Tag Archives: polyglots-outreach

Erica Varlese 12:29 pm on April 11, 2023
Tags: polyglots-outreach   

Polyglots outreach effort retrospective

Inspired by the Community team’s Meetup reactivation project, in November 2022, I proposed starting a Polyglots outreach effort. The goal was to understand better the challenges and ways to support 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 outreach effort mainly focused on teams that have previously had a WordPress CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. package release but are currently behind by more than one version. A few locale teams with a high number of waiting stringsString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. were contacted as well.

Over half of the 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/ responded with feedback about current challenges and future goals. Most responded via a short survey to gather feedback, with a few others responding via private messages or comments on the related post. While most people who responded were GTEs, a few translation contributors also reached out, which helped see a diversity of perspectives.

Relevant stats

All the progress related to this project can be found on the related Trello board. 

I tracked the total number of GTEs and WordPress releases as a potential metric to see if the outreach project was successful. In hindsight, these weren’t the most accurate metrics to track since the real goal of the effort was to engage various locale teams, which I think we did.

Of the locales contacted, 57% responded to share insight on their locale team. Two have added new GTEs and another added a new editor to the Core WordPress project. While there is always more outreach that can be done, we received more responses than I expected from various perspectives, thanks to the GTEs and translators who took time out of their day to reply to this effort. 

Takeaways

The feedback received included some common items, which I’ve grouped into four themes.

  1. More contributors needed
  2. Challenges with the software
  3. Team challenges
  4. Personal challenges

Almost every locale team that responded said they would benefit from additional translators. Additionally, resources or ways to facilitate new translator contributions—e.g., additional training material or guides—would help make new contributors more effective, more quickly. 

Feedback related to challenges with the software included things like: 

  • too many fuzzy strings
  • strings that are too long
  • root languages overtaking variants 

The first two items may relate to better education and best practices around internationalizationInternationalization Internationalization (sometimes shortened to I18N , meaning “I - eighteen letters -N”) is the process of planning and implementing products and services so that they can easily be adapted to specific local languages and cultures, a process called localization. This is the process of making software translatable. Information about Internationalization for developers can be found in the Developer’s handbooks.. For the final item, this might tie in nicely with the preferred languages plugin. 

For one of the locale teams I spoke with, finding new contributors was difficult. When people realized that only WordPress Core was available in their local language, they often switched to the root language for more accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) to plugins, themes, and other related projects.

Team challenges were related to feedback around things like: 

  • inactive GTEs
  • training new contributors
  • not having enough time
  • not having clear leadership or prioritization within the team 

Locale teams with inactive GTEs were one of the biggest challenges. In some of these cases, there are GTEs who are relatively inactive but prevent other contributors from becoming GTEs. This makes the whole locale team inactive since there is effectively no one able to review translations, and it’s discouraging to see. 

On the other hand, it takes time for GTEs to train new contributors, and exploring ways to work more efficiently with more trained people would help to spread this workload.

Finally, personal challenges were related to individual issues, such as finding more time or more motivation. This may be a good opportunity to explore what people “get” from contributing to Polyglots—particularly beyond the role of translator—since maintaining a locale takes a lot of effort, particularly when roles and responsibilities may not be clearly defined.

What’s next

Based on some of these findings, I would like to propose a few ideas for the Polyglots teamPolyglots Team Polyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. to explore. Specifically, I’m eager to look at ways to: 

  • improve the onboarding process for new translators
  • explore new ways to recruit new translators
  • clarify roles and expectations for current contributors

These can help us to facilitate new contributions while also ensuring the current roles available within Polyglots fit most locale team’s needs and see if there’s an opportunity to explore more ways of getting involved. 

I would love to hear your feedback on this project and the feedback that came from it! 

  1. Are these findings reflective of your locale team as well? 
  2. Have you been able to overcome any of these challenges successfully? 

If so, please share in the comments – this is an excellent opportunity for each team to learn from one another.

I’d also like to add a very big thank you to the following contributors who helped with this outreach effort over the past few months: @aion11 @devinmaeztri @leogopal @lidialab @kharisblank @nao @robinwpdeveloper @samahnasr @tobifjellner 🎉

Thank you to @mysweetcate and @nao for reviewing this post. 

#polyglots-outreach

Erica Varlese 11:40 am on February 27, 2023
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Polyglots Outreach Effort: March 2023

This will be the final post in 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. There will be a retrospective and summary shared in the next few weeks.

The goal of this effort has been 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

For this month’s team building resource, I suggest revising one of our existing Polyglots Handbook pages: How to give feedback.

Since that page was written, the discussion tool in GlotPressGlotPress GlotPress is the translation management software that powers Translate.WordPress.org. More information is available at glotpress.org. was developed. In addition to feedback best practices, this means there are also new and improved ways for where to provide feedback.

With that in mind, I’ve offered a few suggestions to streamline this page and included some basic information on the discussion tool. Edits, additions, and other suggestions are all welcome in the Google doc.

How to give feedback

I also invite everyone to share how your locale team provides feedback. It can be helpful to see similarities and differences to understand global best practices and inspire new ideas in other locale teams. 

Progress and stats

As of this post, the Polyglots outreach effort has now contacted 48 locale teams. This means that, of all locales with a previous WordPress release, only 17 haven’t been contacted. 22 GTEs have responded to these posts, and an additional four Polyglots contributors have shared feedback on their experience. (You can view all progress and stats via the Polyglots Outreach Effort Trello board.)

I’ve decided to end this effort with this post because of the response received so far. With the feedback from 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 and contributors, now is a good time to pause, recap, and present my takeaways. If anyone is interested in restarting this effort in the future, you are more than welcome! I think it is always beneficial to chat with and globally share perspectives from various teams as much as possible.

Some numbers from last month: 

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

Erica Varlese 11:23 am on January 31, 2023
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , polyglots-outreach, , , , ,   

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.

View the Kit

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
Erica Varlese 3:40 pm on December 15, 2022
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , polyglots-outreach, ,   

Polyglots Outreach Effort: December 2022

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 are still welcome after the month ends! 

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 or any other outreach contributor mentioned in this post to chat one-on-one.

Team Building Resources

One feedback from November’s outreach is that teaching new translators how to get started can be challenging, especially for GTEs handling time constraints and competing priorities. To help make new translators more self-sufficient, I suggest removing the First Steps and After Your Contribution pages. Instead, let’s create one page called How to start translating.

I have a draft version of this page available for feedback. I would like to include this in the Polyglots Handbook and suggest that locale teams use this as a template for their team documentation. Sections of this new page – or the whole page! – can be translated to help new contributors in your language. 

Share feedback on “How to start translating”

Questions to answer:

  • Is the page too long? Are new contributors likely to feel overwhelmed?
  • Are there any steps missing?
  • How easy will this be to translate? 
  • Is there any benefit to keeping these two pages separate?

Progress and stats

Last month was the first post in the Polyglots outreach effort. Four community contributors have volunteered to help with this effort, by building tools and resources, sharing feedback, or directly contacting locale teams. Thank you, @robinwpdeveloper, @leogopal, @kharisblank, and @aion11! 

@leogopal created a Trello board to track progress on the outreach effort. If you have any ideas or want to help with specific tasks, please request access to the board to sign up. I am also experimenting with a dashboard-style stats page in Google Sheets to track metrics during this effort. 

Notes from the first month: 

  • Two locale teams have responded to the survey – thank you #lt_LT and #fr_BE 🎉
  • One new translator received 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. access to help translate the WordPress project – thank you @krupaly2k and #gu!
  • Four Polyglots teamPolyglots Team Polyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. members helped to update the Projects to Translate Handbook page – thank you @kharisblank @lidialab @nao @devinmaeztri 👏
  • 65 (-7) locales are up-to-date with the most current version of WordPress.
  • 55 (-2) are behind by more than one release.

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. There are many local efforts that are impactful, but may not be visible to the global Polyglots community. Does your team have a unique workflow that works well for you? Are you focusing on a special effort, like the #id_ID community’s work to translate the Polyglots Handbook? Please share! You are welcome to directly share your post on Make/Polyglots with the #polyglots-outreach tag, 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.
Erica Varlese 4:09 pm on November 16, 2022
Tags: , , , polyglots-outreach, tah,   

Polyglots Outreach Effort: November 2022

This is the beginning 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. 

Through this effort, I hope to learn more about which 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/ 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.

Let’s get started with this experiment! 

This post starts a series of monthly posts to reach out to various locale teams, as described in Starting a Polyglots Outreach Effort. Below, I have included locales I’d like to reach out to this month and resources that may help grow translation teams. 

Since this is the first post of its kind, please note: everyone is welcome to help and any feedback or improvements are welcome!

Locale Outreach

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

If you received a notification 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.

You can also leave a comment on this post or in the polyglots channel in the Make WordPress Slack mentioning @erica to chat one-on-one.

Team Building Resources

I proposed updating the Projects to Translate Handbook page in 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/. a few weeks ago. The source of inspiration? Mozilla’s documentation on requesting new projects for localizationLocalization Localization (sometimes shortened to "l10n") is the process of adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture, and desired local "look-and-feel." teams!

I like how they outline each project’s size, and how that can impact priorities based on team size and activity. Adjusting this to fit WordPress projects could be helpful for new and established locale teams looking to decide on goals and priorities.

Feedback Needed 

Can you help to review this document? In particular, it will help if you share:

  • How does your team approach prioritizing translation projects?
  • Do the suggestions and organization included in this draft make sense? What would you change?
  • What other high-impact projects are there? What types of teams might they be good for?
(Draft) Projects to Translate – Polyglots Handbook

If you have any ideas for additional resources and documentation to help grow locale teams, please share them in the comments!

Other Ways 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 welcome to share feedback, and improvements, or sign-up to write one of these resources for the next monthly post.
  • 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 of how best to help, just leave a comment, and we can chat to figure something out.

Thank you and welcome to @robinwpdeveloper and @krupaly2k for volunteering to join this effort 🎉, and thank you to @_dorsvenabili and @mysweetcate for reviewing this post!

#polyglots-outreach

Erica Varlese 11:24 am on November 8, 2022
Tags: polyglots-outreach   

Starting a Polyglots Outreach Effort

Summary: I will be starting a Polyglots outreach program. This program will include monthly posts with a call for volunteers to help reach out to a series of 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. Monthly posts will also have opportunities to develop and share new resources that locale teams can use to build their translation communities or to support new translation teams if a locale is inactive.

Inspired by the Community team’s efforts to reactivate Meetup groups, I’d like to experiment with an outreach effort for the Polyglots community. While reviewing some annual stats for a global 2022 WordPress Translation Day presentation, I noticed something. Compared to last year, five more 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/ have WordPress up-to-date, but there are fifteen more locales that are behind by more than one major version.

All of this got me thinking about our Polyglots community. How do we know if a locale team is active, and what can we do if they’re inactive or need help? How can we better support each other – especially teams with fewer contributors or with more work and fewer people to help?

Starting a Polyglots outreach effort

I began to think about how I could start our own version of outreach efforts in Polyglots. With that in mind, I’ll be experimenting with a new outreach effort beginning this month – and I invite anyone interested to join me!

Every month, I will publish a post on the Make/Polyglots blog with a list of locales for outreach. These locales will initially include:

  • Locales that previously had a CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. version release but are behind by more than one version – This is so I can understand how or if global Polyglots can help support these translation communities.
  • Locales with a high number of total waiting stringsString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. – This is so I can better understand if this is by choice (e.g., the team has set other priorities) or is a side effect of needing more contributors.

I will invite anyone interested to help reach out to each locale team to encourage GTEs to reply to a survey or set up chats to understand the team’s current needs and challenges. Contributors to these locales can also help with outreach! Then we will share updates on each month’s post in the comments section.

These posts will also include finished and in-progress resources that may be helpful to grow locale teams – such as documentation or social media templates – so anyone can help create those.

Why?

I want to post these monthly updates and goals on Make/Polyglots so everything is transparent. We can all learn from each other. 

By posting once a month, I hope it is easier for more people to help. This way, it is possible to contribute for one month or longer. I will also track and publicly share my progress, along with any notes and general findings. 

I have two main goals for this experiment:

  • Get a better understanding of which locale teams are active or inactive, which can help new contributors and Global Mentors when helping with requests.
  • For inactive teams, help find ways that the global Polyglots community can support current members or help support building a new team.

How to help?

Who would like to join me? I will need help with the following:

  • Directly contacting locale teams and their 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 each month.
  • For inactive locale teams, potentially identifying new contributors – or volunteering for editor roles in your language.
  • Helping to write or provide feedback on new resources.
  • Sharing (or translating!) this and upcoming posts with your community.

Are you a 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 supporter and interested in helping Polyglots communities too? Your help is welcome! Comment on this post to discuss how to incorporate Polyglots outreach into your Meetup support work. 

Please comment on this post if you’re interested or have any feedback. There is no deadline, so you’re welcome to join me later!

Thank you to the following people for sharing insightful feedback on this post and an earlier version of this idea: @nao @petya @monchomad @leogopal @_dorsvenabili @annezazu @devinmaeztri @peiraisotta @tobifjellner.

#polyglots-outreach