I agree. As is, the translation feature is pretty useless. One issue is that even when you DO correct translations to something more natural sounding, someone else comes along and changes it to something awkward anyway. So what's the point of editing other's translations?

I think it would work much better if everyone was given the text blind, without the ability to see others' translations. Those do no good anyway. See what you can muddle through, and maybe make a translation of your own. After submitting your COMPLETED translation, then maybe you can be shown the contributions of other translators and rate them.

You can upload articles (if they are coprighted, you need the autorization of the author to put them here). So you can add an article then translate it. You'll be the first one. Then people will correct it if needed.

Just, if you upload Wikipedia articles, please don't put some that already have a Wikipedia page in the language to which you're translating to (well it's my opinion, since the goal announced is to translate the internet, it doesn't make a lot of sense to redo the work), except if the Wikipedia page in the language to which you're translating to is really poor.

Try playing around with the checkboxes on the sidebar--you can just check the one that says "needs to be translated." You'll still run into articles that have only 1 sentence untranslated down at the bottom, but at least you won't have to wade through all the finished articles, as well.

Perfectly stated. I went to the "translation" page to practice, not to look at some one else's ideas. I am very disappointed that I cannot translate it myself. Certainly, if someone wants to look at it later, feel free to give me constructive criticism, but I'm simply not interested in someone else's translation unless I'm stuck with my own.