Supporting Quality: How We Handle Repeated Low-Quality Translations

Sometimes, our Global 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 (GTEs) need to address situations where a contributor keeps submitting translations that don’t quite meet our quality standards. This is important because it directly impacts the workload of our dedicated volunteer validators, who generously give their time to keep our project’s translations accurate and reliable.

To better support our validators, and to maintain the high quality of our translations, we follow a clear workflow for warning and, if necessary, temporarily blocking contributors who repeatedly submit incorrect translations:

1. Friendly Guidance

When a validatorValidator See translation editor. spots a contributor who regularly submits low-quality translations, the first step is to reach out using the discussion feature in our translation system. This allows the validator to offer helpful feedback and guidance. (Please note: This works best if the contributor has notifications enabled.)

2. Reaching Out on Slack

If there’s no response or improvement after a few days, the next step is to try contacting the contributor through the #polyglots channel in the “Making 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/. workspace. You can usually find the contributor’s Slack handle on their profile page. Not all translators have a Slack user.

3. Public Warning

If previous attempts don’t lead to improvement and the low-quality submissions continue, the 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. should write a post on the Polyglots P2 blog explaining the situation. This post, tagged #ban-translator, should include screenshots and links to the problematic translations. TagTag Tag is one of the pre-defined taxonomies in WordPress. Users can add tags to their WordPress posts along with categories. However, while a category may cover a broad range of topics, tags are smaller in scope and focused to specific topics. Think of them as keywords used for topics discussed in a particular post. some Polyglots leads so that someone with commit permissions can review the case and add the translator’s username to the list of warned users if needed.

4. Temporary Suspension

If the contributor continues to submit incorrect translations after being publicly warned, and there’s still no constructive response, a user with commit permissions may temporarily suspend their ability to submit new translations. The GTE should update the previous 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/. post, adding a new comment, with examples of the new incorrect translations and request a temporary blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience., tagging Polyglots leads, so the situation can be reviewed, and the suspension applied if appropriate.

Public list

The list with the warned and suspended users is available here, in the public 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., so the whole process is totally transparent.

Screenshots

In the next screenshots, you can see the messages that the warned and suspended users will see.