A structured process for addressing inconsistent translations

Hello everyone,

Building on a recent discussion started by @fernandot, I’d like to address a recurring challenge within our translation ecosystem: how to manage contributions that consistently don’t meet our quality standards. This issue is important because it affects the workload of our dedicated volunteer validators, who invest their personal time to ensure the quality of the project. With the increasing use of AI tools, maintaining high standards has become even more critical.

To better support our validators and ensure the integrity of our translations, I am proposing a structured workflow. The primary goal is to establish a clear and fair communication process with contributors before any restrictive measures are taken.

Proposed Workflow:

Here is a step-by-step process for validators to follow:

• Initial Contact: When a validatorValidator See translation editor. identifies a contributor who repeatedly submits low-quality translations, the first step should be to reach out to them through the discussion feature integrated into the translation system to offer guidance and feedback. We recognize this method relies on the contributor having notifications enabled.
• Follow-Up on 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/.: If there is no response or improvement after a few days, the next step would be to try contacting the contributor via the #polyglots channel in the “Making WordPress” Slack. The user’s Slack handle, if available, can be found on their profile page.
• Public Documentation: If previous communication attempts are unsuccessful and the pattern of low-quality submissions continues, the validator could then write a post on the Polyglots P2 blog. This post, tagged #block-spammer, would serve to transparently document the issue with screenshots and links to the translations in question.
• Temporary Suspension: After the issue has been publicly documented and a reasonable time has passed without a constructive response from the contributor, a user with commit permissions could then add the username to a pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party that would temporarily suspend their ability to submit translations.

To facilitate this process, I have developed a plugin named WordPress.org GP Contributor Moderation that is designed specifically for this purpose on translate.wordpress.org. If a user’s submission access is suspended, they would be shown a notification with a link to the P2p2 "p2" is the name of the theme that blogs at make.wordpress.org use (and o2 is the accompanying plugin). When asked to post something "on the p2" by a member of the Polyglots team, that usually means you're asked to post on the team blog https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/. blog post that explains the reason for the action.

I would greatly appreciate your feedback on this proposal. The intention is to create a fair, transparent, and effective system that improves translation quality and respects the valuable contributions of our entire community.

#block, #improvements, #spam