Flaw in Plans for World Domination

[Jeff Waugh <jdub aphid net>]

Morning all,

I'd like to propose an idea for a GNOME project, and to surprise and shock
the jaded folks out there, actually commit to getting off my monkey-butt and
do something about it.


Whilst thinking about another problem I'd like to tackle within the Free
Software community (the lack of mentorship), I stumbled upon an unfortunate
communications problem that we should really make an effort to help out
with: some developers simply don't speak English.

It's quite easy to get involved as someone with an English-speaking
background, or as a dual or multi-linguist (as a large majority of Europeans
are). However, I think we're really missing out on some great hackers,
documenters and contributors - pretty much because we can't communicate.

I've been asking and listening for comments about this, and it's pretty
worrying when you hear about patches and bug-reports being passed over
simply because the language was unfamiliar.

I've heard some definite cases of code not being submitted because the
authors either didn't know how, or were too intimidated by a predominantly
English-speaking community to try.

As I place my tongue firmly in cheek, I'll tell you there is a flaw in
GNOME's ambitions for world domination: We're ignoring half the planet. :)


So, I propose an as-yet unnamed project to help non-English-speaking
developers get together and talk, hopefully to ensure that we don't miss
out on contributions that would otherwise fall through the cracks.

This is similar to the goals of the GNOME Translation Project, but looking
more at how developers relate to each other than users relate to their
software. I'm sure the i18n gang will be able to help out with this one.

[Yes, I would like to expand this project into the greater Free Software
community, but GNOME is my first love, and thus deserves my time!]


Stuff to do:

 * Set up a list of developers and languages, so you can easily find
   people who speak a certain language (or more importantly, two!)

 * Perhaps set up a mailing list to discuss the difficulties that
   non-English speakers come across, and how to rectify them

 * Set up a website to promote both of the above (almost definitely use a
   web-browsable database for the first point)

 * Work with the i18n group to find contributors, and continue making
   excellent translations (this project would assist the GTP, rather than
   compete with it)

 * Other stuff, as there's always other stuff


So - that's my spiel. ;) Let me know if it's a good idea, or whether I'm on
something (I'm subscribed to both lists) and definitely send more ideas this
way - I'd love to hear them.

- Jeff (who speaks but one language)


-- jdub aphid net ----------------------------------- http://slug.org.au/ --

        Ye shall be cursed to fall in love so easily, and yet be so
                     cold of heart as never to express it.