Two proposals concerning internationalization
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:22 am
1. I think it might be useful to copy the Babel system to IMSLP. The basic idea is that users can add templates to their user pages to tell other users which languages they speak. The corresponding categories enable us to find users that speak any given language.
For the purposes of IMSLP, a simplified version of the system in use on Commons should be completely sufficient. I would suggest that either we do not distinguish between different levels at all, or we make only two levels, "basic" (as in: can communicate without major difficulties in this language) and "advanced" (as in: has sufficient command of the language to write mostly error-free texts for the Main Page, help pages, etc.).
2. I was thinking about the problem of synchronization of translations. It seems unavoidable that translations will not always be up to date. In many cases this is of no consequence (e.g. it doesn't really matter if the latest milestones appear in the news). Some changes however should be reflected across all translations as quickly as possible, e.g. important policy changes like the one concerning the "personal" license.
The solution I was thinking about is what I tentatively call "changelog templates" (which would involve some "abuse" of the parser functions). The idea is that for some important pages, we create a template that is included in every translation of the page in question. This template will have one numerical parameter (the "revision number"). If the parameter in the translated page matches the current "revision number", the template will be invisible. If the current "revision number" is higher, a translated message will appear saying that the info on the page is potentially outdated; and a summary in English of the change will be shown.
Users who don't understand English will at least know from the translated message that they cannot rely on the translated page (if we implement "Babel", they can try to find someone who speaks both their language and English to get updated information). Translators will know from the summary which parts of the page need to be newly translated. When the translation has been updated, they set the template parameter to the current "revision number", and the template will be invisible again.
For the purposes of IMSLP, a simplified version of the system in use on Commons should be completely sufficient. I would suggest that either we do not distinguish between different levels at all, or we make only two levels, "basic" (as in: can communicate without major difficulties in this language) and "advanced" (as in: has sufficient command of the language to write mostly error-free texts for the Main Page, help pages, etc.).
2. I was thinking about the problem of synchronization of translations. It seems unavoidable that translations will not always be up to date. In many cases this is of no consequence (e.g. it doesn't really matter if the latest milestones appear in the news). Some changes however should be reflected across all translations as quickly as possible, e.g. important policy changes like the one concerning the "personal" license.
The solution I was thinking about is what I tentatively call "changelog templates" (which would involve some "abuse" of the parser functions). The idea is that for some important pages, we create a template that is included in every translation of the page in question. This template will have one numerical parameter (the "revision number"). If the parameter in the translated page matches the current "revision number", the template will be invisible. If the current "revision number" is higher, a translated message will appear saying that the info on the page is potentially outdated; and a summary in English of the change will be shown.
Users who don't understand English will at least know from the translated message that they cannot rely on the translated page (if we implement "Babel", they can try to find someone who speaks both their language and English to get updated information). Translators will know from the summary which parts of the page need to be newly translated. When the translation has been updated, they set the template parameter to the current "revision number", and the template will be invisible again.
