Please see the opportunity, not the threat
Hi Mormegil,
I think I didn't manage to convey the message, so I will try to explain what I wanted to express.
We are all intending to improve translations with this particular goal in mind and I believe that each one of us has something to offer. It is about learning from each other, sharing opinions and knowledge. Open source communities don't work on basis of a directive managerial style.
Assuming your goal is the same, I have decided to share a few points that might help you be better understood, because people often don't realize how their words and actions impact others, especially if English is not their mother tongue (e.g. please don't use "wtf", is considered highly offensive):
- Assume people mean well, majority of us is doing it for fun, so let's keep the positive spirit - more in the Wikipedia behavioral guidelines.
- Try to avoid some specific words, symbols, or their combinations, such as "phew" ("uf" in Czech), "wtf", or "ahem" ("ehm" in Czech), especially if it is the only comment you provide, and please stop using exclamation marks (also in combination with question marks). Instead try to start your comment with "Thank you for the edit, but I believe the correct form is ...", it will have better effect on the learning curve of other translators.
- It is important to treat other contributors with respect, making them feel welcome so that they would stick around and get better, because you have once been a beginner yourself. In other words "nothing scares potentially valuable contributors away faster than hostility", quoted from Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers, see my previous point.
- Treat people case by case, if you see a person has submitted a few hundred translations and made a mistake or two, it is not fair to accuse them of vandalism, because they may feel unwelcome and lose interest in contributing. Typical vandalism would be "adding irrelevant obscenities and crude humor to a page, illegitimately blanking pages, and inserting obvious nonsense into a page", quoted from Wikipedia:Vandalism. Also try to avoid the word "vandal" as "this word should not be used to refer to any contributor in good standing, or to any edits that might have been made in good faith", quoted from the same source.
- Don't hesitate to share your knowledge and explain why some translations might be better than others, by for example sharing links to external sources or explaining unwritten standards of translating. You will be surprised to find out that many people actually want to get better and will likely listen to your advice and possibly come back to you if they are unsure in the future.
You can find more in the Wikipedia Etiquette, it could help keeping the atmosphere in the community friendlier and hopefully result in better translations as well as higher quantity.