Re: [native-lang] Re: [l10n-dev] Localized splashscreen for 2.1 ?

[Clytie Siddall]

Thanks to André, Andras and Hristo for their replies. :)

On 21/11/2006, at 11:40 PM, André Schnabel wrote:

Clytie Siddall schrieb:

If

project is localized into?

we as a project did the contest for new splashscreen, why should we as a project use different splashscreen for one particular language that our

I didn't know about the contest. But I see every offer as an opportunity. Localized screenshots give each community an opportunity to acclaim OOo in their own way. So, unless they were a major hassle to implement, I think they would be worth the effort. But currently, I'm more concerned about our relationship with our community. I want to encourage participation, not knock it back, so it's unfortunate that the first offer, this screenshot, is rejected. I'm trying to think of some positive way to offset that. Obviously the artist concerned put a lot of effort into it. I want to get that effort into our project!

Hmm .. so what would you do, if the next artist shows up with yet another localized splashscreen? He has put a lot of work in, it looks beautifull and is well designed? The only problem is, that he was not aware, that there is already a localized splash screen?

I'd be delighted to have someone else who wanted to contribute! What I'm worried about is that people are much less likely to contribute when the first person has been knocked back. :(

Ok .. that's theory, but might show, why not each contribuion can be integrated.

Of course, not everything can be integrated. But an offer of a high- quality localized splashscreen, when we don't have one, is important because it's the first offer, and thus crucial to community relations, and because it's an attempt to identify the Vietnamese community more strongly with OOo. I think that should be encouraged. If we already had a localized splashscreen, and another person offered one, it would be a matter of deciding which one worked better, using both team- and community consultation. However, since this is our first official release, there isn't a Vietnamese build available, demonstrating a previous localized splashscreen. So there's nothing to compare with. We're starting from scratch, with very few resources, and with a community very hesitant to become involved at all, due to previous failures of this project. So this isn't a "normal" situation where an offer of an image would be something to sort out from other offers. The Vietnamese project badly needs to encourage participation, to get people involved. This is the first offer to do so, and it's very bad luck that the item offered can't be accepted. The context is sensitive: this single offer is much more important to us than it would be in a project where more than one person is actively involved.

Something else about the relation to *our* community. We are strongly working on identifying *our* community (and *our* product). This has something to do with "branding". The splash screen with the wired gulls is one of the branding items for OOo 2.

I like the idea of a wider community. However, this is something to aim at, rather than something we can assume already exists in all cultures. I'm representing the Vietnamese community here, and that's what I mean when I say "our" community. One of my reasons for volunteering my time in this way is to try and build bridges between our community and the wider community, by providing translated information, and gradually encouraging mainstream participation by Vietnamese people. But it's a big step, and requires a lot of support. I certainly aim towards it, work hard towards it, but I can't make it happen by just wanting it, or saying it. I wish I could. :S The reality for people who don't speak any other language than their own, especially where it's not a widely-used language, is restricted to what they can understand and participate in. It is often very local. In tribal or feudal societies, you're dealing with people who live in a local, very structured context. You can't make them citizens of the world without a lot of support and information. It's a very steep learning curve. I speak of "our community" specifically when I'm trying to bridge that gap, and explain its size and complexity. We are, still, very much a separate people, but I hope, with the opportunity of the Net, and the help of those of us who live in other countries and thus have learnt to bridge the gap somewhat, that the relationships between our culture and the rest of the world can multiply and become stronger.

Please have a look at the arts project: http:// marketing.openoffice.org/art/ and the related presentation at OOoCon http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2006/schedule/tuesday.html ( Visual identity of OpenOffice.org Now and in Future )

Then Andras said:

Yes, I have seen this project, when I was looking for images for our site. Thankyou. :) I like the idea of universal images, but as I have said, you can't assume they will work for people who live in a very local context. I believe a localized screenshot, in this case, would be a positive move in bridging that gap. Rather than separating the Vietnamese people from the general view of OpenOffice, it will help them identify with it. We're not ready for the general view. We still need the steps in between.

Linux distros also change the splash screen. Novell do the same in their

builds. You can also change it, if you produce Vietnamese builds

official sources, but it does not mean that you cannot use it.

yourself. Your localised splash screen will never be integrated into the

And Hristo added:

Thankyou, Andras. That would certainly be an option for the future, when we have a mainstream OpenOffice firmly established. But right now, we're only just moving into the mainstream. This is our first official release. I really don't want to encourage anyone to retreat into the comfort zone of Vietnamese-only builds and information on community sites. I want to get people using the official versions, and focussing their efforts on the mainstream sites. So again, we're not ready for what you mention. I think it would work well for cultures which are functioning effectively in the mainstream, so creating separate builds doesn't compromise that, but simply expresses extra needs. We still need to work towards effective function in mainstream situations. It's a long and complex path for us.

My question is why we can implement a code which gives apportunity if there is a localized splash, to be used and put into the language pack and to show

only when this language is set in Options of OOo?


one.

Is implementation the only problem or there is other one?

I know that it is very simple to replace the splash, just have to replace intro.bmp file with that we want, but here we speak for language comunity. Also there can be an option does user want to use localized splash or original

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/vi-VN

I would be very interested to hear the answers to these questions. I don't want to inconvenience the developers, but I do see a localized splashscreen as an opportunity to bring my community closer to mainstream OpenOffice. And at this stage, we need all the opportunities we can access. from Clytie (vi-VN, Vietnamese free-software translation team / nhóm Việt hóa phần mềm tự do)

PGP.sig
Description: This is a digitally signed message part