Arabic Section in Forums.

tumbak · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:49 am Post subject: Arabic Section in Forums.

Hello all,
Can we have an Arabic language section in the forums?
EDIT: I shouldn't have added a "No" option, oops :oops:

_________________
less QQ more pewpew!

hybrid · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:06 am Post subject:

it would be really wonderful if we had an arabic section in the forum, because :
1) many people out there know only arabic, and are not fluent in english
2) localization of software to arabic is not always easy (RTL, shaping ..

i hope that our request will be granted

mohshami · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:32 am Post subject:

That would be a nice idea, it would be great to have a place to discuss arabic issues in linux

Akhouk · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:44 am Post subject:

I would be on for that. Linux is really making progress in the Arab world now but most Arabs still stick with distributions like Redhat. Gentoo has such great potential though for the Arab world and it would help it adoption by having a place where people can ask questions and receive answers in Arabic.

After all, it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world!
_________________
AMD 64 3500+, 2Gb RAM DDR400, 2 x 180Gb SATA, 256Mb Nvidia

hybrid · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 12:04 pm Post subject:

tumbak · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 12:15 pm Post subject:

If we manage to get this it will be the first step, then we can focus on translating the docs into arabic, then maybe GWN

_________________
less QQ more pewpew!

gen2fox · Guru Joined: 25 May 2004 Posts: 544

A great idea indeed, the problem with Arabic is that it's a complex language, requires many software features to work correctly. Other distros almost always manage to break some packages or features when it comes to Arabic support, with Gentoo, you can install and customize everything the way you want, and make sure everything works well, actually this is one of the reasons I use Gentoo. I don't have to reinstall Open Office because RTL is broken (Fedora), or hunt for Arabic kde-i18n or font packages (SuSE)...

Having Arabic forums for support is important for Arabic speakers, as many aren't fluent or comfortable with English, and unlike other distros, you really have to read the manual here, so unless we have an Arabic support forum, (and Arabic docs in the next step), it'll be difficult for many Arabs to try out Gentoo.

Arabic support has a large set of problems when it comes to Linux, maybe it's one of the languages that take most time and effort to work correctly, having Arabic support posts in one place will make it a lot easier to help, as I always seem to miss those posts and not notice them until a day or two.

Thank you!

nyteryda · Guru Joined: 26 Jul 2003 Posts: 337 Location: London

Well Arabic is one of the six Official UN languages... and all the other 5 languages have forums available, So i think gentoo should have a forum for Arabic too.
_________________

thesmashest · n00b Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 4

I tried to download gentoo with no results

Naib · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:57 pm Post subject:

does any of the mods speak/read arabic?

That will prolly be the main deciding point
_________________
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter
Great Britain is a republic, with a hereditary president, while the United States is a monarchy with an elective king

pjp · Administrator Joined: 16 Apr 2002 Posts: 18158

thesmashest · n00b Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 4

I tried to download gentoo with no results

hybrid · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:08 am Post subject:

i don't think that this would be a problem, after all arabic is one of the most spoken languages on earth

, so finding a mod for arabic section won't be that hard ...

Liquid Crystal · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 77

Having an Arabic forum in Gentoo forums will just make it better.
We lack some kind of support in our LUG, in terms of gentoo support, because we don't have enough resources. Now if we have an Arabic section, this will help a lot.

_________________
Making *nix user friendly is easier than debugging Windoz
Tuxntosh web site The *nix Graphics Web Site (Warning! Not for M$ Windowz users!)

tumbak · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 7:30 am Post subject:

cokey · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3343

An Arabic section is needed, it is a widely spoken language and it would help to reaffirm Gentoo and one of the progressors in the linux and computing world.

A good idea would be to have a article in the GWN asking for Arabic speakers who have the time and knowlege to be a moderator for the Arabic forum.
_________________
"Sex: breakfast of champions" - James Hunt

Ateo · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:36 am Post subject:

It's only fair... I voted yes.

dabbas · n00b Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 2

That would be very nice, it will help many people have arabic support added to many packages in the portage and then some howtos for the users who would need it :wink:

cokey · Advocate Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 3343

why on earth would people vote no?
_________________
"Sex: breakfast of champions" - James Hunt

tumbak · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:26 pm Post subject:

hybrid · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:

until now those who posted answers voted "yes", we would also like to hear from those who voted "no" ...

rbahabri · n00b Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 4

yes, why not!

mohshami · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 3:32 pm Post subject:

Most people here use windowz because it supports arabic and it is as cheap as linux (when its pirated) but when I used gentoo I couldn't stand windows, I don't use arabic much but most of the people I know do. Once installed and running, linux is as easy as windowz, with much better performance.

As for the moderator I know tumbak is great with linux. I vote for him. Greetings man.

playfool · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 3:36 pm Post subject:

Of course we should, we have forums for much smaller groups of people - but I'm a little concerned if it's technically possible with phpbb.

gen2fox · Guru Joined: 25 May 2004 Posts: 544