ようこそ！Bienvenue! Suggestions for an International FAQ

[Sakunyuusha]

Dear chompy,

What: I think it would be helpful if we had a short, concise welcome message and Top 10 FAQ in the different foreign languages which most of our members speak.

Why: I think it would be helpful because (1) many members continue to violate the rules but (2) they seem to do so because of difficulty understanding English.

How: You come up with the welcome message. You and the mods brainstorm a list of the top ten most frequently asked questions (or most frequently-violated rules). Then you post this (or a link to this) on the forums, and invite the members to translate it from English into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, German, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, etc. They post their translations to a thread (in public view) so that they are subject to scrutiny, the promise of which will hopefully deter trolls from submitting fake translations.

Sample:
My Japanese may be imperfect. I am not a fluent speaker. We have many qualified people here who are and can do a much better job writing the real stuff for the FAQ than I could. These are provided just to help you see what I'm talking about.

of the splash page welcome
Welcome to Akiba-Online, the Neo-Otaku Community!
新・オタ・コミュニティーの秋葉・オンラインへようこそ！
Bienvenue à Akiba-Online, la nouvelle communauté des otakus!

of the Top 10 FAQ
Q7. When I want to thank somebody for uploading something awesome, what should I do?
凄い物をアップロードした誰かにお礼をしたい時に、どうすればいい？

A7. You should hit the "Thanks" button. It was created for this very purpose. You may also write a reply to show your appreciation, but if all you intend to write is "Thanks!" or "Thank you!", then you should not write a reply.
「Thanks」（「ありがとう」という意味)のボタンをクリックした方がいい。この為にそのボタンが作られたよ。　返事を書いて、お礼をするのもいいんだけど、「Thanks!」とか「どうも！」と書くつもりだけであったら、返事を書かない方がいい。



So what do you think? I am posting this as a public thread to invite discussion and criticism. If we already have something like this and I have overlooked it, I apologize.

 

[rubiks6]

It sounds interesting.

It would be difficult to implement, unless we had some good and cooperative people who would be willing to come out of their little niches in the forums and help out. I hang out in the junior idol forum all the time, but recently I have gone exploring around a bit (hence, my presence here today). I could perhaps be helpful with vietnamese. I've noticed a small handful of vietnamese folks in the forums. A good deal of editting and re-editting would be required from mods, as I don't think it should be just a collection of individual posts, but each time someone contributes something meaningful, a mod would need to incorporate it into the main (#1) post.

This is not a 'Chompy' matter to handle, but it will be up to the moderators and members to get creative and put forth some effort to make this come about. It will be up to those of us who wish to make Akiba a better place.

 

[redrooster]

I think: good idea, which languages do you think could be useful?

English
日本語
français
español
português
deutsch
italiano
svenska
dansk
norsk
한국어
汉语
русско
polski

add. Indonesian, Philippine, Finnish, Vietnamese, Thai and Singaporean...

in some cases I even know whom we could ask...

 

[chompy]

Sounds good. Actually since most traffic comes from Japan it should probably be the priority, but any language is good.

I think Thailand is second in terms of traffic.

 

[rubiks6]

It seems obvious ...

... we should use any and every language for which we can find an interpreter.

 

[redrooster]

... we should use any and every language for which we can find an interpreter.

agreed, but first we must make a plan for what should be put into this FAQ, it should not be too short or too long to prevent it from getting boring, so that hardly anyone would read it.

I think about...

...a very short forum guide to point to the rules in general, the forbidden cash links and the banned material.

How to post what in which forum section and a hint that only Asian stuff is allowed.

How to thank an uploader or poster (

button and rep. system).

How to make general and identification requests.

How to report posts.

perhaps naming the active mods so that users can contact them in case by PM.

But that´s only what´s on my list possibly...

 

[Sakunyuusha]

Disclaimer: the following may contain errors. Corrections are welcomed and necessary to better serve the community.

Please do not use this message board to discuss or upload non-Asian things.
このＢＢＳではアジア物しか話さないで、アップロードしないでくれ。

What do you mean by "Asian things"?
「アジア物」って何だ？

Sakun's note: I actually don't know what chompy's take on this is. I'm going to assume something similar to the English *chans for now.​

"Asian things" typically means that the thing was created by a true Asian.
「アジア物」って言うのは、本物のアジア人に作られた物だ。

Usually, a true Asian is someone who has been living in an Asian country like Japan or China for more than 10 years.
大抵、本物のアジア人は十年以上に日本とか中国とかアジアの国で住んでいる人だ。

If you still have questions, please ask our staff.
まだ質問があったら、ウチのスタッフに聞いて下さい。

 

[buttobi]

Sakunyuusha's Japanese is really excellent!!

I'm offering not corrections but betterment for more natural and polite Japanese.

Welcome to Akiba-Online, the Neo-Otaku Community!
新・オタク・コミュニティーの秋葉・オンラインへようこそ！

Q7. When I want to thank somebody for uploading something awesome, what should I do?
素晴らしいあげものをしてくれた人にお礼をしたい時にはどうすればいいですか？

A7. You should hit the "Thanks" button. It was created for this very purpose. You may also write a reply to show your appreciation, but if all you intend to write is "Thanks!" or "Thank you!", then you should not write a reply.
「Thanks」（「ありがとう」という意味)のボタンをクリックしてください。このボタンはそのためにあります。　レスを書いてお礼をするのもいいですが、ただ「Thanks!」とか「どうも！」とだけ書くくらいならば、むしろレスしない方がいいかも知れません。

Please do not use this message board to discuss or upload non-Asian things.
この板ではアジアもの以外の話題やあげものは禁止されています。

What do you mean by "Asian things"?
「アジアもの」とはどういうことですか？

"Asian things" typically means that the thing was created by a true Asian.
「アジアもの」というのは、本物のアジア人によって製作されたもののことです。

Usually, a true Asian is someone who has been living in an Asian country like Japan or China for more than 10 years.
本物のアジア人とは十年以上、日本とか中国とかアジアの国に住んでいる人のことです。

If you still have questions, please ask our staff.
他に質問があれば、わたし共のスタッフに訊いて下さい。

 

[fr0stbyte]

Filipino Translation

My Filipino version of Sakunyuusha's post.

Please do not use this message board to discuss or upload non-Asian things.
Manyaring huwag po nating gamitin ang message board na ito upang magtalakay o mag-upload ng mga hindi Asyanong bagay.

What do you mean by "Asian things"?
Ano ang ibig sabihin ng "mga Asyanong bagay"?

"Asian things" typically means that the thing was created by a true Asian.
"Mga Asyanong bagay" ay kadalasang nangangahulugan na mga bagay na nilikha ng isang tunay na Asyano.

Usually, a true Asian is someone who has been living in an Asian country like Japan or China for more than 10 years.
Karaniwan, ang isang tunay na Asyano ay isang tao na nakatira sa isang bansa sa Asya tulad ng Japan o sa Tsina ng higit pa sa sampung taon.

If you still have questions, please ask our staff.
Kung ikaw pa rin ay may mga katanungan, mangyaring magtanong lamang po sa aming mga kawani.

PM me for any corrections.

 

[redrooster]

if this really is serious, what I think would be great, there first must be a raw plan what the FAQ should be containing, then we can start to find / ask members to translate all / parts in every possible language.

atm it seems to me that we are losing ourselves in details already.

first there should be a plan, then there must be someone who signs the plan as o.k. (chompy - I think), then we can start translating, not earlier because possibly parts of this could be in vain already...

lets begin with planning, Sakun made the start, I added already some of my thoughts from my point of view as a mod, so please give us your thoughts / plans / sketches so that someone (Sakun for ex, as he started with this thought) can add all of them into a pattern.

All posts / thoughts / plan details can be discussed of course.

It was written that you want Akiba-Online becoming a better site, in first line for the members, this time members can actively take part in this, just use this opportunity...

One new thought I had: viewing the entries the FAQ might have it would become difficult to have every item line with every language, you could hardly look through this anymore, so perhaps it is better to write the FAQ in every possible language on it´s own and to start with a header where you can select "your language" to view the FAQ, ...

...but that´s only just another thought to be disussed...

...and perhaps the FAQ (thread) can have a post where all members are named by their nicks who have taken part in the development of this "FAQ" - or name it the "welcome thread"...

 

[chompy]

The only thing I can add is that Akiba-Online isn't really for "asian" things, but for Japanese specifically. The main concern is copyright. Although it's not as strictly enforced as it could be, that was always the idea.

Other than that, the text seems OK.

 

[Sakunyuusha]

I never intended that the FAQ would look like this, red:

Q1 in English
Q1 in Japanese
Q1 in Chinese
Q1 in Thai
Q1 in Korean

I was just typing it like that in this thread so that:
(a) people who know Japanese could know which of my sentences went with what original English, and
(b) people who don't know Japanese would know what to copy and paste when we're discussing stuff or implementing stuff.

I of course 100% agree that each language should have it's own FAQ. It's really quite simple:

1. Splash page has a one-sentence welcome in every language. Sort of like how Wikipedia says "Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia" and then has every participating language. This would probably be the "Welcome to Akiba-Online, the Neo-Otaku Community!" tagline.
2. Clicking on that would escort people to the main page (http://www.akiba-online.com/) which is in English. It will be up to our foreign language-speaking guests to recognize the letters "FAQ" and what they stand for.
3. Clicking on "FAQ" brings you to the English FAQ by default. But at the top of the page, there could be a hyperlink for each language -- and the link's text would be the name of the language written in that language's own writing system (e.g. français for French, 日本語 for Japanese).
4. If somebody clicks on it, it whisks them away from http://www.akiba-online.com/faq/english.html to http://www.akiba-online.com/french.html or japanese.html or thai.html, etc.

And like I said in the first post, I think that for the sake of the members and for the sake of the volunteers alike, it's best to keep this limited to like a Top 10 FAQs list initially. My response was just for ONE FAQ (see quote below), so you can already appreciate how having 10 FAQs explained can become a chore if we pile on too many things at once. Taking baby steps one step at a time is the best way to get this sort of job done; try to walk too fast too far and you'll burn yourself out.

How to post what in which forum section and a hint that only Asian stuff is allowed.

lol, heck, I didn't even answer all of it! Only the second half! ^_^;

 

[redrooster]

In German then it´s this - auf deutsch liest sich das so...

Welcome to Akiba-Online, the Neo-Otaku Community!
Willkommen bei Akiba-Online, der Neo-Otaku Community!

Q7. When I want to thank somebody for uploading something awesome, what should I do?
Wenn ich jemandem für das Einbringen eines besonderen Beitrags danken möchte, was muss ich tun?

A7. You should hit the "Thanks" button. It was created for this very purpose. You may also write a reply to show your appreciation, but if all you intend to write is "Thanks!" or "Thank you!", then you should not write a reply.
Bitte klicke auf das "Thanks"-Feld, es wurde dazu eingerichtet. Du kannst auch eine kurze Antwort schreiben, um Deine Wertschätzung auszudrücken, falls Du aber nur "Thanks" oder "Thank you" schreiben möchtest, dann schreibe bitte keine Antwort sondern lass es.

Please do not use this message board to discuss or upload non-Asian things. Our main field of interest however is Japan, reason for this are copyright aspects.
Bitte benutze dieses Forum nicht dazu, Dinge zu diskutieren oder bereitzustellen, die sich nicht auf Asien beziehen, wobei unser Hauptaugenmerk eindeutig auf Japan ausgerichtet ist. Grund hierfür sind Urheberechtliche Gesichtspunkte.

What do you mean by "Asian things"?
Was meinen wir mit asiatischen Beiträgen?

"Asian things" typically means that the thing was created by a true Asian. Here we prefer Japanese things too.
Asiatische Beiträge sind solche, die von Asiaten für Asiaten produziert wurden, auch hier geben wir Beiträgen aus Japan den Vorzug.

Usually, a true Asian is someone who has been living in an Asian country like Japan or China for more than 10 years.
Mit jemandem aus Asien meinen wir Leute, die in einem asiatischen Land wie China oder Japan für mehr als 10 Jahre gelebt haben.

If you still have questions, please ask our staff.
Wenn Du weitere Fragen haben solltest, wende Dich bitte an unseren Stab.

 

[Sakunyuusha]

Warning: not finished even in English, not going to write more down unless people think this is a good idea or not (this took a good 15 minutes to write @_@)

DISCLAIMER!! I do not like this long, wordy format. In real life, I would advise implementing it either
(a) dynamically, with a computer program or script; or
(b) statically with a picture diagram like a flow chart


Where should I upload my file?
どこに私のファイルをアップロードすればいいんですか？

File Uploading Guideline:
Part I: Getting Started

1. Is your file Japanese in origin?
   • if yes, proceed to 2.
   • if no, stop: chompy does not want non-Japanese files upload to Akiba-Online!
2. Have you used the Search feature to check and see if your file has already been uploaded on Akiba-Online?
   • if yes, proceed to 3.
   • if no, please do so before proceeding to 3.
3. Has your file been uploaded to Akiba-Online before?
   • if yes, proceed to 4.
   • if no, proceed to 5.
4. Is the file still available for download through Akiba-Online?
   • if yes, stop: do not upload your file. Instead, post a link to the thread or to the specific post in which the previous user uploaded/shared the file.
   • if no, proceed to 5.
5. Is the file allowed to be uploaded on Akiba-Online?
   • if yes, proceed to the next list.
   • if you are unsure, ask a staff member for advice. Proceed to the next list only if the staff member says you may go ahead and upload the file.
   • if no, stop: the file is not allowed to be uploaded on Akiba-Online.

Part II: Where to post?
Are you uploading/sharing a torrent file, a direct download link (DDL), or something else?

• for hentai torrents, go to List III.
• for hentai DDLs, go to List IV. (NOT WRITTEN)
• for live-action pornography torrents, go to List V. (NOT WRITTEN!)
• for live-action pornography DDLs, go to List VI. (NOT WRITTEN!)

Part III: Hentai Torrents

1. What are you uploading/sharing today?
   • if it is a hentai magazine, proceed to 2.
   • if it is a hentai tankoubon (commonly called "a manga" or comicbook in American English), proceed to 3.
   • if it is a hentai anime, proceed to 4.
   • if it is a hentai PC game, proceed to 6. (NOT WRITTEN!)
   • if it is a hentai batch of pictures, proceed to 7. (NOT WRITTEN!)
2. Does this hentai magazine have its own subforum?
   • if yes, please post the file in the appropriate subforum.
   • if no, please post the file at the main level of the Hentai Manga Magazines torrent subforum.
3. Is there already a thread in existence which would be a better place to post your file than to create a brand-new thread?
   • if yes, post your file in the pre-existing thread.
   • if no, post your file in a new thread.
4. Are you posting a never-before-released hentai anime or are you posting a different version (higher resolution, uncensored, Chinese subs) of a hentai anime which has already been posted on Akiba-Online?
   • if you are posting a hentai anime that no one else has ever posted any versions of before on Akiba-Online, create a new thread.
   • if you are posting a higher-resolution version of the file, subtitles for the file, or an uncensored version of the file, proceed to 5.
5. Was the first version of the file posted in the last 2 weeks?
   • if yes, post your file in that thread.
   • if no, use your own judgment and decide for yourself whether you think the community would best be served if you posted a brand-new thread or if you bumped an old thread.

(tired, so I'm gonna take a break. Just like I said! Gotta be careful about burning out!! XD)

 

[redrooster]

looks very good, Sakun.

 

[fr0stbyte]

This post I made earlier was just a sample for you guys to see. If all goes well I'll help out as much as I can. As redrooster said the plan must be polished first. I must say that the recent FAQs you guys made are quite good. I'll be posting my ideas later.

 

[rubiks6]

This thread is going really really well.

I think, for the time being we should continue just as we are doing - brain storming and tossing out good ideas. Soon enough it will gell into something really good - I know it! Tomorrow, I will contribute some vietnamese - I still need some help from my friends.

We still need to determine exactly what will be contained in post number 1. Nobody feel dis-heartened! You folks are doing great! Everybody toss in your ideas about what should go into post number 1. We need to come up with a good final appearance, and, of course the words and statements, which we will all be translating. That color scheme (one color for each language) that Sakunyuusha demonstrated is really good. First we'll decide what post number 1 will contain, then we will all get to translating, adding each new line from each language as it is posted. Moderators will move each translated line into post 1.

This is cool. I'm excited.

 

[rubiks6]

Welcome. 歓迎する. 赞. 환영. Chào mừng. ยินดีต้อนรับ. Bienvenue. Willkommen.

Suggestion for title line for post number one.

Hey - it's going to be a complex and multi-threaded task.

 

[buttobi]

From my experience as a mod at a big forum, I should say the biggest problem is how to make members use FAQ when they have questions and problems. On our forum we had FAQ as Sticky Threads at each section but people still won't open sticky threads!!

This project is good but will possibly be in vain unless first of all we work out an idea how to let members read FAQ in the first place.


Considering most traffic comes from Japan and a large proportion of Japanese people are English illiterate and also this forum is mainly about Japan and Japanese things. in my opinion the best we could do is to make a room(forum) for Japanese members if possible in which Japanese is exclusively to be spoken and we'll put up Japanese FAQ as Sticky. Japanese members will hang out there, chat and exchange info about everything among themselves and thus they'll have a better understanding of the AO forum. Besides non-Japanese members will be able to use it as a classroom for the Japanese language. Likewise we'll make a Chinese room, a Spanish room etc... when necessity rises.

How do you like this idea if it is feasible?

 

[gakido]

^ I think this is a more feasible, since trying to write a FAQ for all the languages that are mentioned in this thread is going to take a lot of efforts and like Buttobi said, 90% of the people just don't utilize the FAQ to their advantageous.

I really this idea better since people can interact more and use it as a learning tool to study and improve in some languages.