| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Poll: How long do you keep your clients' translations after delivery? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Jeff Whittaker 
United States
Local time: 05:31
Spanish to English
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| 30 days or once paid | Nov 21, 2014 |
I believe that it is part of our duty of confidentiality to delete everything. I believe that most clients expect this.
[Edited at 2014-11-21 13:47 GMT]
| | | | Al Zaid
United States
English to Spanish
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| I have them all | Nov 21, 2014 |
For the past 7 years I've been working as a translator, I have kept ALL the translations. My biggest and most regular client's information is confidential, but I need to have it, until our working relationships stop (hopefully never).
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 11:31
Member (2009)
English to German
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Milena Taylor wrote: Gianluca Marras wrote:
I have all my translations, they can become very useful if you need reference since some of the things I translate can be resubmitted with some changes... I keep client's translations indefinitely in a special folder for future reference.
So do I. And this did turn out to be quite helpfull when I need to re-use passages of former translations, or, which is rather rare, a question pops up regarding an old project.
| | | | Jenn Mercer
United States
Local time: 05:31
Member (2009)
French to English
| Forever, except... | Nov 21, 2014 |
I keep mine forever, or at least I have no intention of deleting them anytime soon. I have saved at least one client's keister by being able to produce an old document for them. However, one client has specific data security requirements which require all documents to be deleted a certain time after the project is completed and I comply with this to the letter. This client is also fairly sophisticated in their project management and provides me with all of the reference documents etc, that I cou... See more I keep mine forever, or at least I have no intention of deleting them anytime soon. I have saved at least one client's keister by being able to produce an old document for them. However, one client has specific data security requirements which require all documents to be deleted a certain time after the project is completed and I comply with this to the letter. This client is also fairly sophisticated in their project management and provides me with all of the reference documents etc, that I could want for each project. ▲ Collapse
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| Until my computer... | Nov 21, 2014 |
...decides to "clean up" my files.
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Jeff Whittaker wrote:
30 days or once paid
I believe that it is part of our duty of confidentiality to delete everything. I believe that most clients expect this.
[Edited at 2014-11-21 13:47 GMT]
It seems that we are two of a kind here, Jeff.
I have my pledge of non-disclosure published, so I won't keep files after they are no longer needed, unless the client asks me to keep them.
As I do a lot of video work, and the current fad is HD or FHD, some of my folders get humongous. I am pleased to sign off cases as "closed" and defrag my disks. If the client asks me to keep such files, I transfer them to data DVD disks, filed outside my system.
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 15:01
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER | Till my work folder becomes too unweildy | Nov 21, 2014 |
I maintain a work folder in which I stuff all job related files. This folder soon become too unwieldy and enormous at which point I simply empty it. Sometimes, when some of the files in it are too recent to be destroyed, I simply rename the folder as workold and start a new work folder, and delete the workold folder after a few more weeks have passed.
Having said that, for all practical purposes, the client's translation remain available 'forever' for various reasons. I usually send... See more I maintain a work folder in which I stuff all job related files. This folder soon become too unwieldy and enormous at which point I simply empty it. Sometimes, when some of the files in it are too recent to be destroyed, I simply rename the folder as workold and start a new work folder, and delete the workold folder after a few more weeks have passed.
Having said that, for all practical purposes, the client's translation remain available 'forever' for various reasons. I usually send them as attachments to emails and these emails are indefinitely available online along with their attachments.
It is difficult to get rid of files without a trace these days due to these online storage options.
Also, for those translations for which I use cat tools (mostly trados), they are available in the TMs specific to the client or specific to the subject area.
Once in a while one of my disks crashes and with it goes into thin air all the files that were magnetically stored in it. Sometimes I am relieved that this happens for most of the contents in the hard disk has no practical value to me, but yet I keep storing it due the innate squirrel mentality found in all humans. ▲ Collapse
| | | | R. Alex Jenkins
Brazil
Local time: 06:31
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
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| About a decade... | Nov 21, 2014 |
I've just taken a look at my external HDD and I've got translation work dated back to 2003, so that's more than a decade.
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| Reasons to keep or not | Nov 21, 2014 |
If a client asks me to delete the material, then I will. that has only happened once or twice. Otherwise I keep them on file. It has happened more than once that an agency or end client suddenly asked me if I still had a copy of something I translated several years ago because for some reason they need a copy and no longer have it. Also - presently, for example, I am translating a transcript for a client who has continued with her studies, and some of her present material refers back to what... See more If a client asks me to delete the material, then I will. that has only happened once or twice. Otherwise I keep them on file. It has happened more than once that an agency or end client suddenly asked me if I still had a copy of something I translated several years ago because for some reason they need a copy and no longer have it. Also - presently, for example, I am translating a transcript for a client who has continued with her studies, and some of her present material refers back to what she studied before - things I translated some years ago. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Portuguese difference | Nov 22, 2014 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote: Jeff Whittaker wrote:
30 days or once paid
I believe that it is part of our duty of confidentiality to delete everything. I believe that most clients expect this.
[Edited at 2014-11-21 13:47 GMT] It seems that we are two of a kind here, Jeff.
I'm interested in your positions, Jeff & José, since you are obviously in the minority - which doesn't mean wrong!
For me, my past work is a capital resource. The finished document might be the client's, but the work is mine and it's important for me to able to capitalise on my past work and build up a reference resource. Do you have other ways of doing that?
I believe all clients expect me to maintain confidentiality, but I feel like that is satisfied by keeping my data secure, unless they specifically ask for me. The 'unstated' codes no doubt vary depending on the type of client and document.
Is it a coincidence that both of you work in the same language pair?
Melissa
| | | | | in regards to this | Nov 22, 2014 |
Jeff Whittaker wrote:
I believe that it is part of our duty of confidentiality to delete everything. I believe that most clients expect this.
[Edited at 2014-11-21 13:47 GMT]
Since my clients sometimes ask me to call up a translation that I did for them months or a few years ago, I don't think that they expect me to delete my translations. However, they do expect me to maintain confidentiality.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 06:31
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| OUR translations! | Nov 22, 2014 |
The documents may be authored by someone else. So we have a commitment not to disclose them. We sign an NDA saying we will not share the information with anyone else.
HOWEVER, our translations are OUR intellectual property. Not the contents or the knowledge, yet the translation work. We have to right to keep them, as long as we don't show them, sell them, use the knowledge for other purposes, etc.
I have lodged claims in justice twice against non-paying clients, and I w... See more The documents may be authored by someone else. So we have a commitment not to disclose them. We sign an NDA saying we will not share the information with anyone else.
HOWEVER, our translations are OUR intellectual property. Not the contents or the knowledge, yet the translation work. We have to right to keep them, as long as we don't show them, sell them, use the knowledge for other purposes, etc.
I have lodged claims in justice twice against non-paying clients, and I won both. One of them was worth more than US$ 4.000. My court records had more than 1000 pages, with documents of over 4 years of translations. If I had deleted them I would have lost this money.
Plus, if you translate something and see it published and distributed to the public later, without any credits for you as the translator, unless you have signed an agreement waiving the copyrights, you will be losing more money that you have the right to receive. Many clients do not tell you if the text you are translating will be part of a book or publication. If it is, you have the right to AT LEAST have your name in the credits page as the translator. The only proof of that is the translated documents and the e-mails you exchanged with your client.
And last, but not least, what is the use of deleting a document if you have the entire text in your TM? Are you telling me you delete the TM segments as well?? ▲ Collapse
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José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote: Jeff Whittaker wrote:
30 days or once paid It seems that we are two of a kind here, Jeff.
Melissa McMahon wrote:
I'm interested in your positions, Jeff & José, since you are obviously in the minority - which doesn't mean wrong!
For me, my past work is a capital resource. The finished document might be the client's, but the work is mine and it's important for me to able to capitalise on my past work and build up a reference resource. Do you have other ways of doing that?
I believe all clients expect me to maintain confidentiality, but I feel like that is satisfied by keeping my data secure, unless they specifically ask for me. The 'unstated' codes no doubt vary depending on the type of client and document.
Is it a coincidence that both of you work in the same language pair?
A total coincidence, Melissa. Apparently Jeff in an EN-inbound "hub" (several languages into EN), while I am a sort of EN-PT "tram" (where the conductor just has to carry a couple of levers to the other end to make traveling in reverse gear seem 100% natural).
Wrong? No. It's just a different stance.
You paint a picture, someone buys it, and hangs it on their wall. It's your "opus".
I paint that wall behind it. It's my "service".
Neither of us is allowed to enter that person's place any time again, unless invited.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 06:31
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| José, Is the artist allowed to take a picture (photograph) of his opus and keep it? | Nov 22, 2014 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote: José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote: Jeff Whittaker wrote:
30 days or once paid It seems that we are two of a kind here, Jeff. Melissa McMahon wrote:
I'm interested in your positions, Jeff & José, since you are obviously in the minority - which doesn't mean wrong!
For me, my past work is a capital resource. The finished document might be the client's, but the work is mine and it's important for me to able to capitalise on my past work and build up a reference resource. Do you have other ways of doing that?
I believe all clients expect me to maintain confidentiality, but I feel like that is satisfied by keeping my data secure, unless they specifically ask for me. The 'unstated' codes no doubt vary depending on the type of client and document.
Is it a coincidence that both of you work in the same language pair? A total coincidence, Melissa. Apparently Jeff in an EN-inbound "hub" (several languages into EN), while I am a sort of EN-PT "tram" (where the conductor just has to carry a couple of levers to the other end to make traveling in reverse gear seem 100% natural). Wrong? No. It's just a different stance. You paint a picture, someone buys it, and hangs it on their wall. It's your "opus". I paint that wall behind it. It's my "service". Neither of us is allowed to enter that person's place any time again, unless invited.
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Mario Freitas wrote:
José, Is the artist allowed to take a picture (photograph) of his opus and keep it?
That's one advantage of the cyberworld: copies are free.
If the artist signed a NDA, they can keep it under the commitment of not showing it to anyone else, unless authorized.
IMO, no point in keeping e-clutter just for my personal pleasure.
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