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[Slashcode-development] Babel as far as your tongue can be heard
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From: Malcolm L. <ma...@to...> - 2004-08-12 08:48:59
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I keep getting asked 'Who are you guys?,' so to help unload some of that = extra mail from my inbox I have now provided this nice little page with = a summary of the active Authors, Editors and Managers here, along with = the number of articles that they have posted. http://towerofbabel.com/map/authors.pl Babel is currently expanding to be able to offer content and threaded = discussions in over 400 languages on the site, which means building 400 = brand new sections, each one which will be hosted by Authors, Editors = and Managers in their own native language for our progressive academic = journal and eventual online university. The main idea is to simply take = the English-language prototype of Babel) and have different language = versions of the site with the same goals and aspirations as the original = English-speaking version.=20 The Babel foreign language sections currently built (but not yet visible = online) are for: English -- http://en.towerofbabel.com =20 Spanish =96 http://es.towerofbabel.com =20 French =96 http://fr.towerofbabel.com =20 German =96 http://de.towerofbabel.com =20 Italian =96 http://it.towerofbabel.com =20 Estonian =96 http://et.towerofbabel.com =20 Dutch =96 http://nl.towerofbabel.com =20 Japanese =96 http://ja.towerofbabel.com =20 Russian =96 http://ru.towerofbabel.com =20 and Arabic =96 http://ar.towerofbabel.com =20 Soon another 400 language sections will also be built, with the most = popular languages continuing the subdomain style of having two character = designations for their sections and the more obscure languages having = three character designations for their sections. = (http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm)=20 (What Babel is attempting to do with Slash is not something which has = been tried before, so it could be a bit of a slow process getting all = 400 language section versions up and going on the site. So please = understand if it takes a while for me to answer your queries right now. = I thank you all in advance for your patience.) What this means for languages spoken in more than one country is that in = the, say, Spanish Babel section there will be Authors, Editors and = Managers who are native Spanish speakers, but hopefully not from the = same country. It would be ideal if there were Authors, Editors and = Managers from Argentina, Mexico, Spain etc. so you will all be able to = post stories submitted in Spanish about issues particular to your = specific country or your specific artistic passion so visitors to the = site can comment in Spanish about what is posted in that language=92s = section. The main thing I need to clarify before we go any further is what the = terms =93Authors=94 =93Editors=94 and =93Managers=94 mean because they = may not mean what you=92re used to them meaning because they=92re terms = which apply to how they=92re designated in Slash. If you=92re not = familiar with Slash or Slashdot I recommend that you go to = http://slashdot.org, which is the site which developed Slash = specifically for the Slashdot site. For a short and concise explanation = about what Slashdot is, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slashdot. The way Slash is set up there are simply users and Authors, but for the = purposes of Babel I=92ve decided to expand the designations to = =93Authors=94 =93Editors=94 and =93Managers=94 because this way it's = easier to tell the difference between the three different levels of = security access which will provide you with access to the various = administrative parts of the site. The term =93author=94 is actually a = bit of a misnomer as used in Slash because as you can see from my status = as an author further down this page I=92m the =93author=94 of over 700 = stories even though I=92ve only written a few (Neal Robbins is currently = responsible for most of them). It=92s better to think of an author as = =93one who authorizes stories to be displayed, whether they=92ve been = submitted by others or posted by oneself=94 when dealing with Slash.=20 While site users only see the front end of Slash, the Authors, Editors = and Managers have a special interface called backSlash, which controls = everything from posting Stories to managing Authors.=20 Any logged-in Author, Editor or Manager will see a special row of links = below the main title banner of any page. This is the Admin menu. If the = heart of Slash administration is the backSlash interface, its nerve = center is the Admin menu. It holds the keys to unlock the remote = administration features provided by the admin.pl applet.=20 A Slash Author, Editor, or Manager is simply a user account that has = been granted additional privileges. Each user account within Slash has = an assigned security level or =93seclev.=94 This is an integer between 0 = and 10,000. Regular users start with a seclev of 1, and the Anonymous = User has a seclev of 0. Authors must have a seclev of at least 100. Specific author abilities kick in at the following Security Levels:=20 100 =96 the =93Author=94 level View Admin menu View Stories list Edit Stories Use block editor Post new Stories Create and edit polls Unlimited moderation=20 Delete posted comments 500 -- the =93Editor=94 level View and approve submissions Edit templates Edit site colors 1,000 =96 the =93Manager=94 level=20 Manage Sections Manage comment filters 10,000 =96 =93God=94 Manage Authors Edit variables Edit Topics Ban user Edit IP block list Expire user Session Set default user comment score Set user read-only flags One day, hopefully soon, Slash will be threaded with Unicode so anyone = can post stories and/or post comments in any character set they wish to = type. But for now I=92ve decided that the easiest way to make Slash = multilingual is to create 400 new =93sections=94 of Babel, which will be = designated by language. What this means is that each language=92s = section will be needing Authors, Editors and Managers so each section = can be its own version of Babel.=20 As far as the graduated positions are concerned, a Manager is also able = to be an Editor and an Author. An Editor can also be an Author, but not = a Manager. And an Author can only be an Author, not an Editor or a = Manager. Unless of course Authors and Editors do such a stellar job that = we decide to promote them. I'd like those who are interested in being assigned to the section of = your native language version of the site to write and explain which = position you=92d like and why so we can measure how much time, energy, = enthusiasm and creativity you=92re planning on bringing to Babel. The = security levels for Editors will provide opportunities for creativity = and enable you to customize your section as you wish. I like the idea of = Editors being able to design their own section of Babel as they see fit, = perhaps taking a completely different approach to a design of the tower = of Babel. One of the main responsibilities of the section Managers is to spearhead = the initiative to have the content of the user interface pages as well = as the inner workings of the administrative pages of Slash translated = into their own section=92s native language so you can be free to deal = with the code on an administrative level in your own native language. = This will also be of great benefit for the Slash developers community so = that website owners wishing to add Slash to their code will be able to = deal with it in their own language straight out of the box. This does = not need to be accomplished by the section manager alone, and I = recommend getting a hold of other webmasters utilizing Slash in their = own non-English speaking websites to see how much of their sites have = been translated so unnecessary work can be avoided. This list of other sites which are either using Slash in other languages = or else building sites similar in spirit to Slash will give you some = ideas as to how much customization can be done with the code, as well as = see all of the various parts which will need to be translated so each = section can be as independent from the English language as possible.=20 http://www.nlroei.nl =96 A Dutch-speaking site using Slash http://www.minut.ee =96 An Estonian-speaking site using Slash=20 http://www.symlink.ch -- A German-speaking site using Slash http://www.accordo.it -- An Italian-speaking site using Slash http://www.citinv.it =96 An Italian-speaking site using Slash http://www.dsmodena.it =96 An Italian-speaking site using Slash http://www.inRoma.it =96 An Italian-speaking site using Slash http://slashdot.ne.jp =96 A Japanese-speaking site using Slash http://gildot.org -- A Portuguese-speaking site using Slash=20 http://nou.surse.ro =96 A Romanian-speaking site using Slash http://slashzone.ru =96 A Russian-speaking site using Slash http://puntbarra.com -- A Catalan-speaking site in the spirit of = Slashdot http://linuxfr.org/pub -- A French-speaking site in the spirit of = Slashdot=20 http://barrapunto.com -- A Spanish-speaking site in the spirit of = Slashdot Babel is also an online translation laboratory with currently over 300 = translators in 75 languages offering their services to help translate = the site. We are a non-profit organization, the translators are = voluntary and work on the site because they enjoy it (kind of like = Linux). Those translators who work on the site get their resume featured = on the site. Potential translators and journal editors submit their = resume or CV before being allowed to begin helping with the site so = their education, skills, experience and knowledge base with translating = can first be evaluated in order to ensure that Babel=92s standards of = excellence are maintained. If you=92re interested in being a voluntary foreign language journal = author, editor or manager for Babel, send us an email with your current = resume or CV attached as a Microsoft Word attached document so we can = see what your education, skills and knowledge base are. If you=92re interested in being a voluntary translator for Babel, send = us an email with your current resume or CV attached as a Microsoft Word = attached document so we can see what your education, skills and = knowledge base are. =20 706 malcolm=20 Generated on Thursday August 12, @01:19AM. Malcolm Lawrence Editor-in-Chief Babel: The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas. http://www.towerofbabel.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Babel reminds you: Man is distinguished, not only by his reason, but by = this singular passion from other animals, which is a lust of the mind, = that by a perseverance of delight in the continual and indefatigable = generation of knowledge, exceeds the short vehemence of any carnal = pleasure. -- Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, Part I, Chapter VI. ------------------------------------------------------------ |
