Re: Debian website translations: old files removed, and later re-added, causing extra translator's work

Hi Thomas,

Пт 21 мар 2025 @ 09:43 Thomas Lange <[email protected]>:

>>>>>> On Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:26:38 +0500, Lev Lamberov <[email protected]> said:

>     > removed translations are not visible for a wider audience.
> The numbers for the russian translations show that there is no larger
> audience.

In my previous message, I expressed my doubts about those numbers, and
you have not commented on them. Moreover, I still don't see how the
numbers for the last two weeks are somehow relevant to "spending the
limited work time of humans on more important work to make Debian
better," as you put it below. Removing translations (which is work that
has already been done) does not help in spending translators' time
wisely. It is rather the other way around. Now translators see those
files in the list "General pages not translated," so a natural desire to
translate them again is quite understandable.

>     > cause bad feelings in those translators who still work in the respected
>     > teams. Guess, it may feel like your work has been thrown in the trash.
> I think noone can assume that work you have done in the past will
> be kept forever. We work in a technical field that changes very
> quickly and it pretty normal that things will become outdated and
> removed.

I guess Debian is not just about a technical stuff, and it is already
expressed on its main page.

> For example, I've also removed information about newsgroups (which are
> mostly dead) and how to install a computer with Debian from floppy
> because that information it not relevant for our users any more.
>
>     > I don't see what
>     > justifies removing up-to-date translations of some old pages, even if
>     > those pages are kept only for historical means.
> I have heared the argument 'for historical means' multiple times but I
> do strongly disagree with it. This argument is to weak IMO.

OK, but you kept english versions of releases/hamm/ for some reasons.
Why not remove them, too? Since the argument from historical means is
too weak and we already have the debian-history package and git log for
those who are curious.

>     >> Shouldn't the translators spend their time on content which is more
>     >> important?
>     > Is this a serious question or just rhetorical?
> This is a serious question.
>
>     >> Maybe we need some advice to translator what is important and what not.
>     >> Or are rules (more strict) are needed?
>     > But what could justify such rules? Saving CPU time? Is it worth it?
> It's about spending the limited work time of humans into more
> important work to make Debian better.

The main problem here, as I can see it, is that in Debian no one can
decide how someone spends the time. One just cannot rule volunteers and
decide for them what they should or should not do.

Best,
Lev