Who We Are
The User Response Translation committee (URT) is responsible for addressing Policy & Abuse (PAC) and Support’s translation needs in specific high-need languages. At present, these high-need languages are Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. In the future, as the needs of AO3 and PAC/Support change, we may adjust this list to include other languages where more assistance is needed.
In terms of our day-to-day duties, we are responsible for:
- Providing consistent, high-quality translations to PAC and Support
- Translating tickets within a reasonable timeframe
- Maintaining the confidentiality of user information we encounter while translating
- Working with PAC and Support to create sustainable systems that can help them communicate more smoothly with users in URT languages
Of these tasks, the majority of what we do is translating tickets to send directly to users; however, we also may translate boilerplate replies which can be reused for multiple tickets to allow users faster response times in non-English languages.
URT does not translate AO3 or OTW site pages, news posts, or fanworks. The above, with the exception of fanworks, are handled by the Translation committee. Fanwork translation is not in the purview of the OTW and is not handled by any OTW committee.
Internal Structure
URT is led by one or more Chairs who manage a team of approximately 10-20 volunteers. Chairs oversee URT in general, including managing personnel, ensuring project goals are met, and keeping documentation updated. Chairs are responsible for making sure URT is accountable for its work and does its job well.
URT Chairs are assisted by Volunteer Coordinators who help manage personnel as well as volunteer recruitment and training. They help hold regular check-ins with URT Translators, organize mentorship (senior translators) for training newcomers, and generally provide assistance to Chairs as needed.
URT also has Liaisons to PAC and Support. Liaisons act as a regular point of communication between their committee and URT. They communicate with URT about general trends in tickets or other issues which may affect inter-committee collaboration (for example, translator recruitment for a particular language) and coordinate the translation of boilers and tickets into URT languages.
Finally, URT has Translators who complete the majority of the committee’s work, including all of its translating. Translators work collectively to complete consistent, high-quality boiler translations and discuss workflows with Support and Policy & Abuse through committee liaisons. They also respond to urgent requests for translation assistance on Slack and actively communicate with team members and volunteer coordinators about availability, task progress, and language team decisions to make sure committee work progresses smoothly.
Contact Us
If you want to learn more about the User Response Translation committee, are interested in volunteering with us, or if you have any other questions, please contact us—we will be happy to hear from you.