I do think your @catchycat suggestion is a well-balanced one, probably coinciding with what Postcrossing was initially thinking. Just that the assumption that a picture must be posted publicly in order to get a translation does not hold in my opinion.
There is another way to deal with the matter: Leave things as they are instead of making a problem out of it!
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Agreed. This seems to be a problem to only one person out of all of PC members. Why change something that works for everyone else for this one person who complains? 
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I don’t like if writing on backsides are published (I don’t mind if the text is blurred out to show off decorations). But I think the translation help topic is great. Let me explain why…
People receiving postcards they can’t read (either due to language barriers or because of the handwriting) will always seek help. If you’re in any postcard / Postcrossing related chat group on social media you see this kind of post regularly. Those posts are completely out of control for the Postcrossing team! And often there is much more shown than neccessary (it’s insane how many addresses I have seen posted in public this way… of receiver AND sender… these would be deleted here right away). I strongly prefer the way of having a topic over here, where it’s monitored and deleted after a short while. Of course this is a compromise, but it’s way better than “out in the web forever”.
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Now I think the translation thread can be kept, but images of postcard messages should be exchanged in private. Of course, Postcrossing cannot control activity outside. However, regarding the translation thread here, it’s under the charge of Postcrossing. Wouldn’t it be good for Postcrossing to set up an example and adhere to the community guidelines as best as possible?
I added this point to the OP accordingly.
I understand your point, but to post there “can somebody help”, then get in touch is more of a hassle. Some might do it (as some people do it on social media too), but there are a lot of people around going for the easiest way, changing how that topic works might result in more posts elsewhere.
I know (as a person who often tries to help in that topic), I wouldn’t contact the persons asking for help, wait for a reply and then translate (maybe I don’t have time then and I don’t like to let others wait for my reply).
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@Cassiopheia. I totally understand. I tried to compare the pros and cons.
Non-forum member Postcrossers haven’t been notified of the official translation thread yet. I feel it’s unfair to them. So I’ve come to the view that banning the posting of postcard writings publicly in the forum is a change in the right direction.
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One person?
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Mainly one person, yes.
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Also, how would you know whether or not someone has already helped that person? It would be a waste of many people’s time to translate something that has already been done.
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It is a matter of simple basic manners.
- Person A asks for help.
- Person B responds. For example, reply in the public thread.
- Person A sends Person B the image in private.
- Translation takes place in private.
- After it’s done, Person A says so in the public thread.
Alternatively, follow the format of trades. The poster marks the thread as “in progress”, “closed”, etc.
By the time someone logs on to check their PMs, they may have already received many responses. So, while changing the status would help not receive any more, it would not help the multiple people who took time to translate postcards before the user logged on.
ETA: That’s not to mention the unecessary flood of PMs a person would get.
Just leave the Translation topic as it is. It works.
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- B tells A that she cannot read the handwriting either.
- A tries again and again, but C, D, and E cannot help either. X could help, but would A do more than 20 tries?
Deleting the solved requests sooner would help more.
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@varn Why did you changed the headline that @paulo had written?
I have changed it back again and would like to kindly ask you to leave it as it is now.
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@RalfH @littlesthobo @Angelthecat The image of postcard writings is meant to be sent through DM. I’ve already addressed this disadvantage (for the translation user group) in the summary as opposed to the expected benefits (for the entire Postcrossing community including non-forum members).
I changed the headline to “Ban of public posting of postcard writings on the forum” because that is the suggestion that I have arrived after the discussions. I summarized the discussion in the OP too. The blanket ban applies to all public posts on the forum, not just for translation/transcription. So can I change the headline as above? @Bille @admins
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I tried to combine the two. Hope now the headline is okay @Bille @paulo
It is not “supposed” to be sent privately. I am a regular on that thread and am not sure where you are getting that from.
We all are hearing your argument. It doesn’t need repeating. We are disagreeing.
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That is not what this discussion is about and the title should stay the same! That is merely one opinion. The discussion is broader than that one opinion
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I’m afraid it’s worth repeating. Some have dismissed the potential problem of someone being offended that their postcard message is published on the forum. Similarly, the situation of going for many rounds for a translation may occur. The difference is one of fairness.
So new major points are more than welcomed.