Being a Digital Citizen and an Interpreter

As a medical interpreter trainer, I recommend that my students become part of interpreter organizations, such as CHIA (http://www.chiaonline.org/), IMIA (http://www.imiaweb.org/), NAJIT (http://najit.org/), CCIO (http://www.ccio.org), etc., because the best way to learn and sharpen your skills is by your peers. Although the number of interpreter organizations is growing, there are many areas in the USA that do not have a local chapter. This is why the internet has become so beneficial. Most organizations will allow interpreters to become members and participate through their “member’s only” blogs, forums, and discussion sites. The problem is that if one is not educated on the proper netiquette, their questions, comments, and contributions may be deleted or just simply ignored. This is why it is important to read the rules for each site. I have found, however, that many tend to be too wordy or difficult to follow. I use the “Forum rules, tricks, and tips” section of WordReference (a popular interpreter forum) as an example (http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2418299). What I like about this section is that it is divided in to subheading (such as how to ask and answer a question), and also gives helpful trick that could improve your post (such as how to add accents on a PC, MAC, or Linux). The reason why I take the time to teach how to be a digital citizen in my trainings is, because most of us do not bother to read or learn what the appropriate netiquette is until we use the forum, blog, email, etc. and then get our heads chewed out because we are being inappropriate.