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Re: Old Accounts That Have Likely Been Hacked/Traded
by
Don Pedro Dinero
on 23/04/2025, 09:41:37 UTC
I'm not accusing you of anything (like using AI or similar tools to buff up your posts), but when I see a post history like yours I just kinda scratch my head and wonder.  Know what I'm saying?

Nowadays practically all those of us who are not native English speakers use some tool or other to translate, revise or improve what we post in English, which is not forbidden. Personally, when I write short sentences I usually write them directly in English, for longer paragraphs I use Deepl.com, and sometimes I have used ChatGPT for more complex things like translating a set phrase.

For me what proves that an account has been sold or hacked is the opposite, someone who years ago wrote in perfect English and today writes quite poorly. This coupled with a gap or posting on different boards. But that people have a better level of written English than years ago is quite normal, either because they have improved their level or because they use some tool or other, which I think is positive overall for the main sections of the forum, which are in English.

I have no doubt some people are cheating, but it's totally possible to improve your English skills in 8 years.

How is it cheating to use tools to improve your written English? Even to translate directly from your mother tongue. The only rule that even remotely resembles this is rule 27, which I personally don't agree with, but leaving that aside, what it prohibits is using automatic translators to publish on local boards by translating from English into the local language, not the other way around. There is no rule prohibiting the use of tools to translate from local languages to English or to improve writing.