Polyglots Outreach Effort: February 2023

This post is part of a global outreach effort to various 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/ teams. 

The goal of this effort is to learn more about which locale teams are active or inactive, how global Polyglots can better support other locale teams, and lessons we can share globally. 

You can read more about the effort in Starting a Polyglots Outreach Effort, and you can view outreach posts from previous months in the #polyglots-outreach tag on this site.

Locale Outreach

For this month, I’d like to reach out to the following localesLocale 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/:

If you received a pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” from this post, that is most likely because you are listed as a 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. for one of the locales above. Hello!

I would like to learn more about your locale team: how you work, your current challenges, and any ideas you have for the future. To share this information, please answer this short survey. One or all of the GTEs from your locale team are welcome to share their answers. There is no deadline, so responses after the month ends are welcome, too! 

You can also leave a comment on this post or in the polyglots channel in the Make WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. mentioning @erica to chat one-on-one.

Team Building Resources

This month, I am excited to share the first version of the Translation Events Kit. Conversations with some of the Community team and 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/. 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. reactivation supporters inspired this kit.

Through this outreach effort, I have heard from several GTEs that finding new translators and keeping them engaged is challenging. The Meetup reactivation project supports Meetup organizers in restarting regular WordPress events in their local communities. I hope this Translation Event Kit can help Meetup organizers and translation editorsTranslation Editor Translation editors can approve translations for projects. The GTE (General Translation Editor) and LM (Locale Manager) roles can add new users with the "Project Translation Editor" role that can approve translations for specific projects. There are two different Translation Editor roles: General Translation Editor and Project Translation Editor easily and regularly run local translation events.

The kit includes a Quick Start infographic, a Meetup.com event description and featured images, a sample schedule, and a presentation you can use with your attendees.

You can help by reviewing the event kit and sharing your feedback on the following questions:

  • Is there anything else you would add to this event kit?
  • If you are a Meetup organizer, is this something you would use with your community? Why or why not?
  • Where are you most likely to look for a resource like this? For example, in the Polyglots or Community team Handbooks?

Progress and stats

Last month, I spoke with @samahnasr and @aion11 about their goals and efforts within their local communities for the Arabic and Bengali locales, respectively. Along with Meetup reactivation supporters — @peiraisotta, @thelmachido, @leogopal, and @thehopemonger — they shared early feedback on the Translation Events Kit idea and resources. Thank you to everyone for your input!

The GTEs from the Indonesian locale team also shared their progress on a new project to help engage translators. @kharisblank is leading an effort for a 3-month translation sprint. Contributors sign up via a Google form, and they have daily discussions on Slack to track their activity and support each other. So far, there are 15 participants, including @arifmuamar, a new contributor who has been very active in this effort! 

Some numbers from the last month: 

  • 15 locale teams have been contacted via this effort, and GTEs and contributors from 11 locale teams have responded. 
  • I’ve marked 5 locale teams as active, and 11 as inactive, based on a lack of response.
  • Thank you to @lidialab, @nao, and @devinmaeztri for sharing feedback, revisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision., and suggestions on the new How to Translate Handbook page! 🎉 (Note: this page is temporarily in draft status as a public preview until we figure out best practices for replacing the previous versions.)
  • Thank you to @kharisblank, @samahnasr, @leogopal, @thehopemonger, and @kharisblank for help with and testing the Translation Events Kit! 👏
  • Thank you to @mkrndmane, @soslan, @progmastery, @devinmaeztri, @kharisblank, @fikekomala, and @nabilmoqbel for sharing information about the #mr, #os, #hy, #id_ID, and #ar locales, respectively. 🙏
  • 68 (+3) locales are up-to-date with the most current version of WordPress.
  • 53 (-2) are behind by more than one release.

You can view all tasks and progress in the Polyglots Outreach Status Hub on Trello.

How to Help

Everyone is welcome to get involved in this effort! In particular, I welcome help with:

  • Outreach to the locale teams listed above. If you know any of the GTEs or contributors, leave a comment and help reach out!
  • Sharing feedback or writing team-building resources. You’re invited to share feedback on draft resources or sign up to write one of these resources for the next monthly post.
  • Writing a post for Make/Polyglots about your locale team. Many local efforts are impactful, but may not be visible to the global Polyglots community. If your team has a unique process that works well or is focused on a special project, please share! You are welcome to simply share your post on Make/Polyglots or leave a comment for help and feedback. 
  • Sharing your thoughts to help improve this outreach effort. These could be small suggestions – like changes to these monthly posts to improve outreach – or larger suggestions, like additional resource ideas or ways to engage more locale teams.
  • Anything else! If you’re unsure how best to help, just leave a comment, and we can chat to figure something out.
#polyglots-outreach