[josm-dev] Translation discussions

[Holger Mappt]

Hi,

There are sometimes strings used in the JOSM source, the presets, or a 
plugin that are hard to translate. What is the preferred way to discuss 
the translation of such strings? If the origin in the code should be 
changed then the JOSM tickets can be used. But what about the 
translation itself? All you can do in Launchpad is contact the author of 
the current translation or set the "need review" flag. The flag can be 
set only if the string is changed, not for existing translations. If I 
contact the last author then this discussion is invisible for others. A 
discussion attached to each translation would be good, I think Transifex 
supports that. Dirk, do you still work on a Trac based system? Will it 
support translation discussions? To be able to discuss the source string 
would be good too.

Sometimes I think that there should be more context or that strings are 
too specific, e.g. acronyms like "OSMIE EDs" (OpenStreetMap Ireland 
Electoral Districts). Some translators just copy the English string in 
such a case. I try to find a translation that can be understood more 
easily. But every time it takes me more than one hour to find a good 
translation I think the original string should be improved. Or the 
translation gets too long if all relevant information is added. Is it 
just me or do other translators have the same issue? Should we change 
more source strings to improve the translation process? Or is it good as 
it is?

Holger