How do you feel about slow trasnslators?

Often, author release weekly. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Personally, I think that translators should at least match the speed of the author or they'll perpetually be falling further behind.

NU Policy require 2 chapters/month to block snipers. Some translators just do the bare minimum to keep the series out of the hands of more ambitious translators who may be willing to work faster than themselves.

Worse still: there are some translators that only release 1 chapter/month - or even worse - just 1 chapter/quarter. And then other translators are too nice to pick it up because it's not 100% dead.

Think about it: If a series has 200 outstanding chapters it'll take 17 years at 1/mo (or 50 years at 1/qt) to clear the current backlog - without taking into account new chapters added by the author in that time.
At that point it's obvious that the current TL will never finish the series.

So how do you feel about translators that hold on to a series, but do nothing but perpetually fall further behind and keep other, faster translators away?

 

When you want to read a novel which you know you won't like anymore in 1 years time and then you calculate how long it will take to be fully translated and it's 7 freaking years...

 

Your question includes a rather large assumption. You assume that all novels dropped by slow translators will be picked up by fast translators. Occasionally this happens, but more often I have found novels dropped by slow translators stay dropped.

So something is definitely better than nothing. I would say that if a fast translator requests to take over a novel from a slow translator, the slow translator should let them. But if no one is actively wanting to translate the novel, please do not upset the slow translator and cause them to drop it entirely.

 

It depends on how long is the novel and if the tl has a schedule.
I like it when a tl says I will do X ch a week and he does them.

 

If we're going by the laws of NU policy, if the fast translator wanted to steal the novel, they have the right to start from chapter 1 and go up, until they overtake the slow translator.

But also these are web novels I read for light enjoyment. I'm not here to chug coffee and overdose on caffeine.

 

I'm not going around encouraging TLs to drop things, but I feel there should be more consideration given to the speed of existing TLs. Sure, anything is better than nothing, but I just hope that more motivated TLs won't shy away from taking over a series just because someone's already working on it. (If that someone is making near negligible progress).

Unless they're starting from scratch or taking it over with the last guy's blessing, NU won't add a new TL to a series if there is an "active TL" (which NU defines as 2ch/30days)
Sure it doesn't stop snipers, but limits their exposure.

 

nothing~
this cat just read free stuff so if it slow then so be it~

if it fast then thank you~

I really disagree your view translator should match pace with author~
who are you to say such thing?

on other side I also disagree if translator think the project is all exclusive to it~ unless it protected under legal stuff it free to all~

hmm reasonable explanation perhaps?

 

If the author decides to post 2 chapters a week, (s)he'll reach 104 chapters an a year. If the translator is doing 1/2 chapter per week, it'll take 4 years to get that far.
If the author in this example decides to write 500 chapters for the series, (s)he'll be done in 5 years. The translator will take 20 years to finish translating it if they even manage to stick with it for that long. That's an awfully long time.

The translator is not obligated to match the author, but It's better if they can try keep pace. Not doing so just means that they'll forever be falling further behind - until the author reaches the end; then it'll take a very, very long time for the translation to finally finish - if the TL doesn't lose their motivation and quit.

 

Quality > quantity

So even if the translator is slow, as long as it's quality, I can and will wait. Otherwise, why not just read mtl?

 

then just take it up~ unless it under legal protection go for it~ there also hmmm lil bit grey area if reader pay the translation, it may can seen as typical transaction~

if it just free user, nah no right beside complaint~ one inconvenience not mean other problem to solve~
voluntary stuff~ hence I don't get better pace up~ that asking too much~ on direct approach, pay it or hire it or lure other translator to take it~
better for one not mean same for other, circumstances need for consideration~

 

More often than not, fast translation have worse quality than slow translation
As long as the novel is still translated, i will wait for the translation

Even if the curent translator decided to drop the novels, will other translators pick it up? will the translation quality stay or drop? some novels new faster translations are worse than MTL

a lot of novels translation are dead because of sniping, then abandoned by the new translator

 

So many novels translated are already finished, so I don't think catching up matters. A quality translation takes time to do and some chapters can be pretty lengthy. If that means a translator is at a chapter a week, that's fine with me. However most of the novels that I read are under 200 chapters.

 

The definition of slow has pretty much evolved over periods of time though, back then, once a month chapters were the average. so people used to call translators who put up one chapter every 2 weeks fast (or so I recall) Now, the standard has been raised because MTL-ers can put out daily chapters or the pandemic has given translators more free time.

If people do want to put out faster releases, nothing is really stopping them. Just start from the very beginning and upon time, you'll catch up to the current active translator's work. If you can't even put that much time and effort into building it up from scratch, who can even tell that you'll be committed to translating it up until the end?

Besides that, some authors update chapters daily, telling translators to match them when this is not their full time job nor do they even earn much (or any for some tlers) is kind of selfish. And besides, there's always alternatives for impatient and broke readers, the method known as MTL-ing.

I'm just grateful to see novels being picked backed up and translated.

 

I mostly don't read translated novels but if the translator is good, I'd give him all the time he needs. Quality and expertise are things that I highly value and I'll tolerate making a sacrifice for those (not that I consider waiting a bit a sacrifice). Doubly so if the book is particularly interesting or in a genre I really like. Hell, I've even read translations of books I've already read just because I like the book so much and I'm curious how the translator will tackle it. I've waited years for an author to finish a book before reading it. And honestly, even if the translator isn't that great I'll still be willing to wait because why in the world would I mind?

 

I mainly just read straight from MTLnovels or comradeMao, it kills a couple of million brain cells but at least I get what I wanted

 

I can wait for a new chapter. If the story is good, I'll come back to it. Slowly translated novels are better than badly translated or dropped ones. I don't expect translators to keep up with the author, especially when they're volunteers. I look for finished or short novels if I'm feeling too impatient to wait.

 

Depends on the language of the series.

 

I disagree with how fast translators should be allowed to poach novels from slower ones. The first translators do the grunt of the work, naming terms and making the novel popular. Because they’re slower and have a life outside of translating, faster translators should be allowed to just take the novel as soon as it gets popular?

This happens a lot. For example, Natsridum and banished to another world. He was faster, so he took it from Jade. But his translations are literally google translate shit. Jade did all the hard work making it popular and as soon as it gets popular, someone else swoops in and google tls everything.

 

depends on the work but its honestly up to them since im not even paying i dont have the right to complain

 

Authors are just as consistent as translators. As in, some are very punctual with their releases, some release whenever they feel like it, some go on hiatus without warning or simply disappear off the face of the earth. I have several novels that I'm following where the authors only update once or twice a month, and even a couple of novels that have had several year-long gaps in between chapters.

Fast translators who are motivated to work on a series can always ask the current translators for permission to continue, or just start over from the beginning if they don't get permission. There aren't enough (free) translators out there to expect that dropped novels will automatically get picked up.