I'd like to say this about the contents of local support sites (the points are commented below):
1.A local support site should be multilingual, with a choice of English and the native language of it's region.
2.The site should be laid out in a way that makes it easy for visitors to find the language file download section.
3.The site should have some kind of submission form (or a forum) in English and in the native language where module developers and users can request translations of new stuff or corrections in old files.
4.I may have forgotten something, but I'd like to say: Everything else should be optional!
I don't want to spend my time translating news stories. Now, does this mean I'm lazy ? I don't think so. I run
http://www.xoops.no, the Norwegian XOOPS site. Norway has a population of approx. 5 million, and XOOPS is not a big thing here. I don't want to spent hours and hours translating stuff for 20-50 users who've had 10 years of English lessons by the time they finish high school. I want to contribute in my own tempo, and I think that the translation of language files gains XOOPS more than the translation of news stories.
I've had the
http://www.xoops.no domain for some years now. Not because I want to, but because the former owner didn't. I'm a XOOPS user, and I occasionally need Norwegian language files, but when the former site died I had to slap it back up myself. So I made a primitive default site with a download section and a forum. I try to log in every couple of days, but the forum activity is minimal and I don't care much, really. That gives me more time for other things. The important thing is that the language files are out there.
It may be a problem, though, that the site, using the default theme, looks kind of ugly. I'd like to have access to some kind of an official XOOPS «SupportSite»-theme that would take a minimum of tweaking to make it look nice and Norwegian. For me (and other devoted XOOPS users) it's not much of a problem, the language files are out there. But I think it may be a problem for Xoops, since the looks of the site may scare off new users.
The reason I don't want to spend too much time running
http://www.xoops.no is that I need some time being a XOOPS user. I run a XOOPS site, remember? That's why I came here in the first place. My main site of interest is currently working in seven languages (but news stories and the forum is held in English). In the process of building this site I've been around quite a few local support sites looking for language files, usually in languages that I don't understand (luckily the word Downloads seems to be valid in lots of languages on the net :o). I don't know if these needs are very common, but think of it:
1.A local support site should be multilingual, with a choice of English and the native language of it's region. This would make it easy for foreign-language visitors to find their way around. So who cares? Well I do, in my search for language files in languages that I don't know. But also the gang at
http://www.xoops.org, who occasionally may want to drop by a local support site to look at the level of activity. And also members of other local communities, who may want to shop around for ideas for improving their own local sites. And then they rush back to the Local Site Lounge at
http://www.xoops.org where users discuss support sites and the quest for the ultimate solution.
2.The site should be laid out in a way that makes it easy for visitors to find the language file download section. I think a local support site's main mission should be to offer language files. Why do we need support? XOOPS should work, and XOOPS should be self-explaining. This goes for modules too. If something doesn't work then it's a job for xoops.org or the module developer in question. Local support sites shouldn't have to know how to hack their way out of problems.
Of course a local support site should have a forum where users can discuss XOOPS in their own language. And if a community is lucky to include people who develop modules for public use, or offer commercial web solutions, of course they deserve a mention and some space. But
the language files should always be the central focus of a local support site. It's about XOOPS localisation, isn't it?
It's important that the files are kept where they easily can be edited by people who know them. It's also important to avoid the out-of-date files that we sometimes find in the central repository at
http://www.xoops.org and at module download sites. I think we'd be better off if
http://www.xoops.org and module developers concentrate on development and documentation instead spending time maintaining a collection of language files. A list of links to local support sites and a mailing list to notify translators about updates would be a better solution.
3.The site should have some kind of submission form (or a forum) in English and in the native language where module developers and users can request translations of new stuff or corrections in old files. I don't think this point needs any comments, so I'll leave it blank.
4.Everything else should be optional. As I said before, I don't have lots of time to spend on this. I can spend an hour or two translating a module, because I know that it'll be downloaded by hundreds, and it'll be a time investment that'll last for maybe a couple of years. But I don't want to spend time translating news that'll be read by 5-10 persons who know English. Some may say I'm lazy, but nope, sorry, I'm too busy. Some may say that the activity on
http://www.xoops.no is so low it doesn't deserve status as an Official Local Support Site. I don't care. The Norwegian users don't care (I may be wrong on this one. If you're Norwegian and you want to take over, please contact me.). The language files are out there, and that's what matters.
Please note that I'm not saying that
http://www.xoops.no should be used as a model in any way. There are lots of enthusiasts doing lots of good work out there, and XOOPS wouldn't be what it is without them. It may be a problem, though, that the discussions about the future of XOOPS is driven mostly by enthusiasts, and it may be easy to forget that some contributors have a limited amount of time to spend.
