Hoi, The needs that I formulated are abundantly clear. We need an environment where people can translate with a minimum of fuss. Betawiki provides this, Subversion does not. There are 250 languages and many of them do not have proper localisations. I have asked Nikerabbit to modularise the software needed (I repeat myself here) and he indicated his willingness to do this.
Subversion may be quite simple but there are 250 languages minus English that need translation. Given how many of the localisation are done, in situ, one person learning Subversion does not solve the issue. I am not alone at this, there are more translators unwilling to do this or even unaware of the existence of Subversion.
I am not upset by your suggestion that I have to learn Subversion, the point is the Betawiki functionality is superior because it is easier to learn . I have known about Subversion for a long time, it is however not about me. It is about applying an *existing solution for its problem* and this should not be a problem. It is about translators doing their work once and, making sure it counts. Berto is a professional translator, he has translated the Piemontese interface. People with this ability are rare and it is because of what people like Berto or Sabine mean to their project that it is of extreme importance to make sure that they continue to do what they do best and what they do for free as well. When we are going to localise the languages that we have not touched yet, you will find that their ability to learn Subversion will become even more problematic. BetaWiki has the benefit of making use of the MediaWiki environment, the people who start a new project have enough problems as it is learning MediaWiki, having to learn Subversion as well is just too much.
FYI, "ordinary" translators like Berto and Sabine are highly qualified professionals. We need to involve more like them not less.
Thanks, GerardM
helix84 schreef:
Gerard, everyone here is a volunteer and everyone has to do something apart from wiki to earn for a living, so everyone is busy, too. Please, remember this. You won't solve a problem by complaining. Try to criticize constructively. First step is formulating your needs. But you can't just throw work on someone else's shoulders. Try to keep that in mind.
And I didn't say Nikerabbit wouldn't take care of extensions, too. But you have to ask him. I asked him about six months ago when there were little core translations finished and focus was needed on that. That may have changed.
I'd like to suggest you one thing, although you may not want to try it
- give Subversion a chance. Subversion is quite simple, but it does
need a little time and patience to get used to, like any other software. Subversion isn't just for programmers. It's here to help, not to complicate things. And it does help, that's why it's popular. If you don't want to, I understand, but the problem remains unsolved. You may get upset about it and try to solve it yourself in a way that suits you. That's how open source works.
Rob, please, you don't get bitter because of one person who lost his nerve. There is a problem which may need solution, or at least an explanation. As I see it, an ordinary translator doesn't know how things work, that's why you didn't understand each other. I'll try to make a howto summing up everything about localization. We could then make it also a FAQ for this mailing list.
And everyone remember: Stay cool when the editing gets hot Assume good faith
We're all volunteers working toward the same goals.
~~helix84