[Localization] Doubts about connectors.po

[Chris Leonard]

On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 7:45 AM, Bert Freudenberg <bert at freudenbergs.de>wrote:

> These are event names, and they should be localized, and it is nicer to not
> use camelCase. (Actually I'd consider it a bug that in the English original
> they are not spelled as separate words)
>
>
Dear Etoys develoeprs,

I have discussed with Bert in the past that I think that eToys needs a
substantive review of it's UI strings with an eye towards enhancing it's
internationalization (i18n) and making it easier to localize.

My pet peeve is that there are many instances where the number of strings to
localize could possibly be reduced by eliminating minor variations (camel
case, spaces, punctuation) that are not truly meaningful, but there are far
more substantial i18n issues that require attention.  I feel that real
progress in enhancing eToys i18n requires a comprehensive and systematic
approach and is unlikely to simply emerge from the sum of fixed bugs in the
tracker.

It is my opinion that the best way to approach this is to form a "tiger
team" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_team ) chartered and empowered to
conduct a systematic string review and to introduce the necessary changes.
It should consist of at least one core eToys developer (with the experience
to determine which changes might have unexpected "knock-on" effects) and one
or more localizer (to identify and advocate for potential string changes).

I understand that developer time is precious and that there are always bugs
to fix and new features to code, but I would ask the  eToys developers to
think strategically about the potential impact of improving the quality of
the UI experience (in over 100 languages) versus adding a new feature or
hunting down a bug.  It seems to me that i18n enhancement would be a high
ROI (return on investment) activity and therefore a high priority, in spite
of the fact that it is admittedly a somewhat mundane and fussy task.

I would be willing to commit my own time to taking part in such a string
review, but I would want to know in advance that it would be fast-tracked
for action (not just filed in the bug tracker) and it would be important to
have input from an eToys developer (thus the suggested tiger team
approach).  Is there an eToys developer that feels as strongly about i18n as
I do and that would be willing to work with me on this effort?   Consider
that the quality of your strings in other languages forms much of that
user's impression of the quality and utility of your software.

A quick scan of the tracker shows a substantial number of tickets at least
tangentially related to internationalization issues, adding to my impression
that i18n has perhaps not received enough attention from the eToys
developers. (see list below)

cjl

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-934

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-922 (fixed, but not rolled out in
new PO?)

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-910

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-890

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-871

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-840

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-813

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-805

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-797

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-790

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-789

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-785

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-784

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-775

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-774

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-773

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-772

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-707

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-695

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-681

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-680

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-675

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-651

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-640 (fixed but not clsoed?)

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-625

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-623

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-591

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-586 (language translation or
geometric translation?)

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-497

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-481

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-475

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-464

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-383

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-374

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-333

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-309

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-278

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-256

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-187

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-159

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-139

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-126

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-112

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-104

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-103

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-100

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-91

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-89

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-86

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-79

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-75

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-68

http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-59
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