Revision as of 07:44, 28 May 2008

Joining the Fedora Localization Project

The Fedora Project is available in many languages and looks forward into being localized to even more. If you would like to help out translate Fedora to your language, you've come to the right place. Keep reading!

This page contains easy-to-follow instructions on how to join the Fedora Translation Project.

• New members should follow all the steps, since this will give them all the necessary access rights and tools to get involved with L10N and the Fedora Project in general.
• Existing members that have already followed some of the steps (for example, have already followed steps 1-3) don't have to repeat them.

The L10N project adheres to the same standards as the rest of the Fedora Project, which means that there is a certain amount of formal process. Becoming a member of it involves a few steps. We are looking into ways to reduce the effort for Joining. Please bear with us until then. :)

Step 1: Sign up to the mailing list

1. Visit the fedora-trans-list mailing list page and subscribe to the main translation mailing list.
2. You will receive a confirmation email which contains a link. Click it!
3. Check out this page to see if there is a special mailing list for your language. If yes, subscribe to that too.

If you have any problems with the following steps, post a question to the list. The members are happy to help you with any problems you might have and you will likely get an answer in just a few minutes or hours.

Step 2: Create a Fedora Account

Step 2a: Create an SSH key

1. . Create your key by typing in a command line:

   ssh-keygen -t dsa 

2. . Accept the default location (~/.ssh/id_dsa) and enter a passphrase.
3. . Make the key's directory secure by typing in a comand line:

   chmod 700 ~/.ssh 

More info: TQSG SSH section , FIP Cryptography .

Step 2b: Apply for an account

1. Visit: https://admin.fedora.redhat.com/accounts/
2. Fill in the form and choose a password for your Fedora account. You should now have an SSH key to use on the form. Also, in the Comments field write the languages you are planning on working on.

More info: FIP new-account page .

Step 3: Join the cvsl10n group

1. Visit: https://admin.fedora.redhat.com/accounts/ and login if necessary.
2. Select "Apply for new group" from the side menu.
3. Either type "cvsl10n" into the search field, or choose "C" from the alphabetic search.
4. Locate "cvsl10n" in the list and select "Apply" next to it.

At this point, an admin will be notified and will offer to sponsor you. This might take from some minutes up to a day or two. Once you are sponsored, there is sometimes a shorter delay of a few minutes before the account system synchronizes with other resources.

More info: FIP edit-account page .

The rest of the steps help you test your access and grant you privileges to all the Fedora infrastructure you might need in the near future. Language maintainers and people starting new languages should follow them. Although they are optional for translations, everyone is encouraged to follow them.

Step 4: Test your access

1. Install cvs (if you don't already have it) by typing in a command-line:

   su -c 'yum install cvs' 

2. Once you have become a member of 'cvsl10n' (previous step) you can do a cvs checkout of some PO files by typing the following in a command-line (and substituting 'username' with your username). You will be asked the password for your SSH key.

   export CVS_RSH=/usr/bin/ssh

   
   

   export CVSROOT=:ext:username@cvs.fedoraproject.org:/cvs/l10n

   
   

   cvs co web

   
   

   ls web/flpweb/po

More info: Docs CVS usage , CVS Basics , Repository access and L10N tools

Step 5: Set up your wiki account

1. Once you have an account in the Fedora Accounts System, you should be able to login to this wiki with your FAS-username and password.
2. If you are starting a new language, or want to step up as the maintainer of one, follow the instructions on the L10N/Maintainer page.

More info: Wiki editing help

Step 6: Introduce yourself

1. Create a personal page by directing your webbrowser to the wiki-page User:your-accountname and start filling it in. Examples of personal pages can be seen by browsing the Special:Listusers userlist. A personal page is very useful for Fedora contributors to get to know and contact each other.
2. Post a short self introduction to the fedora-trans-list mailing list and to the list of your local team.

More info: L10N project self intro , Docs project self-intro .

Step 7: Create a Bugzilla account

1. Visit https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/createaccount.cgi to create a Bugzilla account.

More info: Bugzilla

Step 8: Checklist

At the end, you should have the following:

• (./) Subscription to fedora-trans-list mailing list and, if there is one, to your own language's one
• (./) One SSH key
• (./) A Fedora account
• (./) Membership to the 'cvsl10n' group
• (./) A wiki account
• (./) Your language and translation team appear on the teams page
• (./) A bugzilla account
• (./) A personal homepage on the wiki
• (./) A self introduction sent to the mailing list

Step 9: Finally!

Sit back and enjoy your achievement.

You are now a fully recognized member of the Fedora community, capable of digitally signing documents and emails, submitting contributions to our CVS, publishing content on the wiki, submitting bugs, following the discussions of our groups and joining other Fedora teams! :-)