Translator Account FAQ
This page answers some common questions about our translator accounts policy, which can be found on the TranslationProject/RequestingAnAccount page.
What do you mean by "accounts"?
By "accounts" we mean in this context individual translator Git accounts for commit access to the git.gnome.org source code repository, with which translations may be committed for inclusion into our software.
What does it take to get an account?
To summarize, all of the following criteria must be met:
- You must have already contributed a handful of complete and non-trivial translations, that have already been accepted into the repository.
Your language team coordinator (if you are not the coordinator yourself) or a member of the TranslationProject/CoordinationTeam (if you are a coordinator) must approve of your request.
I think I meet all of those requirements. Do I get an account automatically?
No, please follow the instructions on the TranslationProject/RequestingAnAccount page when you think you meet the requirements.
How am I supposed to contribute translations if I don't get an account from the start? Isn't that backwards?
No, not really. We simply don't have the resources to provide everyone that may request an account with an account. Instead, we would like to focus on the people that actually need accounts now, and the most reliable way to determine an actual current need for any individual is to look at recent contributions that have already been accepted.
So, if you are in the situation that you want to start translating but do not have an account, you should go ahead with translating, and then ask some other member in your team that already has an account to commit your po files for you. Then, when you think that your contributions that have been accepted into the repository meet the requirements for an account, and your coordinator agrees with you having an account, you can request an account.
If there is no other member in your team with an account, you may send mails to our MailingList and ask for someone to commit your po files for you. Please do not attach the po files directly to the mail; instead please put the files in our bug tracker, Bugzilla, and include the bug report link in the mail. When you think enough of your contributed files have been committed to Git, you can request an account.
I am the coordinator for a language team. Surely I must be able to get an account right away?
Sorry, no. The account requirements are the same as for all translators. Please read the answer to the previous question.
My language team coordinator cannot be reached. I tried to mail him, but he doesn't respond. Can you still give me an account, so that I can commit?
Then the team coordinator issue needs to be resolved first, before an account can be arranged. Please explain the situation on our MailingList, cc:ing the current coordinator, so that we can discuss and resolve the team coordinator situation in public.
I need an account, but my language team coordinator doesn't agree. Surely you can give me an account anyway, since I really need it?
If you and your language team coordinator do not agree, then you need to resolve those issues first inside the team, before even requesting an account. If you cannot resolve the differences, and you're unhappy with your team coordinator's decisions, then please explain the situation on our MailingList, cc:ing the current coordinator, so that we can discuss and resolve the team coordinator situation in public.
I have 142 different po files for GNOME on the hard drive of my local computer. Surely you must understand that I need an account to commit them?
It's nice to know that you have made so many translations on your local computer. Unfortunately, unless you provide all of us with access to your local computer, we will not be able to verify ourselves that these translations actually exist. If we cannot verify ourselves the existence of past contributions, the account request will not be granted.
In other words, your account request can never be granted as long as your translations are only present on your local computer and others are unable to access them. To solve this situation, please follow the instructions above and ask others to commit your existing translations for you.
Can all our members in our team use the same account?
No, not quite. gnome.org accounts are individual accounts, that is, they are granted to a individual person based on the individual merits of that person, and an account is only to be used by the individual for whom the account was granted. In other words, "sharing a login" is not allowed.
However, when someone in your team has been granted an account, he or she may of course help commit the work of the others in the same team, assuming the coordinator approves of the translations of course.
I have an account. Can I help commit the work of others?
Yes, certainly. However, you should note that it is the responsibility of the committer to verify that the coordinator approves of the translation, and that the translation validates -- if you suspect that the coordinator may not approve of a particular translation, you should not commit it. In a similar way, you should never commit a translation that does not validate.
If you have an account, you may also help commit the work of members of other teams. However, the same conditions apply: you should make sure that the coordinator of the affected language approves of the translations, and you should make sure that the translations validate.
How many accounts can we have in our team? Can we have more than one?
Yes, certainly, you can have as many accounts in your team as you need, as long as each and every individual that holds an account meets the requirements.
Is it only the coordinator that may have an account?
No, that's not the case. Accounts are granted on an individual basis. If you have contributed many translations, you may request an account of your own, but your coordinator must approve of this.
Given the above, there can be any number of accounts in a team. Please also see the answer to the previous question.
Are these translator accounts different from accounts that other contributors get?
No, not really. Technically, they are the same. However, when you apply for an account and cite translations as the motivation, the prerequisites will be interpreted differently. In other words, the po files you have contributed will be counted, instead of the number of patches with code you have contributed, and so on.
Furthermore, when you finally get an account, the instructions you get will be slightly different and adopted to the situation you face as a translator.
I started to work as a translator a long time ago, and received a translator account for doing that work. However, nowadays I'm considering contributing code patches to a certain module. Am I allowed to do that with my existing account?
Yes, certainly, as long as you have the approval of the module maintainer to commit the patches.