Title: Reviving Indonesian on WordPress.org
Author: Devin Maeztri
Published: April 27, 2020
Last modified: May 1, 2020

---

 [  ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/) [Devin Maeztri](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/)
3:52 am _on_ April 27, 2020      

# Reviving Indonesian on WordPress.org

Hello, world! My name is Devin. I was exposed to the WordPress community in Indonesia
for the first time in late 2016 when I joined as a volunteer on the spot at WordCampWordCamp
WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related 
to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together
to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy.
[Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). Denpasar. Since then, I’ve involved
in the WordPress community both in Bali and Jakarta. It began with WordCamp, MeetupMeetup
All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world 
but are not WordCamps are organized through [https://www.meetup.com/](https://www.meetup.com/).
A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share
new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com
will help you find options in your area., and then I’m involved in translation. 
I was also involved in an initiative called PerempuanWP, which is not exclusively
for women but it aims to bring awareness and support women using WordPress in Indonesia.

### How it started

It all started in 2019. After contributing to WordCamp, I was asking for more ways
to contribute to WordPress. I don’t have an IT background and have only experienced
managing a couple of WordPress sites. Then, I was told about translation and how
I can help translate WordPress from English to Indonesian. I’ve lived, studied, 
and worked overseas including in an English speaking country. So although I am not
a trained translator, that should be a pretty good reason to join the Indonesian
polyglot team.

I was taught how to use Poedit by my husband and assigned as a PTEProject Translation
Editor A Project Translation Editor (often referred to as PTE) is a person, who 
has access to validate strings on a specific project (for example BuddyPress, WooCommerce
or Twenty Fourteen) for one specific locale. A project translation editor can approve
strings that are added by translation contributors. Per project translation, editors
are appointed by a [general translation editor](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/glossary/#general-translation-editor)
after a [request by the project author](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/rosetta/theme-plugin-directories/#requesting-new-translation-editors)
or by the contributors themselves. for his plugins. At the same time, I was reaching
out to one of the Indonesian LocaleLocale Locale = language version, often a combination
of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s
used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in [https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/)
Managers. We worked together several times organizing WordCamps, so it was easy 
to just get in touch with the person. I was then given the access as GTEGeneral 
Translation Editor A General Translation Editor (often referred to as GTE) is a 
person, who has global access to validate strings on **all projects for a specific
locale.** and asked to work on WordPress CoreCore Core is the set of software required
to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. and WooCommerce translation.

![](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/files/2020/04/DB88E7A0-841F-4A10-A7D4-C3842A460D4C-
1024x770.jpeg)

WordPress Meetup Ubud #60, January 2020

However, not until I went to WCEU in Berlin and met with some people who have been
working on WordPress translation that I got more excited than ever. I reached out
to some people to learn and ask for guidance. I was told to start reviving Indonesian
on WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created
and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress
core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations
and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) by contacting
the Locale Managers dan updating Glossary and Style Guide. 

I tried to reach out to the other Locale Managers. Unfortunately, I didn’t get enough
support I needed to start reviving Indonesian translation on WordPress.org. Also,
there was no documentation or knowledge transfer about Indonesian translation for
new contributors. 

![](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/files/2020/04/Meetup-21.jpg)

WordPress Meetup Jakarta #21, January 2020

So I sat again with the Locale Manager I am in touch with, discussed the plan to
revive, and asked for any support I can get. I began to use available platforms 
to get interests and additional support such as Facebook and SlackSlack Slack is
a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/). The
WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/).
Luckily, there was already a slack channel called “translation”.

There was only one person who showed interest in translation. It is better than 
none at all to start. So we started discussing the plan and brainstormed some ideas.
Finally, the three of us came up with a brief reviving plan.

### Indonesian Translation Reviving Plan

#### Communication platform to discuss translation

 * Website: [wp](http://wp-id.com/)[-id.org](http://wp-id.org/) and Slack channel
   [#translation](https://wp-id.slack.com/archives/C53826D9B)
 * Indonesian Forum on [WordPress.com](http://wordpress.com/) and [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/)

#### Prioritized translation projects

 * Finalizing WordPress 5.0 translation
 * Finalizing WooCommerce translation

 * Building Indonesian Glossary
 * Updating the Indonesian Style Guide

#### To-dos

 * Contacting more people who have been involved in translation
 * Recruiting more people who are interested in contributing to the translation
 * Promoting on social media

#### Promotion platforms 

 * Social Media: FB, IG, and Twitter
 * Website: [wp-id.org](https://wp-id.org)

We drafted an email to reach out to existing GTEs. Basically, we thanked them for
their contribution and asked if they are willing to get involved in the reviving
plan. We had three people replied, but unfortunately, we still didn’t get the support
we want. At the same time, we wrote blog posts, created posters, and shared on social
media.

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Snr-gBSU08wdSiwqEMf9W3fsV2rfblIPDOyysN4QRwKqO8UBmkg_hzSCElKl6W29AAU4VOdneMYmAriWYQ9vrQwxO8B97sqzsCBztXNYDTOx5Gtd-
NglPOZmOp-qnVUT9PE3zcx-)

The first poster we released to invite people to translate.

There was an interesting response that we received. Someone got back to us asking
if we are official and mentioning about the disappointment that the GTE had as there
was never a recognition for the translation work that has been done.

### What we’ve achieved

Since around September 2019, we have made some progress and achieved the following:

 1.  We activated the translation channel and changed the name into ‘poliglot’. Yes,
     we do have an official Indonesian word for polyglot. This channel has been the
     platform to learn as a team, discuss, make decisions, and keep things transparent.
 2.  We write blog posts on wp-id.org and created categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy
     lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are
     pre-defined and broad ranging.: [https://wp-id.org/category/poliglot/](https://wp-id.org/category/poliglot/)
     and subcategories: discussion and guidance as an attempt to document our activities
     and communicate with interested people. 
 3.  We use all social media channels to spread the word and invite people to translate.
 4.  We created a new Glossary and have a working spreadsheet to keep it updated.
 5.  We have updated the Style Guide and planned to upload it soon.
 6.  We wrote a blog post about our own version of measuring success as motivation.
 7.  We have 100% completed the translation and released WordPress Core 5.3.x and 5.4.
     x.
 8.  We are working on completing and reviewing MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers
     to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal
     WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. translation.
 9.  We are working on completing and reviewing WooCommerce and TwentyTwenty.
 10. We translated the Code of Conduct as a team and are working on translating Representing
     WordPress and the Five Good-Faith Rules.
 11. We have drafted some terms and conditions for Locale Managers and GTE, as well
     as considerations for those who are interested to become Locale Managers, GTE,
     and PTE. 
 12. We have three new active Locale Managers and planned to reach out to inactive 
     Locale Managers and GTE, again.

![](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/files/2020/05/id-team-status-1024x735.png)

Interested contributor can add their names on any project.

### What I’ve learned

We still have a lot to work on, but we have come this far in less than a year. I
think we can achieve a lot if we work as a team. 

Translation helps many Indonesians who don’t understand English to conveniently 
use WordPress in our mother tongue. As the fourth largest population on Earth, Indonesia
offers great potentials for WordPress, not only as users but also as contributors.

However, undeniably language is often the barrier to understand, maximize, and contribute
to anything including WordPress. Through language, we can break barriers and stop
the ignorance. 

One thing that I learned and should be actively communicated to WordPress users 
in Indonesia is that translating WordPress is as important as coding.

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 * [To-do](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2020/04/27/reviving-indonesian-on-wordpress-org/?output_format=md#)

 1.  ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/120b2dbc332ea0daf46d432e7d1fd3bf9a2b98955f9bad07dfd3ff8eb0fdfc87?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 2.   [Stephen Edgar](https://profiles.wordpress.org/netweb/)  4:42 am _on_ April 27,
     2020
 3.  Fantastic, thanks for sharing and translating 💯
 4.   * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ee84fb1f2356ac4fe1396bb305b237d84d26ddd66771c8541f7967e0ac02636b?
        s=32&d=mm&r=g)
      *  [Devin Maeztri](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/)  3:57 am _on_
        May 2, 2020
      * Thanks for the support!
 5.  ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/890bd890338f9b6a17143a65ac10a20410e135583d95106bb09f20d91f66afe2?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 6.   [tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner)](https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobifjellner/)
     11:02 am _on_ April 27, 2020
 7.  Great! Thanks a lot for all effort and for sharing this approach with us.
      Hmm.
     We should probably start gathering a collection of links in a resource pool. And
     this post for sure should be included. Right, [@nao](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nao/)?
 8.   * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/aa89edf971372c035a02c633667412facd8b00fd6946fe4f208f7aed7f7bb524?
        s=32&d=mm&r=g)
      *  [Naoko Takano](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nao/)  12:18 am _on_ April 29,
        2020
      * > collection of links in a resource pool
      * YES! Let’s do it.
         I’ll start a draft of a new page and open it up for suggestions.
      * **Edit: [Translation Collaboration & Team Building Tips](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/for-editors/translation-collaboration-team-building-tips/)
        is now published.**
      * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ee84fb1f2356ac4fe1396bb305b237d84d26ddd66771c8541f7967e0ac02636b?
        s=32&d=mm&r=g)
      *  [Devin Maeztri](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/)  3:57 am _on_
        May 2, 2020
      * Thanks for the support!
 9.  ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/649fb2ded934d53d79b98a1f98c694d175ef9c644e28b89ea0eb8c3a64fdda39?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 10.  [Yui](https://profiles.wordpress.org/fierevere/)  9:42 am _on_ April 29, 2020
 11. A success story, thanks for sharing it!
 12.  * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ee84fb1f2356ac4fe1396bb305b237d84d26ddd66771c8541f7967e0ac02636b?
        s=32&d=mm&r=g)
      *  [Devin Maeztri](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/)  3:57 am _on_
        May 2, 2020
      * Thanks for the support!
 13. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/890bd890338f9b6a17143a65ac10a20410e135583d95106bb09f20d91f66afe2?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 14.  [tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner)](https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobifjellner/)
     2:52 pm _on_ May 1, 2020
 15. Hi [@devinmaeztri](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/)
      A few hours 
     ago I stopped by the Bahasa Indonesia support forumSupport Forum WordPress Support
     Forums is a place to go for help and conversations around using WordPress. Also
     the place to go to report issues that are caused by errors with the WordPress 
     code and implementations. and noted that there were several posts waiting in pending
     and spam queues. With help from Google Translate I was able to approve good posts
     and comments, some of which have been waiting for a couple of months. Do you have
     any active moderators in your community? Or do you anyone interested? You can 
     ask here or in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/).
     The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/)
     channel “polyglots” to have someone assigned, and i “forums” you can get help 
     with how to do carry out moderation, etc.
 16.  * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ee84fb1f2356ac4fe1396bb305b237d84d26ddd66771c8541f7967e0ac02636b?
        s=32&d=mm&r=g)
      *  [Devin Maeztri](https://profiles.wordpress.org/devinmaeztri/)  4:02 am _on_
        May 2, 2020
      * Thanks for bringing this up! I pinged someone about this, I can’t recall, on
        Forum channel before but didn’t get any responses. But, the other LocaleLocale
        Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region
        code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of 
        all locales supported by WordPress in [https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/)
        Manager, [@ivankristianto](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ivankristianto/),
        said that he wanted to focus on reviving the Forum. We have brought this up
        in several gatherings about contributing to Forum. At the moment, platforms
        like Forum are scattered from Facebook groups, Telegram groups, and a little
        bit on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/).
        The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/).
      * We’ll bring this up in our coming meeting, and reach out to you for access.
        CC [@agusmu](https://profiles.wordpress.org/agusmu/) [@kharisblank](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kharisblank/)

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