Communication Platforms

There are several communication platforms available to facilitate communication between all of the Localization Lab stakeholders. Please take advantage of the opportunity to engage with other contributors and project owners in the community and keep the following information in mind to ensure we coordinate most efficiently.

Mattermost

Mattermost is a platform where you can casually engage with volunteer contributors, Localization Lab staff, and other project owners. The channel is ideal for questions, community-related announcements, discussion and socializing. The Localization Lab channel is also used to host Q&A sessions and AMA's (Ask Me Anything).

The Localization Lab Mattermost channel and Localization Lab language-focused channels are hosted on the Team CommUNITY Mattermost instance and are subject to their Code of Conduct. To join Mattermost, follow the instructions on the Team CommUNITY wiki and indicate that you are joining as a member of the Localization Lab community. Once you have created a Mattermost account, you can join the Localization Lab main channel and any language team channels.

Mailing List / Google Group

The Localization Lab mailing list is ideal for making announcements and asking localization-related questions. There are currently more contributors and active project owners on the mailing list than on Mattermost, so announcements and questions directed at developers will reach a larger audience.

Transifex

Announcements

Projects can make announcements on the projects level (only reaching contributors to that project) through Transifex Announcements.
Make announcements when new strings are added to your project, when new releases are available or when you would like contributor participation in testing. Remember, not all contributors have notifications turned on for updated source strings, so an announcement will increase chances that they see the update.

Note: Contributors can reply to announcements, but there is no option to turn on notifications for responses. If you request information from contributors through an announcement, be sure to check back on a regular basis to see if there are new responses.

Issues & Comments

Developers should always keep an eye out for new issues and mentions in comments for their projects! You can communicate efficiently about specific source content, context, and translation through comments. Just be sure to always mention the contributor that you are communicating with in the comment or issue so that they are notified of your response.

Messages

Individual messages are a great way to connect with contributors who have questions that are not easily answered in a comment or who are not using any of the other Localization Lab communication platforms.

Social Media

Localization Lab has Twitter and Facebook accounts which we use for outreach to a wider community of individuals. We share project updates, needs and community accomplishments through the account.

Developer Engagement on Platforms

Mattermost & Mailing List

• Do engage with contributors and developers by asking and answering questions!

This is a great way to get to know other project owners and the users and contributors to your tools. It is also motivating for volunteers to have their questions answered quickly by project owners.

• Please do not post calls for translation or review without discussing with Localization Lab staff first.

Why? The Localization Lab community supports dozens of projects, all with overlapping needs and deadlines. We appreciate if you discuss calls for translation with staff first, so that we can help structure and coordinate them with other localization needs so that all projects get the support that they need.

Transifex

• Do let Localization Lab staff know if you make important project announcements in Transifex.

We keep track of announcement notifications, however just in case, let us know of any big announcements that involve Localization Lab staff coordination or should be cross-posted.

• Do check and respond to open issues for your project.

Not responding to issues can be a roadblock to finishing translation and review and it can be demoralizing and slow contributor momentum.

Social Media

• Do follow us on social media.

We track the projects that we support on social media to try to amplify their voices and introduce their work to new communities.

• Do retweet or share any posts we share about yours or related projects to help spread the word.
• Do tag us in any localization-related outreach or announcements on social media.

Direct message us if you would like us to retweet something that we have missed.