[FM Discuss] Farsi translators needed for open source software manuals

[Zita Joyce]

The FLOSS Manuals Foundation supports the production of free 
documentation for free software (http://www.flossmanuals.net). We are 
an online community of FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software) 
documentation writers.  The foundation is looking for translators to 
translate manuals into Farsi, and for a partner to develop a Farsi 
language FLOSS Manuals community. More detail on the FLOSS Manuals 
project and these roles follows.

About FLOSS Manuals:
FLOSS Manuals make free software more accessible by providing clear 
documentation that accurately explains the purpose and use of a range 
of free software tools. Each manual explains what the software does and 
what it doesn't do, what the interface looks like, how to install it, 
how to set the most basic configuration necessary, and how to use its 
main functions. As manuals develop, information on more advanced uses 
of the software is added, and changes in the software are documented, 
to ensure the information remains useful and up to date.

Our search for Farsi translators:
Fifteen FLOSS manuals have now been produced in English, and the 
foundation wishes to translate the current manuals and develop new 
manuals in a wider range of languages. New manuals and websites are 
being developed in Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Dutch, Italian, and 
Hindi. The foundation is now looking for translators to write Farsi 
language versions of six of the current English manuals, and to 
localise the interface of the FLOSS Manuals website into Farsi.

Our search for a Farsi partner:
Because FLOSS Manuals are written, maintained, and updated by a 
community of users, it is important that this community aspect of the 
site is developed for each new language. This means that as well as 
looking for translators to work with the current material, the 
foundation is looking for a partner to develop and grow a community of 
contributors to a Farsi language version of the FLOSS Manuals system. 
The Farsi localisation partner will be responsible for overseeing the 
ongoing translation of existing manuals, and for promoting and growing 
a thriving community of free documentation writers in Farsi. The FLOSS 
Manuals foundation will assist the partner with technical development 
and training, and in any other way possible.

If you are interested in working on the translation of FLOSS Manuals or 
the FLOSS Manuals website, or if you are interested in becoming a FLOSS 
Manuals partner to develop a Farsi FLOSS Manuals community, please 
contact us for more information:
Zita Joyce: zita at flossmanuals.net, or Sean Joyce sean at flossmanuals.net
9/85 Beresford St West, Freemans Bay, Auckland 1011, New Zealand.


More detail on Free Libre Open Source Software and the FLOSS Manuals 
project:

Free software can be freely run, studied, redistributed and improved 
without the restrictive and often expensive licensing systems attached 
to commercial proprietary software. Developers can adapt free software 
to their own needs, and can contribute to its ongoing communal 
development. FLOSS Manuals specifically document software that is free 
in this development sense and also in price. This means the software 
supported by FLOSS Manuals documentation can be localised for different 
languages and community needs, and access to it is not financially 
restricted. By developing FLOSS Manuals communities in a range of 
languages, the foundation aims to help make free software even more 
useful and accessible.

The development of free software itself is supported by communities of 
users on sites like SourceForge. FLOSS Manuals uses this established 
social production model to support the development and maintenance of 
free software documentation, so that the documentation is produced 
within the same ethical framework as the software it documents. The 
FLOSS Manuals website provides a wiki that makes it simple to write, 
edit and update manuals. Each manual can be read online as an HTML page 
or downloaded as a PDF. It is also possible to ‘remix’ manuals to 
create a version that only includes specific aspects of a particular 
manual, or that combines chapters from two or more manuals in a single 
document. These can be downloaded and printed, added to websites, and 
used for any purpose.


Links for more information:

FLOSS Manuals: http://flossmanuals.net/

Sourceforge: http://sourceforge.net/docs/about

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