When I was a moderator at the Coppermine Gallery forums, I used Google Translate to assist folks with their CPG installations within the language-specific forums when I saw that those folks weren't getting the attention they may have received in the English speaking forums. Otherwise, I opt for only English-speaking forum communities.
Alright thanks for the reply, I am more informing myself as webmaster owner of a site to put it on it or not... For the content to be readable in more then just English.
You could include a header link to make it that much easier for your alternate-language-speaking visitors, but ultimately, it's probably best to leave translating services to the end user and their preferences.
I've found Google translate to be "good enough" to communicate, but nothing's perfect. Especially when speaking of variations in dialect and so forth.
As an alternate, however, you could provide template language choices, if your software supports and provides such. That wouldn't do much for the actual forum content written in English, but it would help non-English speaking folks feel more comfortable at your forum -- a more inviting environment, perhaps, and ease navigation and registration difficulties one may face when forced to use a language other than their native.
I myself tend to lead more towards English speaking forums, although if I had to use Google translator to communicate with someone in a language I didn't know, then I probably would. I tried that out once just to see what it did, and it was actually really neat. Never put it to the test on an actual forum that was a non-English speaking forum, though, I just used it out of curiosity to see what it was like.
The Coppermine Gallery forum has a worldwide audience where it provides support for their software. Most software support forums do, online perhaps my forum or any other member-to-member discussion group.
Support forums greatly differ from discussion groups insomuch as the primary purpose of a support forum is to assist customers, consumers and users of a product or service, whereas a discussion group is primarily a place where folks of a common mind may congregate. Keyword being "common"; where a common language might also be spoken.
So yes, I agree with you when we speak of our personal preferences with respect to discussion groups. However, with support forums, the audience can be much broader and span every border on the continent that has internet access. As such, a language barrier is commonplace. To aid toward that end, most support forums will solicit bi-lingual helpers to moderate those sub forums where they speak a certain language. However, unlike the "main" support area, those smaller language-specific forums aren't as fully staffed and monitored as well as we'd all like. Basing this solely on a volunteer participation level, of course. And this is where I would use Google translation services. To assist those not getting the help they deserve for any number of reasons.
It works well enough to get your message across, and until a native speaker comes in again. I used it only when necessary but found it provided enough of a translation to communicate well enough to provide support.
Otherwise, like you, I gravitate primarily to English speaking forums. Or should I say, discussion groups 🙂
Google Translator isn't good. It gives you many incorrect translations. I've used it before on a school paper and I got a fail because the teacher saw I used Google Translate.
