Tips
for Using the
HONYAKU Mailing
List
Before
You Post
- Did
you search the
HONYAKU Archives?
- If you get too many
hits, try searching using both romaji and
kanji (i.e. _循環型社会_ -> _循環型社会 junkan-gata shakai_).
- If you get too few hits
try reducing and/or separating the
words (i.e., _循環型社会_ -> _循環型 社会_ or simply _循環型_).
- Did
you check all the usual online
dictionaries and MT engines?
- Did
you check Google?
- If you haven't already,
review the help files at Google (English
or Japanese).
- You can limit searches
to top-level domains (.co.jp, .com,
.org, et al) using the site command. For example, if you want to limit
your search for _walkman_ only at co.jp sites:
- Likewise, you can limit
searches to a specific site using the
site command. For example, if you want to limit your search for
_walkman_ only at sony.com, type:
- You can limit your
search to Japanese pages by using the
日本語のページを検索 option. Of course, not all pages properly identify their
encoding, so you may miss some Japanese pages when using this command,
but this still works fairly well when you want to find out how to say a
certain English expression or word in Japanese. For example, if you
were looking for _two birds with one stone_ and you didn't limit it to
Japanese pages, then you will get many non-Japanese page hits first. If
you limited it to Japanese pages, though, you would get many quality
hits right off the bat:
- Another way of limiting
your search to Japanese pages is to
add a Japanese key word to your other key words. For example:
- When looking for the
definition of an English term, use the
define command. For example, define:translation.
- When looking for the
definition of a Japanese term, you can
usually get lucky if you combine _とは_ to that term. For example, if you
wanted to find hits containing definitions for _循環型社会_ try :
- If you get too many
hits, keep adding key words.
- If you get too few hits,
try reducing and/or separating the
key words.
- * is a wild card (e.g., "* birds with * stone")
- For for information on Google operators, see the Google Guide.
- Did
you check with your client to make
sure it isn't a typo?
- One way to check for
typos is to search for both the supposed
typo and the supposed correction at the same time. Using this technique
will often lead to hits that reveal information as to whether it is a
really a typo or not.
Posting
to Honyaku
- Create a logical subject line.
- Don't use vague
subjects lines like "HELP ME!" or "FINANCE
TERM" or "URGENT!!!"
- Use the word or phrase
that is giving you trouble as your
subject. For example, "junkan-gata shakai"
- Don't use double-byte
characters in the subject as it will
often create problems for some email programs.
- Give plenty of context.
- You are the only one
that can see the whole context of the
document you are translating. The rest of us only can see what you
provide. If you are dealing with confidential material, simply change
the names and and such to other names or X (i.e., X社). At the very
least, provide the full sentence that contains the word or phrase in
question.
- Even if the word or
phrase in question appears with little or
no context (i.e., in a table or graph), you can still explain about the
document and provide other information to help the rest of us help you
more effectively.
Things
to Avoid
- Don't
quote back unnecessary information!
- There is no need for
paper trails (quoting back the whole
message after your response and/or quoting back too much within your
response) at Honyaku as every email is archived.
Besides,
anyone interested in keeping track of a given topic can store the
corresponding messages on their computer and follow it in thread view.
- It is never necessary
to quote back the group disclaimer,
ads, signatures and other irrelevant information.
- Configure your email
program to automatically quote the email
before your reply. That way you will never mistakenly leave the whole
message after your signature and you can then easily take the time to
delete all the quoted text except that portion to which you want to
respond.
- Don't
state how urgent your request is!
- Everyone thinks that
their request is so urgent. However,
since most of us are no doubt under a variety of deadlines at any given
time, this is pointless. There is no need to state things like,
_URGENT!_, _Please help me!_ or _My deadline is in 30 minutes!_ in the
subject or body of your message. When you use such desperate and
self-centered language, you will, unsurprisingly, come across as being
desperate and self-centered, and, chances are that you will most likely
drive away a great deal of people that may have otherwise been inclined
to help you.
- Don't
reply to messages to start a new
topic!
- Instead, create a new
message when you wish to create a new
topic. Many of us like to use the thread to follow a given topic, but
if you start a new topic by replying to a post of an existing thread,
you will mess up the existing thread. The best thing to do is register
the Honyaku email address used for posting new messages (honyaku@googlegroups.com)
in
your address book and use the _new email_ feature of your email program
to create a new email addressed to honyaku@googlegroups.com
when
creating a new topic.
- Don't
forget your signature!
- Add a signature with
your name and email address.
- Don't
post long URLs!
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