Illinois government at work
- Thread starter LDB
- Start date
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
Ok ... what were they ?
How much did it cost them to setup this additional language version of the website ?
How much to maintain it ?
Is it something really significant ?
Or is it just something merely inconsequential for the largely ignorant to bloviate about ?
Do you have any additional specific data on the matter which would provide enlightenment ?
Fortunately for you it seems that this specific instance isn't really something you have to be overly concerned about ... unless you have recently decided to relocate and setup shop in the Land of Lincoln ...
Isn't there some mention somewhere about it being government's job to 'promote the general welfare'? And aren't people healthier and happier when they find things to laugh and smile about?
There's the answer.
On a related note, I once saw a construction site with 7 miles of 1 lane - usually, that makes for impatient drivers and frayed tempers, but not this one. The first sign said "7 miles to go" and it was illustrated with a frowny face. [We all feel like that!] Each of the next 3 mile announcements showed less of a frown, and the last 3 showed an increasing smile. The end sign said "Hooray!" [and we all felt like that, too]
That humorous acknowledgement did wonders for the mood of inconvenienced drivers, and it was money well [and wisely] spent. I've often wondered why it isn't done more often - and wished I could remember where it was, lol.
There's the answer.
On a related note, I once saw a construction site with 7 miles of 1 lane - usually, that makes for impatient drivers and frayed tempers, but not this one. The first sign said "7 miles to go" and it was illustrated with a frowny face. [We all feel like that!] Each of the next 3 mile announcements showed less of a frown, and the last 3 showed an increasing smile. The end sign said "Hooray!" [and we all felt like that, too]
That humorous acknowledgement did wonders for the mood of inconvenienced drivers, and it was money well [and wisely] spent. I've often wondered why it isn't done more often - and wished I could remember where it was, lol.
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
First off, that's never anything (highlighted in bold) that I've ever claimed ... but it is a logical fallacy that you've repeatedly resorted to in order to deflect and divert ...
Secondly, as to the actual substance - rather than the frivolous ad hominem - of your request:
The basic site and it's content is set up, hosted, and maintained anyways ... it's a cost that is going exist (sunk) - regardless of what language versions are offered.
If a (digital, automated) translation service is used to render a page in a different language (on the fly), then that would involve providing a UI (user interface) - perhaps on each page of the website, or perhaps only on the home page - for the end-user to make a selection of which language to render it in (think pop-up menu where the end-user selects a language). This will be done, regardless of whether "Klingon" is used or not - so that other languages that there are a legitimate need for can be accessed.
The addition of the "Klingon" language may as simple as selecting or adding it to the list of available languages a user has to choose from. It may be as simple as selecting checkbox for "Klingon" ... in addition to Spanish, German, whatever, etc.
You seem to envision a small horde of coders, huddled in some back room, translating pages into Klingon or something, each page of which is hosted and separately maintained ...
While that makes a very entertaining fantasy to get all enraged over, I suspect - from the data available - that that may not actually be what's happening ...
Now ... I've addressed your request ... what are the odds that you'll actually address mine ?
Personally, I put it at less than 1% ...
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Sort of. Bing uses the Microsoft Translator API, the same API that the Illinois DES site uses. It just gets rendered on the fly. There are languages for which the DES has people check the Web pages for accuracy in translation, but Klingon isn't one of those languages. The DES, as far as they know, doesn't have any Klingon-speaking employees.
The Chicago Tribune was put on the story by some mamby pamby snot-nosed idiot who who doesn't even know how Web sites work wrote a scathing e-mail to the Tribune complaining of the fiscal irresponsibility that tax dollars were being wasted on the frivolity of translating an entire government website OMG! into a fictional language. The Tribune investigated, to find that the DES’ translation uses the free software package, Microsoft Translator, which offers Klingon among many other languages. Adding the Klingon language to the list of available languages for translation was free and without any additional cost whatsoever.
The Klingon translation started out as a promotion for the "Star Trek Into Darkness" movie that premiered in May. It wasn't a promotion for or by the Illinois Web site, but a promotion by Bing as a way to promote the movie. Any Web sites that use the Microsoft Translator will be able to pick and choose from the Bing list of languages it offers for translation. The DES site has English, Spanish Simplified Chinese, Polish, Russian and Klingon.
Except, they no longer even offer Klingon as of January 1, 2014, because the novelty wore off and it was no longer generating new traffic to the site.
Soooooo, someone decided to start a thread to complain about something costing money that (A) didn't cost any money when it existed, and (B) doesn't even exist anymore. Awesome.
"I'll take STUPID THINGS for $400, Alex."
"What is, something Leo should reimburse you for?"
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I live in and am based in Illinois. That qualifies me to answer LDBs charge because the other guy he's responding to doesn't.
Even if the DES DID translate the website into Klingon, I doubt that the cost matters just a whole lot when compared to the amount of money this state shovels into the fire every day. It's small potatoes, not even worth this thread. My S.W.A.G. is that the job was done on somebody's spare time and uploaded during a quiet moment in I.T. .
Even if the DES DID translate the website into Klingon, I doubt that the cost matters just a whole lot when compared to the amount of money this state shovels into the fire every day. It's small potatoes, not even worth this thread. My S.W.A.G. is that the job was done on somebody's spare time and uploaded during a quiet moment in I.T. .