How to be a buddy for Localization
Localizing articles is one of the most important parts of SUMO, since it allows users to get self service support. So being a buddy for Localization is a great way to help users all around the world.
What do the trainees need to know? (checklist)
- Specify the languages he/she talks/uses/wants to contribute to
There are two ways one can contribute in l10n (in sumo)! Either localizing articles or localizing sumo interface.
Translating articles
The localized articles are the best way to help many users thorugh self service. This is the basis of SUMO!
The documentation you will need to get familiar with in order to help new localizers is here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/localize-firefox-help
The Dashboard
The Dashboard of the locale gives you all the important information on how to prioritize the work.
- Find your trainee's locale dashboard:
Use the link and replace en-US by the ISO code of your trainees locale:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/localization
So for example if the locale is Spanish, the ISO code is "es" and the dahsboard would be:
https://support.mozilla.org/es/localization
If you want to find the ISO code fast, you can use this page
The Top 20 articles
- In the dashboard you will also find links on the left side to
- locale metrics: indicating the historic localization coverage and the active contributors. This will give you and the trainee an idea of how the locale is doing.
- locale team: here you will find the locale leader and reviewers, as well as the editors. You can also see the contributors active in the past 90 days, so contacting the locale leader or the active contributors is a good idea to get started.
Steps for getting your trainee started in the locale
- Put your trainee in touch with the locale leader or if he/she isn't active with active locale reviewers. If there's no one please contact Rosana.
- Ask the locale leader/reviewer about the best ways to get started, if you don't get a quick answer:
- Ask you trainee to localize the templates
- Then to localize or update the Top 20 articles
Translating the interface (the SUMO website)
For the second, these links should be pretty informative:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/localize-sumo-interface
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Using%20Verbatim%20to%20Localize%20SUMO
Maybe one should get in touch with his local community for this also, because there may be other people already localizing SUMO strings. This way he could get more help!
Check here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Category:L10n_Teams
If there is no one for his locale, we could discuss with him/her if he wants to start it. Nevertheless, he/she should definitely get in contact with the locale leader!
Getting help from the SUMO community
If you or your trainee need some help on anything related to l10n, you should visit the l10n forums:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/l10n-forum
Note that you and your trainee can watch that forum to be always informed about localization.
