Reply 580 of 581, by darry
dJOS wrote on 2024-07-08, 21:39:It’s got nothing to do with being inclusive, it’s about being able to follow topics, e.g. try reading the last half of this Git […]
Paralel wrote on 2024-07-08, 19:27:darry wrote on 2024-07-05, 22:46:While that may be true to some extent, a lot of non native English speakers are present here and do speak other languages to a varying degrees. For example, I would like to believe that while English is not my mother tongue, I do speak it (read and write as well) on a level that most people in my personal and professional entourage would consider on par with that of a native speaker, albeit not one with a degree in literature . I am also fluent in French (post high school native level) and I do understand Polish and Spanish (both to a lesser degree).
Quite a few people here are in a similar situation. While automated translations have improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, they are still not perfect. Taking this into account, I believe that continuing to enforce English as the standard language here makes sense, but possibly allowing posters who use translation tools to also post in their native language (in addition to the auto translated to English version) might be something worth considering . Anybody responding to such a post would be required to post in intelligible English while also being allowed to include a response in the poster's native language. Of course, this is not my decision to make .
IMO, I think this is an eminently reasonable approach. No reason not to shoot for an inclusive community.
It’s got nothing to do with being inclusive, it’s about being able to follow topics, e.g. try reading the last half of this GitHub issue, it’s a real struggle, even for me and I was the one helping out.
https://github.com/grblHAL/ESP32/issues/17
If you go to a German or Spanish forum, they get rightly annoyed if you try to post in English, as it ruins the flow and readability of the discussions.
IMHO, the onus should always be on the poster to post in the forum's mandated language, using translation tools if needed. Allowing inclusion of the original pre-translation, again IMHO, would only have potential benefits.
a) a mistranslation could be spotted and mentioned by a speaker of the original language who also speaks English
b) in case of doubt, and if desired, a different translation tool could be used
c) the contributions of non English speaking people could add value and knowledge to the forum
d) exposure to English (for example, on an English speaking forum) can be a catalyst toward non English speakers developping skills in that language (potential fringe benefit)
I believe that what I am suggesting would have helped with the issue you mentioned as an example.