Website/game text proof reading for non-English speakers.

[sparkyboy]

Hi guys,

After everything that has been happening lately, I now wish to offer my services to those of you who have websites/game text and need a little help in conveying your games/programs to the English speaking public.

I have viewed and scrutinised a number of posts and websites for a while.
Here's an example that I did a while ago!

This was a reply to a post by a young man called 'ANLINO'

Here's a freebie!
From your website:-

We have just begun on a new, exiting project. We cant give out to much details just yet, but soon will we post up some more.
There is no working title at the moment. Here is some nice features. Not all of them are added, but all of them will be in the final realease.

As I see it:-
We have just started a new and very exciting project. We can't give out too many details at the moment, however, we will post more information as the game progresses.So keep watching .
There is no working title at the moment,but here are some of the features that will appear in the final game.

All the best

Mark.



Here's the link to check for yourselves:-
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=4367&highlight=Anlino

I think you will agree, my interpretation sounds a lot better. I don't profess to be an expert in the intracacies of the English language (I'm certainly no English teacher ;) ), but i'm sure, for the non-English speaker at least, there is certainly some merit in producing well presented and coherent text that could, in all honesty,result in more sales, increased traffic( whether returns or not), which at the end of the day:

MORE VISITORS+MORE SALES=MORE PROFIT!!! :)


Now let's get down to payment!!!OOH I hear you say.............WELL........

I'm thinking of $30 US per page to a maximum of 500 words, with grammatical changes thrown in as well.......On the other hand........8 cents per word (correcting spelling).

As a show of trust, I will re-organize and (in some cases :D ) completely alter 1 page of your site for FREE!!!( upto a MAXIMUM of 200 words) to the first person that contacts me by private mail!! I CANNOT REALLY SAY FAIRER THAN THAT!!!!

Paypal payments are now in place!!! ;)

All the best


Mark.

[papillon]

'progresses.So keep watching . "

"I CANNOT REALLY SAY FAIRER THAN THAT"

... And this is the guy you want to pay for proofreading? :) (Teasing, mostly, as it's difficult to get everything 100% on a forum, especially when more casual language is called for in forum usage anyway.)

As an English student and published (if in very small markets) author, I tried offering proofreading before, but nobody took me up on it. Also, I speak both British AND American! :)

[mahlzeit]

Heh heh, when I read sparkyboy's posts I always get the impression: this guy is a non-native speaker who has fallen in love with English and now he is determined to use every expression and cliche ever conceived. ;) Just teasing: your English is fine, but in my opinion you're overdoing it a little.</language-police>

[sparkyboy]

'progresses.So keep watching . "

"I CANNOT REALLY SAY FAIRER THAN THAT"


Sometimes it really is difficult to express your intentions when you are not at full capacity ( papillon you should understand ;) )

Mais si possible je voudrais bien faire un reponse!! :p

Interestingly put.........
How should I say it.....

I progress
you progress
he progresses
she progresses
We progress
You (plural) progress
THEY PROGRESS.

In its most simple form:-

Passed tense.......

We have all PROGRESSED.?

@mahlzeit
I am a natural english speaker, I just get excited sometimes!!


All the best

Mark.

[BinaryMoon]

passed tense

erm ... past tense?

:D

[luggage]

Will you also put a random selection of sentences in bold for me too? ;)

Just kidding! Good luck with it all!

[yanuart]

As an English student and published (if in very small markets) author, I tried offering proofreading before, but nobody took me up on it. Also, I speak both British AND American! :)
don't worry, I'll be your first client! It's just that I haven't finished my game yet :D

[sparkyboy]

erm ... past tense?


Erm... yes I fully understand where you are coming from!!!! :D

Il faut mieux boire un peux moins des bieres!!!! :p
Basically translated :p

Don't drink more than you can handle!!!!!
.
.
.
Nah

It's better to drink less!!!!!! OK Emmanuel(wink)

So for all those who are going to rip my English apart!!!

"Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers"

Try that after a few beers!!!!! :eek:

All the best


Mark.

[Kaos]

Then again you could offer a beta test program on your site and people would proofread it for free and you could save a few 100 $ for a nice steak/lobster dinner with your wife!

Nice that you would do that for some cash, I would be happy to help out and maybe get a free copy of the game that they are developing, and the beta testers would do it for free, they just get the demo before it is released.

But money is good as well, I wouldnt turn it down if offered to me.

[sparkyboy]

Ahh well ya gotta try!!!! :)
As Queen once sang! ;)

'Another one bites the dust'
'didilin in in;
'Just tryin' to earn a crust'...... :D


But joking aside I'M SERIOUS!!!!!!! :)

TRY MY OFFER!!!

All the best


Mark.

[sparkyboy]

erm ... past tense?

:D

Man.....such idiosyncrasies.......I mean't to say 'PAST'(A) ;) JACK!!


Hopefully for the last time.......


Mark.

P.S.
Somehow I do not think that is going to happen!!!! :p

[ggambett]

Man.....such idiosyncrasies.......I mean't to say 'PAST'(A) ;) JACK!!
Did you mean "meant"? ;)

[Kaos]

jus' let ole Cletus, translate your site into redneck english!

[TamLin]

Il faut mieux boire un peux moins des bieres!!!!
Shouldn't that be "peu"? ;) (Hey, everyone else is having fun nitpicking.)

[Kaos]

Quoi? Qu'est-ce-que vous avez?

[sparkyboy]

LOL, thanks guys. :D

I didn't say that I was an expert in the ways of our beloved English language now did I ? ;)
Even my french seems a bit 'ropey' at times! :p (Damn 'X' fetish).

@Kaos
I have me, myself and I! :D


All the best


Mark.

[StormcloudCreations]

I offered this service at one point ($6 per page, unlimited words) and no one took me up on it, either. *sigh* So it isn't a personal thing.

I still offer it at this price, and no one has shown any interest.

[Octopod]

=> "Mais si possible je voudrais bien faire UNE reponse!!"
=> "Il VAUT mieux boire un PEU moins DE BIERE!!!!" or "Il faut boire..."

J'irai d'ailleurs bien en boire une petite...

:) Congratulation, its really close to perfect french ! :)

I think I might be interested by such services, but maybe at a lowest price than $30 per page. My english is far from being perfect but I have Word to help me with spelling and grammar (I'm joking of course :p).

Alexis.

[Kaos]

Sad thing is, if you offer a beta testing group a serial/retail of your game, you can basically get it done for free.

[sparkyboy]

I'm bored, so here's another .......JUST FOR YOU YANUART!! ;)


Contact us

You can contact us by email at :

Webmaster : webmaster@iplayallday.com
Bussiness : business@iplayallday.com
We're also like to correspond among fellow developers, so feel free to write us anything.
See our downloadble license deal (NEW)

Creative Team


IPlayAllDay.com team consisted of talented peoples who have been worked in creative business (comics, animation, web design, etc) for awhile.They've met together with the same idea "To live up the games industry in Indonesia and the world".

Yes, most of us currently reside in Indonesia (it's a nice country) but that doesn't holding neither our dreams or our business expansion. We begin our development in Feb 2004 and [B]finnaly be able to launch our site completely at Sept 2004.

You can talk to us through our forum if you like and see our previous works.

Our Company

IPlayAllDay.com was established in 2004 to create fun online games for everyone. Our goal is to bring you the best experience in web gaming, that's why we've prepared and worked so hard to make this happen.

Apparently we're still trying to find ways to keep our sites alive and to keep our productions so that you can play new games periodically.

So if you like what you saw, you can spread the words about our site or if you have any business inquiries you like to make, please don't hesitate to contact us


Now for my version.......

Contact us

You can contact us by email at :

Webmaster : webmaster@iplayallday.com
Business : business@iplayallday.com
We also like to correspond with other developers, so feel free to write to us.
See our downloadable license deal (NEW)

Creative Team


The IPlayAllDay.com team consists of very talented people who have been working in the creative business (comics, animation, web design, etc), for quite awhile now. We joined up with one single goal in mind, "To liven up the games industry in Indonesia and the world".

The majority of us currently reside in the beautiful, picturesque country that is Indonesia. It is from here, that we intend to build our dreams and eventually expand across the world. We began our development in Feb 2004 and finally launched our site onto the world in Sept 2004.

You can use our forum to talk to us, and indeed see our previous work.

Our Company

IPlayAllDay.com was established in 2004 to create fun online games for everyone. Our goal is to bring you the best experience in web gaming, that's why we've prepared and worked so hard to make this happen.

We are consistantly trying to find new and exciting ways that will enable you to enjoy our games to their fullest extent.

So if you like what you have seen, don't hesitate to spread the word about our site and games. Also, if you have any business inquiries you would like to make, please, by all means, contact us.



All the best


Mark.

P.S.
As it seems I may be 'banging my head against a brick wall' :D , how about $15 US per page and unlimited words.

[ggambett]

"awhile" is actually two words. "consistantly" on the other hand isn't a word at all. It's either "consistently" or "constantly", the context suggests the later.

Nothing personal, but if you intend to charge for correcting english text, make sure your corrected version is perfect...

[mahlzeit]

"awhile" is actually two words.
I agree with you that it is better written as two words, but according to Merriam Webster (the dictionary):
Although considered a solecism by many commentators, awhile, like several other adverbs of time and place, is often used as the object of a preposition <for awhile there is a silence -- Lord Dunsany>.

[sparkyboy]

"awhile" is actually two words. "consistantly" on the other hand isn't a word at all. It's either "consistently" or "constantly", the context suggests the later.


Thanks again Gabriel, but you are correct only in the second instance!!


Nothing personal, but if you intend to charge for correcting english text, make sure your corrected version is perfect...

If I was offering English lessons to people then sure it would have to be 'PERFECT' ;),although I do appreciate your point.
However,I'm only offering my help to people who have sites with text rather incomprehensible to English speakers! :)

How many of us can truly understand what 'ANDY' posts?
I have to read his posts 2 or 3 times to comprehend what he is trying to say.That is the sort of English I wish to correct on a website that's all. I have no intention of giving English lessons.Anyway, a quick pass through a 'spellchecker' should catch the odd letter or three. ;)

All the best

Mark.

[ggambett]

How many of us can truly understand what 'ANDY' posts?
Nobody, but that's a vodka-related problem and has nothing to do with grammar ;)

[Andy]

How many of us can truly understand what 'ANDY' posts?
Mark.

Yeah Mark!
But this is probably the problem with the level of your intellect. No? ;-)
Would you find any mistakes on our website - let me know.

EDIT: Wow! I have an idea really. If you have nothing else to do anyway you are ordered to spell and grammar check all my upcoming messages here. You will be paid 1$/message for every message you will edit - payments at the end of every month. I'll check. :D
Find I any mistakes in your corrections of my messages - you are fired.

REM: Gabriel. I don't drink vodka at all. You become too annoying with this.

[sparkyboy]

Yeah Mark!
But this is probably the problem with the level of your intellect. No? ;-)
Would you find any mistakes on our website - let me know.

EDIT: Wow! I have an idea really. If you have nothing else to do anyway you are ordered to spell and grammar check all my upcoming messages here. You will be paid 1$/message for every message you will edit - payments at the end of every month. I'll check. :D
Find I any mistakes in your corrections of my messages - you are fired.

REM: Gabriel. I don't drink vodka at all. You become too annoying with this.
No problem with my intellect at all Andy (non that a few beers don't cure anyhow :p )
I wasn't casting aspersions upon your good self, just using your posts as an example!! ;) ( I mean, your English is better than my Russian!!). Don't be so touchy!!!
I've been to your site and I KNOW its good English.

However the truth is that your posts are difficult to understand, and I'm sure many others will agree!! :D Good luck anyhow.


All the best


Mark.

[Andy]

...the truth is that your posts are difficult to understand, and I'm sure many others will agree!! :D Good luck anyhow.

Mark.

I also can't understand your lazy marketing posts Mark. I can't imagine how anybody could start the business in such a lazy manner. That's what I would recommend you to use as your examples for future.

Anyway, where is the edition of my latest post? ;)

[sparkyboy]

I also can't understand your lazy marketing posts Mark. I can't imagine how anybody could start the business in such a lazy manner. That's what I would recommend you to use as your examples for future.

Anyway, where is the edition of my latest post? ;)


Sorry Andy, but it isn't a business in the true sense of the word. ;)
It's merely an offer to help out for a small renumeration while my games are being designed and programmed.
A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST!

Oh and as requested.........


Yeah Mark!
This is obviously a problem with your level of intellect. Correct?
If you find any mistakes on our website - let me know.

EDIT: Wow! I have just thought of an idea. If you have nothing else to do with your time, then why don't you correct all my future posts on this site. You will be paid 100$ for editing each message. Payments will be paid at the end of every month. I'll check to make sure. ;)
If I find any mistakes in your corrections - you will be fired.

REM: Gabriel. I don't drink vodka at all. You are becoming very annoying now.


Sorry couldn't resist the 100 dollars! ;)

All the best


Mark.

[Andy]

Sorry couldn't resist the 100 dollars! ;)
Mark.

Look how good you understand my posts when you read about any money for you! Fired! I don't work with dishonest peoples smelling around like... you know better like what (with your language experience). ;)

[Ricardo C]

Mark, just an idea, but perhaps your offer would be better received if you didn't single out individual posters. It's impolite, unwelcoming, and rather overbearing. If I were Anlino, Yanuart, or Andy, I would have told you to fuck off a long time ago.

[Andy]

If I were Anlino, Yanuart, or Andy, I would have told you to fuck off a long time ago.

I'm trying to be polite Ricardo... But thanks anyway. :)
I don't really think we need to push this his post any more. Let it just drops down to where it should be. :D

[sparkyboy]

Look how good you understand my posts when you read about any money for you! Fired! I don't work with dishonest peoples smelling around like... you know better like what (with your language experience).


Actually Andy, I still had to read your post TWICE before fully understanding it. Dishonest you say, well, re-read some of your posts!!(I think not!). ;)
My,my, a little condescending there wouldn't you say?

Try this little Tete-a-tete for example.
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=4569

Now aren't you just the BIG KAHUNA around here eh Andy? :rolleyes:
Nice attitude bud, keep it up.


Mark, just an idea, but perhaps your offer would be better received if you didn't single out individual posters. It's impolite, unwelcoming, and rather overbearing. If I were Anlino, Yanuart, or Andy, I would have told you to fuck off a long time ago.


Point taken Ricardo, but there seems to be an assumption that I've purposely singled out people for ridicule, which is not true!! :mad:
I've merely used some of the worst English text as an example, but if that has caused offence to those involved, then I apologise profusely.
I can't speak for other people, but when I go to a site and see that the developers have put a lot of time and effort into both their programs and site design, I find it a real shame when I see that the English is all over the place, and takes a while to understand.
People are so fickle these days, and I just think that it's a crying shame to have people come then leave due to the fact that the text is rather hard to comprehend!!

Anyway, I've just decided something..............
Anlino and Yanuart, sorry for any offence, so as a way of recompense, I will (if you are interested) redo ALL the text on your sites.

How's that for the actions of a dishonest man (eh Andy my boy)!!! ;)

All the best


Mark.

[Ricardo C]

I didn't mean to imply you had ill intentions, I apologize. I was pointing out that it doesn't come across as being friendly.

[sparkyboy]

I fully understand Ricardo and I didn't take your post as an implication of any ill intentions. :) (unlike Mr high and mighty!! ;) )

Good luck with YOUR games my friend. :)


All the best


Mark.

P.S.

@Anlino and Yanuart.
Just to clarify, I'll re-do your text for FREE!!(Maybe you could put a little credit in your next games) ;)