As with any open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project, collaboration is key to a successful translation community. Here are some tips for building a strong collaborative team.
Team Building
Recruit contributors
- Try to find at least one more person to work with you – even at the very beginning
- Make it easy to find the first & next steps for new contributors
- Add the “Get Involved” as a translated RosettaRosetta The code name of the theme for the local WordPress sites (eg. bg.wordpress.org is a “Rosetta” site). All locale specific WordPress sites are referred to as “Rosetta sites.” The name was inspired from the ancient Rosetta Stone, which contained more or less the same text in three different languages. page
- Translate the How to translate page and link from your glossary page
- Create your 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/’s version of PTE request clarification doc. You can use this template if you’d like.
- Make sure that you link to these instructions in various relevant places, such as:
- The top comment on “Locale glossary” (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.’s have a link “edit” in the top banner)
- In messages to new contributors (you can @mention a contributor in a post in your /team site. Find new contributors by sorting translation projects with pending stringsString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. in reverse date order for contributions.
- In replies to relevant topics in the support forums. (You can find relevant topics by adding the name of your language as a watched keyword in https://profiles.wordpress.org/me/profile/notifications/)
Build relationship/trust
- Have a translation specific channel on local 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/. and answer questions. Check that one can join the channel using an email in the domain @chat.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/, then any contributor can join your local channel by first joining the global Slack team via chat.wordpress.org. If your local Slack team is not listed in the Local Slack Teams list, please provide the details to the global mentor team)
- Hold regular meetings
- Try to have face-to-face interaction (even virtually on a video calling tool) when possible
- Suggest that existing contributors to be mentors to new contributors, enabling both to grow
Expand/strengthen the team
- Try experimenting with translation sprints, contributor dayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/., or a local translation day. They can be held online using a video or text chat tool
- You can find some past event recaps on Polyglots 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/..
- The Russian team’s translation live stream & French team’s virtual translation day are examples of a creative way to organize a collaborative translation event online.
- Resource: Building Welcoming Communities
Working as a Team
Task delegation
- Clearly show open calls for help (e.g. 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. projects, top plugins/themes, HelpHub, handbook) or prioritization of projects to translate (i.e. what to focus on first for new contributors)
- Avoid the gatekeeper model and give proper permissions to members (e.g. 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 after a request by the project author or by the contributors themselves./Rosetta site blog contributor/forum moderatorForum Moderator Forum Moderators are active contributors who moderate their local support forums. Generally, these contributors get the permission to moderate from a forum admin of their language after contributing to the forums for a while. Moderators can be added by the local forum admins or the Polyglots team leads.) to spread the load
- Establish a style guide and glossary so you can communicate translation guidelines through them
Task management
- Use a publicly shared spreadsheet, TrelloTrello Project management system using the concepts of boards and cards to organize tasks in a sane way. This is what the make.wordpress.com/marketing team uses for example: https://trello.com/b/8UGHVBu8/wp-marketing., or any other task management tool to organize who’s doing what & the progress/status
- Example: HelpHub status sheet template
Documentation
- Create a WordPress translation overview page on team/handbook. Examples can be found on the Glossaries and Style Guides per locale page
- For teams that have certain processes in how they work, try to incorporate those into your documentation or Slack welcome messages (i.e. the Italian team describes a mentoring phase)
Tools for Collaboration
Don’t forget to announce contributor events when they are scheduled.
- Rosetta site & /team P2 for documentation and event/project announcement
- Meetup.com for local translation day announcement
You may want to try these collaboration tools for long-form text translation and maintenance:
- Google Docs
- Google Docs is probably the easiest tool to get started with collaborative translation for a documentation or blog post. This article is helpful if you want to learn more: A Guide to Collaborative Translation Workflows
- OmegaT
- OmegaT is a free translation memory application. Combined with a git repositoryWordPress Localization Repository The WordPress Localization Repository at https://i18n.svn.wordpress.org/ is a Subversion repository where official WordPress translations are maintained. See Working with the Translation Repository for details., it may be helpful for a team of translators to collaborate on continuously updated long-form contents.
- GitHub/GitLab
- May be used if many of your translators are comfortable with git command or GUI, or can learn how to use it (e.g. the Japanese team use it for the Community Handbook translation)
Leadership Best Practices
Growing a translation team can be a great leadership experience. Here are some ideas and resources for you to get started.
- Try to keep communication & decision-making transparent
- Learn from other locale teams and OSS communities in your country
- External resources: Best Practices for Maintainers & Leadership and Governance (both from Open Source Guides)
