When the localization ratio is not high enough (we have to define this
limit), then we should only build a langpack for this language.
Otherwise you have, e.g., 30% localized UI and an English-only help.
This doesn't help any user.
Yes, I agree that a cutoff is sensible though at present it's, from the
localization point of view, hard to handle this sensibly because, even
though a 50% translation may cover the strings most users use most often
(i.e. Writer), it's very hard to tell which strings you should localize in.
Sorry if the questions is naive but can you define a langpack language?
I never took part at that level with OOO. Are those languages without
localized Help? Just a question (and i have no answer) but more and more
software I get doesn't use in-product Help but refers you to a Wiki etc.
Might it not make sense to consider making in-product Help optional and
referring to a Help website for the most part?
Secondly, a more sensible, slimline install would certainly sound sense
to me. It's been a while since I did the install but if I recall
correctly, you actually download the English install with all the
langpacks and then have to manually pick your language. Which is
bonkers. If I've selected Tamil as my language of choice, then I don't
need my bandwidth cluttered up with the other 50 languages. I should
*only* get Tamil, with no further messing about. The full pack only
makes sense if you're installing more than one language at the same time.
That to me would be the two most obvious ways of saving space and
bandwidth, so
- Move help and other things into a separate download file. - Reduce
the doubled data and libraries in the package files. - Improve the
installer to download langpacks that the user wants. - etc.
Amen to all of these!
Michael
