Castingwords Transcribers - Questions and Answers

Discussion in 'CastingWords' started by nobody, Jul 15, 2012.

  1. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    Expect 8s, hope for 9s. That's the most true (to me) advice I can give.

    It is frustrating when you begin with CastingWords. Persistence and determination pay off though.

    What's your PPT at now?

    edited to add: You want to give something that reads well. I know that's open to interpretation but...so is the Style Guide, apparently.

    To edit at CW, you don't need to have a high PPT score. You can just "start". Their recommendations and grades don't hold as much weight when they are new, though. There has to be consensus.
     
    #121 Whimsy, Jul 29, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 29, 2012
  2. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    Typed out another rant with my thumbs and erased it. Oh well.
     
  3. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    My PPT went down. Lose it if you don't use it? I know that's not the case but how did I get two jobs approved or a 9 and my PPT go down? No, I'm curious. I have seen where an approver can recommend a grade up or down but c'mon now.

    bah. Off to set up word for doing their HITs and then I'll show 'em =P =/
     
  4. nobody

    nobody User

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    Sorry to hear that Whimsy. My PPT went down, but mine was my own fault. I made a big mistake and it was either rejection, or lowered PPT. I'll take what I got and be happy about it.

    Hopefully, they will both move back up.
     
  5. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    Thank you. It was just a bummer. I took a week or so almost completely off - and when I was on mturk I was doing work for CW. Good luck to the week getting better =)
     
  6. Ovningskora

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    I have 79 PPT... Looks like some here are having similar problems... How are we to get it back up? I can't do any CW work, currently.
     
  7. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    When you first start, it is not uncommon for your PPT to drop temporarily. This is a way for them to be able to review the work that you have done.They can/will raise it again if they want you to be able to work on their HITs in the future. Give it a little bit of time. If you put in an honest effort to follow the Style Guide while being true to the audio, I don't see that being a problem. Good luck.

    edit: Your PPT has to be at least 80 to be able to work on their HITs. Some HITs require a higher PPT.
     
  8. Ovningskora

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    I indeed just started, did about four or five and they said I need to do a better job with proofreading and punctuation... A couple had no problems whatsoever though. I even did a 20 min transcription pretty well. :)
     
  9. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    Do you have an account here?
    http://turkers.castingwords.com/turkers/index

    There you can see your CW things at a glance, much easier than searching through mturk days. If you're getting 7s or better - that's a great start. If you're getting lower than that, I'm not sure. I really don't know specifically how they work.

    I just try to (for the most part) keep myself in their good graces so I can keep doing their stuff.

    I do a lot of Improve a Transcript jobs - where new worker's pieces go to be edited mostly. One thing I have to state the most is for people to relisten to the audio after they're already done. That extra listen-through will clear up missed words, the tone of the speaker, where punctuation should be. Sometimes it's hard to tell where a comma should go - or if it should be something else - until you know the next three sentences they spit out. Speakers don't always translate well to typed conversation.

    It takes a lot longer to go through that step, but it's very useful and increases your grade a lot (potentially).

    Make sure it reads well while being true to the audio. That's the best start.
     
  10. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    I was just graded at 6 and paid for a 7. My advice may or may not be helpful.

    Gawd their cs is going to give me a ppt of 10 one day just to make me stfu.


    edit to add...

    i'm going to chill because cs seems to make things right but i guess it irks me sometimes that i don't know wtf i did to piss off two editors in one day
     
    #130 Whimsy, Aug 1, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 1, 2012
  11. nobody

    nobody User

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    Good news! I bet that was the same grader who got me. That 6 left me with a final grade of 7. I had emailed them about the grader, and he/she is gone. However, "No changies," said CW.
    ¯\(º_o)/¯

    ETA: I see the six bandit got Whimsy, too. I'm still amazed that you can tank someone's grade like that. Why don't the 9s count that way?
     
    #131 nobody, Aug 2, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 2, 2012
  12. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    From another thread, but didn't want to muss it up too much.
    I am not sure I want that. Might be great for other people though. I'm too emotional. When I write a support ticket I check myself and try to tone down whatever is running through my head. That wouldn't happen here. Or it would and then I'd have to find a different spot to commiserate.

    TIP:
    If you ever work on a piece of audio and forget to accept the HIT...
    Accept it.
    Check audio to make sure it matches.
    Get it ready to send.
    Let it site for about 30 minutes.

    If you accept, paste, check, submit -- that's a very small window of time and their system will auto-flag you for cheating.
     
  13. angelface83

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    Yep. I know. Which really irritates me some days. But I just get over it now. I have to work and frankly I just think they don't want to give everyone bonuses. They pay is crazy low- even with bonuses- People who do improve my transcript usually ruin it- and I get those even on 9's,lol. People very much disagree on where to put comma's and periods. I am doing it the way support told me too, and they like long sentences and a LOT of comma's- I put them all at the appropriate places-

    I don't type like I transcribe though. I don't like to work, while I'm not,lol. I have graded some but I only grade the ones that aren't horribly bad and I won't ever give a six- Some graders are very unfair and so are editors- I can already grade and I have been here less than a week :/. I do grade fairly but that doesn't mean everyone does- I follow their guide and what support has told me...but again- Not everyone will- I think they are trying to get rid of competition maybe.

    Editors would find problems with other editors fixed transcription too,lol. I know that. They are just so different in what they want- A lot will cut my sentences too short and re-add in fillers :/. That is not what CW wants.

    I just keep on typing and ignore it. I get mostly 8's and nines and thankfully CW did fix one from a grader- but they said it was auto approved?? I don't know how they do that- "It" wanted to give me the grade 6, YIKES! I guess maybe if you have someones name that is flagged as a mispelling, (an odd name) then it flags you for a low grade or something? IDK. But support actually agreed with me for once and gave me a 9.

    Sometimes you do just have to take a break. This transcription is not easy when you get critiqued so much and not everyone who is grading etc follows the rules. Those bonuses really help so it sucks not to get a 9 every time. I think they need to change the rule around or pay a little higher. If you just miss one comma that someone decides they would put in there OR take out- It shouldn't mean you get an 8.

    I can identify. Tough job. Those bonus emails make me nervous- As long as I get an 8 and above I am fine- Very stressful!lol
     
  14. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    I don't think (anymore) that they have a problem with giving bonuses. Math is one of my favorite subjects and I've done some, especially as I learn the different steps.

    They would happily give 9s if it's 9 quality. But there are so many editors and graders, there's code in place to help automate. It's the automation that will have to be tweaked, I believe.
     
  15. angelface83

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    I have seen some really bad stuff for grading too- I don't know how I get 8's or even a suggestion of a 7 or 6 a few times after they see those kind- Where there are no speaker tokens- no capital letters, no punctuation and it's all one big sentence. I was shocked at how bad some were- They just typed and never read anything,lol. I have come across quite a few like that-
    I was like, man...they should be happy when they see mine,lol. I think it might be just rogue graders as someone suggested. I am glad they have support. I think they should pay a lot more though and kind of do it like SpeechInk does- As long as it's 90 percent and above- you get the bonus- But having to have a PERFECT transcript only based on someone else's opinion or comma's...is really kind of ridiculous. That system just makes it so they don't have to give much. Because it is opinion for a lot of graders-
    I still give 9's even when a comma is missing in an obvious place or a sentence was cut off too early- CW likes big sentences. It says in the grading guidelines that 9's can have little needed-

    Sorry for everyone having troubles- I lost a PPT for no reason too- I had done no work and nothing was graded- They did give me back 2 points- Phew. My PPT is up now though and I have the system down pat now for transcribing how CW wants it...as for how certain graders or editors might want it...nothing I can do about that but I at least please them enough to never get below an 8.

    Sorry about your 6 Whimsy. Those really are upsetting especially when you're doing everything right. Maybe it was just an auto approval and they flagged a name that was not a normal one. That is what seemed to have happen on mine. Auto's just go by spell check. And when certain street names, last names or first names don't register- It flags you for grades on auto approval ones, I believe.
     
  16. angelface83

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    HAHA! I know right. It is easier to go down than up- such is life- I got a 6 bandit too the other day and got a 7 as well- Support gave me a 9 though. They said it was an auto approval. Maybe it wasn't the same person then. It says the name of the person who is grading sometimes and sometimes not.

    Sometimes support is nice and sometimes not. Sorry they didn't give you back a good grade. They are nicer the more work you do and the longer you're there I have noticed. I hope your PPT didn't get hurt too much nobody

     
  17. Whimsy

    Whimsy User

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    angelface83,

    The longer you're with CW and the more work you do for them, the more confidence others will have in your ability to do good work. You've seen the stats given at the side...as your numbers go up, people are less anxious that you're going to screw up and they have to "fix" things.

    I don't touch Improve HITs where it's already 8 or higher quality. No bonus, just base pay, if it's determined you only bumped the grade by 1. Sometimes I misjudge something and think it's a 7 and ends up being an 8 - no bonus for me then, either. Oh well. It did get me familiar with listening and fixing things, though. Also introduced me to cheaters.
     
  18. nobody

    nobody User

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    Thanks guys for the words of wisdom.

    I'm almost used to the 8s that should be 9s, but the 7 threw me. Now that I think about it, it may have been part of the 'punishment' for my muckup. It was a big one. I'll go sit down now and do some work.

    Onwards and upwards (hopefully)!

    ETA: Congrats on the upgrade, angelface! CW won't give you a 9 unless you deserve it. :) Like Whimsy said, it's the auto stuff that'll get you.
     
  19. Chytay

    Chytay User

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    I got hit with that a few days ago. I forgot to accept before I did the transcript. The first time in a long time that's happened to me. I accepted, pasted my transcript in, and submitted.

    It didn't take but a few minutes I was graded with a note from CW telling me not to do that, just wait a few minutes between accepting and submitting.
     
  20. angelface83

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    Hmm...just got a darn 7 on a super low paying one. Ugh! I had two 8's saying little needed then I was hit by one 5. WHOA! They said I left a lot out...Huh? I never leave anything out but false starts that don't make a difference- I do put in false starts if they have info in them...But not if it is something that has no use like... "And then we went..." Then the start over again with another phrase. And also I leave out repetitive ones as well, if they say it twice..just like the style guide says :/

    I truly hate it when you get graded by people who don't realize how the style guide says to leave out false starts and when people starts. I have gotten many a chastisement from graders and editors on that,LOL! Then when I leave in some that are important I get the same....:confused:

    I am following the style guide people and that's that.

    An Editor said I needed to break up paragraphs... Hmm....? I do. I make sure they are not more than 500 characters as CW says. OK then.

    I always do everything according to their guide.

    I contacted support because geez- it was a short one with barely any pay- A 20 cent one HA...with hard to understand speakers. SMH.

    I hope they have some good ones come up soon. Most of the ones up right now have bad audio quality or foreign speakers. I refuse to do either. Too many xx's tends to hurt me from auto approval :/

    OK...so....the editor...made almost everything into a one to two word paragraph... Huh????? So there are like 5 paragraphs, some with just one sentence by the same person. Makes no sense and that is not what CW says to do.

    All they fixed was about 5 things and that included taking out one comma and making almost everything into an independent paragraph...one sentence each. That deserved a 5? That doesn't follow the style guide. WOW is all I have to say.

    SMH.
     

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