Translation status for ubuntu-docs

[David Planella]

Al 26/03/12 09:07, En/na Matthew East ha escrit:
> On 26 March 2012 06:11, Timo Jyrinki <timo.jyrinki at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 2012/3/26 Jeremy Bicha <jbicha at ubuntu.com>:
>>> I uploaded the potfile for ubuntu-docs tonight and opened up
>>> translations on Launchpad for the precise branch.
>>
>> What about the ubuntu-docs under /ubuntu/precise/+source/ubuntu-docs -
>> it'll be updated at the time of actual upload?
> 
> We don't use this, but I've amended the settings to ensure that
> translations are shared between the two places.
> 

Thanks Matthew. I think, as pointed out by Timo, we're all aware of the
challenges with fuzzy strings in Launchpad, which is something that
unfortunately will not be addressed in the near future.

But unrelated to that, as mentioned other times, using message sharing
between the source package and the upstream project will help in landing
all the Ubuntu contributions to the upstream project, so thanks for
setting that up.

Most Ubuntu translators translate the Ubuntu source packages, which have
got more visibility than upstreams, so I think in this regard using
sharing is the most optimal approach.

>> For future, do you think that ubuntu-docs under the Ubuntu
>> translations should simply be not visible until the final template is
>> uploaded? Or this current system still better?
> 
> This is a question for the translation coordinators rather than us,
> I'm sure that we'll be happy to be guided by them as to how best to
> handle this. Over the past few cycles we've been clear that we use the
> translations in the upstream location, but that we enable translation
> sharing on Launchpad between the package location and the upstream
> location.

I think there is no easy way we can mitigate the issue with fuzzy
strings, but I'd like to hear if someone has got any ideas.

In terms of hiding the template until freeze is in place, I'd personally
recommend against that. I realize docs are a very special type of
translation, as translations themselves are harder to do than in shorter
strings, and as small changes in the sources mean a higher amount of
work in retranslation than regular UI translations.

The main reason why I'm against hiding templates is consistency: we show
translation templates for all of the rest very early in the cycle, so
that actual translations can be tested as soon as possible. A few years
back we used to open translations relatively late in the development
process, but at some point translators requested to have them open
earlier, so now we tend to do it around alpha time, at the same time the
first language packs are rolled out.

So I'd prefer not to have to special-case the docs more than we're doing
already, and have to be tracking when the template needs to be open.

Barring exceptions, UI/doc freezes is the time when translators should
be able to start doing their work safely. No translations are guaranteed
to be stable before that, so there is always the risk of loosing work
(well, or getting it marked as fuzzy). The truth is that we all tend to
start translating before freezes, as generally no software is so
unstable that all of its strings change, and we can always benefit of
testing translations in the weekly language packs during development.

>
> But if translators want us to make changes, or if there are things we
> can do to make their job easier, please let us know so that we can try
> and help.
>

I can think of a couple of things that could be helpful:

- Keep the POT file in upstream and Ubuntu in sync. I believe this is
something that you do already, at least at string freeze. In any case,
as I understand it, there are some doc team contributors that are new to
translations, so I'll reinstate it in case it can be helpful as a
reminder: it'd be really useful to ensure that whenever there is a POT
file update committed upstream, i.e. when you think a set of messages
are ready to be translated, that that same template is uploaded in the
corresponding Ubuntu source package (simply using the upload form in
Launchpad [1], no need to do an actual source package upload). Either
that or notifying the translators list, and then someone with
permissions can do the .pot file upload.

- Run a test server which does localized daily builds of Ubuntu docs in
html and makes them available on a public location. I've seen something
like that on http://37.9.231.137/build/, although it seems to build only
the C (en-us) version. This would be very useful for localizers to test
translations without having to wait for language pack updates. And I
guess for documenters it would be helpful for proof-reading without
having to do a local build.

I realize the second point is more on the wishlist side. I might give
even give it a go myself before the translation deadline, but I cannot
promise anything.

Cheers,
David.

[1]
https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/precise/+source/ubuntu-docs/+pots/ubuntu-help/+upload

-- 
David Planella
Ubuntu Translations Coordinator
www.ubuntu.com / www.davidplanella.wordpress.com
www.identi.ca/dplanella / www.twitter.com/dplanella

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