Re: Is translating server messages really worth it?

On Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 12:46 PM Guillaume Lelarge
<guillaume(at)lelarge(dot)info> wrote:
> And I have another question, quite a bit related :) If a file (let's say psql-fr.po) is not translated at 80%, it's not distributed. But I was wondering if it was only this file (psql-fr.po) or all the files for this language? I'm considering leaving the postgres-fr.po file without any translation, but keep the other files up to date.

The 80% rule always struck me as odd. It might make sense if falling
under the threshold meant that the translation was classified as a
second tier translation, or whatever. But it's a binary pass/fail
condition -- there are no reasonable gradations. A 79% complete
translation that nobody really has access to is 100% useless.

Intuitively, the rule seems like it almost has it backwards; I would
imagine that even a fairly incomplete translation could be almost as
useful as a complete translation, mostly for the reasons that you went
into already. Such a translation would still have to be kept up to
date for those messages that really matter -- those things tend to
change at least as often as anything else. Plus the general quality of
the translations seems crucial. Quality over quantity.

--
Peter Geoghegan