Hey gang,

Has anyone had any experience with non-english support in Mystic? I was thinking I might want to circle back around to Esperanto and there are some dictionaries for that but it's been sort of a miserable experience trying to just finding the support files. Hunspell has support for EO but the routine to get a text file with .dic and worldlist has been atrocious.
I was also considering non-english character such as Hebrew anyone played with that?

Thanks for the input and thoughts.

Malachi

--------------------------------
][ de N2QFD ][
][ Queen City BBS ][
][ queencitybbs.ddns.net:607 ][

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Hello N2qfd,

On Fri, 19 Apr 2024 14:49:34 -0400, you wrote:

Hey gang,

Has anyone had any experience with non-english support in Mystic? I
was thinking I might want to circle back around to Esperanto and
there are some dictionaries for that but it's been sort of a
miserable experience trying to just finding the support files.
Hunspell has support for EO but the routine to get a text file with
.dic and worldlist has been atrocious. I was also considering
non-english character such as Hebrew anyone played with that?

Not sure you're going to get very far with that. I don't think Mystic supports UTF-8 (or any other charset than cp437) messaging just yet. While it supports UTF-8 in some aspects, I'm not sure posting in other charsets is possible at the moment (there is not CHRS kludge at all).

Hebrew (and really, anything other than english) would probably be best in UTF-8, FYI. You could try using the NNTP service, and using an NNTP client that supports it, but if there is no CHRS kludge, nobody can translate it.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla Thunderbird
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (21:1/200)

On 19 Apr 2024, Accession said the following...

.dic and worldlist has been atrocious. I was also considering non-english character such as Hebrew anyone played with that?

Not sure you're going to get very far with that. I don't think Mystic supports UTF-8 (or any other charset than cp437) messaging just yet.
While it supports UTF-8 in some aspects, I'm not sure posting in other charsets is possible at the moment (there is not CHRS kludge at all).

DOS codepages are 100% just swapped out fonts. Although there'd be no special support for formatting messages right-to-left you could create a font and use it with Syncterm and Windows-1255 (or maybe codepage 862.. not sure how prevalent that one was) and create a Hebrew theme without any special updates to Mystic itself. Works fine with Russian and many other languages too.

Obvsiously as you said there'd be no kludge in the message to tell others what codepage the text is in so you wouldn't want the messages to make it outside your BBS or a message net that was hebrew (or whatever) only. Traditionally that wouldn't matter because you'd have your native section of Fidonet and then whatever made it out to English-speaking Fidonet only used the ASCII part of your codepage.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)

Has anyone had any experience with non-english support in Mystic? I was thinking I might want to circle back around to Esperanto and there are some dictionaries for that but it's been sort of a miserable experience trying to just finding the support files.

The Vault is a spanish speaking bbs .... and I think Shurato's is in non-English words.

I'm just another dumb american - but these are a couple BBSes that I couldn't easily interact with... :P



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

Hello Fusion,

On Sat, 20 Apr 2024 01:41:56 -0400, you wrote:

DOS codepages are 100% just swapped out fonts. Although there'd be no special support for formatting messages right-to-left you could create a font and use it with Syncterm and Windows-1255 (or maybe codepage 862..
not sure how prevalent that one was) and create a Hebrew theme without
any special updates to Mystic itself. Works fine with Russian and many other languages too.

It also actually looks like the upper ascii characters (line and block drawing characters) are in the same locations, so using something like cp862 might not have an effect displaying ANSI, either.

The only problem is, how would you pass that on to your users? Would their client also have to be set to the same codepage in order to be able to read what is on the server?

Obvsiously as you said there'd be no kludge in the message to tell
others what codepage the text is in so you wouldn't want the messages to make it outside your BBS or a message net that was hebrew (or whatever) only. Traditionally that wouldn't matter because you'd have your native section of Fidonet and then whatever made it out to English-speaking Fidonet only used the ASCII part of your codepage.

Yeah, until you accidentally write something in Hebrew to the rest of the world. But it wouldn't do any real harm, as we have already seen. Some people already have to switch between Golded configurations in order to post in Russian vs. English echos, and sometimes that is forgotten. It doesn't hurt anything, really. But using a CHRS kludge indeed helps the matter quite a bit.

Regards,
Nick

... Take my advice, I don't use it anyway.
--- Mozilla Thunderbird
* Origin: _thePharcyde distribution system (Wisconsin) (21:1/200)

On 20 Apr 2024, Accession said the following...

On Sat, 20 Apr 2024 01:41:56 -0400, you wrote:

DOS codepages are 100% just swapped out fonts. Although there'd be no special support for formatting messages right-to-left you could create font and use it with Syncterm and Windows-1255 (or maybe codepage 862. not sure how prevalent that one was) and create a Hebrew theme without any special updates to Mystic itself. Works fine with Russian and many other languages too.

It also actually looks like the upper ascii characters (line and block drawing characters) are in the same locations, so using something like cp862 might not have an effect displaying ANSI, either.

quite a few of them have various degrees of support for the drawing characters from the looks of it. i looked at a few just now and they seem to mostly sacrifice the characters that converge double-line to single-line line drawing.. but most ANSI art would make it through unscathed

The only problem is, how would you pass that on to your users? Would
their client also have to be set to the same codepage in order to be
able to read what is on the server?

for a real dos machine you would use chcp and the font itself is just overwritten in memory and any further output just works.

for a modern program (i tested this with ZOC) you still pick a unicode font, and then a codepage, so what you actually see is a unicode font, but what goes to/from the bbs is translated to codepage 862 (i usually set this to cp437 cause i actually use it :) ). i emailed myself back and forth some hebrew sample text, called back again with the same settings, and it all looked the same.

but anyways, yes, they'd have to know beforehand to use your BBS in the right codepage. (probably write it on the bbs guide web page and have it written in english when they connect.. or i guess draw the text in ansi so they can read it lol)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)

Thanks for the feedback,

Yeah, it was would be a local base that's resident on the BBS so if you wanted to use Hebrew you'd do it here.
The other, Esperanto is easier as there was already a convention for non Esperanto typewriters.The diacritics become represented with the use of X as it's not a letter in the alphabet. But it would be an easier language model to play with. The thing is I want to be able to have language use areas in the BBS not the entire system. I want the BBS to primarily English system but be able to have bases where the polyglots can play.

--------------------------------
][ de N2QFD ][
][ Queen City BBS ][
][ queencitybbs.ddns.net:607 ][

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Thanks Paulie,
That's a good idea and I was actually surprised that I haven't found an Esperantist BBS yet. The Esperanto club can be a bit cultish with the language and you'd think someone out there would have a dedicated esperanto BBS by now.
I don't have enough command of the language to really do it justice as a system op so while I suppose I could make an instance of Mystic over into Esperanto I might find myself a little lost when the rest of the tribe finds it!
Still... it might be a fun project to make a second BBS operational with that as the system language. Maybe find a knock off SBC to do it, I'd need something cheap and low power....

--------------------------------
][ de N2QFD ][
][ Queen City BBS ][
][ queencitybbs.ddns.net:607 ][

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

So,

Just wanted to say thank you for all the great feedback on the question of other languages in Mystic!
I had thought I might return to some Esperanto on my BBS but again with the need for some special characters making it difficult I was thinking about how to do this. It's not like it wasn't a question a century+ ago either. Typewriters lacked the Circumflex or as we said in Czech the "hat" over letters. C with a hat become a Cha sound, S with a hat a Sha sound. Then I remembered the movement to "reform" Esperanto called Ido and it did away with these extra keys along with other "improvements".
I'm not trying to make a monument and from what I can tell because Ido spawned from Esperanto it's mostly interpretable and mutually intelligible. So this means that I can have a conlang base at my BBS without the need to mess about too much. I have set the precedence that if you want to use Esperanto we will employ the X system. This means that when you want a C with the hat to make Cha you write Cx the S will be Sx and this is an old and established convention. Or you can work in Ido which has such a similar functionality that you'll be understood either way.
I'm not looking to set the world on fire or a hill to die on, just another fun place to experiment with language. I grew up in a home where there was a little Japanese spoken and it made for a secrete language. It's nice out in the grocery with my wife later in life to be able to pass a few words of Esperanto and not have the other individuals in the isle get it. I would encourage kids to play with this for that very reason too. It's fun to have a code language when you want it and if that language isn't sapping too much resource all the better!
In Esperanto and many other language circles it's called crocodiling to talk in a language another party doesn't know and I agree it can be rude. So to be used with care I guess.

So, again my thanks with the questions fsx net never fails to bring out the best in the curious!

Multa danko, adio,

N2QFD//Malachi

--------------------------------
][ de N2QFD ][
][ Queen City BBS ][
][ queencitybbs.ddns.net:607 ][

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Just wanted to say thank you for all the great
feedback on the question of other languages in Mystic!

I am not multilingual and don't run Mystic (I am very unhelpful), but it's interesting to see multilanguage support worked on.

I remember with Maximus BBS software, in the mid 90s, trying some different language files, I thought I remembered there being an Esperanto file around but I didn't find it after a quick search.

Anyway, just wanted to write a note saying it's an interesting project to add different languages, and it's interesting to hear about the challenges you run into trying to make it all work.


Chris/akacastor

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

Hey Chris,

I can't say that I think of myself as multilingual, but I do enjoy language.
I actually missed out on the NY standard diploma (regents) here because of my in ability to get anything out of Spanish in High School only to go on and do a semester of German and Russian at the same time in Community College!
I was a student in Prague and spoke little to no Czech getting there but learned enough and became what I'd call functionally illiterate. It was an awesome experience to be a foreign national and having to figure it out. I finished a degree in Classical Studies and had to learn Ancient Greek which I've yet to find much use for... Latin would have served better as I was much more interested in Roman technology. I never really got a great handle on Hebrew despite constant exposure but Yiddish with so much borrowed German grammar made more sense to me.
The thing is trust I think. I had to learn to trust myself and the people I was around. The great people of Czech Republic were kind to an American who was doing his best to manage their language. I can remember helping a German family trying to figure out what our coinage was worth here. You don't think about stuff like that till you're across an ocean sometimes!
fsx Net runs on a similar principal to the ancient custom of doing what you can for a pilgrim. We have an obligation of patience and mutuality. Hillel said "That Which Is Hateful to You, Do Not Do to Your Fellow!"

Thanks for the kind words, and maybe my tinkering will make something useful. I think I'll probably work on a theme that can make use of an auxiliary language like Ido probably for the stated reasons of compatibility.I've only run into a few Esperantists and most of us so out of practice that if we can remember Saluton was the common greeting we felt pretty good about it. But it did serve to remind us why we tried it out.

Bona Nokton,

Malachi//N2QFD

--------------------------------
][ de N2QFD ][
][ Queen City BBS ][
][ queencitybbs.ddns.net:607 ][

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

I was a student in Prague and spoke little to no Czech getting there but learned enough and became what I'd call functionally
illiterate. It was an awesome experience to be a foreign
national and having to figure it out.

I haven't been to Czech Republic, but I've started to develop an appreciation by watching The HONEST GUIDE channel on Youtube. A great channel full of information about Prague and its tourist traps, as well as scams to watch out for - they have even gotten scammers on the street arrested, after catching them stealing from tourists many times. While the channel often focuses on problems that travelers may run into, it also shows how wonderful a visit can be, when you seek out the local culture and don't just stick to the tourist traps.

An Honest Guide video from a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Ije5p86eg

What you said about the experience of being a foreign national and having to figure it out resonates with me. In my early 20s I spent a few years living in France, going there after growing up in English-speaking Canada. I did have some high school French classes under my belt, but it was pretty minimal as when I was taking the classes I never imagined I would USE the language. So I spent some time as a foreigner, bumbling my way through day to day life.

Since then I have taken a couple vacations to Spanish-speaking countries, while the only Spanish I know is "uno mas, por favor" (I know, some real North Americans on vacation vibe here haha). It's an adventure to travel to a place and work around the language hurdles, for sure. It can be a really enjoyable experience.

It's helpful that English has such a presence around the world, it's not uncommon for SOMEONE to be around that understand at least SOME English. Feels like world travelling, on easy mode sometimes. :)

The thing is trust I think. I had to learn to trust myself and the people I was around. The great people of Czech Republic
were kind to an American who was doing his best to
manage their language. I can remember helping a German
family trying to figure out what our coinage was worth
here. You don't think about stuff like that till you're
across an ocean sometimes!

I found a whole new understanding of immigrants, after spending some time in another country myself. Some of the everyday tasks can be so complicated when you're in a foreign place. And learning languages is HARD for most of us!

I understand now that when I see an immigrant family and the kids are translating for the older family members - it is such a frustrating situation for the older family members to be in! If it was so easy for them to "just" speak English, they absolutely would! But our brains take time to learn, and meanwhile we all have lives to live and things we need to get done. After some time in another country, I realized that immigrants who have trouble with the language aren't lazy or entitled, they are BRAVE!


Chris/akacastor


--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

as scams to watch out for - they have even gotten scammers on the street arrested, after catching them stealing from tourists many times. While

Oh my,
Yeah, Praha has a reputation as the pickpockets academy... It was the best place in Europe to have a car stolen too once upon a time..
I used to hand in the non-stops because I was/hung out with degenerates.. It was great! But it was also sort of wild to see what went on when the upright went to bed.
Thinking of stolen cars skoda means "what a shame" and the late 80's models had hoods that opened sideways... but they did keel on running...

uncommon for SOMEONE to be around that understand at least SOME English. Feels like world travelling, on easy mode sometimes. :)

I found this too and in Prague in particular you could speak no language and get by! In the countryside it was the someone rule. I was taken as a Praguer for the accent I developed in Czech though I couldn't hear it.

Once in Greece I hid from assault by angry communists by speaking Czech rather than English but that's another story.

Tonight is Pesach, Passover. A time to remember that we too were strangers in a strange land and that loving the other is a duty for we know the hardships first hand.

N2

--------------------------------
][ de N2QFD ][
][ Queen City BBS ][
][ queencitybbs.ddns.net:607 ][

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)

Yeah, Praha has a reputation as the pickpockets
academy... It was the best place in Europe to have a car
stolen too once upon a time..
I used to hand in the non-stops because I was/hung out
with degenerates.. It was great! But it was also sort
of wild to see what went on when the upright went to
bed.

From your description, I can imagine there were some interesting times! :)

I found this too and in Prague in particular you could
speak no language and get by! In the countryside it was
the someone rule. I was taken as a Praguer for the
accent I developed in Czech though I couldn't hear it.

After I spent a couple years living in France, when I'd visit my family in Canada they'd tell me I was starting to develop a French accent. When I relayed this information to my French colleagues, they assured me that there was, in fact, NO hint of French in my accent. :)

Once in Greece I hid from assault by angry communists
by speaking Czech rather than English but that's another
story.

This sounds like a story I'm looking forward to hearing too.


gut yontif,

Chris/akacastor
(with assistance from google search)

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

Hello AKAcastor,

21 Apr 24 12:30, you wrote to N2qfd:

Just wanted to say thank you for all the great
feedback on the question of other languages in Mystic!

I am not multilingual and don't run Mystic (I am very unhelpful), but
it's interesting to see multilanguage support worked on.

I remember with Maximus BBS software, in the mid 90s, trying some
different language files, I thought I remembered there being an
Esperanto file around but I didn't find it after a quick search.

yeah my bbs has some other languages as well, like german, czech, etc.. but i didn't translate the menus, etc so its kinda half-legged. :)

Regards,
--
dp

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

... Uptime: 1d 6h 2m 47s
--- GoldED/2 1.1.4.7+EMX
* Origin: Roon's BBS - Budapest, HUNGARY (21:4/148)

Hello AKAcastor,

22 Apr 24 12:53, you wrote to N2qfd:

I was a student in Prague and spoke little to no Czech getting
there but learned enough and became what I'd call functionally
illiterate. It was an awesome experience to be a foreign national
and having to figure it out.

I haven't been to Czech Republic, but I've started to develop an appreciation by watching The HONEST GUIDE channel on Youtube. A great channel full of information about Prague and its tourist traps, as
well as scams to watch out for - they have even gotten scammers on the street arrested, after catching them stealing from tourists many
times.

yeah but it is in every big city. Paris, Amsterdam, London, etc... you have to watch out for your pocket. Only difference maybe is that the tourist-trap restaurants are not so common in the european northern&western countries.

maybe it's because i am from eastern europe i have a good eye for these kind of things, so i almost never fell to them or exited early from a situation :)

What you said about the experience of being a foreign national and
having to figure it out resonates with me. In my early 20s I spent a
few years living in France, going there after growing up in English-speaking Canada.

where in france? i visit it from time to time, mostly the Riviera, Paris, and the alps - Mont-Blanc region - for some skiing/snowboarding.

Since then I have taken a couple vacations to Spanish-speaking
countries, while the only Spanish I know is "uno mas, por favor" (I
know, some real North Americans on vacation vibe here haha). It's an adventure to travel to a place and work around the language hurdles,
for sure. It can be a really enjoyable experience.

i have some friends from Spain, so i learned spanish for 6th months. been in Madrid, Malaga, Granada, the southern coast /Nerja/. on our honeymoon we travelled from budapest throug austria-switzerland-france-to southern spain, spent two weeks there and back. man that took a long time, but it worth it. :)

It's helpful that English has such a presence around the world, it's
not uncommon for SOMEONE to be around that understand at least SOME English. Feels like world travelling, on easy mode sometimes. :)

English is the JOKER.

my father has friends in Austria, Netherlands, Czech, Italy, so in my childhood i heard a lot of different languages, so i think this is why i love hearing the different accents and to play with the langs. since i born we went to austria twice a week, so i can speak a little german, but funnily my accent is from one valley in Tirol area which confuses every other german speaking, because they hear that i am not a native speaker but i knew the slangs and some weird phrases even they dont hear occasionally. :)

Regards,
--
dp

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

... Uptime: 1d 6h 2m 47s
--- GoldED/2 1.1.4.7+EMX
* Origin: Roon's BBS - Budapest, HUNGARY (21:4/148)

I remember with Maximus BBS software, in the mid 90s, trying some
different language files, I thought I remembered there being an
Esperanto file around but I didn't find it after a quick search.

yeah my bbs has some other languages as well, like
german, czech, etc.. but i didn't translate the menus,
etc so its kinda half-legged. :)

Translating the whole BBS is SO MUCH WORK! I definitely have respect for anyone who goes to the trouble to do it fully. It's great that Maximus has multilanguage support in its core functions, but that leaves menus and every ANSI screen etc etc. And then what about names and descriptions of message and file areas.

I'd love to see more multilingual BBSes, though I do understand why many haven't been able to do so.


Chris/akacastor

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

I haven't been to Czech Republic, but I've started to develop an appreciation by watching The HONEST GUIDE channel on Youtube. A great channel full of information about Prague and its tourist traps, as
well as scams to watch out for - they have even gotten scammers on the street arrested, after catching them stealing from tourists many
times.

yeah but it is in every big city. Paris, Amsterdam,
London, etc... you have to watch out for your pocket.
Only difference maybe is that the tourist-trap
restaurants are not so common in the european
northern&western countries.

Yes! I didn't mean to imply that Prague was a hotspot for crime - it's a big city with many international tourists, it's normal. Just that the Honest Guide youtube channel gives such an excellent look at some examples in Prague (because that's where the channel is located).

The focus of the channel isn't really on crime/scammers, but as an actual honest travel guide they haven't ignored it. In particular, there are currency exchange scams targeting tourists - guys on the street offering to beat official exchange rates, but they give worthless Belarusian rubles instead of Czech crowns. The Honest Guide has done a series of investigation into these scams, which has been pretty fascinating.

The REAL point of the Honest Guide channel is to let us tourists know that we shouldn't overpay for beer in Prague because good beer is cheap! The honest, Janek, is excellent.

Speaking of other big cities.... I lost a less-than-two-weeks-old iPhone 7 out of my pocket in Brussels. 2am, drunk, leaving shady bar, the perfect target. It was a bummer, but it's not the city it's just the situation.

maybe it's because i am from eastern europe i have a
good eye for these kind of things, so i almost never
fell to them or exited early from a situation :)

I've definitely found it helpful to have friends from different regions when traveling - we can have a different focus sometimes on what kind of details and hints we pick up on. Nice to get a heads up from a friend when I may have missed what's going on.

where in france? i visit it from time to time, mostly
the Riviera, Paris, and the alps - Mont-Blanc region -
for some skiing/snowboarding.

The Riviera - I worked in an office in Sophia Antipolis. Spent time in Antibes, Cannes, Nice, etc. I didn't travel to see other areas as much as I should have, the Riviera was too beautiful and kept me there.

i have some friends from Spain, so i learned spanish for
6th months. been in Madrid, Malaga, Granada, the
southern coast /Nerja/. on our honeymoon we travelled
from budapest throug austria-switzerland-france-to
southern spain, spent two weeks there and back. man that
took a long time, but it worth it. :)

That sounds like a wonderful trip! How did you travel? Car/train/plane?

I haven't visited much of Spain - one weekend in Barcelona. But, speaking of Madrid, there's a song I have been enjoying a lot lately called "Madrid" by Kuma the Third.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4NMxs8yDQ

It's helpful that English has such a presence around the world, it's
not uncommon for SOMEONE to be around that understand at least SOME English. Feels like world travelling, on easy mode sometimes. :)

English is the JOKER.

Because it's a wild card that can be played anywhere? Or because it's insane? :)

my father has friends in Austria, Netherlands, Czech, Italy, so in my childhood i heard a lot of different languages, so i
think this is why i love hearing the different accents
and to play with the langs.

That's great. I think my difficulty with accents stems partly from growing up in a monoculture.

but funnily my accent is from one valley in Tirol area
which confuses every other german speaking, because they
hear that i am not a native speaker but i knew the
slangs and some weird phrases even they dont hear
occasionally. :)

It's great when you can surprise someone with the combination of accent and familiarity with local slang and customs. The great moment they have of "oh I may have underestimated you!" :)


Chris/akacastor

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

Hello AKAcastor,

24 Apr 24 10:44, you wrote to me:

I remember with Maximus BBS software, in the mid 90s, trying some
different language files, I thought I remembered there being an
Esperanto file around but I didn't find it after a quick search.

yeah my bbs has some other languages as well, like
german, czech, etc.. but i didn't translate the menus,
etc so its kinda half-legged. :)

Translating the whole BBS is SO MUCH WORK! I definitely have respect
for anyone who goes to the trouble to do it fully.

when i was in high school i translated everything. sadly i've lost the files...

It's great that
Maximus has multilanguage support in its core functions, but that
leaves menus and every ANSI screen etc etc. And then what about names
and descriptions of message and file areas.

afaik maximus has a solution for almost everything... at least the last time i've checked it in the documentation there are options for these. (or the worst case you can do an IF-ELSE in a MEX/MECCA file ;) )

Regards,
--
dp

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

... Uptime: 1d 12h 46m 19s
--- GoldED/2 1.1.4.7+EMX
* Origin: Roon's BBS - Budapest, HUNGARY (21:4/148)

It's great that
Maximus has multilanguage support in its core functions, but that
leaves menus and every ANSI screen etc etc. And then what about names
and descriptions of message and file areas.

afaik maximus has a solution for almost everything... at
least the last time i've checked it in the documentation
there are options for these. (or the worst case you can
do an IF-ELSE in a MEX/MECCA file ;) )

Oh I know it CAN be done, but I think it's a lot of work to actually do it properly. Because of the way BBSes tend to be pieced together from a mix of software and scripts etc, there ends up being so many different places where translation needs to be done.

I have enough trouble trying to keep the system usable for non-ANSI non-high ASCII callers. Each time I add something I forget to add a [nocolour] version.

Not trying to sound discouraging when I say it's a big job, just trying to acknowledge the large effort given by anyone doing a translation - especially if multiple languages are supported. I hope someday I'll have the ambition to take on this task, though I'm not getting any closer to being fluent in languages other than English so I'm not looking too useful here. :)


Chris/akacastor

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

my father has friends in Austria, Netherlands, Czech, Italy, so in my childhood i heard a lot of different languages, so i think this is why i love hearing the different accents and to play with the langs. since i
but funnily my accent is from one valley in Tirol area which confuses every other german speaking, because they hear that i am not a native

This is super Roon,
My father was stationed in Okinawa and so I grew up hearing more bits of Japaneses and other Asian languages. My mom's father spoke German but didn't want us to learn it as he was sensitive about the war and how they were held in suspicion for it. My Czech was a Prague accent so everyone assumed I was one of the snooty capital people when I was in the country but I never learned to hear the difference. Attitudes always changed when they found out I knew something about fixing water wells or tractors! I had an uncle stationed in Augsberg too so there was Der Spiegle and Oui magazines around. We always had something that wasn't English yet here the shibboleths are very real. I was working in Northern Pennsylvania on the gas pipelines and we had hands from all over Latin America. There was variations in Spanish all over the place and English too. It was very hard for me to understand the welders from Mississippi. I worked with guys from Texas and Oklahoma who's English was different but more in idioms. Still, Pittsburgh isn't so far and they have many different idioms and expressions from here. I think the only other time I really struggled to understand some English was in northern Maine!

N2

N2QFD{Queen City BBS}:// "Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said by me? Does this need to be said by me right now?" - Craig Ferguson

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Raspberry Pi/32)
* Origin: Queen City BBS (21:1/154)