ProZ.com Translation Forums

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors | profile help?

Ridvan Ali Patat — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 16:20:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: Ridvan Ali Patat
Post title: profile help?

I've just noticed this topic was moved to "ProZ.com profile help"!

hah!

I don't need help with my profile, I'm happy with it.

ProZ.com needs a better bot-prevention solution, and a less time-wasting authentication mechanism - that the my point of the topic!

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors | I'd have them bring their worst on

Ridvan Ali Patat — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:37:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: Ridvan Ali Patat
Post title: I'd have them bring their worst on

[quote]Karletto123 wrote:

I think, if worse comes to worse they will try to scam you in the old age. [/quote]

that doesn't scare me TBH as spotting and fighting scam attempts have become a daily chore lately.

having to spot cars and buses and fire hydrants and motorcycles over my coffee though; now, that gets on my nerves. especially after seeing proof that it's not really working.

An MFA using text messages or one-off authentication codes would be much less annoying perhaps?

neater, more reliable and definitely less time consuming, isn't it?

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors | I think...

Gregor Trebec — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:24:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: Gregor Trebec
Post title: I think...

I think, if worse comes to worse they will try to scam you in the old age.

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors | a major concern

Ridvan Ali Patat — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:22:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: Ridvan Ali Patat
Post title: a major concern

[quote]ATIL KAYHAN wrote:

It looks like I am experiencing a high number of visitors lately, too. Our ProZ profiles contain highly personal and sensitive information including our photo, CV/resume, links to other sites or profiles, biography, phone numbers, email addresses, exact coordinates (postal address), and so on.

I noticed these patterns for my profile visitors upon a general look:

- All are first-time visitors
- None are logged in
- Concentrated on the last few days (June 15 through 18)
- Came from direct link/unknown

I wonder what comments could ProZ administrators make on this strange incident, if any.
[/quote]

I can't see who the visitors are - not a paid member - but the unusual hike is there, unmistakably.

I remember sth like this happening a few months ago, following which a sudden drop happened in the number. I interpreted that drop as a sweep by the site admins.

and the concern regarding sensitive information; that's a major one.

an update: the number is nearly 400 as of today.

[Edited at 2026-06-19 08:28 GMT]

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors | Some Pattern?

ATIL KAYHAN — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:19:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: ATIL KAYHAN
Post title: Some Pattern?

It looks like I am experiencing a high number of visitors lately, too. Our ProZ profiles contain highly personal and sensitive information including our photo, CV/resume, links to other sites or profiles, biography, phone numbers, email addresses, exact coordinates (postal address), and so on.

I noticed these patterns for my profile visitors upon a general look:

- All are first-time visitors
- None are logged in
- Concentrated on the last few days (June 15 through 18)
- Came from direct link/unknown

I wonder what comments could ProZ administrators make on this strange incident, if any.

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors | Or it could be bugs ...

Daryo — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:39:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: Daryo
Post title: Or it could be bugs ...

[quote]Rıdvan Patat wrote:

hello,

I don't know if this applies for anybody else, but lately - within the last week or so - I've been observing an unusual hike in the number of visits to my profile. and the figure is unrealistic!

until a few days ago, the number of visitors shown on my profile was 40 sth. today, it's nearly 300!

that's obviously some sort of 'bot' activity, isn't it?

and if so,

and if the system fails to prevent bots from walking in and taking their time around as they like,

why am I - an actual human - wasting 20 to 30 seconds trying to spot fire hydrants and cars and motorcycles and crosswalks and traffic lights every morning so I can log in and check out what's happening here?

any thoughts? [/quote]
Or it could be bugs ... software bugs being given free rein?

At some point my profile in the 'new edition' of Proz was showing 4 million 337 thousand 389 Kudoz points [it has been corrected] And few other bugs.

As for bots roaming freely around the site there is one logical question that can't be avoided:

A number of people couldn't be bothered to do anything by themselves and instead use bots (aka AI agents) to do all sort of things for them on the Web.

I don't hear of any demand for refunds because bots are prevented from accessing whatever they want, so logically bots must be pretty damn good at getting past all these right-pain-in-the-neck 'anti-bot verifications'?

IOW the only explanation no one complains about bots (/ AI agents) being useless must be that bots can't be stopped by all these 'verifications'.

While 'real people' get their time wasted again and again ...

Makes sense? Or I missed something?

Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors

Ridvan Ali Patat — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:40:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Unusual (and unrealistic) hike in the number of profile visitors
Poster: Ridvan Ali Patat

hello,

I don't know if this applies for anybody else, but lately - within the last week or so - I've been observing an unusual hike in the number of visits to my profile. and the figure is unrealistic!

until a few days ago, the number of visitors shown on my profile was 40 sth. today, it's nearly 300!

that's obviously some sort of 'bot' activity, isn't it?

and if so,

and if the system fails to prevent bots from walking in and taking their time around as they like,

why am I - an actual human - wasting 20 to 30 seconds trying to spot fire hydrants and cars and motorcycles and crosswalks and traffic lights every morning so I can log in and check out what's happening here?

any thoughts?

Only 1 native language? | Would this test be objective enough?

Daryo — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 01:28:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Daryo
Post title: Would this test be objective enough?

You could devise a variant of the Turing test for 'nativeness':

(1) introduce a possible bilingual to someone who is for sure 'native' of some language (as he/she speaks only that one language, for example), under a name that sounds 'native enough';

(2) few hours/days/weeks later ask the one who is definitely 'native' if their new acquaintance is 'native' or not of their language.

Do that for two languages and there WILL BE a number of people who can effortlessly pass this 'nativenes Turing Test'. Some even for three or more languages.

Proof enough?

Never mind that for the purpose of translating or interpreting 'nativeness' in the subject matter often trumps the importance of 'general purpose' nativeness ...

Only 1 native language? | .

Gerard Barry — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:05:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Gerard Barry
Post title: .

[quote]Zea_Mays wrote:

[quote]Karletto666 wrote:

Speaking, comprehending and writing are different skills. I kind of speak Italian, I understand it better but i am more lousy at writing it. Does it make me native Italian? [/quote]

Let's take this seriously just for a moment, rather than viewing it at as a provocation by a language service provider playing dumb and pretending not to have basic knowledge of their profession, like the etymology of 'native' - from Latin 'nātīvus' > from 'nātus' ('birth').
My language proficiency assessment score for English is 100% for reading (C1/C2, Upper Advanced) and 70% for listening (B1/B2, Intermediate - I understand standard speech when well articulated). Does this mean that I am a native speaker of English?
Some contributors to this very thread claim they translate into English in their profiles while it is clear to even non-native speakers that it's not their mother tongue. So who's the imposter here? [/quote]

Based on the fact that you say you only understand "standard speech when well articulated" means to me that you're not a native speaker. What does "standard speech" even mean? Native English speakers can usually understand all variants of the language reasonably well.

Only 1 native language? | Yes it is possible to have two or more native languages

Brian Gallegos M.A. — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:46:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Brian Gallegos M.A.
Post title: Yes it is possible to have two or more native languages

It's not unusual at all for children to grow up speaking two languages at home and in their community. Both languages are "native" in those cases.

Only 1 native language? | yes...

Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:50:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Post title: yes...

...even so called bilinguals have always a dominant language. This is especially true when writing.

[quote]The Shredder wrote:

FWIW I don’t believe anybody is truly bilingual.

[/quote]

Only 1 native language? | It’s been a while…

The Shredder — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:14:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: The Shredder
Post title: It’s been a while…

… since we had the native/non-native argument on here.

FWIW I don’t believe anybody is truly bilingual.

But in this age of growing illiteracy thanks to social media and AI, it really doesn’t matter much any more. Perfection, style, feel, naturalness are no longer in demand.

Only 1 native language? | language proficiency

Zea_Mays — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:51:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: language proficiency

[quote]Karletto666 wrote:

Speaking, comprehending and writing are different skills. I kind of speak Italian, I understand it better but i am more lousy at writing it. Does it make me native Italian? [/quote]

Let's take this seriously just for a moment, rather than viewing it at as a provocation by a language service provider playing dumb and pretending not to have basic knowledge of their profession, like the etymology of 'native' - from Latin 'nātīvus' > from 'nātus' ('birth').
My language proficiency assessment score for English is 100% for reading (C1/C2, Upper Advanced) and 70% for listening (B1/B2, Intermediate - I understand standard speech when well articulated). Does this mean that I am a native speaker of English?
Some contributors to this very thread claim they translate into English in their profiles while it is clear to even non-native speakers that it's not their mother tongue. So who's the imposter here?

Only 1 native language? | Two different things!

Daryo — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Daryo
Post title: Two different things!

[quote]Harishankar Shahi wrote:

One, only native in one language. If not the case of a dialect which later evolve and acknowledged as a seprate language. There is no chance a person can be native in more than one language. Being native, is other than learning or having degree in that language. But people enjoy and earn median money with these bogus claims. Even proz promotes these self-claim imposter practice. [/quote]

Proz being at times in no hurry to react to some clearly fantasist claims (what you called 'Even proz promotes these self-claim imposter practice') is ONE thing.

But these self-inflated claims can not change ANOTHER reality: that there IS a number of people who are native in more than one language as proven by THE FACT that they would be seen as such by other 'natives' in these two (or more!) languages.

To make a parallel: couch potatoes who can barely walk to the nearest corner shop claiming they can walk a stretch of 10-20 miles does NOT change the fact that some other people really can.

Or to put it in yet another way: just because *you* don't know any truly bilingual people doesn't mean that 'here is no chance a person can be native in more than one language'.

Only 1 native language? | Insulting.

Marijke Singer — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:39:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Marijke Singer
Post title: Insulting.

[quote]Karletto666 wrote:

So what should people do when brought up in an environment where they were brought up in 2 or more languages from a very early age and actually went to schools in those languages?

Only 1 native language? | Native

expressisverbis — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:40:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: expressisverbis
Post title: Native

[quote]Karletto666 wrote:

Speaking, comprehending and writing are different skills. I kind of speak Italian, I understand it better but i am more lousy at writing it. Does it make me native Italian? [/quote]

Native speaker status comes from early, natural acquisition in childhood, not later learning or proficiency.
I am Portuguese by birth and a native speaker of European Portuguese.
This often means a deeper intuitive understanding of the language, including the ability to recognize regional and local accents, a strong sense of what sounds natural, and sensitivity to idiomatic expressions, tone, and context.
It also includes an intuitive grasp of register and usage, rather than explicit knowledge of grammatical rules, etc.
So, I am a native Portuguese speaker: does that make me a native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese as well? 😁
Short answer: no, nativeness doesn’t automatically transfer across varieties you didn’t acquire as a native.

Only 1 native language? | Well..

Gregor Trebec — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 01:57:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Gregor Trebec
Post title: Well..

Speaking, comprehending and writing are different skills. I kind of speak Italian, I understand it better but i am more lousy at writing it. Does it make me native Italian?

Only 1 native language? | Another case

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:33:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: Another case

I’ve just remembered another case that I know well. When I worked at the EU, as it’s an international environment, some of my colleagues married people of other nationalities. In particular, a Portuguese colleague of mine married an Italian and they had three daughters, all born in Brussels. They studied at the French-speaking section of the European School and were brought up from a very young age to speak Italian with their father, Portuguese with their mother, and French amongst themselves. Whenever I went over for dinner, I was struck by the ease with which they would switch between the three languages in the middle of a conversation without any hesitation. One of them naturally works as an interpreter today. They have dual nationality (Portuguese and Italian) but if you ask them what their native language is, they will say French…

Only 1 native language? | I don't agree, sorry!

expressisverbis — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:26:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: expressisverbis
Post title: I don't agree, sorry!

[quote]Harishankar Shahi wrote:

One, only native in one language. If not the case of a dialect which later evolve and acknowledged as a seprate language. There is no chance a person can be native in more than one language. Being native, is other than learning or having degree in that language. But people enjoy and earn median money with these bogus claims. Even proz promotes these self-claim imposter practice. [/quote]

Not true.
People can be native in more than one language if they acquire them from early childhood in a bilingual environment.
There are many children whose parents speak different native languages, and those children grow up bilingual from birth. I’m sure many fellow translators here have had similar experiences.
For example, a European Portuguese friend married to an Egyptian has a son who understands both parents and responds to each in their respective language.
I’m not bilingual myself, and I only translate into my native language. Portuguese can be quite difficult at times, but I enjoy the complexity 😊.

Only 1 native language? | Must be one

Harishankar Shahi — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:34:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Harishankar Shahi
Post title: Must be one

One, only native in one language. If not the case of a dialect which later evolve and acknowledged as a seprate language. There is no chance a person can be native in more than one language. Being native, is other than learning or having degree in that language. But people enjoy and earn median money with these bogus claims. Even proz promotes these self-claim imposter practice.

Only 1 native language? | 2 or more native languages

Monica RW — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:51:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Monica RW
Post title: 2 or more native languages

My kids (who are adults now) are native in two languages - native from a bilingual home.
Besides we live in Cataluna, Spain - EVERYBODY is bilingual in Spanish and Catalan here, so EVERYBODY has 2 native languages.
I know a few persons who are native in 3 languages. It is perfectly possible.

Only 1 native language? | Whatever are the merits or demerits of it

Daryo — Sat, 30 May 2026 19:06:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Daryo
Post title: Whatever are the merits or demerits of it

you CAN have more than one 'native language' in your profile.

It does make sense - there are lots of 'transitional' zones between two languages where lots of people are truly 'native' in both languages.

And many other possible reasons. But it's better to not open that can of worms - unless you want another 100 page thread about 'native language(s)'?

Here comes the compulsory digression:

This question made me look at my own profile - the 'old' and the 'new' versions. In both I’m still native in 2 languages, which is true but sounds weird to me as I currently mostly use a third language. Still, that bit is fine.

But overall I’m not impressed - not at all. Couldn't see any 'improvement' - only a kind of dumbification. Calling it 'new experience' won't help - same as rebranding as 'opportunities' the increasing number of silly (some even illegal) 'job offers' doesn't make them any better!

From the 'old style' profile you can easily access ALL Kudoz activity in great details INCLUDING selecting Kudoz questions and looking at them directly.

In the 'new' profile ALL you can get is a summary of points. I have a strong suspicion that so called 'vibe-coding' was at work as any human beginner programmer would know how to code a simple addition and it wouldn’t result in showing that I have 4,337,389 KudoZ Points in total!

my KudoZ activity NEW VERSION - *not shown* on the 'landing page' of the user profile - you have to look for it + one more click:

4337389 = Total KudoZ Points [yes: 4 millions and some change!]
5276 = Questions Answered
3 = Questions Asked

my KudoZ activity OLD VERSION - *immediately visible* on the 'landing page' of the user profile:

PRO-level points: 7389, Questions answered: 4687

Same story for user's activity in forums - in the 'new style' profile only an extremely basic summary is shown, while in the 'old style' profile you can see the forum activity in great details and go directly to user's postings in various threads.

Why would this matter at all?
You can fill as a one-off your profile with whatever marketing spiel you want, but how you deal again and again with Kudoz questions and your continuing 'style' in participating in Forums paint a ways better and 'truer' picture. For those looking for 'dirty cheap' it won't matter at all BUT the kind of [admittedly few] clients you would want to have and keep as long as possible these 'details/nuances' do matter.

You have to admire the 'genius move' to practically reduce to a pale shadow of itself what could have been a Unique Selling Point of Proz!

But then AI/vibe-coding are probably not that good at digesting that kind of 'input data/logic' ...?

Only 1 native language? | @original topic

Zea_Mays — Sat, 30 May 2026 12:56:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: @original topic

[quote]Peter Motte wrote:

I think you can have only 1 native language in your profile.
Is that correct? [/quote]

I think you can still enter more than one language.
Under [url removed] > Languages, there should be the option to enter your native language(s) and those you master based on the ABC system (under "This is a list of all the languages you know. Enter your strongest language(s) first.").
There is also a note: "Forgot to add another native language? Add it as C2 and contact the Support Team."

Only 1 native language? | One example (outside the translation field)

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:13:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: One example (outside the translation field)

One of my brothers, who is Portuguese like me, went to study in the United Kingdom when he was 18, got married there, and spent his entire professional career (in hotel management) in English-speaking countries. The moral of the story: his native language is Portuguese, a language he now speaks very poorly, while his English is excellent. If by native language is meant the one he speaks fluently, what should he say?

Only 1 native language? | Not sure

Samuel Murray — Fri, 29 May 2026 21:53:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: Not sure

[quote]Peter Motte wrote:
I think you can have only 1 native language in your profile.
Is that correct? [/quote]
I'm not sure what the current rule is. There used to be a rule that you can specify more than one native language, but only the first one is used for filters in searches, and the "native" icon was grey instead of blue.

The issue of whether you can have more than one native language has been discussed to death (at one time it lead to one of the longest English threads on ProZ.com, stretching over 100 pages long).

Only 1 native language? | Here...

Peter Motte — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:22:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Peter Motte
Post title: Here...

in my country there are officially 3 languages, but most people "only" now 2. However, you're certainly not automatically native in three or even only two of them.

Only 1 native language? | Well

Gregor Trebec — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:12:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Gregor Trebec
Post title: Well

[quote]Zea_Mays wrote:

[quote]Karletto666 wrote:

I say it is only right. You can be native in only one language. You are not native, if you feel 'like it'. >:( [/quote]

You might want to do some online research on the matter and read relevant studies. [/quote]

I was born in Yugoslavia with 6 states. There was no such thing as two native languages. There was native or near native...

Only 1 native language? | A vast proportion of the world's population probably has more than one native language

Christine Andersen — Fri, 29 May 2026 12:04:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Christine Andersen
Post title: A vast proportion of the world's population probably has more than one native language

All over the world, children grow up with parents speaking different languages, or in communities where more than one language is spoken, and children learn them from birth.
My grandchild has three languages, although two are dominant, and she does not use the third at the same level.

In a community like Proz.com it should be possible to register more than one native language!

As professionals, many here will have more than one language 'at native level', even though one is not really a native language. I regard my language of habitual usage as a 'language of the heart', even though I did not learn it as a child.

Only 1 native language? | uh?

Zea_Mays — Fri, 29 May 2026 11:06:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: uh?

[quote]Karletto666 wrote:

I say it is only right. You can be native in only one language. You are not native, if you feel 'like it'. >:( [/quote]

You might want to do some online research on the matter and read relevant studies.

Only 1 native language? | only right

Gregor Trebec — Fri, 29 May 2026 11:02:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com profile help
Topic: Only 1 native language?
Poster: Gregor Trebec
Post title: only right

I say it is only right. You can be native in only one language. You are not native, if you feel 'like it'. >:(