How to get your program translated
Here you can see exactly what to do if you have a program that you want us to translate. The process has been made as simple as possible.
Mail some information on your program and a distribution archive (or specify where to download it) to any of the language administrators (see the list of members). In the future, we might expand with an FTP-site to where you can simply upload your distribution archive.
After receiving your information, we will organize the translation: Find a project coordinator and of course some translators and proofreaders. Some days later, you will receive information on which languages we had resources for doing and who is your project coordinator, and later again you receive your catalog files etc. Should be easy as that!
Though, to make everything as smooth-running as possible, please try and keep the following in mind:
- Please use locale.library as much as possible. If you use another
system, you must inform your translators of how to use it.
- When you use locale.library you should use a catalog-system compatible
with CatComp.
- If there is a manual for your program, we can also translate that.
Please note, though, that most of our users have only a normal
wordprocessor (WordWorth and FinalWriter for example), so you should not
require anything more.
- Please make sure that you have plenty of space for the strings we are
to translate. The reason is simple: In some languages translations of some
strings will be (sometimes much) longer than the originals, and this will
sometimes make the GUI look strange.
- Please do not make a tight deadline. Deadlines are ok, but they can
become a living Hell if they are too tight. So if you have a program that
must be released in a couple of days, forget about ATO!
- Please have the things for translation in a final state so that you
do not have to continually send new updates of the catalog files, the
documenation etc. to our translators.
- Be sure to read our list of conditions which is below.
Conditions
These are the conditions for using ATO for your translations. As we haven't had the chance to get them read by a lawyer, we do hope that you will not try to use them against us in any way. They have been mady for the sole purpose of making the relationship between ATO, its members, and the programmer as well-defined as possible.
If any parts of these conditions are against the law in the countries of the customer and the translator/proofreader, this will in no way affect the rest of this contract.
- You must accept to get all the translations that ATO is
capable of doing at a given time, except the translations you
already have.
- You must let go of a registered version of your program
to each translator and each proofreader. This can be done in
many ways: Giving FTP-addresses, sending archive via EMail,
sending keyfile via EMail, sending packages by snail-mail etc.
IMPORTANT: We must have the registered version before you can
expect us to start the translation process! ATO-members who
get a registered version of a program in the translation process
should have the same conditions for later updates as normal
buyers of the software.
- You do not have to decide to give ATO the
translation/proofreading job before you get to know possible
costs and how many translations you will get.
- You can expect "professional" results, in particular correct
grammar, spelling, and proper translation of technical terms.
- ATO is available to create updated versions of the
translations within a reasonable time when program updates get
available that require changes to the documentation and/or the
catalogs. You should provide descriptions of the differences
between the old and new versions of the documents. The updated
translation will be given to you free of charge if it can be
considered a "maintenance update" (e.g. V4.4->V4.5), even if the
ATO members that made the first translation are not available
and the work has to be done by other members; but for shareware
and commercial software be prepared to pay for any "major
update" (e.g. V4.5->V5.0), the kind and amount of payment will
be decided according to the amount of work needed and the
program's distribution method and price (within reasonable
limits, of course, only commercial and near-commercial shareware
software might be charged); for example, if your registered
users have to pay to get the "major update" for your program,
the translators could be paid with a free upgrade to the new
version.
- You keep the complete and sole copyright to the original
documents. Original documents are given to ATO under a
non-disclosure agreement only for the purpose of translation,
and they are only to be distributed by ATO to designated
translators and proofreaders. Any other use or distribution of
these documents by ATO is prohibited.
- The translator keeps the copyright to translations, but
agrees to grant you an unlimited and exclusive license to
distribute, use and modify the translations in any way you see
fit, and to create derivative work or have derivative work
created by a third party, under the condition that the original
authors (translators and proofreaders at ATO) are still
mentioned as co-authors in the translations. The translator
and proofreader also agrees not to use translations themselves
in any way, not to grant usage licenses for translations to
themselves in any way, not to grant usage licenses for
translations to others, and not to distribute translations to
anybody, except to you as part of our license agreement.
- Only the translator and proofreader are responsible for the
resulting translation. ATO only offers contacts to translators
who we expect to do a good job and the management of that job.
I really hope that you will find the things above reasonable. In case you don't, please contact us instead of starting wars etc...
And remember...
We are looking forward to translating your program!