Feral Heart

Game & Forum Discussion => Forum Discussion => Forum Suggestions & Ideas => Topic started by: ThatsNotOk on December 22, 2018, 04:37:00 am

Title: International Board
Post by: ThatsNotOk on December 22, 2018, 04:37:00 am
"Foreign Languages
This is an English based website, therefore you are required to have a basic knowledge of the English language, at least on the forum. This is to avoid confusion and miscommunication with the staff and with other members. If members are continuously spotted talking other languages, warnings will be given."

- Official Forum Rules

This has been buzzing in the back of my mind since had read it, and it hasn't quite fit in my monkey brain right, especially now. One of the big requirements for MOTS, or even being noticed by the moderators in general, is an active forum record. Immediately foreign players, such as the massive Slavic group of Feralheart members or the spanish-speakers who also play in considerable numbers,are barred off from being a "true" active contributee to the Feralheart discussion. Foreign players are, by this rule, punished for not fitting in.

Likewise, even if it is argued that the staff will have no value of a separate international board, it would be a place for players who speak other languages to locate each other and meet up in-game. That way, international players will feel more comfortable and have more friends to their access.

In short, all I am simply suggesting is a board section like "News & Updates" "Help & Rules" etc etc for threads in foreign languages to be placed. Several other forums, for games or for literally anything else, have done this in order to allow non-English speakers to participate. It would be incredibly valuable to the site and would help younger foreign players (or foreign players in general) feel more comfortable.

That was my TEDTalk, thanks for listening. 
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Kahbloom on December 22, 2018, 07:37:13 am
I like the way you think!
This is a wonderful idea &, I think, might be able to help more people find others that speak the same language.

To be honest, the "Foreign Languages" rule just kind of rubs me the wrong way. I understand that it might be difficult to monitor multiple languages, but that rule seems like it borders on being discriminatory.

Only issue I could potentially see is... at least one staff member would have to speak the language to be able to monitor the boards, & ensure forum rules are still being followed. & what if only one staff member spoke the language? Would they be responsible for monitoring an entire board?

Although, to be fair, I believe the majority of FH's population speaks English, so I doubt it would be quite as busy... which means it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to keep track of, in my opinion.

I like this idea, though. I really don't agree with that rule, but I can understand & respect the staff team's viewpoints.
After all, they do have a lot on their plate as it is.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 24, 2018, 03:28:54 am
i'd be down for an international board


this stuff has been sitting in the back of my mind for years.
hell, it may encourage some of the english-speakers to pick up another language in order to interact with this other part of the community.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Azurain on December 24, 2018, 04:02:28 am
Totally 100% for this.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Bawfle on December 25, 2018, 11:12:17 pm
Punished is a pretty strong word. I can't say I particularly support this idea.

The reason why the game and forum are English encouraged is because it is considered a 'default' language, as it is the most spoken language across the globe.

People are not warned for not using English as punishment, people are warned in a form of encouragement and this is done politely with an explanation as to why it's encouraged if unknown.

I feel that having an international board would require international Moderators or Mini-Mods, possibly one Moderator for every language used in the so called international board. But, this is too much effort to be putting in for one small area on the board. Especially when the Moderators that run FeralHeart aren't paid to Moderate the game and forum. They take time out of their own lives to Moderate an English-Based game with very little moderation resources. There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages across the globe. I'm not saying that there are this many in Feral Heart right now, but there are already quite a few languages that are the primary language used by a handful of users in FeralHeart, such as; Polish, Russian, Spanish, French, Swedish, and Finnish.

I feel like that is already a boundary Moderators have to face in-game, taking an enormous responsibility onto the forum where it is primarily English-speaking already is unnecessary. A user who speaks very little English would not be expected to know the language fluently in order to receive help or join in on the discussion. Being able to translate their language to English through a translator is the easiest thing to do. They do not have to feel threatened by the English Language to join in, and I doubt many do feel threatened by the language considering they joined the game on an English based forum, and are presently playing in a game where a huge percentage of people primarily speak English.

I feel like the only change that could happen language wise is a language option so the board names and sub headings can be translated automatically to someone's dedicated language to aid in navigation around the forum.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: ThatsNotOk on December 26, 2018, 04:31:33 am
The reason why the game and forum are English encouraged is because it is considered a 'default' language, as it is the most spoken language across the globe.

That is not true. Mandarin Standard Chinese is the most spoken language across the world. After that is Spanish. Then, finally, English.

I still think it would be quite good as a meeting place regardless. That's really the thing that matters to me, and the potential increase in participation is just a "happy side-effect" I could offer to make the idea appeal to those who aren't trying to locate friends.
Title: this is probably one of the only times i'll be soulful, chief.
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 26, 2018, 05:57:08 am
some people are scared to speak a language they aren't fluent in, and as a result can and will skip out on opportunities to interact with people due to the language barrier.
that is something you cannot overcome without extending a bridge yourself in trying to reach out to them and showing them that there isn't anything to fear.

a good way of doing that is meeting them on what is their familiar ground: their base language.
some people are more comfortable speaking in their native tongue than english, and i personally do not see a valid enough reason outside of time and effort to not try and accomodate these players.

combined, they are not at all a minority. i would say that the foreign speaking playerbase has actually grown over the years, although they're not as vocal as they used to be.

one of my earlier memories on feralheart was speaking to someone who only knew polish, and even at the ripe age of 13 i was able to take buffy's advice in the opposite direction:
i pulled up a translator to figure out what he was saying, so i could respond in kind.
it is not that hard to do it either way. i mean this in as non-hostile a manner possible when i say this.

copy pasting things on feralheart can be a pain and a half, but when you're going out of your way to interact with somebody on their level you may as well go all out.

they are definitely valued members of this community, and considering everyone around here preaches that everybody should feel welcomed or accepted...
i don't see why this would be a problem.
if you need people to moderate things in certain languages, you could certainly find a few willing members who can just let you know when someone's being especially naughty in estonian or whatnot.

hell, i'd be more than willing to help out with translating things since i'm going to start learning said estonian and swedish in the [hopefully] near future.
moderating a foreign board is only as hard as you make it. if you set it up with all your ducks in a row you can only succeed.

another bonus to this apart from making 'foreigners' feel more welcome, is to maybe even encourage them to pick up english so they can interact with other people on their own. in european countries most schools teach people to be bilingual, but if they're nervous they don't sound 'native' enough they won't try. this could be the small push to get them to break out of their shell and start yappin.

again, i understand that this would be difficult. but i believe it would be a difficulty worth getting over for the sole sake of possibly improving other people's lives. whether or not it's through a silly animal game's community forum.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: ThatBlueOreo on December 26, 2018, 06:29:18 am
Personally, I think this is a good idea. Not only is this bettering the community as a whole, but it is helping people who speak foreign languages feel more comfortable in navigating both the forums and meeting up in-game. I also think it's a good idea, like Bawfle said, to include Auto-Translated pages for topics like this so people without English as a native or secondary language can communicate. Nonetheless, it'd be awesome to have both of these ideas implemented; as Jango mentioned I'm sure people would be willing to help translate pages on the forums.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Bawfle on December 26, 2018, 11:34:38 am
The reason why the game and forum are English encouraged is because it is considered a 'default' language, as it is the most spoken language across the globe.

That is not true. Mandarin Standard Chinese is the most spoken language across the world. After that is Spanish. Then, finally, English.

I still think it would be quite good as a meeting place regardless. That's really the thing that matters to me, and the potential increase in participation is just a "happy side-effect" I could offer to make the idea appeal to those who aren't trying to locate friends.

Aye, I knew this. Generally I meant that people prefer to speak English, as most countries provide English as a learning language and people enjoy learning it and using it. Especially in the gaming world/platforms. I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough.

But this is not my point.

In response to other replies, I hear you. However, the effort I meant wasn't based on whether or not one can be bothered or doesn't want to put in the effort to accommodate foreign language users, but it's more 'advanced' than that. If this board were to happen, you'd have people speaking many different languages, and the fact that people of the same language would be 'willing' to report users who do misbehave (such as foul language) really isn't enough to reassure staff that this will be a continuous dedication from a single user. This is why Moderators or Mini-Mods would need to be assigned to actually accommodate these people as well. This is because this would essentially make it someone's job. But again, there's then the issue were Moderators would need to gather a list of foreign language users and question whether they:

Are active on the Forum
Are dedicatated
GENUINELY speak that language fluently and aren't just in it to play Mini-Mod
Are responsible
Have no recent ban History
Have a good reputation
Are reliable overall

But course, overall a Mini-Mod would be expected to do their job on this board and help users that need it, and to join in on discussions, and report posts/users to the Admins who have the ability to ban a user on the forum (whether this function has expanded to Moderators as well is unknown to me). As well as explaining why a certain word is a foul word. The reason I bring this up is because there have been a few occasions where Moderators have banned users through rough Google Translation, and the translation being inaccurate because a single word could mean something either foul or innocent depending on the context it's in that most translation sites fail to recognise. This is just one of the boundaries that I was talking about. So, overall, the Mini-Mods job on this board would only be to Report and Assist.

I suppose the only other way you can convince or reassure people (like me) who are very spectacle of this is if there are people that can be listed right this moment that are genuinely fluent in one specific language in each Game Rule translation. People who you, as users, can see tick all those requirements that are listed.

For example:

Swedish:
Shally
PrettyReckless

Spanish:
Thierry

and so on...

Just keep in mind that people who you may list are just people that Staff may consider if plans of this board were to be confirmed by staff. Also keep in mind that all people that Staff essentially choose to moderate the board would have to agree to the responsibility and actually want to do it in order for the entire board to work functionally.

Hopefully I've not missed anything out. I'm also not trying to speak on behalf of staff, if that impression is given. Just from experience and generally thinking logically.
Title: okay, maybe i'll be soulful 1 more time.
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 26, 2018, 06:59:45 pm

This is why Moderators or Mini-Mods would need to be assigned to actually accommodate these people as well. This is because this would essentially make it someone's job. But again, there's then the issue were Moderators would need to gather a list of foreign language users and question whether they:

Are active on the Forum
Are dedicatated
GENUINELY speak that language fluently and aren't just in it to play Mini-Mod
Are responsible
Have no recent ban History
Have a good reputation
Are reliable overall
like i said previously, that's not really an issue if you know what to look out for.
although i can't really make a good comment on the process of getting people like this, since i know very little of the current staff training process.
but from my basic understanding of it, it doesn't seem too different from the normal vetting process MITs and MITs to-be go through. It's just now targeting something more specific on top of this.



just a quick 2 other things so i don't accidentally make a poem -

1.
To address the 'contextual word not translating nicely' bit you brought up.
That is easily solved by just finding someone who knows the language. Just asking them would save a lot of time, no mini-mod required[Although those still would be useful, and I don't see the issue with that]. Or hell, even seeing for yourself which version of the word is used most commonly. Like how the term for a bundle of sticks in English is the least used definition of that word. No need to ban the word unless it's just such a massive pain that it isn't worth keeping around.

2.
You could always put a 'limit' on which languages could be spoken, and go on from there.
Certain languages could be vetted or put in limbo until you can verify that there are people capable and also willing to moderate for that language. Obviously having it be a free for all wouldn't work, because then the Staff would actually be swamped and at a loss for what to do at any given time. It'd be too overwhelming and ultimately defeats the purpose of... Well, the whole shabang.

You could say, only allow[currently] the languages that have translations of the Rules already set up.
I know some of the people who made those posts in particular aren't around anymore, but it is a place to start.

I will still stand by what I said of I can only see this working out in the end if the proper work is put into it. The beginning will be rough, as the start to most things are. But I believe it's something worth doing, or at the very least giving an attempt.
I will die on this hill.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: ThatsNotOk on December 26, 2018, 07:46:56 pm
If an International Board is made, I do not see such a desperate need to put people in positions of "daycare supervisor"  mini-mod, when really, instead, the act of reporting still exists, in game and in forum. When I see something inappropriate in a biography in game, I report it, privately and in a note to a moderator because I know they fail to check those things despite the nasty stuff people write.

If I were to step into the hypothetical International Board, and I opened a German or French thread, and I saw that spicy slang the staff could not translate, I would link and specify it to a mod. I would offer a translation as to why it is against the rules, and be on my way. I myself would not have to step in and cause a ruckus personally in that ~classique dreaded mini-mod fashion~  It would be just as reports are handled in game.  Even though this may not be assuring, in a healthy group of people, everyone who has read the rules will think "yes, this is reasonable" and know what to do when the rules are observed being broken. Thus, I don't really think I'll be listing anyone to nominate for a potentially unnecessary position quite yet, though I understand your concern. Having existing mods be speakers is a plus, either way.

My final point is that, to have some faith in the kids who would post there. I'm sure a board for players primarily making threads to find their friends in game (or a tutorial on how to install Mass Markings for my poor Quebecois buddy who can't figure out why all the animals are white!) will have slow and manageable activity, and wouldn't instantly become a cesspool. Knowing there ARE existing rules, and people watching regardless of having a shiny badge that means quite nothing, it would be the calmest board on the site.

Finally, I really do like the added bonus idea of adding a language option to the text on the site itself. A drop-down option with a few common languages are enough, and that would translate the log-in page, news screen, home site, and forum. That those foreign players stuck on the game to warm up to the site itself. That would be the very icing on the cake.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Bawfle on December 26, 2018, 10:50:30 pm
MIT training wouldn't really be necessary as this would only be a Report and Assist responsibility. The only reason I suggest a board Mini-Mod for each dedicated language populated on said board is for the reassurance to the community and staff that there are specific people who are actively moderating that specific board. They would only have a 'Mini-Mod' title under their name instead of 'Jr. Member' for example. Nothing else too special. It's just a way to say "yes, great, we have these people taking time out of their day to read through new foreign language posts, that is one less thing for us to worry about".

Sure, other members who also speak the same language could also report and assist, but the reassurance of someone having a specific responsibility and daily task is more important than you think. Other than reporting and assisting, these users may also want private help, possibly assisting members who may need/want private help from someone who speaks their language, someone who they can access quick, someone they know is going to actively respond to them just by having this Mini-Mod type title on the board. I can guarantee there won't be as many community helpers as you see on the rest of the forum as there's only a hand full of users who speak a foreign language and primarily use it to communicate with others, like those you will see in Cape.

As for the limit, I feel like putting a limit on languages to begin with would defeat the purpose and make the other languages feel shut out almost, which I don't think all this is about.

I think the term "daycare supervisor" is a little bit of a childish way to put it, as the board wouldn't be a daycare. That's almost like calling the FH Staff the "daycare supervisors" and all the other members are the mindless infants that throw a tantrum and don't know how to listen.

But, hopefully in this post I have made it more clear as to how effective and important assigning Mini-Mods to this kind of board would be. If not I'd be very disappointed.
Title: maybe this'll be a more consistent thing
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 26, 2018, 11:05:10 pm
If an International Board is made, I do not see such a desperate need to put people in positions of "daycare supervisor"  mini-mod, when really, instead, the act of reporting still exists, in game and in forum. When I see something inappropriate in a biography in game, I report it, privately and in a note to a moderator because I know they fail to check those things despite the nasty stuff people write.

If I were to step into the hypothetical International Board, and I opened a German or French thread, and I saw that spicy slang the staff could not translate, I would link and specify it to a mod. I would offer a translation as to why it is against the rules, and be on my way. I myself would not have to step in and cause a ruckus personally in that ~classique dreaded mini-mod fashion~  It would be just as reports are handled in game.  Even though this may not be assuring, in a healthy group of people, everyone who has read the rules will think "yes, this is reasonable" and know what to do when the rules are observed being broken. Thus, I don't really think I'll be listing anyone to nominate for a potentially unnecessary position quite yet, though I understand your concern. Having existing mods be speakers is a plus, either way.

This.
All of this.
Just this.

Have a little faith in this community. For the most part, it can self-moderate better than most.

In-game I've seen people break rules, and after a simple 'hey, might wanna cut that out. s'against rules' everything clears up.
If it continues, you just quietly send in a report detailing what happens and go about with your day.

The only difference this would have to anything else is that it's not in English.



This forum has also had a long-overdue need to foreign tutorials, since basically all of the ones readily available on the website are exclusively in English.
Granted, following it picture by picture isn't too difficult.

MIT training wouldn't really be necessary as this would only be a Report and Assist responsibility. The only reason I suggest a board Mini-Mod for each dedicated language populated on said board is for the reassurance to the community and staff that there are specific people who are actively moderating that specific board. They would only have a 'Mini-Mod' title under their name instead of 'Jr. Member' for example. Nothing else too special. It's just a way to say "yes, great, we have these people taking time out of their day to read through new foreign language posts, that is one less thing for us to worry about".

I was more-so making a comparison to how normal staff are selected. That is the only reason I brought up MITs.

As for the limit, I feel like putting a limit on languages to begin with would defeat the purpose and make the other languages feel shut out almost, which I don't think all this is about.

I'm just trying to find a compromise, since having everything go hither and yon would obviously put a massive burden on the already not terribly large Staff team.
If such a compromise is not necessary, then, hey, it isn't necessary.


I think the term "daycare supervisor" is a little bit of a childish way to put it, as the board wouldn't be a daycare. That's almost like calling the FH Staff the "daycare supervisors" and all the other members are the mindless infants that throw a tantrum and don't know how to listen.

I think it that was a joke, fam. Although to be fair that is what it's starting to sound like.
The community wouldn't fall apart if there were no Mini-Mods, it'd just be more tedious for this sort of thing. They are most certainly useful and I'm not against having those for this kind of board.

But again - Have a little faith in this playerbase. They may surprise you with how well they can keep each other in check.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Bawfle on December 26, 2018, 11:16:13 pm
I'm not saying I don't have faith xD People self-moderate all the time, people say things like "hey, might wanna cut that out. s'against rules", all the time. I am just saying people who aren't native English speakers might feel some comfort in knowing there is someone they can communicate with in their own language. Someone they can rely on to give them straight answers or private assistance if necessary, as it does happen. As well as being a reliable foreign language moderator of sorts for a specific language in that board.

Maybe have a little faith in me, as well, because I wouldn't be bringing all this up if I didn't think it was necessary to have.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 26, 2018, 11:21:32 pm
I'm not saying I don't have faith xD People self-moderate all the time, people say things like "hey, might wanna cut that out. s'against rules", all the time. I am just saying people who aren't native English speakers might feel some comfort in knowing there is someone they can communicate with in their own language. Someone they can rely on to give them straight answers or private assistance if necessary, as it does happen. As well as being a reliable foreign language moderator of sorts for a specific language in that board.

Maybe have a little faith in me, as well, because I wouldn't be bringing all this up if I didn't think it was necessary to have.
I ain't disagreein with you here either - I think a form of moderation is necessary.

I'm saying it can be done, and that we should at the very least try. Look and see how it turns out.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: ThatsNotOk on December 27, 2018, 12:05:26 am
At the very end of the day, the concerns of keeping this board clean are valid. Still, I think the benefits of a multilingual board outweigh they upkeep. That's why I'm hesitant to shoot it down over a problem that's small and easy to fix. This game and forum have been in need of foreign support for a long time anyways.

"I think the term "daycare supervisor" is a little bit of a childish way to put it, as the board wouldn't be a daycare. That's almost like calling the FH Staff the "daycare supervisors" and all the other members are the mindless infants that throw a tantrum and don't know how to listen."

I'm sorry that joke flew over like that. It was meant as seriousness, I wasn't meaning for it to sound like I was stomping the players. If anything, as Jango_Fett has said, it's quite the opposite. With the recent panic around "Oh no, Feralheart could never be trusted to run on its own!" (ei. the No-Mod October implosion) I was wary, since that may have caused an aversion to "self checking" around here. That, and, traditionally when I think "mini-mod" I think of the more negative connotation of the term, which is usually discouraged by most games and their forums because it's... Unclassy.

While I still don't think a whole new title and rank and special position -- "Language Mod" or whatever the like -- there are already good bilingual members of the community, as well as a few already in mod positions. Initially, the traffic of the board would be very slow, anyways, so I'd hope it would add almost nothing to their existing workload.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 27, 2018, 12:43:57 am
I'm sorry that joke flew over like that. It was meant as seriousness, I wasn't meaning for it to sound like I was stomping the players. If anything, as Jango_Fett has said, it's quite the opposite. With the recent panic around "Oh no, Feralheart could never be trusted to run on its own!" (ei. the No-Mod October implosion) I was wary, since that may have caused an aversion to "self checking" around here. That, and, traditionally when I think "mini-mod" I think of the more negative connotation of the term, which is usually discouraged by most games and their forums because it's... Unclassy.

FeralHeart is one of the only places I can think of where the term 'mini-mod' isn't automatically a bad thing.
Everywhere else it's an insult. Kinda funny, really.

While I still don't think a whole new title and rank and special position -- "Language Mod" or whatever the like -- there are already good bilingual members of the community, as well as a few already in mod positions. Initially, the traffic of the board would be very slow, anyways, so I'd hope it would add almost nothing to their existing workload.

additional plus - this may attract new players/people to this community/game. By having an entire section of the forum dedicated to those who aren't 100% Englishman, it would attract people who initially shyed away because they didn't have an understanding of what was going on. Or at least, not a very concise understanding.
Among other things, a new way of having new people try out the game is more than healthy enough for this community, and I believe it to be incredibly necessary.

although it may add a tiny bit extra onto the workload of Staff, it would be well worth it if it breathes new life into FeralHeart.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: FellSilence on December 28, 2018, 02:18:26 am
Over the years that Ive played this game, and over the years of living as someone who isnt a native english speaker, I know for sure an international board would make a lot of players more comfortable.

I remember there use to be many more kids who spoke something other than English running around, but slowly that number has been dwindling, and I know its because a lot of players get mocked for speaking their native language :/
thats why a lot of my friends kept leaving this game until most of them are only the ones that are perfectly fluent.

People make fun of you if your English sucks, and that doesnt really encourage you to learn it more. Some kids will suck it up and try harder, trying to ignore people who bully you for it, but a lot of other kids give up after a while.
Theyll also make jokes or get mad at you if you speak anything but english, even when youre just asking a friend what a word meant because you dont know it yet.

These things together means theres less and less kids who feel comfortable interacting with others.

Ive met a lot of kids who had terrible english and got very happy when they found another person who can speak polish. Often theyre happy even if you badly google translate everything, like some chinese kid i met who spoke absolutely no english besides 'does anyone speak mandarin : ( ', because its better than nothing and shows you wont be mean to them over how they talk and shows you actually care enough to figure out what theyre saying.


ppl are like 'oh but well need new mods!!' except you can report/flag stuff still.

slowly we can find new mods that specifically watch over those boards anyway, it will just take some time and effort. but this way im sure there will be 1. more players, 2. more kids that dont feel awkward just trying to say hello and join a new roleplay. Especially since theres much fewer 'illiterate' roleplays recently, making it even harder for non english speakers to join a rp and practice getting better.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 28, 2018, 02:26:43 am
at this point so i don't end up repeating myself i have to ask
are staff looking at this/even considering it?

because there's obviously more people than just the OP and myself that think this is not only a good idea, but a necessary one.
i've even been talking to other players recently who've seen this thread and come up to me personally thanking me for trying to push this onto the ballot.

so how about it, staff?
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Bawfle on December 28, 2018, 08:35:59 pm
My support toward the idea has been pushed in a more positive direction now it has been discussed further. However, I stand by all the necessary things I feel are required for this board. In the end it all depends on the success of finding these said Foreign Language Mini-Mods for the board in particular if Staff agreed to assigning specific people for each language that is likely to be used there.

If Staff do agree with the board idea, I'm sure they will make it clear that an idea has been approved of and whether or not it would need further development and planning before being released. It is the Holiday and New Year seasons so I imagine they are only attending to the things that require their out most attention, like their In-Game and PM/Report activity.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 28, 2018, 09:27:40 pm
fair, but i've also noticed a few moderators eyeing this thread.

it'd be nice to know if they are considering it or considering putting it on the table.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: FellSilence on December 28, 2018, 09:44:39 pm
you could always start with only a few languages.

figure out which ones are most popular, start with maybe 3-4 of them. add more as time goes on so you dont need to find a ton of mods at once.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Bawfle on December 28, 2018, 09:52:03 pm
you could always start with only a few languages.

figure out which ones are most popular, start with maybe 3-4 of them. add more as time goes on so you dont need to find a ton of mods at once.

Indeed, but at the same time it could be difficult to find active forum users who's primary language would be either; Polish, Finnish, Russian, or French. Said as a personal view, as I don't see many roaming the forum. Being able to communicate with Staff in English is also necessary when needing to Report certain threads. Spanish and Swedish are already very easy to find in terms of people to consider. We already have two members of staff who are fluent in Swedish and is their primary language.

Also, the Moderators may be lurking the threads, but generally at this time of year it's not considered a priority so they simply just might not have had time to discuss it between them or even post any personal views.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 29, 2018, 12:11:07 am
it would still be nice to know, since the only other person who has remote ties to staff that has been speaking to anyone on this thread is you.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: wolffox on December 29, 2018, 01:16:58 am
I think this is a wonderful idea and should at least be considered as a possibility. All it would take is putting a few heads together to come up with a plausible way for this sort of thing to work, even if it's something as crude as staff using a quick translator when popping into the boards every now and then, to make sure things are running appropriately until a better solution is found. When I was part of the staff team years ago I used a translator to help folks in game. Some words and phrases were wrongly put of course but the message always got across eventually and seemed to genuinely help some folks. An international board of sorts would help to make FH a more diverse and friendly place in my opinion.

Edit: This is not to say I don't completely understand the skepticism and reasons why the language rule is in place. Just think that change is good especially when it means including others who, in normal circumstances, would be excluded from this kind of community altogether.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Calvary on December 29, 2018, 02:22:41 am
Popping in here, as I've been eyeing this thread and it seems you all would appreciate a bit of insight.

This is actually an endearing idea, one I really enjoy as I do speak another language and I feel this would broaden the spectrum of players who may be afraid to be on the forums or in game. I know a member a long while ago brought up before that they would enjoy some sort of localization as well from staff members to know what languages they speak, so for our current non-native english speakers, they'd be able to report something in their native language with no hassle.

This is definitely something that the staff will look into. Hope this helps!
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 29, 2018, 03:30:27 am
glad to see it's being considered
thank you for the timely response.
i await the decision, or any possible updates you may have concerning an international board.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on December 29, 2018, 11:07:00 am
Staff members eyeing this board and not making a reply doesn't mean we've not already opened this up for discussion.
The ideas that are posted are always forwarded by one staff member to the rest - and discussions are made.
However, reasons why this is "taking so long" is because Staff are in different timezones. Some of us are in UK/European timezones while others are in American/Other timezones so replies to the discussions being made need to be given a lot more time than you may think. Especially as it's the new year and people are most likely spending time with their families to celebrate.

Onto the International Board idea,
I have never seen anything wrong with it.
English is not a prioritised language in FeralHeart whatsoever - although we encourage people to try and speak English, that is down to us finding it the most efficient way for us to understand any problems members are trying to express. It's rather difficult for us to understand people speaking to us in a language we may have not learnt or know very vaguely, but this is also vice versa for the members as they may have not been taught English either - so this International Board I find would be a massive opportunity for those to be able to speak up in this board and then know they will receive a reply in a language they can also understand.

However,
the international languages that would be managed would have to be languages that we can understand to an extent. We can't really help people if we can't form grammatically correct sentences in a response in case of confusing them, which is something the Staff have been discussing when we have the time.

In terms of "mini-mods" being on the board... why?
We manage the boards effectively as it is, and I don't think we would struggle with a few more boards here and there. It would easily encourage more players who speak other languages to be active on the forums, and there is very little harm to that. ^^
Not to mention, when users speak other languages in-game, we take the time to translate that anyway, so doing the same for the forum wouldn't hurt us in any shape or form.

Am all for this.
Although the final decision based on this idea may take some time.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Kahbloom on December 30, 2018, 05:26:34 am
Thanks for letting us know what's been going on! (:
Still really think this is a lovely idea, although this would, without a doubt, require even more work & effort to be actually created.
But I really think it would be beneficial to the community, & allow for more members to communicate within the forums.

Thank you guys for considering & listening.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on December 30, 2018, 06:33:01 am
the mini-mods would really just be extra helpers as to not add more onto the normal duties

if the staff think they can mange, why not.

it'd still probably be smart as to just have them for the sake of things running more 'autonomously'. you'd have to trust them a lot, but since it's a really minor job it isn't like you're handing them the keys to fort knox and then blind-folding yourself.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on January 07, 2019, 10:12:06 pm
Double-post, I know.




Any update on this?
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: ThatsNotOk on January 09, 2019, 12:13:11 am
For one I'm hopeful and happy with the agreement I've gotten, since like I said before, I think it's a very good idea. I am also glad to have gotten opinions and support from moderators.

That said, if this idea is pending and truly has a good chance of being implemented....





ON FERA LA FÊTE ET LES ANGLOPHONES NE SONT PAS INVITÉS

(https://media.giphy.com/media/128hv1mp547rgc/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on January 09, 2019, 12:21:40 am
For one I'm hopeful and happy with the agreement I've gotten, since like I said before, I think it's a very good idea. I am also glad to have gotten opinions and support from moderators.

That said, if this idea is pending and truly has a good chance of being implemented....





ON FERA LA FÊTE ET LES ANGLOPHONES NE SONT PAS INVITÉS

(https://media.giphy.com/media/128hv1mp547rgc/giphy.gif)
after getting this translated

ditto friend.

(https://media1.tenor.com/images/80b33ba72cd12a690d94427ff0266f15/tenor.gif)


but for real an update on this would be sweet
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Calvary on January 09, 2019, 07:50:24 pm
I can't give you an actual update but I also don't want to make assumptions on what is going on with this, but I can say this:

I believe it is/was being discussed, and is something the staff enjoyed as well I believe. Everyone was mainly busy for the new years and vacations, but rest assured I think it is something that is definitely being looked at <3
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on January 10, 2019, 10:12:41 am
As you already know, the last FH Update was not the first and most certainly won't be the last.
The Staff Team have been taking a rather sluggish approach during the end of December and beginning of January because we all wished to spend time with family and others close to us for Christmas and the New Year as these are celebratory times where we wanted to dedicate the majority of our time with our loved ones in the real world. Although we remained active to ensure that FeralHeart was kept safe in the meantime, this meant that discussions were temporarily on standby as we needed some time and space just like everybody else.

However, this is not to say that the International Board concept has been swept out of our minds.
Things are due to kick off in brainstorming as many ideas as we can and bagging it up into once thread then, as individuals, volunteering to make things happen that have been suggested by other Staff members (and agreed upon) as well as input from the community (and agreed upon). There is a lot to discuss and for this idea in particular, a lot to work on in terms of translations and associating the languages we know and understand/can speak fluently into a board and deciding what to put in there, where and why as well as why not the rest of what we see on the forum already. We also need to further consider the Mini-Mod idea in depth because, as already covered, if this were to go forward - we would need to go through a process of selecting a handful few of very trustworthy members of the community who can put the time and effort into working under that responsibility without feeling too empowered and as if they are above everybody else as this is not what we want and nor do the Staff want to feel that way either.

Currently a few of us are still needing the extra time to gradually come back into work due to other priorities elsewhere, which is understandable as there is a lot of personal ongoing events for some of us and we therefore have to ask for a little more patience whilst we still await more opinions before we can take the next step. This goes for all of the ideas we've come across, not just this thread in particular. It's good to see that you, Jango_Fett and ThatsNotOk, are very passionate for this board to be created and we appreciate the consistency you show in bumping this thread as a little reminder. However, we are not midway through January and we would just like you to keep an open mind about the other ideas that have been put out there so far and how many of us need to put in opinions in the discussion phase and how much there is to talk about. We unfortunately cannot cover everything in so little time even though we would really like to!

This thread won't be forgotten, but there is a lot of work to be done for the next patch and a lot of things to cover for both the forum and the game as, now there is a bigger team, we can do a lot more and offer the extra details without overworking ourselves.

I hope this gives a better explanation to the lack of updates, we're certainly trying! We won't be leaving you in the dark about what we've decided for much longer.~
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on January 10, 2019, 05:31:50 pm
this update is appreciated.


i do excitedly await further developments.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on June 02, 2019, 05:16:17 pm
https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?topic=66400.0;topicseen
so
since obviously putting up translations of posts if they include foreign languages isn't allowed

any updates on this?
since this might solve issues as the thread i linked has provided?
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on June 02, 2019, 05:22:57 pm
Not in this moment of time.
However, your suggestion has not been scrapped.

There are momentarily more important matters that Staff are working on for the next patch which is currently a priority for several reasons.
Discussion of this thread shall continue soon. Very soon.~
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on June 02, 2019, 05:27:15 pm

Discussion of this thread shall continue soon. Very soon.~

well that's better than nothing i guess.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Instamatic on June 04, 2019, 04:42:52 pm
https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?topic=66400.0;topicseen
so
since obviously putting up translations of posts if they include foreign languages isn't allowed

any updates on this?
since this might solve issues as the thread i linked has provided?

I think what's highlighted here is a perfect example of why this board is necessary. Effectively criminalising non-English speakers is not going to benefit the community in any way. I've met some lovely French and Czech people on FH, even with a very rudimentary understanding of their languages, and enforcing an 'English only' policy is only going to discourage those people from playing the game. We should be encouraging these people to be part of the community rather than putting them down. I apologise if this comes off as aggressive in any way, but it's something I feel very strongly about. Nobody should be punished for simply trying to reach out to other people.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Kuri on June 04, 2019, 08:25:42 pm
https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?topic=66400.0;topicseen
so
since obviously putting up translations of posts if they include foreign languages isn't allowed

any updates on this?
since this might solve issues as the thread i linked has provided?

I think what's highlighted here is a perfect example of why this board is necessary. Effectively criminalising non-English speakers is not going to benefit the community in any way. I've met some lovely French and Czech people on FH, even with a very rudimentary understanding of their languages, and enforcing an 'English only' policy is only going to discourage those people from playing the game. We should be encouraging these people to be part of the community rather than putting them down. I apologise if this comes off as aggressive in any way, but it's something I feel very strongly about. Nobody should be punished for simply trying to reach out to other people.

I like meeting the people that speak other languages.  The great thing about internet forums is translators for them exist, even if they don't translate very well.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on June 05, 2019, 09:43:29 am
We do not criminalise non-English speakers and nor do we degrade them for the fact that they speak a language other than English. I don't think it's very fair to think this.
We encourage English to be the only language simply because it is easier for most Staff and community to understand, particularly when it comes to problems users face, particularly on the forums.
We do not shut down other languages, we just advise English because it is our most effective way of communicating with one another and for all to understand.

We do not punish people in-game for speaking other languages either so I don't know where this assumption must have come from but hopefully this sheds some light on the matter.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on June 07, 2019, 04:16:09 am
We do not criminalise non-English speakers and nor do we degrade them for the fact that they speak a language other than English. I don't think it's very fair to think this.
We encourage English to be the only language simply because it is easier for most Staff and community to understand, particularly when it comes to problems users face, particularly on the forums.
We do not shut down other languages, we just advise English because it is our most effective way of communicating with one another and for all to understand.

We do not punish people in-game for speaking other languages either so I don't know where this assumption must have come from but hopefully this sheds some light on the matter.

Sorry but that's simply not true. At the very least in the eyes of not just the English speaking community, but also those who speak other languages.
That thread is an excellent example and I will refer to it continuously throughout this post.

The precedent that has been set especially on the forums is that if you do not post in English you will get whatever you were trying to say locked or sternly corrected.
This is in the eyes of the players, not just from my observations but what other people have also told me.
That was somewhat understandable. The rules are the rules.
But in that thread the person provided a translation into English so people knew that they weren't swearing or anything, so that both sides of the aisle could understand.


Now, Case A is obviously different from B, yet both were treated the same.
The question that arises is this:
Why?
No answer was given.

Only a surprisingly aggressive 'locking this thread we don't permit non-english'(I am generalizing) post before being locked.
From that, people make their own conclusions. It's just unfortunate that this one has been in the making for a while.


Now you brought something up that I actually was hoping someone would mention - People can speak whatever they want on the game.
Apart from obvious change in medium, why is it different on the forums? If anything it's easier for us non multi-lingual people to translate(And also for the other people, but if you're dealing with hypothetically a young ruski who doesn't understand chrome - Might not happen) as you can just copy paste what you see.
That's not necessarily effective since google translator should never be your be all end all, but if it's all you have that's all you have.
It'd be like using urban dictionary to find hip new naughty phrases or something.

Is it because of a discrepancy in perms? What?
These are questions that need answers.
Maybe they haven't been answered because no one asked the question, but I have a feeling that's not entirely the case.


You can say that the staff are only 'advising' English over all else, but what is currently being seen is definitely not that. What is being seen, whether you mean to be doing it or not, is an aggressive slap to the face for non-english speakers. Even if they go through the effort of translating, which one would think is what Staff want.


Take your time in responding please. I apologize if this seems hostile, but I will be honest in saying that I'm irked.
I will end it by saying this - You may not have MEANT for things to be like this(or viewed), but I'm afraid that's what's happening.

I also ask that although the patch takes priority, this thread has been up for quite sometime. Even when the last patch was still fresher than it obviously is now. What gives?
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on June 07, 2019, 07:25:00 am
Speaking another language on the FeralHeart forums is not "sternly corrected".
For the example you have given, fellow Kerriki politely implied everything and I personally would not have worded it any other way. Kerriki even gave suggestions to the user so I therefore do not perceive the post to have been aggressive nor "stern" like you are pointing said finger.

While we are apologetic to those who deem our response to foreign languages rude and aggressive, we have been going by this rule in a respectful manner for a long time. How it is read is not something we can control and unfortunately this is why users are having misunderstandings with us in the first place. People misunderstand the choice of wording, then spread word of how aggressive/rude/terrible we apparently are for enforcing a rule. Same applies to a lot of things we've done over the years.

It is treated differently on the forums because I have already mentioned, the use of communication when we seek help on the forums.
If we cannot answer a question because it is in another language, Google Translate is an awful and untrustworthy source, how else are we going to resolve the communication issue by asking for English to being the language they use (if possible) before we can resolve the problem they may be having in the game? Truth is, we can't.
Staff cannot speak every language known to man and we have to work with this.

I can and will say that the Staff are only advising because that is what we are doing and we will do nothing more, nothing less.
In the eyes of the community this apparently, in some cases, is not good enough. Which is where things seem to kick off and people get worked up and make us out to be terrible people for having such a rule.
Being a "slap in the face" is a prime example of people thinking of the worst case scenario(s).

Threads can be up for years and may not be used until many more years down the line. Just because this suggestion has been brought up, it does not mean it will most definitely be used. There are things Raz considers more important to be done and - like General chat - there are some ideas we like - like this one - but would much rather come to a conclusion more a little later one when what is more important to him, is done first.
Just because we haven't told you what you'd like to hear now doesn't mean we won't do it later in terms of conclusions/whether or not we'll use it in some form.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Warriorstrike on June 07, 2019, 07:27:18 am
https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?topic=66400.0;topicseen
so
since obviously putting up translations of posts if they include foreign languages isn't allowed

any updates on this?
since this might solve issues as the thread i linked has provided?

Hey guys. <3 I figured I’d make a comment to this thread since I think something recently posted was taken the wrong way.

I told Kiki to lock that thread because there were several reasons why it didn’t fit into the board it was posted in. The post was basically saying for Polish users to comment on the thread and make community, but it was posted in the Game Discussion board, which outlines that in order to post in that board, one must include some kind of discussion or topic to discuss. (This could be anything, such as “Have you met any Polish-speaking players on the game?”, “Do you guys like playing Feral Heart with people who speak the same language as you?”, etc.) There wasn’t any discussion going on in the post, which strays from the board rules. The topic as it was didn’t belong in the Game Discussion board, either, since it didn’t mention Feral Heart or an aspect of the game; any posts under the Game Discussion must be related to the game. (If a proper discussion were provided in the thread, we could move it over to the Off-Topic Discussion, but since the user did not express any topic of discussion, it would be misplaced. We don’t like to move a board somewhere it’s unclear what the owner of the thread is wanting to take it, in the case that moving it would only be redirecting it into a board it doesn’t fit within.) The thread was asking people to comment, which is borderline of a chat thread, which we do not permit on the forum, as a whole. The nature of the thread was more or less a “Hey! Post below! Let’s make a community!” But it was very vague whether they were implying an advertisement to something they had created (in which we could move it to the Community Hub Board or a roleplay advertisement board). For those reasons, it didn’t fit in any board, but it could have if the op offered a bit more detail as to what they were wanting (or if they adjusted info to make it appropriate, like add questions or a discussion topic). The fact that they used some Polish in their topic wasn’t the reason it was locked— moreso, it was nudging them that English should be kept to the public forum. It’s better to let users know this stuff so that they don’t continue to post and then are confused as to why one person warns them for it and another doesn’t. (Usually a comment below their post as a warning would be acceptable, but there were several things going wrong with the thread, which is why it was locked). It’s not necessary to lock a thread merely if someone happens to use a little bit of another language in their comment. It is important, however, for moderators to make them aware of what isn’t allowed on the forum. It’s part of staff’s job to do that, and nothing bad was meant by it. If an entire thread is posted in another language or the intention is to generate a topic in another language, it can be locked since it makes monitoring harder on staff. We have no problems with users advertising non-English speaking roleplays, Discord’s, chat rooms, etc. We just ask that users use English on the forum so we can monitor what goes on better.

I’m sorry if someone misunderstood. Hopefully anyone who interpreted it in any other way understands that staff were just doing their job and no harm was meant by it.

It was locked because multiple things made it so that it didn’t fit into the board. The comment Kiki provided offered for the user to contact her if they needed any clarification or to make a request, as well, which we will do if we aren’t sure what direction the user wants to take their post but if has too many open-ended lines for us and disorganization to leave the thread hanging around in a board it doesn’t belong it. The user is more than welcome to make another thread so long as it follows the rules of the board they’re posting it.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: WolfQueen on June 07, 2019, 08:01:50 am
A lot of vulgar words in different languages are vague when translated in English (certain Spanish dialects being a strong example) so using an online translator in order to moderate an international board wouldn't be a good idea. Urban Dictionary is also an American-based website afaik so it doesn't really have a lot of slang in languages compared to English.

I once mentioned in a thread like this that ChickenSmoothie has an international board that isn't too chaotic. Pretty much everyone there follows the rules and there are many mods that are also bilingual on that site. The FeralHeart forums is a little different from that though.

Overall I see no harm in having an international board. Sure yeah moderating will be difficult but that doesn't mean that there will be cussing and vulgar language the second a board like this is made here. I never moderated a forum though so I'm not 100% certain LOL
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on June 07, 2019, 08:20:54 am
just to be brief since i actually don't really need to type much in response


why did none of you just ask for clarification as to what the OP of the thread wanted to do
and then move the thread accordingly
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Ame88 on June 07, 2019, 08:37:25 am
Quite frankly, I'm all for the idea only if the necessary requirements are met. I would love to have a board for all our fellow FeralHeart players who speak a different language, but I don't want something so great to have a terrible start (to then be taken down) due to the lack of ability to give it proper care. To that, I say not to force something like this. (Not trying to say any of you are.) As said prior to this post, it would need fluent speaking staff (or "mini-staff") to be able to monitor that board daily. It's a big job that takes time and dedication.

Commenting very quickly on what Jango, Scal and Nynx are talking about, perhaps all that confusion of weather one is getting a "slap to the face" or "sternly corrected," could be eased by explaining a little more as to why a thread was locked when going through the process of locking it. Whenever I have to tell someone why I'm removing something or trying to enforce rules of any sort wherever I am, I ALWAYS try to explain everything to them so they don't feel as if they're being silenced, put down, or whatever else. Even after I explain everything, I ask if they have any questions so I can explain to them whatever they want to know. Communication is important, as is understanding why something is done. I've personally never felt as if Staff were being rude or rather silencing towards our non-English speakers, but simply doing their job on keeping the boards as neat and kept as possible. It's a hard job and sometimes they deal with being misunderstood, like this. After all, all members are always welcome to PM that staff member or another to ask them a question.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on June 07, 2019, 08:49:38 am
 Again, it's not and never will be an idea we're going to leave in the dark. We've had lots of in-depth discussion about the potential of this already so it is not something we ignore.
It might not be an instantaneous implement but it might be something for the future.

Being a little hostile for one won't quicken the process of it all by making example of staff actions and criminalising it all from one particular case.

Let's leave the discussion on that topic at that before things get out of hand as it seems to have already, given the passive-aggressive coming to rise.
The International Board idea is an idea to serve well for the community and those who struggle to speak english, not to target staff actions and point fingers with assumptions based on misunderstanding. Nynx has already justified what happened and now let's move on. Ame88 has also explained a few things perfectly.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: illogicalFish on June 07, 2019, 03:03:26 pm
I would be down for this, even as a person who only speaks English.

Many of the points stated by the staff and those who oppose really don't make sense towards me however. The game itself allows people to speak languages other than English and to my knowledge that isn't moderated at ALL. Especially since the moderators speak English and possibly 1 other language if we are lucky. The forums however doesn't allow it?

In the words of a certain commercial.. "Why not both?"
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: G4RG0YLE on June 07, 2019, 04:02:43 pm
People go in-game to roleplayer and chatter randomly.
People go on the forums to ask for help, to advertise, to give suggestions, to discuss.

We cannot provide help, join, agree/disagree or join in on discussions we do not understand and cannot rely on Google Translate to do the translating & talking for us. Both the game and forum require different moderation that link but are equally as completely different.

Staff are not opposing the use of foreign language.
We simply encourage/advise that when bringing up a problem or discussion, it is better done in English if possible.

We moderate language in-game a lot easier because Google Translate seems to pick up on key words moreso sentences, so we can identify the use of a cuss word without actually knowing the full sentence and take necessary action based on this. What we cannot do is translate full-blown paragraphs on the forums and expect the translations that Google gives us to be completely accurate.

Before it is said, yes we could moderate the same as we do in-game on the forums by looking for key words. However, it has been demanded for years now that there is more transparency between Staff and Community but we cannot effectively do this if we do not understand when user(s) speak in other languages. Same way we cannot help.

As well as this, moderation changes. If we are to implement this idea we'd have to use languages we can all understand. If we allow one Staff member + say one member of the community (as it was suggested to have members helping out) and then both of these leave, what now? It would be an unpopular action to take the board down simply because it cannot be managed by others.

Now while I'll have to repeat again that I am not personally against the idea and a lot of Staff are not either, and as frustrating as it may be for you guys knowing we're not implementing this suggestion within a week or so of it being suggested, we have discussed the pros and cons and the more we talk about it the more that crop up. We have to make do with what we have until something can be sorted to manage foreign languages and hopefully invite more of them onto the forums.

While an "International Board" is currently not something we're planning on as of yet, we are talking about potential alternatives to manage how we communicate with people who don't know nor understand English. But we cannot open up exactly what was thought with the community until things are official and set in stone.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: ThatsNotOk on June 25, 2019, 11:24:31 pm
Time to look at this thread again after many months of rolling in the dirt

 only have 1 new thing to add:

Quote
We moderate language in-game a lot easier because Google Translate seems to pick up on key words moreso sentences, so we can identify the use of a cuss word without actually knowing the full sentence and take necessary action based on this. What we cannot do is translate full-blown paragraphs on the forums and expect the translations that Google gives us to be completely accurate.

This is, actually, why I personally feel a little spicy about moderators vs non-english speakers. Would I say non-english speakers are fully demonized? Nah, not in the slightest, but here's a funny story:

I speak both French and German respectively, and while almost no one in my main group of friends is fluent, or even close to learning either language, I like to poke at them using both. This is usually teasing, or in a way unique to ourselves, I say the most absurd things I can possibly come up with.

One day, in the Grounds, I was doing this with a friend of mine, and that day, I received a warning. A very funny warning, and while I wont name what mod gave it to me, it was certainly something that made me feel slightly dead.

I was warned to stop talking about gore and graphic violence in local chat, because everything I was saying was being translated on the spot. That, to me, was funny, particularly because I was

actually talking about meat. lunch meat. the type of meat that you eat.

This arised both at the fault of Google Translate's failure, and also some bad context said mod applied wrongfully. The word I used was Fleisch. Now, flesh in english is a very gross word. In German, Fleisch is less.... Fleshy.

The point of this is, one, even in  game I dont trust Google Translate as a viable tool, as it cannot detect word context and, most importantly, slang. Secobdly, this "Big Brother" attitude really does lead to rude moments, like the one I just told.
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: FishFried on October 18, 2019, 11:37:20 am
Slowly bumps this because of the rule change. Apologies if this is a necro!
Title: Re: International Board
Post by: Jango_Fett on July 07, 2020, 06:19:34 am
did anything ever happen with this or the language panel w/e
yeah yeah necro don't c