MaryFord That's why Webnovel is transiting to translator groups, where the group comprises of translators and editors, and the group is able to pick up if a translator were to quit.
If you look at the bigger groups out there, their release rates are fairly consistent (EFT, Nyoi-boi) The rest will slowly be removed too due to their poor work ethic and quality.
melonbread We have the same thought about this issue, I hope the admin would take an action to this.
CKtalon Translators can just drop the novels they are working on and no penalty or something? Why is that the case? If translators becomes afraid of criticism if ever they picked up dropped novels by a previous translator, how would they even improve in their line of work? If they just want convenience then that's not a job well done at all. And commonly they won't even give any warning that they will drop the novel they are translating. They just leave like having a one night stand. That's rude for me.
Spirit stones are expensive you know, and if a reader spent a lot of spirit stones already just to follow a story that interested him/her, then, suddenly, the update stops, wouldn't that make him mad?
bachingchung
About breaking down the previous world glossary, though it would add more work to the translator, in exchange, he would get an established novel in the rankings. It's work and no work is easy.
Can't they just translate what's needed to be translated? They can just change the novels information like.....
"Dawn of Dragons"
Author: Babychick112 Translator: Spaceworm(chap.176-present) and Rottenegg (chap. 1 - 175)
Can't they do just like that? Why complicate things?
Kritiko There are penalties, but Webnovel doesn't pursue them, since it's not worth the effort suing them for just a few hundred dollars?
It's simply freelance work for most translators. This is common in the freelance industry, where clients are left helpless when the work that was promised was not done. Of course, there's no money lost, but time lost on the client's (Webnovel) side and a loss of reputation for the freelancer (the translator). But in this case, the translator is unlikely to continue anyway.
It is a problem with having spent SS, which is why Webnovel still will try to resume books, but resuming them is difficult. Most translators don't see this as a career, so they don't really need to 'improve' by picking up the works of another translator when they can simply start a new book afresh.
That's what they do with novels with picked up translators. See Swallowed Star. The first few hundred chapters were done by Translation Nations, while the latter chapters are done by Nyoi-boi Studios. The point about picking up another translation is the consistency of terms, which Nyoi-boi got flamed for not being consistent with the other translator's terms. It is after all a novel. If it's just a independent article, anyone can pick up dropped translations.
CKtalon wait what
Didnt the Tl for swallowed star leave(or gor fired) becuase qidian wasnt paying enough or got a patreon and qidian didnt like that so they fired him
Im pretty sure i read this on the Novel updates forum
And Translators won't get really flamed unless they massively change the terms
A few changes is fine as long as they point out what they changed and not leave it to the guess of the reader. I get the terms and all but that problem is extremely simple to fix tho, just point out what you changed
Its not that hard. I really havent seen people
Overly complaining about change of terms unless they did a massige change
Gothic_Temptation If you need another example, Adorable Food Goddess is another one which recently was resumed. It has been happening for months now, just that you might not have realized it.
They did get flamed. You just aren't aware. Go read the comments of the chapters. If the translators knew what the terms were, they would have kept the original terms. The problem is that they have no idea what the terms are which resulted in the difference, so how are they to tell the readers what was changed?
CKtalon
They are translators, its its their job to translate
You telling me they can translate Chinese to English but can't do the same vice versa
The readers can see the difference but they cant
Seriously??
It would litrally just take more effort o.O
Gothic_Temptation You expect the translator to read all the hundreds of chapters before that? And this will have to be a careful read and not a cursory read like what most readers do. That can take months. And as a translator, why don't I just start translating a new book from Chapter 1. I determine my own terms, I don't have to waste time 'reading,' I can just start translating and earning money right away.
It's their job to translate, and also their right to quit and say nope, I'm not doing the job. And if no one wants to do it, you get situations where you can't find translators to do it. Simple as that.
CKtalon
Wont they following along the story
What?!
They could literally ask the readers what changed
Your making the situation seem like a huge problem but it really isnt
And i literally went a checked the comments
What flamming ?!?!
You made it sound like everyone was complaining about changing of the terms
When i saw no comments about that
This is the first time ive heard about this
Why does it seem like this is a problem that only special to qidian and not other novels cuase ive read novels where tl have changed the terms but no one flamed the Tl, they where grateful someone was willing to pick the novel up
Gothic_Temptation They did, still a big endeavor. You have translated 50 chapters ahead of time so that you can maintain a consistent release pace. Suddenly, you realize that terms were translated wrongly. You have to go back to all the 50 chapters, edit them one by one. This is additional work that a new book does not have. Unless the translator loves the book so much that he's willing to put in the effort, all you get are mercenaries who will translate, but not put too much effort into consistency.
I'll give you an example. Doing a search and replace in whatever document format you have, replacing it on Inkstone; all this takes about 1 minute per chapter, considering browser loading speeds, etc. Now, there's 50 chapters (or more). Just doing one search and replace for ONE term takes you 50 minutes. Then when you realize there's ANOTHER term you made a mistake, you have to do the same thing. This time, there might be a 100 chapters for you to go back and check. You can see how as the number of chapters increase, the amount of time taken to maintain is crazy. And this time can be put to translating one chapter already, earning them money; instead of going back to maintain the consistency.
You have to understand that those novels that were picked up again were popular ones. The ones that are unpopular just die, coz why would anyone pick up something unpopular (especially if they are earning ad revenue from it).
It's a problem that translators have. They simply do not want to pick up 'spoiled goods'. Even RWX from WW says this with respect to HJC's translation:
Translating is like raising a baby, while taking over someone else's translation is like raising a stepchild; you are locked into using previous terms, and many other things you might not like. There are many translators who are disinterested in taking on another person's translation, especially this close to the end.
P.S. Even WW had problems maintaining consistency of terms.
CKtalon
I mean by reading that its pretty clear the TL was a disaster
But i dont think that comparing it to WW is good thing as at least WW completes their TL and provides notices and communicates with their readers
I mean the TL just came out of no where and changed everything near the end with no explanations and left it to the readers to find
I get that its pretty hard to pick up where another TL left off unless you are willing to start the whole novel over but that 50 chapter rule is the Novels updates TL rule where they wont put your website link on thier site unless you show dedication by TLing 50 chapters first
plus popular novels always have tl competition going on as people want the popular novels not the unpopular ones
This still seems like a WN only problem
Gothic_Temptation You sir has a point.
Gothic_Temptation You do know that there was zero communication about HJC for weeks?
It's a problem for WN because it took a risk trying 'different' kinds of books, but they aren't popular with readers, simply because they prefer the cookie-cutter ones. They are not 'ready' for the different books. And translators being human will also lose interest, have real life matters. They can quit just like a real job.
My number of 50 is just a random number. Webnovel really doesn't care too much about NU.
CKtalon
HJC came back for a while a explained his situation
You are litrally trying to make it seem like WW and WN are the same and have the same problems
Like seriously what TL group hasnt tried experimenting
The are so many dropped unpopular novels, all you have to do is just check NU and you will see them
They dont care about NU or anybody else in the TL community even the readers
Gothic_Temptation I'm saying that these problems are commonplace because of the way translators behave, nothing to do with whose better.
It is amplified for WN because WN has about 8 times the number of books and translators involved. If you consider statistics, it is just common to have a percentage of books having these problems. WN seems to have it worse simply because it has more books.
CKtalon
By that logic then this problem should be common place and be common sense cause there a hundred of books out there being translated. WN aint special just cuase it has more books. Hell man NU is the biggest community, even bigger than qidian and this problem has litrally not come up them, it doesnt TL but it is a collection of books, translators and readers so why does this problem that is a huge deal over not even come up over there
Gothic_Temptation You yourself mentioned that there are many books dropped, and they remained drop. If you are trying to make a statistic, you will need to include those. And if you do, you will see that a mass majority of translators DO NOT want to pick up dropped novels. There are some that are picked up, but they are usually popular novels, but even so, they are really rare.
It happens all the time in the NU pickup request forums, years ago even before Webnovel came onto the scene.
@Gothic_Temptation and @CKtalon, IMO, the two of you are each other's side of the coin.
If we talk about professionalism, integrity, and respectability, @Gothic_Temptation is respectably right. webnovel should care, and take actions to address the readers concerns about the problems regarding translators behavior and the number of discarded novels situation. For it is only right and just that they do so. Don't you agree?
But, if we look at it in a business perspective, @CKtalon is right too. It's all about "PROFIT" you know what I mean. And, just like what @CKtalon says, translating is just like any other job. Translators can quit anytime. (Lucky they just get away without any consequences(Right?)) And, it is an added work for webnovel to address these reader's concerns and issues at the same time that they are working in studying and contracting newer novels.
At the end of the day, There is no "STRICT LAW" pertaining to:
- Online 1.Companies, 2.Authors, 3.Translators and 4.Reader's Limitations, Rights, and Privileges.
(Correct me if I'm wrong) (Inform me if there is a LAW)
So the term "exploitation" takes place. All of the above(1-4) mentioned included.
(If I exaggerated, then I'm sorry)
Kritiko The thing is Webnovel will try to resume the books. As you can see, there have been books resumed. Saying that none have been resumed is patently false. The reason why it's hard to resume those books is because of the reasons I stated, which is a universal problem for most (fan) translators.
Also, if you can't find someone to take a job, how are you to make a claim of when it will be resumed? It will become a problem of overpromising. Therefore, books will just get resumed suddenly without notice because it also depends on the new translator's speed and readiness to continue resuming the translation.
If you want official word from Webnovel, it's that they will try to find translators to continue the translations, but when that happens is in the air.
CKtalon Got it! I just had to post what I said above coz the two of you would take eons to finish your intellectual debate. At least you made me laugh when you say....
CKtalon If you want official word from Webnovel, it's that they will try to find translators to continue the translations, but when that happens is in the air.
I guess I'll just go back to the main website and lessen my involvement in the forum because discussing without action, for me, is time wasted. Thanks a lot for your patience and guidance. You really earned my respect. Good luck and Godspeed to your endeavors.
@Gothic_Temptation , Thanks for voicing things out. What you expressed in here is also what my heart and brain wants to express, ask, and rant. You are a strong person, I appreciate and respect you for that. I hope you don't get banned in the Form because IMO, the community needs you to improve.
CKtalon
You know its funny cuase the reason you haves stated arnt the reasons why those novels didnt get picked up
Still seems like a webnovel only problem
Kritiko
No problem man
Im not the only who voices out tho
Lots of people do we just never gonna get noticed cuase CK is literally the only mod here
Gothic_Temptation Well, I think there are some who wants to voice out like me, but, I always remind myself not to talk to much because you know what happens after that right? (I don't wanna get banned bro) Hahahaha!
Well, CK is really having it hard right. There should be lots of mods because being a moderator is not an easy one, and added with the online setting, I can only imagine.
CKtalon why cant they just pick up the novel without joining qidian. As much as qidian is good, there are better ones out there. Especially for those who want to do patreon and not deal with qidian's bullsh*t. They can just have qidian dual host it.
SusshiRoll Because it is against the copyright of Webnovel? It harms the potential earnings of the author (as well as Webnovel)?
We have long moved away from the situation where translator takes all (in the case of Patreon and ad-revenue) from 2-3 years ago. The authors demand a portion of the pie, because they were the ones to created the content and they know how much translators can earn translating illegally (using Patreon), which can go as much as five-digit USD values a month.
CKtalon So how is the Spirit Stone given? Novels getting premiumed is that benefical to the author or the translator?
CKtalon if you want us to support the author. Why don't you just setup a patreon for the author?
SusshiRoll How do you ensure that there's no scam behind this matter? A unscrupulous translator can say that they set up one for the author, but doesn't send the money to the author. The author might not even know that this is happening.
Besides, Webnovel does deserve earning a cut of the earnings.
Paid Spirit Stones benefit author, translator, and Webnovel equally.
Reading these stuffs reminds of the Translator of Cult of the Sacred Runes, RDG who took some donations then disappeared all of a sudden. It's been a year already and this prequel of TDG has been dropped. somewhat out of topic, i suppose lol
Hope it is within a year bro, if not then just look for the mtl version, I'm sure comrademao will have it, if it's requested.
SusshiRoll most of the novels on this site are published by qidian, some of the authors even introduce themselves on these novels, they are all probably getting the standard cut for their publications. I mean some of them make bank doing this stuff, especially people like IET, he's probably one of the happiest ones, since his chapters are usually copy pasted to milk us of our SS. Anyone who Is reading SS knows what I mean.
CKtalon
Actually its pretty easy to fix that problem as the TL can just sign a contract with the author aand get the rights to TL it just like what WW,volare and other sites do
As ive said before WN aint special
It doesnthave any special needs that are different from anyone else
Just be honest with yourself
You know that WN is company thats after money and money only
Everything else is secondary so there is hella no way WN is gonna allow other sites to get into contracts with the authors and get TL rights
melonbread yeah, me too.. I've been waiting for ages as to when the story (Jun Jiuling) will be updated 
Gothic_Temptation The rights for a vast majority of Chinese web novels are with Webnovel, not the author. So any TL that wants to legally translate it for publication needs to go through Webnovel.
CKtalon
Thank you
You just proved my point
Gothic_Temptation So basically you are trying to say skip the middle man? That can cause trouble for both the author and translator since it is violating the publisher's copyright. The author will have more to lose on this matter if they are caught doing that. (Most authors would rather go the legitimate route then waste their efforts on a few hundred or thousand dollars a month).
CKtalon
Thats a nice crazy conclusion to jump to bro
Honestly are you even reading the responses that you are giving, i mean you are getting paid by qidian afterall so its obligatory for you to say this stuff
