Re: [Tails-l10n] Newbe looking for help

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Author: intrigeri
Date:  
To: Tails localization discussion
Subject: Re: [Tails-l10n] Newbe looking for help
Hi,

Nivatius wrote (04 Apr 2014 12:19:46 GMT) :
> Okay I'm a computer-enthusiast and willing to look into git a little,
> but you really need to work something out that does not take 3h to set
> up. (yes literally)


I understand this can be a blocker, and I'd be delighted to be pointed
an easier-to-setup system that can handle our website's translations.

I suspect that our need to support multiple branches (so that new
documentation for the upcoming release can be translated in parallel
with improvements to the existing one) will disqualify most options,
but maybe there'll be one left standing.

Also, it would be good to keep the possibility to see the actual
results of one's work before they ask for a review'n'merge.
That's what can be done currently by building the website locally.

Anyone up to researching this a bit?

On the other hand, getting involved in translating the Tails website
is a long term commitment, and most likely many more than 3 hours of
work ahead. So some may consider the "investment" worthwhile.

Another way to usefully contribute is to translate strings in
Transifex, review the existing translations there, and make sure we
have a good glossary for Tor/Tails -specific terms in your language.
I believe that all these require substantially less learning.

> Thanks for the Link, but it is totally useless for my usecase.
> I just want to know what I really really need to so I can start
> translating. Most of that info is for coders.


I think I'll need some clarification on that one. What information in
there is for coders?

> Also the fact, that I need to clone several 100MB. not cool.


Right, this is a known (and important) problem. We have wanted to
split the website into its own Git repository for a while, to make it
smaller, but we apparently don't manage to prioritize it high enough
to actually get to it. I'll try to take care of it during the
(northern hemisphere) Summer. Feel free to nag me about it from time
to time.

> But let's start at the beginning:
> https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/translate/
> a little crowded to many tools, but okay.
> everything is fine and good until the "workflow" part:


>>Set up your personal Git repository
> <https://tails.boum.org/contribute/git/>: if you already know where to
> host it in a public place, this is great; else, fork us on repo.or.cz
> <http://repo.or.cz/w/tails.git> or ask the Tails system administrators
> <https://tails.boum.org/contribute/how/translate/tails-sysadmins@boum.org>
> to host your repository.


> a total noob is scared away by now if not allready by the wall of text
> above it. if he clicks the link "git repository" this appears:


> " "Learn Git" on https://tails.boum.org/contribute/git/#index1h1 "


> no step by step instructions of how to get the stuff up and running to
> start translating, but reference to more resources. This page is okay
> for the people that want to contribute code. But Do you really think
> people are willing to spend that much time on learning git just for
> translating?


I don't know. Some are willing to, and likely many others are not.

Certainly the Git requirement contributes to discouraging potential
translators. On the other hand, I'm not sure if it is more a blocker
than 1. the need to create a team; 2. the amount of initial work
needed to get a new language enabled; 3. the amount of regular work
needed to keep the website in good shape in your language.

> translating should be easy. Transifex seems like a good way to go.


All the Tails German strings can be translated in Transifex.
Only translating our website requires Git. I realize the documentation
for translators is not clear about it: it was meant for "either a team
uses Git for everything, or work only happens in Transifex and the
website is not translated in their language".

Unfortunately, I don't think Transifex is suitable for translating an
entire website such as ours. See my above discussion of our needs
for details.

> But this is what I hoped for.
>>--------------------------------------------<
> "https://tails.boum.org/contribute/translatingwithgit"
> [...]


Great, thanks! Nobody is better placed to (initially) document
something, than someone who has just learned it. Do you want to write
it down yourself, possibly based on u's howto?

> PS: on on https://tails.boum.org/contribute/git/#index1h1 , the "for
> 4year olds" video doesn't explain the basics, the speaker says you
> allready need to know what pushing cloning and so on are. so I think
> it's missplaced there.


Agreed. I've just put the 2nd link above that one. We would need an
additional pointer to another Git tutorial for newbies. Anyone knows
a good one?

> PPS: I think this here is a good example of how it should look:
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Translations/QuickStartGuide


Yes, this looks a great introduction to translate program strings
(what we're doing in Transifex for most languages).

Cheers,
--
intrigeri
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