everything is rolled out we are removing that rule saying that all discussions have to be in english.
All groups can be in their native langue but when you are sending in a proposal for a group for the team at GrabCAD to evaluate it can have the native language and an english translation so we can understand what the group is about.
Sorry for the late response but had to do some digging on what we wanted to do, also the Help docs will be updated in time with this new ruling.
Thanks for your explanation, gotta delete my comments now...
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