Have the words ‘thank you’ disappeared from today’s vocabulary?
Thread poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:43
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Feb 3, 2021

It’s not the first time, and probably not the last, that I’m contacted directly by a newbie asking for advice on how to get started. I’ve always answered to the best of my ability pointing to the pros and cons of a freelancer’s life and explaining to them that starting is always difficult and all the more so now because of the pandemic. Though I'm an optimist by nature I’ve probably been more negative than what they expected because they vanish without a ’thank you’.

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It’s not the first time, and probably not the last, that I’m contacted directly by a newbie asking for advice on how to get started. I’ve always answered to the best of my ability pointing to the pros and cons of a freelancer’s life and explaining to them that starting is always difficult and all the more so now because of the pandemic. Though I'm an optimist by nature I’ve probably been more negative than what they expected because they vanish without a ’thank you’.

My rant is over and… thank you all for hearing me out.
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Christopher Schröder
Jo Macdonald
Angie Garbarino
Tony Keily
Morano El-Kholy
Matthias Brombach
Susan Murphy Lamprecht
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
No thank you Feb 3, 2021

Young people today, eh? They’ve had it too easy by half. What they need is a bit of discipline. Bring back caning!

I notice a lot of people here, and not just beginners, start a thread asking for help and never reappear. Maybe they just forget. But I still think it’s rude.

Others are super-polite and always say thank you and engage with every answer. I think and hope they will go far. It’s actually quite inspiring for a natural grump like me.

So thank
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Young people today, eh? They’ve had it too easy by half. What they need is a bit of discipline. Bring back caning!

I notice a lot of people here, and not just beginners, start a thread asking for help and never reappear. Maybe they just forget. But I still think it’s rude.

Others are super-polite and always say thank you and engage with every answer. I think and hope they will go far. It’s actually quite inspiring for a natural grump like me.

So thank you to them and also a general BIG THANK YOU on behalf of everyone to those of you who repeatedly and patiently provide detailed information for newcomers and others here. You know who you are.
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Matthias Brombach
Susan Murphy Lamprecht
Peter Shortall
Zibow Retailleau
expressisverbis
Nataliia Gorina
 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:43
Dutch to English
+ ...
Agree Feb 3, 2021

Teresa Borges wrote:

It’s not the first time, and probably not the last, that I’m contacted directly by a newbie asking for advice on how to get started. I’ve always answered to the best of my ability pointing to the pros and cons of a freelancer’s life and explaining to them that starting is always difficult and all the more so now because of the pandemic. Though I'm an optimist by nature I’ve probably been more negative than what they expected because they vanish without a ’thank you’.

My rant is over and… thank you all for hearing me out.


This has happened to me too quite recently and it doesn't bother me too much - I don't give advice to be thanked really, I just like to help, if I can.

But, really, if you are a newcomer and you do contact an established professional privately asking for advice, and they do take time out of their busy schedule to write you a considered reply ... drop them an email to say thank you. It's good manners and it's good networking and it will mean you stay in their memory for the right reasons and leave everyone feeling good about themselves.


Christopher Schröder
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Dan Lucas
Mervyn Henderson (X)
ahartje
Zibow Retailleau
Maria Pia Giuseppina Nuzzolese
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:43
French to English
. Feb 3, 2021

I've often had messages asking for info, funnily enough, it's always about the one same post I made nine years ago, so these requests should really dry up now, in that I can't exactly give up-to-date info.
They do mostly thank me, but then often go on to ask even more detailed questions that would take quite some time answering, and that would be better answered by Google now that my experience is starting to date. I must say I have ignored some of them, I don't see why I should be googli
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I've often had messages asking for info, funnily enough, it's always about the one same post I made nine years ago, so these requests should really dry up now, in that I can't exactly give up-to-date info.
They do mostly thank me, but then often go on to ask even more detailed questions that would take quite some time answering, and that would be better answered by Google now that my experience is starting to date. I must say I have ignored some of them, I don't see why I should be googling answers for them, since they should have good research skills as a translator.
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Angie Garbarino
Rachel Waddington
Christopher Schröder
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Zibow Retailleau
P.L.F. Persio
Ester Vidal
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Tease! Feb 3, 2021

Kay Denney wrote:

I've often had messages asking for info, funnily enough, it's always about the one same post I made nine years ago, so these requests should really dry up now, in that I can't exactly give up-to-date info.


Desperate to know what that post was now...


Mervyn Henderson (X)
Rachel Waddington
P.L.F. Persio
Zibow Retailleau
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Philip Lees
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
Teresa ... Feb 3, 2021

... I'm glad I've caught you here. As a newbie seeking advice, I have contacted you on numerous occasions demanding help, not to mention attaching my CV too many times to mention - which sounds a bit strange, I know, but if you look closely it does work out in the end - with not so much as a reply, or even an encouraging 'thank you' for my laudable efforts to break through into the translation industry so that one day I, too, may be in a position to loftily ignore all and any correspondence from... See more
... I'm glad I've caught you here. As a newbie seeking advice, I have contacted you on numerous occasions demanding help, not to mention attaching my CV too many times to mention - which sounds a bit strange, I know, but if you look closely it does work out in the end - with not so much as a reply, or even an encouraging 'thank you' for my laudable efforts to break through into the translation industry so that one day I, too, may be in a position to loftily ignore all and any correspondence from wannabes.Collapse


P.L.F. Persio
Christopher Schröder
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:43
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
LOL! Feb 3, 2021

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

... I'm glad I've caught you here. As a newbie seeking advice, I have contacted you on numerous occasions demanding help, not to mention attaching my CV too many times to mention - which sounds a bit strange, I know, but if you look closely it does work out in the end - with not so much as a reply, or even an encouraging 'thank you' for my laudable efforts to break through into the translation industry so that one day I, too, may be in a position to loftily ignore all and any correspondence from wannabes.


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P.L.F. Persio
 


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Have the words ‘thank you’ disappeared from today’s vocabulary?







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