Inline translations of comments

Hello,

sometimes I see that a topic of this forum is flooded by translations of comments to various languages (recently this topic). I find this quite disruptive, we should discuss in English without mixing languages and if needed, a translation service can be used or a separated topic in different language can be created. What do you think?

Considering these are always translations to a single language, I also don’t see how they’re useful.

I’m not sure if there is a perfect solution. I agree that having the discussion localized in the same thread isn’t the best solution, but creating other threads in the same forum, or moving them to a localized forum also has its drawbacks. I think there are pros and cons for either option. Just adding a link to DeepL or Google Translate isn’t sufficient either, because it lacks a review by someone who speaks that language,

The assumption that English is the common denominator for all our community might be misleading. In some countries, English is the most relevant foreign language, in other countries it isn’t. However, our community has contributors from all over the world, and if we want to be inclusive, we shouldn’t only rely on English. In addition, those of us who speak English, rarely use “Simple English” that might make understanding easier.

What I would like to achieve is to be much more inclusive than we are now, and that begins with including people who do not speak English - they are also part of our community, and they should be heard.

I’m open for any improvement how we can achieve that also on a technical level - I didn’t find any perfect solution so far.

I agree. If they were consistent translations of everything that was posted I could see they were intended as a service to people whose browsers don’t do it automatically, but they are invariably selective and apparently partisan so they seem more a signal to a sub-group than a service to all. A sort of +1 to an in-crowd.

On top of that, there is at least an impression that this is coordinated somewhere (it often seems to happen for controversial topics, and mostly simultaneously), and is usually done by the same small amount of people, for a very small subset of the languages spoken in our community.

The problem with English as a language barrier is real and valid, but wouldn’t it be better to call out to the l10n community in general (once a topic is deemed of importance), and ask for translations into as many languages as possible? Of course, the question how to best map a discussion with many translations to a forum like discourse remains valid (and gets even more important, the larger the number of translations becomes).

So speaking for the FR translation, it’s usually other contributors of the FR community who did them (Jean-François mostly and a big thanks to him!). This translation was done to spark the discussion about the budget and the board meeting we had on the FR discuss list.
I found Florian’s mail important enough to translate it and took it as an illustration of the goals of the foundation for the discussion on the list.

About the small subset of languages, I guess it depends on the interest and the size of the community you discuss with. In my opinion, each should feel free to translate the messages they want to discuss with their community and leave the rest for the context and reference.

Hi all,

I would like to take this moment to highlight how important—and how much we appreciate—it is when members of our community take the time to translate or summarize comments for others who may not be fluent in English.

The LibreOffice community is truly global. Our members are spread across the globe, and the language barrier can often seem intimidating, even discouraging — especially for those who would like to contribute more actively at the international level.

That’s why gestures of inclusion, such as offering translations or being mindful of linguistic diversity, are so important. They help us build bridges, not walls. We should never turn people away or make them feel excluded. Instead, we should do our best to welcome and support everyone who wants to be part of this project, regardless of their native language.

For example, the Brazilian and Spanish-speaking communities—both active contributors and proud members of the foundation—greatly appreciate when relevant discussions are translated or summarized. These efforts make a real difference and help everyone feel closer to the project and more motivated to get involved.

Let’s continue to cultivate a community that encourages participation, respects differences, and creates space for all voices.

Thank you to everyone who contributes in this spirit of openness.

Best,
Eliane

While I appreciate the intention to be open to everyone, I don’t see any additional value of inline translations comparing with separated localized threads. Regardless of what we would like, English is a must if we want to communicate each to other directly and there is no workaround for that (and it is great that such a language exists). In my opinion, to be inclusive means to respect all imperfect forms of English and I have always felt that the LO community is aware of that.

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While I appreciate the intention to be open to everyone, I don’t see any
additional value of inline translations comparing with separated
localized threads. Regardless of what we would like, English is a must
if we want to communicate each to other directly and there is no
workaround for that (and it is great that such a language exists). In my
opinion, to be inclusive means to respect all imperfect forms of English
and I have always felt that the LO community is aware of that.

I don’t think we can say that English is a must. There are countries
where English is not so prominent as in Europe, and other languages like
French, Spanish or Russian are much more prominent.

Most of those who can act as “gateway” to the local communities speak
English, I would assume (but I am not sure), and we need to find ways to
include those community members who don’t speak English.

One argument to have it in one thread is that otherwise the forum would
be cluttered with the same topic repeatedly. In any case, even if we
have a different thread, notifications and e-mails would be sent to
everyone, so there is little difference to a certain degree at least.