Before I start, I guess I should say that I'm still relatively new in this whole translation scene so I'm just wondering what the people that have done these things for a while think about the following points that I'm going to address.

1) Ninjas
2) Speed vs. quality
3) Cock-blockers


Ninjas
The people that fall under this category are pretty much snipers. They don't accept bounties nor show their progress and only claim the bounties when they are finished. The people that did accept it before claiming will have no idea who they are competing with nor will they know if other people are interested in doing the bounty besides themselves.

Speed vs. Quality
Say we have a popular doujin that someone is commissioning. It has a high yield requiring a relatively low amount of work. Some translators become interested and they start working on it. They all accepted the bounty beforehand so everyone knows who they are competing against. If you're a translator, would you go for speed or quality? If you go for speed, you can potentially get the bounty for being the first one to dish it out. On the flip side, your translation could end up being a burning pile of shit. If you go for quality, the upside is obvious. Your end product is better but you risk the possibility that someone might claim it before you do. What should a translator do in this case? I guess what I'm asking is what's the proper way to handle a situation like this.

Cock-blockers
Pretty self-explanatory. This group of people are pretty different from the ninjas. Unlike ninjas that claim the bounty only when they are finished, cock-blockers claim the bounty even before they start as a means to prevent anyone else from accepting or claiming the bounty. Usually they will have an accompanying message or PM to the bounty poster saying that they will have it done by X amount of time to prevent the bounty poster from outright disputing the claim. Personally, I'm not too fond of this particular group but I would also like to hear your thoughts on it.

Retarded Claimers
Like the name suggests, these people don't like to read. They claim anything they see without bothering to read the bounty description or what the poster is asking for. Typically, their claims are accompanied by but are not limited to the following:

1) A link to a random image, file, or anything else that has nothing to do with the bounty.
2) Relinking the gallery that you specified in the bounty description itself.

So, what's the proper bounty etiquette that translators and editors should follow when dealing with these types of situations? I haven't found any discussions regarding this so I'm assuming that there is none in place, which means that people are free to do as they please. And the only thing preventing them from doing so is the discretion of the bounty poster. Some feedback on these three points would be much appreciated. If enough discussion can be generated from this, maybe a system can be set up that translators and editors can follow for properly dealing with bounties. A list of commandments if you will, or something of this sort.

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Guidelines: These are some preliminary guidelines for prospective translators/editors/bounty posters.

For bounty hunters:

1. Don't claim a bounty that someone else has already accepted without prior notice. Place an "accept" so that the bounty poster and other translator know that there is a competitor.
2. Don't accept a bounty if you can't finish it in a reasonable amount of time. I would suggest 1 week for <40 pg (most doujinshi), 2 weeks for <100 pg (long works like the Silent Saturn series or text-heavy stuff like Black Dog), and 1 month for full tanks (most mangas).
3. Give the bounty poster an estimate of how long you will take. If there are extenuating circumstances that will cause you to go over the estimate, PM the poster so he knows what's going on.

For bounty posters, here are some ways to ensure a reasonable level of quality:

1. Be specific in the bounty description (e.g., they must give a time estimate, etc.).
2. Raise the required hunter rank to get rid of trolls (most translators are rank C or higher).
3. Approach specific translators.
4. Split translating and editing duties, as that opens up the bounty to a wider pool of translators who don't edit and lets you place a quality control step before the gallery is uploaded.
5. Don't be lazy. Put a little bit of effort to show that you actually care about the bounty. Writing a simple comment or even a smiley would suffice when accepting claims.

This post has been edited by Sushilicious: Jan 4 2012, 23:05