L10n:Starting a localization: Difference between revisions

Every existing L10n team began with a common characteristic: they all wanted people who shared their language to have access to the web. From there, they began an effort that ultimately resulted in a localized version of Firefox for their region of the world. As this desire spreads around the world, more and more people come to Mozilla to either localize Firefox for a new region of users or to join forces with the L10n community team in their region.  

A comprehensive list of our awesome L10n teams is located on the [[L10n:Teams|L10n:Teams page]]. We use locale codes to identify these teams. Locale codes list the language first, then the region where the language is spoken (e.g., Mexican Spanish = es-MX). Each organized team has a wiki page to identify who is contributing to their efforts, what their main projects are, and how to get in touch with them. These teams are largely self-governing and can often include contributors who are focused on more areas of Mozilla than only L10n. They all range in sizes from a single active contributor to twenty active contributors, but regardless of size, they're always looking for more people to join their efforts.

Localizing Mozilla products is a lot of work (and fun) - but that means there's plenty of opportunity to get involved. Visiting the [[L10n:Teams|L10n:Teams]] page is the best way for some one to learn if there is an ongoing effort to localize Firefox and other Mozilla products in their region. If an effort already exists in a region, then those who are interested in joining that team do the following:

Of course, not everyone who visits the L10n:Teams page will find a L10n team for their region. These people find a unique and exciting opportunity: starting a new L10n effort for their region from scratch! While the opportunity can seem like a mountain of a challenge, everyone who has successfully done it before will agree that it is also exciting and very rewarding. If an effort doesn't exist in a region, then those who are interested in starting that effort do the following:

* Visit the [http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.l10n/topics mozilla.dev.l10n newsgroup] and introduce themselves as new contributors who is starting the xx-XX community.

* Visit the [https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Localization_Quick_Start_Guide Localization quick start guide] to learn about all of the technical details involved in localizing Firefox and other Mozilla products.

* [http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.l10n.new-locales/topics The mozilla.dev.l10n.new-locales newsgroup] is available to post questions or suggestions for various L10n-related topics. It is available as a newsgroup or on Google groups.

The larger the L10n team, the easier it is to distribute the workload. Each L10n team can set up an IRC communication channel for their language. They can also use mailing lists or newsgroups, which many open source hosting partners offer, or simply open a Google or Yahoo group. Collaboration is important to  building a L10n community to support and distribute the work. It is an essential part of being an open source project.